So with all the anybody's out there that can look in our lives, we've decided to make our blog private. If you'd like to be invited to view our blog leave a comment below with your name and email address so we can add you to the list. I'd like to make it private by the end of the year so that gives you a few more weeks. Happy Holidays!!

You often hear from other people how when children are learning that they often have "explosions" where they all of a sudden just get it, whereas yesterday or even a few hours ago they didn't comprehend. This "explosion" as it were, happened with Addie about a month ago and Mitch and I have been scrambling to keep up with all the new things she is learning especially with her language skills. As a mother I've come to respect magic not as an illusionists art form but rather as something I see everyday from my one year old. It's amazing how you put her to bed at night after teaching her something that day that she just didn't quite get the hang of like the word and sign "duck" and the next day when she wakes up, before you even bring that word up again, she is saying and signing it like a pro, therefore magic must have happened in her sleep and no smoke and mirrors or special affects were necessary. Here are a few of her words and signs that she has been saying and doing consistently.

1. More= "Mo"= one hand pointing into the open palm of the other hand ( she has now started say "mo dis" and pointing to the "this" that she wants)
2. Milk= "mil"=open and closing fist (this sign she uses exclusively for nursing, and now that she figured out she can ask to nurse, she asks about every hour or so)
3. Bath = "ba"= both hands starting at chest and going down across tummy
4. Duck= "cuck cuck" or quack quack thumb and forefinger opening and closing
5. Drink= C shaped hand tipped back and forth at mouth
6. Papa= "papa" forefinger pointing to temple
7. Puppy= both hands patting chest
8. Kitty= "meow" hand sweeping across face
9. Soft Soft( her little cuddly)"Sof sof" hand sweeping across mouth
10. Light= "li" hand extended toward the light, open and close the fist
11.Snack= "sna" fingers and thumb closed together moving toward mouth
12. Belly= "ally" pat the tummy
13. Blanket= "b"
14. Baby= "ba...by" she always seems to put a pause between the two syllables
15. Hot= blowing air out in little stream
16. Shoes= "zzz's" she always finds her shoes for me when we go someplace
17. Ball= "Ball"
18. Book= "Book"
19. Up= "up"
20. Out= "ou"
21. Up Stairs= "Uh Sta"
22. Wind= "WHhi" She sits next to the heater vent when it comes on so we started calling it wind because she could feel the air moving across her hair and face.
23. Addie= "A... D" once again she puts a pause in between the two syllables.

She also tries to do the actions to some nursery songs like:
"The Eency Weency Spider" moves her hands up and down like the spider
"Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" which she started doing this week ( for the knees and toes she just bends her legs up and down like she's doing a little squat, but she touches her head and shoulders)
"Once There was a Snowman" melts with me to the ground

It has been so much fun to watch her learn new things and I am constantly amazed by my little magician.

These are some great family photos that our friend Brooke Hedin took for us during the summer. They all turned out so well, especially Addie who is always a cutie patutie. Thanks Brooke.

