My Little Rock Star

I have to say that I never realized how much more fun Halloween is when you have little ones to dress up and take trick or treating. Adilyn wasn't really into the trick or treating much, so we just hung out in front of our house and passed out candy as the kids came by. Adilyn got the hang of putting candy in the kids' bags as they came up. Well, she kind of got the hang of it...most of the time she just threw it at them, and they had to pick it up off the ground, but it was still sweet. We dressed her up like an 80's punk rocker, it was hilarious! We spiked her hair all up, which she wasn't thrilled about! Then we sprayed painted it pink. My neighbor made her a leather arm band with her name on it that stayed on for approximately three pictures and 5 minutes. We gave her a little tattoo that said, "mom". It was all pretty funny. Who knows what she'll have to say about it 15 years from now, but I thought it was awesome! =)

Posing with the spider webs!

Even a rock star needs her milk!

Fall Fun

Adilyn and I have been making the rounds at the pumpkin patches! We went to Dewberry Farm last weekend with some Kelli and Tylie, and Ashly, Jacey and Audrey. There were farm animals there, a real pumpkin patch, a haystack to climb and some really fun slides. We had a great time! This weekend my mom came in town, and we went to a Pumpkin Festival at one of the high schools here. Adilyn got to play her first little carnival games. She got a pumpkin painted on her cheek - I couldn't believe that she sat still for it! We picked out the perfect pumpkin, and now we are waiting on Cory to come home to experience our first pumpkin carving! I love all the fall activities! The weather has been beautiful, but of course, it could be more "fall-ish". We were sweating in our long sleeves yesterday!

Little Fears

Sweet Adilyn all of a sudden has gotten scared of many things lately. All of these things just popped up out of nowhere. She gets scared when cars drive down our street, when our dogs bark, when she hears the gate open. I feel so bad for her. She used to be such a tough cookie, now she gets frightened and runs into my arms. Today when I picked her up from school, one of the ladies said, "I scared your daughter today." I asked her what she meant, and she told me that she tried to give her a balloon. I said, "So what?" She said, "Well, I didn't know that she was scared of them." I told her that I didn't know that either. Anyway, I told her to go get the balloon, and I tried to give it to Adilyn. She was terrified! It was the strangest and saddest thing! She was gripping my shirt so tight, and her little legs were squeezing around my waist. So, my daughter has developed a fear of balloons...birthday parties are going to be rough until this is fear has been overcome! =)

What a difference a year makes!

For some reason, I've been feeling nostalgic lately about Adilyn getting so big so fast. I just feel like she's turning into a little girl right before my eyes. Tonight at bathtime I had a flashback of her in her little lamb towel, so I had to take a picture for the side by side comparison.

Mother of the Year?

So, I'm the first to admit that my daughter gets injured quite often "on my watch". I like to believe it's because we are always having such extreme fun that she happens to fall a lot. On Saturday, she went face first onto our wood floor and came up with a huge knot right on her forehead. She recovered quite nicely, no big deal. When she woke up on Sunday that knot had turned into a huge, but perfectly round bruise. It still didn't bug her, babies are so resilient...(thank God!)
I took her to her school today, and I told the one lady about the bruise. They are very conscious of injuries, so I didn't want them to panic when they saw it.
Anyway, when I picked her up, her "CruiserGram" (her little daily activity report) stated - "Noticed large bruise on the side of her forehead. She came like that from home." Wow, that stings! =)

Oh, Ike...

Although our experience with Ike was nothing compared to other people in Houston, it was still more than we expected. We are so far away from the coast, that we didn't think it would be much of anything. We were wrong. Here's a video of the night before anything happened, and you can see how strong the winds already were. This was about seven hours before Ike even made landfall.

We got Adilyn all set up in her "hurricane bed" - the pack and play in our master bath closet. We boarded up our back windows (just in case of falling debris), and we were all set to go.

