Addie & Mason's Adventures

ATTN: This Blog is moving!

2009-11-27T07:14:00.003-07:00

With the addition of Mason to our family, we need a new blog!

As of December 1, 2009 the new address will be mercersincolorado.blogspot.com

Update your bookmarks, links, RSS feeds & such, now!

Smiling boy

2009-11-20T09:46:00.003-07:00

You may want to lower your volume so you don't have to listen to mommy's baby talk, but he clearly loves it :)

New family pictures

2009-11-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

Here's some of our second set of family pictures featuring our new addition...

Baby BMer vs Baby Mason

2009-11-14T16:27:00.002-07:00

Well here are the baby pics to compare, what do you think?

Baby Brian:

Baby Mason:

Halloween

2009-11-04T19:47:00.008-07:00

So we took our little Bumblebee over to the Brittons house for Halloween. it was a pretty big crew, with the Mercer grandparents in town, Addie and Mason, and the Britton kids and their great neighbors.

Pre-game meal with Addie (bumblebee), Eden (black cat with bunny ears), Malachi (Ty Lawson), Provi (Starbucks barista), and Sam (Woody).

Here's Addie with our neighbor Camden

Sam was hilarious all night, here's a few video highlights

and here's the crew being very efficient and wasting no time!

Here is Addie taking one for the team!

Addie was totally fine, shocked, but good to go. i asked her if she wanted to keep going and she didn't hesitate to take off after Woody.

Pumpkin Patch (Mason's first!)

2009-10-19T19:45:00.002-06:00

When Mason was just 1 week old & I (Kassie) was feeling good, we decided to take advantage of a beautiful fall morning & not being at work in the middle of the week...we went to the pumpkin patch. It was fantastic! We first drove to the field & picked out a "family" of pumpkins. Addie was more interested in picking up dirt & rocks, but at least she enjoyed it.

It was kinda cold so Mason had to experience it all while bundled in his car seat.

Next we went to the main area which has animals, a maze made of hay bales, a bounce castle & a large air-filled slide. We thought Addie would love the animals, but after trying the slide, it was all she wanted to do. Fortunately there weren't too many other people there, so she could slide to her hearts content (and until she was completely worn out!)

Addie running to get back to the slide...

Mason's first days

2009-10-16T23:29:00.003-06:00

October 14th, 2009:
We had an early morning & dropped Addie off at daycare at 6:15am, then brought our other "baby" (Polly) to Camp Bow Wow & headed to the hospital. Surgery was scheduled for 9am. It was a planned repeat c-section. While getting me (Kassie) prepped and taking my vitals, the nurse informed me of a new hospital policy. Starting October 15th, to decrease the risk of spreading H1N1, no one under 18 years old is allowed in the hospital unless they are a patient. What?! This meant Addie would not be allowed in. Would have been nice to have known this ahead of time...someone majorly dropped the ball on that one! So as my mind was racing with who to call and who to watch our daughter, the nurse re-took my blood pressure. Apparently it went a bit high after I heard that news!
Surgery went great, and Brian was able to announce the baby's gender. He did this with a big "yeeessss!" I knew we had our boy! And does that boy have lungs! He was a screamer and VERY loud. He then proceeded to pee all over the nurses...I strained to get a glimpse of him, but could only hear the splatter on the tile floor. Glad I didn't get him right away!

After a peek at my boy and a couple snuggles, Brian left with Mason as I got closed up. In the recovery room, Mason was brought in and I was told he had low blood sugar and needed to supplement with some formula to get it up quickly. I was devastated as I had troubles breastfeeding Addie and was really wanting success with Mason. Fortunately my worries were unnecessary. After a little supplement, we started breastfeeding and he's been going strong ever since.

We had planned to wait a day before having Addie come meet her new brother, but with the new policy we had no choice. We were thankful just to have missed the cut-off by one day! Addie came that evening along with her daycare family and met Mason. She liked him! We had no idea what to expect, but she thought he was really cute and liked the presents he gave her :) We're now a family of four!

We left the hospital after just 48 hrs...anxious to get back to our first born. We might have be just a bit too hasty to leave the hospital because on October 16, at just 2 days old, Mason had his first urgent care visit! (Addie has yet to have one...knock on wood)

Mason was circumcised that morning. At about 10pm I realized that I had not changed a dirty diaper all day. I mentioned this to Brian and he recalls the only instructions he was given was to make sure the baby has a wet diaper within 12 hrs of the circ. It was about 12 hours. So I called the nurse line. The advice: he's probably ok, but take him to the nearest ER. I freaked! All the pregnancy hormones kicked in & I started sobbing. Fearing the worst, we rushed to the Children's Hospital urgent care after dropping Addie off at the neighbors. I was crying the whole time. Brian told me to relax...not good advice at that moment and I let him know it. I knew it'd be fine, but my body wouldn't calm down. After arriving with tears streaming down my face, getting his weight checked and waiting in the exam room, the doctor finally arrived and...he had a wet AND dirty diaper! Little stinker! Sheepishly we waited while she checked him out since we were already paying for a visit. We've been assured it was best to have him checked out vs. waiting, but did he have to cut it that close?!

Here's Mason chillin after the excitement he caused!

Mason is Here!

2009-10-14T11:12:00.004-06:00

Mason Scott Mercer arrived at 9:42am on October 14th, 2009 via c-section (planned).
Weight: 7 lbs 10 oz
Height: 20 inches

Momma & baby are doing great!

