After A Long Day

One would think after reading the title of this post that it would be dedicated to John considering the hard work he does everyday for our family.....but it's not. One could even think it's a post all about MY long days as a stay-at-home mom....but it's not. That's right, this post is dedicated to Addibell and the different things she likes to do after a long day.

Yes, her days primarily consist of eating, pooping, playing, sleeping, (rinse & repeat) but don't go thinking she has the easy life! That can be pretty exhausting I'm sure! It's been quite awhile since I was her age so I can't say my memory is fresh from those days nor that I can relate - but I'm sure it's a lot of hard work being an almost 4 month old. After all, how quickly do they double in size in a mere few months? I bet growing can be exhausting.

So that's why we like to give her a break every once in awhile....

At 5:00, here is her favorite spot. In the recliner with the Daddy while she lays back and enjoys a cold one (bottle that is ;-). Yes, at 3 1/2 months she is already mastering the ability to feed herself.

Here is a close-up. Check out how she holds it. One handed and just tippin' it back! She's a smart one. Anything to get the milk faster when the Mommy & Daddy start slackin' on the job.

Then, in the evening hours, she enjoys a nice soak in a bubble bath while she gets
the foot massages from the Mommy.

Here she is cheesin' for the camera. We've quickly learned the benefits of throwing her in the bathtub with us. The one drawback - she can now pee on me anytime she feels like it. (Yes, this has already occurred once).

So, in her few months of age thus far, she has quickly learned how to kick back and relax after a long day. She loves to sit and watch Law & Order with her Daddy when he gets home from work too.

A few weeks back, after fixing up her nursery, we all sat down and had a "family talk". John decided it was time to discuss Addison's chores. Just as he brought it up and was chatting with her about helping around the house, she suddenly started belly laughing right in his face. It was hilarious and perfect timing. I guess this is a good indication of how it's going to be when she's actually big enough to DO chores!

Branson Getaway

A few weeks ago Addison and I had a chance to take a weekend get-a-way and join up with Nick, Colton & their girls plus Grandma Bell at Branson and Silver Dollar City and the Condo's. We were VERY excited to make our voyage. Frankly we get very excited to make any voyage that involves going further than 15 feet outside our front door. Since it was a Friday, poor John had to go to work while we were off to have fun. Luckily for all of us, we got to see him again on Saturday morning when we came back.

With this being the first trip for just Addison & I, I spent a few minutes mentally preparing for what I would do if/when she started fussing in her car seat. At times like this I always think how nice it would be to have a personal assistant! As it turns out, this weekend I had to completely revamp my method of predictions. I was convinced she would fuss or get bored in her car seat for the 1 1/2 hour drive to Branson. I tried timing it to coincide with her morning nap. As luck would have it, she only cat napped for about 20 minutes on our drive but I was so impressed with how she did after that. No meltdowns, no fussing, no anything! She spent the whole drive just staring out the window and chomping on her fingers.

Then we met up with the family at SDC and I was preparing for my first "Mommy outing test" wherein I was convinced our nap schedule would be screwed up, that I would soon be at my wits end, and that I would have one grumpy baby. Once again I was proved wrong! The day was PERFECT! Addison must surely know how to prove her Mommy wrong. I had to eat my words multiple times that day when I kept "predicting" a meltdown for her or me. She spent the whole day quite content in her Grandma's arms (or Aunt Colton's) while we walked around the park. Luckily too the weather cooperated and it wasn't too hot for any of us. Never once did she have any meltdowns like I was expecting. She LOVES the outside and will happily sit very content no matter where we went or what we did. She didn't quite get the amount of naps I would have liked her to have but she did wonderfully regardless. She is such a mellow, laid back, and calm baby. Now I have to learn a few pointers from her and be the same! I've decided to retire my "predictions" on how she'll do in any given situation because she'll prove me wrong anyway.

We had a great time with Grandma, Uncle Nick and Aunt Coco and she enjoyed hanging out with her cousins Kayley and Cora - even though they spent most of the time 2 inches from her face the whole trip. ;-)

All suited up and waiting for her cousins to join her in the impromptu bathtub pool party. I LOVE baby swimming suits and I had to find a reason to put this one on her (thanks Aunt Michelle!) Since she was born in May this was our first swim - even though it was in a tub. We are looking very forward to next summer when we can spend TONS of time at the neighborhood pool! :D

The cousins finally got suited up so we all jumped in the tub/jacuzzi at the condo. Here she is listening to Kayley as she gabs to her about something. Kayley is a talker and just adores Addison.

Here is proof that her cousins adore her. After several attempts at timing, we finally got a shot of
Kayley and Cora giving Addibell some kisses.

Two of her favorite things. Grandma and TV! Here she is hanging out with Grandma at the Condo and
watching her TV. They pretty much spent the whole day together.

Here is Cousin Cora holding Addison. We won't mention they are almost the same size! Cora fell in love with Addison over the weekend. Even changed her baby doll's name to Addison - which is a HUGE sign of love for her. It used to be named Michelle (after Aunt Michelle) so we've moved our way up the rankings!

All in all, it was a great trip. The ride back home was almost successful as the ride up - only one blowout (from Addison, not the car). Thanks so much for inviting us on your fun Nick & Colton!

3 Months Old

So, in case you didn't notice, I'm a bit delayed in my posting lately. Approximately two weeks ago our little Miss Addison Bell turned 3 months old. I'm making it a personal mission to take her pictures every month and this time around I decided to use Portrait Innovations in Fayetteville. My sisters and sister-in-law all had success with them so I decided to check it out for myself.

