Our Little Gymnast

Yesterday was Addie’s first day in gymnastics. Yes, she’s only 14 months old, but the class says walking to three, so we went for it. She alternated between speed walking around the gym and crying and demanding to be picked up, but I think she had fun!

We did a little stretching to start, which she enjoyed with the help of Mom, though she didn’t quite catch on to the spinning in circles or slow-motion walking. Then we headed all the way to the back corner of the gym (which she walked to all by herself!) to bounce on the trampoline. She really wanted to try it out, but wasn’t thrilled once she stepped on. She had more fun standing on the side clapping for the other kids. Then it was obstacle course time, where Daddy had to step in to help out. At first she didn’t want to go on anything, but she warmed up a little and tried crawling up the wedge (yes, it’s purpose is for somersaults, but whatever a 14-month old wants to do on it is perfectly acceptable too!). The class ended with a parachute, and Addie watching again instead of participating, but she seemed pretty amused. We have her signed up until the end of March, so hopefully she’ll warm up a bit more and have fun for the next few weeks.

My Valentine

Addie had the best Valentine’s Day! She was certainly dressed for the occasion this year and when I picked her up from daycare, she was even cuter with a handmade necklace of red noodles and hearts! I just love our sitter!

She had a delicious dinner – actually two dinners – her usual spread of corn, peas, blueberries and a huge bowl of beans and cheese, then enjoyed about half of what was on Jimmy’s dinner plate, fish and parsnip mashed potatoes. After about an hour of rolling around on the couch, her new favorite activity, she crashed hard in her crib! Such a great day spent with the ones I love most!

And, since I haven’t blogged in almost a month, let’s go back a bit and catch up…

A few weeks back, we spent a weekend in Tahoe for Vic’s 50th birthday. Krista and her brood came up too, so we had quite a full house! Addie enjoyed her first snowy adventure…sledding! She loved going down the hill with her Daddy.

And, maybe even cooler than sledding, eating the snow! I swear, she spent a half hour straight just sitting eating chunks of snow.

Some other new loves for Addie, walking everywhere (no more crawling for this one!), hoarding toys (she grabs as many as her little hands can possibly hold), blowing kisses, reading the same book over and over again, growling like a lion (not a new thing, but associating it to the lion page in the animal book is new), saying “bye” as loud as she can every time we leave the sitter’s house, taking bites of food (finally), and giving kisses. Here she is kissing herself in the camera on Dad’s phone…

In other exciting news, Addie’s going to have a sibling in July! We’re thrilled, but each day, something happens that makes me think, “How on earth do we do this with two?” Thank goodness Addie is such a great kid! I think she’ll be the best big sister ever.

I think this picture was 12 weeks. We have an 8 week somewhere, but with all our photo devices, I can’t remember where it is! Baby G2 is definitely showing sooner than I did with Addie. New 16 week picture to come later this week – though I think I’m 17 weeks already?? We have our “20 week” ultrasound schedule for March 19, so maybe at that point we’ll get a firm due date and I can really know how far along we are. I’m guessing 22 at that point, but we’ll see!

 

Look Out, World!

Finally, after toying around with the thought for a few weeks, she’s finally decided that walking might be fun! Daddy had her practicing all weekend. I think the most she’s taken is 12 steps and she still isn’t confident enough to stand up on her own, but put her in position, and she’s off…

1-Year Photo Shoot

New pictures are posted here from Kendall. These were taken on Addie’s first birthday! She’s the cutest baby ever!!

 

Christmas Festivities

The past couple of weeks have been a huge whirl-wind of excitement! Jimmy and I were pretty good about getting all the shopping taken care of in advance, but wrapping was a completely different story. We were scrambling right up until Christmas morning – thank goodness Jimmy is a good present-wrapper (I even “tricked” him into wrapping his own – though I put bows on everything, so it was a joint effort!).

