The Handley Family

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Weekly Update - "Ride?"

Addie's Weekly Photo, Week of December 2, 2011 (82 Weeks).

Addie's Weekly Milestones:

"Ride"? - Addison's new obsession is going for Ride's on our Ranger (utility vehicle). Every day, from the moment she wakes up in the morning until right before bed, she will ask "ride" followed by nodding her head and saying "yes...yesssss". Daddy and Addison have developed a routine now that they take the ranger up and get the mail or take out the garbage every day together. They will usually drive around on the lot for a bit too. Once daddy pulls the ranger into the garage though, the fit begins!! Addie will ask again "ride....yesss...yessssss" and when daddy unbuckles her, she will freak out and begin crying :..( She loves the Ranger!!!! LOL

Hi and bye- Addie loves to say "hi" First thing in the morning when I go in, she will say "hi mama". If she's in trouble or is doing something she doesn't think she should, she will say "hi mama". Sometimes it will just be a very exaggerated "hiiiiiiiii". Wether talking on the phone or in person, she just loves to say HI! Saying "bye" is just as entertaining though. Every day when daddy goes to work, Addie will say "bye-bye dada" even without being prompted.

Ornaments - Our trees are up in the house and Addison loves to go over and poke at the ornaments. Sometimes she will take them off the tree but will promptly put them back on when we tell her "no-no, put them back". She's pretty good about getting the ornament back on the tree too. Sometimes the hook won't latch all the way and it will go tumbling to the ground, but she will immediately pick it up and try again.

Presents - This week, I was able to get a few presents put under our family tree downstairs. Addison isn't too sure what they are and likes to pick them up. Daddy is usually the one around when she tries to move them and tries to be quick about keeping her away but isn't always successful. I think Addie knows when Daddy is distracted. Luckily she hasn't opened any yet or ripped any of the paper. I'm dreading the day she does open one in advance because my luck is that the gift will be a toy she likes and then she will want to unwrap ALL of them!! LOL

Baby #2 Update :

Movement - Cooper's activity at night has increased significantly. From around 10pm at night and for a few hours, he is in constant motion. Thinking maybe it was because of something I was eating or drinking, I didn't eat anything after 6pm for a few nights in a row and he was still REALLY active. There are times when I lay in bed for several hours before he lets me fall asleep. Although it's frustrating to not get much sleep, it's still comforting to feel his kicks and twirls and still makes me smile each night! :)

More pictures from the week:

She loves sitting at the dining table....

despite the look on her face! LOL

Breakfast and cartoons.... Addie is mesmerized

Daddy and Addie hanging out before

daddy leaves for work.....

Apparently they BOTH like cartoons! LOL

Weekly Update - Happy Thanksgiving

Addie's Weekly Photo, Week of November 25, 2011 (81 Weeks):

This week was Thanksgiving and we planned to have TWO days of turkey with family and friends. On Thursday, we had Shane's parents, his youngest sister and her boys along with my brother (and family), my mom, and our friends Michele and Adam (and family). The food turned out great, thanks to my mom who was there to help get everything ready. Addie seemed to having everyone around. Getting her down for naps was a little more difficult because she could hear all of the fun going on, but we set her up for naptime in our room and turned on a fan to help muffle some of the partying noises.
On Friday, the group was Shanes family and my family for round two of turkey. It was nice to have both families together.

Addie's Weekly Milestones:

Thanksgiving - Addie isn't too picky on trying new things anymore. For Thanksgiving, she tried just about everything and seemed to like it all too. Of course just like her mommy she was more into the sweets than anything.

Bad habit - For a while now, Addie will say "go away" but usually it's only when she hears mommy yell for the dogs to get out of the garage or to keep them from coming in the house. On Thursday though, she started something and I'm not sure where she learned it. Along with saying "go away", she would swipe her arm and people if they came up to her face. This behavior is completely out of the blue. Although some of the family members found it cute and would laugh, Shane and I made a decision to try and correct her actions immediately to prevent her from thinking it's okay. Hopefully this habit does not stick around long!!

