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.

Horrible picture, but this sweet girl WAS so proud of herself!

A couple of the girls in Addie's class helped her during the songs.

They would take her hand and lead her through the steps.

THAT, also didn't help my emotional state.

She was quite the anxious little thing backstage.

I finally got her to sit and color and she seemed to relax.

Oh my.

Addie was too shy to walk out on stage when her name was called.

Thank the heavens above that she is surrounded by kind and loving people!

Her teacher went and got her and escorted her out onto the stage.

I couldn't even open my mouth in fear that I would be a crying mess!

Just wow.

Ms. Amy - Addie's heaven sent teacher!

Addie's friend Anden brought flowers for Addie and waited for her to come out after the recital.

I was speechless.

Addie decided to act shy, but ended up talking about Anden all the way home.

Gabi and Addie.

Out of everyone who came to watch Addie dance, it was Gabi that Addie wanted.

Mrs. Shannon brought her daughter to watch Addie's recital!

Shannon is Addie's aide at after school care and summer care.

Yet another angel in our lives!

All done!

I am always so proud of Addie.

As always, we couldn't do this without the love and support of you all.

Thank you - from the bottom of my heart!

Spring Wardrobe

I am slacking on a lot these days, including taking Addie shopping for a new spring wardrobe for Rudy.

In desperation, Addie sought out a piece from Rudy's fall line and brought it to me to help him get dressed.

He is such a good cat.

It is seriously the little things that makes this little blond monkey happy!

ToTo

It's much too long in between the times Addie gets to see ToTo.  

However, she gets so excited every single time she sees him. 

When she learned that we were going to take ToTo for a walk, she gathered her baby, baby stroller and all baby accessories for an afternoon at the park. 

Addie was just thrilled to be out and about with ToTo.  

She was also happy to stand at a safe distance in order to keep from getting doggie water all over her. 

It wasn't long before she demanded her turn and had to catch up to Gabi and retrieve the leash. 

She had a bit of help.

Addie misses ToTo and she misses my Mom tremendously. 

She still "calls" her GaGa and talks to her. 

Out of the blue, Addie will get my phone and start having a conversation.

When I ask who it is, she always tells me that it's "GaGa". 

Every once in a while she will hand me the phone so I can say "hello" as well. 

Sometimes Addie will cry when she talks to Mom, other times she will just laugh and laugh. 

Addie still asks to see her GaGa, and she still expects to see her at every event we attend. 

I'm thankful for ToTo, for the joy he brings to Addie and I'm thankful for the frequent phone calls between Addie and my Mom

I only wish I could hear my Mom as clearly as Addie does.

TOPSoccer

After taking some time off, Addie is trying TOPSoccer again. 

Week one was a success!

Addie immediately loved her sidekick and never hesitated to get on the field and play!!!

She had so much fun!

Trenton and Bergen are on our team,

...and yes, that is Baby Brock in the picture too!

Spring Break 2015

The year of having a 16 year old boy took me down the path of allowing him the opportunity to choose where we spent Spring Break. 

His first choice was a European Cruise, so we ended up going with what was behind curtain number two. 

Orlando

Not the Mickey Mouse loving part of Orlando, but the publicly protested and wizarding world parts of Orlando. 

Just like every visit in the past, it took Addie a while to acclimate to the environment. 

To be a little more precise, it took three and a half days before Addie seemed to enjoy the park atmosphere. 

Addie was all about going to a hotel. 

She remembered that she gets to "schwim" at hotels and she loves to go swimming!

Upon arrival, she got her baby all settled before getting changed for a relaxing evening by the pool. 

The next morning, we were ready to go!

Since Addie LOVES trains, I wanted to take her to the Hogwarts Express first thing. 

It didn't go quite as I had hoped. 

She was fretful over the entire experience.

She clung to us, and it was rather pitiful watching her be so anxious. 

However, it was Julien who became the chosen one of the week and she turned to him first for reassurance. 

He did not disappoint and was an amazing help to us.  

He is amazing.