Dada

So, this morning Jordan was downstairs holding Addison. I came down from getting ready and noticed that I was running way late and that Jordan would need to take Addison to my mom's since he has less of a drive to work. So I asked if her could take her and he kind of ignored me and we were both just looking at Addison. She was being so good and just standing in Jordan's lap when all of a sudden she looks up and says...

"Dada".

Jordan and I locked eyes and stared at each other in with shocked grins on our faces. Finally Jordan asked, "Did she just say Dada!?!" I told him that she sure did, clear as day. Then he asked if I thought she knew what she was saying. I told him that as much as I would like to believe that she did, I really don't think she's old enough to know what it meant.

So who ended up taking her to my mom's?

That's right, her Daddy!! She sure knew how to get him to do what she wanted!! He is SO wrapped around her little finger!!

I'm sure that every single person that has crossed paths with my husband today knows that his little girl said "Dada" this morning as her first word. So cute!!

Now I'll have to really work with her to say MAMA!!

Prayers and Praises!

This post has been a long time in the making. I have been meaning to get in published, and have had the hardest time finishing it. Here are some things that have been weighing heavy on my heart and that really need prayers right now.


*Jordan's dad, Jeff, was laid off from job he'd been at for 12+ years back in March and has been trying to get another one ever since. Last month he started a new job and is very thankful to have one, but I know he'd like something different, so I've been praying for the right thing to come along for him. He is so deserving and is such a hard worker.


*Jordan's mom, Gena, has been going through a lot of stress for quite some time. She has had knee trouble all summer, has had surgery on it once already, and is now going back to the doctor to see about a full knee replacement. On top of all this, her parents (Jordan's grandparents) who have been in declining health, moving in with Jeff and Gena at the end of the summer. They require lots of constant care and it's hard for Gena to care for them with her knee. Also with the move, Jeff and Gena had to move to their upstairs bedroom so you can imagine the effort it takes Gena to go up and down the steps all day long. Pray for both Gena and her parents health.


*Jordan's uncle, Greg, has cancer and is in the hospital for the umpteenth time since this spring when he was diagnosed. His cancer started in his lungs and now has spread to his bones, brain, everywhere. It's so sad to see him go through this. He's going through chemo and radiation, but he has kept a really positive attitude during it all. Jordan's cousin just died this summer from breast cancer (She was only 40 and left behind two children, who are 6 and 8) so his grandparents are having a really hard time with this. Can you imagine losing your granddaughter, then seeing your son go through such a hard, seemingly hopeless ordeal with cancer? They really need to be lifted up right now.


*Jordan's sister, Lori, is pregnant right now and due on Dec. 3rd. This is her second pregnancy and it has been bad from the get-go. She had morning sickness all during first first trimester, making her feel pretty crappy. Then after about two weeks into her second trimester she developed kidney stones. They would get slightly better, then worse. It was determined that the stones were too big to pass on one side, but they couldn't do the surgery to go in and break up the stones since she was pregnant. So after several other surgeries, hospital stays, a nicked nerve (talk about super painful!!), bacterial infections, heavy contractions and tons of pain meds, the doctors have decided that they will induce her next Thursday (Nov 5th) at 36 weeks. This is great news for Lori that they aren't going to wait until later in her pregnancy to induce, but that means the baby will be pretty small. I don't know if they are going to give her anything to boost the lung development. Then they still will have to wait two weeks to do the surgery to break up the kidney stones. The pain won't end with the birth of the baby. So please pray for Lori to stay as healthy and comfortable as possible until next week. Pray for her delivery to go smoothly and that she will NOT have to have a C-Section. Pray that the baby is healthy. Also pray for her husband, Brent. He has done so great with taking care of her through all of this, but is ready to have Lori back to her healthy self.


*Jordan's oldest sister, Dena, is going through a rough time with her new husband right now. I don't want to go into details, but she needs your prayers, as well as prayers for her three kids.

