Harvest Time

(Addison exploring the corn maze)

Hardly similar to the actual farmers and their harvest - we had our own mini-version. I'm guessing ours was a LOT more fun than the real-life harvest.

John found a cute little pumpkin patch near his work one day and we finally got the chance to explore it a week or so ago. We actually picked the perfect Saturday to go and were one of the first to show up - even before they opened! The nice owner let us wander around the corn maze while he waited for his workers to come and run the rest of the festivities. It was cute, quaint, and the perfect size for Addison. We got to do LOTS and we all came home pleasantly exhausted from our fun....especially lil Addibell.

Secretly, I've been wanting to take her on one of these cow/train thingy's for YEARS. Even before I had kids I would think how fun it'd be someday. So glad I finally got to live the dream!
Summary: it was a blast - for her. My knees got lodged between the bucket and each bump we hit. She laughed the whole time she was on it, the more bumps, the more she'd laugh. I love that she is going to be my little "thrill seeker" (Can't wait to ride roller coasters with her soon! :D)

We enjoyed a hay-ride to the actual pumpkin patch and Addison was able to pick her own pumpkin - just her size!

She was even able to drive the fire truck that the nice firemen shared with us. She was pretty exhausted by this point but she was still enjoying herself.

Not shown: The fun little petting zoo of goats and pigs. She didn't take long to warm up to the little goats and I think they liked her just as much. Stinky....but fun! And of course, John got to "live the dream" of shooting corn cobs at a metal target in a field. It was quite a creative idea and came close to his dream of making/shooting a potato gun someday!

All in all, we had a blast at our own little version of "Harvest Time". Can't wait to celebrate Halloween this weekend! If only, I could get Addison to fall in love with her adorable costume as much as I have. T minus four days and counting!

Well Trained....Sort Of

For the past week or so I've been observing Addison a bit more. I've been really impressed with her listening skills lately. Sometimes I feel like I say "No No" too much but apparently it's not landing on deaf ears.

The other day she managed to pull the wet wipes off the table and started going through them (her favorite pastime). However, after I said a simple "no no Addison" she not only stopped going through them but also reached, struggled, and pushed to get them right back on the table where she found them. Impressive eh? Yup, I praised her for good listening.

There are two drawers that I really wish she wouldn't get into. Her hair bow drawer and her special keepsakes drawer in her bedroom. I feel like I try to "allow" her to explore all other cupboards well enough that I can say no to these two. She listens....for the most part. For example, anytime I am nearby she points to the exact drawer, looks at me and says "no no". Very cute and observant eh? Granted, the times I'm not around her she just goes full force and manages to dump and scatter everything on the floor. At least I'm getting through to her somewhat. I guess I should be reassured that she really does try her hardest to obey but also definitely has the exploring gene any 17 month old would have.

And on a completely random thought, we were able to hang out again this past week, just the two of us and we had a blast....sort of.

In an effort to get out and have more fun I decided to take Addison to Jump Zone w/cousins. It didn't go as well as I thought. For all she knew, I could have taken her to the torture chamber. Because, basically that is what it was for her. Lesson learned: Don't take an 18 month old to a place where they can't stand up and explore on their own. She hated about 98% of the inflatable contraptions we went in.

Proof of her pain. This was an attempt to slide down a super fast slide w/Mommy on a huge inflatable.

Luckily she found some solace in the following two options:

Sesame Street Land. Land of the 5 and under. She quickly found an old friend, Abbey Cadabbey, and actually started enjoying herself.

Next, was the smallest of all inflatables. The blow up rocking horse. Here she is w/cousin Bryce (who seemed to enjoy himself much more at the torture chamber).

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Then, this past Saturday we had the opportunity to tour the world w/Rexy at the local library. Poor Dad had to play in a golf tournament and didn't get to enjoy this adventure with us. As it turns out, the tour w/Rexy wasn't really age appropriate for an 18 month old. But we still managed to have fun regardless.

