Time to start playing catch up.

I am the worst blogger. ever.

So, some stuff a lot has happened in the past few months. I plan on trying to get caught up---in future posts. Addison is growing like a weed (more on that tomorrow.) She also got tubes put in both ears on October 17th. Thank God everything went well and she is feeling awesome. 

November is a month of thanks. Because of this I am randomly, at the end of every blog going to tell something I am thankful for. As I was holding Addison tonight getting her to sleep, I couldn't help but cry. The love I have for her is like nothing else I have ever felt. I just held her and kept thanking God for her, for her health. I love everything about her. I love her chubby fingers, legs, belly, lips, eyes, hair, nose. every part. I love hearing her laugh, it is the most amazing sound. I love listening to her talk. She's a 15 month old who can tell you everything she wants. She says anything and everything (more on that tomorrow as well.) I love watching her walk, hop and run. I love watching her sleep and riding around with her the backseat. I love it all! To say I'm thankful for her is an understatement.

I'm going to be a better blogger. Promise :)

just a ridin'

When Addison was first born I didn't take her anywhere. She didn't leave the house. Period. (Except for her doctor's appointment.) On Saturday September 24, 2011, when Addison was 7 weeks, 3 days old...she had her first "outing." Since that day, it seems like we haven't stopped going. I want her to see the world. I want her to have fun. (All of these great adventures used to have to stay within a 20 mile radius. That was back when she would scream when going on long trips. That was before we flipped her carseat around & got portable dvd players.) We shop, we eat, we visit & sometimes we just drive.  I love going places. Especially when my sweet girl is riding with me! I sure hope Addison gets my love for traveling. Here are some sweet carseat pics of my little running around buddy! :)





Her first time in a carseat. August 5, 2012...going home from the hospital!







At Craker Barrel (with mommy, nana & grandpa) on her first "trip" out.



On her way to Richmond with mommy & daddy!

Right after her 4 month shots. I've said it many times, I have the BEST baby in the world!

All bundled up, ready to leave a baby shower!

Waiting for legacy to get the oil changed in mommy's car. How cute is she?! seriously.

March 2012. Been shopping with mommy. Aren't her twinkle toes adorable!?

First day of Spring & first day cruising in her new carseat. This is one of my favorite pictures!

Sleeping beauty at the rootbeer stand

Watching Ice Age, getting sleepy!

This is how majority of car rides used to be, thankfully this was just a split second fuss. Crying the whole time while in her carseat is no more. We will be traveling the world before you know it now that we have a happy  happier traveler! :)

mini breakdowns

I was feeding Addison her night time bottle & just staring at her perfect little face on the night she turned 6 weeks old. I was smelling her sweet smell, thinking about how good she felt in my arms. Then I thought about the day when she would be a "big" girl and not need mommy to hold her and get her to sleep. That's when I lost it. I started crying a little. Then I thought more about her growing up on me, so I cried harder. Then I started sobbing so hard I had to put her in her crib or I would have woke her up. I stepped out of our bedroom & let Adam hold me while I cried and told him my fears of how she wouldn't need me anymore. She was already saying "I good" and was preparing to take her first bite of rice ceareal. Mostly I talked about how fast she was growing. How could she have been 6 weeks old  already?!


My little 12 pound 4 ounce, 23 1/2 inch ladybug at 6 weeks old.



My baby turns 11 months old tomorrow. Tonight was no different than any other night, but as I was holding her, looking at her little perfect face, smelling her sweet smell & loving how she feels in my arms. After a moment tears started to fall. I laid her in her crib so I could go into the living room and sob alone as to not wake her. I cried because time is going too fast. She is growing up too fast. Oh, what a fiesty little thing she is. She crawls,pulls up, laughs so loud, says lots of words, feeds herself, makes the funniest faces, the list goes on. She's growing up on me...for real this time. I still dread the day when she won't need me anymore but right now I cherish her being "clingy" and chanting "momma."

My little 28 pound, 33 inch sweet baby.

Truth is when I was holding that tiny 6 week old, I needed her more than she could have ever needed me. I still do. She is my reason, my heart, my world.

these are a few of her favorite things...

If you have ever found yourself wandering, "What does an active, sweet, funny, happy, on-the-go, cute, rotten 10 month old like?!" I am here with all the answers :) Well, maybe not all the answers but at least I know what that little monkey at the top likes...

FOOD

As you can see by those adorable chubby legs, my girl likes a good meal. BUT she is kinda particular when it comes to baby food...

