Spring Break fun!!!

Disney World provided us with entertainment between Sunday and Wednesday. We hit Magic Kingdom twice, Epcot and Animal Kingdom. Epcot is fantastic this time of year because even with the insanely high volume of people that visited on Monday, the immense park dilutes the truth so you feel like the park is less crowded than it really is. The International Flower & Garden Festival was well worth the visit. Gorgeous flowers. I am now inspired to do more gardening in my yard. Coincidentally, Stacia & Steve visited Magic Kingdom on Tuesday, too, so we dined with them for lunch and dinner, and rode on a few rides together. After we left the park that day, Stacia & Steve got engaged! Very exciting! Stacia promises that Addison will get to be a flower girl! So thrilled! (See full photo recap of our trip here.) We came home Wednesday afternoon, exhausted but relieved to still have two days left of Spring Break. Robert went back to work, so Addison & I ran errands and hung out together. We spent some time yesterday dying Easter eggs with my mom and grandfather, Papa. We made 18 eggs, but two fell victim to falls and did not make the final basket count. Addison is eager to see where the Easter bunny hides her eggs tonight and optimistic that he will leave some goodies for her in the empty basket.

Today was a family beach day. It was windy when we arrived and quite chilly. The water was unbelievably cold but did not deter all swimmers, including my brother Hoyt. It quickly warmed up and we had a fantastically relaxing day. Addison ran, jumped, and splashed for hours. She built sandcastles with my dad, buried my brother and watched as his friend, Kat, sculpted a mermaid out of sand around his buried body. (Addison was given a choice of mermaid or princess. She chose mermaid.) We grilled chicken and ate lots of junk food. It was an ideal trip to the beach. You can see photos from our beach trip here. Sadly, I ended up with ZERO photos of my mom, but I want you all to know - she WAS there. :-)

thoughts from my brain

First, I need to clarify - my sleepless night on Friday was not at all related to my caffiene overdose, but rather the steroids that were injected into my hip late that afternoon. The steroids were given to reduce my hives that I'd been battling for a week. I only just yesterday figured out what was causing the hives. My Snuggie. My cuddly, fuzzy, pink Snuggie. It now must be retired...to the garbage, unless someone claims it first. Any takers? Perhaps my brother Andrew is interested...

I love days like today. The weather was chilly but great. My students were cooperative and compliant, for the most part. I had a long-overdue and much needed parent meeting where the parent appreciated and praised us for our efforts with his child. (It was at this point in the day that I realized I was still wearing my "Belle" sticker that Addison adorned me with earlier this morning!) I got to give my intern an excellent evaluation (she really is going to be an awesome teacher). Then I got to go pick up Addison and Robert. We shopped at Kmart (Addison's first ever visit there), stopped in Toys-R-Us and bought Addison an adorable Princess castle alarm clock (yes, she really did need a clock for her room), and then headed off to eat yummy pizza at Barnaby's. We came home and have been lauging for the last hour. Now I'm stoked to play "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, thanks to Jason who shared an online version with us!). I absolutely adore days like this.

Looking forward to breakfast for dinner tomorrow with Uncle Patrick! Yum!

music and more

The last two days at work have been rough. Yesterday I lost my cool during one class. I'm disappointed that I let the kids get the best of me, but every once ina while I need to use my teacher voice - just so the kids know that I have it.

Today my intern was out (she needed to finish her Master's Thesis which is due next week), so I got to teach again. It worked out well that today was a day off for Miriam, because it fell in line with my favorite lesson of the year: Poetry as Music, Music as Poetry. I illustrate how lyrical poetry is by sharing musical selections that vary by genre. My students always love it. This year's big hit was for a selection that Robert suggested: "Heartless" by Kanye West compared to "Heartless" by Kris Allen. Much to my surprise, most of the kids loved both versions! They were able to see how meaningful each version can be. The whole experience today was pretty powerful and exciting. Tomorrow I return to my role as observer in class. It's been a challenge, but has afforded me time to reflect on my own teaching practices and contemplate changes I want to make once I take my classes back over.

