Addie, the BIG sister!

We are all VERY excited! Although Addie really doesn't really understand what is happening I thought this picture went well with the big news. We found out on Tuesday that we are expecting baby #2 December 21st! We are keeping our fingers crossed and praying that is will be a very safe, enjoyable and uneventful pregnancy :)

Things are going much better around our house this week. For the last 2 weeks we have ALL had a nasty stomach bug at some point. Addie has had it the longest. It just kept coming in waves. Even though she hasn't felt 100% she still manages to completely amaze me. She is now saying her ABC's, well most of them. She can count to 3 in English and Spanish and say a handful of other words in Spanish. She can correctly identify body parts in English and we are working on them in Spanish. We have gone almost a week without a PACI and she slept all night in her BIG girl bed. She is growing up so fast! This little girl makes being a mommy so WONDERFUL! (I'm not a proud Momma at all, can you tell? LOL)
Well, since I posted last, we added another member to our family, Ramsey. She is a Border Collie we adopted from the Humane Society. She is the sweetest dog. Addie absolutely adores her. She is very gentle. Ramsey is about 3 years old. She was up to be put to sleep 3 times but the vet couldn't do it because she was just so sweet and they wanted her to go to a good home. She really is wonderful. She lets Addie climb all over her and drag her around by her collar/leash all the time. Addie uses her like a pillow half the time. They are a great fit for each other! Addie calls her "Kenzie" but we are working on "Ramsey".

Here is a picture we took before church on Easter morning. We are adjusting beautifully to our new life up here and loving every minute of it. We still really miss our family and friends but we are making great friends here as well. Well, I know that is a lot of information to hit you with all at once so I will let you digest all of that and I will try to be more consistent with blogging, especially with all the new baby and BIG girl updates. Take care and have a wonderful weekend!

Now, he’s wrapped around her finger....

She's the center of his whole world

And his heart belongs to that sweet, little, beautiful, wonderful, perfect

All American Girl...

So, this lyric pretty much sums up what has been going on at my house this past week. I'm not sure exactly what happened but this is a common picture around my house.

These two are inseparable. It really is very cute. Friday morning, she didn't remember him kissing her bye before he left for work and she kept asking for him. When I told her he was at work she started crying... "daddy bye bye". So, we had to stop by and see him at work on our way to the grocery store.

He has been the only one to get her to go to sleep this last week and every time I turn around she is in his lap or right beside him. It is bad enough they already look like twins, now they are inseparable... LOL.

We have had a very BIG week. Addie actually used the potty several times this week! I was so excited. She got HANDFULS of M&Ms when she did. We sang and danced, whatever it takes, ya know? On top of using the potty, she has learned to count to 3, thanks to Daddy. We have been working on it for a while now but, when he started doing it with her the other night, she picked right up on it and has been doing it ever since. She also can say her name VERY plain. You ask her "What is your name?" and she will say "Addison". I have to admit, I kind of liked, "ADD-I-DON" a little better, LOL. I guess it is ok be cause according to Addie, we had "cake cups" last night after dinner. She had a friend come over to play last night and I made mini-cup cakes for them and big ones for the guys. Since we had some left over, she came up to me tonight and said "cake cups, peas"... so of course I had to get her a cup cake. We have been working on saying please when she wants something instead of just screaming and pointing. I still have to remind her to use her words, other wise she will just point and grunt when she wants something. She has an excellent vocabulary for her age, but just had to be reminded she can verbalize what she wants.

The next step will be to take the pacifier away. We tried it earlier this week but, it didn't work at all. She squirmed and whined for about an hour before Daddy gave in and gave it to her. As soon as she got it she went right to sleep. I know we need to take it away soon but, it is just so hard. She only gets it at night and at nap time. She knows that the paci stays in the bed so she doesn't really ask for it during the day unless she is tired. I just don't know how I am going to break her from it all together. Oh well... I guess that is another battle for another day.

Have a great week!

February Update

So, Happy (late) Valentine's Day! Brian and Addie made a Valentine dinner for me on Friday night. We had waffles, ice cream and chocolate covered strawberries. I don't question the food choices, it was the thought that counts. They both had so much fun making dinner.

I am really beginning to hate snow. It has snowed up here almost every weekend since we have been here. I thought I liked snow, but I realize now that it is just Alabama snow that I like. It is supposed to snow up here again this coming weekend. I am so ready for warmer weather!

