New things in Addi's life

Addi is asking questions and saying so much more now! We can't understand all of it but eventually we figure it out. She loves to ask for playdough and coloring is still one of her favorite things to do. Sometimes she likes to sit down with one of her favorite books, flip through the pages, and read the book. She has certain parts memorized and knows small lines from the books and says those pieces over and over as she flips the pages. For Goodnight Gorilla, she flips through each page, points to each animal saying "good night" for each one. For I love you, Stinky Face she flips the pages and says, "I love you" on each page. When we read her Moo, Baa, La La La, we've started reading only the first couple of words on each page and she finishes each page. When we get to the end when it says, "now what do you say?" she always says "cow"

She also loves to count to three and run into our arms for a hug when she gets to three. She likes to count to three and do other things as well, like tackle Scott. We realized the other day that she knows up to ten (not always in order). She is learning her shapes at school and her teacher said she knows several of them. We didn't know that until today! However, the other day she picked up the oval block we were playing with and said "oval" randomly so I guess we had a hint and didn't think about it.

She still loves to sing and now can sing all of Row your boat instead of skipping the middle and going directly to merrily, merrily. 

Her and Dylan are closer than ever. She is constantly telling Dylan to come on (waving her arm and saying "Come on Dylan") and of course she still feeds Dylan her Cheerios. She finds sticks for Dylan and gives them to her (well sometimes she gives them to her). When Addi gets to be too much, Dylan just walks away.

She is always asking for Elmo, Zoe, Big Bird, and Cookie. We have a lot of Sesame Street books and have a couple of dvds with clips from the show. She loves it! She knows several of the characters (Ernie, Bert, Abby, Elmo, Big Bird, Zoe, Cookie, Count, Oscar, and Grover). Sometimes she knows Snuffy, Prairie Dawn, and Telly.

We are amazed everyday by the new things she does. We can't believe that our little baby is so grown up!

Easter Weekend 2011

We had a wonderful Easter weekend. We went to St. Teresa Saturday morning and had a picnic lunch. Then we spent the afternoon together. That evening we steamed oysters and ate the rest of the spinach that mom and dad brought from the garden along with roasted potatoes. Yum!

Easter morning we went to church. Addi was wearing the dress that Lisa made her (I know - she made it!!!). Thank you, Lisa! I can't believe it is the first dress she has made. It is beautiful! That afternoon we dyed eggs and had an Easter dinner of BBQ chicken on the grill with Derrick's yellow sauce, baked sweet potatoes, sauteed spinach, sweet peas, and deviled eggs. And yes the Easter bunny went a little overboard this year for Addi!

The dress Lisa made!

So the Easter Bunny brought me this?!?!?! Awesome!

Oooo...what's in here?

Coloring an egg to dye

Dyeing eggs with Mommy and Daddy! Addison didn't really get into it like we thought she would.

Chasing the bubbles so she can pop them!

BUBBLES! Thanks Easter Bunny for the bubble gun!

It's been a long day so I think I will curl up and take a nap.

Visit from Sitti and Grandpa (Pa-Pa)

My parents were in town for almost a week. They came in down the 15th and were able to stay until Thursday morning! Mom had spring break and dad took the week off. Addi loved spending time with her Sitti and Pa-pa. After they left she looked for them and asked where they were. They had so much fun! They brought her a new bunny for Easter so she now has two dancing bunnies and a dancing frog all of which she likes to make sing and dance at the same time. They were surprised that she was asking questions and talking as much as she is. We had breakfast at our favorite place in town (Another Broken Egg), we went to the Tallahassee Museum to see the animals, and we just had fun hanging out. Scott and I had to work but it was still fun! We were all upset when they had to go.

Dylan and Addi playing with sticks - their new game!

Swings at the Tallahassee Museum

Slinky time - Slinky time!

double ear infections

Addi has double ear infections. We went to the doctor yesterday afternoon. She seems to be feeling a little better today and slept later this morning. Amazing what one dose of antibiotics and motrin can do. Scott and I are taking turns taking care of her and working - I am so happy this didn't happen last week when he was gone! Lots of extra cuddles for our sweet baby girl. This morning Addi and I finger painted (using the color wonder set from Vanessa and Sylvie from Christmas - loving it!), cut out shapes in playdough, colored various pictures, played a couple of computer games (colors/shapes/counting stuff), picked out coloring pages to print from the computer, read books, watched tv, and just hung out. I didn't realize how many colors she can correctly identify. Then her and her Dad hung out. We are both exhausted since we still have to get our work done, but thankfully we have each other. She still doesn't have much of an appetite (hasn't since late last week). Didn't have any symptoms until Sunday afternoon (fever) but in hindsight we realize that not eating and not napping are related to the ear infections.

We already had a follow-up scheduled with her ENT later this month so maybe we will get answers about the tubes - not sure if two doubles in 3.5 months means another set of tubes. One is still sitting in the canal but not doing anything. The other has been gone since December.

Paci day 4

So it seems we've gotten over the hump...but I'm afraid that just uttering these words aloud will jinx us :) but I will still give you all an update on the paci situation day 4.

Last night went wonderfully! She didn't ask for paci. She wanted to go to bed and asked for bed. She didn't cry or fuss. Getting back to how it was with paci. And she slept until 7:00 this morning! Hopefully, tonight will go as well since it is the first night Scott is back.

Paci day 3

Last night did not go as well as the first two nights. Although she never asked for paci or even mentioned it she had a hard time going to sleep. I let her cry for a little while and then went in and rubbed her back and tried to get her down. Eventually, I had to let her cry for a little while longer and she fell asleep. Praying tonight goes better than last night! The good thing is that she slept later this morning that she has the last several mornings.

