Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Family month!

What a November we have had!

November marked the last of our post-baby helpers - my mom was here earlier this month for her second stay to get me to the six week mark, the time when my doctor said I should be able to do everything on my own (including lift Addison in her carseat, which is a big no no before six weeks). Addison got to spend time cuddling with Mama K, we ran errands (which I must say are MUCH easier to do with two adults than on my own), made yummy dinners (meaning I watched my mom make yummy dinners), went out on our first "date night," tackled a couple projects in the yard and had a completely clean house from top to bottom. It was Heavenly!

THE YARD:
It started with a small bag of bulbs that my mom wanted to plant and turned into an all out project. We couldn't decide where we wanted the bulbs, mostly because of the pup, so debated about all the possibilities. We finally decided to plant them in the front of our yard, in two planter boxes, which meant ripping out a bunch of overgrown plants. While we were at it, Bob decided to get rid of the pampas grass in the GIANT pots that sit in our planter boxes.

Mid-project...

Kenai wanted in on the action!

Our toasty warm mascot - watching from, well more like sleeping on, the deck...

Yard work day two... planting bulbs in the rain! Can't wait to see these beauties come spring :)
DATE NIGHT:
We decided to take advantage of the opportunity for a date night while my mom was here to watch Addison. We went to a restaurant we have been wanting to go back to - one that doesn't allow kids so a perfect spot to hit up without Miss Addison. Then we took a ride on the Great Wheel, Seattle's new Ferris wheel down on the waterfront. We had talked about taking a ride before the little miss arrived, but never had the chance. While we missed our little one, it was nice to get out just the two of us, especially since we knew Addison was in GREAT hands!




Having my mom here was truly a blessing, but every good thing must come to an end and as of November 12th I have officially been on my own. Well, sort of...

Post-baby helpers may be a thing of the past, but visitors abound and we LOVE it! We were thrilled when Lauren and Jesse asked if they could add a stopover at our house to their Thanksgiving adventure in Eastern Washington. Uncle Jesse (of Full House fame, or as Jesse and Bob prefer, The Dukes of Hazard ;)) really wanted to meet Addison and it was the perfect weekend for it. Then Chasie asked if she could swing by Seattle on her way to Bend for Turkey Day. While the stop wasn't really "on the way" for either drive, we were more than happy to have the company and thrilled that folks wanted to come out of their way to see us. Once Dad and Robie found out about the mini-reunion they decided to make the trek as well - dad had a meeting in Bellevue and Robie just wanted some Addison cuddles :) These visits are precisely why we moved back to Seattle...We made some great dinners (always fun!), took Kenai and Solo to the dog park (definitely Kenai's favorite place... Solo, not so much!), visited gramma down in Tacoma and everyone had time to enjoy their Addison cuddles.


Dog park adventure

Cuddling with Pops

Mimi snuggles...

Showing Bob the ropes...

Great Gramma meets Addison!

Meeting Uncle Jesse - these two definitely bonded :)
Addison LOVES her some Uncle Jesse!


More visitors...

Bob's Uncle John, Aunt Kathi and Cousin Aiden stopped by to meet Addison and give Kenai some attention!




We also had an imprompu visit from Addison's Uncle John who extended a work trip so he could meet the little miss a week before seeing her in Portland for Turkey day.


AND... Addison got to meet more of our college friends! Dan and Lish drove over from Montana for Thanksgiving and we were lucky enough to see them while they were in town. Their boys, Connor (3) and Drew (1) LOVED Addison. Drew couldn't snag enough kisses! Watch out Grady!




And now for a MUCH needed photo dump...

Addison's first night in her crib (11/9/12) - she loved it!

All smiles for her six week photo shoot!


 



Addison's first walk around Green Lake
 
Watch dog!
Election night - some people will love this one, others... not so much.
Regardless, thanks for the onesie, James!
 
This kid finds the most awkward sleeping positions...

 
Not sure who enjoys tummy time more...

LOVE my puppy... the drool is pretty cute too!

Addison was not thrilled with the 7 week picture... this was the best option!


Happy Turkey Day! Thanksgiving post is up next :)

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Happy Halloween from the Lioness :)

 
Happy belated Halloween!
 
