Our little blessing

It's the end of an era... so to speak.

2010-03-14T22:29:00.003-05:00

I've decided to switch blog sites, from blogspot to wordpress. You can now find us at:

http://zivney.wordpress.com

Hope y'all like the change!!

We love the zoo!

2010-03-13T22:02:00.009-06:00

Today, we went to the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, TX (just a little way down the road from us). It was the perfect day for being outside, so I'm glad we did it. I think everyone else had the same idea too because there were a ton of families out and about. Amazingly, even with all the families and kids running around, the zoo wasn't too crowded and we really enjoyed it! I think Addy had a good time too - she liked the flamingos, the parrots and the big cats. Oh and the giraffes too! There was one giraffe in particular that was pretty entertaining - it kept sticking its neck over the fence to look at the people on the other side. We have video from today, but I'll have to wait until tomorrow to post them. It's time for bed now since we're losing an hour... oh, daylight savings....

Starting in the "North America" exhibit - Bison!

With the bison.

Beautiful.

Bald eagle, sharpening his beak.
Handsome mountain lion. He was pacing back and forth, just 3 feet in front of us! Closest we've ever been to a big cat like that.

Watching the mountain lion.
White tigers, having a nice nap
In the bird sanctuary. The birds were flying right by their heads!

Poison dart frogs! Such pretty colors.
Snackin' on a biscuit.
Big ol' gator, sunning himself after having a nice swim.
Beautiful leopard.
Pride of sleepy lions.
This is a dik-dik, I think he's part of the antelope family. He's so little and cute!
Old tortoise.
Penguins! Makes me think of the movie "Happy Feet"
Nice Zebra
Giraffe.
Hellooooo! Here's the giraffe who wanted to meet the zoo-goers.
Peek-a-boo giraffe, looking over the fence. He was pretty cute.
Hi Dad!
Happy girl, loves the zoo!
Now this is a dirty elephant. He must have enjoyed rolling in the mud!
Addy having her lunch.
We liked this bird's crown.
Scarlet Ibis. Brilliant color!
Roseate Spoonbill.

Sweetums.
This looks like a giant gerbil. Apparently it is the world's largest rodent or something.
Pretty parrots.
The parrot exhibit, they were out in the open!
Daddy, baby and the parrots.
Cleanin' time!
The parrots love each other.
Adelyn watching the flamingos. She loved the zoo!

Adelyn sounds like Chewbacca from Star Wars.

2010-03-12T21:27:00.003-06:00

So, does that make me Han Solo?

Addy's new thing is to gargle her drool in the back of her throat while she talks to us (I know, that's pretty gross). It makes her sound strangely similar to Chewie. She thinks it's hilarious! We copy the sounds she makes, although we do it by trilling our tongues instead of letting spit rattle around... silly little wookiee.

Addy is still working on her scoot-crawling. She's very good at spinning around on her tummy, and she pulls up on everything. We are going to lower her crib mattress tomorrow because she's been pulling on the crib bumper, reaching for the crib rail. I just know I'll walk into her room someday soon and see her standing in her crib, smiling away. Yesterday she got a whole lot of exercise by holding my fingers and taking steps around the house. She sure was proud of herself, moving those little legs and picking up those little feet. I'm going to have a hard time keeping up with her when she starts walking!

Spring has sprung.

2010-03-10T14:33:00.010-06:00

At least in White Oak!

Although we technically have a week and a half before the first day of spring (March 20th - yes, I googled it), it seems to be in full force out here in East Texas. Birds are everywhere, flowers are blooming, trees have beautiful buds on them, the temperature is definitely warmer... it's currently 75 degrees! It feels like spring.

Today on our walk, we decided to take pictures of some of the signs of spring. The streets in our neighborhood are named after trees and flowers: Tulip, Lilac, Azalea, Orchid, Honey Suckle, Magnolia, Ash, Pecan. Funnily enough (wait, is funnily a word?), right now the blooming plants are not on their respective streets. For example, daffodils are blooming on Lilac, pear trees are coming out on Orchid, and magnolia trees are on Pecan. That makes me giggle.

We have several yellow daffodils blooming in our backyard, so after our walk I let Addy examine the flowers up close and she seemed pretty interested. Could she have a green thumb?? I'm planning on starting a small garden soon, so maybe she'll help her Momma out. Or maybe she'll sit there and sample the dirt while I'm working. Just like my sister Kim, when she was little. That's right Kimmy, I put it on the blog!! :)

Okay gang, let's find some flowers!

Addy, just kickin it on our walk.

Daffodils are so cheery.

Beautiful pink tree. Not 100% sure what it is, but I think it's a saucer magnolia tree (I also had to google this). This is different from the regular magnolia tree that I know and can recognize.

Our little pear tree, showing off its buds.

So pretty. Our neighbors have big pear trees with lots of little flowers on them (in the background, if you can make it out)

Daffodils in our backyard.

Hello little daffodil!

Addy and her daffodil!

Can I touch it Momma?
Really? I can?!
Okay, here goes!
It's so soft and pretty.

"Gentle, Addy..."

"Gentle!"
She loves flowers!

UPDATE: Mom clarified the story about Kim eating dirt.

Way back when Kim was less than 2 yrs old, Mom and Dad built a deck behind our house (they are very handy people). Of course, Kimmy helped. This is what Mom said:

"We always assumed Kim was checking the correct depth of the post hole. She would ram this stick she was holding down into the bottom of the hole then proceed to suck on the bottom of the dirt laden stick to see if we had achieved the correct depth. How???? Why by taste of course... Who knows what goes on in a toddler's head."

Oh my gosh, Addy scoots!!!!

2010-03-07T16:26:00.005-06:00

Today, Addy started scooting on her tummy!!!!

And I missed it. I was out running errands and Derek called me and told me that he had bad news, but it was only bad for me - Addy had started scoot-crawling on her tummy. Of course that made me cry, because I wasn't there to see it in person. But Derek and Dan took a video of it, so I got to see her scoot forward across the carpet, trying to reach for Daddy's computer cord. Oh my goodness, our little pumpkin is growing up! When she gets up from her nap, I'm hoping she'll show me her new skill :)

Here's the video!!

Zivney family visit

2010-03-07T15:44:00.002-06:00

Derek's parents, Dan and Nancy (or Pops and Gram-Z) are visiting us in White Oak right now and it has been an interesting few days.

They arrived on Thursday afternoon and we had a good visit for the rest of that day, but come Friday morning, Dan was sick as a dog. A stomach bug from the airplane, we think. Oh it was bad. He was sick all day Friday, he was feeling pretty weak Saturday and he's getting better today, but he just hasn't been able to eat much of anything. And now, poor Nancy has caught the same thing. She has the rest of today and all day tomorrow to get over the stomach bug before they leave on Tuesday morning. What a way to spend the weekend... They haven't seen us in 3 months, and they don't even get to cuddle and love on Addy. :( They've been admiring her from afar though, and Dan has managed to take some great photos! Enjoy!

Big smiles when Gram-Z and Pops first arrived!

Happy Addy. You can see her little tooth!

Just thinking about how I don't want to crawl.

Such a sweet face

I get to unwrap a present??!?!

I love wrapping paper!

Checking out my new outfits from Pops and Gram-Z.

Look at my beautiful new hat!!

Isn't it nice??

Hellloooooo!

Eating dinner with my new hat!

Addy's second tooth.

2010-02-25T15:18:00.003-06:00

Growing teeth sure is a painful process! Addy's second tooth has started to cut through her gum, so she has been a wee bit cranky the past few days. I've started giving her stalks of celery to chew on and she seems to love that. It's cold, it's narrow enough that she can hold it in her hand, but it's tough enough that she can't bite any of it off. For her, it's an ideal teether!

She's been pulling up lately, especially on her Pooh Bear train. She goes from her butt to her knees, she just hasn't pulled up to standing yet. We always joke that maybe she'll walk before she crawls, but maybe it'll be true! She still rolls everywhere, although she can do a mean cobra pose. She can spin around on her tummy (kind of like a break dancer!) when she wants to face a different direction, so that's exciting too.

Addy is getting very good at waving, especially at cars that drive by. Sometimes they'll wave back at her too :) Oh ya, and is it too early for her to say her first words? Because we swear she says "cat" when she sees Nova. And I think she starting to understand that "Dada" means Daddy, because she looks at Derek when she says it. She says all sorts of syllables now - ma, da, ya, ba. I can't picture her learning to talk because I still see her as my sweet little newborn, but it's happening. She's growing up!

Silly Addy

2010-02-22T15:19:00.003-06:00

Being a little clown. Look at my tonsils, Daddy!

Feed me!

I've got a messy little face, don't I?

Out for a walk in the cold.

This is my sad face.

This is my sneaky, happy face.

This is my surprised face!

Kenna June Powers

2010-02-22T14:39:00.006-06:00

This weekend we got to meet baby Kenna June Powers, just 1 week old! She is the daughter of Derek's cousin, Darla, and her husband Mike (you may recall we went to their wedding last April while I was waaaay pregnant with Addy). Kenna is so sweet, so cute, and such a little cuddle bug. It's hard to remember Addy being that small! Addy checked Kenna out briefly, but she wasn't all that interested at the beginning, since little Kenna was sleeping. She was more interested in Mike and Darla's pug dogs, Daisy and Bella!

