It's all a learning process for us - especially Chlo's - so we let her touch and discover the tree {under supervision of course}. She hasn't really shown a lot of interest in it, surprisingly - instead she prefers to sit back and just stare up into the Christmas lights. At this stage she's still immensely interested by our staircase. In fact who needs toys when you have a couple of stairs and a landing to play on?

The last few days we've been able to take in a complete, relaxed evening at home following Jon's knee surgery on Thursday. As a result all the pressies are wrapped and our house is in the prep stages for Christmas celebrations. This year my lil kitchen features a hot cocoa bar! I have a huge weakness for hot cocoa {all things warm really}. This year we are having guests over for 2 Christmas celebrations- Christmas Eve and Christmas Evening. Each occasion will call for different items to be featured on the hot cocoa bar. Thanks to Pinterest for the great idea . . . here's peek at what's sitting on my kitchen counter right now. . .

I have been a mommy for 12 months. It is true that you forget the labor pains, sleepless nights, and moments of despair. I never thought I would. When I was in that moment I vowed not to forget that level of exhaustion or that feeling of being without an answer - just to remind myself if we decided to go back for seconds. But I have forgotten for the most part. And I am okay with that because we focus on all the fun and laughter to this point. Its been a hectically wonderful year filled with a lot of firsts: first moment of seeing Chloe, First Day of being a Family of 3, First Day bringing baby home,  first Christmas, first night up all night long, first vacation, first day back at work...now we're staring her first birthday right in the face, and we can't believe it!

I have thousands of pictures on my computer and floating around my home office. All of them document out lives as a trio. I hold tight to these memories - they bring back so much emotion and enjoyment. Recently I blogged about "a bowl full of lemons" and how I was applying the same level of organization to my home. It was at this time I stumbled upon "Project Life" - a scrap booking method of organizing your photography. Each spare moment I get to relive the past 12 months as I document it for Chloe's enjoyment later. Last weekend I came across Chloe's newborn picture - and comparing it to a photograph I took of Chloe this past weekend - looks what 12 months gets you!

From a tiny little 7lb 9 oz baby..... to a little girl who is ready to conquer the world! She is full of life and love and so avidly keen to get a smile out of you :)

This Saturday Chloe turns ONE - and we celebrate by boarding a plane bound for paradise - our 2nd home, Mexico. Thanks for spending the last year following alongside us as we've watched Chloe grow.  We've learned a lot this year...and this is only the beginning - more to come!

Happy Thanksgiving!

25.  Be home.  When she is sick with a cold or broken heart, she will come to you; welcome her.  When she is engaged or pregnant, she will run to you to share her news; embrace her.  When she is lost or confused, she will search for you; find her.  When she needs advice on boys, schools, friends or an outfit; tell her.  She is your daughter and will always need a safe harbor - where she can turn a key to see comforting eyes and a familiar face. 

Since moving into a house with more corners and hallways...and having a little one to chase around the house constantly, I find my previous once a week deep clean schedule no longer happens. So I've been seeking creative methods to keep this house clean while also being organized. Like many working mom's, there are many moving parts to our lives. Mornings are a crazy split of trying to get ready for work, making sure the baby is dressed, fed, hair brushed- while you attempt to find matching socks out of the laundry pile that seems to be multiplying before your eyes. Caffeine intake is a necessity, so I'm trying to enjoy my cuppa joe while straight ironing my hair and slapping on the mascara in the midst of a baby crawling up my leg like a little spider monkey. Who's with me?

So. . . about 2 weeks ago I took a deep breath and decided I needed to make some changes around the house. Changes to the cleaning schedule that is. This is when I came across "A Bowl Full of Lemons". Have you seen this site? I was amazed...and I mean completely astounded by this woman's incredible ability to clean and organize. Talk about some major inspiration! Toni encourages daily cleaning. In fact she breaks it down  in steps making it more manageable. Granted her daily suggestion will take you about 1 hour and 15 minutes to complete, and some days this schedule is nearly impossible, so I do the "skinny" version of her suggested daily cleaning 101. This is her list, in case you feel like super woman and would like to tackle her entire list daily:

In the last few weeks I have noticed a transition...we are now having to teach and instruct Chloe more. Our daily task is to show her right from wrong...what to be careful of...and how to be brave. Our lessons right now are basic...for example one of the things we're teaching Chloe is how to be a big brave girl in sight of the drill. One would ask what is scary about a drill...however Chloe has some very specific reactions to the sight and sound of such a device. The other day Jon was patiently working with Chloe, showing her that there is nothing scary about the drill...and using her friend Elmo creatively :)  {We are learning quickly that parenting is largely creativity}

I've always found reviews and mommy blogs to be a huge-mongous  help when it came to buying baby gear. As a first time mom I have ALOT of questions on baby gear - what works, what is a waste of money - should I spend just a little extra one this...what is even out there???. . . and the questions went on and on.  All Chloe's baby gear was very carefully selected. I didn't want an over abundance of items filling my house that she would never use. For this reason I tried to get multi purposed items - for example, instead of getting the door jumper and the a stationary jumper - I bought the jumparoo, which accomplished both entertainment AND jumping. In an effort to share what worked for us, here is the list of items that we dub "GREAT must have's" for this lil household.

