addelyn's reading list

Gotta love The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. I remember it from when I was a kid. And now Addelyn loves it too. She can almost repeat it word for word at this point. After sharing my reading list, I figured I should also give you a glimpse of Addelyn's faves so far this summer. We read lots of books but these are the ones that keep making it to the pile to read almost daily! The Fleas Sneeze by Lynn Downey and Karla Firehammer

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault

Bad Dog Marley! By John Grogan

word association

This was Addelyn's prayer today before nap:

"Dear God....
I pray for Ian.....
Emma......
Baby Alexander......
Corin....."

(silence)

"Corn on the Cob......"

(silence)

"I'm hungry. I want a snack."

thanks papa!!!

Thanks Papa Kramer for building our new sandbox. Addelyn played in here for almost two hours the other night. Two year olds don't do ANYTHING for almost two hours, let alone two minutes!

She loves it!

ahh to read again

I love to read. My pile of books I want to read continues to grow higher and higher. I have three going right now. The one thing I miss from before having a child is the fact that I used to be able to read more than a chapter at a time! Over vacation, I had some great free time and read a few books. (I got to sit and read for HOURS at a time! It was amazing!)

I would suggest any and all of them.

Crazy Love by Frances Chan- A wake up call about living a life set apart- not always thinking about and planning for tomorrow- because we truly don't know we have tomorrow.

The Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley- An easy read. The Principle of the Path: The road you are on leads to your destination. Simple concept, hard to live out!

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult- A good fiction book. I love to escape into the worlds of others. This was about a school shooting at a high school and the story of teens who struggle with image, self-esteem, popularity, and bullying.

What is on your reading list this summer?

shaving cream gone wrong

A little shaving cream play time at the table suddenly turned into a large mess once Addelyn touched her face, her hair, and shirt. Oh well, it made the rainy morning much more fun!

all in the name of convenience

today addelyn and i went through the drive thru at mcdonalds. why is it that i have a hard time admitting that? is it that i'm embarassed that i'm not cooking? maybe it is my pride- i don't want people to know that sometimes my daughter gets to eat unheathly foods or that i spend $3.89 so she can eat lunch on the way home to save time? maybe it is because ever since i saw the movie "supersize me," i am disgusted by the reality of the food. i just don't know what my issue with mcdonalds is because every so often, i can put it aside for the sake of getting my child a happy meal. today i told her we were having a special picnic in the car so she was extra excited about that.

as we waited in the drive thru - behind a line of five cars- for her happy meal (chicken nuggets, apple dippers, and milk)- addelyn said, "bump the car in front mommy, i am hungry!" addelyn has not seemed to develop the mcdonalds complex that i have. YET.

kitties

Addelyn prays before each meal. It usually goes like this:
"Dear God. Thank you for Mommy. Amen."

Not kidding. Every day. Thanks for Mommy- that is it! I feel pretty special since usually Daddy is her top pick ha ha. Recently we have been encouraging her to think about praying for others. So the last few nights, her prayers have continued on...and on....and on.....

Her prayer last night before bed:

"Dear God, Thank you for Mommy........... And Tanner........... And Mommy......... And Daddy.......... And Addelyn (with a big smile).........And Papa........... And kitties.......... And for new Sadie.......... And Jiller............ And Mustard........... And Kelsie. AMEN!!!"

Can you tell my little girl loves animals? By the way, "new Sadie" is the puppy that my Dad and Lora just got- their older dog (who was also Sadie) passed away. Mustard is Jill's cat. Kelsie is the inside cat at Dad and Lora's house. And they also have little kittens outside, as you can see from the pictures. As I sit and listen, I do everything in my power not to laugh outloud. I never want her to think she is being laughed at; it is so cute though! I love to listen to her sweet and innocent prayer. My only thought, we may need to pray for the little kitties to survive Addelyn's love for them (as you can see from the pictures!)

bienvenido a miami

Mark and I took a little vacation to Miami, FL. Just the two of us. Addelyn went to Papa and Nonnie Hoskinson's house and Papa and Nonnie Kramer's house. She had a blast, of course. Ate lots of fruit snacks, fished, and played with the kitties and new puppy, Sadie.