The winds really picked up throughout the night. Finally around 3am, Cory and I both got up to look outside. It was crazy! Our pine trees were bending back so far, they looked ready to snap. The smaller trees were almost touching the ground. Branches were flying everywhere. It was a scary sight. We dozed off and on all night, but it was definitely not a good night's sleep. Adilyn woke up around 6am, and that's when we all kind of got up for the day. It was still really windy, and the eye hadn't come through yet as far as we knew. We surveyed the damage - there were fences down all over, many trees down, but no major damage, thank goodness. Our neighbors' backyard and the bayou behind our house - usually it's only about two feet wide and down about fiften feet lower.

Adilyn's "hurricane hair"...she was dirty for two days straight!

Our power had gone out around 10pm that night, and it was still out. We were listening to the radio and it was saying that it might be up to 3 weeks before people got their power turned on. It wasn't too bad in the morning because it was still really windy. As the winds died down and the humidity rose, it got pretty miserable. It was sticky and gross! Adilyn would not go to sleep, so her and I "evacuated" to my friend's house who had power.

We came home the next day. A Texas "cold" front had come in, so it was actually a beautiful day to sit outside and get to know all your neighbors, who you haven't spoken to in the 8 years you've all lived there. Inside, unfortunately was still sticky. Lo and behold, around 4pm we saw our first "light at the end of the tunnel" in the form of a Centerpoint Energy truck. Some transformers had blown earlier, so we thought for sure we were screwed! Anyway, after a truck coming and going, then another truck coming and going, we finally got power! It had almost been out for 48 hours, and boy, were we glad it came on when it did! =)

So, now as we survey our own personal damage - it's pretty minimal...an empty fridge, a couple boards off our chimney, a couple sleepless nights, a couple days off school (when I didn't want them), and some scary moments. All in all, we pulled through very nicely. We are extremely lucky and blessed once again.

Dirty and tired, but safe and sound...she's eating chips. :)

Dada is home!

Cory has been working out of town for over a month now. He usually gets to come home on the weekends, so when he is here, Adilyn loves to play with him, get silly, and get thrown around. He was bouncing her on her ball the other day, and she was cracking up!

Modeling in her future???

Sunday, we were at the pool for our last day of the summer. I decided to document it in photos (like I've done with everything else for the last 15 months). As soon as I got the camera out, she started working it...maybe she's been influenced by "America's Next Top Model". Here are photos for her portfolio for the baby Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. Notice, like every good model, she didn't forget her accessories.

Water giggles!

Here is Adilyn during one of her many joyous experiences playing in the water hose. She can't get enough of that thing!

Adilyn's First Art Gallery

When I picked Adilyn up from her "school" today, she had her first pieces of art with her to take home. I am sure that you will be just as impressed as I was with her abilities.

In her masterpieces, Adilyn used a variety of mediums - from cereal to crayon. I think that shows just how versatile her artisitic talent is.

The first piece we'll call "In the Land of Cheerios". Notice the strategic placement of the pieces of half Cheerio...brilliant.

This next one, I like to call "Pink Infusion". I think the name speaks for itself.

This last one is simple, yet once again simply amazing. Let's just call this one like it is, "Squares".

Adilyn and Willow

Finally, my master plan has been set in motion...my child can now keep my dog entertained. My job is done.

