(I was really paranoid about getting sand in my new [to me] camera and it’s pretty heavy so a lot of these pictures were taken on my point and shoot. Then that started acting up and we took pictures on the video camera, hence the quality.)

We left for LA around 8:30 PM. The only way I was ok with making this drive was if we drove at night so Addie would sleep! I knew that traffic from Vegas to LA was bad on Sundays but we’d been watching this traffic site and it didn’t seem too bad. Little did we know that the night is the WORST! We were stopped/crawling for 2+ hours between Baker and Barstow. Addie woke a few times on the trip but I got her back to sleep fairly easily. It was the worst in the stopped traffic because we weren’t moving enough to lull her. We were originally supposed to get in around 1 AM but didn’t get to our hotel until almost 3 AM. Ugh! And then when we got in our room Addie woke up and wanted to play. I didn’t get her down until after 4 AM. We stayed at the Radisson in Culver City for a great price (thank you Priceline.)

Lounging in the hotel.

So we had a late start Monday morning. We went to Venice Beach. Jacob wanted to lift weights at the famous muscle beach, where Arnold Schwarzenegger used to lift weights. They have weight lifting competitions and iron man competitions there sometimes now. You pay a fee and then you can go in and lift.

Venice Beach is a hippie dump. The boardwalk had a Marijuana doctor and this kid was sitting next to me at Muscle Beach rolling a joint. And we saw Harry Perry.

It was cloudy and kind of chilly the whole time we were there. We were surprised because 10 minutes away from the beach at our hotel it was bright and sunny. It was too cold for Addie to get wet so besides playing in the sand a little with Jacob I kept her in the Ergo to stay warm. And still somehow she managed to have sand in every crevice of her body (and down my shirt.)

She was pretty much in the Ergo almost the entire trip. I don’t love the print but it’s a great carrier. I got it for almost half price at babysteals before she was born.

We went back to the hotel and showered/changed. Then we decided to go downtown to the The Grove and Farmer’s Market. We were going at rush hour so we went on city streets and really had no traffic problems. Addie even fell asleep. We were maybe a mile away when we got to a road closed off. So we went around and another road was closed off. We finally found a way and 3 cars back from the intersection the police closed it off too. It reminded me of when we lived in New York and Obama was in town and just as I said that to Jacob, Emily texted to say that Obama was in town around the Grove and they were shutting off like a 6 block radius of traffic. Ugh! They can’t say what street he’ll be on so there was no way to know how to get around. And there were lots of roads closed that didn’t need to be. We just gave up and drove as far away from there as possible. Good thing because we heard on the news that traffic was backed up for hours and hours!

After we drove away we decided to go to the Santa Monica pier instead. We went to the 3rd Street Promenade to park and get some food. I had Addie in the Ergo and because of the way she was sitting her diaper leaked (just pee, whew!) all over my lap. And then she spit up down my front while in the carrier so I was a mess. It was really cold out there too (they had heat lamps on in the outdoor eating areas!) so we had to go buy a sweater which covered both of us and covered up my messy clothes. We had fun walking around and sharing a little food from a bunch of different places. Jacob loved the Korean BBQ truck. By the time we walked down to the pier around 9 PM Addie was pretty sleepy and we were exhausted (and I was sunburned!) so we didn’t spend much time there before going home. Addie slept a lot better that night. I think we wore her out.

We checked out of our hotel on Tuesday around 11. Then we went downtown to The Grove and Farmer’s Market. We loved the Farmer’s Market! For lunch we shared a little bit of food from a bunch of the vendors. We shared a french dip sandwich and fresh pineapple lemonade and a slice of pizza from Patsys (the best pizza we’ve had since NY) etc. We could have stayed longer but we had to get over to Grauman’s Chinese Theater to get the hop on hop off tour. The tour wasn’t great. It was mostly “That’s a club that a celebrity used to own.” and “That’s where OJ Simpson lived” and “Here’s another famous shopping area!” And it was REALLY hot. Addie was in the Ergo and slept for most of it. The loop that went out to Santa Monica was nice and cool and when we got back to the city it had cooled a little. But by then Addie was tired and sick of being in the carrier so she got cranky. We were passing her back and forth trying to keep her from screaming. I couldn’t wait to get off the bus!

