Happy Birthday Addie!

Today (Saturday) we celebrated Addie's 2nd birthday...I know, hard to believe she's already 2! We had a small party at my parents' house where we celebrated with grandparents and uncles. Addie was a bit cranky at the beginning (because we tried to encourage her to take a short nap beforehand and she wasn't quite awake yet), but she began to perk up when she saw her Winnie the Pooh cake :) Many, many thanks to my brother's caregiver, Misty, for decorating the cake for us this morning. She "taught" me, so maybe next year I can do it on my own! Here are a few pics from the party...

Ready to open some presents!

Lydia hanging out with grandma

Admiring her cake!

Beautifully done, Misty!

Blowing out her 2 candles...I got a bit teary eyed because she totally did this without any prompting, getting to be such a BIG girl :)

Taking a bite--yum yum!

Trying out her new apron

Wondering what this present is...

Pushing baby in her new stroller

Ooing and Aahing over the playdough, or "my colors" as she calls them

Thanks to everyone for all her wonderful gifts, she is so blessed! There were many "thank yous" said throughout the party and I even caught it on tape...listen for "I love it" also.

After the party, Chris and I took Addie to see her first movie in the theater. We saw, The Tale of Despereaux and it didn't hold her attention (or ours) very well. She did great for her first time, although sometimes forgetting to whisper and shouting "where'd that mouse go?!" so everyone in the theater could hear! I think she thoroughly enjoyed the popcorn and cherry icy we shared with her.

Before heading home, we took Addie to dinner at Los Bravos, one of our favorite authentic Mexican restaurants. She loves their quesadillas, beans, and guacamole dip. She was on her best behavior, even though she had such a busy day and was extremely tired.

I'll never forget this day 2 years ago...one of the most memorable and joyful moments in my life! Addie is such a blessing to us and we are so thankful that God gave her to us!

Christmas Celebrations

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas...before we turn around and celebrate Addie's birthday, I thought I'd post about our Christmas celebrations.

Christmas Eve morning, Addie and I made Christmas sugar cookies and snicker doodles. Addie did a wonderful job rolling out the dough and using the cookie cutters to make the different shapes. Her favorite was the gingerbread man since we have been reading the book, "Gingerbread Baby" a lot lately. She had a great time and even sampled her "work" before it was baked (doesn't everyone do this!).

Rolling the dough

Sprinkling the "salt" as she called it (sugar)

After a nap, we rounded up the troops and headed to the early Christmas Eve service at church. Following the wonderful service, we celebrated Christmas with Papaw Mike, Kim, and Uncle Mikey. Addie enjoyed opening her presents and even thought it might be a good idea to try on some of her new clothes.

Opening her first present

Lydia giving Mommy a Christmas grin

Trying on her new dress

Christmas morning, Addie and Lydia gave us our first present by sleeping in! When everyone was up, we began the fun process of opening gifts. Addie was an absolute hoot this year and she tried to guess what everything was before opening it (takes after her Daddy!). My favorite moment was when she was opening a soft cover book, she said, "Oh, this is my favorite magazine!" Addie helped open Lydia's presents also and even "read" one of her new books to her.

After opening all of our gifts at our house, we headed over to Grandma and Papaw's to celebrate with them and Uncle Jake and Great Grandma and Pa Downing. Addie slowly opened the rest of her presents and then headed downstairs to find her new kitchen! This was the highlight for her and she immediately washed her hands at the sink and began cooking.

Washing her hands before cooking

Stirring up a lovely concoction

I believe I can speak for Chris and I both when I say that the greatest gift for us this year was our beautiful girls. They have brought so much joy to us and our love for them just keeps growing!!!

My two favorite presents :)

Missouri Trip

Friday morning we set out for Missouri to go to my cousin Noah's wedding. The morning started off on a bad note because none of us woke up on time (the alarm was set for 7:15 and I didn't wake up until 8:50 and we were hoping to get out of the house by 9!). I suppose that meant we all needed some extra sleep before getting on the road. Once we got moving, things went extremely well...both girls were absolutely wonderful on the trip. We made two 1 hour stops along the way for lunch/bathroom breaks/snacks. Addie stayed dry the whole entire trip, which we were very impressed with! The drive out there ended up taking us 8 and a half hours, including stops. It wasn't bad, but we were pooped!

Noah's wedding was on Saturday and it was just beautiful. We were able to spend time with family afterwards and it was so nice to be able to catch up with everyone. Addie enjoyed running around the gym, skipping her nap, and wearing herself completely out. She loves my cousins' cousin Brooke, who is 8. They met at Rebecca's wedding last summer, but Addie can say Brooke's name now and actually play with her which really made Brooke's weekend I think. Addie has already stated, "I have to need my Brooke" several times since we've been home :)

We began the long trek home on Sunday morning and caravaned with my parents who had spent the whole week prior to the wedding in Branson, MO. It seemed like we had a few more stops on the way back, but both girls were wonderful again and we couldn't ask for better travelers.

