Poor baby...

Monday morning started like any other Monday... I laid around in bed waiting for Addison to wake up. My parents called from Croatia and we got to catch up and Addison even woke up in time to chime in during our conversation. She chatted it up with my mom and was her normal, silly self during breakfast. She finished eating, got out some toys, and played for a while. Around 10am she started fussing and I thought maybe naptime was coming a little early. I picked her up to go change her and realized that she was BURNING up. I took her temperature and it read...

And for the next 11 hours this is what my day looked like...

Despite the Tylenol, luke-warm bath, cool rags, and everything else we could think of, her temp stayed up and by 10:30pm she was shrieking, still had a fever, and refusing her bottle. After calling the nurse hot line, Derek and I decided it was time to go to the ER. Thankfully, we got in right away but at trip to the ER always requires at LEAST 3 hours of your time... We left with the diagnosis of stomatitis. Since it's a virus there really isn't a whole lot that can be done for it - we were just told to push the fluids (which is almost impossible with a baby who has ulcers in her mouth and throat). We headed home around 1am...

Tuesday we decided that we wanted to have Addison checked out by our pediatrician. While we were waiting Addison decided to entertain the babies in the mirror... this picture makes me realize what life could be like if we had triplets :)

The doctor confirmed the ER's diagnosis and gave us some suggestions to help make her feel better until the virus ran it's course. After we got home from the doctor, we gave Addison her first dose of... well, everything . With a combination of Tylenol/Ibuprofen for pain and to keep her fever down, Benedryl/Maalox combo to coat her throat, Baby Oragel to numb her mouth, herbal throat and gland spray from my friend the Natropathic Doctor to sooth her throat and fight the virus. After combining all of <--- that we were able to get her to drink some fluids and even eat a little dinner. We went on with our normal routine for the rest of the night and all got a glorious twelve hours of sleep last night ::chorus of angels:: She woke up this morning her usual happy self and so far... it looks like the worst is behind us and I have my happy little girl back.

Written in ink.

I got a tattoo on Tuesday.

I carried Addison for nine months. My body protected her, nourished her, grew her, and then brought her into the world. When I held her in my arms for the first time I understood the quote about having my heart going walking around outside my body. Losing that bond with her - that physical connection we had before she was born - was painful for me. I needed something to symbolize that bond - something physical, something permanent.

I got Addison's first and middle names tattooed on the inside of my right foot along with the symbol for the bond between mother and daughter. It hurt. Badly. It was worth it.

Summer Family Pictures...

Very special thanks to Kristin at KDPortraiture for doing such beautiful pictures!

9/11 in July...

No, I'm not referring to THAT 9/11... I'm referring to my 9/11, my birthday. I told Derek a while back that I really wanted to go to a concert at the Gorge again - I have only been twice and not since college and it is such a beautiful place to see a live performance. (If you have no idea what or where the Gorge is, go here... then be jealous that it's only a hour from my house =]) Anyway, Derek gave me two choices for concerts for my birthday present - Dave Mathews Band or Kings of Leon. Now, had it been between ANY other two choices, I would have picked DMB, no doubt in my mind, but I have been dying to see KOL and this was my chance!! So, he booked tickets as close as we could get - row 17, which was just about perfect.

Saturday morning Derek came in and asked if I wanted to make a day of our outing and go see a movie in Ellensburg and go get Pita Pit (my FAVORITE lunch spot) and of course I said yes... This was the first time I'd be away from Addison overnight (gulp!) but since we didn't expect to be home until after 1am, it was easier for her to go stay with Derek's parents. We dropped her off around 11am, said our goodbye's (mine tearfully), and then headed north. The movie theater wasn't open when we got there so to kill 20 minutes, we wandered around Bi-Mart (oh the joys) and bought some random things for the house (and a polka dotted lunch box for me!). We had decided to see Inception and it was so worth it! I really liked it, even though I was super confused for the first ten minutes or so... but it ended up being a great movie. After the movie we had lunch at the Pit and then headed for the Gorge.

The weather was perfect for a concert - sunny, about 90 degrees, and enough wind to keep you from over-heating.

I think that buying drinks at concerts rivals Las Vegas as far as price is concerned but I did get a very tasty margarita in a fancy schmancy guitar glass... and it was HUGE. Don't worry - I drank the whole thing so it was worth the money ;)

Me and my trusty drink in front of the stage...

The place was packed... and as is the case with any concert we saw all sorts of interesting things... a whole group of guys dressed in neon green and black spandex wrapped in Canadian flags, freaks and geeks of every make and model, the fake boobs on the girl behind us when she pulled them out to let some guys snap a picture, more tattoos than I can count, someone getting dragged out by four security guards, and loads of other fun stuff... See that guy in the plaid shirt in the picture below... he was paying the girls in front of him to flash him... good time. :)

The view from our seats during the first two performances. The opening acts were The Features and Built to Spill. They were alright but they were nothing compared to KOL!

Kings of Leon on stage!!!!

(All of my pics were taken with my phone, so sorry that they aren't the best quality. I recorded a couple of video clips too, but they sound pretty awful with everyone screaming. Here is a video from YouTube of one of my favorite songs of the night...)

