Happy Birthday Addie Reese!!!!!

The day I thought would take so long to get here has arrived... my little girl is FIVE!!
She will gladly show you how old she is with her wide spread little fingers as shown above. Addie is so proud to be five and this mommy is having a hard time wrapping my head around it.
This little girl is such a miracle. How it seems like yesterday, Kyle and I were going to the hospital three weeks early because I had no clue I was in labor. Nervous new parents entering into the unknown... PARENTHOOD! She has made the journey with us and boy has she made it fun, challenging, ever changing, journey.
She has grown so much this year to me. Yes... everyone can see she is getting taller... hair getting darker... growing out of the "baby fat"... but I can see the inner growth of my little girl. She is learning to reign in the strong will and trading it for an obedient heart of the Lord. The will is still there but it is being controlled better.

What are some other things about Addie Reese???
Here is her list for her fifth birthday...

1. She weighs about 40 pounds and is 43 inches tall.
2. Her favorite color is light blue.
3. When she grows up she wants to be a doughnut maker and an artist.
4. Her best friend is Aubree R.
5. She loves princesses. Her favorite is Ariel.
6. She is learning how to ride a bike with training wheels (because she is five).
7. She can buy apps on my iphone.
   
8. She loves school and gets mad when she does not get to do "work" at preschool or Ms. Carlene's.
9. She loves to draw, paint, color, and make crafts.
   
10. She enjoys playing soccer although by the 4th period (or quarter or inning.... I am not a sports girl) she is ready to hit the playground with Drew.
11. She has a quick whit like her daddy and makes me laugh a lot.
12. She is good to her little brother. She is learning to give a little to him and is realizing he looks up to her.
    
13. Loves to sing. Her favorite tunes? Purple People Eater, any Disney Princess Song, Mr. Dave's Joy Time CD, and our church's Christmas Musical.
14. She loves going to Church, singing about our Lord, and learning bible stories... boy does this make a mommy happy.
    

So she is growing up. We are getting ready for a Princess Birthday party. She has been an infant, a toddler, a preschooler, and now we are entering the school aged years. I cannot stop it but I can enjoy. embrace. love. every second I can of my special little girl.
Happy Birthday Addie Reese!!!!

Fun In February...

Well what a blogging hiatus it has been. It is time to catch up on February happenings, Addie's 5th birthday, and the beginning of Spring Break.

February 2nd... Groundhog's Day for those who are not Kindergarten Teachers and do not keep up with silly holidays... we were greeted with this in our backyard. Puxatowny Phil predicted six more weeks of Winter. Since I am writing this six weeks later, I can safely say he was wrong. This winter has been almost non existent but if it is not going to snow and get me a few days off from school I say just bring on SPRING.

I was also greeted with this book in the mailbox this month. Addie's last book from the Imagination Library. I have mixed emotions about this book being added to the bookshelf. When I showed her the book, she just said, "Oh that's nice mommy but it does not have a princess in it." Addie is getting so big and as much as I want to slow it down, it just does not work that way. So I am taking some advice from a friend... just embrace it. Millions of people would love to have a little girl to watch turn 5!!!!

Drew just being silly showing his personality...

Addie and Drew cuddling on the sofa on a lazy Saturday morning... yes that is the back brush from the shower in Drew's hand... sometimes I wonder why we buy toys?
Kyle was away at a Men's Conference in Atlanta. We had fun drawing.. ALOT... making pancakes, and watching Lion King. Drew can do a mean Roar!!!!

Addie coming down in the morning with her loot...

Later in the day, Drew was not feeling well. After his nap, he woke up with a 105 degree fever. Thanks to "Dr." Caryn, we found out that Drew had a double ear infection. After a few days of meds he was on the mend.

Sunday Arts and Craft time with Addie. LiLi gave these to Addie for Christmas and she has been dying to make them. I thought these little cupcake magnets would be great to make for her teachers for valentine's day.

This is our future rock star. I was watching the Grammy's and Drew runs to get his "guitar"... please do not confuse the sucker stick for a cigarette:) He is totally a music lover.

Addie's favorite day... Valentine's Day... was complete when she received her balloons from daddy and got pizza for dinner.

Can you feel the love?????

The birthday festivities for Addie's big 5 seem to last forever.
Here she is making cupcakes for her friends at preschool.

