party time

Crazy to think my little girl turned three a few weeks ago. Where does the time go? It honestly doesn't seem like three years ago that I held her for the first time in that hospital room and listened to her intense cries, experiencing one of the most incredible moments of my life.

This year we knew Addelyn's birthday weekend was going to be crazy (with moving and other events falling on the same weekend) so we planned a fun little mid-week party with friends. We go to church and eat dinner every Wednesday night so we invited some of Addelyn's little buddies to come and decorate and eat cupcakes with us after dinner at the church. The Terrific Twos room worked out perfectly for this event with the little tables and chairs and toys to play with. We had all sorts of yummy toppings for the cupcakes and the kiddos surrounded the tables to decorate.

I have to say the cupcake decorating went suprisingly better than expected. Only one cupcake had a whole sprinkle container dumped on it!

Addelyn worked hard on her decorations, only to run away to play when she was done and not even eat a bite of her cupcake. Too bad at 8:30 that night, she remembered that cupcake that had gone uneaten, which made for a bit of an unhappy camper.

Harrison LOVED his cupcake!

Quinnlyn and Addelyn hid in the tent for awhile and played. (Notice Jaxon getting their attention on the side!)

The end of the party....holding her favorite new stickers from Boaz. Tired out from all of the fun and attention! What a fun little birthday party. I think Addelyn loved it. We are thankful for the wonderful friends we have!

We give thanks, a little late

I have gotten a little behind on my blogging these days when it comes to this blog being my scrapbook! So here goes my attempt to catch up a bit on the lives of the Hoskinson fam.

This year for Thanksgiving we spent some time in Steamboat Rock and in Perry. While in Perry, we went to a winter parade at night. Kinda fun but COLD!

Thankfully Kathy has the "in" and we got to watch most of the parade from the bank window! Right front and center. We did go outside for candy canes though. Funny to see them throw candy to kids in the dark.

Kramer Thanksgiving= lots of fun, lots of food. Addelyn got to play with her cousins Autumn and Aiden and she LOVED it. Autumn and Addelyn played upstairs and pretended they were babies. It was funny looking in on them, seeing them playing together. It made me realize how OLD Addelyn is getting. These pictures are of them going down the stairs on their buns- they would go up and down, up and down! So much entertainment with just a flight of stairs. I remember playing on these same stairs with my cousins Eric and Jen (Autumn's mom) and my sister. We would sit on a sleeping bag, put all of our stuffed animals on too, and ride down the stairs for hours of fun! Gotta love creativity. The best thing about growing up on the farm is that we didn't have cable TV or tons of kids around to entertain us. We MADE our entertainment!

Tired from all of the playing and eating!

I never get a picture of these two without my dad giving us a goofy grin. I was excited to have a good pic of the two of them!

The pilgrim Addelyn made at Ilene's this year. I chased her down to take this picture, only to end up holding it to the back of her head! She is anti pics these days.

6 week house guests

When Randy and Marla said we could stay with them while in-between houses, they probably didn't know what they were getting themselves into! We ended up living in their basement for six weeks. I can honestly say it was a really fun six weeks (at least for us!) They were amazing and truly opened up their home to us. Addelyn had a blast at their house. Marla and Randy are both great with kids and so Addelyn spent LOTS of time harassing the two of them. Oh and while I talk about harassment, I can't leave out Ringo. Addelyn LOVES this dog. Ringo is one of the nicest dogs ever- he took so much abuse from Addelyn. One day I even saw Addelyn leading Ringo around by his ears, as if they were a leash. Mark spent a lot of time sitting in their hot tub, I spent a lot of time sleeping on their couch (hey, come on- first trimester!), and we spent a lot of time chatting and enjoying the company of the Randy and Marla. Thanks to two wonderful people for hosting us!!!

Addelyn and her "best buddy Ringo" (as she told me one day, with her arm around Ringo)

Trying on one of Marla's bathing suits, this one was pretty sweet let me tell ya!

Addelyn helped Randy rake. Can't you tell how hard she is working?!

Just a usual day, it began at 7 a.m. Chasing Ringo, rolling around on Ringo, loving on Ringo, petting Ringo, more chasing Ringo!

Oh and how could I forget breakfast!? Most days Randy would get up and ask Addelyn what she wanted for breakfast. And then he would make an amazing, yummy breakfast for Addelyn (and Mommy!) Randy can come cook breakfast for us anytime!

things being said these days......

Just a few quotes from the past few days!

