First Steps

I keep forgetting to mention that last week Cameron took his first real steps. At school his teacher gave him a phone to play with and while he was playing with it, he was so distracted he didn't notice he took 4 steps towards her. When Brian got home with him that night he did it again. He has been reluctant to do it much since, but he is very stable now. He will stand in one spot for almost a minute and he's taken a few steps, but it's like his legs are cement. I'm not rushing things though, I know soon enough he will be all of the place.

Happy Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving, one of my favorite holidays. What's not to love about eating too much food and watching football? As usual I am filled with an abundance of gratitude. Just the other day I told Brian I still feel like I have to pinch myself sometimes that this is my life. Two beautiful healthy children, a 

wonderful husband, great job and home, I am so lucky. It's those moments that I hold on to when I'm overwhelmed with the reality of how busy our lives are, but I wouldn't trade it. I am grateful for every blessing in my life, especially my family. 

We've been talking to Addy a lot about how Thanksgiving is when you think about what you are grateful for. She consistently has been saying that she is most grateful for the sun, the stars and the flowers. Every once in awhile she includes her family, but today we did not make the list. 

As usual we had a wonderful holiday with the Bennett family, and first we took a walk in the park down the street since it was such a beautiful day. There is so much we have to be thankful for. 

Good trip

Last week I was in China for work and Brian's parents came to help him with the kids. I'd say we both had a good trip. Scott celebrated his birthday and Addy helped him pick out a mermaid ice cream cake (Addy's favorite part of the trip). The kids got to read tons of books, went to the children's museum, the library, out to eat and spend a lot of quality time with Grandma and Grandpa. We are so grateful for their help at times like this because being a single parent for a week would be very tough. It makes it a lot easier on me when I'm away when I know everyone is in good hands. It was so good to come back, it felt like both Addy and Cameron had aged a month in just a week.

Fairy

On Saturday I took Addy to a "Fairy Class" put on by the parks and recs department. It was hysterical. The kids were encourage to dress like a Fairy so Addy used that as an excuse to wear as many of her accessories as possible. At first she was shy but then she just loved it. The teacher read books, sang songs, did dances and we even made a little fairy doll. Addy was pretty excited because her friends Claire and Harper were there too. Pretty fun!

 

Swing

 

I stayed home with the kids last week on Veteran's day and it was actually a really nice day so we spent some time outside on the swings. For whatever reason Cameron thought it was the funniest thing he'd ever seen when Addy and I would try and make him laugh while on the swing. I have never heard him laugh so hard in his life. He had a true belly laugh and could not stop and it was so contagious we were all just laughing hysterically. Definitely a memorable moment. 

 

Fancy Hair

The other week Addy wanted to make my hair "pretty." So I sat on her bed and for at least 20 minutes she meticulously fussed and adjusted and made my hair "pretty." She used just about every clip she had. It was hilarious. Here was the end result. 

 

 

11 months

Cameron is now 11 months old! We cannot believe that he will already be 1 year next month. He is still not officially walking but did take 2 steps as school the other week. He is starting to get separation anxiety so drop-offs are harder and harder. He does now have the hilarious habit of pointing out his finger as if to say "I'm almost 1" He does it constantly. He loves climbing up and down the stairs and always seems to have either a wooden spatula or toy wooden knife in his hand. He sleeps through the night, eats like a horse (especially bananas and broccoli) and is starting to actually sit through and enjoy story time. He loves dancing to music and is obsessed with pulling the toilet paper off the roll.

4 Year Check-up

Last week I took Adelyn to the Dr. for her 4 year check-up. She was very nervous about getting any shots so I tried to avoid the subject as much as possible, but I was also very nervous as to how it woudl go. It was her first time seeing a new Dr. and sometimes Addy can be extremely shy so I didn't know what to expect. All I can say is that I could not have been more proud of her. She did everything they asked, she listened to what they said and she followed instructions perfectly. Even when it was evident that she was going to get a shot, she handled it like a big girl. She cried when she got it, but she was very brave. The Dr. said to me as she left, "I'd say you pretty much have a perfect 4 year old." I think I would agree.

The funniest part was that night because Addy still had the bandaids on her leg from the shots and she was hobbling around as if she had a cast on. She wouldn't bend her leg and she walked with a limp and it was just so funny. She looked exactly like an old woman, which means she probably looked exactly like me. Now I know why Brian laughs so hard at me when I do that.

Happy Halloween

We had a wonderful Halloween this year. The weather cooperated and both Brian and I left work early so we could hit the downtown festivities with the kids. Our town does an awesome job with Halloween and they close all of the streets around Main Street so the kids can trick or treat through all of the businesses. Everyone goes all out with costumes and decorations, it's really fun.
Addy got to be Little Red Riding Hood this year since she had the awesome cape from Aunt Heather. I wanted Cameron to be the big bad wolf, but since we already had a cow costume on hand that won. They both had a great time and it was ridiculous the amount of candy they got. Addy got home and separated it all out in to piles and counted it, it totally reminded Brian and I of when we were kids. I did the exact same thing.
We were hoping we would get a lot of trick-or-treaters, but we only got 1 group of 3 kids which means we still have a lot of Halloween candy to be eaten.
Brian also carved pumpkins with Addy and she was pretty horrified at the thought of pulling the "guts" out. She was not interested.