Pictures...10 weeks

A few pictures of Addison and her new friends...


on the couch with mommy


At the hospital with Lillie, Mommy and new baby Karlie on her birthday 9/28/2007


Jessie and Braden were there, too!



Kristen, a dear friend from high school, stopped by on their drive through to Colorado so Shawn and Addison could meet



I love my funny striped outfit!


Well, Addison seems to be doing well with the reflux. Her medicine seems to really be working! Praise the Lord! She is talking a lot (mostly V or CV for you speech paths out there:) and smiles a lot too. Few smiles have been captured on camera. My mom and sister have some good ones, but they haven't sent them to me yet. (Nudge, nudge). Last weekend we made our first out of town trip by ourselves, and we survived!

Work is going well for me, but is a bit of an adjustment since I seem to have left my great time-management skills at the hospital. They have yet to find their way home to me. Addison has decided that while I'm at work, she will freak the ladies out at Young Children's World, by not wanting to take her bottle. Any tips from moms out there on switching between bottle and breastfeeding? I would welcome any! right now we are practicing with a bottle at home from daddy. Hopefully she will take it and not be so stubborn! We'll see...

Final update

Well, the report from the pediatric cardiologist is in! We got the call a few nights ago and it is confirmed that Addie has a little hole in her heart, called a patent foramen ovale (PFO), and narrowing of the pulmonary arteries. Neither the ped. cardiologist nor our pediatrician are concerned right now, but they do want to repeat the echo in a couple of months to make sure she continues to do well, and that her arteries are growing with her little body. Thank you for your prayers!

I GOT A JOB! As an answered prayer, I was offered a part time speech path job at a small private school for children with learning disabilities. I start on Tuesday, YAY! I'm a little nervous, but that is usually the story with a new job. Let me know if y'all have any tips for working with 7th and 8th graders (I haven't worked with kiddos that age in awhile:)

I love Mylanta!

I LOVE mylanta!



Or do I? I'm not sure.



It does taste like cherries, so it can't be that bad.



Ok, ok. I DO love Mylanta! It makes my tummy feel good. (even though sometimes I forget that when mommy and daddy make me eat it!)

Good news

Well, we just got the preliminary report from our pediatrician. It looks like Addison probably has a small hole in her heart, called an ASD (Atrial Septal Defect--I attached a picture); this is good because it is nothing major and doesn't require treatment. Most of these holes repair themselves by the end of the first year. So, we are not worried that our little girl will continue to grow and be a sweet, healthy, chubby baby. Thank you for your prayers, calls, and emails. We are so grateful to have such amazing friends and family.

7 weeks

Yesterday was a hard day for our little girl. Per our dr.'s instructions, we took her to the office to get checked out for what I was convinced was reflux. Turns out I was right and she has reflux/esophagitis. Ouch! All those times I was so convinced that she was hurting, she probably was. She was such an angel after waiting in the waiting room for a solid hour with about a million kids here is what Dr. Wiley said...
1. Addison weighs 11 lbs. 13 oz., 22.5 inches long (75th percentile in both)...which is above average!
2. She has reflux/esophagitis, explaining the long bouts of hysterical, frantic crying, the random, unexplained gagging, and the inconsistent difficulty with feeding. He prescribed some meds for this that should help pretty quickly.
3. She has a yeast infection in the rolls of her neck (apparently common for those little chubs), despite my obsessive cleaning between the rolls:) He also prescribed some meds for this, too.
4. She got 3 shots (for her 8 week appt.)
5. She has a pronounced heart murmur, so he referred us to have an echo done at the hospital this morning. He said it wasn't an emergency situation since she is gaining weight so well and is not having difficulty breathing.
6. She did great at the hospital, and only fussed toward the end.
7. We should have the results late today or tomorrow.

Say a little prayer for our family as we wait for the results. We are not too worried, but are hopeful that it is nothing major and nothing she won't just grow out of.

On a completely separate note, Andy got in a wreck last night, no fault of his own. While he was on duty, a lady turned onto the street where he was driving and ran right into the side of Andy's patrol car, pushing both cars across a lane, up a curb, into the partking lot, and banging his prisoner's head on the cage. Yikes! Needless to say, it is a bad idea to not be paying attention and to run into a police car. Andy gave her every ticket he could think of. Ha! Everyone is doing fine.

