91 Years Young...

I have a few more posts to get caught up on the blog, but I am bypassing those for now to write a little something special today to remember my Papa Bob. Wednesday night, Papa Bob went to sleep and didn't wake up. We are thankful that he went peacefully, but I don't think anyone was quite ready for him to go. 91 years is a lot of living, but we always want one more day, one more year, one more decade!

Papa lived a great life! He was an awesome real estate agent; a quality he has passed along to my dad and one we'll let Loanie take forward for our generation! He lived every little boys dream (well maybe just my husband's :)) by racing cars at some of the most famous race tracks in the U.S. Bob (husband Bob) loved talking to him about his racing. He had so many stories to share! Papa was a great dad and taught my dad a lot about life. I know that most of my dad's many sayings and "words of wisdom" have come straight from Papa Bob's mouth and as I get older I appreciate them more and more!

The last few years have been tough on Papa. He was as sharp as a tack, but was having some trouble with his short-term memory. Ask him about a friend or a car race from 1955 and he would tell you everything in great detail, but the newer stuff was all kind of a blur. While we knew it was frustrating for him, Papa remained positive and always had a smile on his face.

I am thankful that Papa got to meet Addison (his first great grandchild) before he passed. I will cherish these pictures always...

 

 

To someone who truly lived life to the fullest, thanks for showing us how its done.

We will miss you, Papa. XOXO

 

 

 

Addison: Three Months

Our growing girl is THREE months old! I can't believe how quickly time is passing, but its so fun to see our little girl changing before our eyes.

We don't have official doctor stats (those will come later this month at her four month check up), but the last month has been a big one! Addison has started...
- Laughing...A LOT. Its hilarious when she laughs so it usually leads to Bob and I laughing, which keeps Addison laughing
- "Talking." Addison LOVES to hear her voice. She makes all sorts of silly noises and loves when we repeat them back.
- Blowing bubbles. At first I thought it was just drool, lots of drool, but after further observation it really is bubble blowing
- Grabbing. She grabs anything she can get her hands on! Toys, buttons on our clothes, arm hair (ouch!), etc.
- Sucking on her hands. It seems its becoming her way of self soothing (she is not a binky girl), but only time will tell.
- Kicking every chance she gets. On her play mat, on her changing table, in her bed, while nursing...
- Working her right hand out of her swaddle. She likes to have at least one hand free. Lately she works the right out first and sometimes, by morning, has been able to release them both!
- Teething?!?!!? There appears to be the start of a tooth popping up on the lower right side of her mouth. We will see what comes of it!

She LOVES:
- Staring in the mirror, especially when we make faces at her.
- Singing (even mine). Her favorite song is still Twinkle, Twinkle (it calms her down the fastest, a trick that Bob, Chasie and I have all used).
- The Sleep Machine app on the iPhone (thanks Auntie Loanie for sharing your sleep secret. It works wonders for your niece too!) The app comes in especially handy in the car.
- Nighttime sleeping :) She is pretty consistent now and sleeps 10-12 hours at night. Daytime is still all over the place. Some days she sleeps great in her crib, others not so much. We take it day by day, but appreciate the long stretches she gives us at night.

Taking Addison's three month photos was a bit of an adventure. She started out kicking and sucking her hands, but that wasn't enough for our active little one. See the photo shoot progression below. We are in for it once she starts crawling. My oh my!

And additional shots from the last month...

Kenai always works his way into the photo shoots!

LOVE this picture!

I just can't get enough of the pictures of Addison in this outfit!
Thanks Auntie Chasie and Auntie Maddie :)



Go Broncos! Watching SCU take on Duke -
believe it or not it was not a total blowout!

In case anyone thought Addison looked like a boy in that last shot ;)

Addison's First Christmas!

Christmas came early for Addison and me! In order to take full advantage of my time off, we made our way to Bend a full week before the big day to spend some extra time with the family. We started our adventure in Tacoma to meet up with Bob's parents (Ema and Papa) for the first leg of our journey. We went to church at St. Patrick's, had breakfast with Bob's parents and grandma, and made an impromptu trip to my gramma's for a quick visit before packing as much as humanly possible into the car.

Not sure about this face...

