family day!

Since this week is my Spring Break, Justin took today off for us to spend as a family! We knew there would be good weather, so it was the perfect day to plan some outdoor fun and mark some errand running off our list.

We started the day at Chick-fil-a. We enjoyed it in the car in the parking lot while Adeline napped. This kind of car nap rarely happens these days so we didn't wake her for lunch and just let her eat her meal when we got to the zoo.

Our big event was going to the zoo today. We wanted to try to get in at least one more visit before we renew our membership for another year. It was a busy day because of the (finally) nice weather. But another perk of a membership is we didn't feel bad if we skipped an exhibit or didn't spend as much time at one because it was too crowded. However, we were pleasantly surprised with how much we were able to do and see!

Last year, Adeline took it all in, but she wasn't waking yet. This was her first zoo trip walking and she was so excited when she got to "wah" (walk). She LOVED all the birds, and most other animals, but she was nervous and reserved around any animal in the ape family- which we found random and funny because when you ask her what a monkey says, she's quick to say "ah ah". She told all the animals we saw to "shhhh", with her finger to her mouth, which means either they were sleeping or she was telling them to go to sleep. She said "qua qua" at almost every bird we saw and roared at the lion. LOVE all the animal noises and names she is learning these days. She thought the penguins were fun and met them for the first time because they weren't on exhibit last year. The giraffes are always a fave, but the camels seemed to be a new fave this year. Random. ;) She enjoyed the wallaby walkway where you are a part of the exhibit- but none of the furry friends came as close to her as she would have liked. :) She was such a good girl getting in and out of her stroller (that doesn't always happen) and had fun strolling around and snacking as she gazed at all the animals. We ended the day at the zoo on the Carousel- her absolute fave when we were in Disney World- so we had to let her reminisce and enjoy a ride today. She made noises the entire ride, begging for "moh" when it stopped. She is so much fun- no matter what we are doing!!

After the zoo, we headed to Babies R Us and Toys R Us- our baby gate broke so we had to exchange and Adeline had a gift card still from Christmas, so we let her go shopping for a new "bay-bee" and some more "chuh chuhs" (trains). The art of distraction is a MUST when we shop these days...empty hands are not her favorite thing and going bye bye isn't cool unless it means we're leaving the house and she knows she's headed somewhere. But our sweet girl made out pretty well with a new baby doll, sling included, a new take 'n play Thomas the train set, two more new trains, and new Mickey coloring paper for her Color Wonder crayola markers.

We ended the evening with dinner at Qdoba (a fave of all of ours and a Lowe's trip.

Love days like today. Perfection.

a day in the life (almost 17 month old Adeline)

8:15- I am slightly awake from Justin getting ready to leave. I finally decide to roll out of bed because I need to get some laundry organized and started before little Miss wakes up (our laundry area is in our unfinished basement and quite a interesting time hauling toddler and laundry up and down ;).

8:30- Adeline wakes up (slightly more grouchy than her usual chipper self in the morning.) Her hair is a mess and she has sleepy eyes- one of my favorite times of the day because she's just so cuddly in the morning! We cuddle for a few minutes, she refused a diaper change with that grouchy mood. So wet diaper stays on for now- you pick your battles and I kind of have a headache that I woke up with. We go into our master bedroom and make the bed. (I love a made bed and have GOBS of laundry to catch up on- great folding and sorting area.)

8:45 Adeline begs to nurse (again not normally like her in the morning). I nurse her for about 10 minutes and then start some breakfast. I let Boone out because he has finally gone to the door to ask if he can go out to go to the bathroom (such a good dog.)

9:00 We both eat waffles while Micky Mouse Clubhouse is on in the background (about the only TV show we "watch" during the day). She begs for "moh" syrup 100 times and feeds Boone the last couple bites (as always). Usually breakfast is turkey sausage (or "zsh zsh" as she calls it) but Daddy accidentally left it out when he fed her Saturday morning....oops! ;)

9:30 I unload the dishwasher and reload it (going to take a second load to get it all clean- we are so bad about keeping up with this!) while Adeline plays with her toy kitchen in the kitchen. She is so focused and busy! (This usually doesn't happen for this long so I am eating it up and trying to be productive). I hear her grunting a bit...you know what that means. Then I hear her say "poo poo" - her new thing is telling us when she has dirtied her diaper. So I got over and ask her if she poo pooed- she says yes and shakes her head. I ask her if she wants to get her diaper change...she says "nooo" and shakes her head. What is with this girl and not wanting her diaper changed?!

9:45 We got downstairs and put a new load of clothes in the wash and put the wet load into the dryer. My goal is to keep the machines going all day to finally catch up. Saw this idea on Pinterest thanks to another friend pinning it. Monday is now coined "laundry day!!" Adeline plays in her play area downstairs that we have created for when we are down there. I throw a few more things into our yard sale box for summer that catch my eye that we don't need anymore.

