Soup, Salad and Breadsticks

If you're looking for a good time I highly recommend trying to go to lunch at 12:30 on a Friday in the suburbs at an Olive Garden with three babies, each in their own car seat....Really it's highly entertaining! Renata and Evan, Kelly and Emmett, and me and Addison trekked out to Schaumburg's Olive Garden for a little mommy date today.


There were no parking spots in the Olive Garden lot, save the one by the door that Kelly scored. Renata & I had to park about 16 miles away and walk in the cold and whipping wind to enjoy our endless Soup and Salad. The hostess sat us in the middle of the restaurant between two other large parties and seemed a bit snippy that we needed so much space....I guess she would have preferred that we shove our babes under the table.


In spite of the parking, weather, hostess and table, we had a fantastic lunch. Evan, Emmett and Addison checked each other out. Evan flirted with the light fixtures, Emmett tried to suck a Coke through a straw and Addison chewed on several spoons. Kelly, Renata and I were able to speak to each other, in complete sentences and about more than just baby bowel movements.





I love being a lady who lunches, but I particularly loved being a lady who lunches with other ladies who have to entertain their little people as well. It was an incredible display of multitasking!

Waiting to go to Olive Garden. YUM! Emmett's after lunch kisses

I introduced Addison to Cheerios this week. Not the super yummy HoneyNut Cheerios (one of my favs), but the good old plain whole grain Cheerios. She was quite skeptical of the tiny little bits on her tray. It took several tries to get them not only into her mouth, but off her sticky little fingers. I am not sure that she is completely sold on them yet, but 4 Cheerios did occupy her for over 30 minutes, a huge plus in my eyes!

Press 1 for baby slobber

In true little girl fashion Addison is enamoured with phones. My cell phone, Andy's cell phone, our home phone, strangers' cell phones...she loves them all. Phones have fun buttons to push, they make good noises, they are the perfect size for little hands to hold.
On an almost daily basis my mom calls between 12:00 and 1:00 CST to check in on how her granddaughter is doing. Of late, mom has missed talking to Addison because that is when she is napping. However, when she does get through, and her granddaughter is awake, we usually have a few minutes of conversation and the rest goes something like this:

**Please note that I am updating this in the middle of the day on Thursday. That's right folks, Andy gave in and got me laptop. I am an internet hostage no more! Sue, you count on more frequent updates now....A shiny pretty new laptop all for me.

I'll never get our packing done now.

'Tis the Season all year round

The holiday season never ends in our house. For Christmas my Aunt Janet sent Addison her own snow globe. When I first opened it, I thought that maybe Aunt Janet was playing a cruel joke on me...a very loud toy that plays the same, annoying Christmas songs over and over. I forgave Aunt Janet simply because she is Aunt Janet.

Well now I must actually say THANK YOU Aunt Janet. Addison's snow globe is wonderful. It sits on her changing table and provides endless fascination to her. When she is fussy or squirmy during her changing, all I have to do is turn on her snow globe and she smiles, goes immediately quiet and becomes enthralled with the music and swirling snow.

So what if it is almost March and I often find myself humming Joy to the World?

Sweet to Sassy?

I remember being told when Addison was a few weeks old and I couldn't figure out how to work her, that the period from 4 months to 7 months old would be golden. She would play and entertain herself and everyday she'd learn something new to impress me with.


That has been quite true. Up until recently Addison was content to play on her mat with the same toys everyday for hours without a complaint. She would go down for her naps easily and wake up giggling. She was happy to held by just about anyone, and didn't care who she was with, as long as they paid attention to her.


Now suddenly, something has changed. Twenty minutes is about all she'll give her play mat laying down. After that you better stand her up, sit her up or offer her a plethora of new and interesting toys. Naps are becoming a daily fight...I always win, but it takes some perseverance. When she gets up from her afternoon naps she's ready to rumble and will grouch about just about anything. If you aren't mom or dad, she's not particularly sure she wants to be bothered by you...and if you are going to bother her, mom or dad better be near by or you are going to hear about it. And now, suddenly, she is having the mood swings of a 12 year old drama queen.


One minute giggling hysterically the next minute huge tears rolling off her enormous cheeks. One minute playing and cuddling with you, the next minute stomping her foot and trying to claw your face off. (I have no idea where she could get her volatile mood swings from...both Andy and I are always as pleasant as a spring day.)


To illustrate my point, notice the change in facial expression today while playing with one of her "favorite" toys...

That ain't no sweet potato

Okay, so I know there have been a lot of food posts....but I thought this was still worth it. I can't decide how Addie feels about green beans (I love them, so yummy and crispy and good)...I think she may disagree. What do you think?

Tiny Teeth

Milestone met.

Teeth have arrived.

Addison finally has 2 teeth poking through her gums, and they are like sharp little puppy fangs. She has been putting everything in sight in her mouth for the past month or so, but now it goes in there and she gnaws on it. There are teeth marks on wooden spoons, on her new Elmo book, on her wrist. She chews on everything.

We probably own 10 teethers and none of them interest her...until today. I was cleaning and packing and making donation piles today when I came across a Bengals teether that Uncle Brian gave Addison back in September. Addison LOVES it. It's small, she can hold it, it has all sorts of different textures. In short, it is wonderful (good job, Uncle Brian). I am positive another tooth is poking it's way into her mouth, thus the glorious mood she has been in the past several days, the 5:15 am wake up call, and the endless whining.

But, dangit, they are cute little teeth.

Broken Computer = Outdated Blog

Somehow I managed to break our computer last week...thus, the reporting adventures of Miss Addison have been on hold. While we haven't been updating you on what's going on, we have been continuing to have huge adventures.

Okay nothing that huge or exciting....but here's a quick recap.

