uh-oh

addison has been saying "mama" and "dada" for a while now. she doesn't say them near as much as she used to. she says "mama" now more (which makes me happy). she's started making noises now that are just gibberish. it's cute though :)

the one word addison knows how to say is uh oh. i don't know if that's even a word, but she knows how to say it! she used to repeat it after me or chris said it, but she says it on her own now. it's pretty funny. she says it when it really isn't an uh oh moment, but she sometimes gets it right.

since chris has been off this week, we've had a lot of play time.

oh, and addison's finally starting to crawl! she doesn't get on her knees, but she can get where she wants to go. she just pulls herself and pushes off of her feet. she started this weekend, but she would just go get her pacifier. but now, she's going where ever she wants.

i'm pretty excited that she's finally crawling, but i know she's going to be getting into everything now. we'll see how much i like that!

helmet update

chris to addison to see dr. kelly on monday. it was just a routine, monthly helmet checkup. dr. kelly is only there on mondays and wednesdays, which are the days i have class. so i couldn't go. chris took her, but i had my mom meet him there. i didn't know how addison would do, so i thought it would be good to have my mom there too. if you can't tell already, i like to be prepared, especially when it comes to stuff with addison.

chris and my mom both said that everyone at dr. kelly's office were impressed by how addison's head is shaping. she's only had the helmet for a little over 2 months, and dr. kelly said she probably will only have it a few more months. hopefully by a few, he means 2 or 3. she was originally supposed to have it for 6 months, but i was hoping for her to get out of it early.

they didn't do any adjustment to her helmet at restorative health. i thought it was getting too tight, but they told chris that it was good for it to be tight. if addison gets any red spots on her head from the helmet being too tight (that don't go away in 20 minutes), that's when it needs to be adjusted. so i guess i'll just wait until that happens!

i'm not really getting my hopes up just yet for addison getting her helmet off early. i don't want to get all excited, then be told she has to go for 6 to 7 months. i'm pretty positive she won't have it off by her birthday, but i'm hoping maybe for christmas. i guess we'll see!

bubba

i will just go ahead and say it. my dog is weird. i think he thinks he's a cat. or still a puppy. but he definately doesn't think he's as big as he really is. case in point...this picture.


i know he loves me, but does he seriously have to get in the chair with me? i mean, on the couch it's different. but in the tiny chair?


i remeber the day chris and i got him. we had to drive out to the country to get him. and i thought we were either going to get lost or get killed. luckily, it was neither. he was so cute and little. and now he's huge. he's still cute though. unless he's annoying me. then he's just annoying, not cute.

chris kept him at his apartment and in a cage at night and during the day when he wasn't there. he wasn't trained well enough to be out on his own. once he got bigger, he got pretty rowdy too. sometimes we would let him sleep out of the cage, but he would chew stuff. like clothes, the tv stand, the door, and pretty much anything he could get ahold of. his cage was right against the wall, and he ended up licking a hole in the wall. it was pretty funny.

when chris and i moved in together, tybee calmed down a lot. he's really chill around me. we still kept him caged, but we decided to let him sleep out of the cage one night. and he did fine. so we kept it up. but we still caged him when we left the apartment. then one day, i came home and he was out. i thought he had gotten out of his cage, but chris had just left him out. and he did fine with that too. so we never caged him again. and now that we're at the house, he just goes to sleep when we leave. he's not much of a guard dog. when we come home, he doesn't even come see who it is. he could care less.

although he is very large, he likes to cuddle. he used cuddle on the couch with me. i think he misses that now. he doesn't get to as much because of addison. but i still try to give him some attention. he will lay on the couch with anyone. and he doesn't lay beside you, he'll lay in your lap. imagine that. and he sleeps in bed with us. guess who's side of the bed he sleeps on...mine! so chris gets half of the bed, i get a quarter, and tybee gets a quarter. but it works out because i usually sleep all curled up. and when i want to stretch out, tybee just jumps down and sleeps on the floor.

