Walker Weekly

3 months

2011-04-21T11:42:00.000-05:00

Little Gabriel, please stop growing up so fast! I cannot believe how much faster time is passing with Gabe, than it did with Addisyn. You now weigh 13 lbs, and have started rolling from belly to back. You are such a good and happy baby! You sleep like a champ (12-14 hours at night!). You smile all the time now! You cannot even imagine the joy that you bring to us Gabriel! We love you so much!

2 months

2011-03-17T15:24:00.002-05:00

Gabriel turned two months today! I cannot believe how fast his "newborn-stage" has passed. He is definitely out of ALL of his newborn clothes now. He is smiling at us all the time now, and sleeping more and more every night. We went for our big 2 month check up today and got the "let him cry it out" talk. Ugh...I dread this talk. I keep hoping that there is a better answer. My husband is totally on board with this, but I cannot imagine laying him down for 10 hours, and not checking on him at all. So far, the longest he goes at night without waking is 6 hours, which until now, I thought was pretty good. Please let me know your experiences with this!

Ok, so little Gabriel...You are still nursing like a champ, which I absolutely love. At your appointment today, you weighed 11 lbs 4 oz (40th %) and were 22.5 inches long (36th %). Your big sister only weighed 9 lbs 4 oz at her two month check-up, so you are definitely a growing boy!! I had to go back to work this week, which absolutely broke my heart, but your Daddy has been very good about bringing you up to see me. And, I am very blessed to have a job that allows me to be home four-five days per week. You are still such a sweet baby and love to cuddle! Your big sister adores you, and always wants to be your second little mommy. Please stop growing up so fast!

You already LOVE watching baby-Einstein...

But will stop just long enough to ham it up for the camera!

Your two-month birthday

Love the faux-hawk bud!

Rockin' it out.

1 month

2011-02-17T15:40:00.000-06:00

Today my baby-boy is 1 month old! I already cannot even remember what life was like before he arrived. He is such an angel, and we feel SO blessed to have such beautiful and healthy children!

At one month:

You weigh about 8.5 lbs and are 20.5 inches long.

You are starting to figure out the days from nights.

You are such a good snuggler!

Your big sister adores you and wants to hold you all the time.

You love the Paci.

Happy 1-month baby Gabe!!

Lovin' life as a mommy of 2!!

You and your sweet-sissy!

This is a cool comparison photo from our 4-D ultrasound and the day Gabe was born.

Baby-Gabey

2011-02-01T00:18:00.000-06:00

**Warning: Semi-graphic photos to follow.

I realize that I am the worlds worst blogger. There have been so many times during this pregnancy, that I wanted to sit down and record all of the details. I am disappointed that I have never taken the time, but working full-time and taking care of a three year old did not leave much time for blogging.
Anyway, most of you know that we had a lot of difficulty getting pregnant with both of our children. We tried for two years with each of them. You can imagine my excitement when I discovered on my birthday that we were expecting! This pregnancy was very different than the first. I was way more tired and way more hungry ALL the time. I had super-intense cravings. Strangely enough, I was cold all the time. My eyes became 100% intolerant to contact lenses, which is why I've been in glasses for the last four months. Needless to say, Rich and I were convinced from pretty early on that we were having a boy, and were so excited when we discovered that we were right!
We tried to fill all of our free time doing fun things with Addisyn. We took two incredible vacations, saw several movies, took countless trips to the zoo, and spent lots of time with friends and family. I will always cherish the time that we took to spend together in those last several months.
So, let's get to it...

Baby-Gabriel was supposed to be a scheduled C-section for Wed, Jan 19. I had been having horrible insomnia for several months. I remember posting on Facebook at 5 am on Jan 17, saying that I had not yet been to sleep. I finally closed my eyes at about 5:30 am. I woke 3 hours later when my water broke. Of course, we did not have a single thing packed for any of us. We stayed at the house for a couple of hours getting bags packed, showering, making phone calls, etc. We arrived at the hospital at about 11 am. After that, things moved pretty quickly. I.V.'s getting started, papers being signed, family arriving....and before I knew it, I was headed to the O.R. Baby-Gabes was born at 1:16 pm, weighed 7 lbs 12 oz, and was 19 inches long. He was beautiful and healthy. I had asked a very close friend of mine who is a photographer, if she would consider being in the OR with Rich and I, to capture the first moments of Gabriel's life. Her photos have been so special/emotional for me. Here are some of my most favorite pictures from that day.

Again, some of these pictures are a little graphic, but too amazing not to share...

Contractions!! Yowza.

Our final picture as a family of three

Surgical-assistant

Almost time!!

January 17 1:16 pm

Our first-glimpse...

The first picture as a family of four!!

Holding my son for the first time....priceless.

Thank you so much Mandy Stansberry for doing this for me! I cannot tell you how special these photos are to us. We love you, and are so happy that you were a part of this day!

The last "Party of 3" vacation

2010-10-10T18:04:00.000-05:00

What an amazing vacation!! We have always looked for an excuse to make our way to the west coast, and to be honest, could not have had more to celebrate during this trip! We decided that our San Diego trip would be to celebrate Rich's 36th birthday, me passing my boards, and the fact that our little family of three will soon be expanding!

The trip was AMAZING! We had never been to San Diego before, but have always heard so many great things. I am like a little walking tour-guide now, so if you are thinking of going, I will be more than happy to talk your ear off about it! We spent four nights there, and somehow fit in La Jolla, San Diego Zoo, Disneyland, Sea World, and Coronado island. The food was amazing, the experience was amazing, and the weather was amazing!!

Before you are inundated with photos, here are some fun things that I learned while out there:

1. There are no Sonics in San Diego. People look at you like you are crazy if you ask about it.

2. No body, and I mean no body, drinks Diet Dr. Pepper. I couldn't even find it at Wal Mart.

3. As gorgeous as it is, allergies are way worse on the west coast. I literally thought my brains would come out, if I had to blow my nose one more time.

4. If you drive a motorcycle, it is completely acceptable to drive in between two lanes of traffic during rush-hour.

5. You know the two "boob-like" structures on the highway in Naked Gun??? Yeah, those really exist, and are on I-5 between San Diego and Anaheim.

6. If it's not described as "grass-fed beef" Californians are not likely to eat it.

7. Recycling the the ONLY way!

8. The weather is perfect all the time.

9. People will actually pay $50/day for hotel-parking.

10. In-N-Out is a way of life. No matter how many times I tried, I could not say "animal-style" without giggling just a little. I'm sure the cashier was a little annoyed with my childish-ness. :)

Okay, so here are some pictures! I will not overwhelm you with the 5,000 pictures of animals that Addi insisted that I take, but here are some of her favorites...