Family photo album has been updated to include pictures of our first days with Mason. WARNING: there are a few graphic ones of the surgery.

The night before Mason

2009-10-13T13:59:00.008-06:00

Despite missing out on some of the surprise and excitement over when baby will arrive, my c-section experiences have been great. One of best things about having a planned c-section is being able to enjoy the night before baby arrives, knowing that the next day your life will change forever. With Addie we were full of anticipation and were unsure what to expect. With Mason we were still eager, but blessed with the chance to cherish our last evening as a family of 3 and dote on Addie during her last hours as an only child.

Our last family picture before Mason:

And last family pic before Addie:

Final belly pics with both kiddos:

First snowfall!

2009-10-10T13:42:00.006-06:00

Addie is a total snow bunny and daddy just loves it! Mommy likes snow too, but usually prefers to enjoy it through a window.

Here's Addie playing in our first snowfall of the season...captured through the window :)

Family Pictures

2009-10-09T21:52:00.013-06:00

We recently had our pictures taken by a very talented photographer from our church (www.jamiemariephotography.com)
We think they are amazing & are so thrilled to have these memories captured of our last days as a family of three! Thanks again Jamie!!

Addie's ABCs

2009-10-09T21:26:00.001-06:00

Dad and Addie Visit Cali pt. 3/3

2009-09-15T11:52:00.003-06:00

A real highlight of our trip was spending time with the Beaubiers. My best friend growing up was Aaron, we did everything together. I spent a good chunk of my childhood with his family and they're very special people to me. it was great to see them twice on our trip, it had been a few years. Aaron's older brother Josh has a great family and they had us over for lunch on our way to the airport to fly home. Josh and his wife have been blessed with 4 little girls, the last 2 being a set of twins and they're so cool.

Here's Aaron showing he has a tender side:

Timlyn made us a great little lunch, and Addie got to play with a bunch of toys/dolls. Here are Addie and new friend Brooke getting some food and playing with dolls.

After hanging out with the Beaubiers we headed to the airport. Addie was definitely ready to go home, and i was exhausted. I don't know how single parents travel, but i pretty much failed. Outside on the walkway i was towing 3 suitcases, 1 car-seat, carry-on bags, and an exhausted 2-yr old. We had a crash and Addie bumped her head, which basically turned into chaos. Thankfully a kind gentleman picked up my bags and helped me get to the counter.

After we survived check-in we headed to the gate. I was able to get us on the plane with no problems, we always sit in the last row to stay out of people's way. I got Addie setup and about 10 minutes into the flight she was out.

And she's out:

At this time i apparently looked like death. The steward asked if he could use the vacant seat next to me for his gear, of course i said it was alright but i joked that i wanted "free drinks" for the flight. He turned and said "okay" and went on to do his pre-flight stuff. I put on my headphones (listened to Meese and Glorious Unseen) and tried to relax. The steward, after taking everyone's drink orders was approaching my seat.

"what would you like?" he asked

" um, i'll just take a coffee" i replied

"you can have anything on the plane and you want coffee?"

"uh, no, um, do you have beer?"

"yes, would you like a Heineken?"

"yea, that'd be great" i said.

Then he proceeded to go down the aisle and charge everyone for their drinks, but not me, he gave me a free beer! i know this isn't really amazing or whatever, but it really impacted me ya know, i was exhausted and he was being such a great person to me. I said thanks and enjoyed my beer.

After about 15 minutes he came back and asked me if i was ready for my 2nd?!

Of course i said, now completely relaxed, excited to be home, and enjoy the quiet rumble of the plane. Southwest totally made me their customer after this trip, they were awesome!

This trip was great, i was so thankful that we could see some great friends, and hang out with my family so much. Folsom is growing so fast i hardly recognize it when i go back, we even have an In N Out now! I'm so thankful for my parents and their hospitality, they really took care of us and let us do pretty much whatever we wanted. Addie was really good too, even though she was homesick and was asking for mommy, she stuck it out with dad and didn't have any major breakdowns. She was so good that i picked her up a new pair of DC's from the outlets in Folsom, so now she has puffy white skate shoes just like her daddy!

Addie and Dad Visit Cali pt. 2/3

2009-09-15T11:32:00.003-06:00

So throughout the week Addie and I got to have a lot of adventures. When it's over 100 degrees outside you end up indoors watching movies while dad and Uncle Derek watch soccer. So Addie got to watch Nemo, Monster Inc, and Mouse Movie (The Tale of Despereaux) and play with my itouch until it cooled off.

One day we decided to head down to the river. I grew up on this river, so i figured it'd be a good spot to introduce Addie to something besides a pool. This water comes straight out of the bottom of Folsom Lake, so even though it was 100+ outside, the water was frigid. Addie didn't mind at all though, she walked right out in it. She chased some ducks, played in the mud, and wanted me to swim her out to the "dolphins" (buoys).

And probably the coolest (literal) thing we got to do was hit up a local park. they had a little man made river and waterfall that we played in. I dragged my good friends Chris and Eli (of Killing the Dream fame) out with us to help keep my kid entertained. they did a great job!

My favorite shot:

Dad and Addie Visit Cali pt. 1/3

2009-09-15T10:12:00.016-06:00

Well, Addie and I (dad) decided to run off to northern California for a few days and hang out in my hometown of Folsom (yes, like the prison). i was excited to take Addie by myself for a few days and give Kassie a few days to relax before the 2nd baby gets here.

