Well we did it! We are Northshore Inline Marathon finishers!! This was us before the race began, both going on very little sleep...


This is us with one mile to go!! Yeah :)


All done and sporting my "free" long-sleeve T-shirt!
Amber and I finished in 2 1/2 hours exactly. It was a blast! Plan on doing it again next year :)

Addie's stats at 15 months:
Height- 31 1/2 inches - 70-90th Percentile
Weight- 26 lb. 1 oz. - 95th Percentile

Well, the week has flown by and we are headed to Duluth for the weekend. Amber and I will be rollerblading in Grandma's Marathon on Saturday morning. 26.2 miles!!! We've been training (sort-of), so I feel we're ready :) Just nervous about the weather... it's supposed to rain. I'll take some pics of us in our helmets! Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

Addie at Grammy's house... We're finally in a groove. She enjoys being there, which is great! Her 15 month appt. is this Tuesday, so I'll update then. Hope everyone had a nice weekend :)

Labor Day weekend Events!

Saturday we took a bike ride to the park...


And attended a Gopher Football game in the evening


Sunday we spent the evening celebrating Grandma and Grandpa Sorbel's 50th Anniversary


And today we were on the lake with the Sorbel clan! Addie had her first tubing experience... this was her face throughout the entire ride! hehe :)

Last night we had our first ER experience. Addie woke up at 10:15 PM coughing, gagging, choking, and crying. She clearly had something caught in her throat that was making it difficult to breathe. The good thing was that she was crying. She was scared, though, because she started to hyperventilate. We tried to calm her down to see if that would help the matter. We also tried turning her over and hitting on her back to dislodge whatever was in there. She was still having trouble breathing so we decided we needed to take her in. On our drive to the Monticello hospital, she began to calm herself down. I could still hear the rattling in her chest when she took breaths so we decided to still take her inside. We were there for 2 hours... they checked her oxygen level, which was normal, and they looked in her ears and throat. They listened to her chest, but by that time she had been crying for about an hour, so that may have been why she was hoarse. Finally, they took two chest X-Rays, just to make sure there wasn't anything lodged anywhere. She was surprisingly calm for her X-Rays! We looked at them and got the "all clear" from the doctor, so they discharged us at 12:30AM and we came home.
I know we did the right thing bringing her in because something was wrong when she woke up last night. I am also thankful nothing was wrong! At the same time, the people in the ER have a way about them that makes you feel stupid for being there when it seemed as if she was normal from the time we stepped into the hospital. I felt as though we were 'bothering' them with our concern. But they did go through all the steps to make sure I felt comfortable leaving, knowing she didn't have something stuck in her throat... so I appreciated that. Anyway, we are doing great today. She slept until 8:30AM, which was nice for all of us!

First day of school = fabulous! I was loving every minute of it! Yeah for school :)
Addie has been sleeping through the night the past 4 nights, so thanks for the prayers! Yeah for Tylenol and Baby Oragel :)
Brandt is taking this Friday off, and since I don't have school on Fridays, we are giving Addie to my mom for a couple hours and going to a movie! Yeah for dates :)

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week as well...

Teething... when will it end? Addie has been so miserable the last couple of nights. I know you can always blame crabbiness and crying on the fact that "she's teething'- but she really is!! She has her top two molars, but we are just waiting for the bottom two molars to fully come through. One has made it through the surface of the gums, just barely, but the other is yet to be seen :) Last night she cried and screamed... I got her out of bed to hold her twice. Poor girl. Tonight we loaded up on Tylenol before bed, so hopefully that will help a bit. I'd welcome any teething tactics or secrets!
We are back into the swing of things. I am back at work, trying to get my act together before students come on Monday. Addie has been with the grandmas this week! We are so blessed know she is in good hands every day! Brandt has his fantasy football draft tonight, and he could hardly contain himself all week. He is beyond excited... like a kid in a candy store. Oh, the joys of life! That's all for now-

Our trip to Brainerd this week... it was a blast!


Addie and Grandpa- she loved swimming... we swam at least twice a day!


Always carried around her wooden spoons :)


Family photo... Yes, I know... we look like the color wheel. No, I did not plan us to dress in primary colors... but very exciting ;)


Addison and Auntie Tricia on the giant chair! Gotta love it!


All of the cousins :)



I got her laughing pretty hard! She was a riot :)
All in all, it was the perfect end to a fabulous summer! I start back to work tomorrow. How time flies!?

