In the Blink of an Eye

It always seems to go by so fast.  One minute we are pulling out the decorations and I get so excited that foe the next 4 or so weeks we get to enjoy the Christmas season and all that comes with it.  Then before I know it we are down to the last ornament on our advent calender.  We have been doing a whole lot around here to celebrate.  With Carsyn being older this year and  expressing a bit of understanding about everything I figured she would enjoy decorating gingerbread men and houses with Addison. Both girls did awesome hanging ornaments on the tree, and they even helped wrap a good many of the gifts.  Carsyn has become a Frosty the Snowman fan and I think we have watched it at least once a day.  Polar Express remains Addison's favorite and we have watched it at least 3 times.  We donated to Toys for Tots again and Addison was so proud to drop off the toys. Carsyn had fun at Memaws unwrapping her gifts and then tossing the wrapping paper up the air over and over again.  She even dumped out the entire trash bag of wrapping paper and she and Caroline "hid" underneath it. We even managed to squeeze in an overnight trip to St. Simon with the Thompsons.  It was me and my two girls and my friend Michele and her 3 girls Madison, Olivia, and Sydney.  Olivia and Addison are in kindergarten  together and Sydney and Carsyn are in school together.  It was a lot of fun but somewhat insane.  On our way home Michele and I were tempted to leave the girls at a Chick-fil-a in Macon and make a run for it.  Just Kidding we would never do that :)   We are going to church tonight with our neighbors/friends the Scofields and then it will be off to SC.  Although I wish the season would last a bit longer I can't help but smile about all the things God has given me to celebrate during Christmas.  I have posted some video and pictures so you can see exactly the things I am thankful for!  Merry Christmas!!!

When it Gets Quiet

The Opening Line

All of the kindergarten classes at Addison's school put on a Christmas program.  Addison was one of two in her class that had a speaking part.  Little did we know that it was the opening line for the entire program.  We were SOOO proud to say the least!!!

In a Nutshell

I am doing horrible at posting more than once a month.  I think I hear a New Years Resolution coming on. So what have we been up to since Halloween? Well November seemed to fly by with birthday parties, Thanksgiving, a trip to the mountains , and getting decorated for Christmas.  One of the birthday parties was at the bowling alley.  It was Addison's first time and she loved it.  I hope I get to take her again over Christmas break. The girls went and stayed with my parents from the Sunday before Thanksgiving until Wed.  My Mom called me on Tuesday and informed me that Carsyn had a 102 tempature. Seriously!!!  She went there already on antibiotics so I assumed it was her usual viral throat infections that seem to show up at the worst times.  Well on Wed.  they decided to take her to the urgent care because her temp. continued to stay high even on Motrin adn Tylenol.  When we got there on Wed. night she had been diagnosed with brohchilitis and given 3 medications - one being an oral steroid.  We have had issues with this medication before but I figured she needed it to open up her airways and I was hoping maybe it wouldn't bother her like it did before.  Boy was I wrong and I think everyone that was at Dollywood on the day we were heard her screaming at one point.  I had to stop the medicine 3 days early because she was beyond agitated and irritable.  Other than that we had a  good trip but didn't see any bears.  Addison was really hoping that we would.  Here are some pictures of our November events.  We are in full swing Christmas mode and it is awesome.  Carsyn is so into it this year.  I am working on getting some video of her to put on here. 

At Gold Dust Park

She loved bowling but wasn't a fan of the shoes!

ET and Halloween

It has been a long time since I have seen the movie ET but when I think about Halloween I always think about this movie. Not for the reasons that would be obvious- I have never dressed up like ET or had an interest in having the girls dress up like ET. However one of the scenes in the movie was Halloween night and if I remember it was that night that ET and Elliot made the escape on the bike in the sky ( or at least that is how I remember it). Anyways, because I tend to be a person that pays to much attention to detail and can sometimes miss the big picture, I remember that in that particular scene in the background there were trick or treaters everywhere and I started to think to myself as I got older and the world seem to get more dangerous that that is how Halloween should be. I can remember when I was young and we would go out there would be people all over the street taking candy from strangers like it was a safe and normal thing to do. Unfortunately today you have to be a little more leery about the houses you go to , the people on the street, and the candy you eat. I know that there are many churches that offer the trunk or treat type events and I think that is awesome but being the traditional person that I am I really want my girls to grow up with the same experience that I did for Halloween. Lucky for us there are many other people around here that must feel the same way. For several years we have taken the kids to a neighborhood down the street and the families there have porch lights on and are waiting for all the goblins, princesses, ghosts, Minnie Mouse, and cheerleaders that the night has to offer. I have told Steve each time , " This is just like it is in ET and how I remember Halloween to be." I am so thankful that we have been able to find a community that wants to keep Halloween old school. Enjoy the pictures!

