I'm the Target...

Does every other mom in America get this overwhelming sense of satisfaction when they walk into Target like I do? Getting myself and my 2 children dressed and out the door can be a huge challenge in and of itself so I like to limit my destinations if I absolutely have to bring them with me. If I have to choose between grocery store or Target I will hands down choose Target, even if that means my pantry shelves remain empty! Target is a mother's dream. You have the opportunity to buy literally everything you need (minus all grocerys unless you are super lucky to have a super Target near you) from baby necesseties, to house stuff (decor your don't really need but HAVE TO HAVE because you have the perfect spot for it!), presents for people you should have mailed days ago and my personal favorite...the super cute trendy shirt/outfit that makes you feel a slight bit less than old mother frump! My new motto is "if it doesn't come from Target, I don't buy it!" OK with this being said and now we all know how much I enjoy shopping at Target...let me just fill you in on my most recent Target adventure.... I had to be up and out of the house for a 9:30 Dr apt for Addison in downtown Jax which is about a 45 minute drive. Our after doctor routine treat is a trip to Chic Fil A to eat and play. Target is oh-so-conveniently located right down the street from there so I planned on shopping Target first. The girls and I pull into our parking spot and head in...well we start to...Addison decides to throw a screaming pity party for herself because she wants me to hold her and not Ansley. I told her no and that she is a big girl and she can walk. After about 3 minutes of her refusing I carry both my children (about 56 lbs worth)in the store where I quickly put Ansley into the shopping cart. I shake this little episode off b/c now I am focused on taking in all the wonderful things Target has to offer me! We head to the baby section where I need diapers and baby food pouches for my littlest princess. As I am reviewing my coupons to make sure I buy the correct foods I hear a CRACK....followed by a weak "I'm sorry mommy...I didn't mean too...accidents happen mommy...I'm sorry". Why is it that the one thing Addison decides to touch out of the whole wall of baby food is the one in a glass jar? A fellow mom sees the disaster and offers to help with handfuls of paper towels and then throws it away for me! I was just going to tell a worker.."Clean up isle 11"! But she got to me first. Then I took a baby wipe to clean the butternut squash off Addison's foot more concerned it was going to ruin her brand new leopard shoes and of course there is a piece of glass that cuts her foot. Now we have blood all over the top of her foot. The super mom next to me whips out a bandaid and slaps it on Addy's foot good as new. Ansley decides it is time for her to get in on the action so she starts to scream. I hold her and thank the mom continuously and am a bit embarrassed I was not more well prepared for emergencies such as this. We finish up in the baby section and head to wrapping paper section when all of a sudden I hear "BURPPPP" follow by a warm sensation down my arm. I look down and baby-pukes-a-lot has spit up EVERYWHER...prunes from breakfast....lovely. "Clean up isle 15!" Now I decide this is not my perfect Target day so I better get what I need and get out. So we head to the small grocery section to get some last minute things for our Christmas party. They had just mopped the section which made me feel better that I was not the only customer making a mess in the store. Addison sees the "Caustion wet area" triangle and thinks it is a toy. That goes flying as I kick it into high speed. As we finally make it toward the check out I run into my friend who has 3 children with her and they are all behaving like perfect angels in the cart and she is calm as a cucumber. Grrrr The cherry on top was while I was checking out the lady rang up a christmas present, a piggy bank, and as I went to put it in the cart it shattered. Guess I won't be taking that home afterall. Thank you! Needless to say I think future trips to Target will happen when my little divas are in bed fast asleep and I can once again enjoy all that Target has to offer in peace!

Tis the Season...

To celebrate! Addison had some mysterious red dots all around her mouth and chin and was black & blue. Charles and I figured she fell so we let it go. It showed up again a few days later so I called Nemours and they told me to come in to get a CBC. I did not get all worked up because I know this is just a part of our life and her platelets can fluctuate up and down with no warning or explanation. Addison did great with her finger prick, no tears, just a big smile when she got to pick a princess Aurora sticker to take home. Later that afternoon our nurse, Megan, (conveniently named) called and told us Addisons platelets were 120,000!!!!!! Last time they were checked they were 85,000. Normal for Addison's age now is 150,000! All her other counts were completely NORMAL! Not teetering on just barely normal but super normal! Needless to say we are all so excited!!!! This time last year she was just starting to turn the corner and now her bone marrow is almost completely normal. Praise the Lord!