10:00 We head back upstairs, I fold some jeans, and Adeline plays with her new Easter toy- a shopping cart that holds her "bay bee"s. She chases Boone around a bit trying to throw something at him (oh the things he puts up with! Namely the 100 bear hugs he receives a day around his neck) Now it's time for a diaper change....like it or not for the little miss.

10:30 I change Adeline (she's content on changing table aka not screaming her lungs out and clawing at the table mat trying to climb off so must be tired of being in wet/dirty dipe.). I go ahead and change her clothes because we have to run a few errands. I get ready too and pick up a few more things around the house and get ready for our post office run. She finds a few books and magazines to "read".

11:00 We get a text from my aunt asking us if we want to meet her and my grandma at McDonald's to grab some lunch. After hubby and I gave up soft drinks for lent, I am more than ready for a large Diet Coke from McDonalds- the answer is yes! ;)

11:15 Adeline and I head out to run our errands and eat lunch. Getting out of the house is always a bit frantic- messes made as we leave, a dog to get fed and put in the foyer/bathroom area, and tons of "bye byes" for Boone from Adeline. ;) We head to the DMV to pay our car taxes and registration, the bank to grab cash for our weekly envelopes, and the post office to mail some packages. (Disclaimer in the pics below- we just got in the car and I was about to buckle her when I took the sucker picture after the post office. ;)

12:00 We meet my aunt and grandma for lunch. Adeline eats 3 of her 4 nuggets, some fries and some apples- girl can eat! I'm craving a cheeseburger so I get a mcdouble off the $ menu, a medium fry and upsize Adeline's happy meal drink (for free!) to a large diet coke and order her a water. We have fun visiting and get out without too much attention to the play place. ;)

1:00 I change Adeline and nurse her right before nap. She goes down asleep. I work on laundry (more!) and do a few things on the Internet from my phone.

1:50 Adeline wakes up with her heart absolutely broken- I decide to go in after about 10 minutes because I can tell her cry is one of those "not calming down" cries. I give her her paci and sway/shoosh her until she calms down. I put her back down and pat her for a few minutes- she gets up again for a second when I walk out but quickly goes back out. She sleeps for another 45 minutes or so while I do more laundry/cleaning up from the last couple weeks and very little time at home!

2:30 Adeline wakes up, we work in the bedrooms a little more. She is funny and silly, getting in the laundry hamper, dancing to a few minutes of TV, carrying my phone around dancing and saying "hey-yoh" (hello) as we listen to The David Crowder station on the Songza app. She continues to play and "helps" Mommy while I pick up and fold/put away laundry for a while longer.

4:00 We grab a quick snack (apple sauce pouch) and then I decide it's time to get outside and get some sunshine and fresh air! Adeline has been such a good and patient girl while I had to get so much done! I tell Adeline and Boone we are going outside- they get equally excited and impatient as I get Boone's collar on and Adeline's jacket, socks and shoes. We explore in the back yard, side yard and around the house. (We have woods on all sides and our yard is a fun little place to hang- just supper hilly so I have to watch her carefully! We blow bubbles, swing, take a short walk down our street, check the mail, dig in the dirt and rocks, check out our little stream, and throw sticks for Boone. Adeline LOVES being outside!

5:30 Daddy gets home and we hang out for a little while longer outside.

5:45 I start breakfast for dinner while Justin showers and Adeline raids the cabinets (mainly munching on Pirate's Booty, grapes, and shredded cheese).

6:00 We sit down to pray and eat dinner!

6:45 We clean the kitchen together as a fam (Adeline plays at her toy kitchen and "helps" unload the dishwasher). Justin and Adeline head into the living room to play with Adeline's new train set while I finish up the kitchen. Adeline LOVES this time with Daddy when he gets home!

7:00 We play in the living room together and watch Wheel of Fortune (on and off). Adeline loves clapping for the contestants and saying "aaaayyyy" (A) when they all that letter. :)

7:30 Bath time! Adeline's FAVORITE. You don't mention the word "bath" in front of Miss Adeline unless it's really happening ;). The entire fam (including Boone) plays during bath time and splashes. We love bath nights.

7:45 We get her PJs on and Daddy kisses her good night. We read Pat the Bunny, Little Quack and Adeline's other fave book that was mine about bears going camping while rocking. Her favorite pages in both of the first two books mentioned are when she can say "shhh" and bringing her finger to her mouth when the bunny and Little Quack are sleeping. Adeline gets her vitamins, gas drops and then nurses. While she nurses we always do our bedtime prayers- she always stops to say "dada" and "buh" after we pray for them. She stops to do itsy bitsy spider in the middle of nursing and prayer- why she does this I have no idea...it happens ever night. ;) At the end when I say "in Jesus' name, Amen" she stops nursing and says "bay bee? jee zshus" aka baby Jesus. She has said this other times but not at the end of prayer. :) melt. We finish and I kiss her a million times and lay her down, give her a paci, cover her up, and start we sound machine and night light stuffed animal.

