Bathing Beauty

Ever since auntie Maggie came out to visit and us girls went to the pool, Addison and I have been going to the public pool once or twice a week. The weather has been funky and unpredictable otherwise we would probably be there every other day! The pool in our community is fun but Addison REALLY loves the zero depth public pools where she can go in and out as she pleases. I have such a great time with her. Mostly she lets me sit poolside and she runs along the beach entrance meeting little friends and splashing in the water. Lately though she has gotten braver and has ventured further out into the water. It only gets about 1 1/2 feet at the deepest point but I worry if she trips and tries to catch her fall that she will go under water and panic. She has wanted to explore the play structure a few times but only if I hold her hand and wade with her out there. I don't blame her either, there is water spraying from every which way and most of the bigger kids hang out on the play equipment. Next time we are going to bring Addison a bucket and some cups so that she has toys to play with in the water!

In other news, Addison officially turned 18 months yesterday. That is a huge deal in my mind. It just sounds so old! As of this month she is becoming very physical, i.e. climbing on everything, running, jumping and balancing in places that make my heart skip a beat! Thank goodness she hasn't attempted to climb out of her crib yet, I dont think I'm ready to put her in a big girl bed yet! Its amazing how much Addison knows and observes without us realizing it. This morning her hair was super messy so we decided to give her a bath. I got her all undressed and told her "ok we are going to take a bath Addison!" She went right out her bedroom door and ran down the hall with her little naked butt right into the bathroom and tried to climb in the tub. Even though she can't say everything she wants, she definitely knows what things are! I was thinking today about which words Addison says on a regular basis and the ones I can think of are:
-Up
-Down
-On
-Off
-Open
-Please
-Dada
-No!
-More
-Juice
-Shoes
-Whats that (comes out as "was at" but she says it when she wants to know what something is)
-Ewwww (when we change her diaper haha)
-Jezzie (our cats name)
-Thank You
Just in the past few days I have been teaching her how to say her name and she says it really well! But only when I ask her to and only if she feels like it...go figure!


Making friends with someone her own size

Running back to mommy in her Zoe swimsuit...so cute! Now I just need to find an Elmo one!

She wants to sun tan just like mommy...dont worry she has like five layers of 50 spf on!

Livin the good life!

Missing Child

If anyone has seen the Addison that lived here about a month ago I would greatly appreciate having her back! This new Addison is not quite the angel I had and her 'tude is really starting to get on my nerves.
I've seen a gradual change in Addison and knew that the terrible twos were just around the corner but I'm pretty sure they are here and plan to stay for awhile. Nowadays Addison acts like she doesn't need Alex or I, except of course when she wants to be carried down the stairs (even though she has been doing it herself for months) and when she wants something, which is about 90% of the time. She has decided that her words are a thing of the past and "eh eh eh!" paired with pointing and tears is the way to get everything her heart desires....WRONG. I know what she is capable of and what words she is able to say so when she whines to get these things I really have very little sympathy.
Yesterday morning, Alex slept in and Addison and I were playing downstairs and eating breakfast. When Alex woke up he asked me "What on earth was Addison screaming and crying for this morning?!?" And I had to explain to him that it was simply the fact that she wanted me to wear a headband on my head and I was sick of the game and told her all done...yes that is what sent her into a 15 minute crying fit. This morning's tantrum was the result of my telling her we weren't going to be putting lotion on right now and then putting the bottle out of her reach. She had an absolute fit!
Please someone tell me that this ends and that I will get my sweet daughter back. I am trying to be understanding but sometimes that can only go so far. Like today when she came up and hit me square in the face with a waterbottle, then laughed her head off even as I gave her a firm "NO!" and put her on the stair for a "time out"...she came back 10 seconds later and did the same thing, laughing harder than ever.
I love her, I really do, but sometimes kids make it very hard :)

On a more positive note, my sister Maggie came to visit last week and us girls had such a blast! Maggie got Addison out of bed, dressed and fed almost every morning so I could slowly drag myself out of bed. We went to the petting zoo, pool (which Addison LOVES), mall and my grandmas house and had just the best time doing it! Below are our latest pictures detailing the ups and downs of our crazy life...

Crazy mohawk hair....this is what happens when you leave a pony in for too long!

Addison proudly standing on the kitchen stool that daddy built just for her...she loves helping with the dishes now!

We were cleaning out the van and I wasn't paying the closest attention to her...then I look over to find this...I have never laughed so hard!!!!!

Me asking her what she's doing in the drivers seat! "Just chiiiiilin mama!"

Checking out the goats with daddy at the petting zoo

Saying hi to the ponies with auntie Maggie close by her side

The 3 girls!

Daddy and Addison being too cool

Oh yes, Addison has also decided that she is a big girl and only wants to swing on the big girl swing. Sweet.

Pool time! Addison wore her muscle suit for the occasion! It was the hardest thing to get on and off but it worked great for helping her float!

Me freezing my butt off and Addison taking her sweet time getting into the water!

Practicing our swimming!

Snack time!

Ooooo, you didn't tell me we had Fritos Mom!

Playing on the playground by the pool. She loved this thing because it bounced up and down. Scared me half to death!

St. Patty's day party! And yes, she WAS exhausted :)

Playing on great grandmas back porch!

