Finally an Update!!

Well, I've been seriously slacking, again! I just can't seem to get with the program on this whole blogging thing! Anyway, life updates: We moved to Logan, Utah after Christmas when my husband got a job with USU, which he loves :) We've enjoyed it thus far and love not having to deal with the snow that Valdez is :) It's actually sunny here most days so Addie and I can enjoy walks in pretty warm weather! The only bad thing about this place is the traffic! I CANNOT believe the amount of people here, avoid main street at all costs! Those of you who know I come from a town of 4,000 people can understand my irritation :) Addie has transitioned really well to her new home, and surprises me everyday with how fast she's learning, she's getting WAY too big! I love her more and more everyday, and I honestly love getting to stay home with her everyday, she's the best part our lives for sure :) Here are some of her updates since I haven't blogged in awhile. She started crawling at 8 months old, shortly after breaking her first tooth. She began walking when she turned 10 months old, and has been running around like crazy ever since! She now has 8 teeth and counting, recently the top canines have broke through, and we're excited to be done teething one day :) She turned 1 on January 3rd, and we celebrated with our family in Alaska before we moved (pictures following post :) Addie and I can probably look forward to many combined birthday parties since our birthdays are 3 days apart. That's really all there is to update about, our lives have turned pretty simple since moving. I'm so glad that Lee enjoys his work, we miss our family but are really enjoying Logan and I can't wait for summer!!

Summer gone...(sigh)

I have been slacking in the blog area for awhile so it's time to catch up :) Summer is officially over, and it's actually looking like fall is going to be over here soon. The snow is creeping up on us as we speak. I would say it's "sneaking" but it's actually the opposite as the stark contrast of white makes its unholy way down the mountains...We just got to see my beautiful niece Kali be baptized a few weeks ago, and Lee turned 28 yesterday! So, our fall has been eventful! We also had a fun summer full of fishing, company, and a fun trip to Dallas! We also got to go to New Orleans to visit family while we were there and Tyler and Amanda drove down to see us!! We had a fun time and we were so happy we got to see them. We've missed them a lot since moving from Idaho! My niece Abby is adorable and we got some cute pictures of the cousins together. We only got to see them for a day, but it was better than not seeing them at all so we'll take what we can get :)

Addie is growing like a weed and is actually officially nine months old today. I can't believe how fast time flies! She's still in the 95th percentile for height and her head circumference is off the charts so she's a big girl :) :) She has two teeth and she's a crawling machine. She's also getting pretty fast at walking along furniture so we think actual walking isn't too far off. I'm not sure I'm ready for that. She almost took a step by herself today. She's funny because she stands up by herself without holding onto anything all the time and just stands there balancing. As soon as she realizes no ones holding her up she slowly and carefully lowers herself to the floor. She learned really fast that she hates falling down :) She makes me laugh more and more everyday. She has some really funny little quirks and has become SO noisy over the last few weeks. We're starting to train her to hold her little finger up when we ask her how old she is so she'll be able to do it by January :) Too bad she doesn't like to perform. She'll ignore you when you ask her how old she is and then we'll find her holding her finger up by herself for no reason :) I love that little turd so much it hurts :) She's so fun, and as much as I loved her as a baby, this next stage is gonna be a blast! I can't wait to do little girl things with her!

We're still waiting for a job, but it's all kind of in a stand-still for a bit. We were thinking of going back to Idaho but decided to stick it out till spring because some things here are looking promising, so we'll see what happens. Now we're gearing up for winter, halloween (Addie is going to be addorable/hilarious as a skunk because she's a stinker ;), and Christmas! My favorite time of year by far! The only thing bad about the holidays is the calories :) :) Hope all is well with all of you! Take care!

Here are some pictures from our summer!

Camping and King season!

A couple weekends ago we went camping and fishing with my parents and aunt and uncle who were visiting. The first night was nasty wet and cold, but it got beautiful the next day and everyone caught a bunch of fish...minus me :( Oh well. I did have one on for a second but it broke the line...anyway, we had a lot of fun, Addie sure does love camping even though she came home with poor little bug bites all over her face :( We sure had fun with Aunt Sheri and Uncle Wyatt!

This first picture is actually from Memorial Day weekend, Lee and I on our pontoon rafts. we had a fun camping trip then too! :)

My first cake from scratch...and life these days!

I've been in baking-mode lately, and that's a little weird for me, It's been fun though. Tonight I made my first cake from scratch! (the frosting is also from scratch) It's a carrot cake and is DELICIOUS if I do say so myself :) :) (I know because I taste test a LOT while cooking) Here's some pictures. The nuts aren't very evenly scatterd because I didn't have many left, and my feeble attempt at decorating is funny, but I had a good time :)

I guess I should probably update about our life while I'm on here :) We've been having a fun summer full of fishing, shrimping, and camping as we're still waiting for a job. Lee's had a few promising interviews so hopefully soon! Addie's growing like a weed, and we have tons of way cute videos of her on Lee's site leebartelme.com/family! We got her ears pierced right before she turned 5 months and they are sooo cute! Little dimond studs, and I don't care if people think I'm a bad mother for doing that to my baby because she needed some on her cute pokey-out ears :) She took it like a champ! She's been so fun, she's sitting up, eating baby food, and starting to scoot already! She also LOVES camping and we went swimming at the pool today and she had a blast. She's loved the water since she was born. What we don't love is teething....that's horrible and I feel so bad for her when she's hurting. None have broken through yet, but the pain goes in cycles. She's tough though and has quite the addie-tude as we have come to call it because of her temper :) She's seriously the best blessing I could ever have dreamed of and I love her more and more everyday. I'm constantly laughing and playing with that little sweetie, Lee and I both are completely in love :) She is turning into a Daddie's girl though, and her favorite lately is Grandpa/pepsi max! That little munchkin just LOVES soda thanks to him, haha. I don't really have pictures of her as we've just been taking massive amounts of videos, and they just don't do her justice. She's the funniest little thing in the world, and we are truly blessed.

That's pretty much our life these days, as we gear up for the summer and our trip to Dallas to visit our family and show off our daughter, we hope all is well with everyone!

Hobby time

I have always really loved making jewelry, and these are a few things I've done in my spare time. I haven't decided to try and sell anything yet, but maybe someday I'll get an etsy shop or something when I live somewhere closer to craft stores to get supplies :) I usually end up giving away what I make as gifts :) My mom is also really fun to make things for because she LOVES anything sparkly! Sorry the pictures aren't that great, I don't have a very good camera and didn't have great lighting. If you can't tell by the pics...I pretty much love turquoise :)

Addie will have a room someday...

I made a few things for Addie's room awhile ago and they were so fun! I made name signs to hang above her crib using foam board, ribbon, rhinestones, flowers and my Mom's cricut :) I also made a board for her hair bows using fabric over a cork board and ribbon. Addie's room will be pretty cute when we get a place of our own :)

Back to Idaho!

My sister and I decided to go to Idaho last weekend while my parents were going to be there to see my brother's new little baby be blessed. It was a fun trip! Lee unfortunately had to stay home :( Addie seemed to travel really well with only a few little meltdowns :) Red eye flights are just great aren't they? ;) While we were there we got to see a lot of family and spend some time with the sweet little Abigail! A lot of my extended family got to see Addie for the first time as well. I'm pretty sure Addie loves her new little cousin.

We had a lot of fun dressing them in matching outfits for pictures :). It was a pretty exhausting trip as it was only from Saturday to Tuesday, but it was definitely worth it to see everyone! I love my new niece, she's such a sweetie and it was fun to get to see her be blessed! Here's some pictures!