Addison's first "performance"

The fair is the first opportunity for our little dancers to perform before their big recital in May. The thought is that it will get them used to being on stage and dancing in front of people. Addie got her costume a few weeks ago, and totally forgot about it (this was a great thing!). As we got closer, she kept asking if it was fair day. She was stoked!!!  Yesterday morning, Addison told me she needed to get dressed first thing in the morning...she wanted to put on her costume and wear it ALL DAY. Well, that wasn't an option, so all day she asked if it was time.

We had to be there at 5, which presents with it's own complications due to dinner. We had to go get our first curling iron, and she wanted to take a shower before her big night. Check both of those off, and it was time to get ready. We dried and curled her hair, ate dinner and put on a little make up. She put on her costume, and then we had to convince her that she needed to wear something over it to cover it up. She ended up wearing her jacket because she didn't want to wear one of our shirts.

We got to "the fair," and she was still excited. Brandy came over and stood with us backstage. I have a lot to learn. She will need more make up for recital, and apparently also glitter spray (I don't even know where to get glitter spray). Addie had a good time backstage. She danced and looked around at everything. We even had some smiles!

 Looking at the bigger girls.

 My big girl all ready.

Addison and I. 

 Twirling!!

 All lined up!

 Beginning to think this isn't all it's cracked up to be.

We waited for a good 30 minutes to get the show started. Addison was ok when they first lined her up, but as the group started to move closer to the stairs, she started to get upset. The parents running the backstage did a great job of trying to distract her and get her (and the other kids too) to keep their smiles. But, by that time, Addison's smile was gone.

She walked out with the other kids to the stage, holding on to her end of the rope. Dave said she was fine until she dropped the rope, and then her face crumbled. Addison found me, right in front and I tried to encourage her and tell her she was ok. But she cried through their whole song. She's always been a bit shy in big groups, and since our viral/possible allergy continuous saga, she's been a bit more timid in new situations. Most people don't see this side of her. But she didn't run off stage. She stayed up there the whole time. Hopefully between now and recital, we can work on the "stage fright," because they have two nights of this. I haven't figured out how we will work on it, probably through a lot of books! 

 Just walked on stage.

 She found me in the audience, I was right in front.

 Not a happy camper.

 Maybe if I hide my face, no one will see me.

All done.

Of course, they exited the opposite side that I was on, and it took me a minute to get over there. Thank goodness for other mom's. One of our friends had scooped Addie up in full bore tears until I got there. 

Jackson was especially sweet and tried to comfort her and tell her how proud we were of her for trying. He is a great big brother. We went and saw the goats after the dance and then headed home for popsicles and bed. Time will tell what she wants to do for recital.... 

Follow the snow

Try as we might, a family ski trip just didn't happen this year. So when Dave (who watches the snow reports daily in the winter) and my brother started talking about spring skiing this past weekend, we decided to go. It would be the only time this season Dave would get out. The kids and I hung out at my parents house and found our own "snow" to dig for treasures in.

There was an awesome little toy shop called "Toy Shoppe." In the middle of the shop, there was an area where kids could look for treasures in the small white pebbles. It was fabulous. They were allowed to keep anything they could fit in these small bags, but the bags had to close. Both kiddos had a good time looking and digging. A great idea for sure!

Always

Dear Jackson and Addison,

Today, I got stuck in a meeting right before I left to pick up Jackson. What that means is that I ended up running out of my office, literally. As I ran through, I asked Liz to call Jackson's school and let them know I was on my way. I usually always get there at the same time, and usually the same kids are still there. Well, I knew that today was going to be different. I was going to be late, and I was praying as I was  driving over there that Jackson was ok. When I got to his classroom, his face was red and his teacher told me he was getting worried. He was afraid I wasn't going to make it.

I will ALWAYS make it. I am your mom, and no matter what, I will make it. Even if I am a few minutes later one day, I will be there. I will never leave you. Ever. Always remember that. Also remember that you are never alone. God is ALWAYS with you, so while you are waiting for me (because you know I will be there), remember that. He is in your heart and will keep you calm. 