Addie ready to go!

Naptime! Isn't she sweet :)

Daddy and the girls playing in the back of the van during one of our stops

The girls love their daddy

All dressed up for the wedding

Addie and "her Brooke and Grace"

It's Christmastime

It seems like time is flying as Christmas approaches. Since we'll be out of town this coming weekend, we decided to start a little tradition of going to see the Fantasy of Lights this past weekend. Fantasy of Lights is the largest public display of lights in the state (I had been before, but didn't know this fact!). There are many many displays set up and you drive slowly through the park to see them all. You can even take a carriage ride through if you'd like, but we opted to stay in the van this year since Lydia is still a bit young. Addie REALLY enjoyed the lights and commented that they were "beautiful" over and over. Here are a couple of our favorites:

Addie admiring the pretty lights

Lydia has been smiling a LOT lately when she's awake...I caught tons of pictures of her last night and chose this one to share. I think both girls look so cute in their Christmas jammies :)

Addie is definitely feeling better and hopefully over her cold completely now (knock on wood). She's been eating much better and her "spunk" is back. We've had a few issues with sleep habits, but we are getting through it.

I am excited for next week when Chris will be off work and I will be able to finish up some last minute sewing projects for Christmas and Addie's birthday. It will be so nice to have him home to share some special family time together for the holidays. Merry Christmas to all!

Updates

It's been crazy nuts around here so I haven't had much time to take pictures or post. Just wanted to catch everyone up to speed a bit before it gets even busier...*crying baby, hold on*...okay, ah.

Lydia has a new friend who entered the world yesterday, Jenna Susan Schimmell (my best friend Melissa's 3rd child). Lydia and I went to meet her at the hospital this morning and she is such a sweetie. I am so excited that our girls will grow up together :) While at the hospital, I decided to take Lydia to the lactation office to be weighed. I knew she was a chunker, but didn't realize she weighed 12 whopping pounds already! I guess she is getting plenty to eat :) She's definitely grown out of lots of clothes and never even got to wear several of Addie's cutest outfits, oh well.

Addie is entering yet another "fun" phase of being almost 2 and that is not wanting to go to bed. She comes out of her room and rounds the corner and says in the cutest little voice, "Hi!" like we're just meeting her for the first time. It's hard to be mad at her, but after a long day of dealing with 2 kiddos, it's completely frustrating. We are trying to be consistent in our discipline and I think I finally discovered what might work today at naptime when she didn't want to stay in bed. Wish us luck there!

We are gearing up for the holidays and I think Christmas shopping is 1 or 2 presents away from being finished so I'm thrilled about that. We are all looking forward to watching Addie open her gifts this year and turning right around and celebrating her 2nd birthday 2 days later. I am already giggling at the thought of what next Christmas will bring with a 1 year old and a 3 year old...oh what fun! Our family lit the advent candle at church last Sunday, which was really special for us. Addie "helped" daddy light the candle while I read and Lydia sat with pastor Lynn (who just adores babies) right behind us. Here is a picture from the day, it's also our Christmas card, so sorry to ruin it for everyone but I couldn't resist putting it on here!

We are attending my cousin's wedding in Missouri next weekend and are getting excited about our first road trip as a family of 4. Hopefully it will go well...just might take us 10 hours to get there, rather than 6. I'm sure I'll have more pictures and updates after we get back so I might just be MIA in blog world until then. Enjoy this beautiful Christmas season!

Big Girl

I failed to mention this in the last post and it's special enough to be on it's own so here we go....Addie is potty trained! I was not even going to touch this subject with a ten foot pole right after Lydia was born, but Addie managed to do this on her own without any prompting from us.

She's been dry all day for about 10 days now (probably more, I have lost count). She loves wearing her "princess panties," and is even starting to work on pulling them up and down on her own. She gets a sticker every time she stays dry and goes on the potty and I thought it might be fun to collect them on a little chart on the back of the bathroom door...she had other ideas and decided it would be more fun to "collect" them on her belly each day. So at the end of the day, we end up with lots of stickers on her belly or the inside of her shirt :)

I am so proud of her, I could spit! She is officially our big girl now! (I'm singing the "I'm a big kid now" song in my head...is that from a pull-ups commercial or what?) WAY TO GO ADDIE!

Thanksgiving, etc.

