Interview with Addy

Dogs....

Let me begin by saying I'm not a dog lover. I never had a dog as a kid, never even remember wanting one. Sure, they are cute enough, but I could live my whole life without owning one and still die content. Unfortunately, my disdain for dogs has turned into a fear of dogs for Addy & Lilly. Don't get me wrong, they love to watch them through our front window walking on the nature trail by our house. They love to see them at the park catching Frisbees and will laugh for hours after watching a dog in the lake in the summer. They love these animals...at a very safe distance. However, when asked to touch or be in close quarters with these animals, they pass. They know which of our friends have dogs and will ask me to call ahead if we are going over for a play date "just make sure it's safe, k mom?". It has been this way since the beginning, no matter what we said to try and convince them otherwise. Around the holidays, the game changed.

One of their friends got a puppy from Santa, despite me telling that mom that this would FOREVER skew Addy & Lilly's view of Santa, because now her Santa is very much cooler than our Santa. But, the plan was made and executed and by my surprise Addy FELL IN LOVE WITH THIS PUPPY. It was just her size and the poor thing allowed her to carry it like a stuffed animal without a whimper. She was quickly obsessed.

Addy & her first four-legged friend

It wasn't long after that and her imagination got the best of her. She began to talk to me about her 'new house'. In her 'new house' she had a 'new mom' who didn't make her eat vegetables. She also had a baby brother, a pink flamingo and a puppy. (Most of my close friends are chuckling reading this as Addy might have better luck getting this very 'real' mom to buy the flamingo before either of the other options :-)

We knew it had reached a new level last week when her pre-school daily report log stated, "Addy shared a lot during our circle time today when we discussed LOVE. She said she loved her mommy and daddy, grandma, grandpa and two dogs." Hilarious. Only my kid would have imaginary pets like most kids have imaginary friends.

So, I wasn't surprised after a valentine's day treat visit to Target with grandma where she let them each pick out their own present that Addy came home with this. It's her new obsession, she walks it, feeds it, plays with it, reads to it, etc. When she goes to bed, she even instructs me on what I need to do with it...wait....that reminds me, Zoe needs to go outside.

Addy & Zoe (don't judge the hair, we are trying to grow out her bangs!)

My Three-Year Old Addy

Dancing Queen!

My little Martha....

We had to document the first successful attempt at her name back in October!

(The blue writing was mine, red--all hers!)

Addy is a sweet soul--she is a loving, happy 3 year old. She loves cherry tomatoes, black beans, hard-boiled eggs and expensive cheese. She makes up words and then laughs at herself and how silly they sound. She then gets her sister and anyone else listening laughing as they laugh at her laughing, it's all quite funny. I've said it before, but she is going to break some hearts with those eyes. She's a mama's girl and holds grudges towards daddy any chance she gets, but the deep-down love shows through. She's begun singing Christmas carols already and makes up most of the words as she goes along. She HATES not getting her way and we are constantly working on 'sharing' and not 'taking', speaking and not yelling, 'I would like' over 'I NEED'. Every morning she asks if she can wear her hair in pigtails. Her most important decision of the day is typically what animal, cartoon or princess will be on her panties--she takes this very seriously, lays out all the options and works on this for about 5 minutes EVERY day.

Last week, we met with her teacher for our first "parent teacher conference". They adore her. Apparently, so does some kid named Joey (Daddy's working on tracking down this kid's last name). They have no concerns over development--she's hitting her milestones--gross motor, fine motor, social-emotional, cognitive--the whole list. Not much (besides Joey) surprised us in our conversation. She LOVES craft time and is pretty content coloring, cutting or gluing something. She has impressed her teacher about how engaged she gets doing 'dramatic play'. She goes from a tiger at the zoo, to a fireman, to a doctor to a mommy all pretty quickly. She still hoards and has done this forever (items will change obviously). I'll go to pick her up from school and she'll be carrying around pieces of her day (crackers from mid-morning snack in her pocket, a crayon from craft time in her hand, a baby blanket she napped with, all while going about her business). She's not a fan of 'circle time' and gets bored, again not surprising, she is her father's daughter. She loves puzzles, but gets frustrated when she can't do them on her own. The teacher said she's polite and plays hard and typically crashes hard during nap time too.

She's usually too busy for pictures, but I caught this back in September and it's a favorite! Who would say no to those eyes?

Sweet face!