I can't promise that I won't be a few minutes late again. But I can promise that I will ALWAYS be there to get you!!!!!

Love,

Mom

Jackson and Grandpa B on Grandpa's bday!

Goats, dogs and tractors...oh my!

Yesterday, Brandy and her kids invited us out to their farm to see the new baby goats. Of course Jackson and Addison wanted to go, so after a quick stop at Starbucks (guilty pleasure!), we hit the road. We had a great time. Between the goats, the dog and the tractors and hour went by too fast! I couldn't narrow down the pictures, so I figured they would tell the story!

Brandy lifting Addison up to see the goats.

Watching and waiting to go in.

Addison was not so sure about going in.

One of the baby goats, just a few days old.

Another baby goat with it's mom!

Jackson and Addison petting the baby.

Addie was in heaven, she just loves animals.

She could have stayed there all day.

See that smile!

Jackson thought they babies were cool too!

Now the fun stuff...tractors!

Jackson and Payton. (Jackson thinks Payton is the best!!!)

Jackson climbing, Kennedy watching.

The dog was just Addison's size! 

She kept playing and playing with this guy.

Kennedy, Jackson and Payton. Tractor wheels make great things to climb on.

Loving it!

Addison and Kennedy inside the tractor gearing up for a "tractor race."

Payton and Jackson in the red tractor...

Addison and Kennedy driving the green...ask both sides who won...they both have different answers!

Jackson watching the goats one more time.

One last look....we'll definitely go back!

The Leprechauns

Last year the Leprechauns came to preschool and made a MESS. They did all kinds of things. This year, when Mrs. Galvan started doing shamrock activities leading up to St. Patrick's Day, Addison started talking about the Leprechauns. They came a day early to preschool, and low and behold, they came to our house too. 

Jackson and Addison were up at 5:30 to go on a Leprechaun hunt (REALLY??). They soon found out that they had indeed been to our house. They made a mess (but not too much because we all know who ends up cleaning the mess), and brought their own milk that was green. They also peed green in every potty and filled the sink with green water. Crazy. They were excited to find the first bathroom. From there, the morning went on. Jackson tried the green milk (gross), but Addison wanted nothing to do with it. As the day went on, Addison went to grandma's to visit. Linda called and said that Addison was scared to go to the pottty and that she had to go in with her to make sure that the Leprechauns had not been there. Later that day, when they found the green potty in the last bathroom, Addison wouldn't go in. Jackson was our investigator and flusher. 

Hopefully we haven't traumatized her! She talked and talked about how the Leprechauns were coming, so it didn't dawn on me that she wouldn't like it....I have to find the gold coins that they hid (REALLY WELL) yesterday for the kids because I didn't make it to the store in time to get them....so the surprises will continue, but these at least will taste good!

Addison's thoughts at four

Addison's questions this year took a few weeks to accomplish!! She is one tough cookie. I finally started backwards, and that seemed to go smoother. The questions that tripped her up were what's the best and worst thing about being four. They are pretty cute responses though!!!

How old are you?

     Four.

What’s the best thing about being four?

    Just waiting to go to San DIego.      

What’s the worst thing about being four?
     I am waiting and waiting to go to college and I will never come back here but I will visit Mrs. Galvan, and you and Jackson.     

What makes you happy?
     Playing silly games and laughing.        

What is your favorite color?

     Um...blue, and purple, and pink and blue. and pink and purple and blue. Hmm. Funny.    

What is your favorite thing to do at home?

     Put a leotard on and some jammies maybe.  

What is your favorite thing to do at school?
     Make something.

 

What is your least favorite thing to do at school?
     I don't know.

What’s your favorite activity/sport?
     Dance and soccer (although she didn't ever play!).

What’s your favorite animal?

     Lady bug.          

What’s your favorite holiday?
     Leprechauns. (according to Addison, they do A LOT around the house!)

What do you like about Leprechauns?
     Making the milk green, going green pee pee.

What's your favorite season?   

     I don't know.

