The conversation...

has officially begun.

THE conversation concerning which type of vehicle will be added to our household next year.

That's right folks, we are still 481 days away and yet the process is in full force.

This conversation is going to trump our tree conversation in length and detail.

I am impressed that we can take one subject and find enough details to discuss that it absorbs itself into our lives for over a year.

All I can say is I sincerely hope that my Baby Boy is not disappointed when the conversation finally comes to a conclusion.

All I can promise at this point is it will not be a Tesla, a crotch rocket, an electric scooter or a  mini van.

I already pity the car salesman who finds his way in the midst of our over researched/over conversed crazy.

A Hand Full of Crazy.

I visited with one of my MD's this morning for my 30 second, 30 day check-up.

While discussing the issue at hand, he made the comment that he "didn't remember what we did last time" because he "lost his records".

I immediately and nonchalantly reminded him, because after all, I was there for one very specific purpose and was rather ready to be on my way:

I felt no need to sidetrack the purpose of the visit by asking for clarification on exactly what, "losing my records" meant.

As is typical for every single day of my life, I was in the midst of channeling my inner JD.

So, while my MD saw this:

This is how I was really feeling:

As the seconds ticked by, I was going through the possible ways in which my medical file had somehow failed to be present and or accounted for.

This was one possible explanation,

while either this 

or this was equally plausible.

Then it occurred to me, I honestly didn't care if my medical file lined the streets of Vestavia Hills 

because I remembered that this particular MD never had a medical reason to need to know my weight.

Regardless of where my medical file might be

 or what other use they may be serving,

I can rest assured that at the end of the day, 

there isn't all that much crazy that surprises me anymore

and

I feel certain that not all of my PHI has been released to the Birmingham Metro Area.

Splash Pad....Runner Up

I told Chris last year that I want a splash pad in our back yard.

Other than the fact that it would set us back by only about $200,000 and then we would have to install a super mega fence to keep the dogs whose owners don't understand leash laws out, I don't see a problem in getting one installed.

Addie loves it!

There was a bit of drama throughout this visit.

It all started because Addie was convinced that she could fill up her water bottle from the spray of water surrounding her and when her Daddy took her water bottle away, the bottom lip came out and there was some pouting that took place...

although not evident here.

Then, additional drama began - all over the buckets - again.

The way kids go crazy over the buckets, you would think they were made of solid chocolate.

This time, we brought three buckets with us so that we could share with other children.

It turned rather ugly with children taking the buckets from other children and finally ended with Chris having to put the buckets up altogether, which meant nobody got to play, including Addie!

From here on out, I'm taking hundreds of buckets with me and they will be available to purchase for a reasonable fee.

I couldn't decide if this was neat or creepy.

Julien's vote was on creepy.

After a bit of coaching, Addie agreed to check out all the hype of standing underneath the big red bucket.

She thought it was pretty funny

and went back for a second turn.

After ending our visit at the splash pad, we took in a bit of people

and

snake watching.

However, we did not partake in playtime in the potentially snake infested water.

Pure Joy

Dance brings Addie so much joy.

Pure joy doesn't require perfection.

Summer dance camp is now officially over

and 

without Addie speaking a word, I know how very much she is going to miss dance class.

Seeing the joy and excitement on Addie's face confirmed that we need to proceed with 

fall dance class.

Just because Addie doesn't display the grace and coordination of other dancers, doesn't mean she doesn't possess the will to succeed.

She worked so hard during class and worked so hard at home.

Other than one little part that we are working diligently on, Addie kept up with the rest of the routine - although not always correctly.

It is just so heartwarming to see her participate in something that she has so much passion for.

I hope and pray that if Addie continues to love to dance, that an opportunity will always be available for her.

Tonight, Julien shoved me out of the way to get the best view of Addie through the window.

Yes.

We do find pure joy in watching our Little Monkey proving them wrong one step at a time!

THE Dress

It only took three visits and two fashion shows before a dress was chosen for Addie to wear in my brother's wedding.  

It - of course - was a dress that I was "against" during the first visit to the store.

I believe that little girls should dress like little girls and not little women

and although this dress is not too mature looking for Addie, it was not the original style I had in mind.

However, after seeing the dress on the Little Monkey and seeing her eyes light up when she saw herself in the mirror, my mind was quickly changed.

Addie must have tried on over a dozen dresses and when she put this dress on, her overall demeanor changed.

It was a pretty neat experience.

She danced and twirled and looked in the mirror, all the while smiling and laughing.  

During check out, another lady in line asked Addie if she was going to be a flower girl.

Right now, Addie doesn't even know what that means and didn't answer the lady, she only smiled sweetly at her.

I told the lady that Addie was going to be the flower girl and that she was really excited about her new dress.

The lady then looked at Addie and asked her if she was going to be a beautiful princess and Addie responded, "Yes!" and then said, "Dress", in an effort to tell the lady all about her new dress.

Now, I just have to keep the dress out of sight until the wedding 

and

I have to start showing Addie pictures and videos about weddings and the responsibilities of a flower girl.

We have a lot of work to do to try to make this perfect and it will be, as long as we all keep a great sense of humor and a pinch of patience handy.

So Much Summer Fun!

We are keeping very busy this summer, and visits to area splash pads are topping our list of  things to do.

However, once again, the John Mark Stallings Splash Pad is our favorite.

Addie was a little more daring this year and didn't hesitate quite as much to get into the spray of water.

