Busy, Busy, Busy.....

We have been very busy! I started back to work, which has been an adjustment on all of us. Addie, however, has taken it pretty hard. She actually started climbing (falling) out of her crib the second day I was back to work. She cried in bed "more mommy, more mommy". That about killed me! Since her new discovery of being able to get out of the crib we headed to the store for a toddler bed. Needless to say we had some rough nights. She told us that she did not like her new bed and then slept on the floor the first night, poor baby :( This has been going on for a couple weeks and Jason and I thought it was getting better but the last two nights have not gone so well. I am not sure why but she gets up, runs to the gate - as if she is looking for us, then runs back to bed (she did this pretty much all night last night). What a stinker! I am sure she will adjust soon. Here is a picture of her cute little bed. She received many new toys for her birthday and she loves playing with them. The first picture is a motorized jeep - which she loves! She drives all over the place and laughs the whole time. This is a dress-up outfit that she was given and she loves this too. She puts it on and then checks herself out in the mirror. Too funny!
We also signed Addie up for gymnastics. Jason takes her on Fridays - when I am at work. I hate to miss it but it has turned out to be a great activity for them to do together. She tells me that she gets to jump high, swing high and tumble! What fun.

I want to say thank you to everyone who said a prayer for me regarding my job this year. I really appreciate it. 2nd grade is a huge improvement and I am so thankful for the change! I have a couple stinkers but that just comes with the job. :) I hope everyone has a great week!

Thank You!

I just wanted to say thank you to two of my good friends, Jennifer and Abby. They both nominated me for The Smile Award! We are in a playgroup together and have become great friends because of it. I have really enjoyed the time we get to talk and enjoy each others company and children. I appreciate all of the kind words and encouragement. I am so blessed to have a great circle of Christian friends and moms. They both love their children to pieces, it is fun to experience that with other people. Thanks girls!

I realize that I have not blogged since Addie's birthday but as many of you know, we are approaching the first week of school! Busy, busy! I am looking forward to this year because I have been placed in 2nd grade - really looking forward to the grade change. My kids were sooo excited at our open house, which is a big change from years past. Please keep me in your prayers! I am trying very hard to start this year with a positive attitude. I had a very frustrating year last year and I just pray that this year will be better. I have done a lot of growing, spiritually, over the last few years and I am so thankful for all the amazing things that are going on in my life. I am working very hard at not sweating the small stuff and relying more on God and not myself. What a blessing to really grasp all of God's love for us, it is much easier to let things go when you truly believe that God is in control!

I also want to say thank you to my wonderful husband. As you all know, I do not mix well with pregnancy! The person who came up with the phrase morning sickness, is crazy! I do not get just morning sickness - mine is all day sickness - literally. Jason has stepped up to the plate and has helped me so much. He comes home from work and takes over. Feeds Addie dinner (I am not cooking right now), plays with her outside, does the laundry, picks up around the house, and he even headed to Walgreen's at 10:00pm to get my nausea medication! I wanted to try to make it with out taking anything I did not have to but it was time. I am down 7 pounds and counting (it was 18 with Addie and I know that is where it is headed if I don't start taking it). He has been a saving grace, I am so thankful that he is so helpful and understanding! I love him dearly!

Addie is doing great! We are so thrilled to announce that Addie is going to be discharged from OT in about 2 weeks. She has been in OT for over a year and she has made such great progress. When we started therapy she could not eat solid food without choking on it - very scary! She eats great now - like a typical 2 year old. She had the best OT ever, Shelly was great! Very patient and informative. She was a blessing to our family and we are so thankful that God choose her to work with Addie. It is going to be bitter sweet because we are going to miss our weekly visits with Shelly but we are so thankful for that Addie is doing so much better.

I hope everyone has a great week!

Birthday Party Fun!

We had a wonderful birthday party on Saturday, August 2 (Addie's actual birthday). We had about 40 people (all family, except a few). We have such a close family! My dad, Grandpa John, Aunt Bev and Uncle Dan, and Uncle John and Aunt Sheila drove all the way from Columbus, Ohio (four hours one way), just to celebrate with us. A lot of family lives about a half hour away and they all came in too, how great is that! We set up a little water park in the backyard (3 baby pools, a sprinkler, a slip n' slide and water guns). This was great because all the kids were entertained the entire time (12 kids to be exact)! Addie had a ball and kept saying "Addie's party". I guess she wanted to make sure we all knew that this crazyness was all for her (like we could forget!). Jason and I took her to the store and let her pick out the theme for the party and with no surprise, Dora was the winner! So we had a Dora cake, Dora hats, Dora plates and a Dora table cloth (we are crazy, we know). As I was preparing for the party I kept telling myself that next year I am going to tame this down because it gets pretty expensive and overwhelming but once the party started it was so much fun! Addie had such a great time and it was all worth it. So needless to say, next year will be just as crazy and fun! The new baby is due in February so I have to start being creative for entertainment because there will be not water park in my backyard in February! Bummer! Here are a few pictures of the party.

This is a picture of Jeffrey (my nephew), my dad and Addie.
Jeffrey, Jessie (my sister) and AddieThe backyard!Addie opening gifts...Look at those nice silver shoes! They have been worn everyday since. :)Eating birthday cake. Yummy!Addie was a little concerned because a sprinkle (from the cake) was on the ground. Why can't I eat that?
These pictures were not taken on her birthday - I just think they are adorable!

Thank you so much to all our family for everything. We are so blessed to have such a loving and supportive family. We are thankful for each and everyone of you. I hope everyone has a great rest of the week. Love you.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Addie!!!

More birthday pictures to come...this one is just too cute! We are headed to another 2nd birthday party for a little girl born the same day as Addie. We are very thankful to our family - thanks for coming and celebrating a wonderful 2 years with Addie!