She knows how to eat very well out of a spoon. She had her first rice cereal from a spoon when she was 7 weeks old.Yet, she would much rather has to have baby food out of the pouch. Her favorite brands, and what our cabinets stay stocked up in are Ella's Kitchen & Plum. Oh, and they are much tastier to her little taste buds when they have a spinach or pea base! (Yuck, right?! Lol.)

Snacks don't have to be so specific, here are a few of little bit's favorites..

..& of course she loves some table food every now and again. Mashed potatoes & green beans have become a big hit. As well as: icecream, jello, biscuits & gravy, kiwi, peach cobbler and really anything else we let her get her hands & mouth on :-)

Sleep

Addison has ALWAYS loved to sleep. She was the perfect newborn, still is the perfect baby. She loves comfort & certain items when sleeping..

She and I both love these soft & cozy Pottery Barn Blankets. She has the pink one on bottom monogrammed, I believe it's her blankie.

She rarely takes her binky, but at night night she loves it. ( Although to prevent any form of binky addiction, I take it out pretty much as soon as she falls alseep. One of the many great tips I got from my momma.)

...& of course, I have my favorite things for her when it's bedtime, but that's for another blog entry..

Fun

If there is one thing my girl loves, it's having fun. She is the happiest baby I have ever seen. She loves to play, smile, laugh, talk, crawl, roll, scoot, walk (with help), squeal, scream & just have a blast. Here are a few things that get my girl exicted. (Aside from her loved ones.)

I can say "Addison, do you wanna watch Mickey Mouse?" & Addison will get the biggest smile & get so exicted to watch a little bit of this every day!

She can stand, flip a book & play music?! Yes please!! She really likes her leap frog tables.

Oh how my girl loves books. When she was smaller I would read & read to her. Then she started loving to chew on them. Now she likes to hear them & chwe on them! This little book is one of her favorites! Thanks Grandpa & Nana.

She loves splish splashy in her princess pool!

This CD is always playing in my car when we go bye bye. She loves it & a happy traveling baby=a happy momma.


She has SO many toys, all of which she enjoys playing with. She likes teethers, keys, balls, walkers, rattles. All of them.

Really, Addison Kenley is very easy to please. Her momma is a little more picky when it comes to her baby. Hopefully in the the next couple of days I can blog about alot of my favorites things for her. Right now I'm going to eat some Haagen Dazs & go to bed! :)



Addison's Birth Story!

*Side Note: My due date was August 11, 2011

August 2, 2011- I had been on maternity leave for 8 days. Going from a usually fast-paced job to hanging out at home all day, was starting to get boring. On this particular HOT Tuesday I was in probably the biggest cleaning mood I have ever been in. I cleaned our house from top to bottom! I even updated my Facebook status to a simple "cleaning, cleaning, cleaning!" I received several responses that said "nesting. nesting. nesting." Looking back it's humorous because I had several conversations that day, expressing how I didn't think Addison was coming soon or on her own... I just knew induction was in my future. I was getting very impatient. Several friends of mine were pregnant at the same time that I was, and they had already had their bundle of joys & were posting their cute pictures on Facebook. I was ready to meet my baby! Adam was working night shift in August, so I went to my parent's house to relax after my cleaning binge. We ate, watched a few shows, I took a small nap, and of course we snapped pictures of my big ole' belly. Around 10 that night I came home, propped my feet up and waited for my hubby to get home. We stayed up snacking (I remember I had a strawberry applesauce around midnight.) talking, and just hanging out. We went to bed around 1:00 AM.

