The past two and a half crazy weeks

Since the birth of our second daughter, Emree, life has been pretty crazy. Things are actually going really well. But with the addition of another child, we have definitely been going through some major adjustments. The biggest adjustment comes for Addisyn. She is learning to share Mommy and Daddy and is quickly having to become a "big girl." And I am happy to say that she has actually done really well, but of course she still has her moments (it also doesn't help that she has been sick ever since we brought Emree home).

Emree has been great. She seems to be adjusting well to life.

I am having fun with another baby and it's has been fun and exhausting learning how to manage two little ones. Jason's parents were here in the beginning to help with Addisyn while we were in the hospital and my mom was here for 10 days to help me with the transition at home. I don't know how we would have gotten through that first week without their help.

Jason seems to be doing well. He helps out at night and has been great with giving Addisyn the extra love and attention she needs right now. I couldn't ask for a better husband and father for my children.

So our life has been pretty busy but I expect things to slow down here soon (or maybe that is wishfull thinking-any advise from other parents with more than one kid?) We are loving every minute of it and couldn't be happier.

Here is another link to more pictures on snapfish...http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=799161224223440981/l=437726831/g=54029306/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Snapfish pictures

Just wanted to give you a link to snapfish to see some more pics. There aren't very many yet, but we'll continue to add more. Everything is still going great. It is so much fun being the mommy of two girls.

http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=33421222985537122/l=431274063/g=54029306/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Emree Has Arrived

I would like to introduce you to the newest addition to the Hofseth family. Emree Jean Hofseth was born at 5:29 AM September 30, 2008. She was 7.0 lbs and 19.5" long. Below are some pictures of her first day.

Thank you everyone that visited us and took part in welcoming Emree. As you can see mommy and baby are doing well. We should be bring Emree home tomorrow around noon.

Emree Jean Hofseth
9/30/2008

A few milestones

For some time now Addisyn has been working on defying gravity. She came up with her own way of jumping but this weekend she finally did a "proper" jump, getting both feet off the ground at the same time. She's jumping off of books, over lines, on toys, off stools, and on beds. We may need to get her some help because she has become a jumpaholic.


Not only has Addisyn mastered jumping she has begun to do hand motions to many songs. She'll watch a sing-a-long video and copy the motions that she sees. Doesn't sound like that big of a deal considering she has been doing "the wheels on the bus" for at least 4 months, but just this weekend she has learned motions to at least 10 songs. That's pretty good.
(So we tried uploading a very cute video of Addisyn doing hand motions and jumping but could not get it to work. We'll continue to try an post if later if we can)

Oh yeah, and the most challenging milestone she has reached: Addisyn can fly.

What to Blog about....

I was somewhat concerned today that the long weekend would pass without a moment worth blogging. Now we were not lazy by any means, certain odd jobs around the house were completed and I even got out on the river and caught the first silver salmon on my boat (didn't have the camera or that would have made Hofseth Times). But even with all the activities this weekend we were sitting down to our moose kabob dinner and then it happened. The mouse trap that I had set three hours prior snapped... and I had my Blog.

2 days ago while cleaning out the garage (one of our odd jobs) I noticed a dark streak run behind the lawn mower and a million small poops. We had a small furry friend living in our midst without an invitation. So I got a couple of traps, loaded some peanut butter on them and placed them in highly strategic areas.

Warning: Do not go any further if you can not handle the fate of our little uninvited house guest.

Trip to the fair

This past weekend we went to the Alaska State Fair in Palmer. Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Kristie (and Kristie's friend Aaron) joined us for the day. The weather was not stellar but we still had a great time.

I was very excited to go to the fair because I think I was expecting to buy things. Meaningless things that you don't really need, but usually can't find anywhere else but at the fair. And after walking up and down all the rows we couldn't find a thing to buy. So then how did we manage to spend so much money? Well the obvious is the food but let's just say, Addisyn had a great time. She discovered fair rides and those rides aren't cheap. She rode the carousel and the train, twice, and she looked very interested in the roller coaster. Maybe we'll save that for next year, although fair rides are kind of scary. Needless to say, she had a blast. I was a little shocked when I took Addisyn to ride the train and they wouldn't let me on because I was pregnant. But her daddy and grandma enjoyed sitting with her.

When it started raining we decided to head inside to see the farm animals where Addisyn got to pet cows, pigs and goats. And she definitely liked the tractors.

Overall it was a good trip and we were all exhausted afterwards. It was a fun time spent with family and sadly it was our last weekend with Kristie before she heads off to college in Canada. We'll miss her tremendously.

Nalco Team Building Event

Sometimes you just have to enjoy the perks of your job and this weekend I did exactly that. Nalco took us (Tesoro) out of Seward, AK on a fishing charter (Salt Water Safari) for our yearly team building exercise. The weather was bit rainy and the water was bit choppy at times, but the fishing was good, the company was better, and the Alaska landscape was breathtaking.

Our party consisted of ten, seven from Tesoro and three from Nalco. Our catch tallied a total of 102 fish, 20 Halibut, 44 Rock Fish, 32 Silver Salmon, and 6 Ling Cod. The pictures show some of the big catches and the group around our catch. For all of us Alaskans this is just a reminder of why we live in this place and for all of you outsiders, don't you wish you lived here!?

Thank you Salt Water Safari, and thank you Nalco!!

Alaska Zoo

A couple weeks ago we finally got Addisyn to the Alaska Zoo. It was quite the experiance to see the discovery of new sights in the eyes of a one and a half year old. Every new animal was seen with an ooh and pointed finger to show Mommy and Daddy what she had found. I enjoyed taking pictures of her and I think Rachel just liked having a nice sunny day (plus she loves animals). Aunt Kristie also joined us for the day and even though she thinks this zoo is lame, she kinda liked hanging out with her big brother, sister-in-law, and niece.

If you ever go to the zoo you won't miss the polar bear. I think that this is one of the better exibits and we happened to be there at the right time, while the bear was swimming, playing, and as the picture shows' scratching his back in the water. Addisyn's favorite part of this exibit was the underwater viewing where she could see the bear looking at her.

The Alaska Zoo has all sorts of different animals from wolverines to tigers and goats to artic foxes but my personal favorite was the alpaca. This picture says it all.

Here we are

It seems like blogging is the thing to do, and many of our friends keep asking when we are going to start one of our own. So little to say, here it is...The Hofseth Times blog where we can keep family and friends updated on our exciting times, share memories and pictures that are important to us, and keep everyone a little closer to us while we are way up here in Alaska.

To catch everyone up on where our family started, here is a summary of our life together as the Hofseths. In June 2004 Jason and I were married in Southern California and quickly returned to Texas where I graduated and Jason continued school. We spent a year and a half in College Station until Jason graduated as a proud member of the Fightin' Texas Aggie class of 2005. WHOOP!

We then set off to Corpus Christi where Jason received his first job as a process engineer and I was hired as an assitant marine mammal trainer at the Texas State Aquarium where I had previously volunteered while attending Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

After getting settled it was time to start a family. With Addisyn on the way, Jason had the bright idea of moving our family to the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska for another job opportunity closer to family. So here we are two years after our move, Addisyn is a year and a half old, she has a sister on the way and we get to experience God's beautiful creation everyday.

We hope you enjoy sharing in the Hofseth Times.