As 2009 draws to a close...

I wanted to reflect on what a great year it was! An eventful one too...

Adelyn joined our family!
Kim graduated from Texas A&M and got a job in Houston at KBR Engineering.
Dan and Nancy retired and moved to Florida.
I finished my Masters degree in Planetary Geology at Rice.
Derek fulfilled a life goal and started his own oil production company.
We moved to White Oak, TX.
(Side note: my parents have helped my sisters and I move 5 times this year!! 5 times!)

Best wishes to everyone, and may you have a wonderful and exciting 2010. Let's start the new decade off right!

Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas! 4 days late...

This should have been posted ages ago, but things have been a bit crazy around here.

First off, Merry Christmas to everyone! We hope it was as wonderful for y'all as it was for us. We spent Christmas with my family in Austin, and it was definitely a full house: my sisters came back home, my Grandma drove over from Tucson, AZ, and we had 3 extra pets in the house (2 cats and a dog). We had a lot of fun, chit chatting, playing cards, having a "poker night" where we all dress up as different characters (haha, it's fun!)... It's hard to believe how quickly it went by. Things have quieted down some, Kim has gone back to work and my Grandma is visiting more of our family up in Canada, so we've settled into the lull that comes between Christmas and New Years. Ahh, 2010 is right around the corner!!! Unbelievable.

Adelyn turned 7 months old on Christmas day, and what a Christmas it was for her. She sure is one lucky, spoiled little girl :) She received so many nice things - clothes, all sorts of toys, an engraved silver cup and porridge bowl... oh, and books! She has quite a nice collection of bedtime stories now. This makes us very happy! Thank you :)

Despite the wonderful gifts, it was a rough Christmas for Addy. She's been sick since Christmas eve. And I mean sick sick sick. She is so congested and miserable, it is the saddest thing. Luckily she's still in pretty good spirits during the day when she's playing, but she isn't sleeping well because she can't breathe, and she wakes up coughing and choking. I think she's finally turning the corner now, although she still has a nasty cough. All I can say is I'm glad we made it to 7 months old before getting a cold like this. If she were any younger, it would have been unbearable. Poor girl.

It's about time I post some photos too, but I have so many that I want to put up. I will try to limit myself so as not to bore everyone :)

Early Christmas present - Pooh Bear Train!

Addy greeting Great Grandma Diane after her long drive from Tucson!

Addy and Auntie Kim

Ace, decked out in Christmas attire.

This is a grouchy Christmas Nova

Auntie Mikaela and Adelyn

Haha, poker night! (Back, L-R) We have a firefighter, a fisherman, a biker chick, a bushman, a nerd accountant, a hippie geologist and a trashman.

Sleeping angel after a nice long walk.

I love Christmas ornaments!

I like unwrapping presents too.

Christmas baby on Christmas eve!

Christmas baby!

Family :)

Merrrrry Christmas! Christmas morning.

Addy and Daddy!

I help Daddy unwrap his presents!

I LOVE THIS FACE!!! This is her "OOh, I want that!" face.

I help Momma unwrap presents too.

I love toys!

Having a delicious Christmas breakfast.

Zivney family before Christmas dinner

Farrell and Zivney families before Christmas dinner

Adelyn says "I'mmmmm cute! The End!"

We are moving!

It's official! On Sunday, we will be moving to White Oak, TX. Where is White Oak, you ask? It is near Longview, about 2 hours east of Dallas. We are moving there to be closer to Derek's third baby, his oil well :) Here is the house we are renting (below). We're excited to be starting this new adventure!
That being said, I hate moving. Scratch that. I hate PACKING. Hate. With a capital "h" and a capital "ate". I like the idea of moving, starting somewhere fresh, re-organizing everything. It's the packing of all your stuff. What a pain. And packing with a 6 month old? Now that's a party. At least she's capable of entertaining herself... sort of...
Haha! Just kidding! We only put her in the box to take a picture :) But truly, it is difficult to pack when you have a child. Luckily my parents are coming to Cypress on Saturday to help us finish any packing we may have left. Whew! I'll update with pictures once we get settled.

6 month photo shoot

Last week, my friend Heather took some photos of me, Derek and Adelyn and she did an AMAZING job!!! Below are just a few of my favorites, and there are more posted on her blog. She also has a website (www.heatherdalton.com) that I recommend checking out. Anyone in the Houston area who is looking for a photographer to shoot weddings, engagement portraits, children, individuals, families (the list goes on!), you should check her out. She does great work! :)

Zivney family

Happy Angel!

My absolute favorite!!!!!

Adelyn loves Daddy.

"I like leaves."

" I like rolling, too!"

We had some pretty cold weather here in Cypress last week, so when we went for our morning walks, we made sure Adelyn was all bundled up. On one walk in particular, she must have really been snuggled in nice and warm because by the time we got home, she was resting her little head on the big pile of blankets like an angel sleeping on a cloud :)

Trip to Florida

Okay, now that my thesis has been submitted (as of yesterday morning!), I can focus on fun things... like updating the blog!

Here are a bunch of photos from our trip to Florida to visit Derek's family for Thanksgiving. It was Adelyn's first plane ride, and she did great!! She slept almost the entire flight there, and when she woke up for the last half hour of the trip, she was busy making eyes at the 10 month old boy who was sitting across the aisle with his parents ::wink:: (haha!). It was a fantastic trip - we spent 5 days in Port St. Lucie with Gram Z, Pops and Auntie Lindsay. This was the first time we'd been to their house since it was built, so that was very exciting. Addy did so much while we were there: riding in the golf cart, checking out the wildlife (including fish, birds and alligators), watching Sandhill cranes come up to her, getting SOO much love and attention from her grandparents and auntie... she was definitely spoiled! By the time we got home, I think she was in attention-withdrawl :)

Arriving at the airport. So excited to see Gram Z and Pops!

Addy's first time with a fish!

Doesn't he look interesting??

Pops doing a little bit of fishing in the backyard.

Gorgeous backyard!

Alligator. Don't get too close!

Airplane with Daddy.

Addy loves her Auntie Lindsay!

Now this is a sour-puss face! Just eating some peaches.

The high chair had wheels, so Daddy wheeled her around the kitchen like she was in a racecar. She loved it!

Zivney ladies, ready for a delicious Thanksgiving meal!

Gram Z and Adelyn

Zivneys

I think this is Addy's favorite pose.

Addy and Pops

Aww, siblings!

Thanksgiving dinner group shot. Pops had to run fast to get in there!

She says "I'm #1!"

Daddy, Momma and Baby

We love kisses!

Having fun with Daddy!

Pouting a little bit...

MMMMM, fingers.

Dan and Nancy (Pops and Gram Z), enjoying having their family together for Thanksgiving!

Momma and Baby