Addison

Hi, everyone. We have been very busy during the last week and have a lot to share with you. Today, however, I have something else on my mind. A few months ago, I shared with you that a good friend of mine from high school, Kelly, had a very, very sick little girl. Her daughter, Addison, was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma. Sadly, Addison passed away this past Friday after a very brave fight. As a mom of a little girl and an old friend of Kelly's, I'm just so incredibly heartbroken. I know that Addison is now free from all of the pain, but it's sad nonetheless. I ask that you continue to pray for Kelly, her husband, and her son.

I decided to post this video that was made for Addison. I feel that, in some small way, I'm helping if I can share Addison's story and get the word out about neuroblastoma.

Addison

Happy Memorial Day to the ones we love that have honorably served our country. My little family truly appreciates it. Stay tuned...many fun posts to come!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Just wanted to check in and let everyone know that the blog posts will be rather scattered for the next week. We're going to be spending a lot of time with family and will be super busy!

The Littlest Secretary

Doesn't she look just like a little secretary? She found this old scarf while I was going through my closet today. She absolutely loved wearing it. She also found the magna-doodler that she got from the Easter Bunny. It was hidden under the seat in the car. She hadn't seen it in so long that it was like a new toy! She marched around the patio just a scribbling away.

It really did seem that she was taking notes!

Snaggletooth

Thankfully you can't see them unless she flashes a cheesy smile. At least that's what I keep telling myself. However, they are going to get bigger and come down longer eventually and I won't have to hold her upper lip up to get a good shot. In case you forgot how this happened, click here. My poor snaggletooth girl.

After the tooth pictures, we tried to take a picture using the camera timer. It didn't work out so great.

Attempt #1

Attempt #2

Attempt #3

Then I gave up. We love you all and can't wait to see you soon!

Happy birthday, Uncle Judd!!

Baby Love

A Few Reasons

Here are a few of today's reasons why we love our girl.

She likes to be close to her furry sister, even when watching morning cartoons.

She is getting really good at brushing her teeth.

She is also getting pretty good at putting on her own pants.

She looks really cute wearing 1 pair of shorts, a skirt, and a pair of pants. She doesn't even care that it is roasting outside. She's just so proud that she did it all by herself.

She is oh-so-sweet to this girl...most of the time.

She keeps us laughing with her crazy antics. She is trying to decide which pair of shoes she wants to put on. That can be, after all, a very tough decision for us ladies.

She was my trusty little assistant when trying to pack her suitcase.

She is most adorable with food all over her face. Peanut butter. Yummy!

She melts our hearts with this cherubic little smile. And we think she knows it.

She finds joy in the simplest of things, like getting to wear three of Mama's bracelets at the same time AND on the same wrist. Very cool.

She is learning to love books and reading. Both are very important to us.

These are just a few reasons why we love this angel girl. We are so very glad for the lazy, ordinary days like today where we can just enjoy her and spend every minute taking in this 21 month old baby. For she won't be a baby for long.

Shoes and Paper, Peesse!

Look closely at this picture. Something is not right.

She managed to get her shoes on all by herself. It took her quite a while. She didn't even notice they were on the wrong feet!

Today I rummaged through the garage until I found some chart paper left over from my teacher days. AC loved this big paper. We had fun tracing our hands, feet, and her little body.

This weekend she has master the fine art of saying, "Please." The problem is she believes if she says please when asking for something that means she will definitely get it. A meltdown will definitely follow if Mama says no to a "peeesse"!

Short and Sweet

I planned to post these pictures yesterday, but the blog site was down for maintenance. I'm keeping it short and sweet today.

This girl got new jammies. She loves them. The octopus has a flower on her head, a necklace, a purse, and glasses. She pointed each of these out and was so excited. We even had to try the shirt on her baby first.

She wanted her "goes" painted. I've never painted them before and hadn't planned on doing it. I watched an episode of Dr. Oz about dangerous chemicals in nail polish and decided to never put it on my kid. But she really wanted it. So I gave in. Just this once can't hurt. She couldn't sit still long enough to get both feet finished. She's been walking around with 5 painted toes. The worst part is she is so proud of her "goes" that she's been showing everyone her one painted foot.

Wednesday

First let me apologize for missing so many days of blogging. We are struggling with some insomnia issues around here and it makes for one tired mama at the end of the day.

Oh and I wanted to say that...No, Daddy isn't attempting to impersonate Wilson from Home Improvement (thanks for the laugh, Abby) ! He doesn't want his face on the blog. You know, for safety reasons.

Now on to today. We didn't leave the house this morning. It's just so hot and I had a long list of chores to get done. AC took a good nap and then we ran to the grocery store. We did a little Skyping when we got home and then ate dinner. She was really good today. These pictures are from the end of the day, right before bedtime. Hence the crazy hair and lack of clothing.

She was holding my phone to G's ear and saying, "E-O!" G graciously played along.

A few minutes later, she dug these gloves out from somewhere. Daddy helped her put them on and she loved it!

Tomorrow is our first day back to Library Story Time after missing the last 2 weeks. I hope she behaves!

Happy Late Birthday, Marissa!! :)

Random Monday

Today's post is gonna be random. Here goes!

