We are sad today.......

My mom's cat, Casey Roo, went to heaven today, and our family is deeply saddened about it all. As many of you know, he was very sick with a feline urinary tract blockage that kept reoccurring. After much worry and many mixed feelings about it all, we made the decision to end his suffering. My heart aches for my Mom because I know all too well how much it hurts to lose a furry friend. We continue to count our blessings and thank God for our own health and that of our friends and family.

I love you Mom, and I can promise you that God wouldn't have let us make a bad decision today. We did the unselfish thing and he is much better off chasing mice up in heaven with Boo Boo. Please know that its ok to be sad. Addie and I will make you smile again!

Some favorites with the men.....

Addie and her cousin, Ken......
Addie and her Grandpa Dave.....
Addie and her Pop Pop Hewitt......
And of course, Addie and her Daddy.....
Look at that tiny bottle.....I can't believe how little milk she drank back then. She's up to 8 oz at a time now!

These are some of my favorite pictures of Addie with some of the guys in her life. I figured since I didnt have a blog back then to share them, I would do it now. I'll share some early pictures of her with other people tomorrow......

A year ago today.....(almost)

Addie in the Level II Nursery getting some medicine to make her better....The nurses did her hair for me!
Addie and Mommy and Daddy celebrating her 1st birthday...1 Week Old...in our hospital "Apartment"!
Addie sleeping in the car, ready to go to her new home and get away from this hospital finally!
Welcome Home Addie!
Mamaw giving me some time to shower to and rest in between my many feedings! She seemed to be the one person, besides her Daddy, that could get her to calm down like that.....

I should have created this post on Saturday, but because of my class, I was unable to do so. Sat. would have been the day a year ago, that after9 days in the hospital, we were finally able to bring our baby girl home. Just as we were packing up to go home two days after she was born, Addie spiked a high fever and had to be admitted to the Special Care Level II Nursery. After a bazillion tests, they could only tell us that she had some sort of virus and needed to be on IV fluids and medicine for atleast a week! We moved into a small room beside her nursery for the next 7 days. I pretty much spent that week nursing her every three hours, learning from the wonderful nurses how to care for her, and sleeping in between. Eventually Tim had to return to work and he just left each morning from our little hospital "apartment"......It was a long, scary week.....I think my nerves were a mess and by the time we were able to take her home, I was really nervous considering how sick she had been......It was so wonderful to hold her that first time without all those wires and iv's and beeping machines attached.........

Here are a few pictures taken the last few nights.....

(I had to post my pictures seperately from my message for some reason. It wouldn't upload any photos with the message post??????)

Very busy weekend for the Hewitts....

I thought I would go ahead and post a little message tonight since I probably won't be able to do it tomorrow. I have been in class all weekend, and then tomorrow I am headed to Richmond to help an expecting friend register at Babie'sRUs for the baby stuff she will need! So, I probably won't be able to post again until Monday. Daddy and Addie had a great weekend together. She was in such a good mood and seemed to be feeling much better since her "illness" on Thursday. They ran some errands, spent some time playing with all of her toys, and even went to a work party of Tim's so that all of his coworkers could meet her. Tonight it was so nice here that we were actually able to get out for a nice family bike ride! Addie is able to say Bye Bye now, but she actually says "Dye Dye" and she says ball, but it comes out "Dall"....we are having some difficulty with the "B" sound evidently. She also tries really hard to say doggie and now she is working on "Cookie". She knows what they are and can go and get them when we ask her to (she has these fake counting cookie things)...but needs a little work on the word itself! Wow, she is growing and changing so fast...........I can barely keep up with her! The next big step will be walking.....wonder when she will be interested in that at all?

So far so good.....

Well, we have made it through the morning without any barfing incidents. My Mom came over at the crack of dawn so that I could shampoo the carpet and get her fed and changed before we had to be at the nursery for Jazzercise. I did end up taking her with me this morning because other than a little irritability, she seems to be doing fine. She is napping now and getting ready for her "Daddy and Addie" Weekend. I have class again this weekend. Tim is actually looking forward to his time with her because he has worked some overtime this week and hasn't seen much of her, and the last time I had class they forced him to work that Saturday. I will try and get some new pictures of her this weekend to post......keep your fingers crossed that she is free from some weird stomach bug......

For those of you who pray, please keep my Uncle Robert in your prayers these next few days. He is in Tennessee this morning in intensive care. They believe he was having a heart attack or perhaps has a blood clot in his heart, so he will be having surgery sometime today. My aunt and my cousin are terribly worried about him as we all are.....so keep them in your thoughts.