Addi is almost three years old, and this is the first elephant she has ever seen. She loved it!

Oh, my favorite! I loved this guy!

A face only a mother could love.

We were so excited to find all the seals right in our little Cove! We had dinner within feet of them! They were literally everywhere, and people were still swimming in the ocean. So awesome!

Our view at dinner. We celebrated Rich's birthday at George's on the Cove, and later found out that the chef there was ranked one of the top ten chef's in the country by Food and Wine magazine. I am still sick that I didn't take a picture of our food before we demolished it! It was incredible!

Disneyland!!!!!

Addi talking to Aerial. They had a very indepth conversation, people.

That's my guy. :)

Addi was totally captivated by the "It's a Small World" ride.

Okay, this picture speaks a thousand words. Addi was talking all day about wanting to meet Mickey, but this was her reaction when we actually got to him. I think had something to do with his incredibly large head.

Yes, that is someone else's child I took a picture of because my child wanted nothing to do with the large rodent.

In-N-Out...how I love thee....

Chocolate shake!!

I could have watched this creature all day.

Addi's favorite part of the entire-trip.

These flowers were everywhere. How gorgeous.

California sunset.

Everything about this day was perfect!!

2010-09-23T01:15:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, August 31

We woke up, extremely excited to know that this would be the day that we would share our gender-reveal with all of our family and close friends. The day could not have been more perfect....more magical. It was amazing. We got up early, and headed for our OB appt, which was followed by the ultrasound. We told the ultrasound tech that we did not want her tell us the baby's sex, but instead write it in a sealed envelope. We took the envelope straight over to our friend Katie, who made our precious cake!

We had all of our family and some close friends over to celebrate the big news with us. After tons of snacks, and kids playing on the jungle-gym...it was time. I can't begin to describe the love, excitement, and nervousness that overcame me at this moment. It was amazing.

It's a BOY!!! We could not have been happier!

How gorgeous is this shot??

Proud Mommy and Daddy! So excited to bring in some blue!

And let me just say one more time how very special this night was to me. Everything about it was perfect! Thank you to all of you that shared in our special occasion. We are so blessed!

Dream on

2010-08-04T16:20:00.000-05:00

So, my last post said that I thought it would be a couple of months before Rich started his next "project". I was wrong. It only took ten days. I came home from work to be confronted with this diagram, that he had spent who knows how long drawing. This, my friends, is a schematic of the back-yard. I wish that you could see just how much detail he put into this drawing....and how much dreaming. Look closely. We've got it all folks. Two decks, a hot-tub, a Koi-pond and river, a waterfall, a bridge, a trampoline, a sitting-bench, a stone-path...the list just goes on and on. I have also been made aware that we need a "focal-point" for the back-yard. Of course we do.

I love my husband for his vision and excitement for yardwork. But this went a little far.

It is finished, and it is good.

2010-07-21T17:04:00.000-05:00

The pergola is finished! I would not believe it if I didn't get to stare at it all day! We have been talking about this for more than a year now and now that it's done, I keep asking myself why we waited so long to get it started. I love it! I don't want to get super-sappy, but I am so proud of my husband for doing this. He designed and built the entire thing by himself. He spent 8-10 hours per day in 100 degree weather, and loved every minute of it. I will never again question his creative-capabilities.

So, here are the step-by-step pictures...

He even worked in the dark...

Don't mind the chalk all over the side! Hopefully we will get a little rain soon. This is pretty much the finished project. The only thing he has left to do is wrap the footings. Isn't it awesome?!?!

I'm pretty sure that he is addicted now to building projects. He is walking around with his head hung low, he's lost his appetite, and I might have heard a little whimper coming from his side of the bed last night.....almost like he has lost his best friend. I give it two months before he has come up with a new building project. :)

What we've been up to.

2010-07-15T18:19:00.001-05:00

Well, since the last time I posted, we found out that we are expecting baby number two!! This pregnancy has been so much different than my first. I have been WAY more tired, and WAY more hungry this time around. I am almost through the first trimester, and am praying that I get a little energy back in a couple of weeks.

We had our first ultrasound today. This is our baby at 12 wks. Heart-rate 168.

We went on vacation to Myrtle Beach last month with some very dear friends, Jared and Casey Cox. We have been talking about vacationing for more than 10 years, and finally got around to doing it!

Enjoying the Beach

Sandcastles with Dad

Addi and Christian

We have also made about a million trips to the zoo. Addi gets so excited the second we pull into the parking lot. She has decided that giraffes and monkeys are her favorite animals. (Why does there have to be a five-mile walk to get around to see the giraffes anyway)

This guy was pretty entertaining. Right about this time, he started relieving himself. Totally made the day of about 10 little school-boys standing next to us.

Whoa. That is some crazy hair. Does everyone know about Will Rogers Park?? How is it that I have lived here my whole life and have never been to these gardens?? Absolutely gorgeous. If you have a good camera, you might just never leave. Seriously made me rethink my choice of profession.

Feeding ducks with cousin Payten

Masterpiece in the making. Poor thing....she is going to be devestated when her playroom is transitioned to the new nursery. Wah.

She does paint a pretty picture though.

Addi at her friend's birthday party

Loving her Gampa's homemade chicken noodle soup. This girl is so happy.

And this is what Richard has been up to. Building a pergola! You would think that he would have waited until it got a little cooler outside, but I'm not about to stop him. Please don't anyone tell him that it isn't normal to drink four quarts of gatorade and not pee. Okay, that maybe crossed the appropriate-line. I apologize...or maybe I don't.

Anyway, hope everyone is having a fun summer!!!

Yard work and veggies!!!

2010-05-26T17:39:00.002-05:00

This year, Rich promised me that he would build me a raised vegetable garden. Some of my best memories growing up were the times I spent with my grandparents, harvesting vegetables ALL summer long. There's something about being able to go produce-shopping, right in your backyard!

So, here was the finished product. I wish that I had taken pictures during the building process...but I didn't, so just get over it. This picture was taken in March.

This picture was taken this afternoon. We are growing broccoli, yellow bell-peppers, jalepenos, and several types of tomatoes.

Well hello there...

Holy Broccoli!! These guys are HUGE!

Sorry guys, you're headed to the steamer. You will be eaten very shortly.

Can anyone guess what this is????

Summer-time makes me SO happy. Scratch that...sunshine and flowers make me SO happy!

I have gone crazy this year with the Knock-out Roses.

We have these planted all over the yard.

Mmmm...Gerber Daisies. My favorite.

But these are a close second!

"Sit down Gi-mo, and let me read you a story!"