Introducing Kenna June Powers.
Sleeping like an angel.

Kenna was out like a light!

Ahh, brings back memories...

Darla and Kenna. She loves her Momma!
Mike and Addy. She was like "Who is this guy??" and he was like "She's so big! I don't even have to hold her head!"

Addy was a little nervous about their dogs, Daisy and Bella, but she soon enjoyed getting her hands licked.

Mike's Mom and Kenna

Addy, most likely watching the doggies.

Good afternoon Kenna!

This is Addy's "Yay Daddy" face. ha!

The men and their daughters.
Mike - the new, sleep-deprived daddy. Derek - the more-rested, senior daddy.

Thinking about life, love and marriage

2010-02-17T20:16:00.007-06:00

Tonight, we took Derek's grandparents out to dinner to celebrate their 61st wedding anniversary. Now that is milestone. It got me thinking about where Derek and I will be in 61 years. Will we still live in Texas? How many grandchildren will we have? How many great-grandchildren??

While celebrating this impressive milestone, I can't help but reflect on very sad news I heard from my sister, Kim. One of her friends, who was just married in January of this year, is now a widow. At 22 years old (or is she 23?). It is absolutely tragic that this girl lost her husband after a single month of marriage. My heart aches for her. I think of all the wonderful things that Derek and I have experienced in our 1.5 years of being man and wife (imagine what it will be like after 61 yrs!), and it makes me sad that she will miss out on that. So I hug Derek and Addy a little tighter and say a thankful prayer, because I am so blessed to have them.

Addy says Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T10:23:00.003-06:00

Me and my balloon, especially for the occasion!

Do I smile like this, Momma?

Happy baby!

Hm, what is this?

I don't wear shoes very often...

This is why!

Here Momma, take a picture of my balloon. It's my favorite.

Addy is too funny. After her "photoshoot", I put her on a blanket on the floor so she could play as usual. Since she still refuses to crawl, we are trying to encourage her by putting her favorite toys just out of reach. She's devised 2 very effective plans of attack when this happens. A) She'll roll over, back and forth, changing her direction just slightly so that she'll eventually get to said toy. or B) She'll literally pull the blanket towards her so the toy moves too. Ha! She is too smart for her own good. I guess we're going to have to put her on the bare carpet so she can't pull anymore.

Happy Valentine's Day?

2010-02-14T09:55:00.005-06:00

Poor Derek has food poisoning.

All because we wanted to try a Thai restaurant in Longview last night, but ate Chinese instead (the Thai place is only open Tues-Fri. Who does that?!). Anyway, it was a big mistake. He spent basically the entire night awake, and has only slept for about a half hour since I got up with Addy at 6:30am. What a way to spend Valentine's Day. My poor hubby. He's the one with the iron stomach who can eat just about anything, so we're surprised he got so sick (and I didn't). I did have my own bout of food poisoning in Tucson thanks to a slice of pizza though, so I guess I've done my time. Here's hoping he starts feeling better soon!!

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

When was the last time I posted a video?

2010-02-12T21:01:00.004-06:00

Or six?

Bath time in Tucson! Addy loves playing in the bathtub, especially when she has fun toys like her turtles. (2/2/10 - 8 mos old)

Ringing a wind chime, aka. the breakfast bell (2/3/10- 8 mos old)

Playing in her drinking water (2/3/10 - 8 mos old)

Snow in White Oak! (2/12/10 - 8.5 mos old)

Having a delicious, nutritious snack. (2/12/10 - 8.5 mos old)

Addy's snowman. (2/12/10 - 8.5 mos old)

Snow!!! In Texas?!

2010-02-12T19:57:00.008-06:00

Can it be? Oh yes, White Oak had snow!

It started snowing yesterday but nothing really stuck on the ground. Last night it started to snow harder and the temperature dropped, so the cold, fluffy, white stuff started building up. When we woke up at 7:30am this morning, we were greeted by this:

A winter wonderland!!

Adelyn put on her excited face:

(Ha, just kidding!)

We all bundled up and headed out into the backyard to frolic in the snow before it all started to melt away. But first things first, how much snow did we get?
We measured 6 inches in our backyard! (Dallas got 10-12 inches. It was a big snowstorm! But I digress. We don't live in Dallas.)

First we took some pictures to commemorate the event:

Brrrrr.

Birds in the trees.

Daddy and Adelyn love the snow!

And then I began the project that most everyone embarks upon after the first substantial snow - building a snowman!

Rolling the base.

Starting on the middle.

Got to pack the snow juuuust right.

Putting the finishing touches on the snowman.

Ta Da! Addy's first snowman!

She was very impressed.

Hellllllo!

Addy likes the snowman's... ears? Antlers? Antennae?

Wow! Now that's a good looking snowman!
Yippee! We love the snow!

Nova wants to come out and play in the snow too.

Then we drove out to visit Derek's grandparents:

Where are we?! I thought we were in Texas!!
Winter Wonderland
Derek's pump jack is all snowy!
Visiting Great-Grandmother and Great-Granddad Dollins

It was a very nice winter day :) The snow will be gone by tomorrow (temp is supposed to get back up into the lower 50's), so it's a good thing we enjoyed it today!

Last pics from Tucson

2010-02-12T15:07:00.018-06:00

Okay, here are the last million pictures from Tucson. I still need to photograph some of the items we bought at the gem show, but I guess I will get around to that later. Half of these photos were taken at Sabino Canyon, a gorgeous "desert oasis" that my family and I hike in every time we visit Tucson. It is absolutely beautiful, and the day we want was a perfect day for a hike!

Addy loves to play with the baby in the mirror. Oh wait, Momma! That's me!!

Tired family after the first day at the gem show.

Addy looooved ringing this windchime. It was like she was calling us home for breakfast.

Addy may drink out of a cup, but that won't stop her from playing in it first.

"I'm just rinsing my hands clean after that delicious meal of yogurt and sweet potato."

Dancing with Grandma Lo. Addy loves to dance!

Addy and Grandpa Joe.

Grandpa Joe carried her around in the snugli on the last day we went to the gem show.

Showing off my beautiful bracelet, a Valentine's day gift from the hubby :)
I love Daddy! He lets me hold his can of gingerale like a big girl!
Cleaning a Moroccan lantern, one of our gem show purchases.
Saguaro skeleton in Sabino Canyon
Taking a hike through the desert
Daddy carried Addy the entire way in the snugli. Tough work!
Grandma Lo on a steeeep hill!
Peek-a-boo, I see you!
Daddy and Baby, enjoying the view.
New growth on a saguaro cactus
Sabino Canyon is gorgeous. If you go to Tucson, check it out.
Hello in there!
Grandma Lo waiting on us slow pokes who were busy taking pictures of everything :)
Addy looks so grown up!
Momma and Baby by the Sabino Dam
After the hike. Addy said she had a good time!
Playing with her new favorite toy, a helium-filled balloon that Great Grandma Diane gave her!
Yes, she dive-bombed her face into it, trying to bite it.
What a trixy new toy!
Early morning bed head! Yes, she loves to hold her Boudreaux's Butt Paste.
Great Grandma Diane and Addy, on the morning we left for home.

On the road again...

2010-02-07T13:39:00.003-06:00

We are almost home! It's day 2 of driving home from Tucson, and we just can't wait to get there. We have about 3 hours left, so we've reached the 'end is in sight' stage. Adelyn will be thrilled to get out of her car seat, let me tell you. Before we left, my Grandma gave her a helium-filled balloon with a frog on it, and the frog had these funny little eyes that popped off of both sides. Of course, Addy ripped off all 4 eyes before we left, but she's had a great time chewing on the string, the balloon, the clip that keeps it from floating away... I swear, by the way she is tearing at it, I'd say her agenda is to pop the sucker. More later.

Trip to Tucson (pics)

2010-02-03T20:59:00.007-06:00

A few photos of our trip so far:

Nom nom. Day 2 of driving. Have to keep the baby entertained somehow, right??

Superbaby with Daddy in New Mexico!

Kisses from Daddy at a rest stop in New Mexico.

Daddy and baby!

Momma and baby at a rest stop in New Mexico. Only 3 more hrs until Tucson!

Addy riding in the backpack at the gem show .

Happy baby riding behind Daddy!

Daddy, Adelyn and a giant ball of quartz. It was ginormous. And there were even bigger ones too!

Grandpa Joe explaining to Addy how this neat old machine was making ice cream! We sampled some, and it was delicious.

Home from Day 1 at the gem show. Time to relax on the back patio!

When I look at Grandpa Joe, I get shy :)

Sweet angel

Grandma Lo, Great-Grandma Archer and Grandpa Joe on the back porch. Yes, my Mom is gardening :)

Daddy loves his daughter

Messy baby! Done eating squash. Or sweet potato. Or something orange...

Oh yes, Momma, I'm a messy baby.

Time to get clean!

Baby loves bath time.

Oh, she is most definitely teething!

2010-02-02T21:13:00.003-06:00

And I have proof!!!!

