Father's Day

 

Eric is the most amazing Dad to our little girl, so Addie and I couldn't wait to spoil him on his first Father's Day.  Even at such a young age, Addie is already a daddy's girl...every day when Eric gets home from work her face lights up and she smiles from ear to ear.  She loves him to death!

Chris, Abby, and Jake came to visit for the weekend and it was a lot of fun for Eric and Chris to celebrate being dads together.   Plus, we couldn't wait to introduce Addie to Jake...and take lots of cute pictures of the 2 of them!  We spent most of the day by the pool, then we had a cookout back at the house.  

Addie and I wanted to get Eric something really memorable for his first Father's Day.  One of Eric's favorite things to do is to read to Addie, so I bought a book "I Love My Daddy Because.." and added some pictures of Eric and Addie to the pages.  We also bought Addie and Eric matching Pirates shirts to wear to the game we are going to in a few weeks.  But, my favorite gift we got him were cuff links with Addie's birthstone in them along with a special note.  Addie wants Eric to wear them on her wedding day (many, many years down the road!) to remind him that she will always be his little girl!

Overall, it was a great day of family, friends, and fun!

These 2 traded their surf boards for these cuties!  Oh how things have changed....

"Addie what is that thing on your head!"

"Jake, is that a monkey on your shirt?"

Cousin love

These 2 were the cutest kids at the pool!

Addie loves her cousin Jake!

"Seriously mom, are you done with the pictures yet!"

"Look Jake if you just sit like this and look away, they usually stop with the pictures!"

Last one I promise...

God Bless Addie

We had you baptized on June 8, 2014 at Prince of Peace Church.  We had lots of visitors in town for the special occasion.  Some of the Castello's came from Pittsburgh, Pap, Grandma, Aunt Kristen, and Cousin Bryan, Your Mom-mom came from Raleigh, Uncle Brian and Carla made the trip from DC, and your Great-Grandparents came from Ohio.

You were an angel during  mass.  You slept in daddy's arms most of the time and only woke up for a few minutes when you were baptized.  Your dad and I were shocked that there weren't any tears!

We chose your Aunt Kristen and Uncle Brian to be your Godparents.  They both love you to pieces!

Hanging out with mommy before the big event!

One of my favorite parts of the mass is that they invite all of the kids to come up during the baptism.  There's your cousin Bryan, front and center!

God Bless Addison Elizabeth Harvell :)

Good job Addie girl!

Father introducing you to the church!  You did so good!

At the end of the mass they invited us to the front of the church to bless your dad and I.

Silly cousin Bryan!

After mass, we invited everyone to come to the Swan Terrace for brunch.  It was a beautiful ending to a beautiful day.  We ate tons of delicious food, followed by some family photos in the garden. 

The whole crew at brunch!

Parents and Godparents

Pap, Grandma, and Mom-mom.  You are spoiled to death by your grandparents!

"When is it time for the kids picture?!"  Bryan loves his Cousin Addie!

Smiling with Mom-mom.  We missed you Bob-bob, feel better soon!

Pap and Grandma

Your Great-grandparents traveled all the way from Ohio to see you get baptized.  Then, they spent a few extra days visiting with us and snuggling with you at our house!

The whole crew!

Castello's

With your favorite Godparents!

This is one of my favorite family photos so far, your dad and I just LOVE that smile!

Kisses for the cutest baby girl around

Smiles for Aunt Krissy!

Cousins

Your cake was so pretty...and so yummy!

God Bless you Addison!  Your dad and I love you to pieces and your baptism was a day that we will never forget!  We love you Addie girl!

My Favorite Things - Month 4

Your dad and I absolutely love watching you grow and it seems like you learn how to do something new every other day.  And without saying anything else, here are some of our favorite things from month #4...

• I've always loved the weekends, I mean who doesn't, right?  But, since I went back to work in month #4 the weekends were even that more special.  It meant that I got to spend the entire day with my little angel and I loved every minute of it.  One of our favorite things to do is cuddle in bed on Saturdays and Sundays.  I usually hear you wake up first and I put you in our bed.  You are always full of smiles and tell us a few morning stories, some can be pretty dramatic, before you realize you're hungry.  Those are moments (and stories) that I will never forget.

Weekend fun at the pool with mommy, daddy, and Aunt Kristen

Your first time in the pool, you weren't a huge fan (and neither was mommy) because the water was still pretty chilly.

•  Another one of my favorite things is seeing that smile on your face when I walk in the door after work.  Coming home from work to see you is like waking up on Christmas morning every single time.  There's not a moment in my day that I am not thinking about you and I probably looked at your picture a couple hundred times a day.  The second the kids left for the day, I was out the door and on a mission to get home to my little girl.  I hate being away from you, but seeing that face upon my turn makes it all okay.

This is what sweat and humidity does to your hair!

This is much better.

• You are such a happy baby and you've started getting a crinkle in your nose when you smile really big...and it is absolutely adorable!

I LOVE when we can catch a nose crinkle smile on camera!

•  I love to watch you interact with your Aunt Kristen.  It's been great that you have gotten to spend so much time with her already and you love her to death.  Aunt Kristen can get you to smile like no one else can and it is pretty awesome to watch.

You and your buddy on your baptism.

This is what I usually came home to, Aunt Krissy and the kids!