I only have three words to say......

I HATE VOMIT!

I will post more tomorrow morning. Don't worry, we are all ok, but I think little girl must have eaten too much ice cream or perhaps is feeling rotten from her shots! Let's just say my Mom is coming over first thing in the morning with her steam cleaner in tow! Thanks Mom.........

Beach Day.....

These pictures were taken Sunday afternoon after all of our company left. Tim and I had to stop by the rental house down at the beach for a few things and decided that would be the perfect opportunity to take Addie to the beach. The sun was setting and she couldnt get burned, plus the crowds of people were finally starting to subside and move into their hotels. It really was a perfect evening for the beach. She loved the wind blowing in her hair, but wasn't too sure about why this "sticky" stuff keeps getting on her hands (sand). She would touch the sand and then shake her hands to try and get it off, and then just sit and look at them for a while. Im sure if we would have let her, she would have been all over that beach. When Tim took her to the edge of the water, she pulled up those legs and started to frown! She much prefers the pool!

Doctor Update.....

Addie is free from the horrible ear infections.....for now anways. Her ears look great and it is perfectly fine that I still warm her milk and she refuses to drink it out of a sippy cup. Dr. Hall also assured me that it was ok if she still wanted a pacifier at night, but I should try to avoid giving her one to walk around with during the day. It is completely normal for me to be constantly worrying and no, she is not behind schedule with walking, some babies don't even attempt to stand until 15 months. She weighs just under 25 lbs and she is in the 97% for her height. She fell asleep after the doctor saw her while waiting for the nurses to return to give her her 4 shots, so they had to wake her to do it.....so sad! She of course, just wanted me to grab her up and hug her and then she was all smiles again!

Good morning everyone.......

Today Addie has her 1 year appointment at the doctor's. Im not too sure what that exactly means. I know they will check her ears and weigh her and measure her height, but I can't remember if that means she will get shots or not. I think I would rather not know and just have it happen. I dread the whole thing for her and it just kills me to see her hurting. They poke her and she immediately looks at me and reaches for me as if she is wondering why I let them hurt her. Keep your fingers crossed that her ears are all better and that all of that fussiness last week was due to those two new teeth she has up top!

We have been spending these long hot days in the pool, either at my mom's or at one of my friend's houses. She LOVES the pool. She really does think she can swim and would rather not float in her little float, but try and kick those feet and wave those little arms instead. I better go and get her ready for the day. I'll post later about her doctor's appointment........

Getting big.......

At her Mamaw's in the pool......She loves the pool!
Lily and Addie trying to get out of the "cage"!
Addie in her birthday chair from Mamaw!

Addie seems to have grown up overnight.....I am certain. She is slowly....and I mean slowly, giving up the bottle and showing more interest in the cup. Yesterday I started her on whole milk....NO MORE FORMULA! I was very excited about that, but also a little sad. She really is not a little baby anymore. I told Kristy yesterday that the "baby stage" seems to just zoom by...we don't get them as babies for very long. Lily is already trying to take her first steps! I have cherished every moment with her this past year and Tim feels the same way. We know there will come a day when she won't care whether or not we are in the same room or whether or not we are even there at all....so we are soaking it all in!

Today I have some school work to do and it is suppose to be super HOT, so we may just spend the day inside playing with some of our new stuff and seeing what trouble we can get into here! Oh yeah...yesterday she had her first boo boo. She was crawling really fast and lost her balance and fell flat on her face...and that little tooth coming in the top hit her lip and made it bleed! She was a MESS! Boy, do we have a little drama queen on our hands!

Birthday Story Final Chapter

Are you guys sick of the birthday stories yet? Believe me, I am exhausted from it all, so.....this will be it for the shindig......This was Addie's Monkey cake that I ordered from a local bakery. They even put a bow in its hair for Addie because we all know how much she loves bows!



Addie loved the cake and was really excited to see another one of those yummy messy things coming towards her.....

She dug right in and once again ignored the actual cake part and enjoyed all of that icing!

She got lots of fun gifts from everyone including a whole closet of 18 months clothes from Ga Ga and Pop Pop.....a neat little chair with her name on it from Mamaw (I'll post a picture of that soon).....some books, a sock monkey from her best friend, Lily, some alphabet letters for the fridge, some fun flash cards to learn words, a battery operated four wheeler for her size from her cousins Skylar and Lakyne...some onesies for the winter from the Kellum's....two savings bonds from Grandpa Rick and Grandma Julie and Mamaw and Dave.....some money for her account from the Lockharts, Pop, the Hartman's, and the Kellum Family...and even a star named after her! She is always well taken care of and so many people love her....how lucky she is and so blessed!

