Making it our own...

When we moved into our house last April we knew there were a few things we wanted to do to make it our own. The house was completely livable, just not 100% us, and the outside space definitely left something to be desired. One of the first things that had to go were the GIANT pots full of pampas grass that greeted us (and all of our guests) as we walked up to the front door. We live in Seattle, not the desert, but the succulents and grass suggested otherwise.

A shrunken version of the original 8-10 foot grass standing tall in these pots...

The weather in Seattle can be questionable in March, but last weekend promised clear skies and 60 degree temps - perfect for a day of planting and weeding in the yard!



A blank canvas (with our spring tulips starting to bloom)

No more pots, but plenty of weeds!

So after some serious research and two trips to the nursery we decided on our plants and loaded up the truck!

Yardwork is much more challenging with a baby to entertain...
This is what our front porch/yard looked like!

Taking a load off...

The finished product! Not too shabby :)

 

There is still work to be done in the yard - stone pavers and babies don't mix, but this was a big step in the right direction :) Hopefully now our neighbors know we care about keeping up the yard!

Cute Babies!

Three weeks after Addison was born, I met nine amazing ladies and their adorable babies :) Over the course of the next few months we commiserated, celebrated and overall, kept each other sane as we embarked on the journey of motherhood. We pushed each other to get out of the house, gathered as a group and talked about what was working and what was still a challenge. We helped each other realize that one task per day was more than enough and reassured one another that we were all doing the right things for our little monsters.

Our group has been gathering for five months now, but we have yet to meet the dads to these cute little babes. Last weekend, we finally got to meet the "other halves" and catch up after a few weeks apart. Its amazing to see how much each baby changes from week to week, especially when we haven't seen them in awhile.

Our PEPS group minus two moms and babies...

Addison loving up Ben and Henry...

Ben was getting a bit fresh with our little girl... (It was HILARIOUS BTW!)

So Addison took it up a notch ;)

So happy to have met all of these great ladies and their babies. It will be so fun for Addison to grow up with all of these kiddos.



St Patrick's Day!

We have always loved casual St. Patty's Day celebrations (ie green food coloring in our beer at home versus actually going to a pub for a beer...) This year Bob decided that Addison should also partake in the festivities and made her a special baba. I had no idea what he was up to until he came upstairs to feed her, but it was so cute to see how happy it made him. Addison doesn't care what color her milk is just as long as its warm-ish and waiting for her.

One for daddy, one for baby...

Happy daddy!

We ventured down to Tacoma to see my gramma on St. Patrick's Day. We had a great visit and Addison showed everyone her moves by rolling all over the floor.



Addison looked so dang cute in her little green outfit!

Wild Animal(s)!

There are some days where a new noise comes out of Addison and I look around the room, expecting to see Kenai, or, perhaps more fitting, a potbelly pig, staring back at me. The snorts and grunts do not amount to the "pretty girl voice" we have come to love, but the noises are hilarious and always appreciated. Addison loves to "talk" and really likes it when we talk back. Its become a fun new way to keep her entertained.

 

Last weekend we decided to take our little "wild animal" to see some real wild animals at the Woodland Park Zoo. I hadn't been to the zoo in ages and Bob kept asking me if it was a good one. I didn't remember it being anything amazing, but when we got there we were pleasantly surprised! The zoo is less than a mile from our house and will certainly become a new family hot spot in the years to come. This trip was more for us than Addison, but something tells me that she will be a huge fan of the zoo soon enough.



Elephant hiding in the background :) And while you can't see it.
Addison is wearing her daddy chosen zoo outfit complete with
ZEBRA print pants!

Big 'ol elephants :)

Hop, hop, hop!

 

Definitely going to have to watch little fingers with the Emus!

Zebra hiding behind the tree...

