8 months.

 8 month old baby girl!

-2 naps a day
- 3 bottles
-2 servings of fruits/veggies (lunch n dinner)


LOVES:

-peek a boo!
-bein' busy, so curious of everything
- crawling like a monkey
-standing/pulling up
-books, finally!
-anything she can chew
- mommy & daddy ;)


NEW:

-Standing hands free for a good length of time!
-1 tooth on bottom
- 2 teeth on top: one has broken through, waiting on the other!
- clapping! she is so cute when she does it too!
- sayin' MaMa!! (and i got it on video too!!)


i say it every month but really....8 months already!? SLOW DOWN TIME! She is such a happy, fun, playful baby! Even with the teething shes takin' it like a champ. A bit of fussiness but nothin' major. Sometimes she'll wake up at night and need some comfort, other times we'll hear her in her crib just a singin' her own little song! and chewin' on the hard part of her paci haha. poor baby, three teeth at once, and two of 'em are takin their time! as always, she is awesome & amazing..and all other good things! ;)

Baby's 1st Christmas

SANTA! I KNOW HIM!!!!

We finally met Santa! We went to Breakfast with Santa at Killian Hall put on by the Knights of Columbus- breakfast and pictures with Santa were free (donations welcome, and yes we donated!)- afterward they uploaded all the pictures on their website by last name so we just jumped on and downloaded! We waited about an hour and it was right in the middle of what should of been her nap time, so I was SO nervous we'd have a fussy crying baby. Once again she proved my worries wrong, and was our usual happy girl!

I also got some Christmas Shopping done today :) It was so hard not to go NUTS for Adelynn! There was SO MUCH to choose from. But I'm really happy with what I got:

I knew I wanted to get a book or two- and Walmart actually had a decent selection! I've heard great things about the llama llama books so picked this one up! I also got the book below, its a finger puppet book! She got one from Brittany (three little pigs) and loves it, thats truly what sparked her interest in books FINALLY! So I saw this one and knew it was perfect.

This cube is NOT what I got her-- this one is ginormous and about $80! But I got one very similar for WAY cheaper. I actually found it at Ross, surprising!

 Her own little smart phone! I went back and forth on this one. On one hand she is ALWAYS after our cell phones, so this could be hers. But on the other hand I don't want to create a habit of letting her use our phones, iPad, Kindle, etc. NOT JUDGING anyone who does! Its just something I want to avoid as long as possible. But I broke down and got it cause it teaches letters, numbers, colors, etc. Lights up makes noises- all that good stuff. And shes pretty young, so I'm gonna refrain from being 'that mom' for now ha ;)

And my favorite! Violet! I'd seen it before (boy version is Scout) but never really looked at it. I stood there looking at it for 20 minutes and quickly knew it was coming home with me. There are so many cool features about this little pup! I hooked it up and downloaded the software as soon as I got home. Personalized it for Adelynn (songs, fav food, colors, etc.) and even set it up to say her name! I was worried with a name like Adelynn it wouldnt recognize it, but it totally did. I've been playing with it the last 30 minutes and LOVE IT!

I am so dang excited for Christmas! and proud of my shopping, I didn't go overboard and spent probably...$50 total? not too shabby! I really dig everything I got her too!

Christmas is always my favorite, but especially this year cause of my booger bear. and I mean, WHO DOESN'T love cute Christmas outfits and headbands!? ;)

working mommy.

please....read THIS!


As I sit here in my fuzzy robe, obnoxious pink pig slippers, favorite PJs, and a big ol' glass of wine...I breath.

There is hope! There is a light! I MIGHT have very well found a way to be happy as a working mother!

Before I was pregnant, I was so career driven. I dropped out of college after three years- cause honest to God, it just wasn't for me. I knew the path I'd chosen would be a hard one, but I was ready to hit the ground running. I got my first big girl job at age 20- I started out reception but was determined to move up. Now? I'm a Project Coordinator, and proud of it. But somewhere along the line, I changed. Even after I got pregnant I had no desire to stay home full time so we never discussed it, much less planned for it. Then about half way through my pregnancy it was like a light bulb went off. I wanted to stay home. shit!

To this day I've not found a way to make that happen. We just cannot afford for me to be out of work. period. So what do I do? I found myself so unhappy. My house is a mess, dinner is never planned or anywhere close to being ready before 8pm, and the most awful thing ever? I was getting no time with my baby, who is growing up way too fast for my liking. I'd get home, feed her, start dinner, bath her, put her to bed. I'd get MAYBE 45 minutes with her every night. I HATED IT. I felt guilt, like the most awful Mommy ever. I knew I would never get this time back, but I didnt know how to change it.

and then? prayers were answered. I was approached about a possible position. and I knew right away it could not be more perfect for my situation. I'll work 7-3 Monday through Thursday and till noon on Fridays. Um...that means like 4 hours a night with my baby! And over all just more TIME. To clean my house, get dinner ready for when Joey gets home, less stress at work, no bringing home work with me. its truly a win win!

