10 Weeks Old!

Happy New Year everyone!

Wow! Miss Addie has definitely grown quite a bit since our last post! She is now 10 weeks old! We recently went to Indy for a visit and everyone could not believe how big she has gotten (especially those cheeks!) At our 2 month appointment, she weighed 11.3 pounds. A week later, at G-Pa's office, she weighed 11.14 pounds - what can I say, she loves to eat!

She is also quite the sleeper! At about 6 weeks, she started to not wake up to eat in the night, but would occasionally wake up and stir a bit (nothing her pacifier couldn't solve). Now, she is sleeping 7-8 hours a night, without waking up. I dont know what Michael and I did in a previous life to get such a good baby, but we will take it! We are just waiting for her to turn on us:)

She is much more awake and alert during the day now...we love her smiles in the morning and night. We are getting on more of a schedule these days, which will help when Mom goes back to work. With the recent warm spell in Atlanta, we have been taking a lot of walks in the stroller and baby bjorn.

I head back to work on Valentine's Day...but I can't complain too much, as I will still be working from home. As mentioned earlier, we took a trip to Indy last week to visit our friends and family. Addie got to meet Aunt Jess, see her cousins, Aunt, Uncle, Great PaPa and Grandma, have a playdate with her friends and meet all of her DWA friends! It was a great, but busy week! Dad definitely missed her while gone!

Nanny and Poppy (Michael's parents) had to postpone their trip just for a bit as Nanny is having surgery to remove her gall bladder. We are just glad she will feel all better when she comes over soon!! We can't wait!! We can't wait for Michelle and Shamus to come soon too!! Yeah!

Here are some recent pics and a video! I promise to update soon!! Enjoy!

Addie and Simon Zeckel

Where has the time gone!?

Hey everyone!!

So sorry for the delay in this post - time flies with a little one!

Addie is almost two months old (on the 19th)...we can't believe it! Each day she does something new, or is getting bigger and bigger (watch out for those cheeks!). We are starting to see smiles everyday and her awake time is getting longer (for awhile we didnt know what color her eyes were:)

Since our last post, we celebrated Christmas, New Years and my birthday! We were able to visit Indy for Addie's first Christmas. We had a great time and she got to meet her G-Pa, aunts, uncles, cousins and great grandparents! She was a champ in the car and did not make a peep! She even enjoyed her first trip to Cracker Barrel. We were back in Atlanta for New Years and she got to spend the night at her cousins house. Jake, Caroline and Cooper had a ball spending time with her and are so good with her! Aunt Katie babysat so we could enjoy a night out for my 30th birthday...yes, 30. It was great to have Michael out of school over the holidays - he is so smitten with his little girl.

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Nanny and Poppy next week (Michael's parents)! They arrive on the 20th to spend time with Addie and do some traveling. We can't wait for her to meet them (I think they are pretty excited too)!

Addie is such a great baby - she is now "semi" sleeping through the night. No more bottles in the night, just a few short fusses now and then. She still loves her naps during the day, but she is definitely more alert and playing so much more. We laugh at the little rolls that seem to accumulating on her little arms and legs...

Other than that, we are loving every minute with her. In fact, Atlanta had a major snow storm this week and we have been snow bound for 3 days. We are having lots of "quality family time" :) We hope to make another trip up to Indy soon so she can meet more friends, family and little ones.

Here are some recent pics of miss Addie..

Loving those cheeks!

Snoozing with her Daddy

She loves her blanket from the Bests!

Cousin Emily loved her Addie!

Spending Christmas with G-Pa!

Great PaPa and Addie!

4 Weeks Old!!

Hey everyone!!

So sorry for the delay in updating our blog! Miss Addie taken most of our attention (which is just fine by us)! We can't believe she is already 4 weeks old (on Friday). The time has flown! It is so neat to see her get bigger and grow each day! Although she still spends most of her day sleeping, her "awake time" is increasing more and more each day!

At her 2 week check up, she weighed 6 pounds 12 ounces -definitely up from her 6.5 birth weight! Hopefully she will be a little chunker in no time:)

I love spending my days with her - she makes it pretty easy! :) Michael finished his first semester of Law School and he is enjoying spending his evenings with his lady. We decided to make the trip to Indy for Christmas since she came a little early and still needs to meet most of the family. We are really looking forward to it - and she will get a White Christmas for her first Christmas!

The weather in Atlanta has been pretty abnormal recently (snow, ice) so we have been unable to get out and get some fresh air! However, we have really enjoyed visits from friends and neighbors!! Not to mention, her 3 cousins have been taking really good care of her!!

