70 DEGREES IN DECEMBER

Holy moly it's 70 degrees...IN DECEMBER!?! Christmas is 19 days away & today we strolled our neighborhood in 1 layer of clothing...bizarre! Don't get me wrong, I love being able to take Addison on walks but it just feels weird. We have a little playground in our subdivision & instead of just taking the usual stroll we stopped for a while to swing on the swings. She LOVED it! She loved it so much she fell asleep, lol. Have I mentioned how much I love being at home with her?

HOUSE UPDATES

Things are really starting to come together around the house. 

Our new living room couch & chair arrived Thursday.  The ottoman is scheduled to ship today so hopefully we will have it before the 17th. 

Pottery Barn Slip Grand Rolled Arm Slip Covered Couch in Stone (creamy grey)

Pottery Barn rolled arm slip covered chair also in stone

 The slip covers are still super wrinkly from washing them, I probably should take them off & iron them so it doesn't look so sloppy.  

I ordered 3 24x24 pillow forms & am having covers made for them from an ETSY shop.

thislittlehome

I figured it was a "safe" way to incorporate chevron without commitment & a big expense. If the fabric looks identical to the pictures they will fit beautifully with the room. We have 2 robins egg blue side lamps with off white linen shades, one of the throws is cream with robins egg blue & the rug is tufted large scale cream flowers over robins egg blue.

I also ordered a couple 20x20 cream cable knit throw pillows for the couch.

I made the art on the wall behind the couch when we first built the house.  Above the chair we have a long cream shelf with pictures. We still have more to do but are waiting until the Christmas decorations come down.  So this is all for the living room for now until it's complete :)
The walls are freshly painted in the master bedroom & our duvet & shams arrived Friday.

Here is a sneak peak:

Obviously not what I had originally "dreamed up" in my previous post about this room but all the colors are still in line. 

As the room comes together I will be posting more pictures.

3 MONTHS

Newborn no more!?! I blinked & this teeny tiny little person is developing before my eyes! 

She has such a BIG personality!   She is extremely strong willed! I can't get enough of her gummy little smile & squeals of excitement. She has the most mischievous grin & a pouty face that would melt even the coldest person's heart. Those baby blues get brighter & brighter everyday, I can already tell they are going to get her into trouble someday. Don't get me started on her cheeks, oh how I love kissing those chubby little things. She coo's & ah's non-stop, it is the sweetest sound.  Those little legs go at the speed of lightening & are so strong. She is curious as can be & looks around wide eyed in wonderment.   I love to watch when something catches her eye as she purses her lips & tilts her head to the side memorizing it.  She reaches & grasps when things are placed in front of her & shows signs of excitement & accomplishment when she is able to grab it.  She is as drooly as ever & blows bubbles constantly.  She's recently learned to imitate the raspberry sound & she is fascinated by her tongue...it's adorable to watch. What a cuddle bug!  I didn't think it was possible for her to be anymore cuddly but the older she gets the tighter she hangs on, stroking your arm or back in such a sweet way. Her love for music continues & I really feel in my gut that she is going to be musical. I know God has big plans for this little one.  My sweet baby girl has outgrown her newborn clothes & has transitioned into 0-3 months...she really isn't a newborn anymore!  Everyday when I feel like my heart has been stretched to maximum capacity & there is no possible way to love her anymore than I already do...she proves me wrong & I experience a new kind of love. I am completely amazed by her...she is magical.

CRAZY COUPON LADY

A couple of days ago Philip says "I want you to become one of those crazy coupon ladies".  In amusement I listened to his "master coupon plan".  He says "we need to make some sort of organizing system & break it up by categories." Hahaha I love my husband. I am not sure what makes organizing coupons "crazy". I think he secretly wants to be an extreme couponer & that is what he means.

If this is all it takes to make him happy...I think I am pretty safe. 

We were supposed to have a lunch date with Donna & Malcom today but Donna wasn't feeling well so they had to cancel. Instead we made our weekly Target run & Addison's favorite cashier checked us out.  You know you spend way to much time (and money) at Target when the cashier knows you & your daughter's name. I bought a few things to help entice Addison with tummy time & stuff to make my coupon book :) It was actually a pretty lazy day. 

