Addie and Lily....

Thought you might like to see how much they have changed over the last two years! Addie and Lily are only about a month apart and it has been such a joy to watch them grow together! I am sure Jenna Blair and our little man will be close as well, being only 3 months apart...Anyone want to vacation with our two families next year? 4 kiddies under the age of 3? Sounds like fun times to me!

Camera, where can you be?

I ran off and left my camera in Richmond this past weekend after spending the night with some great friends, so...unfortunately, I cannot finish my birthday story without the pictures that are on it. I will have to postpone the "party" update until I get my camera back in a few weeks. I figure that will give me a chance to share some of the other pictures I have downloaded already....

This little angelic person is Jenna Blair, the newest addition to my friend, Kristy's, little family. I got to snuggle with her for a while when I visited a couple of weeks back. She is so precious and the girls (Kristy, Jenna, and Lily) seem to be adjusting well to this new little person who now takes up most of their time each day! It was great practice for our little guy who will be arriving in less than 2 months now!
Addie, Jenna, and Lily......all in one place.....still....for just a moment!

Pool time on their back deck.....Addie loves to drink dirty water!!! What will I do with her?

Can you believe how much they have grown and changed?

Addie and I have been trying to keep cool this week since the temps have been well into the upper nineties! We visited the YMCA with a friend on Monday and then have been hanging out in the AC since then. I am just plain miserable outside these days. I even start the car and cool it off way in advance when we plan on driving somewhere. Poor me! I should have factored in VA heat when I decided to "plan" another pregnancy in which I carry around my most weight right smack in the middle of the summer! Other than the heat, we are doing great! No more allergic reactions and the rental car is running great! I'm very thankful we are all healthy, and I can't ask for much more than that!

And the birthday festivities continue...

The morning of her actual birthday Addie got to pick out her own dress to wear to breakfast at Hardees with Ga Ga and Pop Pop. She chose this ensemble....a very clean, white one that we will never be able to wear again after we dirtied it up a bit throughout the day! Boy was she cute at Hardees!

That night her Daddy worked very hard on his birthday cake for Addie. If you remember, Tim decided last year that he was going to make Addie her very own special cake each year. This year, after discovering all of her allergies, he even went as far to make an "allergen-free" birthday cake for her that was totally safe for her to enjoy! What a wonderful Daddy he is! And his cake turned out to be just as cute...

He takes his cake decorating skills very seriously...

Elmo red...

And the finished product...Tim and his Elmo "allergen-free" Birthday Cake for Addie....

In my next post, I will share some pictures from the party we had for her on Saturday with our family who live close by. Addie was the only kid at the party this year, so she got all of the attention, which she seemed to enjoy immensely! It was much less crazy at our house this time around, but I missed friends and family who were able to make it down for the big birthday bash the first year. Alot of the gifts she received were to help us get her ready to move to a "big-girl-bed" in the coming weeks. The baby will need her crib soon, so we have to make her fall in love with a new place to sleep!

And the first birthday present is...

A little haircut for Addie girl! Can you tell that she was a little nervous at first?

Thanks to some fruit snacks, a yummy organic sucker, and a pair of broken princess slippers she found in the front of the salon, we were able to make it through without a major meltdown!

Addie kept asking me if it was going to "hut"....meaning, will it hurt? She was pretty brave, and I must say, for my sassy, stubborn little girl, she did well considering noone has ever touched that head of hair of hers except for me really.

My hairdresser, Jamie, was really good with Addie. She had a lot of patience!

I am well aware of the fact that you can barely tell she had anything cut at all. However, because I am her mother, and I struggle every morning with that head of hair to get it up and out of her eyes in order to avoid comments and such about how sad it is that she cannot see through it all...I can tell very much that it has been trimmed up. It is more even than before and the dead, frazzled ends have been removed. Even Jamie agrees that Addie has one too many issues going on in the front of her hair to cut in bangs. They would stick up all over the place! She also was amazed at the AMOUNT of hair on the little munchkin's head! Overall, it was a success! I have a small little curl stuck down inside a ziploc to prove it! Happy Birthday Addie!

What a wonderful weekend!

Addie is fascinated with shoes.....anyone's shoes!