Here she is w/another favorite pastime. She loves to read books. And I thought she looked just adorable sporting her little backpack.

And last but not least, story time w/Jesse the dog. She LOVES "Doh's" (her pronunciation). She got a bit excited when she saw that he was at our story time.

Overall, with a bit of improvisation, we had a great time just Mom & Daughter. Life always seems more exciting when we leave the house!

Parkin' It

Two facts:

1.) Addison LOVES to be outside.

2.) We spent most of our summer inside because of the horrible heat/humidity.

However, now we are enjoying the nice, cool, fall weather. It's officially time to make it up to Addison and uproot ourselves from our house. I'm convinced if she were to spend ALL day outside, she'd still throw a tantrum when it was time to come in. One of these days I'll get up the energy to prove my theory.

Today, we had a play date scheduled for the park. However, at the last minute it was cancelled due to the others getting sick. Since we were already dressed and ready to go, Addison and I decided to make it a date - just for the two of us! We were lucky enough to even have the park to ourselves until a swarm of mommies and babies attacked after an hour of our arrival. (Seriously, I've never seen soooo many ladies and children in ONE single area) Luckily by then we were already headed on to our next destination - lunch!

This is her favorite. She loves the swings. But mostly we spend our time getting in/out of them over and over again. As you can see in the below pic. Not one of Mommy's favorite work-outs that's for sure.

This one is my favorite. After chasing her all over the park with the camera, I think she finally figured out what I was wanting. Beautiful picture of a beautiful girl!

She loved walking back and forth over this bridge. She is definitely at the age of repetition that's for sure! Below she decided to stop and enjoy the view. I LOVE when she stops to look at something, crouches down, and sticks her little booty out.

After the park we dined at chick-fil-a......just the two of us. It's always nice when Mommy & Addison get to go on a little date together. And now, I'm relishing in my favorite time of the day - nap time! A little blogging while she's conked out in the other room....perfection!

Conference In Session

This past weekend we got to participate in General Conference...from the comfort of our home and couch and blankets. I never knew how nice this would be until we spent the majority of our Sundays chasing around a very mobile 16 month old.

Needless to say, it was one of the nicest, relaxing, edifying weekends we've enjoyed in a long time. We did a LOT of laying around, paying attention (mostly), eating, and playing. Plus Grandma Bell was able to join in the festivities with us. She made a good assistant as we spent MOST of the weekend cooking and eating our spoils. I think I loaded/unloaded the dishwasher a total of 6 times over the course of the weekend! To give you some perspective, my weekly average is 1.5!

Regardless, it really was a great weekend and we had beautiful weather to enjoy it in as well. Just look how relaxed we were!

Here are Addison & Daddy just chilling and eating snacks. Yum!

Addison and Grandma got some GOOD quality bonding time in as well. Grandma actually lets her hold a pen - unlike Mommy!

Addison and Grandma really did have a ball hanging out together. Grandma gave her nice relaxing foot rubs and hand rubs with lotion. Helped her draw her hand. And Addison even got free reign to jump on Grandma's mattress/bed (aka Sam) anytime she pleased.

Funny story: every time Addison would hold up her toy monkeys, Grandma would squeal "eeeee eeee eee" and they would both start laughing. Now that Grandma is gone, Mommy has to step in and replace her. I realized this yesterday as Addison held up the monkeys for me and patiently waited until I squealed. Thanks Grandma for pampering our child! Hopefully she won't be asking me for a foot rub anytime soon!

Conference is always a nice time to spend with those you love while listening to our Prophet and leaders of our church. It always seems to help me do better, be at peace, and truly put things back into perspective. Nothing like learning about our eternal families while you are sitting around yours at the same time.

Long Overdue

The title of this post is fitting on sooooo many levels....least of which is because this BIG event in my life happened awhile back. But MOST of which is because I finally get to G-L-O-A-T (or continue doing so ;-).

