BIG Week!

Last week was a big week! Addy had her 6 month check up and she weighed 16lb 6 oz (45%) and was 27 inches long (95%). The Dr. gave the all clear to start real solid foods (besides just rice cereal) and Addy only cried for about 1/2 second when she got her shot. The nurses were really entertaining her so she didn't even really notice when they stuck her.

Saturday we had our going away/birthday party. We had over 30 people show up with tons of food and we had a great time catching up and saying goodbye. It was such a whirlwind that I forgot to get the camera out to take any pictures. :( We're really going to miss our Denver friends! Thanks to everyone for coming!

Sunday we went under contract on our Denver house (yay!) and gave Addy Paddy pureed acorn squash. She LOVED it! Below is a video of her eating it.

We have a week left in Denver before we head to Salt Lake City. We'd appreciate your prayers for. . . everything!

6 months old!

Addy turned 6 months old this last weekend! Wow! It's hard to believe so much time has passed since she joined our family. She is such a blessing! Her favorite song is Patty Cake (although we sing it Paddy Cake since we call her Addy Paddy!) and she laughs all the way through it! She's practically jumping out of her skin trying to get at our food and she continues to grow like a weed! And yes, her hair looks like that all the time, it's not static.

Addy is experimenting with new faces and sounds. She's discovered what we're calling the 'fit face.' I thought I would share it with you because not only is it very unique, you can see her little bottom teeth! She makes this face when she gets really tired. Unfortunately that has been happening a lot lately with all that's going on and with us trying to cut her back from 3 naps to 2 so she'll sleep past 4am! It is working but the only way to get through the evening without the fit face or whining is to get out for a walk. Thank the Lord for warm sunny weather!

We've been busy! We have our house on the market, we've been back to Salt Lake City house hunting, we have a going away party planned for Saturday and we move to SLC for good on April 1st!

Although we didn't find a house during our trip to SLC, it was a success because we had a good time, Addy did great (even being tired, teething, constipated and having fluid behind her eardrums!), the weather was fabulous and we think we know where in the city we want to live. We're 99% sure we're giving up our white picket fence though. :(

Brad continues to have fun being Addy Paddy's Daddy. We crack up that she is so easy going (she must have gotten that from Brad!) because it doesn't matter what you do to her, she just goes with the flow! This is Brad's favorite thing to do with Addy and he's been doing it for months but he's added a new element lately where he lets her free fall into a cradle position. She loves it! Cheap entertainment that travels well.

We stayed in a hotel all week and Addy had the loft all to herself! She even had her own bathroom and she really did enjoy every bit of it!

Thankfully after a week of house hunting (and a full day of it before flying home Friday!) Addy had her own seat on the plane and she was much happier being able to wiggle and sit up on her own.

We'd appreciate your prayers for all the upcoming logistics: Brad starting his new job, finding a house to buy, selling our house, finding temporary housing in SLC, starting real food with Addy and all the logistics with the move. Thank you!

Teeth!

I have no pictures to prove it, but this morning Addy gave me a great big smile after breakfast and I noticed 2 little white bumpy teeth just starting to peek through her gums! I can only hope that is why she decideds not sleep between 4-6am. :)

Addy has been very busy lately (besides getting teeth!) because she decided she wants to sit up (for a few minutes at a time) all by herself. She can't roll over yet but she really likes to play with her toys with both hands. I tried getting a picture of her teeth this morning but I just got her sitting up instead.

This was the first day she did it, she was very proud of herself!

Last week Mom was here to spend time with us and we were able to celebrate her birthday and my birthday together. Brad and I were also able to go out on Date #2 without Addy while Mom watched her. We went to the super cool Sushi Den for dinner and then out to Stella's coffee house for a warm cup of tea after dinner. We had some strange dishes like tempura soft shelled crab (you eat the whole thing shell and all - not so great. . . Brad said it tasted like the ocean smells. That was about right) But we also had a tempura lobster roll, seared scallops, seared tuna (shown below) and that crazy yellowtail/something else with jalepenos on it (shown below). All that was really good!