Thursday 2/14

Andy finally got home from Lowell around midnight on Wednesday. Addison slept through his coming through the door to find me knitting with a martini....just like a proper housewife. For the silly, silly Valentine's holiday Andy and I went to dinner at the fabulous Cafe 28 . This was our first Valentine's dinner together in the 12 years we've been stuck together. It was a real late night, we were home from our hot date by 8:45. Christie babysat and had some quality Addison time, I may have forgotten to tell her that Addison hadn't napped all day. OOPS. Happy Valentine's Day Chris :)

Friday 2/15

Addison woke up with a lovely hairdo, and watched me finish boxing up our dining room hutch. It was fun to wrap our Waterford wine set for a second time, knowing that I still have not taken a sip out of the glasses or poured a drop of wine into the decanter (one day I'll trust us enough to use the Waterford, we've only had it for 3.5 years now). We packed up the car, visited with Grandpa and then headed downtown to pick up Andy and head to Cincinnati. We were heading to Cinci to clean the apartment we're moving into as well as unload some boxes. BUT, we got super lucky because we also got to meet Addison's newest little cousin:

Richard Rylan Puryear was born Friday morning at a very healthy 8 lbs 8 oz and a huge 22 1/4 inches long. WOW! He's adorable and snuggly and both Kim and Rick are doing wonderfully...way better than Andy and I were when Addie showed up!

Saturday - Monday 2/16-2/19 Addison hung out with Great Grandma, Grandma & Grandpa, Aunt Nikki and Uncle Brian. She introduced them to her new "stranger danger" attitude which essentially consists of whining, crying and looking for Mommy & Daddy. All survived her tantrum, especially once they discovered the trance inducing effect Brown Bear Brown Bear What do you See? (it's like baby Valium, awesome).

Before we headed home Monday, Addison graciously shared Grandpa's lap with Rylan...we had a conversation about sharing the spotlight, and overall she did a great job.

So, like I said, they weren't huge adventures. But when you are 7 months old, everything seems like an adventure.

Daddy M.I.L. (missing in Lowell)

Hey Dad,

You plan on coming home soon? Or calling me? I have had a busy day...Christie came over for a super healthy breakfast today and I was carted all over the city in the snow. I had lunch with Karen at Milk & Honey (yum), went to JoAnne Fabrics to help mom pick out more yarn ( btw, her knitting is getting a little obsessive and scary) and hung out at Target for 15 minutes longer than I wanted to because mom lost the freaking car keys.

Tomorrow I have to leave the house so it can be inspected...mom is saying that we are going to clean out the car, get the oil changed, and then maybe meet grandpa for lunch. Your flight better not get delayed, buddy or you'll be slumming it home....I need my beauty sleep!

Anyway, get home soon...I know Lowell isn't that good of a time!

xo,

Addie

Splish Splash...and splash and splash and splash

Bathtime has gone from being the one thing that guaranteed that Addison would blissfully slip off to sleep, to being super-duper fun playtime. By the time I am done rub-a-dubing her, we are both soaking wet and smell like a fresh clean baby.

These days when I start running her bath she starts to giggle and scream while pumping her legs. Last night she damn near dove out of my arms into the tub! I guess I would find baths more exciting too if I had a cowboy duck to play with...

Warming up to 10 degrees

I am over Chicago.


Okay, so I am not really over Chicago exactly, but I am completely over Chicago winters. My thermostat says 72 right now, which is a total lie, because my condo is freezing..for heaven sake I am wearing long underwear, jeans and a turtleneck sweater and I still can't get warm.
I am also over the meteorologists saying things like "The temperature today is 5 degrees, but with the windchill it feels like -23". That would be a tiny bit funny if they were being sarcastic, but not they're being truthful.
I mean seriously, I had to dress my poor baby in faux fur before heading out to meet Porter for coffee...that's a little ridiculous.




Ridiculously adorable.

Tag Along K

I mentioned awhile back that Addison did not have the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Of course I should have known that it would appear very quickly via Gramma Kathy. My mom gave her Chicka Chicka Boom Boom when she was visiting last month and it has quickly become part of Addison's daily reading repertoire.

Most days it is the first book I read, or sing, to Addison after her morning nap. I am beginning to think that it directly affects her mood for the rest of day. On the days that it hasn't been read I swear she is a tad bit grumpier. By the time I open to the first page and begin saying "A said to B and B said to C" Addison's legs are pumping and she is beginning to giggle. Often she get so excited that she tries to tear the book out of my hands and gnaw on it (much like I get when my weekly edition of People arrives in the mail).

I swear this picture is not posed...she LOVES this book!

***Since Addison mentioned not having this book and it arrived soon there after, I thought I just might mention that I don't have (and would really love) a pair of Ugg boots (preferably regular, I think the tall requires too much tucking in of the pants).

My Day : Tarheels, Snow & Drool

Today is a Neyer Family Holiday...UNC vs. Duke. This is a serious thing in our family, particularly for Andy and Brian ~ I am surprised that it doesn't warrant a day off work or the exchange of gifts in some way. Andy may be a bit worried because Ty Lawson injured his ankle and may not be able to play tonight.
I am slightly annoyed that this hallowed game is tonight for two reasons: 1). Hello! It interferes with Project Runway, one of the best shows on TV and 2) Dick is back and announcing the game...damn I can't stand that man.
The game is set to start at 9:00 p.m. EST...much too late for Addison to stay up and cheer. To show her support and loyalty she hung out all day at home showing Carolina Pride:


Okay so now her cheerleading outfit is covered in soy milk, spit up and drool, but nonetheless, she was being supportive.


We're both a little worried whether Andy will make it home in time for the game or not...this is what it looks like outside our window right now...Maybe that is why he just called me to talk about a trip to LA in September...for him, not me. All this snow can definately make you do some California dreaming...