SNOW!

It is not supposed to stick around for long, so we have to enjoy it.

We are off to go outside and play!

Christmas 2009

We are once again reminded of how blessed we are as a family. We had such a great Christmas with friends and family.

It is sad to see the season come to an end.

Addy and I Christmas Eve at Aunt Wendy's house.

Addy is pretty happy with her new kitchen from Santa!

Gabby looking festive.

A Christmas hug for Papa.

Addy checking out the presents under the tree.

A family photo at Mom and Dad's house.

Addy admiring her new doll from Nana and Oompa.

"I love Christmas!"

Weekend of Festivities

On Friday night we celebrated this happy couple on their recent engagement. Congrats Chad and Jessi we can't wait to celebrate your big day and thank you Drew and Em for hosting the gathering.

Saturday morning Matt and I spent a couple hours with Leslie and Caroline. We celebrated Christmas a little early since they will not be able to join us this year.

On Saturday night we attended our annual Christmas cocktail party.

(Thanks to Jamie for putting it all together this year.)

We started this tradition back in 2001 when we were roommates senior year in college.

Group shot of most of the girls.

Christmas Party 2009

Then on Sunday we had our annual girls gift exchange/breakfast.

(Thanks Ruthie for hosting this year.)

The gift game always gets very intense especially when it is time for the lighting round!

Wow... such a fun weekend packed full of holiday/fun events. We are so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family. We hope we never get to busy to keep our holiday traditions alive.

Merry Christmas!

(Bye Bye) Birthmark

Most of you know that Addy has a birthmark called an hemangioma on her left eye. (You can really see how it hangs over her eye in this picture. It doesn't always look this bad.) When she was five months old an ophthalmologist gave her a steroid shot to shrink it but unfortunately by the time she was one we could tell it was growing back. At her most recent eye doctor appointment, they determined it was getting in the way of her vision and that we needed to treat it again. She sent us to an eye lid specialist down at OHSU to determine the treatment. We had our appointment yesterday and the doctor wants to try putting Addy on blood pressure medicine. Strange... I know... but I guess they have found that it reduces the hemangiomas with less side effects than the steroids and it is less invasive than surgery. We have an appointment with her pediatrician on Friday because he wants to monitor her blood pressure while she is on this medication. We are excited about this new option and are hoping it works without any hitches. We will keep you posted on her progress.

Bake Off '09

Several of my college friends came down for a Christmas baking/crafting/girl time weekend. This is the fifth year we have got together and it has become one of my favorite holiday traditions. We always do it the first weekend of December; that way it kind of kicks off the month and puts everyone in the Christmas spirit.

Diggy and I are the founders. We started this tradition back in 2004!
(It is mandatory that everyone wears Christmas PJ's all weekend.)

Krissy and Cabe making chocolate peppermint cookies.

Jamie and her ice-skate ornaments.

Spry and her needlepoint. Did you finish it yet?
(She has been working on it since 2002).

The sugar cookie crew.
Thank you girls for such a fun weekend.
I can't wait to do it again next year.

Somersaults Already?

I have got to get this girl into gymnastics.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

Matt and I decorated the Christmas tree last night after Addy went to bed. She woke up to quite a surprise! It was fun to watch her explore and wonder about the tree in our living room. She doesn't even know about what goes under the tree!
It is fun to have a little one around during the holidays...
it helps to appreciate the excitement of the season.

First Turkey...

... equals best turkey! Matt had never made a turkey before so he went online to food network.com and found Alton Brown's recipe for roasted turkey. He had a feeling it was going to be good when he saw the 2000 positive reviews all giving the recipe five stars. I always love turkey but this bird was over the top good. I know most of you are sick of turkey right now, but hold onto this recipe. You won't be disappointed.

Nicaragua Pictures

You are welcome to check out the pictures from our trip.

We had an amazing journey!
Thank you Tamara, Don, and Maria for inviting us on such a wonderful vacation.
We look forward to more trips to Nica in the future.

