Family and Friends Gatherings

This summer our weekends were busy gathering with family and friends.

 

 

In May we had an Emig family reunion at a park.

 

Anna taking Addison down the slide and Aaron and Maci helping out.

Uncle Bruce and Addison catching part of a ball game.

The little ones are always the center of attention!

We had a campfire night at Doug's parents' house.

Addison checking out the frogs the kids caught.

Enjoying a snack with Abby and Uncle Bruce, her best buddies.

Everyone around the campfire. 

Just a little ice cream and beer to wash it down ;-)

Do you think she's comfortable?

 

Memorial weekend we had a few friends over for a BBQ.



 

The girls enjoyed the pool even though it was a little small!

 

Dylan taking all the kids on a Ranger ride.

Time to feed the fish!

 

Over the Fourth, we went to a friend's house for a pool party.

 

Addison had to think long and hard about jumping off the diving board.

But she did end up doing it!

Over and over and over again!

Getting ready for the fireworks - the best show in the county I think!

 

We took in a Grizzly's game with my Dad and company.

 

 

Zoe checking out Addison's flower.

Big smooch!

And now a headlock...I mean HUG!

Jack and Addison taking in the game.

Crazy kids!

They had a huge playset there.  It was a little nerve-racking letting her up there all by herself with all those kids, but I did it and she loved it.

Lovin' the slide.

Then she wanted to tackle this big slide.  It still gives me a heart attack just looking at the picture!

Conner was enlisted to help her on this one.

Down she comes.

Cuties!

 

In August we had the Vasquez family reunion.  It was HOT as usual.

 

Collin was taking a nap in front of the fan and Addison felt the need to sit and watch him.

She just looks so old here, not my little toddler any longer!

The bounce house was a hit.

It took her all day, but she finally took a ride on the train.

We went to Natalie's for Adam and Alex's birthday.

Brotherly love!

 



 

Anna and Addison under their tent.

Addison loves Ring Around the Rosey.  Aaron got roped into it this time.

 

And another birthday gathering for my Dad.

 

The grandkids and Papa Mike.

Happy Birthday!

We had a very full summer as usual but we love spending time with family and friends.  We wouldn't have it any other way!

Camping Season 2012

Well the summer has come and went and I think I only posted once or twice the entire time. I did finally take the time to go through all the pictures and I decided to put them in categories and post them that way. So camping is first!  We had an unusual camping year this time around because it ended up that on Memorial weekend and the 4th I was on call for work so we were not able to camp. But we did take a few extra camping trips to make up for it. As usual, Addison enjoyed each time we went out!


Our first camping trip of the season was Mother's Day at the river. 

 

Papa Bob and Mama Eileen joined us.

She's always pulling her wagon or on some type of mission.

Mmm, ice cream cone cupcakes!  Maybe just a little messy.

We had a free weekend in June, so we took the opportunity to go camping.  We camped with Uncle David & Aunt Brenda and Uncle Mike & Aunt Becky. 

 

Just sittin' and enjoying a push pop.

I think she might be avoiding her actual meal here - typical.

Aunt Brenda and Addison giving each other kisses through the floaty :-)

August was the annual Vasquez camping trip at Rend Lake.  Doug had to work, so I drove the truck and camper to the lake all on my own.  It was my first solo trip and everything went great.  Addison is a great navigator!

 

Here Collin and Addison are enjoying some cereal. 

These two are best buddies now-a-days.  They have so much fun together.

 

I still can't believe it, but we had another free weekend in August, so we ceased the opportunity and went camping again.  Friday we were by ourselves, but Saturday Andy & Wendy and another family joined.  Addison has plenty of kids to play with then.

 

Here she's enjoying her little tent.

Just making herself comfortable!

 

Daddy's helper.

 

Roasting her first marshmallow.

Eating her first s'more, which by the way she didn't like.  She just wanted the chocolate!

We were finally able to camp with the family on Labor Day.  It rained a lot but there was enough dry time in there to get out and play.

 

The duo back together again!

 

I think there was another camping trip in there that I didn't take any pictures of.  The weekend after the 4th we went camping, but it was sooo hot and we had a party to go to on Saturday.  We just ended up camping Friday night and went home after the party.  We had our fill of heat and humidity by then.

Doug and I enjoy camping and getting away from it all.  It's nice because you can actually sit back and relax.  There's no house chores to do, no lawn to mow....well, there is but it's just too far away to do anything about it!  We're happy to see that Addison enjoys it just as much as we do.  Hopefully many more years of camping fun to come!

Flower Girl

Last month my step-sister Jenna had her wedding ceremony on her and Trevor's 1 year anniversary.  She asked Addison to be a flower girl in the wedding along with her daughter Zoe.  Conner and Collin were the junior groomsmen and Jackson was the ring bearer.  They were all so adorable and did a great job!  It was a warm day, but a gorgeous one.  The ceremony took place at our parents' house overlooking the lake and the reception was at St. Libory Legion Hall.  I do believe everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  It's always great when everyone is home and we can catch up.

Addison and Jack enjoying a little snack!

Long lost Aunt Julie!

Enjoying coloring books from Aunt Jenna.

Big squinty eye smile!

All ready to go.

Doug cleans up pretty well!

My wonderful Father.  He and my brother did a TON of work to the house in preparation for the wedding.  He's a man of many talents I must say.

Doug thought it would be a good idea to give her a cookie right before the ceremony because "she was being so good".  Men just don't understand!  But I will say that Addison did great all day, considering what we all put her through.

