Pictures from Grammy's house... my little snow angel :)

Well folks, I've got some good news to report... We ("we" being Steph) are 9 weeks pregnant!!! I'm assuming the picture gave it away. The due date for Numero Dos is August 25, 2009. We are excited and nervous, so your prayers are much appreciated.

The ultrasound above only pictures one baby, but I ("I" being Brandt) have said and will continue to say that there are two in there. I guess we'll find out in August!

Peace.

Sorry... I usually don't let myself go a week without posting, but life has been...we'll just say... crazy! Dance is in full swing for me. Competitions every weekend. We were in Duluth yesterday, and my girls got 2nd place in both high kick and jazz! I just about fainted ;) I was so proud of them! Addie had some good bonding time with Brandt - she really didn't want much to do with me today. I'll get her back tomorrow- an entire day of just the two of us!! I caught her with a cowboy hat on the other day. Once she realized I was taking pictures, though, she wasn't pleased. That's her "look"... the second picture.

Just had to get Brand't mustache pic off the blog page! We're doing well... it's been an adjustment for all of us getting back into the routine again. I definitely look forward to summer after two weeks home for Christmas break. It's hard to be away from her all day.
Addie just has such a funny personality these days. Brandt and I laugh at (with) her all the time! Yesterday, after taking a bite of a Ritz cracker and saying "moon" (cause it did look like a moon), she proceeded to put the cracker on her head and smash it into a million crumbs. Then she said "uh oh" and started to laugh! As did we :) Today at Lynn's house, she took one of those nose bulbs, stuck it in her nose, and held her hands out, showing how it stayed in there by itself. She of course thought it was the funniest trick she'd ever performed! Dorky stories, but she's just so funny!! If you ever need a laugh... feel free to come spend an evening with us :)

Here is scary mustache man... B's been on break for two weeks, so he grew out his facial hair. Then today he decided it would be funny to just leave the 'stache. NASTY!!!! We had a photo shoot before he reluctantly shaved it off! Thank goodness!


To leave you with something prettier for the New Year... here's Miss Addie :-) Happy New Year!!

Christmas was wonderful! Here are a few pics from our two days of celebrations!

Two nights ago, Amber and I went to Celine Dion.... best concert I've ever seen- EVER! She was amazing :) Wow, can she sing!!

Almost Christmas break... I think we're both ready for a vacation!
Just wanted to update with Addison's new words:

*fishy (we bought her one for Christmas)
*show
*nutcracker
*'baa', 'moo', 'he-haw'
*purple
*pink
*football
*pretty
*door
*tickle

LOVE LOVE the stage we're in!!

Today I wish I stayed at home. I missed out on the first 'playing in the snow' experience! Grammy and Addie got bundled up and played in the snow for over an hour this afternoon! She just loved it and kept wanting "more"... here are a few pics :-)

AHHHHH! Today was long and exhausting... it was one of those days where I was counting down the minutes until I could put Addie to bed. I think you're allowed to have those moments as a parent, right!? It was like nothing we could do for her was right today. I still love the girl like crazy... all I'm saying is that I am at peace now that she is asleep in her room ;)
Ok... now onto another agenda...

Tag, You're It- I've been tagged by a friend.

The task is to take the sixth folder on your computer and pull up the sixth pic and describe it. Then, tag four others. So here goes...

This is my Addie girl at 2 1/2 months... she's laying in her crib admiring the mobile that we don't use anymore :) She loved it for awhile though! She of course is in a onesie with pink socks on, just as content as can be. She was a very good baby. I am thankful.
I now tag... sista Kylee and Ana :)

Hey all -

We've decided to try and rent out our place in Otsego. We'd like to rent it out and find a new place a little closer to Minneapolis. Please let me know if you hear of or know of anyone interested in a great place. Thanks!

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/apa/943299639.html

-Brandt

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We spent Thanksgiving Day with the Larson side and Friday with the Sorbels. It's been a relaxing week- sad that it's almost over. But only about 3 weeks until Christmas break, so that gives us something to look forward to!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE!!

Addie is at the stage where it seems like she says a new word every day! It's so fun to hear her say something for the first time! Here are some of her latest words:
-bubble
-apple (my favorite)
-soap
-shampoo ("ampoo")
-moon
-robot (Yes, we have the Roomba)
-cheese
-bath ("bat")
-towel ("toll")
-pear

We're hanging in there. I'm so thankful for friends and family... you all have been so supportive this weekend. Thanks for the phone calls, messages, hugs, flowers, and cheesecake ;) The Lord has blessed us with so many wonderful people to just surround us with love... so thank you. Yesterday was a tough day, but today I am feeling so much better! I'm sure everyday will get easier.
I'm pretty nervous/anxious to head back to school tomorrow and have to explain to co-workers and students, so if you remember to throw up another prayer tomorrow, that would be great.
I'm trusting in God that He does have a plan for our lives. I know we go through these trials to bring us closer to Him. Although I know all this, it's still hard not to ask Him, "Why?" But as many of you have reminded me... I feel confident that I will get to see this little one up in heaven someday! That is amazing :)
The best therapy through it all has been this little bundle of joy below...


