A bridge, an island, a wedding, baseball, and some carsickness :)

We spent last weekend on a mini-vacation in Michigan. Aaron's cousin Vanessa got married in Gaylord, MI - which is about an hour south of the Mackinac bridge that connects the Upper Peninsula to lower Michigan. I was very excited for this, because I've never been anywhere other than Aaron's hometown area in the U.P., so I was excited to see other areas of the region!

The trip one-way takes about 10 hours, so we decided to break things up a bit. We drove 6.5 hours Thursday night to Escanaba, MI and stayed over...got up and drove 2.5 hours to the bridge (my first time crossing it!) and parked in Mackinaw City to take a boat over to Mackinac Island for the day.

The Mackinac Bridge (this pic is taken from the island)

Poor little Addy threw up literally as we were pulling into the parking lot of Shepler's - which is the boat that took us to the island. Her timing with throwing up is quite great these days (another blog to come on that entire topic!)...but it is for certain that poor little Addy gets car sick. But, she was a super happy little girl after she got that nasty feeling out of her tummy.

But...Aaron and I were a little nervous about the boat ride that we were about to take considering the waters can make people sick...and she had just thrown up...so we had her wear her bib on the boat just in case!

About to take the ride to the island...as you can see, she's a happy girl now that the 'icky's' were out of her tummy! The bib in the pic makes me laugh!

Approaching the Island

Mackinac Island is VERY cool/unique. No motorized vehicles are allowed on it, so it seems as though you are stepping into the "Olden Days". Your only options were to walk, bike, or ride the horse-drawn carriages to where you wanted to go. We mainly did some walking - but we did rent bikes for about an hour to go to another area of the island and also biked the main area from one end to the other.

There is so much to do that we have already talked about going back when we are done having kids and they are all old enough to ride bikes. With Addy's age - we couldn't see all that we were interested in, but that was okay with us because we didn't have a ton of time to spend there anyway.

Walking, biking, or horses! This is a picture of the main area

We rode our bikes to Arch Rock - which was about a mile from the main area. Addy didn't really nap that day, but she managed to take a quick snooze on our trip to Arch Rock. She had fallen asleep in the stroller when we were in line to rent bikes...and we were able to transfer her with no issues!

Just taking a little snooze in the bike cart...she looks pretty comfy!

Arch Rock - geologists believe this is made from water/ice passing through the rocks thousands of years ago. I did read on the island that there is an Indian Legend that this was caused by tears of a maiden whose father forbid her to be with the person she loved...

Getting ready to leave Arch Rock! As you can see in the background, the road to get there provided us with some nice lakeside viewing, as it was right along the shore of Lake Huron.

Prego mommy on a bike! I was a little nervous about riding around, but wanted to take advantage of the place we were at, so that is why we decided to rent them for an hour!


Checking out the ducks below, waiting to get back on the boat to go back to Mackinaw City. Next destination: Gaylord, MI - only a 1 hour drive from where we were!

Alex and Vanessa got married on a resort with 81 holes - it is known for its golfing (Treetops Resort). They got married overlooking one of the golf courses - the scenery was very beautiful!

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The view from our seats for the ceremony

The 'Minnesota' Anderson's before the ceremony!

Alex and Vanessa facing us during a reading...Vanessa looked BEAUTIFUL! We are very happy for them. Congrats Guys!

Quincy (Alex and Vanessa's little guy!) giving Addy a hug on the dance floor :) Too Cute

Addalyn was really good at the ceremony and the reception. She LOVED dancing and being on the dance floor. If she would get up the courage to let go of our hands and walk on her own...she would've been ALL OVER that dance floor. She was having so much fun.

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Look at that smile!

Who needs to dance on their feet? Crawling around and bobbing my head to the music is fun too!

Ironically, our nephew Jeffrey was also playing in the Little League State Tournament that weekend in Gaylord. So, we got to see him play on Sunday before we left town. His team lost the game we watched, but Jeffrey did really good (from my perspective, I don't think I am too biased!). He got a really nice hit that got him to 2nd base (sorry, I'm not good on my baseball lingo!) - and did really good defensively when the coaches had him playing outfield. So proud of him and very happy we got to see him play!

#7 on 2nd base :)

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After his game, we started our trip back to MN. We stopped again in Mackinaw City and had lunch with Aaron's family, and walked around for just a little while with his sisters (oh yeah, and purchased some fudge!). From there we drove 4.5 hours to Green Bay, where we stayed at Aaron's uncle Gary's and Aunt Sue's house. We didn't arrive there until about 7:30 at night, and we still had 4.5 hours to go, so it was very nice to break up the ride.

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We got to see Aaron's cousin Derek, who couldn't make it to the wedding, and his wife Amy and their kids Tyler (2) and Cooper (4 weeks old!). Little Cooper is a cutie-pie, and Oh My Goodness Tyler is a RIOT! He is too cute! He had some very quick one-liners that I wish I had my video-camera to record, because me trying to tell you about them would not do them justice!

We did get some good blackmale photos of Tyler and Addy in the bath. But I'm only putting one on here...where Ty was scrubbing Addalyn's back. Seriously, too cute!

