expertise needed

well, i spent a good portion of the afternoon yesterday trying to upload a video to blogger. i don't know if it is too big or what. blogger says that it usually takes about 5 minutes, but that was not the case with me. it kept "uploading" for forever and I retried it to no avail. i would just give up, but the video is too cute to not try again. any tips?

another question. anyone know how to get a cassette tape turned into a cd? i have a great tape with no tape player (except for the gargantuan one in the garage. i don't think addison would enjoy the sing-along as much on the dirty garage floor:) just wanted to elicit a few tips/ideas from the many bloggers who are so much smarter than me. :0

Pediatric Cardiologist and Chuck Norris

We had our appt. with the pediatric cardiologist from Cook's today (they do a clinic here twice a month) and here goes the long explanation. Addison did great! They did an echocardiogram that only took about 15 min., which was fabulous compared to the previous echos that took about 45 min. The doctor was there for the echo and explained everything that he was seeing. He said that she still has the hole in her heart between the upper chambers, but this was not a big deal and shouldn't cause her any problems. (This was a little bit of a surprise since the last echo they said that they didn't see it.)

They did still see the narrowing of the pulmonary arteries. The doctor said that the type and severity of narrowing (stenosis) that she has is pretty unusual and he doesn't think that it will go away on its own. She has what is called branch pulmonary artery stenosis because the narrowing is where the artery brances to take blood to the right and left lungs. This potentially could stress her heart because it has to work a little harder to get the blood through the arteries. However, the doctor said that she is just fine and should continue to do fine. In the future, we may have to have a heart catheter procedure done to get a better picture of her heart and possibly put some stents (sp?) in to open up the arteries. We will have another appt. in 4 months to check on this. The part that freaked me out the most was when he mentioned that sometimes this condition is associated with certain syndromes (yikes!). He didn't think that this was the case with her, but we are going to see a geneticist in 4 months to check on that...just to make sure. It still scares he pants off of me.

So, that is our heart update. At her appt., Addison weighed in at 17 lbs. 4 oz. and 25 in. long and she is now six months. That translates into a lot of rolls.



Now, for the Chuck Norris portion of my post. Last night, I was introduced to some Chuck Norris-isms that are pretty hysterical. I encourage whether or not you are a Chuck Norris fan, to check out this website... www.chucknorrisfacts.com

Here are the favorites just to give you a taste.
1. If you have five dollars and Chuck Norris has five dollars, Chuck Norris has more money than you.
2. There is no 'ctrl' button on Chuck Norris's computer. Chuck Norris is always in control.
3. Apple pays Chuck Norris 99 cents every time he listens to a song.
4. Chuck Norris can sneeze with his eyes open.
5. Chuck Norris can eat just one Lay's potato chip.
6. Chuck Norris is suing Myspace for taking the name of what he calls everything around you.
7. Chuck Norris destroyed the periodic table, because he only recognizes the element of surprise.
8. Chuck Norris can kill two stones with one bird.

This girl's got legs

What's going on with Addie...
trying green beans, yum!


getting fatter... (check out the feet)


and fatter... (she loves to pose!)


and even fatter,


and cuter!


Some of Addison's new favs...
-smiling
-rolling over, and over, and over (and sometimes crashing into the wall, the legs of the jumperoo, and even sucking on Daddy's flip flops)
-nursing
-eating (i think her favorite so far is squash)
-napping
-grabbing everything (hair, mommy's necklaces, my feet, the dog or cat, phone, and lots of toys!)
-lifting her little rear in the air (she is ready to move)
-and going to my new school--Addison finally got a spot! She now goes to a different mother's day out while I am at work. Even though we miss her old school, she is doing great with her new one, too.


Upcoming events:
-We are so excited that my sister's family is coming this weekend for a visit!
-Addison's visit with the pediatric cardiologist is scheduled for Monday morning, where she probably will get another echo and maybe an EKG. We'll see how that goes with a very squirmy 6 month old! Lift up a prayer for us.
-I will start my new job in a week or so. I hate to leave my job at the private school, but I was offered a position with AISD for the rest of the semester doing my old job, just part-time! Yay! I hope I can still do it!

Post X-Mas blues

I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but I am quite sad that the holidays are over. I am usually glad to take down the decorations and regain a sense of normalcy, but I have enjoyed this holiday season so much this year. Addison loved looking at the X-mas tree and singing X-Mas songs (we may just have to keep singing them to get a giggle out of her). Our full week in Austin was so much fun with Mama Dee, Papa, Laura, Kril, Declan and Kiera. However, I think Addison had a little radar and could tell that I was in the room with her. So, right about the time my head hit the pillow, the screaming would commence. In that respect, I am glad to be home with little Addie in her very own bed in her very own room. I have had so many things on my brain that I need to blog about, and now I can't think of any, really, except for X-Mas pictures of the loot.


Addison and Kiera...such pretty girls!




Yes, I always look this surprised...


"Look at all my stuff! I love it, and I don't even know what it is!"--Addison


"Is this how you play a harmonica?"--Kiera (check out Declan's facial expression in the background of this one. He did that for every single present he opened, accompanied by a "LOOK WHAT I GOT! IT'S JUST WHAT I ALWAYS WANTED!" Don't you wish adults did that? I think we should start a trend next X-Mas. Anybody with me?)


"No, silly sister. This is how you play a harmonica!"--Declan


I love mommy's scarf!

