Christmas songs for you!

Merry Christmas to you all from Addison!

The Princess Party last Saturday was a total blast. Here is a pic of all the kids with Princess Aurora.
Princess Aurora painted faces for an hour and had a dance session with the kids that involved more bouncing and jumping than actual dancing. It was a perfect 3 year old party if you ask me. The kids didn't stop moving for three hours and Addison was exhausted when it was over. She seemed quite overwhelmed by all the activity and was worn out by present time. She got lots of great Princess items: games, books, a doll, building blocks, dress-up clothes. There is no end to the Disney Princess merchandise. She got NO repeat gifts, which I though was a minor miracle! Addison was most excited that her friends from school were at her house - she kept saying, "My friends are coming to MY house?! That's CRAZY, Mommy!". It was a really great day. And we continue to celebrate. Today we got THREE birthday gifts for her in the mail: one from Uncle Brian and Aunt Pat, one from Fenella & Mark, and one from Uncle Marcus. She was in love with each item she opened: a new outfit, books, and puzzles. We've read all the books twice already and done one of the two puzzles.

Tonight was the first night we've had at home in a long time. We've been spending two nights a week at Margie & Bill's house stringing paper cranes for Matt & Helen's wedding. It's going to be beautiful, but it's quite time-consuming. We average about 1 crane strand per 45 minutes...and we're hoping for 125 strands total.








And, finally, here is a parting shot of our little fairy princess on a crane folding night....

Three days of school left. I cannot wait for Christmas vacation to begin!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving from Addison

Here is 2009's installment of Thanksgiving songs for you, from Addison.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

As a quick catch-up on the rest of November, we attended Bradley's Country Fair (lots of great shopping and a ride on a white pony) and went to Disney World for Robert's 28th birthday. We explored Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom this time. We all found the cool weather ideal and thoroughly enjoyed the animal exhibits.

As for our two Thanksgiving meals this year: We look forward to our 1st Thanksgiving lunch in Betty & Phill's new house. We also look forward to our 2nd Thanksgiving dinner at Andrew & Evelyn's new house.

Happy moment for the month: A student, who started the year at a 2nd grade reading level, hugged me after seeing a 79% passing score on a reading post-test last week. He was so proud of himself! I cried because I was so touched. Those are the moments that keep me going back to work every day.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Going to the "Mair"

I think Addison's hearing is a little blocked still because this past weekend when we told her we planned to go to the Fair, she kept saying, "Great! Let's go to the MAIR!".

We had a fun time with Nonnie and Doodah, but sadly I got very few photos. Here's the two that I snapped prior to the camera batteries' death. First photo is before we went in, second photo is watching the pig races.

all grown up

Addison and I shopped at the mall this morning. Before we left home, Addison packed her black purse complete with lipstick, cell phone, mirror, and debit card. She calls her debit card her "wallet". I assume this is because she knows the debit card is like money and Robert & I keep our money in our wallets - I guess it's a fusion of the two ideas in her mind.

After we'd successfully shopped for a dress for Mommy, Addison asked for a cookie. We walked down to the cookie shop, she made her selection, and then as the girl wrapped up the cookie, Addison pulled her debit card/"wallet" out of her purse and tried to hand it to the cashier. I was in disbelief. She wanted to pay for her own snack! I secretly paid with cash and pretended to hand her debit card/"wallet" to the cashier...I don't want to spoil this responsible behavior! She beamed with pride as she carried her cookie to a table.

Today was also the first time I've seen her eat an entire cookie. Typically, Addison will only eat cookies with icing on them (Oreos, etc.), licks the icing off, and leaves the cookie on the table. Today, however, she ate the entire cookie. Perhaps it was pride, perhaps it was hunger. I'll never know. I do know that I was a proud mommy today, for many reasons.

Because what's better than Christmas, funnier than singing elves?

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

because Trevoer queried on his blog...

...I will now do the same.

