Development Check Up

Yesterday was Addison's 1 month (if she had come on my due date of August 25) development check up. The RN came to the house and gave Addison her "test". There is a list of things that she is supposed to be able to do... and she did them all!! She had to be able to grab and hold rings in each hand, track an object, lay on either side without discoloration in her arms, and lay on her tummy and pick up her head. Her neck muscles are getting stronger and stronger... she is becoming less "chicken-like" when she is laying up on my chest. We are so thankful for the progress she has made and how much she has grown!

Somehow, Addison ended up in the laundry basket...

Daddy and Addison fell asleep during tummy time...

Progress!

Addison is doing so well. She is up to 80mL every 3 hours; just shy of 3 ounces at a time. Some feedings she will take 1-2 ounces extra. We aren't sure where she puts it, but we can see she is definitely growing!! Daddy calls her a hungry hungry hippo!

She also finally loves bath time!! Her favorite by far though is when Daddy brushes her hair :)

She is sleeping for longer stretches at night but does have her "off nights" yet too.

She makes us laugh everyday with her goofy faces and funny noises. Our favorite right now is having her lay up on our chest because she likes to pick up her head like she is big stuff. She is getting stronger but she picks up her head and drops it repeatedly. I call her my baby chicken!! She likes to "peck" on Mommy and even lick me. I also love to love her when she is hungry. By this I mean kissing her cheeks when she is "starving" because she will quickly turn her head with her mouth open and try to eat me! :) She is so precious to us and we are truly thankful!


Here is Addison enjoying her bath! (Daddy strategically placed the rubber duckie:))

Happy hanging in her boppy!.....

....however, tummy time on the boppy isn't always her favorite

Smiling with crazy eyes as she falls asleep on Daddy. LOL!

Tim also went to the cemetary yesterday. Landon's grave marker was finally installed. Still doesn't seem real to us that we have a precious little guy up in heaven. We miss him everyday!

2 month Im's

Had to take Addison in to the Dr's office today for her 2 month immunizations. She drank her rotovirus immunization like a champ and got 3 shots in her little thighs. The nurses were surprised how strong she is for how small she is. What can we say... she is a fiesty little girl and that is why she is doing so well!! She has been a bit irritable today and extra cuddly. It forced Mommy to have a day on the couch holding Addison instead of working on some sort of project throughout the day. It was great to spend the extra time with her since I have to go back to work on Sunday.

Here's Addison cuddling with Daddy and her baby monkey :)

Pediatrician check up!

Addison went in for her 2 month well child check up. She did fantastic!! She is growing like crazy! She is 20 inches long and 6#2oz!! She will soon be out of preemie clothes and diapers before we know it!!

Addison likes to lay on Mommy any which way and look at/hold her monkey blanket

Always so curious...

Getting chubby cheeks!!

Our New Home

Many of you know that in the midst of having the babies we also moved to a new home! This was a foreclosure and needed quite a bit of work. Now we can't complain because this wasn't your typical foreclosure. We were informed that the bank that took the house removed 40 YARDS of garbage, they repainted everything (we even met the painter), and put in new flooring throughout. There still was so much work to be done. We have accomplished so much thanks to the help of my amazing family. My parents spent 14 hours per day working here even though it was 90 degrees in the house since the A/C broke. All of my brothers and their wives and even kids all pitched in in some sort of way. We are very blessed to have such a loving family!

