Thank you Tara for the opportunity to share our story.
I appreciate your kindness.
my positive thought of the day
I decided there is no reason to stay up and clean my house if there is a threat of it being torn apart by a tornado tomorrow.
My husband will be thrilled to wake up to a dirty kitchen in the morning.
My husband will be thrilled to wake up to a dirty kitchen in the morning.
Adding to the list
Unless you have a child who has experienced true fear and you have been unable to help them understand that everything was "alright", this post won't mean a thing in the world to you.
I have always approached my children with a "man-up" kind of attitude when I knew they were not really hurt because I cannot stand when parents feed into their whiny children - probably because I realize how irritating they are as adults.
BUT, there's just something about Chunkus the Monkus and the pure fear she experiences over a few random things, such as:
and
There has been one more added to the list.
It's not new, just new to the blog list.
Shower Curtains.
My daughter is petrified of shower curtains.
I can't tell you why, but it started when we moved into this house.
It has never been an issue because our shower has a door,
but,
the extra bathroom does not.
I bought a shower curtain for the extra bathroom because we were having company coming to stay.
(It's not like they're Piranha's or anything.)
We put the shower curtain up and went about our business.
We put the shower curtain up and went about our business.
Later that evening, Monkey and I were on the way to her room when she caught a glimpse of the shower curtain.
She started shaking and crying, began pointing towards the bathroom and was trying to tell me something.
To make a long story short,
the shower curtain
is now living in the linen closet.
All folded up and tucked away.
It's a fear that I can only imagine equals my fear of dogs.
So I understand
and I never tell her to "man-up".
I just hold her and love her and tell her that everything is "alright".
~~~~
Before the emails start gushing my way,
No, it's not just at my house that this happens.
Monkus refuses to go into the hall bathroom at my Mother's house
or
at anyones house for that matter.
No, she never had a traumatic experience with a shower curtain
and
No, I haven't watched Psycho since the child exited my womb.
I have no explanation for it.
Doctor
April 22, 2011
"Doctor"
Unfortunately for my husband, his tee-time was not until lunch time today.
That meant that he had the pleasure of watching our daughter while I was at the doctor.
Actually, he watched our daughter in the waiting room at the doctors office.
From start to finish, only forty minutes passed.
Addie was more than occupied by the stickers and coloring sheets that the receptionists bestowed upon her and the hustle and bustle of the waiting room...not to mention all the babies everywhere!
On the way to the doctor, I told Addie where we were going.
She immediately got a very serious look on her face.
98% of the time, when she hears the word "doctor", she knows its for her.
When we pulled into the parking deck, Addie's eyes were glued to the window.
I imagine she was trying to remember if she had ever been to this doctor before.
Chris turned off the car and Addie's eyes glanced my way and I heard the sweetest little voice ask me, "doctor?".
I explained to Addie that Mommy had to go to the doctor and that Daddy was staying with her.
Once we stepped foot into the waiting room, she latched onto me and pure fear set in.
The receptionists were beyond wonderful and immediately gathered prizes for her and Addie was content to sit on my lap and ask me 212 times, "doctor?".
:)
When I was all finished with "doctor", Addie spotted me at the check out window and her eyes lit up and that sweet little smile brightened her face as soon as she saw that I had retrieved a boo-boo band-aid from my "doctor" to give to her...because boo-boo band-aids are in the top 3 prizes Addie loves to receive.
When Chris and Addie met me back out in the hallway, I took Addie into my arms and she began to look at my hands, my arms, my neck, my face and my hair.
She was trying to find my boo-boo - you know the boo-boo that you have when you leave the doctors office.
Once she realized that I didn't have a boo-boo, her entire body relaxed.
I have added the word "doctor" to my list of things that Addie says that I must capture on video to share.
Note To Self
April 14, 2011
If the words, "Hey J-Rod, please watch Addie for me for a few minutes while I finish this up." happens to come out of my mouth again, be prepared for the consequences of needing a few minutes to myself.
The total number was 8.
8 tattoo's that is.
(I realize you count only 4 in the pictures below. Trust me. The number was 8.)
Julien had a pack of tattoo's and felt the need to share with Addie.
It took a rubbing alcohol/baby oil cocktail to get these bad boys off.
You just have no idea...part of me was amused, the other part - not so much.
Such a Good Listener!!!!
While Chris and I were getting things together to leave the house today, I asked him if he had any idea where I left Addie's pink Lelli Kelly's.
Things have been so incredibly hectic lately that I can't remember anything unless I write myself a note...that I might as well staple to my hand.
In an enlightening moment, I remembered that I had taken them off Addie while she was in the downstairs potty room.
I turned to Addie and asked her, "Addie, can you please go into the potty room and get your pretty pink shoes?".
She looked at me for just a moment, turned and walked down the hallway.
Chris and I just stood looking at each other, waiting.
