Family Fun FHE x 3

Yesterday for F.H.E. we decided to have a family fun date night. It was a great way to have one last hurrah as a family of three since that is all changing soon in a couple of days. Just as I guessed, Addison loved every minute of it. It was hard not to take pictures every time she moved/blinked since everything she does just seems so adorable lately. I'm guessing that may be her biggest adjustment when brother comes is learning to share the attention. I'm quickly realizing just how much time we devote to just her. So much so that I've made it a point to have little "craft projects" for her to do one-on-one with either Mommy/Daddy/or Grandma once baby brother comes home for good. Hopefully that helps her adjust a little better.

Anyway, back to our date...we started it off by snagging Dad from work to have our last doctor appointment for baby brother (inside the belly at least). Addison has been coming with us on these appointments for the last month and she loves it. All I have to mention is that we are going to the doctor and she just starts jabbering away..."Doctor, Baby Budder, Daddy". She even tries to steal away my seat on the doctor's table once we arrive. Luckily, she gets her turn once I'm done and dressed. It was adorable, Daddy laid her up there, strapped a couple of the velcro bands around her, and pushed on her tummy and listened to her "baby budder" - surprisingly she was loving every minute of it. She was thrilled to be just like Mommy.

Later that evening we started phase #2 of our family date and hit up the local miniature golf course...in the HEAT of the afternoon. (Can I just say I'm soooo OVER this heat!) Anyway, we had a blast but we quickly turned an 18 hole course into a 5 hole course. We didn't keep score, played one-handed, and hurriedly moved along to the final hole while trying to let Addison have her moment of chasing her golf ball and waiting patiently while she tried to hit it in. We were all a sweaty mess afterward but she wasn't even phased by the heat. She still loved every minute of it. Daddy and Mommy were just dying to get inside to some A/C. And that we did.

She's very particular in that she has to hit the golf ball with the very tip of her club. It takes some time to align it just right. Daddy kept trying to show her how to hit it with the side of the club but she wasn't having it. She's very determined to do it her own way - so we waited...and waited.

She quickly decided that wherever the ball went, she would follow. Here she is climbing through the rock cave in pursuit of her golf ball.

Next, we headed over to the arcade and spent some quarters and racked up some tickets to spend on some cheap souvenirs. Luckily just the blinking lights, sounds, and cheap toys gets Addison excited. Daddy too, since he was getting hooked on a game of chance and couldn't walk away. Mommy just needed her one shot at Skee-ball and then she was content just resting her aching feet while sitting and watching Daddy & Addison.

Cooling down with some ice cream. Daddy is much nicer than Mommy is when it comes to messy stuff. I kept trying to feed her myself while she is very intent on doing it herself. She and Daddy won out and she got to feed herself. I just keep seeing the sticky and the stains with every bite but I guess she'll never learn how to eat if I'm trying to do it for her. You live, you learn right? It's hard to give up control!

Riding her favorite - the mini-carousel. She's growing up so much. I don't have to hover by her to make sure she holds on. Sniff sniff.

And last but not least, the cheap loot we spent our tickets on. Luckily it's all amazing to her. John got her some wrist-bands that had soccer balls on them and she LOVED them. It was hilarious to see her walking while holding her wrists together - as if they had to be touching to look cute. She's hilarious to watch sometimes!

It was such a fun way to spend time together and it definitely made me realize that life will be changing VERY soon...for the better of course! We can't wait to welcome this little guy to our family. I think he will fit in just perfectly. And I think Addison will blow us all away with her ability to be such a good big sister.

**Before I forget, I want to document the latest developments w/Addison as we prepare for this next step in our family. I don't know if it's because I'm trying to soak her up even more lately or she has just turned up the adorability factor - but either way she is just growing by leaps and bounds and is SUCH a good girly. Seriously, her bad moments are so few and far between I can't remember the last time we encountered one.

