Belly Pic

I've had multiple request to post pictures of the belly over the past 9 months, but this go round taking pictures of the growing belly has not been quite as exciting as it was the first time.  I have some for baby book purposes, but I think that is where they will stay.  But, I have a fun one to post.  At work there are 4 of us that are pregnant and due within a 6 week period, so there are a number of us with large bellies walking around at this point.  A number of the guys at work make comments about they can sympathize because they are carrying around some extra weight themselves.  Well I was leaving a meeting with one of our executives last week and as we walked out of the office another soon-to-be-momma was standing there.  Not sure how it happened, but next thing I knew we were taking this picture. 

The picture doesn't really do my belly justice, I feel about twice as big as I look! 

Addy Mommy Day

Addison and I like to call Mondays and Fridays our "Addy Mommy Day" since I don't work those days and we get to spend the whole day together.  This past Monday was our last official Addy Mommy Day.  I tried to explain it to Addison and tell her that in the future it will be Addy Mommy Baby Day, but not sure that has totally sunk in yet.  While she is super excited for the baby to come, not sure she really realizes that she isn't going to completely be the center of attention anymore!

I've slowed down quite a bit as the belly has grown, but I tried to keep up the energy as long as possible.  We started the day with her watching a TV show in bed with me then we moved to the family room for another show and breakfast.  Then we met Gail, Emily and Thomas for some fun at Pump It Up.  Addison and Emily LOVE running all over that place and Gail and I love being able to just sit on the bench for mom talk and tend to the girls when they inevitably bounce on top of each other and bonk heads or noses or cheeks or something.  Fortunately a quick kiss and they are off again!  Here are the princesses enjoying their princess gummy snacks on Monday.

Then we had planned to go grab lunch, but Addison decided she wanted peanut butter and tortilla at home for lunch, so home we went.  After that the afternoon consisted of painting rocks in the back yard, Addison "cooking" with leaves and berries she picked from the yard, a trip to the library to get some new books, and a trip to the grocery (this wasn't on Addison's to do list, but it is part of our typical routine).  Then mommy had to rest on the couch for a bit and then daddy came home.  It was a great time and I'm looking forward to the challenge of figuring out how to have Addy Mommy Baby Day in the future!

Weekend

I thought that the weekends leading up to baby day were going to be nice and relaxing, but the April calendar filled up quick.  This weekend we kept busy with a crawfish boil on Saturday and then our friends the Swanns came over on Sunday for some fun.  It has been way too long since we'd gotten together and we had a great time.  It is super cute to see Addison and Tyler play together.  I think that Addison was trying to boss Tyler around a bit, but he has already learned to tune out women which worked well for him this weekend!  Here is a cute pic of them on the slide at the park

There were multiple times when they both went into Addison's room and closed the door - it is cute now, but guess we are going to have to watch out for the little sneaks when they get older! 

Report Card Day

One of my new favorite things about Addison moving to the preschool side of the school is the progress reports and teacher conferences.  The progress report isn't really meant to be a report card with grades, but it has a list of age appropriate activities and how your child is progressing in those activities.  Much better than just hearing that your child is "on track"!  Gives us clueless parents and idea of what the track is. 

So we got Addison final progress report for the year and she is completely on track with one exception.  On the "accepts re-direction" category she actually went down a ranking from "with encouragement" to "skill emerging".  Both Michael and I laughed when we saw that b/c she surely can be one stubborn kiddo at times and I am sure it is multiplied at school when there are 3 little girls wanting to play with the same pink ball (Addison tries to stake claim to all that is pink in the room!).

Overall her teacher said she did great this year and she was a delight to have in their class.  She's grown up so much this past year in the Frog class and her teaches have been great.  I think that potty training was the biggest accomplishment I'm proud of!  

3 and a Half

Addison turned three and a half yesterday and I asked her what some of her favorite things are right now...
color:  pink
Disney princess:  Belle
TV show:  Clifford
thing to do:  play with toys
toy:  dollhouse
animal:  monkey
snack:  nilla wafers
drink:  milk
song:   Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
book:  the squirrel book (a.k.a. One Wide Sky)

In addition to playing with toys she is always drawing, singing and making up the words to her own songs and dancing around the house.

