Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Addie visits her 9th state!



Despite being less than 11 months old, Miss Addison has already been to 9 different states. She has seen Illinois, Kentucky, Texas, California, New Jersey, North Carolina, Michigan, Indiana, and Washington.

This weekend we were Spokane for my ACE roommate Jared's wedding. We had a wonderful time. Not only was it a relaxing, mini-family vacation, it gave Dan and I a chance to see a beautiful part of the country we had not been to before. We were able to take a run around Gonzoga University's campus, ride gondolas high above a water fall, and spend time with three roommates from my years in Oklahoma City.
Addie, of course, was the center of attention at many of the gatherings. From waving to everyone on the airplane, to playing with Jared's young cousins, she was quite a trooper despite the time change and displacement from her quiet, calm house. It is amazing how well she travels.

One other update -- last week at gymnastics Addie took her first steps! I could hardly believe it! I was thankful there were other witnesses (including Mimi!) to see. She has taken three or four here and there, but still prefers crawling. We try to entice her to walk, and I promise to take a video soon if we can.

I'm posting a few pictures from our trip. Hope all is well!

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Halloween Part II






Last night Addie was able to celebrate her first Halloween. I must admit, at first I wasn't too excited about dressing her up as Princess Leia, but at Dan's request, we went ahead and ordered the costume. But as the pictures show, she looked beyond adorable!

Addie's second cousin Nate also joined us to celebrate the holiday. Nate was a very cute penguin, and the two together created quite a photo op. I never thought Princess Leia and a baby penguin would be chatting together on our living room chairs! We went to a parade just down the street and witnessed some very funny costumes, from Sarah Palin to Michael Phelps. While some people at the parade initially thought Addie was an angel, a ram and/or a cinnamon bun, once they saw her dress and "utility belt" most people caught on.

But the best story of the day... Yesterday morning Addie and I went to gymnastics to try out the older children's class. Her teacher thought she would benefit from moving up so she could see kids walking and playing around. On Monday her teacher said, "And if you do come Friday, Addie should wear her costume, since it is Halloween." So of course yesterday, I dressed her up, wig and all. We show up to the class and low and behold, none of the other ten children had costumes on! All I could think is, "She's going to be traumatized! Not only are no other kids dressed up, she's in a nerdy Star Wars outfit!" Thankfully, with all the flipping and bubbles, she didn't notice a bit!

Hope all is well!


Halloween Part I


One of my favorite Halloween traditions growing up was carving our pumpkin as a family. I remember my parents -- to keep everything fair -- would allow each of us to choose one part of the pumpkin to design. I could choose the eye shape, David the nose, Elizabeth the mouth, John the eyebrows. It made for interesting jack-o-lanterns some years, but I always loved the night we celebrated this tradition.

Wednesday night we carved our first pumpkin with Addie. Who knows if she even realized what was going on. She did try to eat the lid once it was removed. She was very curious about the slimy seeds. And she did have a great time "cruising" around the jack-o-lantern once it was carved. But all in all, we had so much fun. It makes me so excited to share more traditions with her as she grows. She especially loved when we put the candle inside and turned off the lights. That was always my favorite part too!