Libby has discovered what all the fuss is about when Daddy gets home from work. Everyday Bryan opens the door, just enough for the girls to hear him, and whistles. Addi usually yells, "Daddy!" and runs to him (lately she has been hiding....it is her new "thing") and now Libby crawls as fast as she can to get to him. All 3 will hug and then Bryan will play with the girls in the playroom while I finish supper. The other day, I took these pictures of Bryan tickling Libby.
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Our sweet Reagan Elizabeth is 11 months old today! It is truly unbelievable to me. She is such a part of our family...life without her seems much more distant than a mere eleven months. Libby is very active and happy. She is delighted by Bryan and me, but especially by Addi. Libby loves anything that is Addi's or has to do with Addi. Addi hasn't quite found the compliment in that yet :) Although, she does love her baby sister very much. Our lives were blessed 11 months ago when little Libby came into the world.
We spent some time at the pool yesterday. Addi and Libby sported their matching swimsuits that Ma sent them. Thanks, Ma! Bryan and I were able to see some of the progress Addi made in the swim lessons she took in June. She was jumping off the side and staying under water with her goggles on. Staying under water is a big deal for Addi. We still struggle with her when she gets water in her eyes during bath time :) It is supposed to be pretty hot the next few days...hitting 100 degrees. I plan on getting to the pool early and then shutting up in the A/C for the rest of the day!
Addison's first ballet class was Friday. She picked out the black leotard all by herself. Target was full of pink and purple ones with fluffy skirts and sparkley flowers, but she wanted the black one. 
As you can see, she does have pink tights. She's just in awe of her teachers and keeps showing me how to dance. Of course, I never do it right!
One of the things we like most about Raleigh is that we can be at a beautiful beach in about 2 hours. We left this morning at 7:30 and stayed until about 2 this afternoon. Just as we rolled onto the island, the rain started falling. It rained on and off the entire time! Needless to say, by the time we decided to leave, we were all exhausted. The rain started to let up, I grabbed the girls and Bryan grabbed everything else, but when we reached the car, the rain had stopped again. We were barely off the island before the rain stopped completely and both girls fell asleep. All in all, everyone had a great time! In fact, Addi asked if we could go back tomorrow :)
This is Libby's reaction when she knows we are seriously telling her "NO"! I'm not sure if she is already starting temper tantrums or if she just gets her feelings hurt. We usually have to tell her "No" a couple times before she does this and then it lasts a while. This time the tears were caused from us telling her not to eat sand, for the 3rd time!
The beginning of the day, Bryan was smiling and ready to go. By the end...not so much!
As you all know, Addison is our first-born, so we are expected to think she is exceptional, right?! Perhaps she is as average as average can be, but there's not a day that passes Bryan and I aren't amazed by something she does or says. She is silly, kind, loyal, considerate, talkative, loving, surprising, and so much more. (Her little sister's not bad either!) Oh, and she has the memory of an elephant! That can be not-so-good :) Here are some of her latests:
Silly - She calls Bryan Bill...why...it started as a joke, he calling her Matilda, she calling him Bill (not sure which was first), but she won't call him Bill for days and then she'll pop in our room early one morning saying, "Good morning, Bill!
Kind - Libby is still in a rear-facing car seat and doesn't love the car. When she starts to fuss, Addi will hold her hand, tell her everything is okay, and find some toy to either give to Libby or play with her. Usually it is a Cookie Monster doll and Addi will have it give Libby kisses or will say, "What does Cookie Monster say, 'I want cookie! Give me cookie!" in a deep, Cookie Monster voice.
Loyal - If Addison even thinks that I am upset with Bryan or vice versa, she will defend the "attacked" to the death! A lot of times it is just us joking around, but she is completely serious. Oh, and remember the elephant thing, yeah, the "attacker" is in the dog house for at least an hour.
Considerate - A specific example...Yesterday I could hear Addi in her bathroom after she had been napping for a couple hours. As I reached the top of the stairs she was tip-toeing out of the bathroom. When she saw me, she whispered, "I washed my hands "real slow" (quietly) so I wouldn't wake Libby up". She really had been quiet. I only heard her because her bedroom/bathroom is above the kitchen.
Talkative - Not only does Addison talk my ear off all day long reminding me she was born in "Unkleehoma", deciding which "swimsoup" to wear, asking to be "scooped" closer to the table, asking for "breakbust", expressing her disgust for "matatoes" (either tomatoes or potatoes) or her delight in her "Pionkio" movie (Pinocchio), her previous Sunday School teacher informed me that Addi took a few minutes to warm up, but once started she would continue with, "And, thennn", "And, thennn" until you just had to cut her off. And when she has no one else to talk to (like nap time) she has "conversations" with her preschool friends!
Loving - I cannot tell you how many times a day Addi will say, "Mommy, I love you" or "Mommy, I want to hug you". It melts my heart each and every time!
Surprising - There are too many of these to list. Some of her latests:
A few weeks ago Addi drew a picture for me and one for Bryan. She wanted Bryan to tell her how to spell Mommy so she could write it on my picture. Now, she was introduced to letters in her preschool class this past year and she can spell and write her name, but we were doubtful since none of the letters in her name are shared with the word mommy. Nevertheless, Bryan told her and she wrote M-O-M-M-Y as good as she writes A-d-d-i. She then wrote D-A-D-D-Y on his picture. I really have no idea where she picked this up!
Another surprising thing is how tough she can be. Those of you who know Addi have been around her when she's gotten the smallest scratch and made the biggest deal out of it. Well, last night after about the third time I had to take Addi back up to bed, she told me her ear was hurting. I grabbed the Childrens' Tylenol, laid down with her for a few minutes, told her she would feel better soon and to go to sleep. This morning she woke up (after sleeping for about 3 housrs straight) with a smile, even after being in our bed or us being in her bed most of the night, switching between acetaminophen and ibuprofen every 2 hours, lots of tears and very little sleep. Bryan took her to the doctor anyway. The doctor was surprised at all the red blisters in her ear (and that was the ear Addi wasn't complaining about...turns out they are both infected). This is not the first time she hasn't complained of her ears hurting until she can no longer stand it. By the way, she napped fine this afternoon and, hopefully the amoxicillin will kick in enough before bedtime tonight.
Addison is a joy to be around! I feel blessed that the Lord allowed me to be her mother and I pray that I will be the example He would want me to be.
I love you, Addi Pie :)
(My apologies to our family and friends in Texas...)
We have had such a perfect day here in Raleigh. It's been sunny and breezy, not much humidity, and might have reached 80 degrees. This morning the girls and I had to take a walk. It was a super long one, all over the neighborhood, even making a stop at our neighborhood playground. We spent as much time as possible outside today. Addi and I played with her new, favorite toys (her 25 cent waterguns). She loves to spray my car with hers as I chase her with mine :) We even ate lunch out on the deck. I plan on taking a family walk after supper....have to take advantage of a day like this!
How pretty my little girls look in their pink dresses (thank you, Becky!). These pictures were taken in May (Addi was 3 1/2 and Libby was 9 months), but I wanted to wait to post any until I mailed them all out :)
