Mother's Day Weekend

We had a nice, relaxing Mother's Day weekend.  Jason ended up having to work all day Saturday so Addie and I just ran some errands, met friends for lunch and hung out together.  That evening, Cody, Britt and Hayes came in town to stay the night with us.  We grilled dinner and enjoyed the wonderful weather.  We had been telling Addie all week that baby Hayes was coming to visit her, and she was obsessed with him.  She wanted to know where baby Hayes was all weekend and has been asking about him ever since.  Cody, Britt and Hayes left Sunday after breakfast, and Jason, Addie and I headed up to spend the day with Jason's mom.  Jim grilled lunch, and we spent the day lounging by the pool and relaxing.  Ad loved spending the entire day outdoors, and it was great to just hang out with the family.

I feel blessed every day that God has allowed me to be a mother.  I view it as my greatest responsibility and my greatest gift.  Jason and I were both blessed with wonderful moms who would do anything for us and have on multiple occasions.  I am also so grateful for all my friends who are moms that are in this stage of life with me.  It's reassuring to be able to compare stories and have those you can lean on that are "in the trenches" with you.  Happy Mother's Day to all the moms in our lives.

Cousins

Morning snuggles with Hayes

Cody and I with our kiddos

Addie hangin by the pool with Nana

Ad made me this cute little Mother's Day craft at school along with a mini canvas she painted and her handprint. 

My mom posted this old picture of her mom on Mother's Day which I just love.  I thik she just looks so pretty in this picture, and I wanted to have it on our blog.

I wanted to conclude this post with a poem I read on one of my friend's blogs that I thought was pretty great.

A (Fairly Lame) Ode to Mothers

By: Jen Hatmaker

An ode to the marvelous woman called “Mother”
Though not one of us is exactly like another.
From the second we’re born to the minute we die
Our preferences are as limitless as stars in the sky.

We might have been perfectly gracious before
But childbirth entered us in the Mommy War.
Rather than letting everyone else be
We criticize parenting that isn’t exactly like . . . me.

So once and for all let me put this to rest
None of us owns the title of “best.”
Natural childbirth does not make you a hippy
Epidurals are not just for women who want to feel trippy.

In a bathtub with a doula or in a hospital bed
We all got a baby with limbs and a head.
Nursing is great if nothing goes wrong
But some nipples turn inward and refuse to play along.

This is a choice for each mom–it’s her route
So it’s just A + B and everyone else can C their way out.
Schedules and timers do not make you cruel
Feeding on demand does not make you a fool.

In the nursery with a monitor or in the family bed
Every chick gets to pick where her baby lays his head.
If I see one more mom roll her eyes at “organic . . .”
“Partially hydrogenated” throws some of us into panic.

But neither judge Sonic burgers and fries
Some of us just want to enjoy food before we die.
Preschool, home school, public, or Montessori
Listen, my friends, and I’ll tell you a story:

Two moms differed on favorite school trends
Their kids turned out pretty much the same. The end.
If a girl gets the title of “mom” accidentally
The worst thing we can do is treat her judgmentally.

How about some love, some help, some advice?
She needs our love and we shouldn’t think twice.
Discipline through various methods will prevail
Look, we’re all just trying to keep our kids out of jail.

These things are just preferences, not right or wrong
What matters more is teaching our kids to get along–
To love and to share, to speak gently and kind,
To obey so that mom won’t go out of her mind.

Showing them Jesus is our common ground
Teaching them how he can always be found.
He’s present in public school and Waldorf (so trendy)
He’s over at Whole Foods but also at Wendy’s.

Jesus never cared about these sorts of things
It’s our hearts that he wants and the worship we bring.
It’s time for us moms to declare a truce
Regardless if we buy Capri Sun or 100 percent juice.

My way is not your way, and your way isn’t mine
But both of our kids will turn out just fine.
Rather than judging and looking down our noses
Let’s enjoy the common ground motherhood poses.

As believers, we all love the same good Lord
We all have children who tell us “I’m bored.”
We all need more sleep than these tiny five hours
Most of us struggle to find time for a shower.

We haven’t been to the bathroom alone in an age
Our mothers have all told us, “Relax, this is just a stage.”
We all love our babies so much we could die
We’d take a bullet for each one without batting an eye.

Though we are different, we’re in the same tribe
Motherhood requires a similar vibe–
Love and affection, sacrifice and grace
Laughter, which keeps the whole mechanism in place.

Though different, by the grace of God, I suspect:
ALL our children will rise up and call us ... collect.

21 Months!

On May 2nd, Addison turned 21 months old. I feel like she has really grown since my last update, and her vocabulary has really taken off.  She doesn't go back to the doctor until she is 2 so we don't have any stats to update.

At 21 months, Addison.....

