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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