Cozy on Great Gramma :)

Addison and I spent a relaxing night with Ema and Papa in Portland before Robie, Chasie and Maddie picked us up the next day. Of course the biggest storm of the winter thus far was making its way across the Cascades and the drive from Bend to Portland (and back again) was a bit more harrowing than usual. Maddie did a great job and we made it to Bend safe and sound.

Once in Bend we celebrated Chase's birthday, did some Christmas shopping, wrapped gifts, savored cuddle time with aunties, Mimi and Pops, and had MANY lazy mornings (my fave!) to enjoy our coffee. Every night we wondered where our days went, but I enjoyed every minute of our time in Bend.

Addison LOVED having cozy aunties to sleep on...

And poop on (BIGGEST blow out yet!)

Addison's first piano lesson :)

 

Bob told us he was coming down for Christmas on Saturday, but as we sat wrapping gifts on Friday night, the front door opened just before midnight and in ran Kenai (the same way Bob and I had him run in when we introduced him to the fam for the first time), followed close behind by Bob. Such a nice surprise!

On Christmas Eve we set out for a pre-Christmas snow shoe near Tumalo Falls. The sun was shining over the fresh snow making for a perfect snow shoe! The dogs LOVED it, as did the humans, and it was great to get some exercise before the food fest.

The whole gang (and an old family friend off to the side that we ran into on the trail...)

After the snow shoe adventure, we ran some last minute errands, attended Mass at St. Francis, had traditional fondue dinner (YUM!), did some last-minute Christmas wrapping, opened our Christmas Eve jammies and cozied up on the couch with dad to hear this year's version of Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Christmas Eve jammies (first of three pairs :))

Auntie Maddie testing out Addison's toys!

Cozied up to hear Twas the Night Before Christmas

Exhausted!

We woke up to a fresh dusting of snow on Christmas morning giving Addison a completely white Christmas her very first year. We slept in, drank coffee and slowly opened gifts throughout the morning - a schedule that will surely change in years to come. Maddie made her famous Belgian waffles and it seemed like we lounged around and ate all day!

Christmas morning!

Santa brought Addison an excersaucer.
Contrary to how it may appear in this photo, she is already into it :)

Christmas jammies with new accessories!

Happy pups!

Mrs. Claus

A classier, more covered up Mrs. Claus

Addison 12 weeks (minus her sign)

Our family of four (Kenai kind of blends in!)

Addison with Mimi on Christmas!

 

We loved our first Christmas as parents and cannot wait for Addison to experience the joy of the season. She has definitely been our greatest gift this year!

Go Cougs!

I can't believe it. Chase graduated from COLLEGE! Not to sound all sappy and old, but I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. Lauren and I sat in the waiting room with my Gramma, playing magnetic checkers and making guesses about what time she would arrive, while we waited for dad to come out and share the exciting news. Now she is a college graduate!

Three weeks ago Bob and I packed Addison into the car on a rainy Friday afternoon and made our way over the pass to Pullman. What should be an easy 4.5-5 hour drive was a lovely 7 hour adventure. The pass was snowy, traffic was yucky and Addison was not a huge fan of being in the car for the first 3 hours. Lauren and Jess had an even more harrowing car ride - at least we only had one pass to deal with.

Graduation day! Apparently "Go Cougs" was the theme of graduation - well that and several mentions of the Cougars beating the Huskies in the Apple Cup this year :) It was so fun seeing Chasie walk across the stage to get her diploma. We had quite the cheering squad for her.

 

Chasie on the jumbotron!

 



Such a clever little one ;) Nice work Chasie!

After graduation we headed up to the golf course for lunch and a photo shoot. It was FREEZING so our pictures were a brief affair.

Sisters with the graduate

Bob being "artistic." Personally, I think this looks like an abandoned baby in a field, but that's just me ;)

All smiles after graduation

Chasie planned a great graduation BBQ at her apartment. Robie made delicious food, class notes were burned in the fire pit and a bit too much Fireball was consumed.

Time to party!

Love the silly faces :)

Addison was quite the party animal! She slept in the Ergo for hours.

 

Chasie bug, we are so proud of you! We cannot wait to see what's in store for you as you venture out into the "real world." Fingers crossed that world starts in Seattle with an internship. We would LOVE to have you as a roommate :)