4 Years

Trevin, Addie, and I went to Temple Square to see the lights last Saturday. It is so crazy to think about how things have changed over the years. Trevin and I have gone to see the lights 3 years together. We didn't go last year due to my lazy pregnant state but besides that we've gone every year since we have known each other. And every year we take a picture, its fun to look back and see how things really have changed.

The first year we went we were dating. I posted this picture on facebook afterwards and had lots of people comment on how we should get married. We had been dating for four months and had never talked about getting married.

The next year we went we had been married for 6 months. Ha thank goodness for facebook or we would have never thought of getting married :)

Skip the next year and just imagine a fat and complaining version of me.

And then this year. We took Addie to see the lights and she loved it. It was really cold but she had a big grin on her face the whole time. It is sad to think this will be our last Christmas living only an hour away from Temple Square but I'm so glad for all the memories that this tradition has had for us.

Fa-la-la-la-la

I know you are extremely curious as to what we have been up to since last desperately feeding Addie chocolate pie. Well Addie has been busy....

smiling

Riding Winnie the Pooh

Getting into the Christmas spirit

Playing by Grandma Cardon's Christmas tree

Getting my early Christmas present, a big girl car seat

Watched a lot of football with daddy

Went on my first airplane ride to see Grandma and Grandpa Robinson

Tried on hats and went shopping with Grandma A LOT

Played with Grandma's Christmas tree and then tried to eat the fake pine needles that I shook off of it

Attempted to unwrap some presents

Got my very first sweat suit from Grandma

And today I finally got to relax and just play

She never stops going. If anyone needs a workout come play with Addie. We hope you're enjoying the holidays as much as we are!

Desperate

I used to go out in public and see moms indulging their children in the oddest and most unacceptable ways. Today I walked through Maceys and noticed a one year old being fed ice cream while the mom Publish Postshopped, a six year old wearing a mermaid costume in the store, and another ten year old reciting some poem in her NOT inside voice. Usually in my head I would have first judged all those parents and then vowed to never allow my children to do this. HOWEVER this weekend as Trevin's little sister fed Addie chocolate pie during Thanksgiving dinner (something I vowed to never do....but seriously are you never gonna let your kids have treats, ok I've given in....occasionally) and I enjoyed 20 minutes of peace and quiet I realized sometimes you get a little desperate and do what you gotta do. While Addie will not be eating chocolate pie everyday, the six year old probably wont wear her mermaid costume to the grocery store everyday either. I learned my lesson today. As Biebs would say it "Never say never" because what may seem like horrible parenting to you before kids may seem completely genius once you're a parent.

Thankful

I know is cliche to post about being thankful around Thanksgiving but that is the point of Thanksgiving right--to take time to remember all of our blessing? Anyways we have had quite the month to make me even more grateful.

• Health: After having stomach aches for the last while I decided to finally go to the doctor and was diagnosed with H-pylori. It was completely not a big deal but I had to take antibiotics for two weeks to get rid of the bacteria. BUT the antibiotics made me sick and dizzy and tired and nauseous and every other miserable thing I can think of. Thank goodness I finished the antibiotics just in time to get my wisdom teeth out which was followed by another week of antibiotics and tripped out pain meds that all made me feel horrible. Finally yesterday I finished all my medications and now feel AMAZING! I no longer feel confused and dizzy and can actually take care of Addie and enjoy time with Trevin. Never in my whole life have I been so grateful for my health and the health of my family.

• Family: We have also recently had some unfortunate and expensive mishaps that have given me the motto "Its JUST money." We had to unexpectedly replace all four tires on our car a couple weeks ago. On Thursday Trevin broke his finger for the SECOND time in two months playing intramural football. I was so mad at first and he was also pretty upset about the newly incurred doctor bills but we took a step back and I had to remind him, "Its JUST money." I have my family and they are all healthy and happy and that is what I am the most grateful for.

• Good Friends: Lately, especially with wisdom teeth and H pylori I haven't been quite on my game with the whole being a good mommy, wife, maid, cook....etc. I am so grateful for friends who have watched Addie, checked up on me, brought us dinner when I was feeling sick, or gave Trev and I the chance to go to the temple or on dates. I always feel horrible asking friends to babysit but lately I had a few times where I really NEEDED a babysitter and my friends were always there to help me out. I have always had a hard time asking people to babysit because I feel bad. It really is a humbling experience to let people serve you but I'm starting to realize this is what makes the world good. People serve you and instead of trying to "repay" them the best thing to do is turn around and serve someone else. I'm so grateful for those good friends that I know will help me out anytime I need.