Addie - Month 4

Weight: 15 lbs 2 oz (78th percentile)

Length: 25 inches (96th percentile)

Head: 44 cm (95th percentile)

Clothes:

I officially packed away all of your 3 month clothes and that was a very sad day.  Apparently, babies grow very fast and although watching you grow is exciting, it still makes me a little sad that time is going by so fast.  Right now, 6 month clothes are a perfect fit for you and if you could just stay this little forever that would be great!

Diapers:

You are barely fitting in the last few packs of size 1 diapers.  We will have to move you up to size 2 any day now.

Health:

We had your 4 month check up with Dr. Fink and you are still a very healthy baby.  Dr. Fink says that you are "long, skinny, and smart" based on your measurements.  Your dad and I agree with all but the "skinny" comment.  You love your milk and you've really chunked up this month and your chubby thighs are beyond adorable.

You are developing a little bit of flat head because you still tend to favor your right side.  Luckily, you don't spend too much time laying around during the day anymore, you prefer to be up and looking around, so Dr. Fink says to continue keeping you off of it as much as possible during the day and it should round out perfectly.

At the end of your check-up you had to get your 2nd round of vaccinations.  You had to take an oral and then get a shot in each thigh just like last time.  Your face turned just as red and you screamed just as loud and it was equally painful for me to watch.  I'm pretty sure it will never get easy to see you in pain, even if it is for your own good.

Diet:

The biggest change this month is that I went back to work.  We were very lucky that your Aunt Kristen was finished with school for the summer, so she came to Virginia to live with us and take care of you for 4 weeks until my summer break.  Having your Aunt Kristen take care of you made the transition much easier on everyone.  I felt better knowing you were left in good hands (plus the constant pictures and videos were an added bonus) and you got to stay at home with a familiar face.

You are still exclusively breastfed and we are very lucky that you will nurse and take a bottle interchangeably without any problems.  I nurse you every morning before I go to work and then you take 2 bottles (5 oz each) while I am at work.  Then, I nurse you 2-3 times when I get home.  It has worked out great and although pumping at work might not be my favorite thing, I am very thankful that I have been able to keep up with you.

We got the okay to start introducing solids from your pediatrician.  You are showing some signs that you are ready, but I don't think you are quite there yet.  We are going to invest in a high chair soon to let you sit up with us at the table and once you gain a little better head control we will give it a shot, starting with rice cereal of course.  Stay tuned in the next month or so for updates on how it goes.

Sleep:

You started sleeping in your crib right after you turned 3 months old.  About the first 2 weeks went great, then as soon as I started back to work you decided that you didn't like it anymore.  You wanted to "party" as we call it in the middle of the night for an hour or two every night, which made for a very cranky working momma.  I decided that I would put you back in our room for a week or two for my own sanity and try again once I was on summer break.  Once I did that, you went back to sleeping through the night.

Every night you start to show your tired cues between 7:30-8:30.  We give you a bath every other night and I nurse you before you go to sleep.  I wake you up to nurse you before work and you typically fall back asleep in Aunt Kristen's room until 10ish.  You still aren't a very big napper, but you usually will take 2-3 cat naps of 20 minutes or so during the day.  I haven't really pushed much of a schedule on you yet, I let you take the lead and it has worked out well for us so far. 

Likes:

You love spending so much time with your Aunt Kristen.  She plays with you and the two of you take "selfies" every morning when you are cuddling in bed.  The rock-n-play is your favorite place to sleep, although I would prefer it to be your crib by now.  We are working on it though!  The bumbo is a new favorite this month because it allows you to see what's going on around you.  You continue to love being carried around in your Ergo, as well as taking walks.  Both were life savers when we went to DC for Uncle Brian and Carla's graduation.  When we eat dinner, you love to "join the party" and sit up with us so you can see everyone.  Sophie the giraffe is currently your favorite toy.

Dislikes:

You are not a very big fan of the sun, especially when it is in your eyes.  This had made our pool/beach days few and far between.  We are working on it though and we are hopeful that you will at least love the pool by the end of the summer. 

Milestones:
This month you are still very interested in your hands.  You started grabbing at some of your toys and you are able to hold your Sophie the Giraffe and after a few tries make it to your mouth.  You try to put your hands together and put them in your mouth, but you usually miss, which makes it look like you are hitting yourself in the face.  It's hilarious, but also cute at the same time.  You have discovered that you not only have hands, but also have feet, or a foot I should say.  I'm pretty sure you only think you have one, you have yet to find the left one.  You love to blow bubbles and make noises with your lips.  Between that and eating your hands, you are constantly covered in drool these days.  You can soak an outfit in no time!  We are still waiting for you to roll over for the first time, you get so close, but then your arm gets stuck.  We are also waiting for you to laugh out loud, our pediatrician said that maybe I should work on some new jokes for this, but I am confident that it is coming soon!  Stay tuned next month for updates on this.

Personality:

Your dad and I seriously can't get enough of you and how cute you are.  You are the most adorable little lady who is always full of smiles.  We were extremely busy this month and it didn't phase you at all.  You are such a chill baby who just goes with the flow.  No matter who holds you or where we are, you always have a smile on your face and that's one (of many things) that we love about you!

Visitors:
Robert, Jill (and baby Josie Leigh) came to meet you for the first time.  We traveled to DC for Uncle Brian and Carla's graduation.  We spent the day in the Outer Banks introducing you to the Feola's.  Aunt Kristen moved in with us for a whole MONTH!  Your Pap, Grandma, Uncle Brian, Carla, Bryan, Mom-mom, Great-Grandpa, and Great-Grandma all came to help us celebrate your Baptism.