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Hello dear family and friends!
Sorry about the delay in my post as of late. As many of you have come to realize, no news sometimes in the Julie and Addie world means bad news… And you would be right, although this was simply a minor set back. On thursday before Addie and I headed back to California for Thanksgiving, we had an office robbery, and of course, they got into my office. Luckily, they only took my wallet, but as you can imagine, it caused some problems since we were flying out less than 48 hours later! I noticed my wallet was missing when in line at Starbucks, I was unable to pay for my latte – luckily my coworker Emily spotted me some cash. When we got back to the office, another coworker noticed her wallet was missing and that’s when we realized something must have happened. The building security guard remembers a “weird” guy and we have video footage of him walking into both our offices. It was a nuisance having to cancel everything and having to spend the next afternoon at the DMV to get a new driver’s license, but aside from that, it was no big deal.
So Addie and I headed off to California filled with hopes to see family, hang out with friends, but most of all, get lots of hugs with the people we have missed so dearly over the last 4 months. And that worked out fabulously! The plane ride was horrible (no air flow, so it was close to 85F) and Addie was sick most of the trip and uber jetlagged for the first few days, but aside from that, we had an amazing vacation.
I had tried to pack in as many visits with family and friends during that short week which was great, except that I felt I needed a vacation from the vacation once we got back! Here are some pictures from our trip. Thanks everyone for making it such a special holiday! And can’t wait to see everyone at Christmas time!
Walking around with Beppe
Spending time with Oma and Opa
Addie and Oma
Anneke and Adelaide reunited! Such cousin love!
Addie and Rebecca, exhausted after an afternoon of shopping. (Don't worry, Addie was only in the trunk so I could change her diaper)
Family Picture - Addie was not in a cooperative mood...
Derek and I (plus baby boy, growing big everyday!)
Janna, Anneke and Jared, looking quite angelic!
Matching cousins
Going down the slide at Grand-Maman's house
Making stuffing with Auntie Gen
Mandy, Avitol, Adelaide and I
Group shots
Julie, Camille and Marika
Lighting the first Advent candle, Hope
As many of you know, there are few things I hate more than doing the laundry. It takes a long time, involves not doing anything else for many hours, plus the folding is simply a pain. These were my feelings when we had our own washer and dryer in the garage, so just imagine my hatred for this activity now that I have to use the communal laundry room… The laundry room is only open from 8am-8pm, which pretty much means I can’t do laundry during the week, which as it turns out, is the case for most of the other residents who work. So the weekends are insane. There are 4 washers and 4 dryers but somehow, it’s never enough. Especially because we happen to have several fellow residents who are entirely too anal about their laundry. For instance, this guy who lives on the 3rd, by himself, always needs to use ALL 4 MACHINES which I find outrageous. And for some reason, whenever I had down to the basement to the laundry, he has beaten me by a minute and then I have to wait an entire hour before I can do my laundry. For the last few weeks, I have developed a strategy, which until this morning seemed to work great. My thought was to do it first thing sunday morning while people are going to Church. Interesting parallel – as they worship, I curse the fact that my laundry does not get done my magical fairies during the week. So Addie and I would get up around 7:30, have breakfast then head down to the basement. Oh yeah, that’s the other added difficulty: I have Addie in tow, hanging out in the Ergo while I try to shove the clothes in the machines.
So, for the last few weeks, that was working great because no one was down there at 8am and I would be in and out in about 2 hours. This morning, though, was not so… This woman (you can tell I’m a bit frustrated), had hogged all 4 machines and was putting 2-3 items in EACH!?!?! What the hell?!? In one machine she had 2 sweaters, who does that?!?! Anyway, I asked her how long before it would be done, she said 40min and headed back upstairs with Addie and set my timer. I went back at exactly 40 minutes later, and saw another woman heading back to the elevator with an empty laundry pail… I asked her how many machines were available and she said that she was only using one and that another woman (who was the woman from before) was emptying 3 machines. Score! I would get to do my laundry afterall! Not so… The woman who had commandeered all 4 machines at 8am was willing to give me 1 machine because she “needed” the other 2. WTF?????????? Here I am, baby in tow, and the b*&@$ won’t give me 2 machines so I can do my weekly laundry?!? Unbelievable… So I stuffed the one machine with the necessary clothes for next week (i.e. my clothes since Addie’s closet is deep enough for 3 weeks of different outfits) and headed back upstairs super annoyed. Here’s why I’m bothered by this lady:
1) Addie is now napping, which means that when I go back downstairs to put my clothes in the dryer, I will need to leave her up here by herself, which I have never done before and really don’t like
2) I am already worried that this laundry-crazy-woman will be hogging all the dryers, which may mean I will be taking wet clothes back up to the apartment, because if you don’t empty your washer, people just grab your clothes and put them wherever so that they can use the machine
And I thought this would be a good day…
One of my supervisors from work brought a bucket full of magnet letters from home for Addie since he and his wife had no use for them. I brought them home Monday night and she fell in love! She has been emptying the bucket, then picking up each letter, looking at it, and putting it back in the bucket – I can’t believe she even cleans up after herself!! I have been telling her the name of each letter and associating it with a word she knows and amazingly, in one week, she has learned the letters “S” and “O”. Last night, she was pointing at something in the subway and saying “O” and I realized she was pointing at the subway station sign which is “Union”. Now, could it be she was identifying the “O” from Union?!?!?! If so, my child is clearly a genius, right! 
