End of June already!!

Yea for beautiful weather!!!! (let's clap!)
I'm thinking about changing the channel mom!
My room....I love to explore it now!
It's so fun to dump over my toy wagon....then I get everything at once!
DJ in the making! :-)
Father's Day celebration! (brunch)
I love my daddy!
This is what mommy found when I returned from my run on Father's Day morning...this is so special! :-)

What a beautiful couple of days we have had here in Minneapolis!! Addison and I have spent a ton of time outside.....playing fetch with Wally, going for walks, meeting friends for playtime, swinging on the baby swing in the park (although she is still warming up to this), walking to the grocery store,eating lunch on the balcony, and treking to the art store and out to lunch!

I finally bought some acrylic paint today so that I can finish up daddy's Father's day present....the famous $900 clay hand print (see last entry regarding our emergency trip to the vet!) Noah decided that he wanted it painted a dark blue and plans to keep it on his desk someday.....cute!

We had a wonderful Father' Day! We took daddy to Jax Cafe and got to sit outside on the patio and enjoy a delicious, long brunch! Addison was perfect the whole time, and seemed to really enjoy trying bites of food from our plates and watching all of the other people! She was decked out in an adorable new summer dress that Nana sent Noah for Father's Day (hehehe)....everyone seemed to her enjoy her! :-) We also walked down to the Stone Arch Art Festival with the entire family in the afternoon and evening. It was so nice to be together!

The last couple weeks have been extremely busy!! Addison is EVERYWHERE!! She loves to explore the appliances, dog bowls, lamps, cabinets, toilets, shelves, tables, area rugs........we have to watch her constantly!!! We have a few more locks coming our way in the mail...and I can't wait until they arrive! It's amazing how just when we think we are getting there with baby proofing, she teaches us differently! Needless to say, she is having a blast!! Wally seems to enjoy the new mobility as well.....as they can now play keep away and "share" toys.

Diaper changing is our new challenge!!! Oh my goodness, who would have thought it would be such a battle! Addison WILL NOT stay on her back during diaper changes. She screams when we lie her down, immediately rolls to her belly, then pushes up and attempts to crawl away.....I then have to grab her, she stands, and I quickly position the tabs in pace.......and off she goes!

Addison has been missing daddy lately, as he has had to work some long hours the last couple of months. Last night when he got home she crawled across the floor, sat at his feet and flew up her arms signaling daddy it was time to pick her up! She was wanting some snuggle time with daddy. He loved it.....and I did too. :-) A new first.

We are enrolled in CHILD for the Fall.....the daycare through my work. We visited it one afternoon, and I got all my questions answered. Addison seemed to fit right in, and was already on the floor interacting with the other children. I talked to my supervisor and I will be changing my days to Wednesday/Thursday in mid-September so that Addison can attend daycare. She will start in the infant room until she is 16 months, and then move up in to the toddler room. The staff area all experienced, very warm and seem to genuinely love children. I think Addison will like having a couple days out during the week as she gets older!

We have a couple fun weeks ahead the end of July......July 15-1 7 we are headed to Chicago to visit friends, July 23-31 Opa and Jojo are visiting, July 31-August 9 Nana and Papa are visiting.

Daddy's Day!

pic: spending time with Uncle Nick!
pic: playing at Opa and Jojo's house
pic: Cuddling with daddy!
pic: "I'm such a big girl!"
pic: My first piece of art!

Happy Father's Day to the two best dads ever......Opa and Daddy! :-) We are home eagerly awaiting the arrival of daddy home from the hospital. After being up most of the night on call, we are hoping that he is still excited for brunch this morning at Jax Cafe! Addison made him a special Father's Day card-full of fun pictures, and a hand print keepsake!

We had quite the snafu the other night with the Father's Day gift...... Addie and I spent the afternoon with our friends Stacy and William preparing the hand print....came home and left it on the table to dry while bathing Addie......Wally jumped up and ate it! Long story short, after noticing his excessive thirst, looking up some information online, and calling poison control.....I drove him to the vet hospital around 11pm and he spent the night recovering from sodium toxicity (which can be fatal). So frightening! They induced vomiting and provided plenty of IV fluids to fix his electrolyte imbalance. We are so blessed to still have him with us.....and we definitely learned a lesson that night! Addison and I re-made the present yesterday so that daddy could still have it.....although it will have to be kept way up high on a shelf!

The last couple weeks have been busy. Noah and I attended the ENT graduation dinner and banquet on the 10th (Addison was with Annie all day/night). The next morning, Addie and I flew to Indianapolis for Lucille's funeral (thanks to Jana and family for watching Addison during the funeral....she loved the playtime!). It was a beautiful memorial for such a special woman. We visited with family in Indy until Tuesday afternoon. Addison enjoyed playing with her extended family at Opa and Jojo's house and nanny's house!