Saturday we had some friends over for lunch. One of Brian's co-workers has a little girl that is about a month younger than Addie. They became instant friends. Addie has walked around the house calling "Kenzie" since she left. She did great sharing her toys. She wanted to constantly hug her and hold hands. It really was very cute. I think it may have scared Mackenzie at first but by the end of the day, they were playing, dancing and sharing toys. Mackezie's mom, Jennafer and I left the boys with the little girls and went to the mall in Chesapeake. We had a great time. The boys bonded by laughing at the girls and watching sports all day.

Yesterday we spent morning at church. We had a breakfast at church before Sunday School. We came home and had leftovers then took a nap. Last night we went to Chip and Stephanie's house with Bryan and Liz. Chip grilled out and the Harrell's brought the veggies and we brought dessert. We always have a great time when we get together with them. I must say that the chicken was especially good last night (obviously since Brian ate 8 pieces...lol).

Today I have been waiting for different companies to come give us quotes on replacing our boiler system with a heat pump. We were just going to get the boiler replaced but they have informed us that boilers are a thing of the past and most companies do not even service them anymore. That is always fun. Hopefully we can get this taken care of fairly quickly. Also today, Brian has a Rotary Club meeting he is going to with a gentleman form church and then his sales staff is coming over to the house for pizza for lunch. They made their Crossroads goal (their big publication) and so to celebrate they chose to come to the house for pizza. Addie has a play date after nap with Abby. We met Abby and her mom, Joy, Wednesday at Mugshots Cafe. Abby is about 2 months older than Addie. Abby and her family moved to the area from California. I think that they will have fun playing together. It has been so nice to be able to get out and meet more people, especially women close to my age with children close to Addie's age.

So, needless to say, we will have a very busy week and it is only Monday. We will have a lot of other things going throughout the week. We will have to update you once we make it through this week. Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Approaching One Month

Well, we are rapidly approaching the one month mark. Time has flown by! We are adjusting very well. It is really beginning to feel like home. We are slowly branching out and exploring the area more. As Brian mentioned last, the house is finally unpacked and we are finding our routine.

Addie and I are getting out more during the week. We have made some great friends through church. We have even had dinner guests at our house already. I made MeMe's homemade noodles and baked ziti. It was a big hit! Brian loves any excuse to have people over and eat Italian food.

This is a typical day for us. Addie is constantly laughing and talking up a storm. She is constantly climbing on and under furniture. I guess all this is just part of being a toddler. She definitely keeps me on my toes. There is NEVER a dull moment around here.

We are finally getting back into our shows. Brian and I watch American Idol on Tuesdays and Wednesdays; I watch Grey's Anatomy on Thursdays, and Brian's LOST will begin this coming Tuesday. It is still taking a little bit to get used to the time change when it comes to shows starting at 9pm instead of 8. I didn't think it would mess with me that bad but it does. LOL.

Brian has been so worried about me transitioning up here. He is sweet! I am doing well. I am actually the newest member of the Ahoskie Junior Women's' League. Some ladies I met at church invited me to go to one of their meetings. Although my new friends will never replace my friends back home, the ladies I have met her have been great. I have found another stay-at-home mom who has a little girl who is close to Addie's age. Addie loves her little girl. You would think that they have known each other for years. We went to the mall and they cried to hold hands while we were pushing them in their strollers. It was cute.

Well, I guess that is about it for now. I hope you guys have a wonderful weekend! We will probably be staying in and keeping warm. It is supposed to snow and ice up here starting tomorrow. BRRR! I guess we will see if it really does. The last 2 times they said it would, we didn't have anything. Oh well....

Let There Be Light!

What that means is the boxes have finally gone away!! It only took 2 weeks to break down every box from the move. Now, we just have to arrange things the way we want them and the house will look even more awesome then it does now.

Mattea has done a tremendous job decorating and arranging all the rooms. My favorite is Addie's Bedroom. She has a lot of space, her own rocking chair and a big girl bed. Sadly, half the big girl bed is in our bedroom on the floor. But this will be a nice transition for her (and for Mommy and Daddy not to have little knees in our backs anymore).

Work has being great these last 2 weeks. My sales staff is really enjoying the new plans and management styles I am implementing. I want to show them that no matter how rough the past was, brighter days are ahead. I will eventually make it out to see customers this coming week. Hopefully, my ideas from Shelby County will transfer to Ahoskie and I can re-establish strong relationships.

