More Pictures

Meeting the Family

Amy, Fritz, and Emmy stopped in Sunday evening to meet Addison. At first Emmy didn't really want much to do with Addison. She was too busy playing and coloring and eating some supper. Later when we asked if she would like to hold her, she decided that she would. She really liked getting to hold the baby and after a while announced so sweetly "I like her."

Addison Meeting her cousin Emily.

From Addison

From Addison

From Addison

Uncle Jake stopped by on Monday to meet his niece. It was good to see Jake...it had been a couple of months since Alex and I had gotten to see him. He brought Addison some Christmas presents -- the cutist Cow microfleece outfit and a really soft blanket (one that I could see becoming a favorite as she gets older).

Addison meeting Uncle Jake

From Addison

From Addison

Great-Grandma Betty stopped by for a short visit on Friday after her hair appointment.

Addison visiting with Great-Grandma Betty

From Addison

There wouldn' t be DAddy without Addy

Everyone is doing much better since our switch to formula. Addison seems to have more energy, is more alert, and is eating, pooping, and pottying much better than before. YEAH!! I never thought I would get so excited about dirty diapers, but she sure gave her mommy a scare and a few grey hairs.

Wednesday night we had to feed her every 2 hours, so I didn't get much sleep. It was before the switch to formula, so I had to be there at every feeding. Alex stepped up to the plate last night and let me get some sleep. Mom also has pitched in to help me catch up a little. I am so grateful!

Yesterday I overheard Alex telling Addison "There wouldn't be DAddy without his Addy." He is a great Daddy already. It seems to have come naturally to him. He thinks he is incredibly blessed to have Addison (and we are), but I think she is incredibly blessed to have him as a daddy.

Switching to Formula

We didn't make it home more than 24 hours before we had to turn around and go back to the doctor. Addison has had some trouble feeding since we got home and the lack of wet diapers had us concerned. Kristen called our pediatrician and he told us to come in immediately. He checked Addison over and told us to start trying to supplement with formula and see if that gets anything going. He didn't tell us this until later but, he was debating whether or not to put us back in the hospital for the night. So we made it home and tried feeding every two hours last night which was struggle because all Addison wanted to do was sleep. We went back to the doctor first thing in the morning and had still not had a wet diaper. This worried the Dr. and he sent us to the hospital next door to draw some blood for lab work. By this time Kristen was taking it pretty hard, but Addison was a real trooper and barely even squirmed when they drew blood. As we were packing up to leave the hospital we checked her diaper and had a big surprise! It was soaked!(Almost 24 hours had passed since her last wet one) The pediatrician was very happy with this and told us that all the lab work came back and everything was fine. He said from now on we should just stick with formula. To sum it up, everything is fine and we have noticed a big difference in Addison's energy since switching.

From Addison

Addison already decided she's a MIZZOU fan!!!

From Addison

From Addison

We made it home

Just wanted to let everybody know that we are home now!

We're ready to go home

Both Addison and Kristen have been cleared to go home. Unfortunately we got a few inches of snow this morning and we're waiting for the roads to clear up before we leave.  Both Kristen and I are excited to show Addison her home and introduce her to Kora.

More Addison photos

I can already tell it's going to be hard for me to not overload the blog with pictures of Addison. More photos can be seen at my Picasa page which can be accesed from the links on the right hand side of this page.

Addison came in with her own Christmas card this morning.

ADDISON IS HERE!!!

Addison joined the 'ZOU tonight at 9:13pm.  This gives Aunt Linda the braggin' rights for being the closest to predicting her birthday and time.  

Both Kristen and Addison are doing great. Addison measured in at 7lbs 2oz and 19" long.  

Addison is coming!!!

Well it looks like my Aunt Linda is gonna get the bragging rights.  We are at the hospital and Addison should be here shortly.  Everything is going smooth so far!!!  Stay tuned!!!

Wager Update

Daddy 12-02-08 at 11:15PM

Aunt Amy 12-06-08 at 8:52AM

Mommy 12-06-08 at 5:36PM

Nana 12-07-08 at 2:30PM

Aunt Stacey 12-11-08 at 4:05AM

Pappa 12-13-08 at 3:05AM (this is his birthday too)

Uncle Cory 12-13-08 at 4:51AM

Great-aunt Linda 12-14-08 at 10:38PM

Great-grandma Curtis 12-15-08 at 11:55PM

Great-grandpa Curtis 12-18-08 at 12:01AM

Great-aunt Carol 12-19-08 at 12:47PM

Grandma Pam 12-20-08 at 3:30AM

Uncle Fritz 12-23-08 at 4:23AM
Great-uncle Ed 12-25-08 at 6:00AM

As you can see I was waaayyy off!