We also had an amazing time. We stayed in this sweet little condo on the beach (we have some hookups if you are interested, thanks to Dave Hansen and his Ebay searching a few years ago!). First of all, Miami was a very unique place. A cultural hub I would say. So many people there from so many places - visiting and living. We slept a lot, had great quality time together, read a few books (okay I did), laid on the beach, played frisbee in the ocean, worked out (this may sound dumb but how fun is it to be able to workout whenever you want, I forget what that feels like!), went to South Beach and walked around, ate out at fun places at night- we promised ourselves we could only go to unique "non-chain" restaurants, snorkeled in the middle of the ocean, played some cards, sat on the beach at night and looked at the stars, and just had a wonderful time being together and connecting. I figure from this time in life on, our vacations will be filled with lots of family memories. This year seemed to be a perfect year to go as a couple. I'm thankful we did.

Mark promised that one night I could go somewhere to get fresh seafood. We sat out on a patio by the ocean our last night and I ordered crab. I LOVE fresh seafood. LOVE it! Eating took me over an hour. Mark just watched me in kind of a gross amazement as I pulled apart the crab legs and devoured them. I was such a mess when I got done eating. Such a mess I walked quickly into the men's restroom to wash up....whoops. One of those embarassing moments of life in a full restaurant. ha ha

See our foreheads with marks on them from the snorkel equipment? This was on the glass bottom boat and we were in the middle of the ocean. It was about 20 feet deep and there were tons of cool fish swimming around. Mark LOVES the chance to snorkel and see the sea creatures. This is definitely a highlight for him. I was a little freaked at first- I couldn't get my equipment to work and the waves were huge. Mark tells our snorkeling story a little differently. He took the brunt of my fear/frustration and witnessed a bit of a tantrum in the middle of the ocean! Ahhh not one of my prouder moments. At a certain point though, I finally enjoyed myself. Until a fish nipped at my foot. I was done then.

Miami Ink in South Beach. We were up close by the shop but felt stupid and touristy so I made us walk across the street to take a picture.

The beautiful beach we enjoyed all week. I thought this picture captured our week. At times, Mark would get sick of laying out and finally bought googles at the local grocery store. Notice him on the right- just playing in the ocean with his goggles on. Gotta love my hubby.

Probably one of the best parts of the week- dates! So many of them....just the two of us. No agenda. No place to be at a certain time or babysitter to pay when we get home. Just some good connecting time as a couple.

What a great vacation. And how wonderful to get home to our little girl. We missed her way too much! Oh and a huge thanks to the grandparents for watching Addelyn- we are so thankful!

my merry maids

a picture is worth a thousand words, or at least a few months

Matching aprons. Now if I just would start baking/cooking more!

No the Hoskinsons did not get a dog. Kacey comes from the Hansen household and as you can see- Austin, Kacey, and Addelyn thought that jumping on the couch was quite a fun option. I obviously could not grab a picture of them sitting still.

I love to cuddle. No one seems to want to cuddle with me at our house. Addelyn was not born a cuddler. However, every once in awhile, she will want to cuddle and let me tell you, I grab those moments. This was a before bed, movie night, cuddle time together!

Painting and eating pudding (great idea Jess!)

Crabby morning?

A chocolate donut for a special morning breakfast treat

little dora buns

Two weeks ago, I started putting Addelyn in underwear. She has been doing great. A few accidents along the way but for the most part, I think she is potty trained! She was more than ready. After she could tell me every time she was peeing in her diaper or pooping in her diaper, I knew it was just a matter of time. I am putting her in diapers at night and during nap for now though. She spent the last week with the grandparents while Mark and I had a little vacation, just the two of us. She did great while she was there too.

I have been watching her run around with her little underwear on and just have to smile. I used to love seeing the way her little buns looked in diapers. Just that sweet lil padded baby butt look. Now she has these cute little Dora buns that make me smile but at the same time, realize my little baby is not a baby anymore. I swear Addelyn started looking and acting older since we picked her up from the grandparents after vacation. She won't stop talking!

After I walked out of the bathroom yesterday, she smiled up at me and said, "Mommy, I'm so proud of you for pooping and peeing in the potty." Gotta love the things coming out of her mouth these days.