Smiles, Talking, and Birthday Fun

I didn't get my blogging done this weekend; it was pretty busy. Last week we walked almost every night and put Addy in the stroller, She would stay awake looking around with her eyebrows raised until we were a block from home and then fall asleep. I think she was trying to figure things out and wondering why mommy and daddy were not holding her and she was moving. Last Tuesday August 23rd marked Addy's first "real smile". Jared had come home from work and was talking to her and she was just a grinning at him and I was able to get a picture. As the week went on she was "talking" to me when I would talk to her and it was adorable! We love her little faces and sounds. I can't believe our little baby is already 7 weeks and am sure I will just keep saying that as the weeks and months, then years go by. Saturday Jared watched Addy for a couple hours while I did a few things, and then Saturday night we went to a Royals themed couples shower for our friends Brett and Kelly and had a lot of fun. On Sunday, Jared turned 31! We celebrated his birthday, along with my mom and my brother's birthdays. Happy Birthday to you guys! Both of our families came over for lunch and we had a great time. Also on Sunday marked 5 years of Jared and I being together, we went on our first date on his birthday! Man how time flies... and I couldn't be happier with the way the past 5 years have gone, they have been the best years of my life and I feel so incredibly blessed!! Sunday night we had our first dinner date since Addyson was born. My mom watched her and we went to Jack Stack BBQ. While it was nice to get out together and have one on one time, we definitely missed our little girl. We were so tired from the weekend we had a lazy Monday, and then Jared and I started our workout to Jillian Michaels when he got home, we are going to do the 30 day Shred for awhile. We did it last fall together and enjoyed it, hopefully we will soon not feel like we are so out of shape. I am ready to get this weight off and I re-joined Weight Watchers, which I had success with pre-baby. Today was my first meeting and I am excited about the new Points Plus program. Hope everyone has a good week!

First Smile

 Getting used to the awesome stroller!!

 Bath Time

 Daddy's little Royals Fan

 I'm ready to go

 Royals Party time

 All dolled up for the birthday parties

  Jason, cousins Caden and Taylor, Jared and Vicki

The Grandkids with Nana and Papa

Jason's Big Day!

Yesterday was an exciting day... my baby brother (who is almost 9 years younger than me) moved into the dorms at college. He is now a Gorilla and on his own for the first time... SCARY!! He is used to mom doing most everything for him and finally will not have mom or dad there to make sure he is behaving and getting his stuff done.This brings back memories for me when I went off to college, and I hope he has a wonderful experience and makes the most of it. He is enrolled in the Harley Davidson Motorcycle program and will be able to earn an Associate’s of Applied Science Degree in Motorcycle Service Technology and then get a Bachelor's Degree from PSU. Dad, Jason, and Jared unloaded the vehicles and got the room situated for at least the time being, mom made Jason's bed and got his stuff unpacked, and Addy ate and we hung out watching everyone. After that we headed to the Harley school for a cookout and for mom, Jared, and I to see it and it was very impressive I must say. They have an amazing shop for the students to learn and have hands on experience. You could tell Jason and dad were in heaven being in there. As Jared put it, "did you see your dad's eyes light up in there??" After that Jared, Addy and I headed home and mom, dad, and Jason had a busy afternoon of meetings, etc. I have been texting Jason and he seems to be adjusting well after just one night away. I must add my mom is doing better than I thought she would so far. Go Mom, it's time to party!! (No more messes to pick up AND a cheaper food bill, lol!) We will all miss him though and are planning to learn how to skype so we can video chat with him and he can see Addyson too.

Last night I went out to dinner for my friend Cathy's bachelorette party, I had intended to take Addyson with me but after being in the car for 4 hours yesterday I felt bad and Jared said he would just watch her while I went if I wanted to. I had a great time and checked in with Jared a couple times, I missed my baby girl! I was gone for almost 4 hours total and this was the longest I had been away from her. While it's good for us both to be apart a little, it's a good thing I came on home because Jared did a great job, but frustration was growing and Addy was crying when I walked in. She calmed down pretty quickly for me, I think she missed her momma and was also tired from the busy day. Jared said she was awake most of the time I was gone and fussy for the last hour of it.