After the tour I sat in the car and pumped while Jacob walked around with Addie. Then we decided to go to Milk, a restaurant recommended by Caroline. She’d recommended several restaurants but we hadn’t been able to go to any. Milk was delicious. We shared a really yummy turkey BLTC and the Milkie Way Malt. They took forever for the malt to come and we were ready to go so when Jacob went in to ask he ended up getting a free peanut butter brownie too and he loved it.

The drive home went really well. We made great time. Addie slept the whole way.

It was a fantastic first family trip!

P.S. Addie’s bonnet is from this etsy shop courtesy of my mom. The quality of the bonnet is fantastic and we get lots of compliments. Just be aware that the shipping time was SLOW, slower than the projected time and the communication wasn’t great. It came over a month after I ordered it. But it’s darling!

We’re pretty happy.

This is how Addie sits in the Bumbo. Every time.

We stayed with Auntie Heidi for a couple of days.

Addie spent lots of time each day holding on to her toes.

She did do some work though. (This photo was for Jacob and his beloved highlighters.)

She fell in love with water bottles. (These ones are blurry but I’m posting them for my mom’s sake.)

And generally looked cute.

We were lucky to be in town for my cousin Marianne’s wedding. The night before the wedding we went to the family dinner at the Dock of the Bay restaurant at Deer Creek Reservoir. All of my mom’s sisters were there so it was fun to see them and for Addie to meet them. Here are a couple of photos from the evening from my Dad and one from Heidi.

Marianne’s wedding was July 31st. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to go since I had only gotten half way through the renewal of my recommend before we went to Utah. But with some phone calls we got it solved and Jacob over nighted it to me in Utah just in time. Shareka came to the Draper temple and waited outside with Addie so I could attend the sealing with my family. (Thanks again Shareka!) It was a lovely wedding and I was so happy to be there. Because of lugging all the baby stuff I didn’t take any photos at the wedding but here’s one my dad took of the cute couple leaving the temple.

Addie was all tuckered out. And a shot of the shoes because I love them and they don’t fit anymore.

Then we went to lunch at Smashburger (yum!). Addie told Grandpa she’d had enough pictures.

Asleep.

Then we went to Provo and hung out at Heidi’s until the reception. My friend Julie stopped by so we could meet each other’s babies. Aunt Linda and Uncle Mark came over to see Julie too because Julie used to be in their ward in Iowa.

The reception was amazing. Aunt Nette did such an awesome job with all the details. The most impressive part was the green candy buffet.

We couldn’t stay long at the reception because Mom, Addie and I were heading straight home to Henderson. Addie still hates her car seat so it’s easier to drive at night when she falls asleep.

“You want to drive at what hour of the night!?!”

“Ok. You guys are crazy.”

She was a little fussy for the first hour but fell asleep when the sun went down and slept the rest of the way. We got in about 1:00 AM (I think?? I can’t remember!)

Thanks for a great July, family! We miss you!

Dear Adelaide,

I love writing you these letters each month. It will be a long while before you read them but I love capturing a snippet of your personality each month and keeping it in my mind. You change so rapidly I want to remember your sweet little quirks.

We spent almost the entire 4th month of your life in Utah with Grandma and Grandpa. Daddy had to study and take a very important test to prepare to become a doctor so we went to Utah so he could focus. He missed you so much! He came to visit us in Utah for a couple of days so he could spend some time with us.

This month you seem to be learning new things left and right. Throughout the month you got better and better at reaching for things you want and grasping them. You loved to sit on Grandma’s lap and lean over towards her water bottle. Once you got there you usually weren’t sure what to do with it so you just licked it. You’ll lick or suck on just about anything these days. We call you our little lizard. You found your toes and are constantly holding on to them. You’ve tried to get them in your mouth but so far they fall out before they get to your mouth and you end just just sucking on your hands. But you don’t seem to mind because you love to suck on your hand (or my hand.) You hold your hands together all the time and sometimes just suck on both of them. You haven’t yet discovered how to just suck your thumb. You sometimes get a finger (or three) in your mouth but then you act like you’re gagging. (We can’t help but laugh about that.) We love to watch you when you sit and stare at your hands like they are the most fascinating things you’ve ever seen. You’re also constantly drooling and blowing bubbles. I started calling you Bubbles and it’s turned into Bubs/Bubba/Bubby/Bebe or similar nicknames.

