April at Last

At the beginning of April we caught up with Grandma D., Aunt Deb, and Cousins Stephen and Elise for breakfast. Addy got a little restless so Grandma and Elise walked with her while she did laps.

Some more cold weather forced us to stay in but we made the most of it by creating Laundry Basket Racing. Addy really enjoyed it and would yell "Go" to get us going. Mama and Dada got their exercise that day.

For Easter we went to Grandma B. and Grandpa D.'s house. Addy looked very cute in her Easter dress and her nose didn't even look to bad. Addy's nose had a rough week before this starting with a bonk on table and followed the next day by meeting the driveway in a spill.

We were able to catch up with some of Amy's cousins who came over for Easter dinner. Amy was also able to get Great-Grandma updated with pictures from the blog.

Postage Due...

Here Addy is playing in a diaper box. She hasn't really excepted that she is a child in the 99%+ on the growth chart.

More fun with boxes. At least time Addy picked one that fits her a little better.

This weekend Addy was very tired and even had trouble keeping her eyes open during lunch. We were able to take her from lunch right to bed.

Addy shows off her skills of noodle eating. Notice the great eye work that accompanies the eating.

April signaled the end of the first semester for Matt. It was a good semester for Matt. He was able to put some of his hobbies together when he had to build a catapult for Physics class.

March Catch Up

After a wonderful week in Mexico with Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Melissa, Uncle Andy and Cousin Lia, Addy was not ready to be away from her cousin. Besides web chats we keep Addy connected to her cousin by watching their Disney video. Addy absolutely loves watching Cousin Lia.

We started Addy with a spoon in the beginning of March and tried her with Jello. (Notice the tablecloth on the floor.) Addy liked the Jello and using her own spoon, but boy was mom glad she put the tablecloth down.

On one of the nice days in March we decided to take Addy to one of the local parks. She loved playing outside and exploring the various playscapes at the park.

Here she is looking out one of the holes in a tube connecting 2 slides.

Addy also enjoyed riding one of the horses. Of course Dada was near by to make sure she didn't slip off and to give the horse some movement.













Addy was good with the swing but liked it a bit less than she did this past summer and less than the slides.

Here Addy braves going down the slide on her stomach and her own (with parental supervision). She was also able to see one of her favorite things, a plane.

Addy has started to climb a bit more this month and started by climbing on her excersaucer (less the center).

Here I go Mama and Dada. Just the start of things to come.
















Look Mom no hands!

February in Mexico

At the end of February we met Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Andy, Aunt Melissa and cousin Lia in Mexico for a wonderful family vacation. The girls really liked seeing each other and sharing their stroller time together.

Both girls loved spending time in the nice warm weather. We made sure they didn't get burned by outfitting them with fashionable hats. Both girls were very cute in their hats.

Addy wasn't fond of the water at first but Lia loved it. Lia's love of the water helped convince Addy to get in. That and the use of Lia's floating intertube. Thank you Lia!

Once she got used to the water Addy loved floating with her Dada.






Lia and Uncle Andy had a lot of fun together.

When Addy was in or near the water she was always picking up leaves. She loved to collect as many leaves as she could.

Addy loved being in the warm Mexican weather where she could share her dada's love for nature.



Addy especially loved to watch the fish in the the pond near the buffet restaurant. As soon as she was done eating she wanted to get out of her chair to go by the railing and see the fish and turtles.

She also loved to stop and point to the fish when we were passing by in her stroller.

Melissa and Andy took Addy one time so Mama and Dada could have an evening out together. The first date night we have had since Addy was born.

Grandpa, Mama, Dada and Addy went on a tour to some Mayan ruins. Addy wanted nothing to do with the backpack we brought. I'm not sure if it was the heat or just because she is moving around more and doesn't want to be held down, but she was not happy. We sat on the grass under a tree and gave Addy her bottle which made her much happier.

We spent most of our time around the pool, but Addy was able to spend a little time on the beach as well.

Addy sat on the sand for a while and tried to stay out of the waves which she didn't like when they got her. She also found out that walking on sand is a bit different then walking on hard surfaces.







Look at our happy bathing beauty.

Addy wasn't happy to leave the warm weather, but she was interested in the packing process once we started it.



A week away from her car seat made her more interested in it.





Look Mama and Dada how well I can help with the packing.

One last view out of our patio before we go. We will miss the nice view and warm weather!

Most of February

On Saturday morning Addy was hanging out contemplating the meaning of life while she was dressed so nicely in a bracelet and diaper. What a big girl she is becoming.

That same day Addy showed off her verbal and waving skills while looking very cute.

We put in new cupboards and a countertop in a nook in our kitchen. Addy really liked sitting in the the new cupboard, but it wasn't as big as she thought it should be.