Halloween this year was a lot of fun. I got to make Addie's first Halloween costume and Mitch and I dressed up too. Addie was a Bug in a rug, Mitch was a Maharajah, and I was a pirate. I found Mitch's costume in a local Goodwill and just happened to have a length of creme colored fabric that he used as the turban. You can't see his shoes in any of the pictures but they had a rounded pointy toe on them. Addie and I went to the Medical College of Wisconsin to do there trick or treat Halloween party that is put on by the spouses association. We were invited by some of our friends and although Addie didn't collect any candy from the rooms that were giving it out, she did have fun walking up and down the halls and she collected a bag of animal crackers and tiny Oreo cookies which she dutifully carried in each hand until we left. Afterward I took her to Hoyt park to take some pictures in the fall leaves in her costume which was a lot of fun.
On Halloween we went to a party hosted by our friends the Larsons. There was a great turnout and some great costumes.It was fun to see everyone take on a different persona in their outfits. When we got home we decided to take some pictures next to our lighted Jack O' Lanterns and while we were out there trying to light the candles some trick or treater rang our neighbors doorbell so we asked if Addie could get her first candy Halloween treat, which she did. Twizzlers are unfortunately a little hard for one year olds to chew so Mitch or I will probably have to eat them.
I have really good memories of Halloweens past. Trunk or Treats in the stake center parking lot, eating sticky glazed doughnuts and drinking hot chocolate, going to the Ritzy houses hoping to get some extra big treats, which were almost never had. I think I actually got pencils once from one of those homes, pencils! of all things. Well Mitch wanted to hand out toothpaste to the kids so I guess pencils will have to pass too. Here in Wisconsin you have to register to trick or treat which is a good idea for safety's sake but I think it's made the holiday here not as big as it could be because it kind of is a hassle to do so and so it discourages people from actually going through with it. If only the world was more trustworthy we could all have a safe and happy and kid friendly Halloween!!

For FHE tonight we got to carve our pumpkins that have patiently been waiting to turn into jack o' lanterns for a few weeks now. Mitch had the squat round pumpkin and I had the tall lanky one, I think our jack o' lantern faces turned out really well and they are both fitting as one is scary (Mitch's) and the other one is scared (Mandy's) they go perfectly together, like Mitch and I you could say, except not with those adjectives. Addie was not so into the pumpkin carving. Although she has loved going to two pumpkin patches this year, she did not like the slimy insides of our pumpkins, nor the stringy guts and seeds that came out of them. It sure was fun to start this tradition for Halloween, maybe next year she will be more willing to dig in. Now to enjoy some roasted pumpkin seeds. Mmm, mmmm.

Yesterday was Addie's first birthday.I can't believe how the time has flown by. Time seems to move a little differently when you have a kid. Growing up, time is marked by school semesters, summer breaks, sports seasons, end of term exams etc. Time at home with Adelaide has been marked by smiling at us for the first time, holding her head up by herself, sitting up, eating solid foods, crawling, walking, talking, signing, and all these things seems to begin to compound indefinitely as she gets older. She has started to learn new things each day now and big ticket items are becoming a thing of the past as she is working now at a year of age to refine her motor skills, pick up on vocabulary in words and sign language, begin to imitate people and things around her and the list goes on. The other day I commented to Mitch how much time I squandered during her early months just lounging around the house, watching movies I had rented from the library and dabbling in little projects. When she was little she slept most of the day away and now every moment is filled with some new adventure that she is getting into, whether it be pulling all the kitchen towels out of the drawer, climbing the stairs, playing with her toys, or playing outside in the mud, how time is spent now certainly has changed for the both of us.
She had two such adventures yesterday that weren't so welcome, especially it being her birthday. Yesterday morning as I was removing the sheets on the bed to be washed and putting the new ones on, I had piled the comforter at the foot of the bed to get it out of the way and Addie, being comparatively new at the whole walking bit, tripped on the curled up blankies and fell onto the edge of the metal bed frame, causing a red and black line to form right above her left eye, which has now turned a dark purple. The second "birthday bonk", happened as I was taking her to be tended at Meghan Schows home, so I could help at the dental school putting together dental screening packets for the head start program. We arrived a little early so I parked and decided to let Addie walk up the side walk from the car to the front door. She meanders a little bit as she walks, looking at new things and occasionally stopping to pick things up, so I thought it would eat up some time by letting walk. After going a little ways she stooped over to pick up a small stick she had spotted and after standing up and taking only a few steps, down she went, tripping on some unseen object and because her hands were full of sticks, she didn't catch herself on her hands, but let her forehead take the blunt force of the sidewalk. So now she has a matching bruise and abrasion on the right side of little head. Birthday bonks are no fun, I'm just glad she didn't land on the sticks she had just picked up.
At first Mitch and I weren't going to have a little party for her because she is only turning one and it's not like she knows what a birthday is or is going to remember it, but we decided to celebrate after all with some cake and a few presents.
She received presents from both sets of grandparents, her Uncle Matt and Aunt Christy and the boys, her Uncle BJ and Aunt Heather and Tristan, and Mitch and I. She now has some new warm winter clothes including boots, sweaters, pj's, socks, snowpants, and frog galoshes, and also a cute double sided bib, and a baby Einstein book that makes sounds and has pictures that are hidden under flaps on the pages. She got two new toys from Mitch and I, a stackable wooden toy and a shapes toy. She loved all her new presents and especially loved putting the wooden toys in to the new green galoshes, then taking them out again, then putting it back in again. Silly kid. Grandma Cheryl Christiansen joined us over Skype for the cake ceremony and happy birthday song. We put the whole cake in front of Addie and at first she wasn't quite sure that she wanted to touch it, but then she started to dig in her little fingers and fling the cake towards Mitch. Mitch was pretending to lick it up off of her high chair tray and she, being our little imitator, started to do the same thing, which was adorable of course. We tried to have her blow the candle out at exactly 6:48pm the time she was born, but we were a little slow in finding something to light the candle with, Mitch could only find his little propane torch, so that's what he used to light her little candle and she blew it out a little after the 6:48 mark.
I can't imagine what this next year will hold, I'm sure more amazing times with little Adelaide Anne are on the way, and the time will be pleasantly marked by her life's goals and achievements.