here are some pictures of tybee cuddling with chris :)

pretty day

chris decided to take a little vacation for the next week. he had vacation time to use, so he just went ahead and used it. he gets very antsy if he has to just sit at home on his day(s) off. so i'm wondering how this week is going to go, since i have school and homework. he also likes to clean when he's at home. and by clean, i mean throw everything away that isn't where it's supposed to be. i'm kind of scared leaving him home alone while i go to school. haha. but he already "cleaned" what he wanted to, so maybe he won't do anything major the rest of the week.

going along with his antsiness, he really wanted to go out of town this weekend, but we never could get anything together. so yesterday, being football day, he went to buffalo wild wings with one of his fellow georgia friends to watch the game. addison and i stayed home and bonded (and i did some homework too). so that took care of saturday for chris.

today, we got up early and went to breakfast with my dad and my grandmother. we went to star bagel, which is amazing. i've been going there for years and they have the best cream cheese. i always get the cucumber cream cheese, and it's delicious. it doesn't taste like cucumber at all. it's kind of like panera, but it's not a chain. soooo good.

after, chris wanted to go shopping or something. he just wanted to get out of the house. it was really pretty today, so i didn't really mind. we just had to figure out what to do. my mom suggested going to the multicultural festival at the park, so we decided to go. my mom came with us, and we left right after addison finished her lunch. we had to stop at at&t (which is where chris works) to get my iPhone a new sim card. they came out with new settings which lets it send picture text messages. well, i updated mine, and it didn't work. then last night, i updated my mom's (the same way i did mine) and her's worked! but now my works. yay!

we headed over to centennial park after that.

this is me, chris and addison by the train

this is the parthenon...in nashville

it wasn't the multicultural festival like we thought, but there was something going on. they had a bunch of tents set up with people who were selling things they had made. it was kind of nasty (since it's been raining constantly all week). we all wore flip flops, but we didn't get that messy (thank goodness). we tried to stay away from the mud as much as we could. i did see some people who took their shoes off and had mud all up their legs. no thanks! we didn't buy anything, but it was fun to look. most of that stuff is pretty pricey. if i had something specific i had wanted, i might have bought it if i found it. but i wasn't looking for anything. just enjoying the weather!

since we were in the park, we took the opportunity to take some pretty outside pictures.

here's me, my mom and addison

mommy and daughter :)

our family

early bird

i went to bed last night after the season premiere of grey's anatomy. of course i had to stay up and watch it!! i really don't remember if i watched the season finale last year, but even if i did, i don't remember what happened. apparently george was hit by a bus and then he died last night. i can't wait for the rest of the season! i'm not really a big fan of 2 hours worth of a show, but last night was ok. i like when grey's is 1 hour, because it's usually a lot of stuff happening really quick.

so, i went to bed after grey's and i heard this strange noise. then i realized it was raining. great. more rain. then chris came to bed because the satellite went out, so he couldn't watch tv any more. and he was snoring, so i had a hard time falling asleep. ughhhh!!

i have been getting up extra early so far this semester (let's see how long it lasts). i just like having a lot of time to relax and not rush in the morning. and it gives me time to blog too (obviously). last year i didn't have a class until 10, but it was a computer class so i only went for the first 2 weeks and then did everything from my laptop at home. so i didn't have a class until 11. that was really nice. but, i chose to have a class at 9 this semester, so i have to get up early. but let me tell you, it is SO much better than an 8 o'clock class. i would probably die if i had one of those.

and since vol state has a record amount of students this semester, it is packed. the traffic was horrible the first week getting into campus and leaving. now it's not bad getting into campus, but it's still horrible trying to leave. i think everyone gets out of class at the same time (which is also the time i get out on mondays and fridays) so i'm stuck with everyone trying to leave. oh and parking. ughhh. it is horrible. last spring i could park really close to my class. this semester, i park really far away from my first class. only because that's the only place that has parking open! but it is close to my last class. so it doesn't take me as long to get from that class to my car. it's still just a pain. especially when it's raining...like it's supposed to do again today!!

well, i'm off to finish getting ready and possibly write a little bit of an essay. let's hope it doesn't rain until i get home. or even until i get in my car to come home. i just don't want to get wet!!

holidays

let me just go ahead and say i am so glad wednesday is over with. i had 2 quizzes and 2 tests. ughhh. but i survived. and i feel a lot better now that it's all over with.