S- I - X

Can you believe Addison is 6? I can't! Really I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that I have been a Mommy for six years. I can't even remember what is was like before she was here. Truly I don't know what Steve and I did in the evenings before kids, and baths, and books, and Hannah Montana. Everyday I love her more and more and every day she amazes me at how smart she is and how much she loves school, and how much like me she is. She was very specific about what kind of party she wanted- a zebra stripe/ hot pink theme at the gymnastics center. So I set off looking for the decorations and figuring out what to do about a cake. I was very lucky to have a co-worker who use to own a cake business so I convinced her to come over and "help" me. Addison had the best time helping with coloring the fondant (I know this is not spelled right). My mom was able to come into town and all of the friends Addison invited were able to make it to her party. It was 10 days before her actual birthday so Steve and I saved all of our gifts until her birthday. I am pretty sure all the kids had a great time. We were the only ones in the the gym so they had free run on the equipment and inflatables. All the parents were very hopeful that their kids would nap long and hard that afternoon. On Addison's actual birthday we went to eat at Logan's (her request) and then came home to open her gifts from us. While we were at dinner I asked Steve if he thought in ten years we would be giving her a set of car keys. I know it is still far off but if the years go by as fast as they have it will be here before we know it. Right now though I will just enjoy her being 6 and wanting to drive her battery operated car and worry about the real thing when the time comes. In honor of Addison and the way far off 10 year anniversary of her turning 6 her are 6 things that haven't changed about her since she was born and 10 things that have. I also put a slide show up of her birthday celebrations. 1. She still sleeps with her now very ragged pink blanket. 2. She still very much LOVES to wear A LOT of jewelery 3. She still is very much a people pleaser. 4. She still wants to sit back and observe a new situation before she jumps in. 5. She still has to have her sleep- to many late nights in a row become a disaster for her. 6. Pink is still as much her favorite color as it was when she was two. 7. She has become a very good reader. 8. She is SASSY and this is what usually results in her being sent to her room. 9. She is around 48 inches tall 10. She has become a VERY picky eater- eating peanut butter sandwiches for over half her meals. 11. She likes to fix her own hair. 12. Her favorite music is Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney, and George Straight. 13. She has mastered her bridge kick over in gymnastics and is very proud of herself. 14. She would rather take a shower now instead of a bath. 15. She no longer has her fused tooth. 16. She is into peace signs and anything with a zebra stripe pattern.

Neighbors

Steve and I moved into our first home 9 years ago and we were so lucky to have awesome neighbors.  They were a little older than us and had two kids but they were super nice.  In one of our many cul-de-sac talks Cathy mentioned to us about the great pumpkin patch in North Georgia.  Because we didn't have kids yet we were OK with picking up our pumpkin at the grocery store but when Addison came along Burt's Pumpkin Patch was put on our to do list.  This was Addison at her first trip in October 2005.

This is Carsyn at her first trip to Burts in October 2008.

Last weekend we went our 6th trip to Burts and through the years just like our old neighbors we have passed the word along. What started out as a trip with just 3 of us has grown and grown.  We now go with our current neighbors who have become more than neighbors- they are wonderful friends.  The neighbor that told us about Burts passed away a few years ago and I would love nothing more than to thank her for letting us know about Burts.  It has become something we all look forward to and our family tradition to kick off the Fall season.

