More Easter Goodness

Here is my sweetie checking our her loot. She got a basket from the Easter Bunny and a basket from each of her sets of grandparents! This girl isn't spoiled. Not at all. :)

All of those toys and Addie was most excited for the puffs! That's my girl!

She is so much fun! The little dress was loaned to us by a friend of mine who has two little girls. I just loved it and it fit perfectly! Thanks, Amanda! :) The bunny she's holding in the top picture was one of mine when I was little... I used to collect rabbits (back in the days when collections were "cool!" ha :) My Mama is so sweet to send one to Addie each year. I also have a little doll that has red hair and a bunny costume on... I'll have to show it to A and get a pic soon. It's such a cute one that I vividly remember having when I was younger.

This is pretty amazing. :) That little bunny was mine, too. I can hardly remember Addie being so tiny last year at this time... and she was so still. ha :)  I miss that teeny-tiny thing! Knowing that she will never be that small again makes me a little weepy. Oh well... I'll have to focus on how beautiful and healthy she is instead, right? :)

This is Addie at Eric's family's Easter egg hunt. She was fascinated by the eggs! This little dress was given to her by Eric's Papa last Christmas. It finally fits! I was so excited!

This is the best I could get from her. She didn't have time to smile. She was busy. :)

She did have time to smooch with her cousin, Knox. :) I love this and I'm certain we'll use this to our advantage one day. :)

Random thoughts

Easter has always been my favorite holiday... knowing that Jesus loved me so much that He would make the ultimate sacrifice just blows me away... For some reason, Easter season also reminds me of my Mimi. I suppose it's all of the wonderful memories I have of her... church on Easter morning, egg hunts at her house, an amazing dinner that she prepared... I loved everything about it. I know she'd love this little girl:

Sometimes it's hard to believe that she has never met Addie. I know she watches her, though... :)

This song is on my mind tonight. It also reminds me of Mimi. I always sat beside her at church, and I can just hear her singing this in my ear. It was one of her favorites. She had the best voice.

"The Old Rugged Cross"

1. On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
   The emblem of suff’ring and shame;
   And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
   For a world of lost sinners was slain.
   • Refrain:
     So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
     Till my trophies at last I lay down;
     I will cling to the old rugged cross,
     And exchange it some day for a crown.
2. Oh, that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
   Has a wondrous attraction for me;
   For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
   To bear it to dark Calvary.
3. In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
   A wondrous beauty I see,
   For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
   To pardon and sanctify me.
4. To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
   Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
   Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away,
   Where His glory forever I’ll share.

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of your Son!

Happy 15 months, Addie! :)

Yeah, yeah... I'm a slacker. I swear, it just seems like life gets busier and busier as the months pass. Just when I think, "Oh, after this is over, I'll have a little free time," something else makes its way onto our schedule! Is it always going to be that way? I'm guessing so... but ya know what? I am at least thankful that I share it with Eric and this little beauty:

Here are Addie's 15 month stats:

Weight: 18 pounds!

Height: 29 inches

Diapers: size 3

Clothes: pretty much all 9 month clothes... some 6 month stuff still fits fine :)

Shoe size: between a 2 and a 3... searching for some shoes that will fit! We need a  2 1/2!

Food: Non-stop eating! Breakfast is usually a piece of cinnamon-sugar toast, a meat, and a fruit. Lunch is a meat, some kind of veggies, and some kind of bread/sandwich. Dinner is a veggie and some kind of bread/sandwich. She also has snacks and milk throughout the day. Her favorites these days are grilled cheese sandwiches, hot dogs, PB&J sandwiches, graham crackers, cinnamon-sugar toast, carrots, corn, peas, apple cinnamon cereal bars, fruit strips... the list goes on and on. She's just getting started with real fruit. For some reason, she hasn't been too fond of them yet, so we've continued baby food fruits. Hopefully, we'll turn the corner soon and she'll be on all table foods. :)

At Addie's 15 month check up when we were waiting on the doctor to come in, I was texting her weight to our families.  Dr. Huss came in and asked what I was doing and I explained that we updated our families during Addie's hospital stay, and everyone is just used to knowing how her doctor appointments go... so we save them the trouble and text as soon as we know. :)  He then asked if I wanted to take a picture of this chart to send. Yep. After 15 months, Addie is FINALLY on the charts for her weight! Woot!  Granted, it's only the 1st percentile, but we'll take it! Never in a million years did I imagine I'd have such a tiny child. Let's face it. I'm not small. I've never been small. I'll never be small. I'm totally cool with it, but I always just assumed that my child would follow suit. Addie proved me wrong. :) Love that little girl.

Addie has this look on her face a lot lately! :) She is into EVERYTHING! She always double checks to make sure we are nearby. Here she is pulling things out of the tray on the ottoman... this is a daily routine for her. Recently, Daddy emptied that tray. Not nearly as fun. No worries though... she just moves back to the baskets under the TV. Or my purse. Or her diaper bag. Or the clothes from her cabinet in her room. She'll always find something to "empty" for us. :)

Praise the Lord that we finally found the antibiotic to cure Addie's ear infection. She had to try four different ones before we found THE one! God bless that stuff. She never was really fussy, but she just wasn't herself. She was stuffy all the time, but once we tried the last medicine, we noticed a difference after just a couple of doses. Hallelujah! We are so thankful!

