Playing Possum

Today as I was putting Addie down for a nap she decided to play possum. Often I will play around with her and pretend I fell asleep, then I will pop open my eyes and start laughing and she thinks its hilarious. Well I rocked her as usual to get her to sleep (or so I thought) for her morning nap and I layed her down in her crib and stood there a second like I always do to make sure she doesn't stir and wake right back up. Well all of a sudden she flips from her side to her back, while popping open her eyes and starts laughing! I tried not to laugh but then burst out laughing which made her laugh harder. And we both laughed for the longest. I didn't even try to get her back to sleep after that one, she was in too playful of a mood. It was so hilarious that she is already playing tricks on me, I can't believe how much babies take in so young!

Double Ear Infections...

Poor Addie has her first ear infection... and it is in both ears. She got congested two weeks ago and had a runny nose, but I figured it was just a cold. Well the last few days she has had a low fever occasionally, but I thought it might be teething because she is chewing on everything too. Today though, she started clawing at her ears and head, had a fever, and lots of mucus, so we took her to Dr. Cochran. She got some yummy bubblegum flavored medicine that she loves to take, so hopefully her ears will feel better tomorrow.

Happy Belated Birthday Dad!

My dear Daddy turned 59 on July 12th! He had hurt his back, so we postponed celebrating until this past Sunday the 20th due to busy weekday schedules and Pioneer day on the 19th. Mom and Katie made a great Mexican dinner and Mom made Dad his favorite... an all natural, no added sweetener carrot cake. Mom, you know I love you, but I do not love that cake. :) Dad, however loves the fact that it is only sweetened with honey and he eats it up. I swear my Dad looks 10 years younger this year than he did last year! He shaved his moustache and beard off earlier this summer and he looks like he's about 40 now instead of almost 60!

My Dad is seriously the perfect man. He works hard at all he does. He works outside day in and day out with his lawn business, then he comes home and works around the house and yard to get whatever done that needs be, then he eats dinner with the family, helps others with their projects or works more around the home, and then finally will make it to bed only to start again the next day. Dad always has time for his family and will drop everything at the drop of a hat to help you. I can't even begin to tell you how often Dad has been over here helping with random things. Just tonight he helped us get a door on that was giving Jarom and me fits. Dad is so good with Addie too. She loves him and the feeling is definitely mutual. Her favorite thing to do with Gramps is pull the glasses off of his face. You can't quite read the hat Addie has on in the picture but it says "I love you Grandpa"... can you guess who bought it for her?

Even when Dad was working 2nd shift at the police department I never remember a time when he didn't come home for family dinner. He turned down promotions because they would take him away from his family more than his current job did. I remember countless bike rides, walks, trips to the park, and backyard games. I remember him taking us as a family out to eat to Morrison's, Piccadilly, and Cracker Barrel weekly and then getting a "treat" after of a health candy bar or hard candy and if we were at the mall we'd get to go into the dollar tree and pick out a toy. When we were littler I remember him taking me on his knee at church and bouncing me, and me riding on his back around the house. We always took a family vacation each year to Panama City Beach and made many additional trips to theme parks such as Disney World, Six Flags, Oprayland, or other places such as Rock City, or even the little amusement park off of Drake that used to be there. Now I realize how much money and effort it takes to do these things!

A tradition that Dad always did with us that is fondest in my mind is all five of us piling into Dad's truck "Old Blue" one day after thanksgiving and going to cut down a Christmas tree. That was always the most exciting day and we would drive out past Ditto's landing to the tree farm, spend forever looking at all the trees until we found the perfect one, then Dad would cut it, let it fall on him and pretend like he couldn't get out (which sent us into fits of giggles), and drag it back to our truck. We'd then go eat breakfast at Shoney's and would park the truck near the windows so we could look at our tree that we were SO proud of! We'd go home, Dad would get it into the tree stand and then we'd put the lights on and decorate it. This last year we all went to find a tree for their house and ours (mind you I was 9 months pregnant and HUGE walking all over that farm) and we are excited to continue this tradition with Addison.

Dad also is one of the most spiritual and wise people I know. He took five years studying religion before he found our church and has never taken the priesthood or the church lightly. He has given me numerous blessings and we always got our father's blessings at the beginning of each school year. He also is very knowledgeable when it comes to health matters. Dad became a vegetarian a few years before I was born and so I grew up around health food and "veggie meat". I know, it sounds gross, but the veggie meat is REALLY good!!! I prefer the fake sausage to the real stuff...really! He has told us things for years that doctors are now starting to preach. Though his lectures warranted many eye rolls growing up, I know that he knows and knew what he was talking about and we are probably much healthier now for it.

