Thanksgiving weekend

It's only Saturday, but it's been a nice, relaxing holiday weekend already. Logan ended up coming into town to see his dad and sister, so we've had an extra kid around too! He's at the age where he's a really big help around the house with the regular stuff, as well as with Addison. I'm a horrible photographer, so I don't have any really great pictures to share this week. I promise I'll get more!

Thursday was spent decorating the tree and livng room. What a relief to have all of that done, and it looks great! This is my favorite time of year when it comes to how my living room looks. As Addison entered the room, she started screaming "yites!", which means lights. We told her right away that she couldn't touch the ornaments, so although she'll sidle up really close to the tree and stare, she's been great about not touching. You can tell she's dying to grab one of the glass balls, so we'll see how long the obedience lasts! Thanksgiving was spent at DJ's parents house, where we had NOT a turkey (Judith isn't a big fan of turkey), but a roast with all the delicious fixings, including a pumkin caramel pie that Judith made from scratch, pumpin and all! Judith's half-sister Heather and her husband and two daughters were also there, so it was nice to see everyone and for the kids to play together.

I ended up going into work on Friday while Addison stayed with Grandma, and Dana, DJ and Logan played pool. I left work pretty early and hit the stores for some quick Christmas shopping. Today we all went to the gym and are currently hanging out at home while Addison naps. She's been in a little pain today with her teeth, we think, but she's holding up well. Her newest thing is reaching up for you and saying "hug?"....it's the cutest thing ever! She also knows her animal sounds down pat, and all the basic body parts too, which she likes to say all in a row, as in "eyesnosemouth" while pointing at each. Toes and teeth are also favorites. Her play is becoming more imagianitive too - you can watch her pretending to stir pots, drink from cups, answer the phone, etc. She's become quite a dancer too..loves to boogie to the beat! A ham basically. Almost a year and 1/2 old! 17 months in just a few days.

Eating pancakes last weekend - yum!

Our neighbor, Delaney, comes over to hang out and practice her babysirtting skills with Addison. She just turned 11 and plans to get "certified" as a babysitter this year. She knows it will be a while before she'd be able to stay with Addison alone. :)

Thanksgiving at Nana's

A preview of some Christmas house shots

What's new and exciting in the Barat world? A toddler getting molars...

Poor Addison is experiencing the worst of the teething journey - cutting her molars. It seems so unfair that these poor little babies endure over a year of teething pain, but the molars are by FAR the biggest beast. We had always heard that it seems like babies develop colds overnight (fever, runny nose, cough, etc.) when the worst of teething sets in, and now we know it's true. Addison has been feeling under the weather lately and has been swallowing so much gunk that she's had to sleep upright in her carseat in the crib for the past 3 nights. It's funny though, becasue we think she actually prefers it - sleeps just fine all through the night. She's been in pretty good spirits considering the situation, but we're going to run to the pediatrician tomorrow to check things out just in case.

Other than that, all is well here. We've been experiencing warmer than normal weather, but it's still not warm to me. Oooh, 50 degrees during the day, how wonderful! ;)

Here she is, ready for bed in the carseat. She's holding her "Quatchi" doll tight! Grant and Stacy brought this for Addison from their visit to Vancouver - he's one of the mascots for the 2010 Winter Olymics and Addison loves him!

Hanging at the park with her buds last weekend

The "syide" (that means slide) is her favorite

We have a new ritual in the morning - even though Addison eats breakfast when she gets over the Brenda's, she insists on sharing our cereal with us while we readh her stories. How can you resist when she says in the cutest voice, kind of like a question.."Seeri?" That means cereal :)

Remember the adorable "camera face" Addison debuted a few weeks back? Well, this is her new camera face. Whenever you take the camera out to snap a photo she immediately makes her way over and starts grabbing for it. I liked the first camera face better!

Happy Halloween!

I love when Halloween falls on a Saturday. Plenty of time to get ready, have some fun, then sleep in the next day and we did just that. Addison was a "Lil' Leopard", as the costume was labeled, and we thought it would be perfect for walking around in the cold evening for trick or treating. Our crazy neighbors the Zemans had their annual Halloween party which started at 4pm. I don't think I've ever seen so many kids in costume in one place at the same time! After eating and drinking until we were full to the gills, we headed out for some trick or treating around the neighborhood. Although Addison didn't collect any candy, she had a great time watching all the kids run around and pointing out all the pumpkins. We visited all the neighbors we wanted to see, then headed back to the Zeman's for more fun. Addison partied it up, went to bed late and slept in until 8am. Heaven! We went to an early breakfast then picked up leaves all afternoon.

The Lil' Leopard - ready to party!

Cole was Vanilla Ice - loved it!

The whole crew

Time to go home!

Fall leaves

Fall in Minnesota

Finally, some classic Fall weather this weekend! No snow, rain or ice, just cool crisp air and bright sunshine. We took advantage of this treat by heading to Minnetonka Orchards, about 20 minutes from our house. You may remember some photos on the blog from this place around this time last year. http://addisonbarat.blogspot.com/2008/10/minnetonka-apple-orchard.html. We took Addison when she was just 3 months old, but I have to say this year was much more fun for all of us. The farm is owned by 2 brothers who turn their property into a Fall Wonderland each year, fun for kids and adults alike. We started and ended in the pumpkin patch (we'll carve pumpkins NEXT weekend!), and visited the corn maze, apple orchards, animal barn and took a tractor ride through the trees in between. Of course we also had to make a stop at the hot apple cider and homemade cinnamon-sugar donut shack as well! Addison was in heaven...

Other fun updates include Addison learning to use her fork and spoon (she uses the utensils I used as a toddler), and her new obsession with "mugging" for the camera each time the thing is pointed at her - it's hilarious! See directly below for an immediate example. Scroll down to the bottom for more laughs.

This is her happy face - before we left the house

This is the happy face when we reached the pumpkin patch

Not so sure about the creepy corn maze

Tractor ride - I wish I had my camera DURING the ride, we went through a forest of beautiful golden-leafed trees

The silly billy goats

Apple time!

Let's hope she makes progress on the apple growth chart next year ;)

Kissing daddy through the shower door

Addison's camera face

I can use my fork!

California - September 18-25

We've been a bit delinquent on the blog postings for a couple of weeks, but we have an excuse...vacation! We were in Santa Barbara for Stacy and Grant's wedding, followed by some much needed down time at the beach house in Ventura. Too much fun = too much to write, so that's all we have to say. Enjoy the pictures, they speak for themselves!

Rehearsal Dinner Day

Sorry, this is SUPER dark, but just imagine Addison putting on and taking off her lei

Wedding Day

Celebration

Breakfast at the wharf - morning after the wedding

Beach time

Last day