So I Remember

Addie Grey makes us laugh more and more each day. She has the funniest personality and we have no idea what little thing she might do on any given day. One of my favorite things she does with us right now is "make out". She grabs our face and gives us the longest kisses. She won't let go and she looks all around with her eyes while she's doing it. It's the funniest, and wettest, kiss ever.

She has figured out how to climb in and out of the tub during bath time. Last night, I wasn't in the bathroom with her (Joey was), but I heard her calling 'mommmyyyy' with a whole lot of authority. When I walked in there, she was trying to climb out and Joey was trying to help her, but she wasn't letting him. I reached down and helped her out of the tub and Joey was standing beside me holding her towel open for her. She reached over, took the towel from her daddy, said "tank oo" and handed it to ME to wrap her up. We laughed and laughed. She is a mommy's girl for sure.

I did such a better job of documenting the funny things Tripp and Makinley said and did when they were younger, and I'm determined to start doing it for AG too. She is a funny, funny girl.

18 Months

Well, I blinked and here we are. Eighteen months since we were in a hospital room seeing you for the first time. You are growing and changing by leaps and bounds on what seems like a daily basis. You have your definite likes and dislikes and you have learned to tell us both yes and no. We hear them both every single day. For yes, you nod your whole body and say, "uh huh". For no, you just shake your head back and forth. You are starting to try to repeat every word we say and you have really strong vocabulary. You FINALLY started saying mommy a couple of weeks ago and now you yell it with authority across the house if you aren't sure where I am. No doubt you are a mommy's girl, BUT you prefer your daddy to put you to bed at night. Our nights are still not without wake ups, but luckily they are much better than they were at one time. If we're lucky, you wake up only once. And if we should have played the lottery that day, you sleep all night long. You keep us guessing when it comes to sleep and eating. You may love something one day and hate it the next. Your favorite foods seem to be broccoli, squeeze pouches, yogurt, pretzels and pizza. But that can change at any given moment. You still get a bottle at bedtime, but we stopped nursing when you were just shy of 17 months. It was a natural weaning process, and it was obvious when you were done. I'm not going to lie, it was sad for mommy, but there was no more prolonging it. You have turned into a back sleeper and you like having your lovey up by your face and to be covered by your blanket. Your hair is long enough for pigtails and a ponytail and I'm loving every second of it. You like to play in my jewelry and make up, so I have to keep my eyes on you. We are in the process of cutting your top two eye teeth, and it has not been fun. Luckily, after these, we should be done for awhile as you will have 16 teeth. You love to sing songs, look at books, and play on mommy's IPad. You've discovered Bubble Guppies on TV, but you only like to sit still for the theme song. Then you are up and on to something else. I've noticed that you can be very particular when playing independently. I've watched you stack things a certain way, line your babies up in a certain order, and make sure your blocks are facing the same direction before putting them on top of each other. There is really nothing sweeter in all the world than hearing you say, "ove ooo" at the exact right time and 'tank oo' when we hand you something. I really wish I could bottle you up just as you are right this second. This is such a fun age...you are starting to gain some independence and personality, but you are still most definitely my baby too. I love you, my sweet baby girl.