It's Ofiicial...Work Sucks

Today was my first day back with kids, and I have to say it sucked. For some reason, in every class someone annoyed me. I think in 8 years, it's the first time that has happened. I think I'll start tomorrow with a better attitude, maybe that will help. I have an English class that somehow has 20 boys in it - no girls, just 20 stinky 7th grade boys. Like I said, I just need to start tomorrow with a different attitude otherwise it's gonna be a long year...Adilyn wasn't very happy about waking up at 6am this morning. As I was getting her dressed, she found her way underneath the covers of my bed and the only thing sticking out was her little diapered butt...poor girl. She is definitely not a morning person - wonder who she got that from?!? =) She loves her new montessori school. She is busy all day learning colors, how to stack things, and shapes. The only bad report that I have gotten is that she hates to wear shoes. I think her teachers finally gave up trying to keep them on her feet. Yet another bad habit learned from her mother.
She is talking a little more and says, "mama", "dada", "dog", "duck", "bye", "ball", "bird", and other words that are in her own language, which I think makes it obvious that she is extra smart. It's going to be a great year, I just know it. We just have to get passed the adjustment phase, and we'll be fine! I'll just keep telling myself that until June probably...

Sweet, sweet summer

So, tomorrow is the last day of summer. As I look back on our summer, I have to say that it's probably the best summer I have had! Last summer, Adilyn and I were kind of trapped in the house because she was so tiny. We didn't really travel, and we were pretty boring. This summer was ridiculous. We took three vacations, went on two airplane rides, had lots of fun at the pool, hung out with our friends, and had lots of fun together! There were some days that Adilyn drove me absolutely crazy. There were some days that I couldn't wait until her bedtime, but the majority of days were filled with wonderful times and beautiful memories. I am so glad I am a teacher and that I have these times with her. The thought of having to give up all those precious times made me really sad last week. As I was getting depressed about having to leave her, she began her reign of holy terror; she started getting so silly. Touching all the buttons on the tv, throwing all the clothes out of the drawers, playing in the dogs' water...every little thing that she knew she wasn't supposed to do. I think it was her way of showing me that I would have a really hard time being a stay at home mom. I just don't have the patience that you need to have for that job!

Adilyn, Mom, and I in Oklahoma - our last trip of the summer.

Summer Fun!

Whoa, where do I even begin....

Although I haven't been working this summer, I seem to be busier than ever! We have been traveling, putting in new floors, visiting friends, and having so much fun. I will try to summarize all of our adventures as best I can...

Michigan

Cory, Adilyn, and I all traveled to Michigan to visit my mom's side of the family in June. It was Adilyn's first flight, and we were both pretty nervous about how she would do. Besides the fact that she kept throwing all of her toys around, she did surprisingly well. We brought her favorite toy of the moment, the rubber duck, and we had to make a few strategic duck rescues when she decided to chunk it down. All in all, the first flight went well.

We stayed at my aunt's house on Lake Fenton, and we got to do so many fun things. Some of Adilyn's firsts...riding on a boat, wearing a life jacket, riding on a paddle boat, seeing real ducks, touching a fish, swimming in a lake, seeing horses, playing with her little cousins, and more. We had a great time, and she seemed to love every minute of it. I was worried about how she would sleep, but she took crazy long naps and slept through the night just fine. It was a great first family trip, and I feel so lucky to have such a great extended family that lets us come visit and have amazing experiences for us and for Adilyn.

Here are some pictures of her Michigan adventures:

ON THE BOAT

DRIVING THE BOAT WITH DADA

SWIMMING IN THE LAKE


Our plane trip home was even easier. She slept for a little while and was very chilled out. I did go to change her diaper, and she didn't like that too much. She was screaming in there, but I didn't think anything of it because I thought the planes were pretty loud. Anyway, I got back to the seat and I said to Cory, "That was traumatic!" He replied, "Yeah, I heard." We were on row 15...which means at least the whole back half of the plane heard. They probably thought that I was abusing her back there! =) The ride home in the car was a different story. We didn't get in until 10pm or so, and she screamed and screamed all the way home. We didn't mind too much, at least it was only us suffering, and not a whole plane full of people!

Leakey, TX - The Frio River

Our next adventure was going to Leakey to visit the Ruizs. We stayed at Jessica's grandparents' house. We try to get all the college roomies together there at least once a summer, and it was great that everyone could be there for the 4th of July. We had 6 kiddos age 4 and under there, so it was quite a crowd! It was beautiful chaos, though. I am so glad after all these years that we are still able to have such a great relationship. Heather, Jessica, Jackie, and I have been friends for 11 years now! That doesn't happen very often these days, and I feel blessed that it happened with us!

