We had a great Christmas, tearing into presents,putting together presents, visiting family, eating, sleeping.  Life is good.  Addi got quite a haul.  Think we may need a room just for all her toys!  It really is shocking.

Addi had a fabulous time with Santa yesterday - can't you tell! ;-)  She really only cried for about 5 seconds and then he gave her a candy cane, which she thought was fabulous for chewing on.  We also had a fun shopping day and lunch at Quentin's with Grandma Linda.  Happy Holidays everyone!

As promised, more pics from Thanksgiving :)

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!  

This is my favorite holiday by far, for the following reasons: it is non-religious, you get to enjoy family without all the hassle of gift buying and last, but certainly not least, great food.  Really, what more could you wish for in a holiday!?!

We got to visit with Cathy, Steve and Dillon today, which was great!  I've been waiting over a year to meet Dillon and see Cathy again.  So, we had fun.  Kids played.  Adults observed.  Think we all had a bit of a Turkey hangover though ;-)

Other Thanksgiving photos - Allen clan and Bowman clan are currently being developed.  More posts to come...

Man, where the hell does the time go.  I swear it was just the start of October and here it is mid-November already, and the Jayhawk football team is 11-0 and basketball season has started. Loving it!  

We're doing great. We had fun at my cousin Todd's wedding and we're looking forward to Thanksgiving with the family and Mom's wedding over the weekend.  Addi is currently into everything - she is trying to devour dog food with reckless abandon, every chance she gets, boy is she fast!  

Ok, now for a rant.  Why the f*ck are seniors allowed to drive without being forced to take a driving test every few years?  The other day I encountered an elderly woman - yes Dad, she was part of the blue hair group, meaning she had to be at least 75 - who had turned into the oncoming lane of traffic and was sitting in the turn lane looking a bit confused about why people were headed directly for her.  She then proceeded to get turned around, only to bypass the turn lane and make a left from the regular lane (while the turn lane light was red and other people were waiting to turn) with cars coming toward her.  I can only pray (just an expression, not meant in the religious sense) that she made it safely home or wherever she was headed without running any unsuspecting pedestrians over, as that was the last I saw of her.  Seriously scary.  When I get old and am no longer able to drive, I hope they've mandated driving tests for seniors (at least every 2-3 years).  Then someone can take my license away from me and stick me on public transport before I become a hazard on the roads...hmmm, public transport in the States will need to be improved too - where do I begin on that...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

We had a good day, minus a very unhappy girl when dressed in her monkey suit.  We carved a jack-o-lantern, saw lots of trick-or-treaters and had a good time hanging out with grandma and granddad Allen.  We really missed having Brendon here though.  Can't wait until he's home for good.

Addi's first Halloween!!!

We had a great time in Oklahoma with Dad and Margaret. Fun visiting with all the family, fun party, fun all around. :)

Man, we've been busy as heck since I last posted. Getting back to the US, visiting family and friends, still trying to get the house in order and finish babyproofing, car shopping, etc.

Addi is crawling all over the place very fast now and pulling herself up to standing. She's even able to hold on to something and stand with just one hand sometimes. Only a matter of time before she's completely mobile. She's also gotten her first tooth! Finally! It's still too short to capture in a picture though.

Unfortunately Brendon has headed back to Germany. So, we won't see him again for a long time. We're already missing reading time and playtime with Daddy. Hopefully the time will be busy and pass quickly.

Oh, crap, so much for napping more than 30 min....

Well, we made it safely back to the good old US of A. Addi was fabulous on the planes, but screamed the entire car ride from Kansas City to Lawrence - poor exhausted baby!

Since we've been back, Addi has tackled crawling, kicking off her mobility by going after Sammy cat's tail. Yep, all we needed were two cats and a dog to up the interest level enough that she'd have something to crawl after. She had a great time crawling around at her grandma's house during the KU/KSU game too. Speaking of which - all right Hawks!

Other than that, we're just trying to get the house in order, get used to the time change and still waiting for the first tooth to come through. Good times :)

Yep, today was the start of Oktoberfest! :) We went to the parade this morning (had to wake Addi up from her nap, so she went in her pajamas) and enjoyed watching all the bierhall floats and band go by. Some strange jester blackened Addi and my noses - not sure what that's all about. Some interesting Oktoberfest custom. We also sat out at a bierhall and had a beer this afternoon, followed by a big trip to the grocery store - woo-hoo! Weather has been perfect too. A very good day all around.

Nothing particularly spectacular to report. We finally have some sunny weather today and it's over 55 degrees, so Addi and I ate lunch outside (sushi) and went shopping. I think I may have found a new coat at Esprit.

We're also looking forward to Oktoberfest starting a week from Saturday! Did I mention, I can actually drink the beer this year!!! :) We're also starting to get things organized for our return to the States early next month. I just posted an ad for about 10 baby items on Toytown Germany - let's hope they sell.

Aside from that just enjoying all the grins and giggles from Addi, who is getting increasingly independent. She rolls all over the kitchen in her walker in the mornings, reveling in pulling the towel off the oven handle and tossing her toys to the ground with glee. They make such neat sounds, you see. She can also sit up on her own now for a very long time and it's her favorite position to play in. We still surround her with pillows for the occasional fall though. Additionally, she likes to babble like crazy at the oddest times, seemingly out of no where - to strangers on the sidewalk and in the store, at her stuffed animals and especially in the mirror. Mom, are you secretly trying to get her to follow you into journalism???