You have become more and more responsive and interactive each day. You love to talk and coo and sing. You have the cutest little laugh and it’s even started sounding more like a real laugh instead of just coos. You’re a total flirt. You bat your eyelashes over you beautiful blue eyes and turn your head and smile. When we’re out people always want to stop and talk to you. You stand up whenever you can and climb over whoever is holding you. You have discovered the TV which is good and bad. It’s nice that you’ll watch some Sesame Street when I need to pump or eat breakfast but I also have to be sure you don’t stare at it all the time! Luckily you’re too active to hold still for too long. In fact, you’ve decided you don’t want to sit in any chair or swing for very long at all and let us know you want out of there by arching your back and kicking your legs (and crying, of course.)

One of the things you’ve liked reaching for and holding is the cute new cell phone toy from Grandpa. Yes you already had a cell phone at 3 months old. You love the little light and the buttons that talked. Uncle Ian also got you a fun toy with lots of little handles to hold on to and suck on. The second you get it in your hands it goes right into your mouth. You are sure spoiled!

I wish I could say you became a great sleeper this month but that was not the case. You started to sleep longer stretches at night (6 hours or more) but then one day went back to 4 and you’ve been there ever since. You also used to sleep at least one 2+ hour nap a day and suddenly one day at the beginning of July you gave it up and haven’t looked back. Every once in awhile we’ll get a long nap out of you but for the most part you do 30-45 minute (or less) cat naps a few times a day. Getting you to sleep is sometimes quite the ordeal involving lots of rocking, shhhhing, bouncing, and moaning (on your part.) It might be a self soothing technique on your part but it always makes us giggle when you’re moaning and groaning. You definitely fight going to sleep.

You’ve started doing a little bit better in your carseat…sometimes. You still arch your back as soon as we put you in but if we get you moving and distracted sometimes we can get you entertained by something and you’ll chill out. Oddly enough you don’t seem to mind the carseat as much as long as we’re not IN the car. For example, we went to dinner with Grandma and Grandpa and you were perfectly fine in your carseat looking around the restaurant and at the TV on the wall. And multiple times Grandma and I took you to Target and kept you in the carseat in the cart and you were happy as a clam! But maybe that’s because you like Target? We love Target.

Your hair is coming in a little bit more and it looks to be rather dark. We’ll see when it grows in a bit more. Right now it looks like you have a bit of a widows peak. And you have a little bald spot on the back of your head from where you rub your head around constantly! You also have a dry spot on your forehead from rubbing the front. The truth is I LOVE your little bald head and I’d be ok if your hair doesn’t grow in for awhile.

Nursing went from bad to worse this month. I was almost ready to give it up completely but then every once in awhile you’ll do it happily and then I’ll decide to keep at it for a little longer. I keep pumping and you happily take your bottles. It’s nice that everybody gets a chance to feed you. Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Ian and Auntie Heidi all enjoyed cuddling you while you drank your bottle. Of course you usually turned around and spit up all over them. You’re good at that.

Your four month stats are:
Weight: 12 lbs 14 oz (30th percentile)
Height: 24.75 inches (66th percentile)
Head: 16 inches (38th percentile)

The nurse commented on how strong you are as you tried to kick her away during shots today. Way to go, girl.

Sweetie, you bring more joy to our lives than you can ever know.

Love,
Mom

P.S. You make the cutest little pirate. Am I a bad mommy for taking this picture before I fixed your headband?

Months one, two, three

We went to Snow Basin to enjoy the mountain weather. Addie fell asleep on the way up but woke up in time to take a few photos.

Then Jacob and I went out for a REAL DATE. First time since Addie was born! We went to dinner at yummy Indian restaurant in Layton and then went to the funny little cheap theater in Kaysville to see Date Night, which was surprisingly funny. It was so nice to be out together. I miss date night! (But I don’t think I’m ready to leave Addie with anybody but my family.)

