hammin' it up

As you can see Addy still likes posing for the camera. Luckily her camera smile isn't quite as awkward as it once was!
She definitely likes her sunglasses. Especially if I have mine on and we're going outside. With the exception of Sunday at church the longest she'll leave them on for is about 45 seconds. Sunday, however, she left on her sunglasses and her head "kerchief" for almost 20 minutes! I'll post a picture soon - I think Beth got one.

Hey fam, does this table look familiar? This was mine and my sister's when we were little. Its held together well and she thinks she's such a big girl sitting at it! Unfortunately she also figured out that she can maneuver those little chairs around to climb up and reach things she shouldn't be touching!!

This picture cracks me up. Its me sending an e-mail to my parents and Addy is fascinated that there are pictures of her on the screen. Ever since she discovered that most of the time mommy has the computer open there are pictures of her (either because I'm uploading them or its on my desktop) she wants to run right over to ooh and ahh and that pretty little girl. What a stinker!

Graduations & Bubbles

This is the time of year that everyone is graduating and everything is changing in their life. Not for me though - I just get the opportunity to go celebrate with them! Here is a picture of my cousin Shannon who just graduated from St. Mary's College. She's worked SO hard & now she's off to Chicago to be a workin' woman.

For those of you who never believe me when I tell you that I'm half Mexican maybe you'll believe me after looking at this picture! What a good lookin' family, eh?

Tara & Adam flew down from Atlanta for the weekend. We had such a good time together.

And Addy discovered bubbles. It was what occupied her throughout the graduation. Here are several pictures of her enjoying this new wonder with her daddy.

Daddy's Girl

I knew the time would come when Addy would prefer Johnny to me but it came quickly and its been harder than I thought! She just adores her daddy. Giggles and flirts with him when he comes home from work and her face lights up when he comes in the room. She's definitely made the transition into a true "daddy's girl."

Some things are the same though - her pretty blue eyes still melt both of our hearts!

I'm so glad that Addy has taken up a love for books. I've always wanted her to love reading but until recently she hasn't been as interested as I'd hoped. She will often sit in her room and read several to herself and has recently begun asking us to read books to her.

Monkey Milestones

Well, Adeline is growing & changing every day... and taking her "monkey" nickname seriously! When she saw something on top of the changing table you can see how she went about getting it!


She also recently figured out how to stick the little letters on the side of the tub. Boring for most of you to read about but it was exciting for us! We've been showing her how these things work since she was born and she's just now getting it!!

our pretty girl loves sweets

Our little peanut loves to put on make-up. As soon as I get my blush or powder brushes out she wants to participate. She likes to walk around the house pretending to apply her make-up.

Here's a shot of Addy enjoying her first sucker. There is no doubt that this is a Hamstra kid - one of her few teeth is definitely a sweet one. I'm normally a bit picky about giving her sweets but she had her blood drawn for her one year check up (a bit late) and I thought she was entitled to a little treat. Don't let the face fool you... she had a death grip on that little stick!

lobster grams and the perils of mobility

My grandparents sent us a lobster-gram which is probably pretty self-explanatory. But for those of you who aren't as quick the lobsters come in a cooler delivered to your house ALIVE from Maine. You boil them and enjoy! Which we did without complaint. They were incredible.



On a more tearful note (unless you're lover of lobsters) Adeline had her first knee scrape. I took her out of the car and set her on the driveway after United last night and she bolted down the driveway. About halfway down she fell forward and caught herself with her hands but not in time to avoid her first war wound. I suppose mobility has its drawbacks!



But you can tell from this picture that she wasn't really phased by it. She made a couple of whinine noises and then was ready to keep playing. I took her inside, washed out the scrape with soap and water without complaint from her and she went to sleep without another peep. Its possible I experienced more trauma from this fall than she did. :)

Welcome Sadie Grace!!!

We are so eager to meet little Sadie (and almost as eager to introduce her to John Michael!). Amy delivered Sadie on May 19 - three weeks early! Lets hope we follow her example and go early too!


Word on the street is that this little one looks just like a Kotynski/Hamstra (even though there is no Hamstra blood!) but we can't tell. What do you guys think?