Big stuff

So I totally forgot to mention the momentous occasion.......drumroll, please......paci is gone forever (for Addie at least)!!! She had two that she affectionately named "blue" and "yellow." (smart girl because those were indeed their colors) Well, yellow got a little hole in it, so he sort of got tossed to the side for a while and blue became her best friend. Then, blue took a turn for the worst so she threw it away and said bye-bye to blue because it's broken. That was about two weeks ago. So she went back to yellow, simply dealing with the small hole. We knew it was only a matter of time before she tossed yellow aside again because of the lack of sucking power. At this point it was just something to chew on and hold in her mouth. Well, yellow gradually got worse and worse due to said chewing on and finally, Wednesday night, Addie walked over to the trash can and said bye bye to yellow. It was broken. Done deal. And by the way, I had refused to buy a new paci for a two-year-old, so we prepped for this time. Thanks to Barney, Addie found a yellow blanket in our big pile o' baby blankets and decided that this could be her friend (Baby Bop has a yellow blankie and there's a song about it on one of our videos). So, during the transition from two pacis to one to none, Addie became friends with yellow blankie. She now sleeps with it and ever since Wednesday night, has slept quite soundly without paci. (knock on wood) Naps are a different story, but I'd rather have a good night's sleep than worry about naps.

We also purchased blackout curtains for Addie's room since it faces the west and thus has sun shining in it until past bedtime. They came in pink--pretty bright--but look great, work great, and didn't cost us too much money. We got a cute curtain rod so now her room is starting to become her cute girl room.

Ethan during all this time is just watching the world go by. He's so precious and quite content to sit and play for a while. However, yesterday and today he has decided that he can roll around and get what he wants. He tries to get up on all fours and go after what he wants, so I anticipate crawling coming in the next month (Addie was 8.5 months when she finally crawled, so he's got a couple of weeks to tie her...don't worry, I know every child is different!).

What we learned recently...

...a huge tub of A&D lasts about 7 months.

...true friends really will do anything for you. (a huge thanks to Joy for rinsing out Ethan's clothes last night when he decided to have the hershey squirts at their house and needed to pretty much be hosed down. good thing they have a little boy as well, so Ethan was able to wear one of Dawson's onesies that was a few sizes too big, but worked nonetheless since I packed a great diaper bag with the exception of the one thing we needed most: a change of clothes.)

...Addison is pretty much at the age where a nice trip to the mall isn't so nice anymore.

...there are nice strangers out there who give you random coupons at The Children's Place, thereby saving you money while buying the kids' swimsuits.

...you really do need to watch what you do because you never know who's watching :) (case in point: Addie was crying the other day because she was tired and didn't know what she wanted and as I tried to calm her down and prepare her for naptime--not so easy--she suddenly stopped crying and started staring at the living room window where her little boyfriend from two doors down was standing and starting to talk to her. The windows were open and he decided to make himself at home and come on over. Weird, but funny. He's 4.)

I think I pretty much finished up what I wanted to say yesterday or whatever day I last blogged. :) Happy June!!!!! :)

Oh, and just because she's about the cutest little neice anyone could ever ask for, here's a pic of Ava. :) I love her and can't wait to see her again (hopefully in a few weeks if all goes well).

I have only a few minutes and not a lot of inspiration to write, so we'll see what happens. :)

Last weekend our church had it's 2nd annual family "potluck." I put that in quotes, because when you go to a church of over 2000 people, potluck takes on a whole new meaning. 3 lines to get food, rides and games cover part of the parking lot, lawn chairs and blankets everywhere. Kind of chaotic, but fun. And really, let's be honest, not everyone attends the potluck. For the most part, it was the same people we see at every church event. But we love our church family, and it was nice to fellowship with some of them. They had a couple of kiddie ride things. We learned that as of right now, Addison is not a ride person. We put her on the little airplanes (4 in a circle that lift slightly off the ground and circulate). They had to stop it shortly after starting and let her off because she freaked out. So our friends put their little 18 month old in Addie's seat to finish the ride (their other two kids were already on), and that little girl loved it. Then we thought we'd try the train. Everyone likes a train, right? I took Addie on the train at the zoo and she was fine (well, that was last September, a lot changes). We all rode the train together, thinking she'd be fine because she'd have mommy and daddy with her (Ethan was on my lap, Addie on Brad's). Nope, she was freaking out there, too. Brad was holding her tight saying, "you're fine, I've got you, we're almost done..." (we're talking about a little around the parking lot train ride) She held on to Brad so tight and finally calmed a little before it was over. At least when we got done, she said, "I rode the train!" And she was able to tell her grandma that she rode the train with a hint of a smile, so maybe she wasn't scarred for life. :) Ethan liked the train. He just rode around and sat on my lap like he had the life of a king (well, okay, so maybe he does). :)