2010-05-19T10:22:00.000-05:00

Addi has become extremely bossy these days when it comes to wanting to "read" other people stories. Poor Gizmo (Gi-mo in Addi-language) takes one for the team pretty frequently.

Here he is waiting patiently. Apparently he wasn't close enough for her satisfaction...

"Come sit right here Gi-mo."

The story is riveting...I can assure you.

"Look, look, look Gi-mo!!"

Dude...I'm outta here!

I love this girl!!!

Why I love my husband??

2010-04-15T10:28:00.000-05:00

He took this...

And turned it into this...

Now if only we could get the girl to come inside!

Wish you were here...

2010-02-28T23:19:00.002-06:00

These are my two entries for Mandy's photo-contest this week. The theme is "Wish you were here".

This first picture was taken in Anchorage. We had just come in to port from an amazing cruise up the inside passage.

This picture was at sunset on the beach in Maui. By far, the most amazing vacation I have ever taken!! Can't wait to go back.

Ice storm...Sleep-over-style!

2010-02-20T21:06:00.007-06:00

I have lived in Oklahoma my entire life, and never have I seen a winter quite like this one. I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the winter-weather. I HATE to be cold. However, if it is going to insist on being 5 degrees outside, I would prefer it to at least be beautiful and white. Anyway, last month was my friend Mandy's birthday. She was totally bummed because her entire family was supposed to come in to town for a birthday celebration. Of course, Mother Nature seems to hate Mandy's birthday :) so much of her family were unable to make it that weekend.Rich and I both had the day off, so we decided to head over to Matt and Mandy's house to take her a birthday lunch, and play Scategories. For six hours, we played, ate, laughed, and continued to watch the sky fall! It was definitely becoming evident that the snow was NOT stoping anytime soon, so we decided that we should try to make it home and suggested that we move the party to our house. Before we knew it, we had a big Adult-sleep-over planned. I usually am not a very spontaneous person, but this was SO MUCH fun! Everyone got packed and ready to go, and we all headed back to our house.

I wish that I had taken more pictures from that night, but we laughed ALOT, and played Wii until 1am. All the babies went down great. Addi was so excited to have Viv and Vi in the next room! We all got up early the next morning (I say all...not Matt. He got up around noon or so. JK), and i made huevos ran cheros and muffins. We kept sending Viv in to the guest bed to drag Matt out of bed. It was pretty cute. Anyway, once he was finally up and around, he and Rich had the most brilliant idea. "Let's take off our shoes and socks and see if we can run all the way around the back yard". Let me remind you that there was 1 inch of ice and 6 inches of snow on the ground. Pretty ambitious, not very realistic. It was pretty amusing to watch.

Started out pretty cocky. You know, kind of strutting...

Quickly turned in to a run, and a bit of a whimper.

And then a full-out sprint.

Because they failed miserably in proving their masculinity in the snow, they resorted to physical contact. Pretty sure Matt won that one.

Viv and Addi had a blast dancing.

And then headed for bath-time.

Viv being such a good-helper.

After all the precipation finally ended, this is what we were left with.

Pretty, right??

Sat night, we finally were able to go out to celebrate miss Mandy's birthday. We went to Sumo which was YUMMY! Here is the delicious cake that we got for the birthday girl.

Addi very intent on watching the chef.

Matt and Mandy being silly, and trying to sneak in on my picture.

Aidan, Vivian and Addi...dancing and showing off for everyone.

The Birthday-girl hat.

The birthday-girl with her birthday-cake. It was AWESOME. We even had several random people come up to ask us about Katie's cakes. One guy even asked for a bite.

Anyway, that weekend was so much fun and spontaneous. I wish that I did things like this more often, and would encourage all of you to do the same. Hope you guys all had a wonderful February. I have so much more to blog about, but will have to save it for another time.

Photo Contest

2010-01-30T13:25:00.006-06:00

So, my friend Mandy is having a Photo-contest, and the theme is Birthdays. Now, I am no photographer, nor do I claim to be one. But everybody has some memorable birthday photos. These three pics are from Addi's first birthday...

Happy Birthday to you...
My first taste of cake.

Feeding the Dad.

So, head on over to Mandy's photo-blog to enter.

Who wants a haircut???

2010-01-27T20:53:00.002-06:00

This poor child. She is two and has never had a haircut before. When she was a baby, her hair started growing longer on the sides, than at the nape of her neck. I tried to convince myself that she had a natural "short in the back, drop down on the side" cut. Yeah right.

Anyway, the day finally came. I couldn't take one more day of these bangs.

She sat VERY still...

Had a VERY concerned look the entire time...

And then she got her first Dum-Dum!
And Mom cried just a little.

Hhmmm...

2010-01-18T20:08:00.002-06:00

That look like about a cup???

Does this mean I need to bake more often, or what???

Halloween 2009 (I know...this was SO last week!)

2009-11-07T16:19:00.003-06:00

I have to be honest. Sometimes I hate blogger. Why does it take so long to upload photos?? And why in the world does it upload them in the reverse order that you wanted??

I digress....

I finally present to you (in reverse order) Addi's first trick-or-treat and MRCC Fall Festival.

She had such a great time. She knew exactly why we were there, and didn't waste any time on small talk!

Daddy and his butterfly. See, wasting no time.

Kissing cousins

Just before the big-event.

Total concentration. She loved this art-project, and was so proud of her final masterpiece

Addi, Jaylen, and Vivian (otherwise known as the "triplets") 23 months

Addi and sister Viv

First time in our costume. We were a little nervous how she would respond to the something covering her head, but she LOVED it!

This was such a fun Halloween! Can't wait until next year!

Pumpkin Patch 2009

2009-10-05T18:48:00.004-05:00

I just love the fall! Rich and I met Mandy and her girls at the Pumpkin patch last week. We all had a great time. If you haven't been, I highly recommend it. They had a great little petting zoo and hay-ride. On the way out, you get to pick out your own little pumpkin.

Already telling secrets.

I love this guy!

Such a special friend and mommy.

Always a Daddy's girl

Addi's first time to see or touch farm-animals. We really should get out more.

My favorite kid in the whole-world!

How does a Dinosaur say Goodnight??

2009-08-15T12:52:00.003-05:00

This is Addi's favorite book to read before bed. She is so cute!! My favorite part is at the very end. It's hard to tell in the video, but she always leans in to kiss the dino. Sweetest girl ever!

Pitiful

2009-07-18T16:05:00.002-05:00

Is this not the most pitiful, hived up face you have ever seen???

Returning from hiatus...

