Schedule Challenges

This week Addy had a difficult time getting back on schedule. She had been sick and had been at home with mommy and/or daddy for an entire week, so going back to the babysitters' houses was quite the challenge for her. She apparently wanted to be held for most of the days and didn't want Kalee or Patty to turn their back on her. Hmmmm....can someone say..spoiled?

Adalyn has taken a liking to her bouncy horse and now can get on and off of it on her own with ease. Although she doesn't ride it for very long, she enjoys bouncing on it and climbing on and off and then back on again. It also has an option to hook it up to the TV and to play games while bouncing. Addy seemed to like the games on the TV, but didn't quite make the connection that they were connected to the pony.

I have included a few pictures of Addy and her most prized posession--her silky! Addy never took to a pacifier but grew very fond of a silk blanket we recieved from Derek's work. She now brings it with her everywhere and uses it for comfort when she's upset. She also MUST have her silky to sleep. Since she relys on the silky so much, we have ordered several more and use them interchangeably. Thank goodness she's impartial and loves them all!



Addy is not walking on her own yet but she is getting closer and closer to letting go. She has been letting go when cruising from various pieces of furniture. She will also walk between Derek and I, but always dives at our laps as she gets within reach. She is standing mroe on her own now, but will grab ahold of something when she actually realizes that she is standing on her own.

On the food front, we have been giving Addy more table food. We can honestly say that there isn't a whole lot of food that she doesn't like. Addy's friend Charli is a bit pickier than she is about her food and apparently Addy is more than happy to eat whatever Charli doesn't want right off of her booster tray.

This weekend was very low key for us. On Saturday I had class for most of the morning. This is my last semester and it definitely requires more time than previous semesters. The busy part of the semester hasn't even started and I am already beginning to feel very overwhelmed! I will be so happy when May rolls around. Saturday evening our good friend Kim came to play with Addy and Derek and I cleared out the basement so that installers can come and install carpet. Up until about a year ago we had carpet in the basement, but then the sump pump decided to stop working and we had a giant swimming pool with a carpet bottom! After getting a back-up system installed, we decided to get the carpet installed again!

Addy and her Aunt Kim taking a break.

On Sunday Derek went into work and Addy and I stayed home..nice and toasty in the warm house. January and February are very busy months for Derek at work and he has been putting in extra hours. Sunday evening we had dinner and then I caught up on some school work. This weekend was definitely low-key, but I definitely feel like we were productive in getting things accomplished!

Hopefully next weekend will be just as productive!

Back on Track

I know..I know...I haven't posted in quite a while! Last Sunday Adalyn came down with a fever which distracted me from posting. Unfortunately we have once again had a sick Addy on our hands this week. Sunday evening her temperature reached 102 so I stayed home with her on Monday and headed in to the doctor's office to share a waiting room with all of the other kids who came down with something over the weekend. The Dr. checked Addy out. Her ears looked good, which was surprising because I was SO sure that this time it was definitely her ears! Her throat looked a bit rid and a strep test was performed but came back negative. Basically they said that whatever she had was viral and had to run its course. They said that it may take her 3-5 days to kick the virus. It took Addy every bit of 5 days to get over the hump. Her temperature eventually reached 103, which is quite scary! We gave her tylenol to help her feel a bit better, but that's all that we could give her. Derek and I took turns staying home at the beginning of the week and then the sub zero temps came to town and school was cancelled on Thursday and Friday, which was a blessing in itself. Addy and I both needed a bit more time at home. I stayed home from Tuessday night until Saturday morning when I headed to my grad class. That was a long time for me to stay home...I was going a bit stir crazy, but in the end, I was glad to stay warm and cozy inside!

On Sunday we went to Charli's first birthday party. Charli and Addy go to Patty's together and Charli's mom, Kristi, and and I teach second grade together. So we have dubbed Addy and Charli as best friends. It is hard to believe that Charli is already 1. It seems like only yesterday that Kristi and I were talking about all of the uncertainties that we were about to face as new mothers. Now our little girls are turning one and we have more and more challenges ahead of us. Charli's party was a lot of fun and Kristi did a super job with the planning. I was very impressed! This weekend our good friend Kristy (a different Kristy) came to visit from Florida. She come to our house on Sunday night and we hosted poker in her honor. Derek lost his money, but a good time was had by all. Tomorrow we have the day off, which I am looking forward to, but we are also looking forward to getting back on a regular schedule on Tuesday!

