Baby Dedication

On October 30, 2010 Addison Joy Grant was dedicated at Calvary Road Baptist Church. If you are unfamiliar with a baby dedication, it is not a baptism. During the time of dedication, Matthew and I committed to raise Addison in a Christ centered home and the church committed encourage her in her faith as well. We pray she gives her heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ at a young age!!!!

Pastor Dave praying over the two families dedicating their babies.

Pastor Dave praying over the two families dedicating their babies.

6 month-ish Photos by Arianne Teeple

Arianne Teeple took Addison's 6 month-ish photos and Grant family photos on October 24 in D.C. She did an amazing job not only capturing the city we live in but also our personalities. We enjoyed every moment of the photo shoot, especially as she and I reminisced of our high school years (we went to the same high school, small world).

Arianne, Thank for capturing our family so perfectly, all the smiles, the laughs, the squished up noses and yes...even the mouths wide open cause thats who we are :)

I hope everyone enjoys this small sample of photos as much as we did:

This one looks so posed, but it wasnt---none of them were!

This is one of our favorite faces she makes!

Steps of the Capitol

THE most wonderful husband and father, not to brag :)

Washington Monument benches

Washington Monument

Capitol

The Mall

All tuckered out at the end

Capitol

We have this much fun all the time, really!

The Grant Gang at the original Smithsonian

The Grant Gang at the original Smithsonian; Addison admiring her Daddy

Addison Joy is 7 Months

Happy 7 months old to our "blessing", Addison Joy!

Many of you may not have even noticed I am a bit late on this post, however the first few days of month 7 has proved a little challenging. We suspect teething or more elimination issues (yet again). Addison is still the sweetest baby even when something is wrong, so we count ourselves blessed and we are incredibly grateful. Her worst days are probably some babies best days!

Here are some highlights:

Weight: I have no idea, but based on her weight at the 6 month check up I guess she is rapidly approaching 20 pounds if she is not already there.
Height: No clue!
Clothing Size: Some 6-9 months but mostly 12 months, WHAT!?!? Although she has a big baby belly, she is still has a very narrow build overall yet long so that makes finding clothes that fit interesting. Luckily, I have a good friend that let me borrow ALL her 6-12 month clothes so we are set with clothes for a while---I love me some hand me downs!!!!
Talking: She is developing so much in this area everyday. She can say "dada", "mahmah" "ba" "boo" "ga" "goo" "spppp" "ah-goo" "ah" "wah"...and maybe a few others I just don't remember. She talks CONSTANTLY!
Breastfeeding: We are still breast feeding 4-5 times daily. Everyday I have to recommit myself to it, but I know it is worth it.
Food (finger foods): She can pick up banana and Gerber Puffs (see video) and put them in her mouth. I was totally not expecting her to catch on that quickly!
Crawling: She can scoot around a bit and crawl backwards, but prefers to roll or spin to her destination vs. crawling. I still maintain she will never truly crawl. I read that larger babies have trouble crawling and walking because there is so much weight to pull around vs a smaller baby of the same age.
Foods: Addison has enjoyed the following foods so far---peas, carrots, oatmeal, rice (rarely give that to her since it ALWAYS stops her up), green beans, butternut quash, pumpkin, acorn squash, apples, pears, bananas, Gerber puffs, prunes--and I think that is it. She likes peas and pears the best!
Independent Play: On most days Addison has blanket time or play pen time for at least 15 minutes a day. This is a time when she plays completely on her own and Mommy is not within site. Some days she does better than others, but most of the time she plays quietly with her 2-3 toys. When she hears the timer go off, she grins and looks around the room just waiting for me to come get her. The timer is her indication that independent play is over. On days that she doesnt feel well, we usually do not even try independent play, I feel like it is an important element, but not crucial enough to let her cry through it when she is feeling down.
Random: She got a flu shot this month---and did not even FLINCH when they gave it to her; she can pull her bib and socks off without a thought; she likes to peek around corners for people; she enjoys looking at people out of the corner of her eye; she chews on EVERTHING still; she can pull to stand when it is only a short distance.

That is all I can think of for now because I am so tired today!

Coming up next...

Thanksgiving: We are headed to Mississippi for Thanksgiving and I cant wait!! I am hoping Addison will be able to meet most of my extended family! Every Thanksgiving the Gambrell family gathers together and I look forward to it EVERY year, I have the best aunts, uncles and cousins imaginable and I love them all so much! We get to experience flying again, so say some prayers!!!! I will be there for 3 weeks while Matthew will spend the first week in MS and the other two at training for work. I am so grateful my parents are kind enough to let me stay with them while Matthew is in training. ALSO, Addison and I are planning a trip to Louisiana while we are in MS so we can meet up with my pen pal and her PRECIOUS daughter!! I could not be more excited!

Car seat: Since our big girl is very close to outgrowing her infant car seat, we are on the hunt for her next car seat. I would like one that will work for her until she is out of car seats but is still affordable; all recommendations welcome!

Video and a few pictures....

BREAKING NEWS: Gerber Puffs

BREAKING NEWS...Addison can now do FINGER FOODS!!! We are due for the 7 month birthday blog today, but it will have to wait to make room for this breaking news.....

(please excuse my commentary)

We have only given her the puffs two other times and all of a sudden, she figured it out and now she is a PRO. I love it but cannot believe it! She is too grown up, I honestly did not expect her to figure it out this fast!

Happy Halloween

Who dresses their 6 month old little GIRL up as a skeleton for Halloween? THIS family! I think Addison enjoyed her first Halloween, check it out!

She began the day in this shirt. Seems pointless to spend money on a shirt that will only make sense for ONE day, but I got it for 3 bucks---so why not?
"I eat alligators for breakfast"
Passing out candy...and digging in

Such the analyzer...always trying to figure things out.

Trick or treat...and a bit greedy :)

*Note: She obviously did not eat any Halloween treats---she just passed out candy

With the pumpkins!

Fun with Mommy!

Giving me sugar

Trick or Treaters, she loves it!

Time for bed!!! And WHO DOES SHE LOOK LIKE?!?!

I love this girl!!!!