The next day we went to Salt Lake to have lunch at Bruges, per Jacob’s request. He wanted a Machine Gun sandwich. I had a liege waffle with strawberries and creme fraiche. Addie shared Daddy’s lunch (not really.)

And then Jacob went home and we were sad.

On the bright side, Grandpa bought Addie a cell phone and she has new jelly sandals that I la la love (so does she.)

Addie took up typing,

discovered her toes,

starting climbing over our shoulders,

napped (although usually for only 30 minutes at a time…),

Oh those thighs!!!

celebrated the 4th in style (and with Chinese food,)

visited friends,

My childhood best friend Courtney

College roommate Emily and baby Lucy- we switched babies for this photo!

(We also had a visit from Shareka)

licked and sucked on things,

and generally looked adorable.

(This one is my favorite.)

It was a pretty good trip.

We were going to head back to Vegas for 2 weeks before returning to Utah while Jacob finished studying for the boards and for my cousin’s wedding. At the last minute we decided to stay the entire time and Jacob came up to visit us for a few days. More on that next time…

P.S. You may notice a line cutting through some of my photos. Something in my camera broke so a bunch of the photos ended up with this problem. Thanks to my parents I now have a replacement camera. Thanks Mom and Dad! I promise an even more ridiculous amount of photos of Addie in the future.

P.S. Thanks for taking these photos, Dad!

- These sandals. They’re super comfy and I wear them with everything. I can’t say no to ruffles.

- Addie’s new sandals. She wears them with everything too. (And they really take me back to my childhood!)

- Lark Rise to Candleford. It hasn’t been playing on our PBS station so I’ve finally been able to watch it at my mom’s house. It’s delightful.

- So You Think You Can Dance. I like Lauren and Kent. And it’s fun seeing All-Star Neil.

- Peanut Butter Cup shakes from Arctic Circle. Guilty pleasure, yes. I’ve never had a better shake than at Arctic Circle and so it’s a special treat when I’m in Utah!

- This fantastic new blog about kids birthday parties: Hip Hip Hooray!

- Almond milk. Trust me.

- This purse. Love love.

- Recipe for Santa Rosa Salad. I make this all the time and everybody always raves about it. I promised several people I’d post this so here you go!

SANTA ROSA SALAD
1 box long grain wild rice (Uncle Ben’s ORIGINAL)[I used two packets of the microwave style, cooks in 90 seconds, 1- Wild and Brown Rice and 1- Santa Fe]
3 chicken breasts, diced
4 green onions, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 oz. Chinese Pea Pods (Snow Peas), ends cut off and cut into thirds
1-2 medium avocados, diced
1/2-1 C. chopped pecans
Cook rice as directed and cool. Boil chicken breasts approximately 15 minutes or until cooked through. Dice the following into VERY SMALL pieces…chicken, green onions and red bell pepper. Cut ends off of Snow Peas and cut into thirds. Combine all ingredients (except avocado and pecans) and refrigerate overnight.
DRESSING:
2 cloves garlic, diced (or 1/4 tsp. garlic powder)
1 T. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/3 C. vegetable oil
1/3 C. Nakano’s Seasoned Rice Vinegar
Combine in BLENDER or beat well with hand mixer. Refrigerate overnight.
NEXT DAY:
Pour dressing over salad and mix well until coated. Refrigerate 2-4 hours before serving. Immediately before serving, add diced avocado and pecans – mix well. Serve on lettuce leaf.

(We’re in Utah at Grandma and Grandpa’s so no striped chair and yellow pillow this month!)

Dear Adelaide,

From Easter to Independence Day- how has it been three months already? This month you have been bursting with your darling personality. Everyday you seem to get more adorable and charming, if that’s even possible. You smile and smile and giggle and coo. Sometimes in the middle of the night when I set you back down in bed after nursing your eyes pop open and you smile and giggle at me in the dark. Silly girl. You’re usually smiling away at me during your diaper changes. It’s hard for you not to smile when someone is smiling at you, even when you’re crying. It’s funny to watch you try to cry and smile at the same time. You think things like blowing raspberries are really funny. You’ve really started “talking” to us lately and this month you even started “singing” along when someone sings to you. It’s our favorite one of your tricks! You seem to be constantly blowing little spit bubbles on your lips. And one funny thing this month is that you’ve suddenly started to be jumpy about sudden noises.

