Happy Easter!

Addison loves snuggling with Grandpa Ron! We are shocked that she will climb up on the couch and sit with him when we are there, but she does. She has always had a special bond with Grandpa Ron, it might have something to do with JJ. But JJ isn't in Ames, so who knows! 

She clearly was in a good mood the Saturday before Easter....she was taking pictures with everyone! The Skjevelands told us they were coming to Ames on a Friday night so we decided to go see them. And the Prescotts and my mom and dad were just getting home from Pheonix, so we convinced them to stay too. The KC Julius' were busy, but it was still a nice impromptu gathering! 

The Skjevelands went to church with us on Saturday. Our church had a lunch and activities. Most of the activities were too old for Addison, but she did like the live bunnies! Yes that's a bunny. I wasn't really sure what end I was petting at first, but then I saw some ears. :)

Addison did pretty good at church. Conner learned he could make a living off playing video games and posting it to You Tube. I'm sure Tracey & Hugh like his new life plan. He also told us that weekend that he's going to pay for college by gambling. Uncle Landon said when he's ready to start to let him know, he knows a guy. ha! It's always an entertaining adventure with the Skjeveland kids!

Growing up too fast!

We have been going for walks whenever it's nice. Addison has always been interested in our shoes, but now she's wanting to put them on us. ha! She has successfully put her own on a few times. 

Addison is a busy mom! She takes her baby for walks around the kitchen, wearing my shoes, rag tucked under her arm and phone in hand. haha! I didn't catch a photo of a it, but she was trying to text with both hands and leaned her forearms on the stroller so she could keep walking. Ha!

I think it's so funny how she tucks her rag under her arm while she's doing something. Last night, she threw a whole load of whites from the washer to the dryer with her rag under her arm. I thought for sure the rag would end up in the dryer with the other clothes, but it didn't! 

Addison is loving me bake. Okay, she really just loves to dump and stir. This is a challenge for me because we end up with ingrediants everywhere. But I keep telling myself "at least she hasn't dumped the whole bowl on the floor yet!" I hope she continues to love to help me bake, I know I love having her help! 

Visions of Easter Eggs

Well we caught up to Easter! I love holidays and everything about them. I was soo excited this year to dye eggs with Addison. So I went to the dollar store to buy an egg dying kit. I guess things have changed in 10 years since I used to buy kits for the other kids, there are tons of choices now! I stood there comparing all the boxes and finally ended up with one that you use a little plastic bag. 

You put the egg in the bag and then pour the dye in. Then roll the egg around. Ryan and I have noticed we don't always agree on how certain things should be done around the holidays. I hard-boiled eggs and he took the egg yolk out and only used the shell. So we decided to try both ways and see which one worked better. Ryan struggled to get the yolk out, he was trying to blow it out a pinhole. My way was definitely easier.....haha!

Addison loved part of the process of dying eggs. She loved taking the eggs and putting them in the bags and taking them back out. She loved lining the eggs up. She DID NOT love putting the color in the bags. This was very upsetting to my child.....I think she thought they were getting "dirty" and she didn't like that. I saw a little bit of myself in her that day.....she likes to organize and line things up....and doesn't like things dirty. haha!

Despite the photos in the beginning of the post where it looks like she's having fun, this is how most of the process looked. :)

Ryan's trying to tell her it's okay, we want the eggs to be colored. I'm not sure she's believing him. 

And this is how the event ended. She folded her arms and cried. Grandma Rita thought these photos looked like mom.....I think her memories have changed in 30 years. Maybe she is thinking of Aunt Kelly instead - ha!

Well we had to force the process, there was no excitement from Addison, and we got 3 eggs dyed. Oh yea, she loved the packets of dye and squeezing them....she just didn't like it when we actually used them! I was pretty disappointed, I was really excited to have fun dying eggs with her. We didn't even try the Easter bunny this year.....remember last year and the Easter Gorilla?

She is terrified of Cy so we figured we better not attempt the Easter Bunny this year. Plus I know how long those lines get at Bass Pro. Maybe next year I will go get in line and make Ryan and Addison come later! 

This was less than 10 seconds later from the crying photo. Once she got down from the table, she played on the step stool happy as can be for the next 20 minutes. 

Next year kiddo, we are decorating eggs! 

Naked Cowgirl

This was the first night I gave Addison the iPad and showed her a few games. She caught on pretty quick!! She keeps hitting the home button though and getting out of the games, so I need to figure out if I can lock it somehow. You have to constantly watch what she's getting into!

Figured we didn't have a picture of her giant sleepsack. This thing is huge! When we first put it on her this winter, she couldn't even walk in it. You can't see, but it does have foot holes. She might be wearing this thing until she's 5 :) 

I posted photos a while ago, she still loves to pile up her rags and lay on them. 

The finale for today: The Naked Cowgirl! She reminds me of the naked cowboy in New York, although he doesn't have the bling she does. This is what she does every time we take a bath. We have to chase her around to get her undressed then she runs for the bunny. She apparently must think the bunny will help her gallop away from us! haha. Crazy kid.

Fun with Friends!

The Noltings' were able to come visit on a Saturday night in March! It was great to see them and watch Henry & Addison. We had Casey's pizza for supper, it was a hit as always. 

We told the kids to climb up on the couch for a photo. This is what we got. haha!! 

We made them sit next to each other and we still got smiles!! 

Baby Violet!! Addison was not a fan of me holding her, but I did it anyways. Love the baby snuggles! Has anyone noticed that Addison is always wearing beads? I'm so used to it I don't even notice :) 

Had to add this one, look at Henry's face!! I don't remember him making that face, it must have been quick! 

We couldn't coordinate schedules very well, the Thraen's came the next day. Addison felt less threatened by Caleb, haha. They all had fun playing together, can't wait for this summer! Hopefully we can coordinate schedules a few times to get them together. It was fun to see everyone! 

My pet rock

So I'm pretty sure I posted last fall about how Addison picked up some rocks from outside Pizza Ranch and they entertained her for quite some time. Well these rocks have helped us out with a cranky kiddo a number of times. They are stored in a cup on the counter and we bring them out as a "secret weapon" from time to time. She loves to put them in the mug or she might get out some tuperware containers for them.

Addison was "helping" me re-organize some clothing tubs. She found some of Makena's old dress shoes and fancy mittens. I thought they went well with her necklace and jammies :) ha! 

I went back to Humboldt to meet baby Reagan, who apparently I forgot to take a photo of. She was such a sweet heart!! So tiny and sweet :) It makes me sad that we don't get to see her very often! I knew Addison would be mad that I went without her, so I took a quick photo of Rocky & JJ right before I left to try to make her happy! Maybe we can get Addison & Reagan together sometime this summer! 

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

It was the weekend before St. Paddy's day, but we had to wear our festive outfit anyways! We spent Saturday and Sunday at the Ames house. We need to get more photos with family, Addison wasn't especially photogenic that day, this is the best we got!

I went shopping with Aunt Kelly & Grandma Rita, and I found a car ramp at Duckworth. Addison loved Nolan's so we had to buy her one! 

Addison and Aunt Kelly! This one turned out pretty good. Then Addison ate a ton for supper but still wanted cake with Grandma Rita. You can just tell she's bursting at the seams but loves that cool whip!

Parker reading Addison some bedtime stories. Addison can kind of say Parker's name....it comes out "Parper" and sometimes can be confused with "Papa"

I had to work that Sunday and was very short staffed at work so I recruited Ryan to help. Addison stayed with the family, so we went out to HP afterwards. Ryan was sooo excited to order ice cream. And he ate the whole thing himself. Not kidding. ha! :)