We spent Christmas Eve at my parents house for our steak and lobster tradition. Addie had a little of both, but was more interested in playing with the snowmen and Auntie Lyssa’s phone.

We woke up Christmas morning and opened presents with my parents, Alyssa and Papa. Addie’s favorite gifts were two new baby dolls and a wooden ark handmade by Gramps. She also loved the Marlie pug ornament for a moment, but it didn’t turn out to be very entertaining. I’m sure next year when we’re hanging it on the tree she’ll appreciate it again!

Next, we were off to El Dorado Hills. We started at Richard and Sharon’s house where we had a delicious meal and entertainment (as always) from RJ. Addie loved freaking him out by flipping around on the chair over and over again. He’s decided that she’s simply “too much responsibility”. Probably a good thing for an almost 20-year-old to discover!!

Then we headed to the Smith’s Christmas where Addie had another full plate of food. Larry played the piano and Lisa, Carol, and Lindsey sang. Addie absolutely loved it! She danced and clapped for hours, then “walked” around the kitchen with her “twin” Lindsey. I’ll have to get pictures of Lindsey to post here. Addie looks just like her baby pictures. And Addie absolutely adores her!

It was a busy week, but we had such a good Christmas with our families! I’m so ready for another 3-day weekend to relax and clean my house. I hope everyone had as much fun as we did.

Have a safe and happy new year!

Birthday Girl

Last Saturday, Addie had the most one-derful first birthday celebration! The house was decorated with an Addie in One-derland theme…wood signs in the yard, lanterns in the trees and strung over the tables, flowers in tea pots, eat me and drink me tags everywhere, and a Very Merry Unbirthday playing in the courtyard as guests arrived. Addie even dressed the part in a blue tutu, white tights, mary janes and a black headband – very Alice-chic! She was a little overwhelmed by all the people and chaos that comes with 35 bodies packed into her usually calm house. She wasn’t a huge fan of the cake, as you can tell by her expression in the pictures. And it wasn’t until everyone left and she had an afternoon nap that she warmed up to the idea of a birthday at all. Just before the sun set, we tied a one-year wish to her balloons and set them free. Then, Jimmy and I opened presents with her, and in true Addie fashion, her favorites were a gift receipt and a $5 bill. It wasn’t until the following day that she realized there was more to play with!

Yesterday, we had her 1-year doctor’s appointment. She’s usually a champ when she gets shots, but the toe prick to measure her iron levels did her in. She was screaming for the rest of the appointment. That will teach us to interrupt her nap time! She’s 31 inches tall (please note that per her daddy’s baby book, he was only 29 inches at a year) putting her in the 95th percentile for height and holding steady at 20 pounds. This drops her into the 25th for weight, but we’re told that it’s normal for this age when they are becoming more active. Doctor’s orders are to feed her as much as she will eat, as often as she wants. Simple enough, right?!

So, that wraps up her first year. Can you believe it? Neither can we.

Bring on toddlerhood!

Hi!

Such a simple word, right? A bit ho hum. But when it comes out of the mouth of your 11-month-old, it’s like birds singing! It’s been a couple weeks now since our “official” first word. When I picked Addie up from her sitter’s on Nov. 14, she told me her daughter walked in to the room and Addie turned around and said “hi”, just like she’d been saying it forever, no big deal. Then it was non-stop, hi to the pets, to random people in stores, inanimate objects, pretty much any thing and everything got a friendly greeting. She has been babbling mama and dada for a while, but doesn’t use them in context yet, so we’re giving her official first word to “hi”. We have a video, but it’s stuck on my phone. Once we figure out how to get it on here, we’ll be sure to share!

