Mark and Addison are just wild these days!! They really do love to play together, especially their version of "rough housing". Mark likes to tickle Addison and Addison likes to jump on Mark. It's pretty funny to watch them play.
HO HO HO!!
We had a very merry Christmas!! Mark and Addison got more presents than we know what to do with!! And Santa came too!! We celebrated on Christmas Eve with Nana, Paw-Paw, Uncle Bradley and Aunt Jennifer. They were way too sweet to Mark and Addison! Tanks, baby dolls, a helicopter! So many presents!!
Luckily, Mark and Addison were off to bed and to sleep quickly that very important night! Santa had lots to do! Addison woke up first Christmas morning, well actually I woke up first. Really I never went to sleep. I was too afraid Mark would wake up and go downstairs while Jason and I were still sleeping. (He has been known to go downstairs and wait on us.) All that worrying for nothing though - Addison had to wake Mark up!
Santa brought so many toys!! Most importantly though he brought Handy Manny! All Mark wanted for Christmas was Handy Manny's red truck! All Addison wanted for Christmas was a baby doll. She got multiple baby dolls! She loves them all though. Santa also brought a new kitchen, a giant crane, lincoln logs, a bed for the baby dolls and so much more!
Christmas dinner was spent at my mom's house. Grandpa, Grandpa Don, Uncle Kyle and Cara (Kyle's girlfriend) were there. Once again, Mark and Addison got so many presents, including a train table! Needless to say I have had to rearrange and reorganize the playroom. Jason and I each got a new North Face coat too! Yippee!
The month of Decemeber came and went before I could take a breath. We had Mark's Christmas program and party at school. We celebrated Mark's 5th Birthday! (Still can't believe he's 5.) And we had Christmas. It's time like that when you think they will never get here and then they are gone in a flash. (Good thing Uncle Bradley is around to help take pictures!)
Luckily, Mark and Addison were off to bed and to sleep quickly that very important night! Santa had lots to do! Addison woke up first Christmas morning, well actually I woke up first. Really I never went to sleep. I was too afraid Mark would wake up and go downstairs while Jason and I were still sleeping. (He has been known to go downstairs and wait on us.) All that worrying for nothing though - Addison had to wake Mark up!
Santa brought so many toys!! Most importantly though he brought Handy Manny! All Mark wanted for Christmas was Handy Manny's red truck! All Addison wanted for Christmas was a baby doll. She got multiple baby dolls! She loves them all though. Santa also brought a new kitchen, a giant crane, lincoln logs, a bed for the baby dolls and so much more!
Christmas dinner was spent at my mom's house. Grandpa, Grandpa Don, Uncle Kyle and Cara (Kyle's girlfriend) were there. Once again, Mark and Addison got so many presents, including a train table! Needless to say I have had to rearrange and reorganize the playroom. Jason and I each got a new North Face coat too! Yippee!
The month of Decemeber came and went before I could take a breath. We had Mark's Christmas program and party at school. We celebrated Mark's 5th Birthday! (Still can't believe he's 5.) And we had Christmas. It's time like that when you think they will never get here and then they are gone in a flash. (Good thing Uncle Bradley is around to help take pictures!)
Mark's 5th Birthday!
We celebrated Mark's 5th Birthday on December 20th! We still can't believe he is 5 years old!! Time flies, for sure! All Mark wanted for his party were for his friends to come to his house. So after trying really hard to convince him to have his party elsewhere, we had 10 kids come over to celebrate. Needless to say, our house was a bit full and it was raining outside, but Mark had so much fun and really enjoyed his party. We had a treasure hunt, pin the nose on Mickey, pizza, a pinata, presents and cake!
no pictures
Hello Everyone!! I haven't posted anything in awhile, but I do have an excuse. I don't have my camera! It took a bit of a beating while at Disney World, so I had to send it off. Hopefully it will return soon! I can tell you a few things though!
- We had a nice Thanksgiving with the family! Mark and Addison were good and had a good time. They were both good eaters!! My favorite - of course, the food! I love a good meal!! And we played games! If you know me well enough, you know I love to play games!
- Mark and I got the Christmas tree up and decorated. We worked on it while watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. He enjoyed that too. I'm sure you are wondering my favorite part of the parade?! The Rockettes, of course. Once again, if you know me, I have always wanted to be a Rockette or Cinderella in the parade at Disney! See you learn something new about me everyday!