A little Macbook iPhoto fun

She seemed to like her new toy & she lasted about 15 minutes. Baby steps...baby steps

TUMMY TIME=FUSSY TIME

Addison has recently started HATING tummy time!  She used to LOVE it. With urging from our pediatrician we started it very early on & she had been doing great at it. By 4 weeks she was able to completely lift her head up & turn it from side to side while propped up on her boppy.  The stronger she got we transitioned her to her Infantino tummy time mat which gives less of a boost & she'd happily watch Philip & I or reach for her toys we placed in front of her.  Lately whether she is flat on her stomach on her mat, propped up with her boppy, resting on my shins in a superman position or laying across my knees, she gets so upset!   I get on the floor and shake her rattle in front of her, play music, stare at her face to face, prop her up to take pressure off of her stomach & she only lasts about 5-10 minutes max with an emphasis on max because sometimes it's only 2 minutes. I know it's important to to help develop their core & strengthen their neck muscles which overall promotes crawling & sitting independently but I feel like I am torturing her.   She loves to sit up & does a fantastic job holding her head up on her own, turning from side to side. She is happy as a clam in her bumbo & swing when she is completely erect.  She has no problems in her play gym either. She scoots around on her back & has rolled from her back to her side several times.  I can't seem to figure out what is bothering her about it & wish I could find a solution.  I try multiple times during the day & always make sure she hasn't just eaten or isn't tired...hmmmm. ANY SUGGESTIONS??

She has recently fallen in love with her Sophie the Giraffe teether. For those of you pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant it's an absolute must. She LIGHTS UP when she hears it squeak & looks so excited when she grasps it & it squeaks in her hand.  I've even tried using Sophie in front of her to try & get her to stay on her tummy but no luck.

CANINE MEGAESOPHAGUS

Photo by Melissa Palomo

Boy do I love this little guy.  He gave us quite the scare recently. For several months now Hampton hasn't been himself.  I kept attributing it to him adjusting to Addison. Some days he wouldn't touch his food, he has been constantly regurgitating food/mucous...you name it,  he's had an exceptionally foul smell to his breath & he had been making this terrible hacking noise like he was trying to clear his throat.  Recently his behavior starting changing, he has been extreme...either listless or completely wide open.  We, well Philip really, finally said enough is enough...something isn't right & this isn't just Hampton "adjusting" to Addison.  
THANK GOODNESS Philip listened to his gut because something isn't right.  Hampton was diagnosed with a genetic condition called Canine Megaesophagus. Basically his esophagus has become like a balloon that's been inflated & deflated several times, stretching it.  The muscles become limp & fail to propel food into the stomach.  The food just sits in the chest cavity never making it to the stomach. For those in the medical profession, you know this is dangerous because the food that has remained in the esophagus gets into the lungs causing aspiration pneumonia.  There are lots of underlying causes of this, we don't know at this point if it's related to Hampton's thyroid, if he has another condition called Myasthenia Gravis, Addison's Disease or a neurological problem.  We are crossing our fingers it's idiopathic.
The fantastic news is this is totally manageable & proper management reduces the risk of severe or life threatening complications. 
First thing we had to do is elevate his bowl significantly higher.  

We purchased this bowl   

Ours sits quite a bit taller but this is identical to what we bought Hamp.

The second thing is we had to buy a dimple ball. 

The ball in the center will keep him from gulping the food.  Slower eating is better for digestion & also reduces the amount of air that he swallow.

Third is medications. He is taking Pepcid-AD 3 times a day & Reglan (antiemetic that also slows motility) 3 times per day.

Fourth is to wet his food & decrease the amount of treats he has.  He has to be on a lowfat low residue diet.

As he ages we will have to buy him a Bailey Chair

It's basically a highchair for dogs that keeps them vertical while eating to aid in digestion. 

Surgery is an option down the road but thankfully they said at this point it's not necessary.

It completely breaks my heart for him but I am so incredibly thankful it is something manageable.  

Here are a few more pictures from our photo shoot with Melissa:

There are soooo many other amazing ones but these are just a few of my favorites.

1ST CHRISTMAS TREE

We had a great Thanksgiving holiday with family...that's how it's best spent. We were supposed to head to the mountains on Friday for our annual 1st ski weekend (minus skiing this year) & picking/cutting down our Christmas Tree but there was a BIG change in plans.

Hampton hadn't been acting like himself so Philip figured he'd squeeze in a vet appointment before heading out just to be on the safe side. A couple hours later, x-rays, several prescriptions, a long list of do's & don'ts, & giant bill, we had a diagnosis. Hampton was diagnosed with Canine Megaesophogus. I'll post more details tomorrow.  Needless to say we decided to cancel the trip & stick around the house.

 I was highly disappointed because since I was a little girl I have LOVED going to the tree farm & picking out the perfect tree. This year we were going to start our own family tradition. After lots of googling Philip found a local tree farm.  While it wasn't anything like I grew up with or like those in the NC mountains, the experience itself was still nice.  We chuckled because it was 70+ degrees & as you can see in the picture, the trees are hardly traditional cold weather trees. Addison looks real enthused about the quality, lol.  I think it's safe to assume we didn't cut any of those "bushes" down. The tree farm sold Fraiser Furs & I am sure we paid way too much for it but nonetheless it was still neat to take Addison to her first tree farm.