A Dragon, A Peacock and A One Armed Mommy

Happy Halloween All! Hope everyone had plenty of fun and Trick or Treaters!
We had a really nice night in Chatham at Grandma and Pop-pop's house.
Pat had to work, unfortunately, so Pop-pop and I took Nicholas and Addison out for some treats!
Addison only lasted for about 5 houses in her precious peacock outfit but Nicholas "hit" at least 15 or 20 houses and made out like a bandit!
There were a few instances of our little Dragon begging me, the one armed Mommy, to carry his pumpkin. I told him I would carry the pumpkin but that meant I got to eat the candy...he promptly walked away with his pumpkin firmly in hand!
It was so nice to be able to take Nicholas around to the houses and some of the families that I used to go to on Halloween! It was a little strange at first, for me, but really gave me a warm fuzzy feeling to know that some of the same people who I spent Halloween with, Nicholas was now spending Halloween with!
Here are a few of my favorite shots from the evening...I also included a slide show at the bottom...if you wait it out, you can catch a glimpse of the one armed Mommy.
(Nicholas actually took that picture!)

Our Little Dragon

Our Precious Peacock
Anxiously Awaiting her Second Tooth!
(What a way to spend your first Halloween!)

Aren't They Cute?!?!?
This one is definitely getting Blown Up and Framed!
I can imagine it will come out at a wedding or two in the far future!

Our Little Peacock of Death
I love the mix of the costume with the shirt!

Ready for bed after Trick or Treating?
I think Not...His eyes say he could run a marathon...
It's all the Mike and Ikes!

Friday Fun

While we were waiting for Daddy to come home this evening Addison and Nicholas had some fun time on the floor! The rain prevented us from switching the car seats today so Addison is still hanging out in her infant carrier but as soon as she makes the move to her Big Girl Car Seat we'll have some pictures to share!

Addison LOVES to yell and talk now!

What a Face?!?!?
She's still testing out that tooth!

She actually looks just like my grandpa here.
Took me awhile to see it but my mom was right...she's the spitting image!
...Without the GIANT nose and ears!
Thank goodness!

"I Love my Giraffe!"

Check Up and In

Hi all! Well, our little peanut is 7 months old as of this past Saturday and she also has her first tooth with another one on the way any day! Today I took Addison to see Dr. Julie, our beloved pediatrician, for her 7 month check up. Looks like our little preemie is little no more! Addie weighs 18.2 pounds and is 26 3/4 inches long! I cannot believe it!! She's in the 75% for weight and somewhere just above the 50% for height. People don't believe me when I tell them she was/is a preemie!
She's doing so great! Sitting up on her own, rolling EVERYWHERE, babbling away and saying DaDa like you wouldn't believe! Dr. Julie also decided that we're going to stop her reflux medication for awhile and see how she does. I'm hoping she does great so that she doesn't have to be medicated anymore! Our big little peanut is fast asleep right now courtesy of some Tylenol to ward off any shot effects. "Luckily," Addie only had two shots and an oral vaccine today. We split her shots so that her system isn't overwhelmed, so we'll be back in a month or so for a reflux check and a couple of more shots- and of course another growth check!
Pictures to follow tomorrow- Addie gets to ride in her big girl car seat and Nicholas in his booster seat! Everyone is getting so big and Mommy and Daddy are getting so old! ;)

The MOTHERS Act

Today is blog for the MOTHERS Act. I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you about the MOTHERS act and then a little bit more.

This is from Postpartum Progress and blogher on the MOTHERS Act:

What is the MOTHERS Act? The Moms Opportunity to Access Help, Education, Research and Support for Postpartum Depression Act, or MOTHERS Act (S. 3529), will ensure that new mothers and their families are educated about postpartum depression, screened for symptoms and provided with essential services. In addition, it will increase research into the causes, diagnoses and treatments for postpartum depression. The bill is sponsored by Senators Menendez and Durbin.

