Spring Break

We were blessed to be able to spend the last week in Palm Springs with the Julien family. Mark flew in from Australia the night before we arrived. We hadn't seem him since Christmas 2008. We missed him a lot, but it was awesome to hear about how God worked through his lives and the ones he touched while on his mission. Sarah and Carley also flew in later that week, so everyone was together for Easter weekend. Addie helped find all our Easter eggs, so that the big kids could divide them up and eat them. :)

Stef and I, overlooking the view from our place. It was overlooking the putting green on the 3rd hole at PGA West. Absolutely beautiful!

Nana, Papa, and Addie saying goodbye at the airport. Addie learned the word "cheese" this last week. Her smiles are quite interesting. She squints her eyes, wrinkles her nose, and give a big toothy grin. :)

Zoo

Addie took her first trip to the zoo while we were in Palm Springs. She'd LOVED looking at the giraffes. She kept pointing at the baby giraffe.

Warthog. We didn't realize how ugly they are. They only reason they are kind of cute, is if you think of the Lion King.

Addie was NOT a fan of the petting zoo. Something about lots of goats and kids all over. She kept climbing up in our laps.

The African drums.

Easter in Palm Springs

Addie was quite smitten with her uncle Marky. She loved having him read books to her, play in the swimming pool, and hang out with her.

Eating a Cheerio snack (best way to keep her happy while hanging out by the pool). :)

Addie 16 months

Addie and her buddy Norm. They are still attached at the hip, and are often found together in the midst of a minor crime.

Addie new snazzy outfit from Ashley. Lots of compliments at church!

Addie found a new best friend (not that she doesn't love you too Ben)! Addie loves babies. Olivia was quite patient with Addie while she gave multiple tight hugs to her while watching the hockey game on Sunday.

Mommy's purse

Addie found mommy's purse on the bench last week. The pictures tell how it went!

Baby Shower

We accidentally found out that Addie was proficient in eating an apple on her own. She likes to dig through my backpack each night, sometimes taking out items and other times leaving me treasures for work the next day. On this particular evening, she had found an uneaten apple, pulled it out, and sat down in the corner and started eating. Only when she had it almost half gone, did she reappear in the kitchen with a sticky face and half soaked front shirt. :)

We had a couples baby shower for Liz and Steve Smith a couple weekends ago. Lots of fun. They are due in the middle of April.

Addie 16 months

Addie continues to love bath time, probably her favorite time of the day. When we ask her if she'd like to take a bath, she starts taking her shirt off and heads to the bathroom.

Addie loves her big girl chair. Thanks Nana and Papa. I tried to have her sit in her chair and watch part of Veggie Tales while I made supper (it lasted all of 2 minutes).

Addie feeding Norman Cheerios

Watch carefully. Addie was willing to share as long as she actually got the last bite. :)

Addie finds a bug

Addie is really fascinated by the Box Elder bugs that manage to make their way into our house during our cold Minnesotan winter. She's not afraid of them and enjoys carefully picking them up for closer inspections. This series of pictures demonstrate her successfully capturing one, but then it eventually ends up down her sleeve. :)

Addie and Norm

Addie feeding Norman

Every breakfast and lunch, Addie enjoys feeding Norm his meals (she likes to try and give him snacks too). She actually picks up his bowl, walks it to the closet, opens the container, "pretends" to scoop out food (I have to help with that part), puts the cover back on, carries his bowl back into the kitchen, and sets it down right next to his water dish. My mom captured the last part of this routine on video yesterday. So funny! She is really proud of herself, and sometimes even claps as if to say, "Yeah Addie!!" Love and miss you all, Betsy

Family Photo Shoot

Stefan, Addie and I are up in Canada for Christmas. We are having a wonderful time visiting with Auntie Carley, Nana and Papa. Auntie Sarah and her beau are coming in today (Sarah from Australia and Fergus from Edson). We were able to Skype with Uncle Markie on Christmas Eve. Addie can't wait to give him a hug in March. We were also blessed with a surprise visit from Stef's Auntie Allyson and Uncle John from Vancouver. They called on Saturday and asked what we were doing this weekend, and when Sue walked downstairs, they were just pulling up in the driveway. We had fun watching two Canucks games (they won both of them because Addie wore her lucky jersey), going to Stefan homecoming basketball games, and playing Rockband.

We had our family photo shoot yesterday with Heidi and wanted to post a couple of the pictures. http://hmckelveyphotography.blogspot.com/Thanks mom for the adorable toque, Addie wasn't very cooperative with wearing it, but Heidi was able to snap a couple pics with her wearing it. We love you all and hope you had a blessed and relaxing Christmas with family.

See you soon! God Bless, The Minnesota Julien's

Addie - Almost Christmas

Addie is almost 1 year and 2 months (the technical term I believe is 15 months). Stefan and I cannot believe how quickly she is changing. She has turned her toddling into a full fledged run and a game of chase. She LOVES to sit in her room, and read. I will come in after 20 minutes, and she is in exactly the same spot with a huge pile of books around her. She continues to LOVE playing with Norman. Last week she suddenly surprised us by attempting to feed him. She picked up his bowl in the kitchen, walked it to the front hall closet, opened the door, and took off his food cover. I then helped out by scooping in his food. She then set or shall I say tipped over his food bowl and started feeding him handfuls of dog food (I only had to pry out 2 pieces from her tight little lips). We leave for Canada in 4 sleeps and Addie is super excited to hang out with Nana, Papa, and her aunties. She's misses her uncle Mark, but we'll definitely have to Skype. We wish you all a very blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year! Lots of love. :)

Addie walking

Toilet Paper

Addie has discovered the wonders of toilet paper. She's not satisfied until A LOT of paper comes off. We have to be careful, between Norman and Addie they can make a pretty big mess (Addie pulls it off and then Norm shreds it up all over the house).

Addie is SO ticklish!

Pumpkin Addie

Addie loved her first official Halloween. She dressed up as a pumpkin and mommy was a cow girl (basically whatever I could find in the closet). We went trick-or-treating to a few of our neighbors. Addie held on to her own pumpkin bucket the entire time (except when she kept wanting to reach in, and grab the candy to share with our neighbors).

Of course Norm dressed up too. He was a golf caddy and was not a fan of his costume. It's quite restricting in certain areas. He was frozen in the living room and couldn't move, so we took off his bloomers before we went trick-or-treating.

Addie's first steps sometimes mean she grabs a hold of anything she can get her hands on, "Norm's head".

Addie in her chair. She loves her chair, but hasn't figured out how to gracefully go from sitting in it, back to the floor.

Addie's 1st Birthday & Canadian Thanksgiving

Addie LOVED her chocolate birthday cake. Her nice big piece was polished off in about 3 minutes.

Addie's buddy Ben!

Addie didn't make it long at her birthday party. She was a party pooper right after dessert was served, so Ben took over and helped open all her presents while she went to bed. It worked out perfectly. Addie was able to re-open them all in the morning, and everything was already assembled (thanks boys).