Little Miss - Spoon-fed Pro!

I have to share some of the cutest pictures of Little Miss loving her rice cereal! She really gets excited when she sees the spoon and is just about ready to start trying stage 1 vegetables! We made the transition from soy formula back to milk-based and her stomach seems to be tolerating it much better than in January. Another week or so and I'd say it's time to start a nice green veggie! I'm thinking green beans but we'll see what Daddy thinks.  :)

Here we are in the dining room feeding Little Miss her rice cereal off of a spoon. This is the first time she actually ate it all instead of spitting half of it out with every spoonful! Go Addie Go!!!

It looks at first like she's unsure of the taste, but then...

Now she's SO interested that she can't even take her eyes off of the spoon! ...being a little cross-eyed never really hurt anyone right? 

Today I even added in a little pear juice with her cereal and she definitely loved that! Any time there's food or drink around this baby girl wants it! My bet is that she'll be a good eater :) At least I hope so!

Our Little Miss is growing up so fast! Soon she'll be feeding herself, then dressing herself, and before you know it, Daddy will be meeting boyfriends at the front door with his trusty shotgun by his side... *sigh* 

I hope everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day Weekend!! 

Please take time to remember those who have served.

A 'trip' to Grandma and Grandpa's!

By 'trip' I mean a drive across town, but it's not every day we get to have dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's where there are a plethora of amazing "new" toys! Short Pants LOVES going to see them and spending time playing in the sandbox mostly, but recently Grandma picked up a bunch of toys at a rummage sale for the kids. Now there's a TON to do!

Grandma's latest find is this awesome play tent she got from the school book sale! My favorite picture is the one directly above where you can see that Grandpa jumped right in to all the play time fun! Short Pants made his way through with all of his trucks and toys, making sure to carry his juice wherever he went (since I'm such a mean mommy who only gives him juice once in a blue moon haha).

For those of you who don't know, Short Pants is like many toddlers who seem to be addicted to anything sweet and will demand it complete with whining and the "why momma, why!!!?" when you explain he shouldn't drink it constantly.... Juice is one of many addictions such as Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, anything Thomas the Train, Cars, and Cha-chalk... which would be his way of saying chocolate. :) During potty training it worked very well to give two chocolate chips after going # 2 as incentive. He has been doing tremendously well and not having accidents nearly at all these past couple of weeks!

*Does happy dance*

Back to Grandma and Grandpa's visit... oh yes, the tunnel was fun, however I think the classic Short Pants favorite would have to be the sand box!

What kid doesn't love the sand?! 

We SO need a sandbox... He could spend hours being content with sand toys, shovels, and trucks :) 

Another rummage sale find that we loved was this Craftsman tool bench complete with lots of little plastic pieces to keep track of :) Thanks Grandma!! 

I love that when I asked Short Pants if he wanted the safety goggles on he very seriously replied, "Yes momma, glasses on top"...where he then placed them on the top of his head like they were serving this great purpose there. He's my little goof :) 

If you're wondering where Little Miss was during all of this fun, she normally naps during dinner time... conveniently for us! So she was in the house snoozing, until she got crabby and had to sit on Daddy's lap for a while.

It's not very often that she gets crabby but I think this face says a lot. "Mom, stop taking pictures and get me my Nuk!" ...of course she'd never speak to her mother THAT way! 

Overall we had a nice dinner and the kids enjoyed playtime. I'm looking forward to more "cookouts" and gatherings in the near future! 

Bring on the summer!!

Little Miss - Birth to Present Day

Now that I'm caught up in Short Pants' world, I would like to share pictures of Little Miss from birth to now. This one however will be much shorter since she is of course only 5 months old :) BUT that doesn't mean she hasn't changed tremendously since December!

DECEMBER 2010 ~ Little Miss (a.k.a. Addelyn May) was born December 8th - She is one day old in this picture, taken in the hospital's little "studio" which I think is a wonderful perk for parents who deliver there! It even looks like she's waving hello as if to say "HI Nice to meet you!"

The first week with Little Miss was quite the roller coaster, as we had a short stay in the NICU after only having her home a couple of days. Her Jaundice levels were too high and her weight had dropped too much since birth. I had also gotten sick which wasn't helping the breastfeeding end of things so Little Miss was under a high powered light and bili-blanket in the hospital until her Jaundice levels were back to normal and we made sure she was gaining after each feeding with lots of weigh ins and some supplementing. As scary as it was for Daddy and I, we were blessed to have these issues resolved in a short amount of time and got to go back home to settle in with our little family of four.

