The Byron Clan

Baby, Baby, Baby OH...

2012-01-26T12:20:00.000-08:00

So my daughter is in love with Justin Bieber. Ever since she was teeny tiny, her dad would play the "Baby" music video for her on the computer when she was fussy, and it would calm her right down. Now, we have a nightly ritual which includes playing the Biebs on our Apple TV so that Addi can shake her groove thang before bathtime. This girl has moves. We love seeing her face light up as soon as she hears the first few measures of the song.

Who says you have to stand up to shake your bum?

If you watch any part of these videos, watch around :20. That little "get low" move seriously cracks me up.

These videos were taken a month ago. Now, Addi will actually sing "Baby" during the chorus. Adorable.

1 Year Pictures

2012-01-12T10:12:00.000-08:00

I really wanted to get Addi's 1 year pictures taken by my friend and favorite photographer, but our schedules weren't really lining up. So, I tried to find another photographer in my area...only to discover that most of places I liked wouldn't give you a cd with the pictures on them unless you wanted to pay a million dollars. I don't have a million dollars. I finally decided that I could do this. I have a super nice camera and lens. I know the basics. It wasn't like I needed a ton of pictures, just enough to document this milestone. Though these pictures are not professional quality, I'm pleased. It captures my ~~baby's~~ toddler's personality well. And, we had lots of fun running around outside together. Someone at the store the other day told me that "her daddy better get the gun ready." I agree. She's a looker.

These Boots Were Made for Walking...

2012-01-11T16:32:00.000-08:00

We bought these adorable boots for Addi quite a while ago at the Gap Clearance Center. The tag says they're size 5, but supposed to fit a baby that is 6 months (which is probably why they didn't sell in stores). Addi has super small feet (still size 3), but I couldn't resist trying them on her the other day. She has no clue how to walk in them because they're so stiff and huge. It was hilarious. Oh little girl accessories!

Christmas Vacation '11

2012-01-11T16:04:00.000-08:00

Christmas vacation was so nice this year. Chad got to take quite a few days off of work, so we were able to spend a lot of time together. Addi was in Dada heaven! We started our festivities off by making and decorating sugar cookies.

Obviously Addi was a fan.

Then, on Christmas Eve, we drove up to Michigan to spend the holiday with my sister and her family. My parents flew in late on Christmas Eve/early Christmas Day. We had so much fun and Addi enjoyed all of the attention.

Christmas Eve pj's and book.

7 AM Christmas morning

Addi's stocking loot

She hadn't quite woken up all the way yet...

All of the children received pillow pets for Christmas, and Addi pretty much claimed everyone's and hers. She loves stuffed animals!

A few days after Christmas, we came down to our house to party for New Years. Of course I don't have any pictures of those festivities. Sometimes I'm just too busy having fun and don't worry about taking pictures. So after my sister and her family went back to Michigan, we had a few days with my parents before they had to go back home. We decided to brave the cold Ohio air, and ventured to a quaint little town 20 minutes away. We walked the main street, went in a few shops, and about froze our tushies off. It was a good time.

Addi was bundled and didn't mind being out in the cold.

We had such a great time over the vacation that it was especially difficult adjusting to normal life again. We still miss our company, and Addi for sure misses the 24/7 attention. Who wants to come visit next???

Walking and talking

2011-12-16T16:51:00.000-08:00

She's been mobile (of the 2-legged variety) for a little while now, but I thought I should document for posterity. Oh, and that scream at the end? That's because I wouldn't give her the video camera. Yeah, we're trying to work on the whole Addi-doesn't-get-everything-she-wants thing. It's tough.

And here are a few of the latest tricks. A little explanation: She has this habit of standing up in the bathtub, and her Dada (who is usually in charge of bath and bed time) always tells her to, "Sit down!" The other night she was getting ready to stand in the tub and he said, "Sit," after which Addi replied, "dowwww." He thought it was a fluke, but it's not. She now says "down" (or dowww) after you say "sit." It's pretty adorable.

Cupcake

2011-12-14T16:21:00.000-08:00

I caught the last few bites of the birthday cupcake on video. So funny.

It's My Party...

2011-12-13T11:45:00.001-08:00

...And she only cried a little bit. Of course on this day she decided she would take a longer than usual morning nap, therefore skipping the afternoon nap. She was a little bit ornery, but she still had a fun time. I, of course, milked the ladybug theme again (since we call her Addi Bug, and her Halloween costume was a ladybug). We had so much fun planning and throwing this little shindig. A few of our closest friends came to share the day. All in all, I think it went well!

The decor

The beverages. So grateful DC is red & black.

Birthday flowers from Dada

The little lady's highchair

Wall of pictures (I will create another post about these sometime soon)

Where did the year go?

The spread

Chad's creation. Chocolate covered ladybug pretzels.

My creation. (Ideas stolen from pinterest, of course)

My sweet 1 year old!

Just starting to walk the week before her birthday...

You should see her now, cruisin' all over the place!

Presents

She loves her walker.

Now time for the cupcake.

Going in for a test bite...

Yum!

She decided it was good enough, and shoved the whole thing in her mouth!

This was seriously the funniest thing I have ever seen...

We laughed and laughed. It only took her 2 minutes to eat the entire cupcake!

That's my girl.

Finishing opening presents after bathtime

Happy 1st birthday, Addi Bug!

(Now don't expect a party like this every year. Only for big milestone years, like...16.) =)

One year ago...

2011-12-08T16:25:00.000-08:00

We made this video a year ago and it makes me a little teary when I watch it now. It's just a bunch of pictures of Addi's birth/first few days home set to music, but it just reminds me of how special that time was. I won't be offended if you don't want to watch it, but just thought the grandparents might like to see it.

One

2011-12-08T06:29:00.000-08:00

Head!

12/8/2011

Addi Bug,

One year ago today, you came into our lives and changed us forever. You made us parents. You made me a Mom, and your dada, a Dad. We will never be the same as we were before you were born, and thank goodness. We are better people. You, in your short life so far, have made us better people.

Now, that’s not to say we haven’t had our moments together. There’ve been many sleepless nights, countless tears (from both you and your Mama), and endless worrying. Things have not been perfect. But they have been wonderful. We have really tried to live in the moment with you. We have not pushed you to do things you weren’t ready for (and we learned very early on you were not to be forced to do anything you didn’t want to do anyway). We have really tried to enjoy the little moments, the snuggletime when you were just a little baby and the times where you would fall asleep in our arms, and not spend too much time worrying about sleeping, eating, and everything else that you could possibly worry about with your first child. I think we both knew that your life as a “baby” would pass so quickly and we really just wanted to savor every moment. You are growing up so fast, and there are so many times where I wish I could just press the “pause” button and keep you just the way you are forever.

With that being said, we love the little lady you are becoming. You have some serious personality. Your smile, with those beautiful blue eyes, lights up the room. You are so determined. You get frustrated when you can’t figure something out, and you will sit and work with it until you do. You are happiest when all eyes are on you, and all attention is focused in your direction. Now, I’m sure some of these very things will be the same traits that one day drive us crazy. But, for now, these traits are what make you you. We couldn’t be happier with how you are growing up. It would be ok if time slowed down just a little bit, though.

So, let’s take a look at what you’ve been up to the last month:

You started walking! You still prefer to crawl, but you take multiple steps in a row now. We got you a walker, and your little independent self just loved being able to take off on your own. It won’t be long and you’ll be cruising all over the house.

You mastered going up the stairs, but going down is another story.

You can now say, “wow,” “baby,” and “dog (da), and “boo.”

Forget letting strangers hold you, or even friends for that matter. You prefer mama or dada, and if you’re not in our arms, you cry. You do much better when we’re not in sight, but if we’re in the room and we’re not holding you, forget about it!

You grew another tooth (5 total).

You can accurately locate your mouth, eyes, hair, head, nose, toes, tongue, and my personal favorite, belly. Love it.

Your new thing this month is to cry out, “MamaDada!” in the saddest tone ever if we’ve stepped out of the room for a few minutes and you can’t see us. It’s probably the cutest thing we’ve ever heard and this is your dada’s new favorite thing you do.

We love you so much, little Bug. We kiss those sweet cheeks just as much now as we did the day you were born, and I hope you’ll let us do that for at least a few more years.

Happy birthday,

Mama and Dada

I love these sweet pictures of your curious self checking out the tree (and taking off all the ornaments and ribbon)

***I am thinking that I'm going to have to stop doing these posts every month, since it's something I'd like to continue with each of my kids and I don't think I can keep up with one letter/photo shoot per month, per child. So, we'll probably start doing them every 6 months. Thanks to whoever I stole this idea from, that I don't think I ever gave proper blog cred to, and whose blog I obviously no longer read (Sorry!). =) But seriously, thanks for the great idea!

