Happy (Belated) Thanksgiving (Part 1)

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We sure did. We made the trip to MN, and I'm happy to report our drive was mostly uneventful. I did get pulled over on the way home, going 72 in a 65...but my husband got me out of that one! Steven thinks he pulled me over because I had out of state tags (we were in Illinois) and wouldn't fight the ticket. Other than that, the roads and weather really cooperated for us and we made great time both ways. It also helped that we didn't have Addy with us. She got to fly both ways! My mom felt sorry for her and offered to fly her home on Monday! Lucky duck.

While we were in MN it snowed on Wednesday, so we took the opportunity to get Addy out in the snow to play. She wasn't such a fan. Wouldn't even touch it!!! And when I ate some and offered it to her she looked at me like I had two heads.




Thanksgiving Day we all went over to Steven's brother and sister-in-law's house. They had quite the house full and it was so fun to see everyone! Addy's favorite activity, besides eating cookies, was climbing up and down their steps. She didn't eat much of her real dinner, she only had an appetite for cookies and pie. Shocking.





We even got a few group photos...just the cousins and then the whole gang!



I love this picture of Grandpa E. playing cards with Aiden and Eli!


Then on Friday we got to spend some time with our dear friends Jerik, Susan, and Nina. The girls danced and fed Elmo and Ernie. They are so cute together. Nina is 10 months older than Addy, but they're the same size and Addy weighs slightly more than her! They are on the complete opposite ends of the growth chart! But they are so cute together!




Addy even helped Grandpa L. put up their Christmas tree.


She made breakfast with Grandma L. and did the dishes, too! Actually, she just made sure enough water made it on the floor for Grandpa and Grandma to wash it!



Round 2 in the snow was better, she actually touched it!



On Saturday, cousins Jack and Alex came over to play! To say they love Addy is an understatement. They are so sweet to her!




Stay tuned for Part 2 of our Thanksgiving weekend. (code for Steven has to go to work and is taking the computer with him!)

Where Did the Week Go?

I can't believe it's already Sunday again! Here's a re-cap of what's been going on around here the last few days. My cousin, Trish, came down with her daughter, Brynn, for a long weekend. They flew in on Thursday, and right away Addy was excited to just hang out with Brynn!



I have no idea how Brynn got Addy to lay on the couch and listen to her read, but she did and Addy loved it! It was so cute. It's not easy to get Addy to sit still and listen to a whole story these days!

Thursday night we all went to Mackenzie's first chorus concert at her school. She did great! It was really fun to see her sing. Addy loved the cookies that came along with it, too! Unfortunately, I forgot my camera.

Friday Trish and Brynn did some sightseeing. After school/work we all gathered at our house for dinner and games. Just a classic cousin get together! We had so much fun! Here's the big girls being silly together:


Saturday morning we went to Jen and Chris's place for home made waffles! Oh they were so good. So, so good! Then Steven and I took Addy to My Gym while Trish and Brynn stayed with Chris and Jen and their girls to spend the day together. After Addy's nap we all met up again, but this time at Opryland Hotel. It just reopened this week from the flood, and it's decorated for Christmas, which is just stunning. The hotel looked great. You can't even tell that it had been affected by the flood. They really did a lot of work in just 6 months!



Cousins with our girls:


And one cute family picture :)


This afternoon Trish, Brynn, and Addy all flew back to MN! Steven and I are going up for Thanksgiving, but we're driving. We thought we'd spare Addy having to drive both ways, and Trish didn't mind Addy sitting on her lap! They made it safely and Addy's staying with Grandma and Grandpa L. for a couple days. We know they're having fun already!

Slow Week, Fun Weekend

This week was pretty uneventful for us. I didn't realize until Friday that I hadn't taken any pictures of Addy all week! This weekend made up for it, though. We kept busy, and it was so fun!

We started with My Gym Saturday morning, then we went to a birthday party right after that. I work with the birthday boy's grandma, so this was the first time Addy got to meet Carter! The birthday party was at a fun play place for kids. Lots of dress up and play houses for the kids. Of course the pizza and cupcakes went over really well with Addy, too!




After the birthday party we went home for a nap. Mommy and Addy took naps while Daddy cleaned up our garden. It was time to get it ready for winter. We really enjoyed having a garden, and I must say, it survived quite well considering we didn't do much with it once we planted it! We'd like to expand it next spring and try planting more fruits and veggies.

For dinner we headed over to Chris and Jen's place. Addy absolutely lights up when we mention their names. She was so excited to see Mackenzie and Katie. She loved playing with them and their toys, especially Katie's puppies. Chris made a pot of chili using tomatoes from our garden, it was so good!



Hannah Montana made an appearance:


And a couple impostors:



We played games, too. Some played the Hannah Montana guitar game, while others played Uno and Spoons. It reminded me of our trip to Panama City Beach almost 2 years ago:




Needless to say, it was super fun! We just love those guys.

Then this morning, Daddy had a great idea...donuts for breakfast!



Addy looking cute after church:

Keepsake

This post is purely a keepsake for me. I don't ever want to forget how Addy says her full name!

Big Girl

Addy surprises us all the time with the new things she can do. A couple days ago she really surprised us by sliding down the slide on her swing set all by herself! It's a 10 ft slide!

We have to help her get up to the platform because the only two ways up are a chain ladder and a rock wall. Here's a little video of her going up the rock wall.



And here's the video of her going down the slide all by herself!

Halloween 2010

We had a fun and busy weekend celebrating Halloween! Grandma E. came down on Saturday and we went to the zoo for some trick or treating. We dressed Addy up in her lady bug costume, and she was so cute! Addy enjoyed most of it, especially the candy part! After she walked a bit and we all took turns carrying her, I bribed her to stay in her stroller with some Nerds! To say this girl has a sweet tooth would be an understatement.





Such a cute lady bug and always on the run!


Then, for Halloween, we went to a local church where they had games and pony rides! We met Mackenzie and Katie there, which was fun. Mackenzie was a witch and Katie was a butterfly (although she didn't have her whole costume on in this picture) and Addy was a flower!


She loved her Halloween "buckek". It had Elmo and Ernie on it! Those are her 2 favorite characters right now, actually the only 2 characters she knows and could recognize!




I think I've mentioned this a few times, but Addy absolutely LOVES horses. She literally talks about them every.single.day. She loves to look out our windows and look for our neighbor's horses. So when she saw the ponies, she was super excited and wanted "up". We stood in line and she talked about them the whole time. Then it was our turn. And she didn't want to sit on one! I just put her on it anyway and told her to pet the horse, then she was into it! Her pony's name was Jigsaw Puzzle and she was 6 years old.



Here's a little video, too. Although, it's a little dark, but Addy's costume is pretty bright!



One last picture of our Halloween 2010. This is Addy sitting with the pumpkins we grew in our garden this year! Mackenzie and Katie's Grandma W. sent them some pumpkin seeds, so we planted them. We didn't quite plant them early enough, but they turned out pretty good, nonetheless.


No, we didn't carve any pumpkins this year, for a couple reasons... 1) Addy's parents are lame 2) No one comes to our door to see the pumpkins anyway, and Addy won't remember it. Maybe next year!

Oh, and for the record, Addy's favorite candy this year is suckers, or "ucker" as Addy calls them! She loves the dum dum suckers. We're thinking it might also be a good potty training treat in the future!