All About Addie

I figured it was about time to dedicate a post to our sweet Addie girl.  I miss doing my monthly posts and sharing every last detail about how you are growing and changing so much.  You are at such a fun age right now, a little over 16 months, and we are loving every minute of watching your personality shine through!  You are always full of expression, we know when your happy and you make sure we know when you are upset.  You keep us on our toes and always keep things interesting.  You are going to be the best big sister to Bella, but for now it's All About Addie in our house.

Here are a few of my favorite things:

• You are a dancing machine!  You absolutely love music and the second you hear it you start to move.  Your favorite dance moves are the shoulder shrug, shaking your butt (thanks to Aunt Kristen), and spinning in circles.  It is so adorable!

• One of your favorite things to do is feed Cooper treats!  You know exactly where they are and surprisingly you don't even try to eat them yourself.  Cooper usually enjoys 3-4 treats per day and is really appreciating having you around these days!
• Everything is uh-oh, oh no, and oh my these days.  Sometimes you throw things to the floor on purpose just to say uh-oh and we've been trying to explain to you that when you do it on purpose it's not an uh-oh.  You put your hands up by your face though when you say it and even though you probably say it 100 times a day, it's still so cute!
• You have become quite the beach bum.  We go a couple times a week and you love to play in the sand and in the water, which makes your daddy and I very happy!

• Making animal noises is your thing - the favorites are roar, meow, and woof woof.
• You have become a pretty picky eater, you know what you like and that's what you want.   When it is time to eat and you see what we have for you, you give us a quick "oh wow" or shake your head "no" to let us know your thoughts on our selections.  You always have an opinion that's for sure!
• You are such a sweet and friendly little girl.  Everywhere we go, you greet everyone with waves and smiles.  You love to be around people, especially other kids.  We've been practicing being gentle and nice with your baby doll and you give the doll the best hugs and kisses.  I know you are going to absolutely adore your little sister and give her lots of lovin'.

• It is so much fun to go out and do things with you lately.  We have been to the zoo, playground, swimming pool, beach, strawberry picking, out to eat, etc. - and every single field trip is an adventure and full of fun family memories.

• When I am cleaning or cooking - you turn into my little mini-me and love to run your vacuum cleaner with me or help me cook.  I love that you're becoming mommy's little helper!
  
• Your cute little toes - especially when Aunt Krissy gives you a pedicure!
  
• I love how you stick your tongue out when your are concentrating really hard on something, it's adorable!
  

Addie's favorites at 16 months:

• Toys
• Any type of ball - you even get excited when you see the large red balls outside of Target
• Your baby doll - you give her hugs and kisses and love to feed her the bottle
• Blocks and oversized legos
• Bubbles
• Sand and water toys - especially your bucket and shovel
• Your picnic basket, even though you continue to try to eat the play food in it
• Your "Addie" chair or pretty much anything else you can climb on
  
  
  
  
• Alphabet train
• Books - your favorite is your Peek-a-Boo book because you like to open the flaps 
  
• Your vacuum cleaner
• The Disney princess ride on toy

• Activities
• Singing and dancing
• Chasing Cooper and feeding him treats
• Family walks
  
• Going to the beach or to the pool
• Pretending to talk on the phone
• The playground
  
  
  
  
• Our classes at the Little Gym - I'm pretty sure you smile from the second we get there until the second we leave, you absolutely love it!
• Watching Mickey Mouse or Doc McStuffins
  

• Foods
• Goldfish
• graham crackers
• bananas
• mandarine oranges
• fruit and veggie pouches
• applesauce
• yogurt
• PB&J
• anything with cheese - grilled cheese, string cheese, mac & cheese
  
  
  
  We love you so much Addie girl!

Summer Bucket List

We are finally enjoying our first week of summer in the Harvell household.  With that being said, I have created a summer bucket list of things I would like to do.  We have 8 weeks (hopefully) before Bella's arrival and I want to plan some fun things for Addie before she gets here.  With that being said, here it goes...

• Spend as much time as possible with our toes in the sand
• Check out the splash pads and kid's area at Norfolk Botanical Gardens
• Eat as much ice cream as possible
• Go for family walks at Mt. Trashmore and Oak Grove Lake
• Explore the local farmer's market
• Take Addie to the Children's Museum on a rainy day
• Lots of laughs, singing, and fun at our weekly classes at the Little Gym
• Check out the playscape area in the Slover Library
• Have a picnic dinner and watch the sunset on the beach
• Make edible finger paint and let Addie get crafty
• Watch Addie run through a sprinkler
• Go on a few date nights with Eric before Bella's arrival
• Enjoy a country concert - Florida Georgia Line here we come!
• Take a trip to the zoo

I can't wait to spend my summer days with this cutie, let the fun begin!

Baby Bump - Month 7

How far along?  30 weeks

Gender:  It's a girl - Bella Sherry Harvell!

