Merry Christmas

She wouldn't stop staring at him with her mouth wide open.

Our first family Christmas photo. I made Brian take a million and ended up using the first one :)

We finally took a picture with the three of us! Yes, we do still exsist. It's haqrd to turn the picture on yourself when you have such a beautiful baby girl to capture all day long.

I hope you all remember the meaning of Christmas this year and tell everyone who may not know. It's the real gift of Jesus Christ. I am reminding myself more and more every day to remember that all my gifts and blessings come from him and him alone. I started a morning devotion called Mother Wise at our church, Beaverton Four Square Church. It's been so great to talk with other moms with children Addy's age and pray together. We are having a cookie exchange Wednesday, so I must get baking! Have a wonderful Christmas!

Love,

The Krist's

New pictures

My new sleeping arrangment. On tummy, thumb in mouth. I won't accept anything else.

She loves her tummy time.

Big girl!!

She likes to play with these new found things called toes. She can almost get them in her mouth. I'm not sure how I feel about that!

So big in her Bumbo chair (actually it's Jennings, but we're borrowing it) and piggies.

Just a quick note and a couple new pictures.

We are getting ready to move out to Cornelius, Oregon this week and things are getting hectic. Moving with a five month old is not a simple task. But I'm learning. I am thankful to only have one little one right now. Nap time takes up a lot of time!

You'll also notice that Brian and I have become non-exsistant. I'll get some pictures of us up soon. Maybe some nice Christmas photos. :) Enjoy!

Five months going on....five years!

Visiting our new friend Owen Thomas.

Playing in my Exersaucer.

Smiling (not crying) in my carseat.

These last five months have gone by way too fast. So fast it's hard to find time to post pictures on here. She now rolls on her tummy to sleep and shoves her thumb in her mouth, just like mommy. It's so cute I let her do it, but I am trying to get her to take a binky instead. I can always take that away.

Her hair is getting really long I can put it in pig tails. She loves to touch your face and grab at anything in your hand or on your face (glasses).

Addy just started sleeping through the night for about 12-14 hours. We can't believe it and are counting our blessings. She is always happy when she gets up and VERY hungry lunging at my cheek or neck on the hunt for some milk. She is such a sweet baby. She is always so happy and smily.

Brian sometimes has to retrieve his fingers back from her slobbery little tight fists. She loves to chomp on his fingers, we are wondering if is couple little chicklettes are going to pop up here soon. We'll keep y'all updated. Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year if I don't chat with you before.

~Krist's

Addy is 4 months today

Adalynn had her four month old appointment today. She weighed in at 16lbs and 26 inches long. Doctor said she is very healthy and strong. She likes us to help her sit up and get up on her feet so she can 'stand'. He said not to trust her, she is very capable of launching herself anywhere at this point. Then she got her next round of shots and I almost got our family 86'd from the pediatrician's office. The nurse was inflicting pain on my baby for what seemed like forever. Good thing Brian was there!!!

I got Addy this pumpkin costume and was so excited to for her experience her first Halloween trick-or-treating with her cousins. However....she didn't get enough sleep and screamed until I got her home in her crib. So she never even wore the outfit until the next day. Oh the things you learn from children, lots of patience!!! So here she is on November 1st sporting her costume. She'll even wear it for Thanksgiving. I'm getting my money's worth. :)

I think she likes it!!

My girlfriend Tonya just had a baby boy, Jenning Louis. We put him and Addy together for some pictures. She is so big next to her new friend. She also made me a little nervous throwing her arm over by his head wanting to touch him. She doesn't have full control of her arms yet, let alone understanding 'gentle'. We had a great time visiting baby Jenning, he's so cute!

I also put her hair in her first big girl pigtails. They are hard to see in the picture, but they stick straight up.

Funny girl

Addy is almost four months old. She loves to have her head rubbed when she's going to sleep. This was the outcome after I played with her hair then put her down for a nap. If you didn't notice...she also likes to eat! Healthy and happy girl!!

