Addison's Eleven Month Update (Feb 25)

Can hardly believe that our baby is already 11 months old! Though at times it was a hard month, it was still filled with many fun times and memories. Addison loves to talk and now when you ask her she will tell you what a doggie says: woof....woof. She also has become a much better eater this past month and wants to try everything that Mommy and Daddy are eating. Addison is able to stand without support for much longer now and we are looking forward to her first steps which will probably be soon. She loves to climb up the stairs. Constantly. Up the stairs! Not necessarily sure what she wants to do when she gets up to the top, but just loves the thrill of climbing stairs. She loves climbing all over mom and dad as well and often uses us as leverage to climb up onto the couch. We got the biggest snow storm of the winter this month, at least 18 inches over night. We took Addy out to play in it and although she did better than last time, she is still not a big fan of the snow. She is learning how to roll a ball back and forth. One really fun thing she has learned is how to blow raspberries on any exposed skin of mom and dad that she can find. She thinks it is hilarious to "tickle" us and make us laugh!

Addy had her first over night trip and it was actually 5 nights! We went to a counseling conference in Indiana, and Addison stayed at Grandma and Papa Schneider's house for the week. She did really good but really missed her momma and daddy. She loved playing with family and especially loved Buddy. Just before her trip to the grandparents, she had her first ER visit. Addy had a fever for 3 days of 102-103 and it would not go down with tylenol and she started to vomit. This was all the night before we were to leave for our trip and we could not take her to the doctor's office. So we brought her into Mommy's work to make sure she was okay. She was fighting a virus, they took good care of her there and we were confident to leave her at grandma and grandpa's the next day. She ended up having a fever for a total of six days with a very bad cough and congestion. It was so hard to be away from our little girl while she was sick. And at the same time, Addy was teething! It took another two weeks but just before her 11 month birthday one of her top front teeth came through! Now we are just waiting for the second top front one to come in.

Looking forward to Addison's first birthday in just one month!!

Addison's Ten Month Update (Jan 25)

Addison has grown much in the past month. She is quite the crawler and loves to explore everywhere and everything in our home. She climbs into cupboards underneath coffee tables and even crawls behind the couch. The day she crawled behind the couch, she came out the other side and was covered in dust! Silly girl! She is such a happy baby, always laughing and smiling and singing to herself. Always talking too, can't wait til we understand what she is saying! She is really good at standing up and often lets go and stands on her own for a couple seconds before sitting back down again. She doesn't like walking holding our hands too much anymore though, she would rather be crawling. So we are working on this!

Addy celebrated her first new years since the last update, and she had lots of guests for that night. Papa and Grandma S, Uncle Kevin, Aunt Angela, Lizzie and Gideon all came for the party. We had lots of fun.

We are working on eating better with our foods. Addy is not always the best eater of baby food. But she loves eating big people food and loves to try new things that we are eating. Hopefully soon she will be a better eater. Her favorite finger food to eat is cheese! She loves getting little chunks of cheese to eat. One last fun thing that Addison loves to do this month is tickle mommy's tummy. She will lift up Mommy's shirt and blow rasberrys on her tummy just like we do to her tummy. She thinks it is SO funny! We are loving each moment of raising our little girl!

Top 10 of 2010

Our Top 10 Memories of 2010

1. The birth of Addison Joy on March 25, 2010

2. Kate passing her NCLEX test and receiving her RN
3. Andrew's new position at the mission, which is a much better fit for him and he is able to teach and counsel men
4. Kate's new job at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital as a Registered Nurse in Emergency Department

5. Moving forward with EBM and pursuing becoming missionaries at Bethesda and finishing the application process

6. 4 amazing years of marriage on July 2, can't believe how fast 4 years have flown by

7. September Dodd Family Visit in Cresaptown MD

8. Many family visits and memories made and 2 new nephews Reece and Gideon

9. New home in January 2010, much bigger place for us to rent and raise Addison in

10. Watching Addison grow and change so much in just 9 months of life!


What an amazing year it has been for our family! Looking forward to what God has planned in 2011 for the Dodd Family!!