Dear Tripp,
 This has been a year of definite change and growth for you.  When I look back at pictures of you at exactly this same time last year, it's amazing how much older you look. I don't know if it's the grown up teeth, the 5 inches in height or the long hair...probably a combination of all three...but the change is definite and major.  There has also been change in maturity and personality.  Things that would have sent you into a tailspin this time last year no longer affect you quite the same. Don't get me wrong, we can't let you get too tired or too hungry to tears will still come. But, on a day to day basis, you are the easiest kid and so enjoyable to be around. You continue to make friends easily, excel at sports, and you are about to be tested for the gifted program at school. We aren't sure you will make it, and it's okay either way, but academics definitely appear to come easily to you. You are still an ultimate perfectionist, and you don't like it when something doesn't come easily to you. You are your own worst critic, and your teachers have learned that they have to be sensitive in how they tell you to go back and work on something that you might have missed the first time. You and Makinley can be best friends or worst enemies, but the times you are best friends are so sweet to watch. And there's no doubt for any of us who has you wrapped around her littlest finger and that's your baby sister. You light up when you see her and say, "Hey Addie Grey!" every time. You love to hold her and love on her, but little Miss Independent is getting to the point of making her own feelings known. You have a core group of friends that you enjoy spending time with, and you have a mild (or major) obsession with Minecraft on the Ipad. Your daddy and I have had to lay down some serious rules when it comes to Ipad play around here. But, you never buck us and get off pretty much as soon as we tell you to. You do well with rules and boundaries and with knowing up front what's expected of you. If you have a homework assignment to read for 20 minutes, then the kitchen timer will be set and 20 minutes will be spent reading. It's amazing to me that I really wasn't sure I was going to survive your first year and I'm now entering into your ninth. The day you were born will forever be one of my most favorite days of all time. Not because it was easy and smooth (it was anything but) but because on that day, March 8, 2006, my dreams of becoming a mommy came true. You have fulfilled and surpassed any dream I ever had, and I am so, so grateful that I get to be the one to kiss your head, tell you I love you, and hear you call me "Mom". I know God's plans for you far exceed anything I could ever want for you, so I look forward to watching it all unfold. I love that you already have a relationship with Him and often tell me of the things you pray in the quiet of your own heart. I pray that faith just grows stronger and stronger as each year passes. I love you, bud, happy 8th birthday!
Love,
Mom

Sleepover

For Tripp's birthday party this year, he wanted to have five of his friends spend the night and go to the movies. So, that's what we did. Or, I should say, that's what Joey did. I took the baby to my mom and dad's for the night so that the boys could have the run of the house.

 Joey says there was lots of 'boy' talk going on all night. So, probably a good thing mom wasn't there to try to tell the what's appropriate and what's not appropriate to talk about. Ha!

 They decided to all sleep in Tripp's bunk beds! Three on top and three on bottom. They went to sleep at 11:30 and woke up at 5:30 ready to play again!

Tripp got lots of gift cards and he loves putting them in his wallet. Joey and I have talked countless times that we love his little core group of friends. I know that they will be just as close in high school as they are now. Lifelong bonds being made.

Daddy/Daughter Dance

Joey takes Makinley to the Daddy/Daughter dance each year, and it's something that they both look forward to.

 This year, I wanted to make sure Makinley felt extra special. She has really struggled with being the 'middle child' since Addie Grey was born, so we try to do little things whenever we can to make sure she realizes how much she is loved. So, Joey came and 'picked her up' for their date.

 And he brought her a surprise!

 A corsage! She was so cute. She wanted to keep the plastic container that the corsage came in so she could put it back inside. She told us that she would always look at it and remember that her daddy gave it to her.

 She picked out her dress, her sweater, and told me how she wanted to wear her hair. She had it all planned out, and I think she looked absolutely perfect!

It won't be long and daddy will have two dates to the dance!

Basketball

Tripp played basketball this season and he did a great job. I love watching him play sports.

 Joey coached his team, and they went 5-2 for the season. Tripp wasn't really a fan of losing the two games we did, but he's learning that he can't win them all.

 Of course, Makinley thinks she needs to be a part of all things. She does fine during the games with sitting on the sidelines, but when they are just warming up, she gets right out there with them.

 Their last game was at 7:00, so Addie Grey sported her pajamas to the game. It was straight to the bed for her when we got home.

We roll directly into soccer. Tripp and Makinley are playing on the same team this year, and I'm excited about that. I'm hoping they will work well together, and Joey is their coach. It's so nice to know we don't have two different practices and two different game schedules and that I won't have to miss one's game to watch the other's.

Gymnastics

Makinley has been taking gymnastics this year in the next county over at a 'real' gym. In years past, she has done it here in Madison in kind of a make-shift gym. So, she has been excited to go with her best friend from our neighborhood. However, since she made the school play, she is going to have to take a break for the months of February and March. We all went last week to see her end of the winter performance. We always make such a big deal out of Tripp's games and different things he is a part of, that we wanted to make sure we made just as big a deal out of her activities.

 This is Savannah. Her best friend from our neighborhood. They would live together if they could.

The biggest reason we put Makinley in gymnastics is because I want her to learn how to tumble. If she ever wants to cheer, she is going to have to know how to tumble. However, they haven't really started working on tumbling yet. I think it starts more when she's 7. Now she's saying she wants to start taking dance again, though, so who knows? These kids keep us busy.