Addyson was worn out, she slept for 7 hours straight last night!! I couldn't believe it and kept checking on her, she was just sound asleep like her daddy. After eating she slept another 4 hours.

Here are some pictures:

 Ready to go

 Done unpacking

 Ahh college life is great, lol!

Me and Jason

Trying out the bed

Growing Girl!

Yesterday was Addyson's 6 week check up and she is doing great! She now weighs 8 lbs, 2 oz (25th %) and is 21 3/8 inches (50th%). Her head circumference was 14 1/4inches (25th%). Jared and I could tell she was getting bigger, her cheeks and tummy were filling out, she is getting little rolls on her thighs, and she loves to stretch. She has been changing so much, even from morning to evening time!! This week she started making noises back to us when we talk to her, and really studies our faces too. She rolls from her back to side and side to back quite a bit now. We went on a walk for the first time with Addy Monday night and used the carrier. She did not like it at all at first, I had to walk around the house and get her used to it. Then we went around the block and she did okay, but had this worried look on her face the whole time. Her little eyebrows were raised and she was holding onto my shirt. I will include a few pics. We have had a couple lazy days this week and man has it been nice! Addy has also slept another 6 hours and 5 hours in a row at night this week! That helps me out, but I still wake up thinking something is wrong and check on her a lot.

 I don't like this new thing

 Maybe it will be ok?

 Before her dr's appt

 With Great Grandma

 With Great Uncle Brett

  Listening to mommy talk to me this morning

Party, Party

Wow, it's Sunday again! I can't believe it's already been a week since my last post. The last week was filled with visitors, errands, and preparation for Saturday. During the week,  the amazing babysitter I had when I was little, Alda, came out with her grand daughter and great grandson who is a month older than Addyson. Alda makes the best food ever, and she brought out my favorite dish of hers: Spaghetti!! It was sooooo delicious!! My mom says I am still spoiled after all these years (I like to say, no just loved a lot!!)
Saturday morning we woke up and got ready for our busy day. It takes a lot longer with a little one! Addyson got to wear her party dress, complete with hot pink sandals and a headband. First, we had a surprise 60th bday party/lunch for my step-mom at one of our family favorite restaurant's Frontier House. We really enjoyed it and hope she did too! Then we had to leave from there and go load up the car to get ready for our second party which was a combined couple's shower for my best friend Sara and her fiance Jordan and Jared's best friend Brett and his fiance Kelly. It was good to see friends, visit, and celebrate our friends' upcoming weddings!! Thank you everyone for coming and for all the help! We will have 4 weddings within 6 weeks of each other starting in September, as one of my close friends Cathy is getting married and then my brother's best friend Jimmy is also. We can't wait to celebrate everyone's big days with them! Addyson will be good at the partying, that's for sure!!
Here are some pics from the past week, we can't believe Addy is 5 weeks old!  The first is Addy with Alda, the next 2 are party pics, then a 4 generation Stoneking family pic with my dad and grandma, a pic of Addy this morning, and a picture of our nephew Caden who is almost 2 and our niece Taylor who is 6 1/2 with Addy.

Weekend Fun

Wow, Sunday already? Time goes so fast these days and I've heard it just gets faster. Friday night we went on a big outing and Addyson was out late, but she did so well. My friend Ellen and her whole family were in town and we met them at Cheesecake Factory. It just happened to be Ellen's birthday as well! We really enjoyed getting to see everyone and for them to meet Addy.

Yesterday morning Addyson and I did some shopping and went out to lunch with Grandma Vicki and had fun. Addyson got a cute outfit we can't wait to put her in! I got a few new clothes too. Let me just say shopping post baby for me is NOT FUN! Nothing fits right and it is downright depressing :( I know it's only been a month but still my maternity clothes are getting bigger and my "normal" clothes don't fit yet.)

