this summer so far in pictures....

Here are some pictures of some fun stuff we've been doing this summer. On Sunday, Mommy & I leave for Caravan. We are excited! Daddy is staying home for the week and holding down the fort. Enjoy these pics and I'm sure we'll have many more when we get back.

Love, Addelyn

I love to sit in the driver's seat and "drive" the car.
I DO NOT like to get out of the car.

I LOVE sweet corn. YUM!

I like to have my "baby" do the same things I do- eat, sit on the potty, dance, play, and more.

My mommy and her friends ran their first half-marathon in June. I cheered her on!

We went to Sturgis Falls Celebration and hung out in the park with friends and ate yummy food and danced to the music.

I hung out with my buddy, Boaz.

I went to Wildwood Hills Ranch in St. Charles, IA with Mommy and Laura and Sara and Nathan for a day to see Uncle Tanner and other kids we know from Waterloo at their week of camp.

I even got to go in the lake!

We went on a vacation to St. Louis with our friends the Hansen family. Here we were at the zoo, visiting the penguins.

This is just a glimpse of our fun summer. Thanks for looking at my pictures! See you in a week!

The First Let Down

Yesterday when Addelyn and I got home from our day (mine at work, hers at the babysitter's house), I told her we could go on a walk. She got VERY excited and wanted to go immediately. I told her that we first had to go in and see her daddy. She finally agreed (when I carried her inside crying). She wanted to go for a walk and I had said we were going! She couldn't understand that it didn't mean RIGHT NOW at this exact minute.

We walked into the house and Mark brought up the idea of packing a picnic and going to the pool (it was already around 5:15 p.m.) It had been a weirdly cold summer day but finally was starting to warm up. We figured the pool would be dead so we got excited and quickly packed up and put our suits on. I told Addelyn that instead of going on a walk, that we would go to the pool. She got REALLY excited and ran to get her suit on. I think she forgot about the walk idea.

We drove to the pool, talking on the ride over about how much fun we'd have going on the slide. She kept giving us a huge grin and making her little excited squeal and breathy noises. As we pulled in at the pool, we saw an empty parking lot. Closed. SERIOUSLY??? So we turned the car around and decided to head to another local pool. At least there are more options (we thought). We got out and walked up to the pool gates only to find out they were closed for swim lessons. Strike two.

As we turned around and walked to our car from the pool gates, I said to Mark, "I made two promises to Addelyn today and then didn't keep either of them." As the three of us sulked on our way home (okay, so Addelyn didn't really sulk she just ate her snacks), I thought about the significance of what had just happened. She is only 1 1/2 and probably won't remember the fact that I told her I'd take her for a walk and then didn't. Or the fact that I said we'd go to the pool and then we didn't. However, that is life. There are going to be many times that Mark and I will want a certain outcome or option for our lives and for Addelyn's life and it won't go that way. It was a huge realization of the big picture for me. I want to be a mom who follows through on the promises that I have "control of" if that makes any sense. I don't want to be someone who tells her something and than never holds to my word. Most importantly though, I want to be a mom who can roll with the punches when life takes turns we don't necessarily expect or want. I want to be a mom that teaches my daughter to do the same (with a smile on her face!)

We got home and got out the garden hose. Addelyn ran up and down our sidewalk, screaming and laughing as Mark squirted her with water. That was better than the pool anyway!

Happy Fourth of July!

We decided to try out the good ole snakes and poppers for our 4th of July celebration (two favorites from when Mark and I were kids)!

18 months, a year and a half old!!! CRAZY!!!

*Disclaimer: I never thought I'd be the one to paint my daughter's toenails at age 18 months. Wow. I was doing mine the other day and she begged and begged for me to do hers. I figured it would be a horrible idea and would be a mess. She sat very sweetly on the toilet as I painted hers. She tried to touch it once and I told her no. She didn't touch it again. I could hardly believe it. She even sat there for a few minutes while they dried! The rest of the day, she kept showing me her toes and saying "acky." (see below- in Addelyn language it means yucky, gross, etc.)
Too funny...

18 Months of Life:: Our little one is growing up! Addelyn moved from the "nursery-sleeper creeper" room today at church to the "walker talker" room. It may sound cheesy but to me it was a milestone of my little baby growing up. As I sat in church behind some very sweet little babies, for the first time in 18 months I had a twinge of thought of wanting to have another little one. Don't worry, this isn't a post to tell you news- we definitely aren't at that point right now! I want to keep enjoying this time with Addelyn before we add any siblings. :) The moment has passed! It did make me realize how much she has grown. She isn't my baby anymore.