We had a wonderful first Halloween in our new house with our little peanut (I mean lioness :)). We weren't sure if we would have any trick or treaters, but as I have always said, I decorate to "lure the kiddos" because I LOVE seeing all of the costumes and smiles. I lined our stairs with my traditional Halloween candle holders (pumpkins, ghosts, etc.), which were promptly extinguished by our lovely Halloween weather...
 
We invited our friends Lisa and Tyler over for dinner/candy duties and Addison put her costume on :) Lisa decided her costume needed a feminine touch so added the little cheetah bow to make her look more like a girl ;) My mama made a delicious dinner and we were graced with several large groups of kiddos. It was a perfect Halloween! We took a walk around the neighborhood after dinner with Kenai (who was NOT given a pass to get out of the Halloween costume fun - photo evidence below). Apparently trick or treating is DONE by 9:00! I was shocked...
 
Here are some photos of our lioness and pumpkin carving fun, which Bob and I broke into two evenings the weekend before Halloween. I never did get a picture of the final carved pumpkins. Whoops!
 
 

 


If you can't tell from the photo, Kenai was not a huge fan of being a bull for Halloween...






Addison has a few cute daddy traits already - this is one of them!
Sound asleep, catching flies (on the couch, of course) after a busy Halloween.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Addison One Month Stats

 
Honestly, where has the month gone? Addison hit the one month mark over two weeks ago and sadly, it has taken me this long to get a blog post up! Between Halloween, visitors and a little one who would MUCH rather be held for naptime than be anywhere else, my blogging has left something to be desired... Alas, here we go!
 
Addison had her one month check up on October 29th and her pediatrician gave her two thumbs up! She is happy, healthy and growing - about all you can ask for a one month old. Sadly, the day we took her one month photos she was less than thrilled. Oh well... these will have to do. Hopefully the two month shots will be a bit more cheerful!
 
One month stats (10/29/12):
  • Height: 22 inches (82nd percentile)
  • Weight: 10 pounds, 2 ounces (67th percentile)
  • Head circumference: 38.5 cm (91st percentile)


Friday, November 2, 2012

Addison's First Boyfriend


Last weekend we were lucky enough to have visitors, but not just ANY visitors, our first set of college friends to meet the little miss! The Johnsons flew out from Boise for a double-duty weekend: to meet Addison/see our house and to celebrate their niece Sophie's 3rd birthday. (Ali is much more timely with her blog posts - more photos from the weekend can be found on their blog.)

We had a great lunch at a brewery right by our house and took the opportunity to have photo shoot number one with the kiddos. Something tells me there will be MANY more photo shoots like this one over the years - until one of the kiddos learns about cooties! But for now, we will encourage the boyfriend/girlfriend relationship :) Addison seems to like having Grady put the moves on - as evidenced by the photo below!
 


Ali and I met freshman year on the Swig residence hall association... now, 12 years later (woah!), we have lived together (in two different houses), traveled together (to the Olympics, countless bachelorette parties, weddings, etc.), were in each others weddings, visited each others new homes and now, welcomed each others new babies. Soooo many memories and so much fun! Can't wait to raise these little nuggets side by side - and take what will surely be very memorable family vacations!










Baby swap!

EXHAUSTED after Grady's visit!
Addison likes to "bear hug" daddy's chest when she lays on him. So cute!




 
The next day, we made our way to the Whitfield's to celebrate Sophie's birthday! We couldn't help but have a second photo shoot :) Gotta love the BLACK AND ORANGE to cheer on the Giants :)


 Meeting more friends!

Sophie (Grady's cousin) LOVES Addison (Cameron - stripes to the left - let his big sis fawn all over her :))

Meeting Doug & Elizabeth (Chris' sister/brother in law + Sophie and Cameron's mom and dad!)
Cyndi and Sky (not pictured) brought us a YUMMY
enchilada dinner last week. Thanks guys!


Uncle Jim Platt - pretty sure there is a picture
somewhere of Jim holding ME just like this!

5 weeks on Halloween :)  Daddy IS under her spell!


Tired animals after Sopie's MONSTER Party :)
 


 
More Halloween pictures to come!