First Gondola Adventure

Guess where I am?

On my first ride on the Over Easy Gondola at Stowe!

Scott and I took Addison down to Stowe again on Saturday. She is a mountain veteran already and was flirting up a storm with the other skiers/riders when we first got there. It was a beautiful blue bird day at the hill and we were able to enjoy the new base lodge at Spruce Mountain (across the street from the main mountain at Stowe - Mt. Mansfield). The new lodge is deluxe and we met up with some friends who also had children with them so it was a good time for all. Of course, being the Stowe junkie's that we are, we took a little video of Addison's first gondola ride. Enjoy!

Picture of the Week

Peekaboo...can you see me? It Frog Gal.

What A Difference A Year Makes

One year ago.


Today.

Amazing.

Winter Wonderland

(Jill) Abominable snowgirl and Dad

(Jill) Happy winter family


(Jill) Literally 'a bundle of joy'


(Scott) We took Addison on her first outdoor snow adventure this past weekend to Indian Brook Reservoir where we walked the trails around the frozen pond. It seemed to be a bit much for her at the end but overall we had a good time and warmed her up with a nice bath later on that evening. Check out that snowsuit!

Happy Fourth Month, Addison

Dear Addison,

Today you are four months old. It has been quite a month! You celebrated a lot of firsts. A few of them are:

• your first Christmas
• your first church service - you were a little angel!
• your first New Year's - although technically you didn't make it to midnight but neither did Mommy and Daddy
• your first outdoor adventure
• starting daycare
• your first real laugh

Whew!

You are growing by leaps and bounds. Every day you are more engaging and alert. You and Daddy have lots of games you like to play when you are together, all of which bring big smiles and sometimes funny laughter from you. You are starting to enjoy peek-a-boo although it is still a bit of a mystery to you. You also enjoy pulling up your legs to roll to your side. It won't be long until you roll over all on your own!

You are much more curious about your world as well. This can be fun when we take you to a new place as you are fasicnated by any new sight or sound. It can also be challenging as you now get distracted very easily when Mommy is trying to feed you! You are adjusting to daycare more each day and we are so excited when the weekend comes and we get to have you all to ourselves.

It's safe to say that we are so lucky to have such a great addition to our family.

Keep smiling, Little Lady! XOXO

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Poll Alert - Check Out My New Hat

Hey, Mommy and Daddy, I'm not so sure about this new hat.

No, really. I'm just not sure it makes me look sophisticated which is what I'm going for.

Now stop laughing.

Check out first ever poll (sidebar on the blog) to let us know what you think of Addison's new hat. Enjoy!

Picture of the Week

(Scott) We have been given so many wonderful gifts from everyone and have enjoyed them all. The picture of the week is of one of those wonderful gifts. These bloomers are from my former boss and his wife, Darren and Deanna, who are friends of Jill and I. Darren always thought as a supervisor that family came first and always had a soft spot for kids and family, not to mention he has two daughters of his own. He and Deanna must have known these would be a hit with us. The bloomers, with "Addison Ella" and the big "M" in the background, are so cute. When not being worn, they can be found as part of the decor in Addison's pink and green accented bedroom.

Four Month Check Up

In this corner, weighing in at 12lbs 15 ozs (50th percentile) and 25.5 inches (90th percentile) we have Addison Ella Murray.




Yes, folks, that's right. The two short people have a child in the 90th percentile for length. Addison has gained 2 lbs and grown 3.5 inches (!!) since her last check up two months ago. Everyone was pleased. Although the doctor was quick to point out that her length right now is not the best indicator of her future height. I think he didn't want us to get too excited.

Unfortunately we were also at the doctor's for Addison's second round of immunizations. While we were waiting in between our wonderful doctor's visit, and anticipating our not so wonderful nurse visit (no offense to her) with shots, Scott, Addison and I entertained ourselves.

Here I am double checking her measurements.


Even better, here's Dr. Scott Murray checking Addison for teeth. I think he looks like a lion tamer. She just happened to open her mouth that wide right as I snapped the picture which brought us many laughs.

Hey, we had to do something to entertain the nut before she went through her shots, right?! All in all, we clearly survived and we are happy to report that Addison received a glowing bill of health. Yippee!

Things I Hope To Never Forget : Bathtime Toes

Okay, technically this really shows her 'ring around the ankle' as I like to call it. Trust me, we've checked and her socks aren't too tight. This is just what her ankles look like. Poor thing.

Addison loves her bath. So do we. On Saturday as I was taking her out of the tub after a particularly good soak, I noticed the underside of her toes were like little raisins, all wrinkly and terribly sweet. I tried in vain over and over to take a good picture of them but it was a useless effort. She was too fast and my camera is too slow. See below. All I can say is that I hope to never forget how much those toes made me stop and say 'thank you' to whomever runs this show from up above.

Here she is swaddled and ready for bed. A little burrito.

Sick Days

After a long first week back at work, I was seriously looking forward to the weekend. I envisioned spending time with Addison, catching up on sleep and enjoying Scott's company. Let's just say it didn't turn out exactly like that.


On Friday, I got a call from Scott around 4:20pm saying that he had picked Addison up at daycare early. That's the good news. The bad news was he was sick in the hallway of the school due to the rapid onset of food poisoning. Seriously. While you won't be seeing Scott at our local Subway anytime soon, you might see the Vermont State Health Inspector there. Soooo, I rushed home and proceeded to spend the next 36 hours+ taking care of my two charges.

