My Favorite Ant Eater

Aaron and I celebrated our 5th year wedding anniversary this past February. We had initially planned to have a nice date night. Aaron had been out of town for several days prior to our anniversary so Addison was not wanting to let him out of her sight. We decided to have a family date celebrating at a new, chic (but not too plush) New Orleans style restaurant. Aaron ordered a fancy shrimp appetizer dish served with headed shrimp covered in barbeque sauce. As Aaron was enjoying this expensive delicacy, Addison yells out, "Mommy, Daddy is eating ants! Yucky!!!" I thought the comparison was funny and I was impressed with her ability to notice the similarities between shrimp and ants. Aaron, being the doting, proud, and brilliant father that he is, took it to another level and pointed out that ants and shrimp are both types of arthropods. (smile). Well I must admit that I wasn't exactly sure what an arthropod was, but what I know for sure is that I married THE most wonderful man. Happy Anniversary Aaron!

 

Partners in Crime

At the age of 2 1/2(can't forget the half), my Addison has "best" girlfriends. I didn't expect her to form such "meaningful and deep" bonds with other girls until grade school. Miss Addison is already asking me to call Ceci's and Sophie's mom to "tell them to come over." The other night, Addison was pushing her doll pram around packed with stuff animals and dolls. As she raced around the house I noticed that she was carrying her toddler purse over her shoulders and saying, "Come on Ceci and Sophie, let's go to the mall!" Gee, I thought I would have to deal with the mall thing 12 years from now! I haven't been a frequent shopper in years, so she certainly didn't get the idea of going to the mall just for fun from me. Could it be her girl genes guiding her pretend play to spend the day shopping with friends?

Addison had an evening play date last month with her buddy Ceci. They had a blast making pizza. Notice in the photos below how they seem to go beyond the parallel play typical of their age. These girls seem to have a special connection even though they get possessive with their toys and parents. The first couple of pictures are of Addison and Ceci at a jumping gym. The ones taken of them at the table show their successful teamwork to ignore my request not to throw the table covering on the floor. The last picture is of the two of them enjoying and "discussing" a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD. Perhaps they already know the importance of having good girlfriends to share life's little and big moments. Or could these Ethiopian born beauties have a special bond because of their shared history? I don't know, but for a woman who truly values her friendships, seeing Addison develop her own special connections brings me great joy.