Dear Addie Mae

Dear Addie Mae,

Today you turn ONE. In the past year 12 months you have turned our little world upside-down and all-around. You have melted your daddy's mercy-less heart. You have opened your brothers to a world of gentle, calm, and quiet. And you have helped create a new dream in the mind of your mommy.

You will be told that your daddy and I did not plan on having you. We were happy with our family of four. But I want you to know, that even though we weren't "trying" to have a baby, you are by no means an accident. Your life was written in history long before January 10, 2011. Your life, your existence is more than flesh and bones. Without you, history would be completely different. I am honored to be first in line to witness the great things you will do and how you will make your mark.

We chose your name five years ago when we were expecting your brothers. We knew if God gave us a daughter, your name would be Addilyn "Addie" Mae Highley. You are named after your great-great-grandmother, Addie Mae Emmerson. From all accounts she was a spit-fire of a woman, who LOVED her family. You would do well by carrying on her legacy.

Addilyn means "noble kind" and Mae means "beautiful." I pray that you would believe you are a BEAUTIFUL NOBLE princess of the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords.

Addie Mae, I love you. I love you today more than I loved you 12 months ago. I will love you tomorrow more than I love you today. You will do things that will anger me, disappoint me, hurt me, and sadden me, but NOTHING you do will ever change my love for you. It comes unconditional. There is one who loves you more than me, not your daddy (although he's a close second).

He is your Heavenly Father. You will do things that will anger him, disappoint him, hurt him, and sadden him, but NOTHING you do will ever change his love for you. It comes unconditional.

With that truth I close this first of many birthday letters. I pray you have a happy, happy birthday my beautiful, noble, girl.

I love you,
Ma-ma

Addie - Three Months

At three months our Addie:

1. is 13.7 lbs (83%).
2. lifts her head and holds it up very well. She loves to sit in her Bumbo seat and look at her world. She is such a curious little girl.
3. is beginning to laugh and coos BIG time. She loves listening to mommy and daddy sing songs to her. She'll even sing along. Some of her favorites include: "Our God is a Great Big God," "My God is so Big," "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," "Victory in Jesus," and "Amazing Grace."
4. eats 5 oz at every feeding. The girl LOVES to eat. I've added rice cereal to her bottles and that has helped her poop issues. She is going about 4-5 hours during the day between feedings now.
5. sleeps at night for six to seven hours straight about 5 nights out of the week. We're on our way to sleeping all seven night out of the week.
6. still HATES anything on her head, BUT is beginning to tolerate it when she is sleeping for a little while.
7. loves the bath - a VERY warm bath. She is already a little princess about it. If it's too cold, she fusses until you warm it up. Instead of almost falling asleep, though, she now likes to smile/laugh/coo through it.
8. takes naps anywhere and everywhere. She is not picky about where she likes to sleep.
9. is the apple of her big brothers' eyes. They are playing a bigger role in helping with her. They will hold the bottle, powder her bottom, entertain her, and just be a great resource when needed.
10. Her personality is really coming out. She is starting to interact with others around her. She is not afraid of people or strangers. This is such a blessing since she has to go to daycare every day.

We love you sweet Addie Mae! 

Addie - Two Months

I'm behind on updating my girl for her TWO MONTH birthday. I've sat down to do it a million times, but inevitably, I get interrupted. Addie is now almost three months. I would skip over two months, but I really want to write this down to remember for later.

At two months our Addie:

1. is 11.9 lbs. and 22.25 in. long (73% in both).
2. lifts her head and turns it to look around.
3. is beginning to laugh and coos BIG time. The laughing is no big belly laugh by any means, but it's something and oh so adorable. She loves to coos when you sing to her. I make dramatic pauses in the middle of the song and she chimes in. It's our own version of a mother/daughter duet! :)
4. eats 4 oz at every feeding. The girl LOVES to eat on schedule every 3 hours. At this point I'm starting to think she needs 5 oz. at every feeding, too. I've added rice cereal to her bottles to see if this fulfills her and helps make her poop more solid. She is having a lot of bm diapers that are very liquidy.
5. sleeps at night for six to seven hours straight about 3 nights out of the week. We're on our way to sleeping all seven night out of the week. Crossing my fingers this comes SOON! The inconsistent sleep pattern is exhausting for baby and momma (and daddy, too)!
6. still HATES anything on her head. SUPER bummed about this one.
7. loves the bath - a VERY warm bath. She is already a little princess about it. If it's too cold, she fusses until you warm it up. Instead of almost falling asleep, though, she now likes to smile/laugh/coo through it.
8. takes naps in her swing mostly. She is not enjoying being on her tummy like she did at one month. It's a good thing her momma is more stubborn than she is. ;)
9. is the apple of her big brothers' eyes. They are playing a bigger role in helping with her. They will hold the bottle, powder her bottom, entertain her, and just be a great resource when needed.
10. Her personality is really coming out. The other night I was talking to her and she rolled her eyes at me. OH BOY!

