Addison Joy: 1 Year Old!

I cannot believe that our little Addie is ONE! A whole year has passed since she entered the world! On 12.2.11 at 6:18pm, 2 1/2 weeks early, Addison Joy made her arrival. She weighed in at 7 lbs 3.4 oz and  was19 inches long.

Ever since that moment, our world changed more than we could have imagined {for the better}. I am dead serious when I say that EVERY day we are in awe at how blessed we are to have someone so precious in our lives! 

Addie is still working hard on growing, and still hasn't mastered it quite yet, but we believe she will get there!…;) 

One year stats: 

Weight: 16 lbs 2 oz (< 1st percentile)

Height: 28 inches (18th percentile)

Head: 16 3/4 inches (1st percentile)

Addie was born one day after my birthday, so this year we got to experience two days in a row of celebrating! My birthday was a great combo of fun activities, but her's was even better :)

A couple months ago we were trying hard to pick a theme for her party, and eventually decided to do a monkey theme! We finally arrived there after the following conclusions:

A. We wanted to do something that really represented who she was- at one, she is not really into any movies, shows, or characters

B. She always wants to be upside down, climbing, flipping around and is all around silly!

C. It's cute!

D. She loves animals

Decision made!

Here are a couple photos of her 1st birthday party:

We feel so lucky to have amazing friends and family in our lives and in hers as well! It was so fun to  celebrate with them all! Bring on the next year full of great memories and growing into the incredible individual God created Addie to be!

The last of the firsts for her!

Thanksgiving 2012 was Addie's official last "first holiday" {besides her birthday, but I think that will technically be her 2nd time right?!} and it was a good one!

Being a nurse, It is expected that you will have to work your fair share of holidays…so I fully intended on working Thanksgiving or Christmas and/ or New Years. Thankfully, I got scheduled for NONE of them! How could that have happened?! I am not sure, but I am not going to complain! Although the double or double and 1/2 time would have been nice, there is nothing that beats holidays with my family.

Back to Thanksgiving… The day started off right with a beautiful run, and non other than my favorite treats: A veggie egg and cheese breakfast sandwich and pumpkin spice latte from my love {Starbucks}. 

Sam, Addie and I then made the 2 1/2 hr trip to New Ulm to Sam's wonderful Grandparents house. They always do such a great job hosting. They are seriously the most active and spunky grandparents I have ever met! It was nice to see all of his aunts, uncles, cousins etc that we don't get to see that often! Believe it or not, some of them had never even met little miss Addison yet! {Last Christmas we didn't brave the trip down there with a 3 week old, and I was scheduled to work on Easter.}

Addie was shy for a while {would we expect anything else?!} but after a couple hours, and a nap, she warmed up to a few people... and especially enjoyed the 50+ year old blocks!

I for one LOVE thanksgiving not for the food {I really don't like 99% of thanksgiving foods} but for the fact that it is a holiday NOT centered around gifts! So it was very nice just to 'be' with others!

On our way home, we stopped by my parents to pick up Mr. Theo, who of course couldn't spend Thanksgiving alone- and plotted the next days early morning shopping.

It was great {of course} to get the majority of our Christmas shopping done, and to get some good deals during our 12 hr shopping day…but so often I just felt sick to my stomach! The focus on spending so much money and all the gifts you 'HAVE' to buy just really got to me! I so wish we could do without gifts on Christmas. Or people would be satisfied with all home crafted gifts! It is nice to get new things for yourself, and to buy for others…but how much do we really need? It says a lot that most of the time we have to sit down, and think hard about what we want for Christmas.

Anyways, It was a super fun day with my mom, and maybe one year {hopefully sooner rather than later} we can start scaling down even more on the gifts, but it is hard because it seems like everyone would have to be on board!

All in all, I am SO thankful, and SO blessed beyond words can describe. I loved this Thanksgiving and look forward to the Birthday and Christmas festivities ahead! We fully intend on soaking up every bit of it! Can you believe my little monkey is going to be ONE year old in just a few days!?! WOW, it is cliche, but so true, time really does fly with the little ones! What a beautiful, sweet, silly, and special girl she is! Her giggles and sweet/ thoughtful spirit melt my heart each and every day!

