Our Christmas Vacation

We had a wonderful Christmas vacation!  We enjoyed the time with family, the ridiculously warm weather, family meals, and watching Addison play with her new toys!  Addison was spoiled!  Her new toys, books, and clothes filled up one entire suitcase (plus a few things to ship).  Her room is packed with toys now!  We posted the couch in her room on craigslist and ordered a toy organizer!  We are so thankful for our family and how special they made her first Christmas!

We have hundreds of pictures, but here are just a few that capture our time in FL:

Ritter Uncles

opening presents at the Ritter's

playing with her new activity table with Papa

enjoying her new slide from Nana and Papa

watching Papa grill up some awesome meals

enjoying the warm weather

playing outside with Aunt Donna

swinging at Grammy and PoppyT's

"hanging" with Daddy

playing with the purple flowers

opening presents at Grandpa and Grandma Barber's house

a laptop from Dad, of course

opening presents at Grammy and PoppyT's house

reading her new book with Uncle Scotty

using her new walker

enjoying the Christmas tree with Grammy

Our little family, minus Lou Lou and Stella

 all dolled up for Christmas Eve service



"All I want for Christmas is ...

... my two front teeth!"

Four teeth total!

Andrew finished three exams this week!  He needs to write a 15-20 page rough draft on a paper by the 18th and then he can enjoy Christmas break.  Three more days!

High Five

While trying to teach Addison how to clap, we taught her how to give high fives ... down low.  It's the cutest thing.  She gets so excited about. 

Five more days until we leave for Florida...we are in need of the Sunshine State. 

Addison loves turning the pages of her books!



Sansotta's and presents

Last Monday, Erin and Molli flew home from Alaska so they spent the day with us here in Chicago.  We had a busy day.  When we got home from the airport at 10 am, we all took a nap.  Erin and Molli only had about 6 hours of sleep so they were exhausted.  We went to Chick-fil-a for lunch and then to the Children's Museum to play.  Molli is such a big girl now!  They are only six months apart, but Molli is walking and talking! 

playing with the light switches

catching fish, frogs, and lizards

We had a good time and the babies did really well despite how messed up their schedule was that day!  The Sansotta's are trying to move up north (most likely Alaska) and we are moving to Florida so this visit may be the last one in a long time.  It makes me cry just thinking about it.  I wish we could be neighbors, but instead we will be over 5,000 miles apart.  We have been blessed to have had this time together in Illinois, even if we are 3 hours away.  I love you, Sansotta Family!

Mom (Grammy) sent Addison an early Christmas present:

she walks and stands with it

and she rides in it (with bed head!)

 

Thank you Mom!  Mom also got Addison a fiber optic Christmas Tree, that she LOVES.  Its beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!  It snowed yesterday and we went to see Santa!  I will post pictures soon!

9 month check up

Here is a video of Addison dancing this morning:

Addison had her 9 month well visit today.  She got one shot and a blood test (iron and lead).  She is in the 10th percentile for height at 26.25 inches and weight at 16 pounds 3 ounces.  Her head circumference is in the 10-25th percentile at 42.9 centimeters.  Doctor said she is doing well, won't be surprised if she walks before her first birthday.  Also said that with all this exercise she may stay around the 10th percentile for a while too and not to worry.  Ready to start moving more toward solid food and less pureed food.  We can also start weaning her around 11 months and introducing whole cows milk around then too.    

Addison says "mamamama" and "dadadada", however she has not yet matched the word to the person. Super excited about it anyway!  The connection will come!

Today she has also cut another tooth, making her total three. It is the left upper central incisor.  It looks like the right one will soon cut too. 

My little baby is changing every day.

 Twelve more days until we are Florida-bound!



Learning to dance and stand!

I believe Addison learned to dance this week.  I've been playing Christmas music and as soon as it turns on she gets excited and rocks or bounces.  It makes me very happy!  Addison has also started standing on her own this week.  Her current record is 10 seconds!  She is such a cautious girl and prefers to do it on her own terms.  We applaud her when we catch her practicing and she likes it.

Stella and Lou Lou are such good sports! 

They are so patient with Addison too.

Addison loves finger food and is beginning to dislike pureed food.  AHHH.

Her kitchen toys: small frying pan, small loaf pan, and a wooden spoon.  It gets noisy : )

Tomorrow is her 9 monthday (Andrew corrects me when I say "tomorrow is her 9 month birthday"). 

Windy City

Note to self: always check the weather advisories before leaving the house. 

The thing is, I know this.  Chicago weather is crazy.  In fact, I check the temperature each morning on my phone before getting out of bed.  I don't check the weather advisories however.  

