These past few weeks, all I can think about every day is how bad I feel for Clint. :) He is constantly on my mind throughout the day. I think of him bent over 9 hours a day over someone's mouth. I think of him working through lunch and always having to perform to the best of his ability. I think of his hurting back and neck. Because while he is at work slaving away, I am rushing off to ride the train at the zoo, to take a dip in my parents pool, to shop at the mall, to run around at the park, to see the pelicans at Tracy Aviary, or to enjoy a yummy lunch at one of our old standbys (Zupas, Noodles, or Barbacoa). But the reason I feel bad for Clint is because I get to do all these fun things with my sweet angel. I get to spend all day with my bestest little buddy. And I couldn't be more grateful. Being a Mom is the most incredible thing I've ever done, and yet it is the hardest thing I've ever done. I don't know how other Moms feel, but I feel terribly inadequate pretty much most of the time. As Addison is getting older, it's not just about changing diapers and giving baths and putting her down for her nap. Now it's about molding her into the person she is going to become. And that scares me to death. Now it's about teaching her what's right, helping her to develop her talents and gifts, being patient with her, and learning how to talk to her and discipline her gently. It's getting harder as she gets older, and I'm sure it will be even harder when she is a teenager! I'm preparing myself right now for those times! I desperately need Clint, my Heavenly Father, my parents and my family to help. I hope I am a good Mom. I hope I am a good example for Addison. I hope she can be proud of me. I already see so many of her wonderful qualities coming through. She is my angel and I love her and our little family. Here is our last month in review!
Addison at her first dance class! I found this great studio in Sugar House called the Salt Lake City Dance Company. They have a sweet Mom and Tot dance class. The teacher (Miss Laurie) is so fun and energetic and creative. On the first day of class she brought out a globe and talked about different countries and taught the class a dance from each country using fun props and costumes and instruments. Each week Miss Laurie comes up with some fun theme and reads stories and teaches them nursery rhymes. It is the highlight of Addison's week. During class Addison shares and listens and does exactly what her teacher asks her to do! Amazing...:)
Addison getting her special sticker after class from Miss Laurie.
Ad is getting quite the collection of Disney figures! She has Toy Story, Little Mermaid, Princess and the Frog, and Beauty and the Beast. She carries them EVERYWHERE in her Dora backpack, and also has to play with them in the bath.
Addison making Princess Crowns with her Aunt Heather at Mylie's birthday party. It was fun for me to watch Addison play with all the "big girls". And Heather... oh how I aspire to be more like you. Heather is an incredible mother. Always loving and kind. Always thinking of others. Always fixing yummy meals and inviting us over. Thank you for always taking care of us, and thank you for a fun party!
All the girls at the princess party! (There were boys there too, but they were busy having fun at their "pirate table".) Arrrgghhhh!
Wouldn't any mother have a wonderful Mother's Day if they got to wake up to this sweet angel giving her special cards? Clint and Addison always give such nice hand-written cards to me and I love to read them over and over.
Clint and Addison gave me a new camera for Mother's Day! I love taking pictures.... and who wouldn't? Look at that beautiful face! First picture I took with my camera!
For Mother's Day, I got to have three amazing Moms over to my house for dinner... Kristin, my Mom, and my Grammy. We had a very elegant and sophisticated tea party with flowers, chicken salad sandwiches, tea, sugar, lemon, and a million tasty desserts from Normandie Cafe. It was so much fun to have everyone over in our tiny animal farm house. How I look up to these three Moms!
Another incredible Mom! We got to have dinner with Grandma Sheri the day before Mother's Day, and a short visit with her on Mother's Day. This is the woman who raised my husband, and may I say she did a fine job! Thank you Sheri for teaching my husband how to treat a woman kindly, how to be clean, how to cook, and how to be a man of utmost unselfishness and integrity. Thank you for training him so I didn't have to! :)
Clint and Stuart right before the St. George Triathlon.
Ad with her Daddy at the preparation area right before the race! Little did Clint know 5 miles into the bike portion, his tire would completely blow out! He tried to fix it, ended up walking about a mile in his bike shoes, and then figured it would take him more than 2 hours to walk back, so he hopped on his bike and rode the rest of the miles slowly back to the prep area. Even though he had his blowout incident (his worst triathlon nightmare)... he still finished way under time from all the triathlons he has done. We were very proud of him and Stuie for doing such a great job!