Thank goodness for Heather entertaining Adilyn in the backseat on the entire 4 hour ride up there! She just doesn't like being trapped in the car, I suppose. On the way home we smartened up and went back at night. Adilyn slept most of the way, which was much easier to deal with!

SWIMMING IN THE FRIO

The Baby Crew - Ella (22 months), Jace (almost 4), Olivia (almost 4), Sara Beth (7 months), Amber (2 1/2), Adilyn (13 months)

Adilyn looks so lonely with no siblings... =)

South Dakota

Our most recent adventure was going to South Dakota to visit some old friends - Kai, Justin, and their baby boy, Kadin. This time it was just Addy and I, the fearsome twosome. We had a two hour flight to Denver, a lay over, and then our final leg to Rapid City. I was a little nervous about the flight because when it was Cory and I, she just kind of went back and forth to both of us. Now, it was going to be just me and a stranger. We got on the flight and there were two super nice guys about my age next to us. I warned them that she may grab them or hit them (because that what she does these days), and I apologized ahead of time. Lo and behold, she did get a little grabby and a little restless. She cried a little bit, but I tried to keep her quite by continually shoving food in her mouth! I'm such a great mom. =) Anyway, the flight went well, we got to Denver, ate some food and had a little run around time. The flight to Rapid was super fast and again, we sat next to a really nice guy, so it went pretty easy.

Our week in South Dakota was filled with beautiful views, bike rides, walks in the mountains, site seeing, and hanging out. Again, we had an amazing time.

One funny thing was that Kai and I took the babies for a bike ride. I couldn't get clipped in the pedal, so we finally stopped to see what was wrong. Well, I finally got it in, but wasn't really ready for it and I fell over. Keep in mind, I was stopped on the side of the road, but fell over. Of course, I yelled and cussed, but was laughing too. Adilyn freaked out! She was in the bike trailer behind me, but she was completely fine. I just think it scared her to see me fall. We kept going because I thought she would be fine...well, ten minutes later I'm still dragging this screaming baby behind me. I was beginning to feel like I was torturing her, so we had to turn around. She eventually calmed down, and I must admit that I was kind of glad because that bike up the canyon was pretty much kicking my butt! =)

After the fall...

Addy and Kadin at Custer State Park

Adilyn and I in Spearfish Canyon

The last leg of our journey was not so happy. On the flight from Denver to Houston, she started out great. She fell asleep before we even took off. I thought I was golden...until we got about 45 minutes into the flight. Something startled her awake, and she was evidently NOT ready to wake up yet. She couldn't go back to sleep and proceded to make the next hour and a half a living hell for me! She screamed and was super grumpy, she wanted to touch everything she couldn't (the guy next to us, the guy's hair in front of us, the flight attendant call button, etc). She would throw little mini tantrums everytime I told her no. Finally she was entertained by putting vanilla wafers in a cup of water, getting them all super mushy, and then eating them or giving them to me or the guy next to us. By the time we landed I felt like I had nilla wafer mush all over me. It was a stressful end to a fun week, but I have to remember - she's just one and she's doing the best she can.

The Birthday Party...

Adilyn's first birthday party was so much fun! It was a lot of preparation, but it was so worth it in the end. So many family members and friends came out to celebrate with us, it was amazing! I was a little worried about Adilyn's mental status because she failed to take her morning nap before the party. When we first got there, she went to the park area with Mimi and Pops, and they let her swing for a while, which she loves. We ate lunch, and then got into the cake. I kept watching her thinking that any moment might be the moment that she would explode, but she hung in there. She had a fantastic time playing in her cake. I don't know what she liked more - making a mess or her first taste of sugar! Probably a close tie! I was trying to move things along because it was ridiculously hot, and I felt like Adilyn was a ticking time bomb. I wanted to go out on a high note, so we got to the gifts quick. She got a little fussy, but then a toy caught her attention (thank goodness), and she was successfully distracted for the duration. By the end of all the presents, I looked down at her, and even though she had about 10 brand new toys all around her, she was happily playing with a ribbon...again, it's the "non-toys" that make the best toys! =)

Making a mess is so exciting!!!!