It was really nice to go out alone together so we could talk about the move and all the upcoming events. Thanks Mom!

Addy also started eating rice cereal last week. She really likes it for about 5 minutes and then she just tests my aim. Mom gave me some pointers but it still is very 'hit or miss!'

We had a really big snow (right when Mom was supposed to leave, so she didn't. . . oh darn) so Addy got to wear a super crazy snow suit when we went for a walk in the neighborhood! She spent the whole time sucking on the neck warmer part. . . gross!

Brad's mom sent us fabulous chocolate covered strawberries for my birthday that really looked just like the above picture! They were so good and very healthy since they were made of fruit and milk! :)

So far it looks like we'll be putting our house on the market in the next few weeks and heading out to Utah to house hunt in early March. It's all going so fast! We really only have a month left in Denver! :(

We're Moving!

I'm having a hard time being motivated to update the blog.  Our computer 'update' has turned out to be less than user friendly in the movie making department and blogger has decided to make annoying changes to postings as well.  It's losing the fun factor. . .

Anyway, it's been a busy month.  It's offical, we're moving to Salt Lake City so Brad can start a new job April 1st.  We didn't look for this opportunity, it just came knocking.  But, it's a promotion and it will give Brad a chance to learn more in the management arena.  So, he's going from being an auto claims supervisor to being the state manager for auto claims for Utah.  Wow!  Now that all the formalities are over, we know we have about a month and a half to get there.

So, we decided to celebrate Brad's promotion las weekend by eating at The Fort in Morrison.  It is a famous restaurant that serves wild game.  It's very Colorado.  We had rattlesnake cakes (like a crab cake but with rattlesnake meat!), quail, buffalo and elk.  It was really good and the atmosphere was fun as well.   

It was also our first time to go out without Addy. She spent the time with our neighbors, Pat, Kesa and Olivia.  She did really well and enjoyed seeing all of Olivia's toys!  Pat and Kesa are expecting Baby #2 at the end of April so they were excited to practice an evening with two kids.  Luckily it went well!

Here was the inside of the courtyard at The Fort.  It is an adobe style complex patterned after an old fort.  It was really neat and beautiful tucked up against the red rocks of Morrison.

Here's us inside the restaurant before we got our food. 

In addition to all that's been going on with us moving to SLC, Addy turned 5 months old.  She is getting so big and she is so much fun.  She isn't crying as much when she goes down for naps because she's discovered she rather likes sucking her thumb and playing with her hair in her crib.  She doesn't do it at any other time but it is sooo cute in her crib. 

We'd appreciate your prayers as we prepare for this big change.  We'll have a lot to do and it will be a HUGE change in a lot of ways.  Please pray for wisdom, peace and God's provision of a place to live there.

Thank you!

Adventures. . .

We've been having a bit of computer trouble so here's a post from 2 weeks ago. . . This last week was a busy one for us! Addy just turned 4 months old and is growing like crazy! We had her check-up yesterday and she weighs 14lb 11oz and is in the 70th% (11lb 14oz at 2 mo = 75%). She is 25.5 in long and is in the 90th% for height (23.5 in at 2 mo = 90th%). Her head circumference is 16 in and is in the 40th% (15.25 in at 2 mo = 50th%). She continues to take after me with a bit of a pin head! :) I think she remembered the Dr's office (is that even possible?!) because when I laid her down on the table to get her shot, she started crying! She didn't even wait for the poke! I guess she takes after me for that too!

We also ventured to the Museum of Nature and Science on Saturday to see the Genghis Khan exhibit. We weren't sure how this would go with Addy in the stroller but she really enjoyed it. And, when she'd had enough of swords, armor and artifacts, she fell asleep. Yay! We had a great time learning about the Mongolian culture. There was even a contortionist (a senior at our neighborhood high school) who performed. She was amazing!

