Sunday

Sunday Morning, 9:15 a.m.:

Addie goes from playing in her bed (while I shower) to SCREAMING bloody murder. Graham and I RUN in her room only to find her standing in her crib still screaming. Graham walks closer to her and says, "Brandy something is Wrong??" As I get to Addie I see her bare bottom, a half opened diaper laying beside her pj pants, inside her diaper, what else but POOP! It is also smeared on her bed. Graham grabs her and puts her on her changing table as I grab wipes to clean her bottom. As I look closely at her I notice there is poop smeared on her face too! OH MY WORD!

How in the world will we make it to church by 10:00????? (by the grace of GOD)

So that's how we started our morning! Fun huh?? Long story short she had to take ANOTHER bath before church (she got one Saturday night before bed).

OH KIDS!

Graham and I have laughed about this all day! I can't wait to tell her husband this story one day! Too funny!

Later Sunday night Addie and I were playing while Graham worked on school. Addie brought me her pink sunday shoes and said, "on?" I asked if she wanted to me to put them on and she shook her head yes (which she just started doing this week and it is so CUTE! I'll post a video soon). Later she was pulling stuff out of her closet and pulled a princess dress-up outfit out and again brought it to me and said, "On?" Needless to say, Addie and I played dress up and here is a pick of the result! My Beautiful little princess:

Check out that Beautiful Hair!

She had a blast, We even went to Gingy's to show her Addie's pretty outfit! She cried when I took it off to put her pj's on!

One last short story. The other day I told Graham to put Addie's shoes on and bring her outside, this is what I see when they get outside:

Yes, They are on the wrong feet! You would think a 25 year old, Engineer who is working on his MBA could put the correct shoes on the correct feet!

FYI: Graham got Addie ready to go to a Bridal shower with me on Saturday, when I was getting Addie out of the car I realized that Graham had put her sweater on upside-down! REALLY COME ON DUDE!

The Dinner Club

Look at me two posts in one day! I'm getting better at this.
Saturday, when Melissa was here for my lack of Pampered Chef party she told me about a great idea! She has a friend that lives in St. Elmo, and along with a few neighbors they make dinner for each other. See she cooks on say Mondays, and makes enough for all involved and delivers it to them. Then for the next 4 nights of the work week they return the favor! That way her family is getting a good home cooked meal every night but she is only cooking one night! This is a great idea for working moms, or just busy moms that opt for Pizza or McDonald's for lack of time to make a meal. We decided this was really cool and are trying it this week. Tonight Melissa is preparing food for us and Thursday I'll be cooking. I just thought this was the BEST idea and had to share it with everyone! It's a great way to connect with your neighbors, try new recipes, and get a break from cooking every night! You should all try it!

What a beautiful day!

Finally, this morning we are getting back to normal around my house! This time last week..........we were EXTREMELY tired from being up with Addie and her poor ear infection, Graham was off for the entire week, and we had a MESSY house! Today, we are rested, Graham's at work and the house is actually clean! I love getting up early in the morning and having my coffee on my front porch as I watch the sun come up. It's my time with God. I just sit there and look at the beauty he has given us and thank him for everything he has given me and my family. This morning I was in deep prayer over a friend. Rachel and Adam Ryan. Rachel was taken to the hospital yesterday after being really sick for a few days. Rachel is around 12 weeks pregnant and when the ER doc looked for the baby's heartbeat, he couldn't find it. Rachel was very dehydrated so they admitted her and they will do another ultrasound today. We are praying the ER doc was wrong and this precious baby is still going strong. Please keep this family in your prayers, and please enjoy this beautiful day God has given us!

GST!