Interview with Addy--34 months

Yep, we are just 2 months shy of having 3 year olds! I'm hoping to kiss the terrible two's goodbye and for those of you that tell me 3 is worse, I'm praying you are wrong. Don't get me wrong, for the most part Addy is this wonderfully, engaged, polite, little person. She's the first to say "Thank-you for taking me to the park today, mommy" or "I had such a great fun time with my friend today, mommy". However, when she stresses out, she stresses out, she yells, throws tantrums & screams at the top of her lungs. She's as active as ever and runs FAST. She eats well and sleeps better than anyone else in our house (mostly because we separated her from her sister). She is also quick to tell me that she'll stop wearing diapers on her birthday. You can compare these answers to what she said in November here.

Addy, what's your favorite color? "Red"

What's your favorite song? "ummmmmm, Tinkle, Tinkle, Little Star and the ABC's"

What's your favorite book? "Elmo Loves Me"

What's your favorite food? "Watermelon"

What's your favorite thing to do inside? "Play with babies, blankets and water bottles" (THIS IS SO TRUE!)

What's your favorite thing to do outside? "Go to the park with my friends"

Who's your best friend? "Mallory"

What's your favorite thing to have for breakfast? "Pancakes and dip"

What's your favorite game? "Bug game"

"Hey mom, wanna play that game, right now?" Sure babe--let's go play...

We love you Daddy!

Well, we love you unless Mommy's in the house, then we love her and we want her to dress us, feed us, bathe us, brush our teeth, read to us, etc. It has gotten a bit out of control around here with "MOMMY do it", "Go away Daddy" and total meltdowns all common occurrences. They sense I'm a total sucker and I end up coming to the rescue just to avoid the tears that are inevitable. Must get thicker skin. Must get thicker skin. Must get thicker skin.

Bedtime sagas continue, they gave up around 9 tonight. Lilly has taken to sleeping in her "big girl" bed turned around against the wall, so she can't get out and best of all-Addy can't get in. She literally asks to be covered OVER her head and tries to sleep while Addy sometimes takes 2 hours to 'come down' from the day and fall asleep, more often than not, on the floor in a giant nest of blankets and pillows she has made for herself. The yelling/screaming/tantrums have stopped, but my ugly-mom personality rears its face most nights.

On a positive note, we had successes on the potty tonight and its small victories like that which prove to me that they are listening and we are making progress, just progress on their timetables, not mine.

Jeremy & Addy's comparable shots, around 15 months...whaddya think???

Interview with Addy (27 months)

"Hey Addy, what's your favorite color?"

"Pink"

"What's your favorite song?"

"ABC's"

"What's your favorite book?"

"Noah" (Noah's Ark, and she more specifically likes the animals pictured in the book, than the actual story)

"What's your favorite food?"

"Tomatoes"

"What do you like to do at school"

"Color with crayons"

"What else"

"Play with big kids"

"What do you want for dinner?"

"Chicken Nuggets"

"What else?"

"Cheese and crackers"

"Are you ready to take a nap?"

"No way, mom"

"Wanna sit on the potty?"

"No way, mom"

"What do you want to do?"

"Go shopping"

"Really, what do you want to go shopping for?"

"Milk and toys"

How did this little person come to live at my house? Where did my baby go? This is all exactly what she said to me. I need to start getting some of this on video, we've been terrible about it. She's so smart and funny, you just want to squeeze her. And that smile, don't get me started on that smile--the girl is going to get anything she wants in life with that smile...well, atleast all the milk & toys she can handle!

I'll post my interview questions with Lilly later this week!

7 Blogs in 7 Days...Day 4

I would have titled this post Perception vs. Reality if I wasn't using the title above. I have fears that this blog (in its entirety, not this post) doesn't quite do my life, the girls lives, our lives together total justice. I use the blog to keep friends updated and share pictures that I obsessively take, but most months come and go, sharing the highlights and neglecting to tell the full story.

I think of it like a sports highlight reel, without showing the losers in the locker room after the game. The real truth is that this is hard work. Yes, the newborn stage was hard and is all a bit blurry in my mind, but this new age has presented new challenges. They are absorbing EVERYTHING. I try and watch every word I say, I try to discipline with patience, I try to teach sharing instead of shoving, I try and teach numbers and colors and the letters, I try to explore new places, I try to teach manners, I try to teach them to eat with silverware, I try to teach them to tell me when they are wet or poopy, I try not to laugh when one falls and the other one laughs, I try to run/play/explore/get dirty with them. I am trying to raise GOOD people, contributing members of society, that's what all parents want, right?

It's the toughest job ever, don't ever doubt that.

Some days I want to call in sick. Some days I want to give myself a time-out. Some days, they show me signs that I'm not doing such a great job....Lilly still SCREAMS every night when she goes to bed (and believe me we've tried everything short of sticking a muzzle on her) and Addy throws total tantrums when she doesn't get her way. Some afternoons look more like this than that highlight reel.....

and sometimes we become snotty, booger covered messes like this....


