Five for Fridays

In case you're new, or just curious, Five for Fridays are a fun way for me to love on my hubby. Each week, I list five things that he did during the week, inside jokes or just simple things I love about him. I enjoy thinking about and creating the list each week and even though it might sound cheesy, I am more and more thankful for him with each list I make. 

So here's this week's Five for Friday. You can check out other Five for Friday's here.

1. You have more than one favorite documentary.

2. "Want to go smell the oven with me?'

3. You've been giddy about your new hobby

4. You get excited about hanging out with my parents

5. You thanked me for helping you in the yard this weekend.

P.S. I love you :)

Mommy/Addy Date

Sometimes, It's hard to be content. Sometimes I get too wrapped up in busyness, in projects and schedules that I forget how great my life really is and how much I have been blessed. 

The week before last, we were super busy, it seemed like we had something going everyday, which was fun but Addy and I were both tired at the end of it. So, this last week, I decided we would take things slow, no play dates and no huge projects that required a million errands. Play group was cancelled that week so on Friday, since I didn't have a huge list of things to get done, I decided to take Addy to the Aquarium and Botanical Gardens.

We had a great time and it ended up being one of those days where I just felt content and happy; so happy to be spending the day outside with my little lady.

After a quick tour of the aquarium, Addy wasn't that into the fish, we headed over to the Gardens where Addy ate her sandwich in front of the ducks.

I forgot to pack some bread to feed to the ducks so we sacrificed Addy's Cheerios. She didn't seem to mind though. 

I'm pretty sure I heard her say: "Hey duck duck!"

Addy's favorite part was the miniature train where she's just tall enough to reach the button that made the Thomas train go.

Here she is, trying to get a glimpse of Thomas through the fence.

There was a bench in the shade were I was able to sit and watch her. She'd turn around and smile and point at something, come get a snack and then she was back to pushing the button.

She pressed that thing over and over again, until Thomas ran off the track! Seriously, he didn't turn once and he was done. Addy turned around with this worried look on face, through her hands up in the air and ran over to me and climbed on my lap. Kids would walk by and say "Oh no! Thomas is broken!" or "What happened to Thomas," and the whole time I was hoping it wasn't Addy's fault for pushing the button so much. 

She's such a sweetie.

Even though I spend everyday with her, little outings like this where it's just the two of us, are some of my favorites. 

Five for Friday

1. You took us on a Craig's List adventure to buy an outdoor play set for Addy.
2. You said that even if she only played on it once, it was worth the money just to see how excited she was for it.
3. Your recipes are never as good when I make them.
4. You gave me your credit card, cash and your zoo pass when I misplaced my wallet, just in case something happened.
5. Fridays are fun days for Addy and I but come 4 O'Clock, were ready to get the weekend started and sometimes we go on a walk just to see if we will see you driving home.

P.S. I love you :)

Five for Friday

Check out other Fridays here.

1. You've had to work some long hours this week but I couldn't tell by your attitude when you come home. Way to keep your head up!

2. You went into work super early this morning so that you don't have to work as much this weekend.

3. Even after long days, you've managed to cook some meals this week and they've been yummy!

4. Sometimes, I'm blown away by the wisdom that comes out of your mouth. I'm excited to do this new marriage study with you!

5. I meant to tell you this a couple of weeks ago; you do a great job at pastoring your family.

P.S. I love you! :)

Addy is 18 Months Old

Miss Adelyne is 18 months old!
Since 18 months is kind of a milestone, I thought it would be fun to get Mr. Monkey out again for a quick photo shoot.

Addy almost always bumps her head on the changing table when she tries to get her stuffed animals out from the bottom shelf. When I asked her to get Mr. Monkey the other day, she patted her head, shook her head no and pushed me in the direction of Mr. Monkey. I guess she didn't want to hit her head again.

Our photo shoot lastest for about a minute and then she was off doing something else. The easiest way to get her picture these days is to sit her in my lap and snap the pic with my iPhone, where she can see herself. She loves it and usually whenever I am sitting on the floor doing something with my phone, she crawls into my lap expecting to take a picture. I have to say that I love this feature on my phone, though, it's a great way to get pictures of the two of us since I'm usually the only one taking photos in the Danner family.

And yes, she has a little bit of a mullet but we've decided that it's a necessary phase if we ever want her hair to have any length.

I've heard that there is usually a large growth spurt around 18 months and Addy is proving that rumor to be true. She has been sleeping a ton, usually 12 hours or more at night, eating a lot (although she still consumes less than most toddlers) and she's out growing all her clothes. The other day, I put her in a dress to go to Bible Study and didn't realize how short it was until we got home. You could see her floral bloomers even when she wasn't bending over. Oops! I'm going to have to get some legging for that kid, pronto! She has great timing though, wouldn't it be nice if all her growth spurts were at the change of the season when we have to buy new clothes anyway?

"Addy, where's Mr. Monkey?"

Sweet girl, she brings so much joy into our lives. It's hard to believe that half a year ago we celebrated her first birthday and in another half a year we will be celebrating her second.

Happy Half Birthday Adelyne!

Happy Saturday and Belated Five For Friday

Happy Saturday Friends!

It's a beautiful gloomy morning here in the 505. Matt has already taken off to pick up some rock for our front yard and Addy and I are taking things slow, watching shows and just enjoying the morning. 

I totally forgot about doing my Five for Fridays post, so here it is; a couple hours late. 

1. "What do you mean you're not going to your high school reunion? Jesus would have gone to his."