Happy Mommy, Happy Addison

Chatting on her cell phone

At the Pinal County Fair...it was pretty white trash...The only place where we got to pet a stingray AND see motorcycles ride around in the ball of death!

Helping daddy push the stroller!

Hard worker!

Checking out the scary turkey that had like a five pound tumor of a gibblet..yuk!

Waiting patiently for the "stunt" show...I use that word very lightly ;)

First steps into the water with daddy

So independent! She loved being able to go in and out of the zero depth pool all by herself.

So happy

Dancing in the pool

Just another early morning for Addison...Jean hat, wearing mommy's undies like a necklace and talking on her cell!

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Weekend with Grandma Laura!

We are sad to say that Grandma Laura left last night but we had a fabulous time with her!! Saturday night around 8 Alex and Addison made the trek to the airport at to pick her up, I unfortunately had to work but I got home just in time to do some last minute picking up before I heard the Jeep pull up. Grandma had given Addison a stuffed ducky on the way home so she already passed the Grandma test before even getting to our house! Addison was in great spirits and took right to Grandma. Needless to say everyone was wiped out and Addison even slept in until 9AM on Sunday morning!
We woke up to rain on Sunday morning which was a huge bummer. We decided to head to Superstition Springs Mall which has a great indoor play area for kids. Addison marched right to the slide and proceeded to go down it about a zillion times, pushing big kids out of her way and everything :) After burning off some energy there we headed over to the Cheesecake Factory. We were letting Addison walk on her own a few steps ahead of us and she was doing really well until she spotted the Merry-Go-Round. All the sudden she took off pointing, yelling and signing please please!, running into people and completely focused on the prize. I ran after her and dang is she fast! Once she got up to it she was ready to scale the fence and let herself in. It was hilarious because we have come to this mall plenty of times and she has never shown interest in it. Daddy took her on (those things just make me nauseous) while grandma and I snapped pictures. She was so THRILLED the entire time, although halfway through she did want to switch ponies, I dont think hers was going up and down fast enough. When we finally dragged her away and into the Cheesecake Factory she was tired and loopy, she spent the entire meal standing next to me in the booth, banging utensils on the table, throwing sugar packets and washing her hands in our water...needless to say it wasn't the most enjoyable meal but it was quite entertaining, my favorite part was how mortified Alex was!

Loved this ladybug in the play area!

Soooooooooooooo excited!

Hi mom!

So cute...wearing the firefighter dress that grandma made her!

Looking over pictures with grandma from the days festivities

All worn out, snuggling with daddy, baba and baby
Monday brought more rain and coooooooold. We decided to take Addison to a place called "Toy Town." It is an indoor play village for kids and pretty much my dream as a child! The place is filled with little wood houses that contain toys and dress up pertaining to what each house is i.e. hospital, firehouse, Dominos, tea party etc. It was so stinkin cute! Addison spent the majority of her time in and out of the little Cozy Coupe car, I guess I'll have to put that on my list of things to get her. I had been thinking about getting Addison a table and chairs for her meals as she doesnt like her high chair and we were right by IKEA so we headed over there after Toy Town. We had a yummy lunch in the IKEA cafeteria and ended up finding all sorts of goodies which we probably didn't need but it's IKEA and stuff is so cheap! We ended up walking out with a table and 2 chairs for Add, a step stool so Addison can reach the sink, plastic utensils, plates and bowls for you guessed it...Addison!

Mowing the grass in her pink heels

Riding in her police cruiser...hopefully she is always the one driving ;)

Showing grandma the ropes

Another toy that she just looooooooves but somehow we dont already have grrrr

Setting up her tea party


She insisted on wearing this hideous hat!

I joined her for a tea party...you can see us fighting over that horrible hat as I didn't want her wearing it in the picture haha


Dressing up in her firefighter boots
Tuesday was Grandmas last day here and it started off nice weather wise. Addison helped her pick weeds in the front yard and they were just tooooo cute. Addison was also grooving to grandmas music on her wireless headphones, well when she wasn't trying to wear them as sunglasses haha. We made a trip to Kohls as Laura is a savvy shopper and had a 30% off coupon! We found all sorts of fun stuff and at Kohls most things are on sale all the time anyways so we walked out with over $100 worth of stuff for $45. Addison got some badass light up shoes, an Elmo potty book, Elmo and Zoe juice cups and a camping chair with Toy Story characters! I'm thinking these will be Easter surprises :) As the sun was still out we made our way to San Tan Village to play in the outdoor play area and just as we pulled up it started getting really cold and windy. Within 10 minutes it was raining so we grabbed some cover and lunch at Paradise Bakery. We made it back in the car just in time for the clouds to open up and dump a ridiculous amount of rain! Around 4 it was time to say goodbye to Grandma, Addison really wanted to go to the airport and was crying trying to get into the car. She gave Grandma a smooch goodbye and we waved them off.

Looooooooove

Helping pull weeds, thanks girls!

Listening to grandmas tunes

Doing the rain dance with grandma!

Soulful dancer!

Freezing our buns off walking to lunch!
I think Addison was pretty darn bored today after the excitement of this weekend! She has more to look forward to though as my sister, her auntie Maggie, comes into town on Sunday!