We came away quite pleased. Especially since Addison decided to refuse to smile the whole time we were there. Actually, she did give us ONE smile (and yes we ordered a billion of those pics as a result). Of course, she was tired and it was probably my fault. I think I tried too hard to time it all and "schedule" her happy time to fall right at the exact same time as the pictures. I'm sure that's why it all backfired on me after all. I've learned my lesson. She smiled ALL the way there but the minute we walked in the door she was done. And interestingly enough the minute we finished taking pictures she laid in my arms, gave me one smile, and zonked out. Sometimes I'm convinced she knows more than she's letting on. No worries though, since she was such cute subject matter, they all turned out beautifully with or without the smiles. John mentioned that it was a "rite of passage" as first time parents so if that is the case, I'm glad we got it out of the way!

Since I can't post the billions of pics we took, here are a few of my personal favorites:

Proof that she did smile....just once.

I was a bit worried when they started attacking her with sunflowers
but it did turn out pretty cute after all.


I have a weakness for baby jeans. They are just the most adorable thing ever.


And finally, the family photo. Don't pay any attention to the sweat dripping down our faces. We got quite the workout jumping around Addison trying to get smiles.

Tummy Time

Addibell has joined the throng of all the babies before her. She too HATES tummy time. And since she hates it....I hate it. Remind me again why it's so important that we lay her on her stomach daily and watch her cry and fuss?? Personally, I think this poor excuse for "muscle building" and "crawling preparation" is wayyyy overated!

But alas, much to our relief, we have found alternatives to this poor little baby torture they call tummy time. Ah yes, we've incorporated OUR tummies!! Just take a look....here she is hangin out with her Daddy. Little does she know, we've mysteriously tricked her into the dreadful tummy time. But THIS time she's loving it. And all it took was a little creative exploration on our parts. It's much more fun this way anyway. More smiles and laughs from baby equals more smiles and laughs from the Mommy & Daddy. Granted we haven't abandoned the old fashion version of tummy time with the blanket on the floor, but this gives us a nice break from the pain every once in awhile.

A successful and happy tummy time finally!

And here is the zoomed in shot of that cute little squeezy face (plus a lil drool). And proof that she is much happier with the new and improved tummy time. :D

Getting Old

As in John is....not me of course. ;-)

Okay, who are we kidding? Everyone is getting old every single day. But on August 22nd we celebrated John as he got older. I actually had to remind him that he was turning the big 3-3 this year. He had convinced himself he was turning 32....again. Once we both did the calculations we quickly realized I was right of course. So, for John's big day, Addison and I had a few plans. I did most of the work but I guess I will share the credit with her too just because she's too cute.

Saturday morning we woke him up and gave him his birthday card along with a detailed agenda for the day. Including foot rubs, favorite lunch & breakfast, presents, and golf. However, after I made his favorite breakfast I realized we were already 1/2 an hour off our schedule. I'm not sure what I was thinking in spending so much time putting the agenda together since neither he nor I like the stresses that come along with schedules. So, we chucked the agenda and just went with the flow.

After enjoying breakfast, we (okay I) sang him Happy Birthday and he blew out his candles. He of course got his golf club (lob wedge) that he was kinda already aware of, the Madden 2010 Xbox game, and Addibell got him some beautiful ties that she helped me pick out for him.

We didn't waste much time as we headed to the driving range to try out the new club. As you can see in the picture below we created quite the spectacle.

(Not seen in pic: huge stroller, umbrella, cameras, and people staring at us)

It literally took Addison and I about 30 minutes just to get "set-up" with all of our gear to protect both of us from the heat. We were the only ones that had a stroller, a folding chair, a camera, a camcorder, a 3 month old, and an umbrella. Once we were set up we got to enjoy watching John hit a few golf balls into the distance. It was a lot of fun even though we were dripping sweat as we did it.


Later that evening we enjoyed dinner out with friends at Abuelo's, one of his favorite restaurants. For anyone who goes, we highly recommend the "Los Mejores de la Casa". John has ordered it so many times by now he could probably just start saying "The Usual" and they'd know what he was talking about.

I just had to get a picture of Dana and her enormous plate of food. Even when ordering, the waiter warned her of the sheer size of the plate. I guess she took that warning as a
personal challenge!

And here are the boys. Not sure why the strange face on Brad.
I guess John was saying something funny....ah gain. ;-)

All in all, it was such a great day. I'm always excited when I get to celebrate the birthday of the man I love. It gives me just one more reason to sit back and realize how glad I am that he was born. He's such a great husband to me all year-round and is a wonderful father to Addison. We are both very lucky to call him ours. :D

Celebrate Good Times C'mon!!

So, for those of you who enjoyed the hilarity of my last post and the death of the devil fly...I must present to you these pictures:

(Says: Sweet Victory! Devil Fly KIA: 08/11/09)

Apparently John had a few tricks up his sleeve the day I killed the devil fly. As I was basking in my victory that day, he quickly decided to dedicate a t-shirt to the momentous event. I had no clue...even still as he was asking me what my favorite number was (so he could put it on the back of the shirt), I still remained clueless. Fortunately, all the pieces fell into place a few days later when I opened the mysterious package in the mail and saw this shirt. Hoorah! Death to all flies everywhere! My new life mission. And now I have a jersey to wear on my voyage. :D

Now you will all believe me when I say that killing the devil fly was quite a momentous occasion in our household. And now I have the t-shirt to prove it!