2. You were excited to introduce Addy to your old college buddy

3. Your favorite part of the day is taking Addy to the park

4. You had a change of heart and decided that you were only going to your reunion if Jesus was there

5. You're totally on board with a Motor home retirement and might even want to get one before you retire.

P.S. I love you :)

One Day at a Time

That's my Grandpa; front page of yesterday's Albuquerque Journal.

He passed away almost two weeks ago, a day before my Birthday.
On Saturday, Matt and I drove to Alamogordo to celebrate his life along with my parents, aunts, uncles, cousins and what seemed like half the town of Alamogordo. 

It was a long and rather emotionally exhausting day but it was also good. It was good to gather as a family (my brother and his wife who are expecting a baby any day now, were the only ones who couldn't make it) and to remember and celebrate the life of my Grandpa.

He fought cancer off and on for 16 years. During that time, he and my Grandma passed out "One Day at a Time" pins to others fighting cancer, in need or just having a bad day. It became their ministry and the way he lived his life; one day at a time. At the funeral on Saturday, you could see people wearing those pins along with little red apple pins, in rememberance of the "Apple Picker."

My Grandpa was very involved in New Mexico politics for several years before I came along and although I don't know all of the details, he did some great things for the State of New Mexico. Articles written in several newspapers after his death list a number of his accomplishments. The visitors center in Alamogordo is named after him and I learned on Saturday, that he was given the highest honor of Citizen of the Year by the Alamogordo Chamber of Commerce.

 He was a great man, he did a lot of great things and on Saturday, the church was filled with people who's lives he'd touched.

But the lives that were probably affected the most by his life and now his passing were those of his children and especially his 7 grandchildren. I was blessed and am so proud to be one of those grandchildren. He was a great Grandpa and very involved in our lives. I have a ton of great memories of him; too many to list. He was stern and sometimes grumpy, but there was never any doubt how much he loved and cared for us.

My more recent memories of him are shared with Matt. He treated my husband like one of his own and played a large role in his admittance into law school. We always laugh when we look back on Matt's first time meeting him. Matt wore his favorite pair of bleached, holy Hollister jeans. I thought that he looked pretty good in them with his bleached blond hair, necklace and ear ring. Apparently, my Grandpa didn't think so and we heard about it for years to come. "And make sure you don't wear those damned holy jeans!"

Before he got really sick, he travelled to Albuquerque a few times and Matt and I would meet him and a friend for dinner at Mimmy's Cafe. Those were the longest dinners, seriously, I think we were there for 3 hours one time, but I know now what special times those were! He would tell story, after story and half of them we didn't understand but he was always smiling as he told them. He would ask me about work and Matt about school and we would always have dessert. My grandpa was big on dessert, especially ice cream.

After reading the article in yesterday's paper, several people approached Matt at work to offer their condolescences to him and my family. One person, commented about him being like a Grandpa to Matt too and that's very true. He was a great Grandpa to both of us and we were both sad to see him go.

The last two weeks have been kind of hard; harder than I expected them to be. I've set down several times to write this post, since blogging is kind of a way for me to process things, but it's been hard to wrap my mind around my emotions. I'm so thankful for him and his life and all the things he's done for me and my family. I'm also sad in almost a little kid kind of way that I can't explain.

But God is good.
My Grandpa loved the Lord and he uses situations like this to help us grow individually and as a family. I'm hoping to share the ways that Matt and I have grown over these weeks and the things we've learned soon. Until then, we'll keep pushing forward, one day at a time.

This one is my favorite; my cousin Jamie and I on Grandpa's lap

My Grandma and Grandpa, celebrating 50 years of marriage in Hawaii. They were married for 57 years when he passed away. 

I Take it Back

Remember when I said I wasn't ready for Summer to be over?

Well, I take it back. I am 100% over this summer heat. 

Yesterday, we spent our Labor Day working in the front yard. Actually, Matt spent his Labor Day working in the front yard and I spent Addy's nap time out there and after 10 minutes, I decided that its about time for Summer to pack up and leave. It's just too darn hot!

I've had my fill of Summer and now I'm ready for jeans, warm beverages and scarves! 

How's that for being fickle?

Oh well!

I'll leave you with this funny pic of Addy from the weekend. This is right after her nap. She must have taken her pig tails out in her sleep. It's a bit blurry, sorry!

"Addy, how old are you?"

Sad, But True

Matt once referred to me as an 85 year old stuck in a 27 year old's body and it seems like everyday I find more things that make that statement, sad but very true; such as my new love for the Hallmark store. 

As much as I love Target, sometimes I get tired of it. Gasp! I know, am I even allowed to say that? I go there, a lot and I tend to see the same products over and over again. And my friends go there a lot so I see Target stuff at their house and they see it at mine and then it seems to lose it's value. So, the other day when I needed a Birthday card, I decided to mix things up a bit and check out our local Hallmark Gold Crown store, which happens to be closer to my house. After my first visit, I was in love. 

The store smells delicious, like Christmas or Thanksgiving, the ladies that work there are super nice and always say something about how cute Addy is. The store is small enough and not  too crowded to where I can let Addy walk around and I don't have to hold her. Some of their items are a little pricey but they have a HUGE selection of cards and I've found some really cute ones for only a dollar. 

This funny girl will be traveling to my Grandma's via USPS today. The inside says: "Tackle it one day at a time." That was my Grandpa's saying and I'm hoping it makes her smile.

And the thing that might have hooked me, is their rewards program. I'm such a sucker for free stuff. I've been back a couple times since my first visit, trying to rack up enough points to get my free greeting card. Seriously, what has my life come to?