Hanging Out with Auntie Crystal Jo

This weekend we went back to Iowa so that Daddy could see his old Ag Engineering buddies from Iowa State. Addison and Mommy hung out at Grandma and Grandpa Schafbuch's house so that we could get Auntie Crystal's wedding invitations assembled. Since it got up to 80 degrees, Addie got to wear her new outfit from Grammie Sally. Doesn't she look super cute with pink cow on her bib which comes in handy now days, since Addie is really starting to drool up a storm. Since it was so bright out as well, Auntie Crystal let Addison borrow her sunglasses.

New Suit and Lots of Smiles

This week Daddy finished up his finaly week of Black Belt training. Addison got to get her picture taken with Kevin on the day of his graduation. Last Saturday we helped him pick out this new suit and boy does he look goooood! Addison thought his looked so handsome that she couldn't help but smile ear to ear.

A New Face, A New Toy

Today we went to Target and got a new toy for Addison. It's a Leap Frog Baby mirror with fun little animal shapes that make noises when you squeeze the tabs. Cool thing is that you can hook up a MP3 player to it so we bought another Baby Genius CD so we could load up some fun baby songs for her to listen to. We thought this would be a good toy for "tummy-time" that Addie seems to like for about 30 seconds and then the big lip comes out. She does like to look at herself and if her Daddy and I looked as cute as she did we'd like looking at ourselves all day. Daddy was reassured that we got a good buy because we found a similar toy recommended by Parents magazine.

Back 2 IA for Easter

We all went back to Grandma and Grandpa Schafbuch's for Easter. Addie got to go to the Marengo Easter Egg Hunt and meet the Easter bunny. We showed up a little bit late so we could miss the long line but not so much luck...the line wrapped a long ways around, but she did get 5 tickets for baskets since they were trying to get rid of them. Needless to say, Mommy and Daddy got lots of candy that they didn't need to eat. Grandma Sue got Addie this super cute bunny that says "My First Easter". It was a super cold weekend but it was so nice to see the whole Schafbuch family at Great Grandma Lynn's house.

She's a Trooper

All I can say is that my little Addie is one tough cookie. Today she got 4 shots and never shed a tear. We went to the county health department today to get Addison's two month immunizations. We tried to get there 15 minutes early but by the time we got there, there were 20 other children ahead of us. It was so sad seeing the little kids who knew they were getting shots. We missed our scheduled appointment with Dr. Carlson, so we had to wait in the waiting room for about 40 minutes until they could get us in. Her two month check up went very well. She is growing like a weed. She's is now 23 3/4 inches long and weighs 13 lbs 9 oz - she's gained 5 pounds since she was born almost 8 1/2 weeks ago. She's in the 95th percentile for her weight and 90th percentile for her height. Dr. Carlson said she was doing great!!!

First Night in My Own Bed

Last night Addison finally slept in her own bed in her own room. Mom and Dad picked up that she didn't look as comfortable in the pack 'n play anymore at night. This was a big step for us all. Addie seemed to do great...she slept very well. When we laid her down, we popped on her lullaby CD which Kevin and I seem to really enjoy listening to as much as Addie does. We can hear it through the monitor, but its very soothing for us all.

Camo Bunting

Today we went on two fun walks around the block. With it being a bit windy we had to keep Addie warm so we used the camo bunting that Grandpa Jeff gave her. It's a little too big but she is so cute and fell asleep both times.

8 Weeks Old - Picture Day!

On Saturday Addie turned 8 weeks old and my has she grown. Mommy brought her to JCPenny to get her first professional pictures taken. Before we went Mommy had to test out the "outfit" to make sure everything would look alright. Of course she's very photogenic, but she often gets frustrated with me trying to put her in different poses all the time. The picture session turned our great and Penny's does a pretty good job trying to get you to upgrade all your pictures...you could spend a fortune. I told the gal that I was just going to scrapbook most of the pictures and she said I was "killer" her by turning down all the upgrades.

