Busy Busy!

Wow - what a busy fall we have going on here. Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I am one busy mommy! I am taking a course right now to help me prepare for an exam to get my PHR (Professional Human Resources Certification). The course is once/week - and requires about 200 pages of reading in a week. And let me tell you - IT IS HARD TO FIND THE TIME! I could read 200 pages of a novel in a day with no problems, but this reading is different ---- much different!

I don't really like to start reading on the weeknights until after Addy goes to bed, because I want to spend time with her after she's been at daycare all day and myself & Aaron have been at work...so getting in all the reading in a week is a little stressful, but that's okay.

Looking cute in one of her fun fall outfits! Not the best expression, but I think she's still a doll!

Addy is SO FUN right now. She is getting really strong - she sits right now if you have her legs sorta wide - but she leans pretty far forward still. I think she's getting the hang of it though and she'll be sitting (and then crawling) before we know it!

She 'talks' all the time and squeals with delight. She's started a new thing where she scrunches up her mouth and nose - it is HILARIOUS and entertains Aaron and I. We call it her "mad face" although she's not mad at all when she does it. We have no idea where she got it, because she started doing this randomly on a Sunday when we had just been hanging out with each other all weekend, and she didn't pick up on it from us!

Addy's "mad face"! (It gets even more dramatic than this)

Aaron's also been busy, with work and doing some projects outside of work too. He's REALLY excited because he is heading up to the UP in a few weeks to go deer hunting. He hasn't been able to make it the last few years, so he's really happy to be heading out to his dad's deer camp and spending time with the guys and his family :)

Oh yeah! Speaking of the U.P. - I'm wondering if you've had any snow?? We had quite the snow fall last Friday (10/23) and I couldn't help but wonder if we had beat the U.P. with the first snow fall of the year? Check it out!

Our October Snowfall! Standing in our driveway looking toward the main road

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Looking toward our house - they were the big sticky snowflakes that would be perfect for making a snowman!...things to look forward to doing w/ Addy in years to come!

Rice

Rice Cereal - Day One: not a happy camper! (look closely and there are some crocodile tears)

Rice Cereal - Day Five: this isn't so bad!

Mommy, isn't it funny how upset I got the first time you gave me cereal??

After Addy's 4 month check up, we decided to give cereal a try. She was showing lots of interest in food, and even tried to take some bites when she was sitting on my lap during breakfast one day! She was very upset with me the first few days, but its getting better. I think the texture is so different from what she's used to, and that is what upsets her. We have some videos of it, maybe I'll post her reaction some day when I have more time :) We have to feed her in-between bottle feedings - 'cause if you catch her when she's really hungry, cereal just does not get in her tummy fast enough!

We're making progress, but taking it slow - no need to rush it!

A MonTh in rEvieW - foUr mOntHs!!!

I can't believe how quickly 4 months have come and gone. Yes, its only 4 months, but I already can't imagine what life was like with out our Addy. I love every month so far, each stage is amazing in its own way.

Here's what is going on in the life of Addy:

Addalyn has definitely increased her interest in toys this month, and can entertain herself by staring at them for quite some time! She also babbles a lot --- and SQUEALS!! --- yet we haven't gotten her to do a full out laugh quite yet. But, she does display huge huge huge smiles for mommy, daddy, Jessica (daycare) and all her daycare friends...and pretty much smiles for anyone that gives her attention.

She's rolled over from her back to her front, and from her tummy to her back, but not consistently. She actually has only done each only once that I know of...but that isn't for her lack of tummy time!

Sleep-wise she's doing pretty good. She still gets up at night for a bottle - and lately it seems to be earlier in the night instead of lengthening her sleep time. She's ready to go to bed around 7:30-8ish, and gets up in the morning at about 7. Her naps have not gotten really consistent as far as the time of them goes, but typically she has 3 naps in a day. She takes about an hour snooze in the morning...a longer nap (sometimes 4 hours but averages about 2-3 hours) in the afternoon and always needs a mini snooze in the evening (she's sleeping right now).