I attempted to gather suggestions for my above-described Music/Poetry lesson on Facebook and Google Buzz, but didn't get a lot of bites from people. Therefore, In preparation for next year's lesson, I ask you, my three loyal readers: What songs are meaningful/lyrical/poetic to you? Either from you youth or currently. I'll be waiting for your input...I know who you are!

We've done a lot of experimenting with crock-pot cooking lately. Tonight was made Maple Glazed Turkey breast with mashed potatoes and green beans. It was yummy. Patrick came to join us and also to watch this week's "Lost" episode. Addison loves it when Uncle Pat comes over. She dragged him to her playroom and they worked on a sticker book for what seemed like EVER. Pat is a great uncle!

Lost is on now, so I'm off. Happy week to you all!

new friends

Tonight we had our neighbors over to watch the SuperBowl. Shea & Nicole are our garage side nieghbors, and have been since we moved in. Addison greets their cat Zeke and dog Maggie every chance she gets. Robert had a bold streak one day and invited them over. We're not really good a making new friends, so that was a huge step for him/us. We learned that Nicole & I have a lot of similarities: our name, we are both teachers, we both like the same kind of Sketchers shoes, and we wear the same size. They both love Disney World (they have annual passes like we do!) and they just found out that they're going to have a baby girl in August. I was impressed with their willingness to play along with Addison's tea party and her insistence for playing Candyland. Addison, of course, thought Shea & Nicole were here to entertain her, not us. I had fun, and I'm glad that Robert helped us make new friends. We really love our old friends, but you all live so far away. It's good to have fun people to hang out with here.

We bought the most amazing new mattress for Addison's "big girl" bed. I have slept on it twice for naps. I want to get the queen size version for our room now. This is the most comfortable bed I have EVER slept on. It's like laying on a cloud. I love it. And she refused to sleep on it tonight. She's in her toddler bed again. Don't really know why...but it's the second time this week. I guess she likes to keep her options open - to know that both beds are available for her use. What a princess!

My intern just called and said she's stuck in North Georgia. She & her fiance got a flat tire as they were leaving, and being that it's Sunday night, there are no tire stores open to buy a replacement. Bummer.

I'm inspired to redo my entry way. I plan to paint the walls blue (not sure what shade) and do a collage of photos from our travels in matching frames. I think I will use 7 (or 9) different images in various sizes. I hope it turns out like I see in my head. I typically have trouble bringing my visions to life...

I cannot believe how quickly the weekend went. It was a fun, busy weekend. Hopefully this will be a productive, fun week at school. I'm looking forward to my birthday! Addison said she's going to make me a card, which is exciting!

Looking forward to big February birthday celebrations on Saturday!

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!!!!!!!!!!!!

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.

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....

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.

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. :-)

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!

ready for vacation!

We leave on the 18th for our trip. I cannot wait. I'm scared to death about flying, but I am going to suck it up & get on that plane. I am so excited - especially to take Addison on this adventure. Seeing the princesses at Disneyland is the highlight for her...but I think she'll enjoy the family time, too. Probably sightseeing in the Grand Canyon & Zion are not going to keep her attention. I guess it's good that Disneyland is in the middle of our trip...her fun is sandwiched between the things that will be less exciting for her. I'm looking forward to Disneyland, too. And I'm thrilled I'll get to see Amaly in AZ and Heather in CA.

One more week of summer school for me. It's been a fantastic summer. I really love having students in class who want to learn, want to be successful, and want to be there. I have so many kids that don't value education, that I was getting bogged down...this summer has been a welcome relief.

Lately, Addison has begun sleeping in the guest room. Probably it's related to us putting a new TV in that room for her to watch movies on. She's funny about it - she sleeps on top of the comforter, with three pillows packed in around her. She looks so tiny on that huge bed. Perspective...

too cute!

Addison LOVED Greg & Heather's puppies! She keeps asking when they'll be back and they've only been gone since this morning!

