Family, Friends, Food and Fun....

...and some wine too! This weekend we had a houseful of visitors. My mom's side of the family (minus Sabrina who is in New York) came to visit.  We even had a few more friends stop by on Friday night and add to the excitement - or maybe they just come for the entertainment. I'm sure they might say that this family can be entertaining at times! There is never a shortage of laughter with this group. Thanks Lee & Dave and Shawna & John for stopping by!

We celebrated a couple of birthdays, a few went shopping, others went hunting, and some just had a little R & R. 

Addison was the center of attention (imagine that!). Auntie Carmen brought Addison a bathing suit from Florida and Addison seemed to enjoy modeling for everyone. 

Grandma Carla has a way getting Addison wired to the brink of meltdown. I'm not sure what they were doing here, but I'm sure it had something to do with making Addison laugh. 

I think Grandma Carla is also responsible for this mess. She gave Addison some black beans for dinner. Addison likes the beans, but they have her terrible gas last night. She was sleeping in our room and she kept waking and crying all night. Of course, Grandma retreats to her "home" parked in the driveway and doesn't deal with the after effects!

Thanks family for coming to visit. We always enjoy the fun times that we have together. Come back and visit soon!! Maybe next time we can remember to take pictures of someone/something other than Addison!!

Beef, Its What's For Dinner

Tonight Joe cooked some yummy steaks on the BBQ. They were so tender and just perfect. Addison was eyeing our food so I gave her a few bite sized pieces. She LOVED it. Up until now, she has spit out every type of meat that we have offered her. Joe is so excited that his little girl is a beef lover!

YUMMM Chocolate!!

Joe brought home a cookie on Friday and we gave Addison a little bite. She made a big mess. I'm not sure much actually made it into her mouth. I think she enjoyed it though! 

Spring in Central Oregon?

This is the view out my front window this morning. So much for blooming tulips by Easter. I guess I"ll have to go to the nursery and buy some! Joe was very quick to inform me that the heater in the greenhouse was still on. That makes me feel a little bit better. I told him I was going to book the first flight to sunny Arizona but then I saw on the news that Arizona has wild fires...maybe Hawaii sounds good! 



Addison's little dog talks and one of the things it says is "Hug Me". This morning she was hugging it over and over. So cute. 

Family Outing

Today we decided to go snowshoeing and take Addison with us. The sky was clear and it was nearly 50 degrees at our house so we figured that it would be nice up on the mountain. We drove to Mt. Bachelor and went toward Todd Lake. The whole hike is about 3 miles. We were about 45 minutes into the hike when Addison got a little fussy in the backpack. So we stopped and checked her diaper, offered her a snack and removed a layer of clothing thinking that maybe she was hot- it was very sunny and warm. She settled down so we started out again. After about 15 minutes she was SCREAMING at the top of her lungs! There was NOTHING we could do to get her to calm down. So we decided that our tranquil walk in the snow was over and we better head back to the car. About half way back to the car she stopped crying and seemed to enjoy the adventure unless I stopped walking. As soon as I stopped, even for a moment, she started SCREAMING again. I don't know if you can tell in the photos, but this was the screaming when I stopped just long enough for Joe to take a picture.  Thank goodness there weren't many other people out trying to enjoy a tranquil walk in the woods! They would have gotten much more than they bargained for :)

 

As soon as we were back at the car and Addison was in her car seat, life was happier. I really expected her to fall asleep on the way home, but I think she must have been so wound-up, there wasn't anyway she was going to sleep. I just put her in her crib and there was about five minutes of crying and then silence! Ahhh a sleeping baby :) 

New Batteries...More Photos

The digital camera is back in working order with new batteries. Joe was sick yesterday and stayed home from work. He was really sick in the morning, but by afternoon he was feeling better. He began to babyproof the kitchen cabinets with the little latches to keep Addison out. Addison was intrigued with the drill and really wanted to help.
Addison is so close to walking! This morning she was pushing her high chair around the kitchen. She was stopped by the rug, but kept trying. Yesterday she got inside the fenced enclosure around the fireplace and started pushing the fence. She walked half way across the family room pushing the fence.

Finally, Joe was able to finish the flowerbeds in front of the house. When we moved in, there was just a mound of bark with a few flowers planted. This year we'll have some real flowerbeds to plant flowers - lots of flowers! I think I have over 150 seed starts in my greenhouse right now!!

Rachel, I'm not sure that you can see the crocus buds, but they really are there. Sorry that you still have so much snow. YUCK!

Darn Batteries!

Joe has a thing for rechargeable batteries. He won't let me buy new batteries for the digital camera, I have to find the rechargeable ones and use those. Well, this weekend every time I wanted to take a picture I got the message "battery depleted" - even after the batteries were charged! Today when I go to the store I'll get some new batteries. Hopefully by the end of today I'll have a photo of the flower beds that Joe built over the weekend! 

Rachel, just for you...I'll take a picture of the tulips and crocuses that are starting to bloom :) 

Well Baby

Addison had her 10 month well baby exam on Monday. She weighs 18 lbs and is 281/2 inches long. That puts her in the 20th percentile for weight and 70th for height.  This was a good visit because there weren't any shots! 

Who is Mother Goose and What was She Thinking?

Have you ever wondered why nursery rhymes have such horrible endings? Joe and I were online one night trying to figure out the words of some nursery rhymes. They seem so innocent but when you start to say them to your baby you wonder if you really should. Maybe it's ok until they really understand what the nursery rhyme says. They don't leave a very nice image in your mind when you read them. Here are some well know nursery rhymes with not so great endings...

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall:

All the king's horses and all the king's men

Cannot put Humpty Dumpty together again. 

Jack and Jill went up the hill,

to fetch a pail of water,

Jack fell down and broke his crown 

and Jill came tumbling after.

Jerry Hall was so small, 

a rat could eat him, hat and all!!

There was an old woman who live in a shoe.

She had so many children she didn't know what to do.

She gave them some broth without any bread.

She whipped them all soundly and put them to bed. 

Three blind mice. See how they run!

They all ran after the farmers wife,

Who cut off their tails with a carving knife.

Did you ever see such a thing in your life

As three blind mice?

There are some others that were even worse, but too long to type here. Check out www.mothergoose.com for the words to some of your favorites and even some lesser known nursery rhymes (probably good that they stay lesser known!).