Happy Thanksgiving....a little bit early but I hope you all have a great holiday season!!

Scooting, Sipping, and Sleeping

Yes it has been awhile but I'm all about second chances SO I promise to be better at blogging if you promise to be better at reading it. deal? DEAL! So the latest and greatest.....I know its always about Addie these days but really she is the most interesting part of our family and I always try not to bore you.

Scooting--Addie has started scooting these days. Scooting, in case you are baby illiterate, is the stage between tummy time and crawling. She puts her head down, bum in the air and pushes with her feet, her upper body is then moved a couple inches forward. However because she puts her head down she can only move in diagonal lines. So when she goes for a toy she has to back track and circle around it but she always gets there.

Sipping--Addie has learned to hold her own bottle which has its pros and cons. It is nice when she is hungry and I am busy I can put her on the ground and she will feed herself. Also it just means she is growing up and developing which every mom likes to see. The cons are she is very distracted and to eat her whole bottle may take up to an hour and she also likes to blow bubbles into it making a big mess. She can also feed herself some finger foods which is cute. She loves cheerios and string cheese right now.

Sleeping--Nothing really new, I was just trying to think of another "S" for the title. Addie is a great sleeper and goes 11 hours straight almost every night. The hard thing these days is she scoots into corners and gets stuck on her back even though she likes sleeping on her stomach so we have to go in and move her a lot until she falls asleep.

This Is Halloween!

Addie is getting so big its crazy! She had her 6 month appointment on Monday. Here are the stats. 15 lbs 10 oz (33rd percentile) and 26.25 inches (58th percentile). She is a happy and healthy baby who loves ALL food. We haven't found a single thing she wont eat yet. We have only given her baby food but she has had lots of variety.

Addie has been getting in the halloween spirit lately. She finds it more funny than scary.....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFBPOePyR8M.

She loves her halloween pjs that glow in the dark.

We carved pumpkins with our friends Matt and Kenzie this weekend. Addie requested Mickey Mouse but unfortunately didn't stay awake to see the end product. We showed her this morning though and she approved. We also made oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies, soooo good but I think Matt and Trevin are still recovering from the massive amounts of cookie they consumed. The recipe is on my pinterest if you want it.

Our awesome friends Rhen and Kori got us some AMAZING tickets to the BYU football game today. Rhen plays on the team so we sat with Kori in the player's family section. We had a great time and even got a sunburn in October, it doesn't get much better.

Addie even loved it! Go Cougars! Thanks Rhen and Kori!!

Trader?

Trev and I just got back from an awesome date! We went to JCW's and then went and saw Moneyball. Before I get to my point lemme just say the wings at JCW's are amazing, I would go back right now. Anyways my point is date night was amazing, HOWEVER I always feel bad asking friends to babysit. I have amazing friends who are always more than willing BUT I still feel bad. If anyone would be up for trading babysitting let me know. I didn't realize how much we needed date night until we were out but everyone needs it so if you would like to be a trader lets trade!

Growing Too Fast!

Addie turned 6 months today and I would say she is growing up waaaay too fast! Our friends Brooke, Sam, and Connor came to visit from Arizona, we miss them so much and it was so fun to see them. This was the first time Addie and Connor met. When I was pregnant we always joked that Connor and Addie would be in love. Well we couldn't have been closer to the truth. It must be love at first sight because Connor and Addie couldn't stop giving each other kisses. I know, we have LOTS to work on with Addie before she leaves our sight.

Here she is just playing with some toys, her favorite thing to do these days besides being held. She loves to be held so if anyone wants to come hold her.....

Last night we started celebrating Addie's 6 month birthday weekend by going to the park for a picnic. We love having our little family!

She loves her daddy!

And here is her 6 month picture we took this morning, happy 6 months to my little big girl!

Here is what we have learned from our Addie in the past 6 months......