How cool is it that Greg is going to be a texture artist for Dreamworks!? I think it sounds like the most awesome job ever - not that I'd be any good at it! It was great to visit with Heather & Greg before their big move to L.A. I wish they weren't moving so far away, but it will give us a good excuse to travel!

Happy Saturday!

little known fact about toddlers & the doctor

If you have a sick child, all that's needed to rid them of their illness is to call & schedule an appointment with the doctor. You don't even have to go to the appointment. Before you get to the office, the illness will be gone. Absolutely miraculous. Just thought I'd share that helpful little tidbit with you all.

Dr. Elzie was wonderful as always, and gave us a "just in case" prescription to fill if Addy's fever wasn't gone in two more days. Luckily for us, she was better before we got to the appointment, so we didn't have to fill it.

Today was a wonderful way to end the work week & start the weekend. After we got home, Trevor, Jen & Yoshi came over. Then Fenella popped in for a bit to visit. I really needed some down time to relax & have real, meaningful conversations. Now I feel refreshed & ready to face the next week of work. Luckily for me, I have two more days in my weekend first. :-)

Funny story about our Realtor/friend, Kenley: He called me this week & left a message about helping to "bail" him out of "jail". (He was doing the MDA donation drive thingy where we was "locked up" until he met a certain goal). His message was so effective, I called him back as soon as my kids left class & gave him money. His secret? He pointed out that the only Realtor who was currently beating him in fundraising for MDA was my most favorite Realtor in the whole wide world, Joan (who made our lives miserable when she assisted out-of-town clients buy our Whetherbine Way townhouse). He is an effective salesman. If you need help buying or selling a house, he's surely your guy.

Happy weekend!

Oh What a Day!

Saturday was jam-packed for us Browns.

We woke up extra-early and went to the SouthWood Community yard sales. After an hour of driving around, we finally found what we'd been looking for - a new big-wheel bike for Addy. It's awfully beat up, but she loves it and it was only $5. We were thrilled. We spent $14 total for the morning and came away with some neat things. Very successful yard sale venture.

We then hurried over to the civic center to see Stacia's FPCHS cheerleaders compete in the FHSAA Cheer Competition. They ended up placing 4th! Addison loved dancing & watching the girls (and a few guys) jumping and flipping around on stage. It was great to visit with Stacia & see her girls be succsessful. We missed the final round and the awards ceremony, but what we did see was really, really good. Stacia has a great artistic vision for pairing cheer moves with music. Those girls certainly showed that they earned their 4th place finish! They were great!

We drove home and Addison drifted off to sleep. This is highly unusual as she hasn't taken an afternoon nap since December. She slept for about two hours & woke up with a fever. Not really high, but noticeable.

We went to the park with Adam & Seph (Matt's nephews) & Matt's parents. Addison seemed overwhelmed by the number of kids at the park, but miraculously decided to play on the slides and bridges rather than swinging for an hour like usual! Cousin David showed up with Grandma & Grandpa, and that really put Addison at ease. She & David & Adam & Seph played in the slides and ran around for almost two hours! Adam is exactly one week older than Addison, and Seph is 5. David is 9 already! It was hot, but lots of fun.

Then we went off to have dinner at Paulina's with David, Grandma & Grandpa. Yummy. Addison picked at her food. When we got home, her fever was 102. She stayed extremely hot all night (but I didn't measure her temp)...and woke up at 8 with 101.5. Tylenol did nothing for her. Her wonderful Daddy went out at 9AM to get her some Motrin, and since then she's been much cooler. Still grumpy and clearly not feeling her best, but cooler.

We planned to go to the Painted Pony today to paint a pony at their Family Fun Day, but Addy's sickness and the weather are going to prohibit any more fun this weekend.

One week until Fenella is here! And (maybe) Amaly, too! Yea!

