My Baby, Happy Birthday

Hoooorrrrrraaaayyy!!! Addison is one year old!!!


My sweet baby is now a toddler! And she knows it too!! Look at her holding up one finger!


We celebrated Addison's birthday in pink & purple style with a 'pink poodle in paris' party. We had poodle wall stickers, poodle cake decorations, 89 pink & purple balloons (64 helium-filled & 25 air-filled), poodle serving ware, poodle favors, poodle dress (which had to be changed after the cake) and even pink boas decorating the banister.


Okay, I made Addison's birthday cake. yikes.


It took me two 'tester cakes' to get to this one.



Addison didn't mind that it leaned and she certainly didn't care about the taste. For her it was all about mashing the cake in between her fingers.

The only bit of cake and frosting that made it into her mouth was what I put in there and it made her shudder. I hope its only because it was the first real sweet that she's ever had and not because it was gross (it was a box mix - how bad could I mess it up . . . right??!!)!


Addison had so many of her little and big friends over to celebrate with her. Here are pictures of some of the little ones (and a couple of the big ones):

Nemo, Addison, Lola & Jenna


Kailyn ready to ride her Dad's 4-Wheeler


Bella, Hailey & Addison


Best of Friends: Bella & Kailyn


Addison & Lola


Miss Hailey all decked out in her adorable dress!

Ireland & Addison

Uncle Kyle stayed behind after the party was over to make sure he got to spend a little extra time with his favorite niece. The baby didn't get to bed until a little after 10pm - and boy was she out!!


Uncle Clint was able to make it back from his work training in Dallas for Addison's party. This kiss must have been her way of thanking him for coming up for her!!


Addison was completely spoiled on her birthday. Everyone was so generous. She even received several homemade gifts. Jenna gave her (& I) this BEAUTIFUL poem framed with her picture. I cried reading it out loud (how embarrassing). I still can't read the poem with out tearing up!


Staci is incredibly talented when it comes ot all things creative and this GORGEOUS quilt is no exception. She made it for Addison and it even has Addison's name embroidered in the corner!


Eli gave her a gift (in his own little way) - he let her tug at his ear one time; something I know that she's wanted to do for quite sometime!


It's amazing to think that one year ago today Sean & I became a family of three! No matter how old Addison gets we'll ALWAYS be her parents. Life just doesn't get any better than that.


Addison, My Baby, Happy Birthday! Your first year was the most incredible year of my life. I enjoyed spending every bit of time with you. I am so fortunate to have shared in everyday of your life thus far. I have been the lucky one that got to put you to sleep every night, fed you your first meals, read you your first stories and gave you your first kiss just mere moments after you were born.

You & I often read the book "On The Night That You Were Born" before you go to bed. In that book it talks about how the animals & the world celebrated the birth of "The One and only ever you." Tonight now more than ever, I celebrate you and the wonderful person you have already grown to be (with a pink poodle party of course). I am so thankful that I was chosen to be YOUR Mommy.


While I don't think Addison understood the decorations, the cake or why everyone was at her house, I do believe that she knew that it was all for her. She loved running from room to room finding more little friends to play with and hanging out in the laps of her big friends in the kitchen. She enjoyed her party that we worked so hard to give her. What better thanks could a person ask for than a big smile & a kiss like this!


Man alive, with the first year being so great I just know that we have another astonishing year ahead of us!

Aboard The LuLu Belle

Three years ago today, aboard the Lulu Belle, Sean & I were married. Now more than ever, I'm a believer in past lives. During one of those lives I must have done something pretty great because I certainly haven't done anything in this life to deserve all of the blessings I've received.

Rather than getting sappy - I'll go nostalgic. Here are some photos taken three whole years ago . . . .

My First Mommy's Day

I should be embarrassed that it took me a week to get these posted - but it seems that I'm behind in most everything these days. Here are more pictures from my first Mothers Day.



The two loves of my life who spoiled me incredibly and made the day memorable:

May Babies

May 2007 was a good month for Valdez. Three adorable babies were born to Valdez families last May (in birth order): Ireland, Addison & Rachel.

Ireland was born on May 1st. His parents were in childbirth class with Sean & I; so you could say that Addison & Ireland hung out together before they were born!

The Birthday Boy



Rachel was born three days after Addison on May 29th. She lives in our neighborhood and I can just imagine them playing a lot as they get older.