This morning I participated in my first ever 5k run. One of the ladies from the Milwaukee 1st Ward, Meghan Schow, put on the first annual Relief Society 5K run, walk and stroll for us sisters that needed a little motivation to get up and go. 14 ladies showed up on this cold morning to run, walk or stroll the 3.1 mile loop that started at Hart Park, went down Menomonee River Parkway, turned onto Historic Church Street, then left onto Rogers Ave,right onto 81st, then left onto Jackson Park Boulevard, a little loop around to 94th, then back onto Swan Boulevard and into Hart Park again. When I first started out it was a little chilly and I was glad I remembered to take a pair of gloves, but after the blood started pumping it turned out to be the perfect morning for the run, because you got hot running, but you weren't sweltering from the temperature outside. Mitch counseled me to keep a steady pace so in following with his wisdom I did just that and ended up running the course in 30 minutes and 32 seconds coming in second. Not that the race was a competition against each other. I was just happy to have run the whole course and to have done a 10 minute mile which I didn't expect. I was thinking I would do it in about 40 minutes, so I exceeded my expectations, which is always satisfying. I'm looking forward to the next one!

For a family outing we decided to take Addie to "Apple Holler" an apple orchard and pumpkin patch about a half an hour away from our home. We didn't have much time but we spent a little bit picking out two pumpkins and letting Addie explore the Pumpkin Patch. She patted the pumpkins and felt the scratchy stems and had a wonderful time. It was a little rainy, cold and muddy, but well worth it to get some pumpkins!

So Mitch had about 3 weeks off during the summer in between summer and fall semesters at Marquette. He had a lot of fun playing with Addie and spending time with us and also some visitors from home, his dad and brother. They came out for a couple of days to visit with us and while they were here we got to see some sights of Wisconsin, The Miller Brewery, which isn't the most worthwhile place we could have taken them, but it was interesting to see how the brew is made and learn the history of the brewery which was started back in the late 1800's by a Friedrich Miller. The saying of the day was "Miller Time" and we had the occasion to see the production line, packaging lines, storage facilities, boiling and fermentation, and the "Historic Caves" where they used to store the beer underground with ice from a nearby lake. We also visited the Miller Inn where all the other guests on the tour sampled some of their varieties. When we told the waitress and the tour guide that none of us four adults were having any, they gave us some weird looks, and the tour guide said that that was a first for her, someone refusing the free booze.
The second place we got to visit with the Grandpa Oliver and Mike were the Boerner Botanical Gardens. It was a pretty chilly and overcast day when we went but it was fun to walk around and see the flowers that were blooming. The rose garden I thought left a little something to be desired, but all the other flowers and plants were pretty and some were very interesting. There was a big butterfly sculpture that we put Addie on and she loved it, she grabbed right onto those antanae and went for a ride. Grandpa and Mike were a little camera shy the whole time but we were able to get a few good ones in, I especially loved Grandpa's funny faces in the rose garden, which are about all the pictures we got out of him. We loved having them visit us and hope we can have more visitors soon!!

