Aunt Emily Came To Visit

Aunt Emily was down for a quick visit from Seattle to watch her sister's senior harp recital.  We were so glad that she was able to have a nice Sunday breakfast with the family. 

We can't wait to spend more time together in October when we go on our family vacation!

Watermelon

Addison is such a good eater.  She will eat everything and anything we put on her tray (except Kale - we tried that last night and it wasn't a hit).  This past week we introduced her to watermelon.  She didn't want us to cut it up for her, although we did, but she just loved picking up the huge chunk and eating it.

Totally ladylike, wouldn't you agree?

Oregon Trip

So the old blogger loaded all the pictures backwards.  Well the new one, apparently puts them in the order you choose them.  I'm too lazy to re-upload all of them and so we'll tell you about our Oregon trip in reverse. 

Addison and I went to Oregon for a quick visit to use up a southwest flight credit that Oliver and I had.  Addison had a fever of 103 and was sick all but one day we were there.  She literally was awake 4 hours or less the first day we were there.  She did get a little better as the visit went on, but she only wanted me to hold her, she was clingy, and she just didn't feel great.  She had no patience at all - at home when she falls over or topples she just keeps trying again and again...but in Oregon she would just melt down everytime.  I am still glad that we went and it was nice to visit my family.  Hopefully next time she will be more herself and we will get out of the house a little more.

Nana got a gate pass on our way home and she and Addison played while we waited to board the plane to come home.  Addison was fairly fussy in the airpot and I was trying to calm her.  My mom reminded me that everyone was stareing at us and thinking that they wouldn't want to sit by us and so I should let her fuss as a deterrent.  Well, it worked, we had a whole row to ourself on the way home (Addison cried the first 10 minutes of the flight and then spread out on two seats and slept the rest of the way). 

Addison did love watching everyone deboard the plane because they all waved at her and said hi.

My mom was nannying the time that we were there and so we stayed with her and the Prusinski house (which was amazing).  The last night we were there we took the kids and dog to the park, met up with Kel and had a quick dinner at Wendy's after.  Here's Sam running with the dog...

And Addison trying to eat the camera...

Playing pat-a-cake with Aunt Kel

Baby ducks!

Walker and the ducklings.

Walking around the lake.

Emma

Swinging.

Sam pushing Addison

While we were up there we made it up to see my dad.  We didn't stay very long because I had to wake Addison up from a three-hour nap to make the 45 minute drive and then we just visited for an hour before taking her home for another 3.5 hour nap.  But I was really glad to have at least said hello.

Addison with grandpa and her new bear.

Addison in grandpa's rocking chair.

Because Addison slept most of the days - we didn't go out while we were in town.  In fact, I don't think I have spent so little money on a visit home EVER!  Maybe it was good she was sick so we can convince dad to let us go back and be able to prove that we won't break the bank :)  In the short times she was awake we just played around the house.

The weather was gorgeous and we spent time playing on the deck overlooking the woods.

Nana brought Addison a riding toy to play with (that also pops up so she can walk with it) and she was able to push herself backwards.

Addison was fascinated watching the baby in the glass door do what she was doing...

Walking

The kids didn't get to see a whole lot of Addison and they were amazed that she was always asleep.  But she was still up by 6 or so in the morning and so we all played before school.

Oliver was really sad for us to be going on a trip without him.  But he came with us to the airport and got a gate pass to help me down to the gate for Addison's first plane ride.  Flying wasn't nearly as bad as a I thought.  She slept most of both flights because we didn't have to share our row and she could stretch out.  She doesn't sleep while being held so I'm not sure how well she would have done otherwise, but luckily I didn't have to find out. 

We won't make it up to Oregon again this year - but hopefully we'll get to go again next year and hopefully Addison won't be sick the next time around!

Snow in May...

The only nice thing about snow in May is that there is nothing cuter than a baby girl in a wind breaker. 

 

Seriously - I love wind breakers - they remind me of childhood and I plan for Addison to have one in every size.  It's a good thing that I bought this one and the next size from Babies 'R Us for $4 on clearance.  It makes my dream that much more of a reality!

9 Months - A Little Late

We took Addison's pictures and stats awhile ago but I just haven't posted them.  She is getting to the age where it is really hard to get a good picture of her with her sign.  So here's how it worked out...

Look mom - I'll look at you for a quick second and show you how tall I'm getting and how cute I am.

Oh goody, look over there, I think I see something...

Wait while I lower myself down...

I still have my eye on the prize...

Oh my goodness, I'm getting closer...

But I'm going to crawl after it...

Yeah - nice you picked me up and placed me where you wanted me, but I don't look that happy about it...

I seriously am trying to get to something else - see ya!

So our days go.  She has developed a mind of her own.  She actually crawled for the first time on May 8th.  But she stands against everything, she walks while you hold her hands, she tries to let go of your hand holding and flings herself in the direction she wants to go - luckily she hasn't face planted yet.  She is a tiny monster during church (1-4 church = YUCK).  She now has 7 teeth (4 top and 3 bottom).  She feeds herself consistently but hasn't quite figured out a sippy cup.  She'll eat everything and anything that is offered to her. 

