15 month checkup

Addie had her 15 month checkup today. And because she is still on the recovery end of the flu from last week, we held off on one of her 2 scheduled immunizations. So she and Dylan both got their flu shots and Addie also got her Chicken Pox shot. We then headed over to Rite Aid for stickers and ice cream cones. Made it all better. For me too. ;)

Here are her 15 month stats:
Weight 21#, 6oz (20th percentile)
Height 31 inches (70th percentile)
Head Circumference 47 1/2 (75th percentile)

Not surprising that her weight is down slightly after all of last week with her upset tummy and fevers, not eating like she normally does.

We go back next month for her second flu shot and the MMR immunization. More ice cream? You betcha!

Addie's Clothesline

What a cute outfit, Addie!

Addie learns to walk

New Traditions

I've heard of doing this and, to be honest, at first I thought it was a little strange.
But then I thought about how many years my dress has sat in our closet (lets see, uh... 8 years now), untouched, with no purpose but to take up space on that far back shelf.
And then I saw pictures of our friend's daughter in her dress last year and decided I'd start the same tradition with Addie.
So here it is: Each year on her birthday (or close to it, as the case may be this year) Addie gets to put on mommy's special wedding dress and take pictures.

Bonnie

For the past nine months or so, our family has been blessed with a special young lady in our lives. When I went back to work after having Addison, we decided that we wanted to have her home at least for her first year, if possible. But who could we trust our baby girl with?!?



Enter Bonnie.

She's smart.
She's fun.
She does our laundry and unloads the dishwasher.
She starts dinner for us so we can eat as a family when we all get home.

She loves our kids.
And our kids love her.








She brings me Addie at lunchtime so I can nurse and see my baby halfway through the work day.
She sends us text messages and pictures during the day of Addie.

Here's another one of Kathy and I at lunch with Addie at work - a very special time, which was possible for these past months only because Bonnie was able to bring her to see me on my lunch break.

I'm so thankful for that time.








And now our time with Bonnie on a regular basis is ending.
Addie is starting daycare in another week.
I know Addie has benefitted from the past year with Bonnie on so many levels. She's had one-on-one attention and naps in her own bed.

When I think of the transition from one to two children, I can't imagine it without Bonnie in our lives. Her positive energy and encouragement when I got discouraged, meant so much, especially after a long day of work and missing my kids.
I never worry when my children are with her and I've been blessed to have that peace of mind when I'm at work.

Addie is very sad.

Dylan is very sad.


We are ALL very sad.




What are we going to do without our Bonnie?


Thankfully, it's not really goodbye beyond her being a regular part of our routine.
She's not moving away.
We aren't going anywhere.
Bonnie will still be a part of our lives.
And certainly Ryan and I need a date night once in a while, right? ;)

First and Fourth

Just sitting here sipping a Sangria and reflecting on the kids' birthday party today.

First off, it was a success, but the morning started off with a bit of a snag. There are two gazebo pavilions you can rent at the park. I had reserved Gazebo A from 10-2. And apparently two other parties were double-booked for Gazebo B for the full day. A very crabby lady in gray-sweatpants (who will be referred to as Gray-Sweatpants from here on) approached me to ask for my paperwork, proving that I had the rights to Gazebo A.

Yeah, I had them... at home, on my desk.

So Ryan had to drive back home and get them. And meanwhile Gray-Sweatpants informed me she was calling the police to see how they wanted to divide up the 2 gazebos between all 3 groups...

Talk about stress just as our party was starting.

Later we noticed that her 'party' wasn't going to start till HOURS later. All she wanted that space for was to 'set up' - and Tinkerbell style for a toddler's party no-less. Come on people! 4 hours to setup a party?!)

Thankfully it turned out so we kept our original reserved spot and they duked out the details between themselves. I had a party to get started.

And partying we did. It was a patriotic-themed party (inspired by the fact that the 4th of July is exactly halfway between the kids' birthdays - with Addie's on the first and Dylan's on the 7th of July).
Dylan had a blast with his friends, running around with water guns decorated up with 'Cars' stickers (per his request), throwing water balloons (provided for the kids to toss at their daddys, courtesy of Kathy), drinking juice boxes, eating lots of fruit snacks and hotdogs.







Addie had fun... eating. She enjoyed strawberries, goldfish, and... her first chocolate cupcake! (Seperate post to follow with pictures of her first cake experience)


She also enjoyed the swings and watching her big brother run around with his buddies. Here she is with Christy, just after the water balloon fight.



At the end of the party, Addie was wiped out, shirtless and sticky from cupcake icing, and overdue for her afternoon nap.

Meanwhile, Dylan somehow had energy to spare. So when we got home, he unwrapped their gifts, took his bath, came along with Kathy and I to get my Saturday Flowers, the grocery store, Panera for dinner take-out (all while Addie napped), and continued to play non-stop until nearly 8pm!


That, my friends, is why this mama is drinking a Sangria at 11:05pm. ;)

First Cupcake

Surrounded by her peers, she examines said cupcake and decides how best to tackle.

She decides the frosting looks promising and takes her maiden taste.
Not bad. I think I'll have some more of that.
Is this how you do it mama?

Meanwhile, Dylan decides he'll go for the frosting first on his birthday cupcake. After all, he's a pro now that he's FOUR.

Pause for a brief moment, then back to business.


When it is all said and done, sweet Addie is a... happy, sticky mess!

Gymnastics Boy

Splish Splash

Last time we were down in San Diego, the kids got some nice pool-time in. It's no secret that Dylan loves his grandparent's pool - he asks nearly everyday when we are going back to Football Nama's house. But now the cats out of the bag... Addie loves it too!
I love her little bathing suits (she has two of them). She wasn't too keen on the matching hat, but I was able to keep it on long enough for a picture or two.
Dylan in his own little heaven Football Nama's pool!