• a little spit up is not worth changing your outfit
• sleep is precious
• baby poop is overrated
• just because they smell gross doesn't mean Addie won't devour her peas and carrots
• Old McDonald never gets old....to Addie at least
• Two phrases make Addie smile the most... "Did you poop?" and "Go Cougars!"
• Addie's favorite part of church is 5 minutes in when she starts screaming and then gets to play in the hallway for the rest of it
• Life will never ever be the same again but its different in the best way possible and we love having Addie as part of our family!

Look But Don't Touch

With the latest Pinterest craze rampant I decided to add my two cents. My good friend Amanda Fairbanks and I had an adventure tonight. We decided to practice being domestic by baking something. Of course the epitome of domestic ideas is Pinterest so that is where we turned to find a recipe. I think we bit off more than we could chew....literally. We decided to make homemade samoa girl scout cookies. After three hours, burnt coconut, a sink full of dirty dishes, and a counter cemented with caramel, Amanda and I finished our cookies. We decided to taste them only to find a very chewy mess. They were nothing like those little beauts that come from boxes sold my girls scouts. From this experience I learned most things on Pinterest are far too complicated for me to try, I should just look and stick to pinning. My new motto for Pinterest....look but don't touch/try.

I Wish I Would Have Known

With a lot of my friends having babies soon and thinking back to how in the dark I was about the whole giving birth and taking care of a baby thing here is the list of what I wish I would have known.....

Labor and Delivery

• If you think you're in labor just go to the hospital, the worse they can do is send you home. That's the advice my doctor gave me and although I wasn't in labor when I got to the hospital it probably saved Addie's life
• If you're in labor and going to the hospital EAT something before you go. I hadn't eaten all day and kept feeling like I was going to pass out but they wouldn't let me eat anything once I got there, thank goodness the whole labor thing only lasted a couple hours for me.
• If you're planning on getting an epidural the IV at the beginning is the worst part of the whole birthing experience, the shot they give you for the epidural feels like a bee sting and that's it. I used to be deathly afraid of the epidural but one of my friends put it in perspective, "It's like getting bit by a mosquito while you're getting hit by a train" train=labor. Funny huh!
• Advice from my sister-in-law: check your modesty at the front door because once you get in the hospital lots of other things will be getting checked. I finally got over it and realized the nurses there do this stuff all day every day, they don't care.
• The last time I had someone accompany me to the bathroom I was probably 3 years old. Don't worry you get to re-live that all over after the baby. They don't want you falling over or anything so someone comes with you when you gotta go.
• This is your one chance in life to yell and completely boss your husband with no guilt, sorry for being so mean Trev :)
• Things don't go as you always expect them to, trust the doctors because they're doing everything that's best for you and the baby.

Baby

• Prepare a little. Trev and I read a pregnancy book but once we got to the labor part in the book we figured we were done and read nothing on what to do with a little child once you have her.
• Expect the worst and everything else seems great! I always thought we would have an angel child from birth that would sleep all night and be good all day, it was a hard adjustment
• If someone offers help like a meal or to watch your baby while you take a nap, ACCEPT.
• It gets better! The hardest part for me was not knowing when it would get better, when I would get some sleep or go pee without a baby screaming because I had to put her down.
• Hold, hug, and cuddle because eventually they wont want to and will be too big and heavy to do that all the time.
• Tough love. I don't know what the right age is, we did it at 3 months but the best thing we did for ourselves and Addie was to let her cry to go to sleep. She has been an angel ever since then.

Good luck to all my friends soon to be mothers. It's pretty crazy stuff but I love it!

General Conference

I was reading on another friend's blog and it got me thinking about all the different General Conferences in the last few years. General conference 3 years ago Trevin and I had just started dating when he invited me to his parent's house for conference weekend. I turned him down. The next conference in April we were engaged. Last October I just found out that I was pregnant and April I was 2 weeks away from a baby. Now for the first time (besides when I turned Trevin down) Trev and I are watching conference together at our apartment and we have a baby! That is probably the weirdest part, last conference I was pregnant and now we're parents. Weird. I love conference and its crazy to think about how your life changes so much from year to year but conference is always great every year!

My Deepest Apologies

I know how it is to follow a blog and then not have it update FOREVER, so frustrating! So to all 3 of you who read my blog, my deepest apologies, I promise to be better. Here is our life as of late.....

