Addi and the Big Bad Wolf go camping

Addi's imagination takes her on many adventures. Today, she and her friend, the Big Bad Wolf, decided to play a trick on the three little pigs. They did not think it was very funny...

Our Little Rock Climber

Here you have it...Our little girl is now into rock climbing! Look at that confidence and agility. What next! You'll have to keep reading our blog to find out. You go, Addison!

Long days...adjusting to new schedules

Things have been a little hectic for us lately with school starting. We've all had to adjust to new (busy) schedules and time away from each other. Addison loves her new school, but does cry some mornings when we drop her off. It breaks my heart to leave her crying! Thankfully, she settles down and has fun! She loves her teachers and new friends. She even takes naps well, as long as she has "Kitty" or "Lambie" and her fruit snacks to wake up to. John and I have been pretty tired having to wake up early, get everyone ready, and leave the house at 6:30 a.m. John is my hero in that department! He's up before anyone and even takes the time to pack our lunches the night before. We are definitely thankful for our jobs given the state of the economy so no complaints there. Here are some pictures we've taken recently.

flying with Daddy

loving on Daddy

being silly with Daddy

check out my helmet

ready to ride her new bike

biker chick!

celebrating Grandma's and Addi's birthdays at Bone Fish

According to Addison, knee pads are actually "panties."

Addison just loves birthdays! She really enjoys singing "Happy Birthday to You" and has even made up her own version entitled "Happy Duthday to Woo," which she sings so beautifully! It cracks us up! She also has to find creative ways to entertain herself since she is in the car for over an hour each day. One way to do this is to tell us which song she'd like to hear on the cd that we made for her and then sing along (she'll listen to the same song over and over and over). Another way is to ask for a napkin or wipe which she transforms into bandages, hats, blankets, cleaning rags, snakes, bad wolves...you name it, and she'll turn it into it! We're just thankful that she can "imagine" some fun during our long car rides.

A few cute videos

I've been meaning to upload these videos, so here they are.

This is Addi opening her "Three Little Pigs" play set. She loves to tell the story of the three little pigs so we thought she'd enjoy using these to do it.

Chef Addi loves to cook! Here she is in her apron and hat.

Eme's rough day...

Please pray for our sweet niece, Emerson. She had a rough day yesterday! She fell and knocked her front tooth backwards. The tooth was damaged and had to be removed, and if that wasn't bad enough, she had to be put in a dental "straight jacket" to keep her still to do it. It was a very emotional day for Julie and Mom who had to watch the dentist tie Eme down and extract her tooth. Emerson is doing better but Julie says her lip is still very swollen. I'm sure she's sore, too. Eme, we love you and hope you feel better!

Bye bye "Fur Real" puppy. Hello Kilgores!

This morning, we had to say good-bye to Addi's dear friend- her "Fur Real" puppy. Anders has always had an obsession for Addi's puppy that barks and whines and moves, though we've always managed to keep it away from her. Today, however, was different. I put Anders downstairs and locked the gate so that Addi and I could play (in peace). I didn't hear or see Anders for a while and figured she was asleep on the stairs. When I went to check on her, I found her in the playroom with this...

quite a "scalping"!

hairless, chewed up face

Anders had demolished "Fur Real" puppy. Thank goodness it wasn't real. As Addi says, "Time-out, Annie!" The morning looked up from that point. Our neighbors, Bryan and Keeble, came by with a surprise for Addison's birthday. It was a new toddler bike! It is absolutely adorable, and Addison loves it! I pushed her up and down the street. It has training wheels. She had a blast! Thank you, Bryan and Keeble, for the precious bike that Addi will use for many years!!! Then, we got a call from Addison's 2nd family, the Kilgores, who wanted to head out this way to give Addi a birthday gift. Addi was SO excited to see them. She played with the kids and did a lot of talking. It was such a fun day! Thank you, Ashley, Bruce, Connor, Jeppa, and Mary Kyle for Addison's "Emma" doll and her new book (Goldilocks has Chicken Pox). She's asleep right now with Emma in her arms. We love you all!

a picture of Addi reading (taken a few days ago)

Addi's airplane that she helped me color

The Kilgores!