Here she is playing with the letters. Thanks again Brian!!
Learning her letters
Last weekend, Derek was in town and we celebrated Halloween as a family. Of course, Addie had no idea. We spent the afternoon in Union Square, checking out the farmer’s market and spending time at the playground. By the time we got home, it was past 5pm and she had not had her afternoon nap, so she slept until 6, at which point it was too dark outside to go trick-or-treating. Honestly, even if she had, we probably would not have let her eat the candy, so this ended up working out! We got her costume on – she was a St-Bernard this year – and took lots of pictures, which afterall, is the point of Halloween for kids under the age of 2!
Addie seemed unsure at first, but we gave her a bucket and put candy in it and she loved playing with them, taking them out, giving them to Derek, and then putting them back in the bucket.
Addie, aka the cute St-Bernard
We then decided to have her take a look at herself thinking that she would get a kick out of her costume, and she did!
Who's that doggie Mommy?
For the big finale, we decided to take pictures of her in the bathtub – without water, of course.
The doggie is getting a bath!
We had a great time and even though Addie was a bit confused as to why she was wearing a warm and furry outfit for a few minutes, it was wonderful to be together as a family. Can’t wait for Thanksgiving!
Since Addie began eating solids, she has loved bagels. Over the last couple of months, she has also discovered cream cheese, which she finds absolutely delicious. She gets a bagel (really more like 1/3) at daycare for breakfast once per week and she gets 1/2 bagel over the weekend for breakfast – such a treat! Here she is enjoying her bagel!
Bagels
Addie’s hair has been getting a lot longer and I decided to try giving her a ponytail. It is long enough to make a tiny ponytail and it looked super cute!
Ponytail
Adelaide loves her baby, the one her Tante Rika and Uncle Will gave her for her birthday. Last weekend, we came home and Addie was so excited to see her baby that she ran right to her, picked her up and gave her kisses. It was so cute!
Baby Love
She then grabbed the Ergo – the carrier I use when I take her to school – and tried to hold her baby with it. She was not very successful, but she kept trying!
I hope these are all good signs as to how she will be with her baby brother!
…a baby brother!!! We just found out last night and it was very clear! The ultrasound technician went for the money shot first and asked us to guess and we both immediately said “that definitely looks like a penis!” So she confirmed it was a boy, which we are simply thrilled about. I had a feeling over the last week that it might be a boy, though it was based on old wives tales more than anything – I’m more “pointy” this pregnancy, I crave salty things instead of sweets and the baby is extremely active. We tried explaining to Addie that the baby in Mama’s tummy will be a baby boy like Ben at school, but she just keeps saying “baby.” I’m honestly impressed that she has any level of understanding that there’s a kid inside me, so we’ll take that!
Derek got in town on thursday night and will be here until sunday night. We will try to take pictures and I will update soon. As for now, we have a busy weekend planned. After Addie’s nap, we will head to Union Square, check out their farmer’s market and get lunch at one of the restaurants for Derek’s birthday. Then later tonight, we will get Addie ready for Halloween! Which at 15 months, really means wearing a costume for maybe an hour, collecting candy within the building, giving said candy to Mommy and Daddy, then going to bed. Tomorrow, Derek has a job interview that was randomly scheduled yesterday while on our way to the ultrasound. He will be meeting his potential boss at the Ritz-Carlton in Battery Park City for coffee. What do I do with such news? I immediately started telling him he could probably handle a latte or even a mocha since they don’t taste too coffee-ish. Of course, Derek said “I’m not sure my coffee order is the biggest thing I need to worry about.” Right, way to think of the big picture Julie! I just know he hates coffee so I immediately tried to solve that problem! 
I have been pouring over my baby names book trying to come up with ideas. So far, here are some of my thoughts. Feel free to give feedback, though please don’t get hurt if we don’t take all your suggestions.
Lucas
Matthias
Joel
Miles
Simon
Collin
Vincent
Broderick
Oliver
What do you think? This was done in the last 24 hours, so it is definitely a rough list! Can’t believe it’s a boy!!
I realized this week that Addie looks super cute in dresses and that paired with leggings, they are perfect for this fall weather! Here are a few pictures from tonight as she was playing with the blanket of her Igglepiggle (a toy her Tante Rika and Uncle Will gave her). She loves to wrap it around the back of her next, almost like a cape! It’s super cute!
This last week, Addie and I have been lucky enough to host Janna, Jared and Anneke. We had such a great time and Adelaide and Anneke seemed to love spending time together. It’s amazing how 3 months makes such a difference – they came to Apple Valley right before Addie and I left for NYC in July. At the time, Anneke was not walking yet and the girls did not seem that interested in playing together. This time, though, as soon as Addie saw her, she went over to her to give her hugs. And Anneke is walking now, so she followed Addie around and very willingly gave up toys as Addie tore them out of her hands – we have to work on her sharing skills… Here are some pics from their trip.
Addie noticing Anneke has feet just like her! This was a few hours after they had arrived on the first night - lots to discover!
Happy Anneke discovering the bathroom and the toilet paper
Addie brushing her teeth - she now has 12, 6 on the top and bottom
Janna, Jared and Anneke in Battery Park City, one of my favorite spots in NYC
Bath buddies!
The girls learning their letters at the O'Sullivans
Janna and Anneke, John and James, Meghan, Addie and I
Jared's boots were a huge hit for both girls!
Getting a bear hug from Jared
Anneke ready to face New York City weather
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