Pushing Boxes- Addison loves to "help" mommy push boxes around the house. When we were first moving in, she would see mommy push boxes (instead of trying to lift them) and lean in to help. Sometimes, I will go over to get something out of a box and it won't be in the same place I left it. After looking around though, I will find that Addie has pushed it into a new room or into the hallway. If she gets to a box that is too heavy to push, she will grunt and yell until one of us go over and help her. LOL

Baby #2 Update:

Dr. Appt: I had my 6 month checkup this week. Everything looks good to the doctor but when I mentioned a pain that I often have under my rib cage on the right hand side, he said "uh oh"..... Not something a pregnant woman wants to hear!! LOL Sometimes the pain goes through to my back. The doctor said he's pretty sure it's my gallbladder and it will more than likely need to be removed sometime after I deliver. Of course it was a HUGE shocker to hear. Doc said it's not extremely common but pregnancy can cause excess stress on the gallbladder for some woman and require it's removal. BUMMER! I'm going to miss that thing! LOL

Growing: Of course I feel HUGE as usual and I'm definitely much bigger than I was with Addie. I'm carrying a bit lower than the first time around though. My doctor isn't concerned with my weight gain, but I am. I can't believe how big I've gotten already. It helps to know how quickly the weight came off after I had Addie, but I'm not guaranteed that it will happen the same way the second time around. Perhaps a diet is in order immediately after delivery!! LOL

More Pictures from the week:

Addie still loves getting in the dog cage! LOL

Strolling around the house, Thanksgiving morning.

Finally giving mommy a "cheese" fake smile. LOL

Asking mommy "push" to see if

I will help her push the box around

the house. LOL

Reading books to herself

Cousin Avryl stayed the night Wednesday.

They wore matching PJ's and thought they were pretty cool!! LOL

Giving Avryl "hugs"

Helping daddy close up the tree box.

She's a big helper

Pushing the box around the house.

Her Friday Thanksgiving outfit

In a daze...

Addie and AV giving hugs

Ignoring the paparazzi

Something very interesting on TV...

Reorganizing one of "her" drawers

Too cute to be mad at!! LOL

Weekly Update - Reading Books

Addie's Weekly Photo, Week of November 18, 2011 (80 Weeks):

This week was pretty productive. They finished installing our carpeting, and Daddy's pool table was assembled. Daddy had a test to take in New Orleans, so we took a little vacation and road-tripped with him to give ourselves a little break. We really only spent one day in New Orleans because we had arrived so late Wednesday night. Thursday, we took Addie to the Aquarium. Unfortunately my camera died before we arrived, but daddy was able to get a picture or two on his phone. We cut our trip short to get back home and get more things done at the house.

Addie's Weekly Milestones:

Reading Books- We were able to get Addison's room set up on Monday. We don't have wall hangings up yet but all of her furniture is in place. I put all of her books on her glider/rocker in her room so that we could keep our nightly routine of reading books before bed. This week, Addison's favorite thing seemed to be just sitting on her rocker by herself and "reading" books to herself. I swear she could sit in there for hours just looking at all of her books. The kitchen is just right across from her room, so I can listen to her. It's so cute hearing Addie "talk" and make noises at certain pictures when she flips through the pages.
One thing we noticed this week is that we can ask Addison where certain characters are (Mickey, ball, shoes) and she will point to them in each of her books! So stinkin smart!! :)

Smarty-Pants- Addison has figured out how to unlock our iPhones. We used to let her hold our phones in the store or in the car, but we started noticing that she was somehow calling people! Finally we saw her slide her finger across the bottom of the screen and unlock it on her own! Needless to say, we are going to have to put passwords on the phones if we don't want her calling some other country!! LOL

Folding Arms- Addison started something new this week and I'm not sure where she learned it.... When she's annoyed or mad about something, she will fold her arms and make a mad face!! The first time she did it, I laughed (I don't think she appreciated it).

Hugs and Kisses - Addison has always been a snuggler. If we ever ask her for a hug or kiss, she's right there in our arms. When she gives daddy hugs/kisses, daddy will say "awwww, sweet baby". Lately, she has been carrying around her FredBird stuffed animal (St Louis Cardinals Mascot). She gives him hugs and kisses all day long. I will look over at her and she will be laying her head down on him on the floor and she will say "awww baby". I made the connection that she was trying to say what daddy says "aww sweet baby". Makes me smile! :)

Baby #2 Update:

Active Baby- Now that things have settled down a bit, I've been able to focus a little more on the pregnancy. Cooper is a VERY active baby already. One thing I've noticed most is that he is most active at night. Along with his added movement comes a little less sleep though. It seems like right around 10 or 11pm, he wants to play. Cooper's late night playing keeps mommy up for quite a while at night, but it's worth it and puts a smile on my face every evening.

