and the best parenting award goes to...

ME! We'll get to that story in a minute...Well, the flu has now spread to John. His symptoms are identical to mine, and we are pretty pitiful when the fever hits and the coughing spells start. I am so behind at school that I had to spend a few hours up there today. Also, we had no food in the house, so John and Addi made a quick trip to Walmart (sorry everyone at Walmart- we hope we didn't expose anyone but we have to eat). When we got home, we were both exhausted so I took Addison in our room to get in bed with me, and John went to the couch to watch a little football and rest/sleep. Our child wiggled for an hour straight and just when I thought she was falling asleep (as was I), I hear a BOOM and a shrill scream. So, that's why I get the best parenting award. My sweet child was on the floor with a scratched nose that she hit on the corner of the night stand. Neither of us napped, and I feel like a bad parent for putting her on our tall bed with me.

Happy Birthday, Gigi!

We'd like to wish a BIG, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my mom (aka "Gigi"). Mom, we are sad that we can't celebrate your birthday with you this weekend. You are the most amazing mom, friend, grandmother, and mother-in-law in the world! Thank you for showing us what unconditional love is and for teaching me what it means to be a mother. We all love you so much!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

We'd also like to say an extra prayer for Emerson. Eme has to be put to sleep tomorrow to have her mouth worked on. We hope that everything goes as well as possible and that Eme will be back to her happy self soon after. We love you and will be thinking about you!

McWane Center, breakfast in bed, and Swine Flu

1. McWane Center: I decided to take Addison to the McWane Center on Saturday since it was too wet to play outside. She actually took her first, long walk (about a year ago) there. I was doing some inner-grumbling about how much it costs to give a 2 year old some new experiences but decided it was worth it! The man behind us and I began talking, and after a few minutes, he asked it I had a yearly pass to which I replied, "No." He said that his wife wasn't able to come and that he also has a guest pass. He told me he'd be glad to get Addison and me in for free. I was floored! He even gave us a parking token so that we could park for free (a total savings of $24). God blesses me in so many ways with situations like this. Thank you, God, and thank you kind man, for a day full of fun and excitement for us.

After a fun day at the McWane Center, we had Grandma, PawPaw, Aunt Laura, Jett, and Dartmouth over. Addison just loves when people come to visit us at our house (which rarely happens because we live so far out!). She was so excited to eat pizza and play with her cousins. The kids (and Anders) did some "acrobatics" and made their own band. We really enjoyed our time together!

2. Breakfast in Bed: John and I took Monday off. I begged him for some extra sleep, so he unselfishly got up with Addison and let me rest. At about 9:00, he and Addi came into the room with pancakes. Addi proceeded to tell me how she helped Daddy make pancakes. She said, "Cack egg." She also told me about stirring the mix and buttering the pancakes. It was too cute! We all sat in the bed and ate our pancakes together. Thanks, guys! I am so thankful for my family.

3. Swine Flu: I haven't had the flu in almost 10 years, so I guess it's my turn to have it again. I knew I was't feeling well Tuesday night when John, Addison, and I went to Spirit Night for our school at Chick-Fil-A. I felt a little dizzy and my neck was hurting. Once we got home and the evening went on, I began to feel chilled and achy. I woke up feeling the same way and was

hardly able to move and get ready, but since I didn't have fever, I decided to head on to school. I made it to recess, feeling pretty rough and decided to have my temperature taken. It was 101.5 so I left school and headed for the doctor. The flu test came back negative but the doctor said it was because I caught it so early. He said if I came back the next day, he could guarantee that it would be positive, especially with the "suddenness" and extent of my symptoms. I can't go back to work until Monday. If I keep Tylenol in my system every 4 hours, my fever stays around 100. If I go longer than 4 hours, the fever shoots up. So, since the Tylenol's working right now, I decided I'd use this time to blog. Please pray that John and Addison don't get this.

Weekly review...

It's definitely been a long week for John and me at school. We've had to finish assessments, fill out charts of assessment scores, stay after school for meetings, John had Open House until 7:30...It's been an exhausting week! BUT, it is so nice to come home and relax at the end of a long day. Here are some pictures of Addison making her first pizza for dinner one night. She had the most fun!

Addi did everything by herself. She even spooned-out and spread the sauce.

Now it's time for the cheese.

Better try it to make sure it tastes okay.

Mommy, why did you take my pizza? I was having fun!

(This is what happened when I put the pizza in the oven.)

I want it back!!!!

Ready for school!

We've had this curtain rod ready to hang now for months. I've been wanting a place to display Addison's crafts from school, so here they are! We'll change them out every few weeks. Addi loves having her crafts hanging in the playroom. We also took Addi's inside play structure apart and changed the tunnel so it would be more challenging. She now has to climb up the rungs, get in the tube, and crawl up the tube to the next level. It's pretty neat! That was John's idea...

I think this picture is so sweet!

