Motor Boat, Motor Boat...

Isn't this little girl adorable?  She has been swimming twice at our awesome gym and absolutely loves it.

You wouldn't know she was happy by her face because it is set in the most serious focus-frown, taking in every little sound and movement, but her little legs are going to town under the water. I swear she's like a little wind-up motor boat under there.

Episode One: The Blessing

Isn't she adorable?

Adalyne was blessed on July 17, just two and a half weeks after she was born. Since we were moving so far from family, we decided to bless her early so that we could have all of our family and friends present. It was SUCH a wonderful day. We got permission to bless her in my grandparent's home (Mormor and Morfar's) where we were living and it worked out so perfectly because we had so many wonderful family members come support us! It was a crowded home! Thanks Mormor and Morfar for hosting such a special day and setting everything up!

Mormor decided to begin a new tradition in our family with a new baby blessing dress to be handed down through our family from now one. Addie's cousin was blessed in it just a few weeks earlier for the first time and Addie was the first great-grandchild of many to come to be blessed in it. She looked so beautiful and perfect.

Pre-blessing snooze + bib just in case :)

Jon gave Addie a beautiful, beautiful blessing and she was such a doll...slept peacefully through the blessing and through most of the day. We spent the rest of the evening showing off our darling baby, chowing down on Hawaiian Haystacks and numerous goodies, taking a bajillion pictures (which I don't have the majority of, so bear with the few that I do have), and saying our goodbyes to everyone.

Nana and Papa

Grandma and Grandpa Randall

Oh the swollen face of post-pregnancy!

 A little post-blessing snuggle with Papa

One of the most special moments was the chance we had to take a Five-Generation photo with Adalyne, me, my mother, my grandmother, and my great-grandmother!  It was so awesome to see that generational line and to know that without these three wonderful women, neither I nor Addie would be here.

 

Thanks to everyone who could come and make it such a special day.

Unsolicited

A few weeks ago, I had a doctor's appointment. Addie came with me and was of course the hit of the waiting room. Her favorite admirer was an 80 year old grandma who just couldn't get enough. She also couldn't comment enough on my child or my poor mothering skills, even as she handed my baby her disgustingly dirty keys so that Addie could slobber all over them and internalize the millions of germs that called the keys home.

Her favorite comment was the following and was repeated multiple times:

"Well, isn't she such a LARGE child. My babies were all so tiny...it is strange to see such a LARGE baby." 

After several comments, the feeling that the woman was calling my baby a ginormous cow finally got the better of me and I gently informed her that Addie was actually one of the smallest babies her age, ranging in the 5th percentile. She looked at me like I was such a whippersnapper to give her sass.

As the waiting room cleared, it was grandma and I and Addie left. Unfortunately, it came time for Addie's nap.

Now, when Addie falls asleep anywhere but her crib, she cannot be cradled in my arms or snuggled in a blanket or any of those normal ways. She has to be held upright so she can look at everything and when she is ready, she will lay her head against my chest and let me know she is ready to sleep. ONLY then will she succumb to sleep. After a half hour of walking Addie around the office, trying to get her to wear down and put her dang head on my chest, grandma spoke up:

"Didn't the doctors ever teach you how to hold a baby?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOO. It was a good thing I was across the room with my arms full.

Christmas 2011

Christmas was a whirlwind of family, friends, and way too much good food. It was so nice to be able to go home and see everyone!

On our flight to Salt Lake, we learned that Addie is in LOVE with puppies. There were two on our flight and all she wanted to do was put them in her mouth, lol. Thank goodness both my parents and Jon's parents have puppies...I think she had enough for one week.

During our SHORT (and I mean, where the heck did all the time go, short) stay of a week, we did a ton of awesome stuff.

We got some serious Nana and Papi time and awesome uncle time at the Berretts. That little girl was so spoiled with her three uncles fighting over her, plus Nana and Papi.

We also got to see some of our very best friends from our Wymount days and it brought back so many great memories. We love all those guys and miss them so much! It was so fun to see everyone and hopefully we can continue doing it every year! Thanks to the Averyts for hosting!!!

Christmas Eve we got to spend with my Frandsen extended family and it was so much fun! That side of my family is so close and the party is always a blast. My aunt Candy planned a very special event that made this Christmas very memorable. In the last couple years, two of my cousins have lost babies, one who died in uterus a couple weeks before his due date and one who died 40 mins after her birth. To honor to their lives, we all lit floating lanterns and sent them out into the night sky. It was such a wonderful idea and was such a reminder of the true season of Christmas. It especially hit home as I held my baby girl a little tighter and thanked Heavenly Father for the blessing that she is in our lives. The night ended with a very physical game of "Do You Love Your Neighbor?" and a lot of laughing. 

Christmas Day we woke up at the Randall's home. Unfortunately, Addie was teething and had a really hard night the night before, which meant I had a really hard night, so while the rest of the family headed to church, Addie and I took advantage of the extra and much needed sleep. When they returned, we had a killer brunch cooked by Krissie and then opened presents. It was so fun to be with so many of the Randall/Ricks family and once again, we got our game on.

Then we headed to my parents' house to open presents with them and even better, we got to talk to both of my brothers on missions. I miss them both so much and it was so fun to talk to them! Seth comes home in just three months! They are both doing so well and are working so hard.

Overall, we were seriously so spoiled by all of our families this year and were so happy to be with them for the holidays. And Addie was the most spoiled of all...her favorite gift was the Baby Einstein Jumperoo which she fell in love with immediately! This toy was built for this baby girl!