2009-06-27T22:09:00.005-05:00

I know, I know...I am a horrible blogger. A lot has happened in the last two months to occupy more of my time. A few of you know that my husband was laid off work at the beginning of May. He had been with Hertz for 10 years. This came as a huge shock to us, but we are doing okay. For the time being, he has decided to take this time to stay home with Addisyn. So far it has worked out wonderful, but we definitely covet your continued thoughts and prayers during this transition in our lives.

On a lighter note, we are all happy, healthy, and enjoying every moment that we have watching our little girl grow!! She is incredible! May and June were crazy at our house. Since coming back from our vacation in May, I have hosted 3 baby-showers. We also celebrated my birthday, our 10 year wedding anniversary, and father's day. And just to make things a tad more complicated, our hospital shifted to Electronic Medical Records on June 1st (if you have ever experienced this transition, you will appreciate the stress that is involved!). It has been a super-stressful couple of months. Again...would love your prayers.

Here are some sweet pictures of Addi and her friends over the last couple of months. I promise that I will try to be better at blogging this summer!

Addi and Viv enjoying a little Orange Tree

Having fun at the Paseo Arts Festival waiting for Matt to play!

Viv playing in the backyard

The Triplets and their Mommy's at 18 mos

Feelin' pretty smooth

Sidewalk chalk, and crazy hair!

Bathtime with sister-Viv

This video is too cute!

The longest picture-post ever.

2009-05-24T04:02:00.007-05:00

The long awaited Myrtle Beach/Hilton Head pictures! We had an amazing time. Addi did great! The weather was perfect! We seriously never wanted to come home. The only glich we ran into was missing our connecting flight in Atlanta on our way home, which turned into a four-hour layover in the dreaded Atlanta airport. Made ten times worse by me accidentally dropping Addi's sippy-cup while trying to make a mad-dash off the first plane. A one-year old without a sippy-cup = Unhappiness. Thank goodness we sprung for the portable DVD player before we left! Elmo....you saved us. Anyway, hope you enjoy the pictures.

Addi waiting so patiently for our plane Addi - Not drinking Coke Zero

Loving the ocean-view She could have stayed here all day.

First trip to the beach.

A rare moment that she actually WANTED to be held.

This was the lazy-river in our hotel. We seriously floated for two hours one day. So fun!

Happy girl.

Myrtle Beach

Savannah

Up to no good.

Gorgeous

Savannah

Interactive Chidren's Museum

Sea Pines

Will someone please make me this pizza??

Hilton Head, SC

Sand sculpture

Am I the only one??

2009-04-23T14:40:00.002-05:00

Surely I can't be the only one that this has happened to. Last week I was looking for a new pressed foundation, and came upon this new brand being sold at Target. Super-cute packaging (makes a difference, right??), catchy brand-name (I'm sure, directly proportional to the quality of the product!). Funny though...no where to be found were any prices for any of the Pixi products. I usually use Mary Kay, which is generally $14 or so. Surely this would be in the same price-neighborhood...surely. So, without a second-thought, I took my one and ONLY purchase up to check out.
The cashier happily informs me "That will be $37.93 ma'am"
Are you serious?? $40 for pressed foundation from Target? And of course, now there about 5 people behind me in line. Needless to say, I swallowed my pride, and informed the cashier that I would be passing on the super-cutely-package, catchy-brand-name foundation. But what I'm still irritated about is this...
If Target is going to choose to start carrying better quality cosmetics, please do us all a favor (and save us some embarassment) by at least listing the price on the shelf. I have been to two other Targets since this happened, and NONE of them have prices on the Pixi products. So annoying.

Advice Needed please

2009-04-18T20:05:00.002-05:00

Hey guys. I am needing your help. Rich and I are going on vacation in a few weeks. This will be the first vacation that we've been on with Addisyn. Anyway, I am already getting so stressed out about the logistics of traveling with an 18 month old. To start, we will be flying and renting a car at our destination. Should we bring our own carseat?? If so, how do you go about checking a carseat? Do we need to put it in a box of some sort, or what?? Next, I am terrified that my child will be the one that everyone dreads sitting next to on the plane. What kind of tips do you have, for keeping an 18 mo old happy and quiet during a flight?? Finally, should we just plan on using a crib provided by our hotel? She has never slept in bed with us, and we are pretty determined to not start the habit now.
Any advice from all of you mommies would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance.

Easter!!

2009-04-14T00:17:00.003-05:00

If you haven't yet become friends with a great photographer, I highly recommend it! Thanks Mandy ! These were some of my favorites...

I realize that Addi is not smiling in this picture, but it was the only one with both of us, in which she wasn't scowling or looking away from the camera. Come on Addi...if you're going to be a celebrity, you're going to have to start loving the camera a little more!

All the things we love today

2009-04-05T14:41:00.003-05:00

Addi is 16 1/2 months and getting cuter and cuter everyday! These are just some of the things that she is doing, that make us fall in love everyday...
1. We adore the fact that you will scoot your little bottom across the hardwood floor and yell, "Wee!!"
2. Anytime we give you a tissue, you make a point to clean not only your own nose, but anyone else's in the room.
3. You absolutely LOVE Elmo, and will stop dead in your tracks when you hear "Elmo's World".
4. You get so excited anytime you see a frog, and will say "Wibbet".
5. You still love to be held and loved on.
6. You love to give kisses and will even take time to kiss all of your toys before bed.
7. You absolutely love being outside, and it is nearly impossible to get you to come back in.
8. I love that you know when something is trash, and will bring it to us to have it thrown away.
9. I love that you love to be chased, and that you love it when your daddy jumps out to "scare" you. The surprise on your face is priceless! I have NO idea who you inherited this from.
10. I love that you know how to smell the flowers.
11. It is so sweet when you want to touch Daddy's "stickers" on his face.
12. You are such a good helper! Thank you for helping mommy and daddy clean-up all your toys.
13. I love it that your first two-syllable word was "el-bow", and pointed to mommy's as I was changing your diaper one morning.
14. You are still such an awesome sleeper!! You sleep 12 hours every night!!
15. We love your sweet laugh, and love that you love to be tickled so we can hear it all the time.

You are such a blessing Addisyn. You bring so much joy to all who know you, and have the privledge to be around you. Thank you for being such a bright star in our lives. We love you so much bigger than our small words can tell you.

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

"I dunno"

2009-03-28T10:32:00.003-05:00

"I dunno." My child's first phrase. Not "I love you". Not "good morning" or "night-night". We have no idea where she learned this, but anytime we ask her a question, the answer is a quick shoulder-shrug and "I dunno". Pretty cute.

Picture update

2009-03-23T10:04:00.002-05:00

Such a Daddy's girl
Pigtails!!

I swear, this is not how we provide her milk

Always happy...

Spaghettio's

Sister Viv with me at the zoo

Lunch date with Viv

Time's up...