We celebrated your blessing with our family on June 6th. You daddy gave you a sweet and tender blessing and was joined in the circle by Grandpa, Ian, Grandpa Stephenson and our bishop. You wore the same blessing dress that I wore when I was blessed almost 26 years ago! You looked so precious and you were an absolute angel during the entire thing. It was such a special day and we rejoiced yet again to have you in our forever family.

You had your first round of shots this month. You cried at first but by the time we got to the car you’d fallen asleep. You seemed to bounce back pretty quickly.

We finally moved you into your own room and crib this month. Although you’re a noisy sleeper I loved having you near me all night long so it was a hard decision for me. The first night I could hardly sleep without you. I kept creeping in your room to check on you. After Daddy fell asleep I almost snuck you back in (I knew he would tease me) but decided to leave you since you seemed fine. You’ve been perfectly content sleeping in your own room ever since. In fact you’ve started sleeping about 6 hours for your first stretch most nights which has been great for all of us. If you get to bed around 9 PM you usually wake at 3 AM, and then around 6 AM, and after that you keep me guessing! Naps during the day are irregular. We haven’t quite been able to figure out a schedule. What I do know is that you get tired about 1.5-2 hours after waking (sometimes after only an hour, especially in the early morning) but the length of your naps is totally unpredictable. You usually do one 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon but not always. (You are snoozing away in your swing as I type this.)

As far as we can tell your acid reflux is finally getting better. We give you Prevacid three times a day and it tastes like strawberries so you like it. Hopefully before too long you won’t even need it anymore.

We’ve started to have a real struggle with nursing this month. You had finally gotten the hang of it during May but for some reason you started to struggle with it one day and we’ve been having a hard time with it ever since. You will almost always nurse at night time when you’re sleepy but during the day you get too impatient and I often end up pumping and giving you a bottle. The bright side to that is you’ll take it easily and from anyone so everyone gets a chance to feed you. And I can leave you home with someone while I a run an errand and you’ll be fine. I’m still hoping to get back to nursing more frequently though because it would be better for both of us.

This month your motor skills have been exploding. You’ve continued to kick your legs and wave your arms like crazy when you’re awake (no wonder you get tired so fast.) You love to pull yourself up to stand on someone’s lap and stretch those little legs. You started “climbing” up when you’re on someone’s shoulder. In fact, you’ll climb all the way over Grandma’s shoulder and dangle down the back whenever you get a chance. (She holds your feet so you don’t fall.) I call it your caterpillar crawl. If you can get your feet against something you’ll push your body around. On the changing pad you push yourself back if I don’t hold you. In the bouncy chair or swing you push down with your feet and try to arch yourself up. One night I went in to get you when you woke up and you’d pushed with your feet until you were sideways with your head dangling off the side of the Nap Nanny! YIKES! We’ve been sure to buckle you in every time since then to keep you safe from your wiggles. You finally managed to get your hands to your mouth and you suck on the sides of your little fists. You’ll actually suck on or lick almost anything close to your face: your clothes, my clothes, the blanket, the Baby Bjorn, you even lean all the way over and lick the side of the Bumbo chair! I have to admit, it’s pretty funny to watch. You started reaching and finally managed to get a grasp on some things a week or two ago. After three days of reaching and staring you finally found your toes! It’s just so fun to watch you discover things.

You respond to my voice when you hear it. You usually pause your crying when you hear me (and start back up if I don’t quickly pick you up!) You will often sit in your chair or swing and just watch me do whatever I’m doing and your eyes follow me around the room.

We made our first road trip this month when we drove to Utah. Honestly, I was terrified. You still don’t care for your carseat. There were some rough moments but you thanks to some new carseat toys (especially the climbing bug from Aunt Rebekah) you had some mellow awake times. You’re making progress! We hope you won’t always hate being in the car.

Your three month stats are:
Weight: 11 lbs 9 oz
Height: 22.75 inches

Everywhere we go we get compliments on what a doll you are. Of course, we already know that. We’re crazy about you sweet girl.

