New do

Pretzel? check. Book? check. Camera? check. All of the things needed for the first haircut. We tried not to make a big deal out of it and Addison didn't even know what was going on. I think she was just happy she had a pretzel.

Excuse my rough look. This was before my cut and style. Thanks Heather for Addison's new do. Goodbye to the long hairs in the front and the out of control mullet in the back.

Without my camera

I left my camera at my cousin's house this past weekend so I am without pictures. The posts aren't the same without the visual effects. I'm picking it up this afternoon so I will have the "first haircut" pictures to post soon.

Playing in the street

Addison wanted to go for a ride in the wagon this past weekend and Emmy and Nutmeg wanted to ride too. I love in the first one how their arms and paws are both positioned the same way. Too cute.

Ok mom. I've had enough. Get me out!

Her lawn mower. Probably one of the best gifts she's received. For some reason she loves this thing. She pushes it around the driveway, the street, the house. She would take it to school with her if I let her. Last night we went for a walk around the neighborhood and Addison had to take her mower. When she wasn't pushing it, it was riding with her in the wagon.

Thanks to my mom and Jim for the wagon. Addison has a blast with it.

Happy Birthday Michael

It's all been said before so you already know it. You are my everything. I love you!

Luau party

Yesterday was Caeley's 9th birthday. Caeley is one of the girls that lives next door and is Addison's best bud. Her mom asked her if she wanted to go out to eat for her birthday and Caeley just wanted to have "steak with the neighbors". Here we are with the birthday girl.

Will and Melanie from across the street were there as well. Here's Michael, Will and Mark (Caeley's dad). Don't they look great in those hats! Such good sports.

Addison was a little cranky last night, but she always enjoys playing with Caeley. After 15 months of having a camera in her face she's learned how to smile when asked.

We had a great time with all of our fun neighbors. Thanks Mark and April for the good food and fun times. Happy Birthday Caeley!

Out with daddy

He spoils her when I'm not around. This is what they came home with after their little trip to the grocery store - Bruster's milkshake. I could barely get a picture of her drinking her first milkshake because she wouldn't hold still. She was walking around, so proud of her new treat. They were supposed to be sharing, but Addison totally took ownership of it.

He spoils me too. I got a really good banana split, but not as great as Powell's.

15 months

My sweet little girl is 15 months old today. Last night she wasn't feeling too good and feel asleep in my arms while I was rocking her. It's been months since she's done that. I sure do love those mom moments.

Addison is such a fun and sweet little girl. Everyday she does something new that puts a smile on our face. Right now her favorite thing is 'ring around the rosey'. And she can't do it with just one of us. She actually walks over and grabs the hand of whoever isn't playing and makes us both participate. And then she has to do it at least 10 times before we can distract her with something else. We laugh the entire time.

I wanted to document a few of the things that Addison has learned. I love that we can interact with her more. It's so much fun to just sit back and watch and see what she will think of next.

Words she can say:
mama
dada
bye bye
hi
i la (I love you)
tay (thanks)
all done
apple
angel
airplane
alligator (and it almost sounds perfect)
ba na (banana)
mil (milk)
water
pwet zul (pretzel)
gen (again)
rock
tu (shoe)
more (and she knows how to say it in sign language also)
gawk (chalk)
color
noe (nose)
eye
duck
dog
tuh tul (turtle)
fog (frog)
tac tac (quack quack)
moo
woof woof
roar (very loudly)
baa
neigh
blows her lips for elephant sound
ssss (for a snake)
buzz

Things you will catch her doing:
- Points at pictures and picks out me, Michael and Andrew (Michael's nephew who was here recently).
- Can pick out most of the animals listed above from her animal books.
- Can point to her nose, eyes, mouth, ears, tummy and toes when you ask her to.
- Goes over to the sink in her play kitchen and will wash her hands.
- Uses a washcloth to "clean" things (carpet, refrigerator door, my leg).
- Loves to play 'ring around the rosey'.
- Waves hello and bye bye (says "bye bye dada" every morning when Michael leaves for work).
- Gives hi-fives.
- Brushes her hair.
- Eats with her fork (still needs a little help getting the food on there).
- Gives the biggest open mouth kisses (working on that).
- Loves to hug and kiss her stuffed animals. Has to have at least Marnie the Mouse in order to go to bed.
- Uses the watering can to water the flowers.

I had to change her appointment I had scheduled for today to the 31st so I don't have her stats like I thought I would. Here are some pics I took this morning. She put on Michael's hat all by herself and didn't want to take it off. And she insisted on holding my jacket in the car.

Field Trip

Last week all of the one and two year olds from Addison's school went on a little field trip to the park. It's not far, so they loaded them all up in the wagons and headed off. Michael and I were able to meet them there to have lunch and hang out for a bit. Addison was so happy to see her daddy. The kids were so exhausted after playing and eating and ready to get back for their nap. You can see the "I'm ready for a nap look" in Addison's eyes. It was a struggle for her to finish her popsicle.

16 kids, 5 teachers and 5 parents. This is what you get. Everyone was sitting down, eating and for the most part well behaved. It's moments like this that remind me how important sticking to a routine is for a child. Addison is a big fan.

And it's also moments like this that remind me of why I only want two children.

Random stuff

Here are some random shots I've taken over the last week or two. Here's Addison clowning around one morning while I was getting ready. If I remember correctly, she pulled a diaper and her changing pad from her diaper bag this morning and then tried to diaper her bear Lucy.

Unlike me, Addison loves to read. She will sit there and make you read every book to her. And trust me, there's quite a few. This is one of her favorites and could be why she's obsessed with her belly button (or "bee-bo" as the book calls it).

She's still walking around with her blanket on her head. And it still cracks me up.

Note to self: try not to take pictures of your toddler when her mouth is full. Lounging in the shade eating her PB&J.

Happy 4th

We had such a fun day. Michael's parents and nephew Andrew are in town. Our wonderful neighbors invited us to swim again. We spent most of the day around the house - swimming, fishing, and hanging in the back yard. We hopped in the car and headed towards the beach to catch the fireworks and then had our own little show in the backyard, courtesy of the neighbors.

Lounging in the pool.

Michael and Andrew fishing.

Addison had a great time just being in the middle of everything. Here she is watching us fish. Love this picture.

Addison made it a little past her bedtime and was able to enjoy some sparklers. (Click the pic to make it larger.)

Here's the crew. (Piper, Andrew, Caeley, Addison and me) These kids wore me out with all of the swimming.

Hope everyone had a fun fourth!

No more climbing?

This morning Addison was trying to get on the coffee table, with cheese and play spoon in hand, lost her balance and hit her chin. She LOVES to hold things in her hands and doesn't understand that you have to put them down to get some things done. And, on top of that, she scaled the back of the couch and was very close to being on the counter. Maybe we need to stop the climbing before it gets out of control.