Happy Easter!

I was reading Matt & Rachel's blog today and noticed that it has been two month since this blog was updated! Yes, we're due for an update...

In February, Joe and I spent two weeks with my family in New Zealand while Addison stayed with Grandma & Grandpa Roberts. I know that we had a great time, and I'm pretty sure that Addison had a good time too :) Here are a few photos. I really wish that this blog site made it easier to upload photos!

Watch out for the Kiwi's! The bird...not the natives :)

Our trip was mostly cycling. We cycled the Central Otago Railtrail from one end to the other. It was my first experience on a mountain bike and I love it! Here we've just reached the end of the trail and now we get on our road bikes. 

A monument to the Border Collie. 

Yes, it does rain in New Zealand. I think everyone in the group had given up on riding this day. 

Franz Josef Glacier in the rain.

Sunset in Queenstown. This was my favorite town in New Zealand. It was beautiful!

In March, we visited the High Desert Museum in Bend. Addison enjoyed the animals. It was VERY cold that day, so we stayed inside most of the time. 

She liked watching Speedy, the turtle, move but we couldn't convince her to pet him. 

This is our most successful potty training day yet. She actually told Joe that she needed to go potty. 

One night Addison decided to put daddy "night, night". She took every blanket, sheet, towel, wash cloth, mattress pad that she could find in her dresser and covered Joe up. She was so proud of herself, but frustrated because she couldn't get the blankets to cover his arms. 

Addison went on an Easter Egg hunt today. We celebrated Easter with friends here in Redmond. Addison was really getting into finding the eggs and it went much better than the downtown egg hunt that we went to yesterday. I think that yesterday there were so many people and eggs it was very overwhelming to her. 

After the Easter Egg hunt yesterday...

I haven't been working since we got home from New Zealand so Addison and I have had lots of time for playdates, library story time and gymnastics. Addison's favorite activity is gymnastics and everyday she asks for "jumpy jumpy".  My new sanctuary is an 8x12 greenhouse. I've already been able to start veggies, plants and a few hanging baskets. It is truly a sanctuary when the outside temperature is 40 and the temp in the greenhouse is 80! My own tropical paradise :) We are all looking forward to spring staying permanently! 

Little Monkey

Addison has successfully learned how to get out of her crib :( I am not excited about the new skill that she has mastered. On Monday, she ended up taking her nap on the floor. Bedtime went well until about 1am when she got out of her crib and made her way into our bedroom. She spent the rest of the night in the pack and play.

Last night, Joe took the front off the crib so that it becomes a toddler bed. Addison didn't want anything to do with her new bed. She only wanted to sleep in the twin bed that is also in her room. So, we put a side rail on the twin bed and she went to sleep. That was pretty easy. Then at 2am, she was in our room again. UG! Too tired to deal with it, we put her in the pack & play and she went to sleep. 

I was dreading nap time, but she was asleep in about 5 minutes and only got out of bed once. Hopefully tonight is just as easy! We've got to get tough and make her stay in her room...easier said than done. She does look cute in her new big bed.

Athsuuun

I downloaded 140 pictures from my camera today...here are some of my favorites.

Addison has become quite a bookworm. She loves to have books read to her. She and Joe have a new weekend ritual. She climbs into our bed with her favorite books and he reads to her. couldn't resist this photo op today.

Addison has been taking a weekly gymnastics class for about 2 months. When she started she would sit in the middle of the mats and cry for the whole hour. After two weeks, I was ready to give up. The third week something happened...she started having fun. After about two months, she will let the teacher touch her, she jumps on the trampoline and even will go upside down around the bar. Just last week Addison decided to jump off the trampoline into the foam pit all by herself. This is about a 3 foot drop!

Addison is learning to talk and will say her name, but it sounds something like "Athsssuuun". She's also doing well with "peas" and "dank a". Her new favorite word is "jumpy", but that sounds more like "dumpy" and her favorite activity is jumping on beds, couches, and when she can't get on either of those, she'll settle for the floor.

I have more great pictures, but this silly blogger is frustrating me. I'll try another day. I'll try not to go so long between posts :)

New Pictures

Wow! It's been a long time since our last post. Here are some cute pictures of Addison.