Prayer before bed last night....
"Dear God,
Thanks for Jess's house. Thanks for Ilene's house. Thanks for popcorn. Thanks for breakfast. Thanks for my toes.
Amen."

"Mom, I forgot to tell you I have a toad."
(she says this five times, I cannot understand her....FINALLY i realize, she is talking about her COLD. A very stuffed nose!)

Addelyn is a little bargainer. She will say things like, "If I eat three more bites, I get to have dessert." Or "If I take a good nap, I get to watch a movie tonight, right?"

More about our three year old, the big move, and much else to come!

Bring it on Winter!

Okay, not really. We have too much going on this weekend for a winter storm to bother us! Moving into our new house, family coming from out of town, Addelyn's birthday, and Christmas Store/Craft Fair. So we're hoping this winter storm will pass us over!

number two

Arriving June 2011 :)

quote of the day

Addelyn, as she is "rowing" on the stairs......

"Mom! No! You can't walk on the stairs, they aren't stairs. They are my boat. And it is filled with people. We are all going to America!"

Sorry about my lack of blogging recently. Life has been a little unique lately as we are in the process (a long one it seems) of moving. So I will update more soon when there is time (and energy!)

baby CRAZY!

my child is obsessed with babies. and i am not exaggerating. everything she does right now is concerning babies.
some examples from my day:

in target, she begged to go see the highchairs, car seats, and pack and plays. when i told her we were going to the baby section, she YELLED in a very excited voice to anyone who was listening, "WE ARE GOING TO GO TO THE BABY SECTION!!!!"

tonight when mark got home from work and was laying on the couch, she wanted to pretend he was a baby. she tried to "carry" him and lifted his head, grunting and straining as she truly tried to pick him up. "You are heavy," she told the baby. then she said, "It's okay baby. I'm here."

it was time to eat a before-bed snack. addelyn picked up one of her grapes and began to rock it back and forth and "shhhsh" her baby.

Gotta love her tender heart and nurturing spirit.

miss farmer

I think Papa Marvin will be happy to see Addelyn on a tractor.

However, the John Deere below might not go over as well! :)

cruisin'

can we reach the goal???

Pretty amazing to run yesterday and then to watch many of my 135 teammates make it across the finish line, many of them finishing their first marathons! So awesome!

We are still raising money to reach our goal of $110,000. I believe we can still do it. I believe we can still build this school. Will you help us finish well and make it to our goal?

www.firstgiving.org/kristinehoskinson

Thanks so much for all of your support!

i love you sweetheart

Isn't she sweet? I have those days where toddler"isms" are a killer but then there are those moments that completely make it all worth it! A moment that happened today as I laid down by Addelyn on the floor before her nap (no she does not sleep in her big girl bed, at all right now.) She asked if I would lay with her and tell her a Jonah story (we tell fun stories about her make believe friend Jonah and his baby brother Micah). As I laid my head next to hers, looking into her eyes, she wrapped her arms around my neck and said, "I love you, sweetheart." It makes me smile, just thinking about that moment that I hope I can forever keep in my memory bank!

"chicka bow wow"

I almost forgot about this and have to blog it before I forget!
A few weeks ago I visited my friend Arika in Cedar Rapids. She is going to have a baby in December and Addelyn knows this. When I got home to put Addelyn to bed that night, we started to say her prayers. I asked Addelyn who she wanted to pray for. She thought for quite awhile and then said, "what is the name of the baby in Arika's belly?" I told her the baby doesn't have a name yet but asked her if she wanted to give the baby a name so we could pray for him. She again thought for awhile and then said, Yep, we'll call him "Chicka bow wow." So that night we prayed for baby Chicka bow wow.

objects in nose are closer than they appear

After Addelyn's nap yesterday (or should I say, no nap, don't ask) I had set her up on the table and was talking to her face to face. She leaned back her head and I noticed something white up in her nostril. And when I say UP, I mean UP there. Come to find out that during Addelyn's time in her room (the supposed nap time) she had rolled up paper and stuck it up her nose. We worked on getting it out for about fifteen minutes- blowing, pushing from the outside, trying to pull it out- but there was no way! So off to the doctor we headed. Three instruments later, he finally got the little ball of paper out of her little nose (don't worry it was just a page she had ripped out of a book, ahhh!). He at one point during the ordeal mentioned that he thought we may have to put her out to get the item out of her nose. THANKFULLY it didn't end up having to go that way. Her poor little nose was sore but he got it out. I can only HOPE she has learned her lesson! You just never know with toddlers though, especially my toddler!

ahhh the summer days

Every year as summer ends, I feel a bit of sadness. Although I still like fall weather, it is on the chilly fall mornings (when I can hardly stand to get out of my warm bed) that I feel sadness for those hot summer days that are long gone.

