Thanksgiving Break

Adelé got to go to nursery for the very first time on Sunday.  She wasn't able to go last week because it was Stake Conference.  Which reminds me while we were sitting waiting for Stake Conference to start we had chosen a seat close to the door (anticipating we would probably spend a great deal of time in the hall).  As people were coming in she was saying Hi as she typically does to everyone.  Three young teenage boys walked in and she said Hi they didn't say anything so she said it again, when they didn't respond the second time she looks at Oley and says "are you kidding me".  I don't think she really understands what that means, but it was funny!
Anyway back to nursery.   She did surprisingly well.  We went in and dropped her off.  While sitting in Sunday School Oley would lean over to me every 5-10 minutes and say, "Do you think I should go check on her?"  It was cute that he was so worried about her.  When he picked her up she had a big ol bump on her head - what are the odds she would right?  But she loved it!  She talked about it all during lunch after church. 
We were so excited to have Oley's parents up to spend Thanksgiving with us this year.  Adelé is beginning to recognize and remember people so she was super excited to see them on Sunday night when they arrived.  They came in fairly late and I had already put her to bed, but when they got here the dogs were pretty loud and woke her up.  She had a very hard time going back to sleep that night.  Oley had to go back to Spokane for a couple days to finish up his classes but was able to be back by Tuesday night.   We went to dinner with Shawnie and Leimomi on Tuesday night and Oley was able to meet up with us there.  Adelé loves coloring and could have done it all night. 

Thanksgiving morning I had signed up to do a 10k with some people at work.  Most of them chickened out because it was so cold, but I went and did it with Rachael.  It was a really tough run, had I been in better shape it would have been a really fun run.  There were a ton of hills.   But it was good to have gone and done it. 

We spent Thanksgiving at our house this year.  Adelé loved all the food and Oley got to wear his Mr. Mom apron that my mom had made him last Christmas, at his request. 

I am so grateful for my family.  It's amazing to me that it has been 2 years since we had announced that we would be adopting Adelé to Oley's parents.

Adelé was the center of attention all day long.

On Friday we spent the day shopping.  Dougie wanted to go to our new Bass Pro Shop.  Adelé loved looking at all the animals around the store, especially the fish.

That night while the adults played a game of scrabble Adelé was content playing with her blocks. 

It snowed Friday night so Saturday we let Adelé play in the "snow" - she loved it! 

As we were getting ready for the rest of the days adventures I caught Adelé up in the office reading my personal progress book.  She loves it now -  I am sure in 14 years she won't be so excited to be looking at it.

 Adelé sure loved cuddling with Grandma on the couch.

We spent the majority of the afternoon up in Bellevue.  Oley and I needed to get to the temple before the end of the month and we also wanted to go see the lights at the botanical gardens there.  While there we also went out to eat.  Adelé had not gotten a nap all day and it was getting close to bed time.  She was okay for the first 30 minutes of dinner but she had her first kicking, screaming, limp fish, melt down in the middle of the restaurant.  I now know how it feels to be one of those moms.  So the two of us spent the remainder of the time out in the lobby while waiting for the others to finish up.  Afterward we quickly went to the gardens and it was freezing! 

Adelé has a desire to kiss everything now days.  When Oley jokingly told her to kiss the frog she was all for it - no worries I did not let her get close enough to touch it. 

Having Oley's parents here was a great time and we are glad that they were able to spend the holiday with us.  Adelé loves when her relatives come to visit.  We can't wait for their next trip!
 

18 months

Adelé is 18 months!  Time has definitely flown right by.  I remember feeling like she would never turn 18 months and we would be walking the halls during Sunday School forever.  It's amazing how much she has grown in such a short time.  When she was at her 3 month old check up with the Doctor and he said that she was going to be an early talker, I didn't really comprehend what he was saying then but I sure do now.  She is starting to put up to 4 words together at one time.  It's remarkable.  Yesterday we were in the kitchen and Oley had said "are you kidding me" while we were talking and before we knew it Adelé was saying it.  The things she picks up on are unbelievable.  She loves to boss her puppies around.  One of her favorite things to do is to take my phone and find pictures of people she knows and call them, especially her cousin Ryker. 
We often find her sitting in her bedroom reading her books to herself.  She is always very good about folding her arms while we pray and says "Amen" as soon as we are done.  Last week in Sacrament meeting the prayer was going a little longer than usual and she exclaims "Amen!" in the middle of it.  I was so embarrassed.  She loves to brush her teeth and is still great at sleeping.  She goes right down for her naps without any fuss or fight.  We could not have been blessed with a more perfect baby!

At her 18 month check up she is still in the 90th percentile for height and head and still in the 10th percentile for weight. 

 She has so much personality it's amazing!  I absolutely adore her!