Christmas 2010

We had a wonderful few days of Christmas celebration this year. Andrew's parents came down to visit for a day at our house. Addison had her first experience opening Christmas presents with them and she loved it! She would have been content with just getting wrapping paper for her gifts! She loved being able to rip and crinkle the paper without it getting taken away from her! She tried to eat every piece she got her hands on.

We celebrated our Christmas on Christmas Eve. Addy's two special gifts were a piggy bank we had painted for her and a puppy that plays music and lights up. She had a great time helping everyone open their wrapping paper and then proceeding to eat the paper. Andrew surprised Kate with 4 oil paintings of an African Sunset, it is absolutely gorgeous! And Kate gave Andrew a calendar for his desk at work. We had a big breakfast that G had sent us in the mail, it was so yummy- bacon, panacakes, ham. Yumm! We love reading to Addy each day and it was fun to read her the Christmas Story. We are looking forward to making that an important part of our Christmas celebration and remembering the reason why we celebrate Christmas. Later on, we had a Christmas dinner with steak and cheesy potato casserole and Christmas cookies. It was so wonderful to celebrate our first Christmas together as a little family :)

We celebrated Christmas Day at Kate's parents. Both of Kate's grandmas were there for the day as was Kyle, Kevin, Angela, Lizzie, and Gideon. It was great to spend the day with family. Many many laughs and smiles and memories made. Addison once again loved opening the presents and was excited to open everyone's present for them. She was quite nervous and could not take her eyes off of Buddy, Grandpa and Grandma's labrador retriever. She did not understand what the big black furry thing was. She loved watching her big cousin Lizzie play and it was so fun to see Gideon and Addison together since they are just 3 months apart in age.

Christmas this year was by far our best one ever, we loved watching Addison's face light up as she opened her gifts and watching her take in the many special things of the season.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
Love,
Andrew, Kate, and Addison Joy

Addison's Nine Month Update (Dec. 25)

We realized the other day that we had not written a 9 month update for Addison and figured we had better write it before she turns ten months old! From November 25-December25, Addy had so much fun enjoying the holiday season. We got a real Christmas tree and she LOVED touching and playing under it. Addison really became quite the crawler throughout the month. At first she just army crawled everywhere but by the end of the month she was crawling on her hands and knees. She really likes to crawl over us or under our legs. She also is now a little explorer and crawls through tables and under chairs and pulls on everything and puts everything she can find in her mouth, we think she has been plotting for the past 8 months what she will get in to and now that she can move she is doing everything she had planned out. She also started to pull herself up and Addy loves to stand. She has a table that makes noise and lights up and she can often be found standing at her table and dancing to her music. She is still a baby who loves music and shakes her knees, feet, bottom, and head whenever she hears music.

Addy has been working hard this month on eating baby food more often and having less milk and she hates it! We've been introducing food with more chunks in it and having her eat more foods than the ones she loves and it has been quite the struggle and there has definitely been days when both Addy and Mommy ended the meal in tears. But hopefully she will get better with persistance and patience.

Addy had her 9 month doctor visit and she weighs 18 lbs 14 oz (50th%), 28 1/2 inches tall (75th %) and her head was still in the 25th %. The doctor was very pleased with Addison's growth and development and said that Addy is doing great with her motor skills and will be walking before we know it.

Addy had her first snowfall in December. She did not enjoy getting dressed up in her snowsuit and not being able to move much. She was really not too impressed with the wet white cold stuff, hopefully she will enjoy it more next winter!

We are loving every moment that we are blessed with with our little baby girl!!

Addison's Eighth Month Video

Addison's Eighth Month

Addison got all dressed up for Halloween on Saturday night October 30th when all the kids in Hudsonville were set to go trick-or-treating, but no one came to our house. The next night she got dressed up again, this time as a polar bear and went to our church activity trunk-or-treat. She didn't get any candy but that was okay because we had plenty at home from the night before and no one showing up. Over 40 car were decorated and passing out candy to kids that came to this event. What a good time for fellowship and outreach to our community.

