Michael, Sarah Beth & Addie

Christmas

2012-01-03T10:06:00.000-08:00

Well sometimes I wonder why I even have this blog because I never write on it.

Christmas has come and gone and we truly did have a wonderful season. It was full of family, gifts, sorrow, and mostly it was full of great reminders and challenges for the New Year. God has been teaching Michael and me so much lately it has been such a wonderful time in our life. Christmas this year we decided not to get Addie too much (we had a $100 limit, it should have been less). She still got so much because she is at the age where a coloring book and stickers are super exciting. It was so much fun to see her excitement. I must admit that it is hard to be a parent this day and age. It is hard to not let your pride get the best of you. We gave Addie a little play kitchen for Christmas that I got at a church sale. It was really cheap and I knew Addie would love it. However it is NOT cute and normally I would not buy something like that to put in my house but like I said God has really been teaching Michael and I a lot lately. However Christmas morning when I got on Facebook it was so hard to not let my pride get the best of me, so many kiddos got play kitchens for Christmas and ALL of them were better and cuter than Addie’s. I just had to tell myself to let it go and realize that Addie loves her kitchen and it is really DOESN’T MATTER! So yes God has been teaching Michael and me a lot about how we spend our time and finances. That being said we usually get extra money every year around Christmas and I had great plans this year to get us in a better place financially. God however had different plans. Michael was asked to go to Honduras last minute for a mission trip. We prayed about it and we actually had the money for the trip since it was Christmas time. So instead of paying off debt and getting in a more “comfortable” financial place Michael will be going to share the love of Christ. It seems like such an easy decision do we spend the money to help ourselves or do we spend it to further the kingdom? But when you are actually making the decision as humans we make it so much harder. A challenge that our pastor gave us at our Christmas Eve service is to look at the amount you spent on Christmas gifts this year, you should spend AT LEAST that much on missions or advancing the gospel this season as well. Wow, we didn’t do that and it hit me hard. Look how much money we are spending on just worthless stuff. Not that we don’t enjoy giving to our friends and family but we have welcomed the habit of over spending. Since when do we have to spend like $30-$50 a person just to show we care? Anyways, this was just one thing that just hit me hard.

God is also teaching us a lot about faith and perspective. The week before Christmas I had another miscarriage. It was a hard one, they all have been, but for some reason this was physically a lot more painful. I actually ended up going to the ER one night because the pain was so great. However, I am fine now and we will be running tests soon to see what is causing the miscarriages. What is amazing to me is that before I had the miscarriage in August we had talked about adoption. We talked about how this is something that we feel so lead to do. So I am at ease that we will have more children, we don’t know how many God will bring us biologically and how many he will bring us through grace of adoption. My faith in God has grown so much stronger during this time and I have no doubt that this was part of God’s intention.

God has also taught us a lot about being thankful! Thankful for the material possessions that we have and that we absolutely 100% do not NEED. Being thankful that I have an amazing husband who encourages me, strengthens me, and pushes me towards our heavenly father. And I know I can say for Michael and myself we are overwhelming thankful for Addie. Addie is just the most amazing child (I know we are biased). But she is going to be such a great sibling to whoever God brings into our home. We know that God blessed us with any easy going, sweet, kind, loving, protective, and helpful child so that she will help transition our home to a larger family in whatever way God leads.

To sum up our Christmas, there was a lot of the normal “Christmas Festivities” that we love but there was also so much happening in our hearts through the grace of our savior that made the season even sweeter!

I am awful about downloading our pictures but so I will try to remember to do another post soon with pics.

To a Christ Glorified New Year!

Through My Tears...I Will Praise HIM!

2011-08-17T10:02:00.000-07:00

As most of you know I am not a super private person. Michael and I tell our stories to anyone, and I felt like I wanted to share the last couple weeks with my readers (since most of you are my close friends and family). As many of you know before I got pregnant with Addie I had a miscarriage. It is such a interesting thing. I never understood how it hurts your heart to lose a baby so early. It seems like, that baby never really developed, you didn’t have much time with them, it was so early, but it hurts just the same. Along with miscarriages come the questions “What if I can’t get pregnant?” “What if this is something I will keep experiencing?” Those are hard questions to wrestle with. I am blessed for a couple reasons. 1. I have a God that I know I can trust, this doesn’t mean I know he will make me pregnant but I know he loves me and more importantly I trust him that this life is not about that, this life is about bringing Glory to His name and somehow this is just another way to bring Him Glory. I truly believe this, this life is not about me but HIM!! I have so much comfort in that! 2. I have had the amazing experience of being pregnant and have the most amazing child because of it. Addie is truly AMAZING!!! If you haven’t gotten to spend a lot of time with her just trust me that child is the most gentle-hearted, sweet, loving, fun, and easy going child. We love her dearly and are so happy she is ours.

So now that I have caught you up on the last couple years, a couple weeks ago I took a pregnancy test and it said pregnant! Yay we were so excited because we want our children to be close together and this would put them about 26 months apart, perfect! Once again Michael and I can’t keep our mouths shut so we proceeded to tell our immediate family and those we see on a regular basis. About a week ago I started experiencing the same symptoms I had during my first miscarriage. I immediately called my doctor and when I talked to the nurse she didn’t sound very hopeful and said I was probably experiencing another miscarriage. Remember how I talked about how sweet Addie is. When I got off the phone I immediately hit the floor sobbing (I am an emotional basket case) and that sweet child ran over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck. She laid her head on my shoulder and from time to time she would look up to see if I was still crying. What an amazing comfort she was during that time. The next week was an emotional roller coaster. Much like the time before we went to the doctor and they saw the sac (last time we actually heard the heart beat) and they said that everything looked normal right then and that we would just have to wait it out. The waiting is hard because you want to cling to the hope but when the symptoms just keep getting worse I think you know what is happening. This morning we went back to the doctor and we got the news that we already knew. We lost the baby. Honestly when I got pregnant this time I didn’t think as much about a miscarriage and I guess it was because I got pregnant with Addie in between so I thought I was in the clear.

