Sleepy Time!

Since my last post, Addison has started to interact more every single day. It is so rewarding to see the little milestones that you read about. She is really examining her hands a lot these days. She is also grabbing at toys more and more. When I put something in her hand she will usually hold it with the death grip for maybe a minute before forgetting about it and letting it go or by throwing either into her face or over her body with a jerky force.

I have tried relentlessly to get more laughs out of her since my first success. I have given myself whiplash from throwing my head in all directions and making any goofy noise I can think of, but none of it brought more than a big smile…until yesterday. While Addison and I were hanging out on the sofa, I had to reprimand Friar who had been barking at the neighbor. The magic phrase was “FRIAR…STAY!” and she would immediately throw her head back and begin to laugh. Keep in mind, she has not yet mastered the laugh, so it sounds even funnier than a real laugh. I was dying!! I was so bummed that no one was there to share it with me. When my friend Kate came by, I tried to reenact it, but it didn’t work that time. Later in the night, I also found a funny sound that used the same force as Friar stay, that brought it out again. Luke was there to hear it that time.

This week has been nap time training. I have been reading the book “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child,” loaned to us by Joi. I realized that I have not been creating an opportunity for Addison to nap. I was still under the assumption that she would just fall asleep when she was tired and it didn’t really matter what we were doing or where we were. Addison had not been napping much over the past couple weeks and I was keeping her up for long periods of time trying to entertain her, when she was actually just really tired. For the past week, I have been putting her down every two hours in a quiet place and she has been napping! She is sleeping for about an hour or more each time. What is crazy is that the statement in the book “sleep begets sleep” is totally true! I have picked up on her cues and noticed she is ready for bed earlier each night. I used to put her down at 8pm and she would go right to sleep. Last night, she went down a little after 7pm! It is great to know I have all the time in the evening to work, clean, unwind, etc.

Our other sleep success occurred yesterday as well… the move to the crib! I have made a few attempts at getting her to nap in her crib. Normally she would be content for a few minutes and then start screaming. I tried using the mobile, but that seemed to be more stimulating than calming. I tried spending more time in her room, reading books and having belly time, but when I would leave her alone she would start screaming every time. Yesterday morning, I put my shirt in the crib with her and sat in the chair watching and waiting. She was asleep in only a few minutes. I kept the shirt in the crib all day and all night. She took every nap in the crib and slept in it all last night. It was a bittersweet victory as I miss having her right next to me. We went in and checked on her a few times through the night to make sure she hadn’t escaped.


The weather has been incredible lately, which has really been great for getting Addison out and about. We have made trips to the river, where there is a great grassy park for us to hang out and watch the water and watch Luke paddle around. We have also been spending the early morning hours either on a walk or under the umbrella right outside our bedroom door. Addison loves being outside so we take her for walks around the yard every chance we get. When we were in Raleigh a few weeks ago, Addison decided to catch some rays. She is really excited about her beach trip in July.

Luke and I bought a bouncy exersaucer toy at a yard sale last weekend. It was such a great find and Addison loves it! She is too young to be left without assistance since she has not mastered the head control yet (we are so close!), but she gets a huge smile when I put her in it and bounce around with her. She also loves when I hold her and do really fast, deep squats. My thighs have been burning and I walk with a limp now, but it makes her smile, so I am happy. I think that she is going to take after her father and be the adrenaline junkie… oh the days of worrying I have ahead of me…

Addison is Laughing

OK, I got the first hint of a real laugh out of her two days ago, but today was a huge change! She loves when I make funny faces and sounds and she laughed for real today!! Here is a video.

I am late getting this one posted, but it’s never too late to share!

March 21st, 2009

We are still on the road! After driving home from Raleigh last Sunday, Luke decided that he needed to go back down to buy our new “family” van, a 15 passenger van… I don’t know what he has in mind, but it’s not the same as me! Anyway, Tuesday morning, the whole family woke up early and made yet another trip to Raleigh. We drove back to Blacksburg on Wednesday morning in time to do some laundry, clean a little, payroll, take Addison to the doctor for her immunizations and then pack up for our trip to Maryland. Addison was very brave during her visit to the doctor and even with a needle to each leg, she only screamed for about two minutes before calming down and then slept the whole way home.

Thursday morning was our last visit with our midwife, Hannah. She has been incredible and we could not have had a better birth/delivery with anyone else. Even though the process of labor and delivery was the hardest, and of course most rewarding, event in my life I would never to go through it in a hospital, unless of course there was a high risk situation. Hannah was really impressed with how much Addison has grown. At almost eight weeks, she is weighing in at 11lb 3oz. That is just about four pounds in two months.

After we left Hannah’s office, we got in the car and started driving north to Maryland’s eastern shore, and Addison’s grandparents. It was a long day of driving so we broke it up with a stop in Northern Virginia to see some of our friends and so Addison could meet her new friend Adrian. While Mia and I caught up on each others’ lives, Addison and Adrian hung out together too… I just don’t think Addison realized that is what she was doing. After our five hour layover, we continued east and arrived in Easton late and completely wiped out.

Everyone was so excited to see Addison again! It had been two months since they had seen her and she has changed and grown so much since then. Although she still
mainly eats, sleeps and poopoos, now she is smiling and interacting more. She is also starting to make the first part of a laughing noise. It sounds like “Haaaa.” At this point it is more of a moan than a laugh, but you can tell by her face that she wants to laugh. Grandma Hopkins has been lots of fun for Addison singing her lots of songs.

Meg and Dan drove in from Alexandria on Saturday afternoon. After hanging out with Addison for a bit, they headed on the paddleboards and Addison and I went for her first boat ride with her Daddy as captain. It was really cold out, but I had her bundled up, tucked in close and covered with a fleece blanket, so she was nice and toasty!




On a negative note, Addison has been dealing with a lot of gas this week. I haven’t been able to figure out exactly what is making it so bad. There has only been one day that she screamed in pain and it made me feel so horrible to watch the tears roll down her cheeks and not really be able to help her. So I went to Target and bought some infant gas relief. I have given it to her twice so far, but I don’t really know how well it has helped. She hasn’t screamed again, so it must work! This morning she woke up with big man farts. She could go up against the best of them in a fartdown.

Bringing it back up a notch, Addison had a six hour stretch of sleep the other night. She fell asleep at eleven and woke up to eat at five in the morning, the back to sleep again until nine. A little after nine I woke her up because I was tired of waiting for her. Then back to sleep until noon! I couldn’t believe how long she slept and I was sure it would be a long night the next night, but she has been consistent with her five hour stretches. I am one happy mama!