Dada's Girl 2.0

2011-11-14T06:29:00.000-08:00

Maybe she's a Dada's girl because he lets her do cool things, like enjoy her first sucker...

And she did enjoy it.

Boston

2011-11-11T06:03:00.000-08:00

Chad had business in Boston in October, so Addi and I decided to tag along. The first few days were spent sans Dada, so we just kind of wandered the city and relaxed at the hotel. The weekend was fun, as we were able to spend a little time together exploring and eating the yummy Boston fare.

Addi and I spent quite a bit of time at the Boston Commons and Public Garden (basically a big park)

We found the Cheers bar and no I did not take my baby into the bar

We enjoyed picnic lunches at the park

We admired the pretty buildings

We went to Harvard, which has a really pretty campus

These gates greeted you at every entrance to campus

This is how Addi felt about Harvard

We walked the Freedom Trail and visited the Old North Church and Paul Revere's home

I ate a lobster and it was delish

The site of the Boston Massacre

Addi was a trooper and caught naps in the stroller when she could. Nothing like being on vacation to really mess up a kid's schedule.

On Saturday (two weekends before Halloween, mind you) we went to Salem.

This was a mistake of epic proportions. We were meeting our friends, the Williamson's (they had moved to Vermont a few months ago), and thought Salem would be a nice place to do that.

We couldn't have been more wrong. Apparently Salem has a huge Halloween-type festival going on every weekend in October until Halloween, you know to celebrate the witches. People come from all over to dress up and hang out in this weird little town. Needless to say, it took both of us hours to get into town and find each other. In the end, I'm so glad we got to see them and we had a good time just eating a very late lunch at a little cafe. (I'm even more grateful they decided not to turn around and go back home) =)

We sure do miss you guys!

Addi and I waiting for the train back to Boston.

It was a fun trip. I wouldn't mind going back without children to do all the things you can't really do with kids there (go on all the tours, eat at the fancy restaurants). It would also be nice to have a kid that can sleep in a foreign bed. My baby, bless her little heart, kept us up most of the night, most nights we were there. It was still enjoyable, and maybe we'll get back there one day!

11 Months

2011-11-09T06:08:00.001-08:00

11/8/2011

Bug,

You are seriously full of so much sass and sweetness, which in my book are two wonderful qualities. I’m not quite sure how you’ve done it, but you’ve made us love you even more now than we did the day you were born. You constantly have us chuckling at your little antics and our world pretty much revolves around you.

11 months had you doing all sorts of things:

You can now say Mama and Dada (and can accurately look at who you are talking about), but if we ask you to say one, you say the other. Like I said, sassy.

You can identify several body parts: toes, mouth, tongue, and teeth. What a little smarty pants you are!

You started dancing when music comes on. It’s so fun to watch you move your shoulders and wave your arms to the music.

You are officially sleeping through the night (8-8), and it is wonderful. Incredible. Fantastic. I don’t know why we waited so long to sleep train you. You picked up on it in just a matter of nights, and I think all of our lives are better because of it.

Every night at around 7 PM, we have what’s called nakie play-time. Basically, you get stripped down to just your diaper and you play. This is without a doubt your favorite time of the day. You love it. You just jabber and crawl everywhere and climb on your Mama and Dada.

You have four teeth! Your top two chompers finally came in. Your little smile is so cute with those teethies.

You have learned how to turn the pages in a book by yourself. I get a kick out of watching you tilt the book up on it’s end and use your chubby little thumbs to turn the pages.

You are seriously the best eater. You eat almost everything we put in front of you (besides watermelon and canteloupe). I count my blessings that you have decided to love food as much as we do. I also have a feeling that you won’t be the kid we will have to ask to clear your plate before you can leave the table. You have to eat everything on your tray before it gets taken away, and then when the tray is gone, you check your bib and high chair for remnants. So funny.

You are pretty much weaning yourself. You no longer take a bottle before bed, so we’re down to two feedings. You’ve made this weaning thing look easy.

Usually you draw a lot of attention wherever we go. This month we went to Boston on a business trip with Dada. We were out and about a lot, and you got lots of attention, but everybody thought you were a boy! It was a little bit frustrating, considering you had at least a pink pacifier clip and a pink stroller the entire time. Really, people? Just because you were dressed in navy or gray didn’t mean you had to be a boy, right? We think you are the prettiest little gal we’ve ever seen, though, and that’s all that matters.

Next month you will turn one, which completely blows my mind. How about you stop growing up for a little while, Sweets?

Loves to you,

Mama & Dada

Motorboating (all. day. long)

Digging for treasures

You looooove to swing at the park (Look at those teeth!)

Love/Toler-Hate

2011-11-04T13:16:00.001-07:00

Here's how it goes down:

Oliver lies unsuspectingly, just feet away from Bug

Bug crawls over, Oliver quickly relocates

Oliver is lazy, sees Bug coming, and decides to stick around

Oliver is attacked

(Why is it that Bug rarely cuddles with humans, but give the kid a cat and she gets all squishy with it?)

Oliver wants to escape, but alas is pinned by a creature who is quite a bit heavier and isn't afraid to lay on him with all of her weight (Karma because this is exactly what Olive does to the other 4-legged in our house, Mokie)

Bug offers Olive a kiss

Kiss was not received warmly, Olive runs away

This happens at least once a day in my house. Bug loves. Cat tolerates.

Pumpkins

2011-11-04T11:54:00.000-07:00

We decided to head to Iron's Fruit Farm this year to pick Addi's pumpkin (and a couple for our front step). We chose the coldest day of the year thus far, but Bug was a trooper. We had such a fun time riding out to the patch, wandering around looking for the perfect pumpkin, and finally deciding on one just Addi's size. Then after our little ride back, we stopped in the store for some apple fritters (yum!), donuts, and of course, cider. What a fun day!

What is this face, you ask? I don't know...but I sure do love it.

No words

2011-10-16T16:50:00.001-07:00

Photobooth 2.0

2011-10-14T16:37:00.000-07:00

Love these kisses.

(Someone was a little distracted today and wouldn't give any smiles.)

Happy weekend, everyone!

10 Months

2011-10-11T07:11:00.001-07:00

(This month's mini-shoot was stressful. I took 12 pictures, because I couldn't get you to sit still! You're definitely more mobile this month.)

(I foresee a lot of the above look directed at us in the coming years.)

10/8/2011

Addi Bug,

This will forever be known as the month where you got into everything. By everything, I mean everything. You started crawling everywhere and pulling yourself up on everything and there wasn’t a place in the house that you wouldn’t venture. Nothing, from the kitties’ water dishes to the entertainment center, was safe from your curious hands this month.

Here’s a little of what else happened this month:

You’re morphing into a toddler right before our very eyes. Your hair is coming in, and your mama doesn’t have a clue what to do with it most days. You’ll keep a barrette in for about 2 seconds, but most days you go without. Your blue eyes are still very blue, which I think is a shock to everyone. I think we all thought my brown eyes would win out, but you definitely take after your dada’s side with those beautiful blues.

Your top left tooth came through, and the right one is sure to follow suit. The bottom two teeth weren’t that big of a deal, but these top two have taken forever and must have made you so uncomfortable. You’ve been a little bit on the feisty side.

You are so curious about the world around you. You’ve taken a particular interest in your kitties. You will chase them all over the house. You really like Oliver, because he’ll actually let you pet him occasionally. And by pet, I mean maul. You will grab his fur and bury your head in his belly. He tolerates it and you just love him.

You continue to think that your mother is a jungle gym. If I am laying on the floor with you, I will spend the whole time getting trampled and climbed on. This brings me back to the days when you were little and could only roll and would steamroll your way over me to get somewhere. What’s the deal with that?

Your little personality frequently has us in stitches. This month I became aware of your inner diva. You definitely yell when you can’t get to something you want, or when you want someone to turn the page in the storybook, or when you don’t have enough food on your tray. This wouldn’t be such a big deal, but you are a really loud kid. Your voice carries. We’re going to have to find ways of dealing with this newfound sassiness.

You have learned several new tricks this month. You can now wave, clap, smack your lips, and give kisses on command. Also, when we ask you what the kitty says, you will sometimes give us a high-pitched mew. But that’s pretty selective. Overall, I’m amazed at how much you have learned in a month.

You also learned how to sleep through the night this month, with a little help from your parents. You are now sleeping all night without waking up, most nights during the week. Thank goodness!

We love you, little one!

Love,

Mama & Dada

Ok, now look at how many of these pictures are of you getting into stuff:

Dada's Girl

2011-10-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

Chad has always been really good with Addi, and she has always adored him. She's mostly always been just as comfortable with him and she has been with me. He's a natural with babies, and he was wrapped around Addi's finger from day 1. She did go through her spurts where she would only want Mama, but those days didn't last very long and it was mostly only when she wanted to be fed. Lately, she's been a Dada's girl through and through. As soon as he comes home, she just squeals and kicks and flails until he picks her up. He'll do something that will make her laugh, I'll do the same thing and she'll just stare at me blankly. She's most content on the weekends when she has her Dada's undivided attention. It makes me a little bit melty to see these two...just sayin'. I hope they stay close forever, because let's face it, dads are awesome.