Back to the beginning

If all else fails, never forget the essentials; favorite teddy bear, favorite toy, Baby Einstein accompanied by CHARGED laptop and Baby Bjorn.

Happy girl loves being outside.

First run in with a horse. If I have it my way, someday I'll teach her to barrel race. After I learn, of course!

This is Hunter/Gatherer man handleing the cider press.

My husbands wonderful photography. This is what we see when we step outside or little cabin. Also the backdrop view from the alter.

Hunter/Gatherer standing outside our little, yet very warm, cabin.

I spend as much time here as I can. There is no shower, just a tub. Right up my alley!

Last weekend Brian, Addy & I all went back up to the Bed and Breakfast where we married. My Hood B & B located just on the East side of Mt Hood. Each year they have a cider press party and we were invited last year. It was held one week before our wedding and we made our own cider to serve. So needless to say it has become an annual celebration and we brought Addy this year. Mike and Jackie (owners) have become family to us and welcomed us with open arms when we showed up at 10:00pm Friday night. Brian had to work so we got a late start.

Driving up there reminded me of the same drive my girlfriend Jamie and I took just one year ago on my wedding day. It is so beautiful as we pass through all the orchards and the mountain lights up with snow, gorgeous even at night!

We got to our room (one of four), the Homestead they call it. The same room we had last year. Brian cranks out a rip roaring fire and I put Addy down so we can sit down, relax with a glass of wine and watch a movie. Or whatever we feel like doing :) Mike warned us that we could really cook ourselves out with a fire, but we couldn't wait to hear the crackles. Well.....the mixture of wine and too much heat and we found ourselves waking up in the wee hours of the next morning in the same clothes with a dead laptop. Oops, looks like he was right.

All in all we just had such a wonderful time and met some lovely people also staying the weekend. We all shared two mouthwatering breakfasts together and then a buffet style meal at the cider press party Sunday afternoon. What a wonderful weekend. Then we drove that same road back home and enjoyed every last bit of the beautiful fall colors bursting all around us. All the while Addy slept away in the back seat. She did great all weekend, only a couple melt downs which ended quickly with a nap or milk. Two of her favorite things. Enjoy!

Also if you get a chance for a little vacation, I highly recommend this wonderful place. www.mthoodbnb.com

Pumpkin Patch

Here are a couple of pictures from the pumpkin patch on Sauvie's Island. Addy's first Halloween! She slept almost the whole time. We went on a cow train. A tractor pulls a hand full of carts shaped like cows. Mine was Butters. We had a great time with Doug, Michelle, Chase, Hannah and Shawn went too! Enjoy!

Our first anniversary! The story of us.

Brian and I met the for the first time March 29th, 2006. He came into my work after a mutual friend told him about me. I caught wind he might come in to meet me, but didn't know when. So I tried to look my best every day that week and always be on my toes. Not knowing what he looked like and having many customers in and out of my office I wondered a lot...is that him? oh, is that him? Finally he came in and the rest is history...

This is our first trip to Seattle for my birthday April 2006. I fell in love with him this weekend and knew deep down I'd marry this man and have his babies. Which was a strange feeling for me. I always thought I'd do those things after 30 or at least after a career start. God works in miraculous ways, and this was sure miraculous.

We have been having fun ever since we met.

Brian on his jet ski July 4, 2006. Look at those muscles!

Here we are taking a dance lesson at the famous Bushwhackers. Brian is a great dancer. This picture is very important to me. When we first met, Brian taught me about the flavors of food. He would always order or make food and let serve me a bite first. He enjoys savoring every bite with his eyes closed. I will never forget our third or so date at Clay's Smokehouse. He ordered ribs, and if you know me you know I hate anything on the bone. Way too messy for me. So after a few short minutes I look up to see Brian's face covered in BBQ sauce. I cracked up and wondered if he knew!? I would have been mortified!!! Well...he didn't care and later said he always does that, that's the way you way ribs. He also said he wanted to show me 'how he was' so if I didn't like it, I wasn't for him. What a toughy :) Sure enough, he still does it! And I always think of our date at Clay's.