Firsts this past month: belly crawling (as of now can get her butt up and knees under her but finds rolling much more efficient), pulled herself up to a standing position, went from laying on her back to sitting up without help. Her first and second teeth popped out of her gums on November 5th, now that her teeth are through she is much happier. She received her first flu shot when she went to the doctors this month and has learned how to clap (Daddy taught her this one!) and wave bye bye and nod her head yes and no. She loves music and dances and sings and nods her head to the rhythm. She loves to talk and climb into people's laps. Addy also has tried many new foods including: meats (turkey and chicken), cherries, cheese, yogurt, plums, prunes, whole peas, mashed potatoes, teething biscuits, and she will eat pretty much anything we let her try (except for zucchini which she hates!).

We also celebrated Andrew's 31st birthday this month. He had already received his birthday gift from Addy and Kate, a trip to see the Eagles beat the Lions, back in September but we had a fun couple days of celebrating. We went out to dinner at Red Robins, Addy loved the balloons that the waitress gave her. Then on his actual birthday we made one of Andrew's favorite meals and peanut butter pie. Such a fun day celebrating!!

Addy made 2 trips this month. The first was to Detroit to visit Kate's family. Kate's cousin Jen was in town from Florida so the Schneider's had a big family party. Addy was able to meet all of Kate's aunts, uncles, and cousins from that side of her family. We had a great time catching up with everyone, eating dinner together, and playing games. Addy also traveled to Lake Ann to celebrate her first Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa Dodd's house. It was wonderful to spend a few days at their house and have a big Thanksgiving dinner. Addy loved trying all of the different Thanksgiving foods that we gave her. Thanksgiving is a great time to remember the many many blessings God has given us this past year.

Addy will be 9 months old on December 25. What a joy it has been to watch her grow, explore, and do new things each and every day! Can't wait to see what this next month brings!

Addison's Seven Month

Addison is already 7 months old, can't believe how fast this first year of her life is going! The first few days of this month were already written about in the last blog update, our trip to Maryland with Andrew's family. She was such a great little traveler and had a good time meeting her cousins Natalie and Reece for the first time. When we got back from the trip Grandma Dodd came and stayed with us for a week. One of the evenings we went to the Post Family Farm nearby our home and looked at all the pumpkins and farm animals and got donuts and hot caramel cider. Addy was so amazed at all the bumpy orange pumpkins. We also went apple picking this month. It was Addy and Grandma's first time going. We picked so many yummy apples and made apple pie guts and apple sauce that will last us all year long. Addy has been eating all sorts of new foods this month. She loves apples and peaches and bananas, green beans, peas, squash, carrots, prunes. She also likes eating Cheerios. Addy began using a sippy cup and drinking water this month. She doesn't quite get the sucking part of the cup yet and usually has water all the way down the front of her shirt. She has also been teething all month long but no teeth yet.

Also Addy had her 6 month check up. She got a couple shots and also we found out that she had an ear infection! We had no idea! She was waking up a few times in the night, but we thought that it was due to the teething. Poor little girl! She got amoxicillin and is feeling much better.

Addy loves to sing with music and "dance" with mommy and daddy. She chews on everything that she touches. She also is a rolling machine and will roll across the room. No crawling yet though, but it shouldn't be long. Addy is talking a lot more this month. Her first word was mama, and followed shortly after by dada. She also is saying baba and many other sounds too. Addy loves wiggling her little feet and when she is happy about something she will have a giant grin on her face and her little feet will be wiggling like crazy. We call them her Happy Feet.

Grandpa and Grandma Schneider came for a visit one weekend this month and they babysat Addy so mommy and daddy could go on a date. WE love when any of our grandparents come to play!