Just realizing it's been a while since I've posted and I better get some recent pictures on here for everyone! I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving...we sure did! The girls wore their turkey shirts that I finished up on Wednesday night along with their beautiful "hair turkeys" (as Addie called them) made by my friend Brandy at faithworksboutique.com. We enjoyed the day hanging out with family and eating delicious food. Addie actually made it the whole day without napping and ended up going to bed a little early and sleeping ALL THE WAY through the night.

Our littlest turkey

Things have been going pretty well for the most part, other than Addie continuing to keep this nasty cold. I don't think it's developed into an ear infection because she doesn't have a high fever, but it's hard to tell since she doesn't complain about anything. She looks and sounds miserable, but just continues to tell me she's okay. Her eating has picked up a bit in the past few days (incase I didn't mention earlier, she hasn't eaten well since Lydia was born). Lydia is doing great! She sleeps so well for us at night and must be gaining lots of weight because she is looking extremely chunky these days!

We put up our Christmas decorations last Saturday and then ventured out to get a real Christmas tree on Sunday (the nastiest weather day of the weekend!). We dropped Lydia by for my mom to watch so Addie and Chris and I could pick out a tree in the bitter cold and rain. This is the first year for a real tree and Chris was absolutely thrilled that I gave the "go ahead" this year. I'm not sure why I haven't wanted one in years past, just too much trouble I guess. Addie was mesmerized by the whole experience, but decided she loved her tree when we got it home. She even wanted to hug it! I have to say she's done fairly well not bothering it, although the bottom limbs are a bit bare at certain times of the day when she feels the need to "undecorate" for me.

Addie and her new best friend, Mr. Snowman

That's about it for now. We're getting into the Christmas spirit and remembering why we celebrate this glorious holiday....Happy Birthday Jesus!

Thank You Mommy!

I know how awesome it makes me feel to hear those three little words come out of Addie's mouth when I do something as simple as helping her blow her nose..."Thank You Mommy!"...so I thought I'd take the opportunity to say a big THANK YOU to my Mommy for a change!

I could not have made it through the last 3 weeks without the help of my mama. She stayed with Addie when we were at the hospital (not to mention all the times she watched her when I had doctor and therapy appointments before I had Lydia), and she has been available to watch Addie or Lydia (not yet both at the same time!) when I've needed her to. I have always been a mama's girl and love spending time with my mom and it means so much to me to have my two girls share that time with her as well. Even though our outings are a bit more stressful now with 2 kiddos in tow, we (mom and I, maybe I'm just speaking for myself here) are never afraid of an adventure.



So, THANK YOU MOMMY for all you do for us...we love you!

"Gamma" and her girls

3 Week Check Up

Lydia had a doctor's appointment this morning to check her weight and see how she's doing in general. I was extremely pleased to find out that she weighs 9 lbs. 4 oz. which means she has gained 13 ounces in a week, wowsa! Despite all of our issues we've had with nursing, she is definitely getting what she needs (which of course makes a mama feel much better!).

Luckily, our doctor had some time to take a look at Addie while we were there and she is "trying" to work on an ear infection, but our hope is that this little cold will go away without it coming to that. She was such a trooper and was SOOOOOO good for the doctor as he checked her out. Anyone who has taken a 12 mo.-24 mo. old to the doctor can probably vouch for me that it's not always pleasant (screaming and crying out of fear of the doc!). Addie was so brave and even got her flu shot...and she didn't even cry!

Here is where I must brag on Addie a bit more. Yesterday she kept her diaper dry all day, letting me know when she had to potty and I was SO proud of her. I figured that since we'd be out and about today, she wouldn't be as successful, but I was wrong. She went potty at the doctor's office for my mom and then when we were at the mall later on, she let me know she had to go and sure enough, her diaper was dry and she went! We haven't really been pushing the potty training issue lately with a new baby in the house, so she is totally doing this on her own! I am guessing she will be our self-teaching daughter since she pretty much handles things on her own...she also weaned herself from nursing with no issues, so we're hoping the potty training will just come as she's ready as well.

Sweet Sisters :)

The Newest Junebug Model

A few weeks ago when we still didn't know the gender of "bubsis," I was doing some thinking about my motivation for making itty bitty baby clothes for Junebug Creations (boy or girl). I thought if we had a boy, I would be more motivated to start a little boys' line of clothes. I didn't really think of what I would do if we had a girl, other than get really excited to make matching or coordinating clothes for my girls :) Before now, I had never made anything smaller than size 6-12 months because I started making Addie's clothes when she was around 9 months old.