I take that back-- it's been the both of them...

Hello all. It's Brandt and it's been a long time since I last wrote. I wish it were under better circumstances.

Unfortunately, we lost our little one in the middle of the night last night. Steph is fine but we could all use your prayers.

In the short time since this has happened, I've been able to reflect on a few things. First of all, life and the miracle of child birth seems even more amazing. Second, I think I love Addie more and want to protect her more than just one day ago.

Finally, when we decided to try for #2, it was a big step for me personally to give it to God. Though I thought God was blessing us with another child because I was being stubborn about not having one, I think there's more to it. I pray that He does teach us something from this and that He'll use this as a way to patch old wounds or lead us in the way He has planned.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

-B

Playing in the leaves! We are enjoying a relaxing weekend at home :) More updates to come...

I received the best gift today... my baby girl said, "Mama" for the first time! Not quite sure if she did it on purpose, trying to talk to me, but regardless, she's been saying it all evening :) I'm in love!

Our little ladybug! We had a blast tonight :-)

I have sad news... for those of you who haven't heard yet, Celine Dion is very sick and her concert has been postponed until February. I am so sad I won't be attending tomorrow evening :( I will be playing her cd all day in honor of the supposed-to-be-concert. Sniff...sniff...

Hey all! Dance team started last week, so coaching is in full swing! Things are busy now. We are all doing well... just relaxing today, watching football, and trying to stay warm indoors. The snow is depressing today. Hope everyone had a nice weekend. More pictures in a few days...
Celine Dion Countdown= 4 days! Yes, I'm going to see her and I can't wait :)

I know a lot of you saw these on facebook, but my parents are out of town... so these are for them! We went to the pumpkin patch yesterday. She LOVED it!



Now we're off to the Dells with friends! Catch you up after the weekend.

These are pics from when Addie stayed at Amber's house on Monday. Love them!

I'm a stay-at-home mom today! Kinda nice :) My parents are out of town this week, so Addie went to Amber's yesterday, and I took the day off to stay home today. A much needed vacation day! We got some pictures taken this morning at JCPenneys... the lady was able to snap 6 pictures total before Addie flipped out and didn't want anything else to do with the camera. But, 6 were enough! They turned out cute. I'll post them on here soon. Other than that, just ran errands today, went on a walk, and got some work done while she napped. Tomorrow is my last day for the week, and Friday, B and I leave for the weekend on a vacation with friends! CAN'T WAIT!!

Well, not much going on, but I get frustrated when people don't update their blogs... it's been a week since I've updated ours, so I thought I'd give you a little something :)

This is our house right now- a disaster!


I got Addie's hair into a single pony tail (with lots of clips, of course)... maybe that only brings excitement to me, but it was an exciting moment!!


I heard a slurred, "I Love You" for the first time this weekend. That will make one's heart melt! She also blew me a kiss for the first time. Fun to experience these "firsts" :)

Addie and Liam


Sweet Landon :)

We had a nice weekend... Date night on Friday (thanks, Mom!), scrapping with my mom on Saturday, and lunch/Vikings game with the Marsh clan today (pictures above).
Two funny stories...
Addie enjoys dancing in our bedroom because there's a cd player in there. Well last night, while home with Brandt, he caught her dancing in front of the mirror in our room. When she saw that he had 'caught' her, she closed the door on him! She wanted privacy :)
Addie has a habit of grabbing at the tall blinds in the living room. We tell her "no" and she steps away. Or she starts to slowly grab a blind and glance at us, testing us, and waiting to see if we'll say "no" again. Well, today Brandt started slapping her hand when she touched the blinds. He did it a couple times and she got the hint. Later this evening, though, she grabbed the blinds again. We both said "no" and she slapped her own hand and walked away! We kept straight faces until she wasn't looking at us, but then we had to laugh. So cute :)

We always pray before meals, but usually Addie pays no attention. But two days ago we made the effort to teach her to fold her hands and 'pray' with us. So one day later, she is praying all the time!! She folds her hands, looks at us, and waits for us to pray. Then she proceeds to clap when we say "Amen." Clapping for God, I suppose! I'm sure He enjoys that :) So this morning, as we sat down to breakfast, Brandt and I just started talking, not realizing we had forgotten to pray. We look at Addie and she has her hands folded, waiting for us. So we prayed together. Then she was satisfied and began eating. She kept us in check this morning :)

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 :)