Two weeks until our cruise! Whoo hoo!

a message for my dear friends

I'll be honest. I cried a lot when the group disbanded on Tuesday afternoon. I couldn't help myself. I had more fun than I can remember having in a long, long time. Life is good to me, and I know how blessed I am to have such wonderful, supportive, extraordinarily funny friends. I am always astounded at how quickly and efficiently the group clicks back in sync, as if we hadn't been separated from one another for almost a year. It's so easy, so effortless. I wanted this weekend to last forever. It allowed me to forget about life, work, schedules, bills - and reminded me the importance of just relaxing and having some fun. It was something I really needed and I will be forever grateful to the people who allowed me to have this time.

Sincere thanks from me to:
My mom & dad, for keeping Addison those first two nights,
Robert, for going along with my wild idea of getting everyone together at the beach over Christmas break,
Jason, for jumping right on board with the plan, and for making me laugh endlessly,
Matt, for the oh-so-delicious food and merriment that you bring,
Helen, for overseeing all the game play and for letting us play by our own rules sometimes,
Amaly, for reminding me how to relax & have fun,
Marcus, for the order and control that you brought to our weekend,
Patrick, for persisting and getting time off work, and for the beautiful parting essay you wrote in the guest book,
Trevor, for bringing a new sense of competition to our game play,
Jennifer, who although she could not join us, allowed Trevor to stay longer than we expected,
and Addison, for the smiles that you bring to my face every day and for being a big girl and staying away from mommy & daddy for two nights!

I love you all like my second family. I look forward with eager anticipation to the next time we can all be together again.

On an unrelated note, I promise I will post about Christmas soon. I didn't forget, I've just been having too much fun to recap yet.

Addison turned 2 today!

Don't know why this picture is sideways, but it's the best I can do for now. I think it still shows how adorable Addison's birthday cake turned out. It's a milkshake - because milkshakes are Addison's most favorite thing besides horses, painting, kitty cats, and any number of other things. :-)

Her party was wonderful. She got far too many gifts, as usual. She is so loved & so fortunate. I only hope she understands that as she gets older. Probably her favorite gift of the night was a giant stuffed horse from Aunt Evelyn & Uncle Andrew. She has already played with everything she got, but she carried the horse with her to bed, so I'm guessing it's up there on her list of faves. Speaking of bedtime, Addison had a complete meltdown around 6:15. She cried for about 30 minutes, refusing to eat, play, color, paint, change clothes, bathe, everything. She finally settled on a movie, and went to sleep with very little protest at 6:45. It's going to be a very, very early morning at our house tomorrow!

Here is a picture of Addison & Amaly, just because I think it's cute. And - YEAH! - Amaly finally came back! We'd missed her SO much! We're going to have lunch with Amaly & Heather Hutchinson tomorrow. Should be fun. Amaly is going to serve Addison's most favorite food - macaroni. (Though Addison says it "mack-ee-roni".

Four days until Christmas. I cannot wait!

Last but not least, CONGRATULATIONS to Fenella & Mark! They got married today!

OMG! 10 days 'till Addison turns 2!

Addison turns TWO in ten days! The time has absolutely flown by at warp speed. Some updates on Addison:
She's getting pretty bossy. "No, Mommy!", "No, Daddy!", "Mine.", "No, no, no, no, NOOOOO!".
She's a much pickier eater.
She's accomplished at counting up to 11 (though she frequently skips 3,4,5), she can sing most of the ABCs, she knows a ton of other songs, seems to be able to carry a tune, loves playing notes in sequence on the piano, has lots of books memorized, and has an extraordinary memory.
She sings the "I've got a dollar" song from Little Rascals.
There are probably one million other things that she can do, but that's all that's coming to mind right now. I'm sure if you get to visit with Addison over the holidays she'll show you some things that are not on this list.
It's amazing how much people learn in the first two years of life! Hope to see you all at Addison's birthday party on 12/21 from 2-4pm. There will be yummy cake & milkshakes by request. I will be sending out invites this weekend. Evelyn did them again this year and they are adorable!

