Minnesota Zoo

Well, it's no San Diego Zoo, but on Saturday we had a great time with a few Target moms/toddlers at the Minnesota Zoo, which niether Addison nor I had visited before. There was a baby farm animals exhibit that we didn't want to miss and the kids LOVED it! The day was comical with all of us trying to corral the tots and get them from place to place in a pack. Addison and her buddy Kellen shared a wagon that Kellen's mom kindly pulled (thanks Nicole!), and just watching the two of them together was hilarious. Addison talked to him non-stop, seemingly trying to either tell him what to do or point things out to him. They have this thing with snacks, the two of them - each always wants what the other is having, so snack time in the wagon was interesting! It was a warm, sunny day and we walked and walked and walked.....despite this, Nicole told me that we didn't see at least 60% of the actual zoo! More reason to go back later this summer. Addison was singing "Old McDonald" all day and was still sining it today - the animals she picks for the farm are funnny - always owls, pigs and horses and that's about it. She's also been singing her ABCs quite well and she's got her numbers one through ten down PAT! So proud of her.



On Saturday night we went to a BBQ at Jeff, Natalie and new baby Gus's loft. Addison was a party animal and quite the little entertainer. There was a birthday cake for me and she enjoyed eating off of everyone's plates while saying "Happy birthday to you" - nice sugar rush at 9pm. :)

Loading up the wagon

Noah and Addison looking at the fish in the lagoon

On the tractor ride to the "Farm" to see the baby animals

At one point she insisted on pushing the wagon up a hill...with Kellen in it!

There was a petting zoo where the kids fed goats - so cute

Lounging on the roofdeck at Jeff and Natalie's - sorry I didn't get any pictures of Gus. What's wrong with me?

Weekend update

Spring is truly here, although our neighbor, Ann, swears there will be a snowstorm in April. We don't believe her though, and are in great spirits due to the mid-70s weather. Perfect for sleeping with the windows open at night, a treat all Minnesotans cherish! This weekend we finished up the yard, cleared out all the flower beds, raked the lawn, picked up leaves and pulled the cushions out for the patio furniture. Addison was outside pretty much the entire weekend, and wanted to play with her water table as much as possible. In fact, at one point she hoisted herself INTO the water table and did not want to come out. We need to get her a little blow-up pool, fast! We also ALMOST finished Addison's new room, and I promise within the next week or two I will debut pics.

She's standing in the water table here

and blowing bubbles here

lunch outside!

Easter and more...

Easter weekend greeted us with AMAZING weather! Almost 70 degrees and sunny - the ideal temperature for a big Easter egg hunt outside....but we didn't do that unfortunately. Maybe next year. We spent the morning opening Easter basket goodies and relaxing (well, really doing a ton of chores and things) around the house before heading out to Heather and Guy's for brunch in the early afternoon. We ate, opened more Easter goodies, decorated Easter cookies, hung out with all the kids/cousins, who coincidentally are ALL girls, and headed home right in time for Addison to throw a temper tantrum in response to having to leave a flashlight and ball that she was obsessed with behind. Once home, Addison went down for a long nap and DJ and I worked in the yard, raking sticks and leaves, cleaning the patio and setting the patio furniture out. Can't wait to use it! At the moment, Addison is next door at the neighbors having a blast, being entertained by about 6 girls and clearly the center of all attention. All in all a great weekend!

One of Addison's favorites is Cookie Monster; every morning she greets Daddy with a very convincing "COOO-KIE!"

Digging in to the Easter basket

Addison's butterfly cookie masterpiece

Relaxing on the bunny floor pillow

Looking good in her Easter pink!

She loves to run around naked after a bath

The Beginnings of Spring

Spring is in the air here, with temperatures reaching 70 degrees and NO MORE snow in sight! It's that time of year that you can see the buds starting to grow from the lilac bushes, and the grass starting to push up green and fresh. Addison is in heaven and wants to be outside as much as possible. She was really into walking Callie for a couple of weeks, but could care less now and would rather spend her walks picking up sticks and leaves. Addison continues to be a funny little goofball with moments of extreme sassiness and bossiness. BUT she is a great sleeper and is getting back into vegetables...the word of the week is broccoli. She is also now aware that there is a baby in my belly and not hers. Stay tuned for pictures of her adorable new room - we expect to be finished by next weekend.

31 weeks...I think!

She thinks she's so brave walking "downhill" on this bridge - a daredevil she is not!

Marching

Palm Springs Vacation

We ended up having a wonderful time in Palm Springs with the family, but the beginning of the trip was nothing short of awful. It all started when we awoke to Addison's cries at 3am (not typical for her) on the Friday we were to fly out. We entered her bedroom to find the poor thing covered in vomit - gross! She's never thrown up or had the flu before, so we weren't quite sure what was going on. After checking for a fever (none), a bath and a change of all the crib bedding, we put her back down around 4am hoping that it was just a strange fluke. Well, an hour later was like groundhog day - more puke, more laundry, another bath. By this time we were kind of freaking out, wondering what to do about our pending trip, because Addison was definitely not feeling well. We tossed around 3 ideas - cancel the trip altogether, change our flight by a few days and fly out later in the week (to the tune of another $500 or so) or say screw it and just go. We went with option 3 and moved forward with our plans, hoping that we were making the right decision and also praying that neither DJ nor I caught the bug.

There was another vommiting episode RIGHT before we boarded our first flight, but nothing beyond that as far as the plane went. However, 2 blow-out diarrhea diapers with a toddler on the lap and teeny tiny airplane restrooms was enough to almost put us over the edge. Long story short, we made it, Addison was ill for the next day or so, but then bounced back nicely. Unfortunately I, then Grandpa Allan AND Grant and Stacy all came down with whatever bug she had, so the beginning portion of the trip was kind of unpleasant. Sorry everyone!

The sickies finally got well and by Tuesday things were back to normal and the weather was gorgeous. For the remainder of the week Addison had a great time playing in the pool for hours on end, taking walks around the property and picking flowers galore, visting Grandma Pam and seeing horses for the first time (she even took a ride!), wandering the Palm Springs street fair, eating lots of yummy food and generally making everyone laugh at her spunky, funny little personalilty. DJ golfed each morning and loved every minute of it, and we enjoyed a day at an awesome spa together on Tuesday - pretty much my idea of heaven!

We're back in MN now getting ready to start a work week and even though it's good to be home, we miss everyone and the sunshine - thanks for everything, see you all soon!

New toy - Elmo Bubble Machine!

Love the shades

Horsey time - she's a natural!

Kissing Daisy the pony

First pony ride

The pool at Miramonte Spa

Scary!

Pool time!

Hmmmm......

Strawberry pancakes, oh boy!

Zonked out on the plane ride home

The most bizarre man - an electric cellist at the Palm Springs street fair. I couldn't resist a short clip - what a dork! Addison was mesmerized by him though :)