At this point we aren’t going to do any testing or anything even though that was offered to us. We are clinging to the two things I stated above 1. We have hope in our God 2. We did get pregnant before so it seems like I would be able to get pregnant again.

A friend of mine sent me this verse today and it so true, God is bigger than everything:

Isaiah 45:5-7

"5 I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, 6 that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other. 7I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things."

I also posted this yesterday on facebook, they are lyrics from a song I heard:

"Lead me to your heart, rid me of myself, I belong to you!" No matter what happens in this life I am His and He deserves ALL glory.

So through my tears I will praise HIS name! Love you all!

Sarah Beth

18 MONTHS

2011-08-05T12:23:00.000-07:00

Today Addie is 18 months old! Since I don't have it together enough for one of those cute month shots that mom's tend to do I thought I would just unload some pics and videos from my phone for you to enjoy:

Eating her typical dinner (mac n cheese). Seriously I am so bad with dinner. I try to get her to eat other things and venture out but usually it is a big accomplishment if she eats even a bite or two. I could send her to bed without eating but who wants to wake up in the middle of the night with a hungry baby? So we always end up giving her mac n cheese. She doesn't pitch a fit or anything she simply says "no" to other foods and will want to get down and just not eat! So mac n cheese it is. Plus she is forced to eat other foods at daycare or so I tell myself :)

Bath time video: So another silly parenting thing, Addie took a bath in a baby bath tub (you know the one in the sink) until about 2 weeks ago! Every time we tried to put her in the big bath tub she would scream bloody murder like she was scared to death. Anyways about 2 weeks ago we tried again and she cried at first (not as bad as usual) but then once she was in there for a minute she started playing with the toys and cried when we tried to take her out of the tub. Now she loves baths..YAY

Showing her bear how to play with the toy:

Too cool for school:

I love when we get her laughing really good, her dad was really getting her here:

What is better than a Popsicle on a hot day!

Ok so I hope you enjoyed. I don't know her stats yet because we haven't been to the doctor. Here is what I do know she is probably close to 22 lbs and that means it is time to buy new car seats (yes she is still in the pumpkin seat).

We still love our precious girl like crazy!!! She is the most amazing baby EVER! Ok I might be a little partial but I seriously believe it is true.

NY & Addie Update

2011-07-18T06:52:00.000-07:00

I am an awful blogger once again….Ok my few readers that are hanging in there with me. I am sorry I don’t do more posts. Honestly our days seem to look mostly the same here lately. Get up, get Addie up, go to work, pick Addie up, go home, play and get dinner ready, put Addie to bed and then Mommy and Daddy fall on the couch and relax for a couple hours before going to bed.

However there are some things that have happened recently that I would love to share with you. First Michael and I went on a Mission Trip to New York. It was AMAZING!!! I will return to that in just a moment but it is important that you know this was my first time away from Addie for more than 24 hours (I don’t think I had even been away from her for a full 24 hours before). It was the first time and I was not just leaving her for a day or two, I was going to be gone for an entire week (Saturday to Saturday). This wasn’t quite as dramatic for Michael since he has to leave her from time to time to go on work trips but for me it was hard. We are so incredibly fortunate to have amazing parents that both live here in town that took care of our sweet baby. They even put up with my crazy notes (seriously like 3 pages of notes) on what to do with Addie. I know they raised us and we turned out ok however as a mom I just think but “this is MY baby”. They were very patient with me as I was very hesitant about leaving her for the first time. They even humored me as I talked to them about not letting her near chemicals (duh). The morning I left her, my mom came to my house and was playing with her as Michael and I left for the airport. There were many tears on my end. I hated leaving that sweet girl. Once we got to the airport and the trip began we stayed very busy and I was pretty proud of myself because I didn’t get emotional again until she came to the airport to pick us up. JoJo, Papa and Mimi did such a great job of sending pictures, videos and constant updates on Addie that I wasn’t really ever very worried about her. It was a successful trip and now I don’t think I will be nearly as anxious to leave her again.

Now on to the trip, We went to New York to work with a local organization (see the video below):

It is seriously such a great organization and concept for getting to interact with people from all across the globe. That statistics on New York are striking:

New York City

Population

· Population of NYC: 8.5 million people

· Population of New York metropolitan area: 20-22 million people

· NYC is the most populous metropolitan area in the United States and the sixth most populous in the world

Language

· 176 languages spoken by students in the New York City Public School System

· Linguistic experts estimate over 800 languages in NYC

People Groups

· Danny Goldfield has photographed children from 172 different geopolitical nations who are residents of NYC (http://dannygoldfield.com/100_photographs/)

· As of November 2010, Metro New York Baptist Association estimates 500+ people groups live in the Metro New York area.

The Need

· Southern and Midwestern United States = 1 evangelical church per every 1000 people

· NYC = 1 evangelical church per every 8500 people

· 22,000 churches need to be planted in order to bring the ratio of NYC up to the Southern and Midwestern areas of the United States.

· Much of the church-planting effort has been focused on Manhattan, with limited focus on the ethnically diverse outlying boroughs.

· NYC vs. Bible Belt

o Alabama: Population: 4,708,708; 41% evangelical; 717 people/evangelical church

o New York County (Manhattan): 2.3% evangelical; 10,529 people/church

o Queens County: 1.9% evangelical; 8542 people/church

o Metro NYC: Population: 21,104,292; 2.3% evangelical; 8517 people/church

o This means that the metro NYC area has the lowest percentage of evangelicals of any major US city.

God Is At Work

· Before September 11, 2001: 0.5% evangelical in Manhattan

· Today: 2.3% evangelical in Manhattan

It was such an incredible trip, we got to see parts of New York I never knew existed and come in contact with different people groups I had never met. It was so eye opening, all the people from across the world right here in the US. We don’t see that often here in Birmingham, AL. I was amazed at the cultures created around New York City. We spent most of our days in the ESL center teaching English or helping the local ministries pass out flyers about upcoming bible camps, cook outs or kids camps. We also got to go and see the area that Brook Hills is sending a couple out to plant a church. We talked to them for a while about their vision for the church and NY City. We did have one free day where we got to do the traditional touristy things. Here are some pics from that day:

Thank you to everyone for your prayers and support. Please keep this ministry in your prayers as we left them behind to continue to press on in New York City.

