Had we known

People, people, people...just don't, okay?

I know, it is now August and those are last years Christmas pajamas and a bow that doesn't match.

What can I say?

Monkey thinks the little ginger bread is just peachy and loves the feel of it against her hand. Who am I to deny my baby girl of joy?

Had we known Monkey would be so fascinated by a safety gate, we would have brought it up from the garage long ago.

Since Monkey is now taking independent steps, we decided to check out our options for blocking the stairs.

It's not like Monkey is really out of our sight at any given moment, but hey, it's been in the basement for well over a year now so we might as well do something with it!

Monkey is such a sweet, little helper and when she saw her Daddy bringing that big box up the stairs, she crawled as fast as she could over to the box and started trying to open it.

Monkey then proceeded to spend the next two hours playing with the gate!

Chris and I just sat back and watched her.

She had the very best time!

Who new a safety gate could be so much fun?

Let me in, let me in...

not to worry, there's no hair on this chinny, chin, chin!

Addie-pa-tattie has just started understanding the concept of turning the handle on a door to make it open.

We were playing in her room while Chris was installing yet another finger guard on one of the doors, when nosey britches decided she wanted to see what her Daddy was doing!

She crawled over to the door, pulled up, stood up way high on her tippy-toes and tried her very hardest to open the door.

She didn't succeed...this time, but I'm sure she won't be giving up any time soon!

We made the decision to install the finger guards on the doors in our house after Addie came close to having a really bad accident.

She has made amazing progress with her balance, but her balance is still significantly lacking.

She was walking down the hall, holding onto the wall, when she got to the powder room door.

She put one hand on the door to stabilize herself and her other hand just so happened to be holding onto the back of the door by the hinge. I saw what was about to happen, but couldn't grab her fast enough before she lost her balance and started to close the door on her fingers.

Luckily, I was there because she only had a boo-boo that consisted of a scrape with a little blood.

Addie doesn't understand the danger and we will leave nothing to chance, so we are doing what we have to do.

Bring on the rain

We were expecting company yesterday afternoon, so in preparation, Addie and I made a trip out to pick up a few things.

I'm sure this comes as a complete shock to some of you, but I don't leave my house without make-up on...even when in labor...it's just a mandatory part of life for me and the thought of having to apply my make-up twice in one day is just daunting.

I just don't have the time.

As soon as Addie and I walked out of the store, we felt the soft rain drops start to fall.

Addie is so funny because she has to know that out of the ordinary things are okay.

So when she felt the first soft drops on her, she looked up at me for direction on how she should react.

I put my hand over her head and told her, "Remember...it's rain. It's just water from the sky. Oh goodness, baby girl, is it falling on your head?" and then I laughed...and she laughed too.

We no more made it a few steps before the bottom just dropped out of the sky!

There was no point in turning back and I just didn't feel like making a mad dash for the car, so we "quickly" made our way.

The harder the rain fell, the harder I laughed and the harder Addie laughed until we were giggling so hard that we couldn't stop!

We finally made it to the back of the car, I lifted the back so that it would shield the cart, Addie and Me.

I reached over Addie, still laughing, grabbed our things, threw them into the back and grabbed the umbrella.

Really pointless by now, but it was more in an attempt to keep the inside of the car from getting soaked while I was buckling Addie into her car seat.

I backed the cart up to the side of the car and opened the door.

We were both still laughing so hard that I didn't even realize what I had done when I took the umbrella and draped it over the top of the car and the door frame of the car to shield the opening...until I heard Addie laughing uncontrollably and looked over to find her sitting in the cart, rain pouring down on her.

I'm standing in the rain, she's sitting in the rain, but our car is perfectly shielded from the downpour.

I unbuckled her, picked her up and gave her a sweet little kiss right on the tip of her nose as rain was dripping out of our hair and running down our faces.

Addie gave me a smile that lit up the whole sky!

I buckled her in her car seat, I grabbed the umbrella, closed it, threw it into the car and then I got in.

