2 Year Stats Update and News!

Addi's had her 2-yr check up last week. She is 32 3/4inches tall (20th percentile) and 26lbs 8oz in weight (50th percentile). We are so excited she finally gained a little weight - almost a pound in the last month since her adenoid removal and second set of tubes. I wonder if that had anything to do with it but I didn't ask. Her doctor said she looks great and that her iron levels are wonderful. She said she is above where she should be in her language skills. She asked if she had at least 50 words, and I explained that we stopped keeping count months ago because she has so many words. She asked about two word sentences, and I explained that she is using several word sentences and has been asking questions and using articles for a while now. We don't go back for a well visit until she is 3.

She is recognizing many letters and numbers now. When we ride in the car and go places she points out letters, numbers, and shapes that she sees (e.g. diamond on the bike signs; K in the Circle K sign). She is talking a lot more but there are still parts of it we can't understand. It just sounds like she is having a conversation with us so we go with it. She is also picking up everything we say so we have to be careful not to mention things that we don't plan on doing and what we say in general. If "outside" is mentioned...she wants to go for example. Last weekend she kept saying things like, mmmm, coffee and mommy's coffee when she was playing in her kitchen. She has also started talking on her play phone randomly while she is playing. We overhear her talking to Bear and Granddaddy most often although she also talks to Sitti, Papa, Aunt Chelle, Elise, Ella Russell, and Mimi pretty often. Sorry Uncle D, Uncle Charles, and Aunt Sally. I guess she needs to start talking to you all more often on the phone so she will play talk with you :) She says things like, hey, how ya doing? and mmmhmm. Okay. and love you too. bye. If you ever want to know what you sound like, have a child! We learned while the family was in town that she knows her months of the year, although she often skips February. Another thing she picked up from school. We love her new teacher Miss Robin, although we loved her old teacher Miss Chris as well. Miss Robin already invited us to circle time so I need to make an effort to get there sometime so I can sit in on it. They have an open door policy but its nice to get invited. She also said that whenever we decide to start potty training she will work on it with Addison. She is training several kids right now, which is probably why Addi's interest in the potty has increased. She never actually goes when we put her on the potty though. Right now we are going to wait a little longer then we might try some underwear and see if she understands what is going on and if that makes a difference. She is holding it longer so she has fewer wet diapers, she asks about it, and she can take her pants off so we are starting to show signs of readiness. The last thing we want is to start early and be potty training for several months. She has also cut one of her 2-year molars and the others are coming I'm sure.

On another note...I was accepted into the 2011 AECT Intern program. AECT is an organization in our field and they hold a international conference each year. This is a huge honor as it is a prestigious program in which a select number of students are chosen. This program is geared to teach me how to be an academic leader in our field. During the conference, I will have various roles and responsibilities, and I will be able to meet many of the leaders in our field. From what I understand (I haven't gotten the full details since I just found out) I will be able to shadow several of these leaders and have opportunities to talk with them and ask them questions about being a leader in our field, about working in our field, etc. During the conference week there are many other tasks (e.g. chairing a session, participating in seminars) that I will have but I don't know all of the details yet. I will also serve on an AECT committee throughout the next year. It is a great experience and a wonderful networking opportunity. This year it turns out it is in Jacksonville so just down the road. I am so honored and excited!

Party Weekend!

Two weekends ago (I know I've been slacking on writing a blog post but I've been busy, okay.) we had a birthday party here in town at one of the local parks, Maclay Gardens. Mom, Michelle, and Marie and Ricky came in town and we had a wonderful turnout of friends and family at the party. It was so great seeing everyone. We are so blessed to have such great friends and family. Addi received many wonderful gifts and has enjoyed playing with all of them. Thank you all! The kids played on the playground and in the beehive tent, colored with sidewalk chalk, blew bubbles, and played with the water table. It was so much fun! We ordered pizza and had snacks and decorated in a Sesame Street theme. After the party we spent time at home visiting with family. It was such a short visit with all of them but we were so happy they made the trip. The next morning, Addi cried as each group left and it broke my heart. She hasn't gotten upset like this after we part from family. She cried for Granddaddy and Mimi for a bit. After they left, Mom, Michelle, Scott, Addi, and I went to lunch and then Mom and Michelle left in which Addi cried for Aunt Chelle and Sitti. She asked for all of them and Papa for several days.

Pictures from the weekend can be seen below. Most of them are from the party but there are a couple from after the party and the next morning in which Addi and Sitti built a fort under the dining room table so that everyone (especially Mimi and Sitti) could play in it. That is one of the perks of having a high dining room table.

There are also pictures of Addi's new fish, a gift from Aunt Michelle and Uncle Charles. When Michelle asked her what she wanted to name the fish Addi said Bubbles so I would like to introduce you to Bubbles the newest member of the Myers family. He, I think it is a he, swims around and hangs out in Addi's room. She feeds him in the morning and the evening. Each night she tells Bubbles goodnight.

Gavin and Eleanor

Ella and Addi having lunch

Diana, Gavin, and Addi playing at the watertable

Mmmm...cake!

Dawn helping open the presents. Thanks Dawn!

Juliet, Eleanor, and Gavin

After the party and nap...playing with her new Bilibo and wearing her new tiara

Play with her picnic table (that has a water/sand table that becomes a great race track) and her new car

Hanging out in the fort

Mimi in the fort

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!