Everything went great, Addie is a good traveller, she has a few movies that she loves, she's not a super-picky eater and she sleeps well. Unfortunately it was ridiculously hot the first few days so we were inside a lot, but we had fun!

Addie decided that her Little People each needed their own seat

First we wanted to get together with each of my grandparents. We saw Grandma Lois first, and got a 4 Generations picture.

Then we had Grandma Wilma over and got another few pics.

After we hung out with the Grandparents Addie got to hang out at home. She played with my old train set whenever she got the chance. this huge track was in the living room for most of the trip.

She also got to meet one of the girls that my mom watches, Ally. They played a lot and got along really well. Ally's parents have given us a ton of clothes so it was funny to see Addie wearing outfits that Ally used to wear a few years ago.

Addie basically survived on yogurt, cereal, pizza, and ice cream. She wanted ice cream all of the time, and being the responsible parent that i am, i broke down often and gave in to her demands.

Sleeping Beauty

2009-08-22T21:00:00.003-06:00

There was a time when we were just waiting to find Addie asleep somewhere other than in her bed. These days it's more of a surprise for her to actually make it back into her bed! Here are some of our favorite shots of Addie not sleeping in her bed:

Soon she'll be moving into a true big girl bed (twin-size), when her bed gets converted back into a crib. Maybe she'll like that bed enough to stay in it!

Daddy Needs to Man-up

2009-08-08T13:15:00.003-06:00

Addie has been playing with her Little People a lot lately, specifically a little train that carries the Mercer Family. It's really cute, she has us all picked out from her large group of people, and she tows us around on the little train.

Here's our little family:

Hopefully you've noticed a problem; where's dad? We'll apparently dad is the African Safari lady who rides the teeter-totter on the train:

Well maybe Addie didn't have any other options right? wrong, here are 2 options that i would have preferred, notably the Fireman

And here's video-proof of Addie's decision:

Wild Animal Sanctuary

2009-08-03T21:01:00.007-06:00

Kassie once again found a cool thing to do in Denver; the Wild Animal Sanctuary. Kassie found out about the Sanctuary awhile ago, but we haven't really had a chance to get out there, and by "out there" I mean out there! This place is beyond Brighton, the area that most "Colorado Natives" probably don't know exists, but that's a whole 'nother conversation.

Anyway, we fired up Moses and jammed out beyond civilization, beyond paved roads, to the Sanctuary, a place where tigers, lions, bears, and other animals go once they are saved from people like Mike Tyson. It's not designed for the public, it's designed to keep the animals safe. They've built a large viewing balcony, high above the areas that the cats stay, so you can see all of them, but they're not really bothered by the crowds.

It was a little tough for Addie to see the bears and the camel we spotted, since they were far away, but we did get to see some awesome tigers and lions. they were incredible, just the size of the animals is so shocking.

they had all of these dogs roaming around, apparently when the cats are young, they get to interact with the dogs, until they grow too big. it was cool to see some english bulldogs and boxers, addie liked them!

as you can see the area is split up. Out in the far area were the bears, so we could see them but i doubt Addie really knew what they were.

and Addie only made it about 5 minutes into the drive home:

What a little winker!

2009-07-26T15:25:00.002-06:00

Addie learned to wink! Well...kinda. At this point she hadn't quite perfected her technique yet :)

MN trip

2009-07-20T15:36:00.001-06:00

We took a quick trip out to see family & friends in MN. We went to Kassie's 10 yr HS reunion and Brian enjoyed a few days at Sonshine Music Festival. This was Addie's first plane ride with her own seat and she was amazing! Seriously, we couldn't have had better travel with her! She was excited about every aspect of the trip; from the shuttle bus from the parking lot, the train ride to the terminal and especially the plane ride. She took it all in and helped us enjoy it when we were cranky due to delays and fatigue :)

Once there, we got to stay with the Baertschi's (thanks again!) and play a bit with Livie & her sweet rides!

Then Alan & Brian headed up to Sonshine, while Kassie & Addie when to see family in St. Cloud. While Daddy spent 2 days filled with loud music & sweaty crowds, Addie got to visit lots of fun parks and play with her cousins, Stella, Henri & Tristan. (along with Papa, Grandma, Brandon, Virginia & Great-Grandma) More pics avail here.

We had a great trip & miss you guys!

New ride

2009-07-13T15:18:00.000-06:00

Following the lead of our friends, we caved and got a bike trailer...nothing heavy duty as it mainly goes to the park that is less than half a mile from our house. Addie just loves it. Now we need to get mommy a bike so she's not left at home when these two go for a ride.

4th of July

2009-07-04T21:10:00.000-06:00

Addie's first experience with sparklers. She was a little freaked out & would hold it as far away from her as possible, but as soon as it finished, she asked to do it again!

Water Fountains

2009-06-23T20:25:00.006-06:00

the outdoor mall near our house has water fountains that randomly shoot water in the air. the kids all love it, and to the dismay of their parents, they run around and get soaked in their nice clothes. except Addie, she doesn't want much to do with the fountains, or sprinklers for that matter. my only hope of getting her wet was to convince to go step on the little grates hoping that the timing would be right and get her wet. it only worked once and we got it on video below.

also, i tried to get Addie to follow me through the fountains, running through during a break in the action hoping to not get wet myself. i would run through and look back to see if Addie followed me, but no, she would run all the way around and avoid the fountains altogether.