I looked back at Addie as I was making a futile attempt to wipe the rain off of my face and salvage my make-up, when I realized that nothing else mattered except the beautiful moment we had just shared.

There was no more beautiful sound in the world than to hear an angel's laugh through the sound of pouring rain.

Just a tad...

I decided Addie's room was long overdue to be "girled up" just a bit.

Most people understand my detest for the color pink and how I swore my baby girl would not be consumed by it.

You should be proud that I added a touch of pink to Addie's room.

Notice the flower on the finial... yep, it's pink!

SweetPeaPods

I have a new obsession...Etsy.com...

As many of you know, it is heartbreaking for me to try to find Addie hats.

Oh my goodness, Etsy is hat heaven!

I recently had a few hats made for Addie by SweetPeaPods and I'm very pleased with the results!

Addie was quick to tell me that she was not going to play my dress up game today.

As I put a hat on her, she promptly plucked it off...so, here is the best shot I could get for today!

I hope she looks beautiful this fall and winter with her new, sweet little hats!

Eeeeaaarrrr....

Just like eeeyyyye....Addie likes to "talk" about her ears.

Although the talking comes from whomever she is interacting with, Addie just points at her ears and waits patiently until you figure out what it is that she is trying to "say".

I had to take Addie with me to one of my doctors appointments last week. Addie was in a great mood and was more than willing to sit on my lap during my exam.

When my doctor walked in, Addie was all about watching every move that she made. When the doctor approached me, Addie looked at her, then looked at the otoscope hanging on the wall. Addie pointed at the otoscope and then pointed to her ear.

:)

Addie was willing and ready to be subject to whatever poking and prodding she was about to endure, bless her heart! The doctor and I both told her that it was Mommy's turn today and that the doctor didn't have to examine her, but Addie went ahead and pointed to her ears again and then her mouth.

My doctor was sweet and played along, "examining" Addie.

What a sweetheart Addie is. I just hope as she grows older, that she will always be this cooperative at medical visits!

The other shoe

I can't put a number on the times I said to people that I was "waiting for the other shoe to drop".

We were so quickly thrown into the world of special needs that we had prepared ourselves for the worst.

What the worst was, we didn't know.

So, for over a year, I kept repeating the same thing to any therapist or friend that would listen and I would ask when "it" would happen.

"It" being the horrible tragedy that came with having a special needs child.

The stigma that surrounds special needs children had me ready for anything.

I was ready for the depression, the seizures, the endless nights at the hospital, the longing for a child that was "okay", but none of those things ever came.

The other shoe had been there the whole time, walking quietly down the same path that I was. The depression never set in, our God has graced us with a seizure-free child, the trips to the E.R. are hopefully behind us and my sweet baby girl has always been "okay".

From the second that I had her, when I knew that something wasn't the way I thought it would be, I still knew we would be okay. I knew Addie was a gift and I never prayed for a different child.

I prayed for the strength and knowledge to help and protect this gift that I had been so blessed to have been given.

I was sitting at lunch with my beautiful friends a while back and we were discussing that topic. The one in which we all were waiting on that other stinkin' shoe to come crashing down on us and how we look back on that time and realize that life wasn't even close to what we were led to believe it would be.

My sweet, baby Addie brings me countless moments of pure joy and the moments of sorrow do tend to creep in, mostly when we encounter hateful people or when I realize how she struggles, but I need to say time and again how blessed we are.

I have spent a great deal of time lately looking at Reece's Rainbow and it has made me realize even more how very blessed we are.

We were chosen by our God to receive Addie into our lives.

She could have been any one of those sweet babies who are given up by a parent who was embarrassed by the diagnosis that their children were given or given up by a parent that didn't want to be a parent or didn't have the means to be a parent. Regardless of the reason why, these children suffer each minute of every day.

That could have been my Addie, but it wasn't.

I know how blessed we are and I hope you all realize that as well.

