Leavin' on a jet plane...

We're flying out of Pullman and into Boise today for my sister, Amanda's, baby shower! It should be a lot of fun! It's just Addison and me going; Eli is staying home to work and take care of the puppies :(. I'm sure all will go well, but I'm nervous about going alone and I just know I'm forgetting something! I have been packing and packing...all for a SHORT trip! How can one little tiny baby cause me to take SO much longer to pack? And how can one little tiny baby's necessities take up so much room?

Side note, Eli and I got our flu shots yesterday and my arm stinkin' hurts today.... blah....

And of course, how can I possibly do a blog post and not leave any pictures?! So here you go...

Tummy Time!

WONDERFUL VISITORS!

As I stated in my previous post, I am attempting to make an effort to get caught up, not only for your reading pleasure, but so that I have the memories to look back on in the years to come!

Being away from family has been really difficult for Eli and me as I know it has been for our families (especially for the Grandparents!) At times I wish that we lived a little closer but we love Moscow and probably won't be leaving anytime soon! Therefore, it's extremely exciting when family comes to visit us! Just before I returned to work, Addison got the opportunity to meet Grandmom and Granddad and my sister, Amanda! While they weren't here at the same time, they were here within hours of one another! Addison had a wonderful time getting to know everyone! Some of her favorite highlights of the visits include:

• Hanging out at the campground where Grandmom and Granddad stayed
• Visiting the bears at WSU
• Eating Ice Cream with Granddad (okay, Mommy did that part, but in a way, she partook as well!)
• Going to the antique store in Moscow
• Cuddling in Grandmom's arms
• Cuddling in Granddad's arms
• Cuddling up next to "B" in Amanda's arms
• Shared many spit ups with everyone making sure to mark everyone's shirt at least once! It's her way of say, "I REALLY love you!"
• Going shopping in Spokane
• Avoided the widespread outbreak of Swine Flu (as did all of our visitors!)
• Going to the Fair to see all of the farm animals
• Going for a walk and stopping at the U of I bookstore to assist Amanda in finding a Vandal Dress for "B" (Pretty sure she nearly marked the yellow dress with her spit up! She apparently preferred the black dress over the yellow one!)
• Sharing loves with EVERYONE!

As you can see, we were very busy having fun! Now we can't wait to go visit everyone again this weekend for Amanda's baby shower! (Addi and I will be flying down to Boise together...I'm a little nervous about flying alone with her. Wish us luck!)

Thank you Grandmom, Granddad, and Amanda for coming to visit us! We REALLY enjoyed having you! We can't wait to see you and everyone else this weekend!

Where oh where has the time gone?

It seems like it was just a couple of weeks ago Addison was born, yet she's 2 1/2 months old! I can't ever seem to get any posts done and many family members are frequently asking about pictures...guess I've been slacking in that area! So here's the plan, over the next several days I plan to blog about several things including:


Grandmom and Granddad's visit
Amanda's Visit
Returning to Work
Erin and Bobby's Wedding
Amanda's Baby Shower
Getting Addi on a schedule-tips needed!
Weight loss (or the lack there of!) update!



I'm a checklists kind of girl, so consider the above my checklist of blog posts to be created! To be honest I should create some other checklists of things that need to be completed in my daily life...you know those things that just keep getting pushed to the back shelf piling up and although mundane, they cause great stress in the middle of the night! You know what I mean?! Some day...some day my life may become organized again...


Oh and might I say that motherhood has become SO much more enjoyable over the past several weeks?! It's not to say that I didn't enjoy those precious early moments with Addi because I did immensely, it's just that now I'm able to enjoy so much more about everything! No more stress about feedings; no more stress about gaining weight (Addi, not me...I do just fine in that department!); no more fear of leaving her in someone else's care for the first time; no more postpartum blues! AMEN! Everyone kept telling me the first two months would be the hardest, and so far, I would agree!



Now I will leave you with some bath time pictures! This is by far one of Addison's favorite past times!
In the two pictures above, Addison is only 1 month old; in the pictures below, she is 2 months. It is truly amazing to see how much she has changed in such a short time!

Until next time....

Addison's First Photo Shoot!

Addison is 24 days old in these pictures! Enjoy!!!

Journey: Week 2 + update!

WEEK 2:
So, I have to admit, I didn't go to my WW meeting on Thursday...I slept in instead! I had every intention of going but Addi has decided to have long periods of awake time at around 3 in the morning :( So I guess my goals will be the same as last week since I didn't do so well of completing them then! Hopefully next Thursday the scale will be my friend! HAHA!