Today, Adelyn was chewing on my finger when all of a sudden I felt something sharp and hard on her gums. At first I thought maybe something was on my finger, but then I thought "Waaiiit a minute...", so I put a different finger in her mouth and sure enough I felt that hard little nub again. I was eventually able to look at her gums (that took a little while, this girl likes to stick out her tongue and cover those little gums) and there it was! A dark little line with a white tooth trying to poke through! I'm a sap, I shed a little tear. Because this means our baby is growing up! The tooth is just starting to cut through, but I'm guessing that by the end of the week she may have a little white pearl sitting on those lovely pink gums. I wonder if I'll be able to get a picture of it...

The Gem Show has been great so far, there is so much to see- fossils, minerals, meteorites, gemstones... I'll write a longer post with pics tomorrow. It's supposed to be rainy, so that will be a good activity for me to try to accomplish. Ha!

We've arrived

2010-01-31T20:25:00.003-06:00

Got to Tucson around 4:30pm. Adelyn did even better today than she did yesterday, so we were very fortunate. Short entry, since we are worn out. The basic game plan for this week is to hit up the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show (fossils! gemstones! jewelry! woohooo!) go hiking in Sabino canyon, head to the Univ. of Arizona campus (did I mention I went there for the first 1.5 yrs of my ungraduate career?), and maybe even have a date night! We have 3 able-bodied babysitters here, so we may have to take advantage of that! Ok, more later (including pics).

Halfway to Tucson

2010-01-30T20:18:00.002-06:00

After a day of driving, we are in Pecos, TX. That's right folks, we are driving to Tucson, AZ to visit my Grandma (and my parents too, they drove out today) for a week. We drove about 8.5 hrs today, and we will finish the other... 8ish tomorrow. Addy did surprisingly well, napped at the beginning, woke up at 11:30, and stayed up for the rest of the trip. You read that right. We got to the hotel around 6:30 or so, checked in, unpacked, etc. It was about 7:45pm by the time we got to put her down. She cried for about 10 mins and then she was out. But ahh yes, the sleeping arrangements. Since we are not yet rich enough to get a suite, or two rooms, we have to set up the pack 'n play by the window of our room. It's a pretty nice little room, but that's all it is - a single room. Which means that since Addy went to bed early, we have to tip toe around the room to get ready for bed, brush our teeth... Oh ya, and dinner? We ate our dinner on a couch out in a common area on our floor, just 3 doors down from our room. What did we hear as we were finishing our meal? Our little pumpkin, waking up and hollering for Momma and Daddy, because this just isn't her crib or her bedroom. It's been a long, taxing day of driving, listening to a happy, then not-so-happy baby. If you'll excuse us, I think we will retire ealy before doing it all again tomorrow. See you in Tucson!

2010-01-27T20:44:00.002-06:00

We think she's teething. That could explain the crankiness.

I took Adelyn shopping to see if a change in venue would put her in a better mood. It didn't. Although at one point, Addy saw another baby about her age being pushed around in a stroller and her face broke into this big ol' grin. She even went "ohh", like she wanted to talk to the baby. It was so precious! She needs to meet some babies her age :)

A little crawling news: I put her in the crawling position yesterday to see what she would do. She held it for about 5 seconds (really!) before collapsing onto her tummy and complaining that "Momma is just soooooo mean! I'll crawl when I'm good and ready." Okay, I get the hint.

Sound the alarm.

2010-01-27T09:58:00.004-06:00

Someone woke up on the wrong side of the crib this morning...

It seems that we have the crankiest baby in the world. Addy doesn't want to play, she doesn't want to sit, she doesn't want to eat. She just wants to be carried around. So for the sake of my sanity, I strapped her into the snugli and carried her around for 45 minutes before she fell asleep. Hopefully she'll wake up in a better mood than before, because 1 cranky baby=1 cranky momma. We learned that in math class.

2010-01-25T19:35:00.000-06:00

Happy 8 month birthday Adelyn!!! We love you!!

Rested.

2010-01-24T14:36:00.007-06:00

Ahh, sleep.

Yesterday morning, I woke up to hear Adelyn complaining in the other room and thought "What time is it? Maybe she's hungry?". I look at the clock - 6:30am!! She'd slept straight through from 10:30pm to 6:30am.

Today, Derek and I woke up feeling even more rested. Why? Because Adelyn slept from 7:15pm-ish until 6:30am. I fed her and then surprisingly, she (and, not-so-surprisingly, we!) went back to sleep until 8:30am. That's my girl!

It seems as though Ferber's "progressive waiting" method worked well and she is now capable of soothing herself back to sleep! ::knocks on wood:: I guess she just needed a couple of weeks to get settled into the routine. She barely fusses when we put her to bed now! Up until two nights ago, she was still waking up twice after we'd gone to sleep, but now... All I can say is please let this continue, please, please, pretty please with a cherry on top! We like feeling awake during the day! We like getting more than 3 or 4 consecutive hours of sleep! Yaaaayyyy Addy!

Note: As many of you know, Addy loves loves looooves her pacifiers. Loves them. We've discovered that a great way to keep her calm when putting her to bed is for her to have one in her mouth (of course), and one in her hand. She just lays there in her crib, holding the second paci. It's so funny. I guess she considers it a backup in case she loses the one in her mouth? She eventually drops it, and the one in her mouth falls out, but I guess having two pacies in the crib doubles her chances of finding one in the dark and putting it back in her mouth. Ha! I'd really like to replace the pacifier with a different type of lovey, like a blanket or a stuffed animal, but we'll cross that bridge a little later.

Time for some pictures!

2010-01-23T21:01:00.007-06:00

After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, right?? :)

"I like to pull my tights!"
"Hey Daddy, check out my spike!"
"Isn't it nice?"
"This is the new hairstyle."
Playing with her Pooh Bear train.
Look at those eyes.
Love this girl, love this face.
"I like my rings."
"I'm a jedi in training, Momma. This is my lightsaber!"
"I drive trucks."

"Now I'm a magician, and this is my wand! Alakazam!"

Scaaared...

2010-01-20T19:45:00.003-06:00

Tonight was scary. Tornado warning for our county. Tornado sirens going off. Tornadoes popping up around us. I was petrified.

Because I'd never been in anything like this before. And because my daughter, our little angel, was in the front room asleep.

Derek was at the fire station, so I was home alone. He thoroughly prepped me for the worst-case scenario, so I knew what I needed to do. We prepared the "safe room" (Derek's closet - the only "room" with no windows and a decently solid door), so if I needed to take shelter, all I had to do was grab the babe.

Thank heavens we did not need it. I didn't need to dash into Adelyn's nursery, tuck her to my chest and dive onto the closet floor as the walls shook around me (like I pictured in my worst nightmare). Instead, I sat on the couch, glued to the TV, watching the breaking news about cloud rotation and a potential tornado moving from Kilgore into downtown Longview, just miles from where we are in White Oak. Luckily, the cloud rotation weakened to the point where the tv station went back to regularly scheduled programming (ha, that's when you know things are calming down). The rain has eased up over our house, Addy is still asleep, and my blood pressure has lowered back down to normal. I think we are in the clear.

I guess this was my introduction to East Texas weather! I wouldn't mind waiting a long time before experiencing this again.... a loooong, long time.

2010-01-17T19:48:00.002-06:00

We've discovered another favorite food: mashed up carrots! Addy tried them today, and boy, she put them away like nobody's business. Apparently she only likes orange colored foods.

Also, I guess we can modify what I wrote yesterday - it looks like Adelyn may decide to start crawling sometime soon! She was pushing up with her arms today and curving her back as if to tuck her knees under. Who knows, it could be just around the corner!

Oh, and we're watching "Planet Earth Extremes: Summit to Abyss" on Discovery HD, and can I just say WOAH. It is amazing. How did we ever live without HD before?? Haha. But seriously, the "Planet Earth" series is breathtaking.

Updates

2010-01-14T20:29:00.007-06:00

I wrote a long post two days ago with all sorts of Adelyn updates in it, and for some reason it didn't post. Grrrrr... I couldn't bear typing it all out again right after that, so I'm just coming back to it now. I'll try to remember everything I had written. Here goes!

As I mentioned, Adelyn was sick over Christmas with her first major cold, which was no fun for any of us. We took her to a clinic on new years day and discovered she had an ear infection. She was prescribed amoxicillan and that cleared it up, but she experienced some nasty side effects that made her almost as miserable as before, poor bug. She's all better now, thank goodness.

Being sick definitely changed her eating habits. All she wanted to do was nurse (which is understandable), and she completely lost interest in solids. She's slowly regaining that interest now, but she has a selective palate. Favorites: squash and sweet potato. Least Favorites: everything else. Ha! She hates pears, tolerates peaches, used to like prunes... she still eats rice cereal, particularly the apple flavor. I gave her orange slices a few days ago and she had fun sucking all the juice out of them. Hopefully this means she's regaining an appetite for a variety of foods! Oh, and she drinks out of a cup. No sippy-cup for her, she's a big girl!

No sign of crawling yet. Addy prefers to roll around in order to get where she wants to go. She is getting really good at standing though! She tries to pull up, but gives up before her heiney can get off the ground, funny girl. Gotta build those arm muscles!

Standing like a big girl, chewing on the handle bar of her Pooh Bear train.

We haven't been very good about taking pictures lately, we've been so busy unpacking and getting settled. Here are just a few pics, all taken with our cell phones.

Crazy hairs!