*My sister, Kyla, is going through a divorce right now (Need I say anymore??). She has low points that come with the realizations of just how different her life is and how much change she is going through. It's really a good thing for her to be free of him, but it's still really tough at times. Just pray for her to be strong and to not lose her faith as she deals with life's challenges. Also pray for my family as we support her through this process.

* Pray for all of my pregnant friends out there. Ashlea (BOY) due March 7th, Chasity (BOY) due March 28th, Kathy due in April (12th, I think), Keli due May 27th, and Holly due May 29th. Pregnancy is difficult, physically and emotionally and I'm praying for the good health of all of these girls and their precious little ones.


*Pray for Jonah and Patrice and Matt. You should really read her blog if you don't already. She is so funny and such an inspiration. Jonah is her little 8 month old son, who has a genetic disease called EB (don't know how to spell the whole name out, but it is almost always refered to as EB). They are making the most out of their situation and loving their little boy and God.


*Praise God that so far this flu season Addison is a healthy little girl with no signs of getting sick. (**and thankfully her Mommy and Daddy aren't sick yet either!**)


*Praise God for good friends and family!!



*I have a lot of other things on my heart, but I would rather keep them between me and God. Nothing too big, but I always have things that I need to pray over. Who doesn't??

October 28, 2007

Today is the anniversary of my Grandpa's death two years ago. He died after a long battle with cancer, one that he fought so bravely. And he didn't let go until after he defied the Doctor's death predictions many times over, living a good two years after the first time he was supposed to have died from his cancer. I know that he is in a much better place a PERFECT place, but I still miss him so much. He was such a wonderful, Godly man and was an example of a great husband, Dad, Grandpa, and Great Paw-Paw.

I remember his funeral as a happy and celebratory time knowing he was now home in heaven with no more suffering, but also with lots of sad emotions knowing that he would no longer be there smiling at us. There were tons of tears as we reflected on times spent with him, but also lots of laughter. He was just the best Grandpa and knew just how to make you smile. He loved each and every one of his 5 kids, 11 grandkids, and 14 (at the time, now 17) great-grandkids. His funeral also brought our entire family together. I'm so thankful for being brought up in a Christian family. Although we were all so saddened by his death, we were all able to rejoice in the fact that Grandpa was with the Lord. He died on a Sunday morning and my sister made the comment that he made in home just in time for worship, and what a time of worship that must have been.

I will never forget all of the hundreds of people who crowded into the funeral home to pay their respects to this wonderful man and his huge family. I'm so thankful for all of the support and love we were shown during that time of mourning rejoicing.

And last year on my Grandpa's birthday, September 21st, I discovered that God was adding to the McDaniel clan, when my pregnancy test came out positive. I so wish that Grandpa had been around to meet my beautiful little blessing. He would have loved her big cheeks and cute little smile! And she would have loved staring at his loving blue eyes and great big smile!

I'm just thankful that I was able to spend 21 years in my Grandpa's love and it makes me realize that my Father's love is just that much more perfect!

Thank you, God for giving me such a loving, godly man to be my Grandpa and allowing his love to be a small sample of the tremendous love that you have for me all the time. Thank you for giving me a beautiful baby girl and help me to remember to pass on her Great Paw-Paw's love everyday, and to tell her about her Father's perfect love! In Jesus' name, Amen.

Show and Tell

So I'm finally going to get pictures of Addison's Room on my blog! YAY! Here they are:

This is the view when you first come in. I'm standing in the doorway facing diagonally to the right. My mom made the curtains, the cute display board, all the bedding and recovered the rocker, which was given to us by my friend Ashlea. I think my mom did such a great job on making all of this! I love it! The wall letters were made for me by my friend Jessica's sister. I wanted to pay her for them, but she wouldn't let me. She hand painted them with some of the designs from Addison's main fabric (Carnival Bloom Brown by Michael Miller). The crib was a Craig's List find. We paid $160 for the crib (which looked brand new!!), crib mattress, mattress pad and two yellow sheets. I already had the little night stand from my old room.Here's a close up of the wall letters. I hate that the flash left such a glare in this picture. Notice the beautiful hand made quilt that my mom suprised me with at one of my baby showers. I knew she was making all the other bedding (since I picked it out and told her exactly what I wanted) but I wasn't expecting the cute little crib quilt.

