15 Week Update

I haven't done a weekly update on the progression of Addison in quite some time.

At 15 weeks, Addison weights 13.2 pounds.

She is eating 6 ounces every 4-5 hours.

She is taking 3-4 naps a day anywhere between 45 minutes to 2 hours.

She is going to bed around 8pm and waking up around 5:30am on average. On the weekend, after her AM bottle, she goes right back down for several more hours. I am certain if we did not have to take her to school, she would do this every morning. She pretty much dictates her bedtime and let's us know by fussing. Swaddle her and give her a paci, and she is lights out.

She has begun rolling over from her tummy to her back and back to tummy (and did so for the first time at about 12 weeks old) however, to date, we still have yet to witness this. She has been sneaky about her skills and only does this at school or when we are not watching. (Last week I spent 2 hours one evening and another hour the next trying to catch her doing this on video. She came SOOO close but never completely turned over).

She is able to play contently on the floor for quite some time either on a blanket or on her activity mat. She loves her tummy time as well.

She has amazing eye contact and will watch what you are doing contently.

She is mesmerized with the television. She will perform the exorcist in order to see the TV. (don't worry, I will not be a parent that sits their child in front of the TV to entertain them, I am certain she just loves the colors and movement)

She LOVES her big sister Layla. Layla will lay next to Addison and just watch over her or give her kisses.

For sure, Addison is in a routine. It is so very well established that she only fusses when she is hungry or tired.

All in all, Addison is a VERY happy baby! She is carefree, easy to please and full of smiles day in and day out. CJ and I could not have asked for a better baby. I keep telling myself, just wait for that "bad" day or night, it's just a fluke she is sleeping through the night, but it hasn't happened. Each morning we wake up surprised that she has slept through the whole night and each night we discuss how surprised we are the day went so smooth. We are SOO very lucky and thank our lucky stars for such a blessing. Thank you Addison Grace for choosing us to be your parents!

VIDEO:Attempting to Roll Over

Addison has been practicing rolling over, from both tummy to back and back to tummy. I have been told this typically doesn't happen until at least the 4th or 5th month but our little superstar first rolled over for the first time around 12 weeks.

Since then, CJ and I have patiently waited for our turn to see her super skills but unfortunately, she has not shared with us. We know she can roll over because we have put her on her tummy and found her on her back and vice vera, she just wants to keep this skill a secret from mommy and daddy.

Here are two videos of me TRYING my hardest to get her to roll over. She was so close but obviously she is a little camera shy, lol.

Hopefully sooner than later we will witness this milestone and I will catch it on video to share!





<Shout out to my cousin Ryan!! Thanks for the postcard we got today from NY!! Miss you Ry Guy!!>

Cohen Ryder Smith

Well, another one of my best friends, Alyssa and her husband Jeremiah welcomed baby Cohen Ryder Smith to the world last Tuesday, June 21st. He was born about 4 weeks early weighing in at 5 pounds and 13 ounces. He's little now but no doubt, he will be one big boy as the weeks and month go on.

We are looking forward to meeting Cohen and congratulating Mommy and Daddy in person, soon, hopefully! Alyssa will be a natural mom and I know she will be the most amazing parent out there.

Congrats J and Alyssa on your new bundle of joy. You are both going to be amazing parents to Cohen. He has no idea how lucky he is. Addison looks forward to meeting her potential husband (please note, Cohen is up for some stiff competition between Kalen, Archer, and JP!)

Tornado Alley

On Tuesday, June 21st we had one of the worst storms come through our neighborhood. In the matter of minutes, the outdoors turned black, a flash of lightening and no power. We went from playing on the floor with Addison (trying to get her to turn over) to scurrying to put her to bed, in the dark. Let me tell you, if you have ever tried to swaddle a baby in the light, it is 100 times harder in the pitch black darkness of a storm.

The lightening and thunder and SUPER heavy rain only lasted for about 10 minutes but after losing power less than 1 minute into the storm, it seemed like much longer. For a 10 minute storm, the damage was horrendous, especially in our neighborhood.

Luckily, as usual, our neighbor quickly shared power with us through his generator so we could plug in one light and the fridge. CJ went out to survey the damage. He said it was bad but with it being so dark out, it was hard to tell.

The next morning, this is the damage we woke up to:

Come to find out, a mild level one tornado had some through Downer's Grove, hence all the damage. Power lines down everywhere, LARGE mature trees broken in half, limbs all over the place, and 3 lines down in our backyard. Luckily, from what we could tell, no trees fell on any houses or cars in our neighborhood however, others were not so lucky.

Here is a video of a tree down on a car from the storm:




All in all, ComEd, our power company had power back on VERY quickly. By the time we came home from work on Wednesday, the power was back on. Crazy storm and boy was a happy that I was not home alone this time.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to the best Father in the world, CJ.


I could not have imaged CJ to turn out to be the father he has become. He loves his little girl and she lights up in his presence. His love for Addison has made my love for him, that much stronger. She is so special to have such a wonderful daddy, she just has no idea.

Daddy's 1st time holding Addison

As I mentioned before, I spent the majority of Father's Day writing my paper for school. Silly me waited until the last minute. CJ and Michael spent the day playing golf while Carrie watched Addison for me.

Daddy and his girls, Layla and Addison

Once I finished up my paper, Addison and I did a mini art project for daddy. She was SUPER cooporative and we laughed throughout the whole time.