This was the best shot Doug got with our camera.  Conner was pulling the wagon at racing speeds!  Little Jack doing a superb job pushing the wagon.

Addison got a little bored during the ceremony, so she joined Jenna's friend who was watching baby Zoe.

I was honored to be one of the readers.

Mr. & Mrs. Breitwieser

Family pic.

Mr. Myer was so kind to pull Addison and Jack around the yard in the stifling heat!

This is the "no, I'm not going to smile" face.

Aunt J, Conner, and Collin.  What a cute family!

Janel made the cakes and they both turned out great!

Glow sticks and dancing, now this is a party!

Hangin' with the family.  Aunt Karen and Aunt Sharon were there to celebrate as well.

Dancin' machines!

The happy family.

Addison spotted the candy bars from a mile away but Doug's compromise was a ring pop. 

Twist and Shout!

Awww, Dad and Cyndi.

The Muehlhauser's

We're so happy we could be a part of Jenna and Trevor's special day.  Many years of happiness to the couple.  CONGRATS!!!

What Addison is up to at the age of 2

I didn't really have the time to write much about Addison last time, so now I'm going to take the time and talk about what she's up to now.

First off, when we went to her 2yr checkup her stats were:
Height 34-1/4'' (65%)
Weight 29.2lbs (80%)

She's getting so big, it really takes you by surprise some days.  Her speech is improving so fast.  We're understanding more words every day and she learns new ones quickly.  Sometimes it takes several repeats for us to get it or we just ask her to show us what she's talking about.  If all else fails, the "oh, yeah, ok" comment usually gets you past it!

Being polite is something we try to teach her daily.  She's good at saying please and thank you for things.  The other day I asked her to put Daddy's shoes away in his closet and she did it happily.  I told her thank you and she looked back nonchalantly and said 'you're welcome', like it was nothing.  Those are the times that I think man, she's growing up so fast.  When you sneeze, she'll also say 'Bless you'.  I don't know where she gets this one, but a lot of times after she's through with dinner she'll ask to be excused with 'Mommy, I go play?', now that one really impressed me!  Anytime you hurt yourself and say ouch, she says 'You ok?  I kiss it!' and then kisses your ouchie.  It just melts your heart.

She's also very much into playing pretend.  I think she has an imaginary friend, pet, heck a whole clan!  We'll be eating and she'll look over at her imaginary friend (always tilting her head) and ask 'You want a bite? Yeah? Ok.'  When she's playing outside she always says 'No puppy, go away, stop', shaking her finger and there's not a dog in sight.  Tonight she was getting ready to go down the slide and said 'Bunny, baby, move.  Get out of the way'.  Boy does she have an imagination!  She also likes to make up her own little songs and dances around to them.

I'm really noticing how much more she's actually playing on her own instead of needing a lot of attention.  This is so appreciated because it makes cooking meals go a LOT smoother.  She loves to color and draw.  She'll ask to color and I'll get everything out and she'll get her little rocking chair and scoot it as close as she can to the table and color away.  Her favorite is to race.  She starts at the end of the hallway and says '1,2,3, ready (or more like nummee), GO and runs as fast as she can to the kitchen.  She does it by herself or tries to get us to join her, but half the time she cheats by taking off early and giggles uncontrollably the whole way!  She'll repeat that several times until she's huffin' and puffin' and wore out.

Some meals Addison is good about eating and others are a struggle. If we're out in public, it's usually not a successful endeavor - half the time she'll take a few bites and then want to get up and walk around. It's like trying to tame a wild horse at times and you're better off just letting her roam! She does pretty well with meats, veggies are hard at times, and fruit well, she might eat a grape here or there but mostly she only eats those fruit cups. But I can guarantee she'll eat any snack or dessert in sight at ANY time. This is the frustrating part for me. She'll refuse to eat and I think ok, so she wasn't that hungry, but then she spots crackers or cookies 2 seconds later and all of a sudden she can eat again!

When she's warmed up to people, Addison is still a show off.  She'll make silly faces or give funny stares.  Everyone gets a kick out of her "O" face when she hears or sees something exciting.  When we're leaving we'll have her give kisses good-bye and then when we're actually walking out she'll wave really big and scream 'Bye, Bye, See you in a minute!' really loud.

Addison is still Miss Independent.  She wants to do everything on her own.  She needs no help down the stairs - she has pretty much mastered those even without holding on to anything.  She wants to brush her own teeth, put on her own clothes (backwards half the time), or open/close anything.  She says 'I do it' and takes control.  She'll imitate anything we do and if she can't reach it (the light, the toothbrush, the kleenex....) she'll go get the little step stool out of the bathroom and use that to get to it.  Where there's a will, there's a way!

Potty training is slowly coming back into the picture.  A few months back she was actually potty trained (#1) for about a month but then it stopped.  I believe it was due to the weather turning nice and being outside all the time and her not wanting to stop and go inside.  Accidents started happening more and more each day until I gave up and put her back in diapers.  But the past couple of weeks as soon as she gets home, she'll run back into her room, take her diaper off and put on her underwear and go potty.  However, she'll always have an accident later on.  She is so adamant about wearing underwear, I was hoping this was her deciding she was ready but it doesn't appear she's quite there yet!

Ok, I think I just wrote a novel.  Sorry, this blog is as much for Addison as it is for family and friends, so I wanted to get all of this recorded.  I apparently had a lot to say this time!  As you can see, our 2 yr old is keeping us entertained!