What are your Top 5 most favorite movies? Movies that you cannot imagine your life without? Movies that you could watch 500 times and still enjoy as much as the first time? Here are my Top 5.

1. The Goonies - I will laugh EVERY SINGLE TIME I see Chunk do the Truffle Shuffle.
2. The Breakfast Club - what's life without a little of John Hughes' film brilliance?
3. Grease - Music, dancing, idealistic high school life, awesome costumes...what more can I say?
4. Clue - I love the game, I love the movie.
5. Ferris Bueller's Day Off - I love Matthew Broderick.

I guess I'm stuck in the 80's. There are current movies that I really like, but they haven't been around long enough to breach the top 5....only the top 10.

Career Options for Addison

Lately, Addison has been experimenting with career options. Her teachers taught a unit on "community helpers" and Addison has wanted to be everything from a police officer to a fire fighter to a doctor. The last two nights, though, she's leaned toward something new: hairstylist.

For your viewing pleasure, here are some samples of her work (with a little help from Daddy):





I'm pretty sure Robert should discontinue his work as an engineer (the environment can wait!) and he should immediately begin studying to become a stylist. Clearly, based on the beautiful work he did on my hair.





I wanted in the worst way to return the favor to Robert by giving him a stunning hairdo, but his short hair made it difficult. This is the best Addison and I could muster. There are two little clips on the left side of his head, and one big clip in the front.

The most exciting part for me about all this hair-play is that Addison now LOVES to wear bows and will even voluntarily brush her hair! My days of fighting over making her hair look presentable are over! Let's hope it's for the long term! Wish me luck!


And now for your further entertainment is a video of Addison reading some words. Enjoy!

photo recap of the last few weeks

Addison's first haircut! Really, just a small trim. We had to maintain the "Princess Aurora" qualities of her hair. Robert held her like the for about 20 minutes. Addison pretty much has the most rockin' daddy ever. In the end, Addison and Miss Natalie made friends. CHEESE!



We made Halloween cookies with Nonnie, Doodah, Uncle Andrew and Aunt Evelyn. They were delicious, as usual.







We made a voyage to Disney World and met Marie the kitty - TWICE! Addison cried both times!

On our way home, we drove over to St. Augustine to visit Stacia, Steve, and Cat. Addison LOVED their cat, Cat.







Then we returned home and found our own Halloween kitties...
And Addison attended at Chuck-E-Cheese birthday party. Here she is with her best buddy, Kelley.

Happy Halloween!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Here's a bonus for anyone who still checks my blog! Happy Halloween!

busy, busy

Betty & Phill finally closed on their new house on Wednesday! We went over for family dinner. It's been a loooooooooong time coming - almost 3 years since they started looking for a house! We can't wait to get them all moved in to their new place. It will probably take a month, so wish us luck!

Tomorrow is a really big day for us: Addison's first haircut! Miss Natalie at Athena Salon & Spa gets to do the honors. Robert & I love Natalie and we think Addison will too. Adds came to watch me get my hair cut a few weeks back and seems excited about the idea now. She's been bribed with getting TWO lollipops after her haircut is done. She'll also get another, super-secret prize if she's cooperative. (We'll take her back to the pumpkin patch for another pony ride!). Hopefully she'll comply & end up with nicely-trimmed hair.

In other news, Addison is doing great with "Your Baby Can Read". She is consistently reading all but three of the words in the starter DVD and we are very pleased with her progress. She loves watching the DVD and reading the book and playing with the flash cards. Her favorite part is quizzing Robert or me. "OK Mommy, this is a tricky one! It's ELEPHANT!". I love it!

I will end with a funny story. Addison and I got Halloween costumes for Andrew & Evelyn's Halloween Party. Addison was concerened because Robert did not purchase one. Since we returned from the store, Addison has decided that Robert MUST have a costume....and the costume she's chosen for him is a giant banana. I think it's hilarious and adorable at the same time. Robert is not biting, though, and is hoping that ignoring her requests will make it go away...we'll see on Halloween which one of them wins this argument!

no more sickness here!