When the going gets rough…

Man…sometimes life is just tough. There is some nasty things that happen to us and those around us, and it sure is hard to "act like everything is ok" and that you "have it all together" all the time. 

In a world consumed with things like Facebook/ blogs/ etc, it is even harder because it appears that everyone else's life is all peachy, and their biggest problem is what paint color to choose for their brand new house. When reality is, we all have junk that we have to endure. However, it's so easy to believe otherwise. Maybe it is just me, but it seems like we are so consumed with giving off the facade that our life is great. We have so many guards up that even those we would call our closest friends are not aware of the things we are going through. This is not okay. 

When the going gets rough {because it will}, we have a choice. We can either seek after God or be consumed with fear and sadness. I for one have a habit of doing a combo {leaning a lot more to the latter of the two}. That's human, I know…but that is still not what we are supposed to be doing. 

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

Isaiah 43:2

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33

The ever so popular battle of FOOD.

I have been told my many "experienced mothers" that if they could do it all over again, they would have lightened up A LOT when it came to battling with food and their children. I found myself agreeing, and trying to remember that in my own life. However, as a mom, I think most of us have a sense of obligation to ensure your child is getting a well balanced, nutritious diet. 

 My sweet spirited little daughter is also very strong willed, and to this day I absolutely cannot figure out where she got that! ;)

Saying "NO" to noodles. 

It took her a few weeks to stomach baby cereal…so at about 7 months, after weeks of spitting, sloppiness, and denial, she finally decided she would eat oats. AWESOME! I then slowly started making different fruit and veggie purees, which she surprisingly did not mind most of them. At about 10 months, I decided…hey…I think its time you start trying to eat some mashed/ table foods. And from my understanding, this is a very normal time to do this. Well…Addie thought otherwise. The only things she will eat are simple carbs and cheese. Almost Everything else doesn't even make it in the mouth, or touch her without tears. And we all know that a diet of formula, bread, and cheese does not quite cut it. And don't even get me started on her lack of desire in drinking from anything but her bottle. 

So the question…do I battle with her and keep trying the big girl foods, or go back to making pureed fruit/ veggie mixes? Well, fighting with a kid gets old real quick, and I myself don't desire to spend the time I have with her doing that…and being that she is in the 1st percentile for weight, she's not exactly at a point where nutrition can be skimped on. Thus, today, I found myself back at the blender, making some new creations. And what do you know, she ate them just fine! No questions asked.

Apple/Spinach!

I guess we won't be where we had thought, sharing meals with Addie by the time she is one. And I guess that is okay. Just another one of our "parenting expectations" that is inaccurate!

I know these things are all SO SMALL in the grand scheme of things, but they are still big in the sense that it DOES fill up much of days'  of efforts, thoughts, and worries. So they are important to process though and learn. And as mom with my first kid, hey, I'm just trying to figure it out! Aren't we all?!

So, if you don't know where to find me, just look by the blender, I'll be there…but my child will be well fed and happy :)

What we like to call the "Grandma without teeth- silly pucker- lip smack!"

Detoxified

The rain is falling…as are the leaves. It is indeed a cozy week! When there is more time spent inside, there frankly is more time {or so it seems} Lately, I have been really striving to dive in further to my passions and priorities in life…and while doing so have found myself asking these questions:

What are the most important areas of my life to devote my time/ efforts to in this season of my life?
In what areas do I need to step out further, and get a little "dirty," even when it is so much more comfortable to stay inside the box?
What example am I setting for those around me, whether a stranger or dear to my heart?

And no, I most certainly do not have the answers figured out to these questions, but pondering, and starting to act on them definitely puts me one step ahead of where I was last.