Also notice the mint green crouchet blanket that my Aunt Sandie made just for little Addison. She used the softest thread and it's one of my favorite blankets. Mom also made a white crouchet blanket, but she uses it st her house for Addison's naps.

Inside the crib is a third crouchet blanket that has an angel in the design that a sweet little lady, Mildred, from my parent's church made for us. Addison sleeps under every night. Before you freak out and turn me over to social services for letting my baby sleep in her crib with a blanket, let me explain. Addison is wrapped tightly in a swaddle blanket every night. Her hands are secured in place and she cannot roll over with the swaddle blanket on. So every night I put her to sleep on her back, wrapped in her swaddle blanket and lay the angel blanket over her. Her room tends to stay cooler than the rest of the upstairs and I hate to think that she is laying there getting cold every night.

This is the other side of Addison's room (I'm kind of standing in closet for this picture. I forgot to get a picture of her closet and I actually have it all clean and organized right now, so maybe I'll update with one). This dresser was also mine from my old room. It is stuffed to the brim with all of her clothes, blankets, towels and sheets. The pink hamper was a gift from my friend Jessica and the diaper keeper was from Jordan's mom. I'm still working on my organization for the changing table. I just can't seem to find enough room to put everything I need up there. I've got some other stuff, such as a picture shelf and mirror, that hasn't made it up on the wall yet. Soon, I'll get it all done soon. (soon is a relative term, right?? :)

The fuzzy blanket over the top of the chair is from Addison's Aunt Lori. It's embroidered with Addison's name in teal curly writting. So Cute! I love it!! You can also see Addison's collection of bows. It's quite funny to think of all the bows that we have for her and she doesn't even have hair yet! Ah, the prissiness of having a girl!! Love it!!

This is Addison's first piggy bank. We thought it fitting that the daughter of two bankers should have a nice piggy bank. Too bad there's nothing in it right now (Don't worry! She already has her own savings account at the credit union). The little ceramic flower was hand-made by her Aunt Kyla. It's so cute and perfect for setting her bottle in while burping her. We're waiting on her second piggy bank to be made by Kyla...Anytime now... haha, just kidding!! ;) The adorable picture frame, which says "Grandma and Me" is from Addison's Nana. We have another one on the changing table/dresser that says "Grandpa's girl". Both of them have pictures of just Addison. I really need to get some cute pics with the grandparents.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! Happy trick-or-treating!

Things NOT to do/say to a 5 month old baby and/or her mommy:

**Disclaimer: All of these scenarios have happened to us. Some I can laugh at, some just annoy me and others are unacceptable. Most of the time I don't say anything because I don't want to cause a scene or because I'm too shocked that someone would have the nerve to do whatever it is that they just did. But if it's harming my baby, than I have said and will say something about it. I hope nothing offends anyone. I love that you love my baby, but I am her Mommy and I reserve the right to raise her as I see fit and to shelter her if I wish. This post was just meant to record some of my not-so-pleasant mommy experiences, not lecture any one (and I think all of these apply to strangers or people I barely know, so it most likely doesn't apply to you).**


10. If you are a complete stranger, please don't offer to hold my baby for me while I eat. It's not going to happen. I don't care if you are Michelle Duggar and have 18 (19) kids of your own, if I don't know you, I'm not going to let you hold her.