Here are her 4 month stats:

Weight: 14 lbs. 14 oz (76%)
Height: 24 2/5 inches (56%)
Head: 16 3/5 inches (83%)

Here are pics of Addy this past month:

That cow is REALLY interesting!

4 months!

Look at those baby blues!

Seriously - LOVE this outfit. Looks so grown up with her boots!

Daddy put me in this Packers hat one night when we were having some Addy/Daddy time. Silly guy - it's huge on me!!

See, it covers my entire head!

Cuddling w/ Daddy on a lazy Sunday

Tummy Time :)

Cuddling in mommy & daddy's bed in the morning

Addalyn's Baptism

You have come into the world so tiny

Yet with such great promise for the future.

Before you were even born,

God planned wonderful things for you.

As you are baptised,

May you feel His love

And the love of those around you,

And may you always follow in His way.

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Our beautiful baby girl was baptised this weekend. We had the ceremony during Saturday's mass. Addalyn did AWESOME during the service. She was getting pretty sleepy right about the time church started so I was sorta getting nervous as to how she would do. But she didn't even cry. She was awesome. After her part of the ceremony, she fell asleep in my arms until after the service.

Tammy and Ed (Aaron's sister, and bro-in-law) are Addalyn's Godparents. They made the trip from Michigan along with Lowell. Jean and Paul came from the cities and my family was all there as well.

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After the ceremony, we had everyone come to our house to have some dinner and spend time together. It was a very good day here at the Anderson household. We are blessed with WONDERFUL family whom we love SO much. We wish we could have everyone near us more often. Thank you to all that came and witnessed Addalyn's baptism.

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Here are pictures of the day!

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Mommy and her girl


Tammy & Ed with Addalyn

Aaron, Myself, Addy, Father Tim, Tammy, & Ed

My entire family: Back Row: Phil, Hunter, Dad, Mom, Addy, Me, Aaron, Chad; Front Row: Ella, Angela, Grandpa Paul, Brooklynn, Brynne, Shannon, Drew

Grandpa Lowell & Addy back at home

Grandma Jean and Grandpa Paul

I made the cake for the gathering at our house afterwards. My mom and I decorated it together. I think it turned out pretty good for my first attempt @ decorating :)

Take me out to the Ball Game!

So Aaron and I may not root for the same NFL teams, but we do agree to like the MN Twins! He's grown up a Yankee fan, and that is his first team to cheer for, but he enjoys watching the Twins. We decided before Addalyn was born that we HAD to take our baby to a game this year. The Twins are building a new outdoor stadium so this is the last year in the Metrodome, we thought it'd be cool for our baby to say that she was at a game in the dome!

We played the Detroit Tigers - which is the only team we've ever seen the Twins play together. We've been to 3 games, and it's always against the Tigers. We tailgated before the game. A good friend of ours (Kurt) was here from Madison - but he grew up in Michigan like Aaron, so he's a Tiger fan. It's becoming a tradition for him to come here for a game. The weather was great - actually sorta hot!

Addy's first tailgaiting experience!

Joe Mauer is my favorite! It was too hot to wear the jersey outside, so we had it draped over her stroller so other tailgaters knew we were Twins Fans!

Addalyn's beverage of choice for tailgating - Soy :) (Dome in the background)

Oh dad, this tailgaiting thing is fun!

Hanging out in my bumbo

Time to walk to the game!
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We were a little nervous about how Addy would do. We knew it'd be packed because it is getting to the end of the season, and since the dome legacy is ending, tickets are selling. But also, its a pretty good series to go to since the Tigers are #1 right now in our division.

She did AWESOME!!! She just stared at everything and looked around with lots of interest. The noises did not even phase her. Mommy and Daddy were more concerned about them, that's for sure! She was WAY past due for a nap while we were there, and snoozed a few times throughout the game, but was never fussy at all. Seriously, so proud of how well she did! She made up for her missed nap today, she just woke up from a FOUR HOUR NAP!