The morning of her birthday wearing her cupcake shirt that kyle made for her. I could not get the thing to stick but daddy came to the rescue!!

Ordinary Days...

It is Friday Night and I am so excited to start the weekend. It has been one of those weeks were you think it is Thursday when you wake up but you look at the alarm clock and it reads, Tuesday January 17 th. Drew has been very whiny and clingy this week... especially in the mornings which makes it very hard to get out the door. In addition to being clingy and whiny, he has been waking up earlier than normal. It is amazing how 15 minutes of sleep can make all of the difference in the world. It can mean the difference in momma being ready to go, Addie being ready to go, and all attention can be given to little boy. If this does not happen, we are all running to the cars and I am getting to school on two wheels in the back parking lot of school. We cannot pinpoint why Drew is in cranky town.... does he not feel well... is he cutting two year old molars... is it the Winter time blues... is he slowing reaching the terrible two's??? All I do know is this too shall pass... I just want it to pass quickly:)

Something that does bring a smile to Drew's face these days...

The Mickey Mouse 4-Wheeler. Addie got this for Christmas when she was 2 and never really took to it. She cried the first time we showed it to her. Drew, the boy that he is, thinks it is the best thing ever!!!

The button makes me go fast!!!!

Look at me go!!!!

Last Thursday, snow came to Tennessee finally. We have been spoiled the past few years with real snow falls and this year it seems we are back to reality of Winter in the south. Of course, school dismissed early for the "EVENT." I stayed at school for the extra time to get things done, because I was pretty certain we would not be in school on Friday. When I went to pick up Addie at Ms. Carlene's she was excited and planning our snow play for the afternoon. We had to get Drew from Granny Franny's first before we went home. Addie thought about all of the things we could do in the snow on the ride out to Granny Franny's... snow balls, snowmen, snow angels, sledding... you name it... she said it. Well, by the time we got home the snow had stopped. This did not deter Addie's hopes of playing in the snow. She ran upstairs to fetch her snow pants (which are a size 3t and way too small), scarf, gloves, and boots. Reality hit, we received about 0.05 inches of snow but it is still SNOW in the eyes of a child.

Her footprints went crunch, crunch, crunch...

Can we say "excited" about snow...

Have you ever seen a green snow angel?

Taking a look at her work of art! By the end of the 15 minute snow play, we had about 16 snow angels around the house. It was a blast to watch.

Now you may be asking yourself this question, "Where is Drew?" Well Drew threw up on the way home that day and was covered in... Addie's quote of the day "disgusting puke" which really did stink the 20 minutes we had to ride in the car to get home. I mean, what did mothers do years ago before washing machines and all that jazz when their children were sick. It took two washings to get the smell out of Drew's clothes. And don't get me started on cleaning the car seat cover and buckles... not my favorite chore... but then I think I could be a parent in the 1800's. But needless to say, Drew was in the warm shower while Addie had her snowy 15minutes. We stayed home the next day, which was nice since Drew was not feeling well. We played, ate cookies, and took really long naps.

This is a funny picture of Drew taking matters into his own hands. He wanted water in the bowl and I said, "No." I go out of the kitchen and come back to find this...

I guess he gets points for problem solving right!?!

Last Saturday, Kyle stayed home with Drew for the day, and I took Addie out on a date. LiLi and Poppa; Jason, Kelli, and Hayden went with us for lunch and Beauty and the Beast 3D. We went to Chuy's for lunch where Addie had her first Push-Up Pop. Jason and I reminisced about getting these in Elementary school and making wheels and axles out of them. We were sad to see that you cannot pop off the plastic circles anymore to create our childhood memory.

Can you believe this little girl ate about half of the popcorn that was in the bucket?

LiLi, Poppa, and Addie Reese

Aunt Kelli enjoying the movies with Addie. Kelli was the first person to show Addie a princess movie. I guess I need to thank her????

Another thing that has happened this week... Drew has turned into a vampire. Addie was in the playroom laying down on the sofa. Drew came by and took a bite. Addie cried and I think, has come to the realization that she may be bigger, but Drew can chomp like a gator.

Another first that happen this week, Drew has learned how to hide. We could not find him until we looked here.

So another week in the books of ordinary happenings in the life of a parent.

