Dangerous Times

So, from my previous post about Addison's new-found tantrum phase, it seems like things have taken a turn for the worse! She's getting vicious now and bearing teeth!

Okay, just kidding. We've actually hit a nice little "sweet spot" with the fits. They aren't gone by any means but have diminished greatly and that's good enough for me! I've just learned to give her more opportunities to be my little helper. She LOVES to help and beams so big when I go on and on about how good of a helper girl she is. She helps me with laundry, picking up trash, and even buckling herself in her seat belt/car seat. It's so fun to see how important that is to her and honestly when the next one comes, I'll definitely need her help so why not start training her now right?

She found this binky in her drawer a few days ago and since I've confiscated all her real binkies, she's resorted to this one. And as a sidenote: the binky removal process was SOOOO much easier than I was expecting. She's such a trooper when it comes to huge life adjustments like that. She just fussed a little at nighttime (when she'd usually get her binky) and I just told her "Nope, you are a big girl now - no more binkies!" And then, it was done. How lucky am I?



Cousin Chelsea is now our new neighbor (across the street) so we took some time to make her some cookies for her welcoming gift. Addison loved helping as you can see. Thankfully, "Mittie" (no longer "Mou") got in on the action too and helped out as well. She mostly loved the taste testing after we were done.

And, here is my little birdie on her new little perch. She managed to perch here and watch Sesame Street while I was getting something done. She has turned into such a climber now. I'm finding her on my computer desk, on the table, on the coffee table, you name it. She does pretty good for the most part but now I have to prepare myself for more falls.

Easter Fun!

Our Easter was quite fun this year. Addison definitely seemed to catch on more than she did last year. Here are the highlights of our fun (w/captions) for your viewing pleasure!

Here is Daddy helping Addison color eggs. Or maybe it's the other way around? Did I mention she's definitely in the "I want to do it myself" phase? Yes, we color them for tradition but for some reason never eat them afterward....oh well.

Thanks to a garage sale find from a year ago, Addison was able to don this cute little Easter dress. I was deprived as a child and never once got an Easter dress so needless to say I'm making up for lost time! :D Isn't she a cutie? Yes, we have frantic Sunday mornings so the best pic I could think of was while we were waiting for church to start. Thank heavens for iPhones! :D

Here Addison and Mommy are hiding out in the bathroom while we wait for the Easter Bunny to hide her basket. Our Easter Bunny didn't come until that afternoon long after church, food, and a nap. Gotta take advantage of that while they are little right?

She found her loot! Yay! I think she loved the bubbles the most. I'm now convinced our little girl does not enjoy candy (or maybe chocolate)? She would taste each piece of candy, say "Nope!" and hand it off to me. I guess I should enjoy this while it lasts?

And alas, we got to enjoy an Easter feast at Grandma Jean and Grandpa Joe's house. Plus, an improvised Easter Egg Hunt inside their house this year (thank you torrential downpour of rain). Addison LOVED finding the eggs and got so excited when she did. Once she spotted one she'd say "Egg!" in a high-pitched voice and go running to grab it.

And, of course it wouldn't be an Easter holiday without reflecting on the true meaning: Christ's atonement & Resurrection.

Since I taught our primary lesson on Easter, it gave me more time to dwell on the store of the Garden of Gethsemane, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection of Christ. It was fun trying to explain it all to about 6 four year olds too! Luckily a few actually retained it long enough to answer my question about "What is Easter really about?" Only one girl said "Jesus!" while the others replied..."Bunnies! Candy! Chocolate!" Sigh...oh well. I got a lot out of it at least! ;-)

Fight or Flight

"The biological response of animals to acute stress"

With me, being that "animal" this is a perfect explanation to our latest happenings. Let me start by saying that Addison is a very good girl and does her best to listen, help, obey, you name it. However, I think we are both treading into unchartered territory. She's entering the world of defiance, frustration, and.....fits. I'm entering into the world of insanity as a result - okay maybe this world isn't so much "unchartered" for me.