- is wearing 24 month and 2T clothes and jammies.
- is wearing a size 4 diaper.
- is wearing a size 6 shoe (she can still fit into some of her 5's too)  and still LOVES wearing her shoes and has an opinion on which ones she wears each day. 
- has a mouth full of teeth.  I don't dare stick my fingers in there to count them anymore.
-her hair has really gotten longer.  She wears a ponytail each day to keep it out of her eyes.  We still haven't given her a haircut.
- Still takes a bottle before bed.  I know I should try to remedy this before the new baby gets here, but I can't seem to motivate myself. 
- eats 3 meals and 2 snacks per day. She had become slightly more picky and hadn't been too into anything with meat, but she just started eating meat again so we are happy about that.  She still loves fruit and veggies....especially grapes.
- understands soooo much. She understands most things we tell her to do and follows instructions well. 

- is stringing words together and talking a TON. She says too mayn words to even list out now but always talks in descriptives.  She will point out her blue shoes or pink shirt or yellow bus, etc, etc.  She also likes to say mommy's shoes or daddy's hat, etc. She knows most of her colors and animals.  She really amazes me with the amount she has learned in the past few months. 

-still gives lots of hugs and kisses. 
- still LOVES dogs. She says pup-E at least 25 times a day. She also gets very excited to see birds flying around.
- is busy busy busy. She is constantly on the move.
-loves going to school and loves to go bye bye. Every morning when we ask if she is ready to go play with her friends, she says yes, and starts naming all her friends in her class.  It makes it so much easier dropping her off each day knowing she loves it so much.  They do such a great job teaching her at school too which I love.
-loves to play outside. She begs for us to push her in her swing outside and to take rides in her wagon.  She is also really into bubbles and has recently started playing with sidewalk chalk.  We like to take walks around the neighborhood in search of puppies.  When she wants to go outside, she will go find Jason's or my shoes and put them on our feet and say outside.  haha
-She  still likes to read books and point out all the things she knows in them.
- Has developed a love for stickers.  We find stickers ALL over our house and furniture.
-She likes watching shows on the disney junior app on our phones.  Her favorites are Callie the Sheriff, Doc McStuffins, Mickey and Little Einsteins.
- Sleeps from about 8:30-9:00pm to somewhere in the range of 7:00-8:00am 98% of the time in her crib.....she still sneaks in our bed for a few hours on a pretty rare occasion.  She takes anywhere from a 45 minute to an hour and a half afternoon nap per day. She is not a huge napper but stays happy throughout the day so I think she just doesn't require a ton of sleep. When we are at home, we put her in her crib with a few books, and she "reads" for a while and then puts herself to sleep.

Addison, I love you and this stage of your life so much.  You are my little running buddy, and it is great to be able to talk to you and know you are understanding. You interact with us so well, and we have so much fun with you. Your mommy and daddy love you to pieces baby girl, and we are trying to soak up every moment and memory of our last few months as a family of 3.

Painting in the yard

We painted Addie's toes for the first time this month

I was planning to wait until Ad was 2 to turn her car seat around, but when I had to take my car in to get the AC serviced, Jason re-installed it forward-facing.  Addie loves it, and although it made me a little nervous, we never looked back.

Walking with MiMi at the park

My sweet, sassy girl

Easter 2014

We had a great Easter weekend this year.  I had Good Friday off of work so Addie and I headed up to The Woodlands that morning so I could have a much-needed hair appointment while Jason worked in the morning.  When he got off work, he met us in The Woodlands, and we all headed up the lake.  When we arrived, the boys boiled crawfish, and we all hung out on the deck listening to music, eating and enjoying the wonderful weather.  It was a great evening.  Saturday was more of the same.  Jackson and Addie had several warm-up rounds of egg hunting, we dyed Easter eggs and decorated sugar cookies that Deanna had made.  It was such a great day with family and so nice to just be able to hang out and relax after several weeks of crazy at work.  Saturday evening, we headed back to Houston so we could attend church Sunday morning and just relax at home.  It was a fantastic weekend of family and celebrating the resurection of our Savior.

Addie scoping out the crawfish

Doing a little fishing on the boat house

She LOVED hunting eggs all weekend

Jackson was so cute and would help hide her eggs and then escort her around the yard hunting them.  Addie was in heaven getting to play with him.

This pic is out of order, but this was her with her puppy backpack heading out for the weekend.  She is starting to look so grown up.  :(

Decorating cookies

Dying eggs

Relaxin' on the porch

The Easter bunny brought Ad some treats on Sunday morning.  Her favorite was her animal puzzle that makes the animal sounds when you put the pieces in.  She has already gotten a ton of miles out of that gift.  Worth every penny Easter bunny.

My baby girl all dressed and ready for church

I am dying over the cuteness of this picture.  This may just be my favorite picture of her to date.  I love this girl more than I ever thought possible.