Addie is 1!!

Well, we did it. We kept Addie alive for one whole year. I knew we could, but its still something to be proud of. When you hold your baby for the first time you think, "Holy cow! She's completely dependant upon us to take care of her and its possible we could botch this." At least, that's what I thought. So, here's to one year of successful parenting and one cute little girl! Anyway...

We had a fabulous 4th of July! We went to the ward breakfast, walked around the arts festival, and then went to my parents house for birthday partyin'. Since the 4th is my mom's birthday and Addie's birthday is the 5th, we had a combo birthday with a large order of fries.

Here are the birthday girls! They had a birthday girl dance while my brother played a song on the guitar. Aren't they cute?

This was the first present she opened: awesome stacking cups!

This is the polka dot cake I made. It was a coconut cake and my dad made some mango ice cream to eat with it. Mmmm....needless to say, Addie loved it. Especially the ice cream. We put a sparkler instead of a candle on top. My mom said that's what she always had on her cake when she was little. Addie was impressed.

Addie and Daddy, sharing a little birthday snuggle. My mom made her tutu. How fun is that? I secretly wanted one myself. Mom, if you're reading this...

This is my favorite photo! She's just so sweet! Its hard to believe she's already one!

Oddly enough, Addie wasn't into opening presents. She liked the gifts, but only after someone opened them for her. I guess ripping birthday paper is not as fun as ripping paper you're not supposed to have.

While waiting for her presents to be opened she wandered off to find something to eat, survivor man style. She likes eating petals, leaves, and bark. I don't usually let her eat these things, but it was her birthday after all and she did find them herself.

They still make the same Chatterphone that I remember from when I was a kid! Although the rotary dial phone is no longer important to know how to use, they are still fun. I hope one day they make rotary dial cell phones.

This face says exactly how fun a first birthday is, no words needed. She has two front bottom teeth and two top fang teeth. Its quite the smile. Her top front tooth is just about to poke through.

After birthday presents we did some sparklers. Here's my brother Eric. He's really stoked about his sparkler.

Here's Uncle Steve and Addie sharing a sparkler. It looks like Addie's hand is in it, but I'm pretty sure its not. She wanted it to be really bad, though.

After sparkling it up, grandpa read Addie a bedtime story. She got this fun book from grandma Utley. We didn't get home until around 11:30 pm, so I think its safe to say Addie is a party animal.

On her actual birthday, which was yesterday, she got to ride in her new carseat. She absolutely loves facing foward and getting to watch the road and her parents. Personally, I think its a little eerie to be constantly stared at from the backseat. She couldn't stop grinning! Happy Birthday little sugar cube! We love you so much and we are glad you joined our family! Here's a newborn photo just for comparison's sake:

She is one day old in this picture! I couldn't stop at just one newborn photo, so here's two more:

Our first time meeting Addie.

This picture was taken just minutes after she was born. You can see why we used to called her "little red superhero". What a doll!

New Discoveries in the Life of Addie

1. Mashed potato naps...

2. Uncle Eric... (my little brother just got back from his mission a few weeks ago. Addie was born while he was gone, so it was their first time meeting...they're already best buds, though! We are really happy to have him home!)

3. toddle walkers... All day long she just wants to walk with someone holding her hands, but it is tiring and back breaking. The solution: this awesome Ikea cart. She pushes it around all the time! She can't turn it yet, so you have to watch her and correct her direction before she wrecks. The neighbors all think she's so cute walking down the sidewalk with her cart that they come out and take pictures of her... I have no idea what they do with the photos, but who wouldn't want a picture of a rad kid?

4. chalk... I found my old sidewalk chalk and taught Addie all about graffiti. She took to it like a pro.

5. relaxing under the shade of a fake tree while enjoying the company of a fake dog on her awesome little bench... and its all in her room! No rain can touch this kid's indoor park!

6. toilet paper...

7. time warping on what only appears to be an average playground swing...

And I will post about her birthday and the 4th of July fun later, my no-longer-napping baby calls.

Eureka! It's Father's Day!

This is going back a bit, but I wanted to post about it anyway. We went to Richfield on Father's Day weekend to help farm and to see Jason's family. Here are the pictures:

On the way to Richfield we stopped in Eureka to visit Porter Rockwell's house. Yep, it still stands, it's just been relocated to the middle of a nearly abandoned mining town. Here's J waiting for Ol' Port to come have a drink of Valley Tan with him.

I walked from the front room to the back room ( it was only a two room dwelling) and was nearly attacked by this bear lounging on the top bunk. I was scared. Lucky for him, though, he was already dead.

Addie slept through the whole event, but we still included her in pictures just so she'll have proof that she's napped at the Destroying Angel's house. I'll just sum up the experience with one word: wheat!

Grandpa/ Great Grandpa Utley's dog had ten puppies so we took the girls over to see them. Addie was not so sure about them, but I thought they were pretty adorable. It was sort of chilly outside so Cami and Caitie were putting them inside their jackets to keep them warm.


Unlce Nate won Addie's heart by building her this awesome little bench! It currently sits against the wall in her room and she loves to climb on it and put her toys on it. Thanks Uncle Nate!

We spent some time irrigating the fields while we were there. I like weekend farming...there's nothing like just getting down right dirty and working hard for just a few days! Addie likes being out there, too...mostly because of Uncle Eric.

This is what Addie got for J for father's day. I swear she picked it out by herself and even helped make the card! It's a frustrating motorcycle puzzle, just what any father would want! He recently finished it and its pretty cool, but it did frazzle some nerves. It beats me why the age on the package is 3 and up. Anyway, Addie has a pretty rad dad and she loves him to pieces!