A Day In The Life

So...my pen pal did a post that outlined a day in her life and I LOVED reading it. I thought I would do the same, here was a fairly typical day in the Grant Gang. This was Wednesday, February 16.

• 6:30 AM: Woke up to say goodbye to Matthew and...went back to sleep :)
• 7:15 AM: Woke up and laid in bed for a while...I was exhausted this morning, don't know why
• 7:30 AM: Drank coffee and just reflected on the week and the week ahead
• 8:15 AM: I hear Addison talking so I go in to nurse and change her diaper
• 8:30 AM: Pump
• 8:45 AM: Feed Addison cereal with a bit of applesauce and some banana
• 9:00-9:20AM: Addison has independent play time in her play pen. She did not used to fuss during this time, in fact she LOVED it but since we got back from our two weeks in MS, she has been trying to fight it. We will get back. While she played, I unloaded the dishwasher, cleaned up from breakfast and ate my breakfast.
• 9:20-9:45AM: Structured play time with Mommy. This is where I pick the toy and we play with it together.
• 9:45AM: Clearly she is ready for a nap. She barley conked her head on a toy and fussed and cried for 15 min.
• 10:00AM: Read a story, sing "Jesus Loves Me" twice, and down for a nap
• 10:00-12:00PM: Make the bed, quiet time with God, put the laundry away, vacuumed basement, worked on consignment, ate lunch
• 12:05PM: Hear Addison talking in bed
• 12:15PM: Addison is still talking so I go get her, change her clothes then nurse
• 12:40PM: Addison eats lunch; Sweet Potato and Corn Puree, Spagehtti finger food and diced Monteray Jack cheese
• 1:00PM-2:00PM: Go on a walk (with Piper too), play on the swings at the playground
• 2:00-2:15PM: I vaccumed the main level and upstairs while Addison played in her crib and bouncer
• 2:20PM: AJ goes down for a nap
• 2:20-4:15PM: I shower and get ready for church; totally exhuasted I decide to have a snack and just working on consignment stuff! Also prep for dinner and make Addison's dinner.
• 4:30PM: Nurse and feed Addison (finger food green beans which she didnt like, puree green beans, cheese, and I cant remember what else). Finish making dinner. Play with Addison until Matthew gets home from work.
• 6:00PM: Matthew gets home from work, we eat dinner and load up the car to head to church (we stop by starbucks on the way---coffee for him, caramel hot chocolate for me)
• 7:00PM: Church begins, Addison goes to the nursery. There were lots of babies there, YAY!!!
• 8:20PM: Arrive home from church, nurse Addison, put her to bed (bedtime is usually about 7:45 but church keeps us up a bit later)
• 8:40PM-11:00PM: Hang out with Matthew time!!!!!!! We watch a few episodes of Bones on Netflix and I fall asleep in the last one :)
• 11:00PM: SLEEP!!!!

So there you have it, that is a fairly typical day for us with the exception of church which is only Wednesday and Saturday nights. And who says stay at home moms aren't busy???? Man...I am exhausted!!!

Gambrell Manor

Although I always prefer for all of the Grant Gang to be together, Addison and I enjoyed our time at Gambrell manor while Matthew was away on business for two weeks. I am very thankful to have the means and support to come to Gambrell manor while Matthew has to be away. We had a lot of fun!!

Addison did well on th flight over, but since she was way overtired when we FINALLY arrived (left our house at 7:00 AM EST and arrived at 3:30 PM EST) at Gambrell manor, it took an hour of me holding her fussing to finally fall asleep for an evening nap. She doesn't normally take an evening nap but after only sleeping a total of an hour all day (she usually naps about 4 hours a day) , she needed it.

I admit, I am not the best at being completely flexible with the routine I keep at home nor am I the best at letting everyone else step in and help with A.J. I am so accustom to doing most things totally on my own since we have no family in D.C., it is almost like I have to break a bad habit. One day (maybe when we are done nursing) I will break this nasty habit!

Addison warmed up to her Mia and Papa much quicker this time and was crawling all over them in no time. Mia is very patient and such a great teacher, Addison always learns to do so many things when she is with her. While at Gambrell manor Addison:

• Began pulling up on anything, anyone and everything
• Learned to say her name
• Learned to say hot and learned that the fire in the fire place was "hot"
• Meet her GREAT Grammy and Grandaddy McIntosh
• MET HER PEN PAL (read all about their meeting on Stori's blog post "A Match Made In Pen Pal Heaven")
• Went to Louisiana for the first time
• Learned to play patty cake--meaning she knows how to do her hands during the song
• Started sticking her tongue out...a lot and copies you when you do it

We did have a great time while in Mississippi, but the flight home was not as great. I think it will be a while before I brave flying alone again. Addison has ALWAYS been interested in what is going on around her and I think that got the best of her on the way home. We were exhausted when we got home, but she went right to sleep and was back into her normal routine the next day. We were so glad to see Matthew; he had cleaned up the house and bought me welcome home flowers!!! He is the bestest.

Not sure when our next trip will be, probably Thanksgiving.

She loves her some omelette

Enjoying a super snack with Papa

She loved sitting outside and playing with a little stick, haha!

Great Grannie talking to her only Great Grandbaby.....so far :)

Addison chillin with her Great Grammy

Great Grammy, Mia, Mommy and Addison!

Cheesing it up for Papa

Addison and Mia

Easy Berry Cobbler

I have made this cobbler several times for several different groups of people. I absolutely love this recipe and several people have asked for it so I decided to share it here.