Here we are on the beach at our resort in Jamaica on our honeymoon. What a wonderful trip. I've never been so relaxed and treated like royalty. We ate some pretty bizarre things like goat. It wasn't that bad!

Then we came home from our fabulous honeymoon and I was bummed that we didn't have plans for Halloween. So, needless to say I was a little cranky and didn't feel very well. If you look below you'll know why. I was pregnant. My goodness!!! We were excited, scared, overwhelmed, happy, nervous...you name it, we felt it. We'd known each other for about 7 months now, but we were having a BABY!!!!! I was so sick until I hit 3.5 months. The rest was mostly wonderful. We couldn't wait for our little girl to show up.

This is the most amazing picture I have ever seen. My entire heart is in this picture, I cried when I saw it. The look on Brian's face says it all. I wasn't able to be in the NICU with them here so I lived vicariously through pictures. When Addy was born they put her right on my chest, then took her to NICU to get some stuff out of her lungs and bathe her. Brian was able to carry her down there, the proud daddy. As he walked past the waiting room he was attacked like a sitting duck. My parents were able to go in too and captured this moment for me. Enjoy!

And here is our latest enjoyment that is not about Addy, wow! We celebrated our first anniversary yesterday October 7th. I was able to leave Addy for a little bit, hard as it was. We went to the restaurant where we had our first date, ate our wedding cake and wine from the wedding. (We got a free cake from Joseph's so we didn't have to save the old one, yuck!) We had so much fun and enjoyed talking and being together on our little date just being married and not mommy and daddy for a couple hours. We even decided to not talk about her, which worked until we pulled in the driveway and we could hear her crying from outside. I have never moved so fast, she needed her mommy! Gosh, I though, would she even know who we were... I'd never left her that long!!! When I picked her up she nuzzled right in my shoulder. What a wonderful end to a perfect night with my husband of one whole year. Congratulations to us!

She can roll over!

Addy is twelve weeks old and she rolled over the other day. We are SO excited!!! I changed her and put her on the floor for 'tummy time' and ran into the other room for A COUPLE SECONDS! When I came back she was on her back. Weird, I thought. I know I put her on her tummy...

So I put her back on her tummy to see if she would do it again. Lo and behold, she rolled right over. So I had some fun rolling her back to her tummy I don't know how many times. When Brian came home form work, we did it some more. We are so proud of her! We don't want her to get any bigger, but we are in ah every day as she shows us new things she can do. She is also starting to want to grab at things, what a joy to watch. She's our little blessing and we love her so.

11.5 weeks, she's getting too big!!!

I LOVE this picture of Brian & Adalynn. He had propped her up between the couch cushions and when he looked at her she stared at him with such intent. She gives us this look a lot. She digs her chin in her chest and looks up at us, it's a heart melter. Brian talks to her all the time and she really loves it. She tries so hard to figure out what you are saying and has such expression in her eyebrows. She smiles so much now, and is so close to giggling. She sounds more like she is coughing, but will soon turn to laughing. I can't wait to hear a deep belly laugh.

She is so loved by her mommy and daddy!

She is enjoying all her stroller rides and actually likes the carseat now. Getting in the carseat doesn't always mean we have to get in the car anymore. I take her for stroller rides a lot now. The vibration puts her right to sleep, however, (just like when I stop at a red light) if the stroller stops moving...we wake up. She's my ambition to keep going and to not stop short!

She has had cradle cap really bad so I've been putting baby oil on her head and brushing her hair all the time. It is slowly going away, but it also takes out a little hair. Not that she has none to spare, but Brian calls it 'male pattern baldness' because it's on top of her head. Sad!

10 weeks

Hanging out in her beloved swing.

Peeking out of her blanket on the boat.