The Train

Living in Houston we obviously just drive wherever we need to go, but in an attempt to add some excitement to our usual Friday night routine of going out for Mexican food we decided to take the Metrorail downtown to the new shopping complex and eat at Guadalajara this past Friday.  Addison enjoyed riding a bus for the first time during the rodeo and we hadn't been on the light rail yet so we thought we'd make a little adventure out of it.  The train was very exciting at first, but thanks to the numerous stops along the rail, about 3/4 of the way there she was asking to get off...but we finally got downtown and had a nice dinner.  Took twice as long on the rail as it would have in the car and there were some strange people on the train on the way home from dinner, but glad we tried it.  Might just try going to the museum or zoo next time! 

Here is a picture to  capture the excitement of the 1st train ride!

Happy Easter, Christmas and Halloween!!

Easter has changed quite a bit for us over the past year...last year it was the excitement of the Easter egg hunt itself, seems like we were hiding eggs for weeks before Easter and Addison loved it.  This year it was the excitement of what was hidden inside the Easter egg, she didn't really get excited about hunting for eggs until she spent the day at Grandma and Grandpa's and they hid candy in all of the eggs.  Hence the Halloween connection - she got more candy in the week leading to Easter than she did at Halloween.  Granddad and Meme were not innocent I might add - they didn't put candy in the eggs, but instead just had little chocolate eggs around the house to snack on!

The Easter bunny didn't have any candy, so he hid quarters in the eggs.  Turns out that was an acceptable substitute for candy, although he didn't put a quarter in each egg, so Addison had to open every egg as she found it and tell us whether it had a "penny" in it or not.  Highlight was when she found the super big egg that the bunny had hidden and that one had a bathing suit and cover-up in it...hands down it beat candy and quarters, especially since it was an Ariel bathing suit with ruffles! 

Here is Addison unloading all of the quarters from the eggs.  Michael told her she could put 1/2 in her piggy bank and take the other 1/2 to the store and buy something.  Her plan is to spend her money on candy, milk and beer for Daddy.  Such a nice girl to consider things Daddy likes!  She had changed into her new bathing suit to color Easter eggs and left her church shoes on - stylin'.

Also somewhere along the line, the Easter Bunny and Santa got connected.  Both magically appear while you are sleeping and you wake up to fun surprises.  Michael even threw the tooth fairy into this discussion we had one night and now Addison is afraid her teeth are going to fall out I think.  But for a few days after this discussion we'd get up in the morning and Addison would ask if the Easter Bunny came last night. I think that she had almost given up and then he came Saturday night - what a treat!

Little Helper

I have to document this because I know it won't last forever - Addison is really into helping wash dishes and wash clothes.  A while back when she was on her 3rd outfit change for the day I made a comment about her having to wash her own clothes if she was going to wear so many in one day.  Go figure she got excited about that idea and now she is always wanting to help with the laundry.  She likes to throw the clothes in the washing machine and dump the detergent in -- too bad she hasn't gotten excited about folding and putting away the clothes, that is the part I dislike the most! 

Washing dishes is another fun activity.  She actually got mad at me the other day because I was loading the dishwasher and didn't let her help.  She is getting pretty good at washing her dishes.  We are still working on rinsing, sometimes things go in the drying rack with bubbles still on them, but she is getting better. 

"Silverware goes here"

"Yippee, I love loading the dishwasher!"

Notice the concentration - very meticulous scrubber. 

Fashionista!

I am not sure where she gets it from, I am definitely no fashion plate, but since ever since Addison was able to dress herself she has been very opinionated about her outfit.  Last fall it took ages before she would wear weather appropriate clothes, combined with only wanting to wear pink from head to toe, and picking out things that didn't match.  She finally got use to wearing warm clothes and the pink obsession is gone (for the most part), but we still have discussions about matching - she has a much different opinion than Michael and me.  You'll notice in a number of pictures she also loves to pull her socks up to her knees.  Oh and she loves to put her shoes on the wrong feet - granted this is a legit 3 year old mistake, but even after you point it out to her she'd walk around with the shoes on the wrong feet all day and would just think it was funny.

And now that it has warmed up a bit and she has gotten a taste of dresses with no leggings and skirts, there is no going back.  At least she will still wear a jacket.

While I do like the bracelets on top of the pink socks, my favorite for the month was the pink and purple floral shirt combined with the red, black and while plaid skirt, Halloween socks and pink and purple plaid headband.  She just came out wearing this one day  and we argued for a while about whether it matched.  I finally gave up and she got to wear it.  Yep, we went out in public.  I use to look at those moms and think "wow, they have pretty bad taste when it comes to dressing their kids" and now that I am one of those moms I totally understand - they had no control.  I pick my battles.

