For the Wearing of the Green

As you can see from the previous post - we really like St. Patrick's Day.  Lucky for us our local St. Patty's parade is pretty awesome.  And even luckier for us one of Erik's best friends lives on the parade route.  So that means that Addison has been to this parade 3 times!  And of course each year gets more fun.  I'm telling you folks, seeing the world through her eyes, there is just nothing like it :)  I went crazy with the camera  - would you expect any less?  I'll post some favorites.

Some goodies I brought

Only the prettiest girls get flowers

That's why Addison got 4

Here comes the parade!

That's pure excitement :)

"Throw me sumfin misser!!!"

Real men wear skirts.... or kilts

Parade Friends

2 Irish Gals

Addison and just a small portion of her loot

We can't wait until next year!

Happy Miracle Day Anniversary!!

The following is the first post I ever did on Addison's baby site.  I'm reposting it to celebrate this special day for our family.

Our Miracle Baby


Date: 03/22/2008

I got my first positive pregnancy test on February 20th. We were elated and a little shocked that it happened so soon. We took our time only telling a few family members at first. My first doctor's appointment was scheduled on March 13th. Erik and I both took the day off of work, and it seemed to take forever to get here. The Monday of that week, the doctor's office called and said that they were unable to see me on the 13th because the ultrasound tech wouldn't be there. They said if I wanted to try and see a heartbeat I had to be seen that day (the 10th). So of course I said yes, and I called Erik and after canceling a few patients he was able to make it as well. As soon as we got there they did the ultrasound first. It was not good news. All they saw was an empty sac - no baby, no heartbeat. We were devastated. The doctor came in and said at that point we definitely should have seen something. He tentatively diagnosed me with a blighted ovum which is where a baby is conceived but does not implant. He said he wanted to see me back in one week just to confirm. He told me he was 99% sure that I would miscarry. That was one of the worst weeks of my life, although I think I handled it a lot better than I expected. I had fully accepted that this was not going to be our time and was just ready to move on with our lives. We had also asked family and friends for lots of prayers to help us through this difficult time. The day of my follow-up dragged on until my afternoon appointment finally arrived (on St. Patrick's Day). They started with an ultrasound and this time there seemed to be a shadow of something in the sack. I gasped and Erik grabbed my hand. Then as the tech kept moving the wand, she explained that we were actually seeing a baby!!! Then there was this little flicker that was the hearbeat! She even turned the sound on the machine way up and we could hear it! We had gotten our miracle! After the ultrasound the doctor ran in the room and grabbed the ultrasound report. We heard the tech telling him in the hallway about how she almost fell out of her chair. We he finally came back in he said that he had to compose himself because he was about to cry. He completed my exam, and said by all indications this was now a healthy pregnancy! The heartrate was 143 which is very healthy and strong. He said he didn't need to see me back for 4 weeks, although he did caution against announcing the news until I made it past 12 weeks. I will never forget St. Patrick's Day and all the people that prayed for us. God really showed me what he can do even against incredible odds. Thank you God for our little miracle!!

And here is the little miracle on the day she was born (excuse the quality, cell phone pic)...

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

Out of the Mouths of Babes....

The other day we were at Walmart when a nice lady walks past us.  Addison gasps and says, "Oh!!  Hi!!"  The lady smiles sweetly back and says hi to Addison.  As she walked away Addison says "Mama, it's Oprah!!  It's Oprah Mama!!  I want to talk to her."  I immediately started laughing although I did  not chase the lady down so Addison could talk to her.  I just turned Oprah on once we got home and let her talk to her that way :)

The other morning when I turned the vacuum on, Addison ran up to me and say, "oh Mama!  You startled me!"  Startled?  Really?  How old are you?  12?  I don't even use that one myself... I usually say "scared". 

Last night she was convinced the man on the food network was our church pastor.  "Look Mama, it's Pastor Jay!"  The funny thing is, I'm pretty sure that's the one channel he would like to be on :)

This morning she looks at me and says, "Mama - you're my best friend!"  Can she stay this little and sweet forever and ever please???

More February Fun

We recently celebrated Nana's birthday. 

Addison loves birthdays!  And she loves even more to help open gifts.  It's a good thing that Nana happily obliged.

Can you see the adoration oozing from this picture?

It finally got warm enough to spend some time at the zoo.  They have a great little playground there and it's probably Addison's favorite place to go.

She likes to push the boys around, literally.

And she loves to kiss the babies.

And then there are the Mardi Gras parades - oh what fun.  Only made better by spending time with friends. 

Throw me something Mister!

Me and my girl.

So much fun downtown.  We had a blast.

Welcome springtime!  We missed you :)

A Fashionable February

One of the things I love about having a girl...  is all the cute outfits.  And one of the things I love about MY girl is all the personality.  Just a few pics of the cuteness we live with on a daily basis...

LOVES her sunglasses.  We have about 5 pair

Pigtails?  Yes please.  Courtesy of Mrs. Jana who only has boys at her house :)

She loves to wear dresses.  We'll have to work on sitting "lady like" though.

Work it girl, strike a pose!!

Ummm, seriously?  Can you stop looking so much like a teenager please??

Love this girl.  Maybe she can teach me a thing or two about fashion :)