THANKSGIVING

This year was very special because I hosted Thanksgiving for my family. I have never hosted a holiday event so I was determined to make it an event to remember. I cooked almost all the food myself and Joey fried the turkey! We had a couple pie dough catastrophes, but all in all it was fun cooking together. My menu included homeade citrus cranberry sauce, sausage stuffing, cream corn, green beans and sauteed mushrooms, sweet potatoe casserole, fried turkey, apple and pecan pie and a pumpkin/gingerbread trifle. I felt like I all I did was cook and clean up constantly for 24 hours straight but it was worth it. My family had a great time and the food was yummy!

     Frying the turkey takes lots of hard work...

 The finished product...yum!

    The table

 Addison's first Thanksgiving...She doesn't look thrilled

The Zoo

We took a a trip to San Antonio the Sunday and Monday before Thanksgiving to hang out with my family and to take Addison to the zoo. Sunday night we met up with Joey's parents and family to eat at the Rainforest Cafe. This was especially fun for my nephew who was excited to see all the animals in the restaurant! Meanwhile, Addison and her cousin had a good time dancing on the table and taking trips to check out the fish tank. At one point Addison got so into the music she bopped her head on the table! The kids were hilarious throughout dinner and everyone had a really great time!! The next day was the zoo. Addison was all smiles at the start of the trip. She liked watching the big grizzly bear and she was very interested in all the pink flamingos. However, later she got pecked by a bird in the aviary and then rammed by a goat in the petting zoo area which was not very fun! The girl has no fear...She just wanted to touch all the animals! Hopefully we didn't traumatize her too much!!

                                                          Hanging out at the Riverwalk

                                                     Wild woman at the Rainforest Cafe!

                                                               All Smiles at the Zoo

                                             Admiring the bird (before it bird pecked her!)

                                                               Petting the baby goats

8 Months!

Our little girl is now 8 months old and time is flying by so fast. She has had a cold for the last two weeks and has also been teething so needless to say...I haven't been very good at blogging lately! Here a few updates:

1. Her favorite toy is a my little pony and a baby doll. She loves to play with the pony's hair and she of course tries to chew on it. The my little pony goes everywhere with us. She also loves playing with the baby doll. She hugs it and gives it kisses! It's very sweet. She is definitely all girl!

2. Addison is eating real food now! She can have tiny bites of our table food and chewy things like crackers, cheerios, and bread. She also likes to make noises while she is eating. She is a very loud eater. She also still has some weird eating habits. She loves vegetables and isn't as fond of fruit. This blows my mind. Fruit seems so much tastier!

3. Addison's favorite book is an animal touch and feel book. The duck is her favorite!! Everytime I make the "quack" noise...she lights up and reaches out for it! 

4. Addison has become quite efficient at the "army crawl". She can move around pretty well by scooting and using her hands to pull herself. We can no loner leave her without watching her!

5. Addison is getting really good at standing and taking steps. I think she will be walking before we know it! She loves to hang on to furniture and walk around. She bangs on the coffee table and chairs. She can stand by herself for a few seconds at a time and she can walk with a walker or with our help. She has very strong legs!

6. Addison LOVES her dad. She gets so excited when he comes in the door each evening. She often tries to "flirt" with him. It is so cute! She will "act shy" by turning her head and putting her hand in her mouth then turn back around with a big smile! Needless to say, she has him wrapped around her little finger :)

7. Addison loves to pull hair (especially her cousin's!). We have caught her doing this to other kids numerous times in Sunday School and last week she had her cousin, Brynn, in a headlock with her hands wrapped in her hair. I'm not sure what her fascination is, but it could be because she still doesn't have any hair of her own!!

8. Addison ran a fever for the first time last week. It was so pathetic and pitiful. Joey and I have never seen her so clingy and fussy! Yet, even though she was in a bad mood at times she was also very cuddly and wanted to just curl up on our shoulder and sleep. This was the first time I had seen my baby sick and it it made me so sad :(

An old friend...

So I was cleaning out the garage this week and found an old friend. This picture above should be a flashback for anyone who lived with me in 1610A !! If you are wondering what exactly this is....Here is the story: This old bank deposit box is from the Wells Fargo bank branch off Southwest Parkway in College Station. While depositing a check there my sophmore year I accidently drove off with the deposit cylinder. I will admit that I can be a bit absent minded at times! Anyway, this "stolen" cylinder became a joke in my apartment and although I had good intentions I never ended up returning it. Oddly enough this random piece of college nostalgia has survived 5 moves and is still in my possesion!! As I dug out old boxes and threw away junk I found it in the back of the garage. It brought back some great memories, but I probably should return it :)

Halloween

These pictures are way overdue!! However, I have had trouble with my internet lately and haven't been able to post them until this morning. We dressed Addison up as a butterfly and she loved her costume...although it was HOT! We really enjoyed being able to just sit outside and hang out with neighbors.