So here is our innocent daughter working her magic on daddy. She starts to get worked up and watch out. It's hilarious now, but when she's 25 it might not be! ;)

We stayed down on our boat for a few nights and she did really well. She is such a thinker...from day one. She'll just stare at something and all of a sudden fart really loud. It's great.

2 months already!

Happy girl, squeaky clean.

As you can see...she wasn't a happy girl!

Addy just turned two months on the 5th. I had to take her in to get four shots. Poor baby! She lay on the table not expecting to be stabbed four times, twice in each thigh. I couldn't watch and she screamed so loud. I felt horrible and she continued to scream all day. Thank goodness for that wonderful thing called Baby Tylenol.

Brian goes back to work Sep. 13th. Bummer! We have had such a great time during these past couple months together as a family. We are so blessed for him to have so much time off work for us to learn as much as possible about Addy. She is so close to laughing, I can tell she is trying. She still is so impressed with her new found voice, she coo's all day long. It's the cutest thing, I just stare at her all the time in ah of our little angel.

Eight weeks old already

Our baby girl is already 8 weeks old. I can't believe it! She is the most amazing thing I have ever experienced and we are so blessed God chose us to be her parents.

She has started to suck her thumb and sometimes it gages her. She still doesn't have control of her arms so she shoves it down her throat practically. Addy also talks all day long and will mimic our mouth movements. She coos, oohs and ahhs to us when she sees us.
We took her in the pool for the first time and she loved it. Her face doesn't look very happy, but she looks that way a lot. She's a deep thinker! :)

Brian is still on sabbatical and won't go back until September 13th. It's been so wonderful to have him home during this time. I am a lucky mommy!

Addy in her blanket I made her.

Auntie Michelle and Addy after a walk.

Addy's first trip to Spokane

Addy just turned seven weeks on Thursday and she has been all over. We just got back from another six day vacation. We started out camping on the Deschutes River then went up to Spokane to visit some friends. We had a great time and Addy went to the Peach Festival to pick fresh peaches and eat garden burgers (her favorite :). We also drove over to Idaho for breakfast before we started our trip home. We stopped again at the Deschutes River to do some fishing and a snake tried to attack me and Addy. Okay so not really...but there was one about two feet from me on the bank and Brian told me to run up the trail really fast. He killed the snake, my HERO!!!! :)
So now Addy is smiling all the time and starting to use hre voice a lot. She also got her thumb in her mouth the other day. It's pretty cute! Here are a couple pictures of the past couple weeks.

Here is Brian practicing the big kill with his bow. We went up to set up his camp for the opening season. Woohoo! One of my favorite vendors vendor at work sent Addy a box of great gifts and here are some moccasins from Colorado. Thanks Gary! :)

Here I am fishing on the Deschutes with Addy in the baby bjorn. The snake came right this moment. Needless to say I was done fishing for the day!!

5.5 weeks old

Addy is now 5 1/2 weeks old. She has started to smile when we play with her, not only when she has gas. She has been holding her head up since we brought her home and she is only getting stronger. We have been sleeping a little better now that we can determine what each cry means. Sometimes she's hungry, or poopy, or just wants to be held. Brian is great at the 'cry factor', he always knows what she wants. She gets gassy so I have been trying to eliminate foods that we think would upset her tummy. Bye bye tuna fish :(

As you can see from the picture above Addy is a great eater. Sometimes she will want to eat every hour, or sometimes every four to five. But if it is every hour, it's the same for diapers. She will poop all day long. Brian and I took her for her first boat ride in the fishing boat. She had a fun and slept the entire time. It was a little bumpy which shook everything in her body south. Towards the end of our tour she started to fart in a not so lady like manner and I realized she had a blow out on the ol'diaper all over mommy. So there we sat, poop all over both of us and it was getting cold so we had to get back to the dock fast. Everything was fine though, I changed her on top of a washing machine at our marina. She didn't know the difference :)

Enjoy the pictures, she has already changed so much!

Love, The Krist's