Swim Class

2009-06-09T21:25:00.005-06:00

Addie started her first swim class last Saturday. It was a beautiful, sunny day for a swim & since daddy is a such a water-lover, it's time for Addie to get comfortable in it too. She was unsure at first, but seemed to really enjoy it & has been asking to go back. Best of all, she took a great nap afterwards :)

Waiting for class to start

Blowing bubbles with the teacher

Through Addie's Eyes

2009-06-03T21:58:00.005-06:00

Digital cameras have become so easy, even a 2 year old can use them. Here's what happens when Addie get's free reign of the camera:

Go here to check out a larger sampling of her work
Notice how she realizes her feet are an easy target and her love of Monster's Inc (we have several more TV shots from her!)

Rock Star

2009-05-26T17:56:00.003-06:00

Watch out American Idol season 25!

More Rock Band pictures

Mother's Day and other updates

2009-05-10T08:13:00.019-06:00

Addie made an art project for me at daycare. I love it! Yes...those are butt prints! How does Shannon come up with these things?! But she did say it was probably our last chace to get a butt print. I guess she's right, but I hadn't ever thought of it!

Some other Spring updates:

Addie tripped over Polly & fell face first on the floor. This is her first black eye, but she was a champ & recovered well.

Addie's second Rockie's game (an annual event with our awesome realtor (www.teamlassen.com).

A musical prodigy?

We had a few very rainy days in April, but after it cleared we got to play in puddles!

Easter 2009

2009-04-24T22:57:00.006-06:00

We had a quiet Easter this year. We were on the worship team at church and enjoyed a wonderful service. Addie loved kids church & since she had to stay through 2 services, she got two snacks :)
Back at home, after Addie had her nap, she woke up to an Easter Egg hunt! (Well "hunt" for a 2 year old). She LOVED it and got more excited with each egg she "found." She then got her first taste of jelly beans and realized that some are not so good. (see more pics here)

Blizzard buddies

2009-04-24T22:03:00.008-06:00

So back when Kandace & Alivia were visiting, we had a blizzard...it even sent Brian & I home from work early...we ended up with a couple feet of snow. While our neighbor shoveled his driveway, we had Camden, our neighbor-boy over to play. It was a toddler-fest!

Livie visits!

2009-04-23T21:10:00.000-06:00

This post is way overdue. About a month ago, we had some visitors. Kandace & Alivia (about 22 months old) stayed with us while they were visiting friends in Denver. We enjoyed their visit and Addie just loved having Livie around to play with and still will randomly ask us, "where's Livie?"

Visit to the Children's Museum:

Kandace & Livie

Our first family picture in months

next American Idol?

2009-04-03T21:42:00.003-06:00

Our girl loves to sing! Though when the camera is out, she'll only do duets :)

Too tired for TV

2009-03-21T18:59:00.006-06:00

Escape Artist

2009-03-11T21:11:00.003-06:00

So Addie is recovering from an ear infection/fever/cold that totally jacked up her sleep schedule. Last time she got sick it took us 2 weeks to get her back on track, with modifications like using a baby-gate in her doorway instead of closing the door. The last few nights she has not been able to fall asleep without one of us actually in her room, tonite was different.

we put Addie to bed at the usual time, and she wouldn't stay in bed. she made a lot of noise, shaking the gate, crying/whining, talking, and other stuff. we were giving her a chance to wear herself out when we noticed that it was pretty quiet. every now and then we would hear some footsteps and stuff moving, but she usually reads books and stuff so we thought nothing of it. i decided to check on her, and well, i knew something was up when i got to her room and the gate was down.

i knew instantly where she was, in our bathroom putting on makeup. judging by the trail of makeup she had also been on our bed.

Buggies

2009-03-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Addie had fun outside with Daddy, Polly, the camera & some bugs (a.k.a. buggies)

Ballerina Addie?

2009-02-28T14:56:00.006-07:00

Addie got a new tutu...thanks, Jen!

Movie night

2009-02-27T18:44:00.001-07:00

Addie had movie night with Tigger & Pooh! She's watching her new favorite movie, Finding Nemo (or mimo, as she calls him). Just bring up his name & she'll start ranting & raving all about mimo, fishes, turtles & baby turtles.

Even more Kristen!

2009-02-14T20:50:00.007-07:00

Say "cheese!"

Now Addie is showing Kristen how to scroll back and look at the pictures...no joke!

Addie posing while Daddy & Kristen play Mario Kart

Reading books...always a fav!

Visit from Auntie Kristen

2009-02-13T15:05:00.001-07:00

We've had the pleasure of having Auntie Kristen visit us! Thanks Kristen, for Addie's new favorite books :)

make-up!

2009-02-10T20:50:00.000-07:00

Addie has found mommy's makeup and sneaks into it periodically. On this day she was SO proud of her work!

Addie Training for 2020 Olympics

2009-01-28T21:34:00.010-07:00

Last Saturday Addie started her 5-week intense gymnastics training. For 45 minutes we pushed Addie until she couldn't take it anymore. Not really, in fact she was pretty bummed that it was over, but for being one of the youngest in the class (2-3.5 yr olds) Addie was doing really well!

and some video:

Bust a move!

2009-01-11T14:43:00.002-07:00

Addie is a dancer...put some music on she'll usually start to get down. We've found she especially loves the intro music for "My Friend's Tigger & Pooh" (the cartoon). Here she is, a little disheveled after a long day at daycare & sporting her new birthday bling.

Addie is Two!!