We are all finally healthy. Robert had a moment yesterday when he thought he might be coming down with something, but thankfully it was nothing serious. I spent the weekend enduring a raging sinus infection, but now feel 100% better. Addison is A-OK now, thank goodness!

Addison returned to school this morning with a cheerful grin and a bit of a skip in her step. She agreed to walk to class with Miss Stacey, which gave Robert & me great relief and comfort...oh how we dread the return to school after a break! She even turned and blew a quick kiss to us before disappearing into the classroom! Hallelujah for this morning's drop. We can only hope that the rest of the week goes as smoothly as today did!

We visited with baby Stokes again. Addison got to hold him this time, which tickled her to no end. She held him for about 2.5 seconds and then said, "Ok, Daddy. Now you take Stokes." She held him just long enough to snap a quick photo, which pleased me! She was very gentle and (mostly) calm while we were there. Her excess engery was diverted to Trevor & Jen's dog, Yoshi. Poor Yoshi. By the time we left, he was hiding under their coffee table...Addison can be a little too gregarious sometimes. But the way I see it is that Addison was just given Yoshi a taste of what life will be like as baby Stokes grows older!

We also went to the pumpkin patch, but I'll have to write about that another time....

meet Campbell Stokes Bryan!

We got to me baby Stokes today! He was less than 24 hours old, so we feel pretty privileged to be invited to see him!

Here's a pic of the happy little family!

Congrats to Trevor & Jen! SOOOOO excited for you both!

sick, new skills, interns

Addison is sick with pneumonia and the flu (type A). After one day on antibiotics, she's significantly improved. No fever to speak of in the last 24 hours, no more drippy nose, minimal coughing. Antibiotics are wonderful! Regardless, she has to stay out of school until next Monday.

I've noticed a few things about Addison lately that I find amusing:
1. She's obsessed with colors. For instance, when watching her "Your Baby Can Read" video or doing her flashcards, she'll read the word and follow up with "But, Mommy, cats aren't green!" (because the word is written on a green background. Similarly, with her game "Cariboo" - there are colored balls that are concealed beneath squares that are labeled with different colors, words, shapes, and numbers - Addison can't stand it when a ball does not match the card that it was hidden under. "No! That's not YELLOW! It's GREEN!" and she proceeds to move the ball to a matching color box.
2. She's obsessed with sequence of events. Everyday she wants to know, "Mommy, what are we going to do first? And then? What's next?" She will repeat the order back to us, and ask again, just to be sure nothing is changing. I think it's great because she's not surprised by events now...she knows what to expect and I think it's soothing to her. She feels a part of the decision-making process.
3. She wants to be everyone's big helper. All the time - "Can I help? I want to help! LET ME HELP!" It's great because she really can help with lots of things. It never hurts to spread around the workload!

In Nicole News, I'm getting an intern in the spring. At first, I was not excited about the prospect, but I am warming to it now. I met the girl today - she spent 1/2 day in class with me - and she seems highly motivated, interested to learn, and aware of students' diverse needs. She was complimentary of several things she saw me do in class. I was impressed she picked up on them so quickly - never saying "no" to a student, but rather stating it in a less judgemental way, "good thought, but let's try that again"; patience; ability to converse with each student personally during class; understanding that each student is not going to spend the entire 50 minutes on task, quiet, at their seats. Based purely on her comments today, I think she has a similar teaching philosophy. I am excited about the opportunity to help her build skills that she will use in her own career. I just hope I'm a good example - I saw lots of non-examples of good teaching as a student teacher and intern. I only hope I have learned from those mistakes and that I can be a better leader for my intern. Wish me luck in January!

Robert is officialy the best daddy ever. He stayed home with our sick little girl today and will stay home with her again on Wednesday. He is so generous and wonderful. Addison is one lucky daughter and I am one lucky wife! We love our Daddy!