9. If you don't know me, please do not call my baby fat. It's rude. Yes, she has big round cheeks and rolls all over her body and is in the 90th percentile for her weight. But she is a baby and is perfectly healthy. There are plenty of acceptable terms to use besides "fat". Chubby, chunky, rolley-polley, fluffy, big, round, healthy. I know this seems stupid, but you wouldn't go up to a complete stranger and call them fat (I hope you wouldn't anyway...) so if you are a stranger to me, don't call my baby fat.


8. Do not argue with me over whether or not my child's car seat will fit in the highchair at any given restaurant. It won't fit. I've tried them at almost every restaurant and it's just bigger than most car seats. It. Will. Not. Fit.

7. Do not use a personal pronoun, such as he or she, his or her, unless you know the sex of my baby. Really, you can't tell that she's a girl from all of the pink she has on and the HUGE bow on the top of her head.

6. Don't judge me for warming my pumped, bagged breast milk under the water in the bathroom of a restaurant. If my child is hungry, I'm going to feed her and at least I'm not pulling my boob out to do so (NOT that there is ANYTHING wrong with that if done discretely.)

5. Don't let your 2 year old come up to my baby and touch her hands and face, especially after they have just coughed all over the place.

4. Don't stare at my boobs when asking about whether she is breastfed or not. Yes, she is and yes, they are big. Get over it. Also don't check me out while I'm holding my baby. I'm NOT interested and you are a perv!!


3. Don't watch and do nothing while your 2 year old hits my baby in the head with his toy truck. When she is older and can fend for herself, not a big deal, but right now, not cool!

2. Don't get up in my baby's face and breathe all over her unless you are (1) not sick and (2) her mommy, daddy, grandparent, aunt/uncle, or close friend. And especially don't if you have just finished a cigarette. That's gross and no one appreciates that. Brush your teeth!

1. Do not under any circumstances dip your finger in something (like cake icing) and stick it in my child's mouth! I don't appreciate my child getting a mouth full of pure sugar or a mouth full of whatever germs are on your finger. Also, she could have a family history of food allergies that you don't know about and can't have any of the chosen food that you just gave her. If I wanted her to eat whatever you want to give her, I would have already fed it to her. I don't care how old your baby was when you started giving him or her table food, I have chosen to not start that yet and you should respect that. If you want to feed my baby, ask me what she can have and if you could give it to her. I have the right to determine what goes in her mouth and when. No, I'm not a control freak, but some things are just not appropriate.

Now some things that I'd love for you to do/say:


1. Dote over my baby all you want. I will never be sick of anyone telling me how cute, adorable, darling, beautiful, sweet, etc., etc. my baby is. I share your opinion.

2. Share your baby stories with me. I like to see how all babies are different and develop certain milestones at different stages. But, do NOT turn it into a competition. If your baby came out of the womb walking, then good for him. That just means you had less time to soak up the joys of having a baby that stays where you put her. :) And whether your baby was super quick, super slow or just in the middle for reaching those milestones, it reflects nothing on your performance as a mother (just so you know...). (Apparently I had one more thing for my what NOT to do list and I didn't even know it.)

3. Offer to babysit all you want. I may or may not take you up on the offer (not based on you, but based on my need to be around my child every moment I am not at work), but it's nice to hear that you want to spend time with my baby.

4. Shop for baby clothes to your hearts content! I will never turn down cute little baby clothes (or passed down hand-me-downs) .

5. Love my child. I will always welcome people who love my baby! I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who loves my child! I LOVE that you love my baby, I just ask that you respect what is best for her.

Guess what we tried last night??

That's right, people, I got to try some rice cereal!! I have been trying to eat everything that I can get my hands on (including my hands, haha) and I have finally convinced Mommy that I need big people food. I've been trying to show her by chewing and smacking and mimicking her as I watch her and Daddy eat. This is me as Mommy was stirring it up. Daddy told Mommy that she didn't stir the cereal up right and that it was too thin, but Mommy told Daddy he was wrong and that she knew what she was doing and then she stuffed the camera in his hands and told him to just take some pictures!(BTW, I really like my highchair! I've been in it a lot as Mommy's making dinner, but never to actually eat supper in!!)
Here is the big moment, my very first bite. I really thought this stuff would be good. I was mistaken...