We took the girls to meet Santa on Sunday. I was a bit nervous about Ansley meeting him because she has a case of the "I want Mommy" all the time. She did great! It helped having big sis next to her. She enjoyed watching him and Addison enjoyed telling Santa everything (I mean EVERYTHING) she wanted for Christmas. When we left Addison was not happy that Santa did not give her everything she wanted right then and there. (think Willy Wonka and "I want a Golden Egg Daddy" scene) That is pretty much how it happened. She whined that Santa didn't give her anything and she wanted her presents and she wanted them now! So we quickly walked to the car and discussed the real meaning of Christmas and then explained Christmas Eve and the reindeer. She bought it for now. Thank God! Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season. We really enjoyed decorating our new house. We finally got to get a tree taller than 5 feet! The mantel my dad and Uncle Ralph built looks beautiful with our stockings and topiaries on it! Addison & Ansley even have their own tree in their playroom. I will take some pics to show you!

We have a Crawler!!!!

OK OK OK...I know I have been a super slacker but in my defense we have had a LOT going on! Between Halloween and Clare's wedding (my sister and Dan got married 11-11-11) and Thanksgiving life has been pretty crazy! Halloween was fabulous. We went to a handful of local fall festivals and pumpkin patches. It was great to get us in the holiday spirit. Addison was a pink mermaid...that was decided after changing from a witch, green fairy, ghost, skeleton to pink mermaid. Ansley was an adorable little pumpkin. We went trick or treating with friends in a great family friendly neighborhood.

Fall in Jacksonville means Duval County Fair. We live the priviledged fair life (if that's possible) due to Guy being Chairman of the fair. We get great parking, free entrance, free rides, free food, and best of all: clean private bathrooms! Addison LOVED the fair this year. She rode any and every ride they would let her on. My personal favorite with her was the bumpy slide. She refers to the Ferris Wheel as the Ferris Round and she ate enough junk my teeth hurt watching her. It was a positive fair experience that's for sure! We headed to Vero Monday before the wedding to help Titi with last minute things. Addison took her flower girl responsibities very seriously for a 2 year old. She did awesome! We were definitely the proud parents. She dropped those petals with precision and perfection and when she was announced at the reception she walked onto the dance floor and twirled like it was no one's business! She danced the night away and even said her own speech to Titi & Uncle Dan. My sister, of course, was beautiful and the wedding ceremony/reception was a blast! Grandaddy has a slew of banana trees and Addison has been keeping a close eye on them as they grow. Well she finally got to cut a bushel of them this trip!

My sweet little bundle of love decided she was no longer happy sitting around, she needed in on the action and just started crawling while were in Vero. CRAZY! Not even 7 months old and she was movin and groovin on those little knees! Guess it is time to make sure there are no choking hazards in her path and the cabinets are locked! Oh AND she has TWO teeth!

Week of Family Fun

Life has been a bit of a whirlwind lately with wedding festivities filling up weekends and Charles starting a new job and the girls keeping me busy. I spent the last weekend in Sept away from BOTH my girls to be at my sister's bachelorette party. I am happy to report I had a blast and my girls did great without me. It was Ansley's first overnight without me...or should I say me without her. I was extremely nervous and worried sick but in the end she was wonderful for my mom! My aunt Cheryl got the spend the weekend with the girls as well and I was happy she got a taste of their sweetness!