Friday I was home from work, and we spent the afternoon finger painting and making the hand print craft for Father's Day with our friends Stacy and William....a fun day!

Addison is crawling everywhere, standing up on everything, and cruising around

toys and furniture constantly. It definitely keeps mommy and daddy paranoid of falls.....but she is learning to lower to her hands and buttocks without having to yell out for help! Such a big girl! She has also learned to stand up in her crib. Last night we heard her yelling out about 30 minutes after we put her down for the night....sure enough, she was standing up with big smiles awaiting our arrival! :-)

Feeding time has become a disaster! Addison now completely protests against being spoon fed. She immediately grabs the spoon from us, places it in her mouth, then tosses it in the air! I'm sure it is great that developmentally she is beginning to feed herself....but the mess is outrageous! I can't even describe how many times I have scrubbed the floor in the last few days. Somehow I need to break her of this throwing habit!

We got some good news the other day regarding childcare for Fall!! Addison got in to the "school" at my work.....although the days they have available would require me to switch my schedule a bit. I am going to visit next week, and then we will have to make decision regarding if we will switch to this option in September. It's nice to at least have an option.....and Addison gets a little older and more mobile, it may provide some good socialization for her a couple days a week.

We have finalized visit dates for our parents this summer!!! We are super excited for visits from Opa and Jojo the end of July, and Nana and Papa the beginning of August!

Anniversary, Nine Months and Beach Trip!

I just looked across the room to find Addison sitting on Wally's bed with his chew toy in her hand.....it's amazing how quickly she has learned to crawl across the room! She has been on the go for a couple weeks now.......crawling everywhere and pulling to stand. She has even started to experiment with one handed standing and bending her knees to sit on her bottom from a standing position. Crazy how quickly babies learn!

We have had an incredibly fun couple weeks!

On Memorial Day, Addison got to spend the holiday with daddy while mommy worked. I was so happy that they got some time together before we headed out for our trip.

May 31st was Noah and my 3 year wedding anniversary! I can't believe it has already been three years! We were lucky enough to have the night together as Noah got off early. We ordered in some food and had a cocktail to celebrate. Nothing big and expensive this year.....we were just able to spend some valuable time as a family, which is most important these days with our crazy work schedules!

The next day, June 1, Addison and I left for North Carolina. My wonderful friend Maisie gave us a ride to the airport with all of our luggage and off we flew!! Addie did great on the trip down, and we were lucky to be given an extra seat next to me for her car seat for nap time. This made the flight so easy!! We met Noah's parents in the airport, who were headed back from Italy, and spent the night with them. They were amazed at how much Addie was moving around and babbling, giggling, clapping, etc. It was so much fun to see their excitement, as they had not gotten to see her since Thanksgiving! The next day my friend Nell and her 10 month old daughter, Louise, picked us up and we headed for Wrightsville Beach. It was a long drive down (only 2 hours)...full of babies screaming and babbling back and forth! Nell and I sang many rounds of "you are my sunshine" and "wheels on the bus." :-) We spent 3 nights and 4 days at the beach with my 7 best friends from college and their children! It was an absolute blast!!! We went on lots of walks/jogs, sat on the beach, played with the kids, relaxed on the porch, drank wine and chatted, and had amazing dinners! I loved every minute of it!!! Addie did really well at the beach and seemed to enjoy herself and meeting all of her "aunts" from around the country! We also got a chance to meet up with Addie's uncle Adam, and his daughter Victoria (4 1/2) at the beach one afternoon. The girls were super cute together! On sunday, the 5th, we headed back to Raleigh and my friend Morgan dropped me with Noah's parents again. We spent until Tuesday afternoon catching up with Addie's nana and papa. It was relaxing and, again, so exciting to see them enjoy little Addison!

The flight back to Minneapolis was the only stressful part of the trip. Addie came down with a cold the night before and spent much of the flight back struggling to get comfortable. The flight was crowded and hot, and it made for a long trip! I have never been so glad to see my friend Anne at the airport to rescue us when we arrived! Thank you Anne!

We are now back and feeling better. Addison has been enjoying her exploration of the house, even more now that she has gotten quicker and better at getting around.......and seeing her brother Wally.

We had our nine month well-baby visit today! Addison has grown a ton and is doing just "perfect" per her pediatrician! She is now 18 pounds 10 ounces, and 27.25 inches long! She is now in the 40th percentile for length and 46th for weight......yea Addison! :-)

My little peanut continues to grow up......and our love for her continues to grow as well!

Enjoy the pics and videos from the last couple weeks........