Crouched in a chair while visiting Great-Grandmother and Great-Granddad Dollins in Gladewater, TX.

Adelyn and Great-Grandma Zivney.
Playing on the swings! Addy thinks they are tons of fun :)

woo hoo!

2010-01-13T20:27:00.002-06:00

We *finally* have internet in our house. Now I feel reconnected to the outside world, haha!

I'll upload pictures of Addy and our new house soon. For now, it's time to relax on the couch with the hubs. An hour and a fifteen minutes of crying tonight before Adelyn fell asleep... that makes for a tired Momma and a tired Daddy.

Sleep training, day 2

2010-01-11T19:46:00.003-06:00

Derek is off at his weekly firefighting training, so it's just me and Adelyn tonight. Girls night! Although that means I get to listen to the crying all by myself... Yippee.

7:30 Dozed during her last feeding for the night, so I put her in her crib and she fell asleep easily.
7:42 Woke up crying, so Momma went in, comforted Addy with a kiss, pat, and "Momma loves you, goodnight baby!". Crying begins again as I leave the room.
7:46 Silence. What?! Seriously???? Woo hoo!
7:50 I can hear her moving around in there, she's not really asleep.
7:55 Sounds like she's working herself up, not really full-out crying, but definitely not happy.
7:59 I think she's asleep right now...
8:29 Still sleeping! She must have been one tired little bug.

Well, tonight hasn't been too bad so far, but Momma needs a cookie. Or a cocktail.

Sleep training

2010-01-10T22:48:00.002-06:00

Background: Addy still doesn't sleep through the night yet. She wakes up 2, 3, 4 times a night: sometimes to eat, sometimes to be held, sometimes it's gas pains. Sometimes she falls asleep while nursing, othertimes we have to walk her to sleep in the snugli. Things got worse over Christmas because of her cold, but now that she's better, we've decided that we need our sleep too, so we are going to "sleep train" her to fall asleep on her own.

Y'all, this is probably the hardest thing I've ever done. Harder than labor, you ask? Well, that's a different kind of "hard"... This is emotionally painful. It is almost unbearable, listening to your child scream like this, especially when they rarely cry in the first place. I know all parents go through this, it's a rite of passage, etc., but it doesn't make it any easier... We are in the process of doing our first night of sleep training, so I'm hoping that blogging about it may distract me and make the crying easier to handle. Oh please, let blogging make the crying easier to handle!

Here is the play by play so far:
8:50 Adelyn had been asleep for about 2 hours at this point, but decided to wake up (she had a long busy weekend and fell asleep while nursing). I fed her one last time to make sure her tank was filled, so to speak, and then we decided to start "progressive waiting" (Ferber method - leaving baby for gradually longer periods of time before comforting. No picking up!)
9:00 Hmmm, maybe we will have to try tomorrow, she's falling asleep again... Opps, no, Nova knocked something over in the next room and definitely woke her up (grrrr... free cat, anyone? I kid.). And so begins our adventure. I make sure she is calm, then put Addy down in her crib and leave. Crying ensues.
9:05 Derek goes in to check on her. Put the pacifier back in, quick kiss and a soft pat, "Momma and Daddy love you", and it's right back out the door. More screaming.
9:10 Momma's turn, same as what Daddy did. Peanut quieted down, thinking I was coming back to feed her. Sorry babe, no such luck. Momma leaves, screaming continues. Breaking-the-sound-barrier type screams. Screeches, if you will.
9:20 Daddy goes in, repeat above.
9:30 Momma goes in, repeat above.
9:36 Silence????
9:43 Screams again, Daddy's turn
9:51 Silence again?! Could it be working???
9:52 No. Back to screams.
9:53 Wait for it... She may be winding down here...
9:58 Well, she's not screaming, but it sounds as if she's playing with her Fisher Price sea creatures on her crib?
10:04 More crying.
10:18 Crying continues off and on, like she falls asleep and then has a bad dream and wakes up. Poor angel. Here's hoping things are drawing to a close...
10:33 I think this is it! Addy seems to be sleeping :)
10:45 Houston, we have a sleeping child. Now it's time for sleeping parents.

Derek says he wasn't sure if I was going to be able to handle it, but I'm proud to say that I hung in there! Same thing tomorrow night, and the next night, and the next, until Adelyn has mastered putting herself to sleep.

Oh yes, and I wrote this on my phone again (no internet, remember?) Talk about using all of my concentration, trying to push the right keys on the keyboard! Ha!

2010-01-07T22:23:00.003-06:00

I promise I haven't forgotten about the blog! We don't have internet or TV at our house yet (we have to wait until weds... Grrrr), so I'm updating by phone. It is very difficult using the little keypad, so this will be a short entry. Things here are going well, we are slowly settling in, unpacking boxes, etc. Addy is basically all better from her cold and ear infection (fun trip to the doctor on New Years day... More on that later...) It's freezing freezing freezing here! Currently 25 degrees, feels like 12. Brrrr. Perfect weather for staying in and drinking hot chocolate. I guess that's it for now. Sorry no pics, I guess you will just have to wait until Wednesday! Maybe I'll put up some pics of the house too :) Sorry, boring entry this time around. I will try to make the next post exciting and upbeat. Ha!

As 2009 draws to a close...

2009-12-31T16:08:00.002-06:00

I wanted to reflect on what a great year it was! An eventful one too...

Adelyn joined our family!
Kim graduated from Texas A&M and got a job in Houston at KBR Engineering.
Dan and Nancy retired and moved to Florida.
I finished my Masters degree in Planetary Geology at Rice.
Derek fulfilled a life goal and started his own oil production company.
We moved to White Oak, TX.
(Side note: my parents have helped my sisters and I move 5 times this year!! 5 times!)

Best wishes to everyone, and may you have a wonderful and exciting 2010. Let's start the new decade off right!

Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas! 4 days late...

2009-12-26T20:16:00.012-06:00

This should have been posted ages ago, but things have been a bit crazy around here.

First off, Merry Christmas to everyone! We hope it was as wonderful for y'all as it was for us. We spent Christmas with my family in Austin, and it was definitely a full house: my sisters came back home, my Grandma drove over from Tucson, AZ, and we had 3 extra pets in the house (2 cats and a dog). We had a lot of fun, chit chatting, playing cards, having a "poker night" where we all dress up as different characters (haha, it's fun!)... It's hard to believe how quickly it went by. Things have quieted down some, Kim has gone back to work and my Grandma is visiting more of our family up in Canada, so we've settled into the lull that comes between Christmas and New Years. Ahh, 2010 is right around the corner!!! Unbelievable.

Adelyn turned 7 months old on Christmas day, and what a Christmas it was for her. She sure is one lucky, spoiled little girl :) She received so many nice things - clothes, all sorts of toys, an engraved silver cup and porridge bowl... oh, and books! She has quite a nice collection of bedtime stories now. This makes us very happy! Thank you :)

Despite the wonderful gifts, it was a rough Christmas for Addy. She's been sick since Christmas eve. And I mean sick sick sick. She is so congested and miserable, it is the saddest thing. Luckily she's still in pretty good spirits during the day when she's playing, but she isn't sleeping well because she can't breathe, and she wakes up coughing and choking. I think she's finally turning the corner now, although she still has a nasty cough. All I can say is I'm glad we made it to 7 months old before getting a cold like this. If she were any younger, it would have been unbearable. Poor girl.

It's about time I post some photos too, but I have so many that I want to put up. I will try to limit myself so as not to bore everyone :)

Early Christmas present - Pooh Bear Train!

Addy greeting Great Grandma Diane after her long drive from Tucson!

Addy and Auntie Kim

Ace, decked out in Christmas attire.

This is a grouchy Christmas Nova

Auntie Mikaela and Adelyn

Haha, poker night! (Back, L-R) We have a firefighter, a fisherman, a biker chick, a bushman, a nerd accountant, a hippie geologist and a trashman.

Sleeping angel after a nice long walk.

I love Christmas ornaments!

I like unwrapping presents too.

Christmas baby on Christmas eve!

Christmas baby!

Family :)

Merrrrry Christmas! Christmas morning.

Addy and Daddy!

I help Daddy unwrap his presents!

I LOVE THIS FACE!!! This is her "OOh, I want that!" face.

I help Momma unwrap presents too.

I love toys!

Having a delicious Christmas breakfast.

Zivney family before Christmas dinner

Farrell and Zivney families before Christmas dinner

Adelyn says "I'mmmmm cute! The End!"

We are moving!

2009-12-17T20:50:00.004-06:00

It's official! On Sunday, we will be moving to White Oak, TX. Where is White Oak, you ask? It is near Longview, about 2 hours east of Dallas. We are moving there to be closer to Derek's third baby, his oil well :) Here is the house we are renting (below). We're excited to be starting this new adventure!
That being said, I hate moving. Scratch that. I hate PACKING. Hate. With a capital "h" and a capital "ate". I like the idea of moving, starting somewhere fresh, re-organizing everything. It's the packing of all your stuff. What a pain. And packing with a 6 month old? Now that's a party. At least she's capable of entertaining herself... sort of...
Haha! Just kidding! We only put her in the box to take a picture :) But truly, it is difficult to pack when you have a child. Luckily my parents are coming to Cypress on Saturday to help us finish any packing we may have left. Whew! I'll update with pictures once we get settled.