I am looking forward to a day off with Addison tomorrow. It's the first sick day we've had together in a long, long time. Hope we can keep each other entertained!

advances this week

This is what three year's worth of stuffed-animal accumulation looks like:

This is what a two-year old fashion-merchandiser's skills look like:


This is what a two-and-a-half year old writing her name looks like:
1st attempt - she wrote from right to left (maybe she was fluent in Arabic in a past life?). I know it's hard to see b/c she wrote with yellow crayon on pink paper, but all the letters are there, I SWEAR! I only wish I'd taken a video so you could've watched her write it!
2nd attempt: Watch & see for yourself!



I only wish the video was complete. Alas, the camera batteries died just before the end of her song. Perhaps, though, that was for the best. If the batteries hadn't died, I might have caught the largest freak-out she's ever had in my presence. She was upset because her handwriting didn't live up to her exacting standards. She tried to tear the paper and when she couldn't tear it, crumpled it up and flung it across the room. She screamed and cried and kicked her feet when I asked if we could hang it up. We told her it was beautiful and we were so proud of her writing and gave her some sweet tarts. That seemed to boost her self-esteem. I'm hoping this was just a 2 year old episode and not the beginning of a lifetime of OCD over handwriting!

Addison updates

In case you don't have facebook or don't speak with us frequently, let me give you the low-down on Addison's new imaginary friend, Bubba.

Bubba is tiny - "he" fits in her hand, her purse, or a cup and goes with us on most family outings. "He" is also a girl, but she continues to use the pronoun "he". I presume this is due to the majority of her stuffed animals having masculine names, and thus are called "he" all the time. We're working on "She" but haven't made much progress yet. Bubba sits with us at dinner in an invisible booster seat and shares Addison's food. Bubba even took a bath with Addy the last week. Let me tell you how difficult it is to bathe an invisible friend to a 2 year-old's exacting standards! "NO, Mommy! Bubba's over THERE!". Lately, Addison has even given other people their very own Bubba. Last night at a family cookout, Addison gave her Great Aunt Shelley and Great Uncle Dave their very own Bubbas. When Addy delivers a Bubba to you, the fear that the Bubba was flattened always crosses your mind. Not so gentle. It's been an interesting development. I am tickled that her imagination is blossoming so rapidly. She's also started making up songs about things happening in her day. That can be quite entertaining. I hope to get video of her singing sessions soon to share with you all.

Tomorrow is South Wood's community-wide yard sale again. Awesome! We planned to hit up some yard sales, and luckily picked the weekend that the biggest and best yard sale opportunity in Tallahassee is happening. We must have ESP or something.

Downtown Get-Down

We finally ventured out to a Downtown Get-Down. The first one we've ever attended. As we were walking back to the car, Addison said, "That was a great party guys!". Robert enjoyed himself immensely. We saw three of his co-workers and their kids. (Addison refused to play with them, feigning fright, even though she was older than all of them by at least one year!) I had fun, too. We got some good walking time in and enjoyed getting Addison's face painted by Miss Julie (from Addy's school). Addison presently demands that the face paint remain on her face indefinitely. We shall see how long it lasts....

Top 10 (or so!) Photos from the trip

Some of these are my images, others are borrowed from my wonderful family! Thanks, guys!

1. My dad and brothers demostrate the "Watkins Wave" at the Watkins Family Reunion in Solvang, CA.
2. Downtown Solvang, CA. My new favorite place.
3. Us in Yosemite National Park, specifically the river crossing at Wawona. One of my favorite family pictures ever.
4. My mom & Addison, also at Wawona.

5. Andrew & Evelyn fully enjoying their time at Disney.


6. Addison's unforgettable reaction to the Disney Princesses.

7. Addison taking in the world around her while at Glacier Point in Yosemite.

8. Pretty girl on a hike in Zion National Park.

9. My brothers: dorks, or the coolest guys on earth? Impossible to distinguish.


10. My dad, Doodah / Dude, with Addison at The North Rim's Grand Lodge.
11. With Amaly at the Grand Canyon. It's actually one of the best canyon views we got in a photo. If I hadn't actually been there myself, I might suggest we were simply standing in front of a green screen or picture of the Grand Canyon. I love it.