A minute later, we heard Addie shut the potty room door and she came running back into the kitchen....
Pink Lelli Kelly's in hand.
It sounded like Tiger Stadium in our kitchen!
We praised Addie like she had just won the winning touchdown at the Super Bowl!
She had one shoe in each hand and her arms held above her head like she was celebrating a touchdown!
By golly guys - she followed a direct command - perfectly!
HAPPY EASTER TO YOU!
The After Party
Chunk was so incredibly proud of all of her new prizes.
She sat on the floor playing for what seemed like hours.
One of her favorite prizes was a set of matching cards - think the game Memory.
She was exhausted!
Monkus loved her new book too....I can't tell you how many times she showed me that silly blue guy eating cookies.
We somehow managed to con my family into coming over to watch Monkey for a while so that Chris and I could go out to dinner.
We are about the most pathetic people you will ever meet.
I think we were home by 9:30...I mean seriously, we're too old to go clubbing, every place in the Birmingham Metro area is so overdeveloped that there is nowhere to go parking catching fireflies and heaven forbid we would have went to a movie, we would have fallen asleep.
sigh...
On a brighter note,
The Monkey had corn on the cob for dinner.
My sister put the corn on Monkey's plate
and
then
Coming Soon...
To The Henderson Household nearest you...
Chunkus the Monkus fell immediately and madly in love.
It would have been way more difficult to get Chunkus off the Plasma Car had it not been for E.B.'s perfect timing.
E.B. was being escorted out when Chunk spotted him.
As she clung to me, she was more than happy to - fervently - wave and say, "bye-bye!".
...Keep walking E.B....
Peace out little bunny...
The Friends We Hold So Dear
April 9, 2011
~~~~
Sweet Trenton and Dewana
Patti noticed a few left over items, so she took Addie to help "clean up".
:)
Precious Bergen and Patti
...and the infamous B&B...
In a Typical World
Hunting for Easter Eggs is a cut throat business.
In the Special Needs World, hunting for Easter Eggs is a beautiful and calm experience.
Unlike any other egg hunt we have ever been to, this hunt was so sweet.
In addition to eggs, there were also lots and lots of prizes laying around to "hunt".
The children all walked around looking at the eggs and prizes, some were even happy to share and Addie just had a nice time watching everyone.
She didn't seem to care that there were stuffed animals, books, stamp sets, educational cards, bags, etc...just laying around.
I finally picked up a few things for her and helped her put it into her basket.
If you notice in the background (I've tried to crop to avoid identifiable photos of others), the other parents are doing the same thing...picking items up and handing it to their children.
Everyone was so sweet.
Addie took her time putting everything into her basket.
(Oh my goodness....I swear my thighs should be in the best shape ever as many times a day I squat down to talk to Addie)
It was so nice to see the children (and parents) so well behaved.
Addie didn't seem to notice the gift bags sitting around, so we continued past them.
:)
Addie didn't seem to notice the gift bags sitting around, so we continued past them.
:)
We hunted further...
She is in love with the bunny bag.
The entire experience was something that everyone should witness - it puts life into perspective.
Honored? You Bet We Were!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
~~~~
We were beyond honored to receive an invitation to a very special event.
We were invited to attend an Easter Egg Hunt that was hosted by a local family that attended The Bell Center at the same time as Addie.
This family opened their home to some of the most precious families that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.
They took every detail into consideration and from the moment that we arrived, until the moment we left, we enjoyed each minute and time with dear friends.
Just as we were finishing lunch - I was standing actually having an adult conversation - when Addie began to shake and started pulling on my clothes, begging me to hold her.
I scooped her up, trying to console her when something caught my eye.
E.B. (also known as the evil, demonic, ball of fur or the Easter Bunny) was standing just feet away.
The torture.
E.B.falls into the same category as
and
Just to name a few.
I took Addie up into the backyard in an effort to calm her down and put as much space between E.B. and us as humanly possible.
This picture is not so that you can look at the enormous size of my backside - in fact, please don't.
Instead, focus on the arm extending out over my right shoulder.
When I put Addie down, she backed up as close as she could get to the fence and grabbed onto me wanting me to get her - presumably so that we could run as far away from E.B. as we could possibly get!
She finally calmed down enough so that I could pull her away from the fence.
When I tried to take her hand to have her walk with me, she buried herself into me.
So, that's where we stayed until time for the actual hunt to begin.
It was extremely relaxing and we enjoyed the quiet time and the beautiful day.
(Yes. The photo is blurry, but I had to give you a visual.)
Testing...One. Two. Three. Testing...
April 8, 2011
~~~
When I get even a hint of something in my mind, it just won't go away until I resolve it.
We were sitting at dinner one night not too long ago and I was watching Addie, when I started to wonder how she might do in a "big girl chair".