Playing in the red sand on the beach, waiting to cheer on Daddy for the swim! Addison had an extremely hard weekend in St. George. She took a huge fall right before the race and cut up both hands, arms and knees... and this just ruined her weekend. Plus, not getting enough sleep, being in a weird place, and being carted around everywhere doesn't help either. She had lots of tantrums and meltdowns... and also the "biting incident" as we will call it. After biting Ava on the hand and having a massive meltdown, we knew it was time to head home:) But, other than that, it sure was a good time! Thanks Stuie and Kristin and Ava for putting up with us!
Ever carried a 32 pound baby in a backpack? That's as much work as doing a triathlon!
The girlies were SO GOOD during the triathlon! The only shade we could find was next to a semi truck right next to the preparation area. They sat on the cement and played with their toys and were so sweet the whole time.
We stayed at the Bernhisel's condo in St. George... and it had a nice little pool. It was so cold back in SLC, so we were very glad it was warm enough in St. George to swim! The condo was nice, although we could have done without the demented rooster that woke us up every morning at 5:00 a.m.:)
Silly naked babies in bed pretending to be asleep so we would kiss them and then they would wake up. Oh boy!!!
Being silly, as always!
Definitely the highlight of the trip. Dinner at Pirate Island. We didn't really see any pirates there, and we didn't see any gold or any treasure chests... or Johnny's locker, and we didn't walk the plank. But, we did have the salad bar, eat pizza, and play video games. RRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!
As we were packing for St. George, I kept telling Addison we were going to go on a fun trip. She seemed to be really excited and kept making lots of airplane noises. During our entire trip, she kept asking to go on a plane and she was also extremely frustrated and nasty! We finally figured out half way through our trip that she thought she was going to Disneyland!!! Poor baby! We packed our suitcases and told her we were going on a fun trip, so she just assumed that we would be going back to Disneyland. I'm sure she was extremely disappointed. And I think that definitely added fuel to her meltdowns and tantrums:) So, our next trip better be to somewhere like Maui or Disneyworld or something cooler than boring old St. George. Sorry Addison!
Our very very very sweet dogs. Cynder Dog and Tessy Dog. They really are such great dogs. We lucked out. Each night, we bring their beds into our bedroom and immediately they get onto their beds and remain there for the entire night. During the day, they use their dog door and play around outside by themselves. They nap and eat and drink their water and basically take care of themselves. They are so soft and gentle with Addison and they for the most part don't jump or act like idiots. They are really good sweet dogs and we love both of them with all our hearts and are so grateful they are part of our family. (Oh... and we love our old cat too and can't imagine our lives without her rubbing on us and following us around and grinding her teeth. She has been with us for almost 10 years and we love her and want her to live forever.)
Our new bike trailer from Costco which also doubles as a stroller. Clint bought me a road bike and also this trailer. Hmmmm... I think he is trying to tell me something. He's being very subtle about it:) I am sorry to report, I have gained over 20 pounds since I got married almost 10 years ago. Sad. I eat whatever I want and I don't exercise. But, those days are coming to an end. I'm old now. Almost 34. It's time to get going and get my fat and flabby body into shape! Thanks Clint:):):):)
Sweet girl with her Daddy. Excited for her first bike ride! Plus, she's totally stylish in her helmet that has a skull and crossbones on it!
In front of our house... ready to go!
I had been wanting to get Addison's pictures professionally taken for her second birthday, but I didn't know who to go to. I'm a little fed up with photographers lately... I don't want to pay $400 for them to come do a private session, I don't want to buy prints, and I don't want to wait a month to get my pictures. I just want someone to take the pictures, and then hand me the disc. Anyway, enough ranting about that! One morning I went to get Addison out of her crib and noticed her hair was in perfect curly ringlets. I decided this was the day to take her pictures. So I loaded her up in the car and threw her Cinderella dress in and drove to the Peace Gardens on 1000 S. and 900 W. It was a perfectly overcast day and Addison was unusually cooperative. Although I don't know how to use my camera yet (I've had it almost 2 years... pathetic!) I think the pictures turned out pretty good. Although my princess is exceptionally gorgeous, so that helps:)
There were lots of bees all over the flowers, so I told Addison not to touch them. That's why she's acting cautious in some of these pictures and holding her hands on her tummy:) She is really into looking for and picking up bugs lately... ants, spiders, and especially her favorite... potato bugs.