12. Anacapa Island, Channel Islands State Park. One of my favorite views from the trip, despite the fact that I was working through the sea-sickness I experienced on the way out. Everything about this place was spectacular. So glad we went.

I am SURE there are other photos I love, but these are the ones that come to mind pretty immediately. I hope you enjoy. :-)

FINALLY! Vacay Recap Part 3!

Going from the coastal breezes of Southern California into the Southwestern US desert, you quickly notice a change in temperature. Especially if you are eating gummy bears. Mine melted into one giant, gummy lump the car, while the car and the A/C were running, full blast. It was just that hot. 102. Ugh. At the time, I remember thinking, "Why did we leave California to go back into the desert?" I didn't need to look much further than the backyard of the Cliffrose Lodge & Gardens in Springdale, Utah to find out. We were exactly 40 yards from the South entrance to Zion National Park. Absolutely spectacular views. Here's what we could see out of our hotel room: Ah. This is why we drove here.

We spent the first morning hiking in the park, a weeping rock trail, a trail following a river (beautiful walk!) and then a picnic. By 11am it was 102 again, so we spent the afternoon swimming while we await AMALY's arrival! She loves me so much that she drove 6 hours to Springdale from Phoenix, basically the entire length of Arizona. It was awesome to see her again. We hadn't seen each other since December! Addison was, as usual, immediately comfortable with Amaly. Addison does this with exactly two people beside her immediate family members: Amaly & Jason. I find this fascinating and wonderful. Anyway, we wasted no time getting Amaly into the spirit of a Watkins' vacation and went on a dusk hike. It was about one mile, flat, and paved, so it hardly constituted a hike, but we all enjoyed getting to see the park at night time. The following morning, we awoke early and drove to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was a 2 1/2 hour drive, on which I nearly got carsick. I attempted to sit in the back seat with Amaly & Addison. A mistake I will not soon repeat. We arrived and I was speechless looking at those canyons. No words can describe the size of them. Simply astounding to see. And, while I was not exactly EAGER to get up early on my last day of vacation and drive for two hours to see more rocks, I am extremely glad I did. It is something no picture can express accurately. We lunched at the North Rim Lodge, which was built in the 1920s. It was a beautiful building and the food was delicious. We also saw the most wildlife on this part of our trip: wild turkeys, including several babies, big horn sheep, porcupine, and tons of deer. I think that made Robert's trip.

We saw this on the way back to Springdale from the North Rim. This is my favorite sign of the entire trip. Be sure to read the fine print!
I was extremely sad to leave Springdale for several reasons: 1) Amaly was leaving and I never know how long it will be until I see her again, and 2) our vacation was O-V-E-R. We drove solemnly back to Las Vegas, slept a few hours despite all the obscenities being yelled in the hallway by drunken partiers winding down their evenings, and got up VERY early to head back home. All the flights were smooth and no major delays. We were glad to be back home but so sad our fun was over. We cannot wait to go on our next vacation. Spring Break 2010 we're hitting up NH, ME, and MA!
Check back later for my "Top 10" photos from the 2009 Watkins Family's Awesome Adventure!

check us out...

on the Long's Photography Blog! A quick preview of the cuteness that is to come on our Christmas cards this year!

http://longsphotographyblog.com/?p=2900

ENJOY! Let me know what you think, PLEASE! We got back to preview the entire session's photos in two weeks!

Vacation Recap #2: Solvang, Glendale, Disneyland

From Oakhurst, we headed to Solvang, CA for the Watkins Family Reunion. We have one every three years. This year was a little odd because far less people attended. And of the 30ish people there, 24 of us were from the East Coast. Go figure. It was a great excuse to head West and it was tons of fun.

