Baby Jude!

After 4 months, we FINALLY got to meet Baby Jude! Elissa called on Friday to see if we had any weekend plans, since we didn’t, they drove to Birmingham Friday night, and stayed with us until Sunday! It was SO much fun to get to visit with them! And Jude was PRECIOUS!! We went to the zoo on Saturday (fun, but HOT!), and hung out around the house visiting. :)  

Makeup Artist in the Making?

I was putting on makeup yesterday, opened my eyeliner, then set it down. When I went to grab it, it was gone. I turned around and saw this. Haha. Apparently, we need to work on her makeup skills. :)
(the second picture is her admiring her work in the mirror before I bathed her. She looks quite proud of herself!)

Happy 15 Month Birthday!

It’s hard for me to believe that my TINY little baby is already 15 months old today! She is getting SO big, SO fast! Well, kind of. Her pediatrician REALLY wanted her to be 20 pounds by this appointment. I thought she would make it! She eats pretty much anything we give her, she just doesn’t eat a whole LOT of it. The problem is she runs non stop as soon as her feet hit the floor in the morning. Seriously, if she’s awake, she’s running. Luckily, Dr. Law got to see this in action today as she was running around the exam room and climbing on and off the chair. A million times.

Addie’s 15 month STATS:

Height: 29 inches (20th percentile)

Weight: 18 lbs. 12 oz. (3rd percentile)

Head: okay…I can’t remember…but it was 10th percentile

SOOOO….she’s giving us until Addie’s 18 month appointment to hit our big 20 pound goal. HOPEFULLY we’ll get her there. If not, they want to talk about some sort of growth hormone to help her gain weight. I’m REALLY hoping this just means she’ll  just never have to worry about her weight and always be skinny. :)

Here’s Addie at her appointment, this was obviously taken before shots. How sweet is she!?!

AND…after her shots. (She had to get 2 today) :(

Poor baby! Luckily, she has a SUPER sweet boyfriend, E, who was kind enough to take her out for dinner. :)

And he even shared his cars with her.

Pigtails

How cute are these? :)

LOVE

Addie LOVES her GiGi (and we all KNOW her GiGi loves her), but I seriously think this is my favorite picture ever. It’s just LOVE. :)

 

Addie started school!

Okay, not real school…but it is a (pre) Pre-School. She goes on Wednesdays and Fridays from 9am-1pm. They have a very detailed schedule (broken down from 10 to 30 minute intervals) that includes Circle Time, Story Time, Bible Time, Center Time, Craft Time, Playground Time, Lunch Time, etc. Her teachers are both really sweet, and she seems to really enjoy it. They send home daily progress reports, and she’s always “cheerful”. We’re so glad she likes it, and I’m so glad to have 8 hours a week to myself! :)

(also..she LOVES her LLBean packpack. haha) :)

Addie on her 1st Day of School :)

Getting Good luck kisses from her Big Sis :)

My Grandmother

Last Friday, July 30th, my Grandmother passed away. We knew this day was coming for quite some time, but that still didn’t make it any easier. Addie and I were visiting my parents in Tryon. We had debated back and forth whether to go or not, as my Grandmother was in the hospital. We thought she was improving, so went ahead with our trip. (I already had the plane tickets.) We were there for less than 48 hours. Aunt Pam called mom, and mom decided she needed to go. I’m so glad she did. She ended up driving Addie and I back to Birmingham, then headed to Columbus. She got to spend almost 2 days with her before she passed. We don’t know if she was even aware that my mom and Aunt Pam were there with her. However, I know it made them feel better to sit with her, sing to her, massage her hands, make sure she was comfortable, etc. I imagine she was much too focused on seeing my Granddaddy’s handsome face again to worry about what was going on in her hospital room. :)

I left on Saturday morning to go to Columbus. I wanted to see my mom and my aunts (And my Uncle!). I wanted to know that, although they sounded fine on the phone, they really were alright. I LOVE being around my family. I think they’re hilarious and fun. PLUS, I got the added bonus of getting to catch up with Briarly and see my brother. We sat around and talked about my Grandmother. They talked about growing up, and how she was as a mom. We laughed about how she had the most “kid unfriendly” house ever. (Seriously, it was like finding gold when we found a glasses case to play with…) But mostly, we celebrated her. She was the center of almost all the conversations that weekend. She would have loved every minute of it. :)

We had a lovely memorial service for her on Sunday.  There was a poem that my Grandmother found years ago, that she gave all three of her girls a copy of. My mom read it at the Memorial Service, and I think it was perfect.