Adalyn and Charli recently had a Saturday playdate. Sharing was quite the challenge that day:)

Addy and I played dress up on one snow day when we were bored.

Ten Months...Already!

I'm 10 months old!!!

Time continues to fly by as Adalyn turned TEN MONTHS this week. I know that people say this all the time, but it truly is amazing how fast they grow! Addy is no exception to the rule. She is cruising from furniture at a rapid pace, but hasn't got up the nerve to let go for more than a few seconds. She loves to climbs stairs and tries to sneak to them in our house quite often. Recently Adalyn has developed a fascination for clapping and does it whenever she is recieving attention (which is most of the time) and when she's sees ANYONE puts their hands together (TV personalities included). She loves going out to run errands and gets very excited about riding in shopping carts. She usually draws plenty of attention to herself by waving to everyone that crosses our path and screaming and talking with delight. Adalyn has recently started to throw balls. She enjoys balls and has many that have come with her toys. Anytime she picks up a ball she will throw it if someone asks her to. She will then chase the ball, retrieve it, and then throw it again. Her form isn't great..truthfully...she throws like a girl, but we're working on it! She is certainly a people pleaser. We have also started to give her more table foods, which makes Addy very happy. She enjoys bite-sized carrots, green beans, and peaches. The truth is that so far we haven't really found any things that doesn't enjoy...hopefully she continues to enjoy her fruits and veggies!

Happy NEW YEAR!!

We rang in the new year pretty quietly Wednesday evening. Derek had to work during the day, so Addy and I met him for an early dinner after work. We went to Logan's, which was quite the experience. It was Addy's first time eating table food at a restaurant and she decided to let everyone know how she felt about it by screaming and yelling out for most of the dinner. Thank goodness the restaurant was very crowded and loud! after dinner we stopped by to see our friends Kelleen and Ray. They just had their second child, Elizabeth Ray, who is simply beautiful. We visited with them for a while and got our baby time in. Kelley and Ray also have an 18 month old daughter, Evelyn. It was a lot of fun to watch Adalyn and Evelyn play and interact. Addy pushed Evelyn all around the house on a riding toy. Thank goodness no one was injured:)

Addy and her friend, Evelyn

Elizabeth Ray--she is precious! It's hard to believe Addy was this size (okay maybe a pound more) only ten months ago!

This weekend we spent some time getting our house in order and also recieved a suprise visit from our high school friend Brad and his fiance Molly. It was Adalyn's first time meeting them and it was really great to see them. We don't see or talk to them as often as we would like, so we really enjoyed spending some time with them. Addy enjoyed all of the attention they gave her too.

On Saturday Addy was very fussy, which was something I had been noticing as a trend the last few days. She was also tugging at her ears and was extremely fussy when eating. I was afraid that she might have an ear infection, so we took her to Prompt Care. The doctor said everyhting looked fine and she may have a virus of some sort. He didn't say it, but he gave us that.....oh you are first time parents and paranoid look. We were relieved that she didn't have an ear infection.

Saturday night was quite disappointing as the Colts were eliminated from the play-offs. We could tell that Addy was distraught too, as she had a hard time sleeping through the night and woke up several times. We think that she may be teething and hope that the fussiness and waking at night will pass very soon!

We spent the day Sunday getting ready to get back into the routine on Monday. It will definitely be hard for Addy and I as we have spent the last few weeks together. Quite frankly, I am dreading Monday morning and wish that I had a few more days at home with my baby girl!

A Whirlwind of a Holiday--Part II

On Saturday we spent the majority of the day at Derek's mom's house and then went to to visit my Aunt Ruth, Uncle Dan, and cousin Lisa in the evening. Throughout the week Addy really had fun exploring all of her new surroundings. She really enjoyed trying to get into all of Ruth's pretty Christmas decorations. We don't get the opportunity to visit with them very often and really enjoyed seeing them on Saturday! On Sunday we went with Derek's mom and brother, Cory, to the Widick Christmas, which is Derek's mom's side. Addy had the opportunity to meet many new relatives that she had never met and did very well with all of the new faces.

