Be Brave Mommy

That is what Alexa told me when she saw me running inside when we saw a mouse in our garage. Now I will admit I am afraid of lots things. Mice are not scary to me, but not knowing where the mouse is and when he is going to run out in front of me scares me. So as I was getting Addison out of the car with Alexa by my side we saw the mouse. Alexa said, "Be Brave Mommy, we are pirates and pirates are brave." Haha I love her and her encouraging words so much.

Recently Alexa has started saying things that have really surprised me. It has me realizing how much she is picking up on things she watches on TV, sees when we are in public and hears from Justin and I. I am making a really conscious effort to make sure she is only exposed to good role models. No more Mommy TV while Alexa is awake. Here are a few of my favorite Alexa quotes

• "Red is the new Pink" (No idea where this came from)
• "We only play with girls and teachers." (This hurt Daddy's feelings a little bit)
• "Oh dear me."

On to Ms. Addison. She has been a great office assistant over the last few weeks. My goal in the mornings is to start working quietly and early so she can stay asleep. Once she wakes up, I feed her and let her play on the floor for a little while. When she starts getting fussy I let her sit on the couch next to me. She usually chews on her fist and smiles at me. It is always refreshing to have a happy baby smiling at your when you are dealing with the stresses of work.

Addison is becoming even more vocal. Usually its happy sounds but we do get the occasional crappy cakes, particularly when we are in the car. We still do not do enough tummy time. She does like sitting up in her boppy and playing with her kicking toys. She is doing awesome with breast feeding. We are back to doing 1 feeding at night after 3 weeks of sleeping through the night. Oh well! During the day she eats every 2-3 hours. Sometimes she goes more but I do not track her time. Instead I just feed her when I think she is hungry. So far so good. Hopefully she will keep this up until we start food in just a few months. She still wont take a bottle. At this point I am not going to push it. I plan on working from home for at least the next few months so we should be OK.

The last few weeks I have started making great progress in finding balance. Before Addison was born I felt I had a good handle on the house, Alexa and work. Once Addison came things were throw off balance and it took me a few months to find out how things were going to work out. Cutting my hours to part time has been amazing. My afternoons are spent running errands, cleaning the house & one on one time with Addison. The extra time has opened up our evenings. We now have uninterrupted family time. I can tell the happiness level in our family is increasing & that's what its all about.

We are looking forward to spending Thanksgiving in Chicago & then getting ready for Christmas. :)

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Disney World

Where to begin? I am really struggling to make time to sit down and blog. It is important to me to remember the small stuff, yet between 2 kids, work, Justin & taking care of a house I cant find the time. I am making it my November resolution (I think I just made that up) to blog at least every other week through Addison's first year. Wish me luck.

Addison had a big few weeks. She had her first plane trip & first visit to Disney World.  The airport, security and the plane ride were a breeze. Addison slept through most of the flight and only woke up to eat. I think the white noise had a lot to do with it. I believe Alexa was a good flier when she was really young too. Once we arrived in Orlando we were greeted with the WONDERFUL 80* temperatures and my Dad & Beth. We spent the first day at Magic Kingdom. Alexa loved seeing the princesses and of course Mickey & Minnie. Addison spent most of the weekend in the baby bjorn. GB even offered to walk around with her through the parks as well. I really appreciated the break. Her ~12lbs really feel heavy after a few hours.

The first night we were all exhausted and made it an early night. Having been to Disney with Justin 4 times previous I knew it was just beginning. Friday morning started out early. We went back to Magic Kingdom to finish up the stuff we missed the day before. Addison and I nursed in the bjorn (covered) for the first time in public. I was quite proud. Alexa saw some girls getting their face painted and decided she had to have hers to. Of course all she has to do is look at Daddy and say please. While I was changing Addison first of two blowouts, Daddy did this.

 

Alexa was sooo proud of her face & wore it with pride. She slept on her face during 2 naps & overnight and the make up held up. She was sad to have it washed off after 2 full days. Friday night Justin the girls and I went to Disney Quest. Alexa enjoyed all the games. Addison and I played for awhile and then found a quiet couch to nurse on for the next hour. We both enjoyed the break.

Saturday morning was the start to our biggest day. I ran a 5K through Animal Kingdom. Justin and the girls where there to cheer me on. It was by far the biggest race I have been apart of, but my second slowest time. Oh well, I was still really proud of myself for getting into shape only 3 months after Addison was born. We had to rush back to the hotel and then off to Alexa's race. She ran a 100 meter dash with kids her age. She LOVED it. I ran with her and really enjoyed seeing her cross the finish line and get her medal. She even tried to get me one. Such a sweet girl. She wore her medal around the park that day and talked about it for a few days after. I really hope the girls enjoy running in the future so we can do something as a family. We spent the rest of the day at EPCOT. Just after dinner the girls and I headed back to the hotel. I was really ready to do some laundry, give the girls good bathes and get some rest. 3 days was definitely my limit before needing to recover. Justin on the other hand had a half marathon to run. Although he did not have the time he was hoping for I know he was glad he did it and finished it. I would love to run one with him one day. 

Sunday morning we all woke up and headed to Hollywood Studios. I think at this point we wore down Dad & Beth. I really tried hard to keep a slower than normal (for Disney) pace, but I know it's still exhausting. They were troopers and held up anyways. Alexa saw the Mickey Head  at Hollywood Studios and said that Mickey had a cone on his head. Haha! That night we watched their light show. It was a highlight of the trip for me. 

Monday morning we played putt putt & then had some ice cream. Walking around the Boardwalk area made me sad for going home. I really want a vacation with a nice pool & warm weather. Maybe next year? Overall it was a nice weekend. I am glad we went & look forward to our next time back.