December 26th 2009

We went to Mammy Laura and Papa Ken's house on the day after Christmas because Uncle Chris had to work on Christmas Day. It was really nice of him to make the trip over so we could see him for the holidays!

It was a really relaxing and fun time! Enjoy the pictures!!!

More and More and More Christmas Morning Pictures 2009

We had a very relaxed and calm morning, the kids woke up around 7 and Addy immediately checked out Santa's cookie plate after that we let them see what Santa brought and open their stockings while we waited for G.G., Mammy Laura, and Papa Ken to come over for breakfast. Then we let the girls open the rest of their presents. Maya was ready for a nap at that point so we hung out for a while and watched Christmas Vacation, which is a family tradition. Later in the morning we went to Mammy Debbie and Papa Mike's house (no pictures...forgot the camera) for a gift exchange and stayed there until a little after 1pm, when it was clear that Addy was ready for a nap.

In the afternoon we had everyone over for dinner and had a great time, again, I didn't bring out the camera, but should have:).

Maya "striking a pose".
She was having a great time with all the paper from the presents, it was pretty hard to get her attention for a picture.

Addy and Maya

Maya looking at her presents from her stocking.

Addy learning how to use a yo yo.

Christmas Morning 2009

Addy checking out the cookie plate...she wondered why Santa didn't finish all of the cookies and milk.

Addy didn't realized the footprints right away but when she did she was very concerned about how they would get cleaned up, she even brought it up later that afternoon. I don't know why she worries so much...must be something she gets from Joel:)

Addy opening her presents!

Maya showing us what a big girl she is, she really loves her new toys!

Christmas Eve 2009

Santa's foot prints in our house!!!

Christmas Eve was pretty low-key this year. We went to Auntie Jody and Uncle Mark's house for dinner. Both Addy and Maya had fun playing with their cousins and we had a good time catching up with family that we don't see often enough. Addy was very excited about Santa coming to our house so it was a little difficult for her to get to sleep that night, we left milk and cookies for Santa and tracked him on NORAD (spelling?).

Addy and Maya December 2009

Addy and Maya cuddling and enjoying a show!

Addy and Maya are doing great! Addison is really enjoying preschool and is learning new things everyday, although, the things that she learns from her friends and not her teachers can really test our patience:). She tries to tell us all of the time that she isn't three but that she's five and we find ourselves arguing with her...then we give up realizing we are arguing with a three year old!!!She's a lot of fun to have around and she is such a great big sister. Maya is also learning new things all the time, peek-a-boo and waving hi and bye are a couple of the newest "tricks" she does...not on demand of course :). Maya is getting around a lot more, she crawls from room to room and really has become fascinated with the bathrooms, so the gates have been put back up and we're getting pretty good at hurdling them again.

Christmas Tree Hunt 2009

Today we went to the McLean Road Tree Farm for our Christmas tree. It was a bit cold but the girls loved seeing all of the animals. They had bunnies, llamas, alpacas, sheep, a dog, and ponies (it was a regular dog and pony show:)). Addy really liked helping to choose our tree this year; we finally had to convince her that we didn't want a tree that was only about 2ft. tall. For some reason she really liked the little ones. We ended up with a tree that was about 5 or 6ft. tall , which is a bit smaller than what we normally get but in my opinion it looks like a picture perfect tree and I can't wait to decorate it!

Addy and Maya update...

Addison is growing up so fast, she is no longer our baby or our toddler but now our little girl. She is so sweet and fun to be around, she is stubborn, and honestly I wouldn't have it any other way, she is eager to learn and enjoys it so much, she loves with all of her heart, she cares for all of her family and friends, for one reason, because that is what your supposed to do. Addison We love you and we are so proud of you!

Some of Addy's new skills include writing letters and spelling her name, she is doing better coloring inside the lines which is important to her...she's a perfectionist too, and she can now pick out her own outfits which at times is more of a challenge for me, but we get through it.