Bathtime...

...is the best time! We have so much fun! She hears the water running and comes scooting around the corner to the bathroom! You can just hear her little giggle as she realizes that it's time to play in the water! I love that she loves it, and I can't wait to see how she reacts to the pool this summer!

Oh, and she loves bubble baths. :)

...and toys. She's quite the hoarder. All of those little guys stay in her little toy holder, and if I try to be sneaky and not pour them out in the tub, she reaches for them until I dump them out for her. Whatever. If it takes tea pots, cups, and squirty animals to make her happy in the tub, so be it. :)

Addie LOVES to be outside! She just sits and picks "flowers" and scoots around in the grass. Warren and Eric spent quite a few nights building our swing set, and she loved being out there watching them... and that hat? It's the best. She keeps it on like it's no biggie. That chin strap is a lifesaver! I bought one in every color! I've gotta protect her sweet, pale skin! :)

Here she is on her swing! Granny gave her the swing for Christmas, and Warren and Eric built the set to hold it. The set also holds a swing for us and another for Abbie when she comes to visit... or for any other kids that may come. It looks so nice in our back yard! I love it and can't wait to spend a lot of time out there this summer! :)

Here's Addie riding with her Daddy on the lawnmower. He was mowing one afternoon when we got home, and she was so excited to "drive" with him! Precious! :)

Biggest downer this month? Stomach bug. Blech. Poor, pitiful thing... she was sick from a Friday to the following Wednesday. It just sucked the life out of her. She spent the majority of the time laying with us. While we enjoyed the cuddle time, seeing our baby sick was pretty darn difficult. We are so thankful that it was just a bug, and now the sweet thing is back to her fun-loving self! :)

See? :)

Holy hair, Batman!

Addie's hair is finally starting to really grow! ...and she has curls! Craziness! I promise she's not crying in this picture... she's reaching for her bottle. :) 

This month was also the month for the March of Dimes walk! I'll do a full post later, but here is a picture of Team JAC! We had around 40 people walking with us in honor of our miracles Johannah, Addie, and Cooper. This picture was taken at the end, and a few of our walkers had already gone home. We set a goal to raise $500, and we ended up raising $1290! Simply amazing. People are so supportive of this cause that is precious to us. We can not say "thank you" enough to those who donated and walked with us in our fight for healthy babies!

Addie is such a sweet baby... I know all moms say that, but I swear, this is the most amazing baby! After all we went through when she was born, it is so amazing to watch her just love life each and every day! She is always looking around her, soaking up everything! I so wish that I could hear what is going on in her little mind! She is very personable and loves going places with us! Today we went to see the Easter Bunny (pics to come later), and she had the best time! She stayed in her stroller while Eric and I shopped... she just waved and smiles at people we passed like she'd known them for years! What a blessing and a ray of sunshine she is. Okay, that was cheesy, but it's true. :)

Happy 15 months, Munchkin!

We love you and all of your 18 pounds that we've worked so hard for... you are our world and we love seeing your smile each morning! Thank you for loving us and thank GOD for letting us love you! :)

Mama and Daddy

Because they are cute :)

This just makes me smile. :)

That big sister is my first love... she is the sweetest, most hilarious thing I've ever known. She keeps us on our toes! Can't remember my life without her! 

That little sister is my newest love... she's so beautiful and adorable and likes to keep us on our toes, too! :) I'm itching to get back to Knoxville and squeeze both of these girlies!

Oh, and this is also the reason I think I will have to have another girl one day. I L.O.V.E. matching dresses!  Just you wait until the summertime! 
These two and Addie will be matchy-matchy! :)

One year!

**I just had time to check my posts, and I realized that I hadn't posted this one from about a month ago! :)

This past Saturday marked one year since we brought Addie home from the hospital!  What an amazing year it has been!

I just watched her that night as she maneuvered her way around her house... I thought of all the ways our house has changed since she finally came home.  Instead of clean windows and glass doors we now have windows and doors with tiny fingerprints and smudges on them.  Instead of clean wood floors we now have wood floors marked with bits of cookies, splashes of milk, and toys galore. Instead of a corner devoted to Daddy's recliner, we now have "Addie's Corner," complete with a pretty foam mat, a miniature plush chair, and about a gazillion toys. Instead of shelves covered with pictures and such, we now have shelves with pictures of Addie and bottom shelves that are now home to children's books and puzzles. Instead of cabinets that open with ease we have cabinets with latches on them that sometimes frustrate Mama, Daddy, and our house guests.  The stairs are now blocked with a fancy gate... the outlets are covered and the cords are all tucked away... every room in the house has a few toys in it just in case it has a scooting visitor come through... every room now has a fan in case that same scooting visitor comes in since she is so hot-natured. :)

Everything is different... but everything is perfect.

I wouldn't have it any other way.  I'm pretty sure Addie's once neat-freak father wouldn't change it for the world, either. :)