Sunday, after visiting Denver's first church (150 years old!) with our neighbors, we headed to an indor rec pool to take Addy swimming for the first time. The night before, I started getting pretty nervous. . . what if she drowns, what if something happens? So Brad and I did what we do best, we did a little research on teaching infants to swim. Google 'baby swimming survival video' and watch it sometime! It's crazy! There were also some cruel looking ones where parents push their kids under water and watch them kick themselves back to the surface! Needless to say, this research only made me more freaked out. We decided that Brad should introduce Addy to the swimming pool so she wouldn't sense my nervousness. :) Actually, Addy didn't mind the pool at all! She wasn't super happy, but she was very content in the water and didn't mind being in the pool for quite some time! That was just another reminder for me of not to be fearful about new things! It was really fun and I can't wait to take Addy back to the pool!



Well. . . I don't know if it was swimming or what but Addy just spent the last week with a cold. Poor little one! She's actually been in pretty good spirits but I did take her to the Dr. after she coughed so hard she threw up all over me! Yuck! I think she's on the mend.

Christmas #2. . . finally

On Christmas Eve, Addy wore her first dress! :) She had hot pink tights to go with it (an essential, says Raguel!) but she cried and cried with the tights on. As soon as we took those off, she was as happy as can be. I suppose she takes after her mom because I don't know the last time I wore nylons! Anyway, so Addy was unlady-like all evening but she did have a great Christmas Eve.

On Christmas day, Addy slept through opening presents. We weren't about to skip nap time on such a busy day! Later, she took part in her first Davis Family White Elephant Gift Exchange. When Papo opened a blow up Pooh bear, Addy was in heaven! She laughed and giggled at that thing until mean ol' Grandpa turned it off. She was passed around from relative to relative and she really enjoyed the attention!

Later we went for a walk down by the Rio Grande. Here is Addy at her first glipse of the Rio. It was an interesting walk given it was a single track trail with cactus on either side! Luckily, Brad drove the stroller!

Here's Addy with Cousins Tiffany, Joy and James and Auntie Jenny the day after Christmas at yet another family/food get together!

After church on Sunday, Addy couldn't even keep her eyes open at lunch! She never falls asleep in anyone's arms so we knew she was REALLY tired!

Auntie Jenny got Addy some great Bible story books. Addy really likes books (and pens for some reason!) so Jenny had a captive audience for the stories! Thanks Auntie Jenny!

On our way home from Albuquerque we stopped at my Aunt Zana's house to see more family. While opening presents, my cousin Megan decided to decorate Addy's huge bald spot with a bow. Too bad she can't go around like that all the time, her bald spot is HUGE!

We really did have a great Christmas in NM. I have so much wonderful family there and we enjoyed catching up with everyone and showing off our little bundle! :)

Christmas. . . sort of

It's amazing, we're having a heck of a time getting any pictures posted from Christmas because our memory card erased (of Addy's first Christmas!!!) and the disk of photos from my parents was defective. So, I'll post this video of Addy on Christmas day at Grandpa Hulsbos' house because it's really cute of Addy laughing. I'll post some more later. . .

I started this Tick Tock game with Addy in Salt Lake City because I was trying to find some way to keep her awake and playing with very few toys around. She really loves it!

We drove to Albuquerque the day after we put Brody to sleep and stayed at Aunt Bev and Uncle Tom's about a week. We had a great time seeing TONS of family and Addy did great! She is turning into a travel pro! She stayed on her flexible schedule and slept great on whatever floor/bed she was put down on! She really enjoyed being held by whoever snatched her up and she loved all the new faces.

On our way home, we stopped in Santa Fe to see my Aunt Zana and cousins. In this photo is Jenny, me and Addy, Grandpa Hulsbos, Stella and Aunt Zana.

Dad is still totally GaGa over Addy! :)

When we got home from NM, Addy was showing a preference to be straight up in a chair, not reclining anymore so we bought her a high chair. She loves it!! She gets to sit up like a big girl and play with her toys!

When I was sitting here typing, Addy was on the floor, having just eaten (note the spit up spot on the blanket!) and I looked down and she had flipped herself over on her side. She hates tummy time so I'm not surprised that she's turning over from her back to her side before tummy to back.