- Now that the tree is up, you've got to watch that little girl! I will give her credit though, she has been really good about leaving the tree alone. However, as Mark says "you have to control her". So we are working hard to "control her" and so far all is going well. (knock on wood)
- Coming soon - Christmas! I sure hope Santa knows to bring Handy Manny!! That's all we hear about!
- Coming sooner - Mark's 5th Birthday!! We can't believe our little man is going to be 5!
Trick or Treat!
Buzz Lightyear and Minnie Mouse had lots of fun trick or treating! We had a good time too watching them! Jason and I were lucky to both get to head out to collect candy with the kids. Grandpa was not so lucky to stay at the house and pass out candy. Thanks Dad!! We went with our great neighbors whose boys were Mickey and a cute, plump pumpkin!
In this picture of the kids, they are staring at 2 teenage boys walking by dressed up as girls. It was quite funny.
apples and pumpkins!
Last week-end we headed to Burt's Pumpkin Patch to pick out our Halloween pumpkins and to an apple orchard to pick apples! It was a cool fall day and we had lots of fun! Addison really enjoyed running around the pumpkin patch and beating on all the pumpkins. There were some huge pumpkins there! Mark was his usual good helper self and picked out our pumpkins.
After the pumpkin patch, we headed to an apple orchard. Mark and Addison had lots of fun here too! We got to pick our own apples and eat some too! Addison spent the entire time working on one apple - she would not let go of her apple! It was yummy! Mark ate a few apples and did a good job picking the apples.
DISNEY WORLD!!
The best way to sum up our trip is - WONDERFUL! We had the BEST time at Disney World! Mark and Addison were SO GOOD and had SO MUCH FUN! Jason and I did too! Here is a summary of each day and then pictures! I took about 300 pictures, so I had a hard time picking which ones to share! Enjoy!
- Saturday - we visited Downtown Disney and ate dinner at Rainforest Cafe. A really neat restaurant where you feel like you are in the rainforest! We sat next to the monkeys and gorillas and every few minutes that would start making noises and moving around. Addison loved it! We all went to bed early this day, because we had left the house at 6:30 a.m. to get there!
- Sunday - MAGIC KINGDOM! The CASTLE! I couldn't believe we were finally there! We rode some rides together and Jason and I took turns holding Addison. Rides like It's a Small World and Peter Pan. Addison had so much fun on the rides and would just sit with huge eyes and watch everything! She was so good and so sweet!! It's moments that I couldn't what to happen and will never forget! I think Mark's favorite part was visiting Mickey and Minnie's house. He especially liked Minnie's kitchen, because you could play with some of the appliances.
- Monday - ANIMAL KINGDOM! We had to get there by 9, because we had breakfast reservations with Mickey and friends! Mark enjoyed the characters, however, Addison was a different story. Take a look at her face in the pictures with the characters. She's usually screaming! We had fun at Animal Kingdom and then headed back to our room for some late naps. That night we went to the Magic Kingdom to watch Spectromagic - the night time parade and my favorite thing! We also watched the fireworks and saw Tinkerbell fly from the castle! Addison LOVED the fireworks! Jason held her to watch them and with every firework she would say "ahhhh!"
- Tuesday - HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS! We had to ride a bus to get there and this is when we discovered that Addison is wild on the buses! Addison was so good, again, and took 2 naps in her stroller! Jason would push her around for a bit and then luckily she would fall asleep. We saw Buzz Lightyear and Woody, Mater and Lightening McQueen, Handy Manny and others. We really enjoyed the Block Party Bash (parade), but it got so hot! We had to pour some cold water on the kids to help them cool down. They liked it though! Mark and I did some shopping while Jason sat in the shade with a sleeping Addison.
- Wednesday - EPCOT! We ate breakfast with Winnie the Pooh and Friends at the Magic Kingdom and then headed over to Epcot for the day. Mark really enjoyed the Nemo ride and Addison really enjoyed the seagulls outside that said "mine, mine, mine" over and over. If you have seen the movie, you'll understand. I really enjoyed Dory. She's my favorite! Jason and I took turns riding Test Track with Mark. Thats the ride where you sit in a car and go about 60 mph. So much fun! I think that was Jason's favorite, besides listening and holding Addison during the fireworks. On the way back to our hotel, the Wilderness Lodge, Mark and Jason rode in the very front of the monorail and Mark earned his drivers liscense.
