This past weekend

I haven't yet blogged about this past weekend, but I do feel like it's worth a post.

For one thing, I was able to catch up with some college friends on Friday night.  They were kind enough to drive to Scottsboro from Huntsville and have dinner with us.  My children didn't really cooperate, but I did get in some good conversation once we left the restaurant.  Ada was going without a nap, and she was spent by the time we were seated and ready to eat.  Thanks for being patient with us, Taylor and Amanda!!

Plus, I went to that wonderful, wonderful wedding.  It truly was incredible, but I hate to post about it because all of my family have already said so much.  So instead I will steal a picture or two, and then I will direct you here to find out the details.

(that's John in the background.  Can you see him?)

John was a trooper, and Scott and I made it through course one and two of dinner, but just as the main course arrived, John reached the end of his rope, and we were out of there.  The curtains that would open to the dance tent had not even opened yet, and I also wanted to see the bride's second dress, the one for the dancing portion of the reception, but John wasn't having it.  He said, "Mom, I have been patient, I have held it together, but it's late, and I want my bed."  So, as the golf cart drove Scott, John, and me back to our car, I stared behind me watching the gorgeous scene unfold without me.  But it's just the way it goes in this season of parenting a newborn.  Every parent has been there.  And my feet were hurting.  So...anyway, it was fun, and John made it longer than I expected, so I count it a success. 

We are back home now.  John cried the entire six hours (round trip) that we were in the car, making it clear that he does not care for his car seat ;)  At one point I squeezed myself and my big post-baby rear end in between the two car seats in the back just to see if I could get him calmed down, which he did eventually calm down, but oh the screaming.  It was stressful.

We are home now, though, and John stuck to a great schedule today, nursing every three hours and taking a good morning and afternoon nap, followed by a short evening nap.  We have been working on that schedule for a while, so I am thrilled.  We'll see if it helps with his nighttime sleep.  I'm crossing my fingers. 

I'll let you know.

Live Blogging from the Double Tree Guest Suites

I have a little time all to myself this afternoon, as Scott is at the church getting ready to be a groomsman in Sheffer's wedding, and mom, Mary Ann(my aunt/mom's sister), and Sarah, are in McDonough with Ada, so I decided to blog a little bit.

I have to leave for the church in a little over an hour, but I am soaking in all of this quiet rest. So wonderful. So refreshing.

I just finished reading the first in Robin Jones Gunn's new series about Katie Welden--Christy Miller's best friend. I felt like I was hanging out with old familiar friends. Loved it. Loved it. And I so hope Ada will read them all one day. I am sure she will say, no way, mom, they are so old fashioned, or whatever term she might use, but they have so much truth hidden in the middle of good escape type story telling.

In the middle of all of that reading, I also found time to have lunch with my hubby. We headed over to Atlantic Station around noon, and lo and behold, H & M is officially open as of yesterday. And it is glorious in all it's inexpensive fashionable perfection. But as inexpensive as it may be, we have no room in the budget this month. Sad. So very sad. I was practically drooling over all of the adorable clothes...including the ones in Ada's size, but not this month. The sewing machine may have to wait until I have had a chance to spend a few dollars at H & M. How can I not? It was two floors filled to the brim with cuteness just waiting to be tried on by me.

So, there's a quick update on what's going on with us this weekend. We are sleeping in, enjoying a fun wedding with Scott's friends from G-ville, and as always when we are away from her, missing Ada.

Much needed update

Now that I have established the beginning of the new blog, it is time to update on life with Ada. And since I last posted on the previous blog, there are many things to update.


We began the Christmas holidays with my best friend, Amy Speakman's, wedding. That was such a fun wedding, and I am so excited about Amy becoming a Hendrix. I was honored to serve as her matron of honor. Ada, on the other hand, did not enjoy the weekend as much. Amy graciously provided a room for my parents, so that they could serve as the official baby-sitters for the weekend. This allowed me to fully enjoy all events, including the lingerie shower, rehearsal dinner, and wedding/reception. I tried to bring Ada to the reception, but it was a slight disaster, and my parents took her home to Scottsboro about ten minutes into the reception. She was wearing the beautiful Christmas dress that my mother gave her, screaming at the top of her lungs because she was hungry, tired, and cold, and in the process she spit up all over the dress. I grabbed a red napkin from Lindsay Luginbuhl in order to quickly wipe up the spit up, and I watched in horror as the napkin stained the beautiful white dress red. It was at this point that the decision was made for Ada to go on home without me. And so began our Christmas holiday.



I don't know all the reasons why , and I will not go into the gory details for all the world to read, but because of several different events that occurred during the holidays, I am slowly switching Ada to formula--and so begins the guilt of parenting. Until now, Ada's diet has been the purest nutrition available, and I feel like I am switching her to an all junk food diet. Because her little tummy is still getting used to the formula, she spits up constantly, and with every new stain on her onesie, the guilt grows. In addition to the formula switch, we are also introducing solid foods. We have only fed her rice cereal and squash so far, and because I was very curious, I tasted both. The rice cereal was incredibly bland, and the squash tastes a lot like spaghettios. So far, about 5% of the solid food makes it into her mouth, and the other 95% ends up on her clothing. See the pictures below. I am starting with vegetables because I am guessing that once she tastes fruit, there will be no going back.





















On a happier, less guilty note, our little Ada is switching from a serious, introspective baby, to a very smiley baby. This is a very fun switch for me. Scott and I are constantly making fools of ourselves as we do whatever possible to keep her smiling. We have yet to hear a full belly laugh, but I am sure it is coming any day now.








And for the final and saddest update of all, Ada is quickly losing all of her hair. I am so sad about this. While I was pregnant, in a moment of superficial weakness, I admitted to Scott that one of my biggest wishes was that Ada would be born with a head full of hair. So imagine my excitement when the doctor announced that she had beautiful, red hair, and now, probably to keep my pride in check, Ada i s going bald. I only hope that when the hair grows back it is just as red. Bless her heart--her first awkward stage. A sneak peak at what the Jr. High years hold, I suppose.

(Ada's old hair, see smiling picture for current hair)





















And that is life with Ada these days. Usually stressful, always fun.

Pictures below--the first is a picture of Ada with Scott's great niece who was born only three days after Ada. Yes, you read that correctly--great niece. The other picture is Ada with two Christmas presents. The crazy thing is, we did not place the presents on top of her, she somehow managed to get them in that position. This picture is also a great example of serious, introspective Ada. I hope the serious side means she will be a reader and a writer. She is her mother's daughter, after all.