Just Like Mom

My mom was a ferocious knitter while I was growing up.  She used to keep record of all the sweaters she knit, but when she got to 100 she stopped writing them down.  She made sweaters for church and play and knit almost every night when we went to bed at 7.  Tragically - my mom sold most of the sweaters when I was young - but as a great surprise - when we were emptying the attic she found a box that had a few long lost sweaters!  My mom made this sweater for me when I was a little older than Addison and I couldn't wait for the washer and dryer to finish so that she could wear it.  Also, except for the light hair - she looks EXACTLY like me when I was her age!  

This is Addison saying "cheese".

Working in Oregon

Addison and I spent three weeks in Oregon from the end of March - Easter.  Other than visiting family, we helped my mom empty her attic and garage - sort through all her things - and then put back what she wanted to keep.  Addison was still napping twice daily and going to bed at 7 which allowed us a lot of time to work - but she also helped and played outside when the weather was nice.  One of her favorite things was pushing her baby around the driveway in a stroller just her size!  Addison loves to push her stroller but she isn't very able because it is just too big - this was the perfect solution.

This is Addison and me sorting hangers.  Not always exciting work - but it all needed to be done and small children have an enthusiasm for helping that has little to do with what the task actually is.  I don't know when children get polluted and don't like doing certain things because right now Addison will do anything we ask of her - pulling weeds, picking up garbage, mopping, washing out garbage cans, whatever...Hopefully her helpful spirit continues for many more years.

Addison is Announcing

I looked for a shirt for Addison to announce that we were having another baby.  She wore this shirt on March 18th to Oliver's grandma's birthday party.  This is right about the time she started pulling a funny face when we would say "say cheese". 

It's kind of hard to tell but the shirt says {big} next to the heart in small letters.

Dairy/Gluten Free Whip Cream

There were early days in this pregnancy that I would have rather been dead than pregnant.  Might sound dramatic - but it seriously felt like that.  I think it was worse because I couldn't just lay around and puke all day - I had to be chasing after Addison and keeping her entertained (and puking in between).  The saving grace is that for the first 4 months I was pregnant Addison was still napping twice a day and that helped immensely!  

My sister came out to mop my floors one day and make us dinner!  She made dairy/gluten free whip cream that we ate with peaches.  Addison loved it!  After we finished dinner and she ate some peaches I let her finish the whip cream...she was in heaven.  YUM!

Snow Angels

Addison loved to play outside in the snow this past winter as it didn't get on her boots.  She would get distressed when the white snow covered the black part of her boots and so she kept trying to clean them off :)  If she stuck to the driveway and sidewalk she did great - she also has a snow shovel and loved to help clear our driveway.  This is her and her dad making a snow angel on March 3, 2012.

Cousin Hannah

Addison's 2nd cousin, Hannah, came to play today while her mom attended some work meetings.  She is the best baby!

I have been bringing some of our baby things upstairs since I finished painting the new nursery (pictures to come) and so I got out our bouncy seat for Hannah to sit in.  Addison let her sit in the seat for about 15 minutes before telling her to get out. 

She then played in the chair for several minutes while Hannah ate her bottle.  Hannah took about 25 minutes to eat and Addison doesn't have that much patience so she ended up going to her room, getting her Binky, blanket, and elephant and laying on my lap with Hannah wanting a song and some attention.

After her bottle, Hannah and Addison took turns playing on the floor and in the chair.

Addison was very sweet to Hannah making sure she had a toy, furiously swinging the toys in front of her face, and reading her stories.  She also gave her hugs, kisses, and tried to sit in the seat with her.  Through all of the "attention" Hannah didn't fuss once or complain.  Addison declared Hannah is her "friend" and we hope to have many more play dates to come.

It's a Girl!

We're expecting another baby girl and we couldn't be more thrilled!  She should be making her arrival early October (sometime around the 7th).  The baby was being so modest today (unlike Addison) that I actually had to get up and use the restroom and then come back to see if that caused the baby to move.  A second tech came into the room to verify the gender...and since paint color depends on it...I was glad for them to get an accurate reading :)  If you need to remind yourself how exactly to tell that the picture shows a girl please refer to the detailed discussion from Addison's gender ultrasound here.

 

Let the decorating begin!