ADDIE:

Ok now on to some fun things on Addie. Addie is back on the growth charts. She was falling off the chart for a while and having to go to the doctor once a month to monitor that she was gaining enough weight. She is now back on the chart (still below 5%) but she doesn’t have to go to the doctor once a month. Here is what she is eating: Cheese (she loves cheese, like mother like daughter), mac n cheese, crackers (on any kind, but her favorite is Peanut Butter Ritz Bits), fruit (mainly pears and peaches but she does venture out some), veggies (not much but some green beans, potatoes, english peas), yogurt, and she drinks juice, milk and water. This is mainly it. Her daycare provides meals and snacks for her and often times she does not eat much of what they serve. They keep a food log for her since the doctor recommended it due to her weight and not eating enough. When I pick her up it often says this:

AM Snack – Animal crackers (or something close)

Lunch – Would not eat lunch, ate some Banana Pudding, fruit or the like

PM Snack – Popsicle

Needless to say when she gets home we eat a snack (usually Peanut Butter crackers) and she will down it, the girl is hungry. After she eats her snack at 4:45 she usually won’t eat much for dinner and definitely won’t venture out to “other” foods. Any helpful hints on how to get Addie to eat a better variety of food? She seems to have enough to eat by the end of the day because the girl definitely sleeps at night. We put her down at about 7:00 at night and she doesn’t wake up until at least 7 the next morning but sometimes it is closer to 8:00, the morning after we got back from NY she slept until 8:40, she is so sweet and knew Mommy and Daddy needed some sleep! J

She has got the BEST personality. She is just happy and content. She had her first temper tantrum the other day and I know those days might be coming. At first I got frustrated that she screamed for like seriously maybe 5-10 mins and then I then I was immediately thankful, thinking that some moms have to deal with this on a more regular basis. Seriously I feel so grateful and know that my next one will probably be a handful. Addie is definitely into everything, she loves to open draws, purses, bags, anything she can go through. We host Bible Study at our house every Tuesday and Addie loves to try to go through all the girls’ purses. She also is loving crayons, but not in the traditional sense. She might make a mark or two but she loves to take them out of the box one by one and go put them in a kitchen drawer. This is actually a good game that keeps her busy for a while. She also knows what it means when I say let’s put them up, she will say “up” and start collecting the crayons to and putting them back in the box. She also loves to be chased, caught and tickled. Hearing her laugh is so much fun and it sounds more like a little sequel. She really didn’t like going outside in the past and ofcourse now that it is like 100 degrees she loves to go outside. We get home and she walks to the front door points to where the keys hang and says “ruff” which means let’s go outside and see if any dogs are out. That brings me to my next fun thing. Addie LOVES dogs! It is crazy that my child loves dogs, that is the way it goes I guess. My sister and her husband have dogs and when she stays with them she wants to be around the dogs constantly and she even wakes up saying “ruff ruff”. It is the funniest thing.

Addie is also very sweet. The ladies at her daycare say she hugs on all the other kids. They said if another child is crying that Addie will go give them a hug and pat them. However if the kid keeps crying for a while she will say “stop it”. Too funny!

Words Addie is saying:

Momma, Dadda, Cheese, Ruff Ruff, No, Yes, Please (it sounds more like just a long sssss), juice, Wawa (water), Jojo, up, down, go, off, hot, cold, hi, bye, night night, Addie, knock knock, mmmwahh (kiss sound), bzzz (like a bee), Meow, more (and signs it), snack, eat, book, baby

There are probably some that I am forgetting but these are the main words she says. Here are some fun videos to enjoy:

First Temper Tantrum:

Playing with Daddy:

Old Video of her talking on the phone:

Riding in the Jeep:

Ok so I think that is enough for today. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Addie is ONE!

2011-02-28T10:25:00.000-08:00

I can’t believe my precious little baby turned 1!! We had her first birthday party on her birthday February 5th. We had a great turn out and Addie had a wonderful time. We had so many great friends and family that came to celebrate with us. I will let the pictures do most of the talking:

All of these people are here to see ME?!?!?

some of the Birthday decor:

"Create A Valentine"

She wanted nothing to do with the cake, even when her daddy tried to shove her face in it.

SOOOO many presents!!! This child is in need of NOTHING! We were completely overwhelmed and humbled by all the love!

A couple family shots:

I wish I had better pictures of the precious outfit that was given to Addie by my mom (her JoJo) and made by one of our dear friends Jana. These are the best pics I can find that show the outfit (I will have to take a photo shoot with her in the outfit).

Addie's Aunt Christa also made her a slide show of her first year that was playing on loop at the party. I love the slide show and know Addie will love to watch it one day when she is older. Overall Addie had a great first birthday. She goes for her one year check up this week so I don't know any stats...I think she weighs about 18lbs (she is still a tiny little one). Right now she is currently still in 9 months (and some are still way to big). She has started clapping and waving while saying "bye bye". We like to sing if your happy and you know it clap your hands. She has started crawling more but still only does it if she really wants something. She really wants to be walking but just isn't fully capable yet but she really tries. She got tubes in her ears the week after her birthday and has been back to sleeping through the night since. Now she goes down at 7 and doesn't wake up until 6:45-7:30! It has been great for her and her parents :) She amazes Michael and myself every single day. She has shown us so much about who Christ is and about his love through her presence. Michael and I fall more in love with her every single day!

HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY ADDIE GRACE!!!

Shutterfly!

2010-11-24T12:10:00.000-08:00

Hey ALL! So I am writing this blog to remind you (because I know you all already know) how great shutterfly is. It is a great place to store your pictures all in one place and not have to worry about your computer crashing. And once your pictures are there you can create all kinds of great things for gifts and your holiday cards!