Our little wild animal is becoming quite the gourmand. To date she has tried oatmeal cereal, pears, apples, bananas, sweet potatoes, carrots and sweet peas. Aside from the peas she has liked it all! We will keep experimenting with new flavors (and forcing peas :)) - fingers crossed that she will keep up the good eating habits. We are quickly learning, however, that Addison has a small window during which she is OK eating like a big girl. If she isn't in the mood for her "solid" menu, she quickly blows bubbles into the spoon, spits out food and clenches her mouth closed tightly. We are still working our way towards the high chair. We have tried feeding her in a Bumbo chair. but she really doesn't like it and the best system we have found is to sit her on our laps while holding her arms down. We learned the arm holding trick on solid food day number one when Addison nearly knocked her cereal onto the carpet with one quick grab!

In other news, we have a roly poly little one! Addison started rolling from her tummy to her back consistently a couple of weeks ago, but just last week started rolling from her back to her tummy. Now that she knows she can roll both directions, she doesn't stop! She works her way around in circles and can make it pretty far just by rolling around. Sounds like baby proofing is going to have to happen sooner versus later. I am not quite ready for this!

LOVE eating the weekly sign :)

...And my ducky

So much love for this little girl!

 

 

Thankful... (not just at Thanksgiving!)

Photo credit to Auntie Chasie for this adorable photo shoot!

Well... this is it. Tomorrow I trade in my role as stay-at-home mama for that of a working mom and start the next chapter of life...the one that will become our new normal. While I can't say it will be the easiest of days, I can say that I am very thankful.

I am thankful for the time I had at home with Addison (although 5.5 months went by in a FLASH!), thankful for what a great baby we have, thankful for the love and support of my friends and family as I prepare to start this next chapter, thankful for the working moms that surround me and so very thankful that tomorrow, I get to leave our little miss in the very capable hands of my very own mama, a mom who showed me that working moms are great moms and they have plenty left at the end of a long day for their kiddos.

As I look back on the last five and a half months I can say, with complete certainty, that while there have been tough times, I have never been so happy. Addison makes me smile at the drop of a hat and seeing Bob in his new role as daddy is truly amazing. Addison made us parents and took us from being a couple to being a family and for that, I will always be thankful.

Addison is the light of our lives. She taught me a whole new meaning of the word "love" and I am thankful for her every single day. I know that there will be hard days (like tomorrow is sure to be), but one little smile, one little giggle or one sloppy wet "kiss" from our little girl make all of those hard days worth it. I am thankful that Addison made me a mama and thankful that we have a whole lot of great days ahead of us as a family!

Montana: Round TWO!

Since Addison did so well on our first flight to Montana, we decided to do it again :) I thought she couldn't do any better than the flights before, but she amazed me yet again! The two ladies in the aisle across from us offered to hold her if I needed help and about 10 people stopped on their way off the flight to tell me what a great baby I had. Lets hope all flights are like these last three have been!

 

We flew in the Ducks plane - proud daddy :)

Addison decided she didn't like the ride from Bozeman to Big Sky... AT ALL!
Solo was very concerned and kept an eye on her almost the whole way

 

Getting comfy with my cousin Solo!

 

Addison playing with her purse... and her cousin!

I won't win mommy of the year for this one, but Addison's face in this video is PRICELESS :)

We had a great time in Montana and picked up a nanny while we were there ;) We drove back with my mom on Monday and Addison was a CHAMP the entire way. She got a bit restless a couple of times, but slept most of the way (or played with her purse ;)) What is usually a 10.5 hour car ride took us just over 12 hours with the little miss. Not too shabby!

Addison: 5 Months!

I honestly cannot believe how quickly the time is passing with our little girl. FIVE months old... already! Where is the time going? I know when she is 18, I will really know what it feels like to have time pass "quickly," but it sure feels pretty fast right now!

While Addison didn't have an "official" doctor's check up this month, she did have a little cold and I took her to see the doc since it just kept getting worse. She was just over 15 pounds at that appointment. We will have more official stats later this month at her six month check up. For now, a few highlights from life with our little one.