We took advantage of a warmer day in early February and went for a walk. With the cold, long winter we were all going a bit stir crazy and enjoyed the chance to get out of the house. Addy really loves being outside and can't wait for summer to come.






A quick picture of Addy walking and pulling her toy cow. Thank you Aunt Melissa, Uncle Andy and Cousin Lia for this wonderful Christmas gift.














Teething is fun. Addy has been chewing on anything she can get her hands on. We think teeth must be coming in soon.








On Valentine's day we met Grandma Barb & Grandpa Denny in Lansing for lunch. They then took Addy back home with them for the night. It was our second night away from Addy which was nice but also a bit weird. That weekend we hosted a wedding shower for our friends Danielle and Doug. It was a lot of fun!!!

(Thanks Ma for the cake.)

January 2009

We started the year with a visit from our friend Cat. It was great to see Cat and catch up with her. Addy loved sitting on Cat's lap and looking at all of her pictures including some of Addy.

Then we were able to catch up with Grandpa, Kim and Katy for Christmas. Addy loved sharing her new book with Grandpa and Aunt Katy. Grandpa really made the Dinosaur come to life.




Addy also wanted to show Grandpa her new walking skills. When we got to Grandpa's house Addy had on her new shoes which she was not used to walking in. By the end of the night the shoes were off and she was in her pajamas and was easily showing off her walking skills.




Even though Addy was walking she didn't want to admit she was getting big. She still was hanging out in her bouncy seat even though it was getting much closer to the ground then it was when she was 4 months old.







A candid shot of Addy's crazy hair and standing/walking ability. We wonder when her hair will sit down on it's own.








Addy is really into books and loves to sit with Dada or Mama to read. Here she is sitting on the couch like a big girl, reading with Dada. She loves the books where she has to open a flap to find something.


This last picture is not one of our better pictures but the story is funny. Addy had some chicken & noodles from chicken noodle soup, grilled cheese and some veggie meatballs for dinner. She ate the chicken and noodles but the pieces of grilled cheese and veggie meatballs went into a pile that you can see on the left side. This was her discard pile. Every time she came across one of these pieces she would pick them up and immediately put them in the pile. Great sorting skills.

December

The beginning of the month started with introducing Addy to Christmas lights and the tree. She really enjoyed looking at and playing with the lights before we put them on the tree.








She really liked seeing the lights lit up on the tree and continued to think they were play things for little while. Then she moved on to the ornaments.


Mid month brought a new trick from Addy. She would bend over, put her head on the ground, stick her hand through her legs and wave to us upside down. This is the closest we got to a picture of it, but it was very funny!






On the 20th we went to Aunt Caroline and Uncle Bob's house to celebrate Christmas with Matt's family. We exchanged homemade gifts with all of us and family in England. What a very talented family we are a part of.









Addy enjoyed playing on top of the pool table...
















and hanging out with Aunt Martha.









On the 21st we went over to Lia's Grandpa's house to celebrate Lia's first birthday. Addy and Lia played together before Lia ate her cake.









Lia really enjoyed her birthday cake and definitely got into it.








On the 24th we made our way to Grand Rapids to celebrate Christmas with Amy's family. We planned on going on the 23rd but a lot of snow and some issues at Amy's work caused us to miss the celebration at Great Grandma's house and not make it to GR until Christmas Eve.









Once we did get there we got dressed up and headed to the early church service.













Addy liked her dress but did not like her shoes at all. Every chance she got she pulled them off. Needless to say they didn't stay on for long.











In December Addy started taking a few steps and over the Christmas break she really took off walking. She was toddling all over the place. She had to keep up with her cousin Lia.





Between opening gifts on Christmas day the girls hung out together in their chairs. They had a lot of fun playing together. They interact more and more each time.

A lot of the homemade gifts this year revolved around the girls at least that was the case for the gifts Andy, Melissa, Matt and Amy gave to their people.






The girls gifts were more along the toys line for the girls and boy did Addy like them.










She also enjoyed hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa.







She liked talking with Grandpa...
















and cuddling with Grandma, especially because she wasn't feeling well. Addy had a cold with goop coming out of her eyes. She started on medicine just before her birthday.





The end of the month brought about Addy's first birthday. We went out to dinner with Grandma Denise, Grandma Barb, Grandpa Denny, Aunt Deborah, Uncle Lee, cousins Stephen and Elise and Grand Aunt Caroline, Grand Uncle Bob, Cousin Robert and Dada and Mama. After dinner we went back home to have cake and open up some presents.









Addy enjoyed her cake but learned from her cousin not to eat too much.











Between Christmas and her birthday Addy got the hang of opening presents and Mama and Dada realized how annoying toy packaging can be.