6 month photo shoot

2009-12-14T22:40:00.006-06:00

Last week, my friend Heather took some photos of me, Derek and Adelyn and she did an AMAZING job!!! Below are just a few of my favorites, and there are more posted on her blog. She also has a website (www.heatherdalton.com) that I recommend checking out. Anyone in the Houston area who is looking for a photographer to shoot weddings, engagement portraits, children, individuals, families (the list goes on!), you should check her out. She does great work! :)

Zivney family

Happy Angel!

My absolute favorite!!!!!

Adelyn loves Daddy.

"I like leaves."

" I like rolling, too!"

2009-12-06T22:57:00.002-06:00

We had some pretty cold weather here in Cypress last week, so when we went for our morning walks, we made sure Adelyn was all bundled up. On one walk in particular, she must have really been snuggled in nice and warm because by the time we got home, she was resting her little head on the big pile of blankets like an angel sleeping on a cloud :)

Trip to Florida

2009-12-05T10:54:00.000-06:00

Okay, now that my thesis has been submitted (as of yesterday morning!), I can focus on fun things... like updating the blog!

Here are a bunch of photos from our trip to Florida to visit Derek's family for Thanksgiving. It was Adelyn's first plane ride, and she did great!! She slept almost the entire flight there, and when she woke up for the last half hour of the trip, she was busy making eyes at the 10 month old boy who was sitting across the aisle with his parents ::wink:: (haha!). It was a fantastic trip - we spent 5 days in Port St. Lucie with Gram Z, Pops and Auntie Lindsay. This was the first time we'd been to their house since it was built, so that was very exciting. Addy did so much while we were there: riding in the golf cart, checking out the wildlife (including fish, birds and alligators), watching Sandhill cranes come up to her, getting SOO much love and attention from her grandparents and auntie... she was definitely spoiled! By the time we got home, I think she was in attention-withdrawl :)

Arriving at the airport. So excited to see Gram Z and Pops!

Addy's first time with a fish!

Doesn't he look interesting??

Pops doing a little bit of fishing in the backyard.

Gorgeous backyard!

Alligator. Don't get too close!

Airplane with Daddy.

Addy loves her Auntie Lindsay!

Now this is a sour-puss face! Just eating some peaches.

The high chair had wheels, so Daddy wheeled her around the kitchen like she was in a racecar. She loved it!

Zivney ladies, ready for a delicious Thanksgiving meal!

Gram Z and Adelyn

Zivneys

I think this is Addy's favorite pose.

Addy and Pops

Aww, siblings!

Thanksgiving dinner group shot. Pops had to run fast to get in there!

She says "I'm #1!"

Daddy, Momma and Baby

We love kisses!

Having fun with Daddy!

Pouting a little bit...

MMMMM, fingers.

Dan and Nancy (Pops and Gram Z), enjoying having their family together for Thanksgiving!

Momma and Baby

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T07:36:00.004-06:00

We have so much to be thankful for this year - a beautiful 6 MONTH OLD baby, our health, our wonderful families, a place to live, food to eat... we truly are blessed.

From our family to yours, may today be filled with love, close family and friends, and delicious food. Happy Thanksgiving!

Adelyn in Thanksgiving garb, a gift from Auntie Mikaela. Her shirt says "Thankful for Mommy" :)
She says Happy Thanksgiving!

Too cute for school.

6 months old.

2009-11-25T23:48:00.000-06:00

Can you believe it?

Adelyn is 6 months old today. It just shocks us how quickly time has gone by. She is half of a year old. HALF A YEAR! What?!?!

Stayed tuned for a letter to her from us. It will be posted when we get back from visiting Derek's parents and sister in Florida for the holidays. :)

Hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving, and enjoy your turkey!

Eww.

2009-11-20T08:59:00.002-06:00

This morning I put Addy down on a mat in the living room and went into the kitchen to get breakfast. When I looked back over, she had rolled over to the rocking chair (no big surprise there), and had grabbed one of Nova's cat toys and was CHEWING on it. The same part of the toy that Nova chews on. Blagh. Yuck. Ew. Sick. I was grossed out. Addy didn't seem to mind, I guess it was seasoned just right for her.

Adelyn has been getting really good at eating rice cereal now! She loves the apple and rice flavored cereal, and can put away a decent amount. As soon as I raise the spoon from the bowl, she opens her mouth expectantly, like "Would you hurry it up, Mother? I've got things I need to play with, stuff I need to chew on. C'mon, let's speed this up."

Pics from our walk yesterday. We stopped by the pool for a bit and I showed Addy the waterfall. She liked it.

Just chilling by the pool. Typical thing to do in November, right?

I'm like a little doggy, putting socks in my mouth.

Zivney Energy

2009-11-17T20:54:00.004-06:00

I'd like to take a moment to brag about my husband :) As I mentioned earlier, Derek started his own oil production company, Zivney Energy. He has wanted to own his own oil wells for ages... since he was a little boy! A couple weeks ago, he bought an oil lease and last week he put up "Zivney Energy" signs so everyone knows who the lease belongs to! :) I'm just so proud of him for reaching his life-long goal! Here are a few pics to show you the signs. They look great! Thanks to my sister Mikaela for making the awesome logo.

Welcome to the entry gate of Zivney Energy's first oil lease.

Sign on the tank battery.

The proud owner of his first oil well!

Yippee hurray!

2009-11-16T21:23:00.003-06:00

I defended my Master's thesis today and passed! :) Whew!!!! What a great feeling. Now I just need to make a few final revisions to the thesis before I'm completely finished with it.

Ahhhh, I will sleep well tonight.

And the sleep verdict?

2009-11-13T09:04:00.003-06:00

All that sleep on Wednesday night must have been a fluke...
::yawn::

Sleep, glorious sleep!

2009-11-12T11:18:00.003-06:00

Adelyn slept from....

7pm until 5:15am!!!!!

Ahhh, it was so nice. Mind you, I didn't go to bed until 10:00pm. And I woke up at 3am with a headache and expecting Addy to be hungry, but I was happily dissapointed. She woke up at 5:15am, I fed her, and then we went back to sleep until 8:30am. :) I'm so proud of her! I can only hope that she will do it again tonight and that it wasn't just a fluke.

Other news: she sits up almost all by herself. She's still a bit wobbly and if she leans over to the side, she wipes out, but she's working on her balance. She's also tucking her little knees under her body more often, practicing for the big lunge into crawling.

A definition

2009-11-09T10:42:00.010-06:00

Roly Poly:
ro-ly-po-ly (noun) - an object that sporadically rolls back and forth without warning. May shriek, squeal or holler while rolling. See "Adelyn Zivney".

Hahaha, our sweet girl is getting so mobile! This morning, she rolled over several times in a row, right up to our tv stand. I guess we need to think about baby proofing our apartment! This morning, my Grandma asked if Addy was making any moves to crawl yet and I told her she'd gotten up on her knees a few times, but not lately. Shortly after I got off the phone with her, Adelyn got up on her knees and then tucked her toes under and tried to make an A-frame with her body! I think crawling is not too far off in the distance.

We bought a new toy for Adelyn. It's a "Jenny Jump-up" and we think she likes it! It's a doorway jumper (attaches to the door frame) and it gives her a chance to bounce up and down and get a good leg workout. She's a wee bit small for it... only her head and legs show. Ha! But she will grow into it, we're sure.

Jenny jump-up, take 1! After first putting it up... (5 mos, 2 wks)

Jenny jump-up, take 2. Fixed the height. (5 mos, 2 wks)

Just being a tweety bird, shrieking and blowing bubbles. (5 mos, 2 wks)

More fun! (5 mos, 2 wks)

It's about time.

2009-11-02T20:57:00.002-06:00

Okay, it's about time I update the blog with something other than pictures!

Adelyn is just growing and changing so much, it's incredible. She loves to roll. She grabs everything in sight and puts it in her mouth. She can even put her pacifier back in her mouth all by herself (with the right side in!). She is showing a real interest in food and enjoys "gumming" apples and bananas, but she hasn't quite mastered the art of swallowing so she doesn't really eat people food yet. No sign of teeth, but those will come soon enough.

In other news, there have been some big changes in the Zivney household lately. Derek has started his own oil company, Zivney Energy, and he officially bought his first oil lease on Friday! The lease is in East Texas, in the Tyler/Kilgore/Longview area (that's why he's been up there recently). As soon as I defend my thesis, we will be moving to that area! We're pretty excited about this, it will be an exciting change for us. Speaking of my thesis, if all goes as planned, I will be defending in 2 weeks. 2 weeks!!! I can't wait to be done. Then I can focus on Adelyn, Derek and moving. Wheee!!!!

Okay that's all for now. Enjoy a few more pics from this weekend :)

Addy and Grandma Lo in Austin. Addy is still in her PJ's, being a lazy girl. She's wearing a hat that her Great-Aunt Joan knitted for her.

Snacking on an apple slice. Mmmm, delicious.

