Prayers...

My family learned some difficult news this week, and I am hoping to receive some extra prayers by sharing the news on the blog. My sister Shannon was told she has colon cancer. As of right now, we don't know much (like what stage or anything) - she will consult with her surgeon on Monday, and surgery is scheduled for Tuesday to remove what is necessary. We will know more after her meeting with her surgeon.

We are all in okay spirits - staying positive and hoping that surgery is all that is necessary to remove the tumor. Shannon was at the cabin when she got the news with my sis Angela and 2 friends. I had plans on going up there with Addalyn on Tuesday. She decided she wanted to stay at the cabin - she has 3 little ones at home (Brynne 4, Brooklynn 3, and Drew 1) and she felt it'd be hard to be around them and stay positive while she was processing things. So, Addy & I still went up on Tuesday, and just got home last night. It was a really great trip.

Shannon is remaining postive, as we all are. My dad has been working at the Mayo Clinic for over 30 years - and that has paid off! He's been able to round up the best surgical team he knew by talking with colleagues :) My dad works in surgery at Mayo, so he does know a lot of the team (if not all of them) and hand picked the best for his daughter (who wouldn't??!!!). The anesthesiologist is actually on vacation next week, but not going anywhere for it, so agreed to come in to do the surgery on Tuesday. Cheers to that :)

I was debating sharing the news on the blog, but Shannon said she didn't mind, so I am passing it along. It would have felt a little weird, posting pictures of things going on in ours and Addy's life without mentioning this, so I'm glad she gave me the okay.

Enjoy the pics of our time at the cabin...and please pray that Shannon's surgery goes well and her recovery is quick from this ordeal.

WHAT THE HECK! (an awesome pizza place by our cabin that we all bought sweatshirts at!)

I LOOOOOOOOVE my sisters!

My babes and I

A view of our cabin from the dock

A view of the dock/water from our cabin

Trip to Michigan (Part 4) - FAMILY!!!

So as you can see - this is part 4...lots of blogging going on here in MN! Check out all of the pics from our trip to Michigan...I have posted a TON of them :)

Grandpa Lowell & Addalyn - check out how big her outfit is on her. She SWIMS in 0-3 month clothes because she's so skinny. They typically fit her length wise, but I could take 1-2 inches off her waste in all of them right now. Sooo, she's still sports lots of newborn clothes!

The fam! Back left: Joel, Tammy, Ed, Lowell, Aaron - Middle Left: Jeffrey, Tina, Anthony, Marissa & Addalyn - Front Left: Holly, Alesha & Brandon

Grandpa Lowell w/ his grandkids!


Cousins!!!!!

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"Due Date Twins!!" - I know I've mentioned on the blog before that Aaron's cousin Brooke was due the same day as I was. She was LUCKY and had Sadie Lee on our due date! So the girls are one week apart. It's interesting because there seems to be a pair for every grandchild & great-grandchild on the Anderson side of Aaron's fam. Sadie & Addalyn are just one example.

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I think their names are pretty cute and both have a fun ring to them - Sadie Spindler & Addy Anderson!!

The dads w/ their babies :) Congrats again Brad!

Moms and their babes! Addy looks sorta funny here, a little too relaxed maybe?!

The girls - I thought this pic was cute because Sadie is holding Addy's hand!! It took a few attempts to get a cute pic...it's hard posing two 1-month old girls!!

Trip to Michigan (Part 3) - Other Fun Things!

Fourth of July! Addy's first major holiday. :) The 4th is always a busy time in Michigan. Aaron's family/friends all come out to his dad's camp for the 4th...it's a FULL house, but always fun and entertaining. Basically we all just hang out and the kids swim and such. There is always a bean bag tournament too...and then when the sun goes down we set up some AWESOME fireworks. Lets just say...boats on the river come towards the camp during the fireworks because we rule. Ha ha!!

These girls know how to dress for the holiday!

"All American Cutie" (that's what her outfit says!)

Holly Sue sporting her festive outfit on the 4th!

Addy's first boat ride on the 4th!!!

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Addy's first trip to the Congress - the pizza place in Ishpeming (Aaron's hometown). This pizza is one of a kind...super super tasty!!!

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A little rest time on our ride home from Michigan - Addalyn did SO good in the car!!! The trip takes 7 hours without any stops...so as you can imagine with a little one, it took longer than that!

