Christmas #3: Home!

I have posted our other Christmas's today right below this post...so check them out.  Lots of pics, not TOO much "talking"! 

Santa came to our house after Christmas when we were home from Michigan. We've already talked to Santa, and next year he will make sure to arrive on Christmas day, so that when we arrive home from Michigan, everything is there.  :)

They got a kitchen, which has already occupied Addy lots of times and I think it was a wonderful choice of gift from Santa! I know it'll occupy Blake in the future, 'cause I watch my nephews play with their kitchens too!  Other than that - they got outfits, the game Candyland, 2 Disney books of short stories, and Addy got play-doh & coloring stuff; Blake got a tool box toy for future use & a stuff moose.  We're hoping it helps be his "comfort" like Addalyn's bear is for her!

Just posing under the tree one night with their Christmas shirts on

Our tree with the gifts from us and Santa under :)

Blake with his stocking loot!

Fashion diva!  She opened Candy Land, Coloring stuff, and such before this, but this is the first present she opened that made her hug and cuddle her gift!

She opened Blake's presents for him...and after each one Addy would bring them to Blake

Blake had fallen asleep after the stockings were open - but here he is with all of his gifts that Addy piled on him!  Of course, the toy he got she kept for herself :) 

The next morning...kitchen is assembled and there are 2 other gifts from Santa!  (they were some fruit for her kitchen and some "refrigerator" food)

Christmas #2: Michigan!

As always, we spend the actual day/days around Christmas in Michigan.  We arrived on Christmas Eve this year.  We went to church with Tammy, Ed & their kids Brandon and Alesha.  The night after mass was us relaxing at home while Aaron's sisters spent time with their other side of the family and Lowell was at Robin's for her family Christmas.

Saturday we woke up and Addy opened some gifts along with the O'Brien's (Tammy, Ed, Brandon, Alesha).  We spent the day relaxing and playing games.  Aaron and I took Addy outside for some fresh air and then in the evening we had a turkey dinner with Aaron's sisters Tammy & Tina and their families - opened gifts from everyone, and played some games again. 

Sunday we had a VERY TIRED little girl on our hands so the day was spent trying to get her in a better mood and get some naps in her!  In the evening we had the Anderson Christmas - and then we headed home on Monday.

Addalyn was great with all of her cousins - which was very fun to see since she doesn't see them as much.  They all got along great...and they humored her by watching numerous episodes of Dora over and over :)  Thanks for keeping her occupied Brandon, Alesha, Jeffrey, Anthony & Holly!



What Addalyn and her daddy did most of Christmas mass...walked around the gym at the church.  She was really into the mass when there was singing at the beginning (even cheered "Yeah" after one song which made the entire congregation laugh)...but then it got old for her I guess!



Handsome little man in his Christmas outfit!

Addy under papa Lowell's tree!

Opening gifts Christmas morning - Dora doll & blanket.  She's officially obsessed with Dora!

Papa Lowell & Blake!

Getting some fresh air :)

We decided to go to a hill by Aaron's dad's house and when we got there...it was REALLY snowing!  She enjoyed sledding the first few times, but then she was over it.  I think the fact that the snow was hitting her face wasn't too enjoyable!

Lowell's granddaughters - Alesha, Addy, & Holly :)  I got lots of great photos of Addy and Holly in their matching shirts, but I love this one of the 3 of them!

Auntie Tina loving on the Blakester

Her new Dora robe & slippers that Holly gave to her.  It is great that she has a cousin who used to be as obssessed with Dora as Addy is becoming!

Christmas makes me TIRED

Brandon & Addy (Holly sneaking in from behind!).  She LOOOOVES Brandon!

TOO MUCH CHRISTMAS...bedtime please!  LOL



Cousins!  Blake, Brandon, Holly, Alesha, Anthony, Jeffrey & messy-faced, non-smiley Addy!

 It is always too short when we are home in Michigan.  We just looked at our calendars to plan out our vacation days from work (when you only get 10 days in a year, they get eaten up quickly if we don't plan them out!).  We are hoping to make it there for longer than just a 4-day weekend this summer.  4 days is I think the most we've had in Michigan since we've been married, so we are looking forward to that!

Christmas #1: Tarara Christmas!