We're Fallin Take Two

More pictures from our Fall activites.  Coming soon Addison's birthday party and Bert's Pumpkin Patch

We're Fallin'

Finally a break from the heat and we are so excited.  We love this season and all the fun activites that come with it.  We said addios to summer with Me-maw, Aunt Jennifer, Caroline, and baby Will at the beach in Gulf Shores over Labor Day. The place Me-maw rented was fantastic and my kids LOVED the pool.  We said hello to Fall with our family birthday party for all the Fall birhthdays, parades, and apple picking. We have trips to the pumpkin patch, SC State fair, a harvest festival, and a trip to Gatilinburg over Thanksgiving, and last but certainly not least Addison's birthday!  It is busy but we have the best time.  Here are some pictures of the things we have done so far.  I can't wait to share pictures from all the rest

I DO

Intoducing Mr. and Mrs. Seth Cook.  Aren't they such a cute couple.  They got hitched on  August 15 and then packed up and moved cross country to Utah so Seth can get him some more edumacation.  I can't really imagine how it will be when we get together and she isn't there with her goofy poses for all of my pictures.  I know Utah will offer them an awesome experience as a couple and like I told her the young person in me is so excited for her.  What an awesome adventure!  However the Mommy in me had a lump in my throat the day she left.  I had the honor of being her official wedding photographer.  I am glad I got the practice but it was a bit stressful.  Addison was a flower girl and her teacher told me today at school that she has talked about it constantly and has told everybody about the wedding.  I think her favorite part was getting her hair curled by the girl that did Erika's hair.  We got home really late the night of the wedding and she didn't get a bath so she got to wear her hair curly the next day to school.  We are hoping to plan a trip to visit the Utes (that is what we call them now) sometime next year. Unitl then here is a sneek peek at some of the pictures I took over the weekend.  Congrats Seth and Erika we can't wait to see you again soon!

Two Cute

I said a while back that I would get a post up of Carsyn just to update and fill you in on what she has been up to.  She turned 2 a little over a month ago and soon after she had her 2 year old well check.  She weighed a whopping 30 pounds and was 34 inches tall.  This is roughly the same size Addison was at THREE!!!  I think her pediatrician pick up on my concern because he instantly asked me what kind of milk I had her on and when I told him skim he told me she had to be on at least 1% and there was no need to worry about her.  He said her activity level will balance everything out.  She got a perfect report.  She is in that stage right now where you can ask her to repeat what you say and she will so her vocabulary is increasing by leaps and bounds.  Some of her newest words are phone, TV, seat, color, night-night, and love you.  She is also starting to put words together- "Tank Tew Mommy" (Thank You Mommy), "Un a color?" ( Want to color), "Dares Addy?"  ( Where's Addy), and "Peez Mommy".  Some of her favorite things are coloring, The Doodlebops or "Bops", Ninnie (Minnie Mouse), watermelon, cheese, Andes Mints, yogurt, strawberries, grilled chicken, baked beans, The Hokie Pokie song, riding with Addison in her Power Wheels car, playing with sidewalk paint, Crocs and flip flops.  She is doing really well going up and down stairs as long as she can hold onto the wall or pickets.  She likes to push her babydolls around in their stroller, and talk on the phone.  She still loves gymnastics but would love nothing more than to spend ALL of her time on the trampoline.  She has recently named her blanket and pacifier- they are now Nonnie and Pappy.  I'm not sure where this came from but I am wanting to get rid of Pappy and now I am afraid it is going to even harder.  Since I have been home with her 3 days a week we have been working on colors and she has mastered Pink!  However, every color is Pink so we still have some work to do. She recently met with Mrs. Karen for her 2 year photo shoot and as usual Karen did a fabulous job- we had to meet twice because Carsyn wasn't very willing to cooperate the first time.  She still is very much a bit of a spitfire. So this is what our little 2 year old has been up to.  We look forward  to what this next year holds for her.

It is Official

Addison has started Kindergarten and is a Ithica Titan.  Her first day was Friday August the 6th and we all made it through with not many tears.  We went to open house the night before and learned that she would be in Mrs. Langford's class also known as the Ladybug class. This tickled her pink because we had already decided that her outfit the first day would be her ladybug outfit- I guess it was destiny :)  We all went the first day and I knew that if she did OK I would do OK. I had already had just a few minor breakdowns so I hoped it was out of my system.  We waited at the front for Addison's BFF Olivia and while we were waiting we found Trey a little boy that was at MLA with her since they were little.  The 3 of them somewhat stuck together all through Pre-K. We all headed to the Kindergarten hall together and I think that helped ease Addison's nerves a bit.  We dropped Olivia and Trey off at their classes and then took Addison to hers.  She sat in her seat and started coloring her Ladybug and didn't even turn around to say goodbye.  That has been almost 2 weeks ago and she loves it more and more everyday that she goes.  I am so excited  for her and I hope that her enthusiasm continues long past the Ladybugs!