39 Weeks and Counting

Today Alex and I went to the doctor again....still no baby! There has not been much progress since last week. I guess that I got my hopes up that the end was near when I had dialated last week. I am dialated between 2 and 3 cm and am 80 percent effaced. I still haven't had any real contractions, just lots of Braxton-Hicks.

The Big 12 Championship ... disappointing

Alex went to Arrowhead on Saturday to tailgate with friends and go to the Big 12 Championship game. I think he had a lot of fun tailgating, but I don't think the game was quite so fun. Mizzou's performance was less than stellar. Here is a picture of him before the game with his frat brothers, Zac Fitzgerald and Adam Baumli.

Another wager...

Addison's Grandma Pam sent us a note and $20 to add to the education fund yesterday. Her guess is December 20th at 3:30am. Boy do I hope she is very wrong. Addison has taken to pushing really hard these days, which is taking a toll on my ribs, hips, and back.

In other news, Alex is prepping to shoot his first wedding on January 3rd. Unfortunately, there is a good chance I won't be able to go with him (but for good reason!). We received the couple's invite in the mail Wednesday with an engagement picture Alex took included as part of the invitation. They looked great! I am really proud of his work. We are meeting with the couple tonight to get a list of "must have" pictures. I know he is excited and nervous about the wedding, but I think he will do a great job!

And the winner is.....

My family started a tradition when Emmy was born: the due date pool. We each put $20 in a pool and guessed the day and time that we thought the baby would be born. The true winner is the baby, who gets a good start to his/her education fund, and the closest guesser gets bragging rights. Over Thanksgiving, we made our guesses for Addison and Kaden. Here are the guesses for Addison ... you can see who really loves me ;-)

Great-grandpa Curtis 12-18-08 at 12:01AM
Great-grandma Curtis 12-15-08 at 11:55PM
Pappa 12-13-08 at 3:05AM (this is his birthday too)
Nana 12-07-08 at 2:30PM
Aunt Amy 12-06-08 at 8:52AM
Uncle Fritz 12-23-08 at 4:23AM
Aunt Stacey 12-11-08 at 4:05AM
Uncle Cory 12-13-08 at 4:51AM
Great-aunt Carol 12-19-08 at 12:47PM
Great-uncle Ed 12-25-08 at 6:00AM
Mommy 12-06-08 at 5:36PM
Daddy 12-02-08 at 11:15PM

I am now rooting for Daddy's day. I am SO ready to be done being pregnant. Things have become VERY uncomfortable -- her little bum in my ribs constantly, backaches, multiple middle of the night bathroom breaks, and the list goes on. I have tried not to complain too much, because I do consider myself very lucky, mostly because Addison seems to be healthy and developing perfectly. I didn't have morning sickness, I have had minimal heartburn, I haven't had any weird or wild cravings, and I have very little swelling....BUT, there is only so much a girl can take.

Addison's Room

Here are some pictures of Addison's room.  As you can see we got our first snow yesterday.  

Today's Doctor's Appointment

Just a quick update on Addison's progress: I went to the doctor today and everything is great. My blood pressure, heart rate, and weight gain are where they should be. Addison is officially considered full-term and is around 6 pounds, give or take a few ounces. She is head-down and has a strong heart beat in the 140s. Her rear end is in my right ribs and her feet are usually around my belly button or slightly to the left of it. The swelling I am experiencing in my hands and feet are a little better thanks to my new bed....the air mattress on the basement floor. We are pre-registered at the hospital and have Addison's room put together (pictures to come soon). We now just have to wait for her to decide she is ready to meet her mommy and daddy.

Emmy's Christmas Snowsuit

Alex and I got Emmy a snowsuit for Christmas this year, but decided to give it to her early so she could play outside in this cold weather. Here are a couple of pictures of her from the weekend of November 14th. She looked so cute in her snowsuit while she was choring with Pappa.

The Great White Hunters

Saturday, November 14th was the opening of gun season for deer hunting in Missouri. Alex and Cory decided to join the bright orange brigade, and Cory was pretty successful. Here are a couple of pictures of Cory's eight-pointer he shot on Sunday just before quitting for the weekend. After all the harassment he got from Stacey, I think he was pretty excited. Although I don't have pictures, Alex came home with a doe. To my dismay, she is hanging in the shed right now.

Stacey's Baby Shower Weekend

So I am a little slow on getting these posted...


