French toast disaster; pen and paper!

Addison tried and tried for atleast half an hour to put her doll's underwear on Wally's paw. He was so patient!
Wally and Addison.....!
Playing with toilet paper.....even better than blocks!
Cuddle time....the perfect pillow! (not sure why this copied twice....oops!)
Addison and her friend, Riloh, going on a ride! I pulled Addison on the sled down the sidewalk to a play date one day this week....she loved it!

Our condo is so dry today that I woke up with red, puffy eyes that itched like crazy! Despite the humidifier being on full blast, for some reason I must have an extreme sensitivity to this dry air! Luckily, no one else in the house seems to be phased by it!

I find myself sitting here writing on the blog as Addison takes a much unexpected, but much needed, morning nap! She has developed a bit of a runny nose and seems to be a little more fussy, needy and not herself today. She fell asleep in my arms about twenty minutes ago, and is now sleeping soundly in her crib. Hopefully she will feel better when she awakens.

The weather has been cold the last several days, but is supposed to be warm up to the 30s-mid 30s for the next few days! Looking forward to it. Yesterday Addison and I spent the afternoon at Barnes and Nobles reading stories in the children's section and enjoying a special treat at the cafe...was a relaxing way to spend a chilly day!

This morning I decided to spend 20 minutes making Addison a "special breakfast"-french toast! I was told by daycare and by daddy (who loves to take Addie out for breakfast when mommy works) that this is one of her favorites! I was so sadly disappointed when she took about 2 bites and then proceeded to make a grumpy face and knock the rest of it on the floor to Wally! :-( Apparently my french toast does not compare to this other venues! :-( We made do with extra blueberries to fill the belly, and mommy sat and ate the two pieces of french toast alone......so sad!

Addison has been OBSESSED with writing/scribbling lately! She literally digs through my drawers each day to find a pen, then carries a piece of paper or her coloring book around the whole condo for hours "making notes." We can't believe that she even knows how to hold a pen correctly, and are definitely amazed that this is such an enjoyable activity for her! Perhaps we will have a writer or artist in the years ahead!

Addison's language has really taken off the last week or so..... We are having a wonderful time listening to her repeat EVERYTHING we say, and make such an effort to use her words now! A favorite new word is "UP!"....she uses this at least a few times a day for getting in her high chair, up on the couch, up in her car seat, etc. She is so proud!

With the recent cold weather, we have spent a lot of time "taking walks" in the building for exercise and playtime! Addison loves to push her baby buggie up and down the hallways of the building carrying her stuffed animals and "baby."

Noah and I have officially booked our tickets to Cancun for February 14-19! We are so excited to have a little get-away to Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Cozumel area......and feel so fortunate that our wonderful friend and babysitter, Annie, is going to be with Addie during this time! :-)

January...it is finally Winter in Minnesota!

Exhausted after a morning at the children's museum in St. Paul!
celebrating New Years Eve! party girl!
wow! Santa is my size!
Playing with the blocks at the Children's Museum!
sleigh ride with my friends!
bath time...nice!

The blog has been pretty much neglected the last couple of weeks due to us trying to enjoy the amazing weather! Really!!! Just last week I spent two afternoons in the park with Addison due to the highs being in the low 50s! Some of the golf courses in the city even opened for free golf to celebrate the unseasonably beautiful, record-setting weather!

Needless to say.......the temperature has finally dropped......after all we knew it couldn't last forever! The last couple days and heading in to this coming week, we will need to start spending a little more time indoors. The other day I spent part of my coffee time in the morning preparing a list of all of the "toddler activities" to do in the Twin Cities! I want to make sure we take full advantage this year and next! :-)

We have been really getting a kick out of all of Addison's new words and gestures lately!! :-) She is excited about "hi!" and "bye!" so much that anytime we see ANYONE, ANYWHERE, she chooses once of these to greet them, along with a big wave and smile! Addie's daycare is pleased because she now waves bye-bye to all of the children as they leave vs. crying and wanting to exit with them. :-) She now "says" I love you by throwing kisses when she hears these three words...quite precious! We are amazed at her language development and have so much fun hearing her repeat things that we say! :-)

Addie is obsessed with her baby doll now! She has been carrying her baby EVERYWHERE, changing her clothes, pushing her in the doll pram up and down the hallway, cuddling with her, kissing her and even trying to feed her bottles and sippy cups. I have greatly enjoyed watching her be a "mommy" to her little one-so cute!

Some of the highlights of the last couple of weeks in addition to making the most of the beautiful weather with time at the playground and Wally walks include:

-a trip to the children's museum with daddy and the Voss family

-a night with Annie babysitting! (mommy and daddy had a nice dinner and movie night!)

-a playdate at Levi's house

-more music class at McPhail!

Noah and I are busy making plans for taking a trip in February for a few days....will be our first time away from Addie for more than a night.....more to come............