2 Months

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

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

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

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!