My favorite one.
That's right folks, we did a "Moki". For those of you who don't know what a Moki is... I will get you up to speed. When I was a little girl, my family, along with our good friends, the Wilcoxes came upon a place named Moki Cave in Southern Utah. It is a bizarre "museum" inside a cave. It holds artifacts, dinosaur stuff, fossils, fluorescent rocks and a weird gift shop. You have to pay to get in, and it's extremely expensive. It has a giant dinosaur coming out of the entrance to the cave (which is the best part). It is unbelievably weird and overpriced and is now considered to be a tourist trap. Upon ariving at Moki Cave for the first time (probably 25 years ago) it was something crazy and my parents decided to be adventurous and paid for us all to enter the "special cave". It was totally lame and it smelled like dinosaur poo, probably because it had "fossilized dinosaur poo" in there for sale.? It was so bad that from then on, when we do something adventurous, overpriced and totally bizarre... we call it a "MOKI".
So, a few weeks ago, we found out that one of our Crown Council Members had taken a hiatus from dentistry for two years to make a documentary. Twenty years ago, Dr. George Hardy was in a horrible movie called Troll 2. Anyone seen it? It's about trolls who terrorize a town and try to turn everyone into plants. This movie has been called the BEST WORST MOVIE of all time. So twenty years later, our friend George Hardy decided to make a "mockumentary" of this disasterous movie he was in. We decided it was time for a Moki, and so we had a delicious meal at Trio, and then headed to the dreaded, filthy, run-down Tower Theater that should have been condemned years and years ago. The theater was full of a weird assortment of drama nerds and bizarre middle aged men. We had arrived. Definitely about a 9 on the Moki scale. (By the way... we also "rate" our Mokis on a scale of 1 - 10 depending on how bad it is.) The movie was amazing and my Mom and I laughed throughout the entire thing. I'm not sure if Dad and Clint enjoyed it? But I sure did. It was a great night and I'm so glad I got to share it with my parents and Clint and a bunch of random eclectic people from Salt Lake City. Way to go George! Your movie was unique and funny and extremely clever, and definitely deserved all the many awards it received!
We went to Tracy Aviary and arrived just in time to feed the birds some apples. Addison was a little timid at first, but then got enough courage to feed the birds all by herself.
For the first time, we allowed Addison to go on the scary rides at Liberty Park. I swear they are 100 years old, but she didn't care. She had so much fun.
The girlies in Gamma and Gampa's backyard. I don't know how to explain their relationship. Addison talks about Ava all day. If we go to Smith's, she's asking where Ava is. If we are driving to lunch, she is in the back seat yelling "EBA! EBA! EBA!" If we go ANYWHERE.... the zoo, the park, or to the pool, it MUST be with her best buddy Ava. But the second they get together they are pushing each others buttons and hitting and kicking and fighting over stupid toys. I hope this fighting phase will end soon so they can enjoy being together.... and so Kristin and I can get a moments peace. I know they love each other and I hope they will remain best friends throughout their life.
Ava started kissing Addison and then immediately started saying "People... take a picture! Take a picture!" I thought it was so funny that she knew it was sweet and wanted someone to document them being friends:)
Birthday dinner for Mom and Dad! My Dad turned 59 on May 29th and my Mom turned 60 on June 5th, so we had a combined birthday BBQ extravaganza at their house. We had hamburgers and roasted marshmellows at the fire pit. Look at these two incredible people. It is an absolute honor and privilege to be their daughter.
Even though it was my parents birthday, THEY ended up giving Ava and Addison some special presents from Disneyland. They gave Addison a Jessie Doll from Toy Story, Princess and the Frog figures, and a Sleeping Beauty Shirt. Gamma and Gampa went way overboard!!! But, these toys have become favorites at our house!