2009-01-04T22:11:00.014-07:00

Addie turned 2 today! According to Babycenter.com we no longer have a toddler, but now have a preschooler...yikes!
Last year, for the big ONE, we had a large party with lots of friends & cake & toys...it would've been pretty hard to top. And since Addie's big day is only 11 days after Christmas, we decided she really doesn't need any more toys or gifts, so this year, we created "Addie Day." A day dedicated just to Addie. We made an effort to be extra attentive to her...breakfast and 2 episodes of My Friends Tigger & Pooh, painted her toenails, then kids meal at Wendy's and off to the World Of Wonder Children's Museum for hours of fun! She had a blast. I have to say, it was a great success. We even got to finish with cupcakes at the Brittons.

Freshly painted toesies

Addie admiring her toes

The fish are always a big hit!

Addie loved watching the train go round & round

What do you think? Is she a righty or lefty?

Cowie vs Tigger

2009-01-03T06:43:00.001-07:00

What do you do when you can't decide which toy to sleep with? Sleep with both, of course!

Aquarium

2008-12-27T18:09:00.010-07:00

We visited the Downtown Aquarium in Denver with Grandma & Papa and boy did Addie love it! She wasn't afraid at all, she ran up to all the tanks and would sign "fish" and "more." She also liked the ducks, turtles, tigers & sting rays, which she even got to touch! She was so worn out she fell asleep while eating on the way home.

Addie's 2nd Christmas

2008-12-27T17:55:00.009-07:00

This year we enjoyed Christmas with Brian's parents. Addie loved the extra attention and new eyes to show off for. She really loves to ham it up & talked up a storm for Grandma & "Papa."

Addie woke up to find a new stroller for her "baby." She proceeded to push her around the house at mach 10 speed!

Addie loved all her gifts and would slowly tear off the wrapping paper & whisper, "wow!" Our house is now filled with Winnie the Pooh toys-Addie takes Tigger to bed with her.

Here's a taste of Addie opening a gift:

The swish-faced pug, is Hailey-a dog we pug-sat for a couple days.

Mommy's little helper

2008-12-21T09:21:00.003-07:00

Addie the Photographer

2008-12-20T18:04:00.005-07:00

Addie loves to look at pictures on digital cameras (and iphones, thanks John) and today while i was showing her some pictures on our camera she figured out how to take pictures. i tried to get the camera back but she took off, here are the photos to prove it:

and it ended by the front door after i got help from Kass, you can see us plotting in this picture:

first taste of snow!

2008-12-13T19:17:00.001-07:00

Technically Addie was born in the midst of the blizzards of 2007 and we did have snow last winter, but at first she was too young to be outside in the cold & later she still couldn't walk & we did just want to plop her in the snow...kinda seemed like torture. So now that we got out first snowfall of the year, Addie finally got to experience it! (this occurred a couple weeks ago)
She loves snowballs & stomping on them. And she says "snow," but it sounds more like "nose" :)

Her first snow angel...

Puzzle queen

2008-11-24T20:50:00.004-07:00

I think I mentioned earlier that back in October, while in MN, we discovered Addie's love of puzzles. Well, I think they have now surpassed books as her absolute favorite thing to do. When I go in her room in the morning, I catch her on the floor doing puzzles. It's so neat to see her learn them & get better at them. (quickly too!)

Winnie the who?

2008-11-24T20:41:00.007-07:00

Pooh! Pooh! That's what Addie demands as she points at the TV and graciously brings us the remote. This occurs every day after she gets home from daycare & right before dinner. She loves the show "My Friends Tigger & Pooh." On this particular day, she decided she must wear her Pooh bib and is showing us the Pooh on her pillow.

Polly wanna kiss?

2008-11-09T10:45:00.003-07:00

Wild wild west

2008-11-08T23:25:00.003-07:00

Check out all the tumble weeds that blew up into our yard after the strong winds earlier this week. Addie helped us throw them back over our fence so they could blow elsewhere...what else could we do?!

my heart cries

2008-11-04T13:27:00.003-07:00

This is a reminder to us what a true gift from God our wonderful & healthy daughter is.

http://littlemissmollyann.blogspot.com/

and

http://brittonadoptionjourney.blogspot.com/

As one family looses their beloved daughter, another one gains a son who desperately needs a loving family. With the first story, I sobbed as my heart broke for this family. It's truly unimaginable. I also cry tears of joy for our dear friends, the Brittons, as they are in Ethiopia this very moment, probably staring at & soaking in their new son, Malachi.

Both experiences, though vastly different, are filled with too many emotions for words.

Halloween

2008-10-31T21:13:00.001-06:00

We took Addie trick-or-treating with our neighbors & their son, Camden (he's the cute cowboy riding a horse). Brian got dressed up for his soccer game & played in the goal as the hulk.

Addie decided to wear a hat. notice Polly as a "hot-dog"

She got the point pretty quickly

the hulk!

my hulk & chicken

lastly, you have to check out our favorite friends' costumes!
Enjoy!

the Chases as Mario & Luigi, a pirate & a monkey

McKenna as an air freshener

MN Trip, part 2

2008-10-30T15:40:00.000-06:00

The rest of the week we had a big birthday party for my Grandpa (his 87th!), took a family pic-hopefully will have that back soon, went to the Maple Maze (rec center), did some outlet mall shopping and visited lots of MN friends & family!

in the Maze

climbing up to the slide

Henri!