From August and September 2009

Maya our sweet little baby is also growing so quickly. Her personality is starting to shine, she is loving and really likes to be around people, she loves to make you laugh by making her cute little sounds and by mimicking what you do like waving, saying ya and shaking her head yes, and clapping. Maya is crawling now, she started in early November, but she doesn't use that new skill all the time she would rather be packed from room to room or be sitting with somebody she loves.

From Fall 09

Disney on Ice 11-09

Peggy, Debbie, Bridget, and I took Lydia and Addy to the Disney on Ice show this month. The girls loved the show and Addy hasn't stopped talking about Ariel since, she is also talking about trying out ice skating but I think we'll wait on that!

Enjoy the pictures!

From Fall 09

Addy dressed like Tinkerbell.

From Collages

The show included scenes from Little Mermaid, Lion King, and Tinkerbell. Addy and Lydia were very interested in the show and they hardly moved from their seats.

October 2009

This month was very busy! We went to the pumpkin patch with the Pratt/McManus family, carved pumpkins one evening while Joel was home (few and far between right now with EMT class going strong), had a very fun Halloween night which included an attempt at Trick or Treating at the mall, several important grandparent stops for pictures, and ending with a wonderful party at the Meeces house! Oh ya, we got a kitten we named Jax in october too! One of my clients has a volunteer position at the Humane Society and this kitten had been there for about five weeks and we both really got to know him well and found him to be one of the sweetest and most mellow kittens there, the timing was perfect, Joel and I had been talking about looking into finding a pet for Addy as she had been asking for quite a while and we felt she was ready so we surprised her with Jax the day before Halloween. She has taken such good care of him and he is gentle with both Addy and Maya.

Fun at the pumpkin patch!!!

Joel, Addy, Maya, and I carving pumpkins.

All the kids dressed up on Halloween. Addy was Thumbelina, Maya was a flower, Ellie and Tyler were Starwars characters, Lydia a garden nome, and Keegan a doctor.

Meet Jax!

Victoria 2009

At the beginning of October we took our annual trip to one of our favorite places, Victoria B.C.. This year we took the girls with us (we go kid-less every other year and I am glad this year was a kid year because I couldn't and wouldn't have left Maya for that length of time yet!) We had a great trip, we went to the museum, we swam in the pool, walked around town, had some really good food, and participated in the 8k footrace. I am very proud of Joel, he also participated in the race and finished in a better time than he expected. Also, Mammy Debbie (AKA McDebbie) and Big Papa came up with us and watched the girls while we ran!

Ocean Shores 9-09

We met Maris,Chris, Tyler, and Ellie at the Martin's OS house for Labor Day Weekend. It was a great end of summer trip, relaxing and fun! We took some walks to the beach, went to the Irish Pub and the amusement park.

Enjoy the slide show!

The Zoo 9-09

Heather, Jason, and Keegan met us for a fun day at the zoo. We were on our way to the ocean and thought it made a lot of sense to take a break in our long drive and stop at the zoo. it was one of the last beautiful sunny days of summer and we had a lot of fun checking out the animals and attractions.

This was Addy and Maya's first trip to the zoo. Keegan and Addy loved how close they could get to the animals! Maya didn't really get too excited about it but it was nice for her to be out of her carseat for a while. We ended up buying an annual pass so we will probably check it out a few more times this year!

This weekend when we went to Sequim for the first time in a long time we had a lot of fun...the fair, walks to the river, some outdoor acting/performing on the outdoor stage, and of course some time playing in the backyard.

Addy got to meet Ollie, Tyler and Ellie's new kitten, this weekend and now, more than ever, wants one of her own!!!

Trip to Sequim 8-09

Eaton Family Reunion

This years Eaton Family Reunion was a complete blast. Since our last reunion we have lost some important people and it was good to get together this year to celebrate their lives and catch up with family that we rarely see all year.

Scott opened up his new house to us and asked a friend of his if he would give some plane rides, Tyler was really the only kid old enough to participate in our immediate family and he got to go with his cousins Tammy and Isaac. We also took golf carts and Garters out on the dikes that surrounded the house/property, the kids loved this!!! I would have to say my favorite part of the day was when five+ old fighter planes did a fly-over in a really cool formation. Oh and I have to say trying to ride a Sag way for the first time was fun too!