Trip to Michigan (Part 2) - Hanging Out

The majority of the week we just stayed out at camp (that is the same thing as a cabin, for us non-yoopers!). We did a lot of visiting with family & friends. I'll let the pics speak for most of the week...

Auntie Tina, cousin Holly & Addy. Holly LOOOOVES Addalyn!!

This is what Addy did most of the day out at camp...nothing better than relaxing outside with some fresh air & a great view!

Speaking of the view...this is what you see when you are sitting on the porch

Had to take a picture of her in her shades...even if they are about 5 sizes too big for her little head!!!

Auntie Tina & Addy - some how we went the entire week with not getting a pic with Addy & Auntie Tammy. Tammy, how'd you get away with that????

Uncle Eddie and Addalyn taking a snooze!

Cousin Brandon

Cousin Alesha

Jeffrey

Aaron & my attempt to take some pics for Leinenkugals (for those of you not familiar...their marketing campaigns are basicallly this: outdoors (camping, canoeing, log cabins)

Anthony

Watching ESPN while we were all packing up - isn't it scary how quickly they can get fascinated by the t.v.??

Life out at camp is soooo relaxing

Trip to Michigan (Part 1) - Sugarloaf Mountain

Since we were in Michigan for about a week, I took tons of pictures and will have to put them in a few posts. The first day we got there, it was not sunny out, but it wasn't too cold, so we decided to take a hike up Sugarloaf Mountain.

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For those of you that don't know - Aaron's from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (the U.P.), his hometown is about 20 minutes away from Marquette, Michigan...on Lake Superior. The view from Sugarloaf Mountain was awesome!

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Addalyn slept on the hike up, and was asleep for the majority of the time we were on the mountain, but we did feed her up there, so she was awake for a little of the activity!! I've noticed a trend that Addy sleeps through most of her "first's" (like the parade...and other photos to come here on our trip to Michigan)...we'll have to take other photos to see Addy's excitement when she's actually awake for the event!!

Grandpa Lowell w/ his granddaughters - Alesha, Holly & Addalyn (we had taken a picture of him with all his grandkids, but Anthony wasn't too happy about the photo...so we redid this pic out at camp on a later day!!)

Addy & Daddy hiking :)

Family photo on the backside of the mountain,

Million Dollar Smile

So I just posted below and mentioned how Addalyn has smiled but I hadn't been able to capture it on camera yet. I had barely published the post when I was able to catch the following:
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Addy alert and hanging out...and then......

A little smerk...and then...

Getting more smiley...

Check out my Toothless Grin!

P.S. - these pics also show off Addy's blue eyes. That may be my only claim to her...the majority of people say she looks like her daddy...but I might be able to claim her eyes!!!!

****Make sure to check out the other post :)****

One Month Old!

While we were in Michigan (pics of our trip to come!), Addalyn turned 1 month old. Can you believe it?????? We are loving every minute we have with our babe.

Addalyn has started to show us some smiles. Early last week I was questioning if she had smiled a few times, and then on July 2nd, our first full day in Michigan, she decided to show me the "real thing". We were so excited! I haven't been able to catch it on the camera yet, we'll work on that!

I'm starting to try and work on getting Addy to fall asleep on her own...for naps and to start getting her on more of a bedtime schedule. She really likes to be cuddled when she falls asleep - and LOOOOVES her pacifier when it is time for bed. If she's ready to sleep, you can get her to go down on her own, but if she is not sleeping hard enough and her pacifier falls out, she is one SAD little girl. We are trying to let her cry it out, but sometimes we go in and give it to her after a while. Any suggestions on how to get a schedule started?? We are new parents, and I'm open to hearing what worked for others!

Addy had a check up on 6/26, when she was 3 weeks, 2 days old. Here are her stats:

Length - 21.7 inches (79%)
Weight - 8.7 pounds (51%)
Head - 37.3 centimeters (67%)

She is still able to wear her newborn clothes because she's such a skinny girl (she's long and skinny for the most part), but the length is an issue with some of those. The length is perfect on 0-3 month clothes.

I decided that I'm going to take a picture of Addy every month next to this bear for the first year to see the progress of her growth. Thanks Auntie Tammy for sharing 'Bubba' with Addalyn! Enjoy the pics below :)

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