Mommy and Addison

Two Cousins

Butterfly, T-Rex, and Flower

Just me and dad...

Brynn grabbing my chubby cheeks!

When I am concentrating I stick out my tongue like dad!

My Cutie!

Always has a smile...

Handing out Candy!

7 Months!

Ok...so I know I haven't posted in a while! Sorry! I got into this state of mind where I felt like I had so much to write about that I just didn't have enough time to get it all down, and now I am at a point where I can't even remember what it was I wanted to write. Great! :)

Anyway, I felt like I needed some updates before Addison reaches 8 months so here goes...

-Addison has recently become a pretty picky eater. She did great when I started her on cereal but when we started on fruits and vegetables she suddenly decided to get finicky! I can only get her to eat vegetables!! (specifically green ones) She usually starts out with some cereal and peas for breakfast and then moves to green beans for lunch. Meanwhile I am gagging because it smells (and looks) disgusting. However, I might be to blame because it could all be tied to the large quantities of celery I ate when I was pregnant :)-such a random craving!

-Addison's new favorite toy is a balloon. She is mesmerized by them. We typically get one every week at the grocery store from the check out clerk and it will entertain her for hours. The only problem is that there is usually a sucker attached at one end. Last week she discovered it and somehow peeled back the plastic. I found her sucking on it a few minutes later! Needless to say we now detach the sucker.

-Addison can now sit up really well, but she is still not too interested in trying to crawl. She can get almost anywhere by rolling around so she isn't motivated to try something new. She is so lazy!! She does LOVE standing though and several times has tried to pull herself up. Sometimes I wonder if she will just skip the crawl stage.

-Addison has TWO bottom teeth and I think she may be cutting two more on the bottom. She is going to have a funny smile with a full set of teeth on the bottom and none on the top!

- Addison is a bundle of energy and can be very vocal at times. She was such a quiet baby that at times we wondered if she would ever make noise. Now she has no problems shouting out. One of our friends has affectionately termed it her "falcon call" because it sounds kind of like a bird squawking. We loved it and the name stuck :)

Fall Fun

When I was teaching I used to really look forward to Fridays. No matter how crazy my week had been if I could just make it to Friday I knew everything would be okay. Fridays were more laid back and I always tried to do something fun with my students. I sometimes miss the anticipation of Fridays now that all my days are spent at home, so I decided that even though I am no longer teaching I am still going try to do something new and fun with Addison each Friday. Today, we went to a pumpkin patch. We got up early this morning and went to a place right outside Marble Falls called Sweet Berry Farms. It was a very cute place with tons of pumpkins, hayrides, mazes and even some animals! It was the perfect fall day (minus the fact that it ended up being nearly 90 degrees!). We planned the trip with my sister in law and her kids which made it even more fun. Addison thoroughly enjoyed herself all day (but it is rare when she isn't all smiles!) She LOVED the animals and showed no fear around them. She let the baby goats lick her hand and she even pet the horses. They were her favorite. She shrieked with delight each time one of them came near. She continues to amaze me with her bold and adventurous personality. It brought joy to my heart to see her excitement whether is was watching her scrutinizing the pumpkins, bouncing up and down on the hay ride, or grabbing fistfuls of straw. She was constantly in motion! Overall, the kids loved petting some of the animals and enjoying the outdoors...however, they were less than thrilled with all the pictures! (and we took lots!) We knew we were pretty much trying to accomplish the impossible getting a 7 month old, 11 month old and 3 year old to all look at the camera at the same time (we figured that actually getting them to smile would just be a bonus!). We made weird noises, handed out cheerios, snapped fingers and clapped our hands...but I'm not sure if we ever ended up with a decent picture of all 3 cousins. Oh well! As we left we each picked out a pumpkin and we tried some of their ice cream (homeade strawberry and pumpkin) which was delicious! On the way home, everyone slept in the car. We were worn out :)

Addison's excited face after touching the horse (love the dimples!)

Addison loved the horses

Addison pets the baby goat

"This is so much fun!"

"Is this the last picture?"

Being silly

Picking out the pumpkin

Checking out the pumpkin

Sweet Cousins

This was the best one we got!!

...All smiles

ALL DONE!

Party Time!

Well, we had a crazy couple of days this past weekend. We had my nephew's 3rd birthday party and I helped throw a baby shower. We had Addison dedicated at church and on top of all that we managed to squeeze in some ministry training Saturday morning! For some reason, Joey and I felt quite old as we crashed on the couch Sunday evening. Evidently, we don't have the energy we used to! Addison was trooper through all of it. She always displayed a smile and she was definitely ready to join in all the partying (as evidenced by her party hat!)

