Never Say Never!

How Big is Addison??

SO BIG!!!!

Addison has grown so much in the past month! She is talking a lot more, although it is mostly da-da-da. I have yet to hear any sound of the letter M or N, she is stuck on B's and D's. Addison is getting a lot stronger too. She loves to stand up and when I ask her if she wants to stand up, she stiffens up her legs so she can go right up into standing position. She loves to stand up and hold on to her singing cube while playing with all the little tabs and buttons.

I have said for a long time that Addison will probably never crawl since she absolutely HATED being on her belly. Well, about a week and a half ago, she decided to prove me wrong. Our little late bloomer is finally rolling around the floor and bed to get things she wants. She "crawls" by rolling from side to side and pushing forward with each back and forth. She is getting closer to bringing up her knees now, but still seems to be a ways off from crawling. What was the secret to getting her to move? Her Robeez! She loves both pairs (just bought a third today!) and will choose her Robeez shoe over any toy placed in front of her.

We have been eating a lot more big girl food now too. She really loves her vegetables, just like her mommy! She loves broccoli, cauliflower, kale, butternut squash, asparagus and sweet potatoes. She is getting more interested in fruit. I can get her to eat grapes, kiwi, pears, and if I hide it in oatmeal she will eat banana. Addison is a Cheerio nut! She loves them and whether she is hungry or not, will eat them, picking up each one and then sticking her whole hand in her mouth trying to get the Cheerio. I have offered her other foods that are bite size, but she is not interested in feeding herself those foods, only the Cheerios.

The weather is getting colder now, but we have had a few nice days and have taken advantage of them by going for walks, feeding the ducks at the duck pond, and going to the park to watch all the big kids play. She has so much fun watching them that I can't wait for her to be able to walk around and play with them on her own and not watch from afar.



Addison had her first sleepover this past month too. Her friend Ellen (and Ellen's mama) both stayed over at our house while both of their daddy's were out of town for the weekend. Ellen is such a sweet little girl and is very friendly with Addison. She loves to give Addison kisses. Addison is not that advanced yet, so she would just try to grab Ellen and hold on to her while squealing very loudly. It was so cute to see the excitement on Addison's face when she woke up in the morning and watched Ellen walk in to say hello!

"I am a big girl!"

Ready for the cold weather!

Evening at the park



"Watch me roll all over the place!"

Play, Play and More Play!

Addison loves to wear any and all hats. Daddy's hats are just a little too big!

Addison loves making trips to the park. She is not big enough to go down the slide and doesn't really have a that much fun on it yet.

Swinging is so much fun! Addison laughs and smiles the whole time!

When Addison is taking a break from the swing, she enjoys watching the kids play in the playground. She screams with delight as she watches them chase each other

Addison made the trip to Bridgeport, West Virginia for her great grandmother's surprise birthday. She was also able to meet her cousins Cora and Allister.




Thanks for sharing your toys! Addison loves banging two toys together to find out what kind of noise they make.



Addison and Daddy look so cute with their matching mohawks! This is one of the few ages in a girl's life that a mohawk is acceptable.

Addison's diet has become more extensive. She is such a great eater and absolutely loves her vegetables. So far her favorites are avocado, asparagus, and butternut squash. She has been very consistent in disliking bananas.

What baby doesn't enjoy looking at themselves in the mirror? I can always get a smile out of her by placing her in front of one. In this video, she is giving herself big kisses!

On the Road

We have been doing a lot of traveling this month. We started out by heading up to the eastern shore of Maryland to visit Grandma and Grandpa Hopkins. We were a little tired from the drive, but it didn't take long for Addison to warm up. She really enjoyed reading books, playing with her toys and having bath time with her Grandma. She went on a few boatrides, wearing her new life jacket. She loved going fast and would look around and smile as we motored along. Aunt Meg and Uncle Dan came for a visit and we all went swimming in the hot tub, which was set to a nice lukewarm temperature for Addison. She had so much fun splashing and chasing after her toys floating in the water.

Addison and Daddy are having fun in the hot tub!

Uncle Dan is showing off Addison's Alfalfa hairstyle.

A naked Addison is a happy Addison!