On another separate note, I watched Night Rider when we got home from the hospital. It is a work of cinematic genious on the part of David Hasselhoff. And to think that he has lowered himself to "America's Got Talent." What a shame.

Our little used car salesman

Here are a few pictures of sweet quiet moments in our house...unlike most of today. She has been really fussy, but we survived. One day at a time...





Checkin out her daddy.


This is the one Andy says looks like a used car salesman...

Newborn pictures

Well at one day short of 3 weeks, we ventured out this morning for our newborn picture session with our fabulous photographer and friend, Lindsey Cotton (http://cottonphoto.blogspot.com/). Here are a few of the pix from the session. We love this girl! Enjoy!









These last couple are taken on a family heirloom quilt that was passed down from Andy's family to Addison. We plan to hang it on the wall in her room once we get around to painting first! Such sweet pictures!

What a funny face!

Just a quick cell phone pix to share. Newborns make such funny faces! They are learning so much all the time! She usually has this startled/surprised look on her face when she is awake. I wonder what she is thinking about...

Sleep is overrated

I have been meaning to put some updated pix on the blog, but our internet has been down. Now that it is back up, the batteries on the camera are out. Yuck! So, here is a pix from the day we came home. Little Addison is two weeks old today and overall, she has been a great baby. She has had a few hard nights when she wants to nurse, but she just can't or won't for very long, causing her to wake up often to eat. The days after those hard nights are very discouraging, in my sleepy stupor. It seems like I will not get another good nights sleep for the next 18 years. But, last night she slept pretty well, so I feel more optimistic today. She is so sweet and cuddly and is just trying to figure out her world.

At her one week appointment, Addison had already gained 3 oz., so the doctor was very impressed. Normally, they don't expect babies to reach their birth weight until they are 2 weeks old. Addison never even lost any weight! I think she may be a little chub! I will add more pix when the camera batteries are recharged! Keep us in your prayers...especially if you wake up in the middle of the night. Chances are, someone in the Adkins' house is probably awake! The little girl is crying, so i have to run!

Bedrest...what?

Well, our first excitement since leaving the hospital happened last night as Andy and I headed back to the hospital with the worst headache I've ever imagined. We figured we should go in (besides the doc telling us to) since my motrin and hydrocodone didn't seem to phase it. With the hospital being in Andy's beat, he knows all the cute midnight nurses, so they got us into a room immediately, and within just a few minutes, I saw the dr., got a few shots, and I fed the little squirt. In total, we were only there about 1.5 hrs. (record time for the er on a sat night. (i'm sure it's partially because andy is so popular with all the nurses). so, per dr.'s orders, I will spend the next 2 days on strict flat-on-the-back bedrest to allow the cause of my epidural headache to heal. Addison is a trooper as I learn to nurse while lying down. Luckily I have lots of help. A couple of side notes: it takes a long time to type with one hand, and thank goodness for bendy straws.

Announcing Addison Jo

Addison joined us on Weds., July 18, 2007 at 4:46 pm weighing in at 7 lbs. 8 oz. and 20 in. long.



Welcome to the world baby!







Lots of funny faces!




The whole Adkins clan...


What a pretty girl!


Daddy loves this girl


Getting ready to go home




Finally home! Addison, Andy and I thank you for the many prayers that have been lifted up on our behalf. And a special thank you to our dr.s, nurses, friends, and family that have made this special time even more of a blessing. We will post more pix soon. The little peanut is getting hungry...

Baby Addison coming soon!

Well, the dr. said that I am already dilated to a 2, and am ready to have this baby! So, we are headed to the hospital at 5:45 am on Weds. morning to be induced. Keep us in your prayers, especially on Weds. My next post will hopefully include pix of our sweet baby girl! Yay! I can't wait to meet her!

No baby yet

I am a little late in posting an update, but I will chock it up to moving while I am 8 1/2 months prego. At least that is my excuse! We are officially moved into our new house, and we are ecstatic! Our new house is fabulous, fruity kitchen wallpaper and all. (We will be taking it down, eventually:) The old house is sold, closed, and all the work is finished! Andy worked his fingers to the bone for a solid 3-4 weeks at the list of things the buyer requested for us to finish. My dad, his dad, and even a few good friends helped Andy scrape, paint, nail, replace rotten wood, replace broken window panes, etc. etc. etc. We couldn't have done it alone, and we are sooooo glad to be outta there! Praise the Lord!

