3 months of Addi Bo Baddi!

We have a 3 month old, wait - what now?! I can't even comprehend how fast time is flying! Apparently, according to the picture above, it has come as a shock to Addison too! 

and let's do that comparison back to when Ella was 3 months old! I feel like besides their blue eyes, everything else is just so different about them! (oh, but they do both love to kick those little legs too!)

but I mean check out all that hair! baby Ella is green with envy! 

I feel like this month has been a turning point...

into finally finding my groove and starting to feel like I can be successful at life again!

  I know that sounds dramatic but last month there were certainly lots of moments of 'how will I ever eat lunch again?' 

or 'how can I ever divide my time and attention between both girls fairly?!'

Addison was napping in her moses basket sporadically, and still preferring to nap on me but this month I've been working hard on consistently putting her down in her basket for naps and she has been getting on with this really well! Most mornings she will go back down for at least 2 hours after her first feed of the day which usually gives me time to shower, unpack the dishwasher, get breakfast for Ella and I and help Ella get ready for the day.  This is a game changer! A fellow mum of two had told me after Addi was born, just massively lower your expectations of what you can accomplish in a day - so if I would usually shower and get dressed, and unpack the dishwasher, and do breakfast and put on a load of washing all before 9am...in my new mom of two role just be pleased if you accomplished one or two of those things before 5pm! So it felt like something was always suffering - if I had a spare half an hour while Addi was napping then I'd be torn between doing some chores or giving some 1:1 time to Ella but now with Addison napping for so long in her basket I can get both done! 

Another big step in the right direction this month is we now seem to have more happy evenings than sad evenings! Addi used to have fussy/crying periods every night...and she still has them occasionally but more often than not she spends most of the evening just smiling and cooing away to us making us feel like we are the funniest people ever!

She is amazing at smiling on demand, and it seems like she knows the word smiles!

because whenever we ask where her smiles are she flashes them to us! it's super cute! and we certainly love just how happy and joyful she can be!

She is also becoming much more content and will spend much longer periods entertaining herself on her playmat - she has just a few weeks ago worked out how to wriggle herself around 180 degrees and she seems pretty pleased with herself about that! I have also been propping some of her black and white baby books up against one side of the jungle gym for her to look at, and she really seems to love them - almost giggling away at the different pages - the dog being her current fave!

She is also a huge fan of her bouncy chair! We put her in it at dinner while we eat, and this seems to have become her favourite time of day! All you have to do is look in her direction and she is beaming away at you, giving all the smiles, and even her sweet little almost giggle noises she is starting to make! 

Addison is also becoming more exciting to Ella! She is doing more, and is no longer just sleeping and eating all day - although there is still plenty of that! For example she had her first ride on a slide with big sis at Abbotsford!

Ella was so delighted about that then she wanted her to go on every piece of park equipment with her!

 I had to explain she needs to get a little bigger first before going on the swing and things! but it makes me so excited for their sibling relationship to develop the more interactive Addi becomes! 

Ella got chicken pox this month, and at first we were so worried Addi would catch it that we told her she had to stay away from her - no kissing/no touching...and it literally killed Ella!

She found it so difficult to keep away from Addison - like it physically pained her to stay back! so when the chemist told me it's actually better for little babies to get chicken pox as it doesn't bother them I told Ella the ban had been lifted! and she instantly reached over in the car to start holding Addison's hand and showered her with kisses when we got home from town, it was seriously cute! 

Ella has also been independently initiating little story sessions with Addi - again so heart melting! and when Addi coos or makes a noise during one of these sessions then Ella will say 'yes I know you love your big sis reading to you don't you'! They are really adorable! 

Addi had her first ever camping trip to Yorkshire! It was just an overnight stay - to test the waters! and luckily she passed with flying colours! only waking up at 6am for a feed, and not crying down the campsite! So that was great news, ahead of our 10 night camping trip we had booked for Southern France! I'm hoping the good behaviour will continue on our first family holiday too! I snapped this pic of her looking so grown up in Ella's little camping chair!

and this one of my sweet sisters!

We were in Yorkshire for our nephew Ellis' birthday -

Addi slept through most of the party! even falling asleep on my mom mid blaring disco!

Ella was much more excited about the whole affair and had so much fun with her cousins!

and everyone seemed to enjoy meeting Addison for the first time! 

Ella and Addison entered their first fancy dress competition as a duo, for Kelso Civic week! They made a super adorable Cruella with her dalmation...

and they won 1st prize!



Have you ever seen a cuter puppy?!

and we set off for France the day ahead of Addison turning 3 months old! So she is currently enjoying her first ever holiday abroad...and loving the camping life! 

She is sleeping so great and our next door tent neighbours said they've never even heard her make one noise! The car journey was a whole other story! and she seems to have developed an aversion to her car seat which has not come at an opportune time! but luckily she is such a little happy and gorgeous thing the rest of the time that it makes us forget about those awful screaming car rides!