Our first Christmas Card we sent was a shutterfly creation and we loved it! We were extremely happy with the way it turned out. Click on the link below to find out more about Shutterfly holiday cards:

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards

Our First Christmas Card Together:

Shutterfly not only has great Cards but they have wonderful gift ideas including their photo books and calendars. I can't think of a better way to watch the days go by then looking at the greatest moments from years past. Check out the calendars here:

http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars/desk-calendars

Like I mentioned above I also think the photo books are a great gift for others and a treat for yourself. I created our wedding scrap book at the photo book link on shutterfly and love it!

Make sure you check out Shutterfly for all your holiday needs!

9 MONTHS! Halloween and Random thoughts:

2010-11-09T13:23:00.001-08:00

Ok so here I am again late as usual. Addie turned 9 months old on Friday November 5th. She is still a light in our lives. She has the most precious personality and is so laid back. She is sitting up now which is awesome bc I wasn't sure this day would ever come. She will stand up if I put her hands on the coffee table but I am sure to stay right with her because she isn't too solid on her own yet. She has had 3 ear infections since June and the doctors say we are well on our way to the required 6 before she can get tubs put in. In a perfect world she wouldn't get another one EVER! She hasn't been to her 9 month check up yet so I will try to remember to update you on her stats. However Michael took her to the doctor a couple days ago for the ear infection and she weighed a little over 15 lbs with all her clothes on. She is still a wee little one, we are finally in 6-9 month clothes!

Things that I am uncertain about at this point:

When should I start feeding her table food (obviously in bit size little pieces)? It makes me nervous she is going to choke.
When should I introduce the sippy cup? I read online that you should try to start rotating a sippy cup in at about 6 months. Should I just put a little water in the cup and let her try that first?
Is there something I can do to help promote crawling besides giving her tummy time and putting toys at little out of reaching distance?

For Halloween Addie was a baby chick and simply put was the cutest chick in the entire world. I actually bought the costume on whim at a consignment sale. It was too precious to pass up for $15! Most costumes I had seen (even at Old Navy) were atleast $30. It ended up being a GREAT purchase. I love my little chick.

Michael and I dressed up as Emma Pillsbury and Sue Sylvester from Glee (yes Michael dressed up like a girl)...We dressed up with two of our great friends from Bible Study Drew (Artie) and Shannon (Quin, pre-pregnancy). It was a lot of fun!

At this Halloween party I discovered a new love "Just Dance" on the Wii. I have not been sold on the Dance revolution and the Wii fit because one looks like a workout (no fun) and other more like just stomping around (no fun). So when I first was told about this game my expectations were not very high but then I saw it.... I wanted to play immediately and I must admit I was a little sad we had so many people there because it meant I only got to dance to THREE songs! But it was super fun because we had a dance off and it got pretty intense towards the end. Check out the pics below:

Lindsay was the ultimate winner but it was a tough challenge to take down her opponent (the male winner) Brett.

Michael has been busy lately (this is his busy time with work) and so it had been busy at our house. I am ready for things to slow down a little but I can't overlook the amazing season that is about to begin (the holidays). I really want to make an effort this year to not get too carried away in all the Christmas festivities to forget what this season is all about. I want to really remember how our savior was born and how incredible it is that he wasn't just placed on this earth as a grown king already (which he could have been) but that he was born a baby. He walked through life the same way we do. He had struggles like we do. The only difference is he overcame those struggles not just the big ones but every single little one that he encountered. I want to make sure that I remember Him during this time and who he was and is!

Lastly I have been a little down lately (no it isn't just because Alabama is not going to win the National Championship but, it doesn't help). I think it is because of the business of life. I hate when life gets so busy that we don't get to see our friends and family as much as we would like. I really want to focus on getting together with friends and spending quality time with my family. Right now I have a love/hate relationship with Fall. It has so many wonderful things like football, holidays etc. but it also fills up my calendar with those things and I can't see the end until January! I feel an overwhelming push to really start clearing my calendar for greater things. Here's to breaking out of my "box".

Oh and my brain is already racing with 1st birthday ideas!

BLESSED

2010-09-22T07:46:00.001-07:00

Ok so Michael will probably think this post is uncalled for but I feel the need to BRAG ON MY HUSBAND. Michael truly is a wonderful husband and father. I am not going to lie I knew he would be which is one of the reasons I married him. Anyways I have been reminded a lot lately of how amazing he is and how blessed I am. Michael has Addie duty in the mornings. I had to change my work schedule to be at work at 7:30 each morning and Addie’s daycare doesn’t open until 8 putting Michael in charge of Addie’s mornings. He wakes her, dresses her and takes her to school each morning. I know he loves this time in the mornings with her because he tells me every day! The ladies at daycare have called him “A VERY INVOLVED DAD” and seem so impressed with his presence. Michael of course thinks it is sad that they are so impressed with an involved dad. Also the ladies at my office constantly tell me “Do you know how lucky you are?” And I think YES I DO. Michael called last Friday because he got off work a little early and said do you want me to pick up Addie so you can run some errands this afternoon? He volunteered to take over afternoon duty so I could get some things done. In our lives this is pretty normal volunteering to help each other out and we love doing it for each other and spending the extra time with Addie. Anyways Michael really does have such a big role in raising Addie and he still finds time to be a great friend and husband. The greatest part about when he helps out is he does it because he WANTS to and because he is Addie’s Dad and feels the responsibility to do it. He doesn’t see it as him doing me a favor (as some men do) but this is OUR child and OUR life and we are living it TOGETHER! I really do feel so blessed that he is my husband and my partner walking through life with me.

7 months (almost 8 months)

2010-09-22T07:39:00.000-07:00

ROLL TIDE!

I am not the greatest blogger, but I don’t know what will be interesting to people. I guess I should do what other people do and use this as my own scrapbook to keep up with even the smallest things that I care about. List of things about Addie right now:

She is rolling over (she rolled over for the first time on August 7). She is funny though because most babies that finally roll over start to do it ALL THE TIME. Babies will use it as a way to get from one place to another, Addie does not. She doesn’t seem to desire to roll over. She only does it when she really wants to which MIGHT be once a day. She loves being on her back playing with toys (it is much more relaxing).

She is laughing. Michael and I have so much fun making her laugh. We have taken some videos of her laughing and I need to upload them for ya’ll to see (however it would probably be more amusing for you to watch a video of us trying to make her laugh).