Henri & Addie fast sleep after all the fun at the Maze

Grandma Barb discovered Addie's love of puzzles

cousins Stella & Henri

Stella (and Aunt Virginia)

Addie watching Tigger & Pooh on the ipod

Jordan & Addie reading books

reading again...in costume

Off to the park with Alivia

Taking the shuttle to our car. Ready to be home!

MN Trip! part 1

2008-10-29T20:47:00.000-06:00

We spent about a week in MN, visiting family and friends. Lots of cherished memories were made & we are so thankful and feel so loved every time we visit. We appreciate everyone making room for us in their schedules & opening up their homes!
Here's a recap:

Arrived late friday night. Addie did we on the place despite a dead battery on our dvd player. Thank goodness for our ipod nano! Addie watched, "My Friends, Tigger & Pooh" for about an hour without sound, before she finally gave into the Benadryl and fell asleep for the remainder of the flight. Flight = success! Though Addie did grab a handful of the stewards backside while he was delivering some drinks across the isle, much to Brian's dismay.

Saturday: park with Grandma, Great-Grandma stopped by in the evening & ate dinner w/ uncle Brandon, aunt Virginia & cousins Stella & Henri.

4 generations

preparing for a trip

2008-10-23T06:51:00.002-06:00

We are headed to MN on Friday-yay! We are flying and are a little nervous as to how behaved Addie will be, since both Brian & I are ultra-sensitive to the passengers around us. We are prepping with the new Baby Signing Time dvds and a new portable dvd player complete with little kid headphones for Addie. Here's how it works out:

MN, here we come!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-19T22:01:00.009-06:00

Today we went to the pumpkin patch (Rock Creek Farm) & had a blast! Addie fell asleep on the way, and apparently waking up in a sea of orange mounds is a scary experience. Addie was a bit freaked out at first (note first picture), but eventually warmed up to the pumpkins. The more enjoyable part for Addie was the animals...they had some Baas (sheep) and a Moo (cow), along with pigs, goats, horses & a donkey. I don't think Addie's ever seen most of those animals in real life! We also discovered she likes caramel apples-yum! What a great day!

Asleep at the book

2008-10-19T16:53:00.005-06:00

Ever since we moved her to her "big girl" bed, we assumed we'd find Addie sleeping somewhere other than her bed. Today, it finally happened! We laid her down for her nap, but she was clearly not sleepy and we could hear her moving around her room. Finally, after putting her back in her bed a couple times, she continued to play quietly and we let her. Eventually she got quiet & we could hear heavy breathing. After a couple hours, I went up & found this: (video coming soon)

Prints of Pride

2008-10-18T14:15:00.003-06:00

Last spring a new outdoor mall opened up a few miles from our house called The Orchard. It's a pretty nice little place with really cool landscaping and architecture, and play areas for kids. When the mall was getting ready to open they had an event called Prints of Pride, you could basically bring your kid or pet over and purchase a tile, the proceeds benefited the Westminster Legacy Foundation.

Anyway, we were over there today and found Addie's tile. The tiles are on permanent display in an open area right in the middle of the mall, it was pretty cool!

photo session

2008-10-12T08:34:00.016-06:00

We had some wonderful visitors the other day...the Hasner's! (our old friends from CCU who now live in Indiana) Laurel is a photographer and offered to take a few shots of us. We think she's amazing! Especially since we were in pre-shower, pre-make up, almost straight out of bed condition!

Fearless!

2008-10-11T21:12:00.004-06:00

Addie has already been driving for months, but recently we discovered a new fun way to drive. Since it involves flying down the driving and then being pushed back up the driveway we decided (well, actually it was Shannon's original idea) to get Addie a helmet, we found the perfect one that fits her great.

Now she can't get enough of driving around in her car with her little helmet, and its a good thing she wears it as you should see by this video:

Mountain girl

2008-09-27T19:02:00.009-06:00

We took a drive through the mountains today to see the fall colors. It was Addie's first time up there! We stopped a couple times to eat lunch & explore...she wanted to climb up all the rocks and loved the streams.

Big Girl Bed

2008-09-25T18:55:00.001-06:00

A couple weeks ago Addie made the switch to a big girl bed...not a baby anymore! (sniff, sniff) She's been great with it as we had feared the worst and were sure she'd be knocking on her door all night long. But instead she loves crawling into her bed and gets up and reads books to herself in the morning!

Where's your...

2008-09-01T09:03:00.005-06:00

Sorry it's so grainy...mom shouldn't use video mode with the camera zoomed in, oops! But here's Addie showing us her body parts :)

Her room is done!...well almost

2008-08-30T19:44:00.007-06:00

We've just about finished painting Addie's room. After living in our house for a year, we finally decided on an idea and after a month it's just about finished...yay!
(Thanks to Cookie magazine for the modern, color-block idea)

look what I did!

2008-08-21T16:14:00.004-06:00

So today Addie found a marker in a drawer & decided to put it on...just like mommy's lipstick! There was not a spot of marker anywhere else (thankfully!) and I even found the marker, with the cap put back, on sitting in the drawer!

fine art

2008-08-18T16:22:00.001-06:00

The newest love of Addie...coloring with crayons. Mommy, on the other hand, loves the Crayola washable crayons!

Not Always An Angel!

2008-07-30T09:15:00.007-06:00

It seems like everyone that knows Addie thinks she's really well-behaved, even our babysitters (thanks Mollie and Katie!), but lately, Addie has had her moments:

So last week we visited our awesome friends Carrie and Christian and their newborn son Pete. While visiting with them, Addie showed us a glimpse of what the "terrible two's" could hold in store for us.

