Baking with Grandpa

Sorry, but this took me forever to download, and I couldn't figure out how to rotate the video. You are going to have a pain in your neck if you actually view this. (Forgive me, I'm not very tech-savvy! Any advice would be appreciated!)

Posing for pictures

Today we attempted the feat of getting all four Adamo babies to pose for the Adamo Christmas Card. It took a lot of begging, funny faces, dancing, and goldfish crackers, but here are a couple of samples!

From left to right: Annika, Mallory, Chase, and Tori

Show-off!

So, yesterday we went to my parents' house to have Thanksgiving dinner with my dad's side of the family. When we arrived, everyone crowded around Annika in the kitchen to see how much she had changed since their last visit. Aunt Blanche made the comment, "She's probably running around like crazy these days, huh?" I replied, "No, she isn't walking yet." Then I turned around to unpack our food and heard everyone gasp and cheer. When Geoff put her down and let go of her hands, she walked to my mom! I'm convinced that Annika took her first steps just to prove me wrong! Of course, we spent the rest of the afternoon getting her to do it over and over again.

As long as we kept clapping, she kept walking!

She had a few falls when she dove toward her destination!
When we left my parents' house, we took an old friend with us. My mother recently went through our childhood toys and kept the ones that were still in pretty good shape. My brother and I used to play with this Fisher Price farm when we were little. Along with the A-frame house, school, and construction site, it provided us hours of entertainment. As you can see, Annika loved playing with it, too. She especially enjoyed putting the construction worker in the tractor seat. (He must have escaped from the construction site that stayed at Nanny and Pop's house!)

Blessings

This morning I am reminded of all the many blessings in my life. . .

I am married to the most honest man in the world. He loves us very much. I am thankful for our marriage and home.

Someone, unbeknownst to me, has taught my Butterbean to say, "Cheese!" when she sees the camera. Can you see the bottom tooth that finally popped through last night?

I have a wonderful family, which includes my five precious nieces and nephews, Sam, Julia, Tori, Mallory, and Chase. Happy Birthday Mallory!

I love my job and am blessed to work with people who are passionate about what they do and inspire me to be a better person.

I was raised with wonderful women role models-Aunt Connie, Mother, and Mimi. Annika will surely be blessed by them, as well.

I am continuously blessed by the curiosity of my child. Here she is this morning watching the squirrels outside her window.

I am blessed by many loyal, true friends, whose pictures would take up an extraordinary amount of space. My oldest and dearest being Lori, April, and Cindy.

I am blessed to have recently rekindled old relationships with my dear friends, Anna and Melanie.

I am blessed to be loved and cherished by God the Father and Comforter. He has never forsaken me.

Look closely, and don't overlook your blessings.

The Artist

I've tried several times lately to get Annika to color or paint. My attempts usually ended with me prying the crayon or paint-covered finger out of her mouth and abandoning the whole idea. Today we tried again with these great toddler crayons. She really enjoyed marking on the paper and then examining what she wrote! She paused several times to point out what she had done and "tell" me all about her artwork. Clear some refrigerator space Grandpa/Bestemor and Nanny/Pop because an artist has arrived!

Look what I did Mommy!

Visit to the farm

This weekend, Annika got to visit my parents on the farm. It looks like they had a fun-filled weekend! She had a wonderful visit with Nanny and Pop, and she even got to see her Uncle Jud! Geoff and I used the time alone to run errands, try out a new restaurant (Holeman-Finch Public House), and sleep in past 6:30 a.m. We missed our little Butterbean, but she had a terrific time!

The fall decorations at Rutland Farms are always the best!

Hanging out with Uncle Jud.

Post bath snuggle time with Nanny

This photo was taken after we arrived to pick her up. She wasn't quite ready for her visit to be over! Who blames her?

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Annika received this adorable "Butterbean" costume last year from Bestemor (Geoff's mom, Lily), but it was way too big for her little tiny body. This year Bestemor bought her a great monkey outfit, but we discovered that it was too small as we dressed for her costume party at school. I climbed in the attic, dug out the bean costume and cut some holes for her long legs. She LOVED this costume! She kept leaning her face over on the beans like they were her pillows!

After snapping a few photos at home, Geoff and I took her to EAV-O-WEEN in the village. (We live in East Atlanta Village.) She really enjoyed watching all of the other kids, adults, and especially the dogs, in their costumes. Here's a family shot. Geoff and I didn't sport our costumes until we headed to the Monster Bash on Nash Avenue later on in the evening.

Annika and I have a secret guilty pleasure of watching "Yo Gabba Gabba" on Noggin in the evenings. Our friend, Reid, made this awesome costume and dressed as DJ Lance from the show. Annika kept pointing to him and saying, "Daa" for dance. She bobs her head and dances any time she hears the words, "Yo Gabba Gabba"! The friendly faces from left to right are Annika, Geoff, Princess Aubrey, DJ Lance, and Witch Adrienne carrying their newest family member, Abram.

We hope you had a memorable Halloween! Boo!