Addi turns 2!

Here are some pictures and video from today! I can't believe my little baby is 2!

This morning before school

This morning Addi was singing ABCs and the I Love You song (not learned from Barney - thankfully she hasn't gone there...), and I managed to get some of it on video.

A glimpse inside our everyday morning...before Addi was talking this much, she would walk over to Scott and say bite when she wanted a bite of his cereal. Now he knows that each morning during the week they will share a bowl of cereal. This is on top of Addi's normal breakfast. As you can see in this video, she wants to do it herself now. Before she let Scott feed it to her. I managed to catch part of the Wiggles song toward the end.

Today she celebrated her birthday with her friends at school. She moved up to the younger 2-year room yesterday (no sippee cups at school!) and today they had a party for her. We brought cupcakes and all of her friends sang Happy Birthday and they made her a picture. She came home happy and her new teacher said she had a great day.

This afternoon we spent the day playing and hanging out and continued the celebration. After dinner we had a small piece of a little cake I made and Addi opened her presents. She loved all of them. She sang Happy Birthday with us and got excited each time someone sang it to her. She wanted to play with the puzzles right away and we read the books at bedtime. She loved playing with the maracas as well. She spoke with several people on the phone and by the time bedtime came around she was tired. She enjoys holding up her fingers and saying 2, although she can't figure out how to only hold up two fingers.

 

This last video shows snippets of her and the cake (didn't get good footage of it) and of her playing with her puzzles and maracas. Most of it is her doing the puzzle. I love watching her work through it and talk to us about it. 

 

Letter to Addison on her 2nd Birthday

Dear Addison,

Today you turned 2 years old. I can hardly believe that it was two years ago (9:11pm to be exact!) when we first met you out in the world. You were independent and strong from the very beginning. Your Daddy and I knew your cry within minutes. Even then you were so engaged and observed everything around you. In the last year you have learned to do many things: walk, eat with utensils, ask for what you want using words, count, sing, and so much more. Each time you look up at me with you big blue eyes, I am reminded of God’s presence in the world. You are such an amazing little person. You are curious about the world and now you not only sit back and watch everything, you ask questions and often try to figure things out on your own. Oh, what happened?; Where did X go?; What’s that? You are cautious at times and often shy around a lot of people. And yet you are still so independent. You love to help everyone in all of his or her tasks and everyone adores you and loves spending time with you. At night after we read books and say prayers you often look up at me and smile. Lately, you have reached up and rubbed my cheek and we exchange smiles and kisses before we snuggle again on the rocking chair. I have come to cherish those moments and hold them close to my heart. Some nights we read many books and you actually let me read the books. Other nights you read to me. And most recently you prefer to flip through the pages to tell me about everything you see after counting the various items on the page. This week everything is “5” and last week “7” – I wonder what next week will be? You can still spot a bird from miles away and you get excited as if it is the first bird you have ever seen. You also still love to color and when we draw together you often look at the picture and exclaim, it’s beautiful! And I must say you are already a flirt. I didn’t realize it until recently…I thought I had years before I had to worry about flirting but no it has already begun. Just the other day when we were out to lunch, a man lunching with his wife smiled at you. You turned away in shyness and then peeped over your shoulder and batted your eyes. I almost fell out of my chair. You love to sing and can now count to 20 although you usually skip 14. You love Sesame Street. You adore Dylan although you boss her around. You tend to tell everyone what to do and we are trying to get you to do so nicely so it doesn’t come off so demanding. You often reply, ask nicely. You still love to pour things from one container to another and like to put some things in a certain order. You are very sweet and love to give us hugs and kisses. You are caring and when you think one of your toy friends has been hurt you always ask, are you okay? are you hurt? and give them a kiss. You try to stake claim on everything, and we gently remind you that you do not own the world and that everything is not Addi’s although you proclaim that it is indeed Addi’s! Everyday you ask to try tomatoes and everyday you take a bite and make a face and hand back the tomato. You love to pick the garden, and I could listen to you say the word pepper (aka peppa) over and over again. I can’t even explain how you say it.  Every time you see a tiger, you yell out Go Tigers! and we beam with pride and joy. It seems like only yesterday that I was rubbing my belly and talking to my little Poppy. It seems like only yesterday that we exclaimed in joy when you rolled over. It seems like only yesterday that you signed milk for the first time. It seems like only yesterday when you took your first steps. It seems like only yesterday…

Sometimes in the most chaotic times, you will do or say something and your Daddy and I just stop to take you in – to take in the moment – to slow down – and to enjoy it.

Happy birthday my little Poppy Addison.

With love always and forever,

(Addi’s!) Mama

School Pictures

Addi finally took school pictures! They take pictures each year and so far Addi has refused to take pictures. We joke that she is 2/2 with Santa and 0/2 with school pictures. Her teachers all know she doesn't like it and they do all they can to help. Well this year she took them. We were told that she took them but that she was on the verge of tears...as you can see in the other pictures below.

