Welcome Cooper Michael Skroch!

Cooper & mommy....so sweet!


Cooper


Cooper & his mommy


Cooper & Auntie Lindsay


Addison kissing Cooper


Kennedy, Cooper & I


Mama Vicki & the girls visiting baby Cooper

On Friday May 22, 2009 at 9:23AM my sister and brother-in-law welcomed their first son, Cooper Michael into the world. He was a big boy, weighing in at 9lbs 6oz and 21 1/2 inches long. He is adorable! They had him at Kaiser Sunnyside, in the building right next to my work, so I was able to run over there between cases and hold him an hour after he was born. I am thrilled to be an Auntie :)

We've Moved!

Check out Addison's new bike gear


Addison & Cooper having a tea party


One of my favorite pics of Kennedy


Kennedy hanging out in Addison's chair

Yep, that's right we found a rental house and moved of the past few weekends. A week after I started back to work we packed up and moved about 3 miles from our tiny apartment. Let me tell you, we are SO trilled to be out of there!!! We ended up finding a nice sized house that is around 2200 sq ft, in a decent neighborhood, with a yard, on a cul-de-sac. It's pretty perfect for what we need and now that we are finally getting all settled in we can't be happier. It's such a relief for the girls to have their own room (that they share) and not have everything crammed into 700 sq ft. I keep having to remind myself to bring my phone around with me because I can't hear it now that we have 2 stories :)

Now that we have a nice neighborhood, Brian and I promised to get Addison a bike, which we did this past weekend. Addison got to pick out her bike herself and was deciding between Dora and Disney Princess and she selected the Princess bike. She got the matching bike helmet which came with elbow pads. Her bike is just a hair too big for her, so we may have to add some blocks to the pedals so that she can reach better, but she doesn't seem to care. She is so funny, she will keep her helmet and elbow pads on....I think she would sleep with them on if we let her! It's so funny, Addison even woke up Monday and really wanted to ride her bike but had to wait until we were showered and, after exclaiming "ugh, frustrating" she sat at the bottom of the stairs with her helmet and elbow pads next to her until we were ready. That girl is a crack up!

Kennedy is getting to be such a big girl. She is SO close to rolling over, but she just can't quite get her other arm out. She gets all flipped over and then just looks at you like "help me!". Once she gets on her belly she is a happy camper. Kennedy is loving all of Addison's old toys, the Johny Jump-up, exersaucer, and play mat. It is so nice that we finally had the room that we could dig them out for her to enjoy. Kennedy is also the happiest baby ever! She only fusses when she wants something and that is pretty much just when she is ready to eat, otherwise she just smiles, coos, or blows bubbles. Kennedy especially loves her big sister and Addison is very good with her. I can't be more pleased with my girls!

Back to the Daily Grind

The first week in May I returned to work after my 12 weeks of maternity leave. It was a nice time off with the girls but it was also nice to go back to work and see my coworkers, see Brian outside of the house, and have some adult conversation. Kennedy joined Addison at daycare with Debb where they now attend 3 days a week but they are long days. Kennedy seems to be doing very well at daycare and Addison loves seeing her sister there and calls her "my Kennedy". Debb is great, she is taking on both the girls and even allows us to send Kennedy with cloth diapers and wipes which is probably a bit of a chore for her but it means the world to us!

As for myself, I am glad to be back at work full-time but would one day like to cut back to part-time. It was surprisingly not hard for me to get back in the groove. I am having to get up earlier than ever before at 4:30AM so that I can get in the shower and start getting ready before Brian and now we have to drop the girls off where as before Brian took Addison on his way to work in the afternoon. Getting up early is a great trade off for spending more time as a family and I wouldn't change a thing!

Eagle Crest

Tree on the golf course


Barbed wire up close


Up close of log

Okay, so the last time I blogged was on our April trip and I only blogged on the beach half of that trip. After the beach we went to Eagle Crest, just outside of Bend/Redmond in Central Oregon. Although the weather was dry and the sun was shining it was pretty chilly. Brian took Addison to the pool and Kennedy and I relaxed in the room. We had a nice time cooking and just spending some quality time away from home. Over the weekend we were joined by our friend Jeff and his girlfriend Rachel. Saturday we all went in to Bend and toured the Deschutes Brewery and enjoyed some delicious samples and topping the afternoon off with a yummy lunch at McMenamins Old St. Francis School and dessert at Cold Stone Creamery. Sunday we packed up and headed home for me to enjoy my last week at home with the girls while Brian started his new job at Kaiser Sunnybrook (where I work).

For those of you that didn't know, Brian left Kaiser Sunnyside to work with me at Kaiser Sunnybrook in outpatient surgery. He is now working 4 days a week, 10 hour days with Saturday-Monday off. Not a bad gig, 3 day weekends, car pooling, and day shift!!! What more could you ask for?

Tulip Festival & Beach Trip

Addison looking at the field of tulips with the yellow tulips in the background


Addison smelling the red tulip


Addison looking at the tulips with the red tulips in the background


Mommy, Addison & Kennedy


Daddy, Addison & Kennedy


The Burleigh Family


Addison smelling the tulip


Addison & Daddy riding the train


Addison showing us that the tulips are open "this much"!


Daddy & Addison


Addison in the wooden shoe


Addison giving Kennedy loves


Addison in her hat and sunglasses is ready for the beach!