As I held my sweet beautiful baby girl tonight and rocked her to sleep (sorry Dr. Ferber), I prayed for all the children who Addie could have been.

We have a gift.

If I had to guess...

I would say that she was silently plotting payback.

Julien just had to put his football pads on Addie...

"Oh Mom, just for a minute, I just want to see what she looks like with them on!"

So, Julien got to see what Addie looked like with them on, just mere seconds before she hit meltdown and he was required to remove them from her as quickly as possible.

If Addie didn't still sleep in a crib, I would tell Julien not to sleep too soundly!

Peek-a-boo!

Everyone was sitting around chatting, when Addie decided she needed to be in on the fun!

She "snuck" up behind Aunt Nonna and started her own game of PEEK-A-BOO!

Little Miss Personality!

Taking a moment to relax during all the excitement!

Happy Birthday to my Sweet Husband!

Today was a very tough day for my husband.

Since it was his birthday, he was forced to endure a day of:

Meeting me for breakfast at The Egg & I.

It was opening day and we felt it was our duty to personally test out the quality of food for the rest of the community.

Seriously.

It was the very least we could do!

Next, he endured a very painful day of golf at Ross Bridge with three of his best buddies.

We love Ross Bridge and I'm so glad that Chris had to "suffer" through a day off work and take in the beautiful atmosphere that surrounds this golf course:

Then the truly painful part came when he arrived home to the dinner of his choosing.

A spread of Mexican food that would make George Lopez salivate, followed by a yummy cake from Edgars and presents:

Next year, I will have to try harder to make this day wonderful for him.

Someone shouldn't have to endure a miserable day such as this on the 36th anniversary of their birth!

Don't touch MY Mommy!

That's MY Mommy!

So Addie-pa-tattie "says"!

Addie gets so very upset when Julien loves on me and she's not a part of it!

We were all sitting on the floor, I was taking random pictures of the kids when Julien decided to stretch out and lay his head down on my legs.

Next thing we knew, Addie was pushing him off of me and "yelling" at him!

Julien had to explain to Addie (yet again) that I was his Mommy for eight-years before I became her Mommy.

In other words, "neener, neener, neener - you have to share Mommy"!

Possessive little things, they are.

Talk about being spoiled!

My baby boy letting Addie help him with his homework!

Addie was absolutely thrilled to sit there with Julien and "help" him!

My baby boy

Inquiring minds want to know...

"Organic" Nail Polish?

Not to worry, I won't be tying myself to a tree to keep it from being cut down or skipping my daily underarm shaving, but I do try to buy organic when possible.

When my baby girl decided to take an interest in piggie painting, I decided that I had to make a change that was long overdue.

I couldn't put on her again what I had been using my whole life.

I researched and researched and tried several products from local stores and finally made up my mind that this was the polish for us after reading an article about SunCoat Nail Polish and remover.

The polish and remover ship from Canada - our beautiful neighbors to the north - and although shipping takes a bit longer, so well worth it!

Chris and Julien were pleased as punch that the polish and remover has NO odor and Addie thinks her pale purple piggie toes are just precious!

Everyone focus here please!

If I could please direct your attention to this post we will go over today's very important lesson.

Ahem.

These precious little piggies viewable below- freshly painted with brand new organic polish:



are allowed to be placed in items such as:

this:



or this:


or this:


and even this:



but these little piggies:



are absolutely not allowed to be placed in items such as:

this:



Do we all have a firm understanding?

Good.

Monkey did not have a firm understanding of this until we discussed in great detail just the other night.

Uh-huh.

As Monkey was on the potty, she very politely took her precious little foot and placed it ever so gently into the porcelain god of convenience.

Yes. She did.

I was screaming inside, but I held the Mommy face as I informed Addison-pa-tattison that we do not place our piggies into the potty.

That is yucky.

Then I proceeded to gently place her into the bath in hopes that every last germ would forever be washed from her freshly painted piggies.