Be prepared for new pictures of the girl's fat legs. (I do not intend to give her a complex of how fat she was when she was a baby, but really, she has rolls that hang over her knees, come on. That is stinkin cute!)

P.S. I am now in my 4th week of pink eye. I know a lot of people go au natural with the eye makeup, but I feel like I have been thrown into this involuntarily. Even after 2 weeks of drops (and one week for Addison, too) and 10 days of oral antibiotics, I just can't seem to kick this thing. My next step is to douse the house in clorox and start sporting some ski goggles. Yuck.

MERRY X-MAS!!

From our family to yours, Merry X-Mas!

Such a pitiful cry

This is Addison's new favorite way to cry/moan/whine and let us know that she is generally unhappy and in need of a nap. Just envision these pix accompanied by a "mmmmm" cry. So pitiful. She gets just about whatever she wants. :)

Who does Addison look like?

I win, Andy. Ha!

Aunt Manda for a surprise visit!

For her X-Mas present, Andy's sister, Amanda, decided on Weds. to come our way on Thursday from Tennessee. Merry X-Mas to us, too! Here are a few cute shots of Auntie and our sweet girl!

Pictures...4 1/2 months

A few pictures to tide y'all over...
She actually did pretty well with her first cereal, and with lots of great photo ops! Here are a few of the keepers...







This is how daddy found little Addison before taking her to school. Tummy time is such hard work!



Last but not least, a few pictures from our dear photographer, Lindsey Cotton. I am dying to see the rest of them, but these are the ones that we have seen so far...

The numbers are in...

For those inquiring minds, we had our 4 month check up today and the numbers are in. I win the pot on guessing her weight at 15 lbs. 10 oz. and 25 inches long. (That is 90th %ile for weight and head, and 75th %ile for height). Looks like she has inherited the short legs of her mom and dad. The echo results showed that she still has narrowing of the pulmonary arteries, but most babies grow out of it by 6-12 months. We will be seeing the pedi cardiologist from Cooks next time they are in town. There is no course of treatment necessary right now, but they just want to monitor it. She is doing great, otherwise, and we are about to take her off her reflux meds. We will see how that goes:) Here is a picture update from Thanksgiving and the days that followed...

Our first snow in our new house! Happy Thanksgiving! It was sooooo cold, and a little shocking to Addison. This was a fun follow up to our X-Mas tree decorating.






And we have a roll over. Friday afternoon was Addison's first roll-over and she has been a little roly-poly ever since. She just loves to roll over. Here is the result of her first voluntary tummy-time.



Playing with cousin Declan. He sure loves to tickle...



Hanging with Aunt Laura before bathtime.

Is this my mommy? I'm not sure, but this hand sure tastes good.



Addison, Declan, and Kiera with Mama D and Papa. It was a full and happy house. We even took the dog. I am definitely learning to laugh at all the stressful situations we seem to put ourselves in. This is one of the sweet moments of our weekend.


Last but not least, today was Addison's first time in her Jumperoo. So cute, and highly entertaining. I have a feeling this one will be a lifesaver.





Pictures to come--cereal. We probably will start rice cereal in the next few days. Can't wait!

Happy Turkey Day, from our little Indian girl

This weekend, we were able to celebrate an early thanksgiving dinner with Andy's folks. Addison was spoiled rotten with grandma and grandpa doing lots of singing, playing, walking, etc. We were so sad to see them go, but we had such a nice time when they were here!






On a separate note...VICTORY! Addison slept for a whole hour by herself in her own bed, without being held, during her morning nap. This is monumental. She didn't even cry. The trick seemed to be that she just wanted to be swaddled. We tried it again this afternoon and it only lasted for about 15 minutes before the frantic crying commenced. Oh well, we will take what we can get. Small victories. (But big enough for me to finish my cup of coffee and get the dishes done:)


And to wish you a happy turkey day, here is our little indian. When I went to pick her up from Young Children's World on Tuesday, this is the sight that I saw. Absolutely ridiculous. And we have been picking glitter of our Addison's hair, clothes, and bedding ever since...and loving every minute of it. Hope all of you out there in blogger land have a blessed time of fun memories with your own little turkeys this thanksgiving day. we are so thankful for ours:)

Sleepy girl

Well, after a long day of driving home from Austin to visit Mama D and Papa, and having to keep the baby awake for most of the day (getting ready for the echo), we finally had the echo. Shockingly enough, Addison slept for the first 30 minutes of the echo. Andy and I were both thinking "whose child is this?" She was just sooooo sleepy. The last few minutes we had to hold her so that the tech could get the last couple of shots of her heart. Woo hoo! The tech said at the end that she didn't see any signs of a hole in her little heart. She couldn't comment on the narrowing of the pulmonary arteries, so we will have to wait for the pediatric cardiologists report. But, we have good news for now. We feel so blessed to have the Lord taking care of our little one. She is truly in good hands. Here are a few shots of our little sleepy baby.....sooo tired.

Is there an echo in here?

Well, Monday afternoon at 2 pm, our little one will have her 2nd echo to check on the hole in her heart. Please lift us all up in your prayers as we try to coerce our sweet baby to sleep on a cold hospital bed for 45 min. while they rub jelly and a sonogram machine on her chest. Yikes! We will see.

Yay, sister!

Aren't they cute!?

Well, my sister has finally entered the blogging world. Check it out and make sure that y'all bug her to keep up with it better than I do!

http://journeyofthecunninghams.blogspot.com/