On the way to Solvang, we drove staight down California-1, and got our first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean. I didn't get any great pictures, because we never stopped the car, but it suffices to say the water was a gorgeous blue-green. We skirted the coast for a bit and eventually wound our way to Solvang, which is an adorable little Danish-inspired village. I want to live there. I love the convenience of everything being in a six-block radius, the short distance to the Pacific, and the even shorter drive to mountains. The weather was beyond ideal: cool mornings, sunny but comfortable afternoons, cold evenings. I was in heaven the whole time we were there. Mom and Hoyt rented a pedal car for one afternoon. Poor Hoyt was forced to wear the hat since he was under 18, and he wasn't allowed to steer...only pedal. They ended up having a blast anyway!

The whole family went to a play together (25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee). If you haven't seen it, you should. It was HILARIOUS...not at all appropriate for young children, but so funny.

And here is my dad (left, yellow shirt) with his siblings & dad:








While in Solvang, we took a day trip to Oxnard where we caught a boat to Anacapa Island, one of five in the Channel Islands National Park. Apparently, sitting inside a cabin of a boat is the worst place to sit, because I ended up getting sea sick. Totally gross & embarrassing - especially since we were less than 1/2 mile from docking. We also had to hike up 153 stairs from the dock to the top of the island. It was quite the hike, but we all made it. The views were spectacular. I would not have missed this trip for anything...even sea sickness. There was a National Parks Naturalist who took our group on a one mile hike across the island, but I didn't make the whole hike (I was deflated after being sick on the boat & needed to sit & rest & eat), so Robert & Hoyt took pictures for me from Inspiration Point.










After the reunion came the three highlights of the trip for me: 1) visit with Heather & Greg, 2) Disneyland, and 3) visit with Amaly.

We were all a bit anxious about driving into LA, but we were luckily driving in on a Sunday morning, which made traffic about as light as it ever could be. We persevered and made it to Glendale just 10 minutes shy of our goal time. We met Heather & Greg at their apartment and drove into Glendale for lunch at a restaurant called Porto's Bakery. Very yummy & very nice to visit. We only had about an hour to chat because dad & Hoyt were already late for an Anaheim Angels baseball game and Addison was desperate to get to Disneyland. So, we rushed off, venturing further into L.A. More traffic, confusing lane switches, exits and entrance ramps on all side of the road, lanes that abruptly turn into Exit Only lanes were all successfully maneuvered and we arrived at Disneyland. Addison was happy as could be by the time we hit the tram. She immediately began asking when we would see "her" princesses, and we (thanks to a relative at the reunion) had a plan for that. We had reservations for the Character Dining Experience at Ariel's Grotto, where four princesses parade through the dining room taking pictures with their adoring fans. We rode on several rides, endured the heat, and were all glad to see dinner time arrive, though for different reasons. The food was really yummy (other than Robert's steak). In the middle of our dinner, the princesses started arriving. My mom took the most amazing picture (which I do not yet have a copy of) of Addison's reaction to Cinderella's arrival (she was the first princess to make an appearance). We thought Addison might have a stroke. She flapped her arms, sucked in all her breath and then froze with a smile plastered across her face. She was beyond over-joyed. It made the trip for Robert & me. We were so thrilled to see her so happy.
We spent the next day at Disneyland, too. We walked through Sleeping Beauty's castle, but Adds thought it was scary. We stayed for 12 hours total that day. A few highlights from the day include Addison barfing up her dinner on me and peeing on Robert as he gave her a piggy-back ride through the park. We watched a highly impressive fireworks show over the castle that evening, which included TinkerBell flying from the top of the Matterhorn mountain to the top tower of the castle.

By the way, if you go to a Burger King in LA, expect to pay $0.25 to use the bathroom. I wish I'd had my camera to take a picture of the pay lock on this bathroom door. CRAZY!

Check back later for installment #3 of my vacation recap. That will be the last one, I swear!