NOW i feel like a mom

After my poor baby was sick for a few days, she was taking a bath and did something she NEVER does. All of a sudden, there were little brown things floating up in the water. I had the fun of reaching in and picking the deposits out of the tub, one by one.

Two things ran through my mind in that moment...

1. This reminds me of the movie Caddyshack. Wow, I haven't seen that movie since high school. Too bad we own it in VHS.

2. I just picked up poop with my bare hands. I think I just had a rite of passage.

NOW I feel like a mom.

cake before christmas

I realized I never really posted any pics from Addelyn's first birthday and wanted to do that before Christmas. She actually had TWO cake celebrations. Not really planned but because of the circumstances, we had a little party for her on the night of her birthday and then again on the Saturday afterwards. My Grandpa Kramer passed away the week of Addelyn's birthday. For me the week of celebrating Addelyn's first year of life was bittersweet as it was spent saying goodbye to my Grandpa. A time of joy and pain right at the same time. Isn't that usually how life is for many people....you celebrate amazing things but at the same time, you experience extremely tough and painful times. My hope and pray in those moments is that God can keep my heart at peace. What do you do in those moments of joy and pain?

And then you see a little girl eat cake for the first time. Talk about putting a smile on your face! This was pretty much her first time of really having sugar (except for when Daddy sneaks her bites of his zebra cakes which are not really sugar, pretty much just plastic. gross...) Her first cake was a yummy one my step-mom got and Addelyn had fun eating it as you can see in the pics above. The second celebration, I made a cake that didn't have much sugar and had bananas and peaches in it. The cake itself was great. The cream cheese frosting I put on the cake- not so great. What can I say? Live and learn. Especially with the baking. That was officially the second thing I've ever made from scratch in my life (and the first one happened within the last few weeks too! Aren't you impressed, ha ha!?) The pictures are a sneak peak of the two parties. On to year two! :)

Merry Christmas to you all....hope you have a wonderful holiday time with your family!

happy 1st birthday little girl!

Dear Addelyn,

It is absolutely crazy to think that one year has already gone by with you in our lives. I cannot explain to you how much you have changed my world, my thinking, my actions, my heart, my view of motherhood, of parenting overall, of basically EVERYTHING! And all of this in the best way possible.

You already have a very distinct personality. You have had one since the moment you came out. You screamed the most wonderful, ear-piercing scream when Kim (the most amazing nurse practioner/mid-wife that delivered you) laid you on my chest. You used your lungs a lot those first months when you wanted us to know how you felt about things. And you haven't stopped letting us know how you feel! You have a strong-willed personality but also have a great nature. You are a happy girl and give lots of smiles and giggles. I honestly couldn't have asked for an easier baby. (Although we hope the future babes will show you up! ha ha)

You are an active, on the go little gal. You really haven't been a cuddler since you gained head control. This has been a little sad for me because I'd love to cuddle with you but I guess I'll have to take advantage of those sick "I need my Mama" moments or that small window right before bed when you drink your bottle and lean back against my chest. I do love your adventuring side though and I have a feeling both you and your dad will be challenging me to go on more rollar coasters and do more daring things in the future since I am kind of the "safe" one. Of course, your adventurous side has already led you to fall down the stairs, to have bloody and fat lips, and to put things in places you shouldn't (for example- the toilet).

You are already my little reader- oh how you love those books. You even know the sign language for book, which you surprised your dad and I with the other night. We have been using it for the last few months and honestly thought you were ignoring us! It made me realize- you are taking it all in. One of these days you will continue to surprise us with all you know and can do.

Speaking of that, your new thing is to hold my cell phone up to your ear and pretend you are talking. You have a little conversation with yourself and babble into the phone. It is hilarious. I hope to catch it on video one of these days!

Other things you have taken a liking to in the last year- cats and dogs (no, we aren't getting one), cottage cheese, our DVD collection (they have been your favorite toys for months now), and as of the last month or two, pretty much anything you shouldn't get into- you want to play with - aka the garbage.

This year has been amazing. I can't believe you aren't my little baby anymore- where did the year go? I pray and hope that as the years go on that you will know how loved you are. By your parents, extended family, our friends and church family, and most of all, by God.

We love you Addelyn! Happy Birthday!

Your Mama (and Dada too...)

P.S. I big thanks to our friend Ashley Schrage for taking amazing one year pics! These are just a few of the MANY great pictures.

turkey, slides, trees, and bubbles

The last few weeks have held some fun moments for our family. I made my first turkey ever when Mark and Addelyn and I stayed home on Thanksgiving. You can see the pictures below which were taken for proof. :) I was actually a little grossed out as I touched the raw bird. The smell got to me a bit. I also forgot to take out the little packet of nastiness that was inside the bird. I found out later, those are the giblets! Whoops. And who knew that a "gravy packet" came along with the turkey. It was a packet of red juice. Gross, I did not use it. Does anyone use it? I'd be curious to know. The experience was good for me. I think I'll do it again...sometime.

Before

I forgot to take a picture of the turkey before I started to carve it! Whoops! It turned out well though. We really enjoyed it. (You can even ask Mark, he would agree!)

Slides.....the fun of going down on your tummy! We spent a night in the Twin Cities with our good friends the Hansens. The guys went to the Vikings-Bears games and we did a little shopping and hanging out at the hotel. We also went to an indoor park, which you can see the kids enjoying above. The indoor park was amazing, they even had an area for babies. It was a fun little get-away for all of us.

The latest thing that Addelyn likes to do while she eats is put her hands in her hair. Needless to say, this makes for a messy eating time.

Addelyn had bubbles in her bath for the first time the other night. She wasn't totally sure what to think about them because there were SO MANY! (Daddy put a little too much in...whoops!)

Finally, this weekend it was time to put up the Christmas tree. Our tradition the past few years has been to break out the Christmas music and decorations and work together to put up the tree. As you can see, Addelyn helped too. We listened to Amy Grant Christmas music (this has been my favorite since high school) and decorated the tree. I absolutely loved the moments with my family. No, we didn't go out in the snow and cut down our own (more power to those of you who do)! I'm thinking someday we will be the real tree people. Or maybe not. Time will tell. For this year, I love my artificial tree. :)

She wanted to eat the bulbs. Of course, if you come to our house, you'll notice that the tree is only decorated on the top half. Oh the life of having a curious little one that is into everything!

This isn't the end result. I guess I didn't get a picture of that. Whoops....more again soon!