Going the Distance

Addie's worst feed of the day is the first. She usually eats around 3:30 or 4:30 a.m. and then wakes around 7:30 a.m. Most kids are ravenous after going so many hours with out eating. Not Addie. I think she could probably go another 2 hours before she would get hungry on her own. I give her Prevacid at 7:30 and she eats at 8. She usually fights me quite a bit. She cries, pulls back, kicks, pushes the bottle out with her tongue, shakes her head like she's telling me "NO!" and will often vomit.

Per the speech therapist and GI doc's advice, I try every morning at 8 a.m. to help maintain a schedule (we have no choice with all of the medicine we're giving her, too) and to try and get something down her to start the day and keep her thriving. If we're having a good day, I can get about 2 oz. in her.

This morning she wanted nothing to do with her bottle. After some fighting, she started to eat. But, about an ounce into it, she slowed way, way down and I could tell it was coming. WOOSH! Up came what she had left from her middle of the night feed and the ounce she had just eaten. Just for s & g, I actually measured it

I put the pink ball down mark her "greatest distance". It's like the shot put, but with barf instead of the ball.

Here, I used the bottle because it seemed like the pink ball wasn't showing up too great.

From where we were sitting to the farthest "point of contact" was 4 feet!

That is right. No joke. This happens about 3 or 4 days a week. After each "event" I steam clean the carpet to avoid the awful smell of her partially-digested-but-smells-like-vomit-even-before-you-eat-it formula. I cannot wait until this is done and over with.

This Weekend

The weather was nice for a few days so we got a start on our 2009 work schedule. Yes, we have another schedule. We have a lot of stuff to do to this place, man!

Up first: the side fence for the backyard. It will look like the back fence, but we'll be painting them both (and all other border fences) a rusted brown color instead of the silver.

This time, the fencing, went so much faster than our first attempt last year. Allen even took Lexi out with him. She had a great time playing in the trailer while Allen worked. She asked him, "Daddy? You wanna come in here and sit with me?" every 5 minutes or so. She found the pots and pans and was "cooking" for us. While Addie was down, I went out to try and help a little bit. .

We got quite a bit done for just one day of work. Allen dug all 8 post holes by hand (they are 3 feet deep), put in 5 of those posts with cement, and put the top rail on the first 2 posts. We think he'll be able to get the fence done with just 2 more full days of work.

This year we are taking it a little different. We have decided to work 1/2 days at a time when possible. That is way more realistic considering that taking care of the girls' needs often takes a 1/2 day on its own. Now that Lexi is a little older and plays on her own so much better, it is a lot easier for her to be outside while we work, too. We have a lot of improvements planned for this year including: finishing the side fence, planting 6 fruit trees (that includes removing dirt from where they go, roto-tilling the existing dirt, leveling and putting down weed barrier), planting the garden and building a garden fence, putting up the front fence by the swing set, installing a new front door (which will be its own saga, we're sure), installing a new security screen over the front door, installing a new laundry room/garage door, building and hanging 2 paddock gates, running the sprinkler lines to the front yard, and building the shed to house the sprinkler timer and Allen's tools. We have through the summer planned out by the weekend. Wish us luck...

The Guardian

After getting home from church, I set Addie down to put my shoes away in our bedroom closet. When I came back out, this is what I found. I was kind of surprised because the front door was wide open. Usually, when the door is open, the dogs make a bee line for the front yard since we don't play out there often. Mia chose to keep watch over Addie while Davis, Allen and Lexi were all outside.

Mia also follows Lexi around if she is outside playing by herself. I check on Lexi often and Mia is always by her side. If she is on the lawn, Mia is playing with her toy there. If she is by the gate, Mia is standing at Lexi's side. If Lexi is on the swing set, Mia is laying in the sand box.

I think it is so great that this dog is so interested in protecting our girls. She is so sweet and kind and is obviously a momma. It does make me feel just a little better about our safety knowing Mia watches the kids of her own volition.

Jump Around

Addie loves her jumperoo. She spends at least an hour in here throughout the day. Allen shot some short videos of Addie having her normal fun.

Good Reads

I did it! Our book is official. It's not too fancy, but it's done. And, by golly, it's mine!

Here's the link to Riddlez Review 2008. Not that you have to order, but you will be able to see an example of a simple finished copy. You can make yours a lot fancier, if you want. I wanted something simple and done.

Just to give you an idea of what it might cost you to do put your blog into a book here's the stats on mine. It had 238 pages and over 500 photos. I chose a hard bound cover. The total, including shipping, was $75.00. That is awesome, if you ask me.

So, we're recorded, published, memorialized, and ready for the world to read.

Heerreee's Addie!

Lexi Turns 3!

Today was Lexi's birthday. We went to the doctor's where she got a shot (not a very nice way to start off your b-day if you ask me) and then got our rental so the excursion could be fixed. She kept reminding me that "mommy's car was broken and it needed to go to the doctor." When we got home, she had a bunch of balloons waiting for her, complete with a #3 balloon. How exciting!

She had requested MM pancakes so we had that and orange julius for her Birthday dinner. She also asked for a strawberry cake with sparkle frosting. After blowing out the candle, we opened her presents. She had a fun time and kind of understands what it means to have a birthday so she was excited to actually celebrate this evening.

Her long awaited Princess crown!

So proud!
Ooops! Exposed.

What it means to be three when you're Lexi Riddle:

You love your babies.