What’s your favorite food?
     Um. Macaroni!!!

What’s your favorite tv show?

     Martha Speaks.

What’s your favorite movie?

     Sully. (Monster's Inc.)

What’s your favorite song?

     Shake it for me baby (Country Girl Shake it for Me).  

What’s your favorite book?

     Dora.    

Who is your best friend?

     I have a other best friend actually because dino dan, my other friend, he died.

So who is your best friend?
     Well, I don't know. I'm not playing with her yet. She lives somewhere else.

What do your want to be when you grow up?

     Go to San Diego to go to college. (Why) because I'm going to live there forever with Christian.

Any last thoughts to remember when you are older?
     I like kiwi and having fun at San Diego (she has never been to San Diego!).    

Sleepy time with Charlie!

So having a great dane puppy has been full of adventures! She is large, yet she has NO CLUE that she is as big as she is. It's cute, gross and fun all at the same time. Mostly it's cute though because Charlie loves to cuddle. I swear she thinks she is a chihuahua. I love her bark (and thank goodness it's not the bark of a chihuahua!!!). She is a funny sleeper for sure!!! I can not figure out how she can be comfortable, but she is. She is out like a light!

 Charlie loves to sleep on her back, with her legs up in the air. There are times when even her front legs are straight up!

 How she can sleep half on, half off her bed is a mystery!

 Snuggled with her family!!!

Protecting her girl...have to get through the dog first!

The Adventures of "The Lorax"

Maybe I was feeling brave. I must have been feeling crazy! Because I decided that today I would take Jackson, Addison and Adeline to see "The Lorax." We were going to spend the day waiting for dad to come home, so why not have something fun to do (at least that was my initial thought). Here's the complication. Our movie theatre is closed (welcome to small town USA). The closest theatre is 45 minutes away, and in my crazybeenalonewithkidsallweek state, that sounded doable. First mistake...getting the kids excited without checking movie times. Turns out that that movie had moved on...which meant that to go we had to go 2 hours. Kids were so excited, that I didn't have the heart to tell them no. Thankfully Kelly had agreed to come along. (I swear, the extra hands come in so handy!!! I am absolutely grateful to all of me helpers who come to the house, on trips, everything!!! ). Trip was almost canceled because last night Jackson threw up (EVERYTIME DAVE IS GONE, ONE OF THEM GET SICK. EVERY. TIME). He said he felt much better afterwords, so it was a watch and see.

All was ok with the tummy this morning (still a little off, but not sick and no fever), so we plowed ahead. We took Kim's car because I can't fit three seats in my back seat. All were in (after 15 minutes of trying to buckle kids in....Kelly was the smart one who suggested starting with the middle child before the sides when we stopped for potty...brilliant!).

Adventure #1: A 2 hour drive qualifies as a movie trip, so when we got everyone in, I grabbed the laptop to play the movie...I had plugged it in earlier, but it wasn't in all the way so it didn't charge. We headed to Kelly's house to grab her laptop. It was charged, but wouldn't fit between the front seats so everyone could see in the back. So we headed back up to the golf course where my car was parked to get my travel player out of my car. 30 minutes later, we had pushed play and were ready to go. Of course, snacks were immediately necessary (which I had grabbed!).

Adventure #2: I guess not an adventure, but there was a border patrol check that had us stopped for about 10 minutes to get through. This, combined with the DVD player mishap cost us too much time and we were going to miss the original show.

As all mom's do, the game plan was changed and we shifted gears to a movie about an hour later. We stopped and grabbed happy meals and chinese food, and had a quick bite in the car. Jackson spilled his chocolate milk in his seat because his toy fell and that was more important. Thank goodness Addison had extra clothes in her bag. He sat on those, which spared the milk on the butt look.

