NICU Visit and Mommy's Birthday

Even though summer seems to be coming to a close before our very eyes, we still seem to busy and have lots to keep us busy. Addison continues to bloom before our very eyes as she continues to work so hard at each and every doctor's appointment or therapy visit she has each week. She really has responded well to her Kinesio taping at her therapy appointments, and we notice immediate improvements, moments after the therapists have worked with her. Thank goodness for the people that work there and for the services they offer our little ones, I cannot imagine where we would be in Addison's development without all of their help and guidance. Addy is able to pull herself up now if she is falling backwards from her sitting position, and we continue to work hard on the rolling over and sitting alone unassisted. Her little Bumbo chair is a great assistance for her to learn positioning and muscle memory for this position so we often sit her in it for story time. She is continuing to progress well with her eating of the "solid" foods, and is getting used to all of my homemade food. We sometimes get a few strange looks from her when we introduce a new taste, but so far we have been faring pretty well. To the right is a picture of Addison's new chair that we purchased to assist her with muscle memory for sitting posture. This blow up chair can also be used to help Addison do more work on her tummy, without having to lay flat so she can manipulate more up on her arms to learn a semi-crawling position.

An appointment this week in London gave us the opportunity to stop into the NICU on the evening shift and pay a visit to some of the NICU staff we don't get the chance to see on our regular day visits when we stop in. As luck would have it our Primary Nurse; Lisa was working and our core team Nurse; Kathy. It was so wonderful to see both of them, as we had not had the opportunity since we left the unit in late January. These ladies became family to us, over our stay and it is so weird to not see and talk to them much since we left. They were both surprised at how much Addison had changed and grown, but she really would not be doing so well if they had not been such a big part of her care.

This month marked the big 40 for me and my girlfriend Maryse. To celebrate her big day we did a Sushi dinner at Se YO Sushi in Sarnia, very good meal, prior to her taking off for a wonderful tour of Paris, France. So jealous. In the meantime Greg and Addy had their own plans up their sleeve for a surprise party to me, and they actually got me on it!! I normally figure out all the surprises, but they got me good!!! It was a wonderful way to bring in such a momentous birthday with my hubby, daughter, family and friends. We actually made a weekend of it, as some of the gang from Ottawa and family made it down from out of town. Now that is a party when it can go 3 days long. Now that is coming into 40 with style. Happy Birthday Mo! Mo!!!!

First Words for the Family Visit

Well with our vacation over we are settling back into our little routine here around the house. Addison is really growing into such a little girl now and doing so many new things. She is starting to get a little more vocal with us everyday and now has a little voice creeping out from that little body. It is quite funny she starts with a low little scream or sound, and then it is like she gets used to it and just lets it go and it becomes a full out whail. She sometimes even sounds like a little demon growling at you as she eats her cereal in the morning. It really is quite funny.

So yes, Addison is eating her cereal like a big girl and doing really well. I took the time and got a bunch of fresh fruit and veggies and spent a few days filling up ice cube trays with some homemade food to start Addy on. On the 11th we started her on her first "solid foods", starting with Sweet Potatoes. These were an obvious hit because of their sweet flavour and Addy gobbled them right up. It is wonderful to see, I have been so afraid to try thicker food with her because of our choking issues when we go her home but she is doing so well. I am so happy to be able to give her natural cooked meals, but I know that just for the ease of things sometimes we will not have this luxury all the time.

While we were away, we had such a wonderful visit with Aunt Steph, Uncle Ken and cousin Sidney; so we were very excited when they called to tell us they were coming down for a visit. They arrived on Thursday night and Addison shone like a star within the first few hours of their visit. She was laying down beside me and within a few minutes looked right up into my eyes and chirped out the words clear as day "mum mum". It was so wonderful to hear, I was beside myself. Actually I think I was in shock and at a loss. Steph yelled out "I heard it, she said it; mum mum". It was such a great moment and I am so proud of my little peanut. Of course because she said mommy first, but also because she really has just come so far from the first days when we were so afraid we were not even going to have her with us. On Saturday we took a tour around the area and showed our visitors around and of course made a much needed stop at the Lake Huron for a swim. Cousin Sidney loved the water and went swimming right in her play clothes, no way she was missing out on this opportunity. Addy again loved the water and loved watching Sidney and Uncle Ken splash around. We had a great dinner out on the deck and then ventured inside for a little bit of Guitar Hero!!! This was Ken and Steph's first venture at the game. They loved it so much, Ken went out the next day and picked up Rock Band 2 for our next evening's entertainment. The game came with "The Mullet Kit" which we could not resist having Sid and Addison model for us!!! Love it. We had so much fun guys, we cannot wait till the next time we get together.

So the realization is setting in that as summer is coming to an end, I will soon be returning to work and need to find some type of daycare system for Addison. This is the dreaded phase of the journey that I am so not prepared for, though I am looking into a possible extension on my time at home with Addison through EI Canada. Keep your fingers crossed that this comes through and I can stay home with my little pumpkin a little longer, or watch closely for my meltdown online if I have to return to work. Just 6 more weeks is all I am asking for, only 6 more weeks, seems like peanuts compared to the time before that was spent with Addy in the hospital, but dont get me started on that. Hang tough I keep telling myself, it will all be fine. Yeah I don't tend to believe myself either. Hee Hee.

Family Reunion and the Rest of our Vacation Away!!!

