The Latest from The Valley

Well amidst all this snow piling up I was feeling a bit like there were piles of untold stories about what's happening in our world here in Sogn Valley. Our kids are growing up quickly and changing like crazy. Leah is even blogging now, so atleast one of us keeps a little update. Check out her blog Sogn Valley Mom.




We had a wonderful Christmas and really got to be home quite a bit. More than ever in my life, that is the place that I most want to be. It was nice to have time off from school and a relatively slow photography schedule outside of work on the computer.

Emerson is walking everywhere now and just basically follows her brother around and does whatever he does. Her personality is really starting to shine now and she is mumbling all her own language all the time. She clearly knows what she is talking about, but we just smile and talk along with her.

Cameron is working on his potty training and is loving to play on his new train table (which Emerson climbs all over) and is looking forward to his using his new "glub" (baseball glove) this spring. He talks about playing catch with his best buddy Kevin Slowey next time he comes over. He loves to watch the deer, turkeys, pheasants and "Jumpy" the squirrel out the window. We've all had some fun times out in the snow this past month as we have gotten a ton of it. Even mixed a couple snow days in there!

We've just been blessed to be able to be in this place together and the best of life's times are just hanging out together.

My Favorite Things

Gosh, I just don't spend enough time blogging about MY favorite things in the world. Everyone says the day will come soon when "these days" are gone. Why can't I just slow down enough to really enjoy them!??!

Emerson is starting to walk. She takes about three or four steps and then goes back to walking on her knees...which she just seems to love. Then when she really has to GO, she's back to the power crawl. She loves attention and really doesn't like it when you're not in the room looking at/talking to her!

Cameron is just a big brother that loves his little sister. We have been talking about being a "big boy" lately. Big boys: Take care of their sister, say their prayers at night, eat their supper, clean up their messes, stop and listen when adults talk to them, go potty on the potty chair. Stuff like that. We just need to keep reminding him of those things!!

The Nebraska Week

We've had an eventful week here in Nebraska. The main bullet points:

• Cameron has thrown up 6 times and hasn't been himself all week.

• He has made the name change from "daddy" and "mommy" to "dad" and "mom". Much to "mommy's" dismay and sadness.

• Emerson has continued to smile and eat everything in sight. Labecca definitely has the best tasting business cards.

• We survived the tornado on Wednesday night. It actually never even rained on our side of town, but the west side got destroyed. See the previous post.

• Cameron has asked all week to "go home to my yellow house"

• We have made countless trips out to the cornfield/fire hydrant to check the bird baths (puddles) along the way.

Easter Kids

Too often I am taking photos of other people and other people's kids. Today I got some great shots of my OWN kids. Also some nice shots of my two nieces too. We had a nice little natural light setup in the bay window at Gma and Gpa's house. I also used an off camera flash/umbrella with Pocketwizard to offset the strong backlight of the window.

It was a great Easter Sunday with the family...and some good photos to remember the day!

Cameron's Second Birthday

Yep, where has the time gone!?!? Birthday number two!? Are you kidding me? It was a great day with lots of friends and family. Got a guitar, a wagon, a CD player, and my favorite...a bag of M&Ms from Dick!!

My mom and dad made me an Elmo cake too! Love that red frosting. It was a really great day.

Enjoy just a few of the photos!

Life is Busy

I never thought my arrival would bring such craziness to our home!! I am very demanding with my eating (which keeps mommy busy) and I am still a little mixed up on days and nights. Sleep is at a premium for us all!!

My big brother absolutely adores me and loves to kiss and hug me as much as possible. When I cry, he brings my nook and says, "okay, okay baby". He is very sweet.

We love our new home and I really hope that this is the yard that I grow up running around in.

Enjoy a few photos from my first month!!

A Good Week.

Well we have sure had a great week at home! Lots of visitors and good food. Atleast that what mommy and daddy keep saying! I am pretty much sticking to my usual, nursing! And I do it about every 90 minutes especially during the night. I can't figure out why no one wants to be up and playing when I am ready! Oh well, things will change.

Cameron has been a great big brother and he loves to be around me. I can always hear him saying, "baby, baby". When he wakes up in the morning and from his nap, he comes into check on me FIRST THING! Daddy put a little step stool next to my crib so Cameron can see in. He also really likes to give me kisses and gently touch my head. He is also taking a liking to my bouncy chair. He's a little big for it, but it's still pretty funny. He found my nook today too, but that didn't last very long!!

Sogn has been a great dog this time around too, except for a little skunk spray today. He is going to spend a couple nights in the basement!!

My New Daughter

Is it okay for me to be a little biased here?? I have the most beautiful daughter in the world!! She was born on Sunday morning (our anniversary) and is just precious. She has already stolen her daddy's heart!!

Emerson Rae Addington
5lbs 5oz
19"
10:00AM Sunday, October 5, 2008
Burnsville, MN

You can certainly follow her on the blog her big brother started the day he was born!


Thank you to so many of you with the well wishes and visits. Thank you too for your patience as some of my photo work is on hold temporarily!! I will get back into the groove soon, but one camera will likely be pointed in Emmy's way quite often!!

My Second Day!

Welcome To Our World, Emerson!!

The day finally arrived. We left home at 3:26AM, dropped Cameron off on hwy52 with G'ma and G'pa and headed up to Fairview Ridges Hospital in Burnsville.

We checked in about 4:45AM and got settled. Contractions had slowed a bit and doctors just wanted to keep an eye on mommy. By about 9:30, things were moving along, though contractions still weren't really strong or frequent. At about 9:55, the doctor said let's try pushing...two pushes and here I was!!

I spent a good portion of the first hour screaming and letting everyone know that I was here. I weighed 5 lbs 15oz and was 19" long. I had a little bit of blonde hair, long fingers and big hands. I was the 42nd baby born at Ridges in the month of October already!

They moved us down to our room and played the little piano chime as we left the labor and delivery ward. We got settled into our room and life was good. I got my first bath and they kept me under that nice warm lamp for a while.

We had some visitors stop and see me which was great.

Lisa and Megan Schwanke

The Bakke Twins, Kate and Annika along with mom & dad Aimee and Jason

Cindy & Kurt Weber

Alicia & Glen Perkins

And of course my grandmas and grandpas. They were very proud and
enjoyed meeting me. On the Schliep side, I am the first girl grandchild so they get to start keeping an eye out for dresses, dolls and stuff like that!!





Then Aunt Amy, cousin Brynn and grandpa Gary and grandma Carol stopped by too. They brought my big brother Cameron along too. He usually writes this blog but he said that he would let me have a shot as it is the day I was born!! He was more into the tractor toys that Kurt, Cindy, Glen and Alicia brought. But then he kind of came up and sat with me and even gave me a little kiss. He is going to be a great big brother and I can't wait to grow up with him!!