My Sweet Little 11 Month Old

Every month I am amazed that yet another month has gone by so fast. This month Addison really started "aging". I am happy to say she is walking, but sad because it makes her look so grown up. She definitely loves this new avenue of getting around, the bear crawl occurs less and less every day. Addison is very independent, she feeds herself finger foods and her bottle. I can remember the time not too long ago where she was completely dependent on me for her food, now she is only dependent on me to prepare her food which really is a role anyone could fill. She loves fruit over veggies, but I have learned if I put dressing (italian or ranch) over her veggies she will eat them. She could eat her weight in mandarin oranges and loves rotissere chicken as her favorite meat. She love her "mama" for times of comforting & eating... she loves her "dada" for time of play. Her favorite toy right now is the Roomba vacuum, I swear it is the best baby entertainer ever... she chases it around the house until the battery dies. My floor is cleaned and the baby is entertained, cannot beat that combo! Addison loves the pool! We took her to Milburn Pool in our neighborhood which has a fun kids area she can play in. We also took her to Staci's apartment pool where they have a 6" section she can crawl and walk around. The mosquitoes are awful right now and they eat baby girl up. I found some natural insect repellent that we are going to try. Being outdoors is her favorite thing, so I am determined to figure out a way for her to have fun and not get eaten alive. Her favorite words right now are Hi, All Done and Woah... pretty darn cute! She is so goofy and playful. Addison is the sweetest, happiest baby in the world. We just love her so much and every month gets more and more fun! I cannot believe that she will be a one year old in just a month! Her party is going to be delayed a couple of weeks until all the house stuff is figured out.

Addison - 11 Months (37 photos), by Carrie Betzen

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share. Click here to view photos

My First Real Mother's Day

Over the years I have been a "mother" to cats, dogs and fish... we have always celebrated Mother's Day in some shape or form even though I was not a mother to a precious child. Last Mother's Day was different because not only was I a mother to Rodnee my furbaby, I was 7 months pregnant with our first child. Celebrating my first Mother's Day was amazing because we have been blessed to have the most precious daughter in the world. Before I became a mother, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what it would be like... I was very very wrong. There have been very tough trying times, but mostly there have been times of pure joy. I am totally blow away by what an immense blessing it is to be a mother. Never in my wildest dream did I think I would love sweet Addison as much as I do. Being a mother is the best job in the world and I thank God everyday for the opportunity.

This Mother's Day was even extra special because we dedicated Addison at church and we were planning on announcing our pregnancy at her dedication lunch.

The dedication service is not a baptism (that comes when she is older and can make her decision to make Christ the leader of her life), it is a vow to raise our child in such a way that leads her to make that decision. Addison was the oldest baby on stage, I was a bit nervous she would let out a loud babble or growl, but she did so good!

After church we got home and took some family pictures outside.

Then Brian took Addison upstairs to change her into her "Big Sister" outfit so we could announce our pregnancy to our family and friends. Brian and I were so nervous!

My dad was the first to see!

Picture with GG and Grandpa...

Brian's grandparents... LOVE THEM!

Exciting News!!!!

We are very excited, humbled and blessed to announce that Addison is going to be a BIG SISTER! It is so hard to imagine because she is so little! The babies will be 17th months apart. BB2 (Baby Betzen 2) is due December 24th.

We were 6 weeks when we found out we were pregnant and now we are 12 weeks. This first trimester has FLOWN by because we have been so busy with Addison, selling our house, work, etc. We saw the doctor today and everything is looking good! Hearing the heartbeat beat so strong (158) was awesome. What is interesting is that was the same heart beat as Addison at 12 weeks. We will find out the sex of the baby at our 20 week appointment in August.

Please join us in praying for a healthy pregnancy and baby! We feel so blessed to have BB2 on the way. It is going to be a little crazy in the beginning having the babies so close together, but I know it will be wonderful!

Here is the story on finding out and spreading the news...

For about a month I had been nauseous and tired... I finally took a pregnancy test and it was positive. The only issue was that I had no idea how far along I was. I came up with the idea to buy Addison a Big Sister onesie to announce the news to Brian. I called Carters and they said they do not have Big Sister onesies, only a t-shirt (size 2T to be exact). I guess that made sense. I put it on Addison for the big reveal when Brian got home. He was excited, shocked but excited (my same reaction).

After getting the positive pregnancy test we went to the doctor the next day to find out how far along I was, turned out I was 6 weeks. The baby was a little tiny bean with a heartbeat of only 100 (perfect for that age). We went back to the doctor for the standard 8 week appointment and everything looked good, heartbeat was 158.

We decided to tell our family and close friends on Mother's Day because we were having a luncheon after Addison's dedication. Everyone was very excited!

10 Months (26 photos), by Carrie Betzen

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
Click here to view photos

10 Months = Little Miss Mischief

Oh my heavens I am so far behind in blogging. Life has been a little crazy lately... details on that coming soon.

Addison is 10 months and gets more and more fun every day. While editing her 10 month photos a common theme would be "Little Miss Mischief". She is literally getting into everything...thank goodness for tot locks! While cleanup can be a pain, it is fun watching her discover new things. She also makes the funniest face because she knows she is doing something wrong, but is loving every second.

Fun Facts:

• Loves the tv remote, cordless phone (has even made some random phone calls) and my cell phone
• Has so much fun at swimming lessons
• Talks CONSTANTLY!!! (I wonder who she gets that from)
• Quit breastfeeding and of course the only formula she will take is the super expensive already mixed Simulac
• Still takes 2 naps a day and sleeps 11-12 hours a night
• Is a super happy baby
• Loves playtime with Daddy, especially when he flips her around in the air
• Her laugh is contagious... she finds herself to be quite hilarious and will just start laughing randomly

Addison brings pure joy to our life and we love her so much!