JANUARY 2011 ~  One month - HAPPY NEW YEAR! This is one of my most favorite pictures ever! Such a Daddy's girl already, Little Miss made it a habit of falling asleep on Daddy... one of the cutest things to witness. She started to become more of a routine follower as we got into the swing of things this month.

FEBRUARY 2011 ~ Two months - Our amazing little girl already grew so fast in such a short time. She was starting to really fill out her clothes instead of them hanging on her so much. What a little 'pee-wee' as my Dad would call her! :) She had been trying to stand and put pressure on her legs since day one, but really started to get the hang of it this month. Her first real smiles based on recognition happened this month as well :)))

MARCH 2011 ~ Three months - I had to choose this picture to illustrate just how much she looks like her daddy. If this isn't a little Bradley, I don't know who is!!!!  She has had so much character right from the start. A feisty and strong baby girl, even stubborn you might say at this early age. haha :) She really started batting at her toys and reaching/grabbing on to everything in site and of course trying to put everything in her mouth even though she couldn't quite control her movements yet. At this point she also started rolling on her side, holding onto her own bottles during feedings, sleeping through the night, and "talking" to us much more often!

APRIL 2011 ~ Four months - HAPPY FIRST EASTER! She looked so adorable in her dress coat and little pink Easter dress! Little Miss enjoyed a wonderful day of family and getting passed around :) At four months Little Miss has also transitioned into her own room upstairs near her big brother, closely examines anything near her with much concentration, and enjoyed her FIRST outdoor walk! She also has a little stranger anxiety with people she isn't as familiar with.
Addie also has an adorable little 2nd cousin named Chelsey Mae who was born only 4 weeks earlier than she was! Here's a picture of Chelsey below at Easter;

CHELSEY MAE - EASTER 2011^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

MAY 2011 ~ Five months - Little Miss in her Bumbo chair! She loves to sit here like such a big girl, and is even now trying to escape the Bumbo... She can almost get herself arched back just enough to pop her chubby little thighs right out and topple backwards all on her own! She has not achieved this yet (thank goodness) but I need to make sure I don't leave her side if she's ever spending time in her Bumbo chair... that's for sure! She also, babbles to everyone, drools tremendous amounts, will belly laugh when tickled, smiles about 90% of the time, and likes to keep us up at night as of this week, otherwise sleeping isn't a problem. (We're guessing it's the change in formula) Oh and Little Miss is on the verge of saying "Momma" ... I can feel it ;-)

From here on out I'll be posting our latest and greatest events and accomplishments to share with our family and friends who we wish were near.

We love you!!
Visit again soon :)

Short Pants - Birth to Present continued... (year three as of now)

The third and final edition of Short Pants' Birth to Present is here! Since he turned two he has accomplished so much, from knowing his letters/numbers/colors to, becoming a BIG brother, and conquering potty training! This year is so far a spectacular year of achievement for my boy. Here are the collection of pictures each month starting right after he turned 2 (which was his Golden Birthday) to present day. I'm so excited to see what the rest of his year brings!

OCTOBER 2010 ~ A friend of Brad's took some amazing family photos of us at the Eau Claire Dells. Here it looks as though Braedyn is thinking, "Some day, I'm gonna BE somebody!!". Such purpose in his eyes as he plays with the pine needles :)

NOVEMBER 2010 ~ Short Pants running around the park... having a ball :) Until of course he throws a fit! Terrible two's anyone? haha

DECEMBER 2010 ~ On December 8th, Short Pants became a BIG BROTHER!! ...and a great one he is!

JANUARY 2011 ~ We introduced "potty training" in January but let him come and go as he pleased for a couple of months until a few months later when we tried the "3 Day Potty Training" method! It was a good fit for Short Pants, although it was NOT an easy process I'm proud to say he is now potty trained before the age of three!

FEBRUARY 2011 ~ Lunch time with mini-"pizzies" and salad! ...don't forget the cheese!!

MARCH 2011 ~ Short Pants must always know where his Thomas the Train is! He plays for hours with his wooden tracks and train cars all over the house. During story time he usually asks to read his two big Thomas books (that I know by heart now) and each time he gets SO excited during the story like we've never read it before!

APRIL 2011 ~ HAPPY EASTER! Another Short Pants favorite around our house is Disney Cars and racing which is his room theme. So the Easter bunny brought him this Lightening McQueen race car full of treasures that he loved!

MAY 2011 ~ I can't believe how big he is now and how "grown up" he seems to be getting every day. My little Short Pants keeps me on my toes for sure, brings us all so much joy, and has such a bright future ahead!

