our sweet pea

2 months

Daddy says

The past 2 months have been both crazy and fun. It is a lot harder to concentrate at work when you know that you have a baby waiting for you at home. 7-9pm is Addie's fussy time and that makes it hard because that is right when I get home, but the fun morning and nights make it worth it. Mommy spoils her too much and lets her sleep in our bed. Samson likes to give her kisses and has been very good with her. I can't wait until Addie starts laughing and interacting more with Rachael and me. She is fun now, but I am even more excited for the next two months.

cousins

Yesterday cousin Emma came over to play. We love Emma and she loves Addie. Although she doesn't say much yet in the way of real words, she always greets Adeline with a big smile, pointing at her and saying, "BE-BAY!" Emma is good at sharing and taking care of Addie. Here are a few shots from the afternoon.

Addie is so lucky to have an older cousin so close in age to look after her and show her the ropes! We know they'll grow up to be great buddies!

Back to school

The adjustment back to school hasn't been too bad. My 4th graders really are so sweet and I'm only working half days now. Plus having my mom at home with Addie makes it much easier to relax and know she is in good hands. However, all of this doesn't keep me from counting down the days left! (18 if you were wondering)

Yesterday my students threw me a surprise baby shower!

Then I got to come home to this sweet pea. Here is one of her famous Popeye smiles :)

CiCi's girl

7 weeks

We are finally taking a breather from our jam packed weekend! We had so many wonderful events, but it was all a little exhausting, especially with a new baby. John's brother Andrew got married to a fabulous girl, who we all love! On Friday, Andrew and Kristen went to the temple for the very first time and we got to be there with them. Then came the family dinner that night.

Andrew meeting Addie for the very first time

Saturday morning Andrew and Kristen were married for time and eternity in the Washington DC temple. Later on we had a fun reception at La Ferme, a lovely French restaurant in Chevy Chase. I wish I had some pictures of the bride and groom together.

All of the Harding girls!

On Sunday we had Addie's blessing. Adeline cried all morning until finally she calmed down and fell asleep in the car on the way to church. She woke up as John picked her up to bless her. He was worried she would cry during the blessing, but instead she looked around, wide eyes at the 10 men surrounding her as her Daddy began to pray. It was such a neat sight to see these wonderful men encircling her. We are so lucky to have so many worthy priesthood holders in our family. It was a beautiful blessing promising Addie a temple marriage, the gift of charity, good friends whom she can be an example to, a loving family, and many more.

Dress from my blessing, blanket from Bethlehem, and sweet little booties from Spain

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to our 1.5 Fletch! Hope Paris is AMAZING! Come home soon to play with Addie, she can't wait to meet you!!!

Mother's Day

My very first mother's day was oh-so-sweet. My amazing husband greeted me in the morning with breakfast and flowers. He also gave me a new charm for my charm bracelet (a wedding present from him with a charm to celebrate each of our special life moments). It was a dainty cursive A for Addie with a little pearl attached.

We got to spend time with each of our fabulous mothers and even grandmothers. It felt a little strange that all of the sudden this holiday applied to me! I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a mother to this sweet little angel.

I am also grateful for the wonderful examples of motherhood I have had in my life, especially my own mom, Cathey and my amazing mother-in-law, Dawn. We love you!

(We love cousin Emma too!!)

Say Cheese

My 6 week maternity leave is coming to an end. It's been so nice staying home with my little girl all day long doing, well, pretty much nothing! I know Daddy has sure been jealous as he heads off to work every morning while Addie and I are still curled up in bed together. Good thing he loves us so much. We try to send him pictures most days so he doesn't feel like he is missing out on too much.

Already a thumb sucker!

Wide awake, just taking in the world

Having some sweet dreams :)

Today I got a great shot. Adeline was awake, looking all around. As I started talking to her she looked at me and cracked the biggest smile! I grabbed my phone and snapped the tail end of it. Daddy says it's a goofy grin, but I think it's pretty darn adorable!

TA-DA!!!

Addie's first caught-on-digital-film smile

Wide Eyed

Our sweet little angel girl is 5 weeks old! The time sure does seem to fly by. This is my last week home with her and I am starting to dread heading back to work. What if I miss something?? Adeline is getting to be so alert. She tracks now with her whole head as well as her eyes. She focuses very intensely on faces and I'm thinking it's only a matter of weeks before we start seeing some real smiles (can't wait!!!). Here's a little taste of what I get to enjoy everyday :)