Here's some proof that Dada is funny:

Peek-A-Boo from Rebekah Byron on Vimeo.

And:

The funny thing is, I read this book to her a zillion times a day and she never laughs this hard. But Dada reads it and she's crackin' up. Don't worry...I'm not jealous =)

Photobooth

2011-10-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

I don't know if this will become a "thing," so I'm not making any guarantees. Addi really loves taking pictures on our iMac, though, so here are today's favs:

(I included this one to show you the lovely fat lip I received from my dear daughter. She's so squirmy these days...and my lip paid the price.)

9 Months

2011-09-12T11:51:00.000-07:00

Your dada helped me with this little photo shoot, so in most of the pictures you have this ridiculously large grin on your face.

9/8/2011

Addi Bug,

Your 9th month was an adventure:

You started deciding that sleeping from 8 pm to 7:30 am wouldn’t be a bad idea...and then you started teething. That was the first thing to go out the window. Along with it went your pleasant, sweet attitude and then your ability to go to people you didn’t know very well. Which basically means you turned into a little bit of a pill this month. You went from my little toothless wonder to having 2 bottom teeth and 2 top ones on their way. I’m just praying this phase is over soon and you return to your normal self. You are kind of miserable...

You are completely done with baby foods. You are quite adventurous in your trying of real foods. You will eat anything we give you, and most of the time you like it! I was shocked when you had eggplant and then begged for more. We feel so lucky you are such a wonderful eater. This also means that you are only nursing, at most, 2 times a day and taking a bottle before bed. I feel like this came a little earlier than planned, but I am grateful you are weaning yourself and I don’t really have much say in the matter. You have also completely mastered your sippy cup this month. Big girl!

You are making all sorts of crazy sounds. You love to smack your lips and your newest trick is the motorboat. You do this loudly. And mostly in places where you should be quiet, like church. At least everyone thinks it’s funny, right?

You learned to crawl this month and you are now into everything. You started by crawling backwards. Then you did the army crawl for about 2 weeks, before you decided you could use your legs too. It’s still so funny to see you try and book it across the room when you see something you want, which is usually something you aren’t supposed to have.

One day this month I went into your bedroom to get you up from nap time and you were sitting up. You had gone from laying down to sitting for the first time! Now you’re a total pro. You also started to pull yourself up this month. My days of being able to set you on the ground and know that when I go back you would be in the same place are over!

You started doing something really strange this month. When someone holds you close and you are facing them, you reach for their eyes and pull on their eyelashes. Then, you try to eat them. It makes us laugh like crazy! Where did this come from, silly girl?

You have many loves. You love stuffed animals, and get super excited and squeal when we give one to you, all the while squeezing the life out of the poor thing. You love when your Dada comes home from work, and most days flail your arms until he picks you up. You love to be thrown onto the bed and tossed around, and you laugh like crazy when we play rough with you. You love bathtime, and make this incredibly loud laughing sound right when you hear the water running.

Oh how big you are getting and oh how much we love you, baby girl!

Love,

Mama & Dada

Cousins

2011-08-23T11:29:00.000-07:00

While we were in Utah, Addi got to meet her twin cousins, Bella & Abby, who are just 2 months older than her. I had the brilliant idea of trying to take some pictures of the three of them together. I probably took 200 pictures...and you can imagine how many of them turned out =). It was so fun, though, to have them all together. Love these cute girls!

Here are some of my favorite shots:

Cute sisters.

Bib Hater

2011-08-16T13:59:00.000-07:00

This girl refuses to keep her bib on during mealtime. To be honest, it drives me absolutely bonkers, but I can't help but laugh at this clip of her. Can you see the demonstration of sheer strength as she looks me in the eye and grabs that bib so hard her body is shaking?

Bib hater from Rebekah Byron on Vimeo.

Let's just say that she didn't stop at the bib. She was pretty determined that shirt was coming off too.

Butterflies

2011-08-16T12:57:00.001-07:00

So a month before we went on our vacation in July (I will slowly catch up on this blogging business), we visited the Brazilian Butterfly Exhibit at the Krohn Conservatory. It was fantastic. Those butterflies were beautiful. Their colors were so vibrant and bold and they were most definitely not afraid of coming close.

Chad with the cactuses...cacti?...cactus'?

Some lady's tushie...like I said, these butterflies were not shy

Another lady's head

Addi was....a little less than impressed

Do you see it?

Love those feetsies

And then she finally decided she was interested. She was going for it in this picture.

She mostly loved to feel the leaves

Cheese!

After the exhibit, we took a little walk in the park that overlooks the Ohio River. It was such a fun day!

8 months

2011-08-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

Standing!

You were quite sick during this little shoot, so the smiles are lacking...but I love this little subdued face.

Crawling soon?

8/8/2011

Bug,

You seem like a big kid to me all of a sudden. Where did my baby go?

8 month shenanigans:

You have completely mastered the pincer grasp. It was funny because we were sitting around the dinner table at Grandma and Grandpa J’s house just watching you eat (because is there anything more fun than watching a baby eat?), when you picked up a piece of food off of your tray, but couldn’t get it to your mouth. You’d been doing this for a while, picking food off your tray but not really quite sure how to get that piece of food to your mouth. Your dad and I said something to everyone about how you hadn’t quite mastered that trick yet, when you took that piece of food and shoved it right in your mouth. You showed us! You definitely do things on your own time table, and you’re not going to let anyone tell you otherwise. I kind of love this trait that is developing in you. I’m sure there will be a day when it drives me crazy, but for now it’s nice to know you have such a strong personality.

The beginning of your 8th month was spent in California/Utah on your first vacation ever. You did great meeting all your cousins and aunts and uncles, and though it took you a little bit to warm up, you did so just fine. Your mama was worried with a capital “w” about you not warming up to family, but like we learned on this trip, your mama worries too much. =) We got some great pictures on this trip, you with your cousins, you with your grandmas and grandpas, and one of my favorites, you with your Grandma Great. I’m so glad you could meet this incredible lady. She’s the only great grandparent you have living, and what an example she is.

You turned into a foodie on this trip. You decided you weren’t really that much into baby food, and you wanted whatever mama and dada were eating. You love it. For a while there, with every bite you took, you’d make a “yum” sound. It was adorable. At every meal we have to share whatever we’re having with you. I’m actually super grateful it worked out this way, because it has simplified eating for us. You eat when we eat, what we eat. Good work, Sweet Cheeks!

You started sleeping on your tummy more this month, and I think you’re napping better because of it. Your naps are now very predictable, 2 hours around 9:30, and 1 1/2 hours around 1:30. Your 5 o’clock nap is in the process of being phased out. Some evenings you take it, some you don’t. Your doctor said that by 9 months, most babies were done taking a third nap and that it’s normal, but I’m going to miss it for a while. It helped me to get dinner ready, and helped you be pleasant until bedtime. When you don’t have that nap, you tend to get a little grouchy.

You are making so many more sounds now (wawa, yaya, baba, mama, almost dada). I love it! You also do this little thing where you blow out these puffs of air. It’s so hard to describe, but I am determined to get it on video one of these days. It cracks us up.

Your personality is just so fun. You make a little scrunchy face and breathe really fast through your nose. You flail your arms when you’re really excited about something. You kick your legs so hard in the bathtub, I sometimes worry you’re going to fall over. I love how excited you get about things. I hope you’re always like this!

We love you mucho, baby girl!

Mama & Dada

This face melts my heart

Sleepy look, complete with the eye rub

The loot from our garden!

7 Months (A little late)

2011-07-22T11:12:00.000-07:00

This new cheeser grin is my favorite. Makes me giggle every time I see it!

Oh how we love that Buddha belly!

July 8, 2011

Sweet Cheekers -

I keep telling myself with each new phase you enter, that the last one was my favorite...but I really do think this is my favorite stage! You are just too much fun to have around.

Here’s a little of what things were like for you in your 7th month:

You are officially rolling over from back to front, and we’ve now witnessed it! You started doing this in your crib. I would lay you on your back, and go in and find you on your tummy. Now, if you’re on your tummy, you’re rolling everywhere!

You’re a crazy sleeper. It’s funny to see what positions and where you end up in your crib after you’ve been sleeping. I also always put a blanket over you before you go to sleep, and you kick and kick until you get it off your legs. You hate having your legs covered while sleeping.

Several people have mentioned this to us, and we’ve noticed it too, but you use your feet as hands. You’ll play with toys with them and use them to feel books during storytime. It’s quite hilarious. This is why we’ve started calling you our little monkey.

