Just us - there’s a little of the before, but mostly it’s the after...: May 2015

Summer Camp

Summer Camp is off to a great start!

Addie is excited to go each day and she is one busy girl all day long!

Day two was full of mixed emotions.

She loved the little turtles

and didn't even seem to mind this little guy,

but THIS, did NOT make her happy.

UGH!!!!!

Honestly, she took it better than I would have!

The Mighty Minions

Addie truly is a child who so rarely asks for things.

So when she asked for a light up spinning minion, I didn't hesitate to get it for her.

She was intrigued by it and it made her smile, so it was money well spent.

On one trip to Harry Potter, she noticed that people were walking up to the store fronts with the "magic wands" and waving them in order to make objects move and fly.

Since she didn't have a magic wand, she thought the mighty minion would produce the same outcome.

Lucky for me, each attempt by Addie was a success due to the people nearby who actually paid for the magic wands.

We didn't even bother to tell Addie that the power of the minion was ineffective - we just stood by and smiled at her efforts.

Addie took a liking to the many minions throughout the parks, and for the second time - asked for a minion - this time, it was minion slippers

and

wow,

did we have some close calls with Princess Attitude.

Thankfully, I have (mostly) learned to pick my battles and this was one not worth my time and effort.
If she wanted to wear them through the halls, so be it.

Striking a pose.

The next morning, it was also not worth the battle.
I didn't even think twice when Addie grabbed her slippers and asked to wear them to the pool.

We took the hidden side elevator down to the pool and stayed out of the main flow of traffic anyway!

A few days into the trip and Addie knew the routine.

Julien just had to hurry up and open the gate to let the Minion Monkey through.

Nonchalantly examining her fingernails as she patiently waits for us to grab towels.

Addie walked around with Julien, exploring the big kid area, all the while waiting patiently for her turn to go to the big pool.

This kid is a mess and never misses a thing!

She is so amazingly observant and when another child was doing something she knew they shouldn't, she would give me a questioning look.
Nosy, nosy girl.

Julien was such an amazing help to us during the entire trip and was rewarded with a GoPro
and
Addie became the subject of his efforts to figure out how it worked.

I have to admit, it is a pretty awesome little toy!

Vacation continued...

(I think I have achieved an all new record of being a slacker)

One of Addie's favorite parts of vacation was the High in the Sky Trolley Ride in Seuss Land!

I think she could have stayed on the coaster all day long.

Of course Julien was there to hold her hand, which made all the difference.

In order to keep Addie tame, we had lots of downtime at the hotel.

I was incredibly thankful for the play areas.

She was content just to hang out and people watch.

It took a few days for Addie to acclimate to the new schedule and my little girl was so sleepy!

Monkey girl had random moments of panic - and for whatever reason - the penguins sent Addie over the edge.
She was frantic to get away from them!

However, the prospect of seeing dogs and cats run around on stage made Addie happy

and she even agreed to a picture while waiting for the animal show to begin.

Since Addie hardly ever asks for anything, Julien decided to pick up the slack.

He was the one harassing me to "hurry up and get the money" before the dolphin necklaces sold out!
He was all about the light up dolphin necklace and Addie managed to score one as well.

Cats - crawling across a rope suspended above the ground.

If only I could teach Rudy to be more compliant.

After a morning with rabid penguins and animal acrobats, Addie was exhausted and was more than happy to head back for a night relaxing by the pool.

Mother's Day

We met up with my siblings and enjoyed a wonderful brunch in celebration of this Mother's Day.

This day was incredibly, incredibly difficult, but it was made easier by being surrounded by my family and my sometimes sweet babies.

It was a beautiful day to celebrate with those closest to me!

Loving and missing my beautiful Mom!

Speech Evaluation...

Addie had another speech evaluation last week simply to rule out a possible issue - that didn't exist.

I am going to be positive about the entire experience, and focus on being thankful for this little Miracle Monkey!

Addie did SO GOOD during the evaluation - and I swear she had to have seen this book before, because she knew exactly what to do!

My seemingly utter lack of enthusiasm came from me trying not to yell and clap and disturb everyone in the surrounding rooms.

I was trying to sit quietly and be a good observer.

It. Was. So. Difficult!

I am so proud of Addie!

She was a perfect little angel right up to the point when Julien went to put her back into the car.

I am pretty certain security had the camera's zoomed in on us in an effort to determine if we were beating her.

She is a rotten little mess - but a rotten little mess that will not require surgery to correct any portion of her speech delay.

Dance Recital 2015

Here we were again, another opportunity to witness the payoff of so much hard work and to witness the miracles that only God provides.

I was extremely nervous this year.

Addie struggled with this dance routine more than she did last year.

It's not that I wanted her to do a perfect job, I just wanted her to participate and not freeze on stage.

Rehearsal did not go well

and although I am not a crier,

I cried all the way home.

Why?

Not a clue.

Partly because I was so proud of her efforts and partly because I was so afraid that she would get on stage for the recital and - someone would make fun of her? she wouldn't show her full potential? she would be upset?

I don't know.

It was not one of my finer moments in life.

She tried, but I really think she was nervous.