Our runway model. Wouldn't it be so awesome to wake up every morning and look this beautiful? Every day when I am getting ready, Addison climbs up into the sink and immediately brushes her teeth, and applies HER make-up and "gloss".
Now that it's finally warm, we've been heading up to the zoo once or twice a week. These girlies certainly have their zoo routine down to a science. First train, then the playground, then monkeys, then elephants, then siamese crocodiles, then tigers, then carousel, then the long up hill trek back to the car. They do the same thing every single time! Kristin and I have learned to just let them run wild and to allow them to do their thing.
Occasionally, we'll mix it up with an ice cream:)
Yessssssss!!! Desirae graduated from high school!!! Way to go Des! We are so proud of you! After graduation we met Desirae and her family at the Olive Garden in Layton for a celebration dinner. As most of you know, I am very anal about Addison's food, nap, bath and sleep schedule. I am especially even more anal about her schedule when we are doing something like having a visit with Des. I want Addison to be as rested and happy as possible. Well on this day, Addison dinked around in her crib for 2 hours and wouldn't take a nap. So we put her in the car and headed to Layton, thinking she would take a nap in the car on the way there. Nope! She closed her eyes right as we were pulling into Olive Garden. We let her sleep in the car for about 20 minutes, and then took her into the restaurant. She was very tired and shy at first, but soon was playing with her magnets and coloring and singing songs and showing off. We had so much fun hanging out with Desirae, Thad, Jen and their family!
Cute girls!
As Addison gets older, it's interesting to watch her relationship with Des. Addison kept getting out of her seat and wanting to go over and see Desirae. In this picture Ad was "sharing" her sucker with her. I felt so much joy watching the two of them interact. I am so thankful we have an open adoption. Both Clint and I feel that in the long run it will be beneficial for Addison to know the family she came from. What a lucky girl to have so many people who love her!
Anyone who knows Addison, knows she is very stingy with her kisses. She will usually only kiss her Daddy, and occasionally will give me a kiss (if I bribe her). But after dinner, she was giving Desirae kiss after kiss after kiss! Luckyyyyyyyy.
All of us! Congratulations Desirae!
For Mom's birthday, we had a triple yummy breakfast up Millcreek Canyon. Kristin and Stu provided the food... and Stu and Clint cooked it for us when we got there. Eggs, french toast, bacon and fruit. I was shoving it in my mouth as fast as I could. It is so amazing to have Millcreek Canyon just 2 minutes from our house. It is so gorgeous and peaceful. Why don't we go up there every day?
The birthday girl and Ava.
Not eating her breakfast and goofing off with Gampa (as always:)
So sweet!
Girls day at Gardner Village! Well, pretty much every day is girls day, but this day was especially fun. Addison rode on the pony all by herself for the first time. Getting to be such a big girl!
Baby lambs at the Petting Zoo! The petting zoo was filled with all sorts of sweet babies to pet. I swear Addison was meant to be born on a farm. She absolutely loves every kind of animal, and she's also a very hard worker. Every time we work out in our yard, or whenever I am cleaning the house, Addison has to be right there with her spray bottle, paper towels, broom or shovel. The whole time we were at the petting zoo, she was picking up handfulls of straw and hay and trying to feed all the animals.
After pony rides, the petting zoo, and shopping, Gamma bought us a yummy lunch and desserts! What a great day with the girls...
So, as you can see, life is good. Our life is a pretty simple one. We really don't have a lot going on, and things are usually pretty low-key. We try to not overload ourselves, so we can just enjoy being together. I'm lucky I have a husband who comes home right at 5:00 p.m. every day and spends the entire night with us. Who wouldn't want to rush right home when you have a sweet angel waiting for you at the door?!
My friend Annie emailed me this poem, and I think it basically sums up our life. I love it...
Today I kissed an angel.
I knew it from the start.
The first time my angel smiled at me; I gave away my heart.
Today I kissed an angel; this angel child of mine.
Though not of my creation, my child by God's design.
Today I kissed an angel. My heart is dancing wild; our family, by a miracle; blessed by our angel child.
This poem describes how I feel. I am so grateful for my angel, my Clint, my pets, my health, and my family and friends. Life doesn't get any better than this! (Okay... it does, maybe with a new house, a skinny body, and a million dollars? :):):)
