Our Final Days of Summer

In Alaska, summers never seemed long enough.  It always seemed as if summer was ending before it even began!  Now that we're in WV, summers seem to drag on and on and on...  I was sure there was no end in sight to last years.  Several things attributed to this: being away from Nathan and being away from Nathan while pregnant!  I thought being pregnant during the summer in Alaska was bad.  As if trying to adjust to the heat wasn't bad enough, doing it at seven months pregnant was horrible!  Then there was the fact that Nathan was still living in Alaska, 4,000 miles away.  It was stressful not knowing when he would get orders out, if he was going to make it for Addi's arrival, where we were going to live, where we would find work...the list went on!  Eventually, everything worked out; Nathan was there to welcome his little girl into the world, he was offered a great job and finally got his orders that brought him back home to his family. 

Although this summer hasn't been as stressful, it has certainly felt just as long!  This one I'm chalking up to school.  I'm looking forward to getting the boys out of my hair for a while and having some "me" time.  Or more like "Addi" time.  We've never had school to look forward to in the past and now that we do it feels as if it will never get here.  When we first registered the boys to start, their scheduled seemed too good to be true; Mon-Thur, all day.  We get the call today that it was too good to be true!  Daniel will still go as scheduled, but Denton has been put on the waiting list for the Head Start program.  Instead, he will be enrolled into the Home Based Head Start Program.  I had never heard of this until today.  Although it's not what we had in mind, it doesn't sound bad and is definitely better then nothing.  A teacher will come to our home once a week for two hours and work with Denton to prepare him for Pre-K.  Included in this is what they call "Center Day" where Denton will meet with other kids his age participating in the same program. 

Everything will be starting soon so I only have a few short weeks to recover from Wednesday's surgery.  Nathan and mom will have their hands full with the kids!!  I've been strictly advised against lifting anything for the first three weeks, which I believe is going to be the hardest part.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to this little "break", but not being able to hold Addi will be tough.  Guess it's a good thing she's such a daddy's little girl.  =)

We've been trying to get in as much time with the kids before Wednesday so we've been doing a little sight seeing around the area.  Found this awesome hiking trail not far from Nathan's shop.  I see a lot of picnics there next summer! 

Birthday Prep

It's hard to believe that our baby girl will be turning one this Saturday.  It's often said by parents, but they really do grow up too fast!  It may not seem like it at the time; during all the late night bottle feedings, diaper changes, teething and other fussy stages that have us ready to pull our hair out, but it's over before we know it.  During the late nights with her as a newborn we often said to each other that we can't wait until she sleeps through the night.  Now that she does, we find ourselves saying how we miss getting up with her at night and rocking her back to sleep.  We often take these little moments for granted not knowing just how much we'll miss them when they're over. 

I've always loved hosting and planning parties, especially the kids first birthdays.  Maybe it's because this it the first birthday party I've had to plan for a girl, but I have been so excited for Addi's that I've been planning it since she was six months old!  Nathan has usually helped in the past, but he has given me full control on this one.  I think it's mostly due to it being a girls party and knowing I plan on making it as girly as possible, he's stepping aside.  With the boys, however, he had to make sure I didn't cross the lines with the "cute" stuff.  He was always there to remind me I'm planning a party for his boys, not sissy's.  That's Nathan and one of the many reasons I love his stubborn attitude. 

Since I've had the past six months to plan for this party, I have come up with lots of ideas!  I take credit for the final look, but most of these ideas came from my many google searches.  I plan on having a food table and a sweets table, or candy buffet.  Here are a few of the things I have put together for the candy buffet:

Personalized Hershey Bars

Personalized Lollipops

Another sucker bouquet

Her party started off as a small family thing, but has turned into quite a large celebration.  It's her first though, so I love that it will be a big one!  We even have the Howe's, close family friends, driving up from Florida to be here.  They will be the only family to have been to each one of our children's first birthdays.  It means a lot that they're not only coming, but that I'll have Heidi to help put the party together and most importantly, CLEAN UP!  Just like old times Heidi!  I love you woman!!

Here are a few pictures during Addi's first year:

July 30, 2010 @ 0243
We Welcome Addison Marie Delimont
8lb 13.3oz   21in

Napping with Grams 2mo

First Halloween 3mo

First Thanksgiving 4mo



First Christmas 5mo

6mo

7mo

8mo

9mo

10mo

First 4th of July 11mo





The Hazards of Being a Toddler (and much more!)

It came as no surprise to most of us when Denton broke his elbow.  In fact, I'd say many of us were surprised it took him almost four years to accomplish this.  He might be a middle child, but he certainly doesn't hesitate to be the first at a lot of things.  Unfortunately, most of these things land us in the ER and one way or another include Daniel.  He was the first for stitches after losing a fight with Daniel and the first to break a bone after losing a bicycle race against Daniel.  In between these two, he was also rushed to the ER after Daniel pulled an 80lb T.V down on top of him, crushing his legs.  It seemed at times as if Daniel was thinking how great life was as an only child.  He's a trooper though!  He was ready to get back on the bike the next day.

After Denton's recent incident, we decided the family could use a little vacation so we decided on Richmond, Va.  This trip had it's fun and hilarious moments, but it was also a trip from hell!  For starters, Addi screamed during the entire five hour car ride.  When she's mad, she screams and I mean SCREAMS!  It was enjoyable.  The front entrance to our hotel should have been a red flag for us, but tired and now dealing with headaches given to us from Miss Addi, we overlooked the hazard.  Instead of sliding glass doors, they were revolving doors!  Should I say more?  Of course, Denton was unable to master the art of walking through these things.  He falls and his foot was drug under the door.  It took Nathan on one end pushing the door and I on the other to free his foot.  The door was relentless!  Foot or not, it was not going to stop rotating.  How we managed not bringing him home in a leg cast is a blessing. 

