Sunday, March 23

Today is Easter Sunday. Considering all of the clothing that people have given us over the past few months, we think she wore an Easter dress that Rach got her not long ago, but it may be a dress that someone else bought for her. Either way, she was really cute. There are some interesting updates since the last time we checked in.

Addison, officially, can roll over on her tummy and also roll back over onto her back without assistance. Last time, she was propped up on a pillow and rolled off the side, but this time was legit. She is also grabbing at things much more and talking like crazy. She also seems to study things more often. If she gets her tractor beam set on you, she'll stare a hole right through you. Addison loves the outdoors too. We spent most of the day on Friday sitting in the front yard enjoying the beautiful weather, and Friday and Saturday, we went hiking in a park nearby.

Over the next week, we have some big appointments coming up. We have Sooner Start tomorrow to help us measure her progress. We've noticed that anytime her head falls, it always falls to the right, which probably means we need to work on her muscle tone over there. Next week, we meet with the developmental pediatrician at the hospital, who is also going to help measure her progress. Kids with Down Syndrome typically have some level of mental retardation, and we're not sure when that starts, so we are kind of waiting to hear a doctor say that she's falling behind a little for that to become a reality. However, if you really think about it, if she get's Rachel's brain, and is a little mentally retarded, that would mean that she's a retarded genius, which makes her about like anyone else. I'll take that! If she gets my brain, we'll have a long, long road ahead, so pray for the former.

There are a couple of items that you can certainly be praying for:

1. Addison is not gaining weight right now. She's getting longer, but she's been the same weight for almost a month. Pray for more weight.

2. We see the cardiologist in May. Pray for a healthy heart and good test results there.

3. She has a great night time sleep schedule, but she's not getting the daytime naps in. Pray for much needed daytime rest.

This weekend we are going to Waco, TX to see the family. Grans Jumper is hosting a Sip and See on Saturday. If you don't know what that is, it means people come to the house, sip on a beverage and see the baby. Brilliant! If you are a woman, you'll love it. If you are a dude, you'll love playing golf with me, so enjoy. We've included a few extra pics and a nice little video for your viewing pleasure.

Thursday, March 13

Today was 3/13/2008. Interesting how Addison is 3 months old and she is also 13 weeks old today. We should have bought a lottery ticket or something. Although, we did go for a walk this evening and didn't get struck by lightning, so I'll settle for that as my good luck for the day.

This past week, we've taken some big steps as parents. Last weekend, we hired a baby sitter for the first time to take care of Addison while we went to dinner and Home Depot. What better way to finish off a romantic night away than to make a stop for materials for the honey-do list. We came to the realization that we'll have to get used to the sitter situation since Rach is going back to work soon.

We also finally started to teach Addison how to fall asleep without us holding or rocking her to sleep. For those of you who haven't had children yet, or it's been so long ago that you just don't remember, this task is pretty much the most horrible and cruel thing in the world. Our daughter is in the other room screaming bloody murder, and we're just hanging out in the living room, having a great time relaxing and not thinking about the fact that our child is lying in a pool of her own tears just hoping that mommy or daddy will come save her from such a traumatizing event. I would imagine that most guys will try to be macho and say it's not a big deal. It's a big deal. However, I usually just step in and give her a pat on the behind and tell her to suck it up and go to sleep.

Addison discovered that she can suck on her entire hand instead of just her thumb. In fact, I anticipate that her right hand will be 30% larger than her left from sucking on it constantly. She is learning that she can suck on her toys too, so we're taking her to her first ever crawfish boil this weekend to see how she does with them crawfish heads.

It is also very clear that she follows us around the room when we are passing through and she definitely recognizes our voices, which is just plain cool. My first moments back from El Paso today, and Addison welcomed me back with an atomic explosion in her diaper. I documented the event with pictures that I will not be sharing with you all today. I also re-discovered a love for golf this week. Enjoy the pics!

Big Day

Addison had a big day yesterday. She reached one of the first of many milestones- she rolled over! Now, her arms were over a little pillow, so she did have some extra leverage, but she still did it. (We've read that babies with Downs typically start rolling over around 8 months- so we're thrilled!)

We had a little bit of a rough start with the "sleep training," but it gets better each night. In fact, last night she slept from 9pm to 5am. (I only checked to see if she was breathing twice.) Of course, she was wide awake after she ate, but with a combination of Grammy's songs and an old trick from Grans, she let me sleep another couple hours.

We're missing Daddy, but he'll be home tomorrow. I'm sure he's missing us too. I know those nights of uninterrupted sleep have got to be hard on him.

Sunday, March 2

Last week, Grammy Alana paid a visit to Tulsa and got some much needed time with the baby. We had a great time with her. While she was here, we made a few new discoveries. Addison figured out how to smile and laugh out loud, which is pretty stinkin' cute if you ask me. She certainly talks to us, but can't quite make out any words yet. I have her working on "daddy", and we'll get there soon enough. However, some of the words she can say are "bbbbbbbbb" and "gu". Every now and then, she will change the pitch of her voice and squeal, but not too often. She's pretty laid back, which isn't too much of a suprise taking into consideration who her parents are, but we're glad she is. Just the past few days, she has started to sleep longer at night and her feedings are a little more spread out during the day. We aren't quite sure if this is going to stick, but we are, I mean Rachel is happy that she gets more sleep at night. Frankly, I just don't even hear anything at night anymore. If it does stick, we are going to start with the tough love in the evenings, and make her cry herself to sleep. This, of course, is the most horrible thing on the face of the planet, but we have to set some rules around here and make our little Addison go to bed at a more reasonable time. This whole staying up late situation just isn't going to cut it, so tough love it is. Ha, wrapped around her little finger they say!