All done!

Ahhh...what a day, what a day!

The Little One is 1!!!

So, today was the first day of summer, but even more momentous and exciting was that it was Adilyn's first birthday. The sweet girl slept in until 9:30 this morning, I love that she's a sleeper! Anyway, I thought it was ironic because that was almost exactly what time she was born. Here is a picture of her with a huge smile on her face to greet me this morning!

To celebrate, we took her to ihop (okay, to be honest, since Adilyn just eats yogurt and cereal for breakfast, it was really for Cory and I to celebrate surviving our first year of parenthood!). We just hung out for the rest of the day, but I felt very reflective. Almost every time I would look at her, I was just flooded with memories from throughout the last year. I remembered all those late nights waking up with her. Trying to comfort her when she was sick. Not knowing what in the heck I was doing while I was giving her a bath, or changing her cloths. Driving around aimlessely because I didn't want her to wake up if the car stopped. The first time she smiled at me. The first time she sat up by herself. The first time she laughed. The first time she crawled...so many things have happened this year, I can hardly even keep it straight in my own head! I have loved being Adilyn's mama, and I don't think that I was whole before she came into my life. Stealing the line from Tom Cruise - she has truly completed me. Although, there have been days when I wondered what in the world I had gotten myself into - more often than not the days have been filled with pride, joy, and love for this little person that I get to hang out with forever! She is amazing, and I feel like I am so incredibly lucky because I get to be a part of her life.

Here are some more pictures from her birthday. Her party will be on Saturday, so of course, there will be even more pictures then!

Her gourmet dinner...chicken, peas, cheese, and pears. Who could ask for anything more?

In her pj's... the day coming to an end...we wanted to get her holding the #1 - how symbolic and how ridiculously impossible! So, I had to hold it...you take what you can get with a crazy one year old!

Some weekends are better than others

Last weekend was a great one! My dad and Kris came down to visit on Friday and Saturday, then my mom came down Saturday night and Sunday. It was so nice to see them all. It's harder than I thought it would be to live away from them now that we have Adilyn. Sometimes I feel guilty that they can't see her as much as they would like to, but then I really believe that everything happens for a reason, so I know that we are in Houston for some reason. I'm sure one day that will become more apparent. For now, when we are together, I just try to enjoy each moment as much as I possibly can.


On Saturday, Adilyn took her first "no-hands" steps. She was walking from Kris to Cory, and she took off - after about 3 steps just fell forward into Cory's arms. We all laughed and clapped, and she looked so proud. The problem was that I think she thought that we were clapping for her falling, so that's what she kept doing. Still, it was exciting to see her trying new things.




Sunday morning came along, and I was going to do a triathlon. It was an hour drive away, and we had to be there by 6am. We got Adilyn up super early and threw her in the carseat in her pj's. Once we got there, Cory and Mom stayed in the car while Adilyn got some extra z's...I finished the triathlon (without dying), hung around there, had some lunch, and we went home. Long story short, Adilyn was super cranky all day. She was whiny and all she wanted was for me to hold her. She went to sleep pretty early, and I had intended on leaving her at home in the morning to let her sleep in a little. I called Cory on Monday morning at 9:30 and she was still asleep! She did not wake up until 10:00 that morning! She almost slept for 14 straight hours, poor sleepy girl.


I guess all that walking, cheering for her mama at the triathlon, and having fun with all the grandparents really wore her out!