I am so thankful to have been born into the family that I was. I had a wonderful childhood and the best parents in the world. I'm so thankful for my sweet Dad and for all that he has done for me and for everything that he continues to do for us. I'm thankful for his example as a parent and a husband, because it helps me with Addie and helped me to choose my hardworking hubby Jarom. I love you Dad and hope you had a wonderful birthday!

Bedtime Routine

Addie and I have gotten into this great bedtime routine which usually results in zero tears! We had gotten out of our routine when I was sick, so we started it back tonight and Addie got really excited when I broke out the book.

When she starts to get tired around 9:30 or so, I run her a warm bath, let her play some, then dry her, brush her hair, rub her down with lotion, plop a diaper on her bummy, and get her in some pj's. I then wrap a blanket around her, give her a paci, and then we sit in the recliner and read a book. Her favorite books are "The very quiet cricket" and "the very hungry caterpillar". Every time the cricket cheeps at the end of the book, Addie looks up at me and grins. Then I nurse her if she is close to being ready to eat again and then we rock for a few minutes and then I lay her down in the middle of our bed. The whole process takes probably 45 minutes, but is relaxing for the both of us.

I started putting her down on her tummy a week ago and she has become such a better sleeper! For the longest she slept through the night, but then started waking every 2-3 hours and would refuse to go back to sleep unless I fed her. Finally when I got home from Tulsa I got her back down to about 3 wake ups a night, but now I have her sleeping around 5-6 hours before waking up to eat and then she goes down for another 4 or so hours. Its still not great, but its wonderful compared to what she was at!

I know Addie should be sleeping in her own bed, but Jarom and I have grown to love having Addie in the bed with us. I told Jarom the other night that I should start transitioning her into her own bed once I get her sleeping a little longer at night and he said "oh don't worry about me, I'm sleeping fine". I protested and then he fessed up "she's our first little baby and I like having her cuddle with us at night." To tell you the truth, it is easier right now to have her in bed with us then to get up and go into her room every time she's hungry or wakes up. Now I just have to make sure she still isn't in our bed when she's 3 years old... haha!

"Mama", teeth, and more...

Grandma and Addie playing while I was sick. Thank heavens for Grandma!

Whew, it has been a busy few months! A few days after vacation, Addie and I headed up to Tulsa, then Sam came back with us for about 3 weeks, the rest of the Haynie's came to visit for a week, and I got a stomach virus that put me completely out of commission for several days.

Addie now has 7 teeth total! 3 on bottom and the 4 in the middle on top. Let me tell you, nursing has NOT been fun. Even though she doesn't bite that often, since the top teeth came in it hurts like heck! I don't know if that is normal and I'll just have to tough through it or if she just has a vicious suck, either way, it is not easy.

Addie has learned how to say Mama!!! The first time I heard it was last Thursday. I was cleaning up some stuff in the back yard and had her in the stroller and she was over it and she started wailing "mamamama" but I just attributed it to her cry and tried not to get too excited. Well Monday she started saying "ma" and "mama" all the time. She said "Ada" last week one day, I started practicing dada with her today. She also says baba, baabaah, and just chitter chatters all day long now. I love it! Addie thinks everything is hilarious now and is constantly laughing and squealing. If I mimic what she says she gets a real kick out of it.

Addie also learned how to feed herself the fruit and veggie puffs. She hasn't quite mastered the "pincher" grasp yet, but pinches the food with her index and middle finger and her thumb. She loves to eat (she gets that from me and Grandma I'm sure) and if I am eating around her I have to give her some or she gets really frustrated. Whenever she wants to eat or is hungry she smacks her lips together, it is funny.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I hate messes, especially on clothes, furniture, etc. This had me going crazy wanting to wipe her down, but she enjoyed the little teether cookie so much I couldn't take it away just yet... You should have heard the screaming that entailed when I finally did take the soggy mess away.

Addie takes her baths now in the sink instead of in the infant tub. She thinks its so much fun to splash and loves to chew on her rubber duck and whatever else I throw in there with her. She also sits up in the shopping carts and in high chairs at restaurants. Her being able to sit up so good has made my life SO much easier! I can just set her down anywhere and she sits and plays. Mom bought me this great cart cover for shopping carts and high chairs so that she doesn't touch or chew on the buggies or chairs and it is a lifesaver! I'm sure Addie would have contracted about 12 different viruses after sitting in some of those carts at the stores we've been in if it hadn't been for that cover, haha.

Addie really wants to be entertained a lot lately. She loves to play and plays well by herself for about 30 minutes, then starts to fuss. If I continue to ignore her she has learned that if she starts kissing me I tell her "oh thank you", so she starts kissing me to get my attention. She likes "peek-a-boo", "give me five" (though I have to take her hand and pat mine, but she thinks its hilarious), she likes to have her little piggies counted, and laughs like crazy when I tickle her under her arms, on her tummy and thighs, and her neck. Did I mention Addie and I have a blast every day?

