Birthday FUN

Grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends all showed up for Addison's b-day party!!! The weather stayed decent and the food lasted for the whole party! Lots of cake and ice cream to eat...just couldn't get much better!

We were nervous about having the party because Addison was getting over the stomach bug that surprised us yesterday afternoon. But, I'm so glad we went ahead and had her party after knowing she was feeling better this morning! Thanks to all those who came and for those who wanted to be there!

We are blessed to have our little girl and to have such wonderful people in our little girl's life who love her so much!

Happy 2nd Birthday Addison

Amazing how fast time flies!!! I can't believe that the gorgeous little baby I gave birth to two years ago turned into a smart, fun loving, adorable little girl! She's not so much a baby anymore, but is quickly becoming a big girl! I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for my sweet Addison. You have brought me more joy and happiness into my life than I could have ever imagined!!!

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!!!

Confession

Okay, so my mom was able to do it , my grandma could do it, tons of you do it, but I can't!!! I just can't keep up with the house work! My confession...we got a housekeeper and I love her!!! No, we didn't win the lottery (especially since we don't play) or inherit any money. I just insisted that I couldn't be superwoman and do it all (which is hard for me to admit)! I can handle the dishes and daily clean-up, but the deep down cleaning...nope! Our housekeeper comes every other week for 2 hours. She cleans the bathrooms, sweeps and mops the floors, and can usually fit in one other little thing (like dusting, wiping the baseboards, wiping down the cabinets, etc.). I look forward to every other Thursday when she comes! I can't wait to get home and smell a fresh, clean house.

Now to justify...I work full-time, stay very busy with a demanding church calling, keep up with an almost 2 year old who loves to help me clean (which takes 10 times longer), requires at least 6 hours of sleep to function the next day, cheers on a stressed out, extremely busy PA student husband 24/7, who also has a very demanding church calling! I also mow the grass and the neighbor's (that's another story) to keep the above PA student from having to do that. My Saturdays were being spent grocery shopping, cutting the grass, cleaning, and usually running at least 3 errands, I didn't have any down time. I also felt like when we went out of town to visit our families that I would have to make up the cleaning during the week nights and that took away Addison and I time, which wasn't an option!!!

I can clean during holiday breaks and summers (advantages to being a teacher), but I must admit that the thought of having to do it again makes me grumpy! I might change my mind!

*Also, a huge thanks to my sweet husband who let me get a housekeeper! For a guy, he helps with the house work a lot (especially the dishes). For that, I thank my mother-in-law for teaching him so well!

So, I'm not superwoman, but I'm learning that that's okay (and I don't have to clean the toilet)!

Pumpkins

Can you believe that this mostly bottle drinking, almost crawling, drooling, sweet potato lovin', cute seventh month old turned into...

an almost 20 month old, walking, talking (several words), nursery rhyme singing, hot dog and mac n' cheese lovin', adorable little girl! I am amazed at how fast she has grown! I miss the baby phase where I could hold her for hours and hours, but I wouldn't trade it for all the fun we have now! I have loved every stage of her life and it just seems that it keeps getting better and better!

Our Family with the Pumpkins

Fall 2010

My Cutie!

Just wanted to share some pictures!

Addison getting ready for school one morning. Isn't she adorable?

This is a good friend of mine...Gracie. I taught Gracie 3 years ago. She taught me more than I could have ever taught her. We go celebrate our birthdays every summer. We let Addison go along this time. Gracie wants Addison to be older to play with her :) We went back to Gracie's house to play and Addison fell right back into Gracie's lap. She was tired...I hope they'll always be friends. We sure love our Gracie!

First Day of "School"

This is my cheesy monkey with her bear on her first day of "school". We call it school because it's at the daycare where I work. It took about a week for her to get settled in and now she loves it! She runs down the hallway to see her teachers and friends. She turns to me and says, "bye,bye mama". I chase her down for some kisses and off she goes.

Btw...I'm only a month late on this post!

Addison's Language

Here are a few of my favorite words and/or actions from my 17 month old:

mama - mom (me...we've tried mommy, but she doesn't use it)
dada - dad (Neil)
boonboon - balloon
Mammie - Grammie (my mom)
ooes - shoes
pointing to her mouth and going aaaahhhh - mouth
pointing at her eye and says eye -eye
uh-oh - (we hear this all the time...if you or someone drops something, a bump in the road, someone or her burps or passes gas, when she throws something, when the phone rings, when someone else says it)
gogogogo - ready to go
blows kisses - means bye bye or hi (either one depending on what we're doing)
Bumps her head and says ow - ouch (she also does it when someone else says ow or ouch)
Sits on your foot when your legs are crossed - wants you to bounce and do horsey
gen - again (usually follows horsey or Ring Around the Rosies)
points to her toes - toes or wants to play This Little Piggy Went to the Market game
puts both hands in her hair and rubs - wants to wash her hair

Addison loves songs that we sing or books that we do actions to. Her favorite right now is Wheels on the Bus. She puts her hands to her eyes for the wahwahwah, her finger to her mouth for shshsh, her hands trying to turn circles for the wheels, and jumps up and down for the people. She likes The Itsy Bitsy Spider. She puts both hands in the air and waves them around. Her new song is If You're Happy and You Know It, but we only have learned the clap your hands. She also loves the song 5 Little Monkeys. She'll bump her head with her hand and then point her finger out and shake it for "no more monkies jumping on the bed". My friend from work watched her one day and taught her how to dance around and sing aloud to the ABCs. I even caught her on camera last week doing it. Her Aunt Leah came and taught her Ring Around the Rosies, which she laughs too hard with the anticipation of falling down that she can barely walk in a circle! She learned Bringing Home My Baby Bumblebee at daycare. She'll cup her
hands together and then wipes her hands off on her pants for wiping off my baby bumblebee.

I can't help but love this little girl! She makes me laugh everyday with her little personality. She is a people watcher (she gets it from my mom and I) and will imitate what other people do. She doesn't jump right into new situations...she'd rather watch and figure things out before she tries something new. However, she's not afraid to interact with strangers. She is constantly bringing strangers (to her...just new friends she hasn't met yet) to visit with us with her blowing kisses and uh-ohs. Ofcourse, she has her daddy's bright blue eyes and beautiful blonde curls which certainly make her hard to pass by without saying hi and her doing everything in her power to get your attention. The exterminator man came over today and did what he does and when he was leaving out the door he said, "Bye Mrs. Wilkerson" and before he could finish Addison said bye bye and so he had to come back inside to say bye bye to the little Mrs. Wilkerson. My child...never ceases to amaze me!!!