Christmas Morning!

Yes, I am trying to get caught up on my blogging, I am a bit behind, with all that has been going on here, and I would like to finish up at least 2010, so I can compile our blog into our family journal, so forgive me. Here we are Christmas Morning! Addy loved the chair my Mom and I made her ( I started it for her, then realized the pattern was well above my pay grade, I can sew, but this pattern didn't seem to be in English, it looked more like gibberish, so I asked a more seasoned seamstress to step in and bail me out, Thank you Mom it turned out just GREAT!) It has been relocated to her room and there is more to come on that!

This year was more exciting, then last, of course with everything going on, it kind of felt like we were opening presents everyday of the week, I guess it will always feel like that from now on, but it was fun. Addy was so excited to see the stuff Santa left for her.

We were so blessed this year, in a number of ways, James joining our Family, My parents being here to help us and celebrate with us, and of course with an abundance of love, to name a few, It was really a Wonderful Christmas. We had our traditional breakfast of eggs whatever and cinnamon rolls. Yum! (and again, I did no cooking, Thank you Mom, it all turned out so lovely) My Mom's birthday happens to be the day after Christmas, but, they had to leave that day to go home, so My Dad made a wonderful dinner for my Mom on Christmas for her birthday. (in case you were wondering, in my immediate family, there are only 3 of us that don't have holiday birthday's, myself, a niece and a nephew, everyone else has a birthday that is close to some holiday, it kind of feels like the norm)

Addy delivering gifts! What a cute little helper!

Addy opening gifts, this is actually a rare shot, she was way more interested in playing with things, and delivering gifts, helping others unwrap their gifts, or sitting in her chair then opening her own gifts. She opened her last gift, late that evening. That has got to be a first in our house.

James, just being adorable. He is 4 days old or so in this picture.

My mom also made Addy this adorable skirt for Christmas! It is just too cute, I LOVE it! Addy wasn't to sure about a skirt vs a dress, but she warmed up to it.

Addy, Grandpa and Grandma H. Again we feel so blessed to have had Grandma and Grandpa here with us for the week, Thank you guys so much, I just can't tell you what your time and love means to us!

She really loves her chair.

Addy and Daddy, ready for Church. I am one of those Mom's that is pretty against taking my baby out and about right after they have been born, especially to church and walmart, which in my opinion have the highest potential of germ infestation and lowest potential of not getting my kid sick. So Addy and Doug have been flying solo, and doing a Fabulous job at it. Addy even wanted to go to nursery this last week. Amazing! All and all we just had a wonderful Christmas! It was so great to have James join us, and have my parents here, it will be hard to top this Christmas, but I have said that before....

Christmas Eve... We believe in Santa!

We are so lucky! We had a very special visitor come to our house on Christmas Eve. It was so fun to have Santa visit. We have been pointing him out every time we see him, to try and warm Addy up to the idea of Santa and help her kind of get excited about the fellow. And excited she was when there was a knock on the door Christmas Eve.  She was a bit reluctant to hop up on his lap, as you see above she is sitting across from him, but she got there, and was studying him out in depth. It helped that he had fun presents for her and James!

A bobble head snowman, fun, filled with candy, definitely an item of interest....

 She is still carrying around the bear, she just loves it!

Santa Brought James his first Stocking! Which was very exciting. We were actually prepared for James to celebrate his first Christmas with us this year, as opposed to when we had Addy, and her first Christmas was unexpected. In this picture you can see James cord to his billy blanket, Like Doug says, baby's are like drills, they should be cordless!

Time for bed! What will tomorrow bring? So, the question as to whether or not to teach our kids about Santa, has been an interesting situation. But it all boils down to this. We do believe in Santa, or at least the symbol of Santa and what he stands for, His Christlike giving and anonymous selfless kindness to others is and will always be something that we value. Christmas has always been a joy and very exiting time for me, and I think the majority of the reason behind that, it that my parents taught us this same principle. So, yes We believe in Santa, we believe in the magic of the season, and the hope and Wonder that it brings. And hope that the joy of the Season and the great gift it is to give to others will be something our children grasp and value too. And we hope that we have many, many years ahead of us with our very special Santa visiting! Thanks for making time to see us Santa.

We also enjoyed our normal Christmas Eve traditions including Christmas Dinner (which Doug and my Mom tackled, an did fabulously well), and opening one gift. It was a great day!