Trevin had his first medical school interview at the University of Utah, here he is at 5:30 a.m. before he left for the interview. He thought I was crazy but yes I needed a picture that early in the morning. I made him a candy poster which I give full credit to Hilary Baker, I had remembered seeing it on her blog awhile ago and thought it was a cute idea. Anyways Trev obviously did great and now we're just playing the waiting game...

Addie is just hilarious and never short of a smile. She is getting so big its crazy.

And sometimes eating must be hard work that wears her out.

We might have taken this picture a little too late but Addie was eating a little puff snack and it made her look like she had buck teeth but you can't really see it anymore.

So besides Trevin's interview and Addie growing like crazy Trevin's little brother MASON just got home from his mission. I don't have any pictures because they're on his dad's camera but it was so fun to go to the airport and see him when he got back. Addie was such a champ even though we didn't get home until 3 a.m. It has been so fun having Mason home. I wish we had taken pictures but weekend but oh well you will just have to imagine it in your mind. Trevin's family came down Friday afternoon and we went to the BYU v Utah State football game Friday night. Trev's mom decided to stay home and watch Addie which was SO nice of her! Saturday we watched General Conference and the boys went to the priesthood session. We met them at Crown Burger afterwards which was so good but I'm definitely paying for it today. It was so fun to see them and we love spending time with family.

For Love

You know how there are those things in life that you only do for the person you love? Like if someone else asked you for the same favor or whatever you would be like, "psh get out of here." Well this weekend I learned all about those things. Trevin took me to Happy Sumo for sushi on Friday night, which he knows I love BUT the kicker is A) Trevin was completely starving after having been gone at a medical school interview all day and a little sushi roll was not going to fill him up, B) Trevin completely despises sushi and had no clue what to do with the chopsticks since there weren't forks, BUT he completely made my night....the things you do for love.

Last night during the BYU v Utah football game Trevin got a text message from a guy in the ward asking for the speakers for today (Sunday). The bishopric members take turns assigning talks and it is Trevin's month. As soon as he saw the text he remembered that he totally forgot to ask anyone to speak. I'm speaking in church today....the things you do for love.

P.S. we had a couple AWESOME babysitters things week who we completely owe!! Thursday night my old roommate Katie watched Addie so we could go to the temple, Friday night Kori watched Addie so we could go on a date (the first one since our anniversary in June, the second one since Addie has been born.) Both were very much needed nights and are so grateful to have wonderful friends who also know how to handle our crazy child.

8th Grade Writing

Anyone ever remember in junior high when you had to free write in English class. You were suppose to just write about whatever came to your mind for five minutes.....here goes.

Addie turned 5 months today, in honor of it we let her have a taste of watermelon and baby puff snacks, she was a fan but like her mother, has A.D.D. and was easily distracted by something else. We also went on a walk this afternoon. We were waiting at the light when I noticed a sign posted on the light post. "I've noticed there are lots of moths in this area. If you feel the same meet here at 3:37 pm and bring some snacks like cheetos in case we get hungry." I looked at my phone, it was 3:47, whew just barely missed the weirdos. If anyone wants to go it was at the corner of University and 500. After crossing the street I heard a motorcycle rev and looked back to see a man who was in the car behind the motorcycle get out of his truck and go over to the girl riding on the back of the motorcycle (don't worry the light was red). I couldn't tell exactly but it looked like he halfway pulled her pants up and told her to pull them up....yes in Provo we have modesty checks at red lights. We ended up going on a super long walk so being the lazy I am these days it counted as my workout. Speaking of workouts.... A) I think the metabolism bunny visited me because I feel like I could eat everything and anything....I'm not pregnant, promise! I made this awesome garlic shrimp pasta for dinner and may or may not have eating seconds....and thirds :) B) Trevin went to the gym yesterday after not having gone for two weeks and had lost 5 pounds, serious?! who does that. Isn't he a stud! AND he has a MEDICAL SCHOOL INTERVIEW at the U on Friday yipeeee! We're so excited for him. This doesn't fit in anywhere else in the blog but I have been obsessed with baking and cooking lately. Maybe it is because I have nothing else to do or maybe it is because whoever posts those pictures on pinterest is purposely trying to make me drool. If you would like something baked let me know, its weird because I am/used to be (you be the judge) awful at baking but its pretty fun these days. Ok free writing done! Sorry I hope you can follow it, if you aren't asleep yet

My little sicko sitter

Addie has been sick the last couple days but that hasn't stopped her from practicing her sitting skills, here there are in action....