This is the one we ended up ordering.

On a side note...these were taken in April, I think. I just kept forgetting to scan and post.

Family Reunion 2011

This summer was the Baucom family reunion. My Aunt Martha and Aunt Anita planned it in McQueeny, TX (outside of San Antonio). We had a house on the lake and each night we had a theme and activities. It was a lot of fun and Addi and I had a great time. Scott couldn't make it since he had taken off the week before to vacation in SC. There were 27 of us and we had a few visitors (my friend Emma, Annie's bf Trevor, and Ricky's gf Melanie).

When we arrived Hawaiian night had just begun. We enjoyed a Polynesian style BBQ and macaroni and potato salad. Addi surprised me by running around and visiting with everyone from the start. The next day the group went tubing down the Guadalupe River. Addi and I passed on this excursion and just relaxed at the house for some mommy-daughter time. That night we had Mexican food and decorations. Later that evening we had a family talent show (turned out great!) and the kids hit a pinata. We spent the next day at Sea World. We rode the roller coasters (twice!), visited several exhibits, saw Shamu, and hung out with Sesame Street characters. Addi took her picture with several of them (Telly, Rosita, Grover, Cookie Monster, and Zoe - Elmo didn't stay for pictures). She sat mesmerized when they came on stage. Afterward she wanted to go say hello and take pictures with them. She really enjoyed all of the fish, Shamu, and the dolphins as well. I really want to go to the Sea World here in Orlando now. The next day we went to the zoo, had a picnic lunch, and then to downtown for a riverwalk tour. Addi loved the zoo and feeding the birds. She fell asleep on the boat and slept through shopping downtown. That night the adults (Michelle, Charles, and I were included in this!?!?!?) went to New Braunfels to the Historic Greune District to the Gristmill River Restaurant. The food was amazing! We came home and played games. The next day we relaxed at the lake. Michelle and Charles had to leave :( and that evening Emma came and visited from Austin. Thank you so much Emma - it really meant a lot that you drove all that way to see us! Emma and I hung out on the balcony catching up and enjoying the breeze and view of the lake. After Emma left we played more games. It was oldies night. A large portion of our group left on Saturday. Those of us left (excluding Dad and Addi - they wanted to stay and swim) headed back to Greune for Market Days. I bought a handful of gifts for people (including a few Christmas gifts - all handmade), and we walked around all of the vendors. We came home and swam and then got ready for church. We went out for Mexican food on our way home. We headed back the next day and had a teary departure. Addison traveled well on all of the flights. On the way home we had to switch flights because our flight was delayed and we would have missed our connection. So we had to say goodbye to mom and dad earlier than expected. On a positive note, we were upgraded to first class and had so much room! We enjoyed it greatly as we were given lots of drinks and snacks. Addi even got bananas and cheesy sun chips. It was a wonderful vacation and it was nice to experience both the city and the "country" within Texas. Although the temperatures were in the 100s everyday, it didn't seem that bad most days because of the breeze. I was grateful to have so much help with Addi, and I know she enjoyed being around everyone. Once again it makes me homesick. She was a complete angel during the entire trip. Of course she is a sweetheart most of the time so this wasn't a surprise. Here are some pictures from our trip.

Charles watching the pinata "show"

Swimming in Lake McQueeny

The Family

Meeting Cookie Monster at SeaWorld

Grover!

Look fish!

Checking out Shamu.

The baby whale and big whale waving to us.

Baby Shamu

Zoe! Addi wanted to go back and see her again and again!

Hippo at the San Antonio Zoo

Asleep at the Riverwalk

Aunt Anita's birthday present to Addi - so adorable!

Holiday in SC

We had a wonderful vacation in SC. We spent the week at Scott's family's condo on the lake near our parents' homes. We had Mom and Dad's pontoon boat and a nice pool located in front of the condo. Most days we went out on the boat in the morning and after nap time we went to the pool. We spent the week with Derrick, Elise, Sally, and Ella Russell since they rented a condo right down from us. Friends and family visited all week and Addi had slumber parties with both sets of grandparents giving us a couple of free nights. Addi was of course shy at first and cautious of the water. However, by the end of the week she wanted to "jump" in the water and enjoyed playing in both the pool and lake. Every time we leave home I am homesick and miss everyone so much. I didn't take very many pictures :( but here are a few that I did take. Special thanks to everyone who visited us and to everyone who helped make it such a relaxing and nice vacation.

Driving the boat with Daddy.

Elise and Addi playing.

Elise showing off her swim skills - I swear she is a fish!

Playing in the pool

The birthday cookie cake that Ashley brought for Addi - she is such a sweetie!

Riding in the boat - this life jacket is the only one we can find in her size.

View from our balcony.

Swimming in the lake with Uncle D, Elise (not pictured), and Sitti.