You can now put your paci back in by yourself! Hallelujah! We can give it to you in any position and you can get it in the right way. It’s quite the monumental occasion in our house.

You got sick for the first time. I guess I should be grateful that you made it all the way to 7 months without getting sick, but I was kind of a mess. You had a fever for several days, that always seemed to go away in the morning but come back in full force in the evening. You slept from 7PM to 7AM, which never happens and partly how we knew something was wrong. After a few days of the fever not going away, and one evening where it reached 103.5, I decided to take you to the doctor the next day. Well the doctor couldn’t find anything wrong with you the next day, and surprise! your fever had disappeared. I felt a little like an overly worried mother, but I was grateful nothing was seriously wrong. While we were there the doctor inspected you for everything: she checked your ears and even looked at your body to see if you had a rash. She told me about roseola: sometimes babies will have a fever for a few days that will eventually go away and then a rash will appear, but you didn’t have a rash. Well, within 24 hours you had developed a pretty ugly looking rash all over your torso and back. You had roseola! I wasn’t an overly worried mother, I knew something was wrong! Ha! Don’t worry, you got better in no time.

You are really taking to this whole food business. You love food and are getting so much better with textures. Things you wouldn’t eat before, you now love, like asparagus and lima beans. You tried some pulled pork the other day and begged for more!

You went on your first flight (x2)! We flew out to California/Utah to visit family. It was an adventure. You were pretty good, and didn’t scream or anything. You just hate being held when you’re trying to sleep, so it was a little rough when you got tired. Your mama was a stress case about the whole thing, but your dada was so calm! I hope you take after your dad in that respect.

You also went on your first trip to the beach. You didn’t love the water at first, but you got used to it eventually and started to squeal when it would touch your legs. You really wanted to eat the sand, so we had to keep you on the blanket. You had a good time, though. I’ll share more about our big vacation in your next letter.

We love you little Bug!

Love,

Mom & Dad

During your shoot, I couldn't get you to leave your bear alone. I would take it away, put it down really fast, try to distract you, and then this is what happened. Every. single. time.

6 Months

2011-06-08T10:21:00.001-07:00

6/8/2011

Miss Addi,

6 months have never gone by so fast! Your larger-than-life personality, and (mostly) sweet disposition make life so fun for us. It is incredible to watch you grow and learn, which you seem to do so much of every single day.

This last month has been a big one for you:

At your 6 month check-up this morning, you were 17 lbs 6 oz (80th percentile), 26 inches (60th percentile), and 80th percentile for head circumference. The doctor was so pleased with how healthy, big, and strong you are!

We stopped swaddling you this month. You just started hating it and would fight it so much, that we had to just go cold turkey. It was a rough couple of nights, but I think you are enjoying sleeping more now that you are free. We tried to start you out with just one arm swaddled, but you always seemed to weasel out of it anyway, so we just took it away completely. You’re still not the best sleeper at night, waking up at least once to eat and sometimes more, but we’re getting there. The doctor said by 9 months she wants to see you going a 9-10 hour stretch at night, so it’s ok right now to wake up at 3 for a quick meal. Let’s listen to her, though, ok Bug? 5 AM sounds so much nicer than 3 =)

You continued to develop your vocal cords this month (aka yell like a banchee). You were yelling so much for a few days, that you made yourself hoarse. It was super funny and Mom and Dad laughed every time you tried to “talk” while you had lost your voice. Your voice has since returned, and you seem to be yelling a little less. You have started making a variety of sounds, though, which is so fun. And you have even started laughing more!

You started sitting up unassisted this month. Now, when you’re awake, this is the only position you want to be in. Forget tummy time (which you still hate, by the way), you’re all about sitting up. If you do have to be on your back, then your toes go right into your mouth. Cutest. thing. ever. I love it when you suck on your big toe, and often wonder if you do that because we don’t let you suck your thumb.

We are pretty sure you know your name now. You respond to “Addi” and “Addison” when Mom and Dad say it. I guess it could be our voices that you respond to, but you also responded to the photographer when she was trying to get your attention during your 6 month photo shoot.

You have started getting really excited when your Dada comes home from work. You’ll kick your legs and make all sorts of noises so he’ll pay attention to you. You love him to pieces. One day when Mama tried calling your dad, she put her phone on speaker, so that she could set the phone down and do something else. It went to his voicemail, and as soon as you heard his voice your face lit up and you smiled so big. It was super cute.

You are the best eater. You’ve tried all sorts of fruits and veggies this last month. Veggies are still your favorite, aside from asparagus and lima beans (I think it’s a texture thing). You are getting better with fruits, and you really love mango. You’re a little picky with your carrots, refusing the Gerber stuff and only eating homemade, but mostly you’ll eat whatever we give you. You’ve started getting so excited when we put you in your highchair to eat breakfast or dinner.

Whew! What a month! Thanks for being our sweetness, little Addi!

Love,

Mom & Dad

These two pictures (above and below) are to prove that you do indeed have a square face.

Finally!

2011-05-28T10:42:00.000-07:00

We're all laughs over here lately. She hasn't really been a huge laugher. She's always smiling, but the laughing has taken a while. This little sound is music to our ears:

Laughs from Rebekah Byron on Vimeo.

*It always seems like the second I pull out the video camera, she stops doing whatever it is she was doing before. In the video above, she was laughing up a storm until I pulled out the camera. I was able to catch a little bit of it, though.

And:

Laughing from Rebekah Byron on Vimeo.

Isn't it incredible the things you will do to get your kid to laugh? We probably sound ridiculous in these videos, but hey, you gotta do what works.

Gag Me

2011-05-19T06:01:00.000-07:00

Check out the gag reflex on this kid--the puff hadn't even made it to the back of her mouth yet.

Puffs from Rebekah Byron on Vimeo.

Hoarsey Hoarsey

2011-05-17T05:34:00.000-07:00

Remember how I said that my child yells, about everything. Not only does she yell when she's mad, but she yells when she needs attention, is happy, or just to be heard. Over the last few days she has become hoarse. Is it bad that we laugh at this?

Hoarse from Rebekah Byron on Vimeo.

Bekah Turns 25

2011-05-16T11:21:00.001-07:00

25 was low-key. We dropped off the kid at our friend's house for a few hours, and we ordered some delicious Outback. It was nice to eat at our house, in the peace and quiet, without having to worry about eating with one hand. This kid always seems to know when it's mealtime and refuses to be anywhere but our arms, so it was a nice treat!

Trouble

2011-05-13T10:58:00.000-07:00

As in, I am in trouble. This little lady already has attitude.

More Peas, Please

2011-05-11T14:49:00.000-07:00

5 Months

2011-05-09T06:02:00.000-07:00

Almost looks like you're giving me the peace sign here, but what I really love is those feet!

Typical Addi, toy to mouth.

5/8/2011

Addi Bug,

Your 5th month birthday fell on Mother’s Day this year. It’s incredible to think about how different this Mother’s Day is than last year’s Mother’s Day. Last year I was about 8 weeks pregnant, and we had only told immediate family. Mother’s Day was also the day I graduated with my master’s. I remember thinking at the time that December seemed so far away and didn’t know how on earth I was going to wait that long to meet you. We were so thrilled to be pregnant, but also felt quite nervous about being parents. As I held you today, I just felt so incredibly grateful that you had been sent to our family. You fit right in and your sweet personality brings so much joy into our home.

This last month hasn’t been a huge one for you as far as your milestones are concerned, but here’s a little bit of what you have been up to:

First of all, can I just say, that I love how most people’s first question they ask about you is whether or not you are always that smiley. You are a seriously smiley kid. It doesn’t take much to get one out of you, which is good because you’re very difficult to get to laugh. You’re generally a pretty happy girl, thank goodness!

That being said, you do get a little stranger anxiety with some people. It’s sweet that you love us so much, but it would be nice to be able to hand you to someone without any fear that you’ll scream. I think a lot of your anxiety comes at church. Maybe there’s just too many new people who all want to hold you and you’re not into that. Who knows. Hopefully if we keep working on this you’ll grow out of it.

You had your 4th month appointment at the pediatrician. You weighed in at 14.9 pounds (65th percentile) and 25 inches (80th percentile). You’re getting so big! The doctor walked into the room and said hello to you and you just gave her a huge smile (big improvement from the last time). She said, “Well I guess that means I can check the box that says, ‘Social!’” It made me laugh because the last time you took one look at the doctor (it was a different one) and let out a cry.

We left you with a babysitter (non-family) for the first time this month. We took you over to our good friend’s house where you spent a couple of hours so that your Mama and Dada could celebrate Mama’s birthday. We were nervous to leave you, but it turned out to be a good thing. You were very good and didn’t cry and fortunately, your Mama didn’t cry either. We were so excited to pick you up and it was fun to see the expression on your face when you saw us.