I really feel like this is the ideal situation for our little family, and it makes me SO happy to know I'll have time with my girl, and to actually be a mommy!

Drug Addiction: Part 2

Part 2 of my original post 'Drug Addiction' from September!

It has not been easy! I got to the point where I was able to go 5 days in between taking pills. My OB advised me to cut the time, not the dosage as I was doing. So I took a full dose but tried to space out the days. After day 5 if I didn't take a pill I would immediately feel the affects. I keep trying though. If I stuck to the 5 day time line, I should've taken a pill this last Thursday. However, I wasn't feeling too bad so decided not to and see how long  I could make it. The whole "suffer through it" theory. Here I am on Monday and still haven't taken a pill. I wasn't feeling great all weekend, but not nearly as bad as usual. I had the shutters but no nausea, dizzy spells, or flu like symptoms so I kept trucking.

Then last night, in the middle of the night...it hit. SO SICK. I was up a lot through out the night with the worst pain and discomfort in my stomach. But I wasn't actively getting sick. After no sleep I decided to call out of work and try to make it through today. Maybe this is the worst of it and I'll wake up feeling awesome tomorrow? We'll see. It sucks but I am determined to get off of it.

Let me remind you- Zoloft saved me from my post partum depression and I will always be grateful for that. So its not evil! BUT, my reasons for getting off of it are because I have no insurance so can't afford the doctor visit to renew the Rx, and because I want it out of my system so I'm good to go if/when we decide to have baby #2. I'd much rather deal with it now and get it over with then decide to 'cross that bridge when we come to it' and try to get off it when we decide to get pregnant, or worse GET pregnant and THEN decide to get off of it.

So theres the update. Still trying! Such a bitter sweet relationship with this drug!

3 gifts of Christmas....

The three gifts of Christmas.....


Baby Jesus received 3 gifts on Christmas: Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. When I was pregnant we heard about a friend of my mom's who gives 3 gifts to her children for Christmas and 3 gifts only. At first I thought this was crazy, but then after talking about it Joey & I thought it was a great idea. What a great way to keep CHRIST in Christmas, to bring the religion back, and try harder not to focus on the materialism. ( don't worry...theres not a 3 gift rule for birthdays!)

So we've decided to adopt this tradition too, and teach Adelynn about it as she gets older. Don't fret, we're not mean ol' parents! She'll still get spoiled by grandparents, aunts, uncle, friends and family. But I feel like what a great way to keep it about Jesus??

I've also heard of: 'Something you want, something you need, something you'll wear, and something to read' (which is 4 gifts I guess) but I think that is a great one too! I've never thought hard about the whole gift giving thing for Christmas but being a Mommy now I've truly stopped to think about it. Makes sense to me! So we'll be instilling this tradition in our little family :)

I am SO excited to shop for her- we already got her one thing, it is so tempting to go ahead and give it to her!! but I put it away in the guest room with the other Christmas gifts and am fighting the temptation  I can hardly wait till Christmas morning to see her crawl out and open gifts! Its going to be the best Christmas BY FAR!

7 months.

 

 

(Late again...bad mama)

 

7 MONTHS! 11/12/12

 

Her first birthday will be here before we know it. NOT READY. (but have I already decided on a theme....yep!)

 

Random facts about our baby girl.....

 

-Still 3 bottles a day, and food twice a day!

-Introducting baby signing & sippy cup this month!

-Crawling like a pro and pulling up on EVERYTHING.

-She has stood up a few times holding on to nothing; yesterday she did it 4x in a row! early walker? I think so!

- Favorite game is STILL peek a boo! she can't get enough.

- Sleeping through the night again, finally!

-Her top two teeth are taking their sweet time coming through, I have a feeling that'll be the news for her 8 month post. (she's getting her two front teeth for christmas!)

- Napping 2x a day anywhere from 2-3 hours

- Saying Dada like crazy, and I THOUGHT I heard her say MaMa yesterday...could be wishful thinking on my part.

- Getting in to books, or trying to! Her interest has grown but shes too busy to sit still right now.

- Kicking her feet is her new thing- she kicks everytime you lift her up, shes in the car seat, shes in the excersaucer...kicking away!

- Started "singing" a lot more, when shes just waking up in her crib, cutest thing ever.

- Little missy has officially found the camera/monitor! she looks right in to the camera, it is hilarious! Shes even managed to pull it down in her crib and play with it, so THAT will be moving somewhere else soon ;)

 

Overall she is still our happy girl, laughing always, and busy busy busy all the time. we have truly been blessed with an AWESOME baby girl!

Merry Christmas From The Rickels!