More pics from today

2009-10-31T22:20:00.004-05:00

Adelyn and I are in Austin for the weekend, visiting my parents. Derek is in East Texas right now (more on that later) so he unfortunately missed Addy's first Halloween. No big deal though, we didn't do much, just dressed her up in her little costume for a while and took a few pictures. Next year will be lots of fun, we'll actually go out trick-or-treating! :)

When we were getting the Halloween candy ready for the trick-or-treaters, Addy grabbed one of the Twix chocolate bars and started chewing on the wrapper. I guess she's taking after Grandma Lo - love that chocolate! Hee hee.

Hangin' with Momma

I'm such a big girl, I love to stand.

I like being a ladybug!
(PS. Momma is holding me from behind. I can't sit up by myself just yet.)

I'm just soooo cute.
Can't wait for next year!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T12:48:00.004-05:00

Happy Halloween from the cutest lady bug around :)

Thanks, Auntie Mikaela, for taking the pictures!

2009-10-25T22:17:00.003-05:00

Adelyn is 5 months old...::stares in disbelief::

Pic from this weekend in Austin:

She got tired during dinner and decided to have a nap. Sitting up. In the high chair :)

I promise, I will update with a real post soon. Promise!

Love

2009-10-22T16:07:00.003-05:00

Short post, just a few pics. I need to update soon...

Peanut loves her daddy. Soooo much!

I'm a happy sweetums.

I love holding Daddy's head while he gives my tummy kisses!

Check out my hair! The left side is always a bit crazy...

An apple a day...

2009-10-14T21:07:00.005-05:00

Today, Adelyn was watching me eat slices of apple when she decided that she wanted to try one too! She kept reaching for a slice, so I finally held one out to her. She proceeded to grab it in her teeny tiny hands, put it in her mouth, and then she munched munched munched on it for a loooong time. She was having a ball! I'm not sure if it was because it felt good on her gums, or if she liked the fact that she tasted little bits of juice, but all in all she had a grand time! She still doesn't like rice cereal, but maybe I can look for "apple-flavored" cereal... hmmm.

How quickly our little one grows!!!

PS. Like the new blog background?

Morning Bed Head

2009-10-12T22:56:00.002-05:00

Everyone knows that Adelyn has a lot of hair.

Heck, she was born with a lot of hair!

Anyway, every morning she wakes up and her shiny locks are in disarray after a long night of sleep. My sister Mikaela suggested we take pictures of her "bed head" because it is never the same from one day to the next. Heeding her advice, we took a few shots of Adelyn's "bed head" this morning!

Good morning! Check out my cute sleeper with bear feet!

Derek calls this "The Einstein".
My hair has body!
I like the tousled look, don't you?

Video of her big roll!

2009-10-11T14:23:00.001-05:00

This is it! Adelyn's big roll!

10/08/09 - Helping herself roll over by pulling on the blanket. (4 mos, 1 wk)

10/08/09 - Roll over, take 2. She's pretty proud of herself (0:35 sec)!! ( 4 mos, 1 wk)

10/09/09 - She's getting quick! (4 mos, 2 wks)

Now that she can roll, she has been practicing a lot. She even sleeps on her side in her crib (she started doing that the past week or so). This morning, I placed her on her back on the living room floor and went into the kitchen. When I looked over the counter at her, she was laying on her tummy, just staring around. It's very impressive! :)

Video

2009-10-11T12:43:00.006-05:00

9/27/09 - Adelyn got tired of trying to roll over and gave up... (4 mos)

9/28/09 - Eating her toes, yummm yumm! (4 mos)

Unfortunately, the only video that I can post from our trip to East Texas when we visited Derek's grandparents is the one blow. Our video editing software didn't recognize the other files for some reason, so I can't shrink them down small enough to post on the blog :( We had nice ones of the pumpkin patch and Adelyn being a "tweety bird" (giving happy shrieks and squeals)... I'll see if I can solve the problem, but no guarantees.

10/05/09 - Baby's got dancing feet! Visiting Adelyn's Great Grandparents in East Texas (4 mos, 1 wk)

10/08/09 - Playing with a ball of paper. That's a cheap toy! (4 mos, 1 wk)

And a few pics to round out the post...

Concentrating verrrry hard on the paper.

Thanks for the fun toy Daddy!

You caught me playing with my bib.

Bundled up, ready for a walk with my friend Mortimer the Moose!

I like walks!

I'm starting to sit up in my stroller.

Me and Momma!

Wow!

2009-10-08T17:08:00.002-05:00

Baby girl rolled over from back to front today!!!!!! TWICE! BIG STEP! It was amazing :)

Trip to East Texas

2009-10-07T21:54:00.009-05:00

Prepare for an inundation of photos! We went to visit Derek's grandparents in East Texas this past weekend and they got to spent lots of time with their great granddaughter. I think they like her! :)

We took Adelyn to her first pumpkin patch while we were there! A local church had a fall festival going on and they had many, many pumpkins for sale, so we stopped by and took a ton of pictures. We even bought a small pumpkin and a green gourd. Can't wait for Addy's first Halloween... she has a little costume, but it's a surprise until Oct 31st!!!! You'll love it, I just know.

I was playing, and then I rolled over and fell asleep.
Sleeping girl
I love Daddy!
Derek, "Sweet thang" and Great Granddad :)
Daddy gives me kisses!
Hi everybody! I'm going out today!
At the pumpkin patch.
Momma and Me at the pumpkin sale
Which one should I pick out?

This is my "bored look". Ha!
Me and a scarecrow
Me and Daddy

"How about this one, Adelyn?"
"Well, let me check it out Momma."
"Yep, this one looks good!"
"Okay Daddy, we like this one!"
"Hmmm, what about this pumpkin??"
"This is pretty good too, Daddy"
Adelyn is checking out an oil well. She is her Daddy's daughter!
I love my fingers.
Great Grandmother watching Addy.
I like my pumpkins.
Aren't they nice?

"Hooooooo"

2009-09-28T13:02:00.001-05:00

Peanut is blowing bubbles. Maybe she's trying to get the taste of feet out of her mouth?? :)

2 more videos and a couple of pics

2009-09-26T14:55:00.006-05:00

9/21/09 - First time eating "solids". Guess what? She didn't like it. (4 mos)

9/26/09 - Daddy loves his baby girl soooo much. And baby girl loves her daddy soooo much too! (4 mos)

Check out my hair-do! Grandma Lo made some pretty bows to put in my long luxurious locks.
This is called the "waterspout"
Momma likes to give me funny hairstyles in the bath.

I like to chew on my toes :)

Open mouth, insert foot.

2009-09-26T14:17:00.005-05:00

That's right folks! Adelyn has put her foot in her mouth (literally).

"Hey Momma, watch this!"
"Are you watchin'?"
"Mmmm, delicious"
"Yummm yummm"
"Aren't you proud of me??"

Yesterday I bought a few cool-weather things for Adelyn since fall has officially arrived. The past few days here in Cypress have been perfect , weather-wise. 70's, breezy, and very low humidity. We're finally starting to feel like we're moving out of summer... of course the temp and humidity went back up today, but at least we have seen the glimmer of hope that is autumn. Anyway, I saw this jacket and fell in love with it. Now Addy has a jacket to wear once things get cold enough!

Look! Isn't she cute???
Aww.

I'm a cute little bear cub!

Video

2009-09-26T13:04:00.005-05:00

We're trying to consolidate our photo and video libraries, so I figured this was a good time to add some video that I've been neglecting to post.

9/1/09 - Playing a version of "Peek-a-boo" with Daddy. 3 mos, 1 wk

9/10/09 - I'd like to roll over but... 3 mos, 3 wks

Babe

2009-09-24T17:03:00.003-05:00

Just a couple of pics!

Adelyn loves her pink musical teddy bear :) She gives it a biiiig hug!

All the single babies

2009-09-24T16:45:00.005-05:00

Oh man!

My mom just sent me this and it is just the cutest thing. You've got to watch it.

I guess we'll have to start playing music videos on our tv so Adelyn can perform similarly once she's able to stand up. As Mom said, "No pressure Addy!" :)

4 month checkup!

2009-09-21T13:41:00.002-05:00

Adelyn is 4 months old and she is one growing sprout! She weighs 12lbs 4ozs (25th percentile) and she's 24 inches long (45th percentile). Adelyn had to get another round of immunizations today (3 shots and an oral) so that wasn't fun. Unfortunately they were out of one of the shots, so she only got 2 of the shots and the oral... this means we have to go back within the next few days so she can get the last needle. It's not fair to the poor little peanut! She was very upset again (understandably) but she's doing well now. The doc said we can try to give her a little bit of cereal if we want, although she probably won't like it. She's growing up so quickly. TOO quickly! Anyway, we bought a little box of rice cereal so we'll probably give that a try tonight. I have a feeling that the doc is right and Addy won't like it that much, but that's okay. I like nursing her, it's good bonding time for us :) She is showing a lot of interest when we eat though, she follows our utensils from our plates to our mouths. It's very cute!

Let's see, what else... Adelyn almost rolled from her back to her front last night. She was so close, but her elbow was stuck and she couldn't quite roll over it. She loves when we sing songs to her, especially "The three little fishies". She plays her own version of peek-a-boo when she's on her tummy and you're down at her level: she looks up at you and then buries her head in her arms, hiding her little face. Looks up again, buries her face. Repeat as desired :) Annnnd, she's just precious! End of story! Hehehehe. We love our girl.

Look at what Adelyn did tonight!

