November Comings and Goings…..

OK, so we need to apologize again for the delay in getting out the November update.  We had a very busy month, but did get to do several fun things.  Addie was an absolute treat for the month and even allowed us to spend Thanksgiving at the beach!

Perhaps the most exciting news of the month was the arrival of our 4th niece!  Andy and Rianna welcomed their second daughter October 26 and she is the spitting image of Elena.  She weighed in at 7 lbs, 10 ounces and was 19.75 inches long.  Lindsay was able to fly down to Atlanta with Addie the first weekend of the month to meet her!  Elena and her sister were also great hosts to Addie!  (John was not able to make the trip due to playing a dream golf course with his father!)

The next two weeks were filled with college football for the Day family!  We hosted our annual John’s Day of College Football the second weekend of the month!  Several friends and neighbors were able to make it over for the event and a good time was had by all.  We were given tickets the next weekend to the NC State / UNC game and made it a family affair!  Addie loved the people watching on what turned out to be a perfect weather day!

The grandest adventure of the month was our trip to Gulf Shores, AL for Thanksgiving!  Lindsay’s father and Nancy served as incredible hosts for the event.  We also stayed beachfront with Alan, Robin and Ava for 4 nights.  The first two days saw sunny skies and perfect temperatures!  However, Mother Nature showed her funny side by sending the temps below freezing for some parts of the end of the week.  Regardless, the family time was abundant and it was easy to see all around us everything that we are thankful for.

December promises to be just as fun with Christmas decorating (Addie swears that she will help), Addie’s first birthday party and an extended stay in Atlanta for Christmas!  Please check out the pictures below and we promise to have new updates soon!  Perhaps, pictures of Addie taking some steps will be in the next update!!!!!!!!!

Check out my cool new chair and playroom! Jungle!!!!!!

Lindsay holding her new niece for the first time!

Elena and Addie horsing around!

Clara Drew Day enjoying some Z’s!

Ava loves pulling me around!

Hanging with Dad at the UNC game!

46 Weeks! Do I look like Mommy?

Playing with Bear is SOOOO fun!

SO excited about All You Can Eat Crab Legs!

Playing on the Beach! In November!

The Boren Family!

One of the many great sunsets that we were able to take part in!

Where are Ava’s Legs??????

Addie’s awesome birthday cake! Thanks Nancy!

Addie first 1st Birthday Cake (and first ever taste of icing!)

Addie & Gammie Boren

Addie & Ava resting after their HUGE Thanksgiving feast!

Addie & Finn Watching the second half collapse vs Auburn

Addie Celebrating with Pop & Nancy!

October and November – In Depth

So sorry for the delay in getting new information posted for the changes in the Day family over the last two months!!!!  Unfortunately, this is the busiest time of the year for Mommy and Daddy in terms or work and this year has been no exception.  The good news is that the busy time is now behind us and between us, we had a direct hand in enrolling 400,000+ U.S. employees in their new 2011 benefits.  We are now looking forward to a smooth transition of benefits to when 2011 actually starts!

Addie has been incredible for us over this same time period and has played a large part in keeping us sane over this busy period!  She allows us to have a period of fun and levity after work each day and then all of each weekend.  She continues to be such a happy child and so eager to grow up into a big girl (though mommy is not so happy about this)!  With all of the above said, here is a recap of our last two months….

We started out October with our Tour de Georgia as we call it.  We spent a long weekend in Douglas with Nana, Joe and Jonathan.  Addie loved seeing her grandparents and even got to see cousin Jonathan actively at work at the Dairy Queen (where she sampled ice cream for the first time)!  She spent time in the nursery at First Baptist Church (where daddy spent a lot of time 30+ years ago) under the guidance of her 4th cousin!  The time spent in Douglas was very relaxing and only too short!

From Douglas we headed up to Atlanta to stay in Uncle Alan, Aunt Robin and cousin Ava’s AWESOME new house!  They recently moved out of their home of almost 10 years into a great home in the Morningside area of Atlanta.  Mommy had to go to work during the day, but John was able to stay with Addie along with Mimi (grandmother Donna) and Ava during the days.  We thoroughly enjoyed our daily play time, visits to the park and practicing walking with Ava’s old walker!

The time spent in Atlanta was VERY action packed!  We were able to spend time with new baby Libby Clay (Will and Jenny’s first child!) and tailgate prior to the Ga Tech Homecoming football game against UVA.  We also had a close call with a new cousin potentially coming early and having to baby sit Elena while Andy and Rianna had everything checked out at the hospital (more to come on this).  All ended up being OK that night and Addie spent time with Elena some later in the week!  On the way out of town, we had a quick visit with the Harris family, meeting Hayden for the first time and seeing Houston for the first time in a LONG time.

Once settled back in Chapel Hill, we were happy to take Addie back to Day Care, where they informed us that every child had been through a stomach bug over the previous week (so we picked a good week for a vacation).  Well, they called us that Tuesday afternoon saying that she was sick and we needed to come get her.  And sick she was!!!!!!  She kept the remnants of that bug for the next two weeks and was kind enough to pass along the nasty little thing to both Momma and Daddy!  However, we were proud of her to be able to fight it off and return to her happy self after about a week!

Addie attended her first 1 year old birthday party soon after being given a clean bill of health.  One of her best friends, Bryson, was kind enough to host a part at his house and she played ALL DAY with other children.  She had a blast and was anxiously talking about hosting her own party in December.

