on the move

Two weekends ago we headed to South Carolina to spend a couple of days at the beach. Shannon rented a beach house for the week and graciously invited us to stay for awhile. It was so nice to enjoy the beach and not have to worry about packing up the car.

It may have been the time spent in the car on the drive up, but as soon as Morgan hit the ground she started walking. Like, I'm going to let go of this table and just take off, walking. No begging or toy dangling or paci bribing was involved. I think the beach was the perfect place for her to practice.
(click the picture to make it larger)She's finally figured it out. This morning she was all over the place. One room to another. A part of me still can't believe it. She looks so grown up. Definitely not a baby anymore.

I have more beach pictures. Coming soon.

ice cream cones

One night I made ice cream cones after dinner. Morgan wanted nothing to do with hers so I threw it in the lake. Then she got mad and wanted mine. Totally not fair.



But she enjoyed it. They both did. And I didn't need those calories anyway.

three five

Michael doesn't do birthday's. He's been like that since I've known him. But I do. And so does Addison. So tonight he'll get a few gifts from us and Addison and I will make a cake. And who cares if her and I will enjoy it the most.
Happy Birthday Michael. The girls adore you. And I love you very much.

our new addition

This has been a long time coming. We signed the contract the end of March. And now it appears that we will have a finished room the end of next week. We needed more space. It came down to buy a new house or add a sunroom. After some debate we went with the option #2. I really do like our house, but I felt like toys and junk was sticking out of every nook and crany. This will no be the designated play area and I can have my living room back.

Sometime mid May they actually started the project.

The project stalled a little because we were waiting on the french doors. My dad totally hooked us up. We got a custom made door with a handicap sill on the bottom. Which means there is no lip for the kids to trip over when walking in and out. Everything is completely flush. The waiting was frustrating, but the money saved (like $600) and the finished product was so worth it.

We decided to sheetrock the inside walls of the house and under the windows. Everyone from the builders, to the electricians, and friends thought we were nuts. But I really wanted the room to look more like an extension of the house and not just a sunroom. I love the way it turned out. The builders admitted that they have never done that before and were a little nervous, but they like it. And may suggest it to future customers.

The tile is being put in today and then they will do the finishing touches and painting next week. The whole process has been a huge headache, but now that we're nearing the end I'm getting really excited. I can't wait to fill the almost 200 square feet with all of our crap.

my recent favs

I took this with my phone. I took her paci out to get a cute shot in her new outfit. She was not happy with me. She has seriously mastered the pout face. She even knows how to fake it.
Me: Addison, let me take a picture of you eating your ice cream cone.
A: Ok. Let me get close. Did you get it?
Me: Oh yeah, I got it.
Maybe I'll use them to make a new banner for the blog.

the 4th

Also known as the day Morgan almost had a heart attack.

We spent the morning with Allison and her family down at the beach. The weather was all over the place, but Addison had a great time swimming at the hotel pool and Morgan enjoyed walking the beach. In the afternoon we headed home and then off to see one of Addison's friends for fireworks. They had a spot where you could see the fireworks, but were far enough off the beach to be out of the masses and miss the traffic heading home. Her and Jake had a great time running around and shooting off fireworks. There was no fear with those two.

Poor Morgan. She was tired and terrified of the fireworks. The loud noises really freaked her out. I snapped these when we first got there and the neighbors were all doing fireworks.

This right here is complete fear. Notice the death grip she has on me? It didn't let up once.
I couldn't torture her anymore so we went inside and spent most of the night in there. Michael took over for me and did bring her out when the big show started. She was already in her pj's and half asleep. She did okay with the fireworks because they were so far away.
I also have to note the other heart attack moment that day. On the way to the big show we stopped and ran the car through the car wash. I look back and Addison is loving it and Morgan is trembling in fear. She wailed the entire time. And I'm not sure why but then Addison starting crying. Michael and I were in the front seat laughing. Is that bad? It was just one of those moments where all hell breaks lose and there's nothing you can do. All was well when it ended.

the stone

I know the 3 people that read this blog are dying to know that I did in fact pass my kidney stone. There was no pain and the whole thing was pretty uneventful so I forgot to mention it. I caught the little sucker in a strainer and if I hadn't I probably would not have known. Except for the fact that the nagging sensation to pee went away almost immediately.

It happen 2 days before my Mayo appointment, but I kept it and went to see the doc with my stone in hand. Well, in a paper cup decorated with fish. First time they've ever seen that one. Probably because the average age of most patients there is 65 and they don't have young children at home. Anyway. They gave me a lot of info which included that most of it is probably hereditary. (Thanks mom and dad!) There are some calcium deposits still in my kidneys that they will monitor with CT scans every couple of years. And if the pain comes back I am to report straight to them.

I'm hoping that I'm good for a really long time.

the beach

Morgan's been to the beach before, but never in full swimwear, sunscreened from head to toe and playing in the water. That changed Monday when we made a last minute decision to head to the beach late that afternoon. In all honesty, going to the beach is kind of a pain. I love the sun and the idea of the beach, but everything about it kind of sucks. I don't like cold water. The sand is everywhere. And there's just so much stuff with two little ones. We decided to take just the minimal stuff needed and not stay for a long time. It was slightly overcast which was nice and it all turned out okay.

Morgan didn't love it at first. We played right on the edge of the water and she freaked out every time a wave would come in. And trust me, it barely got her wet. Eventually she got used to it and only looked at me funny instead of crying. However, she lost it when I made Michael dunk her to clean the sand off.

I still can't believe her hair is so blonde.
Addison is definitely my daughter. I'm not sure if she heard me talk about the water being cold, but at first she was having no part of it. Michael convinced her to go in with him and she had a blast. I heard about the waves the whole way home.

I'm convinced that at the end of the summer we will have about a million "she shells" as she calls them. Her main goal while we were there was to collect as many as she could. I talked her in to leaving the broken ones there. Or maybe I tossed them when she wasn't looking. The ones that made it home now rest in a Tupperware container that she sleeps with.

sisters

Even though I can be heard saying things like "give your sister that toy" or "don't push her over" or "please let her out of the closet" at least 20 times a day, they really do love each other. Morgan will randomly hug Addison and squeeze as hard as she can. Morgan is the first person Addison wants to see when I pick her up everyday. And they both love to laugh at the stupid things.

Here are some random pictures that I captured of them together.

Morgan's first time in the sandbox.
Yes, that is the baby doll stroller.
Big sister, litle sister pajamas from Grandma.
Who doesn't love playing in the laundry basket.

Michael took this one and I found it on my camera. Not sure what's going on, but it's cute.
I caught Addison feeding Morgan her fruit while we were cleaning up.
I hope they continue to grow closer to each other. I want them to be the best of friends.