She can finally sit in her jumper/exersaucer. For the longest time she was TOO small to really enjoy this toy but now she can sit in it and play for about 15 – 20 mins. It still doesn’t keep her occupied for as long as the bouncy seat or activity mat but she likes it more. She is not to the point where she pushes off her feet and bounces herself yet. Once she does that I am sure this will keep her occupied for longer.

She has really dry skin – (Moms out there let me know if you have any advice). Lately her skin has been breaking out in what looks like rashes. Sometimes I think it is heat rash but other times maybe just dry skin? She might be having a reaction to our laundry detergent and so I am switching (I moved away from dye free kind and maybe shouldn’t have). Anyways the doctor said he thought it was just dry skin to put lotion on her but I feel like it is getting worse. Maybe a thicker lotion more often is the answer???

She might have acid reflux – Another one for the moms out there. I think Addie throws up probably once a week or once every two weeks. She will eat something and immediately throw up. At first I thought it was certain foods making her gag (I still think green peas do that) but she has done it with several foods and it doesn’t seem to have a pattern. Plus she still has gas through the night that wakes her up and she has a hard time settling back down. And she seems to have hard time with her bowel movements (and I feed her pears, prunes, peaches, oatmeal – all the things they tell you to). She just has a weak stomach.

Addie does not sleep through the night. It has taken me a while to fully admit this. Addie slept through the night for a couple months and then we moved and things changed and we never settled back in to a good routine. Addie got an ear infection pretty soon after we moved and ever since then has not slept through the night. She SEEMS to be waking up because of tummy aches since every time she wakes up she is passing gas but once she starts she can’t go back to sleep without us feeding her. She usually wakes up anywhere between 3:00 – 6:00. The great thing is she always goes right back to sleep…Even if it is 6 she will go back to sleep and sleep until 9 or until we wake her up. She is capable of putting herself back to sleep through the night I have seen her wake and put her paci back in but when she wakes up at the 3-6 time passing gas she won’t put herself back down. We have tried letting her cry it out but she will cry so hard that she can’t catch her breath and starts gagging (maybe I am a softie but I can’t watch her do that). During the day I let her cry sometimes to nap but she doesn’t cry the same way during the night. Anyways that is where we are at. She is a great napper though and noises don’t seem to wake her up at all. She has slept through us drilling, nailing up pictures, laughing, playing rock band, playing games with friends, pretty much everything!

Babbling – she is talking like crazy! The ladies at daycare have even mentioned how fun it is to listen to her talk. (They also constantly mention how laid back she is). Her babble is starting to sound more like words. She makes noises that sound like “dadadada” which of course Michael swears he is saying dada. She technically is saying dada but does that count as her first word when I am not sure she knows what she is saying. Also she says babababab which is what we call her bottle her “baba.” Of course I think I have heard something that sounds like mama but she doesn’t do this consistently.

She is so happy! She really is such a happy baby. She smiles ALL the time and loves to be loved on. She is simply a joy to be around.

The next thing on my list is to fully start making her food. I have done it a couple times and then we started retiling our kitchen and now that I have my kitchen back I need to get back in routine of making her food. Any good suggestions? I don’t eat fruit and veggies much so sometimes I have a hard time thinking of things.

Oh one little thing is she loves taking my glasses off…As soon as I put my glasses on she wants to take them off of my face. She will contort body to be able to reach my face from whatever position she is in to remove my glasses…when she finally does she smiles really big as if she accomplished something great. Then they immediately get put in her mouth.

SPEAKING OF MOUTHS…she is getting her first tooth (maybe another reason for the waking up in the middle of the night). You can see her little tooth pushing through and you can feel it. I am so excited to see her first tooth. She is not drinking much of her bottles during the day (2 -3 ounces at each sitting) and the doctor says it is bc her gums are probably sore and it hurts to suck that long. I am ready for the tooth to push through. Other than the waking up that once though she hasn’t been moody or anything which is such a blessing!

Michael and I just love her to pieces!!!

HHS Reunion

2010-08-09T12:22:00.000-07:00

GO BUCS!!! That seems like the appropriate way to start this blog. We had our 10 YEAR High School Reunion a couple weekends ago, seems crazy that it has been that long. If you don't know me very well then you may not know that I LOVED High School! Most people probably think I am a little crazy for how much I loved not just High School but HOOVER High School. I am so extreme that I refuse to live in Vestavia (not that we could afford it anyways) but I refuse to ever live there because as I tell Michael "What if we plan to live there just a couple years and then we LOVE it and have to stay...I can't possible bring myself to say "Go Rebels" I know I know it is a little extreme and if a steal of a house came or for some reason our house got re-zoned for Vestavia I think I would make do (heck our property value would go up like crazy). All that being said I truly was SO excited about my high school reunion and it was BETTER than I imagined. I hate that it went by so quickly and I hardly had time to talk to everyone but it was great. I loved seeing everyone and loved dancing the night away. I still loved being around all those Hoover Bucs as much as when we left.

I must give a shout out to Brandon Triola. Brandon was always very good at public speaking and anything to do with putting on a show. Brandon was asked to do a "roast" at our reunion and he nailed it. Yes it was a tad inappropriate and definitely crossed some lines but isn't that what a roast is all about. It made me smile but it honestly felt like we were back in high school reminiscing on the people and the fun times. Thanks Brandon!

In all my excitement I didn't get to take many pics (I didn't even take one of Michael & me) but here are the few I managed to capture:

Me and My Best Friend SINCE 3rd GRADE, Whitney:

Michael & Aldger:

Me & Another Bestie, Leslie:

Brandon & April (Facebook King & Queen):

Kristen & Me getting the dancing started:

Pictures from the Roast:

Sexy Catty:

Can't wait for the next reunion...I agree with Jay Hines "Can we have an 11 year reunion?"

To answer him "YES I BELIEVE WE CAN!!!"