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We got up early Monday morning to finish our trip back to MN. As always, it is a great time and goes too quickly - but we are happy to have had the time we did with the Anderson family :)

Parade-ing!

We have attended a few parades this summer - and Addalyn really seems to love them! Her first one of the year was in June, at Pine Island's Cheese Fest Parade (that is my home town). She attended her very first parade EVER at the same parade last year, when she was just 11 days old...so I was excited to see how she'd be this year :)

Her very first parade last year...slept through the entire thing!

One year later - same stroller: up and ready for some FUN!

Seriously...this Gorilla freaks me out!

Addalyn really liked the parade, she was very interested in everything that went by and very content just sitting and watching. Aaron and Addy are really into whatever was passing by in this one!

The highlight of the parade was probably when Addy tried her first sucker - and LOVED it!

Aaron got a good action shot of her licking her sticky lips!

She wouldn't let it go until there was absolutely NOTHING left...she did really good eating it, I was impressed :)

Aaron tried to take Addalyn to her 2nd parade with Ella, Rachel & Jeff (the Scheel's) while I was at my cousin Jared's wedding --- and they had gotten settled and were waiting for the parade to start, but it got cancelled at the last minute due to bad weather in the area. Bummer!

But...we attempted to take the girls to a parade together again a few weeks ago - this time a success! This parade was in Mazeppa. Ella is peaking down at Addy in this pic!

Parades are definitely the one thing that keeps Addy pretty tame and content for as long as they are. Typically she doesn't sit still for very long (like any one-year-old)...but parades are different for her!

She's doing her version of waving here at the entertainment in front of her. She sometimes waves "hi" with her hand like this! She also was clapping when everyone else would clap -- it was pretty cute!

The bikers are sort've crazy!

And of course...we had another sucker while we were watching the parade. Mmmm Mmmm good :)

Paci-Free!

Addalyn is officially free of the pacifier! The transition actually went VERY smoothly! On Tuesday, 6/23, we decided to try it at night - I told myself I would go check on her if she cried over 10 minutes, but she cried for less than 5, fussed a bit...and then went to sleep. She had it still at daycare the next day - but not at night again, and cried for even less than she had the night before. On night 3, she only fussed, no crying - so we haven't gone back. YEAH ADDY! I'm so proud of how well she adjusted :)

Big girl :) (that is teething, so likes to chew on her finger!)

Sooo funny when daddy tickles me!

...and he's at it again while I'm playing!

And to think, less than a year ago, she was thinking this: http://babyanderson7.blogspot.com/2009/08/popsicles.html

Seven/Seven and Ninety-nine

Today is our 3rd anniversary! We were able to go out on a 'date' because Grandma Jean (Aaron's mom) is staying with us until Friday - THANK YOU! Jean is here watching Addy while our daycare is closed. The timing worked out pretty good for us! I actually don't know when we have gone out to eat with just the 2 of us since Addalyn...maybe once or twice.

Three years down...and baby number two on the way!

Addy claps "yeah, Happy Anniversary mommy and daddy!"

Today also marks 99 days until my due date. DOUBLE DIGITS! I will be 26 weeks tomorrow...it is going really fast. I'm feeling pretty good. The biggest question I get is how this pregnancy compares to Addalyn's - and really I feel like they are pretty similar. I've heard a few people say I am carrying differently, but for me it feels pretty much the same.

We had a check-up last week, and my doctor told me that based on the heart-rate that day, she says girl. I remember her saying the EXACT same thing with Addy when I was about 38 weeks pregnant with her...so my doctor might know a thing or two about the heart-rate telling you a thing or two! Who knows though. It was actually jumping between 130's to 150's :)

Me and my babies! The other night Addy was cuddling with me in the dark...and at the same time I could feel the baby moving and I could have sat in that moment FOREVER. Sitting in the darkness with Addy cuddling on my shoulder and her little brother or sister joining in on the mommy moment...it was awesome!

26 weeks!

We've been doing lots of fun things this summer - and posts will be coming to share some photos of all the exciting times we've had so far. We also have some fun events coming up as well...we are loving the summer!

Badunkadunk Battlers!

This last Saturday we participated in the Get Your Rear in Gear 5K run/walk. This is a 5K that raises money for colon cancer.

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As you all know, my sis was diagnosed last July with colon cancer. Shannon is doing great - she finished chemo in March and had clear scans at her last appointment. Thank God! We decided to form a team this year, and after much deliberation - we decided to have FUN with it all!

Soooooo, team Badunkadunk Battlers was formed. :) In case you are not sure, "Badunkadunk" is basically another word for your butt/behind/backside...or whatever you want to call it!

I had to clarify that, because my dear mom didn't know what it was when we formed the team. Love that Lady!

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Anyway - the day turned out EXTREMELY successful. We won a plaque for being the most creative and the largest team. We didn't even know that these types of awards were being distributed, so that was an awesome surprise! I must say I'm proud of it, because I was the team captain and did all the coordinating, so YEAH BADUNKADUNK BATTLERS!

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Team Badunkadunk Battlers

Shannon with the other survivors

Giggly Girl and her daddy/mommy!