Keep in mind that according to the manufacturer of Addie's high chair, "The Svan High Chair grows with your child from childhood to adulthood. In later years, the chair's footrest becomes its seat.", so it's not like she's in a baby high chair or anything.
BUT, the idea ran through my mind and I just could not let it go.
So, I researched booster seats - like crazy - until I found one that I thought I would be satisfied with.
The hubby and I tracked it down, went and retrieved it and brought it home.
Addie wasn't exceptionally thrilled with it at first and I still don't know what she thinks about it, but I can tell you about what the rotten little baby did the second night we tried it out.
I have "my seat" that I sit in at the table.
It's mine and even when we have company, that one seat in the house is off limits.
My Rotten Little Baby Girl took the booster seat out of the seat I had it in, carried it to my seat, put it on my seat, found my water cup and put it at my place setting and then demanded that we help her onto my chair.
When her Daddy tried to get her to move - the white horns of fury emerged.
We backed away slowly, with me firmly telling the little beast that she had a pass - this one time, but she wasn't getting my chair.
Don't mind the messy face, the fact that she is picking up food with her hands or that she is wearing the same shirt seen in several of the last posts (that is one of the few "simple" t-shirts that she has and besides looking so pretty in blue, the t-shirt means a lot to me, so she will wear it until the seams start to burst).
As I type this now, the booster seems to be okay.
We switch back and forth between the high chair and the booster with our main concern being Addie's balance.
She has already tried her best to fall out of the booster, so it is a work in progress!
Goodnight Moon
April 13, 2011
~~~
As I was getting Addie out of her car seat, her gaze was fixed past me towards the sky. When I finally had her in my arms, I turned to look in the direction to try to figure out what had her attention.
That's when I saw it...the moon.
She saw it too...and pointed.
I told her, "That's the moon. Can you say Goodnight Moon?" and she smiled.
I can't tell you how beautiful it was for her to notice the moon! The look on her face just melted my heart!
~~~
As I was getting Addie out of her car seat, her gaze was fixed past me towards the sky. When I finally had her in my arms, I turned to look in the direction to try to figure out what had her attention.
That's when I saw it...the moon.
She saw it too...and pointed.
I told her, "That's the moon. Can you say Goodnight Moon?" and she smiled.
I can't tell you how beautiful it was for her to notice the moon! The look on her face just melted my heart!
Sweet Baby
We got home after dark last night.
On the way home, I turned on the DVD players, hoping beyond all hope that we could get home without Addie meltdown.
Addie did okay, but she kept wanting my full attention and was very inquisitive over something that was just so sweet that it was mildly humorous.
Addie spotted her image in the reflection of the window. She was completely enamored with her image and I can't figure out if she understood what she was seeing. I told her that the window looked like a mirror and that, "that's you Sweet Girl, that's Addie".
She couldn't get enough of that Sweet Girl looking back at her...
~~~
and for all things good and whole in this world, Addie just woke up. I hope the rest of you are getting a peaceful nights sleep - and Suzanne - you better NOT come by and tell me how wonderful it was that Thomas slept through the night...just don't do it.
On the way home, I turned on the DVD players, hoping beyond all hope that we could get home without Addie meltdown.
Addie did okay, but she kept wanting my full attention and was very inquisitive over something that was just so sweet that it was mildly humorous.
Addie spotted her image in the reflection of the window. She was completely enamored with her image and I can't figure out if she understood what she was seeing. I told her that the window looked like a mirror and that, "that's you Sweet Girl, that's Addie".
She couldn't get enough of that Sweet Girl looking back at her...
~~~
and for all things good and whole in this world, Addie just woke up. I hope the rest of you are getting a peaceful nights sleep - and Suzanne - you better NOT come by and tell me how wonderful it was that Thomas slept through the night...just don't do it.
One of the Most Important Skills to Learn
Skipping Rocks
April 2, 2011
~~~~
The day was absolutely gorgeous, so we headed out to soak up some Vitamin D.
After riding the train, we walked back over to the stream, river (whatever it is) in order to practice the art of - skipping rocks.
Side note here - Julien told me 147 times, NOT to take his picture - so don't expect to find him in these pictures - he was too crabby for the paparazzo.
Addie refused to do anything other than sit on the big rock, people watch and try her hand at skipping rocks.
Julien was trying to show her which rocks to look for and she finally found one - tiny little rock - not exactly prime rockage, but she was pleased.
Good grief - she cracks me up.
Sitting with her legs crossed - people watching.
Aaaahhh, the moment when she was so spectacularly pleased with herself - because she had found a leaf.
She was "asking" Chris if that too, could be skipped across the water (in my mind, that is what she was "asking").
I managed to get her to look at the camera - for one half second.
Trying her best to throw the rock into the water...
and happy to retrieve more rocks from Chris.
She was "asking" Julien something - I imagine it was his opinion on her awesome rock throwing abilities.
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