I can't wait to see what month 4 brings...but I hope it comes around slower than this milestone did! I need time to savour every little detail of her because she is just growing up far too quick for my liking! 

A 3 Month Old Update!

I am fully aware that I sound like a broken down record, but 3 months?! How did that fly around so fast?

Lots of people comment on Ella's vast array of facial expressions! Here are just a few I snapped on her first trip accompanying Daddy to the hairdresser:

He had quite the haircut, and was slightly concerned that for a few days after Ella had forgotten who he was since it was such a change! but she still thinks he's the funnest guy around!

and this month has been all about

smiles...

smiles...

and more smiles!

 

This baby girl is just the happiest, smiliest out there! I am pretty sure that full on giggles will happen very soon...and I couldn't be more excited for that! 

The bumbo has also become a firm favourite around here! This was the first time she tried it out at my parents house...and I'm pretty sure that's a fist pump right there showing her approval!

She always wants to be sitting upright and looking all around, she is so inquisitive and her eyes dart around so fast, she has got such strong little neck muscles and can hold it up so well already!

Another thing she really discovered this month is the T.V! She wasn't that bothered about it before, but now her eyes are drawn to all those colours, and if you're wanting to sing a song or do something fun whilst the T.V is on forget about it - the T.V gets all her attention!

Lazing around watching some shows with her Daddy:

Here she is just chilling on her tummy time pillow catching up on an episode of friends!

and one Sunday afternoon we put on Monsters Inc.  We popped her in her bumbo and she was watching it intently and even laughing at the funny moments! It was obviously complete co-incidence but anyone else watching it would have thought she was actually understanding it! We had to take a lil video clip...

She is still a huge fan of her playmat! oh the fun she has down there!

In the past week, we attached a new character to her playmat - a doll from her Aunt Judi, and it's now overtaken the white tiger as her fave pal! Last Sunday, she even grabbed on to the little hoop hanging down from it for the first time! This was the first time she's ever grabbed a toy before so was a good little milestone for her to reach! and she hasn't stopped holding on to it ever since! She also likes to try and lick her skirt, which isn't so appropriate!

Her other new best friend this month is Winnie the Pooh! which was a gift from Granny Jones. 

We put it beside her when we are changing her, and oh the fun she has chatting away to him! Here's a lil clip Daddy recorded one morning...


and then just 2 nights ago, she cuddled Pooh for the first time as she was getting her nappy changed - it was rather cute!

She is also starting to fill out a bit more, which we are very happy about! For a while she wasn't putting on as much weight each week as the health visitor was hoping for...but there's no denying that some chub is creeping in...

Love those chubby thighs!



and that double chin!



Dribble bibs are also a permanent feature around here these days.  She's starting the teething process, and with that her little fists are continually in her mouth which leaves a huge amount of dribble pouring out! She hasn't quite mastered how to hold a teething ring yet but I think it will only be a matter of time - Sophie giraffe is ready and waiting to help her out!

Things she is still not loving:

Getting dressed! Oh if anyone has any tips on how to get a baby dressed without a huge amount of crying I'm all ears! We used to think she didn't like having vests pulled over her face, so I started pulling them up over her body from the feet up...but even that doesn't stop the crying!

Traffic lights - I have worked out 2 alternate routes from some of our regular trips to minimise the amount of possible traffic light stops! but there's no getting around it, Hamilton is just full of traffic lights and this baby hates you stopping - motion is her middle name.

For some reason in the past week or so there has suddenly been tears at bath time which she used to just love! We're hoping it's a phase! or that we just need to buy her some super fun bath toys to distract her from what's going on!

Other things that happened this month was Daddy having a birthday! so we took a little family outing to Viva Brazil - one of those meat restaurants where they just keep bringing you more and more and more! The South African was loving it!

I stocked up on a lot of the delicious salads and sides and had little room left over for meat! The South African was not impressed that when he asked what my favourite cut of meat I'd eaten had been I said sausage!

Ella slept through most of the outing, despite the loud Brazilian music blaring away!!

She woke up for some cuddles just before we left!

Oh, how I love that sweet little face!

The other exciting event that happened was Ella meeting her great grandparents for the first time! Byron's grandparents came over to visit from South Africa and are here staying with us for a week.  Ella has been loving all the attention, and we've been loving the extended lie ins - thanks Gran and Gramps!

 Lastly, here's a picture of Ella in her bouncer at one week old compared to one taken this week at 3 months old! She doesn't even look like the same baby! Her lips were ruby red when she was newborn, and her skin was still jaundiced so looking a bit yellow.  Her hair was also much darker, and there was more of it! 

She has definitely developed pale skin from the Irish side of our family! but just look at how she fills her bouncer now! 

This month has been such a fun month, seeing her become more interested in the world around her and in her toys.  She is chatting away more and more, and still finding everything we say funny! Her new favourite song is 'This Old Man' and I don't know why she finds it so funny but she does especially when you say 'give the dog a bone'! 

We are just loving every minute of our lives with our sweet baby girl, and we can't wait to see all the new things that month 4 will bring!