Addison- 5 months old

Sweet Baby Girl,

Time is just going by too quickly! I know I say that all the time, but it is so true.

This month has been so fun and interesting. Here are a few things about you:

You:

*weigh 16 pounds

*are 25 inches long

*wear size 2 diapers...but not much longer

*wear size 3-6 month clothes

*are teething. Those front bottom 2 teeth are taking forever to break through. But you are chewing and drooling on EVERYTHING!

*began eating cereal this month. You started out doing pretty well and got the hang of eating with a spoon very quickly. You love that cereal.

*are rolling EVERYWHERE! I can put you down on one side of the room and you will roll all the way to the other side within a few seconds. It seems like you are trying to keep up with your sister

*were dedicated to the Lord this month. Many family members attended

*are realizing when we leave the room and will sometimes fuss until we return

*get very upset when you drop a toy that you wanted to play with or if someone takes that favorite toy away

*are showing us that you aren't as quiet and laid back as we once thought...you have a temper and don't mind proving it

*are a very happy baby, most of the time. We can just look at you and you will smile. (unless you are tired)

*are still sleeping well at night, but during the day you don't nap very well. You only catnap.

*try very hard to sit up. You can tripod for a few seconds, but get so excited and just jerk backwards and topple over.

*went through some pretty bad stranger anxiety for a while. It seems to be doing a little better.

*are scared of dogs---even our lab Sadie. You cry when you see her even if she isn't near you.

*love watching your big sister. You keep your eye on her everywhere she goes.

*have learned to blow raspberries---and your favorite time to do that is when you have a mouth full of cereal.

* shake your head back and forth ('no') when you get tired, but you also do it playing with mommy. I will mimic you and we go back and forth doing that for a while. It makes you laugh.

*are precious and loved!

Below is the dress Addison wore for her baby dedication.

This picture totally cracks me up!

How could you not kiss all over this adorable face!?!

And you bet that chubby belly gets some kisses and tickles, too!

Daddy and Daughters

How could you not love a man who does this with his daughters every night?!

Corey is the best daddy in the world to our two daughters. And they absolutely ADORE him! When he is gone, Audrey always says "I'm so sad, I miss my daddy". As he walks in the door each day, she runs to him yelling "Daddy, Daddy, I miss you" at the top of her lungs. Addison always has a big smile for him, too.

Every evening he is in the floor playing with the girls. Sometimes it is hide and seek, building with blocks or even a tea party. Along with many hours of tickling, laughter and hugs. But right before bed, it is reading books and snuggles.

I just love watching these 3 together. And, I fall in love with this handsome guy over and over again when I see him with my girls!

When Audrey Sets the Table...

...it looks like this...



You can tell that she put a great deal of thought into this. She has a blue plate at her daddy's spot because that is his favorite color. Also you will see purple dishes at mommy's place and pink dishes at Audrey's chair because those are our favorite colors.

I just love her imagination. You know that we "eat" these wonderful meals with her too.

More proof that this happens almost daily...


She is preparing our "picnic" to share. Notice the party hats...well we get to wear those often...for the "pretend picnics" as well as breakfast, lunch and dinner on any given day. Just whenever Princess Audrey informs us that we need to wear them at the table.

Did I mention I just love this kid?!!

Mommy's Little Fish

We have spent many days this summer in the pool with our friends Abby and Evan or swimming with Anna and Mrs. Darlene. These friends are so kind to allow us to join them at the pool. Plus the kids have loads of fun (and they take really good naps too! haha)

Audrey-girl having fun swimming with some of her buddies.



And sweet Addison, cooling it in her float.

Helping Mommy Work

I am still working for the Fire College by doing some curriculum stuff from home. It is such a blessing for me to be able to do that to bring in some money, but also be able to stay home with my girls.

Most of the time I do my work after the girls have gone to bed up until the wee hours of the morning. But some days, while Audrey is napping, I try to get a little computer work done. Since the girls aren't quite on the same nap schedule just yet, I take Addison in the office with me and try to keep her entertained for a while.

When I am working, I look over and get to see this...

Now is that not the cutest thing?! Who could ask for better company while working? I am so blessed to be able to work and stare at this cutie pie at the same time!

And just moments after this shot, I glanced over to find her trying to pull the curtains down. Never a dull moment!

Audrey's 1st Swim Lesson

Monday, July 12 Audrey had her first swimming lesson. We found an instructor that teaches at some of the places around here, but will also teach private lessons at your house. We don't have a pool, but our kind neighbor does and she is letting us use hers. To make it even better, Audrey's little friend that also lives up the road and is her age, is taking lessons with her. They have fun and are pretty comfortable with trying new things since they are used to playing and swimming together. A plus in our favor is that the instructor can use their "competitive side" to get them to do something for her. If one does it, the other feels she must follow suit.



Audrey is learning to kick her legs. She is trying really hard.



Audrey is NOT fond of laying on her back to learn to float. :(

Audrey and her friend seeing who could splash the biggest.

