Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a wonderful weekend with my mom in Florida. She left 6 inches of snow in SC for her grandbaby! Mom hung out with Addi on Saturday afternoon while Scott and I went on a date. We enjoyed cuban food and watched The Blind Side. Talk about waterworks but really inspirational! We all spent Addison's 1st Valentine's Day together and it was great! Of course out of all of her Valentines and Valentine's presents she went for the box first...

 Scott leaves this week for DC. I'm playing catch-up. Michelle is coming in town this weekend. 

Some pictures from earlier in the week. The one of Addison in the basket reminded me of when Michelle and I would play. Scott was pulling Addison around in the basket and I use to do that with Michelle all the time. I really loved clothes baskets and diaper boxes!

Such and Such

Addi didn't have a fever this morning but I didn't think she seemed well enough to go to day care so Scott was home part of the day to help take care of her. We are so luckily that he doesn't leave for DC until Monday. They have his hotel suite booked from Monday through April. I am so glad that I didn't send her to school because I just took her temperature again and it was 100.8. She is really fussy and has been sleeping all day. So we are just doing what we can. She ate a small amount of carrots and bananas but hasn't wanted solids in two days. She is nursing well though.

On another note...I sent my major prof my first chapter of my dissertation. It is a very rough draft but I need to see if I am on the right track. She is going to let me know. Until then I am writing away at the next two chapters. YAY!

Dylan is doing better. She has lost 5 lbs and her thyroid levels are in normal range. She is much more active and seems much more happy.

I am really behind this week but with mom coming in town I am going to do a little bit of work this weekend. Scott and I are going on an afternoon date on Saturday. Probably lunch at a wonderful cuban place and an afternoon movie. Sunday will be spent working. Scott will pack and probably do some household things he's been meaning to do. I will write and do some research stuff I'm behind on. Addi will hang out with her Sitti.

Another Ear Infection

We went in for a flu shot and I had the nurse practitioner check Addi's ears since she has been pulling at them and hasn't been feeling well. She had a fever of 101.5 so they didn't give her the shot. Turns out she has another ear infection in the same ear as last time. Scott is helping me out this afternoon so I can get some work done.

New Orleans

Scott and I had a wonderful time in New Orleans. It is dripping with history and culture. There is so to see but we didn't have enough time to see everything we wanted. We did get to walk by the Mississippi River, experience "pre-Marti Gras", eat beignets at Cafe du Monde, tour St Louis Cathedral, enjoy all the wonderful creole cuisine, and walk all around Bourbon, Canal, and St Peter Streets. The only thing that wasn't fun was the weather. It was freezing! We had to wear all the clothes we brought - all at once and we were still cold. It was the one time I didn't bring enough clothing. 

When we arrived in New Orleans, the streets were filled with party-goers and we were worried we had come at a bad time - haha we are so old now. We went out on Bourbon Street that night and listened to live music and had a great time. They had the streets blocked off so even though it was cold, they were filled with people and music. There were people playing jazz and other street entertainers on every corner. Everyone was carrying large bones of frozen cocktails and wearing beads. All of the buildings were covered in Marti Gras and Saints decorations. The next morning when we woke, they were washing the streets. We grabbed breakfast - seafood omelets - and walked around the city to do a bit of sight-seeing. We stopped for hot chocolate and beignets at Cafe du Monde and enjoyed the French Quarter and the French Market. Exhausted and freezing we went back to our hotel and took a nap and thawed out a bit. I don't remember the last time I was this cold and we even bought stocking caps. We went back out around 3pm and if it wouldn't have been daylight, I would have sworn it was 3am! The streets were again filled with people and some of the bars were packed with people dancing on the bars! We walked around a bit then went back in and got ready for dinner. We had dinner at an oyster bar and I enjoyed a delicious bloody mary. We ended up back at the hotel around 11:30. We were so tired that we decided we couldn't handle another night out on the town. The next morning we had jambalaya omelets. Then we went and got Cafe au Laits (coffee and steamed milk) from Cafe du Monde. This time we didn't have to wait in line. We went to the river - because New Orleans is below sea level, a lot of tourists never see the Mississippi river. You have to walk up a hill to see it. We packed the car and drove up to the Garden District to see the "American" Sector and all of the historic mansions. Canal Street separates the French Quarter and what was once known as the "American" Sector. I came back from New Orleans with a love for creole cuisine and a Saints fan. It was a wonderful trip.