Love,
Mom

Month one and two.

Checking out the cute baby in the mirror.

(Jacob would like me to point out that he’s shirtless from the pool, not nekkid!)

Just hanging out.

One of the few times she fell asleep without being swaddled.

Speaking of swaddling, she stretches her legs out so long that even though she’s only 30th percentile for height, she’s outgrowing the miracle blanket! This day she kept stretching her feet and getting annoyed that she was hitting the bottom so I pulled her legs out and she fell asleep like this. I got such a kick out of it.

Sleeping in the car seat. I could eat those cheeks!

I put her down for a nap one day and heard her in her room awake not five minutes later. I walked in there and saw this. How could I be annoyed at this face?

Morning stretches.

Sad face! (It gets me every time.)

Jacob’s first Father’s Day! He was studying so it wasn’t too exciting. We had steak, potatoes, salad and Pellegrino for dinner: all he needs to be happy. For dessert I made a peach cobbler. He actually took these food photos because he wanted to remember it! Thought that was cute. I made him a personalized Father’s Day card from Shutterfly and gave him a framed photo of him and Addie.

We borrowed a Bumbo chair from a friend to see if she’d like it. I think she’s a fan!

Oh I just love that bald head!!

Tomorrow she and I are off to Utah for a week. Hope we both survive the roadtrip part in one piece.

My family came in on Saturday afternoon, although they all arrived separately. We spent the afternoon at home hiding inside from the awful heat (it was around 110!) while we chatted and everyone took their turn holding Addie. We did venture out for dinner at Metro Pizza.

Sunday morning Jacob’s dad and sister Heather and her baby Alice came in to town. It was so special for Jacob to have some of his family here for the blessing as well. Everybody came over before church while we got Adelaide ready. I wanted some pictures as we got her into her dress. She wore the same dress that I wore for my blessing almost 26 years ago.

She looks confused, doesn’t she?

I was so nervous about the blessing. I was just sure that Addie would scream through the whole thing but she was an absolute angel. Jacob blessed her and my Dad, brother Ian and Jacob’s dad stood in the circle. It was a very sweet and tender blessing. She was blessed to have faith, intelligence and strength and to feel the love of the Savior that will always be with her. It was beautiful.

After the blessing we went to the clubhouse of our apartment complex to take some family pictures. Some of my photos are still stuck on the 4g microdrive (which apparently doesn’t fit in my card reader) so I don’t have all the shots we took but here are a few of them. By this point Addie was pretty much done with the whole thing!

Everyone came back to our place for lunch. Addie was all tuckered out!

We spent the afternoon laughing and visiting. My brother (who is allergic to nuts) didn’t know there were pecans in the chicken salad we had and ended up having a terrible reaction. His entire face was swollen! My photo is on the micro drive so I’ll have to upload it later but trust me, it was pretty awesome (I mean terrible.) Poor Ian!

Thanks to everybody for coming to ugly, hot Las Vegas to share this special event with us! Addie is lucky to be loved by so many wonderful people.

ETA: Here are some photos Heather took of the day.

P.S. I’ve come to the conclusion that I will never again be updated on blogging. In the time it takes me to get photos uploaded and edited and blog posts written I’ve already got several more days of new photos waiting for me. My child is just too adorable not to photograph everyday!

I could laugh at that last one all day!

A flower from Daddy!

My favorite.

P.S. Jacob had his headphones in listening to Board prep lectures. Can’t wait until he takes his tests at the end of July/beginning of August!

These wiggly babies kept getting their arms tangled up.

With Grandpa Dwight.

Looks like Addie’s dress tasted yummy!

More blessing pictures soon!

It was hard to narrow it down to even this many photos!

When we were kids my mom always took a picture of us on Easter wearing bunny ears. As soon as I knew I was being induced Easter weekend I got on Etsy and ordered some bunny ears and the sweet seller even threw in a fluffy tail for free!

I adore this onesie that my mom made Addie for Christmas. I’m so happy we chose to use it in her newborn photos, even if she was too skinny mini for it!

And my very favorite photo that I chose to include in Addie’s birth announcements (from Evapaul Petite).