We had our first Christmas the weekend before the 25th with my parents/sisters and their families.  I'll let the pictures do the talking, since I uploaded a lot of them, but here is what we did to summarize the day:

Started off seeing Santa at the carpet store in town.  It is something that my family gets invited to and I am always impressed with all they do.  They give each child a toy, printed pictures of you with santa, and provide lunch/cookies for everyone. 

After that we went to my parents house and opened gifts.  The kids played all afternoon and before supper we went outside to play also.  Just like last year, my dad made a skating rink, but I didn't go skating this year, because I was with Addy out in the snow!

Here are some pictures from the day :)

In her pretty Christmas dress waiting to meet Santa!

Blake hanging out under the Christmas tree!

Addy is helping her aunt Shannon put the gifts under the tree!

One of her new gifts...look at her expression!

I love this picture

Cousins!  We tried for a bit and there was always someone crying or looking away.  What can you expect with 7 kids age 2 months to 6 years :)  Left to right: Hunter (1), Ella (5), Brooklynn (4), Brynne (6), Blake (2 mos), Drew (2), Addy (1)  -- oh yeah, and we didn't plan on coordinating their outfits...but somehow we do it!  Last year everyone was in red and white, this year it is red and black!

 

Playing outside.  This picture is hilarious!  Neither Hunter nor Addy knew to hold themselves up in the sled...so everytime we'd look back, they were laying like this.  Hands up helpless :)

The "cheese" smile we almost always get when we take her picture these days!

Drew & Addy sledding.  Drew was my singing pal, he would sing Jingle Bells with me as I pulled them along!

A picture of my dad's rink he made.  Something about it seems so "homey" and makes me think of my kid days - even though he never made us one at home when we were kids.  We'd skate in town or on the ice on our lake at the cabin.

2 months :)

I can't believe 2 months has already come and gone.  This is going way too fast!  Things are going really well with Blake.  He has become a "readable" baby.  I can typically tell if his cry means he's tired, hungry, etc., which is definitely nice to figure out.

He's a funny guy - he HATES to sit in a dirty diaper so he tells you typically right away if you haven't noticed that he went to the bathroom.  Also - he absolutely LOVES to be upright and slowly bounced up and down.  It's actually funny, he'll be fussing - and you start to hold him in a certain way, and he instantly calms...sometimes I test it and adjust him right away...then I get the most POUTY lower lip ever, so we reposition, and he calms again!  He likes to be bounced up and down when you are holding him up out in front of you, not when he is resting on your legs/against you...so you get quite the arm workout.  I'll have to take a video or get a pic of it soon.

As much as I am trying, we aren't really on a schedule quite yet, however, I am seeing progress.  He is starting to go to sleep somewhere between 7:30 & 9 most nights, soon it'll be narrowed down to 8 like his sister.  Also, he does eat pretty much every 4 hours, but has one long stretch at night (6 hours between feedings).  Typically I am still getting up with him twice a night, however there has been a few nights where it is only once. 

Like his sister was, he became a "bouncer baby" where that is where he is sleeping best (instead of his basinnett/crib).  I'm wanting to transition him to the crib and in with Addy, but I have a feeling it isn't going to happen as soon as we planned.  I was hoping for more consistency at night before bringing him in their room, and she definitely wakes up if she hears him at night, so I might wait longer than I had planned.  We'll see.  But I've also heard that kids get used to it rather quickly so maybe I should just put him in there, and in a few nights Addy will get used to it and stay sleeping...anyone have any experience with this??

I was really hoping for more consistency in his night schedule before heading back to work (or heck, I was thinking it'd be great if he was sleeping through the night!), but I'm seeing no signs of that and only have one more week off.  Bummer!

Blake started smiling right around Thanksgiving, and I've finally gotten a few good shots.  He is very choosy with sharing his smiles though!

Here are his stats for 2 months:

Length - 23 1/4 inches (77%)

Weight - 11.4 pounds (46%)

Head - 14 3/4 inches (52%)



My Handsome Man



Smiling at his daddy!

Oh my goodness daddy, that is too funny!



Sibling Love!

My Little Man!

18 Months!

Addalyn is officially 1 1/2 years old as of December 3rd --- she is quite the little girl with a huge personality!  She had to go to the dr last week to get her eyes checked (she had pink eye) and they ended up weighing her, she is 24 pounds.  I thought she would be more, she seems so much heavier since Blake's arrived :)  They didn't tell me what percentage that is for her.