Last Saturday, November 1st, Amy hosted a baby shower in honor of Stacey for Kaden at the Little Blessings Tea Room in Cameron. I think everyone had a great time and Stacey walked away with tons of cute clothes and necessities for Kaden. We can't wait until he gets here!!! Here are a few pictures from the shower.

Stacey with the adorable diaper cake made by Amy.

Emmy having tea with her Mommy.

The Curtis Sisters

All the "Curtis" Girls

This weekend was an all girls + Pappa weekend. The boys were all up doing their "manly" things at Fritz's house. Maybe by design, there are no pictures of the boys' weekend. All we know is that there were big boy toys, food, beverages, and fun. Thankfully everyone survived the weekend in one piece (I am not sure the same can be said for the big boy toys), and Fritz got a ton of work done on their property.

Pappa and his girls had fun as usual. Here are a couple of pictures from Sunday of Emmy decorating Pappa with princess stickers and helping Nana in the kitchen in her apron from SuEllen. Although I don't have any pictures of the big girls having fun, we did.

First Buck With a Bow

Tuesday late afternoon, Alex got his first buck using a bow. It was a nice 10-pointer. He shot the buck from the ground from about 25 yards out. He must have gotten a pretty good shot, because the buck only went about 40 yards before falling. He was only slightly excited about the affair ;-)

Here is a picture Alex took of himself with his buck. I think he is planning on doing a European mount with the skull and antlers.

Emmy Marching to the Homecoming Parade

Here is a video clip of Emmy marching to the Mizzou fight song in the Homecoming Parade. Please excuse my poor video-ing capabilities.

Mizzou Homecoming 2008

On Thursday, Oct. 23rd, Dad and I met Amy and Emmy in Lamoni, IA to bring her home for some Mizzou fun. Thursday night she stayed with Nana and Pappa, but Friday went with Alex and I to Columbia to enjoy the Homecoming Festivities.

Alex and I knew her experience wouldn't be complete without a trip to Shakespeare's for pizza, so that's where we ate dinner Friday night. She is a huge fan of Shakespeare's and also enjoyed playing with the dough they gave her. It was super crowded and noisy, but she was the best little girl (she must have known it would be worth the wait).

Here is Emmy watching the pizzas being made:


After pizza, we walked to campus to see the House Decs. Alex and Tommy took turns giving Emmy shoulder rides, while she enjoyed her sucker.


At House Decs, we met up with Nana, Pappa, Uncle Cory, and Aunt Stacey. Emmy was really interested in the Truman characters. Here she is next to some of the decorations (and still working on her sucker):

Saturday morning, Emmy and I met Nana, Pappa, Aunt Stacey, and Uncle Cory to enjoy the parade. Here is a picture of Uncle Cory and Nana helping Emmy pick up candy. I have some great film clips of Emmy marching to the band, but haven't yet figured out how to upload those. I will put Uncle Alex's expertise to use and post them in another post.

Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of the rest of the day, but it was full of fun. Cory, Stacey, Emmy, Nana, Pappa, and I ate lunch at Lonestar and then Nana, Pappa, and I took Emmy to look at the fish and animals in Bass Pro. She loved seeing all the animals and kept saying "more."

After Bass Pro, both Emmy and I took a nap (5:30 am is still early for Aunt Kiki) at the camper before heading to the Hayride at Scott and Vanette's. She had tons of fun! They had a bounce house that she didn't dare get in, but loved to watch the big kids and bounce on the step. I roasted a hotdog for her (she helped me hold the stick), but she was content eating the bun with no hot dog. The wagon ride was a big hit. After the first ride, she said "tractor, 'gin, 'gin," so we went again. This time she didn't make it back awake. I took Emmy to the camper where we met her Mommy and Daddy so she could see her cousins and other family on Sunday. She is so much fun and such an angel. When we got to the bonfire area, I told her the fire was hot and she had to hold my hand near the fire. All evening she reminded me "hot" and would grab my hand.

Alex tailgated most of the afternoon on Saturday with the Weables, then went to the Homecoming game. I met back up with him at the Hayride after taking Emmy to her parents. We stayed up well past my normal bedtime catching up with the Weables, enjoying the fire, and having a great time. Here is a picture from Alex's day (thanks Amanda for taking this!).

On Sunday we enjoyed some more family time before heading back home. I was exhausted after the weekend, but wanted to take advantage of my last trip before Addison's arrival. Thanks, Amy and Fritz, for letting us take Emmy for the weekend. We had so much fun with her and are scared we won't get to spend as much time as we would like with her after Addison gets here.