This past Monday was....interesting? Addison was having a rough day communicating exactly what she wanted. I was having a hard time acquiring the patience to help her figure it out. Yesterday was a little better, and hopefully today is looking much brighter. I'm hoping this is simply a phase and preferably not a "two-year phase" (i.e. terrible twos). I don't think I could survive if it was. I've been spoiled with a good little girly - what can I say?

So, any/every situation we run into runs the same course. It usually starts out with one of the following:
1. Addison wants something and can't communicate it.
2. I look at her wrong.
3. I manage to squeeze out some patience to help her figure it out - she does NOT want my help.
4. I talk to her.
5. I make her leave her desired area of play.
6. I buckle her in the carseat.
7. ::Insert any.other.action.here::

Then of course the response from her is usually either shouting, kicking feet, swinging arms, crying (yes this one...uh...lot), throwing herself down on the ground, yelling "Nope!", etc. (Fun eh?)

And my response varies as well....sometimes I can be patient w/it and try to help her (which again she does NOT want my help) and rarely calms the situation. Sometimes I just walk away from her, most of the time I send her to her room to cry (and she surprisingly takes herself there and comes out when she's done within seconds - it's pretty cute actually amidst all the chaos), and sometimes I leave crying as well.

So, I ask....What is wrong with my child?? Where did she go? It can't just be me because Daddy gets the same actions when he gets home too. Monday I felt like all we did was battle each other all.day.long and go back/forth to her room to cry. Please tell me this is only a very very very short-lived phase!

When I actually (and rarely) get around to sympathizing with her, I can tell she's trying her hardest to figure it out but just seems so confused as to what she needs to do to make it better. And of course throw in a bit of defiance and independence and it's chaos. Monday at dinner John and I finally realized this and felt bad for her and promised to do better w/her. Then of course Tuesday came around and we all seemed to start from square one.

So, I promise I'm not a horrible parent! I haven't beat her....yet ;-). But yes, I have ended up in tears and frustration, probably just as much as she has if not more. We are learning together and separately but the voice of reason rarely makes an appearance amidst the chaos....it's usually MUCH later.

Anyway, I can still acknowledge that she IS such a good girly and really does do a good job listening and trying and communicating. But of course, she is still learning/growing and figuring out this fit-throwing thing. Hopefully she realizes it doesn't work with us and quietly purges it from her strategy. In the meantime, I'll be getting a quadruple dose of learning patience and how to lock myself away in my own room to cry.

SDC Fun x 2

So, needless to say we've been a bit busy lately. My blog is getting neglected....tis a shame. Most of the stuff that has occupied our time has been fun stuff though so no complaints! Now that it has died down somewhat, it's time to blog about it all! :D

On two separate occasions we were lucky enough to jaunt off to SDC (Silver Dollar City, to the late person) for some family fun. The first trip our whole little family went up and met my sister Cass's whole little family (plus Grandma of course) for our first trip of the season. It was a fairly last minute trip but that didn't affect the amount of fun we had while there. My little sister has a little girly that is exactly 6 months older than Addison. And needless to say, they are always the best of friends when we get together. Addison adores her cousins on both sides....especially the cousins of the older, admirable, girl, variety. She loves to be their little buddy and loves especially when they dote on her as well. Here are a few pics of SDC trip #1:

Daddy & Addison getting some tutoring done in the old fashioned school house. She loved the chalk and slate board. I think Daddy may have been one of those "pesky boys" that stop the "obedient girls" from learning! ;-)

The three amigos: Alexa, Addison, and Grandma. They spent a LOT of time together - just the way we all like it! :D

Mommy and Addison riding the Butterflies (which I later learned are actually Bugs - whoopsie!) Yes, I barely fit, but I promise the spaces were tight!!

Aunt Cassie, Alexa, and Addison on one of Addison's favorites: "Frohs." She loves the jumping up and down....me? not so much.

