Christmas in Michigan

We had a great time in Michigan over Christmas! We ended up getting an extra day there because we left earlier than planned to beat the storms that were predicted on Christmas Eve. We did have good driving weather, so I'm glad we made that decision because it would have definitely been a different story if we had waited.

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We spent Christmas Eve day hanging out at Aaron's dads and then we went to church with Tammy (Aaron's sis), Ed (bro-in-law), Brandon (nephew) and Alesha (niece). After church we visited Aaron's grandma Barb's.

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Christmas day we spent the day at Aaron's dad's house with his sisters and their families. Grandma Barb stopped by for a bit and so did Aaron's Auntie Di & Uncle Lance. We played lots of cards and had a great ham and turkey meal cooked by Tammy (Thanks Tammy!). Something exciting that happened --- Addy got her first tooth! I had joked for a bit that she was asking for her 2 front teeth for Christmas. Well, she woke up from a nap a bit fussy, so I felt in her mouth, and there was her front tooth (bottom, left) poking through!

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Saturday we went to our nephew Brandon's hockey game - which they won! Aaron went and played basketball with his family and friends in the afternoon and that evening we had Christmas with all of the Anderson's at Aaron's aunt's house.

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Sunday was a really nice day out, so we actually got to go outside sledding and such - even Addy went sledding! We went to the Congress that evening (pizza place in town). Almost all of Aaron's family was there (Dad, sis, aunts, uncles, cousin, etc), plus we also met the Charbonneaus' there. Jason is a really good friend of Aaron's, and we met up with him and his wife Maryellen.

We headed out Monday morning back to Minnesota. Addy did really good the entire trip. She had a few moments where she was not too happy, but that is because she needed more sleep than she was getting. Really though, she was a great little traveler - which is good since we will have many more trips as she grows up :)

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As usual it goes WAY TOO fast! I'll let the pics do the rest of the talking...I took over 100 of them :) Of course, we talked about getting a cousins picture with Addalyn and her cousins, but somehow we never got it...I'm bummed about that, but we did get some great pictures, none the less!

Right before leaving for church on Christmas Eve

Great Grandma Barb with Addalyn

Family Pic on Christmas Day

Aaron & his Grandma...I really like this picture of them :)

Playing Cards ("Booger Bridge") Clockwise around the table: Ed, Alesha, Brandon, Lowell, me, Aaron, and Grandma Barb --- This picture makes me laugh because Brandon is texting - can't even look up for the pic!...which is what he does 24-7 & gets teased for it all of the time!

Addalyn Jane and her Papa Lowell!

Addy's new winter hat from Grandma Barb (will fit next year!)

Aaron with our nephew and Godson, Anthony

Thanks Auntie Tammy for putting this on my head!

Our niece Holly Sue & I posing with with our hats on!

BATH TIME with Holly!

Baths at Papa Lowell's are fun!

Posing with my cousin Brandon after his hockey game. They won & Brandon got a goal! Brandon & Jeffrey gave Addy the sweatshirt that she's wearing...it is an Iron Range Hockey sweatshirt of theirs. It's a little big now but she'll get lots of use out of it through the years!

Addy & Sadie - one week apart. It will be so much fun watching them grow up together!

Thought this was a cute one of them checking each other out :)

Sledding & snowmobiling outside

Here we go!

Good thing Papa got me this awesome snow suit so I could play outside!

The family going for a snowmobile ride! (we barely went a block and went about 2 miles per hour!)

At the Congress - Tara (our nephew's girlfriend), Holly, Addy, & me --- this picture is about 5 minutes before Addy to grab that glass of ice water and dump it ALL over herself!!

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It was a WONDERFUL time with family - and as usual, we wish we could have visited longer!!!

"You don't choose your family, They are God's gift to you, as you are to them" --Desmond Tutu

First Christmas of the Season!

This past Saturday we had our first Christmas of the season. We are really lucky because we never have to miss a family Christmas. Since the year that we got engaged, my parents have moved up our family Christmas so Aaron & I can be in Michigan on the actual day of Christmas...and Aaron's mom always does Christmas in January. It is so great to not have to miss out on any Christmas's and be able to spend time with all of our family. We have great families -- love you guys!

We started off the day with some family pictures and brunch, and then went into presents. My parents actually made an ice skating rink in their back yard, so after presents, we went outside and ice skated. The set up is perfect, it is right next to my dad's shed that he has a wood stove in...so we had a little "warming house" too. No one ever really used it, but I think it will come in handy this winter.

I had so much fun - I hadn't skated since high school, I forgot how fun it was and want to go out to my parents a lot this winter to keep skating. Aaron actually helped flood the rink last week while my dad was out of town. I'm hoping to get him into skates this year and next, so then in a few years, he can help teach Addy how to skate!

The girls' (my nieces Brynne, Ella, and Brooklynn) all pretty much learned how to skate on Saturday. They were troopers, some of their falls made all of us adults cringe, but they acted like it was no big deal and most of the time, didn't want any help! So much fun!

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Addy with one of her new presents (she loves this monkey!)

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Posing by the tree - in her pretty Christmas outfit

I'm quite certain Addalyn has picked up on her mom's love for shoes...anytime she has new shoes on, she loves to grab her feet and play with her shoes. That's my girl!

Addy with her cousins: Drew, Brooklynn, Brynne, Addalyn, Ella & Hunter

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Playing with a new book!

Fun Family Photo - Go Wild! We are big hockey fans in my family...we had some serious photos also, but this is my fav! The Crazy "Gooo Wild" Photo! I love how Addy is looking around like "What the?" & Ella is sitting in the front row with no expression but everyone else is going crazy!

The Ice Skating Rink!

Playing "Train" on the ice!

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The "Son-in-Laws" (& Drew!)

