Busy Busy

This weekend was a busy weekend for us. Addy got to meet some new people for the first time, David and Mary from WI and Ken, Rachel and Alex. She also got to hang out with her friend Parker. Addy watched part of the Olympic hockey game with her Dad, although I think it will be a lot more interesting for her the next time around. Today Addy is four months old. Every day she just gets more and more fun and is always making us smile. I can't believe what a big girl she's become. Here are some pics from the weekend, including some amazing shots of our little peanut from my friend Sarah.

Wunderbar!

Today Adelyn received a package in the mail all the way from Germany. It was from our family friends the Munch's. Henrik and Lennard are brothers and we had both of them as foreign exchange students many years ago and are like brothers to me. Addy received a beautiful handmade quilt from their mom, Heide Munch and a very cute "towel doll" named Herzl and her very own bag with her name sewn onto it. Here is a picture of Addy on her new blanket, with her new toy and bag. What a lucky girl! Thank you Munch family!

Hungry Girl

Addy has always been pretty good at giving us signs to show us when she's hungry. Since we stick to a pretty good schedule we generally know when its time for her to eat. But if we're ever unsure, there is always a surefire way to find out. All I have to do is start giving her kisses and if she starts trying to eat my face then she's hungry. Literally. She will try and suck at my chin, nose or cheeks, whatever she gets to first. I never have to wonder for long if my little girl is hungry.

Happily Ever After

I can't count the number of times I have caught myself just watching Brian and Adelyn playing together. He is so engaged with her and she with him, it is the cutest thing. The other day I went into her room and he was reading a book to her and she was really into it and it really struck me. It was one of those moments that seems so ordinary, a father reading a book to his daughter, but it was so much more than that. This was my husband reading to my daughter...when did this happen? It was like looking in on my life from the outside. Now more than ever I realize that it is the little moments that really matter and especially recently I've had enough big "little moments" to complete my own happily ever after. I am so grateful and will do my best to appreciate all of the ordinary moments my life has been blessed with.

Seattle Sun

Normally around this time of the year I start going a little crazy because of all of the rain, but that certainly has not been the case this year. This has been the most mild and beautiful winter since I've lived here. It's been the perfect winter to have a baby because it hasn't been too cold or rainy. Today was an absolutely beautiful day. Perfect blue sky, beautiful views of the mountains, bright sun and almost 60 degrees. It was the type of day that reminds me why I live here. We took Adelyn on a nice long walk through the Washington Park Arboretum, it was just beautiful. The flowers are starting to peek out, the cherry blossoms are starting to bud and spring is just around the corner. If that doesn't make you smile I don't know what does.

Baby Book

While on the subject of baby books, I thought I would share a story about my own baby book. When my Dad came to visit after Addy was born, he brought my book with him. Just seeing the book made me laugh because there were cards and photos falling out at every page. Entire pages were left blank and nothing was really in any sort of order. It definitely looked like the baby book of a third child. I thought while I was on maternity leave I would have time to go through it and put it in some sort of order, but I never did. However, I did find a letter that my mom had written to my Dad's mom, just 6 days after I was born. It was so special to read a letter that my mom wrote right after having me and to get an idea of what she was going through. She wrote that the nurses warned her that I had a temper to match my hair and that I was like Tad in that I didn't sleep much. There also was a letter from Tad that he had written to my Grandma & Grandpa the day I was born. He said that Keri was very happy that I was a girl, but he was not. According to him, the only good thing about me being a girl was that he wouldn't have to share a room. My mom sent the letters to my Grandma and asked her to save them so she could put them in my baby book someday. Even though my baby book may not be quite complete, I do love the special things that it does have. It makes me want to make Adelyn's book the best that I can so she can enjoy it someday too.

Fingerprints

Before Adelyn was even born, I started filling out her baby book and I continue to pull it out every couple of weeks. I want to make sure I fill things out while I can still remember them. My sister got me a great book with pages relating to special stages and milestones, it's easy to fill out and it doesn't require me to come up with too much on my own. I can't tell you how many scrapbooks I have started only to abandon a few pages into them. Unlike my sister, I'm just not cut out for scrapbooking so this book is just perfect.

I pulled out the book this weekend to fill in a few things and remembered that I still hadn't done her footprints or fingerprints. So I got out the ink pad and attempted to capture her little prints on paper. I started with her feet and was surprised at how easily I was able to get them. She cooperated very well and I managed to finish them without a complete mess. Then it was onto her hands. Adelyn is always making little fists with her hands so it was definitely a challenge getting her to lay her fingers straight onto the ink pad and not put them directly into her mouth. Again, she was fairly cooperative and I was able to get pretty good prints after only 2 attempts. The challenge came when I tried getting the ink off of her hands. Even after scrubbing her hands, soaking them and giving her a bath, two days later I can still see the "washable" ink under her nails. It looks like she has been playing in dirt. Oh well, its just a sign of things to come I'm sure.

Where Did It Go?