A Parable on Motherhood by Temple Bailey

The young mother set her foot on the oath of life. “Is the way long?” she asked. And her guide said, “Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning.” But the young mother was happy and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children and gathered flowers for them along the way and bathed with them in the clear streams; and the sun shone on them and life was good, and the young mother cried, “Nothing will ever be lovelier than this.”

Then night came, and storm, and the path was dark and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother drew them close and covered them with her mantle and the children said, “O mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come,” and the mother said, “This is better than the brightness of day, for I have taught my children courage.”

And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead and the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary, but at all times she said to the children, “A little patience and we are there.” So the children climbed and when they reached the top, they said, “We could not have done it without you, Mother.” And the mother, when she lay down that night, looked up at the stars and said, “This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday I gave them courage, today I have given them strength.”

And the next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth – clouds of war and hate and evil – and the children groped and stumbled and the mother said, “Look up. Lift your eyes to the light.” And the children looked and saw above the clouds an Everlasting Glory, and it guided them and brought them beyond the darkness. And that night the mother said, “This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God.”

And the days went on, and the weeks and the months and the years, and the mother grew old, and she was little and bent. But her children were tall and strong and walked with courage. And when the way was rough they lifted her, for she was as light as a feather; and at last they came to a hill, and beyond the hill they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide.

And the mother said, “I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know that the end is better than the beginning for my children can walk alone, and their children after them.”

And the children said, “You will always walk with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates.”

And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the gates closed after her. And they said, “We cannot see her, but she is with us still. A mother like ours is more than a memory. She is a Living Presence.”

4 Generations , Addie’s first time to meet her Great Grandmother.

Great Grandmother and Addie

Great Grandmother with Addie and Penny, First time to meet Penny.

Thanksgiving 2009 , we had the private dining room and all had Thanksgiving dinner with Grandmom at Covenant Woods. She was SO proud to have her family come, and she LOVED showing off those babies!

the whole family that was there, Thanksgiving 2009

Ryan, Addie, and I were lucky enough to be able to go to Columbus and celebrate Grandmom’s last birthday with her. :)

on her 89th birthday. Jan 2, 2010

Our last visit to see Grandmom was on Mother’s Day weekend. We showed up and surprised her. May 2010

The circle of life. :)

PEARL HAND COCKRELL

JANUARY 2, 1921 – JULY 30, 2010

A Quick Trip

Addie and I had planned a week vacation at my parent’s house. We were so excited and had a list of all the things we wanted to do while we were there. We planned on lounging in the pool, finding area kids attractions, going to the science museum, but mostly letting Addie spend some quality time with GiGi and Granddaddy! We flew from Birmingham to Charlotte, then my dad picked us up and we headed to Tryon. Unfortunately, we had to cut our trip short. We ended up having my mom drive us back to Birmingham, so that she could go to Columbus and spend time with my Grandmother before she passed away. However, for the couple of days we were in Tryon, we made the most of it. We played in the pool, fed the fish, played with all the toys GiGi had stashed in the basement, went to the Greenville Children’s Museum, went to the park, and ate pizza (Addie’s favorite!)

I borrowed a strap called The Traveling Toddler from my friend, Lauren. It hooks the carseat onto your carryon. It’s amazing. Anyone flying with a toddler needs it. :)

Addie feeding the fish with GiGi

Some highlights from the Children’s Museum

Playing at the park

Swimming

Eating pizza with Granddaddy :)

We were glad to get to visit, even though it was quick! We’ll go back soon though.