8:00 I watch the season premier of The Real Housewives of Orange County and hubby and I get settled in on the couch for the night. :)

dirt

Today, Adeline Grace, met dirt much more close up than she's gotten to so far in her short little life.  Her daddy took her in the back yard with him while he was working on prepping our garden area.  He plopped her down in dirt, handed her a plastic bowl and a small garden shovel, and let her get her hands dirty.  Literally.

She was in heaven.  She loves anything outside.  And then to be able to get dirty and put things in a bowl and empty the bowl...near overkill for her little toddler heart!

She loved helping her Daddy rake and shovel the dirt!

Her best bud, Boone, stayed close as we picked through the dirt and explored the back yard.

The highlight of the afternoon was digging for worms! She started collecting them in her bucket and may or may not have put them to her mouth to try to eat. ;) Love my little explorer...not even scared of squirmy worms! I'd say she's ready to go fishing.

Oh how I adore my little dirt-loving girl.

snow day!

We got about 3 inches of snow last night so I had a snow day from work today...yeehaw!

The snow started last night with huge flakes before dark so Adeline was able to watch it. She was mesmerized and kept pointing saying "no"....her version of snow.

This morning we waited around for the cable guy to come fix our cable and Internet....success. I can go without cable but Internet is another story. ;)

After he left, we went to Cracker Barrel for brunch since Justin was off also due to the weather. We used to do that every time we had a snow day and decided to continue the tradition with Adeline. :)

She ate like a champ....grits included. Little southern gal.

We also spent some time letting her play and "shop" because it's one of her fave things to do. She loves grabbing all the little toys and stuffed animals. :)

We just got home from a little stroll around town to look at the pretty wintery scene and let her nap for a bit in the car. Now she's back down again in her crib. Whoo hoo.

Always thankful for an extra day of fun and snuggles with my little family!!

Thank you, Lord, for snow days! They may even be better as an adult! ;)

our extraordinary ordinary day

So March is my "Blog Every Day" month for our first half of 2013 monthly goals.

Oops.

It's March 5th....this is my first post of the month. And just when I remembered this today....it's also the day we realized our internet being out isn't a result of a router but our actual modem that now has to be replaced. So blogging from the phone it is. Thankfully they will be here tomorrow.

Today was a lazy day at home. Perfection in my book.

Yesterday was a tough day. Adeline has been sick and I was just super impatient with her. She didn't want to be put down. She didn't want to be held. You know those days. I put her to bed last night with such a heavy heart. A heart full of emotion for how in love I am with my sweet girl. But a heart full of sadness for how I handled the day. It was one of those days that God's grace was just so raw to me and I was so thankful. Thankful for His mercies and that He chose me to be Adeline's mommy. Thankful that as much as I love, cherish, and adore her and can't imagine a love deeper....He loves me (and her) even more than that.

So today we had fun. I got her out of bed with a cheerful heart, ready to face the day with patience and love no matter how it went. Thankfully she's heading out of the nasty cold (I think) and has been more cheery.

We've both lounged in our jammies all day. We've snacked all day. We've danced with our arms in the air. We've laughed. We've given high fives. We've played peek-a-boo. We've prayed. We've loved on Boone. We've rearranged the extra bedroom. We put dinner in the crock pot. We've done laundry. I've folded it. She's unfolded it and worn it around the house...my undies and all. We've just had fun.

Dear Sweet Girl,

I love you so much. I'm so very thankful for my days with you! Today I feel like there were so many things I wanted to capture. All the little things. They take up the most place in my heart. They just bring me so much joy. Today you...

...started shaking your head "yes" or "no" to answer a question...I would ask you if you want to get down from your rocking chair...you would shake yes or no. Love it so much and how you are communicating so much these days! You just never know what you will say next.

...strolled your baby doll, Madeline, around the house forever (after I convinced you that stroller wasn't your own umbrella stroller that you now can get in and out of yourself). You have been giving your baby her paci and bottle for quite a while now...but today, you went into the cabinet (as you always do get your own snacks these days to bring to us to open for you) and you loaded her up with your Pirate's Booty popcorn bag (the HUGE Costco size bag), and three pouches of apple sauce. You placed them all on her in the stroller. So today, little Momma, I guess you decided Madeline was moving on to table food as well. ;) Love your little nurturing heart.

...started getting into your infant seat (Daddy leaves it in the foyer and still uses it with your petite little self sometimes in his truck) and just lounging, saying "bye bye. bye bye" It was cracking me up. And when I asked where you were going and who you were going to see....it was Dada of course. :) You did this quite a bit.

My heart if full of joy. I love you so much baby girl. Thank you for giving me the most extraordinary ordinary days.

Love you to the moon and back sweet one.

Love, Momma