The Birthday Girl


Rachel & Ireland's proud mommies (pictured below) decided to celebrate both of their babies birthdays Friday.



I'm always so happy to go to events like these. It is great for Addison to be around other little ones and I enjoy talking with other Mothers. I am always relieved to hear that they are having the same experiences as I am.




Addison had such a great time at the party. She spent quite a bit of time pushing chairs across the dance floor - but she did put her furniture arranging on hold for just a bit to break out a little dance.


Some of Valdez's babies born over the past year.


Me and my sweet girl. I just love that little dress!


I'm so glad Addison already has friends like Rachel & Ireland. I'm sure there are many more playdates and parties in their future!

Grandma Suzy Kisses

Guess who just loves her Grandma . . .

Walkin' & Talkin'

Here is a little video of Addison taken last night. As you can see she was quite busy (notice the mountain of toys and books in the background)!

BlahBlah

One of my most favorite sounds in the world.

FrankenFoot

We were just up in Anchorage so Sean could see the Doctor again. This time he pulled Sean's pins. I won't go into any detail in case you have a weak stomach; but I will say: Holy Cow! That HAD to hurt! Sean is still dealing with some nerve pain, but with physical therapy it should go away over the next two weeks or so.


Sean was very excited to hear that he is now able to leave the couch. He is to begin putting a small amount of weight on his foot several times a day with the boot). Over the next three weeks his goal is to become crutch-less! I don't know which makes him happier - leaving his island (the couch) or loosing the crutches. He'll still be in the boot for several weeks afterwards - but the light is definitely there.

The other nice part of the doctor's visit in Anchorage is that we got to spend time with family & the Hubbells. We haven't gotten to spend near as much time as we would like with Jennifer, Billy & Will since they've been up here but hope to change that now that summer is almost here.




Will is such a good kid and he's very cautious with Addison. He's careful not to step on her or accidently knock her down and was very quick to share his toys with her.


We also got time with Nana, Grandpapadopolis, Phil & Colin. Addison got some snuggle time with both grandpapadoplis and Nana.



Phil tried to get some computer work done. As you can see, it wasn't very successful.


Addison nearly hyperventilated when she saw Colin. She was so excited to play with her little cousin!


While we were there, Sean hooked his computer up to the tv and Addison was thrilled to see her pictures enlarged. She squealed, laughed, clapped her hands and pointed to the screen to make sure we all could see the pictures.



Addison & I got to visit Billy's plane (MD-11) while we were up there. Addison seemed pretty impressed with all of the buttons but was most excited to see all of the other kids that got to visit the cockpit.



All in all it was a great trip - easy for me to say; I wasn't the one who had pins pulled!!!

Addi-Belle

I can't believe that this time last year Addison wasn't here. It's just unreal that 11 months ago I didn't have this sweet girl to love on.
It's amazing how much she is learning on what seems like an hourly basis. She studies every move Sean & I make and it is like she's trying to memorize them. What is crazy is how fast she gets things. She has picked up patty-cake, rollen 'em-rollen 'em, and strums her fingers across her lips as she makes an adorable sound. Addison is also becoming quite helpful. She knows when I'm closing the cupboard doors and she shows right up to close the doors that I haven't gotten to.


One of the greatest developments has been that she's started napping in her crib. Addison has been sleeping during the nights in her crib for a long time (ever since she moved out of the bassinet) but I used to let her take her naps in my lap. Finally I've moved her naps to the crib and it has been so great. It is a hard transition for many reasons, mainly because she can take two long naps in my lap and in the crib she takes two short ones. I know that she has to be getting better sleep in her crib and after awhile she'll learn to take longer naps there. Meanwhile, we may have a few rough days as she's a bit tired from her missed sleep.


The scariest development is that she has started walking. She's been taking two or three steps for quite awhile; but now she's REALLY walking. Addison can walk the distance of our family room all the way to the other side of the kitchen. And when she falls, she rarely starts crawling. She'll stand herself back up and finish walking. It is so wonderful to see how determined she is.


Addison still has just her two bottom teeth. Her top ones are making 'the move' but I don't expect them to show up until after her Birthday. Her hair is beginning to grow faster. For fun I managed to get two really tiny pigtails in her hair. I just loved it but she was not too happy with the process.


Addison is just the most amazing person I've ever met. I can't wait to see what the next month will bring!

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