It was also right around this time that Addie starting eating on her own!  This was a HUGE day for Mommy and Daddy.  While it started off with only a small amount of a graham cracker, it was now turned into many other small foods and is really making our life a little easier.  Aside from allaying some worries about her lack of placing items in her mouth, it was also huge as it gives us some time to do other things while she eats!  Just a great new development on her part!

The last item that we will discuss in this post is Addie’s first Halloween.  She dressed as Snow White and was the the Belle of the Hall(oween)!  Our neighborhood had a block party where all the children played ahead of Trick or Treating.  After the party, Addie loaded up into her wagon and stayed SUPER excited about the act of visiting each home and getting candy!  She held on to her first piece she received the rest of the night and was simply a hit at each house we visited.

Please see the pictures below for the October portion of our trip!  More to come with our November and the new additions in our lives (literally in one case, from Atlanta)….

Enjoying my Time with Nana!

Showing Joe my Skills at Driving (just waiting until I turn 16)!

Having a Great Time playing with Holley Ryan Hennesy!

The Offspring of the GT Gals!

Spending Time with new baby Libby Clay

Three Generations! Lindsay, Addie and Mimi

Ava showing Addie how to Patty Cake (which she has mastered)!

Playing with my COOL Christmas Present Table! Thanks Nana!

Bryson’s Birthday Party!

Lindsay and Addie at Day Care for Halloween Party!

Natalie, Addie and Nadia from Day Care! Great girls!

Addie Enjoying her Time as Snow White!

The Baby Bubblers Class Leading the Halloween Parade!

Our Pumpkins Paying Homage to our two Girls!

Coming up to the Halloween Party! Ended up Being about 120 People here!

Day Family at the Halloween Party

Addie with Pumpkin with the Addie Smile!

Look at all of my loot!

Behind on Our Weekly Picture Posts

We apologize for the long delay in posts.  Our little girl is growing up so fast and is so much fun to be around that I find it hard to take time away for posting (especially after being in front of my work computer all day).  We are all doing great and I thought I could just catch up on the weekly picture posts.

There’s a lot more we need to share and will do so shortly- we had a great trip to Douglas and Altanta and are having a blast with our first Halloween.  Most importantly though, we couldn’t be happier to have a new niece- Clara Drew who joined us this week.  She looks just like Elena did and we cannot wait to meet her!  At this point we will have a girl in every grade in high school (Ava, Elena, Addie and Clara).  They are going to be so much trouble!

41 Weeks- I can't be almost 1 year old already!

That says 42

Our little pumpkin

Roll Tide and 9 Months!

We’re having fun cheering for the Tide lately and are playing against Rianna and Elena (er-I mean Florida) tomorrow and will be watching from Douglas.  We hope they scare us less than last weekend and we might also tune in to see the Jackets for a few minutes if I am over being mad at them.

We had a great visit with Pop for the Bama v Duke game.  John threw a stellar tailgate and the weekend was a blast.  Then we spent the weekend in Charlotte for a football bonanza weekend of college and NFL viewing.  Is the football season over with yet?  Seems like it’s about that time…

We’re heading to Atlanta for the week and looking forward to seeing lots of friends, new babies and getting in some good cousin time with Ava and Elena.  Addie is taking the travel in stride and smiling through it all.  At daycare they have been commenting that Addie Day is suddenly a handful.  She’s busy busy busy and into everything.  Seems like she never stops til the end of the day when she just crashes- then we get up and do it all over again!  I still can’t believe she’s 9 months.  She weighed in at 19 lbs last week and she’s still measuring pretty tall.  Now if we can just get her to sit still long enough to eat some real foods…

Nick and The O'Haras at the tailgate

38 Weeks!

Family photo in our porch swings

Pop and Nancy too!

We love it when Pop comes to NC

Tailgatin' (before the babysitter came to get me)

Don't forget about The Bear

Mommy got me some new toys and all I cared about was the plastic wrap and the box

39 Weeks (the cheerleading uni did not bring good luck)

Outgrowing my jumper but it's still fun

Please take note of my mohawk

Mommy gives me the sweetest 'do's

We’ve Been Busy!!

Busy explains the long posting break.  For all our fans (I think there might be one or two of you…) we apologize for the delay in posting.  John and I have been quickly consumed by the busy work season for us that coincides with the start of college football season.  So we’ve been on the go the last few weeks but having a blast with all our happenings.

Addie is busy busy busy.  We both think she’s going to be walking in no time- she’s gone from crawling, to pulling up, to cruising, to standing up all in a matter of weeks.  We haven’t even had time to baby proof so maybe she will just master things before we have a chance.

Here’s some fun pictures from the last few weeks.  Between Bama football, grandparents and friends we just can’t be havin’ more fun  :)

Look Out World!

Addie Day is on the move.  She started crawling a few days ago and she hasn’t looked back.  She’s fast and furious.  In the same week she also started waving, giving five, pulling up on some things (of perfect pull up height), and had a first tooth break through. 

Our lives are changed forever.  She still delights us in a hundred ways every day   Pictures to come!

Maybe Gettin’ Some Teeths!

Addie is still trying her best to crawl but not going anywhere very fast.  She’s also working on some teeth we think.  She’s drooling a lot and has some fussy moments that make us think teeth.  Who knows though- we can’t see anything so it’s just the most likely thing we can blame things on (as we used to say…it’s probably a growth spurt).