On the 26th, we got together with the Heaton family to celebrate Joseph Smith's birthday and it was so fun to see everyone, especially so that Grandma Heaton could meet and hold Addie.

The next morning, we got together with the Brotherhood. Oh, how I love those guys and their wives, and Addie seriously loved all the attention. After a fabulous brunch and hangout at the Moulton's, we sadly had to go. In the car, Jon and I just kept saying how much we missed the Brotherhood. Thanks for a great reunion and to those who couldn't be there, we missed you so much!!!

That night, we had the Frandsen reunion with my mom's brothers and their kids. It was so fun. I love this family and it was so good to hang out and have our traditional Swedish smogasbord. We had missed our beautiful Heber home!

The next morning, we got to see my best friend from high school, Kenzie, and her super cute kids and her cute prego belly!!! And later we got to spend some time with my sweet Grandma Berrett. She was so hilarious! At one point she brought out a couple pairs of shoes that she had just purchased and they were RocketDogs!  lol! My grandma is stylin'! I seriously almost bought the exact shoes a few days earlier!

Whew...it was a crazy busy week and now we know that we will need at least two weeks next time we come up! What a great Christmas!

Half Birthday

I can't believe my baby is 6 months old! That sounds so big and she is just so little still! Seriously...look at her stats:

Height: 25.25 inches, 25%

Weight: 13lbs 12oz, 10%

Head Circumference: 16in, 5%

And her weight is up from her last two appointments when she was still hanging out in the 5th percentile. Addie is a petite little thing, but if anything it makes her more determined. She is the funniest little girl to have around and Jon and I spend most of the day laughing at her antics, her reactions, and her facial expressions. Some of the things I want to remember about her at this age are: 

- She LOVES to jump...will she ever get tired of it? Mommy and daddy sure do...thank goodness for her Christmas present, the jumperoo. I don't know what we'd do without it! 

- When she's tired, we will give her a binky and then she will immediately lay her head on your chest. This is the only time in the world that she will give snuggles...the rest of the time is just GO GO GO.
- She is one of the happiest babies ever. She is almost always smiling or talking to herself. We love it.

- She has two teeth on the bottom and they are SHARP little daggers. She is still loving to put EVERYTHING in her mouth.

Loving the food!

Who needs expensive toys, when you can have a cup?

First time rock climbing...this is for you, Seth!

-She is loving solid foods. Every time we introduce a new food, I brace myself for the scrunched-up-"this-stuff-is-yucky" face and it never comes. She is such a curious adventurer that she just takes it all in stride. In fact, her favorite food right now is peas, the least liked veggie of babies...go figure.
- She sits by herself all the time and she loves it so much, she has a temper-tantrum almost every time she has to do tummy time!
- She has begun pushing herself up onto her knees and rocking and I know that crawling is just around the corner.
- She has really figured out that toys can make noise and she loves to hit the toys against her legs and stomach to make them rattle.
- She loves to have raspberries blown on her tummy and thighs and is starting to laugh a lot more.
- She can also blow raspberries herself, especially with her tongue sticking out...and her favorite thing is to do it just as I bring her food to her lips. She thinks it is so funny and repeats it over and over while spraying momma with an large array colored food.
- She loves to play patty-cake and do any other song that involves me moving her arms around.
- She is so aware. I am always surprised at how much she knows and recognizes from routine. She knows that when I go to the sink, she is most likely going to get a bottle, and she gets excited. She knows when I set out her high chair that her green peas are on their way, and she starts grinning and getting antsy. She especially knows when it is bath time...when she hears that water running, her legs start pumping in preparation for the splashing that she knows is coming! Haha...she is so cute!

Bathtime in Grandma's sink!

- She LOVES to be outside. On the brief walk to the mailbox everyday, she just grins from ear to ear, just so happy. She used to hate the sun, but now, she can't get enough.
- One of the funniest things lately is that she doesn't want to be held, she just wants attention and praise. She'll start crying from the jumperoo, but all she wants is for me to say, "Good job, Addie" and then gets right back to it, laughing and smiley as always.
- She has also begun to have some serious stranger danger and has become as momma's girl all the way...and I'm not gunna lie, I kinda love knowing that sometimes she just wants me.

Overall, we LOVE this little girl...she keeps us laughing and smiling all day long. 

Having the Time of our Lives

Wow...a whole new year. 2011was fabulous with so many new things like a baby, a move, a job, a new lifestyle, an East Coast adventure, and a million other things. These past six months have been so full of change, it has been hard to keep up with things myself, let alone blog about them. But, we are finally mostly settled and I am feeling the urge to finally document all of the big changes and fun things that have happened to our little family! Especially since Adalyne is growing up so dang fast! As a New Year's resolution, I would like to do better with this blog and make it more of my journal. Jon and I looked through all of my old posts (which are few) the other night and it was such a blast to see photos and reminisce about all of our fun experiences since our marriage. I wished I had done better in my blogging so that we had more to enjoy! So, my goal is to blog once a week and catch up on life since Adalyne was born. Since there is so much to recap, I'm going to try to do some of the most recent things (like Christmas, New Years, Addie's six month mark, etc.) pretty soon and then I will do the last six months in snippets...consider them episodes in the show that is our life. So until then, enjoy this darling photo of Adalyne and stay tuned for some recent Randall events and look out for Episode One: The Blessing.