We are nearly unpacked after a generous outpouring of friends and family who helped us scrub the house from top to bottom (even scrubbing the floors with a toothbrush...yes, that is the sign of a true friend), move, unpack, and keep me from doing work that might induce labor at a very inconvenient time. My dear mom and dad stayed with us for about a week and helped clean, move, unpack, mow the very tall grass, and even chase a rattlesnake out of our new backyard (due to the grass being very tall!) That was an exciting day. My dad even helped Andy put together Addison's sweet baby bed! (I will post a picture when we get the room painted and decorated).

Highland Shower, what fun!
We had such a fun time at the Griggs' house for my church shower. My family and Andy's family were all there. We feel so blessed by such incredible friends and family. Addison even got a gift straight from England, courtesy of her Aunt Kelly and Uncle Houston. What sweet times!


Here are some sweet little diaper bag tags made especially for our little Addison.







The loot..





Yikes, I look huge! But my sister looks great!



And here is a scary photo of me at 38 weeks, before a date night with my sweet hubby.

Addison should be here any day now, which I am so thankful for since she is definitely making it hard for me to breathe. Yuck. I can't wait to meet her, and to not be prego anymore. We will post any news when Addison arrives!

A shout out to our photographer...

Well, without her permission, I am going to post the new postcard for our photographer, since Andy and I made the cover...woo hoo! (So, Lindsey, if you see this, I hope that is ok.) I have always told him that he is a supermodel. If anyone needs some sweet pix of your family, child, spouse, etc., I highly recommend her! Enjoy the pix.

It's just a little rain

Well, I am currently sitting on the couch with my feet up, trying to get my "sausage toes" to return to their original size after packing one too many boxes. I still am sitting amidst a sea of clean laundry, thrifty-nickels (handy and free packing materials for those of us who do not subscribe to the newspaper), and lots of boxes. In the meantime, there is rain somewhere in the area so, of course, the dish is not working. It is quite frustrating, but I guess that means it's time for me to post again. It's been awhile since I have posted a sweet pix of our baby girl, so here is one of our little Lucy smelling the sweet scent of an upcoming rain storm a few weeks ago.


isn't she pretty? anywho, this is just a little shout out to those of you who may be sharing in my current boredom due to the menacing (note the sarcasm) and pending thunderstorm. Any recommendations for fun websites to check out?

Long time, no post

It has been way to long since my last post, so there is a lot to update. I will try to keep it brief so you don't lose interest and skip forward to the next blog!

House update first: we are still under contract on our sweet old house that we are so ready to move out of. We have found a new house, too! It is bigger, newer, and definitely in a nicer neighborhood than our the one we are in. We should close on both at the end of the month. That gives me just enough time to pack very slowly!

Baby update: I am now 34 weeks prego and am starting to feel it. I seem to get tired quicker, more uncomfortable quicker my feet hurt (probably a symptom of the weight gain), and my hands and feet are starting to swell. Yikes! Oh well, 6 more weeks to go. She just can't come early since we are moving in 3 weeks! Here is a picture of a couple of my good friends (Tammy and Becky) from high school taken May 19 at Tammy's baby shower.

Andy and I went on our 4 year anniversary to have our maternity pix shot and you can see them on our sweet photographers blog under June 8th--http://cottonphoto.blogspot.com/.

Personal update: For those of you not living in Abilene, you may not be familiar with the news that this week the first police officer since 1954, was killed in the line of duty in a tragic car accident. He is survived by his wife Sandy, of 6 1/2 years and his two year old daughter, Ella. He was a devout man of God who worked hard to minister to those that he contacted in the community, criminal or not. He touched many lives and will be missed. Please lift up his family and the police community that is hurting so badly at his loss.

Third time is a charm

We have another contract! We are not getting our hopes up quite yet, but maybe this one will be the one that takes. Until next time...

contract, no more

So the house saga continues. The second contract we had on the house fell through, on the tenth day of the ten day option period. Yuck! We were told that the couple was preapproved financing, but it turns out they weren't! But, it looks like there is another offer in the works. We are keeping our fingers crossed, but not getting our hopes up.

