Sunday, November 09, 2008

my favorite time of year










Fall is my favorite season of all--college football, cool weather, beautiful scenery, our anniversary, Addison's birth, family birthdays, and the beginning of the holiday season. It just cannot be topped in my opinion. Throughout this season, I've had so many ideas to blog about, but I kept putting them off, so this will be an attempt at catching up in our family's life through words and pictures.

One of our biggest challenges with Addison so far is understanding her poops. I never thought I would be such an examiner of diapers, but I have become that way. During the last 2 weeks, we have been investigating a milk allergy with her. Some babies are allergic to the protein in cow's milk, an allergy which most outgrow by age 1, and Addison's poops have made us and the doctor suspicious. For me, that means that in order to continue nursing, I will have to cut out all dairy products--milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, ice cream, chocolate, and anything any of those items might show up as ingredients in. That's pretty much everything I love--and everything that is found in my pantry and fridge. CHEESE and CHOCOLATE are my 2 staple items... This is brutal. So, with the help of my cool friend Kelly and trips to Whole Foods, I am now attempting a {temporary} life of dairy-free living. Hopefully this will lower my cholesterol and help me lose my last baby weight poundage, therefore benefiting both Addison and me! {At least I'm trying to tell myself that...} It's amazing what all is out there, and if any of you has any recipes/ideas/tips, PLEASE share!

In our pictures, we have celebrated many fun bath times. I love her bear hooded towel--it has paws and a tail too! :) For Halloween, Addison wore a bear costume for about 10 minutes--long enough for some photo ops with her cousin Savannah. She is a hot box, and she wanted that Bear costume off! We celebrated our 3rd anniversary and had an opportunity to get dressed up and be social! We've introduced Addison to her dual heritage during football season {and at least one of us is having a good year in that way... sigh...}. I helped throw a "baby-warming" shower for my good friend April and enjoyed making a diaper cake and using my cupcake tree. Then last night, we celebrated my niece's 1st birthday. Savannah was so precious and did all of the things a 1-year-old should do. She LOVED her birthday balloons and entertained us all.

We have more birthdays and celebrations ahead, and we cannot wait for Christmas!!!

Mostly during this season, we've been learning how to be a family and raise a daughter. We've been adjusting to job changes, sleep changes, diet changes, dynamic changes, and priority changes. I can't believe Addison is 6 weeks old. We are amazed by her and our Lord who made life possible!

3 comments:

Jesse Faris said...

Yay! I'm finally caught up! Good update. And good luck on the dairy-free living--I know that has to be a tough one. If I come across any recipes, I'll letcha know. We're praying for Addy's tummy!

You look great! I love the pic of you, Patrick, and Addison at the top and the one (same day I'm guessing) of you and Linds with your girls. I miss you guys!

L said...

i love the pic of the 3 of yall too...so sweet! sad day about the dairy (ESP the chocolate and cheese. tear). but, if it helps addy, i know it'll be worth it (and ease your nerves some too). loveya!

Ashley @ pure and lovely said...

these are so precious. I hope Savannah Had a fabulous first birthday! I also hope things are okay with you and the dairy conundrum. I would never survive. you are such a trooper.