Feeling:   I've started feeling much more pregnant lately.  Between my week of SOL testing at school and temps in the upper 90s, life has become a little more difficult and my poor feet a little more swollen.  My heartburn is in full force - maybe Bella will be born with a full head of hair just like her big sis!

Maternity Clothes: Since we have been living at the beach and the pool on the weekends, I've quickly gotten over my fear of wearing my maternity bathing suit in public.  I have 2 and they are both actually fairly comfortable.  There's nothing better than the pool and the beach on a hot summer day!

Sleep: I'm still sleeping pretty well, although every once in a while I will wake up pretty uncomfortable.  At this point the good nights still out number the bad so I can't really complain...yet!

Favorite Moments:

-Scheduling Bella's birthday - Apparently Bella already wants to be like her big sis because she is also breech.  Since I am a repeat c-section even if she decides to turn (which I doubt she will!) I already have it scheduled.  Bella's tentative birthday is Tuesday, August 18th :)

-Addie has been around a few newborns/babies recently and I love watching her interact with them.  She points, blows kisses, and may or may not try to steal their pacifiers, but it makes me very excited for her to meet her baby sister.

Missing anything?  As the weather gets nicer, I kinda miss being able to have a Blue Moon..especially since one of our favorite local spots that we like to go to and sit outside has it on draft.

Movement:  All the time.  Bella is much more of a kicker than Addie was.  I felt Addie move all of the time but it was almost like she was spinning around or dancing, Bella all out kicks me constantly...it takes my breath away sometimes!

Cravings:  This past month I've had some really random (and delicious) cravings - crab legs, Rita's italian ice, and anything sweet.  Iced coffee is still my guilty pleasure!  I've started making my cup of coffee at night and then putting in the refrigerator to chill over night...it's amazing by the time I drink it in the morning.

Looking forward to:

-Summer time!  It's my last week of school and I cannot wait to be done!

-Spending some time preparing for Bella's arrival once I'm done with school.  I have several to-do lists and I'm ready to start checking some things off of them.

-Our OBX trips that we have planned in July.  We are taking a mini-vaca just the 3 of us for the 4th of July and then will be back there the next week with the whole family.

Memorial Day Weekend

We took one last hoorah to Pittsburgh before Bella's arrival for Memorial Day weekend.  Now that I am officially in my 3rd trimester we are trying to limit our traveling between now and August.  We will go to the Outer Banks and probably make one more trip to Raleigh, but other than that they Harvell's are home bound for the summer and to be honest I'm kind of excited about it. 

We drove up on Friday and missed the traffic by leaving around 1, which was really nice.  Addie was an angel on the trip (so was Coop!) and we made it to Pittsburgh just in time for bed time.  We woke up Saturday morning and took a trip to the zoo with the family.  It was a beautiful day and Addie had a blast, especially once she got out of the stroller and got to walk around with Grandma, Pap, and Aunt Kristen.  Towards the end when she started to get fussy, she had her cousin Bryan there to cheer her up.  He always knows how to make her laugh!  Saturday night, my Grandma and Grandpa came into town and my mom made a huge Italian dinner for everyone at my request.  I seriously can't get enough Italian food these days, Bella is going to come out asking for spaghetti and meatballs!  On Sunday, Addie and I met up with Julie and Max at the park for some fun.  It's always good to catch up with old friends when we visit.  Who would have known years ago when we were sitting in Mr. Kallet's homeroom class that we would still be friends years later and not only that, but our little ones would be friends too.  It's pretty cool if you ask me!  After our trip to the park, we came back for a quick nap and then it was time for the neighborhood picnic.  Soon after that, we were on our way home, exhausted as usual.  Our trip to the Burgh was short and sweet, but it really was great to catch up with everyone....and it's crazy to think that next time we return we will be a family of 4!

OBX Mini-Vaca

The Outer Banks is by far one of our favorite places to visit.  We have visited the Outer Banks many, many times in the past couple years and it holds a very special place in our hearts because it's where we got married 3 years ago.  It is awesome to be able to now create memories there with our little family, plus being only an hour and a half away is also a bonus!

A few weeks ago, we packed the car and hit the road for a little mini-vaca to the beach.  We had a blast hanging out on the beach, enjoyed a super yummy meal at Black Pelican, and spent a morning exploring Manteo.  It was short and sweet, but just what we needed to recharge and relax before finishing a hectic work year for both Eric and I.  Until next time OBX, we will see you in July!

Favorite "Memorable Moments" from School

Addie is officially done with daycare!!!  I will say although I am very, very excited to be able to stay at home with her next year, leaving daycare is a little bittersweet.  We were so lucky to have such a wonderful experience at the Goddard School of Chesapeake.  We absolutely loved her teachers, the office staff, and all of the kids there.  The daycare was like a family and they treated all of the kids like their own.  They always made Eric and I feel very comfortable leaving her there, even those first couple days when as any parent knows it is extremely difficult.  Her teachers sent us pictures throughout the day and recorded memorable moments on her daily report so that Eric and I could feel included in her day.  Addie loved playing outside, singing and dancing with her friends at circle time, and of course snack time!  She learned so much and hit so many milestones while she was there too, from sitting up, to walking, to sign language.  I've been very impressed with the variety of learning experiences Addie had on a daily basis while she was there.  She learned how to wash and dry her hands all by herself, throw her trash away, and even stand in line.  

