Addison O'Neill - Almost a Big Sister!

Big Sister Room
As mentioned in the last post, Addison transitioned into her "Big Sister Room" shortly after Christmas. She moved out of the crib/toddler bed and into a twin bed. The transition was very easy and she never looked back. A couple weeks later, Tim converted the toddler bed back into the crib, and it didn't phase Addison at all. 
We told her that Baby Punkin is going to sleep in the crib, and she connected the dots and started talking about how when she was a little baby, she slept in the crib too. But there was no jealousy or hostility from her. Even as we've been setting up Baby Punkin's room, she has adapted easily to referring to it as "Baby Punkin's" room. No confusion that it used to be hers or anything. I think because there was a lot of excitement going into preparing her room first - we painted, she got a new bed, sheets/comforter and dresser so in comparison, her old room was way boring. Plus, her room has a lot of green (her favorite color) whereas Baby Punkin's is mostly brown.
A lot of what this whole "Big Sister" experience has been for Addison so far - aside learning about what is to come once Baby Punkin is here, is Addison is learning about what she did as a baby. That she was once in my belly just like Baby Punkin is now, that she used to wear diapers (even though that wasn't that long ago) and that she was tiny.


2 Week Stay-cation
Pre-Christmas, I had a handful of days off so Addison was spoiled with some extra Mommy time. Then, right after New Year's, Addison and Tim were both hit with a bad cold. Addison was over at Auntie Lorie's for one day but got progressively sick so Tim took off two days to stay home with her. This was the worst cold she's had thus far, burning up and coughing to the point of throwing up. She looked miserable and just wasn't herself. The first day Tim was home with her, all they did was lay in bed and sleep on and off. Broke our hearts! After Tim returned to work, I stayed home with her for two more days because she still had quite the cough. Her fever never got so high that we had to take her to the doctor, but just kept her on a steady flow of fluids and Tylenol. By Friday she was finally feeling better.
The following week, Auntie Lorie, Uncle Pat and the kids took a week long trip to Disney World. So to cover for Auntie Lorie that week, Tim stayed home for two days, I took off on the Wednesday and then Grandma Simon came to visit for the rest of the week. We each had a lot of fun playing with her at home. This was at the height of her puzzles obsession so it was fun to share that time with her, seeing her learn and progress at a new activity and I think she really liked being at home for so long. I know she will miss Auntie Lorie and her cousins once she is home with me and Baby Punkin, but I think she will also really enjoy being home everyday. Over the course of these two weeks, in the morning she would be so excited when I would tell her that one of us were staying home with her instead of having to go to work.


Big Sister Photo Shoot
In mid-January, our good friends Katie and Chris (photographers) came down for a Baby Punkin/Big Sister photo shoot in our home. I had tons of cute ideas of poses for Addison, but understood we'd have to be patient and not get our hopes up too high. But, Addison was a perfect little doll the whole time. It didn't take much prompting for us to get her to kiss and hug my belly and a lot of times she struck a cute pose on her own!


To Grandmother's House We Go
Another thing on our to-do list before Baby Punkin arrives was to visit Grandma Simon  up in Madison while it was still relatively easy to do so with just Addison. We went up at the end of January for an overnight visit.
Addison is pretty good in the car, except that she basically talks - the entire time! All of those who know me well, laugh and think it's karma given that I am quite the chatterbox myself. I get it :) 
Her questions are your typical toddler stuff, asking a million questions about this and that. Even though we had her set up with our portable DVD player to watch "Lion King" - she would keep asking questions about the movie, etc which was hard since we couldn't see it! Thankfully it's a movie we've both seen a ton so we knew what was going on based on sound.
So really, she doesn't mind the car trips - but it can be a little annoying for Mommy & Daddy. Especially when we are trying to have our own conversation and she repeatedly interrupts us. Ah, well - I know it could be worse! We do wish she would nap though - take advantage of being stuck in a car to get her nap in, but typically she doesn't fall asleep until the last 20-minutes of the drive.
Addison has been great at keeping with the potty on the road trips. She always tells us she has to go and sometimes that has meant she has to wait a little while before we can get off at the next exit for a rest stop. So far, there have been no accidents so we are VERY happy about that!
The main event of our visit was to take Addison to the Madison Children's Museum. We were there for a few hours and Addison loved every minute of it. She didn't tire out even though we could tell she was feeling the effects of no nap that day. This is such a perfect age to enjoy children's museums as Addison is learning so much so fast and is inquisitive and excited about all of it.
Afterward, we went to my childhood favorite - Ella's Deli! for some ice cream. We first took Addison there last summer and she actually remembered some of the stuff this time! We spent awhile walking her around the restaurant so she could check everything out. When we were done, we headed back to Grandma's for dinner and playing. Grandma has a stack of old kid's toys, most of them mine that she drags out every time we are there. What cracks me up is that Addison's favorite thing to play with are these random toy plastic stacking bins. They were first my brother and sister's but I totally remember playing with them too as a kid - AND I even scribbled my name on them along with other little drawings. So it really is the circle of life :)
The next morning we had breakfast and hit the road! 