It was a bit of a crazy day and something we totally couldn't have expected at one of our family reunions! Usually its just a potluck and catching up with people:)...What are we going to do next year???

Wordless Wednesday

First Day of School 8-4-09

Addy is now an official preschooler!!! She is going three days a week and has already learned a bunch of new songs and crafts...she is meeting new friends and really likes her great teacher Sam!

First day of school picture...she was really "hamming" it up!

Maya tries solids!!!

Maya's first experience with eating solids went fairly well...She still prefers her bottles though.

Over the past couple of weeks we have continued to try new foods like bananas, pears, apples, and cereal. One day I am sure she will have a favorite...for now, she is still looking at us like what are you doing to me...the pictures say it all!

Addy's 3rd Birthday!!!

It's definitely been a while since we've updated our blog but we have been incredibly busy lately and blogging has taken a "back burner"...It feels good to finally share some of our memories of the summer!

Addy's birthday (July 14Th) was celebrated a little early this year because of our schedules and because of what we knew was going to be a very busy couple of months. We had a great time, lots of family and friends joined us for shrimp boil, home brew, and yummy cake! Addy had a lot of fun playing with her cousins and her friends. For the first time Addy really seemed to understand that the party was for her...she handled the pressure well and surprisingly there weren't any major issues:).

Here is a slide show of the party....enjoy!

Family Pictures

We finally got family pictures taken last night! They turned out great, Addy seemed really into posing and getting her picture taken over and over...it was pretty funny how she didn't want the photographer to stop. Maya did well until we had a little delay in the picture taking because our first photographer decided to quit her job in the middle of our session (apparently some earlier dispute with her supervisor caused her to quit). Anyway, all worked out and here are some of the pictures...

June 2009

June has been a very busy month and a good start to a very busy summer. On June 1st Joel started a new job, which is very exciting, but of course, it's always stressful starting a new job. Joel's new job, Lead Training Coordinator for Skagit County Medic One, is a perfect fit for what he enjoys doing and what he is good at. On June 2nd I went back to work only 32 hours a week, its nice having the option of going back sort of "part-time"...it was still pretty stressful and it is definitely difficult to believe that twelve weeks had gone by already.

On the 4th of June we celebrated Keegan's first birthday and then we celebrated again with the whole family the following Sunday (this is starting to sound like somebody else we know...Jason, are you teaching Keegan to have birthday weeks like you do?), the kids had a blast swimming, running around, and playing with Keegans new presents. I can't believe he is one already! there is a slide show below.

Keegan Turns 1!


Summer is Here!!! We finally got out the pool and Addy jumped right in! The water was soooo cold so she didn't stay in long.

Ellie turned 5 on the 14th and Tyler turns 7 on the 30th so we will have done a lot of traveling to and from Sequim this month. It's always a lot of fun and we wouldn't miss it for the world. Ellie's mermaid party was a blast, she had a bouncy house, pool, and the kids got to decorate cookies.

These are some recent pictures of Ellie, Addy, and Maya taken in May. For some reason the camera didn't get taken out at Ellie's party.

Ellie and Maya

Ellie and Addy

We have been doing a lot of work around the house and now that the fence is completed and the play set is up we have noticed a lot of things that have fallen behind. Of course the weeding and trimming have fallen behind, as well as some of our house work inside...mostly because we don't enjoy doing those things! So on our only free weekend this month we tried to catch up on some of that stuff (there are some pictures in the slide show below of the work we have done lately).

The work is never ending...

July is around the corner...and soon Addy will be three, it is so hard to believe! Here are some then and now pictures.

Then...2 days old

Then...1 year Then...2 years

And...Now... Almost 3

Maya is starting to change so much too. She has started to try to roll over when she is on her back and she can already roll from her stomach to her back. She is smiling and giggling and she has recently started reaching for her toys. There still isn't a good napping routine...but I hear that's because she's the second child and must go when and where we go. Not like the first where everything revolves around their schedule:). Oh well ...she sleeps really well at night (and always has) and I guess there are bigger things to worry about. Here are some current pictures.