Walking (riding) a 5K is EXHAUSTING!
Me with my cute little 4 year old nieces, Brooklynn (Shannon's middle child) and Ella (Angela's oldest)...walking the 5K. After about 1/2 a mile Ella's "feet were tired" - but she continued to walk and was a trooper! Eventually she jumped into a stroller, but did over 1/2 of it by walking!

Angela got first place over all for the female runners. She ran around a 21 minute 5K...I seriously would like to know what her time was with other runners there, because there weren't many women around her to push her!

I heart my family! Dad, Angela, Shannon, me & Mom -- with our team plaques :)

It was a very successful morning...I'm looking forward to next year! Now that we know there are awards for most creative and such - we are up to the challenge of topping this year! We'll keep the same name, but we have to figure out a new way to identify the team. It's going to be FUN!

Thank you to all of you that were a part of team Badunkadunk Battlers ---- we all made it a successful first year. :)

Going Private

Soooo, I hate to have to be a private blog, but I had to do it.

I had a new "follower" tonight that I didn't recognize the name of so I went to their blog to see if I knew them through someone else. I couldn't figure anything out, so I proceeded with scrolling down and reading their posts.

All of a sudden, my little baby girl (as a newborn last June) was STARING BACK AT ME ON SOMEONE ELSE'S BLOG. It was 100% withouth a doubt Addalyn, and I even went back to my posts from last year to see if those pictures had been posted. They all had been posted last June when Addy was a newborn. My heart started racing and I said to Aaron, "Oh my God that is Addy". I called my friend Rachel and my sisters to see if they knew this person...as well as looked to see if they were followers of any other blogs I follow. They were not. The weird thing is, their "daughter" has the exact same name as my niece...with the exception of the spelling - and I am wondering if that is a coincidance or not???

Soooo, I had to go private because I dont' want my daughter's pictures showing up all over the internet. I'm actually very sad about this, as I really feel like I'll lose some readers this way.

I don't mind people that I don't know reading my blog - I'll admit that I read other people's blogs that I have come across through my friends...so that doesnt' bother me. But - I would never use their pictures and claim them to be my OWN!

If you know of people that read my blog, even if I don't know them personally...feel free to let me know their email address so I can let them view my blog. As long as someone I know knows them and trusts them to view my blog, I'm good with that!

I'm pretty bummed here tonight...

12 Months and counting...

Addalyn Jane - June 2009

I've been a bit emotional lately (maybe it's 'cause I'm pregnant!)...and I'll find myself driving down the road and thinking "Last year at this time we did this or that" and thinking of different events that were going on in our lives last summer. It's crazy how quickly this last year has gone! I can't believe it.

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Like I said in my last post, I want my baby to stay my baby forever - and at the same time I LOVE watching her grow up, and learn new things. It is SO fun! I'm really looking forward to enjoying our time with Addy this summer as she learns new things and gets to play outside. Then fall will come and we'll have a ton of new adventures with our new baby! Just as I think back now and am not sure what life was like with out Addalyn in it - I'll be thinking the same thing about our 2nd child come late October early November. I really can't wait!

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11 days old

Addy's first picture with the bear at 1 month old!
Addy's final picture with the bear at 12 months old (maybe I'll do an 18 month and 2 year one or something!) She wasn't so into smiling at the camera!

Our little Addalyn is growing in so many ways. She has finally gotten her 2 top teeth...but that is it - 4 teeth total. She isn't walking yet...but she's very close. She walks around everything and will walk with you holding her hands and such. It's only a matter of time. I know Aaron walked late, and I'm not sure about me, so I didn't really expect it earlier than about now or so.

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She is seriously happy almost 99% of the time. She's not so happy when she's tired or hungry (she does love her food!), - but you can't blame her for that! Speaking of eating, she is 100% on table food and does not have a bottle anymore. The transition actually went really well. We gradually changed her formula to milk and then once it was all milk - we stopped putting it in a bottle. She didn't even seem to notice that she didn't get a bottle anymore!

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Addalyn dances to music, has gestures for "Sooo Big" (which we've mentioned before) and "all done", gives us "5", and sings "e-i-e-i-o" (Old McDonald song...) when she hears the song - which is super fun! She "talks" all the time and has increased her vocabulary. She says "hot" now and other things, but that is her latest...and it isn't always in reference to things being hot really, but it is a word she says!

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She goes to bed almost each night without a fuss - as long as she has her bear. She still takes a pacifier for sleeping, but we are going to start eliminating that - we'd like it to be a distant memory before the baby comes along so she isn't trying to pull it out of the baby's mouth or getting confused. Really, she probably doesn't need it, but we were just working on changing things one thing at a time...now that the bottle is gone, we'll start with the pacifier!

Life with our little 1 year old couldn't be any better. I'm sure every mom and dad say that. But, it's true -- and I wouldn't disagree with anyone that thinks that about their little family!

Here are her 12 month stats:

Weight - 21 pounds (49%)

Length - 30 inches (73%)

Head - 18 1/2 inches (93%) -- I actually think this is wrong, but whatever! Her head measurements have been all over the charts since she was born!!

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Bath nights are tons of fun!

Addalyn and her goofy grin :)