Happy 2nd Birthday Adelaide!

This year was a particularly big birthday for our Adorable little lady, we brought her home a Brother! Our week was certainly busy! We really came home from the hospital on her birthday, and had a birthday party! It was great! Addy was having a pajama day, she is quite obsessed with the footie pj's these days, and well she wears them all day a lot more then I would like to admit, for now, but I am sure that it will get better... Above she is sitting in her new rocking chair, reading a book, she loves little places to put her bum....

We also discovered that she LOVES balloons! So we got her some for her birthday celebration.

James brought her a gift too, a Shopping cart, and baby doll. She is just now starting to show interest in Dolls but it comes and goes. The shopping cart however, she can't get enough of. We are just waiting for her to try and stuff James in it.

What is a party without presents? I didn't do a theme this year, we were trying to teach Addy the basics, Presents, cake, family, balloons,  but with such a busy day I am not sure what she will remember. She did enjoy opening the gifts, although it was a little painful for the rest of us, as she would open one gift, then want to play with it, we would have to persuade her to open the next, and some of them Dad just opened for her.

Our Happy girl, This is a normal means of transportation for her!

Part of the present opening process, and I do mean PROCESS!

WOOT WOOT! Underoo's!  She was excited until she realized what they were for.... soon enough my little one, soon enough. (by the way thank you Grandma and Grandpa W for those, they will come in handy)

and every princess needs princess shoes, although she has discovered they work much better in her church stockings then her footie pj's she still try's though, SO ADORABLE!

Doug and I planned ahead and ordered an Ice cream cake as there is NO WAY anyone was going to be doing much baking that day, although Doug did put together a nice steak dinner for Addy (she really likes meat) It was very tasty!

She has figured out the blowing thing!

And is now wondering why Daddy is cutting her cake, as though the whole thing was for her... Just look at that sad face...

Kind of looks like maybe it was,all for her,  we cut pieces for us and Grandma and Grandpa H who were here celebrating with us and helping us through our very busy week, and let Addy have at the cake, she did a good job and loved every minute of it. 

Things I want to remember about Addy at two!

1. She is very tender hearted

2. She still naps very well, 2-4 hours a day

3. She loves to do just about everything, but it takes some courage to get going

4. She only wants to do things she knows she can do and do well, everything else has to be coaxed

5. She is a pretty good eater, and is trying to move into a normal chair rather then using her booster seat

6. She still will NOT eat pineapple

7. She loves to Help! Cleaning, cooking, whatever..

8. She still has trouble with talking, and doesn't do it much, but she is trying and is very good at communicating what she does want. She has warmed up to the therapist whom we see twice a week.

9. She enjoys reading, Sid the science kid, and being around other kids

10. She enjoys gymnastics with Daddy and is always doing rolls and somersaults around the house

11. She is all about her bags, shoes and coats.

12. She is obedient but often cries as she completes a task as she doesn't want to do it.

13. Her favorite food is an orange or prunes, we have to limit how many she gets each day, for her sake.

14. She can put three pairs of her shoes on by herself without help and they are usually on the right feet

15. She also regularly wears Doug and I's shoes

16. She is bit compulsive, everything has a place and should be there

17. She is all about our routine and does not like a change in the basics

18. Her room is one of her favorite places to be (time outs will have to happen in a different place)

19. She is for the most part always happy, (I am sure because she is generally well rested)

20. She loves to dance and play her music

21. She brushes her teeth between 10-15 times a day, Mom brushes her teeth twice a day.

22. When asked if she loves her baby brother, she says yes!

23. She loves adventures and to be out and about

24. She still lights up the room when she walks into, her laughs and cries are the sweetest sounds to my heart.

I can't believe she has been with us for 24 months, She is just amazing, and everyday a joy!

Happy 2nd Birthday Little Lady, We Love you!

Sweet Baby James...

Tuesday, Dec 21st at 7:20 our sweet little boy arrived in quite a rush! But he made it, and is doing so good! We just love him. We are still (two weeks later, learning to diaper him without making a bigger mess then he did in his diaper, but it is coming along) Our stay in the hospital was brief, and then we were able to go home. James did have Jaundice and we had to do the billy blanket for a few days, but we were able to do it at home, but that along with his weight loss, meant regular, daily visits to his Dr. (all of which we went through before so, it seemed less traumatic this time, although, regular visits to the Dr, do get quite overwhelming) He is still holding at 7lbs right now, hopefully at our next check in he will have gained a little weight, but at least he isn't losing. He is just so little, I forgot what it is like to have a little wiggler swimming in his Newborn clothes. All in all he is doing just great now, he is passed some of the yucky stuff. He is a pooper and spitter, which is also new for us, and he LOVES to be held, again a change. The other item of note is that he HATES having his clothes off, he wants to be covered at all times (can you say inherited from Dad)?

