Slow Picture Week

This week seemed to fly by. And I don't have any pictures to prove it! It's not that there wasn't some cute moments to capture, I just didn't have the camera at the right time.

My dad was here this week to watch Addy for us. Wendy wasn't feeling well at the beginning of the week and didn't want to get Addy sick, so Grandpa L. to the rescue! They had a good time together. They always do! I wish I had more pictures of the two of them, but this is the best I have.


They were watching the Olympics together! I really wish I had my camera with me on Tuesday night. After we picked my dad up from the airport, we went to The Rainforest Cafe for dinner. That was the first time Addy had been there. She loved it! The fish, gorillas, butterflies, elephants, everything. The thunder didn't even scare her. The only thing she didn't want to get close to was the fountain! Silly girl. We'll go back for sure, and with the camera!

Addy had a busy day today. After her class at My Gym, we dropped my dad off at the airport and went to a birthday party for her friend, Josiah. She did get about a 45 min. nap in the car. Josiah is her friend from church, and is 5 weeks older than her. There were 2 other little girls at the party today and they're all so close in age, it was really fun. One of the girls will turn one on March 13, and the other one will turn one on March 25. And Addy will turn one on March 23. So fun!

It was hard, I mean impossible, to get a picture of all 4 cuties together looking at any camera! Here's a few pictures though.

Addy and the birthday boy:

Addy led the other kids in her favorite activity, climbing the steps:


Poor girl partied so hard, she needed to take a little break from all the action! She was exhausted when we left.


This was the first time she's played with this many kids exactly her own age! She did really well. All the kids did. I think they're still too young to care when toys get taken away from them, as they can be quickly distracted with something else. Addy escaped getting her hair pulled, definitely a bonus to not having much hair yet! She wasn't interested in pulling anyone else's hair, but she did want to touch their faces. The kids were so curious with each other which was fun to watch.

Addy really enjoyed the cake and ice cream, too. She was NOT happy when it was gone. She was genuinely sad/mad about it, but nothing a pacifier and burp cloth couldn't cure! I'm thinking she will really enjoy her own birthday cake!

48 Hours in MN

Addy and I made it safely to MN and back last weekend. It was really fun to see so much family! The services were very special for my uncle and honored him in such a nice way. Here's a quick run down of our time in MN, in pictures...of course!

Visited with cousins Trish and Brynn Thursday night. They surprised us by being at my parent's house when we got home from the airport!



Friday we drove a couple hours to where the funeral would be, in small town MN. We checked into the hotel before going to the visitation. And let's just face it, hotels can be gross. I can't stand bedspreads and carpeting in hotels. Yuck. I'm not a total freak about germs all the time, but in hotels, you bet. So, the safest place for Addy to play? In Grandma's suitcase! It kept her busy while we settled in and got some things organized.


As I mentioned earlier, we got to see a lot of family. My dad is one of 10 kids and I'm one of 20 cousins. And, of course, I have second and third cousins, too. It's tradition that when the whole family is together, a picture is taken of my dad's brothers and sisters. This time, we also got a picture of the cousins. We're only missing one cousin who lives in CT. She wasn't able to make it for the funeral, but we were sure thinking about her! Here's the group pictures:



It can be exhausting being so cute!


And while we had the chance, I wanted a picture of Addy with some REAL snow! Not just a couple inches, but with snow banks as tall as I am!


Then on the way home, I thought I'd try to get a picture of Addy on the plane. I hadn't taken one since last September. She wasn't as excited about my idea as I was. This is the best I could get!


By the way, this was Addy's 8th trip. And she's 11 months old this week!

Addy's Week Up North

Addy had a really fun week in MN. She was never short on attention, that is for sure! She got to do a lot of visiting, too. Here is a run down of Addy's week in pictures:

Playing in the cabinets



Playing on and around a well padded coffee table :)



Checking out the chairs



Bath time in the kitchen sink, which I'm pretty sure is just plain tradition for any grandmother to do!


Visiting with Grandma E., aunt Staci, and cousin Eli



We sure missed our sweet Addy. We kept busy, but it didn't help keep us from missing her like crazy! We did skype in the evenings, which was so nice!

Addy and I are actually heading up to MN at the end of this week. My uncle Jim (my dad's oldest brother) passed away yesterday. He'd been ill for a while, so it is a blessing that he isn't suffering anymore. I wish we were going home for a different reason and for a longer visit. It will be nice to see my dad's side of the family again. Most of them haven't seen Addy since last May and some have never met her. I have some cousins that I haven't met yet, either!

Happy Valentine's Day

Hope all of you had a great Valentine's Day. We sure did, our sweet girl is home!!! Oh, it is so good to have her home again! I'll post about Addy's week up north later, but for today, some Valentine pictures. She got a new fluffy stuffed puppy and a couple of love birds!





Steven and I have been getting a lot of kisses from our little Valentine today, which is all we could ask for! We also got some really good chocolates from MN, that was a nice treat, too.

Get Ready, It's a Long One!

Grandma and Grandpa L. were down for the weekend and went to My Gym with us on Saturday morning and took lots of pictures! Addy had a great time again, branching out a little more and crawling to things she wanted to stand up to, such as the steps.


Then she crawled through a little tunnel thing.


And we bounced. I think she prefers watching the other kids bounce on the trampoline more than she enjoys it herself.


Then it was circle time!




Followed by handstands, indoor sledding, the balance beam, swinging, and individual play.







Then Addy's favorite part came...music time! She absolutely LOVED the drum. She even tried to crawl after it when it was time to pass it on! I was impressed how quickly she picked it up when I showed her how to hold the drumsticks.


After seeing how much she enjoyed the drum at My Gym, Grandma L. thought Addy needed one at home. So she bought her her first little music set. Of course, Addy loves it!



I think the instructions say it best, "Batteries not necessary. Earplugs, maybe."

This is a big week for us. We are spending a whole week away from Addy! My parents took her up to MN with them yesterday for the whole week. They're bringing her back on Saturday. We miss her like crazy already, but we know she's having fun. It's so weird around here without her!

So, any of you reading this in MN, please call me if you see my little girl looking like this:

Daddy and Addy Days

Steven and Addy usually have a lot of fun on their days home together. I say usually because I do get the occasional call at work, "Your daughter wants to talk to you". :) Yesterday Addy decided that she didn't want to take an afternoon nap. She does this a couple times a week, on average. Sometimes she just plays in her crib, and then sometimes she throws all 3 pacifiers out of her crib and screams. Yesterday was an afternoon of screaming. Today was a great day of napping. You just never know!

Yesterday morning Addy helped Steven clean out the mini fridge. It had some frost built up in it, so Steven wanted to get that cleaned up. Such a good little helper!


Today, they built Addy's first fort! She loved it. Daddy's are the best.




For the record, schools are STILL out down here because of the snow we got last Friday! Yes, they were out Friday, Monday, Tuesday, and now Wednesday. Unbelievable. No, it hasn't snowed since Friday. Yes, our day time temps have been in the 40s, high 40s. But, because the night time lows have been in the 20s, they are concerned that the melting that goes on during the day will freeze at night and cause problems. Let me assure you, this has not been a problem!

Fun facts I learned on the news: our area has 5,000 miles of roads and there are 35 trucks to treat those roads! Over $1 million was spent this weekend on salt for the roads. And schools are still cancelled tomorrow. Blows my mind!