My First Mama's Day

My Mother's Day started with Cory going upstairs to get Adilyn when she woke up, so I could sleep in. Of course, when given the opportunity, no matter how hard I try, I cannot sleep in...Reluctantly, I got up, and we decided to go to breakfast at IHop, my favorite. It was crazy busy, but we were ready for it. Adilyn was in a really good mood at breakfast, keeping everyone around us entertained. After breakfast, Adilyn and I decided to go on a bike ride in the neighborhood - she really likes taking rides in her new bike trailer. We stopped at the park and played around there a little bit, she kept wanting to give me the pebbles, sweet girl. After that, we hung out at the house for the rest of the day, which is exactly what I wanted to do. My idea of a perfect Mother's Day this year was to hang out with Adilyn and just relax...it was everything that I wanted it to be.

The Last Hoorah!

Every night after Adilyn's bath we have one last little play time. She should probably go straight to bed because she's tired, but she's so silly I hate to put her down. She crawls around, giggles, and buries her head in the pillows or blankets that are around. She'll "help" with cleaning up, which really means that she just throws all her toys out of the box when I put them in there. If the dogs are around, she plays with them. She'll crawl over to Willow, reach her hand out to touch her, and then squeal and run away when Willow turns and licks her. I love that time because sometimes she will start giggling uncontrollably, and that makes me laugh, too. It's great to end your day with that much joy. =)

A New Friend

It was the sweetest thing tonight...Adilyn and I were over in our neighbor's backyard. They just got a new greyhound. Adilyn loves him because he doesn't lick her to death like our dogs do. Well, she was crawling on the grass when the sweet greyhound came over and stood right over her. At first I thought he was going to pee on her, but he didn't...I moved Adilyn to another spot in the yard, and he walked right over and did it again. We think that he was protecting her or guarding her...how sweet...Maybe she'll be the next Dog Whisperer! =)

Troublemaker

When I went to pick Adilyn up from day care the other day, she was in a playpen and Mayra (the babysitter) said, "She got in a fight." I was shocked, and proceeded to ask her what had happened. She told me that Adilyn and her little friend, Alexandra, were playing when all of a sudden Adilyn reached over and stole Alexandra's pacifier right out of her mouth. FYI: Adilyn does not and has never used a pacifier. Anyway, Alexandra got mad and lunged for Adilyn to try to retrieve her precious binky. When she did she pushed Addy and they both started crying. Mayra had consequently separated them in two different playpens. What a little troublemaker...I have a feeling it's only just begun...

Cruisin' and Telling a Story

I only wish we knew what she was talking about...

I Want My Corn!

Here is a picture of our sweet little angel at my 30th birthday party last weekend. Her new thing is that she loves holding on to a big piece of something and munching on it forever. She loves to do this with animal crackers, green beans, noodles, etc...this day she chose corn on the cob. Things were going great; she was happily nibbling on it for quite some time. Then, the inevitable happened...it fell in the dirt! Now, being the kind of mother that I am, I firmly believe in the "5 second rule" and even the "30 second rule" if necessary, but this was pretty bad. So, here is the picture of how she reacted when I took the corn away...notice the new piece of corn in her hands - for some reason it still wasn't good enough to make her happy, she wanted the original back.

T-ball??? Sign her up!

She's already learned how to throw a ball! Man, this girl has skills...

Girls Wear Pink

Okay, so I'm the mom that feels like I can put my baby girl in browns, greens, yellows, etc. It doesn't always HAVE to be pink. But, what I do not understand is when my little girl does have pink on - why in the world do strangers constantly say, "oh, what a cute boy you have" or "how old is he"??? Are people just that non-observant? Addy had a bright pink shirt on today, not even pale pink, and three people at Kroger called her a boy. Now, my baby may be a baldy - but seriously, would I dress a boy in pink???

A BIG Surprise!!!!

