Easter!

 

Easter was a very fun event this year.  Addalyn is at a very fun age to enjoy the holidays!  Everything gets her starry-eyed!

We started the day off going to church - we didn't do the Easter Bunny thing until the end of the day.  Addalyn was very excited to get on her "beautiful dress".  They both looked so cute in their "Sunday Best"!  Cute story about church on Easter.  Addalyn was listening to the sermon, and when our priest mentioned Jesus, Addy goes "Where's Jesus???  I want to see him!!" 

After church, we drove to Minneapolis to celebrate Easter with Aaron's mom's family.  We had lunch and an egg hunt and just hung out.  Aaron's stepsisters Renee & Andrea were there, and our niece Alesha and her boyfriend Blake were visiting from Michigan :)  We were very excited to get to see them.

Aaron's stepsister's (Andrea's) kiddos with Addy & Blake - Oliver, Serafina, and Mira

Alesha!

Blake & Blake - Addy calls him "Big Blake"!!!  :)

I insisted on getting our picture taken because we never have one with just us anymore!

While we were gone in Minneapolis - we had a little visitor.  The Easter Bunny had come.  For the record, the Easter Bunny that visited our house is NOT the same one that visited my house when I grew up.  He must have traveled with Aaron from Michigan, because he gives very nice gifts that align with what Aaron got from the Easter Bunny when he was little :)

The Easter Bunny had eggs ALL over our house and they led the kids to our office/toy room where the found this:

Addalyn was so excited when she saw eggs in the entry-way, I swear she was about to hyper-ventilate!  (Like I said in my recent post on her these days: dramatic!)

Whoo Hooo!!!  Side note: I'm pretty sure that the outfit Blake is wearing right here: cargo khakis with a plaid button down shirt is probably the exact same outfit (or dang close) to what Aaron wore on our first date...and well most dates that we went on when we were dating :)  Aaron actually has this EXACT same printed button-down shirt.  I didn't know it when I bought it for Blake though!

We celebrated Easter with my family the following weekend.  We had lunch together, an egg hunt, flew kites, and just spent the day together.

Getting Ready for the Egg Hunt: Drew, Hunter, Ella, Addy, Brookie, Brynne & Blake

All the girls trying to help Blake pick up some eggs :)

One of my favorite pictures of Addy!  She looks so big!

Handsome Blaker-boy

Blake - 2012 (Jan through April)

Blake is getting WAY TOO BIG!  He is definitely a toddler these days vs. my baby.  Makes me sad when I think about that.  Sometimes I will just sit and watch him play, walk & run around, say words, etc/ and I can't believe he is already as big as he is.  Why does it go so fast?  Ugh!

Blake saying "Cheeeeeeeeeese"!

 From January to now, he's definitely changed.  Just looking at pictures is crazy to see the difference to me.  He is still my little cuddler.  Seriously - the best cuddler most of the time.  He loves to tuck his head right under your chin or on your shoulder.  Even my friends will comment on his cuddles and other moms at our daycare. 

It might be safe to say if he keeps up the good cuddles, he'll probably melt the hearts of ladies when he is older just like he melts his mama's heart and some of the ladies as a 1 year old. :)

Blake loves loves loves his bath time.  If you mention bath, he drops what he's doing and goes straight to the bathroom.  He could play in there for hours if you let him.....

....which is good - when you are a messy eater like this:

He is SUCH a boy at the dinner table.  Or at least, what I think of when I think of little boys.  I didn't have brothers, so he is just confirming the stereotype in my head!  He gets baths almost every night because of this.  (oh yeah, and trying to put bibs on him is a waste, he gets more distracted trying to pull it off then eating).  Most nights he eats shirtless!

After-bath cuddles.  Pretty sure that is this mama's favorite type of cuddles.  Both of my kiddos are good at after-bath cuddles!

Blake loves to keep up and follow his big sis around.  He tries to do EVERYTHING that she does.  The good thing is, Addy loves to have him follow her.  There are very few times when he is occupied in his own toy or something and Addy wants him to play - she gets sad/mad sometimes when that happens because she wants him to follow her!  They play together well, giggle a TON together and rarely get in fights.  In fact, I'm thinking of trying to separate them for bed - they currently share a room.  If Blake isn't asleep before we bring Addy in to get tucked in, they end up giggling and playing for a while before sleeping.  Grr!  It was cute at first, but now they prolong bed for WAY. TOO. LONG.

