Addison's First Birthday

Addison's cupcake themed first birthday was a blast'! Little Joy was all smiles all afternoon. I am so thankful for everyone who joined us in celebrating our Blessing's first birthday. We had adults and children ranging in ages from 1-4. The weather turned out perfect so we were able to spill over onto the deck for space. Matthew manned the grill while I enjoyed watching Addison play with her friends. I still cannot believe how it all came together!

We started the evening with enjoying hamburgers, hot dogs, chips with dips and mac & cheese. Then we all piled into the kitchen to watch Addison try some cake. At first she would not get messy, then Katie helped her get a bit on her face...then she dug in! Afterward we opened a few presents and just hung out. All in all we throughly enjoyed the fellowship and it reminded me how blessed we are with some wonderful people in our lives here in D.C.

The pictures that follow were taken by my dear friend Marquet; she is not professional (yet), but after seeing these I know she would be a quite successful professional photographer if she decides to pursue it. These photos capture a very special day so I am very grateful she took these!! Thanks Marquet!!!!

Enjoy this slideshow of Addison's day!!

We will not be having big parties every birthday, but this was also a time for us to finally have people over to our new home.

Figuring Out the Fork

Mia and Papa gave Addison a fork (among other things) for her first birthday. I admit I have been hesitant to allow her to dabble in self feeding with utensils much because I was fearful we would lose our well mannered baby at the table. Well---you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs!!! Below is a series of videos which document her first experience with the fork..she caught on so fast, which indicates she is ready!

Telling her fork "whats up"

Mommy showing her how it works

Almost there, but she does not look discouraged yet!

YIPPIE!! Success!!

Addison Joy is ONE!

This was the BEST one believe it or not. She is too interested in standing and playing with that Teddy bear!

Happy Birthday to our Blessing Addison!

Here is the official 12 month post and from here out....I won't be posting monthly like this *I THINK*, perhaps every couple of months.

The Stats

• Weight: 21.4 lbs (54%); she has gained about 12 pounds since she was born
• Height: 30.25 inches (85%); she has grown over 8 inches since she was born
• Head: 18.5 inches (93%, giant head, wowzers!)
• Diaper Size: 4
• Clothing Size: 18 Month mostly due to length
• Conclusion: Long and lean just like Daddy. The doctor shared that once solids are the primary food source and thus breastfeeding decreases, genetics related to weight finally kick in. This is why Addison has alway been in the HIGH percentiles in weight until the last few months when we started winding down breastfeeding. Breastfed babies just tend to be chunky :) Now we see that she takes after Daddy even more than we though!

The Milestones

• Talking: She can say---baby, meme (mom), ball, out, up, down, bottle, daddy, dog, hat, piper, bye, duck, Addison. Maybe that's it...but I am not sure I cannot keep up.
• Sign Language: EXPLOSION here! She seems to pick up a new sign after only showing it to her a few times. We have been wokring on more abstract things like---Thank you, please, again and potty.
• Mobility: I still maintain she is far from walking but she is getting a little more gutsy now. She will purposfully stand unassisted but as soon as she has the slightest wobble, she gives up. She will sometimes do a half step dive into you...that is as close as she is to walking. Although, she does cruise along anything and everything as well as crawl FAST---who needs to walk when you can do that??? :)
• Breastfeeding: WHEW!!!! We are DONE!!! I am down to pumping once or twice a day and that is wrapping up to a CLOSE soon. If you had not read from a post titled "Little Manna", we are expecting baby 2 in October so I think the milk machine needs a break. Plus, I cannot keep up with the calories I need to feed me, Addison and Lil Mana--I have been losing weight! Addison still takes a bottle of expressed milk before bed and I believe as soon as that is frozen milk, she will want to drop it. So we are on milk in a cup all day and then she gets water in the evening if she wants it.
• Eating: I am THANKFUL she is SUCH a great eater!!!!! She eats almost anything we offer her and eats TONS. I am not sure where it all goes because she is thinning out.
• Overall Personality: She is so sweet and tries very hard to be obedient. We are currently working on sharing and giving up objects without huge objections. She seems to pick one toy to take around with her everywhere during her wake time and then is reluctant to give it up when it is nap time. I say "let's put XYZ back" she smiles, complies and then realizes the object is gone. She lets out one little cry and is usually over it within 1-2 minutes at most. She LOVES to get people's attention when we go places, wave bye at them and give them a cheese ball smile. She is a JOY. Period. But I know I am partial.
• Routine: Nothing has changed here. I STILL LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Teething: Still waiting on the molars. You can see where there are some bumps back there, but nothing has cut yet.
• Independent Play: We are up to 25-30 minutes each morning and hopefully we will get back into the groove of some IP in the afternoon soon. We have been busy and sick this month!
• Pacifier: I thought I would comment on this here. Ever since we started to wean from breastfeeding, Addison has taken a liking to the pacifier. I think now that she has a cup, her sucking need is not satisfied as it was previously. I am not against the pacifier at all, but we try to be careful when we use it. If she had the choice I think she would have it a lot, but we reserve it for bedtime, the car when it is a long drive and emergencies when her loud crying/fussing is inappropriate and disruptive to others (i.e. church or restaurant).
• ONE: So cute...when you ask how old she is she holds up a ONE with her finger :)

She really is such a sweetie and we are blessed to have this little Joy! Addison is just a generally happy little (dare I say it) toddler. We have our bad days like anyone else, but those are the rarity. We are so thankful for her and so thankful for everyone else in her life that expresses love to her!

See long and lean....check out those skinny legs!

Matching Spongebob PJS :)

She loves sticking her tounge out!

Little Manna

"From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another."

John 1:16

(New Living Translation)

We are thrilled to share that the Grant Gang will get a little bigger around October 20, 2011 with the addition of our Little Manna.

Since we decided not find out gender again with this baby, we wanted to select a nickname for the baby during pregnancy. As many of you may remember, we referred to Addison as "Blessing" the entire time we were pregnant. After sifting through several choices (Agape, Love, Monkey, Little One, etc.), we settled on Little Manna for this baby.

God blessed the Israelites with Manna (or bread of heaven) when they were sojourning in dessert on their way to Canaan. God showed his grace and mercy to his people by blessing and providing them food to sustain their life. For us to refer to the new baby as "Little Manna" reminds us that God has given us this second blessing from heaven and that He will provide for us the means, ability, discernment, knowledge and patience required. We prayed that God would give us a second child in HIS timing, not ours. Which reminds me of a passage in Psalms referring to the Israelites.

"They asked, and he brought quail,

and gave them bread from heaven in abundance."

Psalm 105:40

(English Standard Version)

Please pray for a safe and healthy pregnancy. Also, please pray for the transitions Addison will face adding a second child to the family. Lastly (but not least) please pray for God to continue to prepare Matthew and I for a second baby. I really believe God prepares us in a "Just In Time" fashion (all you Business and Accounting people know what I talking about). We may not feel ready, but when the occasion arises HE never fails us.

We have a BOUNCER on our hands! Lil Manna did NOT stop bouncing during this ultrasound! I KNEW I felt something the other day, now I know why!!

Grant Prison (Not Really)

Addison can climb the stairs (and loves to) so....the Grant Prison has been instated....