Crazy story! We were sitting next to some Tigers fans, and since Aaron is from Michigan, he asked them where they were from. Turned out they were not only from the U.P., but from Ishpeming!!! (Aaron's hometown). SMALL WORLD!

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The twins ended up winning, 6-2! It was a good game. Tigers were up 2-1 until the 8th. Bases were loaded and we got a double, getting 2 in. Then next up Cuddyer (sp?) hit a home run! It was crazy loud in there and very fun!!

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Next year we'll be heading to the game outdoors! Hopefully we pick a good day weather-wise :)

Excuse my messy house...

...the kids are making memories.

This past weekend, we had a lot of good memories, and my house was pretty messy from them, so it reminded me of this saying that I came across at a craft sale recently. I didn't take any pictures of my house, but we spent a lot of Sunday picking up. It was well worth the day of fun/relaxation that we had on Saturday.

We started Saturday morning off with the ALS walk (Lou Gehrig's Disease) in memory of my Aunt Jane. After that, my sisters/mom were all going our separate ways to do some errands and such, so we didn't go to the extended family picnic that was hosted by my mom's cousin. It turns out we should have!

Well, Shannon had brought her kids over to our house while my mom and her did some errands, so my sister Angela ended up spontaneously stopping over for a bit too. All of a sudden the quick stops to our house before doing our other plans turned into a day's worth of memories. Sometimes you just have to postpone things for another day!

It was HOT out - and the girls (our nieces) didn't have their swim suits, but we improvised! The girls ran through the sprinkler in their underwear for a bit, and also in my tank tops. Too cute! We played with the kids all afternoon, and ended up grilling out for supper. My birthday was last Thursday (September 10th) and so we were having a little shin dig in the evening for my birthday. I love birthdays! We had some friends join our gathering later in the day for a bonfire in our backyard. Shannon made a cake for me for my birthday!!

Sometimes it seems that the days that are the most fun are the ones that aren't planned. It was a really great weekend!

Team Jane 2009 - missing a few people here, but the group pic none-the-less!

Addalyn with her cousins

Family Photo Opportunity :)

Addy on the walk - I think she was the littlest Team Jane member :)

Brynne & Grandma Bonnie (my mom!) Love this pic of the 2 of them!

Jen and Asher - too cute! The walk took a lot out of him, he fell asleep in his carrier!

Walking the Walk!

SpRInkLeR TimE! (My tank tops are a bit large on the girls, ha ha!) Even Aaron was running through the sprinkler! I love this picture.

He looks pretty good with 3 little girls, huh? That's good 'cause I took a quiz that predicted I was going to have 3 girls! He better get used to being out numbered. My dad can give him some tips!

Our afternoon entertainment...you should see all the pics I have like this! Oh dear Brooklynn, lots of blackmail for when you are older!

Ending the evening with a bonfire.

The weather this weekend was absolutely beautiful. A great day for the walk, hanging out, and for a bonfire in the evening. Before we know it...snow will be here. I don't mind that, it's the freezing cold that comes with it that I could take or leave :)

Labor Day Weekend

We spent Labor Day weekend at my parent's cabin in Spooner WI. It was a beautiful weekend at the lake. I went to a craft sale with my mom and sisters, as we do EVERY year. We also got in a few rides on the pontoon, had a few beverages and bonfires, and just relaxed and enjoyed the company we were in.

I'll let the pictures speak for the weekend...

I'm just hanging out in my swim suit at the cabin!

Being out in the fresh air makes a girl sleepy

Cousins! Ella (3), Drew (1), Brynne (4), Addalyn (3 mos), Brooklynn (3), Hunter (8 months)

Me and Shannon hanging out on the dock

Grandpa Tim and Addy on the pontoon!

Aren't I quite the bathing beauty?

These shades are pretty cool (and I sure do love my hands these days

...they sure are tasty - you should try yours some time!)

Aaron was the bartender :)

My Family: Angela, Shannon, Me, Dad & Mom :) Oh yeah, and Addy's in there too!