Tired and ready for bed we decide all the sightseeing could wait til morning; Addi had other plans.  She refused to sleep in the crib and does not like to be cuddled, rocked, or even held when she's tired.  So it took me walking her up and down the halls until midnight for her fall asleep; but not without a fight.  Scared to put her down, I slept with her in my arms until she woke at 4am angry that she couldn't roll onto her stomach.  The hall tricked failed this time so it was to the car we went.  I drove up and down the street until she fell asleep at 5am.  No way was I gonna move her!  I pulled into a deserted part of the parking lot, reclined my seat and napped with her until 7 all while the guys got a good nights rest.  Not according to Nathan though who complained of being up all night.  If that's the case, I'd like to know where he was between 10pm-7am.  Sure could have used the help!  

Our first stop was the zoo.  We were able to pet and feed the giraffes.  Addi hated it, Daniel was a little hesitant and Denton couldn't get close enough to them.  They also had a cage set up with birds that you could get in and feed.  Nathan took Addi in first and within seconds her head was covered with birds, which she also hated.  Nathan took Daniel on this ride around the zoo so I decided to take Denton and Addi to feed the goats and camels.  Addi is leaning over the stroller watching Denton and the goats and is oblivious to the camel that has come up behind her.  The camel leans over and attempts to steal a cup of water that was sitting in the stroller.  As it's trying to bring it back over the fence, ice water spills all over Addi.  Assuming I'm the culprit, she turns around to let me know she's unhappy when she comes nose to nose with the camel.  Then the screaming started.  I felt so sorry for her, but it was hard not to laugh right along with the 20 bystanders that witnessed it!

While in Richmond, we also took the kids to  Children's Museum and to the Planetarium.  I didn't think I'd ever get the kids out of the museum or Nathan out of the planetarium. 

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We officially have a walker on our hands.  She's been standing on her own and taking a few baby steps for about a month now, but now it's on!  She's all over the place.  Hard to believe she'll be one in just a few short weeks. 



Picking up the Slack..

Even with the best intentions, I have already started slacking when it comes to blogging.  Even with the friendly reminders I've been getting - thank you Stephanie and Meagan!  =)

We've done a lot and a lot of nothing since I was last on here.  Nathan sister and her family drove in from Kansas a couple weeks ago.  It was nice having all the cousins together, or at least most of the cousins.  It's crazy how much the boys look alike.  They could easily pass for brothers.  While out touring West Virginia, we even had a guy ask us if the older three were triplets. 

On Saturday Nathan and I both had a brother to get married!!  I wasn't sure my baby brother was the marrying type, but I guess all it took was finding the right one.  They were married in ND which is where Kelsey is from.  Nathan's brother, Cuyler, and his wife were married in Va on the beach!  We had the chance to meet her last night on their way back to KS.  We love them both and are happy to have them as part of the family!!   Just thought of this, but none of our siblings were married in the same state.  We have TN, WV, KS, AK, ND, and Va.  I guess we like to get around....

Addison's salmonella case has gotten more complicated.  Of the last two samples they tested, one came back negative and the other came back positive.  BUT, it was positive for a totally different strand of salmonella.  Of course, they've never seen this happen so they're gonna retest her.  In the mean time, they're "looking into it."  I can't tell you how many times we've heard this before! 

I'm sure a lot more has happened, but I'm drawing a blank on what to blog about now.  But I can't forgot to wish all the father's out there a Happy Father's Day!!  I've got a pretty good one out there and have inherited a few other good ones through marriage!  Then of course a special Happy Father's Day to Nathan.  I'm grateful for him and all he does everyday, but these days remind me to remind him that.  =)  Love him!!! 

Homemade Baby Food

I had my first go at attempting to make homemade baby food yesterday and was quite pleased at how much Addi enjoyed it!!  She strongly dislikes plain meats.  I haven't been brave enough to try these, but going by the smell I can't say I much blame her.  She does love all the mixed dinner meals, so I decided to puree some of her very first deer meat!  Deer roast actually, with a few potatoes and LOTS of carrots which are a favorite of hers.  Daddy was quite pleased as well that his little girl is a fan of deer meat.  The boys go crazy over it.  In fact, we often have to tell them we're eating deer in order to get them to eat.  They don't like plain old cow tacos, but they LOVE deer tacos.  Same goes for all else.

I'll have to start getting more creative with foods since I am close to giving up the battle with the bottle.  It's a struggle to get her to drink the so many "recommended" ounces of formula each day.  She's had her taste of real food and knows we have something better to offer when we try handing her a bottle.  Daniel gave up the bottle on his own at ten months.  I suppose Addi will be the same.  It sure beats Denton who threw a fit at 12 months when he was no longer given one.  But Denton never cared much for a binky, something Daniel not only LOVED but was rarely seen without.  Addi is a mix of both, who only takes one when she sleeps but is rarely seen with one during the day.


Two days before Nathan's sister, Diana, and her family come in for a visit.  We're excited to see them and play tourist as well.  I figure there will be  lot of things we do while they're here that Nathan has yet to see or do; probably myself as well.  I hadn't thought of taking them to the bridge until mom mentioned it today.  In my opinion, it's one of the must sees here!! 


Just learned today that Heidi will be here for Addison's first birthday!!!!  The Howe's will be the only people to have celebrated each of the kids 1st birthdays!  Just another reason to be excited for July!!!