Just a few photos!!

December so far has been great, but crazy busy! I have had requests for more pictures, so here they are! Hope you Holidays are Merry and Bright!

This past month...

life has been a bit hectic, sleepless and wonderful. We are really enjoying getting to know Aven. Addy is a great big sister and is adjusting fairly well. She loves her little brother and really enjoys helping me take care of him. She has some moments where she wishes she could have my exclusive attention, but overall is doing well. Aven is thriving and is, for the most part, a mellow little guy (so far). He smiled at me and Meemaw for the first time last Friday! Pretty cool to get our first smile at 4 weeks!

We spent a lovely (and filling) Thanksgiving at my parents house are gearing up for Christmas! Happy Holidays!

Oh me oh my!

We are having a baby tomorrow! It seems like I have been pregnant forever, but it flew by at the same time! I am soooo excited to meet our little man, a little anxious for the unknown, but excited none the less. We have to be at the hospital at 10:30 a.m. for a scheduled 12:30 p.m. c-section. So we will get up, take Addy to Meemaw's and Pappa's and then we go to the hospital to have this little baby. It feels weird to know exactly when he is coming, but it is nice to be able to plan! So next time I post, it will be with pictures of our newest addition.

In addition, I figured I will have my hands full for awhile, so I better post some pictures of the Stein family before little miss Addy has a baby brother!

A much overdue post!

It has been awhile since I posted. Much has happened since Addy's birthday. We went to the White Mountains for a weekend getaway, Addy moved into her big girl room, and we went to Scottsdale with Brett's parents and my cousin Rob for a wonderful, fun filled mini-vacation.

Adelyn adores her new room and has done very well adjusting to the big bed. She just completed her first session of swim lessons and is proud that she doesn't need help going under!! She seems to be excited about being a big sister and can't wait to hug and kiss him.

Brett is doing well, working very hard as he is now the sole bread winner in our family. In addition he has been studying and taking a series of tests to complete his CLU certification (no small task).

I am now 34 weeks pregnant and feelin' it!! We are so excited for the new addition to our family, but are in no rush for him to get here (Addy was born at 35 weeks) because we have a lot to do to get ready for him! I am enjoying being with my daughter full time, I am so blessed to be able to do so.

So without further ado, please check out our huge slide show! If you have trouble viewing it, please shoot me an email.

Addy's Birthday Bash

As you all know, Addy just celebrated her 2nd birthday. What you may not have known, is that Addy and all her friends are Party Animals! View the evidence below!

Happy 2nd Birthday Adelyn Rose

Our lovely little lady turned two today. It was bittersweet for Brett and I. Time has gone so fast since this precious little being came into our world, and we have cherished every moment. Sometimes I wish I could stop the clock , but then I would miss each moment that Addy has blessed our lives. Two years ago today, Addy came screaming into the world (all be it reluctantly, wedged behind mommies ribcage, with a bruise on her face to prove it) and has been enriching our lives ever since! I never imagined being a mother (and father, as I am sure Brett would agree) would be so life changing. I knew it would be wonderful, but I had no clue how much I could love a child, right down to the depths of my soul.

Every day watching Addy grow and change is amazing, truly wonderful. She is such a loving, bright, energetic and happy child. She has a hilarious sense of humor that keeps us laughing and a mind that keeps us on our toes! Even when she has moments that have me wondering if she may be possessed, she will turn around and say or do something that just astounds me or makes me laugh in spite of myself. I may not be a "religious" person, but I can honestly say, I thank God on a regular basis for blessing us with such a wonderful daughter.

Happy Birthday Addy! May your life bring you as much pleasure as you bring ours!

It's a BOY

That's right everybody, Addy is going to have a little brother! We are very excited. It is so fun to think about life in our home with a little boy. I already imagine a life filled with Dump Trucks, bugs and sports (in addition to all Addy's interests)! He was very active and kept rolling around when the ultrasound tech was trying to take his measurements. I love being able to see him wiggling around in there. All his measurements looked good and he seems to be right on track growth wise!!

Here is the proof!
















Here he is giving me a good kick!
















After we found out what we were having, we went and picked up a few "boy" items with Meemaw!









And of course, who could forget, sweet curly haired Big Sister Adelyn (is it wrong that I am jealous of her lovely curls?)

Adelyn's May photos!

I am going to try another method of sharing photos (thanks Susan for the suggestion) that hopefully will be easier/faster for me!

Here are the latest pictures of sweet little Addy! You will notice she has gotten some very curly hair (awesome) which definitely didn't come from me!

Also, my dad and Brett's dad are building a beautiful playhouse for Addy. Brett's dad isn't in the photos because he was off gallivanting in London for Phase 1 of the building. Just because he isn't in the pictures, doesn't mean he isn't involved!

Gender?

I had another Dr.'s appt. last week. Nothing out of the ordinary, just the regular pregnancy check up. Baby Bera's heartbeat was strong and the pregnancy is proceeding along normally! No ultrasounds this time, but we did get to schedule our Level II ultrasound for June 10th. That means we get to find out the gender and the ultrasound tech will have a good look and make sure everything looks "normal". Be sure to take the Gender poll (guess the sex of this baby) under Addy's picture on the right. Sorry there will be no prizes for correct guesses!!

