Addy's First Boat Ride

Uncle Gene and Aunt Shannon treated Addy to her first boat ride yesterday on Lake Tarpon. She really did have a good time, though in this picture she was not too happy with me trying to put her shoe back on.

If you look just beyond Addy's hand, you'll see a Gator swimming by. We also saw some turtles, water turkeys, and four bald eagles while we were out on the boat.

Addy really enjoyed when Uncle Gene got us going really fast. Uncle Gene even let her drive a little bit.

This was right when we lauched, and Addy was really uncertain about the life vest, but she quickly warmed up to it once we got going.

Thanks Uncle Gene and Aunt Shannon for the good time!

Florida Weather

This week we had some pretty bad weather roll through the area. It was pretty unusual because while later in the spring we get regular afternoon thunderstorms, this storm started one night and lasted a good 24 hours or so. We aren't talking light sprinkles either, but the kind that just show red on the doppler radar. There were 9 tornados that touched down in the area, none near us, thank goodness, and over a million lightning strikes. While we clearly did not suffer the worst effects of the storm, we did have fun with what the storm left us. If you look here, you can see two bocce balls completely submerged in our backyard. We had a swimming pool that was created by the fence. Alex had to dig out the ground under the fenceline later on because the water was getting close to the door in the utility room. Whenever Alex goes outside, Addy must follow. I finally gave in and let her go out. She enjoyed splashing around in the knee-deep water.

The fun didn't last too long, because here, Addy decided to take a step, but lost her balance.

Shortly after I snapped this shot, her head and gravity betrayed her and she went under. Alex got her up quickly, but she was pretty traumatized. We headed straight for the bathtub, but she was even weary of that water (and she loves bath time) after this experience.

We had an exciting first experience with the puddles (pool) left behind by our Florida weather, but I'm pretty sure we'll be sticking with shallower puddles after this.

Such a big girl!

We recently took a trip to the east coast for Addy's cousin, Westin's baptism. Addy really enjoyed playing outside at Grandma's and Grandpa's house.

I love her little curls! I hope they stay around for a long time!

Addy turned One!

My baby is 1! Addy had a birthday on January 17. We started her special day with birthday pancakes. She was skeptical at first, but soon learned to appreciate the candle and delicious blueberry pancakes.

Unfortunately, January 17 fell on a work day for me, so it was just a normal day, but we did celebrate with a mini cupcake after dinner (practice run for the birthday party...see below).

As you can see, it was so good, Addy had to try to get every last crumb!

We had a birthday party for Addy on Saturday, the 22nd. Grandma and Grandpa Wilson flew in from Ohio for the special occasion, and Grandma and Grandpa Berger and the Jarvis's came over from the East Coast as well. Here is the Birthday Girl in her special shirt.

Papa made Addy her very own "cake in a can" and decorated it himself. I don't think he's ever baked me a cake, so that should tell you how much he loves this baby. She started off pretty intimiated by the size of the cake and sheer volume of icing atop the tower of cake.

Obviously, this did not last. Just after this shot, Addy got me good in the face with one of those hands. Somehow Papa escaped unharmed.

We had to say good bye to Grandmas and Grandpas after church on Sunday morning, but we snapped a picture of Addy with her Grands before they had to go. Pretty obvious that Addy's 99th% height comes from my side of the family. :)

Alex and I are so blessed to have this beautiful baby. We remind each other of it everyday, and comment every day how very much we love her. Here are some facts about Addy at age 1:

Nickname: Babe-O

Height: 32 3/4 inches

Weight 25.2lbs.

Head size: Off the charts.

Eats: Everything, but especially loves fruit, Cheerios, and Annie's Bunny snacks. She's recently started eating Macaroni and Cheese and more meat (she didn't care for the texture of meat before). She always wants some of whatever Alex and I have.

Sleeps: So well, all through the night, and with her bunny and her paci

Speaks: Her vocab includes: Mama, Baby, Ball, Uh-oh, and Yay. I think she knows Papa, but Alex doesn't think so.

Funny tricks: Down dog (yoga), blow kisses, courtesy laugh

Loves: books, Papa, her bunny, people watching, baths/water, remote controls and cell phones (but don't try to fool her with broken/unused ones, she knows the difference), packaging she can pop tops off of (like a Pringles can)

Hates: to have her clothes changed, sippy cups as replacement for bottles, the sound of packing tape dispensers (as we discovered recently in our move).

Holiday Recap

Of course the holidays were busy for us. I accepted a new job on November 16, with a start date of December 13. For the last few weeks at my old job, I probably worked 12 hours a day, sometimes well into the night. It was such a relief to start the new job and have very little stress on that front during the holidays. Also, in November, we thought we were going to have to move at the end of the month, but turns out we didn't (didn't find out until Thanksgiving, though), so that was more unnecessary stress and worry. All that said, we did have wonderful holidays (though sadly, none of them were spent in Ohio this year), as we watched Addy experience them for the first time. Here are a few of the moments we captured.

Here is Addy on Thanksgiving, with a holiday-appropriate shirt.


Daddy and Uncle Travis thought it would be interesting to see what she would do with a turkey leg. She really had no interest in it. She enjoyed cranberry relish and sweet potatoes, but not so much the turkey. She has issues with meat and the texture of it.

Uncle J came to Florida in December to see his girlfriend's family in Sarasota, so we got to hang out with him a bit. He had to try and keep Addy out of the freezing gulf for the sake of a few pictures.

Addy started to walk in early December! Here she is with Uncle Gene, who is as proud as any (Tampa) "Grandpa" could be!

We are members of the aquarium here in Tampa, and they had a members Christmas party where Addy got to meet Santa!

On Christmas Eve, Alex's family performs a live nativity, narrated by Grandpa Keith. Last year, because I was well with child, as Mary, Addy and I got to perform together as Mary. This year, Addy got to be a shepherd.

I had a good friend commission his partner to create this picture for Alex for Christmas. If you can't really see it, he and Addy are on a pony, and he has a machine gun. If you ever need any graphic design work done, I'll give you Scott's (the designer) information!

Finally, Christmas morning came, and Addy had a good time with her cousins. She didn't care too much for opening her own gifts, but enjoyed playing around in the mess left behind after her cousins tore through theirs.

Its been almost a year since this little monkey joined us, and it has been an incredible year. We both are pretty impressed with her every move and mumble, and we can't wait for the next year, as she becomes more and more of a little lady. I love this man and his baby.

Oh, and although we made several attempts at a family picture for a Christmas card, none of them turned out well enough (particularly as relates to how I looked in the pictures) for a mass printing and mailing. Alas, you are stuck with the above, and can hope that next year we can all pull it together for one picture.

For your viewing pleasure

Addy took a few big steps last night! And here are a few other recent vids of her cuteness!

Halloween

Some images from Addy's first Halloween. She makes a pretty cute Tinkerbell.


With Aunt Shannon's witch hat:


First piece of candy at Trunk-or-Treat:



Addy and Uncle Gene (Gene's eyes are open!!!)