She loved filling up her bucket and running and pouring it all over my legs as I stood trying to take pictures of her!

She loved hearing me laugh and try to dodge her efforts.

She finally made the dash through the tunnel and then spent the next couple of hours laughing and playing.

I love seeing her so happy!

Double the Work

Not only does Addie have to help clean my kitchen, but she also has to clean her kitchen.

She spent a good bit of the afternoon washing the dishes in her kitchen, drying them and getting them put away.

She is an amazing little kitchen helper.
Conservator of water - not so much.

Summer Camps

We have completed tennis and have started another adventure.

After taking a few years off from dance, we happened upon an opportunity

and this opportunity

has Addie more excited than we have seen her over anything (excluding her babies).

Addie is participating in a summer dance camp and session one left her puzzled as to why we were leaving the studio when she clearly was not done dancing for the evening.

After the session, she mimicked the dance moves all night long until she finally fell asleep.

When we picked her up from school today, she asked, "Where we going?".

When I told her, she responded with, "Dance?".

My original answer was not what she was looking for.

She is absolutely thrilled!

If the rest of the camp goes as well as expected, Addie will have the chance to enroll in the fall session.

We may have finally come back to what suits her the best.

Definitely more to come...

An Honor!

My brother and his fiancee asked Addie to be the flower girl at their wedding!

That means we spent most of our evening trying on dresses for the wedding.

Addie was all about the pretty dresses and she tolerated an enormous amount of dress changes before I finally had to call it quits.

I simply cannot make a decision between fashion vs. what is practical for Addie.

I suppose that means we will have to make another night of our mini fashion show, and hopefully I will be able to make a decision soon.

I love that we have something else to look forward to for Addie....and for my brother.

Summer Break

Whatever. 

Addie virtually hasn't had a break since the day she was born. 

I make her work hard each and every day.

This weekend, we have been focusing on counting.

While in the car today, she was looking through one of her counting books, when she called my name and pointed to the page.

She was pointing at the number 1, while saying the letter "I".

It is perfectly understandable how she got confused. 

Sweet Addie just keeps right on trying

 and

 we keep focused on knowing that she is continuing to make progress, 

no matter how slow or the setbacks we encounter along the way. 

What a Pig!

Yes, I am extremely disturbed by the way the pig is looking at my child and even more disturbed by the fact that she approached the crazed looking animal.  

I'm implementing an immediate order of protection.

The pig is not allowed within 4.4 miles of my family.

It Brings Me Joy

to see my Monkey jumping on the bed.

I am so very blessed for these moments.

The moments that many other parents never have the opportunity to cherish.

While my first instinct is to correct the Monkus and make her sit down, my heart takes over and I take in every aspect of the moment.

She was standing on her bed, touching each letter of her name.

She tried to name each letter, and knew that there was an "A", "D", "I" and supposedly an "E" in there somewhere, but didn't get the sequence just right.

I think that having her full name spelled out for her genuinely confused her.  

She was expecting A-D-D-I-E and when she got to the "S", it threw her off.

Even without naming each letter perfectly, I was still just enamored with watching her.

She can jump on her bed and tries her best to spell her name and each miracle moment is an absolute gift from God that I am so very thankful for.

In the moments after these pictures, I started searching for the "E" to modify the letters on the wall for Addie.

While I know she should learn to spell her full name, she only hears "Addison" when she is in big trouble!

Not surprising, Restoration Hardware no longer carries the exact letters, and ebay failed to come through for me as well.

So....if anyone happens to have an extra "E" laying around from Restoration Hardware, let me know.

It would be put to very good use - to teach a miracle Monkey to spell and recognize her name, while jumping on her bed.

Dinner in Crazy Town

Today was a very hectic day and this beautiful day followed a night of extremely limited, interrupted, restless sleep. 

I'm pretty sure my virtually non-existent sleep resulted from Monkus knowing that she was going on a field trip today, thus resulting in being so excited that she didn't sleep, which meant I didn't sleep.

This evening I got home in just enough time to make a dinner not approved by dietitians everywhere.

My less than five minutes of labor intensive kitchen culinary skills produced a cinnamon raisin bagel and yogurt.

I do what I can.

Halfway through Addie's meal, she saw a raisin on my plate.

She looked at me, looked back at the raisin and looked at me again.

She then asked, "What's that?".

I told her it was a raisin at the same time her little fingers were going to pick it up.

She proceeded to put the raisin in her mouth and then started shaking her head in disgust and saying, "Bug!".

As if!

I have failed as a mother if my Little Monkus thinks that I would let her pick up a bug, much less eat it!

We are both extremely sleep deprived, that is the only explanation I have.

It Only Took 40 Years!

Congratulations to my favorite older youngest brother!

He got engaged last night and we are all beyond thrilled to have Detra as our future sister in law!

If she can withstand our crazy family, then she is definitely a keeper!

Howie - marry her before she changes her mind! 

Next...

Next on our non-existent list of "Things to do with Addie", is the fine game of tennis.

Jaycob's Mommy was sweet enough to pass along the email with all the details of a summer tennis program for children with special needs.

Since Jaycob enrolled, we enrolled Addie.

Addie adores Jaycob and he is such a huge helper and friend to Addie.

With Jaycob nearby, Addie was ready to give it a try.

Chris is bound and determined to help Addie figure it out.

Since Addie hasn't officially made it onto a golf course just yet, the tennis courts will have to do for now.

~~~

June 22, 2013