6 Week smiles

Siblings? I think so, but not as close look-a-likes as we initially thought. Both these videos were taken when Adelaide and Asa were about 6 weeks old.

Asa James

After many fits and starts, Asa James finally graced us with his presence on September 21 at 8 am! For several days leading up to his birth, I was experiencing regular Braxton-Hicks contractions that left my stomach sore by the end of the day but were not consistent.

Finally, on September 21, I awoke at 2:30 in the morning, shaking with adrenaline and experiencing contractions 3 minutes apart. Thirty minutes later we were in the hospital and I was dilated to 8 cm. Everything was moving quickly until I got an epidural, which stalled things out for a couple hours. In the end, this allowed Asa to get ready so when the time came to push him out it took only 20 minutes (Adelaide took 3.5 hrs!). Asa came out beautifully pink, healthy, and protesting loudly (Dave was ashen and asking for orange juice). He was 8 lbs. 10 oz and 20.5 in. Asa did so well in the first 24 hours and I recovered so quickly that we opted for an early discharge so we could get home to Addie. We arrived home on Wednesday evening - much to Adelaide's delight.

Asa was welcomed with open arms by Adelaide. She tells him daily that she is glad he came home and is perhaps overly affectionate. She is definitely going to be a little mama to him as he grows. Asa is proving to be everything I've heard a baby should do (i.e. nurse well, sleep contentedly, and travel well in the car) but never experienced with Adelaide. He has been giving me a 5 hour chunk of sleep a night since we came home, which is more than I was getting the last week of being pregnant!

Grandma Bell was here when Asa was born and we were so thankful to have her help during that time. A. Jamie is now here helping with the transition so Adelaide doesn't feel completely neglected as I get the hang of life with 2 kids.

Life with two kids?!? Here we go...

Birthday celebrations

Look who's 2!

I should be sleeping, but Rad has decided that this is an awake time and all the rolling and moving is preventing sleep. We've got 4 weeks to go so it's time to catch up a bit, starting with Adelaide's 2nd birthday.

Adelaide has taken to the Max and Ruby books by Rosemary Wells. Bunny Cakes is one of Wells' books and in it Ruby bakes a birthday cake. Adelaide latched onto this image and insisted every time that we read the book that it was her birthday cake. Gigi (my mom) did her best to recreate it and Adelaide was thrilled.

We kept Adelaide's birthday celebration low key, which was really nice. Addie had a great time and kept on asking for more presents. With family out of town, presents and cards arrived over several days, which she absolutely loved.

Our 2 year old is 27 lbs (60%; she's filling out!) and 31 in. (30%). She has started to talk to the baby, directing her conversation to my belly, even going so far as to show it different toys or keep the baby updated about what's going on (i.e. a garbage truck passing). Adelaide tells us that when the baby comes out, she is going to rock it and it will sleep and drink milk and no crying. Adelaide may be in for a shock.

Adelaide loves to be outside, run in circles, dance to music and be with friends. She calls all desserts "cookie," and repeats it 3 times almost in a whisper. She calls me, Mom mom and when she gets excited she yells "Yay!" while clapping her hands and jumping up and down. Adelaide loves to read books. Her baby doll has become quite important and goes with her most everywhere. She received a stroller for her baby doll as a birthday gift. As soon as she saw what it was she started frantically calling for her baby doll and once found pushed her around the house for about 20 minutes nonstop.

This is a small snap shot of the energetic, hilarious, sweet, 2 year old who we know as Adelaide Paige Bell.

Rad Micad II is on the way!

After the long drought on our blog, I felt that our news had to be significant. We are expecting Rad Micad II to make his/her debut sometime around September 17! In this ultrasound picture Rad is about to suck his big toe and his fist is up near his eye. We were able to see Rad sticking out his tongue, swallowing, pinching his forefinger and thumb together, and sucking his toe. It was fun to watch. (I am using the masculine singular for ease not because we know the sex.)

We have had a fun summer so far. Adelaide is growing by leaps and bounds. She recently began talking in 2 word sentences and her pronunciation is improving daily. She loves swimming in her pool, going for bike rides and walks and being outside. We took her kayaking for the first time this summer on Father's Day. She wasn't thrilled initially but has talked about going out on her boat ever since.

Her 2nd birthday is a month away. She loves to "count" to two. Reaching the number two is celebrated by pumping both index fingers in the air, which sort of resembles a disco dance. Adelaide keeps us laughing and busy. This pregnancy is flying by, which I attribute largely to Adelaide's presence in our lives. We are blessed by this sweet little girl with a healthy amount of attitude.

Dave has been busy at work. He's been traveling quite a bit but has transitioned into a stronger marketing role, which suites him well. I've continued to enjoy the balance of working 2 days a week and being home with Addie the remainder of the time. Stay tuned for further updates (hopefully with greater frequency for those who still check).

Big Helper

Dave recently took a trip to Rwanda. This picture is taken while he was on a road trip to Uganda. The hills in the background are terraced for growing crops. I'll let him blog in detail about the trip later. My goal while he was away was to night wean Addie. Dave tends to be the softie when she's crying in the middle of the night. I am happy to report that we are on day 4 of her sleeping through the night! WHOOHOO! I was also relieved that it was a relatively painless process with only 1 or 2 rough nights, which were only rough because of frequent wake-ups and not long stretches of crying. I think Adelaide was as ready as I was to have her sleep through the night.
On occasion, Adelaide has taken a paper towel or tissue and begun to clean the floor (much to my amusement). Of course, this behavior is encouraged. To further her love of cleaning, one day I made a sink full of beautiful, warm bubbles and invited her to do the dishes with me. The idea worked well for about 15 minutes. In the end, she was in tears as she was soaked with now cold water as I rushed to rinse dishes before I abandoned the sink to tend to her. It was fun while it lasted.
No longer is riding in the shopping cart enough fun. Helping is the way to go. She was happy as a lark pushing that shopping cart with me. That is until she saw 2 boys riding in the plastic car attached to the shopping cart.

Aunt Jamie came and stayed with us for about a month. She was a huge help and I was so thankful for her presence when Dave was away. A. Jamie learned how to play the guitar over the summer. Adelaide LOVED the guitar. I am pretty sure she now calls A. Jamie guitar. Anyway, Addie loves music and has started to dance, which is hilarious! Enjoy.

Happy Halloween

Memphis layover

Conversation with Addie

Outdoor fun with Dad

Bonus Picture:

Dave's first attempt at pig tails.