• Pretty Girl Voice: On Super Bowl Sunday Bob took Addison to Tacoma for his grandma's birthday. When they got home, she started "talking" in a whole new voice! We now call it her "pretty girl voice" since she also has a grunting noise that is not quite as pleasant. See video evidence of "pretty girl voice" below...
• Raspberries: Addison LOVES making raspberries. It has become her favorite new pastime. She even decided to try out her new noises at Ash Wednesday Mass... the WHOLE time. Everyone seemed to think the noise was pretty darn cute, but it sounded awfully loud to us. Its definitely entertaining.
• Pulling/grabbing: Addison has discovered that my hair is fun to pull (for her!) She gets a big handful, grabs on as tight as she can and yanks... hard! This has also become a new routine with Kenai (and Lauren's dog Solo as we found out last week). Luckily these labs are sweet and don't seem to mind yet. Addison also loves to sit on our laps at the table and, as soon as she does, she starts grabbing at everything. Forks, spoons, napkins, etc. - nothing is safe! 
• Kicking: Addison is a serious kicker. Not just a leg here and there, but serious, all out, double leg up thuds to the ground. She thinks its hilarious and once she starts, can't stop!
• Rolling! I honestly wasn't sure that she would ever be much of a roller since she did it once and didn't do it again for a really long time, but I am proud to say she is a rolling machine now. Still just tummy to back, but she gets all the way up on her side to go from back to front before she realizes she doesn't love tummy time and flips back over (video evidence below!)

 

She LOVES:

• Her purse! We gave her a crinkly little fabric purse for Valentine's Day and she is obsessed! Between that and Sophie the Giraffe she can entertain herself for a very long time.
• Floor time: While she has started to like her exersaucer more, the floor is still her favorite spot.
• Her feet: Once she discovered that she had them, she couldn't stop trying to get them in her mouth. Its still easiest on the changing table or in the tub, but she is getting pretty good at grabbing hold!
• Waking up in the morning: Quite possibly my favorite time of day with our little miss. She is always so happy "talking" in her crib and as soon as one of us goes to get her, she gets a HUGE smile on her face. Its the best feeling in the world!
• Her pup: These two are going to be thick as thieves in the coming years...
• The tub: While she has always liked baths, Addison has found a new appreciation for them and LOVES to splash. She gets her arms and legs going and splashes them down as hard as she can.
• NAPS! I never thought I would say it, but our daughter is a napper (finally!)

Addison, I love you more than anything and am so thankful that you are ours! 

Long baby!

February Photo Dump...

While I try to keep the blog updated and post at least every other week, my decision to put the brakes on for a little while and then make the blog private put me a bit behind. Now that I am headed back to work, I want to at least get photos up so here we go... February in a nutshell!

Addison helped her great-grandma Sleavin (Bob's grandma) celebrate her 29th birthday ;)...

The whole gang... Sadly I had to miss the celebration this year 

Addison with Ema and Papa

She visited with great gramma and Pops...

 

 

 She had her first date. With Cam (an older man!) at the aquarium...

 

LOVE this picture :)

 

She slept through this part...

 

She took her pup to the dog park and watched him swim...

 

 

 

 Gave mommy grief as she tried to take some pictures to give to daddy for Valentine's Day...

 

Action shot - she is arching her back to get out of this!!!

Took her daddy to lunch in her pretty Valentine's outfit...

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

Smiling ballerina :)

I just put Addison's stuffed animals in her chair... Kenai guarded them the first day!

The mayor of 4th Avenue NE - catching some rays...

Addison welcomed our friends Joe and Carolina as they made the trek from San Francisco to visit us. She even accompanied us on a booze-filled tour of Woodinville - two wineries, two distilleries and a brewery!





 Our growing girl...

Exhausted, but won't let go of my purse!

 

 

Mommy stocked up before going back to work!

"

First encounter with "solid" food... very runny oatmeal cereal!

Date night for mommy and daddy! Thanks for babysitting auntie Chasie.

I sleep like mommy... don't worry, this is our bed. She doesn't sleep with pillows!

 

Kenai "shares" his toys. Not sure if he thinks he is "trading" or what!

Fast friends :)

Look at Kenai's tongue!

And our obligatory weekly shots!

I swear this is two weeks after the 19 week photo. I had a brain fart and forgot she had just worn this outfit....