You continue to venture into the world of solid foods. You have now tried various kinds of squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, peas, bananas, applesauce, pears, peaches, prunes, and oatmeal. You absolutely love your veggies. The oatmeal and fruits, however, are a different story. We are very glad you love your veggies, but think it’s kind of funny that you don’t like fruits. What kid doesn’t like fruits?

Your eyes are still the most beautiful shade of blue. Your Dada and I both thought you would end up with brown eyes like your Mama, but so far that blue has stuck around. You have such big, gorgeous eyes.

Anyone who checks the blog frequently may discover there aren’t many (read: any) pictures of you sleeping. Why, you ask? Because you, my dear, are the world’s lightest sleeper. Any noise, no matter how small will cause you to stir when you are sleeping. I guess it’s a good thing you’re the first child...

We love you so much little one. And you just keep getting more fun with each new stage you’re entering. We’re so lucky to call ourselves your parents.

Love,

Mom & Dad

Cute sweater from your Grandma Great (Jorgensen). I think she would have loved you, Bug.

If this face doesn't explain how you feel about oatmeal, then I don't know what does...

Vids

2011-04-28T11:33:00.000-07:00

I don't really enjoy blogging. I'm not gonna lie. There are just 100, scratch that, 1,000 other things I'd rather be doing with my time. That being said, the whole reason I started this thing was to keep my family (and friends) up to date on the happenings of The Byron Clan, and said people often nag about the lack of postings on my blog. Here's my pathetic attempt to appease you.

Enjoy... or don't. But don't complain I never post anything =)

Exhibit A: First of all, aren't those arms delicious? Second, this is how my daughter "talks." More of a yell/growl sort of sound. No sweet, angelic voice here, that's for sure. But we love it all the same.

Talking from Rebekah Byron on Vimeo.

Exhibit B: This is what happens when we're not quite ready for naptime. She talks to her name on the wall, which helps her fall asleep. She often does this same thing when she wakes up. She really loves her room and all the little decorations on the walls.

Sleeping from Rebekah Byron on Vimeo.

4 Months

2011-04-08T13:15:00.000-07:00

We are in love with those arms!

You will hate me someday for posting this picture, but this is what we like to call your "pooping face."

4/8/2011

Addi,

4 months? Really? You are getting to be so much fun. You are developing a cute little personality. It’s incredible to us how much you grow from day to day and all the new “tricks” you are learning. This is such a fun stage!

Here’s what you have been up to in the last month:

You continue to stick your hands in your mouth every chance you get. I don’t know where I stand on this issue. On the one hand (no pun intended), finger and thumb suckers tend to be pretty good self soothers and can easily put themselves back to sleep after waking. On the other hand, I think about how difficult this habit will be to break down the road, as opposed to breaking the paci habit. It seems it would be easier to throw away your paci than your hand. I have spent many days trying to divert your attention to other toys and things, but you really like sucking on those fingers. In the end, I have a feeling you’ll end up doing whatever you want because you are already pretty determined.

You gave us your first little laugh on your 3 month birthday. I thought that once we got one laugh out of you, you’d start laughing more. You, however, are quite stingy with the laughs, and it always surprises us what strikes your funny bone. We were in Target one day with your cousins and they started playing peekaboo with you. That was the day we heard your first real belly laugh. It was adorable, but we haven’t been able to get you to do it many more times since then. It’s just a good thing you’re so smiley!

You’ve developed quite the loathing of your car seat. You just really hate being in there for very long. It will be nice when we can take you to the store and you can sit in the cart and really nice when we can turn your car seat around, but for now, you are trapped!

You are still a pretty strong kid. You prefer to be standing up when you are awake. You will still lay down and be content, but you really love to stand.You are starting to roll on to your side, so I imagine it won’t be long and you’ll be rolling from back to front.

You are reaching and grabbing at things now. It’s fun to see you show us what toys you prefer. Usually the toys you grab end up in your mouth. You have also started grabbing your feet. This little maneuver cracks me up. With this newfound interest in grabbing things, you have also started taking out your paci. The problem here is that you can’t quite put it back in yet. We’re working on that one...

You are taking more of an interest in our food. You watch me eat breakfast every morning. We have started you on rice cereal. It's messy, and you're not very good at it yet, but I don't think it will take you long before you've figured it out.

You have gone from being the world’s worst napper, to a pretty darn good one this month. You will do at least one 2 hour nap in your crib a day, most of the time two 2 hour naps. The rest of your naps are timed at exactly 45 minutes. Our persistence paid off, and we are so glad you are finally napping in your crib rather than on one of us! We loved snuggling with you, but it is nice to be able to get some things done while you’re sleeping.

You are a TV addict. When the TV is on in a room, you will crane your neck to watch it. I won’t lie that this habit is quite handy when I need to cook dinner or need to distract you for a few minutes. Yes, I am that mom, and no, I do not feel the least bit guilty.

You get scared pretty easily. You usually scream when Dada sneezes. You also screamed when we went through the car wash the other day and it took you 20 minutes to calm down. I probably shouldn’t have, but I laughed.

What a busy little Bug you are! We love watching you grow and learn. I hope one day you’ll look back on these little love notes and enjoy reading them as much as we enjoy writing them!

Love,

Mom & Dad

3 Months

2011-03-08T05:50:00.000-08:00

3/8/2011

Addi Bug,

You joined our family three months ago today. It was a day that changed our lives forever. We look back, and although we definitely remember life before you, life truly wasn’t as complete. Thank you for coming to our family, little Bug!

Here’s what you’ve been up to in the last month:

You continue to grow like a weed. At your 2 month appointment you were 12 lbs 9 oz (90th percentile), 22.75 inches (75th percentile), and 75th percentile for head circumference. (We’re pretty sure half of those pounds are in your cheekies.) You shocked the doctor by showing off your strength. She placed you on your belly to check your spine, and you pushed your chest off the ground (like you usually do). You also puckered out your bottom lip and screamed bloody murder. The doctor laughed and said it’s not often that 2 month olds have that reaction with strangers, and gave you the fastest exam I’ve ever seen. You also got your shots that day. It broke Mama’s heart to hear you scream, but you calmed down pretty quickly. It was the rest of the day that was so awful. Your little legs were so sore and after an hour of whimpering and crying (both you and Mama) I finally called the doctor and got the ok to give you some Tylenol. It worked miracles.

You love being naked. In the morning when I get you out of bed, I change your diaper and usually don’t put your jammies back on. This means I feed you when you’re only in your diaper and we have some nakie play time before I put your clothes on. This is my absolute favorite part of the day...and your little naked self is my favorite version of you.

You are such a talker. Your Dada says you only have an outside voice, no inside voice. When you get going, you just jabber away! You really love talking to yourself, in mirrors or when we play clips from the video camera back for you.

You are getting super strong. You can hold your head up much better now, and you really enjoy sitting up un-propped. You love your Bumbo.

You have learned to appreciate the power of a good stretch. You get swaddled all night long, so in the morning, when I take off the Miracle Blanket, you stretch those cute chunker arms until you can’t stretch anymore. Your Dada and I love watching you stretch.

You are lousy at tummy time. You roll over every time! I even tried to get a few pictures of you on your tummy one day, but by the time I could turn the camera on you had already flipped over to your back.

You have the most precious smile. It has something to do with the cheekies that we love so much. I think I kiss those cheekies at least 1,000 times a day.

You started chewing on your hands. If your hands are free, they’re usually in your mouth.

You love to be read to. This is one of my favorite things to do with you during the day. You’ll sit with me and look at book after book. You also love to sing with Mama. You love music and whether or not there is music playing, when Mama is singing, you are too.

You have developed a little rat tail. You’ve rubbed a bald spot on the back of your head, but there’s still plenty of hair at the bottom of your head, where it comes to a point, and looks like a little tail. Cutest rat tail we’ve ever seen.

You continue to be the world’s worst napper. I put you in your crib awake and you do a wonderful job of putting yourself to sleep. But I swear your internal alarm clock sounds at 45 minutes every time, and most times I can’t get you to go back to sleep in your crib. I don’t know what we’re gonna do about that, but I’m just trying to be grateful that you at least do 45 minutes at a time now. It gives Mama a chance to shower and get ready, and do a few chores.

Strangers usually have a lot to say about you. Once while we were out, a cashier was telling us how adorable you were. She said you were just perfect and we should enter you in a cutest baby contest. Then she asked if you were a girl or a boy. Uh....probably should have put a headband on you when we left the house that day. Sorry, kid.

Another month has come and gone, and we just love you so much more than the month before. You fit perfectly in our little family. We are cherishing every moment with you, because it all seems to be going by so fast. We love you little Bug.

Love,

Mom & Dad

27

2011-03-04T08:30:00.001-08:00

Chad turned 27 on the 21st of February. It was a pretty low key birthday celebration, mostly due to his slacker wife. I even forgot to buy candles, so we lit toothpicks instead...