On Addie's last day, there were lots of hugs and smiles and we were even given a portfolio of special pictures, comments, and art work from every month that she was there.  Addie will spend the next 3 weeks hanging out with her Aunt Krissy and then come the middle of June I cannot wait to start a new chapter in mommy world and spend every day with my sweet Addie girl! 

Addie's 1st day of daycare back in September and her last day of daycare at the end of May.

Here are some of my favorite "Memorable Moments" from Addie's daily reports.  I love looking back at these and seeing how much Addie has changed in a few short months.  She went from being a sweet and observant baby to a fun, spunky, full of energy toddler.

9/2/14
Addie had a great day!! She enjoyed her first full day of school! She showed us how much stronger she is getting with sitting up! 

9/10/14
Addie had a great day!! She smiled at everyone that came in the room today!! She is so sweet! 

9/11/14
Addie had a great day!! She enjoyed her first ride outside in the bye bye buggy! 

9/25/14
Addison did a great job gripping the ball as we attempted to roll it to our friends today.

10/3/14
Addie had a great day! She enjoyed exploring with the rattles while we played music today!! She even bounced like she was dancing! 

10/7/14
Addie had a great day! She gave us lots of smiles and showed off her new tooth today!!

10/16/14
Addie had a great day! She danced while her teacher sang songs on the mat!! 

10/23/14
Addie had a great day! She clapped at everything today!! 

11/3/14
 We were so excited to see Addie successfully army crawl across the floor today! 

11/19/14
Addie had a great day today! She has been all smiles today and enjoyed playing with a ball with her teacher. 

12/4/14
Addie had a great day! Today is the first time we saw her up on all fours crawling on the floor!! No more army crawls for Addie. 

12/9/14
Addie had a wonderful day today! She is so friendly with the other kids and even reached to help pick up a pacifier that had fallen out of her friend's mouth! 

12/10/14
Addie had a great day!! She couldn't stop dancing to the holiday music we played this morning!  

12/11/14
Addie had a great day! She sure does like spitting raspberries!! It's so much fun for them when they learn that! 

12/19/14
Addie had a great day today! We were so impressed that she kept her socks on all morning! 

1/6/15
Addie loved waving hello and goodbye to her friends and teachers today! 

1/16/15
Addie had a great day!! Someone is getting braver and looks like she'll be standing on her own soon!! Good job, Addie!! 

1/26/15
Addie had a great day!! She did a wonderful job in her new shoes. She left them on her feet and was a little more stable while she was standing up!! Great job Addie.

2/2/15
Addie had a great day! She had a great time in the moo cows during her first official day of transition.

3/9/15
Addie had a great day!! She got to spend some time in the pigs class where she showed off her sweet walking skills! 

3/10/15
Instead of doing the "Happy feet" yoga pose, Addison decided to do the downward dog and show all of her new friends. 

3/13/15
As Addison began to walk she started following her shadow. 

3/19/15
Addie loved practicing her downward dog yoga pose today during free play!  

3/20/15
Addison was stacking the blocks and clapped every time she put one on top of the other. 

3/26/15
Addison signed "more" and tried to say the word too. 

4/15/15
Addison had a great day, she played with all her friends and did a great job practicing to share with her friends. 

4/16/15
Addie had a great time dancing with the cheer team today!

4/20/15
Through out the whole day Addison did the yoga pose downward dog. 

5/4/15
Addison made sure she tasted the apple before she painted with it. 

5/5/15
Addison was a diver today, she climbed up the big blocks and rolled back down and laughed about it.  

5/6/15
During music Addison got her boogie on, she showed her friends her dance moves. 

5/7/15
Addison, followed Ms Yuri around the playground, until she could get her hand and pull her to the water fountain to get a drink of water. 

5/11/15
Addison pretended like she was a whale and made noises while we listened to the song "Baby Beluga."

5/12/15
Today Addison decided to paint her hair instead of her paper.

5/13/15
Addison, made her teacher feel very special, she would not let anyone sit in Ms. Yuri's lap.

5/29/15
Addison we are going to miss you so much, you have brought so much joy and laughter into the moo cows. No matter where you are remember your the light that brightens the room. With the amazing spunk that you have, we will definitely notice your not here. Thank you for the warm hugs and helping to get circle time and music time together and for always giving a hug when a hug is needed. You keep being a blessing, your going to make an awesome big sister. We will truly miss you. Love Ms. Yuri and the moo cow classroom.