Its time to say hello, goodbye

That little Addison of ours is really having a fantastic month full of milestones. I've been trying to teach her to wave goodbye and say hello and she would just look at me like I was crazy. Everyone is always saying hello to her (and I'm thinking they are expecting her to respond with a wave), probably mostly in part to people assuming she is much older than 7 months because of her size. Last night after her shower I took her in the bathroom and stood her on the counter. She looked in the mirror and I told her to say "hi" to the baby. Her face lit up with a huge smile and she lifted her arm and opened her hand. I could swear she said hi too! Now every time I put her in the mirror she loves telling that beautiful baby on the other side of it "hi" with a wave.

On another note....she woofed down a box and a half of raisins today too. I guess she liked them!

My Sweet Little Boy

Sometimes just when you think that Austin is the most hyper little boy ever he can certainly surprise you with his sweet and endearing ways. Tuesday was a really bad day for me and I was feeling just horrible. I spent most of the day in bed, but Jeff had to host a radio show that afternoon and left the house around 3:15. I was quite lethargic and only wanted to lie on the couch with hopes of not needing to vomit. Brooke was playing with Addison on the floor, which was a HUGE help and as I laid on the couch Austin sat beside me holding my hand and placed several kisses on my forehead. He just melted my heart. It may possibly be one of the sweetest moments we've shared together! I LOVE that little boy and all of his rough and tumble attributes :)

School has officially started

This year we enrolled Brooke and Austin at Open Arms Lutheran Child Development Center. It is located just North of campus, so it is a little bit of a drive for us and I'm certainly not spoiled like I was last year with Brooke attending Stepping Stones just 3 minutes from our house. Problem was that Stepping Stones didn't have the free VPK program that we needed to enroll Brooke into. I was sad at first that we were going to have to change schools because I have so many ties at Trinity (where Stepping Stones is located), but was super excited about the new school and all it had to offer.....plus my very good friend Lark, who has been with me in MOPS for the past 3 years and whose children, Amelia and Grant, who are super buds with Brooke and Austin, was going to be teaching there. Amelia was also going to be in Brooke's class, so I knew they would have fun together! We are 4 days into week one and so far so good. Brooke has given us a hard time at drop off not wanting us to leave her, but when we go to pick her up she doesn't want to come home, so we know she is enjoying herself. Austin has been really great for his teachers and seems to enjoy being at "Big Boy School."
Brooke's teachers are Ms. Chrystal and Mr. Joel.
Austin's teacher's are Ms. Cindy, Ms. Jessica, and Miss Casey.

They are both attending M-F from 8:45-11:45

Brooke gets a haircut

I decided to cut my hair short a few months ago because it was becoming such a hassle with the EXTREMELY hot weather and constantly being pulled and spit up in by Addi Rae. The day I came home Brooke really liked it and told Jeff and I that she wanted her hair cut like mine. We pretty much sloughed it off and she forgot about it, until a few (which seemed like ALL) of her close friends decided to cut their hair. First Ella, then Ashlyn Grace, followed by Daisy. With each of them Brooke told us that she wanted her hair cut too. I was totally open to the idea, however Jeff was a little resistant. On August 14th we took a trip to the mall and brought her to Mia and Max. I had to leave her while Jeff and Austin waited up front to dash to the car to feed cranky Addison. When they came out she was tossing her hair and had a grin from ear to ear. The next morning we headed to Dora with the Wagners. Brooke came into our bathroom to take a shower, but as she was stepping in the shower she paused and said "Wait, is my hair still short?" Jeff and I laughed as she raced to the mirror and smiled as she realized it hadn't grown back over night. She is loving her new locks and I LOVE that she brushes her own hair now :)

August 1sts for Addi

Little Miss Addi Rae has had a VERY busy month! After much distress that my little "chunk a munk"(as Kelly would call her) would never roll over or involve any movement in her daily activities, she finally did it! On August 2nd Addison learned how to roll from her back to her stomach. She can do it quite easily now, but has yet to figure out how to go from stomach to back so once she has rolled over she gets quite bored by the position and begins to whine for someone to help her out of her helpless "swim" position. We are currently on vacation in Orlando and while at the pool yesterday I noticed that she also had her top two pearly whites pop through those puffed up gums of hers. She has been teething for quite a while and we have gone about 3 weeks without a solid night's sleep so I knew they were coming....I just didn't think it would take close to a month for them to actually come through! So it's documented, August 19th....Addi got her Christmas wish of her two front teeth early :) Needless to say I think it helped too because she slept from 8:45-6:10! Now, let's talk about how MUCH food this little girl can consume. She has been eating 3 meals a day, cereal for breakfast, fruit for lunch, cereal and veggies for dinner, plus about 5 nursings throughout the day and about two full helpings of puffs or yogurt melts for snacks. She did go about two weeks while those teeth were bothering her with barely eating any solids, but this week while on vacation she has definitely gotten her appetite back! She has been eating so many new things (some of which I think Jeff is going to have a heart attack over), but hey - she's #3 and caution has pretty much been thrown out the window with her. She has mastered goldfish, bread, cereal, pancakes, french fries, grapes(cut up of course), lorna doone cookies, tortillas, pretzels, and ice cream (she and I get those stress related cravings, so to the freezer we go for a few bites of Jeff's cookie dough ice cream!) It's hard to believe that she's already 7+ months old and when we look at her she's no longer a baby to us. She clearly has taken on the look of a little girl. Why do they have to grow up so fast?!?! I of course am holding out for #4, but I don't think I'll ever convince Jeff so I might as well stop holding my breath and take in just a little squeak of air.

Babies, Babies Everywhere

Addison and Payton

Addison and I are part of a playgroup that was formed by Mom's who had babies at NFRMC around the same time as Addison. First we started out going to their luncheons and then formed a playgroup once we were too old to attend the luncheons. Great group of Moms and babies! I was able to host a playgroup at our house last Thursday with 5 other moms. It is great to see how all of the babies change from week to week and month to month. I find it so hard to believe that Addison is almost 7 months old already! I wasn't able to join the playgroup when Brooke was born since I went back to work full time and then after Austin was born I had Brooke at home with me too and its hard to bring an older sibling to a playgroup for babies. I am so blessed to be a part of this terrific group and hope that we stay in tact for years to come. I have a few girlfriends who are part of a playgroup that was also formed from the NFRMC luncheons (all of their kids from that playgroup are about 4 months older than Brooke) and it is so great to see that they still get together.

Yeehaw!

Last Friday we traveled back to the Wild, Wild West and the kids dressed up as Cowboys. They made little Sheriff's Stars to put on their hats and traveled around the house by horse (which happens to be Jeffrey's from when he was a kid.) They colored a few pictures and ultimately had fun with it!