RANDOM UPDATES:
On Thursday my grandparents came into town! We had a lot of fun bumming around with them. Addison really enjoyed meeting her "Great" Grandmom and Granddad! I took lots of pictures and will upload them soon along with a post about their visit!

Amanda is coming to visit tomorrow and is staying for the week! I am really excited for her to meet Addison and spend time with her! We have lots of fun adventures planned so hopefully time doesn't fly by too quickly!

I am returning to work on Monday the 21st :( I am really bummed. My maternity leave has come and gone so quickly. I wish that I had another week or two now that we are finally beginning to settle in and get into a routine. I decided on Thursday to for go breastfeeding. I have really tried to make it work, but it was obvious that it wasn't going to work out since the supplement formula feedings were becoming more and more frequent. I am still trying to do one feeding at night right before she goes to bed just so that we don't have to completely quit, but I really don't think that it will last. She prefers the bottle and doesn't ever seem to get full with out it...we'll see! If it works GREAT, but if not, we'll move on! I have to say thank you to everyone who gave me so much support! Breast feeding was one of the most difficult and painful things I have ever done in my life. I really wish that I was able to make it work, but I feel so much relief being able to feed her a bottle knowing she is content and getting all the nutrients she needs! If we decide to have another child down the road, I think I'll try breast feeding again, but until then, I'm relieved to have that past us! Thanks again for all of your support---it meant SO much to me and really helped me hold out this long!

Picture time!

In this post I have a bunch of different pictures to illustrate our latest happenings!

This first picture is of Eli at La Casa for his birthday! You can tell he was completely thrilled to be wearing the hat and having the waiters sing to him! If you look towards the bottom of the picture you will find a delicious birthday shot which made the public humiliation worth it! He had a great 25th birthday and appreciated all of the birthday cards, wishes, and gifts!
Last Saturday we went over to our good friends', Rayce and Candi's, home to hang out. They have three little ones who are more precious than ever! This is a picture of their youngest daughter, Shylee, holding Addison. Every time Shy sees her she says, "I just love her!" It is so sweet! Thanks for having us Rayce and Candi; we always love spending time with you and your family!!!

The following pictures were taken after Addi was treated for Thrush (yeast infection). Although she didn't show any signs of thrush, I have had it for several weeks and my doctor was concerned that we may have been passing it back and forth thus the reason for my severe pain during feedings. I think we have almost kicked the problem. I still have pain during feedings but it's tolerable now. I found that breastfeeding has been anything but easy, convenient and bonding. For me, it's been very stressful, time consuming, painful, and emotionally, VERY hard. I'm going to stick it out another two weeks to see if the pain subsides but if hasn't, we're going to switch to formula. This disappoints me to some degree, but in many others, it provides so much relief. We will just have to wait and see!

Many have asked how the puppies are doing with Addison and I think the following pictures explain it better than I can!

This originally started out as tummy time, but instead, Addi decided she would sleep. (AND yes, I do know you are supposed to put babies to sleep on their backs, this was a short time and she was in our supervision so don't worry!)

And finally just some fun pictures of Addison! The first Addison appears to be happy; in the second she's done with pictures and just wants to eat! I love it!

...I think she gets her temper from Eli! haha...right!

My journey: Week 1

So I know it's not Friday but since I went to weight watchers today I thought I would post the results. Now, I am excited to say that my little runner at the bottom of our blog did move slightly towards the right of the screen but I can't say that it was because of hard work and diligently keeping track of my points...nope...I would have to say it was somewhat luck. I really didn't work hard; I tried to eat a little better and was able to make it out for three walks but that's really it...

So the results? I lost 2.8 lbs. this week! Now I need to get busy so it doesn't come back and so I lose some more!

So this week my goals are to:
1) Go for a walk with Addi at least 4 times this week. (We have yet to purchase a stroller so I carry Addi, but I am so thankful to Jan and Ken who gave us a baby carrier!!! Thank you so much...I wouldn't be able to take her on these walks if it weren't for your generosity!!!)

2) Track my Weight Watchers points for at least 5 days. You may ask, "Why not everyday?" Well, let's face it, I'm just not to that point yet...I need more organization in my life!

I'm excited to hear from those who are doing this with me! How was your week? What are your goal(s) for the week? Remember baby steps!!!

And the infamous quote that keeps me truckin': "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels!" Good luck!