Postpartum depression is a serious and disabling condition that affects up to 20 percent of new mothers -- as much as 800,000 American women each year. Yet only 15 percent of these women will receive any assessment or treatment. Let me repeat. With all we know and as smart as we are, only 15% of 800,000 women will get diagnosed and treated. That is so wrong on so many levels. Women are not being diagnosed because they're not being educated and they're not being screened. Untreated, the consequences of maternal mood disorders range from chronic, disabling depression to death. The impact of untreated maternal depression on infants/children ranges from behavioral and learning disabilities to depression and, in the worst case scenarios, death from infanticide.

Specifically, the MOTHERS Act will help new moms by:

• Providing important education and screening on postpartum depression (PPD) that can lead to early identification and treatment. The legislation includes two grants to help healthcare providers educate, identify and treat PPD.
• Expanding important research to improve and discover new treatments, diagnostic tools and educational materials for providers. Since the exact cause of PPD isn't known, research continues to be the key to unlocking the mystery of this condition.

The bill is currently with the Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee of the Senate. If the majority of the HELP Committee members endorse the MOTHERS Act, the bill will move forward for consideration by the Senate. Without Senate sponsors, the bill could languish in committee and await reintroduction at a future date. The moms of America can't wait for that.

Most Senators rarely hear from mothers (and others!), and phone calls from you and your readers will cause them to sit up and take notice on a specific issue. Writing or sending emails has much less impact. With your support, Blog Day for the MOTHERS Act can truly have a measurable impact.

I encourage each and every one of you to contact your representatives and encourage them to sign on to this! This is so very important!

On a personal note, some of you are aware of this others are not, after Addison was born I was diagnosed with PostPartum Depression. As I put it to one friend, "The depression fairy was one of my first and only visitors after Addie was born and the bitch just wouldn't leave!". After encouragement and support from those around me I sought out counseling and have been on the road to recovery for some time now. My depression was caught early and I was able to get help, that is not always the case. It is so vitally important that we do all that we can to help other moms and families out there who are suffering with this debilitating disease!

Bathtime Duo

After a long day at work for me and Pat's first day at his new job, we decided to try something new here at home- dual bathtime! With Addison able to sit up on her own, we felt it was an ok time to try out the big bathtub for her. Up until now she had been using the blue baby tub in the sink. We got both kids ready and the tub ready, too, and we were set to go!

Come on in Addie!

I don't know if I'm ready for this Mommy...

SPLASH!

I don't mind this, too much!
Are we almost done?

Fresh and Clean...time for bed!

As a little side note for all you moms out there...I found out a new piece of information tonight. During the first year of your baby's life, he or she possesses your immunity to the Chicken Pox- as long as you have had a serious enough case to maintain an immunity. We had a "scare" where we thought Addie had the beginning of the pox tonight and the doctor informed me that since my childhood case was serious enough Addie now has my immunity for the first year to 15 months of life. Turns out she has a little bit of a viral rash courtesy of her new FIRST TOOTH that came in this weekend!! Pass that pox info along...it was quite a relief for me!

Wedded Bliss

Yesterday, while Pat was on kid duty all day, I went down to Clinton, NJ for my friend Heather's wedding. I ran a couple of errands in the morning and then met Heather at the church to help her get dressed with her family and friends. For those of you who might remember, Heather's dress should look familiar- minus the sleeves- it is the exact same dress I wore on our wedding day. Heather looked GORGEOUS and SO HAPPY! She, very creatively, organized a completely fall themed wedding right down to the programs that were shaped like leaves. After a beautiful ceremony, we headed down to the hotel for a great reception full of food and dancing and lots of fun. Heather and Dan were clearly very happy and it radiated to everyone at the party!
CONGRATULATIONS Heather and Dan! So glad I could be part of your special day!!Getting Ready

The Happy Couple

One of the Best Friends a girl could ask for!
CONGRATULATIONS!

Sittin' Pretty

Here are a few shots of our little show off! Addison has been sitting on her own for about two weeks now and getting better every day!