You love to swing outside and can swing by yourself.

You tell your mom no less than 3 times a day "You need to listen to me with your ears!"

You say "Thank you mom" without prompting and at the most appropriate times.

You tell anyone who will listen: "I'm wexis!"

"Mommy, you need to be nice to Daddy. Daddy, you be nice to Mommy. Mommy, be nice to Mia. Don't talk to Dadis like that. Mom, you need to talk nice to me. Stop talking like that!" are some of your favorite phrases.

You make up songs about everything in life from eating to walking around the house and happily sing them as you go about your daily tasks.

You know numbers 1-10 by sight.

You know all the letters of the alphabet by sight.

Some of your favorite songs are: The Wheels on the Bus, Albuquerque Turkey, Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam, The Bird Song (starts: whenever I hear the song of a bird), Itsy Bitsy Spider, Wise Man, Book of Mormon Stories, Old McDonald, and Popcorn Popping (that may not really be the title, but it starts: I looked out the window and what did I see...)

You can't live without your pink blanket, tools, stool or juice cup.

You often tell us, "That's baby Addie. She's a baby. Awww, cute."

We, of course, find all of this completely endearing!

Happy Birthday Lexi!

You'll Want To Do This - Trust Me!

I just came across a website that lets you make your blog into a book. It's the perfect journal, if you ask me. Here's the link to the website. There is a video tutorial on how to "slurp" your blog straight into book format and then edit as you wish. It will automatically add your photos to the appropriate post, too. It's very easy and can be pretty fast, too. My book for 2008 will have around 250 pages!

Also, you can back up your blog and the comments. This blog can tell you how, but I just used this free service to do this year's stuff.

Have fun!

There is Some Good News

Addie had her check up with the GI specialist today. She is thriving again! She gained 2 lbs. in the last month so she weighs just over 14 lbs. now. She's still in the 75th percentile. She is keeping most of her feeds down and her feeding aversion is getting better. We still keep her swaddled while she's eating and I do therapy with her to help with her suck/swallow/breathe coordination, but she is improving.

We have a pretty solid routine worked out and everyone seems to be doing well with it. Lexi has slept through the night for 3 whole nights (hey man - after 5 months of her getting up every night, we'll take it!). She fell out of her bed once, but that doesn't really count since she went right back to sleep. Addie wakes up once between 3 and 4:30 and eats in about 20 minutes. She sleeps until 7:30 or 8 in the morning most days. All in all, not a bad deal right now.

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The Excursion was classified as a "non-insured motorist hit and run" so the deductible was dropped from $500 to $250 and we get a rental car. That means we can get it fixed and it won't mess up our myriad of doctor appointments next week either. The only kink is that I want something comparable to the Excursion to fit all of our strollers and stuff. Plus, we have more family coming to visit and will really need the seat space. If they can't get me a suburban or tahoe or something like it, I'll have to wait until everyone leaves to have the Excursion fixed. But, either way, the vehicle is getting repaired for 1/2 of what we thought it would be and we get the bonus wheels.

Too Good To Be True

I knew it was too good to last. We made it almost the whole week without something falling apart, dying or breaking down. I said...almost.

The TV in our bedroom croaked today. Just upped and died. No wavy lines, no flickering, no nothing. Like the thought of being turned on one more time was just too much to bear. Just dead. Just like that.

Yippee freakin' skipee.

Go Fly a Kite!

We did and it was actually a lot of fun.

Monkey On the Bed

My Divine Roll

I'm teaching the lesson tomorrow. The topic is: Our attitudes about our divine roles.

This much I know: I have two rolls and they are not divine.

The Last Straw

While we were at Walmart today, someone hit the excursion. Did they leave their info? Of course not.

The damage is bad enough we'd have to replace the rear side panel and the bumper. That would require us making a claim with our insurance and paying the $500 deductible. Do we have an extra $500 laying around right now? Of course not.

I'm starting to wonder which one of the fates I've pissed off now.

Ain't It the Truth

Addie Talks

Click on the link to see a video I took a few weeks ago of Addie "talking" to me.

Milestone

Addie can roll over from front to back (make sure to mute the music)! She is 3 months old today. I think she'll be going from back to front in about two weeks time as she can make it about 1/2 way right now.

Addie also holds and looks at a rattle. When she's laying on her back, she tries to sit up and can easily lift her head & shoulders off of the floor. At her 2 month check up, the doctor said she has the head and neck strength of a 4 month old.

She's actually plateaued in her growth gaining only about 5 oz. in week instead of the required 7. We have another appointment in a week and a half and we'll see how she's doing.

We went to the park today to meet a friend. Both Addie and Lexi had a really good time.

Nothing Like A Good Book

We found Lexi the other day laying in "Grandma's" bed "reading".

California Cousins

We've been having a great time with our family from CA. We have both made consistent efforts to see each other regularly - even if it is only once a year. Now that Lexi is a little older, she really enjoys playing with her cousins. Seeing our kids interact with their cousins and have such a good time makes it tough to live so far away. We're really glad they made the drive to visit.

I can't belive we now have a kids table at our house.

The kids singing songs before bedtime.

Hannah out rock hunting.

Hannah and Addie.

Addie's first trip to the zoo.

No, these aren't our distant relatives.

Ben and Lexi rode in the wagon most of the time.

This is a short video of the polar bears. It's kind of funny.

Lexi's new favorite person: Uncle Brent.