Just playing "nuh-night" together in Addy's bed (Addy likes to put band-aids in random places!)

 Blaker is usually up in the morning before Addy.  We've started a little routine where he cuddles up on the chair with his pillow, monkey (which he calls "Bear"...since that is what Addy's bear is called of course!) and he watches something on Disney while I finish getting ready. 

It's another close favorite time of mine with him, other than the after-bath cuddles, to be awake with just Blake in the morning.  He is again, very cuddly and happy.  We usually play some games together and he giggles with me and likes to sit in my lap and relax.  When I am awake with enough time to just relax with him for a bit - I take advantage of it.  Most days it ends up making me rushed at the end of our morning before heading out the door - but oh well!

Just relaxing watching some morning Disney shows :)

 My little man loves sweets like his mama!  He's a really good eater in general, but he does love chocolate like me, and also suckers.  Seriously loves suckers! 

Fell asleep with a sucker in his mouth...on a 5 minute drive from the store where he got it from and home :)

 Blackmale for the future:

Did I mention he likes to copy EVERYTHING his big sis did???! Yep, that includes dress-up! 

 Although Addy is 95% daddy's girl - I think I can safely say that Blake is more of a Mama's boy - but it isn't as obvious.  He definitely has many days where he is ALL ABOUT HIS DADDY.  But, this kiddo, with his blue eyes and long lashes and the way he looks at his mama...well, he's got me wrapped pretty tightly around those tiny little fingers!

Mr Blake at 18 months is just as fun as my 'almost; 3 year old girl.  I seriously love every stage of life for these kiddos.  I love watching him try to say more words, be more confident in his steps and more independent.  Although, showing independence definitely has its down side!  He shows off his temper at times (I might be able to blame that one on Aaron :)  Not that I don't have a temper - trust me - I do! --- but if I'm contributing Addy's drama to me, I'll give Aaron Blake's temper :)

He is definitely learning to test his limits, and has found himself in time-outs.  Which, he sometimes thinks is funny.  STINKER. 

He is starting to say lots of words: mama, daddy, Addy, puppy, drink (which he says 'mik' meaning milk but he says it for any beverage), eat, love you "wuvu", bath, nuh-night, bye, hi, yeah, book, Bear (for his favorite monkey, LOL!), shoes, socks, and many many more words.  He also repeats a lot of phrases, where the majority of it just babble but you can pick out the phrase from his tone and the last word.  For example, he says "I love you to the moon and back" but it comes out "babble babble babble back"! 

He sleeps through the night, going to bed around 8 and usually waking around 6-6:30.  He always sleeps with him monkey-man and a sippy.  Right at the beginning of 2012 we got rid of his pacifier, around 15 months.  We did it a little later than we did with Addy - that was because of the holidays and traveling for December.  We waited until we were home again.  It took about one night of tears, another night of wimpers, and he was golden!

Blake has almost all his teeth - I think the only ones missing on both top and bottom are his 'fang' teeth and 2-year molars. 

He loves to read books, play with some trucks, Little-People, dolls, and things that make noise :)  He really enjoys being outside -- favorite thing to do out there is run after bubbles.

He has a few nicknames: Blakers, Blaker-boy, Lover-boy, Mr. Man, Little Man, and Blakester -- most of them mine.  Blakers is one that was developed at daycare and pretty much the only thing his daycare friends and Julie call him! 

He's such a handsome man...!

I <3 Him Tons!

Addalyn - 2012 (Jan through April)

In efforts to get caught up on my blog - I'm going to recap my kiddos for the year of 2012 so far and start off fresh for May with a post on our Easter celebrations and life going forward :)

In January of 2012, Miss Addalyn officially became a big girl - she got potty trained!  She started showing interest in the later months of 2011, but we never really pushed it.  Our daycare always said, wait until she's 2 1/2 before starting to think about it, which she was on December 3rd.  Given our travels for Christmas and all the busyness of the season, we had decided to wait until January.