She loves to go from sitting to her tummy and then rolls all over. We're just waiting for the knee discovery and then she'll be in business and CRAWLING!

A Little Floor Time with Daddy before dinner

Too Cute Monday

I picked the kids up at daycare today and Nicholas just looked so cute in his dark blue slacks and his long sleeved polo I couldn't resist taking a few pictures when we got home! I know that he looks like he has to go to the bathroom in the one picture but really he's posing, not getting ready to "go"! They both just looked so cute, I couldn't pass up the photo op!

Addison staring at her big brother! She ADORES him!

Non-Stop Weekend

We have had quite the busy weekend beginning with a fun filled Friday night! Friday night we had Pat's cousin Rocky and his wife Carly over for dinner and to hang out. We haven't seen them since they got back from their wedding cruise so it was nice to get to catch up with them and hang out for awhile!

Saturday, we spent the entire day searching for a "new" car! We went from just about one end of NJ to the other. We finally found something down in Edison and we're just waiting on some paperwork and then hopefully we'll be able to go and pick it up on Wednesday evening! We'll see....we're keeping our fingers crossed!!

Today, Pat and I decided that since he has to work on the 27th, when we're going pumpkin picking, and next weekend we have a wedding to go to, we were going to go family pumpkin picking today.

We took the kids to Katermann Farms for a free hay ride and some pumpkins. Nicholas had a great time going through all the pumpkins and helping us pick just the right ones for outside the house and to carve! Addison seemed to enjoy herself , too! We took a bunch of pictures, below are a few of my favorites and a slide show of all of them!

Super Sunday

We spent the day at Grandma and Pop pop's today.
Nicholas got to help Grandma cook his favorite food-Homemade Pizza!

I have visions of this child in an episode of Top Chef where he creates a goat cheese and black truffle pizza!

Addie's pre cursor to crawling

Getting a little tickle action from Pop pop

How Big is Addie?
SO BIG!

Sunny Saturday

Uncle Geoff and Aunt Jen came up to spend the day today and we are so glad that they did! We had a such a nice time out and about all afternoon and then hanging around all evening. What a great way to spend what is most likely the last warm, aka HOT, Saturday of the "season".

Our first task of the day was to get a shot of all the kids together.Addie with the Boys

After that we headed out to Applewood Winery and Orchards for Apple Picking and Wine Tasting.Tommy and Addie sharing a double stroller! This monstrosity was a ridiculous idea for today, although it came in quite handy when carting around the apples!
Nicholas and Daddy heading off to pick some applesUncle Geoff up in a tree gathering apples for us!
Mommy, Nicholas and Addie after grabbing a couple of apple off the tree!
This was no easy feat!
(One in the Bjorn and the other on my hip- not the apples)


Mommy and Aunt Jen happily sporting some "Bjorns"!
That stroller was a real pain!Tommy and Addie enjoying some of the fruits of our labors!
Tommy loved his apple from the beginning, it took Addie a minute and this picture does not do justice to how much she ended up loving it!
A couple of group shots to finish off the day!
We did not take any shots in the winery, although we did taste a number of their wines! We each came home with two bottles of quite tasty selections!
I've also added a slide show of all of the pictures, in case what's here isn't enough! :)

Updates....sans Photos

So, Pat got a new job! We're very excited about this! Pat has applied to a ton of jobs over the past few months to a year and hasn't received a bite! We're so excited that he's gotten a new position!! Pat gave his two weeks notice and starts his new job on the 23rd and he's very excited about it!

On a different note, the painting in the bathroom is all finished!! I still have to find accessories to go along with everything but the painting is done! Once I get all of the supplies, etc. out of there I'll post a pic or two. I really like how it's turned out. SO DIFFERENT!

So many changes going on at the Stella household and we're excited about the new roads we're heading down...glad you're here to join us!

Fin

The bathroom is done being painted! YES!
Pat got a new job! YAY!
More later- just wanted to share our double dose of great news!