Addison update:
As of our appointment this afternoon, she is now head down! This has created some rib pain for me, but I guess she must be comfortable, so I'm ok with it. She is about 3 lbs. now and greatly enjoys kicking, stretching and squirming (she spends most of her time doing this). I am now 30 weeks, so only 10 more to go. Let the count down begin!

Whoa, hello round belly!

Here is my little round belly at 27 weeks, in front of our house that is officially, ahem, under contract! Now we will pray that this one will go all the way through, with no kinks!

Yes, this is my round belly at 26 weeks. This little baby is quickly growing and wiggling in her increasingly crowded quarters. According to my baby center page, at 27 weeks, she is now a little over 2 lbs. and 14.4 inches long. Her eyes are no longer fused shut, so she is opening and closing her eyes. She is quite active, which Andy and I have enjoyed so much! She is already telling us a little more each day about her personality. Daddy already has a calming affect on her; when he puts his hand on my belly and talks to her, she usually calms down. We have decided on a name...drumroll, please.....Addison Jo. We will have a little Addie!

Easter snow!

It is just like west Texas for the weather to go from raining for a week, to sunny for a week, to snowing the entire day before Easter. Just thought I would share this pix of our humble little abode for those doubting-thomases out there who didn't believe that it actually is snowing. Happy Easter and happy egg-hunting to all the kiddos out there! I can't wait till next year when I have a little girl to dress up and take on her first egg hunt!

IT'S A GIRL!

I know it took entirely too long to post the pix of our baby girl, sorry! Yes, that's right, it is a girl! The first sonogram picture is a front view of her face. She was moving around a lot, and kicked, punched and wiggled through the whole thing. But, we did get a good view of her spine, organs, arms, legs, hands, and feet. We even got to see her swallow! She weighed in at about 1 lb. 2 oz. with a due date of July 25th. We are so excited!

Our other pix is of her foot print, with all the toes! Such a sweet little foot.

And for our house update...
Still no offers. I am pretty bummed, but Andy is confident that it will sell when the time is right. We have found a few neighborhoods that we like, but we haven't looked seriously since we don't have an offer on our house that we are in. But, we do have renters for both of our houses on the hill. That is definitely a relief! In the meantime, we are collecting a large pile of baby stuff in our closet (and I can't wait to move so i can start setting stuff up). Keep us in your prayers!

20 weeks and counting

As of tomorrow, I will be 20 weeks pregnant, and here is an update pix. My tummy actually looks much larger from my vantage point; for example, last night in the shower I realized that I can't see my feet without leaning over. Yikes! I am feeling much better now, as my allergies have passed. Also, I am feeling lots of kicking, punching, stretching and flipping. A couple of days ago I felt the baby kick my hand while I was watching t.v., so I grabbed Andy's hand. I guess baby already knows daddy because he/she kicked his hand hard twice! It was an amazing and exciting moment.

Andy continues to be an angel, as always. A week and a half till we know the sex! Woo hoo! Leave comments on what your bet is!

House update...

Well, we had a contract on the house, but that fell through. So, back on the market it goes. We pray fervently that just the right people will come and buy our house...the sooner the better!

Till next time...

Valentine's Day

I am married to the sweetest husband in the world! He seems to actually listen what I say...strange isn't it. Earlier this week, we had a long discussion about the process of making sweet tea. While my Georgia husband stands as the sweet tea expert, I trusted that this expertise would not crack my favorite pitcher. Unfortunately this is exactly what happened, as boiling hot sugary tea water poured all over my white counter tops and splashed all over the floor. After about 7 soapy moppings, and a bleaching of the countertops, my kitchen seems back to normal (except one pitcher short).

So much to my surprise, on Valentine's, there was a beautiful glass pitcher waiting for me with a custom Andy-designed flower arrangement with spider mums and a giant hydrangea (my favorite). Isn't he the sweetest?

And now for my prego update...

As of today, I have reached the 18 week mark and have not felt good this last week. I think I have a self-diagnosed sinus infection, which has made sleeping both a frustrating and miserable affair. My doctor says that the baby is doing well, with a good heart rate, and is very active (kicking the doppler repeatedly during my last appt.). I have felt what I think are little kicks or punches, but only a few times. I think maybe my overly active baby is also the source of a constant backache. My husband and heating pad again to the rescue! It is amazing to experience this miracle from the inside...praise the Lord, who in all his wisdom, knows everything about this baby already!