so, it's officially setting in that summer is over. and i'm confused all over again. i wrote here how i was confused with my days when school started. and now that i've adjusted to that, it has started getting darker earlier. my body thinks it's time to go to bed earlier than before. so i'm tired earlier, and i don't like it!

don't get me wrong, i love fall. mainly because it means winter is getting closer. but getting adjusted it the part i don't like. i'll get used to it soon, and then i'll be back to normal.

i'm so excited about fall! i love when it starts to get cool, and i can wear hoodies and jackets. i like layering and wearing my warm uggs. although they are looking kind of rough, so maybe i'll ask for a new pair for christmas. before i get ahead of myself, i'll talk about how excited i am about all of the upcoming holidays, in order...

i never liked decorating for halloween until chris and i moved into our apartment. i remember last year going to target on my day off and buying a bunch of decorations. then, my mom and i went to hobby lobby and bought even more decorations. haha. i just like being festive. even though i had to work the night of halloween last year. booo. but i won't have to this year! and our house will be all decorated...with probably even more decorations than last year :) i still haven't found the perfect costume for addison's first halloween, but i'm sure i'll find it soon. i really haven't been looking yet.

a new holiday that we get to celebrate from now on is addison's birthday! i'm so excited. it's right in between chris's birthday and my birthday. i can't wait to plan her first party. and get her all dressed up! i'm sure we'll get a ton of decorations. ahhh i can't wait! i should probably go ahead and start planning now!

i don't really get that excited about thanksgiving. there isn't much to decorate for that. but i do like going to eat with all my family. last year i had planned on going (still pregnant) to all the family dinners, but addison decided to come early. so she got to have her first thanksgiving at only 6 days old. and after thanksgiving, you can start decorating for christmas!

ok, christmas is my absolute favorite holiday! i love love love decorating for christmas. my mom has 3 trees, and i used to put up atleast 2 of them. we only have 1 tree, but we don't have as much room as my mom. last year, addison's first shopping outing was on black friday. my mom and i went to a few stores, but nothing big. i wanted to go to kohl's to look at decorations for our christmas tree. let me just say, we went at 9 and there was a line wrapped around the store. and the store had been open since 4!! it was crazy. but we went to this christmas decoration store and i got a bunch of stuff. and that night i set up our tree :) this christmas is going to be a lot different. even though addison was here last christmas, she was doing anything so she didn't really play with her presents. but this year she's bigger and she plays more. i'm so excited for addison's toys to be all under the tree!! my dad didn't have a christmas tree, so i bought him a little one with a few ornaments. i was the one who put it up when i was younger, but now that i don't stay there anymore, he doesn't put it up. but he did get a cardboard one last year. atleast he had something!!

i'm so excited about everything coming up! and with holidays means breaks from school. so that makes them even better! i'll make sure to post pictures of everything that's decorated for each holiday!! and, of course pictures of addison in her holiday outfits!

birthday time!

a lot of people i know had babies all around the same time. i knew 2 people that had babies in may, 2 in september, 2 in october, me in november, 1 in december, 1 in february, and then a few more in the spring. it's like everyone got pregnant all at the same time. it's pretty crazy. and i know someone else who is due right around addison's birthday. and all but 2 of those were boys. so addison is going to have a lot of boys to chose from when she gets older :)

saturday was a big day for addison. she went to 2 of her little friend's birthday parties. both of them were turning 1. i can't believe in just 2 months addison will be 1. it makes me sad that my little girl is growing up.


the first birthday party we went to was from 10-12 at the park. it was for a little boy named caden. i've known his mom for a while. we went to middle school together and played sports together. once we both had babies, we reconnected. that's kind of how it happens. mommies find each other. haha. it was supposed to rain, but i'm glad it didn't. it had been raining all week, and it's raining all this week too! yuck! caden was all over the place at his party. he's not walking yet, but he's really close. he was in a walker and was just running in that thing. it was so cute! we weren't able to stay at the party very long because it was addison's nap time. she had been up since 8, and she's usually only up for 2 hours at a time. but she was happy to get to see caden, and she got to meet another little girl too!