2009-03-03T22:27:00.002-06:00

This is my latest love-affair. And the subject of my last blog. Elizabeth was right! The glass full of nasty black water was from a "once-over" in the living room. Okay, seriously guys...I know what you are thinking. You are probably thinking that our carpet must be a hundred years old, and that we must be dirty, disgusting people. Well, we're not, and our house is actually only two years old! I was totally amazed/disgusted by what I vacuumed up! Anyway, this was the best Valentines Day present ever! Thanks honey!

Any guesses??

2009-02-28T22:34:00.003-06:00

I'll give you a hint...

It's not something to drink.

Don't judge me...

2009-02-11T15:10:00.001-06:00

for eating an entire quart of Jan's spicy pickles in less than 24 hours. I feel terrible....and strangely, a little swollen.

Seriously???

2009-02-01T19:52:00.003-06:00

So, I was driving home this evening after a super-long day in the ER. Decide that I am starving, and would love nothing more, than an order of Ted's fajitas. I called to place my order to go at about 6:30...
Me: "Hi. I'd like to place an order to go, please."
Teds phone guy: "We're sorry ma'am. We closed this evening at 5pm."
Me: "What??? What in the world for??"
Teds guy: "Um ma'am, it's the super-bowl."
Me: "Surely you're joking, right? You've got to be kidding me."
Teds guy: "Our families want to watch the super-bowl too, ma'am."

Ugh!! Are you serious! Who closes down a whole restaurant for the super-bowl??? I am so annoyed!!

My newest trick...

2009-01-18T10:08:00.003-06:00

Baby Tag!

2009-01-15T02:45:00.005-06:00

I'm beginning to like these tags...they seem to spice up my boring blog-life! Got this one from a friend of mine, so here it goes:

1. Were you married at the time? Yep, for 8 years.

2. What were your reactions when you found out you were pregnant? We were ecstatic and crying! We had been waiting for 2 years to see that second pink line!

3. How old were you? I was 30, Rich was 33

4. How did you find out? At home, by myself, getting ready for a night-shift in the ER. It was Friday, which was my obligatory "pee on a stick day". Every one always tells me that when it is positive, it will be positive right away. Mine wasn't. I threw it in the trash and two hours later, when I was about to leave for work, I just happened to check one more time...

5. Who did you tell first? Rich. But I had to wait about 10 hours until my shift was over. It killed me!

6. Did you want to find out the sex? Of course! I think it is great when people want to wait, but for our first, I wanted to either be Blue or Pink!

7. Due date? Nov 22, 2007 (Thanksgiving day)

8. Did you deliver late or on time? 3 days early

9. Did you have morning sickness? Not at all. I feel like God blessed me in this department, for being so patient in the making :)

10. What did you crave? Chips and Salsa...everyday! My dad's pinto-beans. Ice-cream

11. Who/what irritated you the most? Random people/patients that would touch my belly. And I had a very short fuse with multiple family-members/co-workers. I got irritated pretty easily. Sorry if I bit your head off!

12. What was your first child's sex? a girl :)

13. How many pounds did you gain throughout pregnancy? 26 lbs. I seemed to gain almost all in the first two trimesters, so I was scared to death at what I would look like at delivery!

14. Did you have any complications during pregnancy? OMG, I was soooo swollen after week 20! And towards the end, had to have several NST's because smalls was either not moving, or had a very low heart-rate a few times. Scared me to death!

15. Where did you give birth? Lakeside Womens Hosp

16. How many hours were you in labor? About 4, then the dreaded C-section!

17. Who drove you to the hospital? Rich

18. Who watched? well, Rich saw what he could while sitting "above the curtain"

19. Was it natural or c-section? C-section. This was not planned. Addi started having heart decelerations pretty early on and right about noonish, lost her heartbeat all together during an intense contraction. They had her out twelve minutes later. It is amazing what they can do in emergency situations!

20. Did you take medication to ease the pain? Yes.

21. How much did your child weigh? 6 lbs, 11 oz

22. Did your child have any complications? She was pretty perfect. Her APGAR's were 7 and 9. Although we did realize the next morning that she was a bit "tongue-tied". Her pedi came right in and clipped her without any problems.

23. What did you name her? Addisyn Alyse

24. How old is your first born today? 4 days shy of 14 months!!

Okay, I tag Mandy, Melody, Shelby, Katie

A little late...

2009-01-09T20:05:00.003-06:00

So, I have been notified by the Blogging-police that my account is delinquent, and will be shut down if I don't update immediately. We have been super-busy lately! I know that is no excuse! I somehow find time everyday to stalk all of you, but never take the time to update my own. Selfish, I know. So, here are some fun pictures of the last three weeks or so... Our pretty Christmas-dress that we never actually got to wear to church, because were all throwing our toe-nails up!!
Christmas morning with cousin-Payten!!

Grandpa teaching his girls to play the piano.This was adorable. I went in to check on Addi while she was napping yesterday, and all I could see were her little hands. Scared me to death until I heard her snoring :)

Play date with sister-Vivian. Look how tall Viv is!

Cousin-Payten got this fun ball-house for Christmas. Addi had so much fun throwing all the balls out onto the floor.

My favorite girl in the world!!!

Oh...guess I got tagged

2008-12-16T11:46:00.003-06:00

Thanks Mandy! Never been tagged before, so here it goes.

8 shows I watch:
1. Survivor
2. Amazing Race
3. Criminal Minds
4. Biggest Loser
5. Desperate Housewives
6. Grey's
7. Closer
8. American Idol (Bring it on baby!!)

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Boulevard Steakhouse
2. The Mantel
3. 501 Cafe
4. Nikkellette's
5. Chili's
6. Ted's
7. Panera Bread
8. Texas Roadhouse

8 Things That Happened Today:
(Nothing has happened yet today, so I will tell you about my weekend)
1. Drove 7 hours with 7 people (including my 1 year old) crammed into a Minivan down to Galveston, Texas
2. Spent 3.5 hours crammed into a tiny room with thousands of other people, while the Coast Guard was doing a random inspection of the cruise ship.
3. Got totally stressed out.
4. Finally boarded the Voyager of the Seas
5. Had 25 min to help the bride get ready.
6. Ran up to the Chapel on Deck 15
7. Witnessed the fastest wedding ceremony in the history of time.
8. Got shuffled off the ship twenty minutes later. (Anyone thinking about having their wedding on board a cruise ship....I hope you are rethinking right about now!)