My mom (Mimi) and Addie and I had a great time going to the beach and Wilmington for a night.  It was a quick trip but we had great weather, had a full day on the beach and ate lots of crab.  Doesn’t get any better than that!

This is why we think teeth...

Checkin out The Mimi

This was right before I pooped in the baby pool

The Coast Guard was at our hotel

Home Sweet Home

John and Addie and I are soaking up some time at home.  We’ve been sitting on the couch, going to the pool, grilling out with friends…all fun homebody type stuff.  Addie’s latest developments include lots more jabbering and getting on all fours and trying to crawl.   I am not exactly ready for her to be mobile but we’ve had a nice ride so I can’t complain.  I think she’ll be really moving in a matter of weeks.

There was a little concern about Addie’s hearing (they noticed it at daycare and then the test at the pediatrician was inconclusive).  So John took her for a special test that he said was totally weird but she passed.  I think Bear’s howls have made her immune to startling and loud noises which was confused for not being able to hear.  So after she passed her test she decided to show us that we shouldn’t worry and started saying ‘Bababababababa’, ‘Dadadadadada’ and ’Vavavavavava.’  I say to her 10 times a day ‘Can you say Mamamamamama?’ and she always replies with a smile…’Dadadadadadada!’  So unfair.

We will be home sweet home a lot less in the coming months.  There’s football to see, family to visit and some work trips as well.  We’re already making plans for the holidays too to head to Orange Beach for turkey and visit the newest Day baby for Christmas (I am getting REALLY excited about that baby…think I am feeling niece # 4!!).

At Bull City Gymnastics for the McGrath birthdays

Lindsay says I look like Alexis in this picture but John says he doesn't see it...

Photoshoot with Bear for 33 weeks (with outtakes).

Happy 90th to Gammie Bo

Bo turned 90 and we went for the big family reunion in Birmingham to celebrate.   We had a really nice time and saw so many family members that we rarely get to see.  There was a party for her at the church and 99 people game by to tell her happy birthday- I think she was pretty pleased with that.  On Sunday we had a picnic with just family and despite the fact that it was 101 degrees we had a great time.  All the kids seemed to hardly notice the heat and we stuck Addie in a bucket and then a baby pool to keep her cool.

We are going to stay close to home this month which is very exciting to me.  We have a pretty busy September through December planned so I plan to make the most of our time at home.  Here’s the latest Addie photo collage!  BTW- everyone continues to be amazed with our smiley girl.  Lately, if she sees the camera she looks straight at it and grins and squeals.  It is totally hilarious so we’re taking lots of pictures because I know it probably won’t last.

30 Weeks!

Addie and Pop!

With Bo and Uncle Jimmy

Mimi was there too!

All the 'greats' (minus Christian)

With Glenn's boys- Matt and Danny

We also squeezed in a visit with the Crotwells

Gammie Helen came over from Tuscaloosa

Ava is the BEST helper with Baby Addie

Stayed at the Pfaudler's with Jack- Addie was a big fan

Tim and John Thomas (born the same day as Addie) stopped by the picnic too

31 Weeks!

Beach Trip and a Whole New World for Bear

The happenings at the Day house have been fun and exciting the last couple of weeks.  We spent the weekend with friends in Oak Island NC at a great beach house and made a quick stop in Wilmington on the way home.  Addie had a lot of fun at the beach this time with her friends Emily, Jack and Bryson.  It makes it a lot easier now that she’s sitting so she isn’t stuck on her back roasting in the sun.

Today we head to Birmingham for Gammie Boren’s 90th birthday party.  It will be a family reunion where I will see all my dad’s brothers and their kids which is a rare event.  We are looking forward to showing off our little girl to those who we don’t see often enough.  It will be a whirlwind weekend I know but a ton of fun.

August is a stick close to home kinda month which will be nice.  We have to rest up for football season of course…We will get to see Alabama in Tuscaloosa and our hometown of Durham.  As we get closer to September I think John will be up all night with excitement.

Our fun news for Bear is that we had some work done in our yard and moved our fence back so that she has room to roam our full property.  It gives her a ton more space with lots of great trees.  It’s almost finished and we can’t wait to let her loose in her new and improved yard!

This one was too sweet to not capture

 

Sitting Up All By Myself!!

Here’s a quick Addie update and lots of new pictures.  Addie is doing awesome- she never stops smiling and is so fun to be around.  One day she was still wobbly and falling over and then the next she was sitting tall.  It makes her even more fun and interactive and she seems to be soaking up a whole new world from her bottom.  We’ve tried to get her interested in finger foods but all we get is a very dramatic reaction of complete repulsion.  She’ll get there soon and until then she’s all about the strained peas and pears.

I went to Atlanta to start my new job- get my computer and meet the team.  So far so good.  I was able to get in a little time with the Shaws and Chandlers as well.  I met Eden- the newest addition to the Shaw family who is sweet as can be.  She makes me realize how fast they grow because she seemed like the tiniest little thing at 10 lbs.  Becky, Brandon and the boys are doing great and really enjoying her.

We have a busy next couple of weeks with a beach weekend and then the Boren family reunion for my grandmother’s 90th birthday.  Looking forward to seeing lots of family and showing off our Addie girl.

28 weeks!

Addie and Bryson at Friday's on the Front Porch (it was really hot)

Anna and Andrew in town from Cincy

Serious pose with Bear

Brady and Cooper (the new big brothers)

Eden...a sweet girl for the Shaw family YEA!