Our next two weekends were spent in West Virginia for Gauley Season. During our first weekend there, Addison and I rode down to Sweet's Falls with Grandma Pagano and Ernie. Addison really enjoyed watching all the rafters and kayakers. Luke paddled down and met us there, then he got on her stand up paddle board and Addison and I, along with hundreds of other people, watched him attempt the falls. Even though he didn't make it through standing up, we loved watching! We were out for a long time but Addison was a very good sport and stayed in fairly good spirits, as long as she was in my arms!

Our next weekend in West Virginia was also action packed! Addison and I went to visit Erin and Eli. It was amazing to see Eli already crawling all over the place! We walked around the Gauley River Festival and saw old friends. Luke, Addison and I went for a hike from Grandad's house down to the lake.

Addison and I have started attending a mother's group called MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers). The group meets twice a month and while we have only had one meeting, I am already glad we joined. MOPS meets during Addison's morning nap time, but all the kids and caretakers have proven to be a good distraction. I am really hoping the social interaction will help her to get over her Mommy dependency she is dealing with right now.

Addison is still showing no interest in laying on her belly, so I am pretty sure that crawling is not in our near future. The house is not ready, so I am glad to wait! She is definitely getting a lot more squirmy! She is lunging out for toys, cups, food, anything! I have been placing toys more and more out of reach, but she just grunts and whimpers if she can't reach them. Addison is talking so much right now. There are a lot of na-na's and da-da's. I am trying to get some ma-ma's, but she just looks at me and smiles. That smile melts my heart every time I see it.

Addison got to visit with Eli twice in less than a month!

Elis is growing so fast! He is already crawling!

Addison, Mommy and Daddy getting ready to go for a hike down to Summersville Lake.

Addison loves being outside!

Addison and her daddy checking out the view of Long Point at Summersville Lake.

August Wrap Up

August came and went very quickly! Here are some photos to wrap up the month...

Addison is enjoying her ride on Eli's rocking lamb.

Eli Thomas and Addison finally meet!

Eli was a rolling machine! Addison had no idea what to think of all the moving and shaking!

Addison absolutely LOVES butternut squash! She loves it so much, she wanted to wear it!

Most days Addison insists on feeding herself!

Addison likes to touch and taste everything.

Addison enjoys going for a walk with her friend Konah, but it sure wears them out!



Addison loves going for walks with her daddy and watching him paddleboard.

Look at those cute, chubby legs!

Our beautiful little girl sitting up like a champ!

Today was Luke's birthday! Addison was so excited about it she decided to wake up extra early to wish her daddy a happy birthday and spend some quality time with him reading books and playing. This afternoon we all went to the river together and waded in the water. I tried to dip her feet in, but she was having none of it so Luke took over and played in the water with Addison on his shoulders. She was much more patient with her daddy playing in the water too! Addison liked watching all the people at the river and especially enjoyed watching the dogs swimming.

Addison hit a huge milestone today. Grandma Pagano called us this morning while we were playing and having some belly time. She wanted to Skype with us, so we brought the laptop onthe floor where we were playing and as we talked, Addison sat completely on her own! She was a little wobbly and occaionally swayed to one side or the other, or threw her body backwards. We had to be a quick a few times to make sure she didn't flop too hard. Luke and I are so proud of her! I can't believe how quickly she is developing! Play time is about to get a lot more fun now that she can sit up and play.

Sitting up all by herself!

We have been having a pretty rough time with Addison’s afternoon nap recently. Her morning nap is typically an hour and a half and she goes down so easily. The afternoon nap consists of fifty minutes of screaming. I go in and try to calm her, but that only excites her. I leave her by herself in the hopes that she will tire out, but she hasn’t yet. Our sleep help book suggests we let her cry it out for an hour. I tried yesterday, but only made it about 45 minutes. It was heart wrenching to listen to her. Uncle Nunzio gave us a tiny wireless camera that we attached to her crib yesterday. The receiver connects to our TV so I can watch her on the television. It is just like a video monitor, but about a fraction of the cost! Of course, it only works if her room is well lit, which is fine since she is such a great night time sleeper. I have been watching her during nap time trying to figure out what might be the problem, but no luck yet. Today we reversed the nap issue, horrible morning nap and great afternoon nap. I am going to keep switching up things until I get dialed in. It is so sad when she is exhausted and grumpy!