Ahhh...the joy of a child acting typical.

The moment was a blessing and a gift from God.

What a big girl!

A couple of weeks ago, I had to take Addie into Greenvale for a shot.

She is always such a trooper, but today even surprised me a bit.

When the nurse came in and sat down, I told Addie that she had to get a boo-boo shot.

As the nurse was putting her gloves on, Addie looked down at her leg and pointed.

She made sure the nurse saw where she was pointing.

The nurse - very surprised - looked up at me with the alcohol wipe in her hands.

I asked Addie if that was where the boo-boo shot should go.

She nodded the affirmative.

The nurse administered the shot, while Addie supervised the administration and the proper placement of the band-aid.

:)

The nurse was very proud of her and so was I.

Fifth grade!

I need someone to sit down with me and explain to me exactly how this happened.

How am I old enough to have a fifth grader that is almost as tall as I am?!?!

Julien has a very positive attitude about this year.

We seem to have an outstanding teacher, which makes all the difference between a great year and a year that is pure misery.

After last year, Julien was almost dreading going back.

As we were discussing this, I gently reminded him that he will have teachers/professors throughout high school and on into college that he does not mesh with.

I also gently reminded him that there are so many children out there that would love nothing more than to have the opportunities and chances in life that he has...his sister possibly being one of them...and that he should cherish the gift of intelligence that he harbors.

He realizes that, but

there are some days we all need a little reminding of just how fortunate we are.

So, here we are, fresh into the new school year.

It's going to be a great one!


The barber accidentally cut Julien's bangs...good news is - they will grow back!

In case you haven't noticed...

I don't talk politics on the blog.

In keeping with the history of the blog, I won't be discussing politics in this post either.

I will let this link speak for itself.

Scat kitty cat!

Well, Addie has turned into quite the little Copy Cat Monkey.

As in Monkey see Monkey do.

Chunky Monkey is picking up all kinds of sounds, such as "woof" and "meow" as I have previously touched on, but my very, very favorite new thing that she is doing...

She copies someone when they sneeze.

Monkey will watch ever so intently as someone sneezes and then she bends her head forward and gives a sweet, little "achoo"!

and...

then she waits patiently for someone to say, "bless you"

and

then will nod in agreement.

:)

It is quite the sight to see.

Hearing evaluation...number six

Six-months have passed and it was time for another hearing screening. I am 99.999% sure that Monkey has absolutely no problems hearing, but it always puts my mind at ease to have her all checked out.

Besides, if Monkey can't hear, she can't learn.

Since we have had a "problem" with the audiologist we got stuck with the last few times, I decided we were seeing a different audiologist this time.

This audiologist was wonderfully perfect!

She was friendly to Monkey, Chris and Me. She appeared to have a sense of humor and was even able to hold a conversation. All skills that the other audiologist was seriously lacking.

Our appointment was at 8:00 a.m.

First appointment of the day.

I intentionally try to always schedule the first appointment of the day to minimize any disruption to our day.

When we walked into the waiting area, it was evident that no one else was around and the shade to the window was closed. Leave it to me to wonder if possibly I got the appointment wrong and was there at the wrong day/time.

I walked over to the other clinic (all other clinics were open and buzzing with patients and employees) to ask the receptionist if there was a reason that audiology appeared closed.

So, I asked, "I'm sorry to bother you, but audiology appears closed. I feel silly, are they possibly closed on Mondays and I got my appointment wrong?

The receptionist politely looked back at the clock on the wall, looked at me and said these fabulous words:

"It's 7:59. They don't open until 8:00."

My response, "oh....k....thank you" and I couldn't help the little smirk on my face as I walked away.

The clinic window was not opened until 8:07
and
we were not called to the window until 8:22.

We were the only people in the waiting room for Pete's sake!!!!!

I realize nobody else cares, but I do have a job and meetings that I have to rush back to get to. I don't have the time or patience for that kind of mess!

Err!