A glimpse into her life these days:

*She is talking more each day. She understands a lot of words. She repeats almost anything you have her repeat. Some of her favorite daily words: daddy, mommy, ball, mah (more), 'me (which stands for excuse me when she burps or toots- she has now stopped saying the whole phrase), babydoll (yes, the hard headed doll that she loves to carry around and sleeps with AND babydoll can mean any child or baby in sight), bus (any yellow vehicle), Emma (a little girl at the babysitter- she says her name ALL the time), book, juice (which means anything in her cup- water, milk, or juice), doddie (doggy), bah (which is her bottle that she has before bed), acky (meaning gross- basically anything dealing with dirty diapers, dirt, bugs, etc.), bee (any bug is called a bee), bubbles (she LOVES bubbles), Elmo (she got Tickle Me Elmo for a gift- she loves to tickle him!), wan dis (I want this- she often says this and points at what she wants), and other words I'm sure I can't think of right now.

*She whines. AHH....I pray for patience. I keep saying "Addelyn, use your WORDS!" I can't forget the frustration she must feel at times to not be able to fully communicate.

*She loves sidewalk chalk, bubbles, playing on the porch with her toys (she likes the dollhouse furniture and people and also the kitchen items- usually she puts them together- her favorite right now is the corn cob in the shower), stacking blocks and knocking them down, climbing stairs and going down stairs, going down the slides at the park, riding in her stroller, pushing her baby in her stroller, looking at photo albums of herself as a baby (this is the new favorite- EVERY night lately!), riding in her little car, playing the "I'm going to scare you game" where she hides and then runs at you yelling, "RARRR..", hiding under a blanket and then trying to scare you by jumping out, and much more.

*She is into things. Oh yes it is true. If the house suddenly becomes quiet, it is a great clue. She moves her little stool in the bathroom up to the sink, turns on the water full blast and gets herself and EVERYTHING in sight all wet. I have to give her credit, she is trying to wash her hands! Hmmm what else? She likes to try to eat my deodorant. Nasty! She will turn the computer off and on (over and over, I'm sure this is great for the computer). She LOVES pens (not necessarily to write on paper. We have already gotten it out of the couch and clothes and skin. :) She likes to take every piece of clothing out of her drawers. Books off of shelves. These are just a few from the weekend! Ha ha.....life isn't boring!

*She isn't a fan of diaper changes.

*She LOVES going to her babysitter's house. If she is crabby in the morning while we are getting ready, I say all of the names of the kids and she smiles and giggles.

*She has the best laugh ever. I love to hear her laugh.

Life is fun and challenging with a toddler. We love our 18 month old!

the rocking horse

These pictures were taken in May by our friend Ashley. My grandma gave this rocking horse to Addelyn and I had it in my office at church (it hadn't made the trip home yet to Addelyn.) Ashley saw it and her photographer brain went to work. She asked if we could take some pics and OF COURSE, I was up for that! Here are some of the amazing pictures that took me way too long to post. Thanks Ashley!!!

17 month update

See below for a collection of activities and events during the past month! Hopefully tonight I can update with pictures instead of many words.

17 months old...best written with sidewalk chalk, one of our favorite outside activities these days.
Addelyn got her first haircut. After a few people pointed out "the business in the front, party in the back" mullet she had going on...I decided it was time. She did well....sat very still with an uncertain look on her face. We didn't cut her bangs- we figured summer is a good time to grow those out!

Hanging out with her buddies- Ian & Austin...all three of these kiddos were born within two weeks of each other.

Taking a walk with Daddy. Notice she is pushing the stroller. Addelyn wanted to take "babydoll" for a walk!

Summer days outside include Addelyn's new car from Grandpa and Grandma Kramer. She loves it.

We took a vacation to St. Louis with our friends the Hansens this month. More pics from this great time to come later! It really deserves its own post.

Ice cream for the first time! To be honest, she wasn't that impressed. She only ate a bite or so and I tried again the other day and she still didn't like it. That is not a bad thing!

Addelyn has been a great helper. She has been "mowing" and "raking" with Daddy and helping me water my tomato plants. Although she is fearless of ants, I learned the other day that spiders are a different story. There was one on her watering bucket and she FREAKED out.

She will always take a break to wave to the neighbor across the street. She is very friendly!

It has been a great month and we are excited that summer is here. We are looking forward to warmer days, lots of play time outside, and hopefully some pool time too!

Twilight confession

I keep thinking about catching up on my blogging. I have so many updates and new pics to put on here but I have to tell you my free time recently has been spent diving into the Twilight Series. YES. It is true. Today I finished the fourth and final book.
I'm usually not into these type of books (fiction books written for teenagers ha ha) but I have to say I really enjoyed the series. I have decided that every once in awhile, I need a little mindless, easy reading fiction, a good vs. evil love story. We (yes, that includes Mark) even watched the movie last night.
I am now done with the whole Twilight series/movie and can move on with my life!