We spent lots of time outside this summer around our house. Some of Addelyn's favorites from summer....drawing with chalk- making "body tracings," eating popsicles on the front step for "bessert", blowing bubbles, and on this one particular wonderful summer night, playing with her buddy Austin. They were having a blast, being as goofy as can be! Oh how we love our summer days, they always seem to end too soon!

almost there!

Hard to believe Oct. 17th is almost here. Only two more weeks. In those last few weeks, we are still trying to raise $63,000 to make it to our $110,000 goal.

Why $110,000 you may ask? That is the amount it takes to build a school in Mozambique, Africa. With this $110,000, generations among generations will be changed as children are given the opportunity for education.

Will you help us meet our goal? I'm so thankful to the many of you who have already been a part of the $43,000 that has been raised. Also, thanks for the support along this training process.
Thanks for making a difference!!!!

letter to my girl

Dear Addelyn,
I realized if you ever read this blog someday (which is one of the reasons I am doing this- a scrapbook for you!) you will think your mom was only annoyed and stressed with you. To be honest, I like to share your funny comments and stories because I know some day we will look back and laugh. At the same time, I want you to know what an amazing little girl you are and how much we love you. Even though sometimes you push my buttons, more of my day is spent enjoying you and your personality and who God has made you to be.

You have a very tender heart. You can be very sensitive. You love babies and it is so sweet to watch you carry your baby doll around (you finally named one of them- Avery, not just baby anymore!) You rock your babies, you sing to them, shhhsh them, hug them, change their diapers (over and over and over), carry them in the car seat, push them in the stroller, put them to bed in the manger (thanks baby Jesus for this one), and sleep with them.

You notice EVERYTHING! We drove in the driveway today and you yelled, "Look, a spider!" A small spider had made a web on the garage. I would have never noticed this but you are so aware of the world around you. Buses, workers on the road, leaves, what direction we are going in the car and where, what kind of car is in front of us, etc! The other day you saw an Impala go by. You pointed and said, "That is like Jiller's car but hers is white." You pay attention!

A lot of times you remember your manners without prompting. Sometimes you even say "I'm sorry Mommy," in the sweetest voice I can imagine.

You love to laugh. I think you may already understand sarcasm. Yikes. You love to wrestle. You love to play outside. You ride your scooter up and down the sidewalk as fast as you can. You love to eat cheese. Every morning you ask me for a string cheese.

You wake up slowly, like your dad. It is usually the only time I get to cuddle with you these days and sometimes even then, you don't want to!

Oh Addelyn, we love you lots. I'm excited to see how you will grow and learn. I get scared sometimes about how to be the best parent you need, how to best discipline you and encourage you, and how to help you grow. So we'll take it day by day. Just know how much we love you!
Love, Mommy

just one of those days

Some days.

1. No nap for Addelyn. She played in her room. Yelled. Cried. Yelled more. Played her keyboard. Yelled, "MY EYES JUST WON'T SHUT!!!!" Over and over.

2. While I switched laundry, she kicked down/pushed over her gate. Dang. Gate number two. Fail. Picked up her cute little stool from the bathroom, carried it into the spare bedroom and reached a random sharpie in the middle of the pen/pencil jar, and colored our white duvet with some nice blue sharpie designs.

3. Tonight, Addelyn stared up at me with her big ole blue eyes. She said, "Mommy, when I get older, will I have owies like you?" She pointed at my zits on my face. I could only laugh!

4. Sweet, sweet, sleep.......the day ended. Addelyn passed out in front of the gate, again. Scooped up her little body and carried her to bed. Just love the little girl.

house for sale!

https://sites.google.com/site/1622willistonave/

Looking for a great 3 bedroom house for sale in Waterloo? Pass the word along!

P.S. Maybe I'll become a realtor, you never know!

the big girl bed............

One week ago, Addelyn moved into her new big girl bed. She is very excited and very proud. Her first night was a little tough. She didn't get out of her bed (amazing!) but cried for about 20 minutes. "I don't like my big girl bed, I'm sad!" After the tears, she did great! We didn't hear from her til the next morning when she sat on the end of her bed and waited for us to come and get her.

The past week overall has gone really well. She has slept well for both naps and bedtime for the most part. We have a gate up at her door- one that seems very childproof. Until 2:30 a.m. when our bedroom lights turned early on morning a few days ago. So she knows how to get out. Now what?