Miss Addy had other thoughts...she started asking to go right around mid December and really just took the initiative.  With the travels to MI and such for the holidays, we had a few setbacks, but as soon as we got home and settled into our routine again, she did great.  By the end of January - she was pretty much potty trained!  She's still wearing a pull-up at night, but it is dry pretty much daily :)

Goofy Addy

In February, we did not have any really exciting things going on.  Typical MN excitement.  She did get very in to Valentine's day - she gets excited about any holiday that includes sweets :)  She helped me put together her Valentine's for her daycare party by coloring on each of them.  That was pretty much all of the excitement for Valentine's day -- however Daddy made a very kid-friendly romantic meal for us!

Heart-shaped strawberries and mini pizzas!

"Cheers Dad!" Addy used her wine glass from her toy kitchen dinnerware for supper and had juice "like us" :)

The highlight of 2012 for me (and probably Addy too!) so far was March - when her and I got to go to Disney on Ice with grandma Jean!  Addalyn had SOOOO much fun.  I absolutely loved it as well, I had never been to anything like it as a kid or now, so I was enjoying it just as much as Addy.  If not more! 

Addalyn wore her princess dress that Jean had made for her and given to her as a Christmas present - which made the occasion that much more fun and special!

Grandma Jean and Addy --- love this pic!

Cinderella's ball ---- just a shot from the show.  Cinderella was probably Addy's favorite part of it.  She still talks about it and says "the step sisters were naughty and they need a time out" :)  She also points at all of the Disney princess when she sees them and says "I saw that one, and that one, and that one....etc".  Too cute!

Little Princess Addy

Group photo with the scene in the background!

 My little Addy Jane is SOOOOOO much fun these days.  I love having conversations with her.  She is SO dramatic when she talks.  Seriously, NOOO idea where she gets it from?  :)  J/K - I'll claim her drama, I don't think I have a choice but to claim it. :)

Drama is not all bad.  It also means when she's excited and happy, she's REALLY excited and happy.  And when she tells story, there's a whole lot of tones, and deep breaths, and arm movements, and, well - you get out of breath just watching her!  And she's full of giggles, hugs, and lots of love!

She's pretty good most days and doing things we ask, like brushing her teeth, going potty before bed, etc.  But, she doesn't mind testing those limits every once in a while.  Sometimes she gets in trouble and has to do time-outs or go to her room.  But it hasn't been too bad so far.  I'm nervous though - I've heard people say that 3 yrs. old is worse than 2!

She has been going through a phase the last few months where she prolongs bedtime for as L-O-N-G as she can.  She'll go to bed at 8, and sometimes it'll be 9 before she finally is sleeping.  She wants to read books, come out and talk to us, have the light on, then off...you name it, she tries it.  Grrr!

A rare occasion where she hadn't come out of her room...I had gotten her to go to her room for bedtime by pushing her in the laundry basket.  Assuming she'd eventually climb out, I didn't think much of it.  Aaron went to check on her later and this is what he found --- sleeping Addy in her laundry basket! Silly girl!

 Addy is still a WONDERFUL big sis for Mr. Blake.  She absolutely loves him and loves to take care of him.  They play extremely well together most days.  She is too funny, because a lot of times she will still talk "baby" to him.  She'll raise her voice to a higher pitch and say "good job, buddy!" or other things.  She also calls him Lover-boy, Blakers, & Blaker/Blaker-boy.  It cracks me up when she calls him Lover-boy!

I'd say that Addalyn is still VERY VERY much a daddy's girl.  95% of the time she'll want daddy to do something over me if she can.  I'm okay with that...what girl doesn't want her daddy??!!!!

 Miss Addalyn and her daddy love to make me VERY VERY nervous by some of the things they do together. I sometimes have to tell them go to the carpet because they start doing these things on the tile. The more I get scared - the more they laugh at me.

 Addalyn Jane is getting WAY too big.  She knows all her colors, shapes, counts to 10+ when she feels like it, sings lots of songs - has a huge list in her vocab and tells stories very well.  She's starting to learn letters.  She knows 'A' pretty well.  And when she sees an 'M' she says "M for McDonalds & Mommy."  Aaron just taught her lately that M is also for Michigan so sometimes she yells that out too!