I came home to a house full of our family from TN. Charles's cousin Erin, her two children Ross and Sarah, and Aunt Merc were here. I was so excited to spend the week with them and Ross and Addison had a BLAST playing together! Ross is 3 and Sarah is 8 months old. It was neat to watch Ansley and Sarah interact with each other. We would plop them on the ground facing each other and lay toys all around them and they would play and smile and share (or take) toys from each other but never any tears. I will post some cute pics of them all in a bit. We tried to let Addison and Ross have a sleep over...I thought it would make for fun memories but.....didn't go so well. We put Ross and Addison in separate beds on the floor in Addison's room (Addy still sleeps in her crib because she LOVES it). When Erin and I closed the door we watched them on the monitor and saw Addison jump up and tell Ross not to go to sleep b/c she wasn't tired. We heard Ross's sweet voice in the background ask Addy is he could to sleep in which Addison responded with a strong "NO!". Then Addison wanted back in her crib so we put her in there and her and Ross went back and forth of Ross saying he was sleepy and going to bed and Addison telling him no! Then you hear Ross grunt "Ugh" and Addison says "Don't UGH me Ross!" Really!? I just sit there watching the monitor and watching my daughter try to make her cousin break the rules. What a proud mommy moment. :) My monitor allows me to speak to the girls over them like an intercom so I tell Addison to stop bothering Ross and let him go to sleep and she says "Mom, we are just telling stories." WHAT!? All I can say is we will definitely have our hands full with her the older she gets if she is this crafty this young. :) After about 45 minutes of Ross ignoring Addy's pleas for staying up Addison fell asleep and Ross wanted to go back to his original room. Guess we need a few years until a successful sleepover.

Addison is going on week 9 of dance lessons and she LOVES it. She is quite the ballerina and tap dancer. We love it. She dances all over the house and looks forward to it every week.

Ansley was baptized this Sunday and the ceremony was beautiful and we enjoyed a great day full of family, friends and lots of food. Charlotte and Adam are her Godparents! Ansley has started waking up more throughout the night. I am not quite sure what it is all about but it is growing old very quickly. I am tired! Mommy needs a solid night of sleep...maybe once in 6 months...too much to ask??? Her sweetness during the day helps me get through the night. I think I will blame teeth even though I can't see any yet. She is sitting up like a champ and is getting more adventurous with her leaning to reach toys and getting in the crawling positions by herself. It is amazing how quickly they grow.

Happy 30th Birthday to Charles as well! His big 3-0 was Monday! As you can see Addison REALLY enjoyed Daddy's cake!

August Pictures

New post coming soon....

Our computer had black listed the blog preventing us from being able to update blog....but NOT anymore!....August update coming soon...the test was us trying to resolve the issue (by us I mean Charles) :)

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Hello

Hi all! Our computer decided to download a new version of Internet Explorer and now it won't let us update our blog. So annoying! Our annual family Lobstering Fest is about to begin!!! We cannot wait to bring Addison back to the pirate ship pool and watch her swim and splash and slide down the slides. This is going to be the first year she REALLY has fun!

Addison completed her ISR swim lessons about 2 weeks ago and I will say...that girl can swim! She has no fear and will jump off the side and swim to the stairs or the side all by herself! It is very exciting. I highly recommend this program to everyone.

Addison also decided one morning that she was ready to pee-pee on the potty. Out of no where she asked me to take her diaper off and she just went and sat on the potty and pee-peed! We are so very proud of her but it is also a double edged sword...now she wants to be naked ALL DAY LONG! Guess we have to be thankful our diaper bill is going down even if she is the neighborhood streaker! :)

Ansley is just a doll. She is getting so big and so happy. The poor baby wants to eat real food so bad but our pediatrician said not until 4 months. If I am holding her while I eat her eyes do not leave my spoon or drink and she periodically head dives into my plate. She is showing all the signs and in two weeks Addy and I will start making Ansley's baby food! I am looking forward to doing that again. I enjoyed making Addison's fresh baby food.

Ansley's eyes are still blue so we are keeping our fingers crossed that they stay. Addison's were hazel until a year and then changed to brown so who knows. I will post some of Ansley's 3 month pictures in a few.

Addison had a CBC in the middle of July and her counts are still improving!!! YIPPEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Her platelets have reached an all time high at 89,000! Her white and red blood are completely NORMAL! NORMAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't believe I can say that word when discussing Addy's blood! Now we just have to monitor those platelets and pray they get to normal status one day soon.

My child's innocence....

The other night when we were reading books to the girls Charles said "Daddy is pooped". Addison quickly patted Daddy's backside and said "Daddy you poo-pooed?". How cute and innocent is that!?

