Just because.

I'm in love with that little scrunchy-nosed smile!

She is a hoot!

Thankful.

I can't begin to type everything that I am thankful for this year... the list is just too long.  God is WAY too good to me, so I'm working hard to glorify Him with all that he's given.  Here are just a few things before I head to bed after a fantastic family day:

Him. 

Her.

Them.

 ...and them. 

...and them. 

I'm overwhelmed at all that God's given me this year.  Through each difficult moment, He's shown me just how powerful He is!

Oh, and I'm not going to even get started on how much I am thankful for NICU stuff... giraffes, Vapotherm machines, NICU nurses, neonatologists, oximeters, leads, feeding tubes... :)  Rest assured these things and people that saved my little girl have been on my mind today.

Happy 10 months, Addie! :)

The little munchkin is 10 months old!  We have had a busy month!  

Here are her stats:

Weight: 15 pounds, 3 ounces (at the doc today w/ clothes on, so she's a little less)

Height: 27 inches

Clothes: mostly 3-6 month clothes... some things are too short for Baby Long Legs, so we have to go up a size)

Diapers: still in size 2

Ready to move!

Isn't this why you made this sign, Mama?

Addie still loves bath time... especially with her cousin, Abbie.  The girls were just precious taking a bath together!  Abbie is going to be such a great big sister when Lexi arrives in March!  We can't wait to have all three of the girls together! :)

Addie loves to play!  I'm so proud of how she's progressing and trying to catch up to other kids her age.  She's very alert and pretty stable for a preemie with the adjusted age of 7 months. :)  She still has a long way to go, but it won't be long before people won't even know she's older than she looks.

Addie is quite the poser! :)  ...and apparently I need to find some pictures of her wearing clothes. :) ha  She loves having her picture taken (most of the time)... I guess I'm to blame for that one!  She is usually easy going with other people as long as Eric or I are around her.  We've begun the whole separation anxiety thing this month.  While we love that she loves us, it is pretty hard on us when it comes to leaving her places that are unfamiliar.  I can't handle it sometimes. :(  She has no trouble at day care, but the nursery at church is a different story.  We're working on it, though, and thankfully, this past Sunday was better.  We won't give up!  

There we go!  Baby with clothes! :)  She is still happy about 95% of the time... she can play and entertain herself so well!  We are very thankful for that.  She also loves watching her movie in the car when we go places.  I think a car DVD player is one of God's greatest creations!  Don't give me the lecture about it... I don't want to hear it because I am in love with those things. :)  Now, the other 5% of the time she has been fussy this past month...

...is because of these two guys.  Seriously.  Teething is for the birds.  I hate that she is in such pain and all I can do is give her something to chew or some numbing gel that doesn't really do much good. :(  Thankfully, those puppies are in so she's been a little more back to normal, and she's sleeping better.  Totally looking forward to the next chompers that arrive. ha!

She is an eating pro... as you can tell by the applesauce-covered high chair and banana-decorated drape. :)  Girl loves her food.  See?  She is my child after all. :) ha Once Addie is in her high chair, she is kicking and bouncing because she is so excited to eat!  Her favorites this month are applesauce, bananas, peas, carrots, macaroni and cheese (who knew they made this for babies?  She devoured it!), apples and cherries, apples and blueberries, and prunes and apples.  Yes, prunes and apples.  We were adding some rice cereal to thicken her food so it was easier for her to eat, and that, naturally, resulted in some tummy issues... so we tried the prunes.  Well, she had the hang of eating, so she didn't need the rice anymore... and she just l.o.v.e.d. the prunes w/ apples.  Not even kidding. We keep them in stock at our house at all times. :)  She also loves those little teething wheels and puffs.  She just got the hang of puffs tonight.  So stinkin' cute. :)

She speaks! :) Addie began making consonant sounds this month, and, needless to say, I was so excited!  She usually says "ma-ma," "da-da," and "ba-ba" over and over during the day.  The only one she really associates is "ma-ma." :)  Yes, I cried the first time she said it and reached for me.  Granted, she was sad and fussy for some reason, but I did not care one bit.  She doesn't do it all of the time... just usually when she's sad or really tired.

Little one,

You make us laugh every day!  We can't believe you are going to be a year old in just two short months!  Don't you worry, though... Mama is already planning your party. :) ha  Thank you for being our little ray of sunshine!

We love you!

Mama and Daddy

My little 9 month beauty :)

I finally took some pictures of Addie for her "official" 9 month photo shoot... now I know I have a gazillion "photo shoots" of her, but my mom and I thought of this one last weekend while she was here and I'll actually print some of these shots for our wall that shows her at every 3 months.

I loved the idea of a "dressy" photo shoot, but she's still small enough that I love nakey baby shots, too, so we met half way with the dressy bow, ruffled bloomers, and the pearls. :)  I love this pic in black and white... most pictures I like of her are in color to show her blue eyes, but this one was nice for a change. :)

Here Addie is showing how much she is ready to get moving!  It also stills shows her gummy grin... that is gone now. :(

Addie still LOVES to laugh!  She thinks we are hilarious! :)

My flash on this shot went a little nuts, but once I turned it to sepia and did a little tweaking, I think it turned out beautifully!  She really is our little angel. :)

I may be the only one who likes this one, but it's one of my faves out of the gazillion that I took.  Her skin is so soft and pure... I think this shot captures it. :)  The ruffle is pretty sweet, too! ...um, and I love her chubby arms and little piggies sticking out at the top of the pic. :)

I had to get one of her sweet bloomers that her Aunt Audry gave her.  When I was pregnant, this was one of the first gifts I received that was monogrammed.  Seeing her name made it so much more real.  I'm pretty sure I cried when I opened them because I couldn't wait to meet her.  Addie must have heard me because about four weeks later, she was born. ha! :) Needless to say, I've been waiting patiently for her little booty to fit into them, so when I tried them on her for this shoot, I was pumped! :)

One more... I love the concentration in this pic!   Would you believe she never put the pearls in her mouth?!  I guess she saves that for her Mama's necklaces. :)

Sweet girl's first Halloween :)

I'm not gonna lie.  I was some kind of excited about Addie's first Halloween!  I am not much of a Halloween person, but the thought of dressing Addie up and taking pictures of her made me happy... shocking, I know.  

Anyway, when we were trying to decide, I figured something blue would be perfect to match her sweet eyes.  So, after a google search of "blue infant halloween costumes," we have...

The World's Cutest Elephant. :)

She was absolutely adorable!  She didn't even object to having something on her head and two ears flopping around her all night!  I was so proud... 

Addie is easily distracted by pumpkins.  We may keep those guys around all year.  She is fascinated by them.

The Jacksons. :)  This picture makes my heart happy.

Couldn't you just eat her up?!  Even with her new tooth growing in (sniff sniff..), she was pretty laid-back the entire weekend!  We took her in and out of that costume, and she just went along with it. :)

Hope you had a great Halloween, too!  I'm already looking forward to picking out Addie's costume for next year!