Following our trip to Montreal, the next leg of our trip consisted of heading back to Ottawa to pick up Taylor and DJ, and then off to the family reunion at Fairlane Lake.

First we made an overnight stop, to make a much needed visit with friends; Jen and Paul and their kids; Morgan and Connor. These are great friends that we have not had a chance to see in a long time, so we took the chance to stop in for a night and introduce them to little Addy. We had a quick, but great visit, and did some much needed catching up. Morgan was a natural babysitter and took her hand at watching Addy. Jen's parents; Myrna and Peter even made a trip out to see us, which was wonderful it had been way too long. Next time lets not make it three years in between visits!!

Thursday the 30th we picked up Taylor and DJ and again were on our way. For all the travelling we were doing, Addy was doing just wonderful. She fussed very little and entertained us as we made our pitstops along the way. She tried to convince her dad that she was old enough to drive, but he didnt fall for it so she only got to have the wheel for a short time. We hit the cottages on Fairlane Lake just short of the sun going down and got our camp set up for the next 5 days. We were tenting it and Addy was going to have her first experience of "camping". We settled in and had a great trip. The weather cooperated and we got some great sunny days in for skiing, kneeboarding, seadooing and just plain having fun. Addy did well camping, even through the cool nights. She thought it was pretty cool to wake up in the morning and have nature right at her doorstep. Camping will definitley be in our future with this little one. Unfortunately our camera decided to break down on us in the middle of the trip, so we missed out on some pics. Addy had some great firsts besides tenting, she had her first taste of cereal, starting pulling herself up as she was sitting, and swimming in the lake!!! Oh she is growing up so fast!

Our last leg of our vacation took us back east to Greg's dads in Madoc to drop off the kids and have a visit with Granny and Grandpa. We had some more great sunny weather, which made for some great walks through the grapes and a couple good games of Hillbilly Golf. It was great to see Grandpa have time to give Addy some much needed Grandpa cuddles. It was a great vacation that unfortunately had to come to an end, and after a 5 hour drive we arrived back home to two very lonely dogs that needed some big hugs. What a great three weeks it was, and we got to see so many family and friends. Addison did so well and really showed us what a great little traveller she was and so adaptable to so many differnent environments. Thanks to everyone for hosting us and making it a great first vacation away for Addy!!!

Our 3 Week Vacation

Our first leg of our trip began on the 21st of July as we headed off on an 8 hour drive to Ottawa with Auntie Ruth and Uncle Greg. It was hard leaving Greg behind, but we knew he would be joining us soon. Addy and I packed up everything, I mean everything we could. It was our first trip away and for such a long time, I just wanted to bring everything just in case. I guess we learn from our first time right?

Well for such a long drive, Addy did absolutely wonderful. She made only a mere peep the last 20 minutes of the home stretch to Ruth and Greg's. It was a great week, despite the weather that didn't want to cooperate for our enjoyment of Ruth and Greg's beautiful pool. Instead we got in some day shopping trips, relaxing time and some good girl time with the Ottawa gang.!! Greg's mom; Nina was wonderful and so kind to little Addy, I think she really enjoyed having a baby in the house. (Hint, hint)!!! On Saturday the 25th, the sun finally shone through, and we had our first day in the pool. Almost everyone made it over for a great pool party and we closed up the evening partying it up playing ROCKBAND well into the wee hours in the morning. Greg made it in about midnight, after a full day of working and a long drive but he was able to join the party for a few hours. Addy stayed up till he got there and her face lit up as soon as she saw her daddy, as did his. Definitely a bond between these two that goes deep, they just love each other soo much. Thanks guys we had a great week and you are such great hosts, it really was a good time. Can't wait to do it again soon.

Sunday it was time to pack up and head off for the next journey to Aunt Steph and Uncle Ken's, for a visit with all of Greg's family. We were so excited to see Sidney again and for Addison to meet Nan nan and Uncle Rick. We arrived early afternoon and it was a beautiful day outside. Everyone came out to meet us and we got some great snapshots of Addy with everyone, it was so wonderful to see them all, and witness the love and joy they had for Addy. We had an absolute wonderful visit, great dinner and great sleepover. Sidney was such an amazing little helper and for 3 years old was a very good diaper changer. She couldn't get enough of Addy and was very excited to find out Addy would be sleeping over in her room. She even made up a special song for Addy that is just precious and will be a showstopper when they get older. I know they will hate us for it but moments that are priceless in our babes lives. We had so much fun and cannot wait to do it again. We wished that we lived closer together so that we could do that every weekend. It was hard to leave and little Sid broke my heart when she had tears in her eyes as we were leaving. So glad that they will be coming to visit us again soon!!!

The third leg of our trip began Monday, as we headed off to Montreal to Mo and Scott's. We arrived early afternoon and unpacked yet again, in fact unpacked and organized a bunch of stuff for Mo and Scott to take home to Sarnia with them so we could lighten our load a little. We spent the next few days relaxing, eating, shopping and enjoying Scott and Mo's company. Montreal is such a great city to go visit and Mo and Scott are such great hosts, I think we may make this an annual trip, as there is something new to see and do each time we go. After a great visit with Mo's family, we hit the wonderful shopping district on Ste. Catherine's Street. We found some great deals then hit Rue Prince-Arthur, where we brought our own wine and had dinner on a patio out in the street. It was a beautiful night and again Addy was a dream baby again, sitting back and taking in all the sites. What a great start to the holiday, cannot wait to see what the rest of the next week and half will bring us. Away we go!!!!