On to solids...sort of

29 weeks and sitting up!

4th of July Fun

We had a fun 4th in DC with Tiff and Dan.  My mom (now called MiMi) came so we could go out to the fireworks and we packed in a lot and had a really nice time.  Tiff’s rooftop at her office was basically on top of the White House which made for a nice hook-up.  We saw the new WWII Memorial and some other sights, ate tons of good food including some delicious crab and hung out in Georgetown and downtown Bethesda.

Addie is doing so much fun stuff now- she rolls over, sits up (for a little bit until she topples over), babbles, sleeps on her belly, sucks on her toes, and is starting to stick her butt in the air and try to scoot a little.  I think our immobile days are numbered.  I have to say I have really enjoyed the fact that I can put Addie in one place and she stays there…

I am heading back to work Monday which will be good.  I have made the most of the two weeks off and had a lot of fun with Addie.  She went to daycare most days but we were able to get in some pool time and playtime as well.  I did tons around the house- cleaning out closets, sorting clothes, touched up the paint (aka: Project Bear Slobber Removal), cleaned out the garage, cleaned out our cars, and hung some things involving toggle bolts.  I think John has been very impressed by my productivity and will hopefully not be disappointed when we have to do all those things on the weekends again.

Here are some photos from our trip!

At the Memorial- a pic for my Grandad

Georgetown- the Potomac

Dan ordered the Chocolate Covered Bacon Lollipops- Tiff says yum

Our fireworks view- not too shabby!

This one is adorable

Maureen's baby girl Shea- two days younger than Addie

Chillin at Tiff's

6 Month Stats Are In!

Addie had a great appointment today- weighing in at a whopping 16 lbs 4 ounces.  Daddy only guessed her at 15 and a half so she really showed him.  Doc says she’s looking great and doing well so we’ll just keep doing what we’re doing I guess.  She was 50th percentile for weight, 75th for height and 75th for head.  She has daddy’s nice round big head

In other news, Bear got into some ants or ate a wasp or something.  She had hives and then by the end of the day her head was so swollen she no longer looked like a bloodhound- she looked like a puffy mastiff.  She seems to be doing much better but it was the saddest thing you ever saw.

26 Weeks- Yo yo yo!

Feeling much better thank you

A Long Overdue Update

It’s been way too long since I posted an update…and so much has happened!  I hope this post finds everyone well and enjoying the sweaty summer we are having.  For Memorial Day, we were getting ready to go to the beach with the family and we had such a great time.  We feel so lucky to have family and friends that we can hang out with for a week at the beach and enjoy every minute together.  Addie and Elena couldn’t get enough of each other and we know this is just the beginning of the cousin love affair

We weren’t back for long before I headed to Atlanta for Ava’s 2nd birthday party.  John headed to Augusta for a golf weekend with Joe, Andy and friends.  It was a quick and action packed weekend but we had a great visit and Ava turned 2 with a huge smile on her face all weekend.  She too has a pretty big Addie obsession which is beyond hilarious.  I have been dubbed ‘Addie Mommy’ and I have to say I kinda like it.

In the last few weeks, Addie has started to show us some exciting new tricks.  She’s rolling over, grabbing whatever she wants, squealing, laughing, and making every day new and fun.  I think it’s probably bad karma to brag about your baby so I won’t.  But I will tell you that the teachers at daycare brag about her constantly and have said that Addie is the happiest baby they have had in a long time.  She usually wears a smile as big as her face and is pretty agreeable to just about anything.  We are soaking up this time because I think it must mean that either our next baby is going to be hell or Addie as a teenager is going to send us to the loony bin.  So we’re just dragging happy Addie everywhere we go and enjoying every minute with her…til she tells us she wants to date or wear a prom dress we don’t approve of.

Last weekend we went camping- with babies.  WHAT???  Yes- seriously we did.  3 couples, 3 babies plus a 3 year old, 4 dogs, 3 tents, 1 pop-up trailer, 2 kayaks and 1 canoe.  Oh, and it was 100 degrees.  But I have to say we had a damn good time.  I don’t think anyone got much sleep but we had a great time and I think we might even attempt it again someday.  We always love spending time with the O’Haras and Colemans and it’s really fun that we all have little ones the same age.

In other news, I have a new job and will start back at Hewitt on the 12th.  Things in my group at work were deteriorating pretty quickly and it has been a difficult transition (to put it nicely).  I will miss a lot of things about Fidelity but am ok to skip out on the growing pains they are going through now.  Without question I have a new number one job and I jumped at an opportunity that should provide some better balance.  I’ll be full time from home and out of the Implementation business which should make things a little more predictable.  Hopefully John and I can share the house without issue…though I am confident we can and am looking forward to it.

Apologies for taking such a long break- but here’s a ton of photos to make up for it.  Heading to DC to see Tiffers and Dan for the 4th with my mom in tow so check back for those updates

Weekly pictures…

Highlights from the beach…

Atlanta weekend…

Getting Ready for the Beach!

Addie is getting very excited about her planned beach trip!  We are going to have a full house which should mean lots of fun people to hang out with (and share in baby duties- yea!).  Addie is doing really well these days- still enjoying school and making everyone smile.  Our busy summer starts with our beach trip next week and we are looking forward to all the fun things we have planned.