JULY,JULY,JULY

I know every year before anything gets on the calendar that I will have 3 busy months July, October, and December.  This July has been no exception and will be followed by a busy August because my cousin Erika is getting hitched and Addison starts Kindergarten.  July  starts off with the fourth and we haven't been the last few years because of pregnancy and the fact that it falls right before our week long vacation to Garden City.  Well this year I convinced Steve that we needed to go since we haven't been in awhile.  It was a short trip but worth it and we were even able to catch the fireworks over Lake Murray by just driving back and forth over the dam.  Here are a few pictures of our Independence Day!

                                                                       

After the fourth it was back to Georgia to get packed and ready for the beach.  I started packing as soon as we got back and all day on Monday the 5th.  By the time we were all loaded up there wasn't room in the car for an ant.  I am so bad about over-packing but you never know what you may need.  So we headed out on Friday the 10th and we were beach bound.  We had a great week at the beach and in typical  fashion for my kids Carsyn didn't warm up to the beach until the very last day.  We had our yearly July birthday bash for 7 people who have birthdays in July ( Steve, Carsyn, and myself are included in this group).  It was nice to just hang out with my family and I have long traded my nights of going out to the clubs in Myrtle Beach for just a nice cold beer on the dock with my family.  Here is a slide show of our week at the beach that by the way went by way to fast!

We traveled back to GA on Carsyn's actual birthday and it bothered me a little because we weren't doing anything fun on her actual birthday. I guess at least she is young enough that it doesn't make a difference to her. We did go to dinner and sang Happy Birthday to her that evening so I guess the day didn't go without some celebration. Steve guilted me in to having a birthday party for Carsyn here in Georgia the Sunday after we got home from the beach. We just invited our neighbors that we have become really close with, my mom and Steve's mom came, and Addison's BFF with her 2 sisters (one who is Carsyn's age). We did a ladybug theme and I found the cutest cake at Publix along with awesome party favors on the internet. Here are the pictures from her party.

Notice I am the one opening all of her gifts.  She opened the first one and then wanted to get back in the pool.  She had no interest whatsoever about the pretty bags and wrapped presents.  It was her party so I let her do her thing.  Thank you to everyone that helped us celebrate!  July was over before I knew it.  I always feel like when we get back from the beach Addison's birthday and Halloween are here in the blink of an eye.  I wish I could just slow things down a tiny bit. Addison starts Kindergarten on Friday August 6 so we are preparing for that both physically and emotionally.  I really haven't had any breakdowns yet but I'm sure when I drop her off the floodgates will open.  I will post pictures as soon as I can and I'm trying to think of a clever post for a 2 year update on Carsyn.  It is a daily thing with her now as far as words and her budding personality.  Hope everyone as had an awesome summer!

Big Girl Bed

Carsyn is in her on bed!!! Can I get a woo hooo! This child refused at 10 months to sleep in her crib and would wake up as soon as you put her in it. Yes we took the lazy easy way out at let her sleep in our bed until last Saturday June 19. Addison has wanted to sleep with her at night and Steve and I have our bed back so we are all sleeping peacefully again. We also put her rocking chair away and I was worried about her getting to sleep but turning on some Pachabel Cannon in D and a little backrub send her right into dreamland. I can't wait to get her new bedding and I will post some more pics.

Fathers Day

Thanks to my next door neighbor Amy I have had part of Steve's Father's day gifts for a few weeks. She invited Addison and I to go to Wired and Fired. It is paint your on pottery place and it was really cool. Addison being the crafty girl she is thought it was awesome. She painted a polk-a dot coffee mug orange and purple and a cupcake that had a removable lid- she said it would be perfect for Daddy to keep sugar in (Steve keeps a small sugar bowl right by the coffee maker). On Fathers Day we went to the Georgia Aquarium. I have been several times before but it is always just as a amazing as the first. The girls loved it too. Carsyn saw so many people taking pictures with there cell phones that at one point she took the one she was carrying and "took a picture". It was a great day except for the fact that I didn't get to see my Dad. I did get to wish him a Happy Fathers Day over the phone and will see him a good bit in July.