Trike-A-Thon

This past weekend Addison participated in her first "race".  Actually it was not a race at all, but it was a trike-a-thon sponsored by the mom's group I'm a member of.  Proceeds from the trike-a-thon went to St. Jude's - if you watch Nick Jr. then you have probably seen a commercial about their trike-a-thon fundraisers.  It was precious, there were 3 heats, one for the big kids on bikes, one for the tricyclers and a final round for the little ones with push toys or little scoot along toys.  All Saturday Addison was jazzed about riding her bike.  The race didn't start until 3:00, so pretty much between 8:00 and 2:30 she was asking when it was time to go.

So 3:20 rolls around and it is her turn to ride.  And of course she didn't want to do anything.  I think it was due to lack of a nap, but nonetheless Michael and I got to go around the track with her.  She pedaled the whole time, just needed some encouragement to go now and again.  It was super cute to watch all the kiddos.  Here are some pics from the "race"!

It was very legit, she had a racing bib and all!

Safety first. Addison loves her bicycle helmet and thanks to a Berenstain Bear book about wearing safety gear, she won't let you forget her helmet! Note, this is pre-race and she is still excited.

And she finally gets warmed up...here she is coming around the last corner!

Here are all of the kiddos who rode their trikes (if you click on the picture and enlarge it, you can see the sleepiness in her face). 

After a great ride, nothing like a cupcake to celebrate.  We definitely should have had a cupcake before the race because she was one happy camper after a little sugar!

Big Sister

Addison is so excited about becoming a big sister.  She has been helping get the baby's room together and she frequently decides that she is done with one of her toys or done with a piece of clothing and she makes sure we keep it for "her baby".   In addition to commenting on how big my belly has grown, she likes to talk to my belly and talk to little sister which is the cutest thing ever.  She has even gone with me to the doctor so that she could hear the baby's heart beat.  As it starts to warm up we are talking a lot about swimming.  The other day Addison was talking about how she is going to teach the baby to swim -- had to be clear that the baby wouldn't be doing much swimming this summer, but that Addison needed to do a lot of practicing so she'd be all set to teach the baby how to swim next summer.  I'm just crossing my fingers that the excitement continues once the baby is actually here! 

We still have some work to do on the nursery before I'll post any official pics, but here is fairy Addison helping Michael set up the crib.  

Last weekend we went to a sibling class at the hospital.  It was a cute class where they showed a video about what it is like to be a sibling and then the instructor talked about how to hold a baby, how to help change a diaper and gave tips for sharing toys with babies. I think that Addison's favorite part of the class was changing the diaper on the doll.  She has mentioned multiple times how much she wants to help when the baby comes home and changing diapers seems like a really exciting activity to her now.  Can't wait to see her reaction to the first dirty diaper she sees!  After the class we got to take a tour of the hospital and see newborn babies in the nursery. 

Here is Addison practicing holding a baby

At the end of the class each of the kids walked up and told everyone whether they were having a baby sister or baby brother and then they got a t-shirt.  This is Addison sharing her news with the class! 

Rodeo is Here!

Last Saturday the weather was great so we headed to the livestock show.  Had a great time looking at all of the animals and walking through the Fun On the Farm exhibit.  Of course had to go to the petting zoo which was a favorite again this year.

Fun On The Farm

Feeding little goats.  Last year I don't think that Addison was too keen on actually feeding the animals herself, but it was a lot of fun this year.   Assuming the animal was cute and small and not about to knock her down! 

Visiting with Linda the llama (if you watch enough Diego you know all about Linda - she is a very helpful llama!)

Taking the tractor for a spin

So excited!

The princess game

For Christmas Addison got the Disney Princess game for the Wii.  She was obsessed with it at first and was not very good at doing it by herself, so Michael and I spent a lot of time playing as Addison watched.  It is much like a TV show or movie, so she loves it.  After we were done saving the kingdom she lost interest for a while (fortunately) but got excited about it again recently.  She is MUCH better at doing the game herself now, so that is good.  Michael and I still got to play a lot though.  Here is Addison celebrating the completion of a chapter of the game... 