She is starting to develop some stranger anxiety - not exactly stranger anxiety but just she has her own will and doesn't want her boundaries crossed or challenged.  She will cry if you pick her up and she doesn't want to be, if you pass her and she doesn't want to be, if you make her do something that she doesn't want to do.  She cries fairly consistently when you lay her down to change her diaper or clothes.  For all her spunk - she is the light in our home.  We love the personality she is developing and she is a definite person - not an object to be handled.  She exerts her independce and it is refreshing. 

She weighs 20.1 pounds and is 28 inches long.  She's still getting "skinny" and is now only in the 70th and 65th percentiles for weight and height. 

This picture was taken on the day of Addison's 9 months.  We spent the day in Logan to help some friends move.  Oliver stayed home to study and Addison had a practice dose of Benadryl to see how she would react, more on that later. 

Baby Boy Butterfield's Shower

One of my best friends is having her first baby.  She is going to make the best mother!  We celebrated her coming arrival just a little early so that we could find a date that worked for all of us...it's really hard to do as we grow our families, move further apart and work.  It was a much needed girls night that was wonderful!

I found this cute sailors hat to top her gift with (since she is a sailor it was very fitting).  Anyway, I thought I was so clever stuffing the hat with a shopping bag to make it stand up.  Not only did it look cute but it was totally functional because she had a babies 'r us bag to take everything home in!  Brilliant - and you can tell by her laugh that she thinks I'm brilliant too!

The gang.

Repulsive

I LOVE talk radio.  I don't know why - and I really hate the commercials - but I do love the news and stories and I'm just not that much of a music radio person.  As I was driving to work listening to the radio this morning I heard a story that made me SICK!

Brian David Mitchell (the man who kidnapped Elizabeth Smart - recently convicted of kidnapping, sexual assault and burglary).  Anyway, Mitchell repeatedly raped Smart in the 8 months he held her captive, sometimes multiple times daily and forced her to watch pornographic films.  He often forced her to drink alcohol to lower her resistance.  Once, when she vomited after drinking a large portion of alcohol, she was forced to sleep face-down in the vomit.  May 25, 2011 is the proposed date for sentencing of Brian David Mitchell.

The defense is arguing for a lesser sentence for him since Elizabeth is well adjusted, moving on with her life (she attended BYU to study music before leaving to serve an LDS mission in France) and appears to have healed past this experience that what Brian David Mitchell did to her COULDN'T HAVE BEEN THAT BAD!

I understand the need for everyone to have a good defense and be well represented - but this approach is sickening to me.  Because she turned out okay he shouldn't have to suffer the consequence of his crime?  What kind of attorney could sleep with themselves at night and make that argument?  No honestly, I don't understand how you could argue that a person should be less punished for their crime because their victim responded positively to the situation and is successfully putting life back together.  How could the attorney feel that their is any integrity in your work or live with yourself for discrediting the experience of the victim?

This story made me want to hurl - it may be from my own personal experiences of choosing to heal, move forward, forgive, love and be successful - but I feel that this approach is awful.  Whether or not this approach works for Brian's attorneys I honestly can't understand how discounting Elizabeth's valiance changes the gruesome actions that occurred or the price that should be paid because of them.

I don't pretend to want to be the one deciding his sentence, I don't want to decide his fate - but lessening what happened to the victim is criminal and repulsive...

This is Why

Our cousin Bryan caught a picture that explains why there are never any pictures of me...

I always seem to be taking the pictures.

- Posts of our trip to come -

Facial Softening - My New Skill

We were doing a Mother's Day craft with our young women which involved taking pictures of all the girls.  I think the teen years are rough - middle school, acne, boys, changing bodies, boundary pushing with the parents - all of it.  In an effort to help the girls see themselves how we see them - beautiful, loving, friendly, kind - I worked on enhancing their pictures to bring out their inner beauty.  I wasn't trying to make the girls look like models or have fake looking perfection - I was just trying to soften and enhance.  The goal wasn't perfect skin and loosing ten pounds - I believe that women are beautiful just they way they are - just sometimes you want that stupid zit to go away!

I taught myself a few new photoshop tricks - making eyes bluer, making skin zit-less, evening skin tones, etc.  I'm pretty proud of my new skill and the confidence that the girls all felt when they saw their pictures.  The left is SOOC (straight out of camera) and the right is my attempt to learn some editing skill. 

PS Click on the pictures to enlarge and see the full effect and yes I am happy to edit your pictures too :)
PPS These pictures are posted with Kadi's permission.

Rub My Belly

A woman at church rubbed my belly and asked if I was having a having a baby brother for Addison -

um no!

 Does it make it more socially acceptable and endearing that she is in her 80s?