My sister Angela, me, and Brynne posing on our skates!


Addalyn hanging out by the rink with us

Miss Ella getting the hang of things!

Brynne was pretty brave! I wonder how many bruises she had, she was getting too brave and took some hard falls!


Brooklynn Hope. She really got the hang of things too. That little chair she is pushing around helped her get the hang of things. My parents actually had my sisters and I use the same chairs to teach us how to skate when we were younger...aaaaah, memories!


The ice-skaters!

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It was truly a day of pure family fun...a great start to Christmas and time with family. We are very excited to be in Michigan and see all of you guys up there! We will be heading up Christmas Eve day. I'm hoping we are there in time for Christmas Eve mass, but if not, we will go to mass on Christmas day.

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We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with family & friends. If you are traveling, please be safe. Make sure to take time to appreciate all that is good, and remember what Christmas is all about. Merry Christmas from the Anderson's! ---Aaron, Marissa & Addalyn

Big Girl!

Addy has started to take big girl baths! The other night we were at my parents, and didn't have the little bath, and since she's been sitting on her own for a bit now, we figured we'd go ahead and try giving her a regular bath. She seemed to enjoy it so now we have done it at home too.

At first she was just sitting there staring at the water like "what is this strange stuff"...but eventually she realized it can be quite fun. By the end she was moving her hands through the water and starting to splash. Give it a few more times, and I'm sure we'll be drenched from all the splashing!

This is sorta fun, mom!

Starting to twirl her hands around and the water and make some splashes!

Santa!

Addy got to meet Santa for the first time last Saturday --- twice! We first went to meet him at Hiller's (a carpet store in Rochester) with my family. My family has gone every year to this, but we've never had a reason to join...now with Addalyn, we joined in on the fun! They provide a gift for each child and also serve lunch - it is really a very generous event!

Addalyn really loved Santa's beard!! I think Santa was a bit nervous that other kids would notice her grip on the beard :)

She was not scared of him at all, just sort've stared at him.

Waiting in line to meet Santa for the 1st time!!

Addy's first Santa encounter! Notice the grip on the beard!

Second, we went to the store that I scrapbook at with the Scheel's and met Santa again. This was Ella's first time meeting Santa. Both girls did really good :)

Addy & Santa (again)

Ella & Santa!!!

The girls :)

I explained to Addy when I got her ready for bed that night all about the reason that she met 2 santa's and why they didn't look exactly the same. She seemed to understand that Santa is just such a busy guy this time of year, and that he has so many places that he has to be, that he has helpers so that all the kids get the chance to tell him all about how good they were and what they want for Christmas. :)

'Tis the Season

I love this time of year...everything about it - from the church services and family gatherings to the decorating, meeting Santa, and the gift giving to those we care about :)

I started working on our house decorating before Thanksgiving (the weekend after was too busy, and any later would have just been way too long for me to wait)! So our house has been decorated for a while, but I finally got our presents wrapped and we got to do our holiday blocks this week.

I posted about these last Christmas too - we do blocks every year. We are getting to have a lot, so we've decided that we are only going to do one as a family each year from now on. ACCEPT for when we have a new addition to our family. Addalyn got to do her own block this year, and on her sibling's first Christmas, they will get to do their own block too...

Getting ready to do the blocks!

Addy wasn't really into touching the paint...so we ended up starting over! But this is when we were trying to have her "finger paint". Most of that on the block is Aaron's work :)

This is how they ended up this year! You can barely see it, but Aaron's gingerbread man has a Packer's cap on his head!

Adding them to the collection!

Stockings are up...Addalyn's will change in the future, but for now this one will do :)

Tree is all decked out!

And of course, how can we post about Christmas without our most precious gift this year?

What Santa? I swear it wasn't me...I've been good for the entire 6 months of my life :)

Half a Year???

Addy turned 6 months last Thursday ----- CRAZY! I can't believe it was her 1/2 birthday :) Time sure has been flying.

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Addalyn is doing so great, we just love her so much (OBVIOUSLY!). She gets a TON of kisses from us each night when we get home from work! She is getting so big physically, as well as in her personality/development. It is so fun to watch her discover new things.

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She loves loves loves being in her jumperoo and in her exersaucer. She tells us wonderful stories too. Most of the time we think she's telling us about the fun she had at daycare! She is quite the squealer too! Addy just recently decided to laugh...she's only done it a few times but she's been working on a little chuckle for a while.

One thing Addy HATES is getting her face wiped. It is very traumetizing to her! Poor little girl, she has a cold right now too, so her face is wiped lots. :)

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Addalyn is a really good eater. We introduced her to sweet potatoes this weekend, and it didn't even phase her that there was a new taste. I'm trying green beans today at lunch (I'm on a snow day!) so we'll see how she reacts to those.

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We have turned over a new leaf with sleeping! There is no need anymore for a bottle at night. She discovered that she likes to sleep on her side and tummy, I think that helps. Sometimes she wakes up and needs her pacifier, but not always. I was going to get rid of the pacifier while I'm on vacation at Christmas time, but our doctor last week pretty much told me that she'd likely find her thumb if I did that since she needs a pacifier to sleep and such. Therefore, the pacifier will stick around longer than planned, but we are limiting it to tired times though...

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Addy sits up on her own, and shows an interest in crawling when we have her on her tummy. She hasn't gotten any teeth yet. I think that she's asking for those from Santa (get it - her 2 front teeth?? Ha ha!).

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Here are her 6 month stats:

Weight - 17 lbs 3 oz (74%)

Height - 26 inches (60%)

Head - 17.13 inches (79%)

The teddy bear shot

Sitting Up :)

Our little lady

Getting ready to run some errands in the cold! I think hats, mittens and coats are so cute!