Easter Elegance

 My mother got Addison a beautiful pink dress and cardigan for Easter this year. What cracked us all up was when Addison started asking about her Easter hat. "Where's my hat?" We still don't know where she picked up that on Easter you wear a hat with your dress, but Grammy went and bought her a matching hat for her dress and another white one for fun. Grammy says at the store that she picked up the second hat and a woman said, "I was looking at that!" And Grammy said, "Well, I'm holding it!" I thought it was funny that mom almost had a show down at Burlington Coat Factory.

 My daughter does not like having her picture taken. . . can you tell? :)

 Of course, Addison wanted a picture with me when I wasn't going to church because I just had a baby and look like crap!

 The only picture I could get of the whole dress was when she didn't realize I was taking a picture. . . I hope this "no picture" phase passes soon!

Introducing. . .Kimber Dodson

Steve and I reported to Akron General hospital at 7:30 in the morning to begin getting ready for my c-section. We were the first couple there that morning, so we had a lot of nurses and doctors coming in to check on us. They also had a lot of students that day. Even though I hate needles, I went ahead and let a student put in my iv. Actually, she tried to put it in but couldn't, so her professor had to do it for her. Even she struggled trying to find my little veins.

Steve and I enjoyed playing around with our little caps before the surgery. I am sporting the bonnet look. Steve's best look was when he puffed it up in the middle and made himself look like the pope. The nurses thought it was really funny and had never seen anyone play with their caps before, which I found surprising.

Pope Steve! I was taken into the operating room and was given my spinal before they brought in Steve. Steve held my hand during the whole operation. The medication makes it a little difficult to breathe, so I had a little bit of anxiety during the whole thing. I looked over at Steve and he was sweating really bad and had gotten really pale. I asked him what was wrong and he said he didn't feel well. I was worried that he was going to faint. I asked him what was going on with him and he said he didn't want to talk about it. Later, Steve told me that he was very nervous during the whole surgery and kept thinking about all the things that could go wrong. I think we both felt that way this time, because the last time we were just so tired and ready to get Addison born that we didn't even think about it. Kimber Dodson

10:09 am

7 lbs 10 oz

19 inches long
*Kimber weighs 1 oz more than Addison did and is the same length that Addison was at birth*

7 lbs 9.9 oz

Getting cleaned up

The happy daddy!

I was a little tired after the surgery and was feeling pretty cold, so they gave Kimber and I lots of blankets to snuggle in.

Kimber didn't have any complications after birth. She just hung out in the incubator for a few minutes after birth. The rest of the hospital stay she roomed with us.

We were lucky to be the first people there that day. We were given the large suite at no extra charge. Addison spent that morning at a friend's house, so by the time she made it to the hospital she was completely asleep!

Grammy introducing Addison to baby Kimber

sleeping peacefully

We arrived at the hospital Tuesday morning and checked out Friday afternoon. Overall, everything went really smooth and it was a good experience. My mom stayed with us for almost two weeks and handled basically everything, so I really got to focus on breastfeeding and trying to heal from my c-section.

Kimber loves to sleep a lot and has to be woken to eat much of the time. Like Addison, she has had some trouble putting on weight, but I have been feeding her every 2-3 hours around the clock and she seems to be filling out. I am very interested in seeing what she weighs at our next doctor's appointment. We are very happy to have Kimber as a part of our family and am so blessed to have her.

Mommy/Daughter Day

Addison and I had a special mommy/daughter day a couple of weeks ago. We drove down to Hudson to a fun hairparlor just for kids. She got her hair cut and got it "princess" styled! Originally, she wanted to get her nails painted too but she got too nervous. Afterwards, we walked around and window shopped. We ate lunch together and picked out cupcakes to bring home to eat with daddy. It's fun having a girly day with my special girl!

My Little Lady

My little cowgirl! We had a mini dance party for Addison and I. She put on her tutu and cowboy boots. We cranked the radio and danced! It was a lot of fun!

Addison and I took turns brushing each other's hair and styling it. I decided to try some braids. Addison seemed to like the results.

Addison hanging out with her dog, Gigi.

It's a Daddy-Daughter Thing!

Addison has loved having her daddy around more now that we are living in the same state! Here they are enjoying some books together.

Steve has taken over a few chores to help me out now that I am a week and a half away from having Kimber. Tonight, he bathed Addison and got her completely ready for bed. He even used the hair dryer!

two peas in a pod

Cheers!

Sometimes Addison wears her daddy out :)

Steve and Addison playing hide and go seek. This is how I found daddy. . .we may need to work on his hiding skill! :)

I can't believe my little girl is growing up so fast! She is a beautiful little girl. We love having her in our lives!

Addison's First Day of Preschool!

Addison began going to preschool after we moved to Ohio. She goes 3 days a week for 3 hours at Absorbant Minds Montessori School. She has loved her two teachers and being able to play with other children. Here is Addison on her first day with her daddy!

Addison's look seems to be saying "Okay, mom can we go inside now?"

Here's Addison the night before school started. We talked to Addison (again) about what school would be like and gave her a Minnie Mouse backpack. She loved it so much that she wore it around the rest of the evening!

Poppa Love

Addison LOVES her Poppa Larsen. Here's these two after Addison had her hair done by grammy and then grammy helped her to do Poppa's hair! Note: Poppa and Addison have matching bows!

First Trip to the Dentist!

Addison's first trip to the dentist was. . .okay. I told Addison what to expect before we went, but she still was really nervous when she saw that big chair. I had to sit in the chair and hold her on my lap. Addison did not appreciate the dentist brushing her teeth and messing with her mouth. When it was over, Addison was given a little bag of toys, a new toothbrush, and a coloring page. Addison then declared that going to the dentist was "fun." About ten minutes later in the car, Addison told me that she didn't like the dentist. Hopefully it will go better next time! :)

Our Christmas

My family had already left town before Christmas, so Steve and I celebrated with just our little family. It was really fun and special to see Addison open up her presents, especially since this was her first year to really understand the Santa concept.

Addison's Christmas wish list: a baby pumpkin, Minnie Mouse, a magic rose, and a ball. She basically asked for items that she already owned, but it was cute to hear her list for Santa.

Some of Addison's favorite presents that day: Minnie Mouse, a doggy sleeping bag, and a camera that takes real pictures!

Cookie Decorating

One of Addison's favorite activities this Christmas was decorating cookies. We decorated sugar cookies when all the Larsen clan was together and we decided to decorate Santa's batch with the Connelly family.

My little decorator!

The finished product. . .Addison had a little trouble not eating while working if you can tell!

Nate's awesome snowman creation!

Snow Tubing and Hamburgers!

I know it has been awhile since I posted, but life has been pretty crazy these last few months! I am trying to get this updated before Kimber is born, so here are some of the fun things we did this holiday season. We took Addison down to Bricktown to go Snow tubing. Afterwards, we went to Bricktown Burger for some yummy food!

Cousin Nate got to join us for the day. I couldn't go tubing because of being pregnant, so Steve and Nate took charge of Addison.

Checking out the bison down in Bricktown. Steve tried to get Addison to sit on it, but she didn't want to.

Addison saying hello to her new friend!

I just love this cute girl!

Addison looked so small in her snow gear!

Addison really surprised me when she went snow tubing. I thought there was a great chance that she would bawl and be scared, especially when I got there and realized that she had to ride the tube alone. Addison did really great though. She rode the snow tube twice and loved it! It has been fun this holiday having her try new things that she was too young for last year.