I think I would have screamed had we been stuck with a horrible audiologist, so luckily, we appeared to have the best.

Monkey did well during the exam and I think she did really well with the hearing test in the booth.

We were able to get a good enough reading on her test and it showed no concerns with her hearing!

Woo-hoo!

Our next appointment is scheduled for six-months out....once again, at 8:00 a.m.

The commercial!

Here is a look at the Child's Play commercial featured on ABC 33/40!

CLICK ME!

Clown feet

Heather and Dan came to visit with us for the afternoon and we had a wonderful time catching up!
The guys held down the fort in the living room, while Heather and I enjoyed some girl talk in the kitchen.

I happened to look over in time to catch my first born encouraging Monkey to slip her feet into Dan's shoes...size 13 mind you.

I promise you that we don't normally play around with our guests shoes when they're not watching!

Taking a much needed break!

Taking a nap very much against her will. I'm sure several people thought I was beating her because she was crying so hard. I finally just took her to the car until she fell asleep! What kind of a Mother makes their baby take a nap at a water park???

Geez...


Up from nap and feeling pretty good. Ready for round two!

Addie's first time seeing a cow!

She refused to say anything to the cows and was happy when we walked away and left them alone. It wasn't until we were on the way home that she would talk about them and agreed with me that they do indeed say, "moo".

Fun, fun, fun!

Yes. One of the slides is built right into the side of a hill!




Addie was all about watching Julien (and Julien's friend that went with us)!

We had to make sure and clap for Julien, Addie was on the verge of getting upset a few times. How dare that mean water even think about hurting her Julien!

Having so much fun!

She was so excited!







So sweet, just checking everybody out!

SEE!!!!

I'm not the only one with germ issues and not the only one that brought a little potty for their toddler! This was from a group of Mommies down the way from us.

I really don't make

my children shower at water parks. He did shower before we went!
:)

Ye northern neighbors beware!

I do realize that this post and a few to follow will be bewildering to those of you still enjoying mild temperatures this time of year.

Here in the deep south of the good old U.S. of A., we are melting.

In August, there is no such thing as "glistening".

We sweat.

Like pigs.

It is impossible to walk from a parked car to a building containing air conditioning, no matter how close the distance, without breaking a sweat.

It is actually quite disgusting.

The heat tends to drive some people mad, while others will seek refuge in any body of water to be found - whether deemed hygienic or not.

Imagine my interest when I was told that there was a water park a couple of hours away that appeared to provide temporary relief from the scorching heat.

Imagine how my interest peaked even more when I was told that this water park was built.... hold on tight here folks...

in the middle of a cow pasture.

I know, I know...gasping, holding of the chest, wiping of the brow.

Trust me, I know.

BUT, it's August and those of us in the Heart of Dixie have been driven to take whatever extreme measures are necessary for relief from the heat!

Me and my little germ infestation phobia decided we were taking a day trip to check this place out...

and you know what?

Aside from the three used band-aids that I tiptoed over, it wasn't bad...at all...

In fact, the kids had a really, really good time.

The cows were friendly,

so were the other guests

and

I didn't hear not one single banjo playing the entire time we were there!

Pictures to follow of our day at Spring Valley Beach!

The HAZMAT suit is on the way...

and until it arrives, I have packed these trusty items in my survival kit

for Addie outings...thanks to your trusty Mommy advice!

Child's Play Therapy and Talk of Alabama

The owners of Child's Play Therapy were featured on Talk of Alabama this morning!

If you are interested, please follow this link. As an added bonus, Addie is seen in one of the clips!!!

The commercial for Child's Play is due to air next Monday. The commercial will air during the ABC 33/40 news times, Good Morning America time slot and the Oprah time slot.

I got a little preview of the commercial today and it turned out very good! All the kids did a fantastic job and Addie is in the commercial a couple of times (and I'm seen talking twice).

If anyone has any questions about Child's Play, please don't hesitate to ask me!