The best part of the weekend was having her dedicated at church. It was so wonderful to have both of our families join us in giving Addison to the Lord and it was very special that her Uncle Ryan got to pray for her. We chose a life verse for her that we pray over her each night- Philippians 1:9-11 which says,"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God." This verse captured all that we hope for our little girl. We pray that the Lord will bless her with a loving heart full of discernment and that He will keep her pure and use her to His glory. We love you Addison, but we know that more importantly God loves you and has a special plan for your life. We are so thankful for our precious girl!

Addison's dedication-not sure why I look so serious!

Caden's Dino Party!

Baby Shower for Krista

Just too Cute!

First Tooth!

Well after weeks and really a few months of wondering when we would see her first tooth, it finally pushed through today!! It is on the bottom, right in the middle and it's pretty sharp. It's so funny because she has been drooling and chewing profusely for a while now. People would always ask if she was teething but there really was no way to know. Last week at the pediatricians office the Dr. told us she was very close! I guess she was right! This afternoon she had drooled so much I had to change her clothes twice, so I stuck my finger in there and low and behold there was tooth poking through. Amazingly Addison hasn't even been fussy. I was dreading going through teething, but so far it has been a fairly painless process (for me anyway! ) I will post some pictures soon :)

Great Weekend!

This past weekend was very fun. Joey and I were able to get away to College Station Friday night (Joey's mom kept Addison). When we got into town, we got to see my brother and his girlfriend. My brother got his aggie ring this weekend so it was special to celebrate with him. After hanging out with my brother, we got to go out for a date to a nice restaurant called The Republic (compliments of my brother who gave us a gift certificate!). Also, I got to see two of my roommates that I haven't seen in a long time!! It was so good to see Mere (who is a week past her due date and set to have her baby Monday) and Katrina who just had a baby a month ago. Canon was so cute! Friday night we stayed up late talking and catching up and I felt so blessed to be able to see each of them. I am so greatful that the Lord gave me such wonderful roommates in college and I am also thankful that we still stay in touch and get to see other regularly! :)

The next day we went out to eat at the Hullabaloo diner out in Wellborn and it was quite possibly some of the best breakfast I have ever had. I highly recommend it if you are ever in College Station! Later we made it to Kyle Field for the A&M/ Miami game and well...it was less than thrilling if you were an aggie fan. This is going to be a LONG season :)

Below I posted a video of Addison in her jumpster. She loves jumping up and down in it. It is hilarious. The more you egg her on saying "go, go go," the more crazy she gets! 

6 Months Old!

Today, Addison had her 6 month check up. She is growing so quickly!! She is still in the 95th percentile for height at 28 1/2 inches and she now weighs almost 18 pounds. No wonder my arms have been getting a work out! The doctor thought she heard a murmur in her heart at her last check up but we were so thankful that she said that she didn't hear any evidence of it this time! Praise the Lord! Here are a few things that Addison has been up to recently...

- Her favorite toys are my measuring cups and spoons. She loves chewing on them and banging with them. I love how we buy her elaborate blinky noisy toys and she is thoroughly entertained by mere plastic!

- Addison is also able to sit up by herself now! She is still a little wobbly, but for the most part she can sit independently. yeah!

- She likes to imitate noises and facial expressions. Today she had this silly snorting thing going on

- She loves playing peek-a-boo with me...she also loves to be surprised. I often go and hide behind something and then jump out. She gets a kick out of it.

- she likes dancing and singing. Many times as I am cleaning I put on some old school jams and we sing around the house and dance together. She loves it and often ends up laughing! 

-She has become quiet the daredevil in her swing outside. She now leans forward and tries to kick herself to make it go higher and faster. 

-Addison has moved on to eating fruits and veggies. We tried carrots out today...she wasn't such a fan. They ended up everywhere but in her mouth!

Here a few random pictures from the past few weeks...

Addison and her cousin Brynn at the mall on the merry go round ride

Addison and Brynn playing at the pool

Addison trying to figure out how to crawl

Playdate

Today I had lunch with a friend of mine and her cute little daughter Mollie. Mollie is only two months old and I forget how tiny and little they are at that age!! Addison is only 6 months old, but she seems so huge comparatively. It was so much fun to hang out with Misty and Mollie. I titled this entry "play date" but really the girls didn't play much...it was more Misty and I that ended up talking and hanging out! I can't wait until they get bigger though...I know they will be good friends! :)

Addison loves Maddie!

Addison absolutely LOVES her dog! Anytime Maddie comes near her she goes crazy and laughs hysterically. She loves touching her and especially loves pulling on her tail and feeling her fur. Here is a video clip of Addison playing with Maddie...

Family Photos

I recently realized that we really don't have any pictures of all three of us together! I don't think we have taken one since Addison was born. So, last week a good friend of mine came over to take some family pictures of us. She did a great job! Here are few of the best ones...