1. Snuza. I was worried sick about SIDS when Chloe was born. It still worries me today. But we go to bed each night knowing we have an alarm to sound if Chloe stops breathing. The Snuza and the AngelCare Pad are similar devices that prevent SIDS.  With the snuza if no movement is picked up within 15 seconds, it will vibrate the baby gently to nudge them to breathe. If the slight vibration does not trigger a breath then the alarm will sound to alert the parents. I LOVED the snuza. It's pricey - but 100% worth it as it takes away the worry.
2. Soothies Gel Pads. This is an absolute must have for breastfeeding moms. I learned about this product on a mommy blog - and I will be eternally grateful!
3. Boppy Pillow. This pillow was especially handy during tummy time as it propped Chloe up enough to be able to see her surroundings when she was still too little to hold her head up for long. I bought a white minky case off etsy - figured the white was bleachable - so easier to keep clean. And it was.
4. Angelcare pad. We still use the angelcare pad today. Once Chloe decided she was a tummy sleeper, we put the snuza up and used this instead. It, like the snuza, monitors their breathing. In the 10 months we've used it, the alarm has sounded 4 times...meaning breathing was not detected for 15 seconds. The alarm is SO LOUD that its woken Chloe up enough to get her breathing again. As it doubles as a monitor...this will be on her bed til she's 12!
5. Colic Calm. Chloe had terrible colic her first 7 weeks of life. You'll recall some of my posts on this. Most babies only have colic at night - we dealt with colic 24/7. There was very little sleep...however this colic calm worked WONDERS. It's a natural option - and a very effective one at that - we went through 4 bottles! Downside? Its charcoal so everything, and I mean everything, ends up black...including mommy's clothes.
6. the Moby Wrap. Oh how I loved the moby wrap. My older sister gave this to me before we had Chloe. It was nothing short of a mission learning how to get it on the first time, or ten. But it was an absolute MUST HAVE for us. I carried Chloe around in this ALL DAY every day when she had her colic. Once we were over it, and she got a little bigger, we graduated to the Ergo Baby Carrier.
7. Medela Breastpump. Another must must must have for breastfeeding mommies. This one is easy to clean, easy to operate and easy to transport. I especially appreciated the ice pack and bottle case...made life SO much easier.
8. Nap Nanny. Our pediatrician raised his eyebrows at the nap nanny..but then again he wasn't the one tending to the baby at 2am. Chloe slept in her nap nanny for the first 2 weeks. It was easy to carry around the house, easy to put her in...and she loved the angle. Later on, we would bring it out when she was sick and needed to be elevated for breathing purposes. It worked WONDERS for that!

Then the bubs grows..and changes...and develops and they need different stuff. So we developed a new MUST HAVE list...

What's Fall without Apples?

For the last several years I've had good intentions to head out to the local Apple Orchard to pick an element of Fall. Each year there has been one reason or another that we just didn't quite manage to launch the tradition.  Finally ... this year we did it! Saturday morning our Chloe Alarm sounds at 7am. To begin the day we're meeting my folks and the grand kiddies for a good ole country breakfast - southern style. After filling our tummies with warm pancakes and syrup {and several cups of coffee too!}, we head out to the farm where we are welcomed by row after row after row of apple trees. Armed with our apple baskets we head into the sea of apple trees to pick our bounty {and the most important ingredient to Fall}.  I'm holding the basket as Jon fills it with apples - and as he's doing so he's explaining to Chloe what we're doing...she look sat him, and watches as he reached out towards the tree...and says "APPLE"! For the ten millionth time, in the middle of an Apple Orchard, I am reminded again why my heart beats!



 I can count about 5 different types of apples in my basket . . . .
. . .my sweet hubs. . .


And here is a snap shot of Granny and Grandpa with the kiddies. A very rate moment of cooperation :)


For the rest of the week we shall bake. The best recipes come from grandma - don't you agree? I found this recipe from Grandma Ople - thanks to her generous granddaughter who has now published the family recipe. It goes something like this:

Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft


Go forth and bake - and let me know how the recipe turned out! {ps. if you have a good apple recipe that you're just bursting to share - please do! }

Our little family has seen alot of change in the last 6 weeks. As has the blog. We've changed the name to The Addington OutPost - sounds ole' timey, cowboy like, huh? I love a good cowboy book,  or movie - or boots. So from here on forward, look for us on the Addington OutPost - where we will post the village happenings!