Happy Birthday Addie!

Our little girl is THREE!!! I can hardly believe it! She is so big, and definately getting a little sassy with her age. We didn't plan a birthday party with friends this year, we had company the week before, and were leaving town a week later and it was a little too much to pack in. So we planned an action packed day of fun for her.

Between going out for "funny face" pancakes, bowling, and going on a long (slow) bike ride with Addie leading the way, we nearly missed the BBQ we were invited to -- which would have been a shame since we all had such a good time, thanks Becky and Keith!

Here are some fun pics from the day.

Starting to tear into her gifts.

Trying to pick up the spare.

Decked out in new helmet and knee pads for her cool rummage sale bike (by far the best present she received, along with the bell we attached to her handlebars).

Addie is very lucky to have a patient daddy.


Happy birthday, Baby!

P.S. To all you who know of our crutch with Addie, this day was ended with her successfully giving up the binky!!! It's been nearly a full week, now, and she still naps well and only takes a few minutes to go to sleep. We leave town this evening for a week with Corey's family, so let's pray that things keep going well!

Chicago

Ever been to Chicago? I hear that question a lot. Sadly, I've lived so close for 4 years and have only spent a handful of days in this amazing city. Corey gets his fill since he works right downtown, but we're lucky enough to have visitors that want to see the great Windy City.



Corey's sister and family came to visit and we took advantage of the great weather and adventurous spirits and took a tour on the river.


Look at all that blonde hair!!!




The kids loved the boat.

We started our Chicago adventure by going to Six Flags. Addie LOVED the rides! That's so fun for her mom and dad to watch. In fact, we spent the whole time with her going on rides and hardly did anything ourselves. Ah, the sacrifice :)

Max is nearly one, now, and so much fun! He loves playing with the big kids, and he absolutely idolizes Addie!

Funny little mind

We were sitting at dinner the other night, and Addie was rambling on and on to her dad about what we did that day. I was busy feeding Max when Addie looked thoughtfully at us and said, "Max doesn't have any teef. We need to go buy some at the teef store, huh Mom?"

Utah

Just a couple pics from our trip to Utah. We had so much fun and got to see almost everyone in my family (that's saying a lot, since there are more than I care to count at the moment).

Jessica playing with Max. Isn't she a doll?!



Tifanie, my oldest niece, soaking up the rays at my mom's pool. Most of the family got together to celebrate July 24th in the sun.




Addie hanging with cool Aunt Kristy.



My sister Amy playing in the pool with Max. He loved it!!!

Cousin Brandon, with his long locks hanging in wet curls.

Addie has turned sassy when asked to smile for the camera. Just like her dad...

Addie got over her fear of jumping into the pool REAL quick. I swear this went on for 45 minutes, then my sister stood in for me for another 15. What a workout!

Rare footage of me not behind the camera

Where a kid can be a kid

A few weeks ago we had Dana and her girls over for dinner along with her brother, John. Corey and John served together in Michigan, then we ended up moving into his parent's ward. This means we get to see John once or twice a year. Dana has been living with their parents all summer while her husband has been deployed. Addie and Dana's girls, Madeline and Katherine, have become fast friends so the evening was enjoyed by all. Here's a movie to prove just how much 'fun' the girls create. Note the guitar, keyboard, vocal trio they have naturally created.

As most of you mamas out there know, a room can go from totally tidy to crazy chaos in about 1.4 seconds when friends come over (or just when a kid remembers they have toys to play with), so please excuse the mess.

Amber had her babies!

I'm a week late with this post, but I've been wanting to make sure things are stable. Many of you that I talk with know that my friend, Amber, was pregnant with quadruplets. I have been so excited/nervous for her that I constantly have her on the brain...which leads to it rolling off my tongue. Last Tuesday, after becoming concerned with certain aspects of the pregnancy and having Amber on constant meds and monitors, her doctor ordered delivery. She was able to make it to 28 weeks 3 days. Barely halfway through, is my first thought, but she delivered nearly 10 lbs of babies. And all are pretty healthy, all things concidered. She was even in the newspaper! Check out her blog for pics and stats. http://4demarias.blogspot.com/



Amber is a special friend of mine, one of the few close friendships that have survived my added miles and lack of nurture. She is a kindred soul, having gone through many of the same trials that I went through. We even found out we dated the same strange guy (both of us met his mom within the first couple dates). I went out with him first, then he started stalking our singles ward. My bishop kicked him out because of boundries, and he ended up in Amber's single ward -- even though he was 32, and took her out a couple times. Amber and I met at least a year later, and didn't find out about our 'similar tastes' for another year or so. I'm rambling, I know. But it's my blog, and I guess I can just hope I haven't lost any faithful readers because if it.



Some of you may have even met Amber. She came to Milwaukee when I was pregnant with Addie and threw me a baby shower. At the time, she was dating this guy from Chicago that she taught in the same school with in Las Vegas. I was blissful in my life, husband, home, baby on the way...I wanted all those things for her. Little did I know! She ended up having him take the missionary discussions, and he was baptized a month before their wedding. Then they were sealed after a year (on their first anniversary, I think?), moved to California, bought a home in the mountains, and now have 4 kids (tiny babies are still kids, right?). All this was completed in just over 3 years! When Amber decides to get things done, she gets things done!!!



Enough reminiscing. I just wanted to goo a little bit about her big life change. Good luck Amber and Mike! And keep up the growing Anthony, Michael, Jaileigh, and Jakob!!!