Addie was sure that Mommy would let her hold little Pete:

"What?! I can't hold the real newborn baby?!"

"then i'll just sit here and cry while daddy takes pictures"

"oh wait, pictures of me? i love pictures of me!"

"everyone knows i'm a pro when it comes to smiling"

And that solved the problem! Addie played nice after having her picture taken.

New Wheels

2008-07-16T19:59:00.004-06:00

Watch out world, Addie got her first new car! She has one like this at daycare & loves it so much that she drives out to meet Daddy at his car when he picks her up! Now she has some wheels at home too!

glasses update

2008-07-13T08:09:00.005-06:00

First day with glasses at 9 months old

Now 18 months old! (a little crooked...oops)

We've come a long way! Addie got glasses when she was 9 months old and the eye doctor told us at that time not to expect her to grow out of them since her prescription was so strong. She wore them really well up until about 12 months, then it got less and less as she'd pull them off all the time! We started wondering if she really needed them as she's far-sighted (has trouble seeing really close things) but she'd pick up even the smallest speck on her tray.

Well we took her in this week for a 6 month check up and...good news! Her eyes are indeed getting better! They have completely straightened out (they had been turning in a little at first) and her prescription has been cut in half! The eye doctor thinks that's why she's taking the glasses off so much-they are too strong now. And they even said it now looks like she just might indeed grow out of them...yay! But even if she doesn't, her eyes are growing stronger. We are so glad we caught this early on and may have prevented her a lifetime of vision problems...praise God!

Summertime fun!

2008-07-11T12:44:00.008-06:00

It's been HOT here, so nothing like some water to cool off in. Addie just loves her pool and water table and yesterday we took her to her first big pool at the rec center. We had a blast!

4th of July!

2008-07-04T23:33:00.001-06:00

We had a BBQ at our house with some friends for the 4th. It was HOT, so the kiddos enjoyed the water table.

And Addie brought Daddy some beer!

Addie & Camden (the neighbor boy)

Summertime chores

2008-06-13T14:08:00.006-06:00

Summer's here and Addie found a new love...mowing the lawn!

She was so excited that she put her sunglasses on all by herself :)

"Say Cheeese!"

2008-05-26T13:44:00.006-06:00

Somewhere along the line our precious daughter developed a camera smile. we have no idea where she got this and though you may think it's cute, its hard to get a natural picture of her anymore. no matter, we think it's cute as well.

the best part of this is that most of our pictures and videos are coming from the same camera, so she thinks we're going to take her picture when we're videotaping, which you can see by the video attached.

No Fear

2008-05-18T09:09:00.007-06:00

Addie and I went to the park yesterday, and after swinging for a little bit we decided to try some slides. after we went down the first one together, Addie decided she would slide on her own, and thats what she did for the next hour!

While the rents were away...

2008-05-15T21:18:00.004-06:00

Addie got to play!!

Grandma & Grandpa Mercer flew all the way from California just to spend a week with me! I woke up and a vaguely familiar stranger came in my room-yikes! Where's mommy?! But she had milk, so she must be nice. Turns out she's pretty cool. She took me to the park and made bubbles! AND, she had a bushy faced guy with her that liked to tickle me...I love that! Mommy and daddy don't know what they missed! Maybe I'll wake up to them again sometime soon...i hope :)

Springtime fun

2008-04-21T19:58:00.007-06:00

We've had some VERY nice days this month...up in the 80s even, so we finally got to set up the water table that Addie got for her birthday (thanks Uncle Brandon & Aunt Gin!). We are loving our new backyard and are ready for more sunny days!

p.s. bubble machines rule!

Visit with Livie

2008-04-19T17:42:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we had the pleasure of having some friends come stay with us. Their daughter Alivia (Livie) is 10 months old...so Addie had a friend to play with! The girls seemed to enjoy each other: Livie was all smiles, but I'm not sure Addie knew what to think!

more tricks

2008-04-16T13:07:00.003-06:00

Another thing Brian taught her...

and some more footage...

Addie gets jumped!

2008-04-16T13:04:00.000-06:00

Daddy discovered something Addie loves...

Welcome home mommy!

2008-04-16T13:01:00.001-06:00

On this day I was greeted at the door...what a wonderful surprise!

Baby Signing Time

2008-04-16T12:56:00.003-06:00

Baby signing time has quickly become Addie's (and our) favorite video. She loves to sit in her chair & watch it and has learned to sign "eat," "drink," "more," and "all-done!"

Princess on her throne

2008-04-10T22:02:00.003-06:00

texting...

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T21:34:00.005-06:00

Children's Museum

2008-03-23T20:45:00.007-06:00

Kassie's Mom is visiting, so we took a special trip to the Children's Museum of Denver. There were a lot of kids there due to the holiday, so our usually loud & boisterous Addie, turned shy & timid. Gradually she got some courage and walked around discovering new toys. She also now loves to sit down. Yep, she turns around & slowly backs up until she finds something to sit on...see the stars:)

New Tricks!

2008-03-11T22:24:00.000-06:00

Mercer Look-alike Meter

2008-01-30T13:23:00.001-07:00

Yep it's confirmed, she's a combination of Brian & I...just slightly more a daddy's girl!

walk this way

2008-01-26T19:40:00.000-07:00

yep, we now have a little walkin' girl! As you can see, she now does more than just a step or two at a time.

tricks!

2008-01-26T19:17:00.000-07:00

Addie loves to show off her skills. Her favorites are clapping, waving, blowing kisses, giving "five."