June Bugs Continued

Man blogger has been giving me fits and it is driving me crazy. I can't use Slide.com for some reason and so I am having to change over to Photobucket and it is taking me some time to figure it out. Anyways Addison started her team gymnastics classes this month and I'll have to say it got off to a rough start. Thank goodness Grammy was here to help smooth it over. It is just a good bit
more intense than what her other classes were and it took a awhile to adjust but she loves it now. If I have said once Addison don't flip so close to the wall, your sister, or furniture I have said it a million times. She is currently mastering her bridge walk over and they have been doing a lot of vault and beam work recently. We also have another gymnast in the family- Carsyn. She LOVES it but is having to get use to the structure of taking turns and not being in the foam pit or on the trampoline whenever she wants. Here are some pics Audrey and I took. I don't have as many pics of Addison b/c they are never close enough to where we sit.

June Bugs

Wow what a busy month and July seems to be shaping up to be even busier! I feel like I am having to manage every minute wisely just to be able to make things work. I was really hoping my 2 day workk schedule would start on July 1 but we or they have yet to start interviews for another nurse. I plan on letting them know this week that when school starts back that is it for me and a five day work week. I am really looking forward to having extra time to do on the crappy adult stuff so I can have extra time doing all the awesome Mommy/ Family/Wife stuff. So to kick summer off we went to Chucktown as we SC local like to call it. I have been a millon times but I wanted Addison to experience the history of the town. Plus I needed to get in some practice of taking photos b/f my cousins wedding.

FYI

I have wanted to do an update post on the girls for a while but I have just gotten all my pics and video organized so here we go. Addison was invited to try out for the competition gymnastics team and made the Gymstar level. She will practice 3 hours a week and go to two competitions plus two meets here at our home gym. She is very excited about this but I don't think she realizes yet how much work it is going to be. She is already tanner than I will be by the end of the summer, has lost another loose tooth, and will be getting a pallet expander put in the first of June. Sure do wish I would have listened when the dentist told me to get rid of the pacifier. She seems so grown up to me. She will hear me say something and then say "For real?" She is in love with High School Musical, silly band bracelets, and picking out her outfits in the morning. She just recently planned a summer Luau party and took handmade invitations to school without my knowledge. I became aware of this party in Publix one Friday morning when another Mom stopped me and asked me about it. We ended up having the party and she had the best time decorating and even put Luau music in her CD player on the front porch She graduated from Pre-K on May 28 and she was so sad about it because she was going to miss her teachers. Much to her surprise we told her that her Pre-K teacher would be keeping her for the summer. So Addison and her BFF Olivia are in heaven having Ms. M all tho themselves. Here are some pictures and video of my bronzed Addy B.

Now on to my other little love. I promise you there is something new with her everyday and I love it. Her vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. No and My (for mine) are probably her most used words at the moment. We call Addison Addy a good bit around the house and I guess it was confusing Carsyn because she would hear us call Steve Daddy and Steve. So now when she says Addy she puts the D sound in front of it so it sounds like Daddy and she is calling Steve by his name. It is kind of funny but I know we need to start correcting her. Her new word today was Coke. She will motion with her hand and say "mon" when she wants you to come with her. She can also say car, please, boo-boo, baby, pool, tew (shoe), Elmo and a lot of other words and animal sounds. We are starting to work on colors and she so far has mastered pink. Maybe we will have another girly girl after all. She has shown no interest at all in potty training so I'm not pushing the issue. She can eat her weight in watermelon and doesn't like bread unless it has peanut butter on it. She loves to be outside and paint with sidewalk paint. She still is a very strong willed child. She is obsessed with her pink crocs and wants to wear them all the time- even when it is time to go to bed. Her big girl bed will be delivered this Friday so we are finally going to get her out of our bed. All of her two year molars are in so we are thrilled to be done with teething - at least until the 6 year ones come in. She started gymnastics last week and other than the tantrum she had about getting off the trampoline and learning how to take turns it went really well. Here are some pics and footage of Miss Carsee.

Okay so something is up with blogger and I can't get any video's to post I have been trying for 3 days. So I guess these pictures will just have to do. If anybody knows whats up clue me in please!