Happy New Year's Eve!

What will 2010 bring?  Do we say "twenty-ten" or "two thousand ten"?  Ahhh, there is so much possibility in a blank year!

Here are the top 10 memorable moments of 2009, in no particular order except for the last one, which was by far the best!:

* Returning to Phoenix in March and seeing old friends and our old home, and getting to eat at Binkley's - if you're ever in that neck of the woods, you must figure out how to got there!

* 2 more amazing dinners Talula's Table in Philly with wonderful friends!

* Finally finishing all those years of training in June

* and of course, Getting a "real" job - signing on the dotted line in April and getting the practice up and running in September.

* Having my family - Mama Jena then Papa John then Auntie Jacque stay with us after Addy was born... oh, and Dad's fancy chicken salad for my girls' lunch.

* Whale watching off the Oregon Coast in June, and getting to be by the sea (this rejuvenates me more than anything!)

* Moving back to Dallas in July.

* Four blessed months of maternity leave and time with Addy.

* Being privileged to finally build a home - the foundation was just poured this week :-)

* Meeting Adelyn Grace for the first time on May 3... and every moment with her since then!

It really was an eventful year!  God has truly blessed us...

Food!

Adelyn's adventures with "real food" have begun!
This was her 6-month birthday and her first try at rice cereal. She gave us lots of funny faces!

We've moved on to sweet potatoes here and clearly, she enjoyed them!  Such a happy girl!

Brian has been doing a great job with homemade baby food thanks to a great book given to us by sweet friends Katherine & Drew - First Meals by Annabel Karmel:

Yes, even with all the years of education between us, we still needed help with banana puree (1. peel banana 2. mash well with fork 3. serve to baby)!

Seriously, we have been working our way through the fruits and veggies (banana, apple, pear, nectarine - not a hit with this baby girl!, cantaloupe, prunes - key for preventing constipation!, broccoli, peas, carrots, green beans, zucchini, sweet potato, baked potato, and butternut squash) and have also started some yogurt - Addy loves the Yo Baby yogurt - organic and made from whole milk...

We have also started cheerios (well, organic oat rings from Whole Foods - nothing but the best for this baby!) - she loves practicing her pincer grasp. At first, Lucy got most of them (from the floor!), but now Adelyn's figured out that she doesn't have to share. Fun times!

My Favorite Christmas Picture

If I had to pick just one, here it is...

She is full of joy and love!

Christmas 2009

Hello Dear Readers... if you are still out there, I am back. Call it a New Year's resolution, or whatever you want, but I'm promising to keep this blog alive!

Addy has grown so much since my last post! I will have to do a chronology of pictures (we take special pictures each month on the 3rd) to document - before I know it she will be all grown up. She is already much less infant and much more (almost!) toddler...

Here is our Christmas captured in photos:

We had SNOW on Christmas Eve! It was the first white Christmas (I'm told) in Dallas since 1926. Thank you Aunt Jo for the gingerbread Christmas dress!

Adelyn was ready to open presents. She loved playing with all the wrappings and paper!

Too cute for words!

Here she is with her stocking and her special new bunny in honor of her gift of a trio of bunnies to the Heifer Foundation.

Ok, I have broken down once more... once upon a time, I said no big bows... just like I said no to all pink... but, having a girl has reformed me! Bring on the bows!

Mommy and Baby on Christmas Morning. Addy is wearing her new fleece coat from Mama Jena (or is it Mama Mia, or Honey??? We still haven't nailed down the name for my mom! Maybe it will be whatever Addy can say first...)

Family shot at Mimi & T-Pa's house for Christmas Day.

We got so many sweet pictures of Adelyn & Harper together. I'm so glad that they are close in age and will be able to grow up near one another. Harper is now 4 months old and just adorable! They are helping each other here in this picture - making sure the bows are on straight! Thank you for the Christmas dresses Mimi!

Addy says, "I'll catch you Harper!

Let's see if we can knock the tree over!"

Here is the family photo from Christmas day. We are all dressed in our new Christmas pajamas (except the little girls, who are in their Christmas dresses)!

From left: Adelyn, Brian, Jenevieve, Brent, Harper, Erika, Kathy (Mimi), Jim (T-Pa), Amy, Patrick, Wesley, Caroline, Beth, & Jarod

I love this one of Adelyn playing with her new toy!

Hanging out with Uncle Brent. Yum, those fingers taste good!

Always ready to root for the right team! We haven't quite gotten the hang of the "hook 'em sign" yet.

On Saturday, we got to visit with three out of the four Great-Grandmothers! What a blessing!