My view of nap time. Today was a success!

A week and a half ago we gave Addison her first taste of real food. I know, I know, I should have waited, but I couldn’t! Her first meal was zucchini from our garden pureed and mixed with mommy’s milk. She made the funniest face like she was completely grossed out! We tried the zucchini for about four days, then switched to peas for about three days. She was not eating much of it (which they don’t at that age anyway) and didn’t really seem that interested so we decided to hold off until she acts like she is really ready for it.

Addison, taking her very first bit of big girl food.


Addison preferred to spit out her food.

I went hiking at pandapas pond today!

Mommy and daddy took me for a hike today. I love the hikes at pandapas because half the hike is in the cool shade of the trees and we can go for a short hike because all that fun in the woods makes me tired.

I love my off road stroller. I can go anywhere and have a smooth ride.

The pond at pandapas is a great place to see wildlife.



Here is daddy and me at the waters edge. I love to be on his shoulder so that I can see everything better. His hair is great to grab hold onto as well.

Six Months Old!

Addison turned six months this week. It is amazing she has already been in our lives half a year(out of utero)! It is flying by so quickly!

In the past month Addison has finally decided she will roll over every time she is on her belly. She still doesn't like to be on her belly for very long but she has discovered she likes to play on her side. She will roll back to side, but always stops short of rolling all the way. She is also getting even closer to sitting up on her own. I will put her on my lap and brace her legs and she will keep her body upright. We have had a lot more "Boppy" time on the bed. She is fascinated by the crinkly dragonfly on the pillow so she stays upright for quite some time playing with the wings. As I played with her on the floor earlier this evening, she actually held herself up for about 30 seconds before falling over onto my leg!

I have also been putting her in her high chair and letting her play with toys on the tray. We have yet to introduce any solids, but I want to get her used to hanging out in her chair and testing her ability to sit up for longer periods of time. As for when the solids will be introduced... still holding out for now. She is now starting to show more interest and will often watch us when we are eating, but has not acted fussy about it. I have been doing all kinds of research as to signs that show when she is ready and she meets a lot of the criteria. I am really excited to take the next step with her, but because of all the pros of exclusively breastfeeding that I have told Luke about in the past, he keeps bringing me back to earth and talks me into holding off a little longer. We will see if I can make it to seven months!

Luke, Addison and I met up with Ty, Joi and True this weekend for an evening at their friends house at Clater Lake and then again for some fun at the county fair! We had a great time watching the boats at the lake, but even more fun watching the monkeys at the fair! Addison absolutely loved watching the monkeys and stared, mouth wide open, watching the monkeys jump around their cage. The petting zoo had all kinds of neat animals, a llama, yak, some goats, turtles and even a camel. We also walked past a number of penned sheep. Addison watched the sheep with interest until one of them walked up to her and baa'd. Her lower lip started sticking out and she slowly started to cry. It didn't take long to calm her and get her interested in the rams though!

Addison has been such an incredible sleeper these past couple of months! Every now and then, usually after a day of traveling, she is a little fussy when put down to sleep/nap. These past few days she has really become difficult. Nap times are usually ok, except for this morning, but when we put her down to bed at night she will scream bloody murder! Two nights ago it went on for about 45 minutes! Luke went in with her for awhile, then I took my turn walking her around the room and I watched her eyelids droop so I placed her back in her bed and the screaming ensued. At that point I realized I was going to have to let her cry it out and I sat on the top step, outside of her room, with my stomach in knots listening to her cry herself to sleep. I think we are coming to the point where she would rather play with mommy and daddy then sleep. Friar has been so attentive toward her when she is upset too. Anytime she is crying her runs upstairs and lays outside of her room until she is asleep, then he comes back down and lets me know everything is ok now. What a good dog!

Addison had her six month checkup this week. Everything is normal. Her head has grown a little more, but it is slowly making its way back onto the charts and because she is completely normal developmentally, we are all very confident that she just takes after her daddy. She is now weighing in at 15lbs 10oz and I think she was about 26 inches long.

Addison loves her bunny blanket and pulls it completely over her face to fall asleep. She had already pulled it away from her eyes by the time I snapped this shot.


Addison and Daddy like to go to the duck pond on campus and feed the ducks. She loves daddy time!

A duck says "QUACK"