September....getting colder!

Playing outside with daddy and Wally! "Lamb girl" (thanks to Opa's hat from last Spring!)

Yum!!! Lasagna!
Daddy dressed me in a cute little girl headband... :-)

I have been terrible at updating the blog lately!!! Needless to say, it has been a busy couple of weeks!

Noah was gone to San Francisco for a medical conference the 4 days following Addison's birthday party. It seems like those days flew by, as I was incredibly busy with Addison and Wally.....it's amazing how much it's easy to take for granted having an extra set of hands! :-) We visited daycare and dropped all of Addison's supplies off, had a fun early morning river walk with our friends Liv and Isla, baked banana and chocolate chip bread, played at the park with the Jabour family, attended the first day of daycare, and went to Addison's 1 year-old MD check up for weight, shots and the whole work-up!

Addison weighed 19 pounds 3 ounces at her check-up and was 28.5 inches tall. A growing girl! She still measures in the lower percentiles for weight and height, but developmentally is progressing right along as she should be! The doctor said that she looks healthy and happy! Unfortunately, the appointment included 4 big shots in the thighs and a finger stick.....ugh!!! Addison was a tough one though, and didn't even get a fever! A few screams and we were done! :-)

The first day of daycare went better than anticipated! I left super early to make sure I had plenty of time to walk her in and pull myself together before heading on to work if I got too upset.....however, she did great! She immediately started playing with the other kids and had no tears at drop off! I, of course, left the room sad that my little girl was growing up.....but was able to pull myself together knowing that she seemed just fine. The teachers were impressed by her first couple days and ability to adapt to such a new and different environment than being home with the nanny. She has continued to do well the last two weeks....although napping has been a little rough, as she still has to adjust to all of the other babies and noises that go along with being in that type of environment.

Addison is doing very well with the transition to whole milk! She is enjoying her morning snack (NEW) with her sippy cup in the morning. We now are only nursing before bedtime....but planning to stick with that for a little while.

Addison has been eating like a champ lately....we have no doubt that she will be creeping up those growth charts soon. The other night we couldn't believe that she ate an entire adult size piece of lasagna! She always gets "very well" marked on her daycare sheet for how she ate at each meal! :-)

We also started music class in the last couple of weeks! We go to MacPhail music school downtown on Monday mornings from 9:15-10:30am. It is such a great time! There are about 9 other little ones (all between one year and 2 years) in the class.....we sing, play instruments, play and dance! Addison really seems to enjoy herself and is often one of the only ones wiggling her hips! :-) Today we played with bells, and Addie loved those!

We had an exciting playdate with our friends Levi and Ali last week....we went to a really cool bookstore called the Wild Rumpus where there are chickens, kittens, rabits, lizards, birds, and bunny rabbits all in the store. Addison loved seeing the animals. We also played in Creative Kids toy store, ate ice cream at Sebastian Joe's and played on the playground!

Addison spent the last two weekends with daddy while mommy worked......the two are so cute together! Daddy takes her out to breakfast and plays outside with her! He also spoils her with "daddy naps" on the couch. Such special time for them!

Developmentally, it has become clear that Addison is understanding more and more each day. She now is able to follow simple commands to "hand ___ to mommy" or "go find daddy" or "kiss Wally." It's so exciting to watch her learn and be proud of her accomplishments! She is also continually getting quicker and quicker on her feet....soon she'll be running! :-)

More to come soon.....promise.......

Our toddler!!! (birthday, goodbye Molly, luau party)

Birthday morning!
Our birthday princess with our free 1st birthday cake from Lunds!
New, fun birthday toys!
Last day with Molly! We will miss you!
Stuffing my face at the birthday party!
Everyone stood around and sang to Addie at the luau! She loved the attention!
The absolutely gorgeous cake!
Our hula birthday girl!!! She wore this outfit with pride all night long! :-)
Celebrating family style! :-)
Opening bday gifts!! Thank you to all of our wonderful friends!!!

It has been a fun-filled week!!! I label this post "our toddler"-due to the difficult realization that Addison has transitioned to this new category with her first birthday! All of the baby websites sent me emails this week letting me know that this was the case. A little sad to no longer have a "baby".......although she will always be "our baby"!

