Holiday Fun

Christmas has come and gone. After John survived round 3 of finals, we opened our presents, packed our car and headed up to DC. This year our big gift to each other was a brand new Phil & Ted double stroller. The funny thing is, we were actually both pretty excited about it (man, are we getting old or what??)

We loved getting to see all the family in town. Julie and Daniel flew in from Utah, as well as Andrew and Kristen. We also had the whole Florida Hunter gang here. Addie loved all of the attention and spending time with her many cousins/ new besties. 

Opening presents at home before our trip to DC. Addie loved her new "pack-pack".

Helping Cici get ready for the big Christmas Eve Party 

Some love from Pawpaw

Ready to cook in her new kitchen

Our first "child" getting some lovin

 Muzzie's grandchildren

Christmas Morning

Playing in the snow

Since everyone was in town we took advantage of the weekend and held a Hunter/Harding family photo shoot!

Ringing in 2013! Games and fun with the Hunters

 Girl's day out-- our New Year's day tradition. Fun shopping and lunch with the ladies!

On our last day in DC, we took Addie to visit Grandpa Hunter's grave for the first time in Arlington Cemetery. He was such an important figure in her Daddy's life and is the man behind her future baby brother's name, Hunter.

At Dave & Buster's for Grandpa Beans' birthday bash. 

Addie is a girl after my own heart and rocked it at "whack-a-mole".

 She also has her Daddy's need for speed! (Notice John on the motorcycle behind Addie.)

 She can even drive stick!

Now we are just home in Charlottesville, playing the waiting game, hoping for our little man to make his grand appearance soon!

Big Girl

Since Addie is going to be a big sister in just a few more weeks (yikes!) we have started transitioning her to the things that big girls do-- and she has been soaking them in like a champ. First we bought her a toddler toilet seat. Addie has dubbed this her "Big Girl Potty". We are not pressuring her into being potty trained any time soon, especially with the new baby coming, but we wanted to have the seat around for her to get use to and begin to take interest in. She was terrified of the sitting on the regular toilet, but as soon as we brought home the short, beautiful pink potty the girl loved it! She pee-peed in her big girl potty 3 times that day as well as the day after. Since then I haven't been as good about asking her if she wants to use it. She usually pees in it about once a day. We will eventually work up to more, but we think its a great start.

     Sitting on her big girl potty for the very first time

                                         

Another new piece of furniture in our home is a cute little toddler bed that we inherited from John's family and brought home after Thanksgiving. Again, we didn't want to transition Addie too soon, but we did want to set it up in her room and rearrange the furniture since Addie and her baby brother will be sharing a room. The very first night we set it up, Addie climbed in her "Big Girl Bed" and laid her head on the pillow. We decided to give it a chance and let her sleep there. She made it the whole night without climbing out (or falling out). In the morning when she was ready to get up she yelled, "Mommy, I awake!" She has been sleeping in it ever since for both naps and the night time.

First night sleeping in her big girl bed

Addie and her pal AJ think they are big kids on campus in the law school auditorium

Adeline is talking in phrases and sentences now and singing the lyrics to lots of different songs. She also likes to make up words to her own songs. She counts to 10 (and according to her, after 10 comes 30...duh) and she knows most of her colors. She surprises us everyday with something new or insightful. It's so amazing to watch her soak in the world around her. We are finally starting to realize that this sweet little bundle of ours is no longer an itty bitty, but is transitioning into our beautiful "big girl." 

Give Thanks

We made the drive to Maryland to spend time with family over the Thanksgiving holiday.  John filled up his bag with textbooks and papers to read and write, but of course, was more interested in hanging out with the gang. It was a fairly short trip, but we made the most out of it, spending time with people we love best. 

Our family arriving at Rich and Nicole's for Thanksgiving dinner

                                                          The yummy dessert spread

Happy to have Uncle Michael home safely from Africa!

Addie loved hanging out with her big cousins Maren and John-John

She went for the broccoli first! What a good girl!

                                                

So so grateful for our sweet girl. She brings so much happiness into our lives each day. 

We know she will be a fantastic big sister. 

Addie tagged along for a pedi with Mom and Auntie Sarah

Fit in a quick snuggle with this guy!!

Finished off our visit with tickets to see Jekyll & Hyde

 at the Kennedy Center with Dawn and Kerry

So thankful for all of our many many blessings. We are especially mindful of the wonderful family we have been blessed with- both extended and immediate, along with our own growing family!

Happiness is only real when shared

Into the Wild