More pictures from the week:

Ready for her favorite time of day "RIDE"!!

She loves to read books by herself in her room

Carrying around her Fredbird

She carries him by his beak! LOL

Giving Fredbird kisses

I told her to get a diaper and put it on..... This

is her idea of putting the diaper on!! LOL

She walked around like this for about 15 min!

Weekly Update - 18 Months

Addie's Weekly Photo (Week of November 11, 2011) 79 Weeks:

It's been nearly a month since I've had internet access, so we're just now getting caught up on the blog.

We officially got the keys to the house on Friday (the 4th) but have been making some improvements to the place that kept us from actually moving in. This week the primary goal was to get the carpeting replaced. Our carpeting guys came on Wednesday and began ripping/hauling away old flooring. It wasn't until Thursday that we finally were able to move our furniture into the master bedroom. Addie didn't seem to mind that she didn't have many places inside the house to roam (with exposed subfloor and tack-strip everywhere), so we played outside quite a bit.
Uncle Dillon came over every day during the week to help out with misc. improvements. Since daddy had to be at work during the day, it was nice to have another person around. Addie was especially happy because her uncle Dillon is so FUN!! ha ha (see pictures below)

Addie's Weekly Milestones:

"Please"- Addison started saying please a few weeks ago but now says it quite often and without being prompted. If she wants a drink or wants help with something, she will often say "help, peas". I can't imagine that she will be polite forever, but it's super sweet to hear at least for now :)

Rides- Daddy's new toy is a side-by-side Ranger (utility vehicle) that he bought to help us around the property. Addison seems to LOVE riding in it and will hop in any chance she gets! Uncle Dillon took us for a ride down to get our mail and was able to get Addison to raise her arms up and say "weeeeee"! Both Dillon and I were laughing hysterically!!

Little Helper- Of course with all of the home improvement-ing we're doing right now we can use all of the help we can get. One of the tasks at hand have been to replace light fixtures. While daddy or Uncle Dillon are on a ladder and they drop a screw or wire cap, if Addie is anywhere near, they can ask her to pick something up and she's ON IT! The first time Shane asked Addie to get something he dropped, he didn't think she would know what he was saying but she immediately hopped on the opportunity to help out.

Freedom- Addison has always been a pretty independent little girl whether is playing on her own or wanting to do something without assistance. Lately, her independence has been a huge blessing because she hasn't been asking for attention 100% of the time, allowing mommy and daddy to get us settled into our new home. At times, I've felt bad though because I see her playing with a toy and I want to take part but instead have taken advantage of the opportunity to knock another task off our list.

HUGE yard- We had a decent size yard at the old house, but it wasn't flat and was still in the process of growing grass. Not to mention, the HUGE slope that we had made it impossible to stay upright while walking around. Now that we have a flat yard, Addison is in a whole new world. Even before we moved, she always seemed to be more interested in being outdoors but now she seems to ONLY want to be outdoors!! LOL We have nearly 40 acres and the entire front yard is level with a big play-set/swing-set out front. As an already very happy child, I never thought it was possible to see a child any happier than she is but I was wrong.... she's somehow an even happier little girl :) It's heartwarming to see Addison having such a good time at the new place.

Baby #2 Update:

Overdoing it - With as busy as this move has made us, there have been times that I let myself get carried away and I've probably done WAY more than a pregnant woman should. I do my best to get plenty of sleep at night though.

Eating- I must admit that I don't eat as healthy as I probably should, but this move has made it particularly harder to eat foods that should be incorporated during pregnancy. Living in the hotel and having all of our kitchen items packed, we've been eating fast food and junk for the last few weeks. I don't know how people can eat like this indefinitely because it literally makes me sick to my stomach when I eat at places like McDonalds! In the weeks to come though, I hope to get some better eating habits.

More pictures from the week:

This is pre-remodel. Addie making herself at home

with some toys. Notice the suitcase we keep

her toys in for now... poor kid!! LOL