My big girl

I haven't been making many trips to the park recently, between the cold weather and being pregnant I've had little motivation.  Now that it is warming up I am every excited to be able to get out of the house more, as is Addison.  Since it had been a while I had no clue how great she was at riding her bike.  She doesn't need any help at all and she can ride all the way to the park by herself.  Granted on this trip she claimed to get tired and I ended up carrying the bike some, but for the most part she did it all by herself, especially once I played the "mommy is too big and can't carry your bike for you" card. 

Spring is Coming!

Hopefully it will be here sooner than later!  In the spirit of spring coming we decided to plant some seeds to start a little vegetable garden when it warms up more.  Addison had a great time filling the cups up with soil and putting the seeds in.  And of course we had to break out the pink watering can to give them a good drink of water.  It has been a week since we actually planted them and we already have a number of little sprouts.  I showed Addison the sprouts today and next thing I know she is sitting by the cups kind of staring at them.  When I asked her what she was doing she said she was watching the plants grow!  Then we had to have a little chat about how you can't actually watch them grow, that it is a slow process that is going to take time.

Happy Birthday Grandma and Granddad

Grandma and Granddad's birthdays are just 3 days apart and it is always fun when we can get together as a group and celebrate!

Too Many Questions

When I was growing up I was always so annoyed when I'd get home from school and my parents would ask me what I did at school.  I still remember thinking, "I went to school, went to class, what else is there to say".  Now that I am the parent I totally get it - you are away from your kid all day and you genuinely want to know what happened when you were away.  I would pay money to be a fly on the wall and be able to watch Addison at school all day!  

So our after school routine is to come home and Addison watches a couple of TV shows while we get dinner ready, but I've started making her tell me about her day before we'll start a show.  My general question of "what did you do at school today" got me nowhere so I've started the "tell me 2 things" bit.  So today the conversation went something like this
Addy:  I want to watch a TV show.
Me:  OK, but first you have to tell me 2 things you did at school today.
Addy:  I played with Ethan Robins.
Me:  What did you play?
Addy:  Ethan caught me.
Me:  Were you playing chase and he caught you?  Were you playing on the playground?  Did you play with Ethan Taylor too?
Addy:  I played with Ethan Taylor
Me:  What did you play?
Addy:  Mom, you are asking too many questions.
Me:  Ignoring the last comment. Did you play with any girls?
Addy:  I played with Moriah.  Moriah held my hand.  Too many questions. 

I had about 10 other questions I was going to try and slip in, but she is getting too smart and is calling me out now. 

Sorry Mom and Dad.  If it makes you feel better I am definitely being repaid for my stubbornness as a kid.  And she is only 3.  I know it is going to get worse.   

Big Church

Dad and Mary watched Addison on Saturday night so that Michael and I could enjoy a kid-free dinner for Valentines.  Addison was excited to sleep in her new bedroom upstairs at Granddad's house and here is a little story about her 1st trip to big church...
 
"Well, Addy had her first experience with "big church" and did really well.  We took a bag of drawing/coloring material and she kept herself real busy the whole time.  She didn't want to go to ss because she does not like to be left by herself and not know anyone.  When we got settled in I told her she needed to whisper and could not talk in a normal voice.  Well as soon as Mary and I finished saying the Apostles' Creed she reminded us we needed to whisper.  She did a great job of staying quiet and not bothering those around us.  About halfway through the service I was doing as much coloring as she was."   --- Granddad

"I Love You Back"

When Addison was learning to talk we'd tell her "I love you" and then say to her "now you say I love you back". "I love you back" is what stuck, so that is what she says whether she is responding to you or she is saying it first.

Happy Valentines Day!

Butterflies

For Addison's birthday she got a Fancy Nancy book called Bonjour, Butterfly. Super cute book and in the end they go to the butterfly museum. We have a butterfly museum here in Houston that we'd been to multiple times before, but it had been a while so we planned a play date with Addison's friend Emily at the museum. In the Fancy Nancy book they talk about an azure butterfly - so our mission was to find an azure butterfly. We had a great time, but when we went to the actual part of the museum where the butterflies are flying around, Addison was not real excited. After a short period of time she was asking to leave because she was afraid a butterfly was going to land on her head. On our way out of the butterfly area Gail spotted a blue butterfly perched on a leave, not sure if it was truly an azure butterfly, but we told the girls it was and they were mildly interested. Fortunately they have a great play area outside of the butterfly exhibit and the girls had a blast playing there. Very into posing for pics which was cute!