We Survived the First Week!!!

Well we survived the first week of daycare and mom going back to work. I think the key to starting the week off right for me was making Kevin bring Addie to daycare. Though it helped me, it was pretty tough on Kevin. Getting back to work was actually pretty great for me. I had only been in my new job for a month before I was off for leave so most of the week was catching up but I was so happy to see all of my friends at work. On the flip side when it was time to leave to head home I couldn't get there fast enough to pick up my little girl. Kevin had to go to Michigan really early Tuesday morning and didn't get home until Thursday night. Addie and I missed Daddy so much and I really appreciate all the help he provides and Addie really missed her daddy.

Mommy Goes Back to Work

Today was a feared day for Mommy and Daddy...Mommy went back to work and Addie headed off to daycare for the first day. Addie slept really well and got up around 5:30 when we did and I got off to work in good time. Addie ate breakfast with me and then I hugged her for as long as I could and then I handed her off to Daddy. I headed out and right away called and talked to my mom (Grandma Sue) the whole way to work so I wouldn't think to hard about things. When I got to work I got a call from Kevin whole had the painstaking task of dropping Addie off. It was the toughest thing he's had to do he said. They kept be pretty busy at work to keep me from worrying too much but she was always on my mind. I got to visit with my friend Keith over lunch and we shared stories about Addie and his new little boy Ryan Thomas who's three weeks old. At 4PM I couldn't wait to head out and get home so I could pick Addie up. When I got there she was swinging away and staring off and something interesting I guess. I took her home and didn't put her down for the next hour and a half. Kevin is heading overnight to Michigan for the next three days so it's me and the little one for the next few days. I love having someone to keep me company when Daddy heads out of town.

Last Friday at Home with Mommy

Today was our last Friday home alone together. Monday morning Mommy will have to go back to work. We went to visit Cornerstone and to bring a few things to store in Addie's cubbie. Addie met Miss Flora who will be caring for her while Mommy goes back to school. It was a pretty tough half hour for Mommy because so many emotions ran through my head and it was becoming a reality that my all day at home time with my little one was drawing to an end. Plus I could believe that she was going to be seven weeks on Saturday. I took this picture of her with the Big Bird doll that Uncle Casey gave her and her eyes seem to tell me that, "It's okay Mommy, Big Bird will look out for me while your gone." She is so beautiful and her Daddy and I love her more than anything.

Fun With Friends

With the weather getting nice, Addie and Mommy got out to see some of our friends. On Thursday we went to see Tara, Allie and Grace and they had so much fun together as you can see in the picture. Friends Tyler, Aiden, Carter, and Anika were there also.

We also went to try on the bridesmaid's dress that Auntie Crystal's picked out and found out that Mommy really only needed a size 12 with her post preggy body and not the size 18 that the dress shop in IA City thought. Addie thought Mommy looked pretty nice.

St. Paddy's Day

Okay...I'm a horrible mom who didn't get her little Irish daughter a "Kiss me I'm Irish" outfit for St. Paddy's day. So instead of that I put her in one of her new green outfits that was just as cute and I had her daddy kiss her. On St. Patrick's Day, our friends, Mark and Amity came over for corned beef, cabbage and potatoes.

She's a Genius!!!

At six weeks old, I feel my daughter is a genius and I'm not saying this because I'm a super proud parent, but that it is true. Today for the first time Addison had spit out her her passy and either by accident or I think because she's so smart...she lifted her left arm and pushed her passy back into her mouth. I was in shock and so excited. I thought it was a fluke thing at first until she did it again. I've tried catching her on video doing it to prove it to you all but she won't do it anymore and I feel bad when she starts crying when I don't put it back in her mouth.