On Monday Adalyn stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Schum while Derek and I headed to his mom's house to help paint her kitchen and bathroom. She is planning on putting her house up for sale in the spring and we decided to get some things done on her house while we were home over break. Monday evening we had dinner at my parents house and then Derek and I went to see the Tale of Desperaux at the movie theater. I have read the book to my classes for several years now and wanted to see the movie. It was a huge disappointment!...I say this all the time but the book is MUCH better.

Tuesday morning we packed up Huey the Vue"y" and headed for home. Packing up the Vue was quite a chore as we were taking home lots of Adalyn's loot. The back was packed to the roof and there were things stuffed in every nook and cranny! Derek and I both wondered what will happen when/if we ever have two kids! We were sad to leave our families, but happy to be returning to our regular schedule and own beds. We had a wonderful time visiting our relatives, and wish that we had more time to spend with them. As always we didn't get to see everyone that we would have liked, but hopefully we will get to see them in future visits. Going home makes us really appreciate our loved ones and how special they are to us. We are so lucky to have so many loving and caring people in our lives.

A Whirlwind of a Holiday--Part 1

To prevent boredom or lulling readers to sleep I will post several entries about Christmas..read as little or as much as you like..consider this Part 1

Wow....since the last time I blogged we have been to a lot of places, have had the chance to see a lot of relatives and friends from home, and have been on a few interesting adventures. Our first adventure began on Tuesday evening when we headed home to southern Indiana despite the icy and nasty weather. We headed south first through Illinois hoping that going south first would keep us out of some of the worst road conditions. We did manage to avoid some of the icy roads, but ended up stretching the usual 5 hour drive into a 7 hour slide & drive. As we drove further south, the road conditions did improve and we made it home without any issues..thank goodness. Addy was very good throughout the trip and slept most of the way. Needless to say, when we arrived at my parents' house at midnight, she was wired and ready to go. My parents were awake and eagerly awaiting the arrival of Addy....they were glad that Derek and I made it too. Since she was so wound up, we let her play for a little while. In that short 45 minutes of play time Adalyn managed to break the shepard from my parents' nativity scence in two. Yes..a clean break that separates that shepard right at the waist. Even though we were very tired from the trip, we had a good laugh at the fact that the nativity set had survived for 28 Christmases without being broken or damaged, yet hadn't managed to survive one Addy Christmas. This may be a sign of things to come.....

We spent Christmas Eve with my family at their house. Grandma Heilers and Derek's mom also joined us for the evening. Before the festivities at my parents house, we exchanged gifts with Derek's mom. Addy emjoyed opening her presents and climbing on all the boxes. At my parents' house we exchanged presents and Addy had a special visit from a man in a red suit. Even though he had a bag full of toys for her, Addy was still a bit leary of Santa. It took a long time for her to warm up to him and after some coaxing and trickery, we finally got her to sit on his lap, but not for very long. She did try to touch his furry suit serveral times and made several reaches for his wire rimmed classes. Addy had a lot of fun playing with her gifts from everyone. Santa gave Adalyn a drum full of instruments, a bounce and spin pony, a balltivity table, and books. She was having so much fun that she didn't want to go to bed and hit a brick wall at about 9:30 and fell sound asleep.

On Christmas morning Addy gave us a very special Christmas gift....she slept until 7:30! We were thrilled! I guess all of the interaction with her family and toys really took its toll and tuckered her out! On Christmas Day we had a big meal at my parents' house and then went to visit Derek's mom. Addy had another fun -filled day of playing with all of her new toys and did her best to a prolong bedtime. Most of Christmas Day was spent playing with toys and spending time with our families. Addy loved going from toy to toy and having so many people to play with her. I am afriad that she got a bit spoiled from all of the attention. Our poor babysitters will be pulling their hair out next week!