Well, Cory pulled it off...He and some of the "Beck Girls" organized a surprise birthday party for me on Friday night. Adilyn and I thought we were going to dinner with Ashly, Jacey, and Audrey, and when we got there 8 people that I absolutely love were there waiting to surprise me! It was so much fun. We ate dinner, and then went bowling. It was a great way to celebrate turning 30 - amazing friends, great food, and some good old fashioned rock and bowl! =) I had a great time, and I really appreciate all the effort that everyone put in to make it happen. I will never forget it. It's so great to have friends that you can be real with, and have a great time with! I love all you guys!

Duck in a Cup

I watched Adilyn for 20 minutes this evening while she put a rubber duck in a little cup. She was so determined to make it fit in there. The only problem was that the duck was slightly bigger than the cup, so it made things difficult. She would finally get the duck in the cup, and then proceed to take it out again. Of course, then she would repeat the whole process. She doesn't understand the concept of just dumping the duck out, so she would try to pull it out or sometimes use her newly grown, useful teeth to grab it by its head. It was hilarious to watch her stay so focused on one task for so long! We have a little determined one on our hands! =)

I Love Me Some Spring Break

Spring Break is almost over, even though we didn't go on our normal vacation, it was still an amazing week. Adilyn and I went up to Ft. Worth to visit all the grandparents. We were going to come back to Houston on Tuesday, but Cory got called out of town for work. We really didn't want him to go, but what are you going to do. Addy and I just stayed up there and hung out with everyone in Funky Town. Eating at Central Market and Yogi's (yum!), seeing old friends, going to the park, watching Adilyn play with new toys...It was really nice to sleep in a little and just spend time with family. Back to reality in two short days...

Sick Babies Make Me Sad

Saturday morning I woke up at 5:30am, left my warm bed, my sleeping husband, and baby to go stand outside in the 32 degree weather and work a high school track meet. Believe me, this was not my first choice of things to do on my favorite day of the week. Anyway, it is what it is and that's part of my job. Early in the morning, I got a message from Cory that said Adilyn was grumpy. I called him when I got a chance, and I hear her screaming in the background. He said that she had been grumpy off and on all day. Of course, when I got home she was sweetly sleeping on his chest. When she woke up, she seemed okay, but not her normal happy self. I checked her temperature around 6pm and it was 102.5. I started to panic because I didn't know what was a "bad" temperature. I called my cousin, and she assured me that she was probably okay. I put her to bed, and she whined a few times throughout the night... until 3am that night. She woke up screaming her head off. I went upstairs to rescue her, brought her downstairs, and rocked her back to sleep. She wanted me to hold her all night; I felt so sorry for her. Long story short...Sunday she was okay - again until 3am. Monday morning, I woke her up to feed her before I went to school. When I started to leave, the poor girl woke up screaming again. It was so hard to leave her; I think that it was the first of many mornings that I'm going to be sad when I leave her with someone who isn't me. We took her to the doctor today, and lo and behold...it was another double ear infection. She's getting better, but was still sad tonight. It's the worst thing in the world to have your child hurt and not be able to magically make it better. I realized tonight why some parents "baby" their babies. It's just hard to see them sad. I can totally see the perspective of wanting to make it better for your kids if you can. Of course, many parents go too far with that. I think it's good for kids to feel some sadness, hurt, and disappointment in their lives because things cannot be picture perfect forever...with that being said, if I could have snapped my fingers and made Adilyn's hurt disappear, I would have done it tonight, in a heartbeat.

She's cute, but sneaky...

Tonight we were eating at a Mexican restaurant. One of our waiters came by and said, "Here's a toy for baby." It was a little multi-colored maraca rattle thing. Super cute, I thought, they give the little babies toys to play with. So, Adilyn is going to town shaking it, and we are all clapping for her. She's got drool and snot all over it. She's totally lovin' it...Then, a lady comes over to us and says, "Oh, you found my son's rattle!" She starts to take it away from her, and Adilyn can tell what's coming and doesn't want her to take it. The lady says, "I feel bad taking it from her, she's having so much fun." I tell her not to worry; she'll forget about it. So, she took the new toy out of her hands. The lady felt bad, Adilyn was sad, but life went on...awkward!