In other exciting news, we had a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner with my mom, Vic, Alyssa, and Krista’s crew. If you’re looking for new, delicious recipes, try these out. They won’t disappoint:

Turkey - http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/apple-cider-brined-turkey-with-savory-herb-gravy-10000000780346/

Gravy - http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/savory-herb-gravy-10000001563853/

Mashed potatoes – use your favorite recipe

Grom’s stuffing – it’s amazing, email me if you want the recipe

Brussel sprouts - http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/brussels-sprouts-with-apples-10000000364642/

Sweet potato and apple gratin - http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/sweet-potato-apple-gratin-10000000357649/

rolls - http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2352

cranberries - http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2355

pumpkin apple pie - http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/896

pumpkin chocolate cake - http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2635

Addie had her first Thanksgiving meal off a real porcelain plate, filled with all the traditional fixings. She immediately fisted a hunk of turkey, but I think the cranberries and stuffing turned out to be her favorite. She ate both for days to follow!

So now, with one more milestone behind us, we’re gearing up for the big first birthday celebration! I can’t believe we’ll have a 1-year-old by the end of the week! Yikes!! Such an exciting year with this little one!

On the Move…Again

If these jobs of ours don’t work out, I imagine Jimmy & I could become professional movers. Not really, we’re actually quite bad about it, but considering the number of times we’ve moved, I think that could stand alone on a job application for a moving company. Let me take a minute to count…since we graduated, we’ve moved 9 times! We’ve been “officially” dating 10 years this week, so that averages about one move a year. It’s pretty ridiculous when you consider we’ve also owned two houses that we stayed in for about 3 years each.

Anyway, the good thing about this move is that it means my mom & Vic are moving to Reno! Yay! More Gram & Gramps time for Addie (and a babysitter!!), and we get to live a in pretty sweet house with great views of the city for a little while.

And, while all I mentioned already is pretty fantastic in itself, I think the most exciting thing about a move is…

I’m thrilled to have new furniture! It’s amazing and I’m loving that “new furniture” smell. I couldn’t be more thrilled with our purchase! Our old couch made 4 of the above mentioned moves with us, so it was time to part ways. Craigslist and young couples have been my new best friends this week! We sold our red leather couch and chair (which will soon make an appearance at a new bar in downtown Reno – exciting, huh??), our coffee/end table set, two random glass end tables, and our tan sofa and loveseat. And, made a profit of a couple hundred dollars after buying my new loves. Pretty sweet, wouldn’t you agree? Now, just the desk and we’ll be done!

I think Addie’s a fan of the new couch too…

Halloween Festivities

Addie’s first Halloween was filled with two jam-packed weekends of adventure.

We started with the Ferrari Farms pumpkin patch with her friend Priya. Addie picked out a tiny little pumpkin that she didn’t put down for days. We bought two nice ones to carve, though they only were lit once and promptly thrown in the trash within two days. However, we did get a super-cute picture of Addie with her owl.

Our amazing sitter, Linda, had all the kids dress up Thursday – so stinking adorable!! Did I mention that there is a new baby Adelyn at the sitter’s? A random side though, but something I should share .

We picked Addie up after her party and headed to El Dorado Hills to visit Nana & Poppy and Addie got to meet her aunts Heidi & Laura, finally! We had a wonderful dinner with Larry & G-ma Lori, and Sharon, Richard, & Dorothy as well. We spent Friday at Apple Hill, eating delicious apple donuts and playing outside in the amazing weather.

Saturday, we woke up bright and early and headed to San Francisco to visit with Krista, Nick & the kids. Addie had a great time until the lack of naps caught up to her around 6:00. Once she went down, she was out for the night and slept most of the way home Sunday.

We got one last burst of Halloween fun in Monday when we took Addie trick or treating with some friends from college. Addie wasn’t too interested in any of it. She was happiest when we gave her a cookie to munch on, but we were pleased with our photo ops and called it an early night. Next year, I’m sure she’ll enjoy it more than we do, but at least we have these precious pics to remember her first Halloween!

Pro pics…

Our amazing photographer, Kendall Price, posted some of Addie’s pics to her blog here. Isn’t she the cutest 10-month old ever?