2009-09-15T22:16:00.003-05:00

My sweet girl, she was laying on her tummy tonight and then, bam!, she arched her back, stuck her heiney up in the air and got up on her knees! I was shocked. She wasn't pushing up with her arms, but she was able to get up and down from her knees several times. I managed to take a picture with my phone so you can check out her newest feat. Guess this is the first step towards crawling... I can't believe it!

Getting up on her knees!

Nova wanted some love and attention too.

Adelyn relaxing in her pack 'n play earlier this afternoon. Pretty in purple :)

Happy Grandparents Day!

2009-09-13T00:13:00.004-05:00

Hee hee, Adelyn wants to wish her Grandpa Joe, Grandma Lo, Gram Z and Pops a very Happy Grandparents Day (and a happy great-grandparents day to the great-grandparents)!

I googled "Grandparents Day" and discovered some interesting facts. Apparently the holiday has an official song ("A song for Grandma and Grandpa" by Johnny Prill) and an official flower (forget-me-not). My Grandma Farrell had forget-me-not flowers in her yard, these sweet little blue flowers, and my sisters and I used to pick them all the time. Ah good memories :)

So to all the grandparents in our family, have a wonderful grandparents day!

Last set

2009-09-12T10:44:00.004-05:00

After these photos, we're essentially up to date! Besides the videos, that is...

On Thursday we drove up to Bryan for a few hours for Derek's fire department business meeting. We met the newest member of the department, baby Timothy, 2 weeks old. Adelyn's future boyfriend?? ;)

Sleeping angel after a quick feeding.
Future firefighter?

Joe, Timothy, Lindsay and Adelyn.
We've got some sleeping children! You can definitely see the difference between a newborn and a 3 1/2 month old.
Adelyn and her Daddy
These pics are just too cute, I couldn't decide which to post. She looks so inquisitive!
Hello, I love you!
Who me?
Looking at daddy

Trip to Austin and our collection of hummingbirds

2009-09-12T10:12:00.006-05:00

We went to Austin for Labor Day weekend (last weekend). Mom and Dad pulled out our old high chair for Adelyn to sit in while we ate dinner. She's still a wee bit small for it, so we stuffed blankets and pillows around her to keep her upright. Fun experience for her :)

We have a ton of hummingbirds flying around our hummingbird feeder right now. They must be getting ready to migrate, so they're fattening up for the long trip. We've counted about 10 at once, and we've even caught 2 eating out of 1 flower a few times. Derek is refilling the feeder once a day, but we may even need to start doing it more than that because they're sucking it dry. They're cute little guys!

She loves Mortimer the Moose

Adelyn sitting up in the high chair, stuffed and lined with blankets. Notice how intently she is staring at her pacifier? She loves that thing.
Bath time in a big girl tub! Starfish pose.
Sleepy girl.
Good morning sleepy head!
Polite hummingbirds, each sitting on their own perch.

Trying to drink from someone else's flower!

7 hummingbirds

They're so cute!

Zivney Grandparents come for a visit.

2009-09-11T23:52:00.007-05:00

Gram Z and Pops Zivney came to visit us in Cypress Aug 28-31, 2009 when Adelyn was 3 mos, 2 weeks old. They last saw Addy when she was 4 days old, so needless to say she had changed quite a bit!

Adelyn and her Pops
"Flying" with Momma
Momma loves baby

Grandpa Joe and Grandma Lo came to visit briefly too!
The beautiful painting my Uncle Bob painted for Adelyn. It is gorgeous!
Adelyn and her grandparents! She is going to be one spoiled little girl :)
Cute. Very cute.
Loves her daddy!

Having a bath after hanging out by the pool.
Pursing those lips!

Getting clean.

Daddy and Baby
Addy and Pops
Zivneys before they head back to Port St. Lucie, FL
Gram Z and Adelyn
Loves her grandparents

FINALLY!

2009-09-11T20:38:00.006-05:00

Okay, it's about time. I'm finally starting to add pictures! These are just a few fun ones, hanging out around the apartment.

8/24/09 - Having a ball! 3 mos old

8/24/09 - Super woman! 3 mos old
8/24/09, 3 mos old
8/26/09 - Oh, that face! 3 mos old
8/26/09 - Rollin rollin rollin, 3 mos old
8/26/09 - Peanut loves her monkey and lizard! 3 mos old
8/26/09 - Sleepin' girl, 3 mos old
8/27/09 - The three Zivney ladies, just hangin' out. 3 mos old
8/27/09 - Where are you going Nova? 3 mos old
8/27/09 - This is Adelyn's over-the-shoulder look. 3 mos old

Houston, we have... teething?

2009-09-08T15:02:00.002-05:00

I haven't forgotten about the blog, I promise! Things have been busy lately - visitors, thesis work, a growing baby who is as busy as a bee... I'll try to write a real update soon, I just wanted to post a quick one now while Adelyn is sleeping.

So as the title of this post says, we think Adelyn is starting to teethe. Peanut has been fussy lately, drooling a ton, babbling/squawking and smacking her gums, sucking on her hands... I ran my finger over her gums and I can't feel anything cutting through yet, but apparently teething symptoms can start a few months before the teeth actually appear (which may start anywhere between 4-7 mo). She is 3 1/2 months old, so I guess the timeline is about right.

Our little girl is growing up! I will try try try to write up a big post soon about what we've been doing lately and how much Adelyn has grown. Oh, and post pictures too! :)

The babe is calling, so that's all for now.

2009-08-28T12:25:00.003-05:00

"Hello! I'm cute."

Ahh, I love this girl! Just look at that face :) Can't believe she's 3 months old...

Her first words!

2009-08-26T12:13:00.003-05:00

Well, her first discernible syllables at least... :)

She says "Ma" and today she repeated it and said "Ma ma". Very cute. She has no idea what it means, and she was looking at Daddy when she said it, but she's practicing her volcabulary! What a big girl :) Hehehe!

Roly Poly

2009-08-22T21:35:00.003-05:00

Derek and I have recovered from our bout with our cold and little peanut is almost better. She's still a bit congested, poor girl, but she's getting there!

Exciting milestone this week: Adelyn has found her feet! Yesterday, she grabbed onto her foot with her hand and held it for a while. She's turning into a roly-poly girl, curling her legs up to her tummy and keeping them there. Maybe this means she'll be rolling over soon? :)

We had a family nap today and she slept longer than we did.
This is the cutest face in the world! Don't you agree?? :)
Wheee!!! Flying on Momma's knees.
She had a good time!
Playing in her pack 'n play.

Another first.

2009-08-18T12:24:00.003-05:00

The family cold.

First Derek, now me, and now Adelyn...

It's just a cold, but it's making me miserable! Adelyn has the mildest case (as of right now at least), just a few sniffles, but you can tell she's feeling a little under the weather. I was hoping we could hold off this wonderful event for a few more months, but I guess not.

We have no idea how we caught it! Bleh.

Time to laugh!!

2009-08-16T16:38:00.005-05:00

Adelyn had a great time with her Daddy today! He raised her high up in the air and brought her back down. She had so much fun she started laughing. And I mean laughing, not just giggling!!! Here's the tail-end of their play time today :)

8/16/09 - 2 mos, 3 wks old

PS. I've also made a new sidebar on the webpage to record Adelyn's milestones. Enjoy!

We love this girl!!!

2009-08-15T21:12:00.002-05:00

Photos from today. After Kim's graduation and celebratory dinner, we came back to Cypress for the night. Today we went swimming and then out to lunch before Mom, Dad and Grandma headed home to Austin. After they left, Adelyn had a nice long nap and then woke up in such a good mood, she was smiling non-stop. We got great photos of it (below)! I'm so glad my Grandma came to Texas and finally got to meet her great granddaughter :)

At the pool with Daddy!

Oh Peanut.

What a sweet girl!

Hi Momma!
Smiley
Lovin' her Momma
Giggles!
Hello there!

Kim's graduation

2009-08-15T20:40:00.005-05:00

I have to dedicate a post to my sister.

Kim graduated from Texas A&M University yesterday with a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering! Pretty exciting accomplishment :) My Grandma came all the way from Tucson, AZ just for the occasion. It was also the first time she met Adelyn. After the graduation ceremony, we went to dinner at The Republic, a steak and winery in College Station. It was delicious. I mean deeeeelicious, so good! A great way to cap Kim's college career. Next, she's moving down to Houston to start a job at KBR (engineering company)... on to the real world :) CONGRATS KIMMY!

Adelyn is ready for the 3 hr graduation ceremony!

There's Kim, sitting to the right of the guy in the white uniform!
Receiving her diploma! Her cap says "Wh09p" on it... you know, for class of '09.
Shaking more hands.
Adelyn missed seeing her auntie walk the stage... she was a tired peanut!
Congrats Kim!
Kim is officially a Former Aggie.
Proud parents with the graduate.
Sisters. Aggies. Gig 'em.
This will be Adelyn in about 21 yrs!! :)
Kim and Grandma Archer, all the way from Tucson, AZ!
Greatgrandma Archer and baby Adelyn!

Pics from today

2009-08-13T22:11:00.002-05:00

Checking herself out in the mirror.

She's standing so tall!

Beautiful girl, wearing her only hair accessory. I think it looks pretty good! If you haven't noticed, she really loves chewing on her hand. Really really :)

Our cat...