I feel like I've been neglecting Mitch and all his accomplishments, in lieu of all the excitment this year with Addie and her milestones, so I thought I might dedicate a post to Mitch's first successful year of dental school at Marquette University.
His first semester he learned how to take radiographs (x- rays), he learned how to clean teeth, although all of his work the first semester was done on fake teeth.In all of his semesters he has had what the students nicknamed PRES/RES or preservations and restorations, of teeth such as drilling cavities, filling cavities etc. Had classes like Histology (study of tissues), Biochemistry he was lucky enough to get out of because he had taken it before, and a Fundumental Class of Dentistry that included Bio material, nutrition, radiology, developmental biology & a clinical rounds class that discusses moch clinical scenarios.Because he didn't have to take Biochemistry he feels like school wise this semester has been his easiest, but as Addie was born this semester as well, it made it a little more interesting and busy too.
His second semester he learned about some Behavioral sciences, Cariology or the study of cavities, he did some Periodontal or gum studies, and had course work in Oral biology and gross anatomy that focuses on the head and neck, but also touched on body cavities and organ systems.He also had the clinical rounds class again and continued training on cleaning teeth on manakins and taking radiographs. He also got to go into the clinic and do some assisting to the older students. He feels the second semester was harder because he had more credit hours to do, but he also thinks that his second semester was sucsessful because he really buckled down and studied hard.
The summer semester by far has been the most trying semester for him. The bane of his existence has been the Dentures course. It was only two credits but he says the work he was doing made i feel like it was 8 credits. He worked on a lot of hands on projects like making a pair of dentures for a patient, creating casts and replicas of his own mouth, and making a whitening tray for himself from the molds of his mouth. He also got to do his first Prophy(where he cleaned his first live patients teeth). He also had the opportunity to go to the AIDS clinic downtown and learned how people are managing there disease and how dentists can help. During the summer semester he spent a lot of time at home working on his dentures and other projects. He even bought a propane torch so he could melt the wax and do other things for his projects, which he says was a highlight.This is a pictures of his teeth that he shaped and made.The yellow is the mold and the white and pink is all the work that Mitch did. They even have to make the gums look exactly the same, they even give them a stippled appearance! Lots of work went into these.


So that's his first year in a nut shell.
He's had three weeks of this summer to spend with his family and we've had lots of fun while he's been home with us. He heads back to start his second year this upcoming Monday. Good luck babe, Addie and I will miss having you home during the day!

Mitch and I were invited by our friends the Sessions to go to the Dells this week for a little get away from Milwaukee. Wisconsin Dells is the water park capital of the world so they say, so Mitch and I were pretty excited to go. We stated at Chula Vista in a nice condo that we shared with Marianne and Schuyler and their two kiddos. Mitch and I hit all the rides of the indoor and outdoor water parks at the resort and Addie really like playing in the little kids areas and splashing in the water. She especially liked the lazy river. I sat in a tube and put her on top of my lap and Mitch would push us around and around, she would look at everything and she even held onto the black handles that were on the tube which was so adorable. I'm not sure if she did it for support or just something to hold onto. One of the rides was nicknamed the "toilet bowl" because you would go down the slide and end up in a circular bowl shaped whirlpool that would take you around and around then drop you down another tube to the bottom of the slide. They had a half pipe ride, a "bonzai" ride for those of you who rember Wet and Wild waterpark in Caldwell. (it's a slide that goes straight down. My favorite was called the cyclone that was a tube that went around and around in a tight circle, it was super fast. Mitch and I got to go by ourselves that first night while Marianne and Schuyler watched Addie. I hadn't been to a water park since high school and Mitch swears I was talking an octave higher and ten times faster than I normall do. I attributed it to how excited I was, I felt like I was 10 again, it was awesome.