(Mary Kyle is riding Addi's new bike from Bryan and Keeble.)

Addi, Emma, and Mary Kyle

giving Jeppa hugs

playing with "tato head"

pretending to be a tato head

Chuck E. Cheese and meeting new cousins

Today was a lot of fun! John's Aunt Betty, his cousin, Amy, and her three children are here in town from Oklahoma. I have met Amy and Aunt Betty but not Colton, Kenley, and baby Eli. Addison was very excited about meeting her cousins for the first time! She's carried a picture of baby Eli in her "purse" since he was a few months old. We had a wonderful time playing together! Kenley carried Addison around on her hip and played games with her. Colton used his own tickets to buy Addi a necklace, bracelet, and hair barrettes. They are precious children, and we really enjoyed seeing them and getting to know them. We sure wish they lived here! Jett, Dartmouth, Aunt Laura, and Grandma had a great time, too. Addison is just in love with Chuck E. Cheese. If you could only see the way she looks at him. She got on stage with him and held his hand and danced. However, she was crushed (literally and figuratively) when he slammed her in the head with his robotic hand and knocked her down. She bawled, mostly due to hurt feelings. Thankfully, she forgave him pretty quickly. She loved when Chuck E. Cheese came out from behind the stage and did the hokey pokey. She kept hugging his legs and touching his hand. It was so sweet! Here are some pictures from our day together.

Colton and Dartmouth

the whole crew!

Jett, look happy! Eli, look this way! Addi, put your drink down.

Addi, look over this way!

Dartmouth, stop making faces!

Addi loves cousin Kenley!

She loves cousin Colton, too!

holding Chuck E.'s hand

Awww! Sweet Chuck E.

Introducing our new pets!

We are excited to announce that we have new pets! Leopard Geckos! These were given to us by a sweet family at church. They are actually going to be our class pets, but for now, they hang out with us at home. Not too many people share our fondness for these little guys, but we think they're pretty cool. We've been letting them adjust to their new home/owners- so Addison doesn't even know we have them. John and I really enjoy watching them eat! We like to hold them- they enjoy climbing up and sitting on our shoulders. Anyway, just wanted to share them with everyone.

In this picture, they were both trying to grab a meal worm.

Notice the short, fat tail.

The other one has a long, skinny tail.

Dinner time!

Happy birthday party day, Addison and Emerson!

Yesterday was Addison's and Emerson's birthday party! Thank you to everyone who came and helped to make it such a special, fun day. The girls had a blast- and so did their parents! Here are some pictures. Special thanks to Crossbridge Church for letting us have the party there and to Ann Marie for letting us borrow her adorable jumpy. Thanks, Julie, for all of your hard work and planning months and months before the party. It was just perfect!

flashback to Addi's and Eme's 1 year old party

getting the party set up

time for decorations!

Addi kept saying, "Addi's happy day!"

the girls were the first to try out the jumpies

our little princess!

Julie, Eme, Tucker

a birthday kiss from Daddy

riding toys, here we come!

Addi loved when everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to her!

icing first!

We spread out table cloths for the kids to sit on.

Addi's friend, Harris, enjoys his cupcake.

Riley and Weston

Dartmouth, Jett, and Braden

good friends!

Addi enjoyed showing her presents to Aunt Laura, Grandma, and Paw Paw.

Thank you, Gigi, for the beautiful dollhouse and room sets!

I can't wait to play with them.

opening presents all by herself

Addi spent lots of time looking at each present that she opened.

Gigi takes some time out to read to her grandsons.

Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

As soon as we got home, Addi took all of her presents out of the bags and began playing with them. This is the tea party she had with her new tea set, baby doll, gorilla, Pluto, and her chameleon. What fun!