August 3, 2011- At 2:00AM I woke up to use the restroom, which was nothing unusual for this pregnant chick. 3:50AM I woke up abruptly. I was about to pee. All over myself. I jumped out of bed and quickly got to our adjoining bathroom, as soon as I got in the bathroom my water broke. Not leaked, like flooded our bathroom broke. I said in a normal tone "Adam..." No response. Then I proceeded in a more anxious tone"Adam, Honey...my water just broke!!" He jumped out of bed and our wild morning began. I called my mom to tell her & dad to get ready to go to the hospital. I told her not to rush because I was going to shower (I didn't want to have a baby looking & smelling like a cave woman. HA!.) All morning I never had any pain or contractions. After a quick shower, some light make-up & frantically getting last minutes things ready we were on our way!  We arrived at the hospital around 5 AM, where we checked in & the fun began! *Quick note: If you are a pregnant woman, every woman that has already went through child birth will want to tell you their "horror" story. I promise it's not that bad. Block out those horrible, painful stories.* There were: Dilation checks, IV's, monitors, paperwork, but nothing was really going on. Well when a woman's water breaks like mine did, you can't just hang out all day, there is too big of a risk of infection & even a dry birth. So they started me on the "Pit Drip." About 30 minutes later (probably around  10:30 AM) my contractions really started. My mom, dad, hubby, mother in law & step mother in law were in the room majority of the time. Braiding my hair, rubbing my feet, talking to me, etc. Fast forward a few more hours. I was hurting. My contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and lasting around 2 minutes each. I took advantage of the jacuzzi tub a couple of times. My last time in there, the nurse couldn't get the monitor to pick up Addison's  heart rate, so I got out of there quick. My main concern was her health & safety through the birth process. At 4 PM, the doctor checked me & I was ready to push! Everyone was told to leave except for my husband & mommy. Adam was rubbing my head and my mom was holding my right leg. I pushed for around 45 minutes & at 4:50 PM my whole world was born. Nothing will ever compare to the first time I saw her & heard her sweet little cry. After 13 hours of labor, Addison Kenley Bryant entered this world. She was 7 pounds, 15 ounces & was 22 inches of perfection.She is forever my heart. Here are just a few pictures from her birth! :) enjoy.

I'm a goof!

Daddy, just waiting!

Grandpa & Nana :)

Watching his girl get cleaned up.

She was about 2 minutes old here!

Look at that sweet little hand.

She's everything.

My little family. (Excuse my swollen face, labor & crying will do that to ya.lol)

My baby girl.

The two people who were in the room during her birth! :)

Grandpa & Addison!

All of them are so proud, so in love.

The sweetest baby in the whole world.

All cleaned up. (She was about 5 hours old here: ))

Born with a head full of hair!

<3 <3 <3

love me some pregnancy!

June 15, 2011-32 Weeks. How sweet is she?! I remember I would stare at this picture & yearn to hold her.

35 weeks, 5 days.

Woah, look at that growin' belly!

My parents got Addison this adorable dress & she wore it when she was 2 days old for her newborn pictures.

Rewind 12-15  months, back to my pregnancy days. Back when my normally 5'2" 100 pound self, was  still 5'2" but 130 pounds & growing fast!  I loved, loved, super loved being pregnant. I  even documented my growing days, week by week with pictures. Maybe I was in love with it because I didn't find out I was even carrying our baby until I was almost 18 weeks along. (I'm sure when* we have another baby if I find out at like 6 weeks, like a normal woman...the wait will be horrible!) Whatever the reason I simply adored every single thing about it. I loved watching my belly grow. I loved shopping for maternity clothes. I loved taking care of myself more than I ever had before, for my baby. I loved people asking about our future baby girl. I loved decorating her nursery. I loved ultrasounds. I loved shopping for baby clothes & toys. I loved picking out names. Most of all I loved feeling & seeing Miss Addison move and grow inside my body. Now, that isn't to say I didn't have any nasty/crazy side effects. I skipped morning sickness (yippee!) I wasn't even that grouchy to my husband (you can even ask him, he will vouch for me!)  BUT I was a bank teller (who stood alotttt) up until 9 days before our girl made her grand entrance. So, guess what I did have for about 2 weeks?! Nasty, swollen, sore ogre feet! It was quite gross & to the point where my shoes wouldn't fit. Yellow box flip-flops 3 sizes too big?? Yes please! Anyway, this is all leading up to my next blog entry "Addison Kenley's Birth Story!" Because even though I loved being pregnant, I'm not a patient person & my patience was withering away fast by August 2, 2011. I'm going to try to update that blog entry tomorrow, but It's almost 1 A.M. & dirty laundry needs washed & my bed is calling my name :)

better late than never..

With a memory like mine, I should have started this blog long ago. There are so many things I can talk about (& I'm sure I will have "TMI" moments on my blog) but my favorite topic is Addison. I eat, sleep & breath my child...and I'm proud of it. This is not to say you won't hear about my rants, my husband, my parents & my dog, but you will mostly be reading about a little 10 month old bundle of energy. I will post past events (Addison's birth story, milestones-moments that have been recorded in her baby book) as well as her up to date shinanigans. I will post about my favorite things for her, and her favorite things. I'm exicted. I'm sure I will misspell words and bore you at times, but I am so glad to finally be documenting our day to day life on a blog! :)