Adelaide started to wave at people, things and pretty much any thing else she wanted to about a month ago. We were feeding the Elders and one of them waved to her from across the table and to our surprise she waved back. Well a new development to the wave is the word "HI" her first official word!! When we say hi and wave she says hi and waves back to us. I consider it her first word because I think she actually connects it with greeting people and things, instead of just putting the constanant/ vowel sounds together like "mama" or "dada". A new development also is she has started to clap, well in her own way. She can't really make the "clap" sounds yet but she brings her hands together and immitates Mitch and I when we clap with her.

Addie had her nine month appointment a couple of weeks ago but I've been a little slow on posting her stuff.

HEIGHT: 28 1/4 IN which puts her in the 75th percentile for height, she's starting to slow down and even off now that she's a little older.

WEIGHT: 16 LBS 13 OZ which means she's in the 23rd percentile for her weight which is also leveling off from her previous appointments. The doctor said it was a little low but that is to be expected now that she is crawling and moving around.

She also got another shot this time around so she wouldn't have to get 4 next visit I decided to break them up a little bit. We also discussed her allergic reaction to what we think is eggs. She'll have to be tested at a year to see if she is still allergic. One of her immunizations is grown on an egg based titer so she'll have to go into Children's to get that shot just in case she has a bad reaction to it. Most kids grow out of egg allergies though and she hasn't shown any signs of being allergic to anything else yet so that's good.

Addie is the only thing I ever write about I know, but everything she does is new and exciting, and everything Mitch & I do is pretty hum drum, so you get Addie. She has been so active lately, crawling, pulling herself up onto things,and lately she has become a little clingy. I think she might be experiencing some 9 month old seperation anxiety. I was warned it might happen, but I though, not my kid! Well I definately got a smack in the face as a wake up call that that "not my kid" cliche is just not true. Addie will be playing just fine by herself, but if I come into the room, or make eye contact, or if someone else is holding her she will start to cry and reach for me, or crawl toward me. She has been crawling towards my legs and grabbing onto my pant legs to stand recently, which kind of hinders my movement because if I move it sets her off balance, so I have to tread lightly, as it were. It's really precious, but also a little annoying too. It's like she's a newborn again and has to constantly be held or touched or within her visual range. She has been doing lots of fun things like going down slides by herself(with papa at the end to catch her of course), playing in a box full of corn kernals and picking rasperries, and generally having a good time inventing games to amuse herself and her parents.

TO MAKE THE SLIDE SHOW BIGGER CLICK ON THE "SCRAPBLOG" ICON & LINK IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT HAND CORNER OF THE BOX.

We've had a full little week here at the Oliver house. Saturday morning Bug had an allergic reaction to some eggs and broke out in hives. She has also started sleeping on her tummy which is so cute. Every time I put her in her crib for a nap or for bedtime she automatically rolls on to her side and when I come in to get her she has rolled onto her tummy.She has also learned how to pull herself up to standing in her crib so we had to lower it a few weeks ago. She pulls herself up on anything she can and frequently uses Mitch and I as a jungle gym to crawl, stand, crouch, bend and walk all over. We were lucky enough to get a free bike seat for her so she can come on bike rides with Mitchell and I. Here are a few pictures of allergies, sleep and our family rides. Hope you enjoy. To make the insert bigger click on the "scrapblog" link in the bottom right hand corner of the page, then click the green full screen button after the new page opens. SORRY EVERYBODY TRY AGAIN TO SEE THE SCRAPBLOG AND SEE IF IT WORKS NOW. LET ME KNOW AGAIN IF IT DOESN'T. THANKS.