One of Addison's newest "terrific two" habits is to throw her toys all over the place and leave them where they lay. Charles finally told Addison if she didn't pick up her magnets (that were covering the patio) then the Boogie Monster would come and eat them all gone. I of course being the worried mother feared Addison would now have nightmares about this Boogie Monster and frowned at Charles for even saying that! BUT instead it has turned out to be FABULOUS! There isn't a toy on our floor now because she is confident the Boogie Monster will eat them. If I leave a pair of shoes in the living room she picks them up for me! It is hilarious. She even picked up her cousin Caleb's toys so they wouldn't get eaten!

Stories like these bring a smile to my heart and make all the hard times disappear! I love being a mother to two terrific girls!

Summer Fun

Addison started Infant Swim Rescue swim lessons 2 1/2 weeks ago and she is doing great! I never would have thought she would be this far based on the 1st days performance but she loves it and is catching on quickly. It is a big commitment...5 days a week for 10 minutes a day for 4-6 weeks. Today she accomplished floating on her back by herself! SO PROUD!

Ansley had her 2 month wellness visit Monday and she is a growing girl. She is 12lbs 10 oz and 23.5 inches long! 90th percentile for both! She is smiling, squeeling and cooing non-stop and we can't get enough. She is also sleeping 7 straight hours at night!!!! How lucky am I?

Ansley started reaching for and grabbing her toys last week. It is so fun to see her development and become more interactive. Like Addison, Ansley is fascinated by books. She is also fascinated my her big sister. When Addy is in Ansleys's eyesight she is glued to her with a smile on her face. There is a sisterly bond between them already that makes my heart smile!

I left Addison alone for ten minutes while I vacuumed & mopped...she was on the patio which I had in my sights the whole time and she decided to paint her face! She has become quite the artist. We paint for hours a day and I am proud to say she is mastering the smiley face! :)

What a Weekend!

My Dad's retirement party was Friday night in Vero. I am so proud of dad and cannot believe all that he has done for our family while being a part of First Bankers/First Union/Wachovia and now Wells Fargo. The party was a great success and everyone had a great time!

Saturday we took the girls to Ava's 2nd birthday party at a gymnastics gym. SO FUN! Addison was a little dare devil jumping off high beams into pools of foam squares and jumping on trampolines! So much fun! Ansley was a doll as usual.

Saturday night was my 10 year high school reunion...lets just say we partied like it was 2001 again! :)

Sunday was father's day! Charles is such a great daddy! He got a tent which he wanted and Addison plans to take him camping in July. Ansley and I will enjoy our ac and cozy mattresses at home!!!

It was such a fun, crazy, busy weekend! Ansley is sleeping 7 hours at night which makes all this partying do-able! What a good baby :) She is FULL of smiles and Coo's...which of course just melt mommy's heart!

What a year....Looking back

A year ago yesterday we were admitting our then 14 month old, Addison, into All Children's Hospital to find out why her platelets had dropped from 200,500+ to less than 3,000. Her poor body was covered in thousands of unexplainable bruises and her cheek looked like someone had hit her with a baseball bat. It seems like forever ago but it will always be clear in our memory. It still brings tears to our eyes thinking of the endless nights we spendt in that hospital waiting and praying for the unknown but best possible outcome. We will never forget that time in our lives and we are so extremely grateful that a year later we are in a much better place with Addison's health.

Addison had a CBC yesterday to mark the anniversary. Her counts continue to improve everytime we go. Her platelets are up to 74,000!!! It is hard to believe in a year they have gone from almost 1,000 to 74,000.

2 Yr Wellness Visit

We finally had Addison's 2 yr check up with a new pediatrician here in Jax. She still cannot have vaccines so it was an ouchless visit thank goodness. Addison weighed 34 lbs 12 oz (97th percentile) and is 38 1/2 inches tall (99th percentile)!!! We have a long and lean little girl on our hands.....oh did I mention super sassy as well?!

Road Trips!

We have taken our girls on two road trips in two weeks. I think all four us will be happy to NOT be in a car for a very long time! Two weekends ago we went to Vero for Ansley's first visit to Mimi & Granddaddy's house. We had a wonderful time as usual and Addison caught a BIG fish in their pond with Titi. Talk about being proud!

