Happy Easter!

Addison participated in her 2nd Easter Egg Hunt. She collected many candy filled eggs and had her picture taken with the Easter Bunny. She was initially frightened and didn't want me to leave her alone with Mr. Bunny, but she soon changed her mind and whispered that she wanted to sit with the Easter Bunny by herself. She's such a big girl. My sister and I never did like those big furry talking "animals" that seem to show up at children events!



Here is Addison posing for the 100th time following the Easter Egg Hunt and photo shoot with the Easter Bunny.

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.


 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

Two Years Ago...

Tomorrow we will celebrate our second anniversary as a family of three. It's hard to believe that it's been two years since Addison was first placed in our arms. What a ride this has been! Addison is quite the toddler. She's full of life, curiosity, intelligence, excitement, love, and yes -- tantrums. She has had her share of "Time Outs" and yes indeed my typically calm parenting style has been challenged. In many ways Addison acts older than her age. Her independence, awareness, and verbal expressions used in the right context surprises us quite often. My sister is convinced that she's been on this earth before. However, in other ways she's such a typical young toddler struggling to find that balance and comfort level between autonomy and wanting/needing to be babied. Over the past year, Addison reluctantly gave her pacifier to Santa (only to beg us to get it back from him), decided that she needs privacy in the bathroom, became better at sharing (most days), has formed opinions about clothes, hair styles, the music she listens to, what books are read to her, and of course which DVD she wants to watch. This year became even more special because in late December Addison began to occasionally say, "I love you Mommy" and "I love you Daddy" without prompting. It doesn't matter that these verbal expressions of love may occur 30 minutes after a temper tantrum. They occur and it's music to our ears. Happy Family Anniversary Addison. WE LOVE YOU BACK!

President Barack Obama January 20, 2009

What a moment in history. Amazing. Simply Amazing.

What a time in history! January 19th, 2009

Happy New Year!

Is mid January too late for a Happy New Year post? Well, better late than never! I hope everyone's year is off to a great start. Just within the last three weeks, Miss Addison has been to three great birthday parties for neighborhood buddies and a fun celebration with her Ethiopian born friends. My girl's social schedule keeps her parents super busy. Something tells me this is just the beginning of many good times to come in 2009.