2009-08-13T22:06:00.003-05:00

She just wants attention too!

That's right. We found her sitting on the changing pad on top of our dresser. What a silly girl!

Pics from the past couple of weeks

2009-08-12T17:41:00.009-05:00

Here are a few older pics taken with our camera phones.

She's lookin' grouchy!

At the drive-in movie theater. It was very hot outside, so we took off her little outfit (that's why she's only wearing her diaper!)
Ready for bed. She has recently discovered her hands and loves to clasp them (and suck on them).
Sweetums
Quick cat nap after a snack
Supermodel at Tina and Daryl's house.
"Check out my shades, Mom"

She's really good at holding her head up now. She likes to arch her back so her feet come off the floor too. Just like a little seal!
Way to go girl!
Just relaxin with Momma

2009-08-12T16:49:00.004-05:00

8/8/09 - Adelyn talking to Daddy and Great Grandma Zivney (10 weeks old)

Visiting family

2009-08-12T09:55:00.009-05:00

This past weekend, we went to visit Derek's aunt, uncle and Grandma. This was the first time they got meet Adelyn! We had an awesome weekend relaxing. We went swimming in Tina and Daryl's pool, got to see Grandma Zivney on her 83rd birthday, played with Tina and Daryl's two cats (Felix and Oscar). It was great!

Addy and her great aunt Tina!

Tina and Daryl meeting Adelyn.
She's a sleepy girl.
Good morning!
We decided to put Adelyn on a floatie in their pool. Big yawn for a big girl!
We call this our "little old man" pose. She is too cute.
Great Aunt, Great Uncle and Adelyn
Relaxing on the floatie in the shade.
She had a good time!

Oscar and Felix having a snooze.
Derek, Great Grandma Zivney and baby Adelyn

Daryl and Addy having a converstaion.

Great Grandma and Adelyn
I know the picture is blurry, I just love her face in this one!
Daddy and baby
Pretty girl in a blue dress!

Just hanging out before we head home.

Teaser photos from this weekend

2009-08-11T22:58:00.002-05:00

Here are two teaser photos of this past weekend when we went to visit Derek's Aunt Tina, Uncle Daryl and Grandma Zivney. I'll try my best to post the rest of the pictures tomorrow!

Derek, Grandma Zivney and baby Adelyn.

Adelyn meeting her Great Grandma Zivney on her 83rd birthday!

Precious :)

2009-08-07T12:20:00.003-05:00

She's giggling!!!!!!!

We're in College Station at my sister Mikaela's house, listening to some dance tunes and waving our arms around and Adelyn just thinks it's the funniest thing. My little girl is so grown up.

Video

2009-08-04T14:55:00.006-05:00

A few videos for your enjoyment!

7/22/09 - Adelyn talking to her Mommy. 8 wks old

7/26/09 - Just got home from the Dollins family reunion, getting some exercise. 8 wks old

Yikes...

2009-08-04T13:56:00.010-05:00

It's been a really really long time since we've updated the blog! Life is busy and time is flying by more quickly than I would like. Adelyn is 10 weeks old!!!!

Here are a bunch of pictures from the past few weeks. We have some video to post as well. Aunt Lindsay came to visit us and got to meet Adelyn for the first time! While she was here, we went to the Dollins family reunion together (Derek and Lindsay's Mom's side), and Addy got to meet her great grandparents. Very exciting!

Nova wanted to cuddle with Addy.
7/12/09, 7 wks old
Just hangin' out
7/17/09, 7 wks old
7/17/09, 7 wks old
Cuddling with Momma.
7/18/09, 7 wks old
Crossed googly eyes!
7/18/09, 7 wks old
7/12/09, 7 wks old
Clean nakey baby.
7/21/09, 8 wks old
Meeting Great Grandmother Dollins for the very first time!
7/25/09, 8 wks old
The beautiful quilt Great Grandmother Dollins made for Adelyn.
7/25/09, 8 wks old
Great Granddad Dollins, smoothing baby's hair.
7/25/09, 8 wks old
Great Granddad Dollins and Adelyn getting to know each other.
7/25/09, 8 wks old
Auntie Lindsay!
7/25/09, 8 wks old
Adelyn would not stop watching the TV. Independence Day was playing... will she like sci-fi action movies? :)
7/25/09, 8 wks old
Still watchin' that TV.
7/25/09, 8 wks old
Great Grandmother holding Addy.
7/25/09, 8 wks old
At the Dolllins Family Reunion, the youngest girl there! We gave her a name tag too, just like everyone else :)
7/26/09, 8 wks old
That's a lot of Lindsays!
7/26/09, 8 wks old
Back home after the reunion, getting some exercise by standing on Momma's lap.
7/26/09, 8 wks old
Look at my strong legs, Daddy!
7/26/09, 8 wks old
Auntie Lindsay looking at one of Addy's gifts.
7/26/09, 8 wks old
Just tryin to have a rest. She's a tired baby.
7/27/09, 9 wks old

Another cooing video

2009-07-20T22:18:00.005-05:00

She sure is a social butterfly. We went for a walk this evening and she seems to be feeling a bit better than earlier today, not quite as fussy.

As mentioned in the video, we saw a kitten on our walk and it literally followed us back to our apartment. He was meowing and meowing the entire walk home. Poor little guy was starving, so Derek gave him a little can of food and he scarfed it down pretty quickly. He was still meowing when Derek came back inside, but I think he's gone now. I wonder if we'll see him around tomorrow?

Our two month old

2009-07-20T16:07:00.002-05:00

Adelyn was sitting in her boppy and when Derek picked her up, Nova immidiately took Addy's spot. She looks pretty comfy, eh?

Grocery shopping! Addy holds the coupons for us.

Sleeping angel.

Little Adelyn is 2 months old today! It seems like just yesterday we were at the hospital. To celebrate this major milestone, we took Addy to the pediatrician this morning to have her immunizations done... what a party. Poor baby! She got 3 shots and an oral one. The oral immunization was fine, she didn't really like the taste but she swallowed it okay. Then the nurse put her on the table and stuck her little legs with 3 needles. Addy had a delayed reaction to the pain, but once it hit, she screamed bloody murder and hit notes I've never heard her make. She cried SO HARD, honestly the hardest I've seen her cry yet. She did very well though, she only cried like that for about 30 seconds before I got to pick her up and nurse her. That helped calm her down a lot. She's been a little fussy since then and just wants to be held (understandable, of course) , so Momma and Daddy have been indulging her. My poor little peanut, she was so brave. Now she has a Tweety bird bandaid and two Snoopy bandaids to mark the spots!

In other news, she is 22 inches long and weighs 10 lbs flat. She's still pretty little, I think she may be a petite girl. We shall see! Oh ya, and Auntie Lindsay comes to visit us this week! We're so excited for her to meet her little niece. :)

Chatty Cathy... or Addy!

2009-07-17T16:19:00.007-05:00

Here is video of Adelyn "talking" to us last night. She sure was vocal! And happy too, lots of smiles :) She starts to get really excited around the 1:25 mark (but I think you should watch the whole thing anyway!).

We love our baby girl!!!!

Playing with her keys

2009-07-12T18:24:00.002-05:00

Adelyn will be 7 weeks old tomorrow! I get weekly updates about our baby as she grows (similar to the weekly pregnancy updates), and for this week they say that our baby will grip items that are placed in her hands. I decided to try it with a set of keys we had and sure enough, she grabbed them and swung them around! She wasn't fully aware of what she was doing, but she had a nice grip on them :) Pictures below.

Our little blessing

It's the end of an era... so to speak.

We love the zoo!

Adelyn sounds like Chewbacca from Star Wars.

Spring has sprung.

Oh my gosh, Addy scoots!!!!

Zivney family visit

Addy's second tooth.

Silly Addy

Kenna June Powers

Thinking about life, love and marriage

Addy says Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day?

When was the last time I posted a video?

Snow!!! In Texas?!

Last pics from Tucson

On the road again...

Trip to Tucson (pics)

Oh, she is most definitely teething!

We've arrived

Halfway to Tucson

Sound the alarm.

Rested.

Time for some pictures!

Scaaared...

Updates

woo hoo!

Sleep training, day 2

Sleep training

As 2009 draws to a close...

Merry Christmas! 4 days late...

We are moving!

6 month photo shoot

Trip to Florida

Happy Thanksgiving!

6 months old.

Eww.

Zivney Energy

Yippee hurray!

And the sleep verdict?

Sleep, glorious sleep!

A definition

It's about time.

More pics from today

Happy Halloween!

Love

An apple a day...

Morning Bed Head

Video of her big roll!

Video

Wow!

Trip to East Texas

2 more videos and a couple of pics

Open mouth, insert foot.

Video

Babe

All the single babies

4 month checkup!

Look at what Adelyn did tonight!

Happy Grandparents Day!

Last set

Trip to Austin and our collection of hummingbirds

Zivney Grandparents come for a visit.

FINALLY!

Houston, we have... teething?

Her first words!

Roly Poly

Another first.

Time to laugh!!

We love this girl!!!

Kim's graduation

Pics from today

Our cat...

More video from the past few weeks

Pics from the past couple of weeks

Visiting family

Teaser photos from this weekend

Precious :)

Video

Yikes...