Addie has been growing so fast! According to our very scientific “step on, step off, step on with Addie and subtract” method, she’s weighing in close to 11 pounds at just short of 6 weeks old. All her sleep – 4-5 hour stretches most days – must be helping her pack on the pounds.

Over the past week she’s become much more alert and stays up for an hour or two at a time during the day. She’s holding up her head more and more and we’re seeing the beginning of smiles! She is working on getting her thumb, fingers, or whole hand in her mouth and hopefully she’ll figure it out soon, because she has refused each of the five brands of pacifiers we’ve tried! Luckily she is pretty easily soothed as long as she has someone to snuggle with, preferably on the move. She loves walking around – maybe it was all the walking I did while teaching last year?

Here she was in her swing at two weeks.	And here she is at five weeks.

Stop scaring me, Daddy!

Addie has been spending time on her playmat, exploring the different areas with a little help from Mom and Dad, checking out the hanging toys, and even drooling a bit (she must have learned it from big brother Ben). She can lift her head a few inches when she’s on her tummy but prefers to do it propped on the Boppy or while lying on Daddy’s chest. Here’s a video from last week, right before she turned one month old! She is sporting a romper – so fashionable!

Addie on her playmat from Ellen Strong on Vimeo.

Bonus video – Addie’s Aunt Meg also follows fashion trends. Rather than a romper, she is sporting the 2010 version of hammer pants. Check out this video for her interpretation of M.C. Hammer’s masterpiece. Addie can’t wait to learn the routine, Meg!

This weekend we took a trip out to Lake Travis to visit Great Aunt Jeanne and Great Uncle Richard. Addie’s still too young to swim but she enjoyed relaxing, watching us play Monopoly, and and picking up some of Daddy’s real estate tycoon tips. She wasn’t so sure about the hat, though!

Grandma Jane was wishing she could be there so we tried to capture Addie saying hi. By the way, she’s four weeks old today!

Visit to the Lake from Ellen Strong on Vimeo.

This video is from last week, when Addie was a mere two weeks old! She was wearing one of her newborn onesies, all of which are too small by now. Waking up is definitely a process for our little one…wonder who she got that from?

Waking up from Ellen Strong on Vimeo.

Daddy and Addie’s first game from Ellen Strong on Vimeo.

Steve and the dogs take a walk around the neighborhood every morning, and prior to Addie, I joined them on the weekends and in the summer. (Turns out Rogan’s summer walking speed is well suited to a nine-months-pregnant woman’s pace.) Before Addie was born, we wondered how the dogs would adjust to strolling beside a stroller. Answer? They are oblivious, as long as they get to spend some quality time at their favorite sniff spots.

Addie has gone for a walk every day since she turned three days old. She loves her comfy stroller (thanks Nana and Grandpa Strong!) and with the cold front that blew through Austin this week, it’s been cool enough to sneak out for a second walk mid-morning without the dogs. Below is a photo of Addie in her preferred walking gear: the SwaddlePod.

Steve and I are out on our first date post-Casey, with Casey! He seems to be enjoying his first visit to Barnes and Noble…hopefully just the start to his (future) love of reading.

Now that Addie’s cord has fallen off, we’re starting to transition into using cloth diapers while we’re home. So far, so good. Plus, they make a little bit of a fashion statement since most of the time she’s just hanging out in a diaper. Since we don’t have the jean diapers this is the next best thing!

We’ve been so lucky to have our family in town to welcome Casey into the world. My arms will get quite a workout soon, though, because he’s been held and snuggled constantly for the past week! Here are some of his biggest fans.