the second party was from 2-4. both of the times worked out great, because they were right before addison's nap times. i didn't have to wake her up early to go any where, which was nice. she did better during the afternoon party. it was for kynlee. kynlee is soooo cute. she's been walking for a few months now. and she just turned 1!! i went to school with her mommy. they came over to our house a few months ago and kynlee just crawled everywhere and pulled herself up and everything. i was amazed to say the least. addison was just sitting then (and that's all she does now too. she's better at keeping her balance now though). kynlee would go say hi to everyone and she loved her cake. addison tried a piece of my chocolate cake, and she liked it! and by piece, i mean little pinches of it. i guess she gets her love for chocolate from her mommy :)

my mom had a brilliant idea for what to get kynlee for her birthday. i won't take any credit for it, because it never occurred to me to even do this. i guess it wasn't so much what to get her, but what to make her. we made her a tutu! it is super cute. and of course, we made addison one too! it was so easy. i was a little slow (i'm a perfectionist. or at least that's what i blame my slowness on). it was a no-sew tutu. my mom found a video on youtube of how to make it. i'll post it on here in a few days with some pics of addison in hers. maybe i'll start a tutu making business :)

i wish i had pictures from the birthday parties, but i don't. oops. i'll definitely have pictures of addison's 1st birthday though!

10 months

addison, you're 10 months old today!

what have you been doing lately?

• you're already wearing 12 month clothes. you go big girl!
• you eat 4 meals a day. usually fruit for breakfast, a jar of veggies or meat and a jar of fruit for lunch, dinner, and before bedtime, and you have started snacking on yogurt melts. you really love those now!
• you still don't have any teeth, but it seems like you might be getting one (or multiple). you've started biting everything (including mommy and daddy's noses).
• you're a great sleeper. i'm so lucky for that. you take 2 naps that usually last about 2 hours each. you go to bed around 8, and aren't up until 8 the next morning!
• you haven't exactly figured out crawling yet, but you're starting to get interested.

• you still just roll around everywhere. you've become a pro.
• you're starting to try and pull up on things. you'll bounce in our laps by pulling up on our shirts. it's very cute.

• you absolutely love bath time. you have a ton of bath toys, but you usually play with your book. i think you'll be a reader.
• you are now jumping like crazy in your jumparoo. you used to just sit in it, but now you jump like you're about to lift off.

• you enjoy messing with your four legged older brother. he hates when you touch his paws, so you constantly do it. it's very funny to watch.
• you have started to wave at people. whenever you see someone, you wave. it's so cute. i love how you're so excited to see new people all the time!
• you have been saying "mama" and "dada" for a while now, but you don't say them as much as you used to. it's ok though, it just makes it more special when you do say it! you have started to say "bubba" too, but i don't think you know what it is you're saying.

you have been such a good baby your whole life (all 10 months of it!). you've made it so easy for me to be a mommy. you've always been really happy and laid back. i can't believe how much you've grown. it makes me sad to see you get so big, but i can't wait to see you grow up into a little girl, and then a young woman. but that won't be for a while :) i'm sure it'll fly by though. i mean, in two months you'll be 1! i can't believe it's almost been a year since you were born!

we love you so much and can't imagine our lives without you!

helmet update

i haven't really posted anything about addison's helmet lately, so i thought i would now. her helmet is getting kind of tight, so i'm going to try to take her to get it cut down inside. it's not bad putting it on her, but taking it off has gotten a little harder. i think her sweat is making it stick to her head now. hopefully i can get her an appointment for early next week.


as far as her head shaping, i can't really tell. i see her head every day, so i haven't noticed anything big. chris and my mom both think they can see a difference, but i can't really. her hair has gotten really thick though. i don't know if that has anything to do with the helmet or not. but i know that it hasn't prevented her hair from growing. it sticks out of the ear holes in the helmet and curls up. it's pretty cute.


i find it kind of funny that people still can't tell that addison is a girl. i mean, she has on a pink helmet. do people really think someone would put a pink helmet on a boy? maybe so. i just find it really humorous when someone comes up and asks why my little boy has a helmet. i mean, sometimes she's not in the girliest clothing, but i usually dress her in something that looks girly. i don't guess whether a baby is a boy or girl unless i am certain what it is.

i realized that i never explained the whole detailed process (it's not really that detailed) of getting a helmet, so i thought i would do it now...since i'm already talking about it.