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

Times are tough so I won't be mailing out as many cards as I usually do-- so this will just have to work! ;) I have been SO MIA, new job has been keeping me mucho busy. But Merry Christmas from me and mine to you and yours!!! (even though its not technically December yet....can ya tell I'm excited!?) I'm so excited since it is Baby's 1st Christmas!! *Cheers!*

work & friends.

i have been MAJORLY slacking on blogging. i miss it. life has just been SO dang busy, which is always the excuse but its true.

i started my new job two weeks ago-- so far its going well, i'm still learning of course. i've been a project coordinator before but its different- not only because its a different company but its a Sub instead of a GC, different software, different procedures, etc. its going well and everyone is really nice! i have my own office- WITH A DOOR woo! ;) its added some time to my commute, so it takes me about an hour each way but its really not bad. its just cause of traffic- which isn't fun but i enjoy my coffee and listen to The Bert Show! i get 30 minutes for lunch which has been the biggest adjustment- i used to use my lunch hour to run errands cause i never have time after work. so thats been the hardest part- not too bad huh?

(just call me...corporate kelly!)

we've been hanging out with friends a lot lately-- friday night on the way home from dinner with friends we were both talking about how happy we are to have such an awesome group of friends, everyone gets along, and we're all on the same page in life- which just makes things so much easier. Angela & Patrick are expecting their first little one in January and Ash & Trey have their first due in December (on Joey's bday!). i grew up with P and Trey so have always loved them, but we've gotten closer now that we're all adults and i'm so glad they found such awesome wives. i adore all 4 of them and so does joey :) ash is joey's 2nd wife, and trey is my 2nd husband lol its our running joke and just goes to show we really love eachother! its amazing how alike the 4 of us are, scary actually! P has always been a brother to me and i'm so glad to have him, so blessed to know him, and so happy we're in each other's lives more & getting closer--and Ang has quickly become a close friend who i feel like i can go to about anything. i'm so glad they are in our lives, and consider myself lucky that we get to be in their lives and their new little ones. so excited adelynn will have some insta-BFFs ;)

( trey & ashley!)

(joey with his second wife ash, and me with my second hubs trey!)

(P and Ang-- and baby Faith!)

( the two pregos! cousins, 5 weeks apart! Ash/Amelia and Ang/Faith!)

i miss britt so bad-- i got so spoiled seeing her everyday at work, eating lunch everyday. i miss her :( we text and email as much as possible and hang out with the guys every chance we get. she came to see adelynn on Halloween, brought her a card/candy/toy- i thought that was so sweet. shes been there from the day i found out i was pregnant so its been cool to have her there with baby from day one. just goes to show how much she loves my daughter, and that speaks volumes to me. b and i have been friends since 9th grade, went off to college together, live in the same neighborhood, worked together, our husbands worked together- i am so glad this friendship has lasted. she is so important to me!

(Baby and Aunt B on Halloween!)

my gfbf Vik- i am so dang proud of that girl its not even funny. i dont get to see her as often as i'd like, mommy/wife/life/work keeps me busy :( i miss her and our coffee dates. when joey was deployed vik was my other half and i saw her on the reg! she is doing amazing, as i always knew she would. graduated, working full time at gwinnett medical as a surg tech-- i couldnt be more happy for her! her bday is coming up and we're doing our tradition for the 4th (or is it 5th?) year in a row! dinner, twilight tshirt, movie! sad its the last movie in the series :(

(my pretty gfbf and her pup, RIP Jun!)

Neen, my neen! she and i have been sisters since 5th grade! she got married in Sept. and her, J, and shell bell moved out here to loganville- couldnt be happier! life keeps us both busy so i don't see them as often as i'd like, but shes the friend that we can pick up where we left off no matter how much time has passed. she has kicked ass in life, and i am so proud of her.

(my neen and J after saying' i do' !)

i guess this blog turned nostalgic huh? just feeling so thankful for our friends, and all these awesome people in my life.

adelynn is going on 7 months old, jeesh her first bday will be here before we know it!! she said Da Da yesterday and hasn't stopped! joey grins so big every time and cant get enough :) its pretty dang cute. i've been trying to figure out what i want to get her for christmas!! SO FUN!

lots going on. but for now i'm hittin the hay. hubs is watchin the falcons (am i the only one who could care less about football??) and i'm dreading the work week starting! weekends need to be longer! so i'm signing off for now and going to relax for a bit before sleep! really hoping i can get back to blogging more- i enjoy it, whether people read or not- I LOVE it. so hopefully i'll be back :) for now i'll leave ya with some cute pictures from baby's first halloween!

*cheers!*

6 months.

Running a little late with this one....whoops! 6 MONTHS! HALF A YEAR! I cannot believe it.

At 6 months.....

-17 Ibs 13 oz
-26 inches
- 2 teeth
-2 naps
- 3 bottles
-CRAWLING all over the dang place, shes a quick one!
- Pulling up to stand on everything, and so proud of herself every single time. She smiles at me like "look what I did Mommy!"
- Self soothing like a champ; got in to a bad habit of rocking her to sleep (selfishly, I LOVE IT) but after about a week we got her back to self soothing.
- Bed time is anywhere between 7 and 8:30.
-She smiles and laughs at everything, has started "talking and singing" to herself and LOVES TO PLAY!


All in all, as always-- shes awesome :) SUCH a joy, so happy, and I just adore her more than anything in this world!!

I took her monthly tutu picture in the same onesie and headband from her very first one at 4 weeks, just to compare :)