When we were still in the hospital two weeks ago, I was trying to rest while Lydia was sleeping, but couldn't help the brainstorming process of what I would make for her first. The idea of a onesie dress came to me in the middle of the night and I'm so excited to present Lydia's very first Junebug "creation." Of course this one will not fit her for long, the onesie is a newborn size and was a bit snug to begin with. I can't wait to make her Christmas dresses and other little outfits to match the ones I've made for Addie already.

Zoo Day

Today for Addie and Mommy time, we decided to head to the zoo since the weather will soon be too cold to go. Addie and I had a terrific time together walking around seeing all the animals and basically having the whole zoo to ourselves. It was a little overcast outside, but the temperature was comfortable. Afterwards, we met Chris at McDonald's for lunch and Addie almost finished a whole cheeseburger. I think her appetite is slowly coming back because she actually ate breakfast this morning also :) Here are some pictures from our outing:

"CHEESE!!!"

Turtle trying to escape!

"My swan," as Addie says

Might as well go ahead and mention Miss Lydia while I'm posting...she continues to be a wonderful little baby and her favorite thing to do is sleep. I wish I had all the little groaning noises she makes while she's sleeping on video...it's too cute and makes me smile :)

As many of you may know, we began using cloth diapers with Addie when she was about 7 months old and are still going strong with our Fuzzi Bunz (although potty training is in the near future). We decided to start right away with Lydia, but the tar-like poopy that new babies have their first few days of life scared us from using them right when we got home from the hospital. I started putting her in cloth a few days ago and just during the day...nighttime changes are too complicated and she would probably soak through since she's a good sleeper and doesn't get changed as often. I had to get her picture in this adorable, fuzzy little diaper and she even has a matching yellow bow!

Modeling her cloth diaper

Ready for church last Sunday (and this was her "pose" through the whole service!)

2 Weeks!

I must say that the last 2 weeks have flown by without me realizing it...each day just drags along from feeding to feeding and everything in between is kind of a blur.

Lydia doesn't have another doctor's appointment until next week, but I took her yesterday to check her weight and to my surprise, she has passed her birth weight! She weighed 8 lbs. 7.5 ounces...so she must be getting enough to eat! We have been blessed with a wonderful baby who sleeps a lot (even at night!) and doesn't have many fussy periods. I'm not sure how we got so lucky once again (especially me since I was a horrible baby and probably deserve the worst!).

We're still struggling with the same behavior issues with Addie and I'm hoping that one of these days, she will just get over it and we'll have our sweet little girl back. I'm not saying she's not sweet anymore...she is probably the most polite almost 2 year old I know, saying please and thank you for everything. Sometimes the "NO WAY" responses and kicking and screaming fits cause me to forget about that sweetness though. Who knew that our brand new baby was going to require less than our toddler at this point!

*My camera battery is almost dead, but I promise to add some more pictures soon!

A "Date" with Mommy

Since yesterday was kind of depressing because of the way Addie was acting towards us, I decided to start today with a fresh outlook. I asked my mom if she would stay with Lydia while I took Addie out of the house on a little adventure. We headed for the library (which she loves) and played with puzzles, pulled lots of books off the shelf, and picked out some movies to keep us busy for the next week or so. She was extremely well behaved, holding my hand when I asked her to and following my directions.

McDonalds was our next stop and we had a nice lunch together...and I even received about 20 hugs from her (probably because she was happy that I let her stand in the booth and eat, rather than sit down--she couldn't reach the table anyway and I couldn't locate a high chair!). And to my surprise, she actually ate a good amount of food. I don't know if I mentioned in another blog, but she seems to be on a hunger strike lately too, so it was a very good thing to see her eat a "decent" meal (if McDonalds counts as decent).

We still had some time left before we had to be home so I could feed Lydia so we made our way over to Kohl's to do some "girl shopping." We found a few puzzles and fun activities to keep her busy during Lydia's feeding times and she was really excited about those. Then we headed over to look at clothes and we found some "loveys" very similar to the lovey she has...her reaction was priceless! "Oh Mommy, SO CUTE!" over and over....so we had to get one, no not one, she insisted that Lydia needed her own also so we got 2 *matching* new loveys. She even told the cashier that "this one my lovey and this one Lydia's lovey." And on the way home I was talking to Chris on the phone telling him about it and she was in the back seat saying, "I love you, new lovey!" We'll see if "old lovey" sticks around or gets tossed to the side :)

We had such a terrific time together and I am so happy to have gotten to spend some quality, fun time with my little girl. And if you must know, I did get a little emotional during our time together, probably because I've missed times like these since I really didn't get to do much with her alone towards the end of my pregnancy due to my back issues. What a positive start to our day! Let's just hope it continues after she gets up from her nap :)

~The girls napping with their new loveys~