February 2014

I'm not even sure where to start!  Life seems to be going non-stop and my thoughts are just all over the place!  I'm pretty sure Addison is 2 going on 8.  The attitude, the gestures, the facial expressions, the vocab are just unbelievable to us.  This girl can talk!  I constantly get "reports" from school saying she was very chatty or very talkative.  She seems to be one of the more out spoken children in her classroom.  I really need to work on what I say because she REPEATS EVERYTHING.   She's so observant and even when I don't think she is paying attention, she must be because of the things she'll say.
We've been dealing with snow the last couple weeks which have made for some fun days.  We have gone out in the snow to play a little, but she gets cold/bored quick and wants to go back inside.  We have been house bound a few days and have made the best of the situation.  It was pretty fun just hanging out with Justin, Addison & Brinkley.
Addison is always changing up what are her "favorite" things to do are, but currently she really loves playing with play dough, memory (matching) games, throwing the ball for Brinkley, reading books upon books, playing with her stuffed animals in her crib and playing with stickers.  Her new favorite show is The Little Mermaid...it's an old cartoon that I remember Amanda & Shelly watching when they were younger so it kind of cracks me up that Addison likes it so much.  It's on every morning while we are getting ready for work and she just loves Ariel.  The show seems scary to me for a 2 year old, but she doesn't seem to be bothered by it.
Her current snack obsessions are marshmallows & chocolate.  She asks for marshmallows all the time!  When I introduced her to hot chocolate with marshmallows it was like her world exploded!  She couldn't believe 2 wonderful things could be eaten together.  She still has a cheese "problem" and asks for that as often as she asks for marshmallows.  I try to have enough good foods lying around so I can give her better snack options, but sometimes she wants nothing to do with it.
Addison is becoming more & more independent and wants to do or try everything on her own.  Simple tasks like getting on the bed take just a little longer because she is determined to do it herself.  I like this attitude, but sometimes it is exhausting!!  Everything has to go a little slower and she gets super ticked if you help.  She has been really into helping me make cookies and wants to do every step by herself.  She actually lets me do the eggs because in her words, "that's messy".  Addison wants to do a lot of things with Brinkley...she is usually a good dog, but gets a little skittish when Addison grabs her around her neck and tries to drag her around (I wouldn't enjoy that either!)  We've had to keep a closer eye on them, just because Addison is bossy with her.  Brinkley really is good with her in every other aspect, but I don't want to give her a reason to snap at Addy.
Other than that, nothing too exciting going on in our life!  Basically the same old stuff day to day and wondering when I might try and potty train Addy and upgrade her to a big girl bed!

Texas 2014

This year my mom decided she needed to head to Texas in February.  She asked if I'd be interested in the trip and I couldn't pass it up!  The trip was yet again, my mom, my sister Shelly, Addison and myself.  A lovely little girl's weekend.  Addy was such a trooper and did really well with all the flights.  There were four flights total, 2 there and 2 back with a long leg (2 1/2 hours) and a short leg (about 30 minutes).  Addy slept during the 2 1/2 hour trip out to Texas and then again on that same flight home!  This makes travelling so much easier.  She is also easily entertained with the movies & shows we have on our Kindle plus my mom got her several sticker books and regular books to play with and Shelly downloaded a few games on her iPad.
We arrived in Texas and went straight to the nursing home where my Grandma lives.  Addison warmed right up to her and gave her a big hug & kiss.  My Grandma had some stuffed animals on her shelves that Addison quickly made her own and was very comfortable in her environment.  Addison warmed up very quick to my Aunt Diane & Uncle Wes as well.  She had fun playing games with both of them and got use to their house in a short amount of time.
We had a great few days.  We went to an Aquarium on one of the days we were there and Addy had a blast.  That day we were able to take my Grandma out to dinner to the place right around the corner from the nursing home.  It was a pretty warm day, so it felt good to be out in the sun.  The next day was supposed to be nice again, so we decided to walk to the playground and let Addy blow off some energy.  She was in love with this playground and had a ball!!  She probably walked up the stairs to the slide a good 30 times and also went on the swings for awhile. Later in the day we had my Grandma over to my aunt's house for dinner.  We pretty much made a ton of different appetizers and just hung out all day.  It was nice to let Addison hang out and play with my Grandma.  This also gave us some time to hang with my Grandma while Addison took a nice nap.  She took some really good naps while in Texas, but slept like crap at night!  That child just doesn't like you changing up her bedtime routine.  She slept in bed with me all 3 nights and on the last night developed a little fever.  The poor thing was pretty toasty so I threw her into a late night bath hoping it would bring it down.  She eventually fell back asleep, but man was I tired!
By the time we arrived home, Addison was itching to see her daddy.  She was sooo happy to see him at the airport and I'm not sure she let him go until after we got our bags and got to the car.  Another great Texas trip in the books!!