Blessed

We are having a wonderful time in Nicaragua.
We are so lucky to spend our Thanksgiving in such an amazing location.
Happy Thanksgiving to all our family and friends.
We are thankful for you all.

First Flight Down...

...one more to go. We are in the Houston Airport waiting for our next flight to Nicaragua to take off. Addy is asleep in her car seat that is attached to the luggage cart. I pray she takes a good nap. She only slept 20 minutes on the first flight and we have been up since four in the morning. She was a trooper on the plane, only a few small fits which is understandable after four hours of sitting. We watched several DVDs, ate lots of snacks, and read some books to stay busy. Let's hope she keeps her spirits up for the next leg of the journey. This day will all be worth it once we get to the house and go for a dip in the pool.

Poor Baby!

Addy had a fever of 102 last night.

We are staying home to recuperate today. I hope she gets better soon. We are leaving for Nicaragua this Saturday.
P.S. The picture was taken before her playgroup last Friday. She was so excited to go see her friends that she did not want me to take a picture of her... I am not that mean to snap pics of my sick child... but this is the face I have been seeing ever since she got sick.

Happy Birthday Jake!

Jake decided he did not want a party this year he wanted the family to come to the Great Wolf Lodge to celebrate his seventh birthday. (If any of you have ever been there, it is seriously a kids' paradise.) We decided to still have a small family party Saturday night, Nana made a pirate cake and he got to open a few presents.

Parker and Jake with the pirate cake.

Sunday morning we headed out to the Great Wolf Lodge with the huge indoor water park.

There was a large area for smaller kids... the only problem was it was like a giant spray park and Addy kept getting water on her head... that is her worst nightmare... she does not like to be surprised.

So she ended up staying most of the day in mine or Aunty Steph's arms.

We were able to take turns watching the babies so we could each have a few runs down the Holler Tornado! It was a quite a ride. All in all, it was a great way to spend a rainy Sunday and I know most of the kids (except Addy) enjoyed it!

We hope you had fun birthday Jake!

Girls Weekend in Chelan

We had the best weekend celebrating Diggy's birthday! Once again Spry hooked us up with amazing accommodations on Wapato Point. It was such a great weekend to relax, catch up with old friends, play games, hot tub, and enjoy the local wineries.

All the girls outside of Chelan Estates.

Becky, Spry, and Karli

Court and Myself

Diggy, Cabe, and Jamie eating lunch at Karma.

Thanks girls for a great weekend. Let's plan another trip soon.

Halloween 2009

Addy the pink poodle.

Addy wasn't sure what to think of her cousins all dressed up...

but she sure loved the candy.

Parker the mouse.

Trick or Treat!
We hope you all had a fabulous Halloween!

Funny Girl

It has been fun watching Addy develop her silly side. She has quite the sense of humor. She thinks it is hilarious to walk around the house in my shoes. See for yourself!

Happy Birthday Caroline!

It was so fun to see you this weekend looking so healthy and strong!

We hope all your birthday wishes come true. We love you!

Pumpkin Patch

Once again, we had a great time at the pumpkin patch. It was a beautiful fall day. The kids loved the petting zoo, tractor ride, and picking out their pumpkins.


Addy checking out the goats.

Parker and a pile of pumpkins.

Here we go on the hay ride out to the pumpkins.

Jake with no front teeth.

Addy found hers!

Ellie found the perfect pumpkin.

Megs with her pumpkin.

All the Leitz kids.

We hope we are not done with these beautiful fall days.
Rain, rain, go away!

Check out last year's pictures to see how much the kids have grown.

Weekend Getaway

Matt and I stayed the night at Skamania Lodge on Friday night. It is about an hour east of Portland along the Columbia River. It is a beautiful lodge/spa/golf course. Matt had a work function we attended Friday night. He played golf Saturday morning with some coworkers while I had a massage in the spa. It was fun to get away for the night and Addy had a blast playing with her cousins.