GST is just what I needed after a week of Addie being sick! What is GST you ask? Grocery Shopping Therapy! I LOVE to go grocery shopping. That is when I get to go either with Addie or by myself. Don't get me wrong I love Graham but he doesn't want to go through the isles like I do, he puts stuff that is NOT on the list in the buggy, and we spend twice as much when he is with me. Oh yeah, we are usually in a fight by the time we leave :) Addie is no problem to go with me, she sits in the buggy, eats her snacks and watches people. Still, there are times when I need to be alone. I love going through the isles and thinking about are family dinners (which we do every night at 5:30 6ish), talking about our days, what happened at Graham's work, is Addie bit Ellie that day and just other fun life stuff. I can't wait for the day that Addie starts talking well and has her own stories to tell. I put alot of thought into our meals, so I love looking through the spices to see how I can Jazz something up! I'm sure one day I will not like going grocery shopping but for now I love it and enjoy every minute!

Happy Birthday to MEEE!

Today I turned 25! I know half way to 50! But 50 is the new 40 right? Until today I really thought I was going to be upset all day because I am "old" now, but I wasn't.....at all. Probably because Addie FINALLY slept all night last night and felt better today, the best present I could have gotten! This morning I woke up to Graham singing Happy Birthday in my ear and the sound of Addie playing in her bed in the monitor, What a way to wake up (especially after Addie has been so sick). Today I am so thankful for my family, I have the best husband in the world, and the most beautiful little girl. I truly feel complete, God has blessed me in every way I can be blessed and I thank him everyday!

Graham is my bestest friend and I feel so lucky to have him in my life. He works so hard to give me the ability to stay at home with Addie. It is the best gift he could EVER give me and I thank God for him everyday. Graham is a wonderful daddy, I LOVE to watch him play with Addie, I can't wait till she gets older and makes him play dress up :) You are the best husband in the world and I love you very very much!

My sweet Addiebelle, you are so full of life and you remind me everyday why I was put on this Earth. I absolutely Love being your mommie, even this past week when you were so sick! I love that you just want me when you are sick, I know it won't be that way forever so I suck it all up now! You are the most beautiful little girl in the world. I can only wait to watch you grow into a young woman someday. Your personality shines through already, you have a spunky, loving way about you. Everyone that knows you, loves you! I am so excited for the times we will have as you grow up! I love you baby and I'm so glad you picked me to be your mommie!

My mommy is the best mommy ever, she is ALWAYS around and willing to help me when I need a break from a screaming, sick child. She is always there to listen to me when I'm being crazy because of hormone overloads (another story), or to play with my daughter so I can clean my horrible house, and just to ride out to the mall with me even though neither of us have any money whats-so-ever to spend. She understands that I just need to get away and talk sometimes, she listens intently and responds with the wisdom only a mother can possess. I am so blessed to have her, she really is my best friend!

Then God has blessed me with my personal nurse, I mean sister. I don't know what we would have done the first year (and even now) of Addie's life without Miranda. Well I do........we would have probably been dropped from our Pediatrician for calling too much (LOL). We have called Miranda at all hours to ask questions, some stupid some life threatening. She has NEVEr acted like my questions about how much Addie was eating, or that she hasn't pooped, or anything else were stupid. It is so nice to be able to call her about everything and she always has an answer, if she doesn't she finds the answer for me. Miranda is more than my personal nurse, she is also a best friend. Years ago you would find us fighting about clothes, shoes etc, but those times have just made us stronger sisters and friends. Miranda was there for me when I smoked the first time, she held my hand and Made me tell my parents. She cracked jokes when my mom felt like she was a failure, after all it was just smoking there are worse things I could have done. As my parents drove away from Faulkner with me standing on the lawn of my dorm I felt relief and a small sense of home knowing Randa was just 2 minutes down the road, and that is exactly where I went when I was feeling homesick. She has always been there for me, when I was having problems with my friends, or boyfriends she was always there to listen to me and tell me it wasn't the end of the world. Turns out she was right! I love you Randa and I thank God everyday for letting me have such a wonderful role model! Your the best sister!

