Monday, July 26, 2010

Love Letter #1

My dear sweet Addisyn,

Even as a stay-at-home mom, there are days that are filled to the brim with stuff. The "things-to-do" list gets longer throughout the day instead of shorter. Then, as quickly as the day began, it ends and I am rocking you to sleep while feeding you your night time bottle.  Looking down at you, I wonder how I let this day slip by without taking in more than just this moment.  After you are down for bed, I attempt to fall asleep even though my thoughts are wide awake and I pray that I can remain focused on the important things in life for tomorrow- falling in love with you all over again and making sure you feel that love. Although our days together are simple, they are heavenly.  I know you won't remember these times while you are this young. My hope is that this blog will show you one day how much I love you. This is a day in your life at six and a half months.


You eat, gobble, spit, wipe, smear, squirt, and love your baby food. You particularly love anything that has to do with fruit and steer clear from the vegetables. I craved lots of fruit while you were in my belly so maybe this is the reason.





Then we sign (Baby Signing time), play, dance, smile, laugh, giggle, and read. Sometimes your dad and I read to you at the same time acting as characters in the book.




You are curious about everything just like the book we read today, Curious George.



Many of our days are filled with photography and you are my favorite model. You are a natural beauty!





The days fly by and you are growing so quickly. Every day you learn something new. Recently you have been belly lauging whenever we tickle your belly and it is irrisistably cute. I love to spend my days at home with you and I am very thankful for each passing day.

And just as quickly as the day began, dinner time approaches and your dad comes home from work. This is my favorite time of the day because we are all together again. Your faces light up whenever you see each other and it warms my heart to see the instant connection you have with your dad.


As the sun begins to fade and the moon starts rising into the sky, you fall into a peaceful sleep. I cherish even these small moments with you.



 I love you my little love bug!

~Mommy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Beach Baby!

This past weekend Addisyn had her first beach experience. Steve, Addisyn, and I packed up the Chevy Equinox and set off beach bound early Saturday morning. How did I get Steve to the beach you ask? No problem. I bought a football and told him Patrick (seen below) would be there. Then, like a moth to a flame was Steve to the passenger’s seat (another one of my sneaky plans- I drive and he doesn't have to deal with the traffic).



We were headed to the beautiful soft sands of Bethany. This would be the first time Steve and I have been back to Bethany since we were married there a little over two years ago.

Addisyn at the beach wasn’t exactly how I expected it to be. To protect her delicate skin, the high powered sunscreen was a necessity, but she certainly wasn’t happy about being covered in lotion.

WARNING!: I have discovered digital scrapbooking. Proceed with Caution. :-)

Then the big moment was here. Addisyn looked on at the beach with intrigue in the arms of her aunt Kim. After taking in the pushing and pulling of the ocean waves in their seemingly endless beauty, it was time to set Addisyin’s feet in the moist sand of the place where waves end. One baby foot…two baby foot…SCREAM! Yep, she hated it. As it turns out little Addisyn is more of an ocean watcher than an ocean participant at this point in her life.

Kim has been such an amazing aunt to Addisyn. She always asks to be on “Addy duty” when we’re together and Addy’s smile grows bigger each time they hang out. As a welcomed bonus, what I am starting to realize more and more is the affect Addisyn is having on my relationship with Kim. Having her in our lives has brought us closer together as sisters and as friends.


With an ocean strike out and the day heating up, it was time to pack up our shade tent, towels, and snacks and head to the pool! Could I be so lucky that I get a beach day and a pool day all in one? That’s right, the beach house complex that Kim and our new friends were staying at had a pool right behind the house. Result: JACKPOT!




Us girls kicked our feet up poolside and took in some rays.



We chewed on sunglasses.




We even ate some Pooh!

Looking back at this week and our beach adventures I can only thing of how much joy I get from the small things in life. I love chatting and tanning with my sister, laughing with my husband, and making my daughter smile...She is becoming more beautiful every day and is growing in more ways than she knows.

With love,

Stacy Hart

* FUN FIND: For all you girls out there that like to save a buck: http://thefrugalgirls.com/

** Steve moved from editor to inspired co-author on this post :-)

Monday, July 12, 2010

Weather or not.

There are days when the dishes are piling up. Days when the dog hair has scooted to the outskirts of the wood floors and begins to form an additional floorboard. Days when the kitchen table is buried beneath two weeks of junk mail, and your terrier uses your basket full of dirty clothes as his personal luxurious doggy lounge. You know these days…the days that leave the stress meter pegged all the way to the right and the only way to rebalance that meter is to suck it up and get it done. So you put on a pot of coffee, take a look at the mess around you and with a long heavy sigh you decide to … GO TO THE POOL! After all, there is a heat wave outside that’s calling your name!


This week I rallied the Snyder girls (the female half of the family that baby sits for us) for some pool fun with me and Addisyn. The Snyder’s are our personal heroes for their commitment to loving our little girl almost as much as we do. As such, they deserve a proper introduction.

First, there is Jen (insert Angel voices here)


She is our constant. She is the person we depend on when the going gets rough. She has Hart favors stacked up about a mile high and never hesitates to do another. A great friend would describe her well, but super star mother describes her best. The problem is…I don’t see her enough as a friend. Our roles as mothers take up all of our free time, which I can understand, but DANG! We desperately need a girls day!



 
Next, there is Sarah AKA Bear. She is the youngest Snyder girl who is lovable, bouncy, and joyful all wrapped up into a bundle of cuteness that is never without a smile. She’s our little princess when visiting the Hart household and is second in line behind her sister for the job of Addisyn’s future baby sitter.
 