Addie had spirit week at school (tacky day, hat day and team spirit day) so her 21 week picture shows off her school pride.  We really need to get her some Yellow Jacket gear.  Stay tuned for beach pictures- probably some exciting things like Addie sleeping on the beach and trying to eat sand.

21 Weeks! Roooollllll Tide!

Happy gal

60…WOW!!!

Our moms are 60!!!  Margaret turned 60 on Thursday and Donna turns 60 on Monday.  WOW- here’s to two fabulous women who are looking great and always amazing.  We’re looking forward to our beach trip Memorial Day week to celebrate with them both!

20 Week Happy Birthday Photo

Happy Birthday Nana and Gammie!!

Here’s a few other pictures of John and I celebrating 4 years together, Addie and John looking OH SO cute and Addie with her buddies this weekend.

Belated anniversary dinner- fun night out

My new favorite picture- the two cutest people I know

Addie and her boyfriends- Jack and Bryson (she's very popular)

Smiley Addie!

That’s what they are calling her at daycare now!  Everyone loves to tell us how happy and smiley she is all the time at school- we’re so glad she seems to be enjoying it.  Her teachers are so wonderful and the 9 other babies are so sweet and are showing Addie all kinds of fun things.  She did get her first cold and had to come home last Friday- she was feeling a little pitiful for part of the weekend but we still had a great Mother’s Day.  I am a BIG FAN of having a new day all about me.  Honestly, there should be more of those.

John took us to a very nice picnic at Duke Gardens and then we had a nice walk with Paige and the dogs.  Addie was a trooper all day but was so pooped she went to bed at 5:15.  I am very happy to say that Addie’s hair can now hold a bow- yea!  They hang on by maybe 5 hairs but I think it’s really exciting.  Addie is actually 20 weeks as of yesterday so we are a week behind on the pictures.  We’ll get caught up this weekend.  Love to all!

We are a week behind...but here's 19 weeks!

Happy mom on Mother's Day

Mother's Day Picnic at Duke Gardens

Look how long I am getting!

Bear came to picnic too

Alliums- BEEEEUUUTEEFULL

I look so cute in a bow!

Off to School!

Lots to post about!  Addie has had a lot of firsts this week so lots of updates and pictures to share.  She started eating some real food which has been fun and we’re happy to report she loves her veggies.  She also went to her first day of ‘school’ today and did great.  They have already dubbed her Smiley Addie and I think she had a really good time with her teachers.  Ms Cameron is her primary caregiver and is so super sweet.  She helped Addie with her first artwork and it’s pretty amazing- I think we’ll have to frame it!  John and I dropped her off together and I didn’t cry…I didn’t even call to check up on her so kudos to me.  I picked her up a little early and got her to bed not long after we got home because she said she had quite an action packed day.

John is happy to be back at work and using his brain again- though I know he really enjoyed his month with her.  My job is the opposite of fun but we won’t get into that.  It’s hard to find time to post lots of updates so here’s some photo highlights of the past week or so

Real Food Day 1- Not so sure...

Real Food Day 2- Sweet potatoes are yum

Day 3- Peas are fun!!!

Addie and Ms Cameron

The Bubblers Classroom

Addie's First Artwork- is that awesome or what??

18 week photo- bedtime so stingy with the smiles

The Day Girls

Daddy and Addie at Fridays on the Front Porch

This jumper rocks

Daddy Day Care – Week 3

The third week with Addie has been awesome!  This is for a variety of reasons, but one of the coolest has been the nightly sleep times that Addie has been giving us.  The last 5 nights has seen her down (all by 9 PM) for 10, 9, 9, 10 and 10 hours, respectively.  We hope that she is finally learning to store up her food supply to continue giving us long stretches at night.  This is also huge as she will be starting school in a little over a week and Lindsay and I will be both be working at this time.  We are keeping our fingers crossed and hoping that the blogging gods do not come at us with a vengeance for typing this!

The other big point of the week is that Addie turned 4 months!  We went to the doctor for her routine 4 month checkup and she measured in 75th percentile in height and 25th percentile in weight.  So, she appears that she will continue to be a string bean.  That kind of makes me jealous as I remember the days when I used to be one.  (On a side note, Addie’s mother is once again back to being a string bean.)  Addie is also continuing to work on the arts of grabbing, baby talk, jumping (in her jumper) and moving around.  She still does lots of play walking when being held and routinely runs a mile when laying on her back for extended periods of time.

We are looking forward to a great weekend.  Today, Addie and I will partake in a Tour of Kitchens in historic Hope Valley.  Mommy will be working at the Tour and we hope that she will be able to be our tour guide! We also have Addie’s first ever trip to Outback Steakhouse lined up for tonight.  I am trying to go ahead and get her taste buds accustomed to a blooming onion and red meat (thus ensuring many future visits to the restaurant for daddy).

We hope that all are well and wanted to pass along some pictures for everyone to see.  Take care!

Addie starting to grab things and place in her mouth!

Our girls enjoying each other's company!

17 weeks! Check out my big blue eyes that I got from Mommy!

Because sometimes two beds is simply not enough....

My first necklace! Thanks everyone at McCrary Daniels! And yes, I do have some clothes on....