Mom, this can't be the same stuff I watch you and Daddy eat. This is not very yummy.
I'll give it another try.
Okay, why do you keep shoving it my face, Mom?? I think now I'm just going to blow bubbles in it instead of eating it. I'd just spit it out anyway!! I can tell I'll make this a lot of fun for Mommy when we start more interesting, bright-colored foods!!

So now that we're done, I'm going to go back to eating my bib. It's more tasty than the cardboardy stuff that Mommy keeps calling "cereal"! Mommy says that she is going to be very "persistent" with this cereal stuff. I'm not sure what that word means but I think it's bad.
Here is my new outfit that Daddy dressed me yesterday. It says "pretty like Mommy" and no, Mommy didn't buy it for me. GranDee did. I have tons of shirts and onesies that tell you I'm Daddy's girl, but not many that say anything about Mommy. I don't know what the big deal is... I love them both, duh...
I also really like the dogs! That's what I was so intrigued by in this picture. Mommy couldn't get me to look at her with the camera, much less smile at her. What can I say, it was getting close to bedtime and I was just not in a smiley mood. I had just found out that I've been tricked about big people food and I was not happy about that.
Why??? Why did I believe everyone when they told me how yummy things were and that I'd get to try them soon. That stuff I ate tonight: NOT yummy! Mommy says to hold my horses and that I'll get to the yummier things later. We'll see.
I guess since she gives me tons and tons and TONS of hugs and kisses, I'll be okay.

Halloween Preview...

This is one of the many little Halloween outfits that Addison has. This is my favorite, because it says "I Heart my Mummy"! :) We had to try it on last week and look who loved it... Who's the most adorable little girl eva??? ME???
See my foot? I think it's pretty awesome! Now, if I could just figure out how to get this sock off...

I really am just that cute!

Now who can guess what this little cutie will be for Halloween??

Addison is 5 months old!!

Wow! I cannot believe that my sweet baby girl is FIVE MONTHS OLD!! Where has the time gone??
We didn't go for a well baby visit this month so I don't have exact weight/height/percentile info. I have been meaning to weigh her all weekend and every time I think about it, she is sleeping, so when I weigh her, I'll update.

5 Month stats:

*So with month five comes one major milestone: Rolling over. I was not the first to see her achieve this milestone. Jordan and my mom saw here first, but I have now seen her do it all the time. Every time I lay her on her belly (unless she is very tired) she just flips right over. so. cute. She is just so proud of herself! I haven't seen her go from her back to her belly, but mom said she saw it. It must be a bit more challenging.

*This girl loves to squeal! And I mean really high-pitch. She knows she's doing it and she just loves it(as do I)!She's been jibber-jabbering for a while and now there are constant little squeals thrown in. a squeal coo, a squeal sigh, a squeal grunt. It's the most adorable little thing. :)

*I think I mentioned this in her 4 month post, but Addison loves to stand up. She likes to bounce and never wants to sit.

*If I can manage to get her sit without demanding to stand, she is almost to the point of sitting unassisted. She is strong enough, but lacks the balance.

*Addison is wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes and is still in a size 2 diaper.

*She has started taking a big interest in her feet. She thinks it is great fun to pull off her socks and hold on to her feet. This makes diaper changing a bit more challenging, but she is so sweet and just grins while she's doing it.

* She is still sleeping through the night and taking great naps during the day.

* I'm almost positive this child is teething. She chews on EVERYTHING she can get in her mouth and is constantly drooling. I got a little mesh food holder thing and put an ice cube in it for her to gnaw on and she really liked it.

I love that little girl so much and absolutely love being her mommy! It is the best thing that has ever happened in my life!