Beach Trip 2010

2010-08-06T14:44:00.000-07:00

We are so fortunate to have great friends that invited us to stay with them at the beach! The last week in July our "little family" got to take a week long trip to the beach with our good friends Ben, Claire and Lucy. It was so fun and RELAXING. Beach trips with babies are quite different than beach trips pre-baby. I must admit I have NEVER been a beach bunny. Growing up I was always the one rolling out of bed at 11 and joining the crew on the beach going in for lunch around 12 and staying in until about 2 then going back out to the beach until I came in early to "get ready" for dinner. But with a baby I even got less time on the beach. Addie hated the beach....she has really light/sensitive eyes and couldn't open them when we went outside. We even rented an umbrella to help shade us but the sun reflected off the sand. Also she would get sooo hot very quickly (seriously feel bad for her that she got that from her mama). Needless to say she liked playing inside better. But it was so nice to be able to have a week off to relax in such a wonderful place. It was nice going to the beach with another couple with a baby about Addie's age (Lucy) bc they got to play together and we could rotate watching the babies! We had such a great trip and really want to thank Ben and Claire for allowing us to go with them.

Addie getting ready for the beach:

Addie relaxing in the beach chair (well maybe not relaxing):
Addie and Lucy playing:

Eady Family Picture: (This is probably the best one we got....as you can see it was too bright for Addie)

Beaumont Family Picture:

Date Night: (This was the night Michael and I got to go on a baby free date)

Addie showing off her shades: (Thanks Ben & Claire)

Daddy's and their daughters:

Pool Time:

After Pool Time:
Addie's bloomers:

My two favorite people:

6 MONTHS!

2010-08-05T09:31:00.000-07:00

I meant to post this last Thursday so I am late but atleast I finally posted something!

HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY TO ADDIE GRACE!!! Addie is 6 months old today. I know everyone says it but it really does go by so quickly. I look back at pictures of Addie when she was born and it is hard to remember her being that small. Addie has brought so much Joy to our lives. She is the most precious gift that God has ever given myself or Michael. Addie is completely full of JOY! She smiles constantly, it is usually one of the first things people notice - how much she smiles. The lady at our daycare said she smiles all day long! Addie does so many little things that make us smile:

She clasps her hands constantly as if she were praying. She does this most often when she is eating her bottle or sleeping.
She is a blabber mouth, she is constantly babbling. I think she will talk early.
She does this cute smacking thing with her mouth...makes Michael and me melt.
She loves to do "Super Addie" and will always crack up
She loves putting EVERYTHING in her mouth - her toes are among her favorites.
When she sees her bottle she will hold her arms out making groaning noises while kicking her legs
She has started holding her own bottle - when she drops it she can't place it back in her mouth but she can hold it to her mouth for a while
She loves this one position that her daddy holds her in (right at his side), often times when I can't settle her down this position will work.
She just started eating peas a couple of days ago (her first solids) - she doesn't like them but she is a good sport and will eat them
She did not like the beach, she couldn't open her eyes because it was so bright and she got very hot (she is going to be like her Mama)
She loves to sleep! She is a great napper she usually takes three naps a day one right after her feeding at 6:30am (this is great for Mommy and Daddy on the weekends) for about hour or hour and 1/2. And then two others one usually lasting about 2 hours the other closer to one. She goes to bed around 8 and USUALLY sleeps through the night (if she wakes up bf 6 I usually don't count that as sleeping through the night). She had a spurt where she would wake up at 5 (ugh we had to nip that in the bud quickly).
She has a weak tummy and wakes some great hmmm..... noises!
Often times when I am feeding her she will look into my eyes and rub my arm...it is such a priceless moment.
She is absolutely GORGEOUS! Michael and I don't know how we got so lucky but she must be the perfect mix of us. She has the most beautiful features.
She loves The Backyardigans (a cartoon on disney). If she is crying you can put it on and keeps her busy for about 20 - 30 minutes.
Her fussy time right now is about 6:30pm -7:30pm but is slowly decreasing in time and I hope starting to fade away. During her fussy time Mommy and Daddy don't get to sit down while holding her, she prefers to stand!
She loves riding in the car and majority of the time will fall asleep.
She is a content little baby. By six months most babies are rolling over, sitting up or at the very least pushing on their legs when you hold them up Addie however, is not! She has no desire to roll, sit up on her own or push off her legs she would much rather lay down or sit in her bouncy seat. We have been working with her on rolling over and she gets really close but then just smiles and rolls back to her original position. Plus her head is heavy for a tiny little body. She weighs in the 10% and her head is in the 50%. SHE STILL LOOKS PRECIOUS but it must be hard to hold her head up.
She has had a "cold" pretty much since the day she was born (the doctor says it is normal for a child in daycare) so she SNORES! It is so precious but she really does snore.

Sometimes I wonder if she can understand how much I love her. Obviously she doesn't fully grasp it but I think she knows that she is a well loved baby. I can't imagine my life without her and I don't want to.

Your Mom and Dad love you very very much Addie!

Smiling

2010-04-27T10:07:00.000-07:00

Well we haven't posted a blog in forever so here are a few pictures of my precious girl smiling! She has started smiling a lot lately...especially in the morning after she has eaten. Girlfriend loves getting her 10 hours of sleep and having a full stomach, what's not to smile about? She has brought so much Joy to our little world, what a true blessing from God. We love her more each day that passes. Michael loves making up songs to sing to her and is convinced she loves him more, mainly bc Addie/Daddy rhymes. Anyways here are some pics to enjoy:

Two Weeks!!

2010-02-19T11:28:00.001-08:00

Today Addie Grace had her first Doctor's apt. She weighs 7 lbs 2 ounces now and has gained 7 ounces since we brought her home from the hospital. She is doing great!!!

Addie waiting for the doctor to come and see her.....don't you just want to kiss her sweet face!
Ok here are the pictures of Addie Grace in her nursery chair... she is so tiny!

Already found her thumb! She is going to be like her mama!
Addie Grace with her eyes open.
I just love her so much!
Things have been going really well since we have been home. The first couple days were harder because Addie had a tummy ache and was up a lot the first two nights. Since then her tummy has gotten better and she is sleeping for 2 to 3 hours at a time and Mommy and Daddy are getting 7 -8 hours of sleep (in 2 hour increments)which we consider really good with a newborn. Addie Grace's day schedule is getting really good and she is eating, waking and napping great! She is such a sweet baby and really doesn't cry much (hopefully she will stay content). Michael and I are simply in love with our little angel and love every single minute with her!

