Taking AK to AK (aka Thanksgiving)

Kyle and I have a Thanksgiving tradition that we look forward to every year. Thanksgiving with friends in Alaska!  Our friends and we rent a condo in the ski town of Girdwood and have lots of food and merriment.  The first time we did this was in the winter of 2005, shortly after Kyle and I met.  We've returned for Thanksgiving every year, except last year when Annika was a few weeks old and Kyle was in Norway.  We were excited to bring Annika to visit AK this year and our little traveler did great on the flights again.

We arrived in Anchorage late in the evening on the 21st and our good friend Brooke picked us up at the airport.  Somehow we managed to leave Annika's favorite stuffed animal on the plane but were able to get it from the customer service people pretty quickly.  As tradition has it, we go straight from the airport to pick up food and drinks for the week.  This year it was an obstacle course of people at Fred Meyer's and Annika slept in her carseat in one of our carts through the whole shopping adventure.  We eventually arrived at the condo we affectionately call the Ski Palace.  Our friends Chris and Jamie had already checked in and started making homemade pizza as soon as we arrived.  Love it!  It was also fun to meet Brooke's boyfriend Dave.  Unfortunately, the hot tub and sauna weren't hot enough yet but we were so tired, it didn't matter.  Some friends had loaned us a pack and play for Annika to sleep in and af after a little fussing, she slept quite well.....until about 4 am.  Luckily all it took was a little food and she slept a few more hours.  I think the morning darkness helped a lot, too.

On Thanksgiving, we did a little bit of sledding outside the condo, went for a walk, and made lots of tasty food.  There were 10 of us for dinner.  We usually try to eat about 5pm and typically end up eating about 8pm.  We're so blessed to have a wonderful group of friends to share this meal with.  I think the group has changed a little every year with a few new people.  There's always an abundances of deliciousness, drinks, and laughter.


On Friday, we usually go snowboarding but this year Kyle had a pulled muscle and I didn't want to leave he and Annika behind for the day.  Instead, we walked around the Alyeska resort hotel and relaxed at the condo.  We soaked in the hot tub and enjoyed the sauna.  Our time always seems to go by so fast.

Pumpkin Birthday Party

Happy 1st Birthday to Annika!  We hosted her birthday party in our apartment the Saturday before her actual birth date.  It was great to be able to have my dad and step-mom in town to help us prepare for the party and relax the next day.  I had no idea that a child's party would take so much planning and energy!  I thank Pinterest for food and decoration ideas.  It was Kyle's idea and creativity that provided us with a home-made pinata.  I anticipate that this will be a birthday tradition.  We appreciated the friends and family that were able to come and celebrate this milestone with us.  We would have loved to be able to invite more people, but it gets a big tight in our apartment!  Having 9 children and accompanying parents was quite the full house for us!  It was fun to have the kids in costumes, even if the costumes didn't stay on for very long.

Great sign, courtesy of Annika's Aunt Jessica.

Quite the active bunch.  I especially liked Indy as a monkey and her little brother as the banana :)

Playing with her big cousin Brett.

Yummy food with a pumpkin cake, cupcakes with black cats on the top, and plenty of snacks.

Family picture with our pinata.

Annika only wanted to eat the chocolate cat from the top of the cupcake.

We had plenty of help for opening the presents.

Annika loves her cousins!

12 Months Old!

 12 Month Stats

Weight:  18lb 8 oz (10th-20th percentile)

Height:  29.5 in. (75th percentile)

New skills: Walking on her own across rooms in the house, FINALLY being able to get to a seated position from her tummy, squatting down to pick things up (on her own!), saying "go","duck", and signing "eat", "water","please", "thank you", puckering her lips to give us proper kisses :)

New foods:  At daycare, Annika is trying what the bigger kids are having for lunch.  Over the last couple of weeks, she's eaten roasted pork, a variety of root veggies, beef stew, and more.  She also likes egg, toast, and always loves to have yogurt.  She enjoys the fresh foods we make and refuses to eat most of the we offer food from baby jars.