Daddy’s Month with Adelaide – Weeks 1 and 2

For those that do not know, I (John) am taking off work for the month of April to spend with Addie. I am extremely lucky that work is allowing me the time to do this and that Lindsay is comfortable enough in my parenting skills to allow me the opportunity to do so! We are excited about the month and accomplishing all that we have planned to do! Some of these include sleeping without a swaddle, gripping and holding onto items, mastering the art of the exerciser and simply being ready to rock Day Care from day one (May 3). Along the way, I plan to document her successes, so-so’s and those which she simply decides not to do. We are ecstatic to spend this month with all of our online friends and family!

The first week was really just a chance for me to get back to knowing Addie’s routines during the day. For instance, Addie generally wakes around 7:15 and then will take down about 5 ounces of milk. Within the first 30 minutes of this feeding, she will have shared about 1 ounce of said milk with me and various garments and throw blankets. During this time after feeding, she does some vigorous playing (anyone that has spent time with Addie knows that she can kick a mile in about 10 minutes) and talking. She generally does this playing until about 9, which then leads to an hour long nap. This same schedule is starting to show trends of semi-repeating itself throughout the day. Lindsay did an excellent job during Addie’s first three months of preparing our daughter (and myself) for this month with me. It was because of her that Addie is off to such a great start.

Of course, all of the above only happens when Addie WANTS them to happen. This is what I am learning during my month. Addie is incredibly sweet and happy child, but she is also developing a personality, which means that she spends a lot of time simply taking everything in. She also seems to now want to only sleep 6 hours at a time at night (Lindsay had this up to 8 at one point) and is trending towards dropping one of her afternoon naps. All of this means that she is seriously messing with my semi-OCD world of loving perfect schedules. However, I am steadily learning (as all parents do, I am sure) that simply watching her look at the world with such fascinating eyes makes everything worth it.

Some of the stuff that Addie is doing brand new this month are: 1) playing in her jumper, 2) laughing (which is a trip), 3) grabbing items and bringing them to her mouth, 4) placing more weight on legs than ever before and 5) taking big girl baths (without the plastic mold she previously used). She seems to take all of this in stride and really enjoys each new item/process in which she is presented. Lindsay and I both feel really blessed to have such a happy baby who, by all appearances, appears to be a child that simply loves new items and being around other people.

We also enjoyed playing host to Andy, Rianna and Elena the second weekend of April. Elena and Addie spent some great cousin time together and even enjoyed a dual bath, though each seemed to wonder why the other one was doing what they were doing! Elena gave Addie many nice hugs and kisses during the weekend, which always seemed to make Addie smile, though this always seems impossible to catch with a camera. The highlights of the trip were all of us having a picnic (hard to beat Carolina bbq sandwiches) at the Farrington house with the belted cows and Lindsay and myself paying off our losing NCAA basketball tournament bracket bet to Rianna with a night out at Nantucket!

The final HUGE item that has happened in the first two weeks is that Lindsay and I went out to a friend’s house last night and left Addie home with a babysitter! Lindsay handled this very well and, from what we heard, Addie did as well. We were going to call it a success if we simply came home to a babysitter who seemed to have all of her senses. Erica (babysitter) said that everything went well and even had Addie dead asleep for us when we came in the door, which was an incredible treat!

I hope to be a little more diligent with updates for the remaining two weeks. I am still optimistic that we will have Addie being a meaningful contributor to society by that point, but am willing to settle for her simply sleeping through the night again!

We hope that all are well. Take a look at the pictures below from the month to this point…

15 weeks and starting to semi-hold things!

Addie already enjoying the looks of herself!

Day Family, Baby Bjorn style....

Good shot of us (minus Rianna) in front of the belties...

Day Family Portrait

I am 16 weeks!!! Where is my car?

Elena and Bear strike a pose

 

So happy in my outfit from Pop

Back to Work and Happy Easter!

Well, all good things come to an end.  I went back to work this week (only 3 days) and have my first full week back starting tomorrow.  It was ok being back.  I didn’t cry in the bathroom or anything, but I definitely missed Addie like crazy.  Last week she was home with John and Nana Margaret since John’s time off isn’t starting til tomorrow.  Nana was so much help and we really appreciated her being here.  Addie was a good girl for the most part and we had a nice visit.

John logged off on Friday at 5 pm and won’t be heard from at Hewitt until May 3rd.  I am so excited for him and Addie- they are going to have a blast.  And John so deserves some time off as he’s put in 60 hour weeks for as long as I have known him.

We had a lovely Easter with Addie.  She did great in church and we had a lot of nice cookouts to attend throughout the weekend and she seemed to have fun at those too.  Some new pictures of the past week are below.  Love to all!

I call this The Land of Overstimulation

Grillin out with Lila

14 weeks!!

My Easter basket! And my cute ears from the neighbors

Mommy and Addie after church

My favorite pic- our happy bunny

Playgroup!

Here’s a couple cute ones from Bryson and Addie’s playtime yesterday.  Bryson was trying to teach Addie all kinds of new tricks like rolling over.  I guess she will be doing all that soon enough!  I also never posted any pictures of the finished nursery.  I know it’s about 3 months late but thought I would get it documented.  Her room was made with lots of love from many people.  The tree done by G’pa Gary, the letters from Gammie Donna, tons of blankets from Nana Margaret, a flatscreen from daddy (but we know who that was really for don’t we) and a closet PACKED full of adorable clothes.  Her closet is really a little ridiculous.  I think she can wear something different everyday until she turns 18 months.  Then it will be time to shop!