8 Things I look Forward To:
1. Christmas morning with Rich and Addi (although I am working until 2 am that morning!! Ugh!)
2. Getting my bonus check today!! Woo-hoo!!
3. Watching the National Championship game
4. The Biggest Loser Finale
5. Seeing my mom again in Heaven
6. Going on a vacation!!
7. Spending time with friends
8. Being pregnant

8 Things I wish for:
1. Addi to love Jesus
2. Interest rates to continue to drop
3. The economy to turn around
4. Contined good health for my family
5. My brother and new sis-in-law to have a wonderful honeymoon, despite the chaos of their wedding
6. Another baby!!
7. A raise
8. More time with Addi and Rich

Last Wednesday...

2008-12-09T16:38:00.004-06:00

Vivian got to come over to play with Addi! They had so much fun together. The highlight of the afternoon...Viv teaching Addi how to climb up onto the fireplace. Here is the evidence of this event...

One leg...Two legs... Seriously, it took Addi about 5 min to finally get up, and Viv was on her way back down!
Victory!!
Finally a few pictures together After Viv left, Rich and I got ready to go to my annual ER physician/PA Christmas party. It was our first date-night (sans Addi) in a very long time. We went to eat at Coach House and then to an after-party at one of our physician's house. It was so much fun!

Smile!!

2008-12-05T22:21:00.003-06:00

We recently took Addi for her one-year photos with my friend Mandy Stansberry. She did an amazing job! If you haven't had any holiday-pics taken yet this year, I would highly recommend contacting her! Thanks Mandy! Here are some of our favorites...

The Big One!!!

2008-11-15T18:18:00.005-06:00

We had Addi's first birthday-party today! I can't believe our little tiny girl is going to be a year old next week! The party was so much fun. But just as I expected, my little neat-freak child did not want anything to do with the cake! It was a great time. Thanks to all my family and friends who helped to make this day so special! And a big "thank you" to Sada! She loves the chair!

P.S. Please do not judge me by my father/spouse's attire! I am definitely a Sooner-girl. And please don't ask why I am wearing a Princeton-shirt. I just thought it was cute. That's all.

Money well spent

2008-10-28T14:48:00.002-05:00

Addi was playing with my cell-phone on the floor today, when I heard my text message alert. This is what my message said, "AT&T Free Message - Thank u 4 ur purchase! Go to Menu>Mystuff to find ur game." Hmmm...I'm sure that will be a useful purchase. Silly girl.

I love this girl!!!

2008-10-04T02:21:00.002-05:00

Signs that make you drive off the road.

2008-09-29T15:27:00.004-05:00

Seriously, is anyone else at all bothered by this??

Morning Woods??!! Are you kidding me??

This neighborhood is on the corner of Danforth and Coltraine.

Seriously, what were they thinking???

2 beers and 2 dudes...

2008-09-17T07:36:00.003-05:00

I am always entertained by the excuses/stories that people come up with in the ER. I can't tell you how many times we here, "I've only had two beers" or "I was minding my own business when these two dudes came out of nowhere" or "I must have picked that up from a toilet-seat". We get a kick out of the stories we here. But every once in a great while, we will get a patient that actually tells the truth. This is a story about that patient...

This past weekend, I was working the early shift. About 6:30 am, EMS encodes with an "unresponsive male" in his mid-twenties. Several minutes later, they arrive with one such guy, who has obviously had way too much fun the night before. The guy reeks of alcohol, and finally starts waking up after a one-time dose of Narcan (reversal agent for Opiate medication). Anyway, the more time that goes by, the more this guy starts to reveal his antics from that night. And surprisingly, he is actually a pretty nice, and very funny guy. He admits to drinking very heavily (and in fact, his blood alcohol level was 0.34 which is more than 4x the legal limit), as well as doing several different street-drugs. Okay, fast-forward several minutes...the guy is getting rolled back from getting a CT scan of his head and sees me talking to a police officer that apparently, he knows on a first-name basis. This is how the rest of the story plays out...

Patient: "Heeey (in a super-inebriated voice), Officer Smith"
Smith turns to me and in a very confused voice says, "Who the heck is that guy?"
I assumed that Smith must have had multiple run-ins with this guy, but after explaining the situation to him, he still can not figure out who this patient is, or why he would know him.
A few minutes, the curiosity is killing Smith, so he goes into the room and says, "Hey man, did you just say 'Officer Smith' out there??"
Patient: "Yeah man....don't you remember me??"
Smith: "honestly, no."
Patient: "Duuuuude. You taught my D.A.R.E. program."
Surprised Smith: "Man! What are you doing here?!"
Patient: (laughing now) "you didn't do a good job, man. you didn't do a good job"

Q is for...Q-tip!!!

2008-09-04T12:44:00.004-05:00

First let me say, love them! Use them EVERY SINGLE day. Don't know what I would do without this beautifully constructed piece of cotton...

Okay, there! I said it. Please don't tell any of the ENT's that I have to call on a semi-daily basis! They would be so disappointed, because doesn't EVERYONE know, that you are not supposed to put anything "smaller than your elbow" into your ear canal. Yeah, yeah, yeah, heard it a million times. But, I must admit that I have a very hard time passing on advice, that I myself cannot accept.

In the past four years, I have seen just about anything that is smaller than a marble, get stuck in the ear. Here is a short-list of some of my treasures: erasers, roaches, watch battery, pinto bean, necklace-bead, and last but not least (and definitely the prize-winner for "most-commonly-not-making-it-out-of-an-ear-canal", and thus the reason for this post) is the dreaded Q-Tip head. In the beginning, I really did start questioning my relationship with Q-Tips. I felt totally duped into believing that Q-Tips were actually there to help me. And you know what, for a little while, our friendship really did start to suffer. Until one day, I decided to do a little research on my patients coming in with "Q-Tips" in their ears. You know what I found??? They weren't really "Q-Tips" at all....no my friends, they were "cotton tipped swabs".

Seriously, I always ask now, and the answer is always, "generic Q-Tips". Hallelujah!!! It was a beautiful-reunion, and I have never questioned my Q-Tips since. So, back to the advice I now give my patients, and the advice I will pass on to you...

I love Q-Tips. I will never stop using them. If you are going to use them, they are to be used everyday. Not once a week, not every two weeks (this just causes severe wax-impaction in the back of the ear-canal). And please, please, please....do not pinch-pennies when it comes to these. Buy the real-thing.

P is for...Posing!!

2008-08-21T18:08:00.004-05:00

Addi is hysterical these days!! Until the last couple of weeks, every time we got out the camera, she would totally clam-up. We would have to hide to try to get a good picture. Now, she is a total ham! She can't get enough of the camera! She is so much fun!! We took her in today for her 9 mo check up. She is 17 lbs 8 oz (just under the 25%), and 27 inches long (50%). We were all set to get her ears pierced this morning, but Cathy (Dr Stephens Nurse Practitioner) was out of the office :( Anyway, hope you enjoy the pictures!!