Before art project

After

Our "homemade" card front

Our "homemade" card inside

Addison's card for daddy

 As school, her teachers helped Addison make daddy a gift---a super cute mug with a poem, her painting and her picture. Adorable!

The mug she made at school

Love her, love her gift

Daddy's Footsteps

"Walk a little slower, Daddy",

said a little child so small. 

I'm following in your footsteps,

And I don't want to fall.

Sometimes your steps are very fast.

Sometimes they're hard to see;

So walk a little slower, Daddy,

For you are leading me.

Someday when I'm all grown up,

You're what I want to be;

Then I will have a little child

Who'll want to follow me.

And I would want to lead just right,

And know that I was true; 

So walk a little slower, Daddy,

For I must follow you.

Happy Father's Day!

Busy Bee

So, for the past week or so, I have neglected the blog, not because I wanted to, but because I was SOOO busy.

Last weekend was Father's day (post to come) and instead of spending the weekend with my family, I had to write a paper for my Master's program. I spent Friday evening, all day Saturday and all day Sunday writing a paper on the Consumer Behavior of Skinnygirl Margarita.

(For those of you who have not tried the margarita, you must, it is amazing! At 100 calories for 4 ounces and made with all natural ingredients, it is the perfect adult beverage to consume while trying to lose weight!)

Look, I have a ponytail!

Once I turned in my paper, I had my 3 1/2 hour final to take before Wednesday at midnight. With full intentions of taking my exam on Tuesday, I came home ready to take it. As we were fininshing up dinner a HUGE storm came through and we lost power....AGAIN for the 2nd time in 3 weeks. Yes, this is a reoccuring trend that I am not caring for. I will post about the storm including pictures....it was bad. But on a good note, one of my best friends, Alyssa, welcomed her son Cohen Ryder on Tuesday night, just 4 weeks shy of his intended due date (a post to come on that too)

Always mesmerized by the TV.

Luckily the power came back on Wednesday afternoon so I took my exam Wednesday evening. Waiting to see what grade I got on the exam but happy to report I got an A on my paper. Fingers crossed for another A in this class.
We spent pretty much the whole week working on Addison turning over. I spent 2 hours trying to get her to turn over on video but she wouldn't. She has been soooo close so many time. At school, they tell us she turns over all the time, but we unfortunately don't get the luxury of seeing this feat.

Practicing trying to roll over

This past weekend was pretty much relaxing and I got to spend time with CJ and Addison. We had beautiful weather and spent a lot of time outside.

Hanging out outside complete with my sunglasses and sunhat!

And zonked out!

I promise to try to keep the blog updated. I know you all really look forward to seeing pictures, video and reading updates about Addison and we are VERY happy to share her adventures with you.

Addison's Laugh

Yesterday after we got home from work and picking baby up from school, I was getting ready for school and CJ was getting ready to brew his beer (yes, he brews his own beer). We laid Addison on her activity mat and were in the kitchen together chatting.

From the living room all we heard was this squealing. At first we thought she was getting ready to cry and scream but NOOOO, she was laughing up a storm. We quickly pulled out the camera for fear it was a one time thing. Nope, for a good 20 minutes Addison cracked herself up laughing under the lights and sounds of her activity mat.

Here are two videos. The first one got cut off because my memory card was full. The second is after we deleted some videos. At 13 weeks, she is one happy baby. Does this make us good parents? <SMILE>

11 Week Videos

By far, my favorite thing Addison does. When she wakes up in the morning and we take her out of her swaddle blanket, she stretches like no other. In this video, she falls back asleep and needs Daddy's help to wake up. hehe! LOVE!



Next video is Addison and her obsession with her hand. She constantly has her hands in her mouth. We have been told that either she will be a finger/thumb sucker or she will teeth early. I have never seen such a young baby produce as much drool and saliva as Addison.



The final video is Addison under her favorite toy, her activity mat. Once again, if you want something that will entertain your baby for hours, this activity mat is it. You can find it here.

Love Hadleigh-Designs

I have to write a blog about Love Hadleigh-Designs. Kristin is the owner and she crochet's handmade hats and headbands. I LOVE LOVE LOVE her products and she does such a high quality job, it is hands down one of my favorite products I have bought for Addison.

The Chloe Hat

The Addison Headband (no joke)

The Cow

She takes custom orders for boys or girls, newborn to adults. Her designs are very adorable but also practical. I have received so many compliments on Addison's hats and headbands that we have purchased. Check her out, it's totally worth it.

PS. She is working on a lady but hat which you know I am going to be all over. Cannot wait to see it!

For more about her company, you can find more information on her blog or on her facebook site.

Happy Baby Video-13 weeks

So HAPPY!!!

Happy Birthday Mary Ann!

We were invited to the Birthday of Mary Ann, the owner of my company, Antonelli College. Over the past 3 years Mary Ann has become a good friend of ours. She is what many woman strive to be, the owner of a multi million dollar company. Talk about inspiration!

We spent last Sunday in the city at Mary Ann's friends beautiful skyline Chicago view condo (Almost 360 view!). We enjoyed tasty food and good company! Addison was a little angel and thoroughly enjoyed herself. 

Jason and Kalen

Happy Baby!

Hi Mom!

Full of smiles!

Addison and I

Cheese!

Sweet Kisses from Kalen!

And the beautiful views!