Addie and her boyfriend Bryson

Sally gets in the photo

Addie's room

Addie's sweet flatscreen

Addie's ridiculous wardrobe

13 Weeks!

Here’s Addie’s 13 week picture.  I thought it was time for a naked photo.  I swear that she had just started to chunk up and was packing on a little baby gristle but then she had a growth spurt.  For a couple days she was eating a ton and then all of a sudden she looked long and skinny again.  I don’t know if we’ll ever fatten this child up but we keep trying.  She might be 12 lbs now but I’d really like for her to pack on a little more so she’ll sleep for 8+ hours!  I am sure that will start happening as soon as daddy takes over…

13 Weeks!

Birthday Extravaganza!

Much to post about!  I turned 31 on Sunday and Addie turned 3 whole months on Monday.  Wow how the time flies.  My birthday was great- made extra special by the fact that I have little Addie in my life to celebrate with.  And celebrate we did!  John was in Atlanta all week for work so we hopped a flight Thursday morning to the ATL to spend the weekend with our families.  Addie did perfect on the flight- she slept and then spent the rest of the time grinning at the man next to us We enjoyed staying with Andy and Rianna a couple days (and a big thanks to them for letting John and Bear crash with them all week).  We got to see Todd, Marsha and Alexis too which was fun and then Saturday night we moved down to hang out with Alan, Robin, Ava and mom for my b-day.  We had super delicious birthday Thai and the most AMAZING birthday cake!  My cake was so dang cool- it even had a fondant bow.  I really think this cake was fancier than our wedding cake.  But that’s probably because we got married in Orange Beach Alabama…but I digress.

My real birthday was spent in the car going back to Chapel Hill but that’s ok.  We’re home now safe and sound and getting ready for next week when I go back to work.  UGH.  Margaret is coming to spend the week to fill in the gap for us until John starts his time off so we’re looking forward to some good Nana and Addie time.  Addie was 3 months on Monday (13 weeks on Tuesday) and she just gets more fun every day.  She really is a happy, smiling baby most of the time which is going to make it miserable to go back to work.  Oh well- John says I have to go bring home some more bacon.

Diaper change party

Elena loves to hang with Addie

Cousins

Family photos at Alan's

Ava pulls up her chair to help rock Addie

My AWESOME cake!

Birthday Thai night

Addie wakes up and joins us for dinner

31...yikes

A quick visit with Dan, Alyssa and Charlie on the way out

12 Weeks Lad!

I think Lad is something that the Irish say right?  All kinds of good stuff going on at the Day house with Addie.  She gets more and more fun each day- she greets me with a smile, makes some fun squealing noises and is sleeping like a champion.  While every night isn’t consistent yet she has had a lot of nights where she’s slept 7 hours without a peep.  I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing it feels to get that kind of sleep.  Granted, I still wake up and check the video monitor and watch to see if she is breathing about 5 times a night…

John is back in Atlanta this week for work so Addie and I are having some good quality girl time at home.  It has been fun and I am trying to make the most of it since the countdown is now on for going back to work.  I have less than 2 weeks left- I have no idea where the time went.  Part of me is excited to get back to work and another part is really dreading it because she’s such a joy to be around these days.  I am THRILLED that daddy is taking over though for the month of April so we don’t have to worry about starting daycare just yet.  Daycare is a whole other issue since we found out that our spot isn’t going to be available when we need it- ugh.

Thursday I am taking Addie on her first flight to Atlanta to meet up with John and our fams.  We’ll spend the weekend there and I will turn 31 and celebrate with some Thai food and cake- yipee!!  Here’s a few new pictures too- Bear and Addie playtime; our neighborhood girlfriends and our little girls (Addie, Lila and Helen); Addie with Izzy (Anna and Andrews dog that Bear tried to eat when she came over- ugh again); and our little shamrock girl

Bear and Addie

Southpoint Manor girl gang

Izzy is so sweet

Happy St Pattie's Day!

Home Again!!

Well our tour of the South was a huge success.  We drove over 1900 miles and were able to see just about every family member and friend that we wanted to see to show off our little girl.  Addie did awesome in the car and did pretty well each night considering we dragged her from house to house each day.   She had a couple off nights but also slept through the night twice so we can’t complain.  See the link for all the pictures, but here’s some notes of the highlights!

- A night out with friends in Atlanta and Hans and Katie’s wedding (Addie was good and fussy for our first babysitter Gammie Donna…ugh)

- We got to see all the Atlanta girls who we miss so so much

- In Douglas we caught up with lots of friends and met Holley Ryan who is TOO cute

- A night in Bainbridge at Aunt Janet’s which is always a pleasure because we get to see tons of cousins too

- Special time in Birmingham where Addie met her 4 great-grandparents.  Addie was christened in the same church where I was christened 30 years ago.

- A day in Tuscaloosa where we got to see the National Championship trophy and the Heisman thanks to Kirby.  We also got to see Kirby and Mary Beth and their cutie twins.

Such a special trip since we will likely not have that kind of time to take off again in the near future.

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In other news- Addie is 11 weeks!  She’s doing great and we are having so much fun with her now.  Since she’s been the queen of spit up we visited the pediatrician and got some baby zantac.  It appears that this is a miracle cure and our sweet girl no longer has to wear a bib at all times.  Yea!