I thank God for my daddy. I have always been such a daddy's girl. He means so much to me, growing up he did everything he could so my mom could stay at home with us. He worked long hours so we could have everything that we "thought" we needed. My daddy was always there to scare off boys that hurt my feelings, you know who you are! He was there to make sure Graham was going to take care of me the way he had all these years. I shared so much with my daddy growing up and I find myself being more like him everyday. I do have to share one memory of him..... as my daddy walked me down the aisle he pooted the whole time! He said he was trying to make me laugh instead of cry...............it worked! I love you Daddy your the best!

And finally is my sweet Cale. He is such and inspiration to everyone he has ever met. Cale has taught me so many things but most importantly to believe in yourself and with God anything is possible. He has the biggest heart and really does care about everyone. Cale is a great brother we have grown alot closer over the past few years and I love to spend time with him. Cale you really are awesome I love you!

Rocking with God (and Addie) (and Addie's 1st ear infection)

Graham started school to get his MBA at the end of January. He is going to school online so he works on it every night from about 8 till 10 or 11........which means, I put Addie to bed. Which is a BIG change because for the first 11 months of Addie's life, Graham did the whole Bath, Bottle, Teeth Brushed and Bed thing.


I love it though. It's nice to have time just me and my baby. We start with a bath at 8:30ish then we have milk (in a cup now woo hoo!), brush our teeth, Tell Daddy goodnight, Read a story (BLAME There's a Mouse about the house......another post), say our prayers and then I sing her ONE song ( she is still awake when I lay her down I just love to sing to her!). Last night we went through everything and it was time for our prayers. Addie clasped her hands together, looked up at me and smiled. As the tears ran down my face we said a prayer for our family, Aunt Meghan and her baby and Aunt Lauren and her baby. Addie always giggles at the end when I say and In Jesus Name...Amen. That is the most precious thing, to get to pray with my daughter everynight, and the fact that she seems to be starting to understand that she should be still and quiet. I just LOVE it!



I think it is very important to talk about God and to God from a young age. We have probably been saying prayers with Addie since she was 3 or 4 months old. I hope that this will become a natural thing to her and she will ALWAYS look to our Father for help when she needs it. And to be able to just talk to him and tell him how her day is going!







Okay so I started this post several days ago and I am just now getting time to finish and post it. You ask, Why? Because we have been dealing with an AWFUL ear infection in both of Addie's ears!

It all started two weeks ago when Addie got alittle cold, no big deal we pulled out the Zyrtec and it 'seemed' to clear it up. By that Saturday she was ALOT better so we went to Coolige park and I took her one year pics (I really wanted some outside, and after looking at how much it can cost to do an onlocation photo shoot I decided I could just do it! And I think I did a pretty good job!) She had a blast that day and was feeling pretty good that whole week.....until Thursday night. Oh my she was up ALL night long! Friday she spent the day watching Ellie play from my lap, this is when I should have known something was wrong! She actually slept all night Friday night and Saturday was when she started getting REALLY bad. She had a fever ranging from 100.9 to 102.8 with Motrin and Tylenol alternated every 3 hours. She was up every 2 to 3 hours that night and we REALLY thought it was just her back teeth coming in. By Sunday her fever was staying around 102 and she felt horrible so we called the doc. By the grace of God her doctors were on call this weekend and they had an opening at 11:30. The doc came right in and said, "Yep, that's a bad ear infection.........in both ears!" It was so bad she couldn't give her Amoxicillin (really dont know how to spell that????) and she had to give her another stronger Antibiotic. The catch......she can only have it once a day and it would take a good 36 to 48 hours to start working! AHHHH! Sunday, Sunday night, and Monday were a blurrrrrrrrrr! We spent our time giving meds, taking clothes off (to get fever down), giving baths (to get fever down), rocking, singing, reading books, and switching Addie from my lap to Graham's (thank goodness he is home all week!). It was a LONG 48 hours! Addie started feeling alittle better last night and was alittle more better today! Hopefully Tomorrow she will be 80 or 90 % better!

All I can say is


EAR INFECTIONS SUCK REALLY BAD!

I hope ya'll have a good week!