We're Having a Baby...

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

GIRL!!! We'll be welcoming another baby girl into our family at the beginning of March. I'm about 22 weeks along now, so we have nearly 4 months to go.

The doctor appointment went really well yesterday. Bob took the day off work to hear the big news. It was a relief to find out that the baby is doing well and everything checked out and on track developmentally.

I'm excited about having sisters. Addie and her little sister will be close in age (about 2 1/2 years), and I hope they'll be great friends (most of the time at least). Bob will defiantly be out numbered, but I think he's okay with that for the most part anyway.  

We are very excited to be adding to our family and hope things will continue to go well. Yay for girls!

Halloween 2011

Thursday, November 3, 2011

We had a happy Halloween! Our Halloween festivities lasted nearly a week. We started by crashing 4th Ward's Trunk or Treat, so Addie could hang out with Grandma and Pa. It was very cold, but Addie didn't let that detour her. She was fascinated with the entire process - friendly people handing out candy! Addie was an adorable Sock Monkey, and she loved her costume. Addie had two more Trick or Treating outings - the Downtown Trick or Treat and Halloween evening. By Halloween night, after about an hour and a half of being out, Addie had had enough and we experienced a two year old size melt down. All in all, Addie did well and seemed to really enjoy Halloween.

I continued with my tradition of "Boo-grams" this Halloween. It's fun to put together cute treats and ring and run (not so sure Bob, the runner, thinks it's fun). The surprise treat bags included: banana bread, apple jelly, candy with spooky bat rings, and chex mix. I hope the lucky recipients enjoyed their treats! 

Of course, what would Halloween be without a Jack-o-Lantern? Bob, the expert pumpkin carver, did a great job. Addie was interested in the process. For simplicity, we only did one pumpkin - this will soon change as Addie gets older. More holiday fun is just around the corner.

Apples

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

We have two apple trees in our new back yard. I had decided when we moved in that I wouldn't let the apples go to waste - I was up to the challenge of processing the apples. I had never juiced or canned, and I was a little overwhelmed. I relied on my Mom to share her juicing and jelly-making skills and her equipment to get the job done. With the apples I made: juice used to make about 24 12oz jars and 12 8oz of jelly, apple sauce, apple pie, and apple turnovers. Everything turned out really well which is a dang good thing. Processing big quantities of food is a lot of work!

A few tips for first time apple juicer:

1. Be prepared to be patient - it takes some time

2. Do not let the water in the juicer run out or let the water boil over - messy

3. Do not put whole apples in the juicer - cut them up first

Yes, I made all the above mistakes. I hope all my family, friends, and neighbors like apple jelly because they may be receiving it as a gift in the near feature. I anticipate becoming an apple processing pro each fall now that I'm a apple tree owner. I'm not sure I'm exactly excited about that or not.  

Changes

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Our family has experienced a great deal of change since this past May. Much to our surprise a Spanish/ESL teaching job at the Lovell schools came open at the end of May. With great anticipation, Bob applied, and we were lucky enough for Bob to get the job and make plans to move home. The biggest stress of moving was selling our house in Lingle. Again, much to our surprise and relief, we were under contract on our house after only four days on the market. We then moved our focus on to finding a house in Lovell. Renting wasn't really an option and we were actually able to buy for just about the same monthly cost of renting. Luck shined on us again during this transition, and we got the house we were hoping for. We closed on the Lingle house on July 22nd and drove away that same day.

We took early possession of the house on the 26th of July and started working on it. We painted the entire interior, replaced the kitchen flooring, and cleaned up the yard before we moved in. We finally moved in on the 9th of August and officially closed on the house on the 17th of August. We like our new house even though it's a little less than half the size of our house in Lingle. It's cozy! And now after 2 1/2 months I'm feeling settled and back into our routine.  

Bob started football practice the 15th, meetings the 24nd, and students the 29th of August. After his first full week of class, he was amazed at the positive difference in student behavior and attitude. Bob's a little overwhelmed with the adjustment of a new school and such but is very glad for the change. Bob has loved coaching football, and the team is doing very well. Addie loves football, too. She says, "Dad coaches football", "Go Bulldogs!", "Touchdown", and "I love football games". She really looks forward to going to the games. The team is hoping for a state championship. Go Bulldogs! 

Saying "Goodbye" to our Lingle House

Our New Lovell House

 Coach Weber

To add more changes to the mix, Bob and I are expecting child number two at the beginning of March. We are very excited and happy for the opportunity. I'm about 19 weeks along, and we will be having our next ultrasound on November 7th. We're really looking forward to finding out the sex and making sure the baby is strong and healthy. The pregnancy has gone well thus far. I wasn't as sick during the 1st trimester as I was with Addie. Also, another difference from my pregnancy with Addie is that this baby is in my right uterus. So the past few months have really been crazy and a blur, but we are grateful for all the wonderful things that have come our way.   

19 Weeks

Addie Turns Two!

Monday, October 17, 2011

On October 14th Addie turned two. We celebrated her birthday Saturday evening with a fun "Elmo" themed party. Addie, like many other toddlers, is a big Elmo fan. We partied with our families, Skypeing with the Weber's. We "surprised" Addie with her party, by having Aunt Katie pick her up about an hour before the final set up of the party. Addie's reaction was great! She immediately was thrilled with all the balloons, party hats, and horns. Addie loves being the center of attention (she's not a shy girl), so she had a wonderful time during the celebration. The activities included: dinner, a slide show, gifts, and cake and ice cream. Addie was spoiled by all our family and got a lot of great gifts. She was entertaining to watch while she opened her presents. She squealed and gasped when she opened her gifts and quickly threw all the clothes aside to look for more books and toys. We're so glad that we were able to share Addie's big day with our families!