- Thursday - oh no, our last day! Say it isn't so! We had a slow morning, I think Jason and I were a bit bummed that it was our last day. Well, I know I was! I'm still bummed to be back home! We went to the pool and enjoyed watching the ducks land in the pool and swim around. Yes, they swam with us! Addison took a nap afterwards and then we headed back to the Magic Kingdom. We all rode some more rides and had so much fun! Mark and I rode the Tea Cups together. What a moment - my son and I on the Tea Cups! I loved it! We stayed for the Spectromagic Parade again and being the best husband, Jason tapped it for me! Yes, I've already made my family watch it! And if you come to my house, I just might make you watch it too! I think the parade might have been Addison's favorite part too! She sat in her stoller, with huge eyes again, and talked and waved as the floats and characters went by. It is so sweet!
okay, okay
I know these aren't the pictures you really want to see from our Disney World trip, but I am still working on those. These 2 pictures though, crack us up!! We had already gotten our spot along the curb to watch the parade and Mark and Addison were being there usual silly selves. Mark has some crazy smiling going on, but Addison's face is hysterical!
coming soon...
We are home from Disney World! We had a wonderful time and I have lots and lots of pictures and stories to share! Soon I'll have everything put on the blog!
Mark's First Day of School!
Here's the big boy! Mark was most excited about heading off to school today! I have to admit, I was a little worried that he would get there and then decide he didn't want to be there, but that DID NOT happen! He knew where his classroom was and lead the way. When we got in the room, his teacher, Ms. Sandy, helped him put his lunch box in his cubby, hang his bookbag up on his peg and put his notebook in the basket. He found a seat then and got busy on his morning work. I snapped a few more pictures of him working. How cute! Addison and I kissed him good-bye and we were off. He smiled and waved bye!
Mark said "I had a good day mommy" as soon as Addison and I walked in to pick him up. I didn't even have to ask! The teachers said he did great! Yeah!! He didn't say much about his day, I should have asked very specific questions. However, here are 2 things he did mention about his day...1. He played with his friend Kyle on the playground.
2. I asked him if he went potty at school? His reply: "Yes I went potty and there is orange soap in there. It doesn't smell good." CRACK ME UP!!!
some pictures
We just got back from our walk, that's why Addison doesn't look her best. It's hard work riding around in her coupe! She LOVES her coupe though! She will bring you her shoes and then go to the garage door wanting out to get in her coupe. 
This is Mark's new baseball chair. Addison enjoys sitting in it too, until Mark starts spinning it around.
it's been awhile
I know...it's been a month since I have posted anything on our blog! So what have we been up to lately? Let me think back to my last post on July 4th...
- Addison had a stomach bug. Joy.
- Addison had her eye surgery. She had a blocked tear duct. All went well with the surgery. She is a new woman now.
- Mark had a stomach bug. Will it ever end?
- Addison got a new pink chair. Mark will gladly share the new chair with her too! What a sweet big brother...
- Mark has been to a summer camp for the past 2 weeks. He went 3 mornings a week. The house was actually pretty quiet while he was gone and Addison and I weren't so sure what to do with ourselves. I don't know what we are going to do when he goes to pre-K.
- I have started to walk/jog a bit at night. It is definitely more walking than jogging. I pretty much can jog around a cul-de-sac before passing out. My neighbor (you know who you are!) has inspired me to get moving.
- Mark got his own chair! It is a leather baseball chair that has a footstool and swivels. It's nicer than our furniture! As Mark says he and Addison each have their own chair now. Whereas before the pink chair was always "for the both of them".
- Last, but not least, we head to DISNEY WORLD in about a month!! Yippeeeee!!
Birthday Beach Girl!
Addison Claire is officially 1 year old!! She celebrated her big day at the beach!!
look who's WALKING!
Addison Claire has taken her first steps! And she saved her show for her birthday party, so all our family got to see! She is still wobbly on her feet, but everyday she walks further and becomes more steady. Our little girl is getting so big, so quickly!! (Remember-Mark didn't walk until 15 1/2 months!) We are so proud of her!
look at us...
Mark and Addison - 11 months old. It amazes me how a brother and sister can look so different.