What a great party and many memories were made this week that we will cherish forever! Happy Birthday Big Girl.......I can't believe you are one year old! I love you!

Tag....I'm still it....I haven't forgotten......

Several days ago my cousin, Erin, tagged me to write a list of 6 random things about myself and then tag 6 other people to the same.....I don't think I know 6 other people who actually blog, but I will do my best to name a couple......Here goes nothing...........

1. I am a huge fanatic for murder mystery shows and loyally tivoe 48 Hours Mystery and Dateline episodes.......kind of gruesome I know, but for some reason I love a good mystery, especially one where they get the bad guy!

2. I wipe down my countertops with Lysol atleast 10 times in one day. Even water spots drive me crazy. I am not however, a neat freak. I just hate dirty countertops....but my car has not been cleaned in 3 years.

3. I have kept every single card I have ever been given since about middle school. Yeah....I know....wierd, but sometimes, I pull those boxes out and just read all of the little messages people have written me over the years. I am not a pack rat though....just love my cards.

4. I HATE call waiting......and though I am guilty of using it from time to time, think it is plain rude and obnoxious and really wish it didn't exist...

5. I love the Redskins.....although even after all these years don't really understand the game completely...but thoroughly enjoy football season and cheering on my team....even during the rotten season(s).

6. I have been to the caribbean several times and although I loved it each time, I have really always wanted to vacation in a cabin somewhere in the mountains when it was cold and snowy!

Ok......I know there are rules and I am suppose to link back to the person who tagged me and also link the names of the people I tag to their blogs, but guess what? I don't know how to do that.......Jaime, Kristy, and Heather B. ......you guys give it a shot...(Sorry....I had to tag someone!)

Birthday Story Chapter 2

Addie had her birthday lunch consisting of good ole chicken nuggets and cheese at her Mamaw's house! I loved her little grin in this picture above.....

Here she opens her first gift from Mommy and Daddy....."Counting Cookies"....she seemed to really like them too, but of course she loves any toy you put in front of her!

Happy Birthday little girl!

Thursday Night we all had cake and icecream with Addie since it was her real birthday. She got to see the cake her Daddy made for her and she LOVED it! I was rather shocked at how much she really liked the stuff, since I often try to give her something new and sweet and she practically gags. She didn't care much for the actual cake, but she really liked the green icing!



We have had a long day today, and I don't think I have felt this exhausted since the days she was getting up several times throughout the night......I have loads of pictures to share from our weekend with family and friends and of course, of the big ONE YEAR OLD!!!!!! She was such a good little girl with all of the excitement going on and has been sleeping so well for Mommy and Daddy!

Thank-you to all of our friends and family who came from near and far and shared this special day with us....and a special thanks to my Mom for all of her help and for making Addie's first birthday party a huge success!

I will post more tomorrow from the birthday party!

A Daddy's Love......Birthday Story Chapter 1

After hearing a story from a friend about making his own son's birthday cake, Tim made up his mind that he too would make Addie a birthday cake each year. So....several weeks ago he started his research and found a cake on the internet that he thought he would like to tackle. After Addie was tucked into bed Wednesday night, Tim got busy......around 8:30 or so. From a trip to Walmart earlier in the week, he had purchased a nice supply of cake mix, frosting and colored icings to help get the job done......and the adventure begins.....

Around 10:30, the cake and cupcakes he was using were cool enough to apply the frosting......

Around 11:00, the masterpiece has started to come together.......

And here it is folks.........12:30 AM and we have a MONKEY CAKE!!!!!!!!

And a Daddy who is very proud of his creation and the adorable little monkey girl asleep upstairs! Yes......he did have to work the next morning!

Don't ya just love him? The cake turned out so adorable and Addie loved it!!!

I have plenty of cute pictures and stories to share from this week so I will have options for my upcoming posts. We have family in town for the birthday bash on Saturday. My cousin and her twins are staying with us through the weekend, so I have very little time to get on the computer. Right now everyone, but me, is taking a nice little catnap before dinner! Stay tuned for more of the Birthday Story!

Happy Birthday little Claire....and Momma Emily too!

Happy 1st Birthday Addison Leigh! 7-17-07

Can you believe she is 1?

Addie was born at 12:19 am on the 17 of July 2007. She weighed 8 lbs 12 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long!