Firsts:  Visit to the dentist went really well and Annika let him look in her mouth. We had our first couple of baby-sitters (students at a local college), so we could go on dates :)  We went to a Halloween party with lots of other babies. She loved picking out candy from our basket and seeing costumed kids on Halloween.  Of course, her 1st birthday party!

Big Happenings:  We switched to a new daycare so Annika is now 2 minutes from work, instead of 20-30 minutes.  This makes my mornings and afternoons so much easier!

Biggest Surprise: Annika will have a new cousin in May! Congratulations to Kyle's younger brother Joel and his wife Jessica.

11 Months

11 Month Stats

New skills:  Finally mastering a forward scoot on the floor, cruising around furniture, walking with us but only holding one hand, bending down to pick things up while standing (and holding onto something), putting toys into containers, offering us her food, signing "more", "up", "all done", saying "no","hi", and "ow", purposefully using "mama" and "daddy"

Favorite toys:  Black kitty, colorful monkey, pink teddy bear, cuddly lion, wooden clothes pins, wooden blocks, magnets, books, books, books

Favorite foods:  peas, puffs, corn, cauliflower, banana, pear, yogurt, Cheerios

It seems like Annika is gaining new skills by the minute.  When we were looking at her tonight at dinner, we realized how much more she looks like a toddler than an infant.  She does a great job feeding herself with finger foods, drinking from a sippy cup, and then offering to feed us something from her tray.  I love how she can spend time playing alone and reading books to herself.  I also get a kick out of how she'll empty a container of toys and give each stuffed animal a quick squeeze before setting it aside.  This sweet child may never actually crawl before she walks, but she has finally invented a sitting-scoot that propels her forward.  Baths continue to be a favorite activity but may get more tricky as she's trying to pull herself up on the side.  I can't believe that we're in our last month of her first year!  

10 Months

10 Month Stats

Weight: 17lb 4 oz  (10th-25th percentile range)

Height: 28.5 in. (75th percentile)

Favorite things to do:  Wave "hi" and "bye" to everyone, feed herself, walk with assistance, sign "more", dance to music, pick up tiny fuzzies on the carpet, choose which book she wants read to her

Favorite foods: puffs, peas, corn, cauliflower, carrots, pears, banana, rice, yogurt mixed with fruit

Favorite toys: stuffed black cat, Ronald McDonald figure, Lambie Ba Ba, old-fashioned wood clothes pins, a shape-sorter bucket with shapes, magnets, toys that play music, kitchen items (i.e. spatula, measuring cups, lids)

Favorite books: Pat the Bunny, Ten in the Bed, The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Big events: Visits to family in friends in ND and MT, saying her first word of "kitty" or "kitty cat," has 4 teeth, more hair, and sleeping through the night!

Hugging her favorite kitty

Showing off her waving and new teeth

August Travels Finale

We concluded our travels with a weekend wedding celebration.  One of my good friends from childhood got married at Seeley Lake, MT.  In a similar fashion to our wedding, Mike and his fiance reserved a youth camp for a whole weekend.  Guests were invited to stay in cabins onsite and enjoy the surroundings. Kyle and I decided to go there on Friday evening in order to enjoy more time with friends and have a chance to spend time by the lake and hiking.  This turned out to be a great choice!  We arrived early in the evening on a Friday and met up with the Sulpizio family, Julie, Dawson and his family, and Mike (the groom) and his parents.  After getting our cabin and unloading the car, we went to dinner at a local bar and grill.  I was nervous about how Annika would do in the cabin and if she would wake up screaming and then keep everyone awake.  With the help of her favorite pacifier (me), we made it through two nights and no major disruptions.

