swimming!

addy in the "inflatable thingy"

heidi saying 'why take a picture of me?'

addy looking very confused at the pool

so we finally made it to the pool this summer! and we happened to arrive at the area pool on a 'family fun night'!! super duper times. they were giving out free popcorn & lemonade, had a big red inflatable jumping thing (what is that really called? we have no idea) & did face painting. addy loved jumping around in the inflatable thingy, even more than she enjoyed swimming. she practiced her swimming lesson techniques of getting in & out of the pool very often...actually, that's mostly all she did; get in & out of the pool, in & out. she did steal some great toys from other unsuspecting kids & was also very upset when we made her return them (we went to the pool fully unprepared as parents: no toys!). she cried when her & daddy went under the very large water fountain. she tried to sit down in two feet of water & then had a very panicked look on her face as we pulled her up (but she didn't breathe in! go swim lessons!). she also tried to eat several soggy pieces of popcorn found on the ground. we didn't think she would sit still long enough to have her face painted (good thought). and most importantly: we used enough sunscreen to keep her from burning!
we will return to the pool this week with grandma sue & this time we will bring toys!

the things griswold puts up with

so this is our wonderful dog, who allows addy to do things to him that most dogs wouldn't allow... addy does like to dress & undress dolls, but i think griz will be her manequin of choice as she grows up. what next, a tutu?

another rash

so this is addy's newest & finest. it came just 2 hours after the pediatric nurse called to say all her blood results came back negative for food allergies or intolerances...this rash appeared barely 5 minutes after she tried to eat a fortune cookie (she really really wanted to try it, but didn't like it). i have no idea what's going on with her system. this is very frustrating. we do have a follow up appointment with a ped next week. it was about 8 days ago that her last round of rash appeared but that one looked entirely different, was on one side of her face & lasted for about 5 days. good grief. i just hope she's not in pain!

but...she does look very cute today in her green jumper!

terrible two's

addy is officially full throttle in the "terrible two's"...what a few weeks it has been. wait, what a few months; that sounds better. and it is a bit more interesting b/c she can't talk! so she wants something SO BAD that she screams & cries & throws things for it, but she can't say it, only points to something (that we have no idea what it is).

yesterday i ran an errand that took us out in the car for about 10 minutes. addy apparently thought we were going to do something fun out of the house so when i pulled back into our driveway, she started sobbing. it was very disheartening. she is quite the extrovert who NEEDS to get out & be with other people to be happy...which is unfortunate that she lives with parents who are introverts & who NEED to be at home, away from others at times.

so this morning, i was very groggy b/c last night i had to take a unisom sleeping pill (b/c i was very sick & nauseous yesterday, so unisom helps relieve that)...a groggy mama with a very active toddler does not mix well. it was almost as if she was literally bouncing from toy to toy, thinking to herself 'i've already played with this & this & this & this...what next?!' & i'm just laying on the couch wondering if she'd really notice if i fell asleep or not. then i also wondered if this is what kids of addicts go through--their moms or dad passed out on the couch! (parental guilt has to creep in somehow)...anyway. i couldn't take the crying & whining anymore & i peeled myself off the couch & somehow got both of us dressed & out the door in 30 minutes. probably b/c i didn't care what we looked like b/c unisom also does that to me. we made it to the mall without an accident, but i was wondering if i should be driving under such sleepy & groggy conditions... as we pulled into the mall parking lot, addy actually starts clapping her hands, kicking her legs, & shouting happily (for those of you not in the know...the polaris mall has a very exciting toddler/kid indoor playground; it is a lifesaver).

addy did manage to patiently eat part of her snack & let me drink almost all of my latte (full caffeine for today) before she started the pointing. it's really odd that she actually new which direction to point in, towards the playground. hhhmmm. but she had a grand time & i sat there drinking starbucks, probably looking very out of it. then a friend from the women's group walks in & we chat about the terrible two's & newborns (she has a 25 month old & 1 month old...the same situation we'll have after j2 arrives). that's our story for today: very tired mama, very active addy, very humid weather...what a day.

if anyone reads this & is the least bit concerned for addy's happiness or safety, feel free to offer babysitting! :o)

watching fireworks

somehow this pic didn't post before. but here's addy within the first few minutes of the display. she really didn't move. notice her & wes have a similar look of awe & joy :o)

