Tickled Pink and Orange

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

GCS Family Day at Fluor Field

Last weekend Fluor Field (home of Greenville Drive Baseball) hosted a family fun day for all Greenville County Schools employees. Tons of local businesses sponsored the event, and we were treated to all sorts of goodies. There were bouncey houses, face painting, really nice door prizes, food, and all sorts of other things. Tommy and I thought it was just going to be a kind of "I need to go and just make sure the right people see me there" type thing, but we ended up really having a good time! Addie was great - she had Chick fil A chicken nuggets (possibly one of her favorite foods!) and Doritos (which she loved - she never gets stuff like that to eat!), so she was quite happy! I got to see lots of people that I used to teach with, and it was nice to catch up.

Our favorite thing of the day was to take Addie Kate out on the field (We did not do the bouncey house because Mommy was wearing a dress and I'd have to climb in there with her - not such a good idea when you are around people you work with!). They opened up the outfield and let kids and parents go play. They gave out balls and mits, so most people were out there really playing catch. We didn't think we'd need any mits with Addie! She was precious out there throwing the ball around. She loved (Tommy too!) the plush grass and the wide open space to run around. The weather was gorgeous. We really did end up having a great time!

Please excuse my white legs - I need to make a date with Mystic Tan, I know!

I love this - looks like a little coach/player huddle/strategizing!

I hate this one is blurry - I love her little squat and the look on her face.

Had to include this picture of my big stud! (read the shirt!)

Love how Addie Kate here is just following in line like she's supposed to!

Rockin' the shades on the way home! Sometimes she'll keep these on for hours, and others (like when I think she needs to) she won't!

March of Dimes

The other Saturday, Tommy's company walked in the March of Dimes Walk for Babies. There are many, many organizations that I lovingly support, and this is one of them. I gladly agreed to walk with them, and Addie Kate tagged along too. (She doesn't get much of a say these days!) We didn't know if we'd be able to do the whole walk - didn't know how long Addie would last. We ended up doing about half of it. Addie did really great, we just didn't want that goodness to wear off and us be stuck two miles away from the end. When the walk started, (which, by the way, was with cannon fire!) I looked down at her and she acted like she was going to go to sleep - I couldn't believe it. She didn't though - what was I thinking? She also proceeded to drop, twice, her little Elmo that she had been holding on to. The first time, another walker asked us if we lost an Elmo, so I ran back to get it. The second time, we just heard Addie Kate so sweetly say, "Elmo," and I looked back and he was lying there on the ground!

I didn't get to take any pictures during the walk - it was very crowded - but here are some pictures of our sweet girl before and after. I do wish I had gotten one of the three of us, oh well! (And just FYI - Tommy's company raised a lot of money for them - yay!)

Before - she was all ready to go and loved watching all the people (and puppies, let's not forget the puppies):

And after, Addie Kate and Cody (he was passed out!)

And what runner (walker, really) doesn't need a snack afterwards?

Notice the clothes change! I didn't realize how much I LOVED these type outfits (A-line jumpers/tops with matching pants) - perfect for spring and fall. She started out with the pants on, then as it warmed up, I just slipped them off and made it a dress! She's worn this one, and another, a dozen times this spring for this very reason!

Monkey

I guess now that Addie Kate has walking and running down pat, she's moved on to bigger and better things - climbing. I think some kids start this really early, or at least attempt it, but she's never done so, until now! She learned to climb in her little rocking chair, then the big rocking chair in her room. She's also recently learned to use the little footstool at the end of our very tall rice bed to get in it. (The other day, we were both upstairs and she was kind of playing in all the rooms. Well, it got quiet so I went hunting for her and found her proudly sitting in the middle of our big bed, with the biggest grin on her face! I now keep that door closed, as she's good at getting up, but not at getting down!)

The other night, as we were in her room getting her things ready for the next day, this is where I found her:

Yes, she is in her closet, climbing on top of a big rubbermaid container full of dolls. She had apparently cleared off a space for her to get up there, by putting her shoes in the orange bookbag behind her. I learned later, about a week later, that one of our house telephones was also in there! Stinker!

So proud of all her hard work!

Oooh, look at all these fun things hanging down!

Please excuse the red sandals. I had just gotten them for her and wanted to see if they fit. Now, I don't think I like them!

Then, that same night, after I shooed her out of the closet, she climbs in her American Girl Bitty Baby bed! (Now, I said I would post on this so here goes - this thing is not cheap, but it is not any kind of a good quality and really not even that cute. And I'm not sure that any child would not climb in it at some point, so it needs to be sturdier. Just Addie being in there for a little amount of time had the bottom sagging! I much prefer a wooden, preferably hand-made doll bed like her other one!)