Then today.......naptime arrived and my little miss was in and out of her room about 30 times. I would continue to return her to her room. She continued to come out with a different excuse or reason. See below, each excuse was a different time out the door and another trip where I carried her back to her room. These are the ones I remember!

"I have to poop."

"I need chapstick."

"I need water."

"I need a couch pillow."

"I have books." (in this case, she had taken MANY MANY books off her shelf and they were everywhere in her room)

"I sleep on the floor." (her pillow and blankets pulled off the bed onto her floor)

"Jonah pooped." (Jonah is the new imaginary friend, another post is to come soon on this one I promise! She had the wipes and a diaper out.)

"Jonah woke me up."

"Micah pooped." (Micah is imaginary friend Jonah's younger imaginary brother)

"I don't have clothes." (this time she was completely naked)

"I am laughing, Mommy." (I responded, "I am not." Took her back in her room, holding in my bursts of laughter)

"I need you." (this time she crawled out on her hands and knees)

"I heard a helicopter."
"I heard a train, I'm scared."

"What are you eating? I heard the bag." (yes, I was snacking!)

"After nap, we are going to the pet store!"

"Right, Mommy?"

"Right, Mommy?"

"Right, Mommy? (I was ignoring her completely each time at this point.)

"I'm sorry, Mommy. I'm sorry, Mommy." (this was in the sweetest, saddest voice, of course!)

Finally, I cracked. Just couldn't deal anymore. I let her get up for good.

I don't really know what to do. Any great bed suggestions? Gotta love my toddler.

imagination movers

Have you ever seen the show Imagination Movers? Addelyn loves it. It is four men, singing and dancing and solving problems. Ahh to watch children's shows.
Today on the way home before her nap, Addelyn told me she was having an "idea emergency." I looked back in the mirror to see her one arm sticking out of the car seat strap in a strange way.

For those of you who aren't following, this is what they say when there is a problem on Imagination Movers. (this is followed by corny singing and dancing.....)

amazing story

Watch this amazing video from the Today Show if you have a few minutes. It is amazing to me- the story of this little baby- a miracle.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/38988444

house shopping anyone?????

https://sites.google.com/site/509divisionst/

Check out this great house for sale in Cedar Falls!!!

things learned.....

On our way home from Papa and Nonnie Kramer's house after a fun day of playing outside with the kitties, Addelyn said to me, "Mommy, we shouldn't throw cats, should we?"
I (trying my best not to laugh) said, "No, Addelyn, we shouldn't."
Another question: "Mommy, we shouldn't throw people either, should we?"

quotes this week.....

I need to keep writing down the things Addelyn is saying these days. Too funny and sweet!

The other night when we put her down for bed, she was yelling from the other room, "I'm scared! Mommy, keep me safe! Keep me safe!"

She told me one night that she didn't like cows. Or pigs. Or chipmunks. (out of the blue, before bed)

Yesterday she walked in the bathroom and asked me if I needed a coupon (maybe you can guess what she was talking about).

When going to the bathroom, she asks us to leave because she needs her "privacy."

"Oh man."

Driving home from a fun night at the pool and dinner at friend's a few weeks ago- she said, "Thanks so much for going to the pool and to Jess'. It was fun." (without any prompting for a thank you! AMAZING!)

play date

What happens when you get a bunch of moms and kids together? You have a great time but it looks completely different than it used to when you got together before kids. Now each mom is chasing her own kids, helping them go down for naps, getting them to the potty, nursing, cutting up their pizza, and so on. You get to have conversations - just not the same depth or length. I still will take mom/kid playdates over NO play dates anyday:) It is fun as seasons of life change- to do it alongside of others! By the way, don't you love our MANY tries to get a good picture (minus Harrison, who was napping!)

jesus is back

I just heard about this story from Mark tonight....Last night he rocked Addelyn before bed. They were getting ready to pray and she stopped Mark and said, "We can pray to Jesus now-- he shaved."

well that makes it much better!

Today before nap, we were rocking and Addelyn was picking her nose and I am pretty sure I saw her stick something in her mouth. I said, "Addelyn, do not pick your nose and eat it! That is very gross!"
Right away, she responded, "Mommy, it wasn't a booger. I only ate a crusty."

smores

Even without a campfire, we can still make a pretty yummy s'more

(which is a MUST during the summer)!

someone got ahold of the camera.....

This is what happens when I take showers.