I had so much fun last night and I am so thankful that we got to do something special and fun for my birthday this year... last year was a bugger because I was in Labor and Delivery on my birthday and it wasn't a very fun party. I'm not gonna lie though... getting up this morning and getting over to pick Addison up was the highlight - I missed her so much! I even slept with one of her stuffed animals so I could smell her all night. This was the first time that I have gone to sleep without holding her and cuddling her since she was born and it was tough. However, we all survived and it showed me that I can leave her overnight without exploding or having a meltdown. That being said, I rocked her to sleep tonight and breathed in that sweet baby shampoo scent and loved every second of it... going out once in a while is fun - but every thing I want and love is right here at home. =]

10 months...

Addison,

Ten months. Double digits. How did we get here so fast?? It seems to me that every month goes faster and faster and every day you grow more and more. I know I've said it a hundred times, but I wish I could keep you like this forever (even as you are presently assaulting my laptop with your sippy cup). Our neighbors just brought home a brand new baby last week and I was there when they came home from the hospital. He was SO tiny and helpless - it's actually hard for me to remember you being that little and new. I think that is what makes this whole growing up thing the hardest on me - I tried so hard to memorize every moment of you when you were a newborn because I knew it would go too fast but I can't remember the 7 pound weight of you in my arms. Seeing you next to that little baby made me realize just how much you have grown and changed in the last 10 months.

You are quickly going from a baby to a toddler - with ideas and curiosities all your own. You want to explore, you want to be the center of attention, (right now you want a yogurt melt so bad you are beating me with the bag :::pause:: and now you are happy for a moment), your smile melts my heart and makes my day, and being home with you this summer has been the best month of my life to date. I loved being home with you when I was on maternity leave but I was so clouded by hormones and the intense fear of doing something wrong that I didn't get to enjoy it like I wish I could have. Now, I feel more comfortable in my own skin and in my role as a mommy and I love every second that I get to have you to myself. I can't believe that in four weeks, I'll be getting my classroom ready and school will be starting again - which means no more long summer days with my baby girl. It also means we are marching very quickly toward your first birthday...

What you've been up to lately:

• Pulling up ALL the time and cruising around on the furniture.
• You know where you toys are stored and you are more than able to go, dump over the basket, and get what you want out.
• You still do the inchworm crawl (which we love) but when you want something that is out of your reach you'll crawl on all fours.
• You eat just about anything we put in front of you.
• You LOVE water - swimming or bathtime, it doesn't matter to you.
• You poop in the tub EVERY NIGHT. This is a stage your father and I are anxiously waiting for you to outgrow.
• You 'sing' and dance all the time and it cracks us all up.
• You LOVE the dog - she's your pal and she loves you back.
• You drink out of a sippy cup during the day and feed yourself finger foods like a pro.
• You're a daredevil - you love being tossed, spun, crawling OVER your dad and I when we're on the ground, trying to get on the stool... the list goes on.
• You just recently learned what the word 'no' means and you don't like it. As a result you have mastered the pouty lip face and cry to respond to all the 'no's' you get during the day.
• You have a fascination with all things electrical, which freaks me out. Cords, remotes, the laptop, outlets - you name it, you want it.
• You say 'Dad' all the time, you say 'Mom' when you're up to no good, and 'Bob' when you are just chattering... plus a whole language of your own that cracks us up all the time.
• You have grown hair (mostly in a mohawk, but it's cute) which makes me so happy because I was bald until I was two!
• You are just barely getting into your 9-12 month clothes - you can wear most of the tops but the bottoms are still huge on you.
  
• You still only have your bottom two teeth but your dad and I have been convinced for the last MONTH that you've been teething... I think you're making liars out of us.
• You'll be spending your first night away from home this Saturday - which I'm sure will be harder on me than it will on you... but still.
  
• You still are no good at napping... sorry daughter, but it's just not your thing :)
• You love entertaining strangers - anyone who looks your way gets smiles, laughs, and a good look at those big, blue eyes. The senior citizens of Yakima (particularly those at Fred Meyers are you biggest fans)
• You dislike being the the car... or carseat. You are NOT one of those baby's that we could put in the car, drive around the block, and put to sleep. If you fall asleep in the car, you are wide awake the second we turn it off. And if you don't want to be in the car, you scream the WHOLE. WAY. THERE. Good times.
• You are crazy on the changing table. You squirm, roll, and scoot, and even try to steal your dirty diapers. Most days you and I both end up with poop all over us at least once because of your shenanigans.
• You are an awesome eater (fingers crossed that it lasts). You'll try almost anything and even if you aren't a fan at first, you usually go along with it. Veggies, fruits, meats, they're all good in your book. My only concern is that you aren't head over heels with mashed potatoes... we'll have to work on that.

As always peanut, I love you, more than life...

<3 Mommy

Hot Summer Days...

4th of July

Up, up, and away...

She's been doing this for a while now but every time I get the camera out she goes and plays UNDER the coffee table instead of pulling up... today she was even standing in her crib when I came in to put laundry away... I guess now everything in our house has to move up another foot :)