halloween (part I)

I had so much fun this Halloween. And I took a million pictures as proof. Addison is at the perfect age. She is so curious and excited about every new thing. I will always remember the decorating that went in to every holiday at our house so I've been trying to do the same thing ever since Addison was born. This year I upped the fun. I bought some additional decorations for the house and the yard. She loved it!

We went on the search, in the rain, for the perfect pumpkin. Addison had to have a little one for Morgan and a big one for herself.
The next night we carved them. Let's just say that it's hard to use a large bread knife (see knife below) to cut a pumpkin. The next day I got home from work and my dad had left a nice pumpkin carving kit from Williams-Sonoma on the table. Thanks Dad! But it was a day late.

The finished project. Boy I need to work on my skills. We decided to call it "Morganhead". It was the most perfect shaped pumpkin in the front, but a little flat in the back. :) More to come.

Circus

I scored some free tickets to the circus so we decided to take the girls and make a morning of it. Michael's niece Hannah and nephew Andrew tagged along with us since they were in town for the weekend. Addison had the same look on her face as she did for Dora. She didn't say much the entire time, but instead took it all in. She did cry a little when I got her too close to a clown.

Morgan was great and it was nice to have some extra hands to help hold her. Andrew volunteered first.
Addison enjoying some of the extra salty popcorn. And for the record Hannah did her hair like that. I'm a little jealous. She sat there and didn't make a peep. If it were me doing it I'd have to chase her around the house. Scratch that. She would never let me do it.
The elephant ride was a little pricey, but well worth it. Addison had a smile from ear to ear the entire time.


I had been talking to Addison about the circus for a week or so leading up to it just so she would have an idea of what to expect. I would tell her some of the things we would see and she was convinced that we were going to see a kitty cat. Like, super-excited-jump-up-and-down, convinced. I always told her that we would look for one. I couldn't break her heart and tell her that there wouldn't be one there.

So....I almost died when they pulled out this cat during the dog routine. I was rushing to get my camera out so all I have is this crappy picture. Nonetheless, a cat at the circus. Seriously? Who would have thought.
I love being able to get out and take Addison to see new things. And I love the way she will randomly talk about it still today. So fun.

new things

Morgan found her feet recently and can't get enough of them. Do you know how hard it is to change a diaper in this position?
This is her new favorite face. If she can't chew on her hand then she'll chew on her bottom lip.
I can't get enough of her. She's so calm and quiet and loves to take in the world around her. All of the worries seem to melt away when I see her sweet face.
Morgan started rolling over both ways this past Sunday. She's been doing back to tummy since the 5 month mark, but just realized she could flip back over. It's so fun to see the advancement in just two days. She's all over the place. Whole new ball game now.

the real shamu

Addison and I found a Shamu stuffed animal at a garage sale right after we decided to go to Sea World. It was perfect. I could use it to get her excited for the trip AND I saved $20 because I didn't have to buy it at the park. We drove down to Orlando Saturday morning and after fighting with Addison to take a nap (and she wouldn't) we decided to head over for a couple of hours.

The first thing we saw were the sting rays. She had a little trouble actually touching them, but enjoyed putting her hands in the water. I caught this right as one came to the surface and I think Michael scared her a little. She was giggling the whole time.
Over to the dolphin show and then Shamu. Here's Addison waiting for Shamu. Even though the rows were clearly marked with "soak zone" we sat in them anyway. We were towards the back of the zone so we thought we would remain dry. We were wrong. The baby blanket saved Morgan and I from a major soaking. And the bigger guy in front of us with the beach towel helped Addison and Michael. We left right after so it really wasn't that bad.
The next morning Shannon and her mom met us at the hotel for the free breakfast. Good stuff. We headed over to the park and the weather was perfect. A couple pics from the day.

Shannon was in town for a wedding which is what prompted the whole trip. This is Shannon entertaining Addison while I fed Morgan and while Michael went to the car for the extra camera battery (since it died right when we went in the shark exhibit). You can see me on the bench in the background. A huge thanks to Shannon and her mom for the help that day. Because of them we were able to get away for a few minutes and ride the roller coasters. I'm definitely not as young as I used to be. The new Manta coaster kicked my butt and I still have pain in my neck.
Then we took Addison to ride some of the kiddie coasters. The lines were longer for those than the adult rides. This was on the teacups. I think it affected my stomach more than hers.
This was the boat ride that went back and forth and spun in a big circle. I was so nervous for her thinking she would be scared. Boy was I wrong. She laughed and giggled the entire time. (Click on the picture to make it bigger.)
Our attempt at a family picture. I love how Addison is still sporting the cheesy smile and Morgan's hand is in her mouth. Some of their favorite things at the moment.My favorite part of the entire trip was Addison's reaction when we were in the shark exhibit. She had the sweetest, most awe struck voice, looked up at me and said, "it's beautiful". I've never heard her use the word beautiful before. I think I had a tear in my eye. I love those little girls so much and it brings me such joy to watch them grow and learn new things.

