Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

...but in the house, it is so delightful!!  Today we have had quite the day for winter weather.  Last night it began as rain and later this morning turned into snow.  We have had snow all day, and now it is blowing like crazy!  We are in a blizzard warning, and when you live on top of a hill like we do, you certainly get the best of it!!  And, of course now that the weather is so awful, Addie seems to think that she wants to go "bye" all the time.  Dragging me to the door saying "bye", taking her coat and attempting to put it on, only to find that momma will not let her go out!  She is getting her snow gear for Christmas, so just a few more weeks and I will let her go and play all she wants (weather permitting) in the snow!

Even though we seem to be stuck inside, we find lots to do in the house!!  Addie is so active that I don't get as much done as I would like, but it is so worth being able to spend that time with her all day!  She is learning so much and we try to work on new skills every day!  She is beginning the "helpful" stage and helps momma clean around the house.  She picks up her dirty laundry, her toys, and puts things in the garbage!  I am LOVIN' IT, and just hoping that this will last for years and years!!

Today we decided to bake some cookies (or "num, nums" as Addie calls them) since the weather was SO cruddy!  Notice the white-out conditions through the patio doors!  We called Max to come over and we baked away!  Max and Addie had a blast helping out...

...and enjoyed it even more when they were able to eat them!!

Finger-lickin' good!!

And to document...this is actually Addison's VERY FIRST cookie!  She kept saying "more, more, more..." when she was done with the first one!!  Mean ol' momma didn't give her another!

Another first for the day...Our first bloody nose.  Yep, she went face first on a fall and had a bloody nose.  The worst part was that she really likes to blow her nose, and when she blows, she blows really hard!  So blood was all over...ugh!  She only cried for about a minute and then was over it! 

When daddy came in, mommy had put him to some much needed work around the house!

Like fixing our sink in the bathroom...

which Addie insisted on helping him with!!

Here is more to share of our lives lately...

Addie has gotten her own laptop to pound on...and she absolutely LOVES it!  It was given to us by a friend and it really seems to keep her away from mine!  Here we are on the couch.  Mommy working on her paperwork and Addie doing her thing!

We love brushing our teeth, but we were struggling with keeping Addie from running around the house while doing so.  I would bring her in and sit her down with her toothbrush and before we knew it, she was up and running with it in her mouth.  Thank goodness we have a quick learner.  After a few run-offs and mommy taking her toothbrush away, followed by a tantrum, she has learned to SIT!  I tell Addie that it is time to brush our teeth.  Her response is "ELMO!!" because that is who is on her toothbrush.  She runs to the bathroom and plops down right on the floor!  What a smart little girl!!

Addie has really started to attach to her monkey.  She has to sleep and nap with him, and has him around much of the day.  She feeds him, gives him drinks, brushes his hair, gives kisses, and lot of hugs!  Here she is cuddling on the couch getting her daily fix of Elmo.

We also had friends over last week.  It was much overdo.  We had a blast, even though Addie really did not want to go to bed and miss out on all the action!

And for other news....Aunt Debbie is coming home for the holidays!!  She lives in Hawaii and she is coming home to single digit temperatures!!  She must be crazy, but we are so excited to see her!  The last time she saw Addie, she was only a little over a month old!

With 12 inches of snow expected throughout tonight and tomorrow, and blizzard conditions, I don't think we will be doing much tomorrow either!  Church is already canceled, so no teaching for me tomorrow.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring...

One year ago today...

...we celebrated Addie's baptism.

Happy baptism, Addie!

Christmas Card Pictures...

The other night I was trying to get a good picture of Addison in front of the Christmas tree for our Christmas card.  We had such a great time, although it did take several clicks of the camera.  Mainly because she was being such a goof.  I would do something funny and her little eyes would squint in laughter and she would put her head down she was laughing so hard.  Then we got a little grumpy so mommy had to give her some snacks in between pictures!  BUT we did get a good one for the card!!  Mission accomplished!! 

So I had to share the many faces of our little Addison.  This isn't even half of the pictures we had to take!  I counted 34 pictures on the camera of Addie in front of the tree!  Here are a few of the favorite faces she made!  Although, the one that ended up on the card is not on the post...

She is such a goof!  Just like her daddy, really!  There is never a dull moment in this house! 

When daddy got in the house we took our family picture for the card!  I think we had a few turn out pretty well!  Now I just need to order them today!!

Have a great day!!

Our Visit to Santa...

Lets just begin this post by saying that last year Addison's visit to Santa was.......well, easy!

This year...NOT the case.  The pictures tell the whole story...

 

 

The end.
Until next year that is!

'Tis the Season...

...for ordering your Christmas cards!!  Since Dan and I were married in 2006 we have sent out Christmas card to our family and friends all over the country.  It is that time of the year again to get them ordered and designed!  This year Shutterfly is offering a fabulous promotion to get 50 free photo cards!  All you have to do is promote their products in your blog post!  They have so many great products to offer so it makes this post pretty easy!  I love turning my pictures into something you can cherish each and every day!

Click HERE to go and check out all the Christmas photo cards Shutterfly has to offer.  They have so many great choices.  I am excited to come to a decision on what one our family is going to chose to send out this year!  After I finally pick out the design, I am for sure going to struggle with picking out the pictures to display from our year.  I think I have taken thousands of them, so it will take some time, but it is well worth it to have a wonderful Christmas card to send out!

Another product that I have been considering for some of our family is their calendars.  Would it not be awesome to have pictures from each month of Addie's life last year.  You can look at it every day and see just how much things can change in one year!  She grows up so fast!  To see the calendar selection that Shutterfly has to offer please click HERE!!

This year for Addison's birthday I ended up making our own invites, but next year, I am certainly going to order them from Shutterfly!!  Making our own ended up being more work than I had ever anticipated.  It was fun, but very time consuming.  How fun would it be to put her pictures on her invite and all you have to do is download a few pictures, put them on the card, and order.  Sounds like a MUCH easier process!!  To see all their birthday card selections click HERE!!

I am so excited to get our Christmas cards ordered for this year!  I MUST get my list ready.  It seems to grow each year, and what a blessing that is to have wonderful family and friends to send my Shutterfly Christmas card to!!

If you are a blogger and are interested in this promotion go to...
http://bit.ly/sfly2010