Whoa...it's been forever.

Whoa...it's been forever.  I guess we've been having a little too much "adventure" lately.  Last time I posted we were living with the in-laws and trying to find an apartment.  Over the next month or so I'm hoping to give you a  a little more detail on the past 9 months.  Since I a numbers guy let's go ahead and divide it up evenly.  Here are the first three months after I accepted my new job as a Financial Analyst at Symmetry Medical.

May - When a new job starts in a far away land you have to move.  Unfortunately (for our very helpful family and friends) we had already moved twice in the last 3 years.  Since we were only moving to a small temporary apartment in Warsaw, IN we packed up a few essentials (which mostly consisted of baby necessities) and made the trek up north. My wife is going to kill me for adding this picture, but she's asleep and I'm not so she can get over it. Ady and I were sad to leave the softball team in Indianapolis but thankfully my brother-in-law found room for us on his team in Nappanee.  The rest of the month consisted of getting settled into our new (and tiny) place and figuring out what we were going to do now that there wasn't a Hobby Lobby or Chik-Fil-A within 25 miles.

June - We were really starting to get into the swing of things and it was time for me to head out and fulfill a volunteer commitment I made when we lived in Indianapolis.  Bible Memory Ministries is a scripture memorization, bible study, and summer camp ministry that I grew up with.  For some crazy reason they have allowed me to come back and be a part of camps in both the summer in winter.  This summer the group was headed to Prairie Camp in Goshen, IN and I had the opportunity to lead a group of elementary students for a whole week.  Talk about a crazy week!  Emily and Ady came out to visit me during the week.  I have to be honest, my daughter was really teaching me some lesson in humility.  She generally was the center of attention and when that wasn't working for her she usually decided to poop on me.  While it didn't endear her to me it sure seemed to work on everyone else.

July - We finished out the summer months taking lots of walks and spending lots of time at the grandparents' houses. Ady just kept on growing and really started crawling.  Emily was terrified that she would start walking in our tiny apartment but we managed just fine. Fourth of July, summer festivals, and lots of garage sales seemed to be the trend.  At this point we were starting to look for a place to put down some roots and plant ourselves so we began looking at houses and talking about what the future might look like.  Our house in Carmel hadn't sold and we didn't have a lot of strong interest.  That's probably good because the majority of our stuff was still down there and we had NO WHERE to put it.

Up next: Football season and hunting for a house...

Fool me once...

So goes the expression "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." (Hilarious G. W. Bush video) I did a quick google search but I can't find anything on foolings numbers five and six.  Since the last time I posted, that's what happened.  Under dad's supervision Ady has again pooped on our comforter, peed on the sheets in her crib, and pooped on two outfits mid diaper change.  So I guess since our first explosive bowl indident I've been fooled four addition times. (Note: yes, I was using a changing pad for two of the four so I have gotten slightly smarter)  Thank goodness my wife is forgiving.

Yesterday Ady was officially introduced to Carter's brand 3 month clothing.  Sadly this means that all of my favorite new born outfits won't be worn until the next little one comes along.  It's amazing how much she is growing!  We have two of the exact same little ducky outfits.  Side by side one outfit looks twice as big as the other, but she wore the infant size a week ago and she fills out the 3 month size today.  She also starting to smile a little and giggle every once in a while.  Not at anything particular, but we'll get to that soon.

Here are a few more pictures for those who are interested.

   

Dad Post 2 - Conundrums

 A post of conundrums.  I have so many dad thoughts flying around up there that I'm having a tough time landing the plane.  I'd appreciate it if you would voice your thoughts using the opinion poles on the right side of the screen.

Parenting Conundrum: Does anyone else find it odd that so much time and money goes into making sure kids poop with their clothes on at a very young age.  But then we go and trying to teach kids to poop without their clothes on just a few years later?  If I was still trying to develop basic motor skills and the ability to communicate I think this would be highly confusing.

Sports Conundrum: Now that I have a young impressionable life under my influence what team should she root for in the Superbowl?  The Packers are a respectable franchise with a dedicated and hardworking fan base.  The Steelers are much the same.  I have good friends in both cities.  Such a tough decision.  But what fun is the Superbowl without picking a team to root for?

Nickname Conundrum: I need a good dad nickname.  You know, the name that only the dad uses.  Ady or Adylyn will be what everyone else calls her, but I want something different and original.  I already periodically call Emily, E-dizzle, so A-dizzle is no good.  I also figure it shouldn't be something that implies girth, promiscuity, or ugliness (Adasaurous Rex, A-girl, Little Ady Alligator).  Emily has emphatically vetoed everything I have suggested to date. Anyone have any ideas?  I will post any suggestions I receive in a poll starting after the Superbowl (vote in the What Should Ady Wear to the Superbowl Party? poll right now!).

Fun Fact: In an average day, a four year old child will ask 437 questions (and when that day comes I plan to make up a legitimate sounding answer for every one of them)

It Finally Happened

I wondered how long it would take. We have been lulled into a false sense of security but late last night the event finally took place.  Emily woke me up around 2:00am so I could take my turn to change Adylyn.  Our last few nights had been relatively uneventful.  Normal feedings and poopy diapers on a relatively consistent schedule.  (On another note, Adylyn has started sleeping for longer periods during the night. Praise Jesus!)  I got up, pulled Adylyn out of her bed, and set up a diaper and a few wipes on the end of our bed for her diaper change.  I took her out of her swaddle blanket, unbuttoned her onesie, and checked her diaper.  Definitely both wet and dirty.  Then it happened...projectile poop. EVERYWHERE.  All over her, all over her swaddle blanket, AND all over our bed.  She was positioned in such a way that the poop (the consistency of applesauce) actually ran down the side of our comforter.

I've heard lots of stories about crazy baby bowel movements, but generally those apply to boys (peeing on people, etc.)  I now have personal experience with the phenomenon and I can say that while it's not fun or funny and the time it sure is later.  From this point forward I plan to use the changing pad and position the new diaper as soon as possible. I'll never know when that poop might spray.  (In case you were curious the pee just kind of dribbles out for little girls so there's not as big of a chance of a "diaper disaster" via number one)



Adylyn Right Now
Bear Down! Chicago Bears!



In other news, Adylyn keeps growing and changing.  She is developing a little bit of neck control and seems to react to sights, sounds, and smells (I have no idea if this is valid, but it at least appears that way).  Emily is terrified that Adylyn is going to start crawling early. (This would mean that Emily will have to start baby proofing earlier and lose some of her home decor) Thank you too all of you who attended baby showers, provided hand-me-downs, provided meals, and checkin to see how we are doing.  Once our pediatrician mandated six week quarantine is up (see the reader poll on the right) we plan to take Ady out to meet all of you (baby party?!?). Everything is going great and we can't wait to see what God has in store next week.

PS. Also, congrats to our friends Chris and Christy who were blessed with Claire Elizabeth last week. I feel a play date coming on!