For Memorial Day weekend the whole Bond family traveled 7 1/2 hours to N GA to a beautiful lodge in the mountains. We were celebrating Reva's 60th bday. Addison and Caleb had a blast spending 3 full days exploring in the woods together. Addison unfortunately for me, loves bugs. Charles went white water rafting for the first time and had a great time even though I was told he spent more time in the river than in the boat! :) Addison also got to ride a horse!!! She was so cute on that thing but I pray she never asks for mommy and daddy to buy her one.

Addison has recently started a new hobby....screaming. For no particular reason with no warning she will just start screaming the word "NO"! It is rather irritating and Charles and I are at a loss on how to get it to end. We tried spanking and didn't like that approach, time-out does absolutely nothing for her (she will do something wrong and put herself in time out and then enjoy every second of it) so on the way home we tried soap in her mouth. We had our first "if you do it again I am pulling this car over" situation. Charles took her into the bathroom and put foam soap in her mouth. She looked at Charles without any care in the world and said "Daddy, that tastes like soap. I don't like it." Then came out and said to me "Mommy, soap tastes bland." HELLO! That was suppose to traumatize her enough to stop screaming and she didn't even care. I can't even begin to imagine what her teenage years are going to bring. God must be paying Charles back because I, of course, was a perfect child! :)

will post pics soon!

1 Month Old

Yay for bows!

Lookin more like daddy everday...and lovin her more everday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She truly is sweet as pie!

Seak Peak

At Ansley's newborn pictures taken when she was a mere 4 days old! Addison still loves giving her "baby sis" LOTS of kisses!

She weighed in at 7lbs 6oz on her birthday, dropped to 6lbs 12oz and by 19 days old she was up to a healthy 8 lbs 13oz!!! (they are suppose to be back to birth weight by two weeks old...think we have that covered)

The Dr commented on how "BLUE" Ansley's eyes are but we are not getting our hopes up since Addison's were steely blue/green until she was over a year old then turned to beautiful brown......

I have ordered announcements so hopefully they don't take me too long to get addressed and out in the mail!

Addison had CBC this past week and her counts continue to look better and better! Her WBC and RBC competely normal and platelets increased another 5,000!

WBC 6.36

HBG 11.2

Platelets 65

ANC 2,050

We are SO THANKFUL!

Newborn Demands

It's amazing how fast you forget how demanding caring for a new little life can be...throw a two year old toddler on top of that and you officially have a full day!

One thing I needed to be reminded of was to never put the outfit I actually want Ansley to wear for the day on first because 9 times out of 10 she will have a diaper explosion and I will just have to change her outfit....so we put option 1 on second!

While in the hospital we had to supplement with formula a bit because my colostrum was not enough to satisfy Miss Ansley before my milk came in. This was hard on me but Charles and I had decided in advance we didn't want starvation to be the culprit of a crying baby when there are plenty of ways to prevent it. Ansley really only cries if hungry or if she is passing gas..so far so good! Yesterday was my first day not having to supplement at all!!! YAY!!! She was only getting about 2 ounces of formula and we will still give it to her if I have not been able to pump a bottle (Pumping is absolutely dreadful and it takes me forever to get even a 2 ounce bottle pumped). However, I completely forgot how demanding breast feeding is. I literally feed Ansley every hour and a half. Needless to say Ansley is plumping up quite nicely and we are eager to see how much weight she has gained at her Wed dr apt! We will keep you posted!

Some More Pics

We are adjusting well and cannot believe Ansley will be TWO weeks old this Friday. Ansley has been an absolute joy and seems to be a very happy baby. She only fusses when she is hungry or passing gas...do you blame her?! :) Ansley is quite the eater! She seems to be a great sleeper too. Her last feeding for the night is between 8 and 9 and then she sleeps until about 12:30. Then it is back to every 2-3 hours of eating but at least we get one good stretch of sleep. Her demeanor is much different then Addison's as a newborn. It so neat as a parent to see how different two children can be even at this early age.

When she went to the pediatrician on Tuesday after we left the hospital Monday & she had gained over 3 ounces in 24 hours! I have no doubt she is already back to her birth weight or more by now. Her next pediatrician apt is a week from today. Addy has a CBC on Tuesday.

The transition from 1 to 2 is much easier than 0 to 1. Addison still adores Ansley so hopefully that sticks too! Charles and I are so blessed to have such a beautiful family. We are so in love with our girls!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.