About a month ago our good friend Jenny came for a visit from Texas. We always like when she visits. It gives us an excuse to travel the 3 mile distance to visit Brad & Dana, (Jenny is Brad's sister), sit around and do nothing, and stuff our face with a potluck of sorts from the local gas station.

Needless to say, due to my expanding waist line, over the past few years we've had many evenings like this. Of course along with stuffing our face comes playing a few games like Scattergories, The Great Dalmuti, and of course my new fav - FARKLE!! As weird as the name sounds it is totally down my alley. 6 dice. 1 cup. and 90% luck. Why is Farkle my favorite you ask? Well your honor, please see Exhibit A:

EXHIBIT A:

That's right - read 'em and weep. Here, you will see a total of THREE rounds played on this score sheet and upon further examination you'll find that I was the winner of all three! I believe this lucky streak even extended over two days.

You must know - over YEARS of game playing with this crowd - I've either lost or placed "2nd to last" every. single. time. It's kind of been the running joke. Especially the night where we got down to the wire while playing the Great Dalmuti and with seconds to left I had the cards to quench the win only to have John (yes my beloved husband) steal it away from me with a hand of cards that trumped mine. It was more dramatic in the moment as everyone witnessed my dreams being crushed by my HUSBAND! I can still conjure up some guilt from him by bringing this up - which I do.....often.

Anyway, I had resigned myself to the fact that I just wasn't a "game-player" and by the time I ever caught on to the concept, everyone else was already out of my reach with all their strategery. So needless to say, when I won Farkle THREE times - I did indeed gloat! Along with displaying these score sheets on my fridge and now even resorting to shouting it to all of blog-land. So whomever wishes to de-throne the Farkle Queen - bring it on! :P

Lost & Found

Thanks to little Miss Addibell, we all experienced a "first" this past weekend. And frankly it's a first that I would also LOVE to be our last (but I highly doubt it is).

We lost this little girly:

Despite the scare, the conditions were a little better than you'd expect. We spent Saturday just lounging around at home and both Mommy & Daddy were sidetracked with something. Usually Addison is either underfoot or off playing happily by herself. I think I had just hung up the phone and checked for her in a couple of rooms before I casually asked John where she was. He didn't know. Then we both slowly started to panic as we ran from room to room, checking her typical hiding places: closets, bathrooms, etc - with no luck. We called for her over and over and she never came toddling out. Panic began to set in even more. We started checking tubs, locked doors, the backyard, front yard - knowing there was no way she could unlock any of them herself. Of course my mind was imagining all sorts of scary things during the process. Luckily after only about 30 seconds (which seemed like 30 minutes), John found her hiding behind the glider in her bedroom. Of course she thought she was in trouble since she was playing with the Library books that Mommy hides back there so she doesn't ruin them. Maybe that is why she didn't come out when we called her. Either that or she was stuck pretty good behind the chair. Either way we were both sooo relieved to find her that I didn't care if she tore out 20 pages of the library books - I would have happily paid it. (Shhhh...don't tell her that).

Anyway, it was definitely an experience I hope to never go through again. I can't imagine if we were in a public place with all kinds of escape routes and creepy strangers. It made me sad for those parents who lose their children to kidnappings. How could one even go on living without knowing where their little child was? I could barely function for my 30 seconds. It definitely put things into perspective for me. Now I'm a little more grateful when she spends her time right underneath my feet.

Hittin' The Open Road

I bet you didn't realize Addison and I are sooo popular that we frequently have to "tour" nearby towns just so everyone can see us. Welp, it's true! It's a nice problem to have - being loved/adored by everyone along our path. Seeing the throngs of people clamoring to eat lunch with us or visit with us.

Recently, we hit the open road to visit some family/friends who were LONG overdue for a visit. Our ultimate destination was Columbia, MO. Where I spent 7 years of my life single, working, going to school, and hanging out with friends. However, we did manage to find a few people to visit along our way as well. All in all, it was a GREAT trip and very seamless when it came to all the details that one can have when traveling by themselves with a very antsy 1 year old!