Monday is Addison's favorite day because it's her special day with Gigi. (She loves Sundays, too, because she gets to spend time with PawPaw and Grandma at church.) Every day, Addison says, "Gigi come obuh (over) morrow." "Gigi play Addi." "Gigi come obuh soon." On Monday when we got home, Addison was dressed up in her jewelry. She and Mom had made butterflies out of paper towels.

All dolled up!

the dancing butterflies performance

One last thing about our week...tonight when we got home (late!) I overheard Addison counting...1, 2, 3, 4...6...8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13! I was floored! She usually skips 3 and goes straight to 8, 9, 10. She's never gone beyond 10. I was thinking, "Where/when did you learn to count?" And yesterday, she began singing her ABC's. I have a video of it that I'll post soon. It sounds something like this: "abcd, ghi, qrs, wxy, won't you say you love me too." I just think it's amazing how much little ones absorb! The growth and development from birth to two years is mind boggling! Oh, and her new thing is to call me "Mom" and John "Dad." She thinks it's hysterical! Not ready for that!!!!!!

Hope everyone has a super, restful weekend!

Woolard happenings...

I have to say how happy I am that Addison enjoys her new "school" so much! We can only say positive things about it. It makes going to work and having to leave my sweet baby for 9 hours much easier. Her teacher, Ms. Christi is wonderful! Addison is in various rooms with various teachers in the mornings and afternoons. We just love all of her teachers. Every few days, Addi brings home "crafts" that they've done. Today, she brought home a "Big Bad Wolf" puppet and the story of "The Three Little Pigs." HER FAVORITE! A few days ago when we went to pick her up, she cried because she didn't want to go home. She wanted to stay and play! Today, we peeked in her classroom, and she was sitting in Ms. Christi's lap. They were both coloring. She was drawing "the big bad wolf" (that's what she told us it was). She saw us and continued to color. She didn't say hello to us or anything. Selfishly, I wanted her to run up and hug me but, on the flip side, I would rather be confident that she is happy at school. God worked in unexpected ways to put Addison at her new school. We were registered somewhere else but after we found out that our school district was starting 15 minutes earlier, we had to move her. I was in hysterics because it was weeks before school was starting, I wanted Addi in a church setting for daycare, and I couldn't find anywhere that opened at 7:00 a.m. I saw a friend at the library, and she told me about the place she sends her child. (At that point, we were covered in the area of childcare. It was not even 2 days later that ours' fell through.) I called and they just happened to have 1 opening in the 2 year olds. This alone is a miracle because it is a very small church with only 1 2-year-old class and teacher. To top that off, Addison is in the same class with my friend's little girl. God has been so faithful in providing exceptional childcare for Addi.

September 5th was Anders' birthday, so (given that Addison just adores birthdays), I decided to let her help me wrap some presents for Anders. She really enjoyed helping Anders unwrap the presents and singing "Happy duthday, Annie!"

John surprised Addison last night with a watermelon from our garden. He let her sit on the floor with him and watch him cut it. She loved taking the seeds out and collecting them in a bowl.

These pictures were taken before school this morning. Addison was making me laugh- she was prissing around in her high heels. By the way, thanks, Julie, for letting us borrow this outfit. It's adorable! (We didn't let her wear the high heels to school). Thanks for loaning us Eme's shoes that don't fit her anymore, too. Addi's teacher told us that she is always shocked at how many pairs of shoes Addison has because she never wears the same pair. Thanks, Emerson!

This is a video of Addison singing. She loves the Barney Song, but sings it as "I love me" rather than "I love you...you love me." At least she's got good self esteem! HA! She also likes the Rainbow Song.

Addison went to her first Auburn game last weekend! Julie, Tucker, John, and I took the girls to Auburn to tailgate last year but didn't go to the game. This year, Randy offered us his tickets for the first game, so we jumped at the opportunity to take Addison into Jordan Hare Stadium. She had a ball! John got her an Auburn cheerleading outfit and shakers. When we stopped to eat, we got to see Jim and Prudie and Robert and Dee (long-time family friends). After they left, she kept saying, "Jim! Come back." It was funny! Here is a video of Addi's trip to AU.

I would love to post some of the videos of us during the game, but will do it later. (It takes so long to upload videos!).

After the AU game, we headed back to the lake. The builder had framed the new screened in deck, and it looks great! We had a fun time at the lake. Mom, Randy, the boys, Aunt Glenda, Uncle Porky, and Emily came. Julie, Tucker, and Emerson weren't able to come because Julie had to have her wisdom teeth taken out. (We sure missed them!). We rode in the big boat and the paddle boat. Addison really enjoyed playing with Emily and Aunt Glenda (and the boys, too). We celebrated Braden's 7th birthday Sunday night. I cannot believe my first nephew is 7!

Well, there's our long update. I simply don't have the energy to blog much these days. By the time we get home, eat dinner, bathe Addison, read books, and put her to bed it's almost 8:00. Then, we clean up from dinner, make lunches, and watch a little TV before bed time. Last night, we crashed on the couch and woke up at 1:00 a.m. We are thankful for each day we have, though... longs days, jam-packed schedules, and all!