Addison and the carousel. Not shown: me trying to hold down my lunch as we rotated in circles over and over. I'm rather disappointed in my queasiness post-pregnancies. :(

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Then, of course, a few weekends after that trip, we met up again with my other sister and her family and brother and his family (plus Grandma again - beginning to see a pattern here? ;-) It was also a lot of fun (just with more cousins) and a lot warmer than our first trip which is why I'm guessing we didn't bring back as many pictures. Apparently we were too busy having fun instead. Trust me, it was a lot of fun and Addison had even more cousins to adore her every movement. A fun time was had by all!

Me, Addison, and cousin Kayley once again riding the "Frohs." What I won't do for my little girly.

A good ole game of ring-around-the-rosies w/the cousins (Cora, Preston, Addison, Kayley, and Ashlyn). This is where we spent our time while waiting for their parents to get off the big/scary parent rides. Can't wait until I'm un-pregnant so I can go back and catch up on all the missed fun!

The kiddos did great on trip #2 as well, even despite all the heat and walking. We also got to see a few shows so we could cool down in some A/C. It was hilarious to see Addison enjoying the "Saloon Show." It was easily her favorite - not sure if that's something I should be proud of? She munched her popcorn, kneeled at the edge of her chair, and clapped her hands to the music while the ladies waved their skirts around and danced....in a most very family appropriate way I promise! I kept asking my sister, Michelle if it was a good thing that not only did we bring all these kiddos to this show, but that they all seemed enthralled with it?? Whoopsie!

My Poor Baby

So, I've already posted about our yucky sickness week a couple of weeks ago. However, thought I'd include (for journaling purposes) how truly yucky our little girl was feeling. Here are pics of her E.R. visit at midnight and her poor I.V. arm. Sadly, I look much worse physically than she does!

Thankfully, she is 100% better now and I would never wish that sickness on my worst enemy (Rotavirus I think?) It's a horrible, yucky, cruel, nasty, thing to endure. So glad we are finally out of the woods and enjoying resuming our normal activities! :D I hope I never have to see my little baby in that condition ever again. These pics don't even cover the week following wherein there was TONS more yuckies everywhere. It was a loooonnnggg week for us! :(

After I.V. but before fluids. She was just not herself! So sad to see her that way.

After she got her fluids. Such a HUGE difference! So glad we both fought through the pain of the I.V. process.

Hanging out watching the iPad and Gabba! Love that show!

Like I said, I look worse than she did and I wasn't even the patient!

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And just a random sidenote: As I've progressed in this pregnancy, I've spent some time reflecting on what our family is and what it will soon become. I've mostly enjoyed spending some time just observing Addison and the little person that she has become. I sit in amazement wondering how I was so lucky to be a Mom to such an adorable and good little girl. She is so sweet and loves to give hugs and kisses to Mom & Dad all the time...sometimes even when we don't ask for them. She does very good listening and obeying even though she's still learning along the way.

And boy is she learning! It seems to increase in speed/rate the older she gets. I'm talking about even noticeable differences in just one day to the next! She is such a blessing to our family and I couldn't imagine life without her. Even though I may have my moments/struggles w/motherhood sometimes, I'm sooooo lucky I get to spend my days hanging out with her and just watching how fast she is growing and learning. It's so fun to watch her little personality develop more and more everyday. I'm one lucky mama!

The Verdict Is In...

So, today was the big day. We finally got to find out what will be joining our family this August 25th!! Turns out that we get to start shopping yet again for new baby clothes! Yep, we will be having a

We just found out this morning and of course I had to start shopping right away. I must say, I can't wait for garage sale season!

Our ultrasound went great. Addison did great (for the most part). All is measuring well and healthy and he's weighing in at a bouncing 14 oz currently. We are still due on August 25th but my doctor has already warned me that I may likely go over since my body obviously doesn't know how to spit out a baby without some type of intervention. Either way we are VERY excited to meet the cute little guy and can't wait for the big day! I'll have to start picturing myself as a mother to a boy...so hard to imagine right now!