Here is a glimpse of the new house and a "laundry list" of our accomplishments! The Van Horssen's don't horse around!! ;)
- Painted all exterior trim of house
- Wired new outdoor lighting
- Removed all front landscape and replanted from scratch!
- Transplanted many plants and dug up all the edging that had gone underground
- Weeded!! (My weed pile is taller than me!!)
- Demo'd washer/dryer enclosure
- Painted laundry room and master bath
- Assembled and installed utility sink
- BRAND new countertops in the kitchen (Thanks Dad!!!)
- All new appliances
- Sanded and finished (poly'd or painted) all window trim and baseboards
- Installed drawer glides (why there weren't any we have no idea)
- Poly'd all hardwood floors throughout
- Removed and painted all interior doors
- All new hardware (doorknobs, hinges, and even sconces) inside house
- Removed weird kitchen shelving and repaired wood floor
- Vacuumed entire basement (2000 sq ft) btw each rafter/stud (full of cobwebs and spiders-GROSS!)
- Insulated entire basement
- Built shelves for basement storage room
- Dug out egress windows-too much gravel! (Thanks brother Kevin)
- Hung all new curtains and rods

The List goes on....Not to mention the intense cleaning that had to take place! I know I am anal with cleaning, but it was disgusting!!

Here are a few pics to give you a sneak peak!
We love our new home and continue to pick at our project list. We are starting to slow down... a little! ;)

Kitchen, before & after 

The Landscape Before (but after much weeding!)

Labor Day trip to the nursery with the Acadia

Landscape w/mulch all done!



Next year we can work on greener grass! ;)

Pics!

 I love this picture the most!! She is awake a little more and full of expressions!!

She is getting chubby cheeks!!

Another great report!

Yesterday Addison, my mom and I ventured out once again to see the eye Dr in GR. She does so well taking all the drops and having her pupils dilated. All the bleeding in her retinas is gone!!! Her blood vessels have also continued to mature but have not quite grown out to the edges of her retinas. So we have to go back to see him in 4 weeks. If all checks out well at that appointment, we don't have to go back until mid spring of 2012!!

Addison also continues to eat like a champ.... well... volume-wise. We have her up to 70mL every 3 hours and at night she usually wants a little extra. She likes to take her time eating and burping which makes for longer feeding times. I think she just likes to snuggle with Mommy and Daddy (or Grandma Sall)!!

Just a few more pics to show... seems that she is changing everyday!!
I will try again later... keep getting error messages and it won't let me load them :(

More Food Please!!

In the last couple of days, Addison's feeding times seem to be getting closer together and often she is not happy when her bottle is gone. So... up she goes again with her feedings. She is up to 65mL every 3 hours. It sounds like so much to us because we remember our NICU days when she was starting to eat and getting 4mL in a syringe!!  She will be following up with the eye doctor on Tuesday the 6th and the pediatrician on the 12th.



You can see her preemie clothes aren't hardly long enough for her!!

However....  she is drowning in a newborn outfit. Good thing she is cute and it doesn't matter!! :)

Addison always loves to snuggle and nap with Daddy :).
(This is when Mommy finished laundry, dishes, and bills).

September!!??

Wow, we have lost track of time being busy playing with Addison and working on the new house! We plan to add a "house post" soon to let you all know and see what we have been up to :).

As for Addison, she is doing fantastic! She is a great baby except when Mommy wants to try to get something done. Somehow she knows when the monitor comes on and Mommy isn't in the room. Tim made me laugh the other day when we were both outside painting our house trim and we heard her crying on the monitor. We had only been out of the house 5 or 10 minutes. Tim decided to utilize the "talk" button which I had never tried. He pushed it and starts talking to Addison through the monitor saying, "You're ok....Daddy's here.....you just can't see me." LOL! Needless to say, that did not work. One of us was in or out the whole night. Last nights painting went better. Addison LOVES music! (She always did move around in my belly when I had the radio on in the car.) We had WJQ 99.3 on and we finished the house!!

She really is a lot of fun. Full of faces, noises and expressions! She is eating well and filling out! She is starting to grow out of the preemie clothes!! We call her our "beefy baby" because she is already twice as big as what she was (even though she is only just over 5#)! :)


We tried our first "non sponge" bath in her rainforest bath bed.... she is NOT a fan!!

She is so content just to lay anywhere and look around! :)

After bath time again with her usual crazy hair (that we love!)

She loves to lay on Mommy and Daddy's bed.... but don't worry.... she sleeps in her own!!