1) AC loves saying, "Mornin'!" which is short for "Good morning!" On the way home from Publix, I thought she was saying, "More" which is common when she wants more of something. I was confused because there wasn't anything to give her "more" of. We weren't eating snacks. After I turned down the air conditioning, I realized she was singing, "Mornin'! Mornin'! Mornin'!" So cute.

2) AC is obsessed with finger painting. I am growing to hate it.

3) She can now open and close the front door all by herself. The furry dog is pumped about this.

4) She is completely aware of what "Time Out" is and just where it's located.

5) I'm sad about her jagged front teeth. I dread the day she comes to me sad because somebody was teasing her. Maybe she will loose them early.

5) She put her own shoes on today. They were on the wrong feet and weren't buckled but she did it all by herself and was so proud.

6) It is hot here. Hot is not even a good word to describe it. As the cart boy at Publix put it, "That heat just smacks you in the face, don't it?" You got that right, buddy.

Yesterday I accidentally left AC's black crayon outside. The tip melted off and the crayon melted to the patio table. Awesome.

Daddy and AC made a slingshot out of these resistance bands. She is baffled by it.

So, she chews on it when no one is looking.

Finally, AC and Daddy read one of her favorite books before she had to get ready for bed. "The Three Little Pigs." It's a pop-up book and we have to constantly keep her from ripping the pigs off.

We love and miss you all. We can't wait to see you in just a short while!

Daddy's Mini-Me

It seems that the curly hair might be the only thing that this girl got from her mama. She is the spitting image of her daddy.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Wednesday and Thursday

First let me say thanks. Thanks for sending some of your rain down this way. We need it desperately. The lake behind the house has been getting lower each week. It rained all day today and is supposed to continue tomorrow. Things are already looking a little greener.

Now, on to what our girl has been up to.

Yesterday we spent a lot of time in the garage, which is sorta like our playroom. What did we do in the garage, you ask? We spent a lot of time talking about this guy...

The letter A. I think she's fond of Mr. A. She will carry him around and try to stick him on things. Which is why I'm predicting that it won't be long before he disappears completely.

We also spent some time singing and dancing. We learned 2 new songs yesterday, 'Where is Thumbkin?" and "London Bridge." She loves these cds. She goes to the garage and begs me to turn them on. It's a good time (if you've had a few Red Bulls)!

We also watched the furry dog nearly assassinate this fella. It is hard to tell in the picture, but this was the biggest frog I have ever seen. He was easily the size of an orange. You should have seen AC's eyes when he finally hopped out from under this bush. It was like she had seen an alien.

Today, we visited with our friend, Melissa. We had not seen her in about 5 months. AC was in heaven. She and Melissa really love each other.

And finally, AC had an early bedtime tonight. She missed her nap due to Melissa's visit. Sweet dreams, angel girl.

Park and Painting

Today's Events:

Breakfast of oatmeal and apple juice

Some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Handy Manny

A long trip to the park where we met a new friend, Reese. She had a ball, bubbles, and a phone. They were fast friends. I think she may have been just a little terrified of my spastic child!

A short nap

Lunch (which she wouldn't eat)

Finger painting. She loved it, and surprisingly, it wasn't as messy as I anticipated.

After painting, we had a snack.

Play outside with the furry dog.

A bubble bath.

Some Dino Dan and Yo Gabba Gabba.

Dinner.

Daddy's home.

Nighty, night.

Boots

There a few large tubs in AC's closet that hold all the clothes and shoes she has outgrown. Yesterday, I had to move one of these tubs in order to reach something behind it. So I sat it outside the closet on her bedroom floor and forgot to put it back. This tub just so happened to be clear. Let's jump to today. AC wakes up from a good nap. I hear her talking with conviction on the monitor. When I walk in her room, she is pointing at the tub and saying, "Boot. Boot." She can see her boots from this past winter inside the tub. And she wants them badly. So, what do I do? I get her the boots. But now she wants her coat and her pants. So, after she is all decked out in her winter gear, we head downstairs for lunch!

It wasn't long before she realized that it is too darn hot here to be wearing all those layers. "Off, Mom," she said. So, I took it all off! Let me point out that I don't know why she is now calling me "Mom" instead of "Mama." Isn't "Mom" for big kids? I thought I had a little while before I stopped being Mama or Mommy and started being Mom. Sad.

On a different note, this is the only (and very bad) picture I have of her bite mark from the boy at church. She has her wrist bent so it is hard to see the entire mark.

It looks much better today and she has been completely oblivious to it.

Reading

AC hasn't always been a lover of books. However, she has recently learned to enjoy books and even pretends to read from time to time. Here is a short video of her "reading" an envelope from the mail. Hilarious!

Other happenings from the weekend:

Saturday, AC and Daddy went to Monkey Joe's. She absolutely loves it. Daddy fixed the toilet upstairs while AC and I played and watched a little Dino Dan.

Sunday, we went to church where AC was bitten by a little boy. She cried a little and then was over it. He didn't break the skin, but she has a big circular bruise on her wrist. AC and Daddy went to the park. We did a little Skyping. More Dino Dan and bedtime at 7:15.

It was nice weekend here. We hope you all enjoyed your weekends!!