This is in South Dakota the first day we were there and the only day that it didn't rain. It was still cold!

Addison is learning to garden :) She like to push her wheelbarrow, but doesn't want to put anything in it. 

Multi-tasking? 

Dad's little couch potato! 

Addison's New Trick

While Addison was eating lunch today, I was cleaning up the kitchen and getting a few things done while she was strapped into a chair. I remember thinking that she was VERY quiet - oddly quiet. When I looked at her I noticed that she was shoving corn up her nose!

I was able to get two or three kernels out, but there were more up there. The doctors office suggested putting pepper up her nose to get her to sneeze. That got one more out. Then they suggested plugging one side of her nose and blowing in her mouth. That got one more kernel out. There was still at least one left WAY up in Addison's nose, so I made an appointment to go to the doctor's office. In the meantime, I got out the bulb syringe and got out two more kernels. At least one was STILL in there. 

Our appointment wasn't for about three hours, so Addison and I went outside to play. Joe wanted to take a look, he was pretty sure he could get this last piece of corn out of Addison's nose. We were getting ready to leave the house when Addison came running to me saying "mama, mama" and held out her hand with a piece of corn. AH HA the last piece of corn. 

I took her to Joe just in case, and he didn't see anymore corn in her nose! I guess all I needed to so was let her run around for awhile to get that corn out :) No more corn, peas, beans, or anything of similar size for Addison! 

Road Trip Revisited

Our visit to Mt. Rushmore. It was cold and windy, but we enjoyed the history. This was the best part of the vacation for me. The rainy three days in eastern South Dakota were very uneventful. 

Addison enjoyed jumping in the leaves that were piled up in the campground. 

We visited the "World Famous" Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota. They are famous for donuts and 9 cent coffee. The donuts were pretty good, the coffee was very bad. I really did miss Starbucks. Wall Drug is like a city inside a big building. It really was amazing. Addison and I found our way to the playground and couldn't resist this photo op. 

Grandma Dena and I left the hunting party a day early and drove the scenic drive through the Badlands National Park. The Badlands are amazing. You could easily spend a day or more exploring all the trails and fossils that are inside the park. We just did the quick drive through. 

FINALLY, here are some pictures of our trip to South Dakota. I really wanted to get some pictures of the hunting, but the weather was so bad, I didn't even get a chance to see where they were hunting. Joe said it wasn't like anything he's ever hunted before.  There were LOTS of pheasants, but they were hard to shoot. 

I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up

Yes, we made it home from our LONG roadtrip. We did take a side trip with the intention of going to yellowstone, but once we got within 50 miles we found out that everything except the roads were closed for the winter. Add that to the 20 degree temps and the huge wind and we decided to just come home. We finally got home on Tuesday afternoon. 

So...onto my story. On Friday, I came home from the gym and had to go into the house through the garage because I forgot my house key. I set down all my stuff and went back to get Addison out of the car and I stepped on a randomly placed shoe and heard a "pop" in my right ankle. I really couldn't get up. Then I was in a real pickle because I was sitting on the floor of the garage and Addison was still in the car. Luckily, I had my cell phone in my pocket so I called Joe and told him he had better come home. I was sure that my ankle was broken. While waiting for Joe to get home, I was able to hobble to the car and get Addison. She thought it was pretty funny that I was hopping on one leg everywhere. 

Joe took me to the vet clinic for x-rays. Luckily nothing was broken, but I still couldn't walk on it. I  spent most of Friday on the couch with my foot elevated  and packed in ice. I even used crutches for most of the day when I had to move around. I was really bummed that I didn't get to go to the midnight workout at our gym, but I guess that I had a good excuse. 

Today I'm getting around much better. Although I did trip in the driveway and catch myself wit the bad leg. Luckily, the garbage can was only half a step away. Joe said that he is going to get me a Life Alert for Christmas. You know...one of those buttons that old people have to call 911 when they can't get up. I think Joe just doesn't want me to bother him at work again :0

Oh yeah, I can't forget. Addison went potty in her own potty for the first time today!!!