We celebrated Addie's 2nd birthday this weekend, and boy did she ever soak it up! She kept telling herself "Happy Birthday Cake!" (Can you tell she has never really had cake before?) I took a million pictures of the birthday girl and have plenty of stories to share over the next

week or so. She was spoiled rotten by everyone, and I have no idea where the new baby's things will go since Addie's stuff is taking over two rooms at the moment! Hopefully, he will not be here before I get it all organized! She loved the festivities, and if it were up to her, she would have had another party today when she woke up!

Happy 2nd Birthday Addison Leigh 7-17-07 !!!!

I believe anyone who has experienced precious time with a child can agree with the fact that time seems to fly by at an amazing speed. I am in awe that I have been at home with Addie for two whole years now. I just cannot believe that my little baby is no longer a "baby", but a walking, talking, sassy little girl. Addie was born at 12:19 A.M on this day 2 years ago. I can remember feeling scared, happy, and totally exhausted right about this time. She was so small and so beautiful to us. In her two short years, she has taught me more about myself and more about my husband than I believe either one of us knew. Tim and I love being parents and we especially love being Addie's parents! Happy 2nd Birthday Addie! You are loved by so many people!

We miss Daddy!

He hasn't actually gone anywhere except back to work after having a long weekend off, but we miss having him around. He took Addie to Little Gym yesterday and told me this morning that he would trade places with me in a heartbeat, even if it meant dealing with dirty diapers, whiny baby, and food allergies all by himself everyday! I really am very happy being a stay-at-home mommy, even though some days I do believe going to work could be easier than what I face each day. Every once in a while I miss teaching, but I know for sure I have made the right decision for us for the time being.

Addie is really doing very well, and I suppose I am starting to relax a little again when it comes to her diet and her allergies. For a while there, it seemed as if I had it all under control. I knew what she could and could not eat and I felt very comfortable with it all. Then, just as quickly, I was knocked off my feet and made to feel very unsure of it all. However, like Tim and my mom say, each day I feel a little more confident and hopefully, a little more prepared to face the next time that it will inevitably happen to us again. She is such a handful, but I love her more than anything in the world! Can you believe she turns two tomorrow?

How come noone told me this?

Check out my boots in the picture below! Thanks Papaw Rick and Grandma Julie! I ask to wear them just about every day!

When you decide you are ready for parenthood, you go ahead and relinquish the right to sleep in and have lazy Sundays. You decide that you must be okay with bodily fluids (to some degree) and never being allowed to eat your meals in peace again. You also come to terms with the fact that when your baby is hurting, you will feel all of her pain too....or when someone hurts your little one, it stings you just as hard. However, you can always put a bandaid on a scrape or cut, and you can always soothe hurt feelings with a cuddle or a rock. What I am challenged with is something that makes me feel so completely helpless when it comes to Addie and her well being. It is more than likely the most challenging thing I have ever had to deal with in my life, and I hate it with more gusto and ferocity than the strongest hurricane you have ever faced. It happens to be the very simple fact that I am scared to feed her......FOOD ALLERGIES! If you can imagine feeling hesitant about a simple meal or snack each time you prepare your families meals or sit down to a nice dinner together, this is how I feel. I have never given this type of allergy much thought, and now it rocks my very core. I can remember watching Celebrity Apprentice and learning about Trayce Adkins (country singer who participated in the show) and his fight against serious food allergies because of his young daughters and their struggles with the disease. I had sympathy for him, but never fully understood the magnitude of what his family is dealing with until we had Addie and were faced with the same challenges.

Addie had a pretty serious allergic reaction to something (???) this past weekend that once again challenged me as a mother and made me question my plan of action when it comes to her health and all of her allergies. I pray that God helps me become strong and brave when it comes to this fight because I can honestly admit, I have never been more frightened in my life. We are so blessed to have such good health care providers so close to us, and luckily Addie is back to her old self again and rotten as ever! I will never again dismiss or downsize someone's battle with this disease and promise to keep them in my prayers as well!

More 4th of July Fun!

Addie is starting to really enjoy the "poooool" as she calls it! Now, if only I could muster up the courage to put her in a little life vest and let her go! I'm such a big chicken and can't even imagine not holding her the entire time we are swimming, but my mom and Tim are slowly convincing me that she will never learn to swim on my hip! We all know however, that Addie has never been much of a risk taker, so we'll just have to see how much she likes it when I let her go off on her own!