Learning to put her face under water and blow bubbles.

So far she is enjoying it and learning things each time. Hopefully, she will be swimming like a little fish in no time :)

Yummy to my Tummy- Addison's 1st Bite of Cereal

Another milestone for Miss Addison today! She had her first bite of rice cereal.

She wore more of it than she ate, of course. And you can see that Big Sister Audrey was there to supervise.

At first she wasn't quite sure what I was putting into her mouth.

But after getting a taste of the cereal...

...she decided that this stuff was pretty good! Addison ate more of it than I thought she would. I certainly am happy that she tolerated it well. :)

Addison's Baby Dedication

Today, our sweet Addison was dedicated to the Lord.

We traveled back to our hometown for this special occasion so our family members could attend. It was a sweet time for all of us. The pastor was so kind to do this for us. It makes me so happy to know that so many people who love the Lord are praying for my children, loving them and helping us to raise them to become wonderful women.




I thank God daily for blessing me with two precious daughters and a wonderful husband. And just standing there on stage with those 3 reminded me once again how gracious God has been to me.

(Me, Addison-5 months, Audrey-3 yrs, Corey)


Joining us to celebrate Addison's dedication was:

Nana and Pawpaw (Rhoda and William Dozier), Keeley McGriff and Brantley McGriff, Grandaddy and Grammy (Phillip and Kay Thomas), and Uncle Keith Thomas.

Miss Studious

Thankfully, one thing that Audrey has learned from me by following my example is to love reading. We read many, many books throughout the day. There are times when I even read to Audrey and Addison from one of my novels or magazines. I make sure that they have plenty of books at their fingertips. It makes me so happy to see her interested in reading.

So, there are many times (well not so much now that I have 2 kids---but any chance I get) when I am doing just what this picture shows. I love reading before bed each night.

You can imagine how thrilled I was to walk into my room and see this the other day...



Yes, she is in my bed. Notice she has her sunglasses on...that is because mommy usually has glasses on. And she even went into the office and got one of my novels off my bookshelf (that has no pictures).

You can't tell in these pictures, but her babies are laying in the bassinet beside the bed and she was reading aloud to them. So cute! Just melted my heart!



This is one thing I am glad she chooses to mimic. I hope she and her sister will always love reading :)

Sitting High!

Miss Addison has come to the point where she really wants to know what is going on. Sitting in her swing or somewhere away from us during supper times are days of the past. So, I brought out the highchair and a few toys. She is one happy baby during our meal time.

And that makes this mommy happy...a warm meal with all of us together...ahhh, blessings!

A Little Bling, Bling

This is a very common sight around our household.

And typically Mommy is decked out in some of Audrey's bling, also. Hey, you gotta look good while cleaning house, right?!?

If Audrey shows those puppy dog eyes, that little sad face and ask her daddy "pwease", he usually ends up sporting some, too. (haha---now I won't share that bit of info with his fireman buddies:) Just kidding---he's a super daddy and will do anything those 2 girls want him to do:))

I See You...

Audrey and her "noculers"...She loves being silly with her daddy.

Chew toys and drool...

No, I'm not referring to a puppy, but I'm talking about this adorable, blue-eyed cutie. She chews on everything that she can get her hands on. We go through about 10 bibs a day and several outfits because they are usually covered in slobber.

Teething?? Well...maybe. But, I don't see any evidence on her gums just yet. I wouldn't be surprised if one began popping through before too long, though.

Is it just me, or does the photo above make you just chuckle?

Hey Good lookin', Whatcha Got Cookin'?

Sweet girl Audrey loves to help out in the kitchen. She really enjoys making goodies for her daddy. Sometimes we make cookies, brownies or cupcakes and take to the fire station for all the guys. She really gets a kick out of it.



On this particular day, she was helping Mommy make brownies. Audrey does really well helping me pour the ingredients into the bowl. She "stirs" the mixture a couple of times and usually proclaims that it is "too hard" and that it is mommy's turn. haha!



I love being able to do such fun things with my girl. One day soon, Addison will be right up there in the action. And hopefully, my girls will be a much better cook than their Mommy. :) LOL



And just for fun, I went back to this old blog post to see just how much Audrey had changed since the last time I posted her picture in this cute apron and hat.

Baby Playdate

Yesterday we met up with one of my best buddies- Ms. D and her oh-so-adorable baby ZK. We had a delicious lunch date at Logan's and then took the kiddos back to our house for a little play time. Which means us mommies got a little talk time. Yeeha!

This time ZK and Addison actually realized there was another baby there and spent the time drooling on one another and checking each other out.



ZK is 10 days older than Addison. And I can tell that they are going to be big buddies.



Or maybe partners in crime (by the looks in this photo above- haha)

But either way, it makes me and Ms. D very happy :)

So much cuteness!!


And of course, Big sister Audrey helped take care of the babies and entertain them. She is such a wonderful and sweet sister.

When it was time to leave, Addison had to give ZK a little good-bye love.

AWW.....