Addie has been practicing a lot of walking lately. Whether it be holding Mitch and my fingers around the house, pulling herself up onto benches, sofas or anything else that is within reach, or walking in between Mitch and I she is a ball of walking energy. She's become a lot braver of late as well and will let go of our fingers for a few seconds before stopping and turning around to find where our finger went to. She's taken a couple of spills, but she bounces back really fast. She want to be mobile so bad, but she just can't make up her mind whether she wants to do it crawling or standing up, she hasn't mastered either one so far and is very fickle about the whole process in my opinion, but she's learning none the less. Here's a little bit of what she's accomplished over the last week in the walking department. I don't think she'll be able to walk 500 Miles but she'll get there!!

This 4th of July was full of activities. Mitch, Adelaide and I hardly had time to breathe before moving onto the next thing.Saturday morning we got to go watch the Wauwatosa parade down North Avenue with some friends and share a potluck breakfast with them too. Thanks Schows for a wonderful morning. Adelaide really liked the parade, although it was during her naptime, so she was pretty sleepy. I think her favorite part was the small American flag that the Boy Scouts passed out to the crowd, she sure was patriotic waving her little flag.



After the parade we went to the ward BBQ for a few hours. Addie got to put her feet in the swimming pool and we all enjoyed some really good food!!
We all took a little nap before going onto our next adventure up in Cedarburg. The McAffees invited us up to a BBQ and fireworks at their new apartment. The food and company were wonderful!! Addie fell asleep right before the fireworks but the noise woke her up. She was pretty lethargic so she just sat on my lap and watched the fire in the sky, she only jumped once at the finale when there were some big booms. What a trooper, she had a long day, and it didn't help that I kept sticking the camera in her face!




We've got to do a lot of summer activities over the last week too. Mitch had a week off before the 4th so we've been visiting parks,going on walks and playing in the sprinklers.Addie has also been practicing her walking skills with Papa and I, she's nearly got it down. Stay tuned for some video.

So I said that there was crawling in my last post but the video that I put on there didn't show up in the final layout so here is a newer, better and updated version. Addie has been so close to crawling for awhile now, she just has to coordinate her hands with her legs and then her forward locomotion will be underway. Here she is trying her darndest to work it out. Her best motivation to get her moving is little yogurt snacks, she'd move across the house for one of those things if she knew it were there.

I've really been neglecting this thing but with good reason we've been really busy. Addie and I took a trip to Idaho for a few weeks to see Elder Christiansen and the fam before he left to South Dakota for his mission.Mitch celebrated his 25th birthday, Addie is on the verge of breaking through the crawling barrier, and we went camping for a few days up in Door County, Wisconsin which was a bunch of fun!! Instead of drawling on and on about what we've been up to I decided to tell it in pictures, cause lets face it, that's what people look at when they check out blogs anyway, right? of course right.Here we go. Addie and I walking on the "sand dunes" on the east side of the Wisconsin Peninsula. Kind of pitiful sand dunes compared to the ones in Bruneau, Idaho. Mitch, Addie and I at the top of a 75 foot look out tower at sunset on Lake Michigan. Addie putting her feet in Lake Michigan. Papa and Addie. Mitch and Addie climbing the look out tower Mitch, Addie and I in front of the lookout tower after a long hike to get there. Addie walking with Papa on fathers day. Papa makes her happy!! Mitch enjoying a good stroll with Addie on Fathers Day/His birthday too! Momma and Addie outside practicing standing. Bubbles! and more bubbles! Tristan, Addie and Uncle Colby at the Discovery Center in Boise. Kim and Bug playing with a puppy. Long Hair. Short Hair. Addie taking a nap with Grandma Christiansen Addie eating her first shaved ice from the sno shack!! Tear. Grandpa Christiansen reading a story to Addie about manners. Addie playing in her hippopotomus swimming pool. Addie wearing a billy bob mullet, or would it be a fullet on her? Addie wearing my old All Star Marching Band Hat Uncle Colby with Addie A Rag quilt I made for a friends baby shower A binki clip I made for a friends baby shower A few burp cloths I made for a friends baby shower