My new shades from Ms Peggy

Cozy with Joe

Matt and Lori's little girl- Holley Ryan

I love to visit Aunt Janet's awesome trees

Addie on a placemat at lunch with Janet and cousin Mike

DQ and bottle break on the way to B'ham

Sleepin great in the car

Bear watches the world go by

Happy girl at Gammie Boren's

So happy to meet Pop

Great Gammie Boren

The boys- Tim, Corey and the newest John Thomas

Ahhh- John's happy place

With Kirby and the Heisman

4 generations of Curtis gals

Family portrait before the christening

Elena!

Mom and Ava

My sisters-in-law and our girls

Our happy girl

It’s been awhile…

So much has happened since we’ve posted!  We are currently in Douglas after a great few days in Atlanta and we head to Bainbridge tomorrow.  Our last stop is Birmingham and Tuscaloosa for Addie’s christening.  Addie has met so many special family and friends already and we are only half way through all the visitors.  She’s done great on our car trips and she’s been sleeping pretty good even though it’s a new place every other day.  Gammie Donna kept her 2 nights so we could go have fun in Atlanta and see Hans and Katie get married which was great.  Unfortunately, Addie did not cooperate for our first babysitter.  After bath and a little sleep she decided to wake up and scream for Gammie.  We know Gammie was doing a great job and was the perfect babysitter so we hope it isn’t an indicator of how she’s going to be when mommy and daddy need to go have some fun!

Here’s a few pictures of our trip so far and a few others that needed posting.  More to come!!

Addie and Lilly when John A came to visit. Lilly even held Addie's hand

PHS reunion!

Olivia came to visit from Philly and we had the bestest time

Addie turns 9 weeks!!

Our first new baby visit in Atlanta. The adorable Charlie Kopp!!

Bonnie's cutie Cate (also made for a stellar flower girl at the wedding)

Addie chillin on Gammie's bed. In perfect spirits before deciding to be fussypants when we left.

Finally we meet Aunt Becky!!

Aunt Kelly is a pro

Holy redheadedness. So stinkin cute.

8 Weeks! (just a little late)

A couple days late on this post but Addie hit 8 weeks and is doin’ just fine!  She’s really changed a lot and doing some neat things like holding her head up well, having fun on her tummy and standing tall on her strong legs.  Earlier this week she really started taking everything in and mommy and daddy learned a valuable lesson…a baby that hasn’t slept all day is NOT a happy baby.  Sometimes she acts like she’s afraid she’ll miss something great if she sleeps during the day so she fights it hard.  With that comes a big meltdown at the end of the day and a rough night’s sleep.  So we have been spending a lot of time trying to find the best ways to settle her during the day and make sure she gets some good naps.  We’re hoping we get it all figured out before we head out of town!

While shopping for her christening dress I discovered this sweet headband that allows you to add bows…genius!  Now she can wear her bows even though she’s baldy.  We also had a fun outing today and went to visit the Duke Fertility Clinic.  She got to see Dr Price and Dr Woodward and all the reception ladies.  They all said visitors like Addie really make their day- little miracles like her are what it’s all about over there!

8 Weeks!

We got a video camera but haven’t figured out how to post videos yet…tune in for those later!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day from the Days!  See below for a picture of John and his newest Valentine.  I have totally been replaced…

Addie picked out the shirt for John for Valentine’s Day and John bought Addie some bows because I have been dying to girlie her up a bit but she doesn’t have enough hair for them yet.  In this picture we taped it to her head.  Ha.  I have been out a few times and people will say- ‘Oh he’s so cute!’ Oh, how old is he?’; so I was really hoping the bows would work.  In the meantime, I have found that adding the pink blanket Becky sent to her car seat works nicely to give strangers a clue that she is NOT a boy.

On Friday we took Addie to have some pictures made.  We found out that John’s friend April from high school lives here in Raleigh and is a photographer.  We had no idea there was a little piece of Douglas so close by!  April took some great pictures of us and even let us bring Bear (who sort of cooperated).  Some of the highlight photos were of Addie spitting up, Addie peeing on me when we got her naked and John shirtless with Addie.  Stay tuned for these photos  No actually, the few we saw on her camera looked beautiful and we had a great time visiting with her and her family.  Anyone looking to have some family photos made should check out her site- http://aprilmaness.com/

Other than that, we are just getting ready for our big trip around the South- can’t wait to see everyone!

Daddy and his Valentine

'If you think I'm cute you should see my daddy'

7 Weeks and All Smiles!

We’ve finally got some gummy grins to report!  Yea!!!  It’s fun taking care of Addie and watching her grow, but the smiles seem to make it just that much better.  She’s also started doing a little cooing which is pretty darn cute!

We think she has passed the 10 pound mark which should mean we might start getting some more sleep in the evenings.  Apparently hitting 10-12 pounds gives them enough fat stores to go longer at night.  I will report back on that later…hopefully this rumor is true.  Otherwise all is well in the Day house.  John is busy with work and Lindsay is busy with Addie.  John is a huge help in the evenings and also gives me a little help in the mornings so I can catch a bit more sleep until his work day gets too crazy.  This has been such a relief and I think I have been very lucky to avoid the severe sleep deprivation.  If he was gone from 8-6 everyday it would be a different story.  I am definitely spoiled with him here and for that I say- thank you John!

Hope everyone is looking forward to the weekend!  Here’s a couple pictures of our smiley girl.  When we put her on the floor Bear thinks it’s playtime for her and Addie- it’s pretty funny.

Cheese!!

Superbowl shot- Touchdown!!

Playtime with Bear

BFFs