Here is a story of the worst Chicago weather experience Andrew and I have experienced since living here:

Andrew is done with class for the semester (only exams left) and we were so excited to go to the Children's Museum together today as I typically go when he is in class.  We decided to walk because its not too cold out and its nice to get some fresh air.  Navy Pier is literally less than half a mile away from us and I typically walk there, but there are also buses that go there too.  Anyway, we knew it was windy out (it usually is here!) so we put the weather shield on the stroller to protect Addison.  As soon as we passed Lake Shore Drive (the highway along the lake) the wind really picked up.  We struggled to make it past the Lake Point Tower Condo.  As soon as we came to the end of the condo it hit us.  There were no more buildings to block the wind.  We had to "hunker down" for a moment.  When we couldn't push the stroller anymore because of how strong the wind was, we decided to turn around and go home.  As Andrew was crossing the street the wind caught the weather shield on the stroller and picked it up!  Like a kite.  All three wheels off the ground.  Finally he made it to the other side and we had to stand there until it died down a little.  Finally, we made it home.  It was crazy.

Checked the advisory and there was a wind advisory (sustained wind of 30-39 mph) and gusts up to 57 mph.

Andrew called this an "adventure", I call this a near death experience! 

On a happier note:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

Happy Thanksgiving!

There are many things that I am thankful for and I thought I would share a few.

Thank you God for blessing me with:

Andrew

·      Free-time with Andrew.  It turns out that law school was a perfect time to have a baby!  This semester he has class three days a week and then we have a four day weekend as a family.  Pretty nice.  Next semester I think he will only have to go to class a few hours each day.  Addison loves her Daddy and I am so thankful for the quality time she gets with him.  Its also a huge help for me.  He can play with her while I make dinner and clean the kitchen afterward.  Around this time next year we will pretty much only have weekends with him.

·      Andrew's job.  I am so thankful that Andrew was not only offered a job, but that he was offered a dream job (well for law students that is!).

Addison

·      The past nine months have been the best of my life. I love my baby.  I love her serious, observant personality.  I love hearing her babble as she explores our home.  I love making her laugh.  I even love her when she is whiny and only wants to be held.   She is learning and growing every day and I am so thankful that I can stay home to be her caregiver. 

The Dogs

·      I know I complain about the dogs and yell at them sometimes, but I really do love them.  They are a part of our family.  Addison's two hairy sisters.  We have had Lou Lou just about as long as we have been married and Stella is my perfect Valentine's present.  I will be glad to get them back down to Florida for good...they love grass and HATE snow.  Addison loves the dogs.  She loves watching them play, pant, and she likes pulling their fur. 

Family

·      All of our family members have gone out of their way to welcome Addison into this world, to visit her, spoil her, and just to get to know her.  She is the first grandchild on both sides of the family and she has been treated like a princess.  I have such fond memories growing up with my extended family and I hope Addison will too.

Friends

·      My closest friends are all in a similar place in life right now with marriage, babies, and big moves.  I am so blessed to have their guidance, to hear how they are doing as mothers, and their encouragement.

Last week we went to a "Friendsgiving", but we still wanted to do a special family meal today.  We went to Weber Grill because we knew it would be baby friendly.  It was very good.  I had the Thanksgiving menu and Drew ordered steak and pie (typical). Addison was a very good girl and the waiter complimented her and told us he could never take his son out to eat with them.  After Addison's nap we plan to make handprint and footprint art with Addison!  Its going to be messy, but we'll do it in the bathroom.

Meanwhile, here is a picture of how Addison fell asleep, hands hanging out of the corner of her crib:

Bedtime/Naptime just got a lot harder

Yesterday Addison realized that she could crawl, stand, and cruise in her crib (all things that she is pretty good at outside the crib).  It was exciting, but it also means that bedtime/naptime just got a lot harder! During her first nap this morning, she crawled around for twenty minutes and ended up sleeping on her belly for an hour and twenty minutes (decent nap).  This was the first time she has ever slept on her stomach!  She is currently taking her second nap and after twenty minutes of exploring she is now sleeping on her side.  The crib is on the lowest setting now!

she loves Clyde now

standing at the window

Novembeard is over for Drew...

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, Addison's first.  We will miss all of our family, but knowing that we will be down in December helps!

PS, he shaved the mustache too.

Andrew is home!

Andrew is home! They had a fun time camping, it wasn't exactly what they expected, but I think they still enjoyed it.  Excited to take Addison camping one day, maybe we will start in a backyard first!

This was an area that was hit by those tornadoes last year...they found an uprooted tree.

Addison's newest skill: carrying a toy with her as she crawls.  Its pretty cute!