The day of the wedding was gorgeous!  We went for a short hike and then enjoyed swimming in the lake.  Annika especially loved splashing around in the water and may just have a swimming career in her future :)  The wedding ceremony was set up in a spot with a view of the lake and the reception was set up outside, as well.  The weather couldn't have been more perfect!

 The cabins were basic but had electricity and stayed pretty warm. The mornings were a bit chilly but we stayed warm and had breakfast together at the picnic table.

 Had to keep those tiny hands warm!

 Luckily there was plenty of coffee to be had in the lodge.  Someone in the bride's family works for Starbucks and brought lots of coffee for everyone staying on-site.

 Morgan leading the way through the tall grass on our hike.

 Annika took a nap for most of the hike and did well in the ergo.

 Group hiking picture

 Hanging out by the lake with Julie.

 Julie, Ryan, and Scott took a canoe out on the lake.

 Our good friend Dawson and his daughter Campbell.

 Mike and his lovely bride Noel during the ceremony.

 Love these ladies!

 A cousin of the bride made this kransekake, a Norwegian groom's cake.  At our wedding, Kyle's mom made one and it is a labor of love.

 Mike, the groom

 First dance

The crew!  We've been friends since we were 12 years old.  What a great weekend and a blessing to be able to spend time with wonderful friends!

August Travels Part 2

The second part of our August road-tripping was a visit to my dad and step-mom in Billings and then the wedding of a good friend at a lake north of Missoula, MT.  My brother and his wife were also in town, the timing of which worked out perfectly. At my dad's house, Annika loved finding and petting the cats and dogs.  She's definitely starting out as a cat person and she still wakes up after each nap looking for a "kitty."  There have been a few times when she's said the word very clearly.  She now has a little black cat that she sleeps with in her crib.  Along with the animals, Annika also enjoyed visiting a wading pool at a local park.  We really enjoyed spending time with my brother Jeffrey and Quinn, going for a run and hanging out at the house.  They live in Denver, CO and we don't get to see them nearly as often as we'd like to.

 Annika loves having books read to her and her Aunt Quinn did a great job.

 Playing in the wading pool in Billings with her Grandpa Bartsch.

 In the wading pool with her daddy.

 Learning how to swing.

 Playing in a kiddie pool with the help of her uncle Jeffrey.

 Wearing the super cute outfit she got from Jeffrey and Quinn.

Hugs before saying good-bye!

August Travels Part 1

This has been an unusual summer for us in that it was not planned down to the day with travels and trips. We spent the month of July settling in to our new apartment and Kyle went up to UW many days to finish work on his dissertation.  We were also waiting (somewhat) patiently for an indication of employment for Kyle.  By the time August rolled around, we were ready to hit the road and go visit family in Montana and North Dakota.  In what would have taken us two days to drive in the "pre-baby" era, we stretched in to four more leisurely days. We are lucky to have friends and family spaced at great intervals, providing a nice visit and a place to stay along the way.  On our way westward we stayed with our good friends Katie and Scott Sulpizio in Spokane, WA.  Next, we stayed with my dad and step-mom in Billings, MT.  On the third night we stayed in Mott, ND with Paul and Molly Peltier (Paul was Kyle's best-man).  By that fourth day we were ready to be done with the car and reach our destination of Grand Forks, ND.  Kyle's family lives on a beautiful farm and it was fun for Annika to see cows and horses in person.  We didn't get too close this time around but I'm sure in the future she will get to ride a horse and explore the farm a lot more.

Kyle's family has kept a lot of good toys from when he was little.  I used to have the same smurf table and mini pound puppies.  Annika is already having fun with them both.

 Annika enjoyed sitting with her Grandpa Ardell.

 The sunny afternoon we had set aside for going to a swimming pool turned into a misty afternoon at the splash park.  Still had fun but will be better when Annika is able to walk around and play in the water features.

Trying on grandpa's cowboy boots. 

 Family picture with Kyle's parents.

We visited Mott on the way back and stayed again with Vemund and Molly.  Vemund and Annika had a great time playing together.