Stress

Before Mom's car was ruined in the accident Robyn had asked if I would leave Adelé with them in Mill Creek on Sunday night and they would bring her back to our house on Monday afternoon.  But since that plan did not work out Adelé came home with me on Sunday evening. 
Monday and Tuesday were going to be rough days at workwith the Joint Commission here and so my mom offered to come and help with Adelé for those two days.  It was so nice to have them here while I stressed about work stuff.  I felt bad that I was gone the whole time but I am glad that they were understanding of the situation.  Although having family here also allowed them to share all of their sick germs with Adelé.  On Tuesday morning when she woke up her eye was swollen shut.  I felt like an awful person having to leave her with my mom for half the day while I finished up the Joint Commission survey.

To add to my stress as we were walking the surveyor through our Emergency Department I dropped my phone and it broke and stopped working.  So not only did I have a very high stress situation at work with no phone, my mom had no way of getting a hold of me either.  As soon as the surveyor gave her report (we passed!), I wrapped things up with administration and went home to spend the next 2 days with Adelé as she recovered.  It was terribly difficult being at home with no phone at such a high stress time at work but I am grateful for the people I work with and for and their understanding nature of my circumstances.  It also gave me the opportunity to focus entirely on Adelé which was a blessing.  Adelé was feeling 100% better by Thursday!  I am so grateful for amazing neighbors as well, they had no idea that I had such a big week at work but felt inspired to leave me dinner on my doorstep for when I got home.  It definitely was a God send. 

Woodland Park Zoo

My mom, Robyn, Lauralynn and her kids planned to come up on Thursday afternoon so we spent the week getting ready for their visit, pulling off a young women's in excellence, and I found out that the Joint Commission would be here next Monday to re-certify our LVAD program at work.  It was a busy week.  I got a phone call about noon on Thursday from Robyn letting me know that their plans had changed for the worse.  While traveling through they hit a patch of ice and slid off the road and mom's tahoe had rolled.  They were all okay but they were waiting for a tow-truck to come and tow them into town.  They were finally able to arrive on Friday evening but opted to go straight to Grandma and Grandpa's. 
Oley wanted to go up and spend the night there so we went up on Friday night.  It was a LONG night.  Adelé did not want to fall asleep and it took me 3 hours just to get her to go down for the night.  The next morning we wanted to take the kids to the zoo even though it was the coldest weeks it has been here all year.  We bundled them up and enjoyed the Woodland Park Zoo. 

It was Freezing! As we were walking to another exhibit Adelé was walking between my mom and I, the others were all ahead of us, so she looks up at us and says "hurry quick".  My mom looked at me and said hmm. . . I wonder where she learned that from.  Oh I love my bug!

It was a quick trip to the zoo, but that's okay because it was freezing cold.  Mom had come up to share a Thanksgiving dinner with her parents so the rest of the weekend was spent cooking and eating delicious food.  I love when my mom comes to visit!

Week of Recovery

After such an event filled week last week this week we really just tried to recover. My Aunt Kathy from Utah and a couple of her kids were up visiting Grandma and Grandpa so Oley wanted to go up and visit them this weekend.  So we spent the week recovering and getting ready for that trip.
Monday morning after work I noticed this on the side of my car - look closely, Adelé's hand print.  One I realized I really need to wash my car but two it made me realize how big she is getting.  I told Oley not to wash my car because I wanted to keep that little keepsake with me for as long as possible.  

 Adelé and I spent the majority of the week relaxing at home.

On Saturday we made the trip up to Mill Creek to spend some time with my grandparents and Aunt Kathy.  Whitney was there with her little girl and Adelé spent some time interacting with her, they aren't quite to the age where they actually play with each other yet.

Oley took Derek crabbing with him and so Oley wanted to show off his crab to Ad, she was quite impressed. 

I love living in the Pacific Northwest.  It is so beautiful here.

Sunday Adelé started this new thing where she puts her fingers in her ears and says, "I can't hear you"  I don't know where she learned it but she is quite good at it.  Not sure I like it. 

 Her hair is so curly it's crazy! Adelé and I spent Sunday night preparing for the crazy week that we have in front of us. We have young women's in excellence and my parents will be up at the end of the week.  It's gonna be crazy!

Halloween Weekend

We were all excited to see Oley when he got home this weekend.  Adelé especially loved spending the weekend with him.  We started off our Friday night (Halloween) with the ward trunk or treat. 

I had planned to stay at the house to pass out candy while Oley took Adelé to a few of our neighbors houses to trick or treat.  He talked me into going with them for a "few" houses.  It turns out after Adelé went to three houses she caught onto what was going on, she would knock wait for them to open the door look super cute and wave Hi to them and then try to walk into their house. The person would give her a piece of candy and then she would say Thank You turn around and say bye.  Since it was so cute and she liked it we let her go a little bit more.  We went almost entirely around our big block.

Don't ask me what we were thinking - that is way too much candy.   We hadn't carved our pumpkins yet so we spent the remainder of the night working on that.  Adelé loved helping her dad. 

The next day Oley spent some time out in the yard, Adelé wanted to be right along side him.  She loves having her dad home.

The love these two share with one another is adorable!