I'll spare you the videos I have labeled as "meltdown" just in case my girls want to run for political office or something one day. But honestly, sometimes the end of the day comes and I'm left speechless, exhausted from the day and "spent" in every sense of the word. But then the funniest thing happens, the next morning I get the first hug, the first kiss, the first "I love you mama" and there is no where else I'd rather be.

(This post seems trivial to be posting on 9/11, knowing our world has much bigger issues than my toddler tantrums, I pray my daughters will never have a day in their lives like we, as a country, had 8 years ago. I support our troops, not the war, and specifically EVERY military family, mother, father, grandparent that is acting as a sole caregiver while a family member is deployed....may YOUR day be tantrum free and your family reunited soon.)

7 Blogs in 7 Days....

I'm behind with some fun stories and pictures of family fun the last couple weeks and feel I need to document them, because selfishly, this blog is the story of Addy & Lilly and I'd hate to miss some pivotal moments (not that I think this is a pivotal moment, but go with me). So, here is the kick-off to 7 blogs in 7 days, we'll see if I can keep up (a couple comments might make for some good motivation, hint, hint....).

For the girls birthday, we decided we'd hit the Fort Wayne Zoo since we were up north, hanging out at the lake. So, their entourage and I packed them up and headed out for a fun day. I've mentioned before that Addy is fearless, but I wasn't quite prepared as we walked by the pony rides, for her to look at me and say "Addy do it, peas?" Speaking in near sentences now, it is hard not to give them what they ask for and I knew if I didn't let her, I might have some birthday guilt. So, off we went and this......
quickly turned into this.....

Lilly, of course, wanted NOTHING to do with the pony and was perfectly content hanging with the grandmas waving to the horses as they went by.

So, no, we are not saving for a pony for Christmas.

My 2-year old Addy

Last year I did separate posts for both of my girls, illustrating to everyone just how DIFFERENT they are. You can see the changes in this old post about Addy (click here). I wanted to do the same now that they are 2 and changing everyday.

Addy has more energy than I ever thought possible, the girl never walks anywhere, she goes in a full-blown sprint. She has become so good at playing pretend, endlessly taking care of her babies or stuffed animals. She frequently brings them to the table when we are eating so they can eat too. She continues to love to play independently frequently turning her back on her sister, so Lilly can't see what she's playing with. However, this doesn't mean she isn't a GREAT cuddler, she'll run around like an absolute maniac, but pause for a second, run in for a hug, then she's off again.

She is a great eater and will try just about anything you put on her plate, but her favorites include corn, hard boiled eggs, turkey dogs, mac & cheese and rice cakes. She is pretty good in new places and rarely cries when I leave her. I've observed a few different times, her walk right up to an adult, stand below them and say sheepishly, "hi", waiting for some kind of formal introduction. She plays hard all day long and struggles to get herself down at night, sometimes talking/yelling in her crib for an hour after bedtime. She still occasionally has 'night terrors' which are awful and cause her heart rate to jump and she's covered in sweat, but the doctor assures us this is typical and she'll more than likely grow out of it. She seems to be the more crafty of the 2 at this age, playing for longer periods with crayons, play-dough, etc. Addy is also NOTORIOUS for collecting/organizing things, which is hilarious if you know me. She will spend hours searching out ALL the animals in the house to put in one place or ALL the leaves from the backyard. Hopefully this is a sign of a very clean room during her teenage years!

Here's a video of our dancing queen. Ignore the hair, we'd just had bathtime and she DID NOT want her hair brushed (did I mention she was VERY opinionated?).

Naming these babies

Jeremy and I don't have the same taste in a lot of things...he loves foreign foods, cut-off t-shirts, beaters for cars, carnations in boquets, etc. Now don't get me wrong, he manages to do pretty darn well when picking out presents for me, but in theory we differ dramatically when making some decisions. So, needless to say, I was prepared for a long process of picking out names for our little bundles of joy. It has now been over a month since we found out it was little girls and one name has stayed pretty constant--Addison Grace Ash and we'll call her Addy. Baby B has been Baby B for most of the month, she has also been Molly, Maggie, Lucy, Jillian, Kennedy and others, but over the weekend we decided we'd call her Lillian Sydney Ash and call her Lilly for short. So, as my friend Jenny said, "Let the monogramming begin!" I've already ordered wooden letters that spell the names out in the nursery and they are non-returnable, so we've committed.

Addy & Lilly-we can't wait to meet you!