I hope this blog helps share just how amazing he is. This journey of motherhood has been more than a blessing to me and such a ride! I don't know what I would have done without all the generosity that has come from so many of our family and friends along the way. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for ALL you do for us every day!!

Short Pants - Birth to Present Day continued... (Year Two)

Choosing only one photo for each month of Braedyn's life so far has proven to be very difficult! However I will fight the urge to post a million and a half photos of my kids and make this a little easier to follow... now where were we? Oh yes! Year TWO! Here is the continuation of pictures starting after the first birthday of Short Pants :) Enjoy!

OCTOBER 2009 ~ 13 months - HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Braedyn was a "Grumpy Old Man" and played the part very well! Thanks to Auntie Cait for the idea :) We even drew in wrinkles and chest hair! haha

NOVEMBER 2009 ~ 14 months - Stubborn as stubborn can be... not walking yet! 

DECEMBER 2009 ~ 15 months - MERRY CHRISTMAS! Grandpa Kallin tried to get him to walk toward his presents but alas, Short Pants wasn't having it... 

JANUARY 2010 ~ 16 months - HAPPY NEW YEAR! Short Pants sporting funny glasses from the Dollar Tree (another phone pic)

FEBRUARY 2010 ~ 17 months - Loving Ravioli (which he will not touch now!) This is FINALLY the month he started to WALK :) YAY!! haha

MARCH 2010 ~ 18 months - Running in his new racing room! Have I mentioned Short Pants is known for his accessories? Cool dude!

APRIL 2010 ~ 19 months - HAPPY EASTER! He had so much fun dying eggs for the first time! 

MAY 2010 ~ 20 months - Riding in the car to go camping for the weekend! 

JUNE 2010 ~ 21 months - Short Pants in the pool at Grandma and Grandpa's house! He loves to splash :)

JULY 2010 ~ 22 months - Eating his cake and celebrating Landyn and Auntie Cait's birthdays after playing with the slip n' slide! Loving the tummy :) This picture also demonstrates the Short Pants nickname. hehe

AUGUST 2010 ~ 23 months - What better thing to do on a rainy day than to jam to music on the iPod?! 

SEPTEMBER 2010 ~ HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY SHORT PANTS!! 

This concludes the second year! Stay tuned for the third edition of "Short Pants - Birth to Present"! 

TO BE CONTINUED... 

"Short Pants" - Birth to Present Day (Year One)

How did Braedyn get his nickname of "Short Pants" you ask? Well it's simple really... Braedyn's wonderful Grandpa Kallin (my dad) is always one to point out the obvious haha. Braedyn is and probably always will be a short little guy. My dad's nickname for him just came out one day with a good laugh and it stuck. Every time my dad shows off pictures of  his grandbaby boy the nickname is also shared. It brings a smile to my face every time I say it. Thanks Dad :)
Braedyn was born September of 2008 and we were lucky enough to get a marvelous gift at his baby shower, of a professional photography package! Thanks to my Grandparents, Aunt's, and Uncles, we were able to have some amazing photos done of him at only one week old!

SEPTEMBER 2008 ~ Taken by Donna Leicht Photography- Appleton WI.

 Here are Braedyn's chosen photos each month from then until now! 

OCTOBER 2008 ~ 1 month. First Halloween! What a cute little Superman :) 

NOVEMBER 2008 ~ 2 months. First Thanksgiving! His outfit says, "Little Turkey" on the feet! 

DECEMBER 2008 ~ 3 months. First Christmas! Photo quality wasn't the best since mom's only camera was her phone.

JANUARY 2009 ~ 4 months. This photo really captures just how much he liked to eat ;-) 

FEBRUARY 2009 ~ 5 months. All smiles in his Baby Einstein jumper :) 

MARCH 2009 ~ 6 months. Goofy Lil' man! SO chubby and adorable.

APRIL 2009 ~ 7 months. Wearing his "lil man" bib from Grandpa Kallin - another well-used nickname :) 

MAY 2009 ~ 8 months. Growing up so fast! Feeding himself his fruit medley. 

JUNE 2009 ~ 9 months. A true 'Short Pants' photo :) Taken at Rib Mountain 

JULY 2009 ~ 10 months. Playing the piano like such a grown up! He didn't even bang on the keys :) 

AUGUST 2009 ~ 11 months. Loving summer!

SEPTEMBER 2009 ~ 1 YEAR OLD!!!!!

My little Short Pants had a great first year. Since it's late and this momma needs her beauty rest (feeling kinda ugly lately... I mean tired... haha) I will say...

TO BE CONTINUED...  

Thanks for stopping by! Come see us again soon :)