Addy has a ton of words in her vocab right now.  I love it when she jabbers as if she is saying a full sentence while looking at me (or someone) and if you respond, she just keeps going.  Definitely quite the talker!

She loves Dora the Explorer right now - as well as Elmo (Sesame Street) and some shows on the Disney Channel.  She also LOOOOVES her brother.  If I had a picture for every time she went and gave him hugs and kisses, or said "hi" to him and got right in his face...they'd fill a lot of memory on our camera.  It is absolutely adorable to watch her love on her brother.  She also loves on her babies and her prized possession (her bear) the same way.  She changes diapers when I do and sometimes I'll notice her holding one of her babies or bear and rocking it like I do when Blake is crying and walking around.  She's started to put her bear to "sleep" in the swing, starts it up and turns on the music, puts a paci in his mouth, etc.  It's amazing what they pick up on.

We've had to start giving time-outs every once in a while.  Nothing major, but it has had to happen.  She actually walks right up to the wall and puts her head on it when I say the word Time Out.  Apparently when kids get in trouble at daycare, she stands next to them and "supports" them when they get their time-outs :)   If she is being "naughty" and I even mention a time-out (as a warning) she automatically walks to the wall...so I have to basically wait to use the word until she needs to go into a time-out, otherwise she automatically goes before she actually has to!  Silly girl :)

She has also started to show interest in the potty, but I don't think anything will really happen for a while.  She's asked to sit on it a couple of times and we've had success on it, but I think it is just coincidence!  My daycare was saying the average age these days is 3, so I'm not preparing myself for anything exciting in that department for some time still.

I'm really loving being home with her and watching her change and develop.  I"m so going to miss my days with her when I'm back at work --- it really is a great age to be home with.  I can't believe how big she is getting - definitely a little girl/toddler and not my baby any more - although she always will be our baby in our hearts :)
 

Trying to fit as much as she can in her stroller :)

  

Time-Out in session :)

  

Loving her Brother!

   

Cuddling with daddy & Blake after her bath

 

Potty Time! 



Addy was playing with her Memory game one day - picking up the cards and naming what was on them, so I started asking her what things were and she was really talkative...so I decided to record it (the video is below). 

Meeting Santa

Last week we took the kids to the mall to meet Santa.  When we got there, Santa was eating dinner, so we had a few minutes to wait.

While we were waiting - Addy snuck  into Santa's little area.  Do you think that she got some points on the naughty list for that?



It was fun to be there right when he arrived...he started shaking his sleigh bells and such and then let out a very loud "Ho Ho Ho" - I think I may have been more amused than Addy!



Watching Santa



We weren't sure how'd she do...and we were fully prepared to take a family picture with Santa to get a good one.  She checked him out from afar at first, and waved to him and said "hi"



But she warmed up and sat next to him.  Kept checking him out...I think this picture is cute when they are both checking each other out.  Blake just enjoyed being held...he was a content little Man!

She did awesome meeting Santa.  We have plans to see Santa again next weekend...it is our family Christmas with my mom/dad/sisters, etc.  We'll start the day out by seeing Santa with my family - and then head back to my parents from there.  Good times ahead!

Oh My!

So the other day, we were getting ready for bath time.  As usual, we were trying to multi-task...going in and out of the bathroom while the tub was filling.  I was out in the living room and I heard Aaron say "Oh My, Addy" as soon as he walked into the bathroom.  Then he told me to come look.

I fully expected to see a tub full of too many bubbles that was heaping over the sides of the tub, or something like that.  But instead, this is what I came upon:

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My little girl - playing in the tub already...WITH HER CLOTHES ON!

Look at the innocent face.  I tell you ladies and gentlemen, she's not as innocent as she looks!

Time to take the clothes off and take a REAL bath!

Sooo, multi-tasking when it comes to bath time might have to stop.  Or at least, if we leave the bathroom, we have to shut the door behind us. I have no idea how she got in without even getting her top half wet.  I tried to have her climb in on her own the next bath night to see how she did it...didn't seem like it would've ended up as well if I let her continue!  Thank goodness she didn't fall face first into the water or something.  There is a guardian angel out there for her, that's for sure!