Celebrations!

Tuesday was our 7th anniversary and Adilyn's 9 month birthday. I can't believe that it was 7 years ago that we were freezing our booties off on Surfside Beach! It seems like we were just in college (until I look in the mirror and see the wrinkles!) I'm glad that Cory and I had so much time together before we had kids. We had fun traveling, rock climbing, wakeboarding, and all that stuff. But no trip, no climbing experience, no adventure could ever come close to that day 9 months ago when Adilyn joined our little family. She is amazing, and I can't believe that we are lucky enough to get to hang out with her for the rest of our lives.
Cory made us a great pasta dinner to celebrate, and he even bought Adilyn organic baby food pasta for her dinner.

Buck Tooth Girl

Okay, so when I was little I was known as "Bugs Bunny" or whatever other name mean little children could come up with for me. I had huge front teeth. I could barely close my mouth because they were so ridiculously enormous. Thank goodness for orthodonists! Anyway, yesterday Adilyn stuck a fruit puff in her mouth and it got stuck on her top chompers. The little puff is star-shaped, so two of the points stuck down. She looked like a little redneck with some big 'ole buck teeth. Cory and I were laughing hysterically! She thought it was the funniest thing and kept hamming it up for the camera. I hope this isn't a sign that she'll follow in my footsteps and have messed up teeth! =)

Waving hello to everyone...

Welcome to our blog! Adilyn says "hi"!

Favorite toys

Although Adilyn has many toys that sing, light up, and do all kinds of fancy things - her favorites right now are my watch and the old fashioned stacking cups (thanks Marcy and boys!).

I guess it's the simple things in life!

Oh, how our lives have changed...

So, Adilyn has been in our lives for almost nine months now. It's amazing to me that she's been here for as long as I was pregnant. Waiting for her to get here seemed to take forever! In some ways it seems like just yesterday that Adilyn was born. Then, I start to think about it a little more, and I can not imagine what my life was like without her. She is such a part of me, such a huge part of who I am and who I will become that it is hard to remember what filled my heart before she was here. This experience, the experience of becoming a mother, has been amazing. It has been harder, more rewarding, and more exciting than I ever dreamed; I would never change it in a million years.
Some things that come to mind from the last nine months...
*Cory, in his infinite wisdom, started calling Adilyn, "Addy-pants", when she was first born. The nickname stuck...the funny thing was that Adilyn probably only wore pants twice for the entire first four months of her life. So, really it should have been "Addy-no pants".
*Adilyn has always loved the dogs. They would lick her, and she would smile and squeal. Now that she's on the move, crawling around, they just seem to get in her way. She will just close her eyes and stop whatever she is doing until they leave "her" space.
*My sweet angel has quite a strong personality. When she gets mad, she gets mad, quick! Every time we would go out to eat when she was really little, it was like a ticking time bomb. We never knew when she was going to explode!
*Even at 8 months, Adilyn has proven to be a daredevil. She flipped herself out of her swing when she was about 6 months old (so, maybe I actually just forgot to snap her in, and she fell out - but I like to think that she was trying to be extreme). She loves when Cory bounces her on the bed. She will scream and giggle the whole time! I try to do it, but it's never as good as Daddy. She laughs a little, just to make me feel good, but I can tell it's not as fun for her. She also loves to go really high when she's swinging. She loves to be flipped upside down. I can only imagine what it will be like when she's really on the move!
When Adilyn was trying to crawl and move around, Cory and I were just staring at her in amazement for an hour or so. Cory said, "This is just like watching the Discovery Channel." It is truly amazing to watch her learn and grow. Everyday is new and exciting to her. I wish I could be that way still.