Addi Bug looks overjoyed, no?

Happy birthday, Chad! Thank you for being the sweetest husband and father. I seriously love watching you with our little girl, and she adores you. Thank you for working so hard for our little family. It amazes me all that you have accomplished in your 27 years, and so much of it has been so we can be at this place in our lives right now. You make 27 look good. We love you!

Chatting

2011-02-28T09:47:00.000-08:00

Addi has been talking up a storm lately. We love her deep little voice.

Untitled from Rebekah Byron on Vimeo.

Hearts

2011-02-14T13:53:00.000-08:00

Happy Hearts Day

So grateful for my 2 loves today and everyday.

2 Months

2011-01-27T11:02:00.001-08:00

2/8/11

Dear Bug,

You need to stop getting so big already! I think about how much you've grown in the last two months and it makes me excited, but sad at the same time. I just want you to stay little forever! At your one month appointment you were 10 lbs 9 ounces (90th percentile), 22 inches (90th percentile), and 50th percentile for head circumference. You are a healthy baby!

In the last month:

You finally lost your umbilical cord. Holy cow that thing was stubborn. But that meant you finally got a real bath, and let me just say that you absolutely love bathtime. You scream bloody murder when we have to take you out of the tub.

You have refused to sleep anywhere but someone's arms during the day. I will lay you down, thinking you're going to have a good nap in your crib or bassinet and before I can walk away your eyes pop wide open. This means Mama gets absolutely nothing done because I spend my day holding you. I have discovered recently that a sling and the baby carrier might be my new best friends because they'll at least allow me to cook dinner.

You completely freaked out your parents by rolling over from your belly to your back on your one month birthday. We thought it must have been a fluke, but alas two weeks later you did it again...and you haven't really stopped since then. We'll put you on your tummy for tummy time and you just lean until you're on your back again. You're such a big girl.

You continued to light up our lives with your adorable smile. We love your toothless, big cheeked grin more than anything.

You have developed quite the yell. If you've been left alone for too long, or you're mad that we're taking you out of the bath, or you don't want your pants changed, you yell at us. It makes me laugh. You don't really cry, you yell!

You have dropped one feeding in the night. This has been wonderful, because you will now sleep a 5-6 hour stretch during the night. The rest of the day, you are consistently eating every 3-3.5 hours. You are such a good eater.

You refuse to let Mama feed you a bottle. You look at me like, "Hey lady, this is not the way this is supposed to work," and yell. So, when you need a bottle, Dada has to feed it to you. I love that you are so opinionated already, but really?

You showed us how much you love kids. You had so much fun staring and smiling at the little boy in our Sunday School class. You also light up when you see your Michigan cousins. It is fun to watch you with them.

We have realized that you really do have the longest torso and the shortest legs. You get that from your Mama. We might have to stop buying outfits and start buying separates because your tops are all too small and you're swimming in the bottoms. Sorry about that, kiddo.

You have developed quite a love for your kitties, well one kitty in particular. You love to watch Mokie. You will grin at her and talk to her all day. Oliver, on the other hand, doesn't get much of your attention. Funny that you have a preference.

You started "talking." Your deep little voice is the most beautiful sound to us. You pretend to have conversations with us. We'll say something and then you'll respond. We love talking with you!

You are our everything, little Bug! It is incredible to us how much love we have developed for such a little thing, in such a short time. We couldn't imagine our lives without you in it!

Love,

Mom and Dad

Bathtime at Aunt Jenni's, in the sink. You thought this was pretty fun!

Big, toothless grin

Little piggies (You have your Dada's feet)

No more umbilical cord!

Your yellin' face

(You did not want Mama to take pictures of you in your Sunday best)

Blessing Day

2011-01-12T07:34:00.000-08:00

Addi was blessed on January 2nd, 2011. She was fortunate enough to have lots of family and some friends present for the blessing.

Addi with Grandpa J

She wore my blessing dress. I love it on her.

Grandma B and Shaunzi were there.

As well as Grandma J.

With both Grandmas.

Addi and Mom.

Addi and Dad.

Jen and Jim and their kids were all present as well. It was such a beautiful and special day!

1 Month

2011-01-03T13:53:00.000-08:00

1/8/2010

Dear Bug,

I can't even tell you how much joy and love you have brought into our lives. I can't imagine what our world would be like without you in it. Even though we are sleep deprived and not sure when the next time is we'll get to sleep for more than 4 hours at a time, we wouldn't change it for anything. This last month has been a whirlwind of emotions. Having you on the 8th of December was the perfect time because we could enjoy you through the holidays. Christmas was so special for us this year and you were the perfect Christmas gift.

You are such a good baby. You have your fussy periods, but don't all of us? I love how you need to be cuddled close in order to fall asleep, but that you also love to sprawl out in your bassinet or on the floor.

You smiled at about 2 weeks old. I think your first real one was at Grandma J. I know the pediatrician said babies don't smile at 2 weeks, but I'm your mom, and I know a real Bug smile when I see one. You have continued to smile more and more. It makes me so happy when you look at me and give me a huge grin--it makes all of the sleep deprivation worth it.

You are a rockstar eater. Thank you! At your 1 week appointment you had gained weight right back up to your birth weight. At your two week appointment the doctor said you were in the 90th percentile for height (21 1/4 inches), 75th for weight (8 lbs 12 oz), and the 50-75th percentile for head circumference. Your chubby cheeks are quite possibly our favorite feature.

You get hot really easily. I was so worried about having a baby in the dead of winter. I thought how would I ever keep you warm enough??? You, however, have lived up to your nickname you received in the womb of mommy's little heater. There are times where you are fussy and all we have to do is get your little feet out of your blanket or take your blanket off and you are one happy camper.

You give us a 2 second warning when you are hungry, but it takes you about 45 minutes to wake up. During that time you are stretching and grunting and groaning, and then you'll fall back asleep. All of a sudden your eyes will open and you'll start crying like you are famished. It cracks us up every time.

Basically you light up our lives. Never before did we imagine we could feel such love in such a short period of time. You make us so happy.

Whoops!

You are beautiful, little Bug! We are so blessed to have you as a part of our little family!

Love,

Mom and Dad

The Birth Story

2011-01-02T15:46:00.000-08:00

I'm not really into posting all the details for the world to see so if you want them, call me :)

I am into brevity, however. So here are the major events:

Contractions began on Tuesday December 7th, sometime in the middle of the night. All I can remember is that I woke up with them, not really sure what they were. As the day progressed, and as they got more intense, I finally realized what was going on.
I went to my regularly scheduled doctor's appointment at 3. The doctor told me I was 95% effaced and dilated to a 2. This was progress from the previous week when I hadn't been dilated at all. The doctor also told me to go ahead and schedule an appointment for the following week. I couldn't imagine going another week with contractions, so I left the appointment a little discouraged.
Over the next several hours my contractions became closer together and more painful. At 10:30 PM we drove to the hospital.
I was admitted at 11:30 PM...dilated to a 4. This was right where I wanted to be before I received my epidural, so I was pretty proud of myself that I had labored all the way to a 4 at home.
Epidural at midnight. This is about the time I fell in love with a man named Mark, who was my nurse anesthetist.
I progressed throughout the night, and around 7:30 in the morning was dilated to a 10.
I didn't begin pushing until about 10:30 or 11. Long story...my doc was doing a c-section, they wanted the baby's head to come down naturally, she needed to turn...yadda yadda yadda. It felt like we waited forever to start pushing.
Had some issues with the epidural. Finally got them resolved.
At 1:00 pm my doctor came in and asked if I wanted some help getting my baby here. I said yes. By 1:19 Addison made her entrance into the world.

It was the most beautiful, scary, exciting, and happy moment of my life and a moment I hope I never forget!

Addi Pics!

2010-12-12T09:04:00.000-08:00

Addison Pamela Byron arrived on December 8th. She was 8 lbs. 5 oz. She is so adorable!

For pics go to:

www.chadandbekah.smugmug.com

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-27T05:50:00.000-08:00

**Three posts in an hour? What has gotten into me?***

These two pictures are the only pictures I took of Thanksgiving. We hosted the Porcaro family at our house this year (as I am restricted from traveling too far in my current condition). We had a delicious feast, complete with a Williams Sonoma brined turkey, stuffing, mashed red potatoes, raspberry pomegranate salad, green bean casserole, oven roasted rosemary vegetables, homemade rolls and pumpkin, pecan, and banana cream pies.

Here is the table with the fine china. And by fine, I mean plastic because who wants/needs to do more dishes than necessary on this day of feasting.

This was Chad's first experience carving a turkey. I didn't realize it was such a big deal to do so, but apparently it marks some sort of milestone of manhood. Jim blessed Chad with a ceremonial electric carving knife. Thank you Jim!