Addison's birthday was an exciting day for all of us! We had breakfast out, played on the playground, had a playdate with Addie's friend Riloh, bought a new car for mom and dad (Addie had a great time running around the dealership!), opened presents, and smashed in to Addie's birthday cake! What a day!!! Addison was absolutely exhausted!

Addie's birthday was the first night that we decided to cut out the middle of the night feeding! She did beautifully...only a couple minutes of crying the first night that was easily soothed by daddy! Addison has now gone 5 nights straight of not a single awakening in the middle of the night.....at least if she awakens, she is able to put herself right back to sleep....we don't hear a peep! I think the middle of the night nursing had just become a habit for her....but so easy to break! We are all getting better sleep....even her! What a big girl! We have cut to nursing just first thing in the morning and before bed.

Friday was our nanny Molly's last day with Addison. So sad to see her go...but we wish her the best in London (where she is headed for grad school). We will be sure to send pictures her way! We feel so fortunate to have gotten Addison through her entire first year of life with in-home nanny care! :-) On that note...Addison starts daycare at mommy's work 2 days a week this Wednesday! Tomorrow, we visit to drop off all of her supplies....diapers, wipes, sippy cups, blankie, extra clothes, etc..... I know Addie will absolutely love it there...but of course mommy will have anxiety about it for the first few days!

This weekend we celebrated Addison's 1st birthday with friends! Yesterday was the big luau birthday party! We rented the party room in our building and ended up having quite the showing....26 adults and 8 children! Addison decked out in her hula girl grass skirt and pink shell bra top! We served tacos, chips/dips, fruit salad, cake, and Hawaiian punch (for the adults)! Everybody had a wonderful time, and Addison did great!! She smiled, played, smashed her cake, and ran around in her costume all night! We greatly appreciate our wonderful friends coming out to help celebrate this special occasion, and for bringing such thoughtful and fun gifts for our little girl! :-)

Daddy left for San Francisco for a four day work conference this morning....Mommy, Wally and Addie have been playing outside and watching all of the special tributes to 9/11. It is definitely difficult to remember that tragic, scary day....but how fortunate we are to have our entire family safe and sound 10 years later! Warm thoughts and prayers go out to those who were less fortunate that day.

Enjoy some of our favorite pics from the last week! :-)

Happy First Birthday Addison!!

Test drive....we are having Addison decide which car is best for us!
Playing outside with daddy and Wally! It's getting chilly here!
Opening Nanny's birthday gift! A gorgeous outfit from the Wooden Soldier!
"Addie's friend" and daddy at the State Fair!
Mommy and Addie at the State Fair!
Kindermusik class in the park with friends!
Addie's beautiful August hat from Opa!!!

Our sweet little girl is one year old today!! We can't even believe that it has been an entire year since we were in Labor and Delivery awaiting her arrival! What a wonderful year it has been! Another beautiful day......high in the low 70s and sunny, just like last year!!! We couldn't have asked for a more energetic, beautiful and loving little girl! This morning we celebrated by taking Addison out to breakfast and to the playground. We just watched her special tribute on Kare 11 News......so adorable!! (got it on video to save for years to come). Tonight we will do presents and cake! This coming Saturday is Addison's first birthday party-a luau! We are so excited!!

The past week has been a bit hectic with Addie coming down with a terrible virus on Thursday evening (Noah and I left the Vikings game after one possession as Addie had a fever of nearly 104...scary!). The virus came on strong and lasted throughout the entire holiday weekend. She had high fevers, diarrhea, a rash, increased irritability and a lot of sleepless nights! Our poor baby girl! We are not back 100%, but well on the uphill now....just needing a little extra sleep and cuddle time still. Daddy and I are attempting to recover from our sleep-deprivation as well.

We did find a little time to look at cars (new car coming soon to the Parker household, yea!!!), enjoy the state fair for a brief visit (Addie got to see pigs, cows, horses and sheep...she also got to taste a small sliver of pork chop, cheese curd and milkshake..yummy!), and quickly attend a housewarming party (Addie was pretty tired during this!).

Enjoy the pics from the last week or so......and more to come very soon of the birthday celebration and party this weekend!!! :-)