May, June, July and August 2011

Well I think I am going to do better at writing on this blog and then I disappoint myself and take long breaks.  I don’t have much time now but thought while I had a short break before going to bed I could write a little.  Since I last posted,  Addison had her three year old birthday party, we had Easter, went to Atlanta to see aunt Jenny, had Mother’s and Father’s Day, went on a family vacation to Kiawah Island, and then baby Ella and baby Leila were born!  It has been a very busy last few months.  The girls have been in summer camp this summer on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

Addison Turned 3 years old:  We took Addison to IHOP for her birthday breakfast.  The waitress made her pancakes that looked like Mickey Mouse.  Addison loved it! Nana joined us also for breakfast.  For her present that Josh and I with the help of Jeff and Nana got her a Mini Cooper Car.  She had seen it at Toys R Us at Christmas and we remembered how much she loved it.  So Josh and our neighbor Lonnie put it all together and then when Nana brought her home  we had it in Lonnie’s driveway.  It took her a little to get used to but she loved it! I just can’t believe she is already 3.  I just love her and her personality so much.  As far as her birthday party I wanted to have an Easter theme since Easter was the next day.  Kristin, a friend of ours made the cupcakes and they were so awesome.  We hid Easter Eggs filled with candy and the Easter Bunny came to visit during the birthday party and it was hilarious!  Addison loved the Easter bunny but she was the only one.  All of the other kids were crying or grabbing on to their parents necks for their dear lives.  We had the party mainly in the back yard and it went well.   

Easter: Amanda and Claire were in town for the birthday p arty and Easter so we had all three little girls in their cute little Easter dresses.  Addison and Kaitlyn got lots of candy from us, my parents, Linda and Jenny… They both loved the Cadbury Eggs. We ate at Nana’s, played in the flower beds and rode in the Mini Cooper. 

Trip to Atlanta: We had planned a trip to Atlanta for Jenny’s event called Touch a Truck.  Shortly before this trip we got news that a friend of ours, Terry Varnadore,  from high school was killed in Aphganistan.  He was a pilot in the Army and his helicopter was shot down.  I got the phone call from a friend of mine and got to Casey, Terry’s wife, as soon as possible.  This was horrible news to hear that such a close friend lost her husband.  Casey was almost 7 months pregnant and had a five year old.  I was there when they told Ava the five year old that her father has passed away fighting for our freedom and protecting our country.  I will never forget that night or what their family has given up for us to sleep freely at night.  I decided to go ahead to Atlanta with Nana and Jeff but Josh stayed to help with the processional when Terry’s body arrived at the airport in Asheville and was transported to the funeral home.  Despite what had just happened, I tried to be upbeat and positive for the girls since I knew they were looking forward to visiting their aunt Jenny.  We really did have a good time!  The girls got their faces painted at the event and got to see many cars and trucks.  We ate at a neat ice cream place and a family style Italian restaurant. 

  Mother’s Day:  We surprised Mimi and went to visit her and Papi Ken.  She was very excited to see us.  We spent the night and enjoyed hanging out.  Then on Saturday we went and visited Nannie.  I think both grandmothers enjoyed getting to see the girls.

After

Before

Mommy and Daddy ran in a Warrior Dash in May with our Blue Ridge Crossfit family and had a blast.  We stayed in Georgia the whole weekend while Nana kept the girls.  We had a lot of fun and got really dirty! It was a race where you jumped over things and climbed things!

Here is the warrior hats we brought back to the girls!

The second week in June we went on our family vacation with Mimi, Papi Ken, Nana, Aunt Amanda, Uncle Ted and Cousin Claire.  We went to Kiawah Island and we loved it! It was our first time to visit this Island and we were all addicted to this place.  There was plenty of shade and we rode our bikes everywhere on the Island.  We put all three girls in the a bike trailer and rode them around behind our bike.  They loved it.  We did a lot of relaxing, sun bathing and swimming at the pool.  Addison loved getting to spend time with her cousin Claire. She wasn’t as crazy about sis Kaitlyn when Claire was around.  The girls slept in bunk beds in a room with Nana.  Within two days of being at the beach both girls were swimming in just their floaties.  This was really a first for both of them.  They caught on really fast and like nothing were swimming all over the pool.  We visited Charleston one day while we were there and got to enjoy a public fountain.  We ate at some neat restaurants including one right on the water.  We plan on going back to Kiawah next year since it was so relaxing. 

  Aunt Amanda with all three girlsKaitlyn felt the need to go sit on Aunt Amanda’s stomach while she was laying in the sun :) Mimi building a sand castle with Addison and Claire Kaitlyn and Claire loving on each other Daddy cutting his Marble Slab Bithday cake for his 34th Birthday The girls looking at a turtle in the Nature Museum Nana and Addison enjoying the pool.  Addison was always ready to go to the pool before the rest of us so Nana and Addison would go early and enjoy the pool by themselves till the rest of us got there.  We were so blessed to have Nana come with us. Addison looks so old in this picture.  This was taken the last night we were there at the outdoor concert at Freshfields Celebrating Daddy’s birthday again once we got home. The girls dressed up in their princess dresses  While we were at the beach, Baby Ella was born!!!  So we couldn’t wait to get home to meet Miss Ella.  Addison loves to hold Ella. 

Kaitlyn loves Baby Ella also we just have to make sure she is “Gentle” with her.  We aren’t really sure if Kaitlyn has a gentle in her vocabulary though.

Papi Ken kept the girls when we went to Josh’s cousin’s wedding in Morganton and this is what it looked like when we walked in the door when we got home.  The girls have never fallen asleep on the couch like this with us!

Addison Doings:

- Addison has said, “I love Nathan”  (This is a boy in her preschool class that she also prays for at night)

- Addison says alot, “I love you mommy”  She will grab my chin when she says it to me sometimes.  It melts my heart. 

- Addison loves her fingernails being painted and still loves bandaids. 

- Addison told some people for her three year old birthday that she wanted quarters. 

- Addison said this I think because she was thinking about Baby Ella in Mrs. Kelly’s stomach; “Mommy, do you have a baby in your belly”, “I want a baby in my belly”

Addison has said, “You need to spank Kaitlyn”

Addison has continued to do well with her potty training.  She loves her princess panties.   We are working on shapes with Addison and using scissors.  Nana has mainly worked on these things with her.  Addison goes to sleep many times in our bed and then we put her in her bed when we go to sleep.  This helps the girls go to sleep faster since when they go to bed in same room they giggle and get out of their beds and it takes much longer for them to go to sleep.  Both girls love to read at least one book at night before they go to bed and eat their vitamin.   Addison repeats after me during her prayer time before going to bed.

Kaityln Doings :

Kaitlyn’s speech has increased a lot over the last two months.  She was saying “Doggie”, “Uh oh” and “Jesus” and now she loves saying “I like it”, “I don’t like it”, “Get Me” (when tickling her"),  “Do it”

Kaitlyn is still as aggressive as ever.  Her every move is rough.  She loves to climb and is careful in her climbing.  Kaitlyn loves tags and her favorite stuffed animal overall is her long snake.  She also loves the tag on the pillow case of her pillow.  She says, “I want pillow”…   She is still a big Paci girl or actually “boppy”   We hear “I want boppy”  If you ask her where it is, she will say “Nana had it”  or “Daddy”  It’s hilarious.   Kaitlyn will share most of the time.  Kaitlyn is not that interested in potty training.  She will say she needs to go potty sometimes but when I put her on the toilet she doesn’t peepee.