4th of july

low flying balloon

addy entranced by the hot air balloons

addy with gram-mum (top)
scott (heidi's brother) w/ one twin, chloe (i think!)

we were going to have a westerville 4th of july celebration...but it rained the day before (all day), & was forecast to rain the rest of the day & be hot & muggy. so we decided to quickly pack up & head just 70 minutes north, to ashland, where it was sunny, clear, & even a bit cool. wes was very excited to go b/c of the 'balloon fest'...only someone NOT from ashland would be excited for this! it is neat to see all the balloons, but we weren't able to stay saturday night for the 'balloon glow.' anyway, it was a lovely day, complete with t-bone steaks from gma & gpa gerwig. addy was able to play with the twins, chloe & zoe & griswold played with ruger (scotty's dog); gram-mum & pop-pop got to play with addy & mama got to sleep in! everyone was happy.

while with gram-mum & pop pop, it has been noticed that addy does not leave g-mum's side at any time. it's very cute (a little disheartening as a mama, but i'm sure she loves me more...it's just that i do say 'no' sometimes whereas g-mum doesn't????). addy & the twins are really starting to communicate & play with each other; although, it does appear the twins are more used to sharing things than addy is....we'll work on that in about 10 weeks! addy had fun with them, giving them hugs, patting their heads, giving them kisses, & sharing sippy cups (they even played with toys a little bit). the twins are crawling now, so that added another level of excitement for addy...'peers who are cousins & who are girls! marvelous!'

all the 'babies' (who really are no longer babies...) stayed up to watch the fireworks. it took a lot of cheerios for this to happen, but we made it! addy loved them (this was her first time watching fireworks) & totally froze in place for about a minute after they started. she was just staring off into the sky, mesmerized. she sat on daddy's lap first, then snuggled with mama on the chair, then after that she laid on the blanket with gram mum & pop-pop. the twins faired okay; zoe LOVED the display & kept pointing to them with a big grin...chloe cried in terror, holding onto her daddy for dear life (then also biting him, we found out later). good times.

Bath time with Daddy & duckies

today addy has yet another of her famous diaper rashes which developed from yet another round of equally famous diarrhea. so to help her bum soothe a bit, we give her mini baths throughout the day, followed by some 'diaper off time' that usually involves the parent cleaning up several pee spots on the carpet. today, she didn't want to get in the tub; then, there wasn't enough water in the tub (mamais cheap!); then mama wasn't playing with her the way she wanted. SO daddy got in the tub (you are missing in view wes' wonderful red boxers...). and that was all she needed to have a wonderfully fun mini bath time. this was after she was in her bedroom for 2 hours taking a non-sleeping 'nap' so getting her to smile, laugh, & cooperate all at once is quite a feat.

other exciting things today: b/c of addy's bouts of diarrhea, the pediatrician thought it necessary to do blood work to test for several different causes of the diarreah that has come & gone her entire 21 months of living (bacteria, virus, food allergies, lactose intolerance, & celiac disease). she's also on a strict no-fruit diet for a week to determine if that could also cause the constant loose stools. anyway, driving from the pediatrician to children's hospital in westerville to have blood taken, we were both a bit anxious that she would respond to having blood taken as i do (heidi: passing out, nausea, lightheadedness...). we said a quick prayer & walked in & addy of course surprises us again. she was a CHAMP! she walked right up into the chair with daddy, didn't wince or complain with the tourniquet & then just looked around the room & at the lady bug hair barrett i pulled out of her hair to distract her as the needle went in. she didn't flinch a bit, through 2 vials of blood! amazing. she picked a 'goofy' sticker out, pointed at her bandaid in pride, & she hopped down, like nothing had happened. again, AMAZING. the nurses mentioned that they would like all their patients to be as agreeable AND cute as addy...they have the benefit of being a stranger; she saves all the crying & tantrums for mama & daddy!

we will keep everyone posted as we learn what's going on with addy. hopefully it's nothing! maybe we're just letting her eat more fruit than she needs (she does pick fruit over ice cream, candy, juice, really anything). if not, we'll adjust our eating habits to accomodate a new diet (b/c it's nearly impossible to eat something around addy without her getting a piece of it).