Let's giddy-up for another wonderful week!!!

Guess Who Is 11 Years Old....

This sweet little face... that puts up with a lot. Who still wants to sit on her "perch" on the sofa cushions even when she has a personalized bed from Frontgate. The little furry person in the house that will come running as soon as I sit on the floor...Allie with a stuffed duck in mouth... Is 11 years old!

This little pup was born and brought into my life as my "first" child.
Found at Walmart on the bulletin board by my mom and dad.
Saved from a life that was not the most fancy at a local trailer park for 50 bucks.
She has been a friend by my side for the past 11 years.
When I got her she was 1 lb. and could fit in kyle's shirt pocket.
When I took her to the vet for the first time, she did not stay in the kennel part of the office for the day but in the lab coat of the vet techs.
She can jump a mile up and can scale a baby gate to get out of the kitchen.
She can push you out of the bed with all of her 7 pound might... which I find it hilarious that she gets to sleep with us but our "other" children cannot.
She can dig her way into the blankets to find her perfect spot and if you want to make her happy fold clothes fresh from the dryer.... she will sit on top till they are gone.
She was burped like a baby when she could not swallow her food.
Tears of sadness flowed when the vet in Knoxville said she would not live to be one year.
Shout of joy came out when my family vet said she would be fine... thanks Dr. Carroll.
She has traveled i-40 more than any dog should going
from Knoxville to Memphis to visit family and friends.
She has been understanding and patient when
these "other" children keep coming into our home.
She will bring her duck to anyone with hands to throw it.
She loves to play chase with Addie and Drew.
She has selective hearing when outside and never wants to go in.
She loves to go for walks... long walks... three miles...in the summer...
around the lake so she can torture the ducks.

She is the one and the only Allie.
No one knows what kind of dog she is but she always gets a smile.
She loves me so much and I love her too.

Happy 11th Birthday Allie

Ordinary Days...

Life is back to normal around here and by that I mean this post has been sitting in the "edit" post section for about a week. But here are the highlights through pictures.

Teachers had inservice on January 2nd... yes while the rest of the country had this day off, I was watching Go Math instructional videos and planning for PLB groups. But the good thing about this was that Kyle was able to stay home with Addie and Drew for the day. He really is a great dad because their are not many dads that would do this...

Yes that is about 7 feet of heart garland adorning Addie's walls that Kyle helped her make. Addie was REALLY sad when I took down the Christmas decorations this year. She cried, complained, and whined. I think her quote was, "Our house is not sparkly anymore!" So to help the transition, Kyle suggested making a heart garland for Valentine's Day (this is Addie's 2nd favorite holiday only to Halloween). This project, from what I was told, took about 2 hours. They traced, cut, stapled, and glued a fabulous garland!!! When I came home, Addie was so excited telling me all about it.

Drew had a hard time with the wake up schedule last week but is back to normal now. I guess waking up at 6:50 is a lot different from the 9:30 roll out of the crib he was doing during the holidays. By the way, what is Drew's favorite thing out of his stocking??? His Thomas the Train toothbrush... the kid loves it.

He also likes this toy...

The other night I was getting ready to make Addie's lunch for Preschool Camp, when the impossible happened. Addie came into the kitchen and ASKED to do it "all by herself"
Of course, being the mom who is always willing to teach responsibility, I let her do it. If you look in the background of the picture Mr. Bear is watching from a far so he will not get messy from the Jelly.

Which this leads into the newest Addie news. She is now earning some money for the chores she does around the house. This all came about with her request for an Easy Bake Oven two weeks after Christmas. When she requested it, I said that would be something great to work for Addie. So together, we came up with some things she could do around the house to earn 2 "gold coins" a week. Here is Addie's daily to-do list.

1. Make her bed... which involves straightening the sleeping bag and her menagerie of stuff she sleeps with.
2. Turn off her CD player and night lights.
3. Feed Rapunzel the fish and Allie.
4. Clean up toys without complaining.
5. Help put away her clothes.
   

Something else Addie has been into lately is S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G!!!
She wants to draw and write little notes, books, signs, you name it. So as much as I love spelling with her and for her, it can because a little time consuming. So I asked Addie what words or names she would like in her dictionary. Here is the top words in Addie's life:

We were also sad to see the end of college football season come.
Now we have to wait 9 months.
But here is Drew enjoying the Arkansas Bowl game. Aunt Kelli was so proud.

