Crawling 101

She's almost there! However, our sweet Addie has gotten the Army Crawl down pat! She's so determined, it's precious! Here are two videos of her and her new success!

Why do we need toys?

Here is sweet Addie, surrounded by toys, and what does she play with? A water bottle! Funny thing is, our dog, Dixie, used to LOVE to play with empty water bottles, empty gallons of milk, etc. Who would have thought?

This little piggy went ... everywhere!

We have created a monster with Addie's newest talent! The other day, Tommy grabbed the camera to take pictures of Addie just being cute - as soon as she saw it, she started doing the piggy! She wouldn't quit! We laughed and laughed, which I guess is what has created this obsession in the first place! She does it ALL THE TIME now! When Tommy and my mom came to pick me up one day in Denver, my mom said, "If you are wondering what is black in Addie's nose, it's prunes - she started doing the piggy while her daddy was feeding her, and they got stuck up there, and she won't let anyone get them out!" Nice! Hope you enjoy these pictures as much as we enjoyed watching our sweet little lady perform!

Trying to grab the camera...

Trip to Denver, CO

Addie Kate had her first out-of-state and airplane trip this past week. I had to go to Denver to participate in a National Writing Project function, so we decided to turn it into a family trip. My mom came with us so Tommy wouldn't be alone with Addie all day and to be of some help. We ended up having a great time, seeing some great sites, and coming home happy, but exhausted!

Here's Addie at the airport and on her first airplane: (please excuse me, it was an early morning!)

Here we are on Day 2 of our trip at Rocky Mountain National Park. It was absolutely beautiful, and HIGH! My ears popped worse in the park than in the airplane! Look also at the beautiful snow. They had just opened the roads two weeks prior to our trip, so the snow was still packed. It went from 80 degrees in Denver to 50 something in the park!

This is in Estes Park, with Rocky Mountain National Park in front of us:

And these are in the park:

All this snow was on the side of the road!

Poor Addie - it was just too big of a pain, and too chilly, to get her out at all the stops!

We did bundle her up here, at the highest point accessible by cars - the Alpine Visitors Center.

The snow didn't phase her - she dove right in. And yes, it was that high!

So, I brought along a sweater for myself. Tommy - nothing. Addie - long pants, sweater (with SC palmetto tree embroidered on it, of course!), winter hat, and blanket! I also hit up the gift shop and got Addie Kate her National Parks Passport. I think we are starting her out young enough that we may have a chance for her to fill it up! I also got her a book (big surprise there!) and a Christmas ornament to remember our trip.

On our way out of the park, three times we saw cars pulled over on the side of the road (which is NOT wide, and is on the side of a mountain!) Here is what we saw - a moose (then several moose) and a mule deer! Earlier we saw a HUGE elk on the side of the road, but none of the pictures turned out.

On Day Two, I was in conference for the full day. Tommy, my mom, and Addie Kate went to the University of Colorado. Tommy's always been a CU fan, and wanted to go to school there. That didn't happen - he of course chose the better CU! Here are some pictures of the three of them there. Tommy also brought me back a cute pink CU tshirt, and had Addie one to match!

Planetarium

This is all of us that night in downtown Denver.
And Addie-poo passed out on the way back to the car!

On Day Three, I was in conference again all day. Tommy, my mom, and Addie went to the Coors Brewery in Golden, CO. Addie was not on her best behavior that day! She was so rotten that they didn't even enjoy the three beers that they were given at the end of the tour. They only had one, now that's saying somemthing! My mom did learn that she likes Zima - that cracks me up! Regardless, Tommy said it was interesting. Here are a few pictures from that day:

I wonder how many other infants have visited a brewery? And below, the casino town they visited afterwards! Don't worry - my mom took Addie on a walk and enjoyed the downtown area while Tommy enjoyed the casino! I guess they figured she'd had enough adult fun for the day!

Below is my sweet Addie Kate waiting on me to get out of the conference for the day:

And below are pictures of Addie and me enjoying the indoor pool at our hotel. Yes, she's doing the famous piggy!

Her Granny getting her nice and snuggly warm:

On Day Four I was in conference for half the day. Tommy, my mom, and Addie Kate hung out at the hotel and began packing some things, then came to get me so we could all go to the Denver Zoo. Addie Kate had never been to the zoo before, so we figured, why not start here? She loved the elephants and giraffes, but didn't really pay attention to any of the other animals. I guess the elephants and giraffes were the only ones big enough for her to really see. Needless to say, she got two elephant toys from the gift shop! (And two books, but one is for her grandmother's house!)

This is her watching the elephants - that smile is priceless!

Below are pictures of Coors Field (the home of the Colorado Rockies). We ate dinner that night at the Chophouse, which was wonderful! Come to think of it, we ate good every night! Mmmm!

Here's sweet Addie playing in the hotel on the last night, while we were packing to go home. We struggled to pack several toys, and you see what she likes the most - Frosted Flakes and Wet Wipes!

And here we are on the way home!

Lastly, here is some video of Addie talking to the elephants! Sorry for the view - we had to "sneak" to get the video - as soon as she saw the camera, she paid attention to it and not the elephants, but at least you can hear her!

Happy Father's Day!

To my sweet husband, and Addie's wonderful daddy... you have made a wonderful life for us. We know that you work hard and strive for things that will only make our lives more complete. We love everything about you and know how very lucky we are in this world for you to be ours. We hope you know how very loved you are and how much we love this life of ours. Thank you for everything you are! Happy Father's Day!