I know, she kinda cheats and uses her hands right now but she is getting close

We like to saucer

I broke down and bought Addie a new toy this weekend. She loves her exersaucer even though its still a little big. Anyone buying baby gear I highly suggest Baby Depot which is connected to Burlington Coat Factory. I bought this little beaut for $30 cheaper than anywhere else. But really she loves it and the pictures were cute. Sorry this is short. More inspiring things to come this week....

The First Week

While everyone started school last week I had my first week too being a full-time house mommy. Over the summer Trevin's work was very flexible and he came home for lunch every day so it was like we were both on summer break. Now he leaves in the morning and comes back in the evening and I am a full-time house mommy all day. My first day I was all excited and pumped about the first day of the rest of my life. The second day I made it through but the day ended with tears and a breakdown. The third day I realized this is life and I need to find ways to make the best of it. The fourth day I started to love it and can't believe I'm so lucky to get to do this all day every day. So yes I had a very rocky start to this house mommy business. At first I felt very lonely and somewhat useless that I just sat around all day but over the past week and a half things have started to get much better. Everyday I find something to do in the morning to get us out of the house, lately with the beautiful weather we've been going on runs. Tomorrow is the first day of a playgroup I started with some other moms I know. Even though the first week was rough Addie and I are having the best times, I love being a house mommy more than anything and I've even read a book. I know, weird, the first one I've read since I started college.

Our errand today, we bought some new bows for Addie's hair

The Healthy Way or the Highway

Anyone who knew me pre-pregnancy/baby knows I was a super health freak--tofu, oatmeal, fruits, vegetables, those were pretty much my favorite foods, I would hardly ever be caught dead eating anything with sugar. Sugar makes you fat right? Well once I got pregnant the sight of fruits, vegetables, or oatmeal made me want to gag. Wendy's, chocolate, cheetos, those were more like my staple foods. Now that I'm no longer pregnant I'm slowly easing myself back into the healthy life but I am losing my battle with sweets. SO Sweets and I have had a long talk about our relationship and we're compromising. Here is what I made today BUT I used applesauce instead of butter, only 3/4 cup of sugar (I used all brown) and NO chocolate chips. Seriously, they are amazing, if you're skeptical about trying it come over and eat a cookie first, seriously awesome! Oh I would have used half whole wheat flour too but we were running low.

Banana Bread Cookies

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

In the bowl of your mixer cream together the butter and sugars until creamy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl stir together the flour, baking soda, cloves, and cinnamon. Add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Mix in the mashed bananas, oats, and chocolate chips until well incorporated. Drop by rounded spoonful (I used my cookie scoop) onto a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet and bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

All Good Things Come to an End

Yes, this includes summer. Today was Trevin's official last day of summer before school started and we needed to do something fun. We started the day with a trip to a farmer's market in Provo, with our besties Trev and Nat. We are too cheap to ever buy anything but we love walking around looking at all the cool handmade stuff and of course getting all the food samples. And of course samples just make you hungrier so after the farmer's market we all went to Chili's for lunch. Thank you kid who bought my Organizational Behavior textbook from us last week, you paid for our lunch today. And while I'm giving shout outs Addie deserves one because when we got home from lunch she decided to take a good long nap, which means Trev and I did too. Tonight we went to the driving range with Brett and Kirsten and Kevin and Gracie. Thank you guys for humoring me and taking all the pictures. I hate when we go do something fun and don't take pictures. Anyways I loved the driving range!! I told Trev I could do this all day every day, we had a blast.

We have awesome friends!!

Addie has really been thinking about a modeling career, she was practicing some of her poses tonight

Precious huh!

Our little family!

We had a super fun day and Trev is ready to get down to business now. Well here is to another year of school, our last one in Provo!

Never Thought I'd Say It

I MISS SCHOOL! I never ever in a million years thought I would miss school but I do. I'm sad that everyone is going back to school and I'm not. I miss it so much that my friend is taking the dreaded econ 110 and I'm EXCITED to help her with it. Yeah weird. I miss my debits and credits too. Anyone want a tutor or someone to do their homework?

