Goodbye 2011....and welcome 2012!

dressed in my candy cane pjs!
my pretty new colts hat!
nap time with opa!
my new pjs from nanny!
love the tree!...and removing ornaments! :-)
my Nanny time!
smiles!
Christmas dinner with daddy!
my cute party dress for Christmas!
the whole gang on Santa's lap!
no smile...but hey, no tears either!!! :-)

I can't believe I am sitting here writing this blog an hour before the clock turns to 2012 (1) where did the year go?......and 2) wow am I boring these days :-))!! The year has gone so quickly, and our baby Addison has changed in such significant ways! What a joyous year she brought to us all!

The week before Christmas was busy in Minneapolis with a few holiday get-togethers and preparing for our trip to see family!

We all treked to Indy for Christmas festivities starting December 23....daddy left on the 26th....and Addison and mommy leave tomorrow. Our visit definitely got off to a rocky start.....we were all sick! Noah and mommy had the stomach bug, and Addison had double ear infections! Ugh!

On the 23rd we went to the annual family chili supper where Santa made a surprise visit! Addison sat on his lap like a big girl, and although she didn't smile, there were no tears for the pictures! :-) On the 24th we enjoyed a nice relaxing day of lunch out, a few errands, and lots of home time prepping for the big day. We also had our annual Detmer family dinner (thank goodness I married a guy who likes eggs benedict)! Unfortunately on Christmas morning I became very sick so had to spend most of the day in bed or on the couch. We did do some gifts in the morning, and then Noah and Addison attended Nanny's morning breakfast/gifts and evening dinner with mom and dad, and the extended family. On the 26th Opa and Jojo were sick, so Noah, Addie and I spent the day together relaxing and enjoying lunch out. Noah left to head back for the work week the night of the 26th, so sad! As the week continued we started feeling better, except Addie continued to be a little more irritable than normal! I ended up taking her to my uncle for a quick lookover, and sure enough double ear infections! It is amazing how much her antibiotics have helped, and so quickly! We spent a couple nights having dinners/drinks with friends, and catching up with family!

We did get to enjoy a belated Christmas with Nanny on the 30th where Addison got to open her presents.....some of the highlights included an "Addison" puzzle and a barn with animals and sounds!

Some of Addison's most special gifts from Opa and Jojo this year included a small stuffed chair for our living room with her name on it (the perfect size!) and a doll pram! She has really started to enjoy her dolls lately, and has had a great time running around pushing her pram this week and kissing "her babies"!

As I sit here reflecting on the past year, I am so thankful for our many blessings!!! Looking forward to another wonderful year together!

15 months!!

Patience of a champion!
Best friends snuggling on the couch
Concert time...Addison and her friend, William!
Just a little reading on the couch!
Big smiles... in her new Winter coat from Nana
The boys!

Addison turned 15 months old on December 6th!!! We had her check-up with the doctor this week, and all went well! She is still petite for her age...but growing nonetheless. She is currently 21 pounds, 3 ounces and 30 1/4 inches tall. The doctor told us it is time to start weaning from the bedtime bottle.....this will be our next challenge over the next couple of months. Other than that, everything looked great! Addison even handled her three shots quite well!

We had a few fun play dates with our friends Stacy and William, Levi and Ali, and Kristin, Jessie and Riloh over the last couple of weeks! Addison really enjoys other children now, and loves to be around them!! :-) It is definitely entertainment to watch toddlers interact!

Last night we had daddy's Christmas get together for work, and one of the physicians was dressed up as Santa. Addie was hysterical! She totally freaked and gave him "the eye!" I attempted to reach out and touch Santa's beard in hopes that Addison would warm up to him; however, no such luck! I don't think the big man in the red suit is going to get much love from little Addie this year! :-)

We are working on getting the last couple of our Christmas gifts, and then we are set for the holiday! We are looking forward to our trip to Indy to celebrate with family!

Exciting events of the upcoming week include a holiday get-together with friends in the neighborhood and kids on Sunday evening, a birthday party for a friend on Tuesday evening, and our flight to Indy on Friday!!!

Turkey......then Snow!

We had a wonderful 9 days in North Carolina visiting with family and friends for the Thanksgiving holiday! The weather was gorgeous in the South this time of year.....60s and 70s with sun each day! We spent the week enjoying coffee and the newspaper for a couple hours in the morning, playing outside at the neighborhood park and new Raleigh park (complete with a train, paddle boats, and tons of playground equipment!), running in the Turkey trot, enjoying meals out and in (Trish cooked a delicious turkey dinner!!!), attending the UNC football game, spending time with Adam and Victoria, and seeing some of our good friends! It was a very relazing and much needed vacation! We missed Wally....but our great friend Emily was nice enough to stay with him and give him his much needed attention! :-) Thank you!

We returned to a busy last week of work and activities. Two highlights of the weekend were going to the Holidazzle parade on Nicollet Mall Friday night, and Addison's first time ever sledding today! Friday night several of our neighborhood friends and us bundled the kids, packed hot chocolate and headed downtown to watch the adorable floats filled with all of the favorite cartoon and Disney characters! Addison loved the lights and seemed to really enjoy herself! It was a fun evening! Today, we enjoyed an exciting afternoon taking Addison sledding for her first time! She seemed to love dressing up in all of her new snow gear, and breaking in her new pink sled!

Addison is still very focused on language the last couple of weeks.......with her new obsession being "da????" as she points to about every object in the room. We are pretty sure she is asking "that?"......so we tell her what each thing is called. It's so much fun to watch her learn! We have also been working on "All done" when she finishes her meals. It's so cute when she gets it right....she claps her hands and grins ear to ear! :-)

We've got our stockings hung, and we are ready for the holiday season ahead!!!