Thank you, God, for allowing me to have this precious child and for loving and blessing us the way that you have. Thank you for taking care of her and letting her thrive here in my care. In Jesus' name, Amen!

a little trip back in time...

So I finally uploaded some pictures from my baby shower back in April and these were just too cute not to put on here. Love it!! In front of the food table. There was so much yummy stuff!!

Mom, Kyla, me and Baby Girl Cline (AKA Addison, haha). Almost 3 generations... I love this picture of us. We all cordinate so well with our pinks and greens!

I am 34 weeks pregnant and LeeAnn is 33 weeks pregnant. I think it is so funny to see how differently we carried the babies.

Here's a close up of Salem and Addison. I love it!!

Me in Addison's room. I'll get some better pictures of it on here once I get some stuff on the walls. It's horrible that it still isn't "finished"!!

This is Me, LeeAnn and our great friend Bonnie. Bonnie and her husband Bobby are the leaders of our Innerchange group (young adult bible study) that used to meet. At one point they were only couple that was not expecting a child. So there were four of us pregnant at one time! Charlin had baby John on Feb 27 (I think), Jessica had baby Tyler on April 12th, I had Addison on May 17th and LeeAnn had Salem on June 8th. Bonnie is such a loving, wonderful roll model! I love you, girl!!

Bonnie, LeeAnn, and me.This was at LeeAnn's baby shower around the beginning of April. I'm going to say that I was about 32 weeks and LeeAnn was 31 weeks?? I'm not exactly sure. There's a big difference between this picture and the one before, right?

These are some great prints that Kyla made of the ultrasound pictures. I still need to get the framed. I love them!

This is one of the last pictures I have of my pregnant belly. This was the day after I turned 36 weeks; 2 weeks before Baby Girl Cline arrived. I got my hair cute right after this and now I wish I hadn't. So ture that pregnant women cannot pull off short hair as well. My face got so round!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Just want to give a shout out to my wonderful mother! Today is her birthday and I want her to know how much she means to me!
Mom, Thank you so much for always being there for me. Whether I need to ask for advice, complain about life's unfairness, vent about something that's bothering me, or gush about exciting news, you always have a listening ear! Thank you for being such a good GranDee to Addison. She is going to love having you keep her as she gets older. I know that you two already have a strong bond establish and that it will only grow as she does! You have such a giving spirit and I hope that one day I can be as sacrificing with my time and belongings as you are. I love you and hope that you have a wonderful birthday!!

Dixie Classic Fair

Last night Jordan, Addison and I went to the Dixie Classic Fair with LeeAnn and Salem. We all had such a great time!

We started out a bit grumpy. Neither had napped well during the day so we were a bit nervous about how they would do...

...but they both chilled out in the stroller. I love how they leaned in towards each other. So cute!

So Happy!

The girls did so good! we broke out the double stroller (Gena bought to use with Addison and her little cousin who will be arriving in Nov/Dec) and everyone who saw us got excited, thinking that there were twins in the stroller, then confused when they looked at the babies and saw that they look nothing alike. So funny!

Mommy/Daughter pics!
We also used our carriers and both the girls liked to look out and see everything. Addison just loves to kick her little feet and take everything in.

We sat in for a little bit of the "Need to Breathe" concert for a feeding/diaper change break.

We also saw the humongous pumpkins! That one is 1270 something pounds!! (Don't know why Jordan cut my head out of the picture, but whatever... :))

I love the fair and all of it's yummy-ness!! We ate a chicken gyro, a whole bag of kettle corn (my favorite!!) and a funnel cake. I really wanted to get some of the huge fried onion rings, but Jordan had the cash and wouldn't let me get any (I'm secretly thankful for that, but don't tell him that! I did NOT need those calories and all that grease!). I didn't get to try any of the FRIED BUTTER I kept hearing people talk about. That's right. FRIED. BUTTER. It's sweet and supposed to be really good. I'm sure it was good, but I'll let someone else clog up their arteries. I'll pass.