Instance #1: Randomly, I've been trying to explain more about how life will change once baby brother gets here. Just to see how much she understands and retains. I tell her all about how he'll be "this big" (while holding my hands apart), how he'll cry sometimes, and he'll sleep, and we'll put him in the swing, and we'll have to change his diapers, and Mommy will need her help. At first I thought she was just humoring me but later that same day she was relaying to me all the information I had just shared with her. She says "Mommy...baby budder....dis big (holding her hands out)....he kies...pee pee in da potty...put in da sing." I'm quite amazed at how much she really gets. I do have to explain that he won't be as skilled as her with the potty just yet. I'm sure she'll learn all too quickly where/how to find diapers for him when Mommy needs her to.

Instance #2: Within the past few days she has gotten soooo much cuddlier. She's always been a good cuddle bug but lately she actually ASKS for them. This morning, the first thing she said when she crawled into my bed was "Mommy....tuddles...tuddles" like she was desperately needing them. And frankly that's a HUGE step when she usually asks for her milk asap. I happily obliged and just hugged, and squeezed, and kissed on her and she just lay there trying to get closer and closer. She even stays by me for a longer time and doesn't seem to tire of it like she used to. We spent most of today just giving her tuddles....and I was definitely soaking up the moment while it lasted. She'll even ask for hugs and hold her arms out. It's so adorable and honestly I hope she never outgrows it. John is secretly hoping that he'll still get to cuddle with her when she's in her 20's...we'll see how that goes. She's a fun one to cuddle with so I'm secretly hoping so too.

Instance #3: She is a little mini-me. Case in point: Mommy always cleans/puts things away as she goes while Daddy just throws it to the side (until Mommy finds it herself ;-). Lately, I've noticed when we get home, Addison will not only take off her shoes but will place them right next to her dresser in a perfectly straight line. Even when Daddy was getting her ready for bed last night, he took off her shirt and tossed it on the ground and she immediately got off the bed, picked it up, and ran to put it in the hamper. And tonight, she had to put her toys away before Daddy could put her to bed....even though he didn't ask her to. I love how helpful she is during the day, she's always wanting to put things in the hamper (usually Daddy's socks) and she's so willing to put things where I ask her to...the kitchen, the trash, etc. I hope she will always think helping is fun! Just the other day I was asking her to hand me some clothes off the floor so I could throw them in the washing machine. But, she got sooo frustrated because she wanted to pick them up and throw them in the hamper. While helpful, she is also a stubborn little girly - and wouldn't give them to me and instead kept saying "Hamper! Hamper!"

Instance #4: Her stubborn-ness. I think she gets a double dose - from Mommy AND Daddy. She will argue with you til the cows come home and she does NOT budge. For example, she calls blueberries - "gapes". John decided to teach her their real name one night for dinner (they both LOVE their blueberries). So, he kept telling her they were blueberries and she kept arguing back "No....GAPES!" You'd think the more he pushed, she would just give in but that little girly stuck to her guns and to this day still calls them "gapes". And again, anytime she goes potty she keeps calling the "poo-poo's", "pee-pee's". So while I sat and waited for her to do her business today, I kept trying to tell her they were "poo-poo's" and she was belligerent in telling me they were "pee-pee's". We argued about it for a good few minutes and she would NOT budge. It's hilarious but mystifying at the same time. I asked her where she got her stubborn-ness, from Mommy or Daddy and she quickly told me "Mommy!" Lol....whoopsie...guess I shouldn't have asked!

Instance #5: She's an avid block-builder. This is the lone toy that can consume the most amount of her time. Just building, and re-building, over and over. It's nice for Mom too so I can get something done and keep her occupied at the same time. She's very in to building castles and houses. And just absolutely LOVES when you compliment her on them. She'll happily show me her finished product and I'll go on and on and exclaim "Addison, that is a beautiful castle!" (and honestly they are quite impressive for a 2 year old) and she'll immediately respond with "Thanks Moooommmm!" in the most adorable voice. Similar to the "It's shake n bake and I heppped!" commercial. She's been saying the funniest things in the funniest ways lately - it cracks us up!