Addi came home yesterday with a new song. She started singing it in the car and it took me a few minutes to remember which one is was. She kept saying ashes, ashes, all fall down  and then she would clap. Once I figured it out we sang it together. She has also started to dress up in some of my old costume jewelry. Love it!

Here is a picture from yesterday after dinner. Addi eating yogurt...or perhaps she is using it as a facial.

Paci day 2

Tonight didn't go as well as last night but it still went really well.

She only asked for paci once when going to bed and didn't fuss at all when she went down. However, about 15 minutes later she started crying. I let her go about 5 minutes realizing the crying wasn't going to get any better. I went in and we talked. She stood up and reached for a hug. When I picked her up she asked for paci again. I explained that it was all gone and that she had her bear. She cuddled her bear, snuggled up to me, and put her head on my shoulder. I put her down and rubbed her back for a minute. Then I told her that it was time for bed and that she had her bear to snuggle. I told her that Daddy and I loved her and good night. She sat up and was a bit uncertain. But she laid back down as I was starting to walk out. She didn't fuss and seems to be down for the night.

More teeth & Day 1 no paci

We now have 16 teeth! Addi's two top canines are just now breaking the skin, which explains her waking up early...she does this every time she is teething.

Last night was the first night without the paci. She asked for it when she went to bed but I explained that it was all gone. She looked for it didn't see it and grabbed her bear. We read a few books, said our prayers and I put her down. She asked for it again as I was walking out, and I explained again. She looked at me like "really - where is it?" then went to sleep. No fussing or anything. This morning she woke up early (I blame the teeth). She asked for the paci once and then we rocked. I finally brought her to bed with me hoping that I would get a few extra minutes. She cuddled and after about 5 minutes she patted my chest and said, "mommy." I said, "yes. " She said, "I love you" and I said it back. Then a few minutes later she patted my chest again and I asked her what she wanted and she started singing. It was too cute.

Go Tigers, drinking tea, and playing the kazoo!

More video! She has been counting 1 -2 - 3 but I couldn't get it on video...another day.

Suwannee Springfest 2011

Last weekend we went Live Oak, FL for Suwannee Springfest for a long weekend of music and camping. We met up with Lindsey and her family and a couple of her friends (bayley and allan -rockstars and awesome with the kiddos by the way!). It was a great weekend, although Scott and I froze the first two nights since it was colder than we anticipated. Addi had a nice warm blanket so she was fine. One night I pulled her in bed with us because something startled her and I wanted to share her blanket. Seriously, her one blanket was warmer than our three! She had a great time dancing and playing with Dana. After every song and set list, Addi clapped. It was too cute! She slept well but had to nap in the car...just too much going on. It was fine since we could listen to the music on one of the side stages near the campground while she napped. The weather during the day was wonderful. Other than the random fireworks in the middle of the night, the freezing cold first two nights, and the ticks (yes, Scott and I had lots of ticks when we got home) it was a great time! We would do it again and again and might head to the fall festival. It was so much fun - Thanks Lindsey for inviting us!


I was excited to see Donna The Buffalo and The Avett Brothers and have some new music to download...Josh Phillips Folk Festival and The Honeycutters (which I really loved!). We only knew a handful of the bands so we let Lindsey and Bayley lead the way to the different stages. Scott went back to the tent during Avett Brothers since we couldn't get Addi to sleep at the stage, and he knows I really wanted to see them...it was getting late for her. He was able to catch most of DTB since we put Addi in her pjs on site.

swinging in the hammock

just enjoying the music

Playing in the dirt on the front row of the stage

Enjoying a snack in the wagon

Of course Addi wanted to color while we were there

Just us girls: Lindsey, Jen, Addi, and Bayley

Addi and Daddy throwing the football around

I'm gonna catch it!?!

Too cute!

Dancing during Donna the Buffalo

Not sure what Addi is laughing about but it makes me smile

Taking in the scene at the mainstage

Scoping out the mainstage environment

Entrance into the mainstage and festival area

Feeding the mini horse during our walk Sunday morning

chapel on grounds...I thought it was really pretty

Random bullets of life

I have a ton of pictures from the camping trip this past weekend (so much fun!) and will hopefully get them up this weekend. We are doing well but are really busy so I will leave you with some random bullets of updates.

• I passed my dissertation proposal defense this past Tuesday! YIPPEE!!!!!! I have some revisions to make, but I am on my way to collecting data and actually doing the research
• Scott and I are covered in tick bites...that is right tick bites. I also have some other bite that is painful and gross looking. Keeping an eye on it in case I need to head to the doctor (do people actually go to the doctor for insect bites?)
• Addi now greets Dylan each morning with, "hello (sometimes hi) Dylan, good morning"(it is really cute)
• She also likes to say "I see [fill in the blank]"
• Aside from the "I" and "my" (my shoe) she likes to also talk in third person..."Addi milk; Addi color (meaning her turn); Addi shoe
• Although she doesn't mind sharing with adults, sharing her crayons (any crayons really because all crayons are her crayons when other kids are around) with other kids is very difficult for her.
• Addi loves giving hugs and kisses and does so many times a day..we love it!
• She is also obsessed with Cheerios and asks for them constantly. Of course she gives half of them to Dylan. But if Dylan steals them she gets mad.
• Elmo, Big Bird, and Baby Signs...enough said.
• Addi hasn't had a paci at school in many months...we did not know this until the other day. She can nap without it. I am pulling the plug next week - Scott is out of town so it will be a little easier I think (even he said this). At night she asks for "paci and bear"  - we've let it go on too far. She doesn't even sleep with it really (once she falls asleep it is gone). So wish us luck.