Below are some recent pictures and a video of our little lady. We are smitten with her and can't wait for everyone to meet her! Enjoy!!

Gifts from Aunt Danielle!

After our first bath! Love the hair!

From her photo shoot with Alix...

Addison is here!!!

She is here! 3.5 weeks early - healthy and so happy! Could not be more in love. Here is how it all went down...

Early Friday morning (around 4:00am), I woke up with pretty bad abdominal cramps, after a few trips to the bathroom, I decided I would move to the couch to make sure I didn't wake Michael (or Indy:) I found myself awake every 10 minutes or so with these cramps...I began to think that these were those Braxton Hicks contractions I heard about...until they seemed to get a little more intense! Around 6:30, Michael woke up and we decided I would take a shower and see how I feel after. Well - the "cramps" got worse (less than 10 minutes apart) and we decided to call the doctor.

So - off to the doctor we went! Again, about every 5 minutes, the "cramps" would come! We arrive at the doctor and for some reason, they decided to still check my weight and blood pressure - until Michael reminded them that these pains were coming every 5 minutes. I will never forget the doctor's face as she informed me that we were 7 cm dialted (10 cm is push time)! Michael responded - "What happened to 1 and 2?!"

So - off to the hospital! Fortunately, they called ahead and let Labor and Delivery know that I was coming (and the baby too)!! My concern was not only how early I was delivering and her health, but that there was still time to get an epidural! I can still hear my sister and Michael whispering back and forth during my contractions - "I dont think there is time for her to get one!" The nurses worked their magic and before I knew it, the epidural made me a new woman! Soon after (maybe 10 minutes) the doctor said I was 10 cm and we could just let her make her way down! I rested for about 30 minutes and then it was time to push! Michael did an excellent job counting and coaching me through the pushes! After about 30 minutes of pushing - Addison arrived at 2:32pm (after arriving at the hospital at 10:45am)!! She was absolutely perfect and beautiful!

Addison Rose Clements - 6.5 pounds, 19.5 inches

We were so surprised that she decided to come early - we had not decided on a name or had any of our last minute projects done - but I quickly learned that NONE of that mattered (except her name)...she was healthy and we were beyond thrilled.

We gave LOTS of thanks this Thanksgiving; for her arrival, for the love of so many friends and family and just what a blessing she is! We could also not be more thankful for G-Ma's visit this past week; she saved us! We have never had so many groceries in our fridge and our house has never been so clean! :) We were even able to put up our Christmas tree this weekend (Addison slept through the decorating)...

I promise to do my best to keep up with the blogging! I really can't complain - she is such a great baby, but as everyone says, I need to sleep when she sleeps and get my rest (it's hard to not just sit and stare:) Thank you all for the well wishes, phone calls, emails, etc. We are so happy and feel like the luckiest parents in the world!

Let the Nesting Begin...or continue:)

Hello everyone!
The count down is on! T minus 4 weeks until Baby Girl arrives! I just keep thinking..."this time next month...she will be here (hopefully)!" We get more and more excited each day, and somehow our To Do list gets longer and longer!

As many of you know, I can be quite OCD...I prefer to say organized. Even though I think the nesting stage started when I found out I was pregnant, it has really hit me recently! We are redoing our full bath (which was part of the plan for awhile), which looks great! However, I feel it is necessary to clean every closet, rake up every leaf and make sure everything is in it's place for when she arrives! As many wise Moms have told me, you will never be 100% ready:)

I am feeling really good - although I must admit, these past couple weeks have been a little more tiring. I find myself knocked out for the day around 7:00pm with a heating pad on my back. I am still trying to walk or go to the gym often, but most of the time, it feels better to just rest. I head to the doctor again next week, then every week after that. So far, everything is right on schedule! Keep you posted on next week's visit!

With all of the excitement surrounding her arrival, we are also really looking forward to the holidays! As I don't move too far or fast these days, we will be spending Thanksgiving at my sister's house in Marietta. I have already asked her to make extra helpings of each! We love the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and this year will be no exception! We plan to get our tree and decorations up right away, so we can wait for Baby Girl to arrive. Did I mention I already have half of my shopping done AND wrapped? :)

It's also an extra busy time for Michael as he has his first semester finals for Law School the week she is due! Good timing, huh? But, we have asked Baby Girl several times to hang tight as long as she can so Dad is not rushing through his last final to get to the hospital:) He has done such a great job this semester with managing his studying and his prego wife -  I am so proud and can't wait for him to be able to relax at Christmas with his new baby girl.