Addison Grace is here...Teaser.

2010-02-06T07:41:00.000-08:00

This will just be a real short post with a few pictures. We had a C-Section late last night and Addie Grace was here around 10:45pm on February 5th. She and her momma are resting up. She was born 6lbs 15oz and measured right at 19 inches. We are so blessed! Enjoy these few pictures and check back later for a more elaborate post. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers!

Addison Grace is almost here...

2010-01-30T20:38:00.000-08:00

The time is near for Addison Grace's arrival. SB and I have been working tirelessly to get ourselves prepared for this life changing event. During the last several months we have been doing everything from birthing class, showers, preparing the nursery, etc. I want to take a few minutes to share some photos of the nursery since I am awful proud of the transformation. Obviously, all the creative design and look of the nursery came from Sarah Beth. It was strictly my role to implement what she wanted to be done.

First things first....one of my favorite parts of the nursery. The old rusty door that SB purchased several months ago. We have hung it on the wall as a decorative piece to hang pictures on. You can see a rough look at it below. It still has some work to be done on it but you can get the idea.

Second...the Crib. The crib is pretty simple. Just your standard white baby crib. It was not all that bad to put together and it was one of those things that I just enjoy looking at knowing that it will soon serve as the resting place for my little girl. Thanks again to the wonderful baby shower hostess' for the crib. Thanks to both of our wonderful families for the super cute bedding.

Third...the bookshelf. The bookshelf was a gift from Janice (JoJo) and is a nice edition to the room. You will also notice the wonderful block letters that were handmade by our dear friend, Mia Neff Abrams. The wall above the bookshelf is bare now but another wonderful friend, Laura Jeff McFee, is preparing a special piece for that wall.

Fourth, the Glider/Recliner from Storkland. This was the piece of the nursery where we most invested. The size and comfortableness of this wonderful chair, make it well worth the investment.

Finally...the letters. The letters above the dresser are one of the final touches to the nursery and probably my favorite part of the nursery. There was a small discussion on how to place the letters but in the end, we both settled on the staggered look.

I hope you guys enjoy the look of our Nursery. The final piece is yet to be placed...but it could be any day now!

As you can imagine, the most common question we are continually answering is, "Are you ready?". How does one answer this question? I am sure most people expect you to say, "Yes, we are ready." While SB and I seem to have done every physical part of the planning, there is no true way to ever be prepared for such a life changing event as child birth. While we are human, we must rely solely on the spiritual guidance of our Lord and Savior, the perfect example of a parent.

UPDATE!!!

2010-01-06T09:29:00.000-08:00

It has been too long since we have written on this blog but we have had a lot going on and a lot to catch you up on. We were extremely blessed with our baby shower last month and showered beyond our imaginations with wonderful gifts, thanks to all our wonderful friends and family. Michael has been busy at work on the baby’s room and all her fun gadgets. Michael is in love with the stroller and just pushes it around the house in excitement.

As for me it is nearing the end and my body is feeling it! I have carpal tunnel in my hands and sleeping through the night is a distant memory, I am waking up with shooting pains in my arms and my arms are so filled with fluid they literally fill as if they will burst (don’t worry I asked my doctor if my veins would explode and she assured me they would not). ;) I started swelling about a month ago and it is getting worse but I am learning how to tolerate it. Other than that things are progressing beautifully. Addison is passing all of her tests and measurements and we feel so blessed. I would go through the carpal tunnel, swelling, nausea, etc. all over again for such a precious gift.

Michael and I are so excited to meet this sweet little angel in just a few weeks and can’t believe we are about to be full blown PARENTS!!!!

It's a Girl!

2009-09-21T11:48:00.000-07:00

We are so excited! We went to the doctor on Wednesday, September 16th and found out we are going to be having a baby girl. Not only did we find out that we are having a baby girl, we also got great feedback from the doctor on all the measurements they took. Having a baby girl is going to be quite an adventure. I come from a family of all boys and so does my father. My dad has one grandchild and it is also a boy. Adding a girl to the long tradition of boys in the Eady family should be quite interesting. Sarah Beth's family is littered with girls. Her Dad had two sisters and as most of you know Sarah Beth is one of two girls in her immediate family. We will be leaning heavily on the Crow's to provide some insight on dealing with girls.

We had our families over last Wednesday night, and gave each of them their first baby photo album. Of course, it was pink and read, "It's a girl". Our families could not have been more excited and we are looking forward to sharing our child with the best Grand Parents anyone could ask for. Please continue to pray for Sarah Beth and I that God will continue to prepare our hearts, minds and lives for this remarkable journey. Also, pray that God will continue to bless us with healthy reports.

Boy or Girl?!?!?!?

2009-08-19T08:47:00.000-07:00

Michael and I went to the doctor today and are happy to report that everything looks good! We didn't have an ultrasound done but the Dr. did listen to the heartbeat and it sounded strong. Plus we set the date for when we get to find out whether our baby is a boy or girl!!!! Mark your calendars because on September 16th we will find out what this precious baby is so we won't have to call it an "it" any longer. We are so excited that things seem to be moving a long great right now and will continue to keep you posted as best we can.

Right now I am 14 1/2 weeks (I will be 15 weeks on Friday) and am starting to feel better as the days go on...I still have to eat something every couples hours or I feel sick and if I don't get about 8 1/2 to 9 hours of sleep I wake up sick but I am starting to get the hang of it. As of right now our baby is the size of an apple/orange. It is between 16-20 weeks that you start to feel movement so I am so excited for that to begin. The baby can move all its joints and can sense lights!

Here is a link to what a baby looks like at 15 weeks: http://www.babycenter.com/fetal-development-images-15-weeks It is crazy how they are really this tiny little baby already!!!

Michael is doing great and is such a wonderful partner in all of this. He is super understanding of everything I am going through and helps me every step of the way. I feel like this adventure will only make us stronger.

