Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Happy 11 months, Addie! :)

To be quite honest, I've been sad today thinking about my baby girl being 11 months old.  Now, I know there are some of you who are like, "My baby is such-and-such years old!  11 months is nothing!" ...and I get that.  I really do... but my heart is happy, emotional, sad, scared, upset today because of this.  Maybe it's hormones.  I don't know.  I also have to tell you that I have "nightmares" the night before each month birthday.  My mind goes right back to room 3107 in the hospital when they told me I was having gas pains because of that stupid red, Colace pill, but deep down, I knew I was having full-blown, non-medicated contractions.  I knew that my teeny-tiny baby girl was going to come waaay sooner than she should and that I would have to completely surrender her to God and let Him do His thing.  Some days it takes me longer to get out of that funk of a nightmare.  Today was one of those days.

I cried just now when I was putting Little Bit to sleep.  I am so overwhelmed at how lucky I am that I get to be her Mama... so overwhelmed that she is now so unbelievably healthy. Why me?  How did I get to be so blessed?  I know of so many others who are just yearning to be parents... so many parents who are sitting in the NICU tonight watching their babies cling to life... so many parents who had to leave the NICU with out their babies... and I pretty much hit the jackpot!  I guess it's the Lord bringing me back to him time and time again... reminding me of how amazing He is and how much He trusts me to raise this little person to know Him and serve Him and love Him.  Anyway, I must have held her for at least 10 minutes after she fell asleep tonight.  I didn't want to put her down.  I just loved listening to her sweet coos and feeling her breath on my cheek.  Her lotion smells so yummy that I may or may not have put some on my arms, too... just so I could smell her after I left her room. :)

Ok, enough with the mush.  On to the fun stuff. :)

We forgot to weigh and measure her tonight, so I'll post that tomorrow.

Clothes size: 3-6 and 6 months clothes.  I've pretty much come to terms with the fact that it's going to take us a little bit longer to get to 9 month or 12 month clothes.  I keep putting them on her like they're magically going to fit...even after they were way too big yesterday. :)  Never in a gajillion years did I think I'd have a petite child... but I love it.
Diapers: size 2.  Again, won't be moving up to size 3 for a month or two more.

 Addie has such a sweet personality!  I know I've said that before, but this month she has really become a little socialite! Anywhere we go, she just bats her long eyelashes and meets a new friend!  As long as Mama or Daddy is in view, she's good to go! :)  ...oh, and I love Christmas clothes. :)

 She still loves bath time!  Now that she's learned to play and splash a little bit, baths are way fun!  We also have bubble baths!  The first time I made her a bubble bath, she was quite confused, but now, she loves it!

 This is as close to crawling as she's come.  This was actually taken tonight.  She'll get up on her hands... and then fall back on her bottom.  She just doesn't see the point. :)  She can scoot over there to get the toy just as fast.  Like I said a few posts ago, totally fine with me.  I love that she stays in (almost) one place. :)

 The girl loves shoes.  Addie is fascinated by them when they're on her feet, and she loves them even more when she pulls them off of her feet and uses them as teething toys.  Don't judge.  I wipe them down on a regular basis. :)

 That laugh...

Oh, that sweet, intoxicating laugh!  I could listen to it all. day. long.  Her Daddy and I are comedians, I tell you!  Once she gets going, there is no stopping that fun, deep-belly laugh that is sure to make anyone smile!

Addie is still a pretty good traveler.  She's not a fan of actually getting in her carseat, but once she's in and we've got some puffs, she's ready!  ...and she loves those yogurt melt things!  Those are a little more expensive, but they are SO worth it when she needs a little something to tide her over until her next meal.  Speaking of food, Addie is still an eating machine!  She eats three meals a day and at least four bottles a day... and a gazillion puffs.  That may not sound like a lot, but for a little 15-ish pound baby, it is a lot!  She still likes pretty much anything we feed her... her faves this month are macaroni and cheese with vegetables, carrots, banana orange medley, vanilla apples with oatmeal, peas, prunes with apples, apples with cherries.. the list goes on and on, folks.  My girl loves her food.
P.S. I'm pretty sure there are two top teeth getting ready to make an appearance in that little mouth of hers.  I honestly can't wait for them to get here already!

 It's a good thing she loves to eat because she is super active.  We have her RSV shots every month through flu season, so we're getting to see how she is gaining weight.  She isn't gaining the usual pound a month obviously because if her eyes are open, she is moving.  She loves to hold your fingers and "walk" around the room, and she still loves her exersaucer and playmat!  Amber brought over some fun toys of Abbie's, and we have had a blast watching her learn how to use them all!  

So there you have it.  I have an almost one-year-old.  I am going to start focusing on how much fun her party will be!  I'm already having a blast planning it. :)

...and I should probably focus on keeping this little daredevil safe. :)

Addie,
Where do we begin, munchkin?  You are just a breath of fresh air to us and to everyone who sees you.  God definitely gave you a gift, and we love that we can see it even at 11 months!  You have a way of making those around you smile, and we pray that you will continue to use this amazing ability you have.

We love how you love us.  We love how you reach for us when you see us.  We love how your legs just move and move when you're excited.  We love how you want to cuddle with us when we wake you up in the mornings because you just weren't quite ready to get out of bed.  We love how you're becoming more independent during your feeding times... not only do you hold your own bottle, but you now want to hold your own spoon!  We love how you turn to check to make sure we are around when you're playing in the living room. We love your two little teeth... even though they kind of hurt us when you grab our fingers. :)  

We just love you... everything about you.  We hope you know that we always will.
Mama and Daddy

3 comments :

Kelly Grant said...

Thank you for your post Johnell. I love watching Addie grow, she is a gem! I wish I could come SQUEEZE her and plop my Addy beside her so they could giggle together! Thank your for this post, it humbled me.

Pamela Johnson said...

Precious post! I can not believe she is 11 months old. Love seeing her pics and updates.

Tiffany Jones said...

Wow!! Powerful words.......