I love my almost 3-year old tons.  I keep thinking each stage is so fun and that I don't want my kids to grow up.  I really do wish they could stay little forever.  But I know that's not possible.  So, I try to appreciate all of the things that make them little.  Good and Bad.  Sometimes I let the little things get to me -- but I keep trying to embrace it all :)

Long Time...No Post

Man, I get mad at myself when so many days pass between posts.  I'm committed to this blog...I hope that people read it.  But, even if they didn't, I'd keep posting.  When I was growing up, my mom used to write in a blank book that you could buy at the stores called "Nothing Books" and she journaled about my life.  She did the same things for my sisters.  I have 5 or 6 books with the first entry being the day I was born, through my senior year of high school.   The first words in that book is dated on my birthday, and says "You were born today"...

...(side note: There were a lot of cool things that my mom did.  I hope my kids say that about me some day!)...
I feel like this blog is my version of my "Nothing Book" for my kiddos.  Not as personal obviously, but it is my way of keeping a journal on their life.  I hope they read it some day :) 
I feel like the few posts I have done lately have been a lot of quick posts with pictures in order to catch up, instead of "content".  Hope you don't mind...but I feel like doing a blog about "content".  So this may get wordy!
However, I do owe the kiddos, and my blog readers, some specific posts: on Valentine's day, my big potty-going girl, my 15 month little man (well, almost 17 now), Disney on Ice, etc.  But today, I'm just going to type.  And of course, add a few pics of 2 kids...that I think are pretty darn cute!

Yes...even this crazy kid is cute. Keeps his mama on her toes, that's for sure! Why do boys take "messy" to an entirely new level?!!!

Hmmmm, where to start?!  So much to chit chat about!  I haven't come right out and said it on the blog - but I think most that follow know that as a family, we entered the world of unemployment last September.  Aaron works in the construction industry -- of course a hard-hit industry in our economy.  He's in the office though, so I was naiive thinking that it "wouldn't happen to me/us" ... but it did!  He lost his job in September and has been diligently searching since.  One person referred to him as the "poster child" for someone in his situation - applying all over, literally going into businesses and just giving people his resume, etc.  And, of course - with me being in Human Resources...I tried to prep him as much as I could in what to expect or do --- but it is so hard.  Every company and industry is just so different!

It's been a crazy, stressful, eventful 6 months.  I'm thankful daily for the support the government has implemented for times like these (a.k.a. Unemployment Insurance).  And I praise God for giving Aaron the carpentry talents that he has...since it has allowed for Aaron to do some side-jobs.  He's remodeled a kitchen with new countertops, done a few backsplashes, updated a bathroom with some new wood walls (car-siding??), tiled a kitchen and a shower...and has a deck to build on the horizon and potential for more backsplashes, etc. 

...somehow, life works out when you have faith and trust...

Well, with relief - there is light at the end of the tunnel this week, as Aaron accepted a job with a road construction company in Rochester this week!  His experience has always lied in structural construction vs. roads --- so it'll be a change, that's for sure.  He's starting in the labs to understand the basics with the potential for estimating and/or other opportunities to arise.

Road construction....wow!  It's going to be a busy summer!  Ya know, because summers aren't busy as it is.  :) 

Even though my little girl is accident prone (think last March...HUGE SHINER...) -- this isn't another black eye.  It's her idea of putting on make-up.  Isn't she BEAUTIFUL??!!!

So, I'm happy to say that this chapter in our lives is about to be behind us - but not forgotten.  It's changed my perspective on the important things that are needed in life.  I feel that I've always had a good grasp on what is important, but this challenged me to think about it more.  I will continue to trust that there was a reason that it happened, and that I am to learn from the situation.  So, learning is what I am doing!

I also started my new job last September - Staffing Specialist at the Mayo Clinic.  It has been a new challenge that I was ready for.  I am enjoying my new role and company that I work for.  I loved working for Rochester Medical as well.  They are both wonderful companies in very different ways!  HOWEVER --- training in to a new role is exhausting in itself, so that was a new adjustment that the Anderson's were dealing with at the same time. 
I think we have done okay for ourselves :)

This girl's got style...picking out her shiny red shoes for our Saturday trip to Target :)

