Happy Birthday Grandpa Bill!

When my parents were in town we also celebrated my Dad's birthday, which is the day after Christmas. The boys took him to the Kettlehouse Brewery in town for a few Bongwater brews to celebrate. Due to the massive amount of turkey leftovers....we had turkey and all the fixings for his birthday dinner. The best part of the whole meal was the cookie dough ice cream cake!! We love you Grandpa Bill!!

Addie's first Christmas

The Rentschs (Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Dan) came to Montana for Addie's first Christmas and we had a blast! We played a lot of games, ate a ton of yummy food, and showed them around Missoula and the surrounding area. Ryan and Dan hit the slopes on Saturday and were welcomed by 2 feet of fresh powder. Dan was loving it being that he has been living in LA for the last 6 years. We ventured out to Paradise, Montana to soak in the Quinn Hot Springs, which are about an hour outside of town. The building has recently been remodeled to include a bikini bar, restaurant, and cabins. It was so relaxing and refreshing to be sitting in 101 degree mineral water with the snow hitting your face. Burr it was cold when you got out!!

Addie really came alive this week!! She is so much more aware of her surroundings and what is going on around her. She can hold her head up now and loves to sit in her Bumbo chair. She loves the cloth animal tails book that Grandma and Grandad McHugh gave her for Christmas. She gets so excited when she looks at the colorful pages. She is making all sorts of adorable noises and laughing all the time. She is fascinated with her hands and tries to put everything her mouth. We are loving all these changes and look forward to all that is to come.

Thanks again Rentschs for making the long trip up here. We loved having you!!

Back to Idaho

Luckily we hit the road before the massive storm arrived in Missoula and Ketchum. Ryan shot a deer in the afternoon on Thursday, so it made for a hectic day trying to get out of town early on Friday. Addie was great in the car- slept most of the way until about the last hour and then she wanted out!! We arrived at the Churchill's on Hannah's first birthday, but she was already asleep. Katelyn threw a birthday party for her on Sunday. Hannah loved her first bite of sugar so much that she was doing circles around the room for about an hour!! She is growing up so fast...she is going to be off running before we know it.

Ryan worked at Webb, helping to deliver Christmas trees around town. I hung out with Addie while Katelyn was at work. We didn't get out too much, because the snow continued to fall and it was super cold outside- in the negatives in the morning...burr! We were able to meet up with Matt and Leah, the Walkers, Lathams, and the Reskos...thanks for coming to see us! We miss all of you and hope to be back there someday. Thanks again to the Churchills for having us and for all the great company and food.

I'm so cute!

This morning we captured some adorable photos of Addison when she was laughing and smiling. The laughing bit is new for us and we love it! She has also discovered her hands and constantly tries to fit her entire fist in her mouth and when it just won't go, she gets pretty darn frustrated. She is growing up so fast and we are loving every moment of it.

Christmas tree cutting

This year we had a unique experience cutting down our Christmas tree...we were hiking instead of snowshoeing! There was no snow to be found anywhere. Kinda depressing. We found a beautiful Spruce tree up Miller Creek that was not too far off the walking trail. We got it home and it looks amazing in our living room. Our neighbors, Kennedy and Kooper, helped us decorate it- thanks! Now all that we need is Santa to bring us some presents to put under the tree!

Santa Claus is coming to town!

Addie's first encounter with Santa was priceless! She was mesmerized by him and his long, white beard! She stared at him for at least a minute with the most determined eyes. She had everyone in line laughing! Next year it might be a different story.

Thanksgiving in Idaho

This year we spent thanksgiving in Idaho with Katelyn, Hunter and their adorable daughter, Hannah. It worked out perfect because Ryan and I had some extra time off of school and the Churchills were willing to have us stay with them for the week! Addie and I had so much fun playing with Katelyn and Hannah. As always, it was so wonderful to be back in the Wood River Valley. We miss that place and all the people so much. Thanks for all the yummy food and company.

Fall hunt and McHugh visit

Riley and Leslie visited us before thanksgiving to hang out with their little grand-daughter, and the boys headed into the field searching for big game. Ryan and Riley had a great time hunting in Montana country, spotted a few elk and white-tailed deer, but were unable to harvest anything before Ryan had to return to school. Ryan has a winter muzzleloader permit, and plans to harvest another deer to fill the freezer. We enjoyed having you around Grandma and Grandad McHugh. Come back and see us soon!

Reno...here we come!

Let me just tell you how many more things you have to have when you are traveling with an infant...car seat, stroller, diaper bag, pack-n-play, and of course the binkie! Ryan had a foresters convention in Reno, so we made a trip out of it! Addie was amazing on the plane- she slept the entire trip from the moment that the plane started to hum. We had a wonderful time seeing all the Rentsch family and celebrating Jackson's first birthday. Addison was able to meet her uncle Dan for the first time as well as many other friends and family. Thank you all for coming to see Addie in Reno!

Pumpkin patch

Fall is my favorite time of year...i love all the beautiful colors, carving pumpkins, drinking apple cider, eating pumpkin cookies, and eating all the candy for the trick-or-treaters!!! This year it is even more fun with little Addie around. Although she has no clue what is going on- it was fun to dress her up as a ghost for Halloween. We also took her to the pumpkin patch that is put on by the church that is across the street from our house. Ryan picked out an adorable little pumpkin for Addison and he drew the letter "A" on it for her.

One month old

My friend in Missoula has a sudo studio in her basement and she offered to take some photos of Addie. Unfortunately, I had to wake her up when we got there and she wasn't too happy about that. She also had two blow-outs in her diaper during it all, so needless to say- she wasn't a happy camper!!

McHugh Grandparents and the Churchill clan visit

We were lucky enough to have both Grandma and Granddad McHugh and the Churchill family visit us at the same time. Addie was 2 weeks old during their visit and still not sleeping a ton during the night. Thanks to Leslie for all the yummy meals and to you all for the excellent company. The boys went fishing one day while Katelyn and I hit up some shops in downtown Missoula. It was great to get out of the house and Addie did awesome except for the car ride- she doesn't like being in her carseat!

Grandma and Grandpa Rentsch visit

My mom came up to Montana about a week before Addie was born because I was dialated to 4cm and the big day could have come at any moment. It was so nice to have some company that last week since I was getting pretty sick of being pregnant. My mom didn't want to miss the arrival of her first grand daughter and my dad didn't want to be anywhere near the hospital! He came up a few days after she was born. Addie was awake several times during the night and needed to be held most of the time- day and night. Grandma was happy to take a few night shifts in our new leather recliner--thanks for the help and the cozy chair! It was so nice to have my parents up to meet Addie. Can't wait until the next visit.

Welcome to the world- Addison!!

Addison Lynn McHugh was born on September 22nd at 3:37am in Missoula, Montana!!! It was a super quick labor and also super painful! I was unable to have any drugs to help ease the pain, so unfortunately I can still remember how much it hurt pushing her out...but it was all worth it when I saw her adorable face and little body. Everything about her was perfect- from her cute little toes to her button nose. We had a wonderful experience in the hospital and everyone treated us so kindly. We are happy to have her in our arms and to be in the comforts of our home. Here's to being parents!!