Addison is loving her new house. Twice this week, I got to come home when it was light outside and kick the soccer ball in the backyard. We have a great time running and putting moves on each other. She's pretty good. I wonder if there is a U-3 league anywhere?

The fast food eating is slowly going away as Mattea started to find her pots and pans. She has made some fantastic lunches and dinners in the last week. It really is starting to feel like home. We are getting settled in. Now is the making friends part. Hopefully, Mattea will start to get out into the community and meet other mothers and ladies in the area. I feel like I have an advantage with the line of work I am in. But as a quiet time of mine said early last week: Move, then house, then church, then friends, then home. I believe we are almost completely "home" here in Ahoskie.

BP

Week One in North Carolina

Well, we have survived this first week here in Ahoskie, North Carolina. Tomorrow will mark the one week mark. We are adjusting well to everything here. We are still living in boxes. We have made a lot of progress but we still have a ways to go. Brian is absolutely loving his job so that definitely helps make the transition easier. Addie and I spend most of our days unpacking, playing in her new playroom and watching "Melmo". Here is a picture of the front of our house.


We spent the majority of the day to day driving around and exploring the area. We visited Greenville, Rocky Mount and Roanoke Rapids (not to mention all the smaller cities in between). It was a nice little drive and it really was nice to get out of the house and take a break from unpacking.

Addie is adjusting well to the move. She is also cutting new teeth and testing ALL boundaries. She had to sit in time-out for the first time tonight because kept trying to unplug the lamp from the wall outlet. She sat in time-out for 1 minute but I really don't think it phased her at all. We were fighting back laughter. She kept trying to whisper and tell us secrets the whole time she was sitting there.

Tomorrow we are planning on visiting First Baptist Church of Ahoskie. Mrs. Bazemore, our neighbor invited us to attend so we thought we would try it this week. I am praying that God leads us to the church we need to be at during this transitional time in our lives. We were very involved in our church at home and we are looking to be just as involved here.

Well, I guess that is it for now. I will keep you posted as new things happen. Once we get the house completely unpacked, I will put pictures of the inside on here.

Oh yeah...

ROLL TIDE ROLL!

Wrapping up 2009 in Alabama

Well, we have less than a week left here in Alabama. We move to Ahoskie, NC on January 2nd. The movers will be here at 8am and we will officially be in Ahoskie on Sunday, January 3rd. Brian will begin work as normal on Monday. I know that I haven't done as well as I had promised in the past about blogging but I will definitely get better being so far away from everyone. We did get skype up and running so if you have skype and would like to message us our email is brianandmatteapavlick@gmail.com.

So for those of you who don't know about all of the happenings the last month, I will try to get you up to speed in a paragraph. Brian took a job within the same parent company, Boone Newspapers. He is now the Advertising Director at the Roanoke-Chowan News Herald in Ahoskie, NC. Ahoskie is a very small town in Northeast North Carolina. It is about 30 miles from the Virginia border. We flew up there for the first time November 16-17th; he was accepted the job November 20th and began working December 1st. He has flown back and forth a couple of times and has been able to work from home during this transition. While he has been doing that, I have been trying to tie up loose ends here and get things set up in Ahoskie. God has been so truly amazing. I know that this is what we are supposed to be doing and where we are to be going. HE has worked everything out beautifully. We could not have asked for anything to be more perfect. My favorite verse truly sums up this time in our lives... "Delight yourself in the LORD and HE will give you the desires of your heart. ~Psalms 37:4"

This last month has been a complete whirlwind for us. Between all the travel to and from NC and the family holiday engagements we had planned prior to finding out about the move, we are exhausted. Our house still isn't packed up yet. We are making great progress but it still seems like a never ending thing. My younger sisters are here now helping us watch Addie so we can get some stuff done. My parents are coming down tomorrow. I had to say goodbye to my sister and brother on Sunday. Lets just say that Sunday wasn't the best day for me. I knew this would be hard but I didn't think it would be this hard. I guess I tend to resist change more than I would like to think that I do. Don't get me wrong, I am very excited about this new opportunity and this new chapter in our lives but it is still hard leaving family and friends behind.

Please remember us this week in your prayers as we continue to say goodbye to friends and family and embark on this new journey. We hope to talk to you all soon!