One of the decorated balconies: (All of the balconies were decorated and for rent for the Superbowl and Marti Gras.)

Street art:

 

 St Louis Cathedral: (the inside was beautiful but my pictures didn't turn out great)

Our hotel:

 

Geaux Saints!

 

Freezing!

Early in the night...it became much more crazy!

Artwork & More

Addi's teachers sent her home with more artwork. It is all from October and November because it was displayed at the daycare but I wanted to share. I have them proudly displayed in our office. Now when she comes home with dirty fingernails, I don't wonder why. Maybe this summer we will get some finger paints but until then she can paint at school :)


It turns out that Addi is a much better eater at daycare than at home. She really only eats a few bites of everything at home and she won't touch the peas. But at daycare she eats everything. They do lace the peas with applesauce but at this point I don't want everything she eats to be sweet. Maybe this is why she doesn't eat well? Her teachers think its because she wants to nurse at home rather than eat. Right now I'm not going to worry about it. She is just learning.

She had her first "shy - I need mommy" moment the other day. We went to our neighbor's house to watch the playoff game and Lydia wanted to hold Addison. Of course she goes to everyone so I passed her along. After about 30seconds she was fussy and reaching for me. She wouldn't let me out of her sight and I had to sit on the floor near her so she would hang out and play. Eventually she warmed up to the environment and to everyone and of course Scott or I were always right there.

Baby signs are going well. We missed last week's class because of school stuff but we can go this week. Its a 6 week class and is a lot of fun. Addison is the youngest baby but she really seems to like it. It will be a while before she learns to sign, but she is starting to recognize signs. She gets really excited when I sign (and say) milk.

School is going well. I am slowly getting my prospectus outlined. I am meeting with my chair this week to talk about it. Once I rope it all in and figure out exactly what I need to include, I can really start to write. The class that I am TAing for is so interesting! I am really enjoying the "teaching" part of it although I don't teach in the traditional manner. It made me realize that I miss being in front of a class.

Scott starts his traveling next week. It will be an adjustment for us all but hopefully it won't be for too long. At this point we are hoping he is only gone a few nights a week. Please pray for us during this change. I know it is really hard on Scott to be away from us, and I am hopeful that something great and grand is going to come out of it for Scott.

Scott and I can't wait for the weekend!!!! WoooHooo New Orleans!

New Orleans here we come!

Scott and I just booked a weekend for New Orleans in a couple of weeks. Its about a 6.5 hour drive and neither of us have been so we are really excited. Its a short trip but should be a fun way to celebrate our anniversary. We are staying at the The Inn on Bourbon. I love reward points! Mrs. Marie and Mr. Ricky are coming to town to hang out with Addison and Dylan.

Dylan has more pep in her step so I think the thyroid medicine is starting to work. She is much more energetic and looks like she is slimming down. We won't know for sure how well its working until we go back in February but for now its looking good.

Addison still isn't digging the peas although its looking better. She likes it when I thin it out with breast milk. We try avocado this weekend. Its pretty easy - just mash and maybe add some breast milk or water to thin it out. No cooking involved. We will see...

pass the peas please

Or not. So far Addi is not digging the peas. Not sure if its the texture or the taste but we are going to continue to try all week. After she first tried them she refused to eat the squash but that passed later today. She was in a cranky mood today - the teeth are hurting her I think - so maybe that is why the peas got the shaft. We will soon find out.

I believe her new teeth are related to the slowskies. For some reason (and I am not alone on this, Scott thought the same thing), I thought they would just pop out once they broke the skin. Not the case (although each morning we check to see if they are there). They are just hanging out. One has broken free the other is still in restraints. Her gums are red and swollen, and I'm just giving her extra mommy love and my fingers (her choice not mine although she also loves ice in the mesh foodie bag, teethers, links, frozen anything, etc) to chew on in the meantime.

We also discovered recently that she LOVES the remote. I mean loves it and will do whatever she can to get to it. Another way she is like Scott :) Perhaps we will use the remote to get her to crawl. Right now she just rolls until she gets to it. Its pretty funny seeing her roll all over the place.