On Friday we went to my mom's family Christmas at my Uncle Pat and Aunt Denise's house. It was really great to see all of our relatives on that side. We were unable to make it to their Christmas celebration last year and many people saw Addy for the very first time. It was great visiting and cathcing up with everyone. Once again, Adalyn took full advantage of all of the attention and got very tuckered out from all of the playing!

I will stop here and continue with Christmas part 2 tomorrow....:)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The Weather Outside is Frightful...

This week has been bitterly cold in central Illinois. We had to deal with ice and snow for most of the week, which made our long commutes a bit longer. Derek's mom was scheduled to head back on Tuesday, but decided stay until Wednesday because of the threat of bad weather. Towards the end of the week, our baby sitter in Rochester and her family were bitten by that awful flu bug that seems to be EVERYWHERE. Luckily our Atlanta sitter was available to watch Addy for part of the day Thursday and Derek took off on Thursday and Friday to stay home with Addy. So, Addy got some extra Daddy time this week.

I survived my last week of school before winter break. Although it seemed like a very long week, the students behaved considerably well considering the circumstances of a whole week of inside recess and holiday hype. I am so excited to be on winter break for 2 weeks!

This weekend was a very busy one for us. On Friday we visited our friends Kelley and Ray and their 18 month old daughter Evelyn. Kelley is due to have their second child any day now and we wanted to see them before we headed home to Indiana. We had a great time visiting with them and we enjoyed watching Adalyn and Evelyn interact with each other.

On Saturday Addy and I ran errands at the mall, which was an absolute NUT HOUSE, while Derek went to the office to catch up on some work. Later that evening our friend Kim watched Adalyn while Derek and I went to dinner and ran a few more errands. Kim gave Addy an interactive easel for Christmas that she loves to play with. Addy had a great time with Kim and Olive and we are so thankful that Kim is so willing to watch her when we are in need of a sitter.

On Sunday the temperature dropped significantly. So, we decided to stay inside all day. We had an early Christmas morning and exchanged presents with each other. We decided to open gifts early so that Adalyn (and her mommy and daddy) had time to play with her gifts and so we wouldn't have to tote all of the gifts to Indiana. Adalyn had a good time opening her gifts and loved the wrapping paper. Her favorite parts of the gifts were the wrapping paper and boxes. We also straightened the house and I made a batch of sugar cookies to take to Derek's office for a lunch on Tuesday. It was a wonderful early Christmas celebration. I am glad that we stayed home and didn't brave the -1 degree weather!

This week we are headed to the Hoosier state. Due to turtle-like internet access at our parents' houses, the blog will not be updated until sometime after we return on the 30th. We would like to wish our friends and family a safe and wonderful holiday season and a happy new year!

Counting down the days...

Yes, we are counting down the days until Christmas break! I can't wait to spend Adalyn's first Christmas with our families. The second graders are getting awfully squirrely and with each day that we cross off of the December calendar we get less and less accomplished in the classroom. At this point in second grade, its all about SURVIVAL! This week was kind of a blur. On Tuesday I was scheduled to have my last college class of the semester only to drive all the way to Bloomington to discover that it was cancelled..grrrr! Oh well, at least I am done until January!

Derek's mom came to visit this week and watched Addy for a few days because our sitters needed off. On Friday Derek and his mom took Adalyn for her 9 month appointment. As we know..Addy is a growing girl. She weighed 23 lbs 13 oz and measured at 30.5 inches long. She was greater than 97th percentile for height and weight. She can now begin to eat table foods and her sixth tooth appears to finally be breaking through on the top of her mouth.

As for the rest of the weekend. Derek and I went to his work Christmas party on Friday evening. It was a wonderful time and it was good to get some much needed quality adult time. On Saturday we piled into the car and headed to Shedd aquarium in Chicago. Adalyn enjoyed her time at the aquarium and loved looking at all the colorful fish. She bumped her head on the glass several times as she tried getting a closer look. We also make a quick stop at IKEA on the way home. Addy enjoyed riding in the cart and waving and talking to all of the shoppers. We purchased a tent at IKEA for Addy and got it out when we got home. She loves crawling through it and playing in it. On Sunday I finished shopping, and addressed Christmas cards. We also did some much needed straightening of the house and loads of laundry.