Update...

Addison slept till 7:30 this morning! Woohoo! That is a total of around 14 hours...tired toddler~

Happy 4th of July!

We had a fun celebrating the 4th today. AJ's brother, Deanna, Keling, Lana and Wade came over to play outside. Addison had a great time with her cousins...they played in the pool and the slip n side. Water activities are a much if you want to hang outside in this Alabama heat! AJ cooked some mean ribs as well...they were yummy.

It is currently 8:20pm and we are suppose to be going to watch fireworks...Addison has been passed out in bed since 5:30! Hopefully we will be able to see some fireworks at home!

Fun in the Gump!

Update and Michael Jackson

I haven't posted in awhile...it has been a busy 3 weeks. Addison and I flew to PA for my Granny's 80th birthday party and to spend time with my family...we had a fun time and I will post pictures later of the party, sesame place, Addison's first pedicure, and a fun festival in Skippack where my parents live.

Today Michael Jackson died...someone whose music I have not listened to in awhile but when I was like 4 and 5, was obsessed with him. That was really my first intro to Music! I wonder who Addison's person will be?

Candy Apple

Addison is now a Candy Apple!!! She started in the 2 year old classroom on Monday and we are both adjusting to the change :). The biggest changes are, they drink out of cartons and cups (without lids!), they have movie time in the morning, they eat in the lunchroom, play on the big playground, and try to get them potty trained.

It is always a huge adjustment for me when I get the note that she is moving up...I still remember when she moved up from the little angel room (which is the nursery), I was tempted to talk to the director about how she was not ready since she was not crawling yet (really I was not ready for the move)...then came the next move which was into the Rainbow room. This is where she began to crawl and eat real food...she quicky moved on the the Bouncing Bunnies room from there and that is when she started walking, talking, and drinking from sippy cups. Sunshines was the last room that she was in and in there they did artwork, little playground and she started her Learning Through Music class. It is amazing how much she has learned from each of the classrooms and the different teachers that she has had. We are blessed to have her in such a great daycare!!!

Newest family member...

AJ has discovered that we have a bunny in our backyard...

Brush em, brush em, brush em!

Twinkle Twinkle...

Last night Addison and I were lying on the couch watching some Dora when the cutest thing happened. Addison has been very chatty lately...I heard her humming something so I turned down the TV and she was humming Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. This is not a song that AJ and I ever really sing to her, so I was quite surprised that she knew every word. I started singing it with her and she just had the biggest grin on her face. I would say Twinkle Twinkle and then she would say Little Star and so on. Daddy even joined in on the fun!

Today when I dropped her off at daycare I asked Ms. Chelsea (her teacher) if she taught them the song and she said no, but the Learning Through Music class that Addison goes to on Wednesday did.

I have the smartest child :)

Addison had her first ice cream cone tonight! She did so well!

McWane Center

It has been awhile since we have blogged. We have been dealing with sickness. Addison has had a double ear infection and sinus infection and I went to the doctor yesterday and found out I have bronchitis.

Today, Addison's school was closed for a teacher inservice day. We had planned to go to the McWane center in Birmingham with Hudson and Tisha, and I was determined to still go even if I wasn't feeling 100%. The shot the doctors gave me yesterday made me feel better so that was the deciding factor.

We had a great time! The McWane center is really awesome (we want to bring the Daddy's back next time since they will like to play with all the cool stuff).

I had checked out the Under the Sea IMAX movie online (they have the IMAX in the place)...It looked bright and cheerful with a cute sea otter and other bright fish and was narratied by Jim Carrey (I thought it would maybe be funny, too). When we got there we decided to see the movie at 1:30. We played a bit then ate lunch...I was anxiously thinking how Addison would react to the movie (she has never been to a movie let a lone a huge dome thing)..We got in and it started off with loud music and explaning the IMAX and how it works (tech stuff that I don't care about). At this time Hudson seemed to be getting uncomfortable, but Addison was still just on my lap doing fine. Well the movie starts and it shows fish (Addison and Hudson loved to point at them). It wasn't very cheerful and Jim Carrey started talking about how they survive in the water. Well most didn't survive the fish keep falling prey to the other sea-weird-looking creatures. It was pretty terrible. Everytime they pointed to a cute fish, it got eaten (it also included the crazy eating sounds) . Then it got even worse...they starting talking about sea snakes and it felt like they were all over me (although, I am not a fan of snakes, I tried to act mature since Addison, Tisha and Hudson were close by). We finally decided to leave 20 some minutes in when they showed the big sharks and how they loved to eat sea otters.

There were a lot of little kids in this movie and I just kept wondering why they didn't have a warning on it or why the ticket lady didn't say anything to two moms of infants. We ended on a good note though, looking at fish that weren't lunch when we visited the aquarium. The kids got to play in water exhibit too, which they both just loved.

Even with the crazy IMAX experience we had a great time!!

Pee Pee and Biting

We bought Addison a potty about a week ago. We didn't set it up until Sunday. We were in the bathroom getting ready for a bath and Addison said Pee Pee when she saw the toilet and wanted to sit on it...after we got her undressed she sat on it (I thought I had the toilet turned on, it is one where it rewards you with music when pee hits it) so I was waiting to hear music to know if she was actually going and heard nothing. When she got up I put her in the bath and found out that she did indeed pee in the potty. We were so happy and were clapping, she started clapping too! Then she stood up in the bath and said pee pee again and so the cycle began... (she hasn't gone in the potty since though)

On another note, Addison has had bite reports before, but she was never the biter. Well today I walk in and notice that there are several reports stabled to Addison's daily report as well as several other childrens. The first sheet said...That I was cleaning up Legos and one of my friends pushed me so I bit them...the next sheet said, I bit my friend and then they hit me in the face...the 3rd and final one said that, My friend and I were looking out the window and I pushed them away and they bit me.

