Are you all done, or do you want some pudding?

I know, posting these videos is kind of like cheating (in the sense of blogging). But we just feel these are so entertaining, we have to share.

The girls, playing dress up

The Bakery

Aunt Emmy got Addison an apron for Valentines day and Michelle decided to try it out. See for yourself how things went.

(sorry it's rotated)

Happy Birthday Ruby

Ruby turned three years old on Friday. We almost forgot but we made it up to her on Saturday. Addison was giving her some lovin' early in the morning.

And then after we cleared the drive way of mother natures latest creation, and after Addison woke up from her nap, we took Ruby to Petsmart to get a new toy. As it ends up, she found a long lost friend. One of her all time favorites from when she was a pup. It's been three fantastic years, could not have chosen a better pet.


(FlashBack)

Sassy Pants

Lately, we've become enthralled with how quickly Addison is picking up on things - Dan and I were amazed a couple months ago when we could ask her to throw something in the garbage and she would run over to the cupboard, open it up and drop whatever it was into the garbage. Sure, sometimes she had to stop and see what was in the garbage and maybe even threaten to dig something out, but she usually got it right. So, for the last couple months she has been picking up more and more and I KNOW she understands things like "Come with mom, please", "Please don't take off your diaper", "We are all done with the pacifier", "Do NOT take off your diaper", "No, we are not going outside right now" and "Sit on your bottom" Lately, however, the challenge has become being able to differentiate between what she does not understand and what she does understand but decides she doesn't want to do. For instance, we've begun to count for Addison when she is not listening to us... it goes something like this: "Addison, please sit on your bottom" (no response), "You need to sit down on your bottom, please" (just a little smirk) and at this point I begin counting to 3 (this is something they do at daycare, so I know she is familiar with it) However, lately, if I've asked Addison something twice, she'll look at me and say "doo" - which is her way of saying "TWO" Soooo SASSY! It's like her 18 month old version of: "what are you going to do about it?"

Of course, there is also the run tactic. Yesterday, I took her and Ruby out for a "walk" - we went 1 1/2 blocks then attempted to turn around and head back home. Addison, however, was not having it. She wanted to keep walking, so first she ran away, then (after being caught) she proceeded to sit down and have a little fit. At this point, she was picked up and carried a little way. When we were about home I put her down to walk again and she walked nicely for a little bit, then she wanted to walk without holding my hand and the next thing I know, she's falling back a little, then a little more. Finally, I turned around to see the mischevious little grin and, with a naughty giggle, she does a 180 and is off...in spite of my "Please come to mommy" request. I'm trying to take it in stride and tell myself that every child has these moments.

The final "sassy" story is also from yesterday. Addison had her 18 month check up yesterday, she was the ultimate little trouper - no crying or tears with her shot :) However, after the doctor we had to run a few errands and Addison just wanted to go outside to play... so she was having her own little protest in her carseat. I tried to be the good mommy and be somewhat entertaining while driving, so I began singing along with the radio and not only did I get a big "NO" from the back seat, but I turned to see Addison with both index fingers firmly planted in her ears. I couldn't help but to laugh which only encouraged the behaviour. I managed to get a shot of it while we were at a stop light...what a riot ;)

Ok, so Michelle and Addison left on Saturday for California to go meet their new nephew/cousin Miles. While they are gone my highest priority is to work nights and weekends on painting our living room. Saturday after I got home from dropping the girls off at the airport I started doing to patching and sanding. Sunday after church (and before foot ball) I got the ceiling painted and continued with sanding and patching the walls and trim. Tuesday and Wednesday I worked on painting the trim and the plan is to cut in all the corners over the next few days so I can roll paint on all the walls on Saturday and do clean up tasks on Sunday. Ruby has been a good little helper through all of this, she just hangs out and watches. Apparently the smell of the paint does not bother her too much but at the same time she knows enough to stay and safe distance.



My project prior to this was to build Addison’s tricycle. (I actually built two, one for Addsion and another for a friends son) The question that may arise is did I actually build a tricycle or assemble it, and the answer is that I did indeed build it (which may not have been possible without the help of my dad and brother). I came up with the concept which was inspired by a photo I once saw of a Litespeed trike. But litespeed discontinued manufacturing this model back around 2002 plus it had a pretty hefty price tag of $850 which is way out of our budget. The next closest thing is made by Lynskey Performance, but it's price is even harder to swallow. So about 6 months ago I started gathering parts and made a few purchases on e-bay for basics like pedals, seats, seat posts, wheels, tires, handle bars and such. And then my dad acquired some aluminum tubing from a local supply center and during my time off over Christmas we fabricated the tubes and my brother welded the frames. Since then I’ve been working on painting and polishing the frames for final assembly. They are pretty much complete other than a few finishing touches. Addison’s trike has the polished (shiny silver) finish and the one for our friends little boy is candy apple red over a orange metallic. I was hoping the orange would come through the red a little more than it does but it’s still a great color.

Vocabulary

It seems like every day for the past month or so we’ve noticed Addison picking up new words, new signs and a new passion for wanting whatever it is she doesn’t have or shouldn’t have. Regardless, we love it all…well, we love the learning, but could probably do without the fits of rage over having to put away the laundry basket.
In spite of all the new learning and discovery going on, Addison still seems to lack one important word in her vocabulary – “mom” That’s right, still no “mom”, no “mommy” or “ma” or “mama.” A few weeks ago I was extremely excited to hear the sound “m –awe-ne” come out of her mouth until I realized that it really just meant “want it.” You see, up until this point Dan had tried to convince me that Addison just hadn’t mastered the ‘m’ sound and so she couldn’t say mommy. Now there’s really no excuse other than the fact that she doesn’t have to say mommy because she knows I’ll respond to whatever happy or discontent sounds and gestures she makes. Oh well.