We had a great day! My 8 1/2 month pregnant self was exhausted and swollen at the end of the day, but it was well worth it. Thank goodness my sister is such a great cook and was willing to share her talents with us once again.

The Nursery

2010-11-27T05:33:00.000-08:00

Our daughter has a room. It's been several months in the making, but we are thrilled with how it turned out.

Big, comfy chair. We purchased all the wooden ladybugs, flowers, butterflies, and letters from Michaels and painted them.

I made the hair accessory holder, but she has so many that one of the drawers of her dresser is full of them as well.

Her closet

Now for the last essential part...the baby.

38 Weeks

2010-11-27T05:25:00.000-08:00

Only 2 weeks left, and we are getting sooooo excited to meet this little girl!

Maternity Pictures

2010-10-25T11:12:00.000-07:00

My beautiful and talented friend from grad school, Julie Rosier, took some maternity pictures for us. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, because I generally don't really like my pictures to be taken (especially with those extra pounds). However, I am so glad that we decided to do this because these pictures have captured my feelings about being pregnant beautifully. I know one day I will look back on these and be so grateful that we decided to get them taken! As for Julie--you're seriously talented, my friend. Thank you, thank you, thank you for these incredible shots! Here's the link for the pictures:

http://itsarosielife.blogspot.com/2010/10/blog-post.html ...

...and here's a sneak peek of some of our favorites:

Tagged

2010-10-13T10:59:00.000-07:00

I hate these things, but I was tagged by my cousin, Nicolle, and I like her.

The rules are to answer all 8 of my questions, then add 8 of your own and tag 8 people.

1. What was your most favorite toy as a kid?

Littlest Pet Shop, hands down. I also loved Polly Pockets.

2. Have you ever had a black eye? How did you get it?

Nope!

3. What is your biggest fear?

Birthing a 12 pound baby. That really freaks me out.

4. What is the biggest lesson you have learned from the past?

Generic brand peanut butter cannot compare to Jif. Ever.

5. Post your most favorite picture that you have on your computer and tell why it is your favorite. (Posts are always better with pictures).

This was formal night on our cruise. We had such a blast, celebrating the end of our first years of graduate school. It was a fun vacation.

6. What is your favorite fast food restaurant and why?

McDonald's for breakfast. Can you really beat McD's for breakfast?

7. Favorite tradition?

I enjoy all of our traditions, but I will always love opening pj's on Christmas Eve.

8. What is your favorite song to sing in the shower?

I rarely sing in the shower, but when I do it is usually just something that has been stuck in my head. Paramore's newest song is my latest...

My questions:

1. Favorite meal of the day?
2. If you could drive any car, which one would you choose?
3. Coke or Pepsi?
4. If you could only live in one season all year long, which one would you choose?
5. What is your dream job?
6. Who do you text/call the most?
7. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
8. What chef on the Food Network would you most like to be friends with?

I'm taking the easy way out and tagging everyone who reads this and wants to do it. =)

30 Weeks

2010-10-05T13:58:00.000-07:00

The third trimester is shaping up quite nicely. For the most part, I still feel great. Sure I may or may not be a little emotional. I also battle horrendous heartburn, which is definitely not fun. In addition, this baby is low--like really, really low, which makes it difficult for me to bend. Other than those minor things, I quite enjoy being pregnant. I'm sure that opinion will change in a few weeks as I start to get larger, but I'm just enjoying where I'm at right now.

There are 10 weeks to go. Well, probably more than that...considering this is my first pregnancy and my doctor told me to plan on 5 days after my due date. We are both scared and excited, nervous and anxious. We lay in bed at night anticipating this change that will occur in a matter of weeks, wondering whether or not we're going to be good at this whole parenting thing. I often ask Chad, "What if she hates me?" or "What if she likes you more?" (I'm not worried about my child loving Chad more, I'm sure she'll be a daddy's girl. I think what I worry about is lacking the mother's touch, not being able to be someone who can soothe/calm her.) These may seem like irrational fears, but I'm pregnant...irrationality is a part of the game.

What I do know is that I have never loved anything in this kind of a way before. I love the way she comes alive at night while we're watching our shows. I love the way she "plays" by kicking back when I touch her. I love the way she gets hiccups--sometimes 3 times a day. I love the way she calms right down when Chad puts his hand on my belly. I haven't even met her, but I love her.

Everything else is going well with us. Chad is loving his job. We are settling in to our house. We love our ward. Life is good!

The Casa

2010-09-03T13:15:00.000-07:00

Perhaps this is a little overdue, but here are pictures I took of our house the morning the movers were coming to deliver our junk. Obviously the house was empty in these pictures, but it has been filling up quickly. I will try and take some pictures of some of what we have done since we've been here.

This wasn't taken the day we moved in, considering we moved on June 21st. This is just in case you've forgotten what it looks like on the outside. I haven't taken any pictures of the outside since we moved in.

1/2 bath downstairs

Entryway (leads to the living room or the music room)

Breakfast kitchen (the red wall is now sage green)

Music room

Kitchen

Laundry/Mud room

Living room

Stairs (off the living room)

Upstairs hallway

Master bedroom (Bedroom #1)

Man cave or Bedroom #2 (used to be a little boy's room...hence the baseball wall)

Office

Bedroom #3 (We've turned it into our baby's room...now all of the walls are one color =) )

The other two walls in Bedroom #3

Bedroom #4 (will serve as our guest room)

2nd floor full bath (the walls are now white)

Not pictured: The backyard. I'll try and get some pictures of that sometime soon, as well. So there you have it. We're loving having our own space. Fortunately there aren't many things we want to change about the house, other than colors on the walls and a few minor things to make it our own. We love it!

Progression

2010-08-18T19:36:00.000-07:00

I'm like the Energizer bunny these days. I just keeping growing...and growing...and growing...

Week 8 (I'm counting this as my "before" shot)

Week 14

Week 16

Week 18
Week 20

Week 22

Week 22 with the belly button--oh boy.

So far, the 2nd trimester has been wonderful. I love being able to feel her moving around in there, which she does often. I don't have anything to compare it to, but I feel like she's a pretty active creature. Aside from the wretched heartburn, I've been free of most "symptoms." I'm just enjoying this time before I start to get uncomfortable! We're both getting so excited for December, but we're definitely soaking up every last second we have of just the two of us.

Gymnast

2010-08-18T19:21:00.000-07:00

I'm saving my dollars so my baby can go to gymnastics. See that foot? It's definitely resting on the top of her head. The ultrasound tech and I were pretty amused.

California 2010

2010-08-10T11:16:00.000-07:00

We were in need of a post-graduation, real-life-is-gonna-start-soon, new-job-means-no-vacation-before-baby trip. So, we decided to do a 10 day California adventure. We started in San Francisco, after we missed about a day of our trip due to a storm in Denver. Fortunately we managed to squeeze in everything we wanted to see, despite the less-than-friendly weather.

Grace Cathedral

Pretty flowers

Funny sign

Lombard Street

Ghiradelli hot chocolate...

...at Ghiradelli Square

Coit Tower

Seals at Pier 39

Toured Alcatraz

Chinatown

Saw the Golden Gate Bridge

Walked the Golden Gate Bridge

Thought about jumping off the bridge, but then saw this sign. Whew. Close call...

After our day and a half in San Fran, we rented a car and drove four hours south to Pismo Beach.

Our room was quite fantastic, and it reminded of us of our cruise with the little towel animals.

We woke up and took long walks on the beach after breakfast.

Our trek down to the beach included scaling the side of the cliff...luckily there were some poorly constructed, barely functional wooden steps to help us.

We walked downtown San Luis Obispo, which has it's very own Bubble Gum Alley. This entire alley is devoted to people's chewed up bubble gum. We were disgusted and did not contribute. Don't worry, I'm not really touching the wall.

After a few wonderfully relaxing days at the beach, we drove four more hours south to Fontana, where we got to hang out with these cute fellas. (My brother and his wife and 3 boys live there.)

Cute Jared.

We went to Disneyland and California Adventure with them. (J.D. & Jacob)

We brought presents for birthdays. That's a heartbreaker right there...

Jacob with his new stuffed panda.

We spent the next few days just relaxing with the Jorgensen's. It was so good to see them and spend time with them. Overall, I would say our vacation was a success!

Impatience

2010-07-21T04:18:00.000-07:00

Well, we just couldn't wait. So, we decided to pay for an ultrasound. I took some advice and drank some orange juice an hour before the appointment. It must have worked, because our baby GIRL was in prime position! She was so cute up there on the screen--and it's finally so nice to be able to call her a her, rather than an it. Let the planning (and shopping for little girl clothes) begin!!!

It's A....

2010-07-20T07:38:00.001-07:00

...healthy baby. How I would love to be more specific, but it seems Baby Byron is not quite ready for the big reveal. The ultrasound tech said she would try again at my next appointment. What's four more weeks, anyway?