At two years old, Addie is a ball of energy and a real character. She is pretend playing more and more. She pretends to be a frog, a kangaroo, and an airplane. She loves to jump up and down and run fast. She talks very well, combining up to four words. She knows her colors, counts to 10 (working on counting to 20), knows her basic shapes, and she is starting to recognize individual letters and numbers. Addie loves to color, and she still loves books. We love our Addie girl!

Yum! Chocolate Cake!

Surprise!

Party Food

The Party Place

Aunt Lindi's Creation

(I'm not a cake decorator)

19 Months

Monday, May 23, 2011

Addie turned 19 months just over a week ago. I know it sounds cliche, but she's really growing up so fast (I only realize this when I actually take the time to reflect). Only five months until she's two! Crazy! Addie is a jabber head and she's starting to become a real copy cat - we parents better watch our months! ;) She's starting to say prayers - kinda (a for effort, right!?). Addie is also starting to pretend play more and more. Her pretend telephone conversations are funny to listen to. They go something like this: "Hello", "Good", "OK", "Bye, See you". Addie wants to be a helper. However, her attention span is still small and she can't focus on a task for too long. It's amazing to watch her learn. Addie is starting to learn her shapes and colors. She still loves books.

This past weekend we were able to visit my family while Bob was coaching at State Track in Casper. We had a great time being together. Addie absolutely loves all the extra attention. We were also able to celebrate Aunt Katie's 21st birthday during our visit and listen to PaPa speak in church, so it was great timing. The only bad part was the constant rain, so we were stuck in the house. At least we were stuck together! We had a wonderful time! Thanks, Fam! We Love You!

Easter 2011

Sunday, May 1, 2011

We had a fantastic Easter! My parents, Nick and Lindi, and Richard and Katie were all able to come to our home for a fabulous Easter weekend (you can't tell from the pictures - we ended up with only pictures of Addie). Addie absolutely loved being the center of attention. She is one loved little girl. Addie received some wonderful Easter gifts. Grandma bought Addie two Easter dresses. Aunt Lindi made more adorable hair bows - matching pairs for pigtails. Addie's hair was fixed super cute over the holiday weekend with the help of Lindi and Katie. We spent our time egg hunting, egg dying, eating, playing games, chit chatting, and watching a movie. Easter Sunday was great as we all went to church together and enjoyed a traditional Easter dinner before everybody hit the road. It was incredible to spend time all together. We love you all! Thanks for making the trip.

18 Months

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Addie is already 18 months old! Addie is becoming her own little person with her own ideas and likes and dislikes. She is starting to learn the names of our family and friends and likes to call people by name and say "hi" or point to family by name in her family photo book. She's taking interest in talking on the phone and often asks to talk to Grandma. Addie also likes to Skype and puts on a show. She has recently discovered how to jump (kind of - it's more of a skip). Addie "jumps" around while saying 'jump, jump'. She also can run fast and runs around the room when we say "ready, set, go!". Addie loves to go up and down stairs and has learned the 'slide on the bum' method. Addie now likes to watch TV and movies. She has been watching "Wow, Wow Wubzy" and "Yo Gabba, Gabba" on Nick Jr. in the afternoon before nap time. Sunday will be Addie's official 1st day of Nursery and we are thrilled. We'll see how long she lasts! It's exciting to see Addie growing, learning, and changing; however, we also have our challenging times as Addie is a willful toddler. :) We love our little girl!

Dress Up

Box Car Rides

Mason Jar Tiered Tray

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

I recently took on a "MacGyver: Mason Jar" challenge for our Relief Society Birthday Party Dinner. We were instructed to use simple mason jars to create ingenious centerpieces. I was inspired and ran with my idea. As you can see, I used black and white to keep it neutral in hopes of using it in the future. I got the cool plates from Target. I used a cookie cutter as a fun topper. The jars are filled with large lima beans and black licorice bits. Bob even helped complete the project, securing the pieces with epoxy. For the dinner, I filled the trays with yummy chocolate candy wrapped in bright spring colors. I received a lot of very nice compliments. I'm glad it came together so well. It was fun to work on a neat, creative project.

17 Months

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

It's time for the monthly Addie up-date. Two days ago, on the 14th, Addie turned 17 months old. Our little girl is a talker. Her vocab is quite extensive at this point. Addie says new words almost daily. Even when I think she doesn't understand or isn't listening, she uses the new words it seems like only a few days later. Addie has a Sesame Street Kids' Favorite Songs DVD (a Valentine's gift from Grandma and Grandpa Weber). She has fallen in love with Elmo and "Elmo's Song". It's pretty darn cute when she starts singing, "la, la, la, song". We made a short visit to Lovell at the end of February. Addie had a wonderful time being the center of attention. She got to see cows up close and even petted a newborn calf. She loved it – no fear (not yet anyway). With the recent spring weather in combination with Addie's solid ability to walk and even run, she has discovered "outside". We anticipate a fun summer :). Addie had a nursery preview last Sunday which went very well. I think she will do well in nursery. Addie's parents are ready for her to do well anyway. Addie is doing great! We sure love our little girl!