I can't believe the weekend is already over, I really don't know where the time goes. Even though we had a pretty uneventful weekend it still went by really fast. It turned out to be a weekend of organizing. We bought just one more shelf for Addy's closet and one thing lead to another and before we knew it we had turned her room into a disaster. Of course, Brian got everything put into its rightful place and her closet has never looked better or more organized.
Here are some pics of Addy relaxing in her robe (I so want her to be holding a mug and a newspaper!), the mess we made of her room, her and Daddy hanging out and her wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!

TGIF

Another week already over and our routine is established. This week went pretty well & I must say I had forgotten how much I appreciate Fridays. There is something extremely rewarding about a Friday that I had been missing. There is a sense of accomplishment in surviving the week and being rewarded with two days off. We are looking forward to a very low-key weekend. Brian is still recovering from his gum surgery (ouch!) and surprise surprise its supposed to rain all weekend. Good thing Addy doesn't know the difference. She is having so much fun with her toys she doesn't seem to care. I think she likes Fridays too.

Week Two

I am happy to report that this week is off to a much better start than last. I didn't have a knot in my stomach on Sunday and I was able to sleep at night. Yesterday was so much better at work, turns out I don't hate my job after all. I still don't love the idea of taking Adelyn to daycare, but I also don't hate it. I can see how we will adjust to this new routine and make it work which is a huge weight lifted from my shoulders. We are very lucky to have such a happy baby on our hands who seems to be adjusting fine to our new routine. She is sleeping great at night and is all smiles when she sees her parents. We couldn't ask for much more.

I Love Technology

Since my Dad worked for IBM when I was growing up, I don't remember a time when we didn't have a computer. I remember playing the game Decathalon on the computer that was in all black and white and you would just hit two keys on the keyboard as fast as you could to make the person run. It seemed pretty fun to me at the time, but of course now it is archaic. I also remember our first video camera that came in a case that was the size of a suitcase. I always hated when my Dad would drag that thing out, but of course now I am grateful that there is video of me from as long ago as 1st grade.

Adelyn is growing up in a completely different world when it comes to technology. In the car on the way to the hospital, while I was having contractions, I sent my sister an email from my phone. Within an hour of being born we had digital pictures and video of Adelyn and had emailed and texted friends and families photos of her. She has a blog that is "all about her". She will have video from her entire life available to her.

Now we stay in touch with our family through video-chats on the computer. We Skype and iChat with both of our families several times a month. Adelyn had her first video chat at 3 days old. Now she seems to really enjoy it and it's a great way for our families to keep up with her constant changes. Pretty soon she could have her bedtime stories read to her from a thousand miles away. When she gets older we will probably to have to explain to her that her grandparents don't live in the computer.

This weekend we Skyped with my Grandma Ruby who is 92 years old. It made me think about all of the changes she has seen in her life and what could possibly exist when Adelyn is 92. Who knows what will be possible by then. I'm sure in no time at all Adelyn will be explaining the latest trends to Brian and I and will probably be making fun of us for still not being on Facebook or knowing how to "tweet".

Rock N Roll

Last Sunday I was playing with Adelyn on the floor while she did some tummy time and all of the sudden she went from being on her stomach to her back. I told Brian that she rolled over, but I wasn't 100% sure if she did it on her own or if I had nudged her over. The next day Brian had her on our bed and she did it again but he wasn't sure if he was pushing down on the bed causing her to roll over more easily. So the other day we got out the camera and she rolled over and we finally knew it was for real!

Here is video of Addy rolling over for the third time ever. We were maybe just a little excited about it.

Babies Take Two

Here is an official group shot of all of the babies from my moms group. We finally had an opportunity when all of the babies were there, awake and not crying. It only took 2 months to meet that criteria! It was hilarious to watch them lean more and more onto each other and sink deeper into the couch as the seconds went by. I think they all would have ended up horizontal if we left them there just one more minute. What a cute group of little peanuts.

It's Only Tuesday?

Today I met with my mom's group in the morning and then went to work for the afternoon. It was a hectic day, but I was so grateful to have my morning with Addy. Ironically, the topic of my mom's group this week was relating to what we spend the hours in each day doing. It was such a reality check for me to hear all of the other mom's talking about how 100% of their day is spent with their child while a third of my day is spent at work. It still just doesn't feel right.

One thing that did brighten up my day though was a cute email I got from my sister. Way back when Sydney was little and my sister went back to work I took some pictures and made a little card for her to keep at work. Clearly my sister is far more creative than me, this is what I got from her today. Thank you Keri, I love it!

Day One of Phase Two

Well, even though I wished and I prayed for this day to never come, it still did. I'm happy to say I did survive it, but not without a few tears. Thank you to everyone who was thinking of me today, it really meant a lot. We all made it through the day but it was definitely a reality check on what our new routine is going to be like and Brian and I don't particularly like it. Suddenly there is a lot we want to do in a very short amount of time at night. Unfortunately, it is what it is and we will all adjust in time. All that matters is that Adelyn seems fine with everything and hopefully it will stay that way.

Here is a shot of something that made me smile today. Brian always sets everything he needs to remember for the day at the top of the steps and this is what I saw this morning. Keys...check. Backpack...check. Fuzzy pink suit...check.