I don't have a picture of her with her bear this month. I do have a picture of Addie with her older cousin, Case. Case was born December 5, 2010. Aren't they a cute pair?!?

Question

I go back to work on Tuesday. After my maternity leave with the boys I left them with my mother-in-law. It was great. I could work. We didn't have to pay for a sitter. I could go visit them anytime I wanted. If they were sick, I could still take them over there and go to work. Plus, I was leaving them with someone who loved them *almost* as much as I do. THE BEST SITUATION!!!

Since my in-laws have not decided to move to Conroe, Miss. Addie will have to go to daycare at a very young 7 weeks-old. The boys didn't start attending daycare until we moved here and they were two. Addie will be attending the same one as the boys, PRAISE THE LORD they had an opening. Anyways...I'm planning on sending her Monday, even though I have the day off. That way she (and I) can ease into daycare.

Questions:

1. Did you send your infant to daycare? If so, any advice or suggestions on what I should pack for her?
2. Would you advise me to "check-in" on her Monday to see how she is doing? I am not typically an emotional person, but for some reason I'm being a little emotional about this. I don't know if it would be a good thing or counter-productive to visit her.

Comments? Thoughts? THANKS!

Addie - One Month Old

My sweet Addie Mae is 1 month old. To be exact, she's 1 month and 1 week. The realization that time is moving too fast hit me Monday when I went to my school to show her off. I only have a week and half more with her before I have to go back to work. CRAZY! I know that teaching is where I am supposed to be right now, but it's still hurts leaving your children at daycare.

At this age, our Addie:

1. lifts her head and turn it to look around
2. recognizes her mommy and daddy's voice. She smiles when we talk to her.
3. eats 4 oz at every feeding. The girl LOVES to eat on schedule every 3 hours.
4. sleeps at night for four hours straight. That means we're only getting up with her once, which is not too bad. I lay her down awake and she does a GREAT job of falling asleep on her own - little to no fussing at all.
5. HATES anything on her head. This is extremely unfortunate considering her mommy is bound and determined to make her wear ridiculously big bows.
6. loves the bath - a VERY warm bath. She is already a little princess about it. If it's too cold, she fusses until you warm it up. She'll just lounge and would fall asleep if we let her. 
7. takes naps on her tummy or in her swing. I'm too nervous to have her sleep on her tummy all night.
8. is the apple of her big brothers' eyes. They adore her. They call her "my baby." They want to play with her and help. Both boys are great helpers.

We all just love this sweet girl of ours. Happy One Month, Addie Mae!

Psalm 118:1

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever." Psalm 118:1

Beautiful girl just one-hour old.

Nothing can prepare you for the birth of a child. No books. No class. Even having an older child cannot prepare you for adding an additional. Ryan and I weren't planning on having any more children. But God in his INFINITE wisdom knew that our family NEEDED a little girl.

The great thing about a scheduled c-section for someone like me (TYPE A), is I know what to expect. There's a date, a time, and place. No surprises. Sure, sometimes God throws you a curve ball and baby comes before the c-section, but the percentages on that is low.

Happy girl at a ten days old.

My pregnancy was very smooth. No morning sickness, not even nausea, a few aches and pains here and there, but that's it. I complained mostly because I was pregnant that you're supposed to complain when you're pregnant. :-) The worst was part was heartburn, oh the heartburn! Still, it could have been so much worse.

January 10, 2011, started like any other day. We were woken up by the boys. I showered, got ready for day, fed the boys breakfast, we watched cartoons. A nice lazy morning. Then at 10:30 a.m. Ryan and I kiss the boys good-bye and leave them with his mom and my parents. We head out the door to the hospital to bring home a baby sister for the boys.

The loves of my life!

We welcomed our precious little girl at 12:52 p.m. She weighed 7 lbs. 8 oz. and was 19 inches long. She is PERFECT. Within an hour of being born she was lifting her head and looking us in the eyes. She wakes up once in the night and sleeps the rest of the time. She smiles when you tickle her chin. She can out-burp any man in the room as well as out-gas. She loves to be cuddled and loves music. Once again I say, she's PERFECT!

I love my sweet Addilyn Mae. One baby names site says her name means "good humor" and bless her heart, she needs to have it to be a part of our crazy family. Another site says Addilyn means "noble." I love this because my prayer is that she will grow to believe she is the daughter of the king most high. She IS of nobility.

Sweet Addie Mae at two-weeks-old.