Home Sweet Home!

As most of you may already know, Chad is home! We are all so excited to have him home and he is just as excited to be back. Addison was so excited to see her Daddy and we couldnt wait to show him all the new things she had learned while he was away. He was so surprised at how well she is walking already. She still crawls, but for the most part she is up on her feet and walking! She went from taking about 4 or 5 baby steps, to completely walking across the house. She is such a fast learner, and we are both so proud of her.

Chad actually had to work all day today and he wont get home until sometime tomorrow Morning. However once he returns Sunday morning he will have off the rest of the day and Monday! So we are excited to get to spend a few days with him before he returns to work for the week. Im not quite sure what we are going to do just yet, but Im sure we will find something. We are just so glad to have him home and he should be home for the next 6 months or so. He loves spending time with Addison every chance he gets. He called me tonight from work after I put Addison down for bed. He commented on how he hopes he gets home early enough in the morning to be there when Addison wakes up. We have a little ritual that we do every single morning. After Addison gets up, I (or now should I say we) pick her up and bring her into our room and have "cuddle time" every morning before we start the day. Sometimes she will fall back asleep, and other times she just lays there and will love on us. It allows us (and by us I mostly mean me) to wake up before we start the day. Its one of my favorite times of the day with Addison (and there are days where bedtime is a very close 2nd!) and I know Chad missed that. But he is back so we can now get back to being Our Family. It has been a loong 3 months and we are all glad it is over. Although I must say that it really brought Chad and I closer together. I think we both realized that we often take each other and the time spent with each other for granted. It allowed us to grow as a couple and also as a family. It was our first seperation and we made it out alive like I knew we would. But I love him more because of it. Life is Great!

With Every Step she takes...

Addison is officially walking! Okay, its not very well and pretty wobbley at times, but it is walking none the less. She can pull herself up and take a good 4-5 steps on her own. Her face is absolutely priceless, she thinks she is such a Big Girl now. As excited as I am that Addison has reached a new milestone, I cant help but realize that she is growing up too quickly. I also wasnt prepared for her to begin walking any time soon. Most babies usually dont begin to take their first steps until closer to a year, but not Addison. She decided to take her first steps a few days shy of turning 10 Months. Before I know it she will be running all over the place, guess I better pull my running shoes out of the closet! I will soon be needing them to chase after her!

On Another good note, Chad should be returning home sometime late this week! Addison and I have been anticipating his arrival for what seems like forever. Over the past 3 Month period, I have calculated that I have only seen Chad for 11 days total. Once he returns he will be home for atleast 6 Months. These past few months have been hard on us all. Addison and I both miss Chad tremendously. I know it has been even harder for Chad to be the one who is away. I cant even imagine how hard it must be for him to leave Addison. He commented to me last time he was home saying how much Addison had changed in the past month. He said she had grown so much during his time away. I know he will be excited to see Addison take some of her first steps. We cant wait to have him home with us so we can get back to our somewhat normal family routine. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers for a safe trip home. We will keep everyone informed when he arrives! We Cant Wait! :)

"Addy"-tude!

"Addy"-tude will be my section designated to our one and only Addison. Please excuse my dry humor, but I think it is pretty funny :) Here I will fill you in on our growing daughter and new things that are going on with her.

Friday morning Addison woke up with a low temperature. She has Never been sick before, but like any Mom I took every precaution to make sure that she was okay. Addison got her first tooth about 2 weeks ago and her second one is now coming in....therefore giving her a nice little cold. She was a trooper, but it certainly made for a cranky few days. After taking Addison to the Doctors office to get her checked out, she immediately came home and passed out. I put her on our bed since I decided I was going to lay down with her as it had been an early morning for us. I stepped away for a quick moment and when I returned this is what I found....

Yes! That is right, that is our dog Maddie *Cuddling* with Addison! You may be thinking "So What?" Well, anyone who knows Maddie Knows that she will not go within a 10 foot radius of Addison. Maddie avoids Addison at any and all costs. If I put Addison on the couch, Maddie jumps down, if she starts crawling to her, Maddie runs. Maddie has never been too keen on our latest addition, so you can imagine my surprise when I walked in and found her laying with her head on her. I Knew it was going to be a once in a lifetime opportunity so I ran to get my Camera. Chad would have never believed me otherwise. It lasted only a few short minutes and then it changed to this...

Yes, this is Cooper. Our lovable little snuggle boy. Cooper and Maddie are complete opposites in every aspect. Cooper loves Addison. Often times you will notice Cooper in the background of every picture of Addison I take. Somewhere there is a tail, nose or paw hiding in there. He cant get enough of her! Lucky for us, he tolerates the ear and tail pulling. In his spare time he is often found licking her face or hands. Maybe because it seems she always has food on them. None the less, it is gross and I am trying to break him of that habit.

On a Good note, Addison is feeling much better today! Her tooth has finally broken through the gum so she now has 2 teeth! Okay they really only combine to about a 1/4 of a tooth, but it is still exciting. I cant wait for Chad to come home and see how big his little girl has gotten. Addison will be so happy to see him. We Cant Wait to Have him Home! :)

My First Blog!

Most of you should know me, but let me give you a bit of an introduction. My name is Ali, I am 22 and I currently live in Georgia. I have the best job in the world as a Stay at Home Mom. I have been happily married to my wonderul husband Chad, also 22, for almost 3 years now. He is my Rock and my Best Friend. He knows how to make me laugh when I need it the most.He is in the Navy, so at times you may realize he will be gone due to his work schedule.

In July 07' we welcomed the greatest blessing God could have given us, and that is our daughter Addison. She is a beautiful, loving, free spirited, goofy, vivacious little girl. Most would agree that she has a smile that is contagious. Who knew something so small could have such a dramatic impact on your life. I never knew uncondtional love until I met her.She is my life and my reason for living.

So now that brings me to my blog. I will admit I am not much of a "blogger" or as a matter of fact even internet savvy. I honestly didnt even know what a blog was until very recently. Why am I doing it you ask? The reason for my blog is so that friends and family both near and far are able to know what is going on in our Family on a weekly basis. Although we are only a few hours from home, I still find it hard to inform everyone on what is going on with Chad, Myself and Addison. It seems as though Addison is learning something new everyday and I am just now realizing how fast she has grown. Since Chad has been gone I often find myself writing to him about every little milestone Addison has reached. From standing and feeding herself, to new foods she is trying. I figured that by starting a Blog, I can share all of that with our friends and family as well. We want to remain connected with each and everyone of you and allow you to be a part of our family in your own way. I regret not doing it earlier. I hope to share with you our journey together, show the love I have for my family, our ups and downs, our good days, and our bad days. At times you might even find a bit of humor. However I will go ahead and inform you I am not the best writer. My writing chops are a bit rusty so please be patient with me.

I thank you all for visiting our Family Blog and I hope that each and everyone of you will be back to watch us grow and allow us to share our journey with you...