End of Summer

With school starting next week we have been trying to make the most of the last week of summer. We have been getting creative trying to think of FREE things to do....having a baby=no money. So we took Addie to the rec center pool on Saturday, she wasn't sure what to think but after awhile she warmed up to swimming.

And she was still happy after we got home, not to mention she took a very long nap.

We have had such a crazy but amazing summer and are still open to any last minute summer fun suggestions if anyone has any!

O.C.D.

Ask Trevin and he can go on and on about my O.C.D. Well I don't REALLY have it but I get slightly obsessed with...... keepingthehousecleangoingtothegymeatingfruitsandvegetablesconstantlydoingsomething. He says I'm type A, high strung. Which if you ask my friends in high school would have been hilarious because I slept through school, was late to practice, and hardly did my homework. Not exactly high strung but I guess now days when there are more important things I tend to get a little antsy to be constantly doing something to help better our family. Which finally brings me to my point that this fall will be the first time since kindergarten that I will not be going to school. I don't have a career or a job. Addie and I lounge around the house singing songs, taking naps, eating food. I feel like I have been on summer break and now it is time to start things back up, ummmm.....what am I suppose to start back up? I am officially a housewife and since that's what I'm gonna be doing now I'm gonna be the best freaking housewife ever, which is why I did the laundry, cleaned the house, had dinner waiting when Trevin got home, worked out, bought chocolate cake (I know FAIL, I should have made it), and planned a game to play for FHE. Oh but don't worry I also took a nap, watched Khloe and Lamar, and read part of a book (by part I mean like 3 pages before I got completely bored, I'm a horrible reader). I know this all sounds so completely old fashioned but until I come up with something else that's what I'm doing. I feel kind of bad since Trev is going to school working hard and I'm sitting at home playing patty-cake and watching food network all day but I guess this is how it goes PLUS school is not even close to as hard as birthing a child or a few in the years to come right? So I guess I'll stop feeling bad and get back to the latest on Kim and Kourtney.

365 days--266 very long ones

Everyone already knows I'm completely obsessed with the flashback game so here I am blogging a flashback once again. A year ago Trev and I went to the Jack Johnson concert. We had been trying to have a baby for a couple months and joked that I was pregnant and our little fetus was getting its first concert experience. A couple days later we found out it wasn't a joke, peanut was growing inside me!
The next few weeks consisted of lots of laying in bed, trying not to throw up and feeling fat. Ha! I remember taking this picture and thinking that I was huge! In retrospect I wasn't even close!

At 37 weeks I remember taking this picture and being more ready than every for labor and to finally meet Addie. At this point everything in life was uncomfortable and I often referred to myself as the beached whale (especially at night trying to turn over in bed)

When Addie came at 38 weeks exactly I couldn't have been more excited to meet and hold my little girl. However things didn't go anything like I had expected it to be. Addie ended up in the NICU for the first 10 days of her life. Thinking about the whole experience later on I realized that Addie's birth was nothing short of a complete miracle. Because my doctor told me to go to the hospital even though I wasn't sure I was in labor, because my doctor and I decided I should be induced, because Addie decided to book it out of my stomach in 2 hours, because her doctor decided to start her on antibiotics just in case there was some sort of infection, Addie is a healthy happy baby today. It seems like there were so many small details along the way that if things had gone differently Addie wouldn't be as she is today. I still can't figure it out but every time we drive by the hospital I look up and see the window of the NICU that was "Addie's window," and I have very good memories of those 10 days.

Beside a couple minutes at 3 A.M. the night right after her delivery this was the first time I got to hold Addie, day 2 of her life. Most mothers get this experience minutes after birth but I had to patiently wait until she was off her ventilator. It was such an amazing experience I was crying, probably why my eyes look weird in the picture.

Once Addie was born the next couple months followed with a lot less sleep and a lot more cuddling and loving on our new baby girl. I try to block out the endless days of her crying, my stress and worry that something was wrong with her, and the day Addie's doctor labeled her a mother killer.

And here she is after 9 months of growing inside me and 4 months of growing on the outside. We have the best, sweetest little baby girl anyone could ask for. I used to be scared to death of the whole idea of pregnancy and labor and raising a baby. To calm myself down I always thought people have multiple children so it can't be that bad. Now I realize how quick you forget the nausea, the contractions, the donut that you have to sit on for a week after childbirth, and the sleep deprivation because you have this cute little face to look at instead