dress up

Oh I've been waiting for this day. The clothes have been sitting in her closet for months now and she's had no interest in them. So yesterday Addison says to me,

"Mommy, when we get home, can we play dress up? I want to be a princess."

This was the first time EVER that we've played dress up. I showed Addison how to put her hand on her hip and pose. Then I asked her to do it. This is what I got. I was cracking up the whole time.
Then she wanted a picture with her shoes. A little better on the posing this time. She was excited to be all pretty.

Then she tells me, "Mommy, what are you going to be? You can wear some of my stuff." She starts taking off her dress up clothes and makes (MAKES) me put them on. That's right. That's me with the skirt on one leg and the shoes on. Parents do a lot odd things to make their children happy. I have to say it was one of the best night's ever.

be on the lookout

Have you ever been to the people of Walmart site? I'm hoping that I don't find a picture of my child on there because THIS is how Michael dressed her for grocery shopping at, you guessed it, Walmart.
*Note that the socks light up when you walk.All I could say was "Wow". And then like any proud mother I waived as they drove away.

still here

It's been crazy busy the last week, but I'm still here. I'll have plenty to blog about come next week, but here's the rundownn.

Last Friday was Allison's bachelorette party in Gaineville. We surprised her with a limo for the night and we all had so much fun. I paid for it with a massive headache the next day, but well worth it.

I'm now back in Gainesville. Mom had her reconstructive surgery yesterday and was back home this morning. She's doing great. She doesn't seem to be in too much pain, but I'm sure she has the meds to thank for that. I'm taking her for a check up in the morning.

Morgan is napping on Allison's couch as I type. I just got back from getting a pedicure.

Michael and Addison will be here in the morning for all of the wedding festivites. I'm so excited that Allison is getting married and has asked me to be part of it. Allison and I have known each other since we were babies so we've shared a lot of things in our lives. I'm glad we get to share this too.

I can't wait to see Addison tomorrow. I've missed her and her I love you's.

More next week.

7 years

Boy does time fly. It sounds so cliche, but it's so true.

My grandfather passed away 7 years ago today. A little story.

Grandpa died on a Wednesday night. He starting showing signs of weakness the weekend before and I headed to Gainesville to spend time with him. I was there until Tuesday when I decided I needed to go back to Jacksonville to recharge and repack for the next couple of days. I was going to head back Thursday morning. My dad wanted to go see my Grandpa and say his goodbye and really wanted to me to go with him, but I was tired and just wanted to rest. Somehow he talked me in to going with him. Wednesday afternoon we headed that way.

I fully believe that God had a plan that Wednesday. If not for my dad wanting to go see my Grandfather I would not have been there when he went to heaven. I'm so thankful that I decided to go. I was able to give him his last dose of morphine to make him comfortable. I was able to tell him that everything we would be okay when he was gone. I was able to kiss my Grandpa and tell him I love him one last time.

7 years? I still remember it like it was yesterday.

I miss him.

proof

Since I received two comments about the swimming videos and how it looked like a form of torture, I wanted to post proof that Addison loves the water. We spent some time in the neighbor's pool this past weekend. I love when they have the heater on. Addison was jumping off the side and swimming to the steps with no help from us. But my favorite thing is when she jumps off near the waterfall because the wall is higher there.

I spontaneously decided to bring Morgan in the pool. She loved it. I love the look on her face in the bottom picture.

How freakin' cute are these three?

swimming video (finally)

The swim test happens over 4 days, but the days she has to wear clothes in the water are the most fun. There was summer clothes...

And winter clothes...

I promise you that Addison does not cry when she is swimming with us. It's something about the lessons and knowing that they actually have to do work. She loves the water! And it's so fun now knowing that she can jump off the side and swim around the steps without having to cling to us. We'll take her back for a refresher or two during the winter months and then for a week or so in the spring. It was a rough 6 to 7 weeks taking her everday, but well worth the time and the money.