Beach Trip: take 2

I know, I've been leaving you hanging on our beach trip. It's been a week since I've posted anything and I need to get this written, because otherwise I'll forget it all.

So on Thursday of our trip we went to the Greek Orthodox Church to be converted.

Just kidding! We did go to the Greek Orthodox church to be a part of their Greek Festival. Who doesn't love a great Greek festival? I tend to go to one at least once a year with my mom and sister and Jordan. I've never been to the same one twice. (1st time was at the International Festival at UNCC, 2nd time was in Charlotte, 3rd in Winston-Salem, and 4th at Myrtle Beach) My main purpose in going is to eat all of the yummy food. I love it all!! I love the (WARNING: major misspelling of words about to happen!!) Souvlaki, Chicken Gyros, Spanikopita, Baklava, Grape roll things, and the Tsatsiki sauce. I pretty much like everything Greek! So we walked around with content little Addison riding in the stroller. Mom and Kyla were looking around at all the vendors. It was lots of fun and sooo yummy!!

Next we went and played putt putt, which is my all time favorite beach activity! I LOVE putt putt. I don't know why I like it so much, but I do. I could have gone to play everyday, but I suppressed the urge and we only played once. Addison did really well until we were nearly done playing and she was ready for a nap. But we just took turns holding her and she was okay.

Cute Addie/Daddy picture during putt putt!

This is not the best picture, but it shows Addison's skiing pose! This is what she does when she wants to stand but gets tired. She just squats down and leans forward. She refuses to sit...

Here's my sweetie with her Aunt Kyla. I am so glad that they (mom and Kyla) were able to come down with us.

When we got back to the hotel, Jordan, Kyla and I went out to the beach for a little bit while my mom stayed in the room with my napping Addison. We played with the nerf football and in the waves until we saw sting rays, then went to the pool/hot tub. As we were leaving to come back in, Mom came walking out with Addison in her little swimsuit. So we took some pictures on the beach:

Then we went to the indoor pool and let Addison go swimming for the first time. We bought her this little baby float and it was the best $4 we spent!! She loved the water. She would smile and coo and splash! So CUTE!

That night Jordan and I went out to eat while mom and Kyla kept my sweet baby girl. (By the way, she did so good with all of her naps and bedtimes, even with us being loud and noisy in such a small place. She really is the best baby ever!!) I don't remember the name of the place we ate but it was really nice and really good. It had very unique dishes. Then we walked around at Broadway at the Beach and ate pumpkin cheesecake ice cream from Ben & Jerry's. That was good!! I was ready to get back to Addison (even though she was Sleeping) the whole time I was gone.

Friday was a laid back day. Kyla and mom left around lunch time and Jordan and I went to the outlets one last time and then went swimming with Addison again. That evening we ate at the restaurant on the pier by our hotel. Addison had been really fussy until we got her in her stroller. We walked over (in the light rain) and ate while listening to live music. Addison just stared up at the lights and got really still until she finally zonked out for the night. We weren't going to go anywhere to eat since she was being fussy. I hate to think that we were going to try to plan based on her temperament. I like to think that we can still do most things and be spontaneous, even with a baby. So it made me happy to see what a little angel she was in the restaurant.

Saturday we hit up a few consignment stores and Baby boutiques. While eating lunch we made the decision to go ahead and pack up and come home. We really weren't sure how long we'd stay since we had the room until Sunday, but I really wanted to have that day home to do laundry and get settled back in. So got everything packed up in 45 minutes and left. We made dinner plans with our friends Chuck and LeeAnn so we came straight to their house and ate. We ending up staying over night there, even though we were a mere 20 minutes from home, but it was raining and late and Addison was sound asleep in Salem's crib, so it was well worth it.

So we ended up have a blast. Jordan and I agreed that the end of September was a perfect time to go to the beach and I think we may even turn it into a tradition.