One of the best things about summer is bathtime outside! Addie is not the biggest fan of bathtime usually, but when it involves her little pool and some sunshine, she is ready to go! Its not the most convenient afternoon activity for me to pull together, but I do believe it is worth it not having to fight her into the tub! Plus, it leaves the evening time open for when Daddy gets home, and we can just spend the time playing and doing fun things!

Welcome to my playroom boys!

Last week a friend of mine from my first year teaching and her little family stopped by our house for lunch on their way to the outer banks. They have two little boys really close to Addie in age, and it's always nice to get the kids together for some play time. Addie has always been a pretty good sharer. I think that is because she has so many toys (yard sale treasures) that she doesn't care if someone takes one because she'll just find something else as soon as she turns around. The little ones enjoyed discovering new toys in our little playroom, and the boys really liked all of the fun paintings on the walls of Dora and Boots and Elmo.

Addie just loves to give out hugs and kisses. I'm not too sure how we will handle this in about 15 years or so! Atleast she has good taste, these little boys are cutie pies!

Addie had her first round in "time-out" yesterday for trying to kick me and hit me during a diaper change. I've read that you should place them in a neutral location for about as long as they are in years....so...approximately 2 minutes for Addie. I sat her in her rocking chair and told her she was in time-out and could not get down because she was being mean. I pretty much had to hold her down as she screamed "hold you Mama" the whole time. I do, however, think she understood the process because when I took her downstairs, she told her Daddy that she was mean and in "time-out" upstairs. Later, she was talking to her baby doll, and we over heard her tell the baby to "stop be mean" while placing her on the couch and murmuring "time-out baby...time-out mean baby". I guess she gets it!

4th of July fun!

Please notice my red, white, and blue hair bows! I had an adorable little flag outfit on, but once I saw the other kids playing in the swimming pool, I convinced mommy and daddy to let me take a dip too! I was a happy girl all day long!

Tim worked hard all weekend to earn a little extra money, so Addie and I spent the majority of the weekend at my mom's house. My Papaw is down visiting and Addie likes to show off for him and his fluffy little dog, Precious. We swam a little and just enjoyed each other's company. Mamaw (my mom) is teaching Addie the letters in her name, and they spent a lot of time on the floor practicing with flash cards and plastic letters. Once Daddy got off of work, we all ate a delicious dinner and then stopped on our way home to visit some of Tim's family who were also gathering for a cookout. Unfortunately, we never did get to see any fireworks, but I do seem to recall hearing some from the coziness of my nice warm bed around 9:30 last night! Although it wasn't as grand an event as we have had in the past, our 4th of July was special enough for me since we got to spend some good times with some pretty important people!

Just checking in...

I have managed to whip the camera out a few times the last several days and will download some new pictures when I accumulate a few more. For now, I will share a couple more shots from our trip to Georgia...

Tim, Addie, and I had a very nice weekend together and even managed to get half of the painting done in baby boy's room. I played my first game of "cornhole", which for those of you who are not familiar with this game, consists of throwing a little bag of corn towards this wooden platform with a hole in it (Tim and my Memaw are playing it in the picture above). It reminds me of horseshoes, but you can actually move the game around from place to place. I got Tim a cornhole set for Father's Day, and this was the first time he actually got the chance to try it out! It actually is a lot of fun, even if I am horrible!

Addie is enrolled in a summer program at this place called "The Little Gym". We go once a week for 45 minutes to this gym, and it is by far the highlight of her week! She loves to run on the mats and try out all of the equipment. She is by no means a risk taker, so when I say try out the equipment, I really mean watch the other children play and start to do it herself only to shy away and continue watching. Maybe by the end of the camp she will have managed to round up enough courage to try the balance beam or the rings? Every time I drive anywhere near the shopping center where the Little Gym is located, she starts asking to go, and it just so happens to be located in the same shopping center as the grocery store where I shop ...fun fun!

I better get off here and get a few more things done before she wakes from her nap. I have her little pool filled up and am hoping the sun has warmed it up so that we can take a "bath" in the sunshine this afternoon! This little activity always makes bathtime much more enjoyable for the both of us. She gets to play, and I knock out bathtime without a fight! Wish me luck!