And finally, our house was listed this week!  Such a bittersweet thing.  I love our house, and the blood, sweat, and tears that have gone into making it what it is.  Again - so thankful for Aaron's carpentry expertise.  His work truly made our house a home.
I'm sentimental...always have been...always will be.  So, listing our house is providing mixed emotions for me. It was part of "the plan" since the day we bought it in January, 2007 to be in it for about 5 years before we listed it.  However, now it isn't just a house, but it is the place that I brought my babies home to after they were born...it's the house that we were in when we got married and hosted our gift opening in.  We both turned 30 in this house.
I know that the longer I'm here, the more memories I'll have to tie to it, and I'm excited to figure out where the rest of those memories will be.  The plan???  Well, right now it's not really for sure.  9 months ago it would've been to be building a home for us to plan to stay in for good.  Now, I think it will be for us to figure out what is best for us, and likely rent a condo/town home for a year and then hopefully build.  But, I'm trusting that what is meant to be will be.

We will be moving to Pine Island most likely - where I grew up (about 15 minutes from Rochester) so that we will be there when Addalyn is ready for preschool.   

So, I want to share all of the pictures that are in our listing because they did such a good job of showing off the features of our house...but there are many, so that is for another post.  But, I do have to be a proud wife, and show off some of the hard work and time/effort that Aaron has put into our house :)

Built-In Entertainment Center with tile on bottom wall (there is a half wall from where the photographer was standing for this pic that compliments that tile on the entertainment center)

Granite tile countertop, as well as the tile floors and shower were all done by the hands of my hubby (okay, so the entire basement was done with the exception of plumbing and electrical work....but these are the things that stick out!)

2-level deck

Backsplash (and actually the tile flooring all over house, including the kitchen) was done by Aaron...

I'm so proud of my husband!  He does wonderful work :)  He also is such a strong person - through these last 6 months - he has not complained.  He has pushed through, and stayed motivated and strong.  There were times where he was definitely holding me up --- even when it probably should have been the other way around. 

Thanks for being you, Aaron Lowell! ....




 ...We LOVE you!!!

Blaker's 1st Haircut!

In January Blake got his first haircut.  I was hesitant to have it cut, I was loving the curls, but they were getting a little out of control.  Aaron had been wanting to get it trimmed for over a month before I gave in!

Aaron actually cuts his own hair, and so he did Blaker's :) 

Before (with m&m's in his mouth...the "distraction")

He actually did pretty good throughout the cut...he wasn't scared at all, just curious!

Addy was very curious also.  She's never had a haircut...her hair is still barely to her shoulder even though she's 2 1/2!

At one point, he got a bit antsy :)

 After he got his haircut...he AGED LIKE AN ENTIRE YEAR!  Seriously, he immediately looked more like a little boy then my baby.  Ugh, that makes me sad.  But, he sure is a handsome little man!

My new look!

Grandpa's #1

When I was on vacation around New Year's, we went and watched my dad play hockey one day.  He is on what they call an "Old Timer's League"...the crazy guy is over 60 and still plays twice a week.  Hey, when you love the game, I guess you stick with it!

Growing up, my family attended church on Saturday nights, because Sundays were when dad would play hockey.  I spent many Sunday mornings wandering through the rec center in Rochester.  Being there watching my dad was very entertaining, and brought back some good memories!  My sisters and I used to walk up and down the bleachers trying to find enough change to get us a snack from the vending machine...sometimes we'd be successful enough to pool together 30 cents for a hot chocolate.  Ha, living the high life I guess!

My dad...#1 (literally, he's the one in red, LOL)!  Right after I took this pic, he scored a goal.  Not gonna lie, I was so proud :)

So cute...peering through the glass at the rink below :)

Addy and Grandpa Tim

This video is of Addy cheering for grandpa...

Funny side story - so about a week after we went to watch dad play, he actually took a puck to the mouth.  He actually had to go the ER and have 2 of his teeth put back into place and had to wear braces to hold the teeth there while they heeled (kinda makes you nausious, huh??!!).  He also was unable to eat anything solid for almost 2 weeks!

My mom had emailed me and said "his lip was an inch thick!!".  I called my dad the next day to see how he was and I asked him if he was going to take a week off of the game.  His response:  "Oh no, I'll skate on Tuesday!"   (this was Friday) --- yeah, he loves the game of hockey. 

Funny thing is, he actually had gone to the store before playing that day to buy a new shield and considered buying the one that is full coverage instead of just a half-shield, but decided to go with the half-shield.  Well....the next week he went back and got the full-coverage shield.