after we had gone to dr. kelly and he told us he recommended we get addison a helmet (and after we had decided that's what we wanted to do) we had to make an appointment to have the helmet made. it's a different office than dr. kelly's, but it's really close and they are very nice. the appointment wasn't for another week, so i had some time to get mentally prepared.

the couple that we met while waiting at dr. kelly's office the first time really helped me by telling me what to expect. their daughter screamed the whole time, but luckily, addison didn't do any of that.

the first appointment was to get a mold of addison's head. the appointment was only going to last 30 minutes, so i figured it couldn't be that bad. we had a big gang come with us (my mom, dad, chris and me) because i wanted to have people just in case we needed some one. i don't know, i just wanted to be prepared. they put this little thing on addison's head and it looked like a ski mask, but with a big hole in the front for her whole face. the woman who did the mold put the first section, which went around the back of addison's head on first. it had to sit for 5 minutes. addison did great that whole time. she didn't care. she had her paci and a toy and she was set. the second section went on her forehead and on top of her head. addison didn't like that one as much. the first section was still on, so her whole head was covered. but it only had to be on for 5 minutes, so it really wasn't bad. i was more upset than addison i think. it just made me sad to see her like that, and to know that soon she would have a helmet.

addison with her sort of ski mask on

addison getting the first section of the mold put on

addison getting the second section of the mold put on

all done!

the next appointment wasn't for another week and a half. it was the fitting. they said it would take about 30 minutes, then we could leave for 2 hours, then come back for another 30 minutes. my mom was with me for that appointment, and i had planned on letting addison nap for the 2 hours. once we got to the appointment, they put the foam mold on addison's head and made marks on it for where they needed to cut it out (for the ear holes, and to not have it in her eyes). they said to come back in 45 minutes, so addison only got a 30 minute nap. when we got back, they had to put the helmet on and take it off a few times to trim it down a little more. that didn't make addison too happy. she just wasn't used to the feeling and didn't like being awake.

addison passed out in the car on the way home. when we got home, she slept a little longer, then ate then went back to sleep. i was scared she wouldn't be able to sleep, but she did great. it was just one of those days when we can't really stick to her schedule, and it changed a little bit. and the day after, she was back to normal.

ever since, things have been as great as ever. addison is used to her helmet, and she enjoys her breaks from wearing it (she gets 3, 20 minute breaks. one when she gets up, one in the afternoon, and one right before bedtime so she can take a bath). i think the last of those is her favorite. she loves bath time. and i do too, because before bedtime is usually when she's the grumpiest, so bath time always makes her happy.

addison has had her helmet for 2 months now, and she's doing great. she'll probably have to have it for another 4 months, but we're almost half way there! maybe we'll get lucky and she'll get it off early!

if anyone has any questions about the process, feel free to ask!

rain, rain, go away

so, i knew it was going to be raining today, but i had hoped maybe it wouldn't start until i got home from class. well i was wrong. i woke up, looked at the weather on my phone and realized it was already raining. so i had to make a decision. curl or straighten my hair. wow, big decision (sarcasm). i decided to just straighten it (this shows my hope for the rain stopping before class).

well, i'm sitting here, 15 minutes before i have to leave for class, and it's pouring. i've had one cup of coffee and i'm thinking about having another. just because i get really sleepy on rainy days. i kind of like when it rains while i'm in class, because i don't feel like i'm missing out on a nice sunny day. but i hate walking in the rain. i guess i'll just get my umbrella and tough it out.

this is my view of the rain from my desk.....

and this is the new pond that has formed behind our house

(it only happens when it rains a lot really fast)

oh, and this morning i was on a pacifier hunt. i went in to check on addison before i fixed my hair, and i could see her little head moving around in her crib. i just watched because i thought it was kind of funny and cute. i knew she was looking for her paci, but she couldn't find it. so when she started to cry, i went in to give it to her. well, guess what. i couldn't find it either. if she can't find it, it usually means it's stuck somewhere under her bumper pad, or sometimes addison is laying on it. but this time, it was under her crib. she had somehow pushed it out. so i was looking everywhere for it and she was starting to whine. i finally found it and now hopefully she's asleep again.

now i'm off to school...still raining. let's hope i don't melt!