Jared watched Addyson by himself for the first time yesterday evening for a couple hours while my mom and I did some errands for our busy weekend next weekend. It seemed to go well, but when we got home Jared did say she was cranky after we left (I think she just missed her Momma!!) and after she calmed down and appeared to be asleep, he set her down to do something and she was crying within seconds. He said to me, "Man does she do this during the day all the time? I can't even go to the bathroom!" I just laughed and said yes sometimes and sometimes she has to cry for a few minutes so you can do what you need to do. Overall she is a really good baby though and mostly just cries when she is hungry or needs a diaper change.

Addy must have been tired from shopping yesterday, as she slept for a 6 hour stretch last night! This was great except I kept waking up checking on her since she usually sleeps around 3 hours. (Friday night she did sleep a 5 hour stretch but I figured it was because she was out late and a little off our normal routine). We measured her this morning and she is 21.5 inches and weighed 7.6 pounds per our home scale. We can definitely see she is growing and changing so much. Here are a few of her 1 month photos we took:

Addyson is 1 month already!

Since we are so busy and everyone is always asking about Addyson, I decided to start a blog. This way those that are interested can keep up with us and I can organize my thoughts, what we are doing, and keep track of Addyson's latest breaking news bits. We hope you enjoy it!
The past month has flown by! We love our little girl so so much and can't imagine life without her now. Being a mom is something I always wanted and now it is a dream come true and the best feeling in the world!!

A step back in time: Last year around this time we started talking about seriously trying for a baby, after being married a little over 2 years and people always asking us when we were going to have a baby and our response being "after such and such trip," but then we would plan another one and so on. We went to Mexico the end of August 2010 to celebrate Jared's 30th birthday, this would be our last big trip for awhile. The 6th of November, we found out we were pregnant. I took a test, and it was positive and after looking at it in awe for a few minutes, I went downstairs and Jared asked if I was okay. I replied, "I have a question, are you ready to be a dad?" He didn't believe it either, he said "Really?!" and went up to look at the test. We were SO excited and I took 3 more tests to make sure it was really happening. We went to the doctor a couple weeks later and then had our first ultrasound in December, the baby looked like a little gummy bear and we also got to hear what would be our little girl's heartbeat for the first time. It was such an amazing experience!! The rest of my pregnancy seemed to fly by, I was very very lucky in that I felt great other than just being more tired. I didn't have any morning sickness, heartburn, headaches, or indigestion. My friends who were pregnant weren't so lucky and they hated hearing I was doing fine.

When we were dating we had created a "name list" of baby names we liked and Addyson was one of them and we kept going back to it, even after reading the name book and searching online. Her middle name Jane is after me, my mom, grandma, and Jared's mom. At least we covered our bases!!


On July 8th, our lives would forever change. At 3:30am I woke up uncomfortable and kept tossing and turning, made a couple trips to the bathroom, and had Jared get me a drink of water. He went back to sleep and then at 5:15am my water broke. It wasn't just a little, it was a huge puddle. I woke Jared up and since it was dark and he couldn't hear me, I tried to write on his arm with my finger that I needed a towel. He got frustrated and said "Just turn on the light!" Well I couldn't move, so I took his hand and put it in the water. That definitely woke him up and he realized we were going to have a baby that day. We got around and headed to the hospital, after showering and packing last minute stuff. My mom and Jared got to be in the room with me. I had to have a C-section because Addyson was breech. She was born at 7:58am, weighing 6 lbs 12 oz and was 19inches long. Our stay was great, the staff was amazing and we have amazing family and friends and were blessed with lots of visitors both at the hospital and at home. Thank you to everyone that helped us and visited us!! We love you guys!!

The first week Jared was off, the second week my mom was off, and the third week my mother-in-law was off. This was such a huge help and we are so grateful for our parents!! This was our first week on our own and it went well. Addy generally sleeps 3 or so hours at night between feedings and the daytime tends to vary. Today we got 1 month pictures taken and they were okay. It is hard to get a one month old to hold still, not cry, and perhaps get her eyes open. We took some home photos as well and will try to get those uploaded soon.