I love the recipe not only because it is SUPER easy, but also because I can always have the ingredients on hand for that last minute "need".

(adapted from Southern Living Magazine, July 2008)

Ingredients

• 4 Cups fresh blackberries (alternatively I use one package frozen mixed berries when berries are out of season; you can also use any other fresh berries/fruit; peaches and strawberries are a great combo when they are in season)
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 6 tbsp butter (I use less, maybe 3-4 tablespoons)
• 1 tbsp Lemon Juice (I just guesstimate this)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Place berries/fruit in a lightly greased 8-inch square baking dish
• Sprinkle berries/fruit with 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
• Stir together 1 large egg, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup all purpose flour until mixture resembles coarse meal; sprinkle over fruit
• Drizzle butter over cobbler evenly (this is what makes it crispy and YUMMY)
• Bake at 375 for 35 min or until lightly browned and bubbly (mine usually takes closer to 40 or more minutes)
• Serve warm with whipped cream

The frozen fruit works great because you can always keep the ingredients for this on hand AND it makes LOTS of juice J

New Favorite Pictures

I love my Angel Eyed Addison; these are a few of my new favorite pictures!!

CHEESEBALL!!!

She looks so grown up here...maybe because you cant see all her baby chub on her cheeks from this angle.

10 Months

Happy 10 Months Addison Joy!!

I cannot believe I am writing this post; 10 months? My baby is growing up so quickly and is almost, dare I say it, a toddler!?! January has been an exciting month, in fact as I type this Addison and I are at Gambrell Manor while Matthew is away on business for two weeks.

The Stats and Milestones

Weight: Not much more than her 9 month weight I would imagine; she's losing a lot of her baby chub but getting long.

Height: Never sure unless it is done by the doctor, but I would guess 29.5 or 30 inches maybe?

Diaper Size: 3 during the day and 4 at night still

Clothing: 12 Month except for PJ's (18 month is most of those, brand depending)

Personality: Still a little scientist and loves to get a laugh; what a clown!! She has thrown a few brief tantrums when she does not get her way or you take something away from her but (thankfully) recovers quickly. Addison is also starting to really show excitement when Matthew comes home from work and is clinging to him lots (which is a relief for me sometimes). I have always said she is a people pleaser and that still seems to be holding true. She wants so bad to do the right thing, maybe she is a rule follower like me. She is just as sweet as she can be most of the time, especially when she wakes up from sleeping, she just wants to give you sugar!!!

Mobility: On January 26 she FINALLY started to consistently sit herself up from crawling/laying. She had been doing it in her crib off and on prior to 1/26, but now she does it all the time! She can stand up on her own for short periods of time, cruises along furniture a bit and tries to pull up on many things (especially ME). She is still an army crawler but man she is FAST. She loves walking around everywhere while holding on to you.

Breastfeeding: Whew, it has been a challenging month in this department. We are in it for as long as we can this month, but any day we might start making the switch to cow's milk. No matter what, I am so thankful we were able to reach our ultimate goal!!!!!

Routine: Addison is most definitely a creature of habit, as are most babywise babies I assume. She sleeps 12 hours at night and takes two naps (one morning and one afternoon) about 1.5-2.5 hours each. From time to time I still have to wake her up from naps to ensure she does not sleep too much during the day. I am so thankful for such a great sleeper!

Talking: JABBER JAW!! She talks almost every moment she is awake and thinks she is saying actually words. In fact, she even jabbers what sounds like a sentence and looks at you for a response. She has said a few words but they maybe on accident: Mommy, Daddy, Dada, Out, Duck, Dog and I think that's it. There are many words that she says the same gibberish for every time as if the gibberish is the actual word. She totally understands most things you say to her now, it is so neat.

Independent Play: Addison LOVES her independent play time. We do independent play in the play pen for 20 minutes in the morning and 15-20 minutes in the evening while I cook dinner. She seems to enjoy this time tremendously and gets so excited when the timer beeps and she gets to turn it off.

Teeth: She still has eight teeth, but this month has exhibited all the signs that her pre-molars are coming. Yikes!

Food: We are doing lots of table food now so she is getting lots of finger food practice. She loves anything with LOTS of flavors and herbs and spices. We could not be more proud of her high chair manners and are SO SO SO glad we started this so young. We continue to work on sippy cup etiquette (she knocks it off the table when she is finished) but are very pleased that she is so proficient with the cup so young.

Visitors: We enjoyed a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Grant in January. Addison loved some one on one time with her Grandparents while Matthew and I enjoyed a very very rare night out alone.

Sweet Miscellaneous:

• Music: She has always loved music but when she hears Matthew playing at church (he leads worship for the contemporary service we attend) she watches him in awe saying "oooooo" while clapping her hands.
• Blowing Kisses: She LOVES blowing kisses to everyone!
• Dancing: She will thrash her head around when you say "dance, dance, dance"
• Monkey: When asked "What does a monkey say?" She makes a monkey face and noise.

Coming up......I am leaving Addison OVERNIGHT with Matthew in February while I go to part of my church's women's retreat. Matthew will do a fantastic job (better than I do I am certain), but it is going to be so odd to be without her overnight. I am so nervous, isn't that weird??

Video and Pictures

(I did not have many pictures on the laptop I brought to Gambrell manor)

She loves to fed you a bite every now and then.

She can stand all by herself now, but....she tips over quickly or dives at you so you will catch her.

Mia made a very very yummy meal so we let Addison try some. She LOVED it!!! She ate all this AFTER nursing AND 3.5 oz of squash! WHAT!!?!??!

What a clown!