Life is good.

She may not be sleeping well, often or predictably, but she's damn cute!

We had a great anniversary weekend in Stockholm - can't believe we've been married 4 years already!

We saw the Vasa museum (17th century ship), went on the hop-on-hop-off boat tour, walked around Old Town and successfully navigated the t-bahn (barely). We arrived in Stockholm at about 5pm on Friday and have decided rush hour on a Friday at the central station in Stockholm may be the craziest of all the cities we've been to (we've never been to China or Japan). The weather was hit and miss, sunny some, cloudy and drizzly some, and generally cool and breezy. So we forced Addi to wear a fun little hat while we walked around.

We really enjoyed watching people fall off their Segways in the park outside the Vasa museum (there was a Segway tour of Stockholm leaving from there) and Brendon threatened to leave us for the Segway tour, as he found it highly amusing. I think he may have knocked out another tooth or leg if he'd actually gone on it though ;-) We also found this neat outside bar/restaurant with giant beanbag chairs to sit in - very cool. All in all, it was a good trip. Stockholm's a pretty place.

Well, we tagged along with Brendon (on a work trip) to Paris and Addi and I had a good time seeing the city, minus the weather. We went to the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Notre Dame, the basilica at Montmartre, and hiked a good deal of the rest of the city. We successfully navigated the metro, even helping some people from Oklahoma find their way back to their hotel. We also got to have dinner with our friend Nate, whom we haven't seen in a few years- texmex, yummy :) It was a whirlwind trip and we've decided never to go on a work trip with Daddy because he works works from 7 am to 10 pm and is a bit snippy, not fun. Addi and I got to see lots though, so it was well worth it!

Happy six month birthday to Adelaide!!!

Hard to believe she's already this old. Seems like just yesterday I was finding out I was pregnant and then waiting forever for her to arrive.

At six months, she's already the rolling and scooting queen. She's very fond of bananas, apples, baby toast, baby veggies (potato,carrot,pea & cauliflower mix), regular crusty bread, melon and ice cream. Really, whatever adults are eating is what she'd like to have, especially if she can feed it to herself. Still doesn't much like bottles though. She's expecting her first tooth or three any day now, can sit without help for a bit and has mastered baby pushups, can hold it when you put her on hands and knees (hasn't figured out how to scoot forward yet without going to her head though) and can stand holding onto the couch by herself for about a minute. She's also quite the talker when she wants to be, blabbering at me unhappily whenever I tell her it's nap time. Her favorite game at the moment is peek-a-boo and she laughs like a goof when she's tickled these days. Apparently it's the funniest thing in the world ;)

Life is good, as is the weather. Think we'll go get an ice cream and play at the playground to celebrate...Ah, I love it when I have an excuse to get ice cream and play on the swings...

My daughter is an ice cream junkie. Seriously, she turns her nose up at baby food (bananas have been given the ok), but loves ice cream (in cone form). We were walking along the street today and I'd gotten a yogurt gelato and she just reached out and grabbed it, pulled my hand to her mouth and chowed down. Then she repeated the process for the rest of the walk home until the cone was gone. I blame the Italians and Aimee and AJ for developing this gelato addiction at such an early age. ;-) Can't blame her though, it's damn good ice cream...

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, why wont my baby sleep!!!!!!!!!!!!! Will someone please explain the concept of naps and bedtime to her!!! GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! Frickin' wide awake child!

We had a great time in Tuscany, visiting both Florence and Siena and lounging by the pool of our villa. Oh, and holding Addi in front of a fan that spit out water (pic attached), because it was really, really hot! Mostly though, it was just nice to have Brendon computer free and away from work for a week! :)

Munich has been having some fabulously cool weather the past few days. So, we've (me and Addi) taken the chance to go hiking with my friend Aimee and AJ, who are here to visit, and to enjoy being outside. Addi also had a good doctor's visit today (she's 50% percentile on everything for her age) and has been attempting to inchworm and roll her way out of sight. We're just waiting for crawling now, as she's gotten very proficient at modified plank pose. Anyway, I'll throw in a few new pics from the past few weeks...

Ok, I had no idea how much I was gonna miss not having Finn here! I've been back a day and it's awful. I keep looking around for my puppy dog!!! I'm seriously considering stealing someone's dog at the park tomorrow...

Yep, it's 1:30 AM here and both Addi and I feel like it's 6pm...

Anyway, we're back in Munich. It's great to be back with Brendon, but we had a very long day of travel (7 hour layover in Philly due to plane repairs, etc). Plus we miss everyone already! It's also very strange being here without Finn. We already can't wait to be back home this fall. Now if only we could talk Brendon into moving home sooner...

Ok, here are more pics from the trip. We had a fabulous time at Shawn and Jenny's wedding and getting to see everyone. Most recently, we loved our visit with the Remidez's and I got a chance to meet my friend Jill's new daughter right before I left! Who knew a month could go so fast!!!