Our New Years Eve started out like it has the last eight years, getting ready to celebrate the day with this Little Monkey.
She was still sleepy and only halfway agreed to a birthday morning photo - but had to include the reindeer antlers.
Our first stop of the day was to have our nails painted
and
for Addie, that meant stuffing her cheeks with the complimentary peppermints from the table nearby.
It is so cliche to even say that I can't believe how quickly the years have passed, but it is so very true.
Just when I think I have nothing else to tell about Monkus, she surprises me with a new word or phrase or does something that just stops me in my tracks.
We are absolutely amazed at her level of understanding.
There is so much that she doesn't understand and so many times that she becomes so frustrated that she cannot communicate what she wants to tell us, but then, almost out of nowhere, she will make me see that she understands a new phrase or she sings a new song.
She is amazing, my Little Miracle Monkey.
Addie loves to be a helper and loves to feel like she can do what every other child can do.
A couple weeks ago, Addie was assigned a job in PE.
Her job was to walk up and down the rows of kids and make sure everyone was doing what they were supposed to be doing (apparently this is one of the jobs that a child is assigned to each week).
It was so neat to see Addie's face light up when I would ask her about it every night, and I knew that she understood my questions!
The funniest part is that her aide wrote on her daily sheet that Addie, "takes her job very seriously"!
I bet she did.
Addie is such a people watcher and knows when someone is doing something different or something they shouldn't be doing.
When we are out in public and we see someone misbehaving, she always looks to me with a look of knowing and I can see there is a part of her that wants to go and scold the child herself.
She is a Little Mommy - for sure.
Don't get me wrong, that certainly doesn't stop HER from misbehaving in public!
I am just so humbled every single time I see the look of understanding on her face.
It melts my heart to know that she continues to learn and continues to be so proud of each of her accomplishments!