Adventure #3: Just getting through the movie. Of course they wanted popcorn, which was fine. But add a drink to that and little bladders and man....3 times! But only for 2 kids. Yup. Addison had to go twice (actually probably would have gone 3 times, but I wanted to see the last few minutes of the movie), and Jackson had to go once. We were in the upper row, which was great. There was no one behind us that could be bothered by their movement. And they moved. I started on the end with two seats to my left that were empty. By the end of the movie, we had shifted down and were now using all of those seats. Addison took off her skirt during the movie, she decided she didn't want it on anymore. Adeline took off her shoes. Jackson had his hands inside his shirt because he spilled water in the car on his long sleeve shirt. Seriously.

We hit Starbucks on the walk out because this mom was tired, and my extra hands needed a pick me up too! It was cute because Jackson, Addison and Adeline thought everything was so pretty! They loved it!

Adventure #4: Getting home. By this time, kids were tired. I think that says it all. But it always amazes me that right when we get home, a switch flipped and all three kiddos were ready to play again. With each other. Go figure!

Funny: Along the road both ways, Addison kept repeating, "Get me outta here! Get me outta the desert." I'm not sure where it was coming from, except that she decided she was done.

Lesson learned: Next time for a movie, 45 minutes to drive is the limit. Addison still gets a little squirly in the middle of the movie, but she ended up doing ok.

All in all, it was a success. Hey, I took 3 kids to the movies. Next time, I might even attempt it by myself. We'll see how brave I'm feeling then!!!

Daily comments.

As we were all getting ready to leave from picking up Addison this afternoon, Jackson was excited about getting to get his toy (we bribed him this week for staying on green all week). I reminded him that it had to be a small toy because those don't cost as much (yes, he had a limit). He looked at me, with all seriousness, and said, "mom, it could be a big toy, with a small amount." Man...it's hard to argue with that logic!

And tonight, while getting Addison settled in bed, she looked at me and said in an exasperated voice, "Mom, why can't I be bigger? I want to be five and go to kindergarten!"

Love their little comments throughout the day. I just need to remember them!

Nursing 101

The other night we were celebrating Grandpa B's birthday and Addison proceeded to lift her shirt at the table. She then put Eeyore to her breast and said he was "drinking out of her boobs, and that he liked her milk." Dave kept giving me crazy looks as if to say, "STOP HER RIGHT NOW!!!" But, I didn't. It was tender and sweet, and it is such a good thing for her to "play mom." It absolutely warmed my heart to see.

Besides, the look on her face just makes me smile. It screams contentment, peace, the feeling that "I'm right where I should be," and being completely in love.That's how I always felt when I nursed.  She must be thinking about it these days because today, as we were sitting in the waiting room for her doc apt, she looked at me and said she wanted to drink milk from me like when she was a baby. I said no, I don't have any milk anymore. So we snuggled...which is what we do best now!

Addison, when you become a mom, I hope you have the opportunity to nurse. I hope that it brings you joy. I loved nursing you and your brother. I loved the feeling of holding you and gazing at you while you drank to your hearts content. I loved that I was able to provide that for you. It was a special connection that only we shared. But sweetheart, don't feel pressured if it's not working out. Everyone's experience is different and unique, and circumstances change. I made the best decision for me, and for you and your brother, that I could at the time. I would do it again, for as long as I did (almost 2 years with each of you), again. But, that was me, and our family. I will support you and your decision as it is an individual decision that you need to make for you and your family.

Keep playing mamma love. You're going to make a great one!!!

Weekend fun.

We had fun this past weekend, enjoying the warm weather to it's fullest. No matter what happens, my kids always find the first puddle (ok, small hole filled with water) to jump in when the weather warms up. Guaranteed! 

Addison wasn't feeling great on Saturday (or Sunday actually...she took a nap, which she NEVEr does), but she still got out and put her feet in the water. Adeline was over for the afternoon, and all three had a good time exploring. Jackson and Adeline had fun playing together, especially having a good time jumping in the water and making the big splashes!

Not so sure about pictures.

This trick had a name, I swear...but I sure don't remember it!

Not her tip-top self!

Water is just around the corner.

Adeline having fun!

Huge splash!

Bigger splash!

Charlie REALLY wanted to come play.

King of the slide.

Small splash.

Train down the slide.

Tummy time down the slide.

My girl...she did smile!