So let me know what you think this baby is a boy or a girl?? I have attached pictures below of me today! A few other random things to think about most people tell me I am carrying high however I do have a sort torso. Michael has two brothers and one of his brothers has a little boy. I took one of those Chinese calendar quizzes and it said girl (whatever that means). The heart beat the first two times we went was about 170 but the last time was closer to 155 (they didn't tell us the heart rate today). Ok now give me your guesses!!!!

BOY OR GIRL?!?!?!?

We're having a baby!

2009-07-22T12:20:00.001-07:00

Michael's Initial Thoughts:

To say that I am excited would be huge understatement. I understand that the thought of me being a dad is a scaring thought to many of you and quite frankly, it is somewhat scary to myself. The responsibility of a child is something that should not be taken lightly. My first thought, as I visited some of our best friends in the hospital earlier this week to see them and their newborn child was, "How could anyone conceive a child and then give birth to a child and still not believe in a God that created the universe for a distinct purpose." If anything, I find myself more drawn to God in these amazing times than ever.

I want to thank several of my friends and family for playing such a huge role in preparing me for my next role in life. From several of my friends that are fathers, John (father of 2), Jared (enthusiastic father of 1) , Jay (father of two boys), Jordan (father of 1 beautiful girl), Chris (proud father of 7. The man knows all about fatherhood) and most of all Maddox "Maddad" Casey (proud father of 3 beautiful girls). To Uncles, Mike, Eddie (most of the time), Grant, and Gary. To my brother David. To both PaPaw Eady and PaPaw Loosier. To Sarah Beth's late father John David Crow, Jr. And most of all to my own father, Chuck "Wagon" Eady.

I want to especially thank 3 people. Firstly, Maddox for his friendship and impact he has had on preparing me. Being thrown into the father role at very young age, he reacted better than just about anyone and hasn't slowed down sense. (Except for his recent vasectomy) Sacrifice upon sacrifice has been made to better the lives of his family and they have not gone unnoticed. Thanks again buddy for being a role model even when you think you might not be one.

Secondly, John David Crow, Jr. Although I never had the privilege of meeting him, I feel like he speaks to me on a daily basis through his absolutely amazingly beautiful family that he left behind. The endless stories that I have heard from his youngest daughter paint a very true portrait of what it meant to be a father. From his early morning donut runs for the girls (especially for SB) to the protector role he played for the women in his family. While he is no longer with us, I will do my best to paint the picture of his time as a father to this child that God has given us.

Mostly, I want to thank my own father. No one has better shaped my life than my own father. From my long chicken legs that I inherited to the smart ass remarks that you so commonly hear come from my lips. I only hope that I can be the father and mentor that he was to me and still continues to be. The spiritual foundation that he provided me is priceless. Thanks again Wagon!

I consider myself to be blessed beyond belief to have such great examples surrounding me. How many times have I made fun of people like Maddox for their evolvement into fatherhood and all the things that come along with it such as horrible "dad jokes" that no longer seem to be funny? Alas, I have arrived but let's hope that I don't fall too quickly into the role of wearing button down short sleeve dress shirts and telling bad jokes that only I believe to be funny.

Lastly, I ask that each of you lift Sarah Beth, myself, and this beautiful child in your prayers on a daily basis. Without God and our relationships with him, we would not be in the position to be having a child. Thank you for the prayer that we have already been showered with and thanks for all your future prayers!

Ephesians 6:4 "Fathers do not exasperate your children; but instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."

P.S. If you are curious whether I teared up while writing this, I think you all know the answer. Wouldn't it be interesting to see a little baby girl introduced to this family of all boys...

Sarah Beth's Updates and Thoughts:

2009-07-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

(Please make sure you read Michael's thoughts, he is going to be such an amazing father and his words are much better than mine)

For those of you who we haven't had a chance to tell, we are expecting!! We are both extremely excited about this time in our lives and what God has in store for us as a family. This precious gift is due on February 13 (poor child, couldn't avoid a holiday)! We have been for three ultra sounds already and have heard the heartbeat (two times it has been over 170 and the last time it was 157, for those of you wanting to make predictions on the gender). The baby already has arms, legs and a precious little nose.

As far as what I have been feeling this first trimester: Nausea, sleepiness, nausea, sleepiness, nausea (I think you get the picture). I have been so tired I feel pretty good from about 9 till 3 and think I have got a pretty good bit of energy then about 3 I feel like I am literally holding my eyes open! As most of you know sleep has NEVER been a problem for me and so adding extra hours to my night is not a big deal...I have been sleeping 9-10 hours a night(isn't that wonderful)!!! I better take advantage of it now before this baby gets here and I will be sleeping just a couple hours at a time (on a good night). The other thing I have noticed is that I get really worn out easily, tasks that use to be easy or would just get me moving now take all of my energy. I vacuumed the sofa one day and I had to immediately go lie down because it wore me out. Or if I go to the grocery store I am done for the day. Crazy how these small tasks seem to wear me out! The next thing I mentioned above was Nausea! My nausea has been pretty bad however I am sure some people have it much much worse. I am able to eat most foods (nothing fried- Chick-fil-a sounds awful and if you know my husband this is sad). Overall I haven't had many complete food aversions but most of the time there is like 1 or 2 things that sound GOOD and I run for those things. I have some nausea medicine my doctor gave me and it has helped some but I still have bad days. Everyone says this is suppose to go away at about 12-13 weeks so I am getting close to HOPEFULLY the end of this stage.

We went to the doctor today and the little peanut was kicking and moving a lot it was so fun to watch the baby move like that! We got all GOOD news today and the hemorrhage I had is completely gone, praise God!!! We are so excited that things seem to moving along great right now. Here is another picture that we got today and if you look closely you can see how the legs and arms were moving when she took this picture...precious :)

We will find be finding out the sex of the baby! I wish we were the kind of people with enough patience to wait but I already find myself looking at all the baby stuff and wanting to know what gender to be shopping for. We will find out the sex of the baby the end of September which will be here before we know it!

I am trying to think of any other questions people might have or want to know about, let me know if you want to know anything else....As you know Michael and I are pretty much an open book!