Oklahoma Part II!

My absolute Favorite picture from the trip- thanks Kiara! Addie and Me at the pool Little Bathing Beauty Kena Bath Buddies- Addie's First time in the sink for a bath

The family visiting Papa at work

We made it to Big Splash at around 3:45 PM Thursday to find out that they closed at 6 PM not 8 PM... boo! We were wondering why it started clearing out so early... We had a good time and Addie was enjoying it until she took a trip around the lazy river and got to this part where you have to go under a waterfall. I was about to go down the slide with Sam and Carly and saw Lexi hovering over Addie to make sure she didn't get drenched and then saw Addie's reaction to the loud sounds of the water... she hated it! She bawled until I finally got her after I got off the ride. Loud noises scare Addie, be it loud water, kids yelling, or someone just talking too loudly. My little girl is just a teensy bit sensitive.

Addie with Aunt AbbyWhen we got home, tired from our playing in the sun, Dad had us a feast of vegetable beef stew and bread. It tasted so good and I went to bed relatively early. Addie went to sleep at 8:30 (really unusual for her, she normally is up until at least 10 PM).

Friday we woke up and tried to get some sister pictures before Lexi took off for youth conference. We didn't quite get what we wanted, but maybe we can crop and edit enough to get one to satisfy us all. Emma and Alicia took a trip to the doctor to confirm the ear infection we had suspected and to get Emma some medicine. Bless her heart, she is a little trooper, sick and all! We took more cousin pictures a little bit later in their adorable white dresses and then Carly, Alisha, Avery, Kena, Nathan, and Sam headed back to Huntsville. That evening Dad took us to this really good old restaurant called "Brownies". They had homemade root beer and fries and really good burgers. We stuffed ourselves and then got concretes. I got a pb chocolate this time, it was delicious! We then headed home for an evening of TV and then bed.

Pretty Addie

Saturday I packed up everything and then we went to the mall before we headed to the airport. I got a ton of long tanks at Forever 21 to go under my shirts and a pair of flip flops at Gap and then we grabbed Panera to go and ate it on the way to the airport. I finally got Addie and I to our flight after the fun trip through security and then we were on our way to Memphis. Well the pilot tells us we had arrived in Memphis but that we couldn't land because we were too heavy! So he says he'll just make a few circles to drop some weight, and then we'd land. After the first circle I thought I was going to lose my lunch and then he just kept circling over and over. I was miserable. Finally 30 minutes later we straighten back out and land. I was so happy to be on ground. The whole time I had a sleeping Addie in my arms so I couldn't move away from my window seat. Yuck. We then only had about an hour until our next flight, so I fed Addie, changed her diaper and decided to grab a quick bite since it was already almost 8 PM. I bought a pre-made turkey sandwich, a chocolate milk and a little potato side salad thinking it wouldn't be very expensive and it was $13!!! I wouldn't have minded so much if it had at least tasted good... Well as I sat down to eat Addie filled her diaper up like I have never seen before. I think all the chocolate chip cookies, watermelon, sweet potato puffs and other foods Addie got all decided to make an exit at the same moment. To top it off, they started boarding the plane at the exact same time so I threw away my half eaten gross dinner, grabbed Addie and jetted to the nearest bathroom. Of course I had packed away my changing pad by accident so I tried to get paper towels to cover that nasty changing table to no avail. I finally got Addie cleaned up and we made it to the plane. There were no empty seats, so Addie and I had to squish beside a guy who luckily had a 13 month grandson so he was nice to both of us. Addie was over it by this time and fussed unless she had a sweet potato puff in her mouth so I kept feeding her those until we landed.

We were SO glad to see Daddy waiting for us at the gate! We missed him greatly and Addie played with Daddy while we waited the 10 years (or so it seemed) for the baggage to make it to us. Sam had wanted to spent the night with Kent and Wes so we dropped by to give him some medicine and then finally made it home at about 11 PM. Normally I am so OCD I have to unpack everything and put it all away, but I was so exhausted I just pulled the luggage to my room, got undressed and plopped into bed.

Nuna feeding the girls chocolate chip cookies

We really had a wonderful time in Tulsa! A huge thanks to Nuna and Papa for feeding us and hosting us for the week! We had such a fun time and we can't wait for everyone to come visit next week! Addie and I especially enjoyed meeting Avery for the first time! Avery is such a little beauty and is so good at rolling and scooting around! That little girl is going to be crawling before we know it! I'm sure I now weigh about 10 pounds heavier from all of the good food and dessert, but it was worth it! It was good to have all of the little cousins together and I really enjoyed getting to know everyone better. We love you all and can't wait until we ALL can be together again at Christmas!