Please check out a new website ( www.healingforheather.com ) for a video & explanation of my dear friend Heather's health issues. In the spirit of the Christmas season, please consider making a donation toward her medical costs. She is one of the most lovable, kind-spirited people I have ever had the privilege to know. She inspires me to be a better person. Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated by Heather, her family, and me. Thank you in advance!

Amaly comes home tomorrow! Helen & Matt come home next week. Marcus & Jason come home closer to Christmas. Yeah for having fun friends back at home!

Watch your mailboxes for our Christmas cards. They're going out in the mail tomorrow morning! Long's Photography did them and they could not be any more perfect! If you live in Tally and want any portraits done, I highly recommend visiting with Linda & Olyn. They are quite talented at their craft.

That's all for now...check back this weekend for updates on our holiday activities! Cookie making, visiting with Amaly, family dinner at Andrew & Evelyn's house on Saturday night, and lots of shopping are on the docket.

so many things to share!

Life has been crazy lately! Every time I think we're going to have a slow down, more things pop up! This weekend was packed full of activity. On Saturday we got up & went to play disc golf with Andrew & Evelyn. I played my first ever hole. I was not awesome at it, so Addison & I went to the playground to swing. When it was time to go, Adds cried ALL THE WAY to the car and continued until we got to Chick-Fil-A (probably 20 minutes total). I've never been so happy for her to eat french fries! Later that evening we went to the Winter Festival where we saw tons of people we knew. ("Tallahassee is SUCH a small town" - just for you mom!) We, of course, went by BJ's Party House booth for face painting. Lauren painted Addy's face to look like a pink kitty and then we visited with Miss Julie. We ate some good food, and watched a little bit of the parade. Evelyn put it best when she said we only got to see the "top half of the parade". We were so far back it was hard to see much of anything. But we were very close to the announcer, Frank Ranicky, so we got to make fun of his pronunciations of words all evening. Addy got whiny & tired, so we left before the rest of the family did. :-(

Sunday was Market Days, which is always exciting. I bought several Christmas presents and saw lots of things that I loved. I bought a new beach print for our living room. It's by a photographer from Gainesville and it's a print of St. Joe's. I bought it for two reasons: 1) it's St. Joe's & (in case you didn't know) that's where Robert & I got married, and 2) the blue color of the water is absolutely mesmerizing & blends beautifully with the blues in our pillows. I later saw a piece of art that said "Art doesn't have to match your furniture". Made me think a bit, but I decided that in my house, art does have to match the furniture. Addison took a solid nap in her stroller 'cause we were there for FOUR hours shopping. My dad stuck with us the whole time...which I am very impressed with!

Monday afternoon I was supposed to go to an educational sorority (ADK) meeting with a co-worker, but I flaked out. Just really wanted to go home. Maybe another time.

Tuesday was awesome. Trevor & Jen came over with pizza. Patrick came & so did Baby Ryan, who is definitely not a baby anymore. I'm going to make a concerted effort to stop calling him "Baby" Ryan. It's just going to be a process. Anyway, Ryan joined us for his first ever game night - AND it was his first time playing Cranium. It was really fun, but quick. Trevor, Patrick & I really lucked out with the questions so we won right away. Robert, Jen & Ryan were close behind, though. We had belated birthday cupcakes for Ryan (12/4) and Patrick (12/5) and Addison sang "happy birfee" to them. It was way cute! When we were eating cupcakes & brownies, Addison sat on the new lap desk that we bought her at Market Days and it snapped. It's got one really jagged, sharp side now. Awesome. Don't know how we're going to fix it, but I'm sure Robert will come up with something.

I think this weekend will be free. At least I hope it will. I still have a LOT of shopping to do for Robert (READ: ALL of my shopping for Robert!). Also, we need to do more for our secret Santa stocking people for my family's Christmas morning. I also need to spend some time cleaning my house...ugh.

AMALY returns on Friday! WHOO HOO! And I'm 8 work days away from my Christmas break! And only (almost) 11 days until Addison turns 2 and Fenella gets married! Holy cow! Lots of fun coming our way!