O is for...Oooooo-U!

2008-08-13T13:40:00.003-05:00

Just 17 more days!! Woo-hoo! Anyone that knows me, knows that I am a HUGE fan of my Sooners! Fall is the best time of year in my book!! I love everything about Football Saturdays. The anticipation, the Norman traffic, listening to Al and "Charlton Heston", the parties, kickoff. Man, just breathing the Norman-air on game day is an experience! Rich and I have been fortunate enough to have season-tickets for the last several years, but decided (reluctantly) to sell our tickets this year :( So, football-saturday will Now be starting at 9am (College Gameday), every week at the Walker household! We like to have a lot of football parties, so anyone who knows how to sing Boomer-Sooner, is welcome!!

Boomer-Sooner Baby!!

N is for...No Turning Back!!

2008-07-27T05:20:00.007-05:00

Bingo!! After all this time of trying to force-feed my child, we finally hit the jack-pot! She wants table-food! Look at that face! This is the first bite of a grilled-cheese sandwhich, and the girl looks like she just won the lottery! So funny! So, table-food it is. She loves fish, chicken, sandwich-meat and cheese.
Here are a few more pictures to keep you up to date.

My favorite duckling.
Totally worn-out from the jumper!
Daddy with sheep on head...
Baby with sheep on head.
Just a sweet picture.
This picture makes me smile. Addi has discovered that she can totally entertain herself for some time, by admiring her own reflection. This week, I was in the kitchen making dinner, and Addi found the stainless-steel trash can. True to form, she was good for about twenty minutes or so...

Love you guys!

M is for...Muffin Top!!

2008-07-24T14:18:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I always rely on my friend Kam, to keep me updated on the latest trends...including lingo. A few days ago, she mentioned the term "muffin top", and couldn't believe that I had never heard it. So, I consulted UrbanDictionary.com, and this is what I learned:
"Muffin-Top is a word used to describe the strange and bizarre waist scrunching effect that results when females wear tight fitting, low-rise/hip-hugger pants along with small-sized, navel exposing, mid-riff tops."
Sure enough...it does look like a muffin-top...

And no, this is not a picture of me!!

L is for...Longitudinally Challenged

2008-07-21T03:25:00.002-05:00

Does anyone else think that it is super awkward when someone that you don't even know by name, tries to "tease" you?? I'm short...I realize that. And I am not at all, sensitive about it. Haven't been since...I don't know...second grade or so. I have heard every short-joke in the world, and am usually pretty quick to "zing" back, in a hilarious sort of way. Heck, half the time, I am telling short-jokes on myself. But yesterday at work, this paramedic (that I swear I have never seen before) yells across the ER, "Hey Amy, did you shrink a few inches since the last time I saw you??" I wasn't offended. Just totally annoyed. At least introduce yourself to me first, so I will feel comfortable making fun of your momma, in response!! I just kind of gave a quick courtesy-laugh, and went on my way. Totally took the fun out of it! Does this sort of thing annoy anyone else??

K is for...Kapalua Beach!

2008-07-14T03:53:00.005-05:00

So, it is 3:50 in the morning. I have to be in the ER in 2 hours, which is approximately how much sleep I have had tonight. Oh the joy of a teething 8 month old at 2 am. I guess that's what I get for bragging tonight about what a great sleeper my baby-girl is! Oh Lord, please let me close my eyes, and wake up back on our little secluded beach in Maui!!

J is for...Junk!!

2008-07-09T10:01:00.002-05:00

I'm sure that all of you have seen the endless commercials for this product, and I'm sure that I am not the only one who, despite having Never ordered ANYTHING off an infomercial, could not resist the genius of "the egg". I'm here to tell you....It's junk. I was sooo disappointed! So ladies, stick with the pedicures. Don't succumb to the allure of the infomercial!!

I is for...I can't believe she is 7 months!!!

2008-06-18T19:20:00.004-05:00

Time is going by way too fast! I can't believe how much Addi changes on a daily basis! She is crawling all over the place now. You know, I have been so excited for the day that Addi started crawling, and now that she is in full-swing, I am a little freaked out and realize how much more cautious I have to be. Case in point, I had her in the bathroom with me while I was putting on my make-up yesterday and before I knew it, the child was chewing on the cord to the blow-dryer (which of course was plugged in...please don't call DHS on me!!)

I love this picture. This is Addi and Payten with Grandpa (my dad). He loves his girls!!

Our first biter-biscuit. She still doesn't have any teeth yet, but man can she gum those biscuits!!
Aunt Kathleen with her nieces...
Addi's new toy. She loves to walk holding on to this.
And this is my best friend Shelby, with her baby-girl, Kylie. Kylie and Addi WILL be best-friends. They just don't know it yet. :)

Oh no he didn't!!

2008-06-13T09:37:00.004-05:00

So, Addi and I were at Sams on Wednesday. Totally minding my own business, when this little old man shuffled right over to me and said, "You know, I disagree with children having children." Are you kidding me?!?! I was totally shocked! I finally managed to say, "Well, it's a good thing then, that I am not a child." He just kind of smirked, and shuffled away. Why do old men have to be so crotchety?? Oh well...If I were a child though, I might have stolen his walker...

H is for...Happy Anniversary!!

2008-06-10T10:17:00.002-05:00

Last Wednesday, Rich and I celebrated our 9th anniversary!! (Only 9 years??? Seems like an e-t-e-r-n-i-t-y) Okay, totally kidding there. I cannot believe how fast time has flown, and how much our relationship has changed. We have been through so much together! We have back-packed through Europe, played on the beaches of Maui, snorkled in the Carribean, cruised the inside passage of Alaska, and dined in Times Square. Yes, we have had so many amazing times together. But none more amazing than sharing in the birth of our daughter last fall!! We have truly been best-friends and partners. He is my rock. And I cannot imagine life without this man!!!

