The Scars of Motherhood

For the two or three of you that actually read my ramblings, you are probably wondering where in the world I've been. Well, two weekends ago we were in Charleston for Aunt Shannon's (Kevin's youngest sister) wedding. And then last weekend we went to Miss Jill's wedding at the Aquarium, and they both deserve their own posts and I promise to do that soon, along with an update of Miss Addison.

But, right now I'm wanting to talk about something that's been on my mind a lot lately... the scars of motherhood. Now, I've wanted nothing more my whole life than to marry a great guy and be a mommy. Honestly, I know how blessed I am to have Kevin in my life. He takes care of me, and loves me unconditionally. And, I can't even fathom my life without my little girl. In the words of my friend Julie (hi Julie!), my child has completed me. BUT... she has left some scars on me that I'm afraid will never heal... like the 5 beautiful purple marks right under my belly-button... and my hips that are a little wider than they once were... and my (ahem) "northern hemisphere" that is actually closer to the equator than the North Pole now - if you know what I mean.

I have become very diligent about getting up every weekday morning and bundling up the little one, packing the diaper bag, and heading to the gym. Depending on the day, I either take a weight-lifting class or a cardio cycling class. And I.LOVE.IT. I leave there feeling productive and good about myself. I have actually dropped all 31 pounds that I gained during my pregnancy (and a couple more for good measure), but no amount of crunches are going to make those lovely little purple lines go away... I could do lunges, squats, and leg-raises all day long and my hips aren't going to go anywhere... and short of having surgery, I'm afraid I'll be hauling my northern hemisphere back up where it belongs for all of eternity.

But, today when I walked into the nursery at the gym to pick my sweet baby girl up, she recognized me and smiled... and for that second I forgot about those little purple lines. I think maybe one day, I might even be a little proud of them.

Addison's Bling

I've quit counting the number of times Addison has been called a boy. I am so tired of "Oh, he's so cute!" and "How old is he?"... I want to scream - "SHE is dressed in pink from head to toe... do you really think SHE is a boy?!" I have a million bows already for her, but the child will not grow hair, so... Addison got her ears pierced! I took her on Friday (after I got the OK from our pediatrician of course). She did so great. I just knew we would get the first one in and she would freak out and we wouldn't be able to get the second one done. But, after the first one she just looked at me like, "What was THAT?!" and didn't even make a peep. Second one in, no problem. Here is our girl showing off her bling! :)

Tummy Time With Daddy!

just the BEST part of my day!

I often video tape little things during the day and email them to Kevin at work so he doesn't miss out... this is Addison getting up from her nap... such a happy girl!

Christmas and New Years

Hello! The last two weeks have been the best! Addison had a wonderful first Christmas and New Year, and we've been so busy, I haven't had time to blog about it. But right now I should be busy doing laundry and cleaning, so what better time to sit down and blog?! :)

My last post was just before we left to go to my parents' house for a few days before Christmas. Right after I finished my post, we bundled Addison up for the trip (it was COLD that day!). Here is our little snow bunny...

Addison and I spent Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at Mops and Pops' house and Kevin came in on Wednesday for Christmas Eve dinner. We had a big family dinner on Wednesday with all of the Lee clan (Mops' family). Mops got a new camera for Christmas, so she took all of the pictures of Christmas. If she would ever get around to sending them to me maybe I could post a few (get on it Mops!). After dinner on Wednesday, we took Addison to the Christmas Eve candlelight service at church. Then, it was time to get home (well, back to Mom and Dad's) and get in bed so Santa could come. Obviously, she had no concept of it being Christmas, but we had fun with it none-the-less.

Christmas morning we got up and opened presents. You know you are officially a grown-up when you are beside yourself as you unwrap a new (kick-butt) vacuum cleaner!! Mom was helping me clean up when she was out visiting not too long ago, and apparently realized how bad off my vacuum cleaner was... AWESOME!

So, after we opened presents and had a wonderful Christmas brunch, we were off to see the Stewart side of the family. We spent Thursday (Christmas day) night, Friday, and Saturday morning there. Aunt Shannon and Uncle Jamie were in town from Charleston, so the whole clan was there. We had a great Christmas dinner and opened presents. Addison got just a little bit spoiled this Christmas with all of the presents she got! Jerry and Sharon got Kevin and me a new Dell laptop since our old laptop could give out at any minute... we were completely surprised!

We had a relatively calm week between Christmas and New Year... I went back to the gym and reactivated my membership (I had cancelled it when I got so sick during my pregnancy), and have been getting up there *almost* every day. It's amazing how working out completely changes my mood and daily outlook. I feel like I get so much more done, and am generally much happier when I've gotten a good workout in.

New Year's Eve we just hung out at home with the little one. Growing up, we had a tradition of having steak and shrimp for dinner on New Year's Eve... I guess a kind of "last meal" of the year. So, I reprised the tradition for our new family. We had a big dinner of steak and shrimp, with sweet potatoes, garlic bread, and salad... and then chocolate-covered strawberries and champagne at midnight for dessert... what was I just saying about the gym?! We let Addison take a good long nap in the evening, so she could stay up a little later with us. She made it to see her first peach drop at midnight, we gave her Happy New Year kisses, and then tucked her in at 12:05 with fireworks shining out her window. Here is a self-taken picture of our little family at midnight...

Addison had her 2 month check up yesterday... the child is off the charts for size, weight, and head size! They said that she is doing great and seems very healthy. She also got her first big set of shots. After the first one went in, she just looked up at me like "what was THAT?!" and then started to cry about 5 seconds later! They got the last two shots in and she screamed for about 20 seconds and then she was fine... my little trooper.

Anyway... The Stewart family is off to a great 2009... I hope you are doing the same!!