Completing the lineup is Brittany AKA future baby sitter AKA photography assistant AKA future crime scene investigator. Easily one of the most polite, gentle hearted, cheerful, and beautiful teenagers I have ever met (kudos to Snyder parenting). Best of all, she is absolutely in love with Addisyn and vice versa.




Addisyn loved her first pool day. After we caked her porcelain skin with 50 spf sun screen, put on her little hat and bathing suit, she was ready to get wet! I held her in the pool and watched her feet kick and splash in the water.

 
 

And then came the rain...After a few days of 100 plus degree heat, rolling thunder and pounding rain set a gray cover over the sky. Lightning struck fierce in the distance followed in moments by a rumbling boom. This drastic weather change might be disheartening to some, but for me, it was exactly what I needed to force me indoors for some much needed cuddle action with Addisyn, Steve, Boo Dog, and Pisces.




Addisyn’s progress:

I never thought the simplest acts could be so amazing. This week Addisyn started sitting up on her own and I am still completely impressed with this accomplishment. She’s not totally independent, but she can sit up well enough for a minute or so before she tips over to one direction or the other. It sounds like such a small step, but as she grows I watch on in awe as she continues to fill my heart in ways I had previously never known.




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 Fun find:


For all you women who can’t resist buying a cute purse, check out this site. Needless to say, I have a few of these on my Christmas list. http://www.moynabags.com/o-handbags.php



Bible verse to live by:

(Paul is speaking) "In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "

Monday, July 5, 2010

Who needs fireworks?

It was around this time last year that Steve and I were coming home from a weekend in Washington D.C. Because of his military service, Steve had been invited to spend the 4th of July at the White House. We didn’t actually get to go into the White House (everything was hosted on the South East lawn), but that didn’t stop us from having an unforgettable night kickin' it with President Obama, David Grohl, and Michelle Branch while watching fireworks at our nation’s capital. At the time, baby Addisyn was just the size of a plump strawberry inside my belly. Although she won’t remember it, when we tell the story, we’ll be sure to let her know she was there.

This year wasn’t quite as eventful. If we’re sticking with fruit to describe the size of children, she is about the size of a long watermelon. Oh, and she has a sleep schedule now, much different than her strawberry days when she was pretty much locked into whatever I was doing. Thus, as every mom knows, our weekends are now planned around the previously mentioned sleep schedule. There is a fine art to developing a consistent sleep pattern, and once mastered, it must not digress even for one night. Lucky for me, as it turned out a low key family weekend was just what my worn down body needed.
The first stop on new mommy 4th of July weekend was an unaccompanied (thanks Steve) trip to the beach for some sun and relaxation! My summer doesn’t start until I make my first beach trip.


I love the beach....it brings out the best in everyone. There will be a day when I live within walking distance of the beach. I will wake up to the smell of sun tan lotion (which I should have used this weekend as is evident in my speckled sunburn) and the feel of the crisp sea breeze. I will convince my hubby that the traffic is totally worth it just to feel the stress being washed away with each wave that comes crashing on the shore.
This weekend, I was able to meet up with my sister and her fiancé at Dewey Beach, Delaware. They are getting married in three months...
Meet Kelly Jo (aka Keljo) and Jon (see below). You will see them again, as you will also meet my other sister, Kim and her Irishman, Patrick.



Steve, the traffic is totally, absolutely, without a doubt, worth...every...second..




There was a moment on the 4th this year that I wished we had made big, huge, wonderful plans. The kind of plans that would put the photography blog world on its ear! I thought of sitting on soft beach sands with Steve and Addisyn feeling the waves break at our feet. I could care less about the fireworks show in the distance, knowing Addisyn was there for her first 4th of July was all I would need. All the while, I would be capturing it on photograph to share with the masses…After all, I was at the White House last year.


Back to reality. As 4pm on Sunday approached, I found myself checking Facebook posts while Steve lay on the couch watching T.V. Addisyn's eyes were getting droopy and as the eightball would say, "outlook (for Stacy’s big 4th of July shebang) does not look good". The air conditioner and pajamas were calling Addisyn's name and time was running short before she would be reaching the critical one hour time window we have to lay her down for bed. Keenly aware of my celebration disappointment, Steve approached me with concern and I unloaded my woes. After some discussion, we devised a plan that would save this night yet! A last minute trip to the grocery store for margarita mix and Summer Salsa ingredients was my idea of a spectacular evening. Honestly, who needs fireworks when you have a cute BFF for a husband, Rumikub and delicious summer food?



Without a doubt, Steve and I know how to have a good time together. As a gift to each other, we make sure that we get a date day/night at least once a month. Thankfully, we have a great friend who is more than happy to watch Addisyn for a few hours. Today we went golfing and out to lunch together. These little dates keep our relationship fresh and give us the opportunity to make time for each other. I am a huge believer in putting your spouse first so your kids can reap the benefits of knowing the relationship between a loving husband and wife.

This weekend was absolutely amazing and to top it all off....we celebrated Addisyn's 6 months.

 





Love,

Stacy Hart


*Off the Hook Summer Salsa as made by Angela Cinaglia and Nicole Pennington, my CenterPoint Church girls (as made by their friend Kelly)!



Ingredients:

8 Plum Tomatoes, diced

2-3 Jalapeños, seeded and chopped

1/2 Medium Red Onion, diced

1 Large Garlic, Clove, minced

3 Tbs. Fresh Cilantro, chopped

2-3 Limes, squeezed for juice

2 Tsp. Sea Salt or Kosher Salt



Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and serve with your favorite chips (we like the Tostitos with a Hint of Lime!).


Yields: 4-6 cups

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