Gardening Success

So Brian and Collins decided to take on a gardening project at the beginning of the Summer. They went to Hace (Ace) Hardware- got the necessary ingredients and got their hands dirty planting lots of seeds. Several months later- after lots of sprinkling of Oregano (Collins's secret ingredient)- they have an actual tomato and pepper! This is impressive because nothing grows in our yard- so proud of them!

Addie at 8 Months

If Addie became "alive" at seven months, she became "wild" at eight months.

No cup, piece of hair, earring, bite of food is safe around her because she will definitely grab it, yank it, and then try to throw it on the ground. We have been feeding her in her bumbo chair on the kitchen island, but she is relentless with the grabbing so we have started confining her in the high chair.

She now prefers to play to eat. I will be giving her a bottle in our rocking chair and she will twist and wiggle out of my arms to get to the ground where she can stand and play with her toys.

Changing her diaper is a mess. It's hard to put a diaper on her backwards, and she got into her excema ointment which was close by the other day and I had to call Poison Control on her! (it was fine)

She likes to do lots of loud babbling- now when we're out in public at a store or restaurant- and she LOVES riding in the shopping cart with Collins. The other day they were in the rocket ship together at Harris Teeter, and Addie kept trying to grab Collins's hand and I looked down at one point and they were holding hands. :)

Addie now prefers standing to sitting. She always makes a happy sound when she gets in her standing position.

And she is now able to play a little bit at the park. She loves swinging, and she can stand on the slide as we follow Collins around.

It has been a fun month with Addie!

Official photo...(getting harder and harder to get with this wiggle worm)

Favorites from month #8...

 

Let it Go

Collins, like every other three-year-old girl I know, has a "Frozen" obsession. It's been going on awhile now, and it's not let up. She bursts into her loudest rendition of "Let it Go" frequently throughout the day, and is very specific about who can be her favorite character Elsa. You have to be wearing a dress and you have to have ONE braid not two (because that means you're Ana). Needless to say Addie and I are always Ana and Collins is always Elsa.

"Frozen" is actually the first movie I ever took Collins to see. I was worried that her first movie was going to be a B-list Disney movie, but boy was I wrong. Who knew that it was the start of her first Disney love?

Mimi decided to get crafty and secretly made Collins an Elsa dress. When it arrived in the mail and she pulled out the soft blue fabric- the emotion can only be described as sheer joy. :)

It didn't take long for her to fully accept her new role as Elsa. We were heading to Target, and she asked me if she could wear her dress there. I told her yes. Then she asked, "Mom, what if people think I'm the real Elsa?" :)

Mimi did a fabulous job with the dress, and made Collins one happy little girl!

A Weekend at the Beach

We were excited to have one last summer hurrah at the beach as the Forks had their beach house the second weekend of September. We were expecting summer weather; what we got was a cold front and more rain than we thought possible. What a bummer! But we rallied and were on the beach any moment it wasn't raining and ate good food and relaxed whenever we couldn't be on the beach. Some photos...

When the long car trip was finally over, Collins and Brian went to go see the beach. Before Brian could stop her, she was running straight into the ocean fully clothed. Then she got out and face plopped right into the sand. Someone was excited to get back to the beach...

I took a morning walk and it started out beautiful. Before I knew it, dark clouds had rolled in and I was caught in the middle of a rainstorm.

Collins ran towards the storm instead of away from it...

 She was rewarded with a few splashes in the tidal pools before the rain started again...

We kept ourselves busy indoors with some stretching...

drawing (a picture of a whale family)...

and eating.

When the sun finally made an appearance, we headed straight for the beach...

Wrightsville Beach was recently refurbished and now has wonderful tidal pools. Collins made us each choose a tidal pool and name it- she named hers the "Let it Go" pool. :) Although happy in this photo, Addie was still not a fan of the beach this trip. We are keeping our fingers crossed she will outgrow this feeling!

I loved the footie pajama look for a late-night ride over to the dock...

Brian and Collins started our last morning in the water...I started mine with some coffee and a good book on the beach. We were all happy!

Many thanks to the Forks for a fun trip!

Back to School

Another school year is upon us! Collins started her 3's class recently, and this year she will be going to The Raleigh School on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. She was excited to start back but confused (and a little nervous I think) about not being in Mrs. Pappas's class again. Turns out her new teachers (Ms. Escuti and Ms. Edelson) are fabulous, and there are 14 seemingly outgoing kids in her class this year. I have high hopes for a great school year!

We did the obligatory first day of school picture, and it made me think of how much our girl has grown since her first day of school last year. Amazing!

First day of 2's class...

First day of 3's class...

It's taken a few classes to get used to being dropped off again, but she has been really excited to get back to the school playground!

I get to be the helping parent tomorrow and am looking forward to going to school!

Labor Day Weekend

The long Labor Day weekend started off with watching a football game...

then going to a football game.

Addie was completely neutral for her first tailgate!

We managed to fit a few non-football activities in...Brian cooked a pig for the whole neighborhood!

First day of Sunday School for the new school year...

and a little tennis action inspired by watching the US Open.

It was a fun holiday weekend!

Addie's Baptism

What a special day Addie's baptism was! We got her baptized on August 17th at the 8:30 a.m. service. I was nervous how she would do with the service being right in the middle of her nap time, but she amazed us. We decided to brave it and sit and participate in church instead of waiting in an outside room for the baptism. She wiggled of course, but she did not cry or scream or be anything less than adorable.

When the time came for the baptism, she never made a peep and looked at Pastor Rick with big, curious eyes. He must have been taken with her because he announced, "I think I'm in love." :) He said, "if the rest of the congregation members looked at me like this baby is looking at me, I would feel pretty special!". Everyone laughed, and then he said what an honor it was to baptize a child. He actually got choked up as he described what an incredible occasion it was- and we were all tearing up at this point! Then he walked Addie down the aisle as everyone in the congregation sang "Jesus Loves Me", and smiled at our sweet girl. Addie was a perfect angel the whole time. I was so incredibly filled with love for her during this touching service, and I'll always remember how special it felt.

Here are the photos from the weekend...guess who directed this dress-up session?

Missy got some great pictures from the front row!

Donna hosted a lovely brunch after church...

Thanks to everyone for making it a special day for Addie!

Adding a Half

Collins turned 3 and 1/2 recently, and she is pretty proud of that new half. If someone asks her how old she is she'll emphasize the half because it means she is REALLY big. She actually does act really big these days- getting dressed (mostly) by herself, engaging in adult-like conversations, playing independently and having a lot less of those ugly tantrums we experienced right around three. Hooray for 3 1/2!

We celebrated with lunch at her favorite restaurant and then took her official measurement...almost 40 inches!

Summer Fun- Last Installment

The Summer officially came to an end this past weekend, and what a great Summer it was! I'll always remember this Summer as my first with both girls and as one that I tried to squeeze as many neat experiences as possible in between naps! Here's how we've spent the last part of our Summer vacation...

Attending a teddy bear tea party...

Going to Pullen Park with her bestie...

 

Trying out the train and the carousel for the first time!

More swimming lessons...

Tending to her and Brian's pepper plants with her own secret ingredient- oregano!

Climbing (and singing!)...

Swinging...

And adventuring...she and Brian have gotten in the habit of biking or walking around the neighborhood most nights when he gets home from work.

I've really enjoyed all of our time together this Summer. Now on to new experiences in the Fall!