Look who's ONE!

2008-01-05T16:11:00.000-07:00

Our little Addie is now a big One year old! I can't believe we've had her a whole year already! We threw a big party to celebrate this big day. Lots of friends came over and showered Addie with love and gifts. She also enjoyed her very own pink cake, especially the frosting (see pictures). We are so proud of our little lady and were so happy to have our friends celebrate with us.

Can you find Addie?

Yay, time for cake!

Dinnertime & she's still the birthday princess...this is her new "smile" for the camera

Christmas!

2007-12-30T21:26:00.000-07:00

Addie had her first Christmas and it was wonderful! It was just the 3 of us and we got an unexpected snow storm that day, so we were warm & cozy indoors. Addie enjoyed opening her gifts (though i think we enjoyed watching her even more!). She wasn't big into the wrapping paper, but once she saw the toy, she got a cute little smile on her face and would poke at it with her index finger. We read a boardbook about Jesus' birth and the reason we celebrate Christmas...Addie loves turning the pages for us. Though we missed our families back in CA & MN, nothing beats a quiet Christmas at home!

Merry Christmas from the Mercer's!

Yummy Christmas Eve feast!

waking up to new toys...yay!

my best friend, "cowie"

2007-12-11T20:20:00.000-07:00

Addie has a best friend named "cowie." It's a security blanket w/ a cow's head & arms on top (actually it might be a giraffe, but i think it looks like a yellow cow). We got it when Addie was about 7 months old and started giving it to her whenever she slept, hoping she'd become attached and it'd help her sleep when not at home. Well it worked...too well! She doesn't sleep easily without it. We had to get another "cowie: after it was left at daycare once and we had to drive back & get it. She likes to suck on the arms, which can get pretty gross, so we are washing them pretty much every day. So far Addie has made transitions very easy for us. She gave up her pacifier and thumb sucking on her own at about 6-7 months, but it's looking like "cowie" will be around for awhile :) The only way to get her to let it go is to replace it with a bottle when she wakes up!

First Haircut!

2007-11-22T19:36:00.000-07:00

First Thanksgiving & first haircut all in one.

Not a professional doo, but a trim by mom on the kitchen table none the less. We had a dilemma...keep the shaggy, pre-mullet going, or risk making her look even more boyish. We took the risk and here she is:

Before:

During:

After:

oh and today we found two more bottom teeth, for a grand total of eight! She used those new teeth to chew up some yummy turkey, which put both her & I to sleep for a long nap!

Happy Thanksgiving!

movin & shakin

2007-11-19T20:29:00.000-07:00

Addie finally crawled today! We thought she was just gonna skip it. She has been pulling herself up and walking around the furniture for at least a week now. To get around, though, she would sit up, then go flat on her belly, then roll over & sit back up again.
Check out some footage:

Halloween Chicken

2007-11-05T19:53:00.000-07:00

Addie was a cute little chick for her first Halloween. She got to go to a 1st grade party with daycare, so she was a bit worn out for the evening. We went to my (Kassie's) work and got her picture taken and visited my co-workers. She was a hit and got tons of oohs & awws. From there we went over to some friends to go trick or treating, but Addie was so worn out she fell asleep on the way and she awoke and was overly tired when we got there, so she had a bit of a meltdown and cried for awhile before finally giving in and falling asleep again. Oh well, she wouldn't have gotten the candy anyway :)

9 months and oh so grown up!

2007-10-28T20:57:00.000-06:00

Addie had her 9 month photo shoot and had a blast! One of her favorite things is fake laughing...where she chuckles just to get a laugh. She was doing this the whole time and also she recently started clapping. Whenever she gets upset, we just clap and she starts clapping & everything is all better :)

It's been a wonderful month. Addie is so much fun and just an overall easy kid. She now says "Dada" and will repeat it on command. She has also said "mama" and "dog" but we're pretty sure those were accidents. When we ask to to say them again, she says "dada." She also just started responding to the cats when they meow. She tries to meow back, but it sounds more like a sigh in her softest, highest pitched voice. It's really cute.

She also had her 9 month check-up and all is good. She's slowed down on her growth and at 20 lbs, she's now only in the 75th percentile.

We are thrilled that she's still not crawling. She gets on all fours and rocks back and fourth, though, so it appears imminent. She stands pretty well while holding onto the couch and us, but hasn't ventured to take a step yet.

Family

2007-10-28T20:43:00.000-06:00

Here's one of the shots from our photo shoot in MN...what cute cousins! (L to R: Addie, 8.5 months, Stella, 3 years, Henri, 6 months)

New friend!

2007-09-28T10:22:00.001-06:00

During our visit to MN, Addie finally got to meet Jordan (the son of our dear friends Sally & Matt). They are quite opposites, but still seemed to like each other. Addie has always been on the chunky side...Jordan is a lightweight, Addie is content to sit and play whereas Jordan loves to be on his belly and roll all over!

She also got so see cousins Stella & Henri again and took pictures with them in the park...we'll post some when we get them back.

How Many Lakes?

2007-09-25T08:17:00.000-06:00

Last weekend our family trekked out to Minnesota for Kassie's grandparents 60th anniversary. We were only there for 3 days but we had a great time and got to see a lot of our awesome friends and family!

Addie did great on both plane trips, sleeping for a majority of both flights, but, i doubt we'll be flying again anytime soon. Kassie and I are totally done with airports. I guess its everyone else's turn to come see us!