G is for...Growing Girl

2008-06-03T08:40:00.003-05:00

Hey guys! Sorry it has taken me so long to post again! Addi had her 6 mo check up a couple of weeks ago. She weighed in at 15 lbs 2 oz (25 percent) and was 25.5 inches long (50 percent). She has started crawling, but hasn't yet figured out how to pull up on things. We have started trying to feed her baby food, which has been a challenge each and every time! I can't figure out if she doesn't like it, or if she is just not ready for it. She is looking more and more like her Daddy everyday. Rich had the nerve to joke with me that she had "her Momma's thigh's", like this was supposed to make me feel better about my contribution to the genetic-pool! Great...she is going to be a fair-skinned, red-head with hail-damaged "thunder-thighs" (my gymnastics coaches "affectionately" gave me this nickname in junior high. Perfect for a young girls self-confidence :). Hopefully she will forgive me someday :)

I left Addi on the floor in her bedroom to grab the phone, and came back to find her wedged underneath the changing table. And there is Gizmo, hoping she will spit up at any moment. Why are dogs so disgusting???
Addi with her cousin Payten, playing together after our Memorial Day bbq
Our first time in the high-chair!
Okay, this bathtub is SO much fun. It is the perfect size, has a drain in the bottom, and quacks when you squeeze its beak!! Love it!!
And this is our first trip to the pool. She didn't get to spend much time in the water, because Mom has not yet had the courage to dawn the bikini. Plus, I think I saw a sign that said "please keep hail-damage to a minimum". Oh well, guess I'm out :)
But Addi had a good time anyway. She got to sit on the steps and splash around. We are working on getting Mom back into a bathing suit!!

F is for...Falling Turkeys and Forward Movement!

2008-05-20T17:42:00.006-05:00

Somehow, my very creative husband figured out that he could entertain Addi for hours by simply dropping things on the floor. Hopefully this form of entertainment is just a temporary phase! Addisyn has a toy that we call the "turkey" because it looks like the NBC mascot. She thinks it is hysterical to see it fall to the floor.

Yesterday, Addi turned 6 mos old. She is changing every day! I know that this next video will not be nearly as exciting to anyone else as it is to me. But I just had to capture this moment when I got home from work last night. She is definitely on the move!

E is for...Eyes!!

2008-05-18T01:39:00.006-05:00

So, many of you who have met my daughter have asked the same question..."What color are those eyes??" Well, I guess we must be bad parents, because we still haven't been able to figure this out. It is hard for us to get a great picture, but this is best shot I could get. I don't know, maybe you guys can figure it out...

In other news, the "triplets" will be 6 mos old tomorrow!!! Happy half-birthday to Addisyn, Jaylen, and Vivian!! Melody and Mandy~we have got to get the girls together to get some pictures! It still kills me that we did not get one in the hospital!

Addi has her 6 mo appt with Dr Stephens this week. She continues to amaze us with how she changes on a daily basis now! She has been sitting up for almost a month, and is SO close to "organized" crawling! She gets from here-to-there by scooting, and lunging herself forward. She laughs all the time and makes every attempt to get BOTH feet in her mouth at the same time. No, she did not learn this from her mom! Here are a few more pics to enjoy...

D is for....Derailed!!

2008-05-06T16:23:00.006-05:00

Okay, so when I started this blog, I just knew that the only thing that I would ever think to blog about would be Addisyn. Well, something happened yesterday at work that I just had to share with you...

So, I pick up a patient-chart of an adult-male. The chief-complaint says "Sore throat". Aw...easy. Should be in and out. So, I trot myself in the room, take a brief history, tell the patient that he indeed has a monster-case of tonsilitis, as well as an ear infection. I let him know that antibiotics should clear him right up, and I'm half-way out the door when I hear the dreaded phrase, "Oh, by the way doc...". Those of you in the medical field know that this is NEVER good, and almost ALWAYS involves a close inspection of the "nether-regions". I feel that inevitable shudder, and I slowly close the door again.

The patient proceeds to tell me, "I think I might have the Herp". The silent bubble above my head screaming "Ugh...I knew it!"
Me: "okay sir, let me step out of the room while you get undressed. Here is a gown. I need you to undress from the waist down, and I will be back in just a moment."
Okay, so fast-forward five minutes or so. I grab my nurse to come assist me with this exam. Walk in the room, and I swear to you, the patient is standing there, butt-naked with the exception of his cowboy boots, and ten-gallon cowboy-hat! I was so caught off guard, and lost for words, that before I could stop myself I had said, "Oh...(long pause) do you keep those boots on for everything?"!!! Can you believe that! I turned like, five shades of red! What an idiot!

I apologize for the incredibly poor taste of this blog, but I just had to share with all of you, my ultimate patient faux-paux. Have a great-day guys!

C is for...Cake!!

2008-05-01T10:35:00.003-05:00

Last Saturday was my niece's 1st birthday party! I can't believe how fast time has flown! It seems like yesterday, that this 2 lb. 8 oz. baby-girl decided that she just couldn't wait another 8 weeks to come into this world. Although very tiny, she surprised us all with her daily progress. She spent the first 6 wks in the NICU, but has spent the last year making us all smile! She is precious. Happy birthday Payten!

B is for...Bathtime!!!

2008-04-25T06:57:00.003-05:00

Addi loves the bath!! Tubby-time always starts with 10 minutes or so, of just kicking around, playing with toys, and laughing! It has become much more of a fun-time, than a necessity. Just a side note, I can't believe how big this girl is getting! I can't believe that she is already five months old. It's funny how different events will bring back past memories, and how everything happening around this time, reminds me of when we first learned of our pregnancy....i.e. March Madness, the Arts Festival, the birth of my niece (1 year ago today...happy birthday Payten), and Mother's Day. It's incredible how fast time flies, and how much has changed in just 1 year. We love our life!

A is for....Addi-girl (of course it is. what else would it be?)!

2008-04-18T20:54:00.007-05:00

Becoming a mother is the most incredible gift I have EVER received. Addisyn is such a joy! She makes us so happy to be alive. And watching Rich with her has made me fall in love all over again. He is totally smitten.

Here are some pictures of Addi's first trip to the park. It was gorgeous outside this afternoon, which makes me so excited for this spring and summer. She loved the swing, which was such a surprise, because she has never really taken to the indoor-swing at home.

Anyway...being a mom is truly AMAZING!!! Seriously....the best job I have ever had.

Oh, and one more thing. Addi is bound and determined to start crawling! She has little rug-burns on her knees from rocking back and forth so much. I had to take a quick video to capture her efforts...

The sweetest sound I ever heard...

2008-04-15T14:02:00.004-05:00

It is impossible to watch this video and not smile! It gets better towards the end, but I have yet to figure out how to splice small parts of videos. She is so awesome!

Jumping on the band-wagon

2008-04-13T15:55:00.005-05:00

So, today we have decided to join the blogging-world. This is officially, my very first attempt at blogging, so forgive me if it is lame...

On November 19, 2007, Rich and I were blessed with Addisyn. She is amazing, and the main reason that we suddenly feel the urge to blog! So today, I will share with you some pictures from our journey through the last 4.5 months.

Our first glimpse. After a brief-scare, and an emergency c-section, we were so thankful to hear that first cry!!

I can't believe she was ever this tiny!!
My favorite part of the day!
How could you not love this face!!

My first cereal encounter...