Visting Mommy's Work

Today we ventured down to Bloomington for my doctor's visit since Kevin was out of town. We headed over to Evergreen FS for lunch and then over to GROWMARK to visit all of my friends and co-workers. It was fun getting to see everyone and I think it is going to make it a little bit easier to go back to work after seeing how excited they were to have me back. Scott, my boss, actually offered me $20 to stay another hour to help out...he's so funny. Addie did very well getting passed around to everyone. She didn't get much a nap at all that day so when we went to bed that night around 10PM she slept until 6:30 the next morning...we we're both pretty pooped.

Smiley Face

Our little girl is starting smile quite a bit now and "chatter.". I captured this moment was we were playing in her room on her play mat and listening to Disney songs. A smile like this also seems to be followed by the sound of her diaper filling up or spit up coming out of her mouth. I really like to think she is really recognizing mom and dad so much more.

Getting Soooo Big

No wonder this little girl is so sleepy...she's growing like a weed. I measured her at about 5 1/2 weeks old and we are guesstimating that she weighs about 12 pounds and is about 23 1/2 inches long. She's not fitting in her first sleepers that she loved so much so she's wearing a bigger 0-3 month and the 3-6 month clothes are a bit too big. We also noticed that the hematoma on her head has gone down quite a bit.

Grandma and Grandpa Dea Come to See Addie

"Grammie" Sally and Grandpa Mike spent four days with us in IL and it was a wonderful time. Both of them got to spend some quality time with Addie, getting to know her and her enjoying them. Eventhough they weren't able to get to see her until now, she has actually developed a bit of a personality and the fussiness we had early on has subsided a bit and Mom and Dad know her cries a little more and have developed a pretty good routine.

During this week we found that Addie had grown to like her "passy" and it seemed to calm her down and the crying to a minimum. Funny thing is that she likes sucking on it but likes to spit it out as well. She had also taken to being in her swing a little bit more and looks as though she can pick out the hanging little animals on the swing. She definitely loved showing Grandpa Mike her Boppy play mat. It was hard to see them leave on Thursday, but it was great having them.

First Bath in the Tub

Up until now we have given Addison sponge baths but we ventured to use the new bath tub. She didn't like it much at first but then as the warm water got poured on her she got comfy...almost too comfy because I saw her pee in the water. I rigged up the extra changing pad on the floor with the heater next to where she would come out to keep her warm. It was a bit scary pulling her out becuase she's such a squirmy little thing...our little "wiggle worm" as we affectionaly call her at times. Overall the tub gets two thumbs up.

First Trip to Iowa

We headed back to Iowa for Addie's baptism Friday night and ran into some icky, snowy weather. Grandma and Grandpa Schafbuch had finally gotten power back on about two days earlier after horrible ice storms came through and knocked out power for 4 days. Addie slept the whole three hours that it took to get there which was awesome for mom and dad. Grandma and Grandpa Schafbuch were very excited to see her when we got to there house and wouldn't put her down until it was time for bed.

Sunday morning Grandma and Grandpa Dea along with Uncle Ryan and Aunt Lindsay showed up about an hour before church to meet little Addison. Grammie Sally as she would like to be known was in tears as she held Addie for the first time. Everyone else thought she was pretty cute too. Addie was wonderful during church, sleeping most of the time and never cried during the whole baptism. It was great to be able to go back to my home church and share this celebration with my whole family. After church we went back to Grandma Lynn's house for lunch and Addison got her first bottle...she took it from me which was amazing, but a little emotional for me...this was her first hint of independance from me. Around 2PM the girls headed over to the baby shower at Grandma Sue's house which was such a wonderful party. Mom, Kelly, Aunt Brenda and Aunt Tammy did a wonderful job hosting and everyone brought wonderful gifts for Addie. I personally loved the cream cheese mints and watching everyone smelling melted candy bars in diapers!!! We left around 6PM which was a little tough on me to leave home this time because everyone loves seeing little Addie and I feel sad that they can't see her everyday. Mike and Sally followed us back to IL.