We headed on our tour last Tuesday right after nap time (yes for both Addison and I since we had to wake up early and get John to the airport for his trip). First stop on our way was Grandma Bell (my mom). We swung by her work and had a quick bite to eat while Addison ran some laps in the gym.

Then we hit the open road yet again (right at naptime mind you :-D) and headed to our next stop - Uncle Kyle & Aunt Cassie's house. This is where we spent the majority of our time. We couldn't have picked a better place to do it either. They were very hospitable and didn't mind at all that we basically moved in with them for three consecutive days. At least they pretended like they were happy to have us ;-).

Day 1: Addison loved playing with cousin Alexa. She's the closest to her age on the "Bell side" and they always seem to hit it off. We lounged around the house and divvied out naps to the two little ones and had a very relaxing day. We did venture out for some shopping and the park but of course not until about 5:30 pm. It was quite nice visiting and enjoying a laid back day.

Necessity is the mother of invention. Needed: nice quiet shopping moment with two 1 year olds in tow. Invented: portable dvd player strapped to the cart. Mission accomplished! And yes, we got quite a lot of stares along the way. I'm sure they were just jealous of our creative genius! :D

Day 2: Addison and I loaded up and headed to our next destination: Columbia, MO. My old alma mater, hometown, and old place of employment. Once we arrived we met up with these folks for lunch:

L to R: Tracy, Addison, Me, Emily, Kim, Dave, Pat (we missed you Joy!)

These are all my old co-workers that I spent 5 years working alongside at MBS. It was so nice to have everyone come for our lunch visit despite their busy schedules. It had been wayyyy too long since I've seen them and this was their first time meeting Addison! Needless to say, I think she won them over pretty quickly.

Tracy was a doll and helped me try to get Addison's wiggles out. I think we were successful, especially since we went to visit my old work after lunch and she spent most of her time running the halls while we visited.

Then we headed right on over to visit Uncle Quentin and give him a much needed break from all of his school work. I hope we were a pleasant distraction. You can't lose when you come bearing butterfingers and skittles upon arrival - we take this "break" thing very seriously ya know! It wasn't long before Aunt Natalie joined us after she got off work. We just sat around and visited until it was time to reunite with these people for dinner:

L to R: Brayden, Kami, Karra, Addison, Wanda, Quentin, Natalie, Aliisa (we missed you Lisa!)

These are all my old friends that I made while I lived in CoMo and miss a lot! I wish I could move all of them to Arky with me. We had a great dinner at Shakespeare's and a great visit as well. It was so nice to see familiar faces that I hadn't seen in such a LONG time. Now that makes TWO trips for me to see them - it is now their turn to wander down this way! Ahem...ahem!?

After our long day in CoMo, we headed yet again back to our temporary home at Aunt Cassie's house and they once again welcomed us with open arms. Alexa even got to stay up past her bedtime just so she could see "her Addison" one more time before nighttime. We got to visit a little more the next morning before we pushed off and headed for home.

Addison spent 90% of her time in this car. I guess we now know what to ask Santa Claus for Christmas this year.

Of course, we had to make the lunch pit stop in Springfield to visit Grandma Bell again and get our wiggles out. Can I just say it's soooo nice to have family/friends strategically placed along your driving route? Along with our two-hour driving segments between stops, and LOTS of Yo Gabba Gabba playing on the laptop, Addison and I had a VERY pleasant drive. And frankly, that was the part of the trip I was most worried about. She handled all the change of schedule beautifully and even seemed to enjoy her visits w/Mommy's friends. I don't know if they were more excited to see me or her!

Thanks to everyone who made our trip so fun and such a success. Hopefully it won't take me near as long next time to head back that way. Keep in touch and drop me an email sometime!

Here is Addison helping me unpack. Her version of unpacking is chucking everything across the room. So kind of her 'eh?