Chatty Addie

Addie is definitely a girl when it comes to language.
While Daddy was gone one night at his LSAT class, Addie practiced saying 'dada' before bed.
She was also working on her standing skills as a side act.
And I'm glad she thinks I'm as funny as I do.



Note: those pajamas are 3-6 month sized. At 10 months I am amazed she still fit into them.
With how much this girl eats, you would be amazed too!

Frito Bandito

Ryan and Addie have this little song they sing together. It's genesis was from the Frito Bandito song that Kathy sings sometimes to us.


When Ryan sings it to her, she sings it back with a hearty "aye yi yi yi" and we all laugh.


We really need to get it on video.



Now to be honest, I'm tempted to change the words to match Dylan and all his friend's love for cheetos. It'd work, don't you think?

Update: Got a video in the car of Addie singing her little song. Nevermind the turbulence. I was sitting in the FAR back of the car and it sure was a bumpy ride.

Our Little Girl

Our little girl is growing up fast. Too fast.
Today she waved goodbye to her daddy after we meeting up for lunch. Last week she tried to climb the stairs (made it up 2 of them, with mama and Bonnie close behind).

She still loves the kitty cat. She makes a high-pitched squealing sound whenever she sees him.
She's been trying to say 'dylan' for days now. It's funny. She concentrates so hard, and all that comes out over and over is 'ddddtt' but you can tell that's what she is trying to say.
And man alive, this girl loves to eat. Give her any kind of vegetable (green beans, carrots, corn, peas, broccoli) and she'll gobble it up and want more. She loves vanilla yogurt, cheese, malt-o-meal, bananas, pasta, and pretty much anything else she can steal from your plate.
She squeals with delight when her brother clowns around, trying to make her laugh, or when she's tickled by her daddy.
She loves hair brushes, doorstops, and did I mention food?
And that smile? It can melt your heart in an instant.
She's a happy baby.

A special relationship

There is a special relationship between Addie and our cat, Thaddeus. Everywhere that Addie seems to be, Thaddeus seems to follow and plop himself right beside her. She pets him with one hand sometimes while she nurses and he lays on the other side of her. She pulls his tail, yet he doesn't move away. She even tries to pull up into a partial standing position across his back, and he doesn't seem to care. I think they are the perfect size for eachother. And while he still puts up with her, I'm going to try to catch a few pictures of their little friendship.

All smiles for the camera. Miss Easy-going despite teething, allergic rash to antibiotics, ear infection, diarrhea, and thrush. I've truly been blessed.
(note: all of the above is cleared up now, thankfully.)



Snuggle time with mama before bed. I love that moment right before she goes to bed, when she lays her head on my chest as we walk into the kids' room.

Hoppy Easter

Took the kids to the Americana to meet the Easter Bunny. Dylan was all smiles and Addie was terrified of the big.bad.bunny.
It was pretty funny actually.







Addie on Easter morning before church. She got a special purse from the bunny and she loved it. But I think she still wouldn't be too keen on the bunny if she saw him just yet. Maybe next year.

Nearly Crawling

At 8 months, Addie is nearly crawling. Tonight after getting her all ready for bed, she protested at the highest volume possible, making it impossible to put both kids to bed in the same room. So I brought her back to our room to nurse and snuggle until Ryan had Dylan settled. Addie had other plans for our mommy-daughter date. She was going to show me her new tricks. At first she cooed and tried her best to clap her hands (still a ways away on that skill). But then then her BIG tricks came out. She was rocking and rolling and showing off. See the video for a peek.

And yes, Dylan came back into our room to watch Addie's show and tell. It was a family event. Nevermind that everyone is tired and NOBODY was in bed yet.

My Valentines

I'm trying to focus my energy on what is important, what is positive.

This Valentine's Day I focused on the small gestures towards my family to remind them that I love them. It was a good day. A simple day filled with smiles. Just what we needed as a family.

Prepare to Swoon

Addie is currently learning to sit up:

Along with busting out two teeth over the holiday break, she's been babbling up a storm (on her terms, so we have had a hard time catching it on video except this one):

Our Holidays at a Glance

Dylan and Addie enjoyed the holidays this year.
They met Santa at the Americana Mall, which was pretty impressive.



We spent two days at Disneyland with Ryan's family, complete with the Pixar Parade that knocked Dylan's socks off!



Then we went down to San Diego up through Christmas Day.
Dylan had fun waking everyone up on Christmas morning, opening presents, and giving Addie a present he made and wrapped by himself:



On the day after Christmas, we headed up to Lompoc to spend a week up at Briana's sister's house, where Dylan soaked up some time with his cousins and Addie popped out her second tooth.

Here's some footage of the cousins helping bring the presents into the livingroom for opening:

5 months

She's learned to splash in the tub just this past week. When she did, Ryan was there to take a few pictures and Dylan exclaimed, "let's blog it!"
Little mohawk. That front patch of hair is growing like a weed, while the rest of it has thinned, or rubbed off. I do think it's pretty cute though...
In the favored 'bumbo seat' that seems to be the only place she'll tolerate as much as being held. And that's only if she has her beloved 'measuring spoons' to play with.
Cute little smirk. Wonder what she's thinking there.
Exhausted from another day in the life of a 5 month old!

Sibling Love-ery

Dylan loves his sister and she loves him right back. Part of the joy of being a parent is watching your children love eachother.
The other part is taking lots of pictures of them loving eachother!