Mitch and I borrowed the stake canning machine last week and decided to do some of our food storage.I had been collecting food stuffs when the prices were good and my cupboards were stocked so full that I didn't have room for anymore. A sister in our ward was moving to Arizona and was getting rid of some unused #10 cans for free!! So I snatched them up and Mitch and I canned for our date night. We did flour, sugar, black beans, rice, quick oats,and potato flakes. We only did about 25 cans in all but I felt so accomplished after we were done. The canning machine was so easy to use, I was thinking it was going to be a big process, but I just prepared everything before Mitch got home and then he helped me with the machine so we could get the lids on as tight as possible(He's the buff one you see.)We had a lot of fun!!

Wisconsin is lucky enough to have a gourmet jelly bean factory!! Ok.. so jelly beans aren't my favorite but it was a lot of fun to go with some other Mom's and take our kids to see the short little tour. It Really isn't a factory per se just a shipping building and candy store. The tour was mostly videos depicting the way they make the Jelly Bellies and some history behind the family owned business. My favorite part was the testing table where you could test out all the flavors!! They don't just make Jelly Bellies either, they make fruit snacks, chocolates, and candy corn... Who knew? Well I tried some flavors that were shall we say interesting? "Baby Wipe" flavor being the most enjoyable while still tasting inedible. They had pencil shavings, vomit and black pepper, which I was not brave enough to try. I'm surprised no one has come up with a "SNOZBERRY" flavor yet. Addie seemed to enjoy herself although she had no idea what was going on, she loved to eat her Jelly Belly hat which was probably her favorite part of the whole experience. I wonder if they make their hats taste like banana flavor and that's why she liked it so much!! Just Kidding.

Thank You Becca for the cute bows for Addie!! They all are so adorable, I still can't believe you made all of them!!

Addie absolutely loves strawberries,so one day I stripped her down and let her go at one which was so adorable to watch.


The weather turned hot this last Friday getting up to 85* so we decided for our date we would take Addie to the park and let her enjoy the good weather. We set out some blankets and she played so well in the shade of the trees. It was so fun to watch her perk up at different sounds, like motorcycles, the Shwann man truck, and even a cool breeze was something different for her. She also had two new experiences in the playground. She got to swing which she loved and Papa took her down her very first slide, which I'm not exactly sure she liked. Mitch got a slide burn which he's showing off in the picture, and I KNOW he wasn't happy about that, you can't tell through the smile on his face though.

Addie celebrated her 6th month birthday a few weeks ago (sorry about the slow post about it) Well she went to the pediatricians for her checkup and some more shots and she was a trooper. The first shot she didn't even flinch, the second shot she didn't start to cry until the nurse took out the needle and she soothed right down afterwards and was happy the rest of the morning, which was amazing. Of course in the afternoon she got cranky cause her legs hurt but she slept it off with a good 3 hour nap, which gave momma time to read. Thanks Addie!! Mitch and I celebrated her 6th month birthday with... da digga da... A BATH!! Ok so it wasn't an extraordinary day but we did sing to her and we got a cute picture with a foam 6 on her forehead!


At six months she weighs 15 pounds 3 1/3 oz and is 27 1/8 in tall!! She has only been sleeping about 5 hours on average at a time at night so the pediatrician recommended we try to help her learn how to self sooth which has been brutal for me to listen to her whimper and cry but it seems to be working!! She can put her self to sleep now for naps and bedtime and is sleeping about 7 hours now which is awesome!! Mitch and I can hardly believe she is already half a year old, she continues to surprise us with the new things she is learning and we can't wait to see what's next for her!!