Masters' Byron

2010-06-29T06:54:00.000-07:00

On May 9th (Mother's Day) Bekah graduated from IU as a Master of Social Work:

Some of my MSW buddies.

On May 15th, Chad graduated from Purdue University with his Master's in Human Resource Management:

Scott, Jacob, and Chad (MIA-Dylan)

We were fortunate enough to have our families come for our graduations. My sister and niece, along with my parents came for mine, and Chad's parents and his siblings, and my brother-in-law came for his graduation. They were special days for both of us, as we celebrated these last two years of hard work. The week was bittersweet for us as we said goodbye to all of our friends that we have made in Indiana and prepared to move to Ohio. Indiana will always be a special place to us!

What are you doing December 9th?

2010-05-25T05:35:00.000-07:00

...Because we're having a baby!* We couldn't be more thrilled about this new upcoming addition to our family.

Most have inquired about how I've been feeling. I feel pretty lucky. While I am nauseous and exhausted most of the time, it is completely manageable and I can still function in the real world. Quite a blessing. It could be much worse. I am, however, looking forward to the day when my appetite comes back and my weight starts going the right direction--up.

At our 12 week appointment yesterday, we got to hear the heartbeat. That was one of the most incredible things either of us has experienced. My emotional little self is tearing up just thinking about it. This whole process is just such a miracle, and to be honest it wasn't really real until yesterday.

I have a zillion other things I need to post about. In May, both Chad and I graduated with our Master's degrees and we took a family vacation with Chad's family. However, I was feeling too excited and couldn't wait any longer in posting our happy news! So, more posts to come.

*I attempted to post a picture of the 4 sticks I peed on, but the airport internet is janky. Yes I did in fact do 4 pregnancy tests. Yes they were all positive. I just wanted to be sure. =)

Mr. & Mrs. Byron Go To Washington

2010-04-04T13:01:00.000-07:00

We went to Washington D.C. over Spring Break. Chad had never been before, and since I used to live in Maryland, I got to plan the trip! Thanks to my rad cousin Katie for the travel tips and tours =)

Chad after the White House tour, which was...well, unimpressive. It was neat because it was the White House, but the actual building is not very big, and the tour only covers a few rooms.

The Capitol building, however, was incredible. We loved the tour.

The rotunda

Each state can donate two statues to sit in the Capitol. This is obviously one of Utah's contribution--good 'ole Brigham.

Ronald Reagan--my dad's hero

The Library of Congress--another very impressive building.

We went on the monument walk, and saw all the monuments. This is the Korean War Veteran's Memorial.

The Lincoln Memorial

Washington Monument and reflecting pool from the Lincoln Memorial

World War II Memorial

Love this picture of the Washington Monument

We also visited the D.C. temple at night--gorgeous.

We spent some time walking through Arlington National Cemetery

And saw Iwo Jima

We finished off our trip with a visit to Mt. Vernon, which was my favorite part. I hadn't been before, so it was fun to go somewhere new.

We did lots of other things, like spent an afternoon at the Holocaust Museum, ate at some delicious restaurants, and visited with friends and family that live in the D.C. area. Turns out that my cousin works in an office with one of Chad's friends from Jr. High. Small world! It was fun to have dinner with them at a little place called "Cosi." It was there that we discovered this:

This is an indoor s'more maker. It changed our lives. We will be purchasing one of these bad boys sometime soon. Thanks for introducing us, Katie!

St. Patricks Day in Chicago!

2010-03-16T08:06:00.000-07:00

Since Chicago is so close, and we missed it last year, we decided that we should celebrate St. Patricks Day Chicago style! So we went up to Chicago with our friends Scott and Codi Barnes, and their kids.

We started the trip right by having Friday Night Pizza at Giordannos!

Then Saturday, we enjoyed the Green River...we couldn't believe how GREEN it really was.

Then we headed down to the St. Patricks Day Parade:

Finally, we stopped by Garretts to get some of that famous Chicago Style Popcorn! Mmmmm! It was a great trip. Glad we could take advantage while we are so close. Thanks for coming with us Scott and Codi it was fun.

Hand Painted Mugs...by Chad & Bekah!

2010-03-16T07:59:00.000-07:00

For Christmas, Chads little brother Travis gave us a giftcard to a place called Uniquely Yours Pottery. We finally made it there a couple of weeks ago and these were the results. Thanks Travis we had a great time! It was actually funny how long it took us just to paint these small mugs.

New Residence and Birthday

2010-02-22T17:19:00.000-08:00

The idea of writing a post right now is the last thing on my mind. I've been feeling "blah" about blogging lately. I have not been feeling "blah" about this, however:

Meet our new house. Barring any disasters this will be ours on the 21st of June, and we are ecstatic!

I have also not been feeling "blah" about my favorite person, who turned the big 2-6 on Sunday. Happy birthday, Chad!

Thanksgiving '09

2009-12-15T18:41:00.000-08:00

The highlights:

Some of us started off the day with a Turkey Trot (5K) in downtown Detroit, and we all finished the race in about 34 minutes!
Alexa, Jim, Greg the speed demon, Chad, Bukah

The others slaved away in the kitchen to prepare the meal - Zach and Mike (What is Zachary doing, by the way?) =)

Here is the master chefista (the one actually doing the "slaving") doing what she does best - She does lots of things really well, but she's a reaaaalllly good cook

Chad and Zach cheesin' for the camera

The pretty table decor

We polished off all of our hard work with 4 pies

Overall - I think the day was a success!

Lucky

2009-12-13T19:17:00.000-08:00

***Warning: This post contains extreme mushiness. Proceed with caution.***

I don't like to write mushy posts on my blog. I'm not the kind of blogger who sees my blog as a journal. A journal to me is a private and personal place to share your innermost thoughts and feelings, and I don't particularly like the whole world to have access to those (sorry, friends). I look at my blog as a way to show friends and family near and far what we're up to, in a lots-of-pictures, few-words kind of way.

With that being said, there are sometimes in life where I want to tell the world how lucky I am. And today is one of those days. The reason for today's general feeling of luckiness? Chad.

I love Chad for many reasons. He's funny, hard-working, easy to talk to, kind, and he just understands me. But I think I sometimes take all of that for granted. That's how I expect him to be, and he fulfills those expectations for me. Then there are days like today. See today was the day where I had to accompany the ward choir in the Christmas program. This means that I basically sat on the stand for 2/3 of the meeting. Right before I had to go up for the first number, Chad leaned over to me and asked who was going to watch the choir director's baby (her husband is also in the choir). I asked her if she needed Chad to watch him, and she looked relieved as she handed the baby over. After the first number, I just sat on the stand. A few minutes into the talk, I peeked to the back row to see how Chad was doing. He was playing a little game with him, and the baby was giggling. It made me smile. Several minutes later, I looked again and the baby was getting fussy and starting to whimper. I watched as the girl sitting next to Chad offered to take the baby from him, but he simply took the baby out to the hall. One choir number later, I looked back again and Chad had reappeared with a sleeping baby in his arms.

This moment may seem insignificant to some. And I can't really explain it--but I just loved Chad so much at that very moment. I've spent the rest of the day pondering how lucky I am to be married to a man like Chad. A man who recognizes when someone needs help with their child, a man who is quick to offer help, and a man who is so naturally good with kids. I look forward to the day when I can watch him with his own children. I know he'll be a wonderful father.

I never forget why I married Chad. But it's days like today that make me so grateful I did.

4 new posts

2009-11-15T19:46:00.001-08:00

Keep on scrolling!

The Byron Clan

Baby, Baby, Baby OH...

1 Year Pictures

These Boots Were Made for Walking...

Christmas Vacation '11

Walking and talking

Cupcake

It's My Party...

One year ago...

One

Dada's Girl 2.0

Boston

11 Months

Love/Toler-Hate

Pumpkins

More videos

No words

Photobooth 2.0

10 Months

Dada's Girl

Photobooth

9 Months

Cousins

Bib Hater

Butterflies

8 months

7 Months (A little late)

6 Months

Finally!

Gag Me

Hoarsey Hoarsey

Bekah Turns 25

Trouble

More Peas, Please

5 Months

Vids

4 Months

3 Months

27

Chatting

Hearts

2 Months

Blessing Day

1 Month

The Birth Story

Addi Pics!

Thanksgiving 2010

The Nursery

38 Weeks

Maternity Pictures

Tagged

30 Weeks

The Casa

Progression

Gymnast

California 2010

Impatience

It's A....

Masters' Byron

What are you doing December 9th?

Mr. & Mrs. Byron Go To Washington

St. Patricks Day in Chicago!

Hand Painted Mugs...by Chad & Bekah!

New Residence and Birthday

Thanksgiving '09

Lucky

4 new posts