Mega blog...

So the last couple of months have been so full of good stuff that I've had no time to blog! Most notably, we had a visit from Wade's brother Ty and his family here in London and then went with them to Spain for a week. It was amazing! Plus Noah and Addison had birthdays and then just all the regular stuff that happens day to day. SO - I've put together a few slideshows for anyone whose interested in seeing what we've been up to for the last little while! I've also put together a few posts that follow this - so have at it!! Hope you're all having a great summer!

Click on the slideshow if you want to open it out into a new window and watch it at your own pace!

Happy Birthday, Noah & Addison!

June 8th (yeah, I'm way behind on my blogging) was Noah's first birthday. I swear the kid was just born, but the calendar doesn't lie I guess! We were lucky enough to have Wade's brother and family in town so we could have a proper party. Addison's birthday is just a week after Noah's (she turned 4), so we made it a double party as she wanted cousins at her party too. Noah wasn't sooo in to it, but he still managed to cover himself in green frosting for the obligatory first birthday messy cake shot. I insisted on 2 cakes - first of all because Noah couldn't have a butterfly (not so manly) and I wanted to try to keep their birthdays as separate as possible under the circumstances. So, Noah had a cupcake caterpillar and Addie a butterfly - and I had to decorate them both in about 10 minutes - so they were lacking a bit, but it did the job! On Addison's real birthday (the 15th) we did cupcakes again just for fun. Here's some pictures!

A little about miss "Addi-tude"

Thanks to Alisa for tagging Addison (forever ago - I'm a little slow on this one) so that I can take the time to reflect on my little Miss Priss for a minute. I figure her birthday is a good time to finally finish and post this! I'm not sure if there are rules to how this is done...so I'm just going to go for it!

1. Addison Kate entered the world on June 15, 2004 while we were living in Cincinnati, Ohio. I was scheduled to be induced that morning, but I guess Addie decided she didn't want to be forced out and came on her own terms. I thought then that she was just being cooperative, but I know better now. Addison is a very independent and determined little soul. She wants to experience everything, both good and bad, for herself. Telling her not to touch something because it is hot is a mere invitation for a new experience. Yes, I know...we're doomed for some interesting teenage years with her!

2. Addie is always trying to keep up with Drew. It started from day one! She started rolling at 2 weeks, walked at 9 mos & 5 days and was climbing, running & jumping by 14 months!!! I can't imagine Noah doing that in just over a month! Even now everything is a race with Addie and Drew. They are the best of friends and the worst of enemies. I find that it's affected how I treat her too. I often catch myself expecting Addison to act Drew's age. I forget that she's barely 4!

3. Addison is a talker - really, it never stops. It doesn't matter who she's talking to either. Many a complete stranger have gotten an earful on everything from the TV show she watched that morning to her latest "poopy in the potty". Taking her on the tube (where NO ONE speaks to each other) is always interesting. The kid even talks in her sleep! Addie also has a "gift" for screaming. I remember when we lived in Ohio (she was just little - under 2) her scream would set off the glass break alarm in our house. And yes, she screams in her sleep too!

4. Addison has an AMAZING sense of smell. Hands down, the most common phrase that comes from Addie is "what's that smell?". She'll often come up to you and inform you that your breath is stinky or go running from the room because Noah "smells like barf". She's always the one to tell me Noah is "poopy". If you're eating a piece of candy within a mile of Addie, I kid you not, she'll smell it and find you. Wade and I will often purposely sneak a piece of gum or candy just to see if we can get it by Addie's candy radar. Every time though we hear, "what's that smell?" or "something smells yummy and tasty!"

5. Addison is our little organizer. We first started noticing it when she started stacking baby food jars as a tiny kid. She groups and stacks and sorts everything she can get her hands on - usually by color... game pieces, candy, legos, hair clippies, shoes...it was her job (until we finally bought some shoe storage for this place) to line up everyone's shoes, biggest to smallest, by the front door every day.

All in all, Addison is a spunky little fire cracker of a kid who is a lot of fun, albeit a challenge. She's opinionated and independent, but a hugger and snuggler. She's ALL girl, but not afraid to get dirty with the boys. She's the perfect mix in my opinion, and if we can keep her headed in the right direction, her enormous personality will serve her well in years to come. I love her little guts!

Eight down, forever to go...

June 3rd was our 8th anniversary. We went to dinner at Black and Blue - and American style steak house which was surprisingly great! And then we went to see Wicked which was amazing! It was honestly a perfect night, one of those times I loved that we were in London. I've been trying to remember where we were and the ways Wade and I have celebrated each of our other anniversaries. I'm not sure how many I can remember as Wade and I don 't tend to make too big of a deal of it all. The truth is, for the first half of our married life we couldn't afford to make too big of a deal of it as we were still in "starving student" mode. So - for my own benefit - I'm going to see what I can remember before it all slips away!

1. We were living in our tiny basement apartment in Lindon, UT and I would have been just barely pregnant with Drew. Wade gave me a channel set band to replace my plain gold one and I think we went to Olive Garden?


2. I honestly don't remember this one! I think we were living at Wade's parent's for the summer before we left for grad school. I was finishing up beauty school and Wade was working at Wingate. Drew was about 5 months old.


3. I'm betting we didn't do much for this one, because there was probably not much to do! We would have been in Monroe, WI for Wade's internship with The Swiss Colony. Not a lot going on in that town! Fine dining would be the China Buffet place on main street. We may have headed all the way into Janesville. I remember going to the Olive Garden there once?


4. We were in Cinci by this time, in our cute apartment in Montgomery. I was 2 weeks from delivering Addison. Again, I don't remember what we did! I'm sure we just went to dinner somewhere. I'm pretty sure this is the year he gave me my silver Tiffany bracelet (my favorite piece of jewelry still - besides my wedding ring).

5. I do remember this one! We decided to go all out as it was our 5th and we actually had a real income and took off to Cancun!

6. We were in Texas now...Drew was 4, Addie about to turn 2. Hmmm...oh - I remember! We went to the temple to do sealings and out to dinner. Almost like renewing our vowes!

7. Ok - this was just last year...surely I can remember! I was literally about to pop with Noah (5 days away). Nope - drawing a blank! I remember doing something - thinking it would be our last night out in awhile. I bet Wade can remember...

Well - so I have a bad memory! This is probably a good time to publicly thank my Wade for his patience with me through this whole London experience. London has been a little overwhelming for me at times, and Wade's been great to pick up the slack when I just couldn't do it all. You know you've found a keeper when he loves you for your strengths and weaknesses. Love you, Babe.