I am very emotional today thinking that how we have spent the last year getting to know this little jewel in our life, and what a short amount of time that really is...and yet, we cannot imagine our life without her now! She is better than I ever imagined and I cannot put into words what it feels like to see her with Tim. They are two of a kind and I cannot figure out how I have come to be so blessed.

A year ago today.......I can still remember in the wee hours of the morning, after I had gotten all settled in my room and had an hour or two to rest......the door to my room pushing open and the squeeking of that little cart coming straight at me with this small, warm, very hungry little person looking up at me......and the nurse saying..."momma, someone's hungry!" "Is she really ours?"

Happy Birthday Addie Girl! You light up our life and Mommy and Daddy couldn't be more proud of you!

She's almost here......a year ago today

Before the epidural........

And after the epidural........just waiting and waiting....and waiting!

Since we spent some pretty long hours in the hospital after she was born, I actually wrote down every small detail of this crazy day for Addie to read when she is older and curious about the day she was born. I will save you all from all of the gory details.

I went to the hospital around 4:00 pm. I got an epidural around 5:45 or so.... It really was unbearable! The pain was so intense that I would forget that I needed to breathe! Crazy! After the epidural, things seemed to fly by, but I didn't even start to push until 11:30 that night.....Honestly, I have never been more scared in my entire life, but I just kept reminding myself...."Carrie, there is no way out now....she has to come out of there, one way or another!" Looking back, it is much easier to go into it knowing nothing. The second time around I might be even worse off knowing exactly how much pain I'm going to be in both during and after! My mom, of course, was my biggest cheerleader in there. I can still hear her telling me how good I am doing and how proud of me she is. Tim was wonderful as always and stuck right by my side even during the messy parts!

It still seems like just yesterday. This day will remain one of my most memorable moments....the day before I was to get the hardest, but most fulfilling job I would ever have....being a mommy....the exact thing I have always wanted to be!

We are very excited about Addie's birthday tomorrow!

Getting ready for Baby Addison.....

A year ago today we were waiting on our little blessing.....I wasn't due according to the doctors until the 23rd of July, but we knew it would happen sooner. I was so BIG and so uncomfortable this time last year. I remember laying for hours on our couch and whining and crying ALOT because I was exhausted from not sleeping well and not being comfortable ever! We were more than ready, or so we thought............I even had diapers and wipes all layed out in various stations I had set up around the house. Her room and her closet were ready and stocked, and I just knew I was days away from having a cute, sweet, sleeping baby in the cradle in our room. Ha ha!! Little did I know how unprepared we really were, and how wrong we were about thinking we were ready!


Tim worked very hard at putting that crib and changing table together one Saturday morning. I think we had the crib up and ready to go in January!

Jaime, my close friend from college, and I were pregnant and in Shanna's wedding together. Thank goodness I had a friend to wear that big dress with and waddle down the aisle! It was a good time!

As I have said before, Kristy and I were blessed to go through this together and we have enjoyed getting to know Lily and sharing special times with the Maynor family!

This was right around 6 months....so right around March or so.....still had 4 months of weight to gain! YIKES!


AND finally, me right around 9 months! I gained 38 lbs total, but I look so much bigger than that! Her room was ready and waiting......Little did we know that we would have her in our arms in just two days.....

Addie learns a new favorite game to play......

A couple of weeks ago, Grandpa Dave spent about 15 min. in the floor with Addie teaching her to throw a little colored ping pong ball. She LOVED it! She really learned how to do it and it meant anything that was round and could roll would be thrown from that point on. She loves to play ball! My mom had her giggling so hard while they were playing with a beach ball the other day! Here are some action shots we got the other night:

Maybe we have a little soccer player on our hands? Or atleast an above average kick ball player?

Addie finally tries to stand up......even if it is leaning....It still counts!

I know these are a little fuzzy.....she was wobbling all over the place!

Can you believe it? She is actually up on those little legs of hers... She can't stand up by herself of course, but more and more she is trying to pull up on things. Just this morning I found her trying to climb up onto this little shelf that is on the bottom of our kitchen island. There she was....just standing on her feet! She gets so proud of herself after I see her, and she will smile really big and clap!

Yesterday I finished my third class in my graduate program! 7 more to go and I am done! It seems like the classes are getting harder and harder and starting to take up more and more time. I will be so happy when I am finished!

Tim's forced Saturday work-day wasn't so bad after all and he was home early enough to get some things done around the house. He volunteered to work today so that he can get enough overtime before next Saturday. We don't want him to have to work during someone's big birthday bash!

I better get off this computer and get some breakfast before Addie wakes up......thats another thing....her naps are getting shorter and shorter too!