Open Mic Debut

A few mornings ago we woke up to some rain coming down so the go-to plan of taking fired up kids to the zoo was

totally shot down! Quick! Come up with your sanity plan for the day. Keeping these kids in the house will only drive you

to the brink of a major meltdown...kids and mommy! So I found a child friendly cafe called Airplay Cafe. They had a

musician scheduled to play from 12-1pm and we were going! After the performance, he left the mic open for kids to

show off a little bit....here's what happened!

Tucker's Open Mic Debut

Addie is 14 Months Old!

Addie is now 14 months old! It's so crazy how fast she is growing up and how the time is flying by. She is the best baby EVER...except when she is teething! She is very bright, but of course I would say that because what mother doesn't think that their kid is the smartest, cutest and best behaved?

These top 2 pictures were recently taken at a park. The second pictures is Addie's smile, I guess? It looks silly. The third pic is Addie wearing my bikini top and thinking that his hilarious! The only thing funny about my bikini is the fact that I'm a mother of two and still think I have the right to wear a bikini!! ha ha ha! I should really revisit the idea that bikinis, among other garments, are a privilege not a right! I guess in my defense, I have a long torso and one piece bathing suits pull on my shoulders and crotch, and let's just talk about how uncomfortable that is!? I should really reel myself back in...this update is about Addie not her mother and how she is crazy and neurotic.

The video at the bottom is Addie at the park proving what a big girl she is now! She climbed the stairs and went down the slide...ALL BY HERSELF!

Addie is a wonderful communicator! She is saying words and signing...here is the rundown of what she can do/say. I have been trying to get videos of her signing and talking for about a week now, but whenever she sees the camera she just "smiles" and then runs at me. Pretty soon I'm going to be forced to just post that video to prove I've been trying!

WORDS: Mama, Dada, "Aah-da" Addie, "Tutu" Tucker, "Bo" our dog, "Batbah" my Stepdad, "Nana" my Mom, "Am-mah" Grandma Michele...Matt's Mom, duck, I swear today she said "pretty", she has her version of diaper "ahper", "uuh-pah" is up, "uh duh" all done, "bye bye", "bebe" baby, "shh" shoe, "eeeye" eye with an exaggerated long i sound, "at tu" thank you, and there is something that I can't phonetically spell that she uses consistently to respond to us telling her "I love you". It's not really a sign or a word, but when you say goodbye to Addie she blows kisses instead of waving goodbye!

SIGNS: please, thank you, more, all done, dog, cat, bird, duck, hat, flower, ball, eat, cheese, milk, water, and fish.

Addie has 9 teeth and is cutting another one probably tomorrow. She is getting her teeth in a really weird order and her bottom left incisor is super crooked! Hello orthodontics! At her 1 year appointment she was 20 lbs and 28 inches long. That's 30th percentile for weight and 50th percentile for height. She is a huge blessing and I can't imagine not having her in my life.

Happy Blogaversary!

The title is in honor of my one year Blogaversary! I felt inspired by one of my favorite TV shows, you may have heard of it, Friends. It's the one where Chandler and Monica are going to Vegas for their anniversary and Monica says things like, "Happy AnniVegasary!" Then when they are on the plane she says it's their Plane-aversary...so this MY Blogaversary!!!

So one year ago I wrote a small and seemingly insignificant blurb, not realizing the impact it would make on my life. I have never been a good journal writer and thought this blog would end up the same way, half written. I have completely forgotten about this blog at times, and other times I have been so addicted to it that I wake up in the morning thinking about what I can take a picture of so I can blog about it.

I am thankful for this blog because the photos and details in the writing are way more than I could ever dream of for the kids' baby books (which are a sad, incomplete mess). My friend told me that I can have my blog made into a book, which sounds like a fabulous way to have "fake-it-till-you-make-it" baby books! I will just have to tell Tucker and Addie that publishing my blog was my plan all along...although I guess I just ratted myself out!

Who am I now? I am different than I was a year ago. I'm going to say that's a good thing because I believe that someone who has been through all that I have in the last year couldn't possibly be stagnant in growth. A year ago, I was a proud Army wife...well and I sort of feel like once an Army wife, always an Army wife. We were living with Matt's mom and preparing ourselves for the big leap of faith that we would take in October when we decided to get out of the Army. At that time, Addie was just a few weeks old and I was adjusting to life with two little ones.
October came and went with NO job prospects for Matt. We went 10 months without employment. Matt finally got the call we'd been praying for and he went back to work in the beginning of July. It is a wonderful job and we look forward to watching Matt grow in his new career.
As for how all of his has changed me, well I know for sure that what does not kill you, only makes you stronger and that God will give you every last thing you need, at just the exact moment you need it...and not a SECOND sooner!!! I know the unemployment was in the plan too because it really changed me and Matt, for the better.
I have learned so much about myself this year. Through this blog, I have discovered that I like writing, and according to a few of my readers, I might be kinda good at it too! I have rediscovered all the ways that the Army made me the woman that I am. For better or worse, I am headstrong, get what I want, tell people what I think, I have a strong sense of independence, and I stand up for myself and what I believe in, and I love, love, love my family and friends.
Unlike last August, I am certain I will keep up this blog. I enjoy this quiet time that I am able to reflect on all the chaos that goes on during the day.
Thank you to all of my blog-a-rific readers that encourage me to keep writing and sharing. Happy First Blogaversary Everybody!

Unqualified

We are staying out at my Mom and Dan's house for a few days for a change of pace and some good old fashion country livin'! All the green grass, tall trees and deer always gives my patients and perspective on life a fresh start. So this morning Dan left for work, a little while later my Mom went to work too. As my Mom shut the door, Tucker looks at me and says, "Uh Oh Mommy. Who's going to watch us now?"

Apparently the title "Mommy" doesn't qualify you to watch your own children after Nana and Batbah watched them the night before.

This just happened and was so funny! Tucker is watching a cartoon and a commercial comes on for a automatic tooth paste dispenser....

""I want Touch N Brush. I don't want my tooth paste anymore! I need a Touch N Brush." My kid is a marketing executive's dream come true! The other thing that he LOVES and acts like he might not make it through the day when he sees the commercial is Bend-a-Roos. I think they are wax covered pipe cleaners. Why can't I think of a product that kids think they can't live without? I could use a little extra cash.

Tommy and Sara's Wedding

This past weekend my brother married the most amazing woman! I got a new sister and she is perfect for my brother. The wedding was extremely beautiful and tons of fun! I didn't take very many pictures so I will have to wait for the professional pictures to get some prints but here are a few that I did take!

Stripper Up!

I am WAY behind on blogging...so a few weeks ago my new sister-in-law had her bachelorette party! We started off the night with some pole dancing lessons! Now I didn't look good doing it, but with my competitive spirit and some determination I went upside down on the pole! Oh yeah baby, and I have pictures to prove it! Enjoy!

This is our instructor!

You like the stripper shoes I borrowed?

The whole gang of strippers!

You're Welcome.

Today Tucker told me that God lives in a book. I tried to explain that's not the case and he insisted that God lives in a book. So there you go. I have failed at teaching my child about God. You're welcome, Jesus. I hope I can do better in the future. Maybe Addie won't think that God is a fictional character that we read about in books.