Good thing they're cute because I was whipped by this morning (Sunday). Scott was 100% out of commission Friday night and all day yesterday and Addison was cranky due to the cumulative lack of sleep from daycare all week. I am embarrassed (but willing) to admit that I had a moment early this morning (think 5am) after getting up for the fifth time in one hour where I considered putting Addison up for sale for $5*. Not sure where I came up with that amount but it sounded good to me at the time. Of course, that offer no longer stands. $5 Billion is more like it.**

Luckily for me, the weekend is ending more like how I envisioned. My husband is on the mend and my girl is napping and sparkly. Whew!

*Horrible, I know.

**Nothing like parenthood to make you feel slightly bi-polar.

Picture of the Week

(Scott) Here is the Picture of the Week, which is from our professional photographs taken in December, its probably my favorite of all of them.

1 Down, 1,873 To Go

Yesterday when Scott and I got into bed at the end of a long day I said, "Well, we made it through day one (of daycare). Only 1,873 more to go." That's just an estimate of course.

Leaving Addison was so hard. We can just leave it at that for simplicity's sake. However, going back to work was made much better for me due to Scott. Scott is on morning drop off duties and it has made a huge mental difference for me to leave her in the morning at our house in the loving care of her dad (they go to daycare after I leave for work). Last night she looked so shell shocked when I picked her up. I felt awful for the poor thing because as Scott mentioned below she barely slept or ate the whole day. Not exactly like everyone said it would be, reassuring me that 'she won't even notice you guys aren't there' and so on. However, once home she nursed like a champ and promptly zonked out hard and upon waking later in the evening she was the baby we know and love. Smiles, twinkly eyes and all things lovable. A huge relief for us!

Today at daycare went much better and included a very long nap and two big bottles of milk. So, progress has been made and quickly. I think it helps when you have a doting daddy who brings you in to daycare a little late and on special days like today, picks you up a little early. Go Super Daddy!

D-Day

(Scott) Well, Monday January 5th, 2009 was "D-Day," Ughumm, that means Day Care Day of course.

I had to take Addison there, because it was just too much for Jill to handle on the same day she had to go back to her work full time. Addison did great, she had a few things to say including how appreciative she is about how much work her Mom put into all of her birth and subsequent care these past several months. She especially liked all the cuddles and kisses mom gave her and was so happy to have spent nearly every waking and sleeping hour with her Mom nearby. Thanks Mom, you're the greatest!

We arrived at daycare and upon walking inside Addison looked all around, fascinated by all the objects inside. Later that evening Jill picked her up and found her exhausted from all the looking, touching and playing. She didn't sleep much in her new environment and didn't eat much during the day but once home she nursed a very long time and was actually excited to see her own crib. There truly is no place like home.

Sorry there was a problem getting both videos on here so I will have to do them separate.

I had trouble adding both videos to one post:

The Final Countdown

Sigh.

It's here. Sunday, January 4th. I knew it would come fast, but dang, that was really fast.

Scott is giving Addison her bath and I am watching the minutes quickly tick into the final hour before Addison goes to bed for the night. We had a wonderful weekend basically spent at home soaking up every second we could with our little bean. I always imagined it would disappointing to leave your baby at 3 months as they must be getting fun at that age. I was right!

So, not only will Addison and I be impacted by my going back to work, this blog will also undergo some changes as well. There will be less time to write and unfortunately less to write about as our mid-week adventures will be coming to an end. However, the blog will most certainly continue and we will write as often as we can. I mean, I know you're dying to hear the blow by blow of my return to work, right?

In the happier news department, my lovely daughter decided tonight would be a wonderful time to give me the gift of her first real laugh. I was holding her earlier this evening and teaching her how to say 'mama' (Scott started this competition) and she was smiling and cooing and all of a sudden she actually laughed. Really laughed. Not the baby cough/bark that she has done previously. It was awesome! The perfect gift for a sad mama.

A Day on the Slopes with Addison's Cousins

Today, Jill and I enjoyed a day on the slopes with our nephews Ryan and Tyler, while Jill's sister Aunt Amy watched little Addison in the lodge. Tyler is just learning to snowboard and is already looking like a ringer. His brother Ryan has been with Jill and I before and is looking even better this year. It was a bit much for Addison with all the people...how's a girl supposed to sleep with all that excitement? At home tonight she has been great though, I know she loves home. I can't believe come just a few days on Monday, I will be taking her to her first day of daycare while her mother is back to work. But, we need to bring home the bacon, sugar momma.

(p.s. -please excuse the bugger in my nose on this video, I know its hard to ignore, but it happens in the cold of the mountain.)

And next, the interview of the aforementioned snowboarder extraordinaire Tyler Crowningshield, in his victory speech.

There's A Mouse In The House

OMG, Mommy! Where's the mouse?!




Oh. Ha, ha. I get it. I'm the mouse!


Scott and I spent most of New Year's Day laughing our butts off at Addison and how cute she is in this adorable outfit. The outfit was given to Addison by my friend Chad and his wife Heather. I'm pretty sure Heather did the shopping! I'm not sure if it's right for Scott and I to enjoy dressing her up so much. You can't see it but the whole outfit is mouse themed....mouse on her shirt (under the jumper), mouse socks and mouse shoes. And of course, the mouse hat. See below for the semi-full effect.