Christmas Dress

I never posted Addison in her Christmas skirt that her grandma bought her at Swiss Days.  It will still fit her next year because Swiss Days only have a 3T-4T left when we were up there.  It was pretty long on her but she loved it anyway!  She was just starting to twirl and I can't believe how different she looked just 5 months ago!

Addison loves to stick her belly out while she walks - the phase was just starting around Christmastime and she hasn't really outgrown it.  It's pretty funny when she walks down the hall or through the park sticking her gut out as far as possible as her leading feature!

First MAX Ride

Addison and I went to Oregon for three week surrounding Easter.  Oliver was able to come and join us for an extended Easter weekend - but mostly he had to work.  While we were in Oregon, Addison took her first ride on MAX (like Utah's TRAX or a light rail train).  Here she is waiting on the platform for MAX to come.

In the beginning she was a little leery to get out of her stroller so she sat by Nana and watched the world and people go by.  

But it sure didn't take long before she broke out of the stroller and sat on a seat so she could see better.  My mom lives in Beaverton and we were headed downtown which means that we got to go through a VERY long tunnel that even has a stop in the middle.  Addison now LOVES tunnels and thinks that every underpass and bridge we go under is a tunnel and she points out everyone she sees.

We had a great time downtown having lunch with Aunt Suz and then riding all the escalators and Pioneer Place before heading back home on MAX.  

Fire Station

Last week Addison and I went to the West Jordan fire station with some friends.  She loved it!  The only distressing thing for her is that she wants to be one of the big kids.  She must have said "hi" to the boys at least 25 times when they arrived but they were too busy being buds to be bothered by such a little thing and probably didn't even hear her.  Soon enough she'll be one of the big kids - but for now we're happy she's still our little girl.

She climbed up in the ambulance all by herself while she was waiting for her turn to drive the fire truck.  She and Will are just a few days apart in age - but she didn't want him anywhere near her.  Every time someone came close to her or tried to climb in beside her she thrust out her arm and yelled "no".  I'm really hoping it's a phase because she LOVES to scream NO in any and everyone's face.

Here she is driving the fire truck and saying "cheese". 

And lastly, Addison got to try on the boots, pants, and fire hat.  She couldn't hold her head up by herself because the hat is so heavy.

 

We had such a wonderful time and can't wait for many more summer adventures to come!

Creative Genius of the Year

Blogger changed in my abscence from blogging (because google can't help but change all their applications all the time.  I don't feel like I can do anything anymore and until my friend Kirsten write a tutorial about using this new one (or being able to revert back) I feel a little stuck.  But some pictures poorly formatted are better than none at all.  So excuse the remedial look of my blog post today (hopefully you are reading out of a reader and couldn't care less).

At Easter I won the creative genius of the year award when it comes to decorating eggs (and I would like to thank Pinterest for making it all possible).  Dying Easter eggs with children from 1-8 was AWESOME!  No eggs slipping off spoons, or silly bendy metal cheap wire, no dye on fingers, and no frustration from independent kids that just wanted to do it on their own and kept yelling "no touch".  (Note to self: Dye Easter eggs earlier in the day next year when it isn't bedtime and there is a little more patience to be had.)

Here are Suz and I getting everything ready (Addison's cousins, Aiden (4) and Alec (8), belong to her).

 And here is the magical aparatus used to make all egg dying the biggest success ever - WHISKS!

* I don't have Suz's permission to make her children blog superstars so I won't be posting their pictures on my blog until I check with her first. 

We used both wire and silicone whisks and they worked magically well, could be dipped in multiple colors, and allowed Addison to dye eggs all by herself!  She is very independent and would barely let us hold onto the base of her mug so it wouldn't tip over.  It was a smashing success and I am still appaulding my genius!

Natural Consequences

When Addison gets frustrated she bites.  When her toys won't go together the way they're supposed to, when she wants to hold something and she shouldn't, when you make her hold your hand in the parking lot, etc - she bites.  Today, Addison and I were at story time at Barnes & Noble and she was frustrated about something while we were waiting for it to start.  She opened her mouth to bite me but moved her own arm in front of face and bit down HARD.  It took her a moment to realize that she was biting herself and it HURT.  She started to bawl and even now, 9 hours later, you can still see a perfect set of her teeth in her chubby little wrist. 

All I thought was "better you than me". 

Consequences bite :)