We played outside with the neighbors yesterday evening. The girls came over to see Addie, so I sent her out to play with them (they are around the ages of 10 and 13--built in babysitters!!) and I picked up the house and stuff, then Ethan and I decided to get some fresh air as well. So we went next door where the girls were all playing and sat on their front porch and talked to the neighbors. I say all of that because I love our neighbors. They are so great, we talk all the time and the girls absolutely love Addie and love playing with her. And of course, they love Ethan, too, but he's not so much able to play with them yet. So anyhow, we are outgrowing our house, but love our neighbors. They told us we weren't allowed to move, ever, and we'd just have to add on. So now we're taking up a collection so we can add on to our house and keep our amazing neighbors. ;) Let us know if you want to contribute! ;)

Alright, I think it's time to go get baby boy. Sorry there's not too much excitement that I wrote about, but at least I gave you something to read! :)

By the numbers

I'm intrigued with magazine pages and blogs and such that do a numbers thing. Must be the math teacher in me. So, here's my version for today...

90 8th graders
8 chaperones
2 busses
1 amusement park
8 hours of fun in the sun
85 cell phones

I was amazed at the number of middle schoolers who brought a cell phone on this day trip to an amusement park. I mean, it's obviously up to each individual family, but what did we do when we went on a school trip? You made it to the bus on time because no one could call you and tell you to get your booty back. Your parents were ready and waiting around the time you told them you'd be back. Occasionally one or two people would call from a rest stop phone on the way home and let the parents know how much longer we'd be and then those parents called the other parents and so on.

Yes, we chaperoned the 8th grade trip on Saturday and we actually had a really good time. The kids got to stay with Grandma and Grandpa--a win-win situation. :)

Guess I'm done with my numbers thing for now.

Ethan is 7.5 months! He's sitting up well, which makes him happier because he can play better and stuff. And it makes me happier because he can be a little more independent for periods of time.

Addie is almost 2. I know I've said this a bazillion times before, but I can't get over it. If you ask her how old she's gonna be, she says, "I'm gonna be two." So cute. She wants her birthday cake now. We've been to so many parties recently for birthdays, graduation, and a wedding, so she's becoming familiar with the celebration cake idea. :) She even started crying just a little bit ago because she couldn't have strawberry birthday cake (this after we went through every fruit I could think of at the moment and she settled on that). :)

Life is crazy around here. I am preparing to head back to work in the fall. We finally found childcare (something that stressed us out and almost caused me to go ahead and stay home again). Our new childcare provider is super nice, 5 minutes away, will have just a few kids so it will be small and personal-something we wanted, reasonably priced, and flexible and willing to work with our school schedules including delays, snow days, etc. I just hope our kids warm up to her as well as they have warmed up to the gals that watch them when I work out. Addie talks about those ladies like they're her best friends. She wakes up asking to go see "Kappy and Erin." I tried to talk them into starting a little daycare in our area, but that's not going to happen. :) By the way, I don't want anyone to think I'm opposed to being a stay-at-home mom. There are many factors that went in to the decision to go back to work vs. staying home. I'm excited to get back into teaching. It's something I'm passionate about and gifted in (not bragging, just recognizing the gifts God gave me). And I have a job that's been held for me for two years now. Anyway, I know my friends and family are supportive of my decisions, and I'm thankful for that.
There are other things going on with Brad and his job, but I'm not going to get into it right now. He's being transferred to another school, so if you want to pray for the direction his job takes, we would appreciate it. Stay tuned for further updates on this subject. :)

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of our gorgeous kids. They are such a blessing.