Mommy, Daddy and Addie Last Outing 
I am a huge fan of the local park districts. We are close to Schaumburg, Roselle and Elk Grove Village park district activities. Roselle is a relatively small community so they don't have a ton going on - but Schaumburg is huge with several locations, PLUS because we live practically on the border of Schaumburg, we are eligible for the resident rates! I love these activities, because they are minutes away and are either completely free or cost between $4-10. The events are only a couple hours long at the most, but there's a lot to choose from so it gives us some great variety.
In the past we've gone to Sports Night and Family Fun Nights and of course many holiday activities. Last Friday evening, there was a "Friendly Friday" event they have monthly for 2-4yr olds at the Rec Center (the same room where Addison's 1st birthday was). It's a loosely structured event with two teachers, very much a pre-school set-up. The kids (about 10 or so) all do an activity together, then are left alone to play for 10-15min, then another activity.
I jumped on signing us up for this, because even though it's not some big event, it could be one of the last events to take Addison to before Baby Punkin comes, so I had to take advantage. Once Baby Punkin arrives, I still plan on signing her up for these activities, but most likely only one of us will take her while the other parent stays home with Punkin. These are the simple times I'll miss when we're a family of four - all the cozy little activities we go that are all about Addison and it's just the 3 of us there.


Big Sister Class
Last weekend, I signed up for a tour of the hospital where I will deliver, but children 10 and under are not allowed the tour. I saw that at the same time as the tour, there was a "Super Big Sister/Brother" class for new siblings. Well, I just couldn't resist that! So I went on the tour by myself and Tim took Addison to the class.
We built her up before the class telling her she was going to a class for BIG SISTERS! and learn how to take care of Baby Punkin, so she was all excited. Tim said she was very good during the class and followed along pretty well when they were teaching the kids how to change a diaper and feed the baby a bottle. She even got a bottle and diaper to bring home! When we met up after the class/tour, she came running up to me very excited telling me all about the class!
As part of the class, she even got to see the nursery with a brand-new baby in there, so I think that will really help when the big day comes - that she has already been to the hospital and may recognize the nursery area. 


A Gift for Baby Punkin
Last week when all about Addison and our preparations for her to become a Big Sister! On Sunday we had some errands to run, so we headed to the mall as a family. First we went to JC Penney to buy "home coming" outfits for boy and girl Baby Punkin, but mostly I did the shopping and Tim chased Addison around. From there, we went to the play area in the middle of the mall - a must stop every time we are there. After that, another common stop is Wetzel's Pretzels and then a walk over to Rainforest Cafe so Addison can see the [fake] crocodile in the swamp outside the entrance and all the fishies.
But our main stop at the mall that day was Build-A-Bear, so Addison could make a bear to give to Baby Punkin at the hospital. We took her there in December to make her own bear, so she remembered it all pretty well. She picked out a black bear for Baby Punkin and we had her record her voice for the bear to play. Addison says, "I love you Baby Punkin!" when the foot is squeezed. Awwwwww :) 


So far she is definitely loving this Big Sister status and the excitement that is to come. The challenge I think for her will be when the attention and focus shifts from her being a Big Sister to when Baby Punkin is here and gets more of the attention. That is something we will have to keep in mind - that this entire time Baby Punkin has been an exciting event for Addison that has garnered her a lot of attention. But, in reality, when Baby Punkin arrives, a lot of attention will be shifted away from Addison. I know it will be hard for her and part of me almost feels guilty that it is about to happen. 
However, between Tim & I, I think we will continue to keep the balance at home so Addison continues to receive the attention she craves from us and keep her involved with Baby Punkin and encourage the bonding there too.