Addison getting ready to dig in


Addison throwing around the sand


Addison filling up her bucket with sand


Kennedy is tuckered out after walking on the beach


Mom & Kennedy


Addison showing Daddy Nemo and Dori


Addison & Daddy playing on the tortoise


Addison in the underwater suit


Addison on the turtle


Starfish and Sea Anenomies in the touching area at the aquarium

Hi all! This is a brief post to tell you a little about the first leg of our near 1 1/2 week much needed vacation. On Saturday morning we left for the beach and made a stop at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival in Woodburn. It was breathtaking. This is the first time any of us have been to the festival and we plan on returning annually. Addison had a great time running around, smelling all of the different tulips, telling us that they were either open or closed, and having a ride on a very old fire powered train.

After the festival we drove to Newport to stay at our Worldmark condo Schooner's Landing. It is a great condo, one that we haven't stayed at before. We took both girls swimming, walked on the beach, went to the outlet mall, and ended our trip at Newport at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Addison had fun digging in the sand and seeing Nemo and Dori at the aquarium.

We then drove up the coast to Seaside to stay at the Worldmark Seaside. On the way we stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory where Brian and Addison sampled cheese and we bought some cheese curds "squeeky cheese" and salt water taffy. We arrived to Seaside just in time for the fog to roll in....so that meant we weren't going to head to the beach and walk on the sand. It was a relaxing evening in the condo and then back home.

Wednesday we are headed to stay at Worldmark's Eagle Crest in Redmond. It should be fun!

Easter Egg Hunt and More!

Addison getting ready for the hunt


Addison putting chocolate eggs in her basket.


Addison showing off her find :)


Addison all stickered up....even at the Easter egg hunt!


That's our Addison! Stickers, stickers everywhere!


Addison just loves to sticker herself!


Kennedy and her pacifier....silly girl ;)


Kennedy in her hat getting ready for the beach trip!

Last Saturday we went to Blue Lake Park for an Easter egg hunt. Let me tell you, I was not very impressed. Last year we went to the Easter egg hunt put on by the City of McKinney in Texas and they did a WAY better job. This year all they did was have candy put in the wet grass which was hard for the kids to find, as opposed to putting the candy in the plastic eggs. Addison did have a good time though and got more candy to add to her potty training rewards. Then on Sunday we all went over to my sister's house for a yummy Easter brunch. Addison had fun playing with EJ, my sister's nephew, and we had a nice time visiting with my sister, her husband, his brother, and my mom.

As for updates on the girls. Kennedy is getting more of a personality by the day. She is smiling like crazy and she even giggles. I love her little "goos". It's so cute if you say "goo" to her she will say it back and it's just so sweet!

Addison is her silly self. She got lots of stickers from Mama Vicki for Easter, so she has been going through those like they are going out of style (as you can see from the above pictures!). She is so funny. She really likes to watch Monster's vs. Aliens, Peter Pan, and Finding Nemo. When she watches Monster's vs. Aliens she loves Suzu (Susan) and grabs her off the screen and carries her around. When she watches Peter Pan she really likes Smitty and she calls him "my guy" and when he comes on she says "that's my guy!". She also says that Peter Pan is on her foot, meaning that his shadow is on her foot. She got this from when he is attaching his shadow to his foot. Too funny! Then there's Nemo. She loves the part when he swims in to open water and is going to touch the boat. She gets very stern and yells at him (like Nemo's dad does) and says "Nemo don't touch the boat, it's a icky boat". I just love little kids and their funny stories!

We are going on a vacation this weekend and will be gone for almost 1 1/2 weeks! We are leaving Saturday morning and stopping in Woodburn to see the Tulip Festival, then off to Newport for Saturday and Sunday night, where we will go to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. After Newport we are off to Seaside for Monday night and will return home for one night. We will then go to Eagle Crest in Central Oregon Wednesday night through Sunday. It is a much needed vacation for all of us. We are very excited, as Addison would say "You excited? I'm excited!" and we hope to have lots of great pictures to share upon our return.

The Girls Update and New Lens

Portrait of Kennedy


Kennedy blowing bubbles


Kennedy's tiny little foot


Addison playing with her Easter bucket


Addison's scary face


Addison kissing Kennedy


Portrait of Addison


Addison using Ritz crackers as eyes :)

This past Tuesday both girls had ultrasounds of their kidneys. Why you ask. Well, both Addison and Kennedy have what is called a preauricular sinus (or pit) which is a small hole just in front of their ear, it almost looks like a tiny hole from a piercing. To Brian and I it wasn't a big deal, as Brian also has one. Since the ears are formed at the same time as the kidneys sometimes there is a correlation between the preauricular sinus and a problem with the kidneys. So, the girls had ultrasounds to make sure that there wasn't a problem. The girls did so good! Both of their appointments were scheduled at the same time, so I went in with Kennedy and Brian went in the Addison. Addison was very ticklish and thought the gel was cold and pretty much laughed the whole time. Kennedy smiled and cooed. We received the results today and they are both normal! This is exactly what we expected, but thought that there was no harm in checking them out just to be certain.

Brian and I also recently purchased a new lens for our camera. We are really wanting to expand our interest in photography and eventually take portraits on the side. Unfortunately right now we don't have the ideal space or lighting but we are hoping to resolve that soon. I have included some pictures about with out new lens. We are really pleased with it and can't wait to play with it more!