Brett and I took Adelyn to this Zoo this past weekend! It was a lot of fun. She got to see a Giraffes (and had a chance to feed one, but was a little freaked out by its tongue), monkeys, elephants, turtles (tortises), zebras, and a polar bear! She was still talking about it this morning on our drive to meet Meemaw! She really likes to name the animals that she saw and I think her favorite was the turtles!! There are no pictures from the zoo, but here is one from a few months ago that I absolutely love!

Mindless jibberish...

Well, while I sit here at work on Saturday, bored to tears, I realize the reality of a second child hasn't hit me yet. I don't think I truly grasp how different it is going to be to care for two children at once. I will actually have to choose which child's cry is more "important". I asked Brett last night, "What if I am nursing Baby #2, and Addy needs lunch?", Brett answered simply "Addy will have to wait". Okay, yeah that makes sense. Then I asked him "What if I am nursing Baby #2 and Addy falls and hurts herself?", again he answered simply "Baby #2 will have to wait".

I know to you all that may sound silly but to me it is a scary thought. How in the world am I going to juggle two little angels (I say this in hopes that #2 is as much of an angel as Addy)? Now I am a little scared. I never really have to tell Addy to wait. How will she adjust to no longer being numero uno? How will I adjust if she doesn't adjust well? Don't get me wrong, I am over the moon with excitement for our newest addition. I think I am just begining to start thinking about the reality of it all.

13 weeks pregnant, Hello Second Trimester!!

Man oh man has a lot of time passed since my first entry. Now I see why It took me so long to start a blog, I am horrible at finding the time to send out updates!! ><>

Holly - I am feeling great this pregnancy, my only complaint would be tiredness. It is not worse than last time, but harder because now I have Adelyn to tend to (meaning chase around) and can't take a nap whenever I want!! So far baby Bera (that is what we are calling the baby in utero) is doing well and I am having no complications. Woo hoo! Here is a current photo of our little one!!

I am working 2-3 days a week (it has been slow) and rarely getting paid for it!! I am full commission so If I don't sign any contracts I don't get paid. I finally signed one last week, yea me!! The current feelings about the economy have really affected my industry.


Brett - Thankfully the economy is not having the same effect on Brett's industry. Brett is working hard and doing very well in his business. He and a couple of coworkers are taking a one night/one day trip to Las Vegas next week as a reward for some pretty tough goals they set (and achieved) for themselves last month!! He is very happy and having a good time with the group in his office. He is very challenged and motivated by a couple of his coworkers and he really thrives in that environment. Good job Brett, thanks for being my sugar daddy for the last several months!!


Addy - Our little girl is doing awesome! She is such a funny and sweet little thing!! The other day I was walking through the living room and tripped (didn't fall) on her slide and she started giggling at me!! If you do something silly she will tilt her head to the side and say "mommy" (or daddy) with this little endearing tone in her voice. Addy looooves to dance. Last weekend we went to a wedding and reception of some of our good tfriends. They are hispanic and most of the music was latin inspired and Addy danced for 2 hours straight. She dances at home, but something about this type of music really made her want to boogie! It was awesome, so fun to watch. There were also lots of strobe lights and lights on the floor. She danced and danced and chased the lights. She was having so much fun! Towards the end she was running out of steam but still wanted to dance and be part of the action, so she just laid down in the middle of the dance floor! Needless to say she slept great that night!! Below is a recent picture of her wearing a sunhat that she previously was unwilling to wear!



As a family, these days our favorite pastime is our weekly walks to the grocery store (Starbucks, for Iced Green Tea) and then to one of the many play areas in our neighborhood. We get going early and gather ourselves, our Izzy, some drinks and snacks and we are off. I can't wait to share that with our next Little Stein! Last night Brett's parents came over to watch Addy while Brett and I went on a date!! We went to see Stomp (which was really, really good) and have dinner at our favorite restaurant Cafe Poca Cosa (thanks to Brett's parents for treating us to the lovely meal). Yum yum yum!

I guess now we have something worth sharing....

Hello there friends and family!!
Brett, Adelyn and myself would like to share some news with you all! I am pregnant (I being Holly of course)! That's right, we are expecting our second child at the begining of November! What better time to start our blog and fill you in on our families happenings!!

Our sweet Addy is doing wonderfully! She is growing by leaps and bounds! Her vocabulary is rapidly increasing (she repeats pretty much everything we say) and has now started to include 2 and 3 word combinations! The other day she was riding in the car with Meemaw and pointed out the window and said "truck, big"! Meemaw was quite impressed! Yesterday, she was asking me for something and when I gave it to her she said "tank you, momma"! I was quite impressed myself! Also, she has decided to give potty training a try! Can you believe it? She is just 20 months old! At the begining of January she started expressing interest in "all things potty"! We bought her her own potty and it took her about 3 weeks to actually go on it, but now, she goes #1 regularly (she asks to go) and sometimes #2. I think she thinks #2 is gross (can you blame her), but none the less, she does try to use the potty when the urge arises! We are trying not to push her too hard and just take it slow, but Addy is gung-ho!! She loves to color, paint and play with Play-doh, but her big thing right now is bubbles! She especially loves it when Izzy plays too!