Speaking of Dad, one proud Papa! Doug is the best... Between him and Grandma I didn't change a diaper on this kid until he was almost a week old! That is one good Dad. He also helps with feedings, taking shifts, and has really picked up my slack around the house and with Addy. I just adore this guy, and if you can't tell, he adores me and our little ones. The pediatrician that was covering for our normal Dr. asked me if Doug is always like this with kids, I asked what he meant, he said, so involved, YES, he is a hands on dad, The Dr.'s response that is so nice. He also complimented us on our marriage and for striving to be a traditional family. Which I thought about a great deal, and I think that may be one of the nicest compliments we have ever received. I hope our children will always know that we value a home with a Mother and a Father in it, that are married, that love each other, and we value a home with little feet running amongst our hearts, what could be better?

Mommy and James

He looks a lot like Addy in this picture, I am sure he will grow out of it though, Addy looks nothing like she did when she was born.

Our Nurse, she deserves a gold star for her performance and an apology from me, (I will get that taken care of) She really was great.

James just moments old

And James and our Dr. Whom we are so grateful for. He has been fabulous in working with us with our fertility issues, and staying on top of all the issues that came along the way. He is definitely a blessing in our lives, we wish all Dr.'s were like him, in it because they want to help people, because they love what they do, he may not have been there for much of the delivery,(literally almost not making it) but he has been there every step of the way for over a year, working diligently, and his kindness well that is another story, he too deserves a gold star, all kidding aside, I am sure his good deeds will not go unrecorded, we truly appreciate him. We are so thankful for everyone that has been so supportive and helpful with this pregnancy and with James arrival. We can't express enough how grateful we are to have our sweet Baby James here and healthy. Another miracle.

Ready....

 The 2 weeks or so before we had James, I was spending a good deal of time at the Dr. office, every other day or so they had me coming in for non-stress tests, amongst other testing, as some days we would fail them and other days we passed with flying colors, which is a whole different story, but on one of my many trips the Dr scared me nearly to death, by saying Well, if things don't look better on this next test, you may be having this baby today! This pregnancy was so DIFFERENT from my first, I just didn't know what to expect, but I knew I was not mentally ready  to have the baby, yet. I am a planner, (most of you know this) so when I was informed about a month earlier that I was "scheduled " to have the baby on the 20th of Dec, (unless he came on his own) I just started planning for that, and had my head wrapped around the 20th, not a week earlier...With much pleading and a few good tests, my Dr. let us stick to the plan to be induced on the 20th. Above is me on the 19th, so READY to have a baby, wondering why I had pleaded to wait that long...

The 20th came and we followed protocol, calling in at 6:00 in the morning to see if they were ready for us, unfortunately with the 20th coming a storm came as well, and a number of other pregnant women went into labor on their own, (apparently my body didn't get the message) so we had to wait for a room, it was a long day,(but if that was the only hiccup in our beautifully laid plans, it is fine by me) We finally got in at 5:00 that night, and got things going about 7:00(which is the time we initially asked for, funny how that worked out). Which made for a much shorter labor then with Addy (30 hours) which is part of the reason we were induced, although there were a handful of reasons stacking up in my favor, and it ended up working out okay, actually for the best in James case. It is really kind of a strange to feel just normal pregnancy and be heading to the hospital to have a baby. But that part was way better then the middle of the night, can't sit to sign myself in, trauma... It was actually kind of nice, especially in the fact that I could have everything planned out and taken care of so I wasn't worrying about other things when I was trying to have a baby. This is us heading out the door, Let's have a baby!!!! Yeah, didn't get a picture when we left to have Addy, LOL

Below, Mr. and Mrs. Gingy, we spent Monday, doing some shopping, crafting, hanging out with Addy and Grandma and Grandpa, napping, just killing time, it was kind of nice, since we had cleared the day of everything, we didn't get too many disturbances, we just got to enjoy life... These were some of my creations, We all made one, Addy in particular loves this kind of stuff... And then the work began...