Here is the latest belly pic for you! I am currently 36 weeks and 3 days! Keep you posted on any new developments!! Enjoy!!

36.5 Weeks

5 Weeks to go!!!

Hey everyone!

We are getting close, very close! Michael and I can't believe we have just about one month to go before Baby Girl arrives! The nursery is basically ready to go, just need a few little items to make it complete! We have been so lucky that so many friends and family love her so much already and have spoiled her rotten with books, clothes, and more clothes:)

Michael and I (mostly Michael) have been finishing up some projects around the house. Our latest is the full bath; last week we had our 1950's bathroom tile painted and bathtub refinished! It looks like a new bathroom! Michael then installed a new fan, light, accessories and vanity! Almost done (finished pics will come later)...

If you know me well, you know that I am a planner - so with Thanksgiving and Christmas around the corner I am trying my best to get organized for the next few weeks ahead! Some presents are already bought and I have already been assigned my Thanksgiving dish. It just makes it difficult when I am trying to get ready to be "out of the office" for 3 months as well and carrying around this belly - makes Mama tired!

At this point, I am going to the doctor every two weeks. On Friday, the doctor said everything looked great - heartbeat, measurement, blood pressure, and weight! So - 12/12 is still the date! I can't believe I am saying this - but I hope she comes 12/10 or later (Michael's last final is 12/9). What a way to celebrate! Fingers crossed!

When we aren't working, studying, working around the house or getting ready for BGC, we have been trying to enjoy some last minute "Susan and Michael" time. We have been hanging with friends, going out to dinners, and of course spending quality time with Miss Indy...

Here is a belly pic from about 2 weeks ago (33.5 weeks). I promise to do another one soon:)
Keep you posted!!! :)

About 33.5 Weeks!

Surprise cake from our great friends during our Halloween Party!

With Megan and Tiny

She is spoiled! :)

A busy couple of weeks it has been! We just returned home from celebrating Baby Clements in Indianapolis! What a great weekend we had! I drove up to Indy earlier in the week for work, and Michael joined me on Friday. It was so great to catch up with work friends and they even surprised me with a Baby Shower on Thursday! Lots of yummy cake, food and gifts for the baby! I truly was surprised and so appreciative of everything they did (pics coming soon)!

On Friday, my sister, my niece Caroline and Michael flew in from Atlanta. We spent the evening getting ready for the baby shower on Saturday. I couldn't keep myself out of the planning and helped them get ready for the festivities on Saturday.

My sister preparing the "diaper cake"...so cute!

Ok, so it took a few more hands (and beers) to get this thing done:)

Finished product - so cute!



Saturday was the big shower! Big thanks to the hostesses for throwing such a great party! Everything was perfect! We had the shower at George's, which was perfect for our group. I got to catch up with so many people and celebrate our baby girl! The place looked great - my dear friend Kaeley did the flowers and my sister-in-law, Stevie put together adorable favors for everyone! We played some great games (like guessing how big my belly is - thanks to those who came up short:) and opened SO many great gifts from everyone - she is spoiled!





Beautiful flowers and cupcakes!

The place looked great! THANK YOU to the great hostesses, Mom, Katie and Stevie (not to mention Caroline and Emily)!

So many great gifts! Thank you to everyone!!

The adorable favors - bags of popcorn that read "Susan is about to pop!"

On Saturday evening, we had a family "weenie" roast at my Grandparents house. The weather was great, as we sat outside, cooked hot dogs and smores over the fire and watched the little ones carve pumpkins and cause trouble:) Michael and I really enjoyed seeing my Grandparents, cousins, Aunt, Uncle, niece and nephews!



Katie, Caroline and PaPa



The kids decorating pumpkins

Sweet Charlie keeping up with the bigger kids!

We let Adrienne and Evan help out with the carving:)



My girls - Caroline and Emily!

Sadly, on Sunday, we had to head back to Atlanta. First, we stopped off at our great friends, Lindsay and Adam's as they are expecting their first this winter too! Since they moved back to Indy, we don't get to see them as much, so it was so fun to see each other's bellies and catch up! Michael did a great job of stuffing, I mean packing,  our car with all of Baby Girl's new goodies! Once home, we couldn't wait to unload the car and see her nursey really come together - well, at least in the process! Here is a video of how spoiled she is and my belly:) Next Dr. appointment is tomorrow (32 week appointment) - can't wait to hear about her progress! Enjoy!