TOUCHDOWN!!!!

And finally, Ninnie and Poppy came for a visit last weekend. The boys went to Nashville to a golf show. I went to school to do lesson plans. Ninnie and Addie stayed home to play. Addie made some of her tasty tea for Ninnie. A little side note... I love how Addie plays in Drew's room and not her own.

Happy New Year!!!!!

Decorations are down... Attic is cleaned out... Kyle has a deer in the back of a truck... Addie and Drew are at Ninnie and Poppy's... and we are getting ready to say good-bye to 2011 and hello to 2012.

What a year 2011 has been! 8 years of marriage to my best friend... 7 years of kindergarten teaching in the books... 7 years of law practicing... two children growing and thriving... birthdays celebrated... friendships nurtured... first dance recital... Traveled to a new city... someone learned how to swim... Someone learned how to walk... survived a family trip to the beach... faith grown... and so many more!

I love this new year... 2012! Sometimes New Year's Day is a slump day for me... I usually put up the Christmas decorations (which I do not like) and watch football (which is ending for 9 months) and dread getting up for work the next day. But this year I just feel happy to start fresh. I really don't know why this year is so exciting to me but I am really looking forward to 2012. I have so many things I want to do better this year. I really do not feel I did these things poorly but I just want to strive to be better every day this year. Better for God... Better for Kyle... Better for Addie and Drew... Better for my family... Better for my children at school... And better for myself. So here are some of my goals for 2012... in no particular order.

1. Cook more... I am shooting for four meals a week that are not sandwich based:)
2. Read more (for myself)... I am not going to put a number out there but I want to do more than last year... which you could have called me a "seasonal" reader. If you count children's books I am in the hundreds:)
3. Be more appreciative of Kyle... he does so much.
4. Be a friend more... I think of myself a good friend but I want to do more for my friends to support them and love them.
5. Visit the gym four times a week.
6. Grow beautiful children with patience and love.
7. Enjoy the little things because they always turn into big things in the end.
8. Write more thank you notes and cards.
9. Show more gratitude to my Father in Heaven.

HaPpY NeW YeAr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Questions and Answers with Addie Reese....

Last week, we got together with some friends for a holiday play date. Addie is always excited to visit friends and I am not going to lie, because I get pretty excited myself. As always, the hostess with the mostess had a very cute idea for the children to do. She gave each child a notebook with questions. The children were suppose to draw answers to the questions. Addie's notebook has a lot of random drawings in it, but the answers are very funny and interesting.

Addie's thank you note to Stella for the notebook. Before you think "oh my her mother is so good to instill the goodness of thank you notes in her children's upbringing", this was only done because Stella sent a thank you note to Addie in the mail and Addie wanted to do the same. I love thank you notes but if it were my idea, it would have never been done, so thanks be to Sommer and Stella:)

So here are the answers to the questions in the notebook. The first few pages have pictures of Addie, our family (which has Rapunzel as a member), and our house.

Question #1 My favorite book is the Bible.
Question #2 My favorite toy is dollies.
Question #3 My favorite animal is a giraffe.
Question #4 My favorite food is chicken.
Question #5 The coolest place I've ever been is Aubree's house.
Question #6 If I could go anywhere in the world, it would be the beach.
Question #7 If I could meet anyone, it would be Ariel at Disney World.
Question #8 When I grow up, I want to be a dog walker.
Question #9 The best thing about Christmas is the presents.
Question #10 The best gift I've ever gotten is Mr. Bear and blanket.
Question #11 The grossest food I've ever eaten is (after a pause to reflect) I don't know... Everything I eat is good.
Question #12 The best thing about being a kid is going to Ninnie and Poppy's house.
Question #13 The worst thing about being a kid is crying about leaving places.
Question #14 My mom's favorite thing to do is take pictures.
Question #15 My dad's favorite thing to do is nothing.
Question #16 My brother's favorite thing to do is play with socks.

So that's a little q and a with little Miss Addie Reese. I absolutely love this little notebook. Who knew something so simple could be such a memory maker.

The girls of the play date having lunch and trying to keep Drew off of their plates.

The only cutie pie boy I could get a pic of this time...