Here is Grandmother Grace Couch

and Grandmother Crickett Cranfill Echols

and Grandmother Gracie Hughes with 6 of her 10 great-grandchildren (and one on the way from Kim & Shawn)

(from left... Holden, Preston, Elic, Autumn, Adelyn, & Harper)

We had a wonderful time with all of the Hughes family! This year's fun experiment was the fried Turkey - which I have to say, was a huge success!

My Review of Kiddopotamus Dot SwaddleMe Wrap - Pink

Toys R Us

The SwaddleMe Adjustable Infant Wrap helps soothe even the fussiest babies and helps them sleep safely through the night. The SwaddleMe stays securely in place around your baby with self-fasteners and adjusts easily for a custom fit as your baby grows. The leg pouch pops open for easy diaper change...

Kiddopotamus Dot SwaddleMe Wrap - Pink

Best Swaddle Wrap Available

New Mom of Three-Week-Old Philadelphia, PA 5/26/2009

 

5 5

Fit: Feels true to size

Pros: Cute, Colorful, Easy to put on, Lightweight

Best Uses: Newborns, Infants

Describe Yourself: Medical Professional, First Time Parent

This is the only swaddle blanket that our daughter stays in all night. She gets her arms/hands out of all the rest, no matter how tight, and wakes herself up. I will keep using this one every night, and order the larger size once she grows out of the small. It's light too, so I don't have to worry about getting her over-heated. It's so easy to use!

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Baby Angel

Adelyn - up close and personal... She is so alert!

Getting ready to go Home! Daddy gave Mommy a beautiful flower lei - a Holton Family tradition. The wonderful aroma of the orchids brought back wonderful memories of our honeymoon in Hawaii too.

Isn't she a doll?

I'm not biased or anything!

So happy and content!

Here's one proud Daddy!

Feeding a little pumped milk...

And now pacifying with a pinkie finger - ahhh the little things in life!

Poor puppies - recovering from a GI upset! The collars are to protect their little IV sites, not to keep them away from the Baby!

Good news is ... now the doggies are feeling much better and are getting back to their normal selves. They seem to be taking the arrival of their sister at home in stride!

More soon...

Adelyn Grace is here!

We are so thrilled to announce the arrival of Adelyn Grace, born Sunday, May 3!  She is a little angel.  Mom & Baby are doing great.  Pictures will follow soon!

Due Date

Oh how I wish I had something more interesting to report!  Today is the "Big Day", but so far, it appears that Baby Hughes did not get the memo...  I have been watching that ticker at the top of the blog page tick down, and now, something is *supposed* to happen!  I think the last few weeks of a full-term pregnancy, especially one that goes post-date, must be God's way of preparing mothers for the trials of patience that come with motherhood.  The wait seems endless and never-ending!  And yet, It scares the daylights out of me that I might become a Mom *this week*!  I am alternatively conflicted between being too ready (how many loads of laundry can one do?) and being so nervous and anxious both about the big event itself, as well as, you know, the next at least 18 years!!!

I know we will all settle in, and in another 6 weeks, I'll be so sleep-deprived that I won't be thinking about those 18 years anymore... maybe it will be something like being a surgery intern again - survival mode will kick in.  But for now, I just can't wait to see that little face looking up at me and marvel at how this child - our child - grew inside of me.  And really folks, is it a boy or a girl???  I want to know just as much as you do!!!

We'll keep you posted!

Jenevieve

The Waiting Game and Other Updates

Can't believe it's already April 13th!  Where has the month gone?  Only 2 more weeks as of today until the official due date.  Unfortunately, it's only a 50-50 shot whether the baby will be born before or after this magic date!  Saw the OB today - not much change from last week, so all of these Braxton-Hicks contractions have been just a tease.  An uncomfortable tease at that.  So the waiting game continues...  I'm trying to stay busy by doing silly things like working 10-12 hour days and writing research papers.  Otherwise, I think we are as ready as we will ever be (although we have to put that car seat in the car!), and if I think about it all too much, I go crazy with both anticipation and fear that I am going to completely screw up this whole parenthood thing!

Oh well, here are so pictures from the last few weeks...

We had a lovely baby shower thrown by Brian's colleagues at Jefferson Hosp last weekend.  This is the really cool "diaper cake" they created - such a brilliant idea!  It had all sorts of fun toys and bibs and onesies and receiving blankets, etc... tucked into it:

My parents came up to visit this past weekend for Easter - it was chilly but beautifully sunny, and as you can see, the trees are starting to bloom - yea Spring!

Above is me with my also very preggo friend Katherine doing the belly bump.

Below is me doing the contemplation pose:

And so we wait...  I'll keep you posted!

Bryn Mawr Office Shower

The ladies at my office in the Breast Center threw us a beautiful and delicious baby shower yesterday!  We received so many cute things... Here are some pictures from the shower.  Isn't the cake beautiful?