As I have written before at the end of this post, I have really tried to simplify my life. To not overload it with junk, even "good" junk. I feel like this concept has become more natural to me now. I am saying no to things I would have once felt obligated to do…I am soaking up most mornings at home, being silly house bums with my girl {and sometimes Sam!} 

However, now that I have cleansed my life of most excess things, I am feeling strongly that it is time to refill it a little bit... with the things I am truly passionate about or need in my life. Fellowship with positive/ like minded people, crafting, the youth, digging deeper into a more faith filled life, and giving to others.

Let myself, and possibly you be challenged with what takes hold over our life? Have we intentionally filled it with what things are best and balanced for the right now?…or is it the stuff we think we should or have to do?

Sam and I have just begun to read the book Soul Detox by Craig Groeschel together… I think it is going to be good on so many levels…I am thoroughly stoked!

OH what an eventful week!

Wow, the past 6 days have been anything but boring. The craziness started last tuesday when I started to get Sam and I packed up for a 3 day trip to Atlanta for a leadership conference- and little miss Addie packed up for her first time away from mom and dad at Grammas!

It is crazy how many emotions are tied up in leaving your daughter for more than a night. Now, I in no way was nervous to leave her with my mom, I just simply missed her! I missed every silly, and seemingly monotonous part of my days with her. I believe those are the most precious moments, and what I cherish most. However, she had an AMAZING time with her Gramma who she adores, and I think it was good for the both of us!

We had a GREAT time at the conference! There was a group of 8 people from our church that went along. We got the privilege of sharing the company of some truly well rounded and solid group of leaders :) The conference was intense…a lot of great speakers with useful and inspiring content all packed in to 2 days. I honestly think I am still processing everything I heard, and I think that goes for a lot of the people that went! Needless to say, I believe change and growth will happen as a result of it, making us better leaders at our church!

Now onto the next biggie of the week…my MARATHON! 6 months ago, I felt like this was something I needed to do (for many reasons). I knew it was going to take A LOT of dedication and hard work, but that I WAS CAPABLE, so I said yes! The training was hard at times, but overall it really solidified my love for running. Running is, and for the past several years has been my exercise of choice, but never had I run more than 6 miles! So…I stuck to my training schedule like glue, only missing two short runs, and worked hard on not only my physical strength, but my mental strength as well.

After months of preparation, the day had finally come. I was very nervous and emotional as there was so much anticipation leading up to this moment! The first half of the race went pretty darn good, and at about mile 19-20 I just got TIRED! My body felt like rubber, yet I had no doubt I was going to finish this marathon! My personal cheerleaders along the way made it SO much better, and I have to say I very much enjoyed the other thousands of crazy spectators along the way! I know God was behind me in all of this, from the moment I decided to do it, to the funds I raised for clean water, to the moment I crossed that finish line, just 6 minutes shy of my goal! I also know that it would not have been possible without my amazing husband's support and sacrifices during the training and on the big day! WOW, am I blessed!

Run a marathon after each kid!? Sure why not! Thats my plan :)

Now onto a much more relaxing and low key week ;)

9 months already?

9.2.12 was the 9 month mark for little miss monkey… everyone says it, and everyone is right- time really does fly with these little ones! She didn't even make it 9 months growing in my stomach, and that time seemed to last FOREVER! 

I don't think that there is a day that goes by that both Sam and I aren't overwhelmed with joy by our blessing- Addie. Im serious, it seems like we both are in constant shock [daily] that God entrusted us to raise his little girl. She is just so perfect, and we are so flawed… yet we get to try everyday to be better people, spouses, and parents so that this little girl has the best chance at becoming everything God has planned for her life! 

She is all over the place…and that is no understatement! Climbing, curious, and determined our little one is! It's a little scary knowing how quickly she could get hurt…Thus, I think it's time for me to downsize on the multi-tasking and keep two eyes instead of one on her when I am trying to get something else done! 

9 month stats: 

14 lbs 12 oz (1st percentile) 

26 1/2 in (15th percentile)

I am loving fall, pumpkin spice lattes, and running in this cooler weather! Less than a month until the marathon…ahhh! I am so nervous, but as long as this ankle keeps behaving I believe I will be able to do it!