Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! Since it is Valentine's Day, I thought it might be a good time for a post about the things I LOVE most these days. I LOVE...

Addison's precious little smile
The way she coos and whoos
The smell of her skin after her bath
The smell of clean baby clothes
The way she kicks her little feet like she is pushing a pedal
The way she grunts while she is eating
The sweet noises she makes while she is sleeping
Our night time rituals (feeding, rocking, story time and snuggling)
The sound of Baby Bach & Baby Mozart coming from her room at night
Waking up in the middle of the night to the sound of her voice
Her soft little cry
Snuggles & Cuddles
The little "v" in her forehead
Her long fingers & toes
Those big blue eyes of hers
The curl of her long eyelashes
The way she splashes around in her bath tub at night
The way she sleeps with both arms beside her face
The way her eyes light up when she sees me
Her many, many facial expressions
That my friends love to spend time with her as much as I do
The way strangers stop to tell me what a beautiful baby I have
The way Molly dog loves to steal a kiss (lick) when we aren't looking
The way her daddy rushes home to spend time with her each afternoon

I could go on and on. I would be much better off to sum it all up by saying that I love EVERYTHING about this little girl. I never knew LOVE could be so grand. May your day be filled with as much love as mine is.

8 Week Update

Where does the time go? There just aren't enough hours in the day! It's hard to believe that Addison is already 8 weeks old. It seems like just yesterday that we were heading to the hospital to begin the induction process. My, how things have changed. Our lives are so full of love these days.

Addison has changed so much during the last 8 weeks. She is growing like a weed, she continues to amaze us each and every day. She had her 8 week well check today, and she appears to be a very healthy little girl.

Weight 11 lbs, 4 oz (50th percentile)
Height 22 3/4" (50th percentile)
Head 15 3/4" (75th percentile) -- She's going to be a smart little girl! :) She received her first round of immunizations, and she was such a trooper. Needless to say, she didn't enjoy the shots, but she only cried for a few minutes after the nurse adminstered them. She's been asleep since we left the doctor's office, only waking long enough to eat. It broke my heart to see her in pain, but I know this is only the first of many things that will break my heart. Hopefully, she'll rebound and forgive me (and her daddy, too).

Some of her favorite things are:
Bath time (still a favorite)
Music, music and more music (she even loves to hear her mom and her "aunt" Barbara sing)
Playing on her Rainforest play mat (she just kicks and coos)
Bouncing in her Rainforest bouncy seat
Snuggling
Daddy Time
Car Rides & Road Trips
Shopping (most days) Regardless of what time she goes to sleep, she is sleeping for 5-7 hours at a time most nights. She has started smiling, and it is just the sweetest little smile! I have the hardest time getting out of the house in the mornings. All I want to do is snuggle and play with our little girl. Nothing else seems to matter these days. And it is such a wonderful, wonderful thing!

Addison, your daddy and I love you more than you will ever know, and we look forward to a lifetime of happiness with you!

Thoughts from the dog...

They used to dress me up and make me wear funny clothes... Now they use me as a baby recliner. When will the insanity end?

A Special Birthday

I celebrated my birthday on Monday, and I can't think of a better gift than the sweet little girl who woke me up bright and early. It just doesn't get any better than this!

A Grand Time

Saturday was a very special day for Addison. She spent the day with her grandparents and 2 of her great grandmothers. Craig's parents came to Beaufort for the day and brought both of his grandmothers. Now she has met all of her great grandmothers. Addison is one lucky little girl -- she has 3 great grandmothers and 1 great grandfather (who she hopes to meet very soon). We were sad to see all of the grands leave after such a short visit, but we know we will see them all again very soon!

Six Weeks Old

Who would've know that something so small could occupy such a large part of our hearts? Six short weeks ago, we had just met our little girl. She was a day old, and we were only beginning to learn about each other. The past six weeks have been the most incredible weeks of our lives. Addison has already grown so much, and she is just the most amazing little thing on this earth. She loves to go for rides in the car; she is a big fan of her swing; she loves to go on lunch dates; she loves to shop with her mom; and she loves to eat! She weighs a little under 10 pounds and is starting to get the chubbiest little cheeks. It's hard to resist squeezing those little cheeks a thousand times a day. She is officially sleeping in her crib at night. She's usually sleeping when I put her down, but it never fails -- she wakes up as soon as I step out of the room. The good news is that she'll usually entertain herself for a while before falling back to sleep. She grunts, kicks and pumps her legs and waves her arms until she finally wears herself out. She'll sleep for a good 3-4 hours before waking for a feeding, which gives mommy a little time to sleep as well. She's been a kind of fussy this week, but it comes and goes so it isn't too bad. The evenings are the toughest time for us, but she usually settles down just before her bedtime feeding. She is definitely becoming more vocal as the days pass. She used to have a quiet, muffled cry (even when she was upset), but she now has a much louder, forceful cry when she is upset. Guess that just means she has a healthy set of lungs. She has added a few "whoo" and "who" sounds to her "coos" and grunts. Before we know it, she'll be chatting up a storm. She has developed a little rash (seborrhea dermatitis to be exact), but the doctor says not to worry. Evidently, the rash is very common in babies and should clear itself up (with the help of a little hydrocortisone) within the next few months. No worries. We sure are enjoying parenthood (even the parts where she pees, poops and spits up on us), and we can't to see what the future holds (other than the part where I have to go back to work). Mommy is sure to have a tougher time with that than Addison when that day comes. We love you to pieces little miss Addison, and we couldn't be happier to have you in our lives.

This Little Piggy

This little piggy now weighs 9 lbs, 12 ounces and is 22 inches long! Not only does she like to shop, but she also likes to eat. I think she just might take after her mom. Scary, I know! Thank goodness for our healthy baby girl!