Camping

On Wednesday night Andrew flew to Georgia to go camping with Andy. On the way to the airport he called me explaining that he forgot the map.  Sure enough it was here, under a stack of heavy law books...flattening.  Luckily I was able to e-mail it. They are in Calhoun, GA. They have both had the camping bug for a long time now so I am glad they are doing it.  Alex, Andy's wife, is pregnant so they are trying to hike back down to the car each morning to get reception and call to check in.  Here are some pictures from Andy and Alex:

Meanwhile, life as a single mother has been okay. It gets a little rough around dinner time (when Addi is hungry and fussy), but I give Addison a pot and spoon and she manages! I think the worst part about it is taking the dogs out with her in the carrier. She is getting heavy and it is getting super cold and windy.  Andrew will fly home Sunday afternoon.  We miss him!

Busy Baby

Now that Addison is crawling she loves to pull herself up on EVERYTHING! Her toy basket, book box, crib rails, the couch, the closet doors, the washer machine, the dog gate, the kitchen cabinets, the oven drawer, the bar stools, the highchair, the piano bench, the bed, the bookshelves, the stroller, the hamper, the step stools, the dogs, my legs, and even the walls. I love watching how busy she is!  Here is a YouTube video of her exploring part of our house. The squeak is her voice : )

Also, we bought our Christmas tickets yesterday.

We will be in Florida December 18-26.  With no dogs...which will be far less hassle, but is making me sorta sad.

The Ritter Crew

I forgot to mention in the last post that when Andrew picked me up from the airport he had a York Peppermint Patty waiting for me in the car.  When we got home, he had flowers on the counter for me that he self selected. I love him.

On Thursday, the whole Ritter crew came up to Illinois to visit Stephen for family weekend. It was great to see them again! The pictures are not that great, but here they are anyway:

Nana helping Addison walk

Nana reading with Addison

Getting some love from her Uncles

Addison doing her new favorite activity...standing and cruising.

Getting some love from Aunt Donna

On Wednesday, Andrew will fly to Georgia and meet up with Andy to go camping.  Excited for him...he has had the camping bug for a while now! 

About six more weeks until we will be in Florida again.



So much love

Addison was amazing on the plane ride home! She was a wiggle worm, but really did great! Everyone on the plane complimented her behavior and ooh and aahed over how cute she was. We were in Florida for about 5 days.  We really had a great time and enjoyed quality time with family.  I think I can sum up this trip by saying that Addison received so much love! She was constantly surrounded by people who adore her! However, Addison was definitely more aware of her unfamiliar surroundings which meant that she was super clingy at times and didn't sleep as well...that was hard.  On Sunday we had an early Thanksgiving gathering with nearly 30 people at Mom's house. It overwhelmed Addison...I have never seen her cry so much! It broke my heart that she was so stressed out. We made the rest of the week very simple and relaxed and she was more herself--my content, serious baby.  There are already a lot of pictures on Tiffy and Mom's facebook pages, but here are some others:

We spent a lot of time outside! It was so warm!

Addison loves Nana and her jewels!

Addison was truly spoiled! She has new toys, clothes, and even her own bucket swing thanks to her amazing Grandparents!

Uncle Benjamin

Grandpa Barber

We met Carolina for the first time! She is about 5 weeks younger than Addi and so sweet!

All of Addison's grandparents. We do have better pictures than this one, but I thought this should be shared too.

Grammy feeding Addison a frozen strawberry...yum.

Thank you Grammy, PoppyTart, Papa, Nana, Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Tiffy, Uncle Scotty, Uncle Tommy and Heidi, Uncle Benjamin, Uncle Michael, David, Lacey, little James and Carolina, Parker, Great Uncle Joe, Great Grandma, Leigha and Leighton for all the love!

When Addison saw Andrew she gave him a huge smile. They are best buds. When we got home he made her laugh...effortlessly.

8 months old!

Today my little baby is 8 months old! She "helped" me pack today. Really she just unfolded everything and pulled her shoes out (to chew on of course). As excited as I am to go visit family, I am so sad that Addison and her Daddy will be apart. As you will see in this video, they have so much fun together! I will miss him too : )

I think I am as prepared as I can possibly be for the plane ride! Hopefully there will be no diaper explosions, but just in case I packed a change of clothes.

2 more days

Just a few more days until our Florida trip!

I am so excited to play outside with Addison again!  She loves grass!  Drew has big plans while we are gone.  He coordinated a 3 day "Restaurant Extravaganza" and invited a group of friends: Brazilian Steakhouse, Mercadito, and Capital Grille.  He is even going to dress up.  I suggested going to a movie or Second City, but he LOVES food : )

We got a carpet cleaner and cleaned the whole house...Addison is quite the explorer these days.

 say "cheese"

 she likes brushing her own two teeth!

Happy Birthday Aunt Donna and Nanny!