There must have been something in the juice today!!

Addison's Egg-cellent weekend

Friday night we to Gymboree's Easter party. Addison had a great time playing the bunny pookey with all her Gymboree friends! She was the only person that participated in finding the birds eggs for its nest. She also got to plant "flowers" and water them. They had a cute craft that Addison enjoyed making. When it was time to hunt eggs, Addison was the champ for sure!

Saturday, we had an APAC Easter egg hunt for APAC's adoptive families. Addison had a great time playing at the park and hunting some more eggs!!

Easter and 18 month photo shoot

We had an appointment at the picture place at 4:20...I like to get places early so we got there at around 4. Addison and I sat down and she started playing at the Lego table. We had a delightful conversation with a 3 year old who told me she didn't like me and picked a fight with an older boy at the table and told him to shut-up. I tried to tell her that wasn't nice, but I am sure you know how that went. Anyway so at around 4:45 I start to get ancy and by 5:15 was almost about to walk out, but then finally got called back. I am glad I did because I think they turned out pretty cute!!!

This was one of the last shots..I was trying to get her to smile and she started to dance!

Pajama Fun!

Addison and her Dora house in her Dora PJ's...did I mention Addison really likes Dora?

Funny story about the chair she is holding. She ran into the kitchen the other day carrying this chair and then stops puts the chair down and sits on it. It was hilarious!

Puppet time!

We have been having a hard time getting Addison to keep (let alone put) bows on her head and so we thought it would be fun for all of us (Daddy included) to put a bunch of bows in our hair.

Playgroup

Addison and I had a great time at playgroup...we were suppose to have an Easter Egg Hunt, but because it seems to rains all the time lately, it was changed to play at Pump It Up. Pump It Up is a place that has giant inflatables that kids can play on. Well, they have this one that is like a 60 foot slide that you have to pull yourself up to get to slide...Addison not having that ability yet had to be carried up by me about a million times...It was great time though...the moms got a great workout and the kids had a great time!

Emily going down with Addison Bouncing with Hudson

Addison cost us 741.38 a month.....

I was forwarded this at work and just loved it!


The Price of Children

This is just too good not to pass on to all. Here is something absolutely positive for a change. I have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice.
The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle-income family. Talk about price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.

But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:
* $8,896.66 a year,
* $741.38 a month,
* $171.08 a week.
* A mere $24.24 a day! * Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is; don't have children if you want to be 'rich.' Actually, it is just the opposite.

What do you get for your $160,140.00?
* Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to:
* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs,
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.
You have an excuse to:
* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watch Saturday morning cartoons,
* go to Disney movies, and
* wish on stars.
You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:
* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and
* coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.
You get a front row seat in history to witness the:
* First step,
* First word,
* First bra,
* First date,
* First time behind the wheel.
You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.
In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

Addisons' 18 month checkup

Addison had her 18 month check up today...as you can see from the picture, her favorite thing to do while we are waiting is to go up and down the little steps that take you to the examining
table. The nurse told me that in all her years working there, only 1 child has been seriously injured in going up and down the stairs!

Addison got weighed on the big people scale and weighs 21 pounds (10th percentile) and is 32 1/2 inches long (75th percentile)...she only had to get one shot (hepatitis A shot) and we found out that she wont have to have any more immunization shots till she is 4!!!

Happy St. Patty's Day!!

Addison Turns 18!!!

18 months, that is! It's hard to believe that the time has passed so quickly and it's amazing how much our little Addison has grown. It's almost impossible to believe that it was a year and a half ago now that Addison was in the NICU and we couldn't even hold her. Almost two weeks later we were finally able to bring her home and our lives changed forever. We remember it all like it was yesterday. The first few nights I don't think we slept a wink, watching her to make sure she was breathing. Our biggest worry was making sure she was eating enough in the beginning, since she was so little. It was a big event the first time we took her out in public for the first time, on a shopping trip to Wal Mart. Jill and I both had families coming into our marriage, but now with Addison, we had our own family. We celebrated our first holidays as a family with our daughter, our first Easter, our first Thanksgiving, our first Christmas. We learned her likes and dislikes (cookies good, diaper changes bad). We watched, bursting with pride as she took her first steps. Her miletones were our milestones, too. It's exciting to think about the milestones the future will bring, but also sad that the days are passing so quickly. Thankfully we've got so many great memories to remind us!

Weekend in pictures

Weekend in pictures....

This picture is at Tristan's 1st Birthday party.....Addison's face in this picture is priceless! She is learning how to share (will keep you posted on how that is going, lol)

We went to this great park which had like 6 different slides....Addison really enjoys slides and went down everyone of them a few times.

We bought Addison a water table and finally had a great opportunity to use it with the beautiful weather we had this weekend (mind you that it snowed last weekend...crazy AL weather).

Addison loves playing with the house...her favorite thing to do is to open and shut the door and say "Hi" or "Bye".

Nana feeding Addison some icecream at the birthday party...she loves some ice cream!

Addison first time on a big girl swing! She loved it!