Pictures from last weekend in Wisconsin...
Well, we head to Madden's Resort in Brainerd tomorrow for the week. We stay there with the entire Sorbel clan! I'm really looking forward to it. It will be our last trip of the summer, being that I start school Friday. Have a good week everyone! I'll post pics upon our return :)

We had a fun weekend! Allen, Natalie and the girls stayed with us Friday night. It was the girls' first sleep over... dinner, bath, and matching p.j.'s, of course! It was nice because we got to have 'us' time when they all went to bed. Rook, chocolate chip cookies, and good friends... what could get any better!?
Saturday we headed to Wisconsin for a family reunion and stayed at B's grandparents' house. Sunday we spent the afternoon in the Dells before heading home. Addie was great all weekend long! The car ride was nothing compared to our trip to Tennessee last month!
It was a fun, but exhausting weekend :)

This is the stage we're in right now... I'm sure many of you can relate :)

Brandt and I celebrate our 4th Anniversary today!
Happy Anniversary, babe!
I love you so much!!

Addie's favorite room is the bathroom. Usually I remember to put the toilet seat down, but I forgot the other day... hence, the picture above. Had to catch it on camera :) The second picture, well... she's just a happy child these days! Couldn't get any better than this.

A little life update... This week has been good. I've been helping a friend out with a Performing Arts camp this week. We've put together a mini-musical in 3 days with 21 kids, the majority being 2nd graders! It's been nice to work with the little ones, rather than my 7th/8th graders, for a change. Brandt started a new client this week. He's working in Roseville now and has made it home by 5:30Pm this entire week! That is amazing!!! Addison is so fun! Walking around has given her so much energy and confidence in herself. Our new favorite game is hide-and-seek. I hide, she seeks (and giggles). It's a blast :)

Well, Brandt and I are heading up to Trout Lake Camp for the weekend! We are celebrating our anniversary a bit early at the place where it all began :) We will have his parents' boat up there, so we are looking forward to a relaxing weekend on the lake. Addie's battling a cold this week, so she's been kinda cranky. Let's just say, I'm ready to let someone else take care of her for the weekend! I'm allowed to say that, right!? :)

We spent last week in Tennessee for my family reunion. It was a LONG drive, but we had a great time while we were there. It was fun spending time with family. Addie was very good, considering it was a week in an unfamiliar place surrounded by 20 unfamiliar faces. After a week away, though, it feels good to be home :)

We leave this evening for my annual family reunion on my dad's side. Usually it's Arkansas... but this year we're trying out Tennessee! Looking forward to the trip and spending time with relatives we see only once a year. We'd appreciate your prayers tonight as we drive 16 hours through the night. Pray that the drivers stay awake and Addie stays asleep :) I'll update in a week...

Well... we have a walker! Yes, Addie is officially walking! Baby steps, of course... I can't put her down in the middle of Walmart and have her walk, but at home, with one of us across the room, she'll walk. Now we have to work on what to do when she falls. Since we worked backward here (walking before crawling), she needs to learn how to pull herself up once she's down. Needless to say, Mom and Dad are very proud :)
PS- Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the kitchen set. She loves it!

We had a nice weekend with Brandt's parents at the cabin. Nice to be away and relax! Our first night with Addie was rough, but after that, she slept like normal. Here are a few pictures. In a bit, we will be heading out to stay with Brandt's cousins for the week! Looking forward to it :) Again, I'd appreciate prayers that Addie adjusts to the new place quickly!

Addison and I have had a great week! We've stayed busy, but definitely got in some "just us" time too. Today we played in the pool. The sun warmed it up nicely, so she enjoyed being in it. We leave tonight for Hayward, WI... Brandt's dad won a weekend at a cabin, so we're heading there to enjoy it with them! Looking forward to relaxing on the boat :) Hopefully Addie will sleep ok in a new place...

I'm officially adjusted to this stay-at-home-mom business :) It has taken about two weeks, to be honest, but I'm happy to be at home now. I didn't know it would be so hard to not do anything at all! I'm just so used to working, leaving Addie at grandma's, having my "out"... so being at home with no agenda is very different. But we've gotten into a routine now, Addie and I. She's enjoying being at home (definitely a momma's girl these days!), and I'm enjoying every moment spent with her. Still no walking... working hard on it though!

We had Ana and Adam over last night and they bought Addie that toy you see in the first picture. She loves it! My mom took her today for a few hours, so I could have some free time.... it was nice :) She is soooo close to walking! Today she took 2 steps on her own walking toward me, and she later used the couch to walk alongside it. She's never done that before. And she just wants to be walking all the time, so I'm looking forward to the next week or two... she should be figuring it out! Then she won't be so bored and frustrated :)

A few pictures from Addie's birthday party with all the family today. She was very good, and I think everyone had a good time! She got some great gifts as well :) Thanks to everyone who joined us!!
A note to Kylee... this was one of the dresses you bought her... a perfect party dress! She looked adorable, so thank you!

Addie's 1st Birthday

Happy Birthday, baby girl! We love you so much -
Mom & Dad