So sweet, she was tired!

Addie Kate's New Ride!

Addie Kate got this cute little (ok, little is definitely not the right word!) train the other week. I wish I could say that she loves it, but not so much. She does love to push the one button that makes the "choo choo" or "toot toot" (as she says) sound. Riding on it, is a completely different story. She doesn't mind sitting on it, but when we showed her how to make it go, she flipped out! I tried getting on it with her, but apparently we are over the weight limit, as it would not go! Then, we tried walking beside it as she made it go, again, she flipped out! This cracks me up, as she loves to ride Carter and Harrison, and her cousin Logan's little 4-wheelers! She took off on those like she'd been doing it all her life! Maybe the train just makes a lot of noise while it goes? Who knows? Regardless, she looks super cute on it! Oh, and yes, it is set up in our foyer. It is so big that you can't even open our front door all the way! (We have since moved it to our sitting room, which has a formal decor, not so much anymore!)

And here is an entertaining little video of me trying to help Addie Kate get over her fear:

Monday, May 4, 2009

Fun with Harrison and Carter!

When we were in Summerville, we stayed with Jenny, Jason, Harrison, Carter, and Grady for a night. Addie loved having her friends to play with and all of their toys!

They have a ball pit in their playroom - how fun!

We spent a lot of time outdoors. Addie took right to their golf sets, just like hers!

The 3 of them. This could be an ad for Pottery Barn. Or an ad for "Elmo's World." Or, more realistically, a picture in a medical journal for what television does to the brain! Look at the looks on their faces! Addie particularly, as she rarely gets to watch TV! (We parents didn't really have much of a choice though, if we wanted to eat breakfast in peace!)

Friday, May 1, 2009

Happy 3rd Birthday Aiden!

Our sweet little Godson, Aiden, turned three last week. I can hardly believe it. I feel like our lives before Aiden are a world away, and a thousand times better since he's (and of course my sweet Addie) here! We love you so much sweet boy, happy birthday!

Aiden's party was at Rolie Polie in Summerville. His party was there last year too, but Addie was only 6 months old, so we pretty much just played with Aiden and held Addie. This year was completely different! She was everywhere! I mean, I know to a certain degree children at her age are supposed to be busy, but it seems like my child is always the busiest in any crowd of kids her age. I would say it surprises me, but it totally doesn't. I was that way - I still am. My metabolism is through the roof (and can I tell you how thankful I am for that!?!) and I'm always on the go. Apparently, as a child, especially Addie's age, it was the exact same. I was, and still am to a certain degree, a mile a minute. I love that about my girl. I am so glad she is active and happy and busy and healthy, but man, it's tough to keep up with her!

This place is really neat. It isn't just a typical bouncey-house place. They also have a foam pit like you have in gymnastics, a trampoline ramp-type thing, the little Step 2 rollercoaster (that is on her 2nd birthday list, except for the fact that she really wasn't that wild about it!), a bouncey house with slide, a rock wall, and a few other things. And it's all in a small, contained area. (I imagine to some a huge area would be a great marketing idea - to me, who has to chase my child all over these areas - notsomuch.) Addie's favorites were, of course, the bouncey house (to which I again had to get in there with her, and take her down the slide) and the trampoline. We had to really watch her on the trampoline. There were a good many kids piled on there at once, and she had no quams about getting too close to the edge (which I viewed as an easy stumble and off the 3 ft. or so onto the ground - which was padded, but still.), plus, some of the bigger kids totally didn't look out for her. (Mommy and Daddy had to get downright nasty with one of them - I even had to whip out my teacher voice! Then, another mom got hold of him too! I was worried that I had offended her, but turns out she was on our side! I always get nervous fussing at other people's kids, but my job is to watch after my child!) I wish she had liked the little roller coaster, because I liked it and thought it'd be a great 2nd birthday gift. We'll see. Let me tell you - she did not like the foam pit! She is just too small to be able to walk or jump around in it. I would put her in it, and she just kind of stood there and looked around; she couldn't move!

All in all, I totally loved watching her play and have fun at this party. I enjoyed watching Aiden play and remember how much different it was last year. And, I loved having all of my best friends together, with our children, playing and having fun. I had my Jenny, Heather, and Laurie there all at one time - life is good!

Below are some pics of our fun day. I left my camera in Greenville (and was grumpy about it for the entire ride there!), so thankfully, Laurie sent me these pictures and Jenny has some on the way. Thank you guys!

Me sliding my girl down the big slide!

Addie giving LuLu some love:

Addie on the trampoline - those are my tootsies - I would hold her hands (apparently not in this picture) and jump as hard and high as I could! She loved it - she would just laugh and laugh!