No, we don't know the sex yet, that will probably be a few more weeks...

Kelly, this one's for you

Yes, Kelly, I am finally posting my first prego photo. This picture was taken at 14 weeks. As of tomorrow, I will be 15 weeks. Woo hoo! So long first trimester! My baby center updates say that at 15 weeks this little fella is about 4 inches long, weighing in at 2 1/2 ounces. He/she is busy inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid and his/her legs are beginning to grow longer than the arms. Thank goodness. I will try to post more as I grow, if for no other reason than to avoid the nagging of friends across the ocean (ahem, kelly, ahem).

christmas in Williamsburg

Even though it's a bit late, here I am posting a couple of Christmas pix from our trip to Williamsburg, VA with Andy's family for Christmas. Never a dull moment with the family!
















Yes, we did take the classic "stockade" picture. I felt cliche, but still very happy to come away with such a silly and free souvenir. It was very cold, but many funny memories were made. And with over 2000 miles driven, mostly with the family, even more interesting moments were had. Yay, family vacations!!!

Apparently I don't look like a celeb

I realize that I have procrastinated greatly since my last post, but I am currently waiting for my camera battery to recharge so I can post some pix too. I promise a full update is coming...

I got this off of crazy cara's blog. Ok, so my celebs turned out a little strange, but I guess I will just blame it on the pix that I chose. Have fun!

http://www.myheritage.com

"He's gonna be a soccer player...he is...he is!"

Well, here it is! Our baby's first picture. Yes, that is baby not babies...and for that we are very grateful! This sonogram was taken at 7 wks on Dec. 1st, with the little fella measuring in at a massive .95 cm with a heart rate of 153 bpm. How amazing, that a baby, not bigger than a grain of rice, would already have a beating heart. Only God could pull that one off. Amazing to see it on video! My official due date is July 21st, so I still have awhile to go. We covet your prayers for health, safety, and contentment for mom, baby, and a very supportive husband (who has never looked so good as when he is doing dishes, laundry, dinner, vacuuming, and even cleaning out the kitty litter box). For all you dads out there...kudos for all you do. God bless!

Bright and Shiny

A few bright and shiny (a Gray's Anatomy reference for those fans out there) moments of my week...
*Finding out we are pregnant (Hooray!...My 3-yr. old nephew has officially brought back this exclamation as a part of his everyday "excitement"vocabulary)
*Hearing everyone shriek as we spread the good news
*Putting our house on the market
*No parents yelling at me during ARD meetings (yes, this does happen to bright-and-shiny-Lisa)
*DVR-No Commercials!
*Christmas lights
*I heard my first official Christmas song on the radio
*No work ALL next week!!!

May you have many bright-and-shiny moments as you head toward Turkey day! Enjoy!

Coming this summer

Sorry for the delay in this post, but our computer has been a little quirky. Anyway, Andy and I found out officially on Tuesday that we are expecting our own little Adkins sometime this summer. That's right, I'm PREGNANT! We are both very excited, but we won't know more details about my due date until my first official doctor's appointment. We will blog our updates as we know more. In the meantime, keep us in your prayers...

Babushka Lucy

We lovingly refer to this sweet picture of our ever-curious 85-lb. baby as "Babushka Lucy."
My mother was irritated about how her fabulous dishcloth that she had given me had landed on the top of Lucy's head. However, Andy and I were quite entertained with Lucy trotting loudly through the house with this get-up on. We were even more entertained with her eagerness to have her picture taken. (Believe it or not, this is actually one of many from this particular picture-taking session).

I thought this would be an appropriate post-Halloween post
since Lucy sadly had grown out of her Police officer costume that she so gracefully wore last year. This is as close to a Halloween picture that we have in our house. Andy and I were unsuccessful in our attempts to come up with an idea for a costume, so we elected to go as ourselves. When I asked my 3-year old nephew what we should be, he very excitedly said "a DUCK!"

I was all for it, but Andy wouldn't go for it...

If you have them, post your Halloween pictures!