The last weekend of this month, Dad had a work trip at Timber Wolf Lake Camp so Addy and Mommy came with him! We had so much fun relaxing at the camp, taking walks around the camp, playing in the leaves, sitting by the campfire, and just having some mommy and addy time. Addy thought the bunkbeds that we slept on were amazing. Every time mommy fed her she would look up at the bed above her and start laughing so hard. What a silly, fun memory! The camp was pretty close to Grandpa and Grandma Dodd's house so we spent the rest of the weekend playing at their house and celebrating Grandpa's 60th birthday. Addy is growing so big! Our little family is so blessed! We are so thankful for the little girl that God has given us!

Addison's Seven Month Video

Addison's Sixth Month

Since we are already halfway through the 7th month, we thought we would take a few spare minutes to write about Addison's sixth month. The last day in August, we went to the John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids for Addy's first zoo trip. It was also our 7th consecutive August zoo trip. Addy's favorite was the bird cage that you walked into with lots of parakeets, the birds were chirping and flying. It was a hot day, but we had so much fun. That next weekend, Kate's parents came in for a visit. We went with them to the Fredrick Meijer Gardens. It was our first visit, and we had so much fun. We all enjoyed walking around the park, seeing the flowers, and looking at all the sculptures. Addy was just so happy to be outside. She had her visit tea party in the Children's Garden with Mommy and Daddy.

This month, Addison began having a new babysitter while Mommy and Daddy work. Our good friend from church, Erika and her almost 2 year old Rolland are fun practicing having two siblings since Erika is expecting her second in March. Addison has also greatly expanded her food options this past month. She loves applesauce, bananas, sweet potatoes, carrots, oatmeal, peas, and butternut squash. She also has become an awesome roller. She rolls front to back and back to front and across the room if she really wants something. She loves to sit up and is very strong and sturdy while sitting up.

Addy had her first cold this month, that she got from Mommy :(. Stuffy nose and a cough, she hates getting her nose sucked out by what Daddy calls the snot rocket. We first thought that Addy was getting teeth after the cold because she was drooling a lot and waking up at night when she used to sleep through the night and chewing on everything, so we stocked up on oragel to numb her gums. Now, two weeks after her 6th month birthday we found out that it was not teeth at all but that she was fighting an ear infection (but we will tell you all about that in the next month update). Addy moved up to a big bathtub as well this month. It is a giant duck! She loves playing in the water!

Grandpa Dodd came to visit us for a day this month. BBC had an event for Alumni at the 5/3 Ballpark, so we all went to the dinner. The next day we to Detroit to celebrate Grandma Schneider's 50th Birthday. Andrew, Kevin, Kyle, and Grandpa S went to the Eagle vs Lions game while Kate, Addy, Grandma S, and Great Grandma M spent the day playing and making Addy's first finger painting project. Addy loved finger painting! It was a great, quick visit and so fun to celebrate Grandma S and Kyle's birthday

The next weekend the Steve Dodd family had a family reunion in Cresaptown, MD where Dad had his last youth group, actually the church was celebrating it's 75th year and Grandpa Dodd was one of the speakers. It was the first time in almost three years that the whole family was together. Last time there were no grandchildren and one on the way this time there three grandchildren and one on the way. Yes, Steph and Rob dropped the surprise that Steph is expecting in May. The surprises kept coming when Phil, Jenn, Natalie and Reece arrived with Great Grandpa Galloway in the back seat! Addy got to meet here great grandpa. Another surprise was the 60th birthday party we threw for Grandpa a month early. What a good time to recount and remember God's blessings in Grand Dad's life and the many memories made through the years. It was also good to see and catch up with many old friends and faces from Calvary Baptist Church and School. It was especially nice to get to visit with Steve and Misty along with their two children Hannah and Riley. Daddy went to high school with Steve and Misty and had much to catch up on and old memories to share.

Actually, I had my half year birthday while we were on this trip so I'll stop writing for now. It was a very busy month especially my weekends. I'll check back in with all of you just as soon as I turn seven months old.