A few of my favorites...

I believe what you are interested in tells a lot about you. So I thought I would do a quick post about two blogs I really like. In a perfect world I would be as talented as these people. I love photography not necessarily taking pictures but enjoying the beautiful moments they capture. I played club volleyball with Mikki and she is absolutely amazing every picture is a work of art. I found Natasha (well actually she found me) her daughter had a helmet like Addison and she was so sweet to leave us an encouraging comment. When I went to her blog I saw her amazing jewelery. It is so creative and so well priced. hope you all enjoy!

The cow and the cowboy

Halloween 2008

Yeah we had so much fun this year! Addison was so good wearing her costume. Max loved his costume he kept trying to play with the rope! I caved and let Addi have a have a treat and it was totally worth it because she loved it! It was a cherry Dum Dum she loved holding it and would take one lick at a time. Thankfully she got tired with it after a few minutes. I don't want her to be a garbage gut and eat crappy food (you would think I'd be a better example!) We are looking forward to many more fun costumes. I am already bugging Kelby to dress up as a family next year maybe as the real Addams Family with Max as Pugsley and Addison as Wednesday. We will see. I have a whole year to come up with ideas!

OK, here we go!

A week ago today Addison was fitted for her helmet. It was a bit stressful putting the helmet on for the first time. I was so scared I would hurt her but she was totally fine. On top of getting the helmet poor Addi had double ear infections and got two teeth on top. She was MISERABLE! It was horrible timing because people (except kelb and me) were blaming the helmet for her being upset. It was a bit rough trying to explain that she was crying because she was SICK not due to the helmet. We have had a fairly positive response, only one dummy that made a horrible comment as we were walking into a grocery store in St. George. Oh well. My mom got some adorable hats for her to wear. I am looking at this as an opportunity to educate people about plagiocephaly but also as a learning experience for our little family to accept criticism and also open our hearts and minds to differences in others. My camera is so crummy so this is the only picture I have, I'll post more later.

Helmet Casting

Well it's official Addison is getting a helmet, much to Kelby's dismay. We are both concerned about the reactions we are going to get and how we are going to react to them! On Tuesday we went to Fit-Well and she was casted. The batteries died on my camera so the pictures are from Fit-well. When they called to schedule the appointment they said for me to wear old clothes that I wouldn't care if plaster got on. They had me undress Addison completely (except her diaper) and put this little towel over her head then a fabric bonnet. He traced her ears then explained that he would put a piece of plaster over the top of her head, and another around the back then put Vaseline on her forehead and on the front of the first piece of plaster then place a piece of plaster on her forehead. The last step was to put a strip of plaster around the back of her head and neck while that piece was drying she could not move her head from side to side. They said she would be fine during the most part but while they put on the last piece she would get upset because it is a survival mechanism for babies to be able to move their head. Then after it was all set up they would remove the forehead piece and lift the back piece off. She did just as he said she could have cared less then when the last strip was on she got very upset. The entire casting took only a few minutes. We will go back in 2 weeks to have a fitting with the actual helmet. Hooray for helmets!

Finally, a break!

Kelby and I used to travel a lot but that was before a mortgage (yeah we miss paying $400 a month for rent!) 9 months of sickness and 7 months of a beautiful baby! We would go on mini vacations and loved the quick break from the grind. We were long past due so last week we were able to fly to Oregon to visit my brother Ben, his new wife Tiff and The Duffin Grandparents. Addison was amazing! We were pushing her in the stroller through the airport and I noticed that people were walking by and giving these big cheesy smiles I couldn't figure out why so I looked down at Addison and she was smiling at everyone that walked by! The plane ride went well, they sat everyone with kids at the back of the plane. It was like a daycare! When we landed Addison was tugging at her right ear I thought that her ear hadn't popped. We had such a good time, it is so beautiful there. We ate great food and went to a farmers market that sold the best organic produce. It was delicious! We watched old home movies and visited it was so much fun. When we came back we landed in Vegas and looked at each other and both said, " we aren't ready to go home yet" so we went and ate at The Cheesecake Factory! At home that night I felt in Addi's mouth and she had a TOOTH! It was a great vacation!

The Best Babysitter EVER!!!

My little sister Eleanore has been watching Addison for us on Mondays because she doesn't have hair school. Addi loves it because she gets to play with two "Elles" her elephant and her Eleanore. A few weeks ago I came home early for lunch and this is what I found. I gave El a hard time about sleeping on the job and about Addi sleeping on the bed with her. (I know, I'm paranoid. Thanks for putting up with me sis.) So the next week when I came home this is what I found:
Sorry El! I couldn't help it. You are the best. I love you and couldn't have done it this summer without you.

Bimbo Chair

At Addi's 4 month well child check the Dr. wanted her referred to physical therapy because she has positional plagiocephaly. Basically, she has a flat head on one side. Ever since she was born she always slept with her head turned to the right. I always made sure she was sleeping on her back because of SIDS and didn't think anything of it. I had noticed that her head was flat on the right side but didn't think there was anything I could do about it. Untreated severe plagiocephaly can cause TMJ, pressure on the ocular nerve and facial deformity. I was totally caught off guard. We went to physical therapy and they showed me some stretches to do with her because she didn't turn her head all the way to the left due to favoring the right so much. We were also told things we could do to help take the pressure off the right and move it to the left. One thing they recommended was a "Bumbo"chair. It props the baby up so they can sit unassisted. Instead of letting Addison play in her swing during the day where pressure would be on her head she would sit and play in the chair. I would take Addison to work with me and she would sit in it and play while I entered information into the computer. I was telling my co-workers about the chair and one of them said," why would they call something that is made for babies a "bimbo" chair?" It was so funny! There are a lot of people that think I am crazy for taking my baby to Physical Therapy and doing exercises with her for a flat head but I feel like if there is anything I can do to help her I should do it. FYI it's recommended to put your baby to bed on it's back then rotate in a clockwise position each night. So start with the top of it's head facing 12:00 then the next night lay it down pointing to 1:00 etc.