Owies

Dave went on a high adventure with the scouts this past week. They took a few canoes over to the Allegany National Forest and camped for a week. I was a little worried that they only brought ramon noodles, oatmeal, poptarts and cookies for meals. Dave said no one complained and that there were no major injuries. They didn't have cell phone service while out in the boonies. It was weird to not talk at all or to say goodnight. Dave didn't seem to mind too much, I however went crazy:) Jenny ended up coming up and saving me for the last few days of Dave being gone. No fingers will be pointed, but Addison did get her first black eye. She tripped in the bathroom and bumped her eye on the corner of a drawer. It just keeps getting more and more blue(the pictures don't do it justice). She points to her eye and says, "OW!" She will forgive who ever let this happen to her I am sure:)

Addison seems to be growing up and I want to freeze time. My only saving grace is that she still lets me rock her for a little bit at night and she gives the best hugs. She is starting to mimic everything that I do. I had the hiccups the other day while driving and I heard her making some weird noise in the back. When I got her out and was closer to her I realized she was trying to do hiccups! She has really started to pick up on folding her arms for prayer. It only lasts for a few seconds, but she does do it! Her hair has gone wild! Her curls are taking over her head. I put a little gel in it on Sunday and she looked pretty cute(minus the child abuse black eye). 

I took her to do a toy testing at Fisher Price this past week. At the end she got to pick a toy as a thank you. I really wanted her to grab the ipad childproof case. She went straight for the giant pink picnic basket that sings. She was carrying it around like a purse during the toy testing and became attached. Since she is the one performing the child labor I suppose picking a toy she likes is fair. 

We are starting to notice that Addison is afraid of heights. I am terribly afraid of them so I guess a small part of me expected her to be as well. We just didn't think that something like that would become apparent so early on. If you toss her up in the air or even set her on the counter she clings to you and whimpers. It does work to my benefit as I am trying to do her hair though! 

Addison loves to be in the kitchen when I am. She wants to be in the dishwasher or trying to "cook" in her corner while I do. She has her own set of little pots and she gets down to business with them! She has mastered the art of stirring. We are working on not touching the oven while it is on.

Addison pooped in the tub...for the third time. This time it was on her daddy's watch! Dave tried to pawn the duty of scooping it out and cleaning the aftermath on me. He claimed he has cleaned his fair share of poopy problems. I told him NOT A CHANCE! The last two have been when he isn't even home so it was his turn. Addison will kill me some day for talking multiple photos of the event.

We have been doing a lot of video chatting with grandparents and a lot of running around as Summer comes to a close. We are still taking a lot of wagon rides around the neighborhood and playing in little pool in our back yard.  Dave has started up a new semester and Addison and I are both grateful that he will be coming home at night. I am looking forward to the cooler weather and everything that Fall has to offer!

Look at those curls!

Grandma Came!

Addison has been so lucky this summer to be able to have both her grandmas visit! Grandma Michael made the long trip from California to stay for a week. Dave had the week off we ran around filling the days with what Buffalo has to offer. We got to go to the temple which was much needed. Dave and I managed to stay awake and Addison liked walking around the grounds with Grandma. We spent the day touring Palmyra and the church sites. No matter how many times we take people there I still feel like I learn something each time. It is a beautiful part of the country and we feel blessed to live so close right now. We hit up Dinosaur BBQ in Rochester on the way home. I am pretty serious about my ribs and these were amazing (not as good as my dads, but a close second)! Addison ate her first grilled cheese and fruit with french fries. She is turning into such a big girl eater! Addison enjoyed getting baths and books from Grandma in the evenings. We fit in a few wagon rides and a lot of playing with toys. There is a little fishing town called Olcott. It had old fashioned kiddie rides for 25 cents! Addison loved the carousel and she got to go on a flying car ride. They had a little ice cream shop there that had cannoli ice cream. I was in heaven! Addison enjoyed a fresh strawberry ice cream cone and Dave managed to get a ginormous vanilla something:) Addison did a lot of napping in the car or not napping at all with all the running around! The zoo was next on our list. Addison and i usually just see the first half before we head out so we started in the back this time. The weather was PERFECT. Addison got to ride in her red wagon around the zoo which turned out to be a great idea. It made it a lot easier for her to see the animals and who doesn't love rolling around in here! Grandma got to take her on a train ride at the zoo as well. Later that night we treated Sharon to the Erie County Fair. We went last year and had a really good time. This year was nothing short of great! There was a balloon show that was made the whole night worth it. Addison got to walk away with a giant flower balloon that was about 4 times her size. We all had our fill of fried and sugary food for the year. Dave had his first fried twinkie and I always like a funnel cake. Somehow Addison managed to taste all of the goodies as well:) Addison got to pet a pig, goat, cow and sheep. Daddy had to scrub her hands extra good after that event! She is starting to make cow noises and was able to perfect them that night. Saturday Dave had to go to a canoe safety course and came back looking like a tomato. As he applied aloe vera we headed to a nice dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Addison walked around while we were waiting with her purse over her arm waving to everyone. She loves to make people laugh! After dinner we dropped Addison off at Will's house and went to a movie. It was nice to sneak out and go to an adult movie. Grandma had to catch an airplane on Monday, but before she left we took her to Duff's Wings. We all said goodbye and Addison has missed her since! We had a really busy, but fun week!    

Home Sweet Home

Dave had one more week left away and I took the opportunity to go home. I drove to Jenny's and loaded our stuff in her car and she drove the second leg of the trip. It was nice to not drive alone with Addison and it made the long drive go faster (oh and the bag of double bubble that I consumed the whole drive there). Back in April I had helped my mom gather things to do a collage on her wall. I had promised to come back to help hang it later. This was the week. Jenny used her awesome hanging skills and we got the job done. It makes the front room look really nice and I think my mom is pretty happy with it. We hit up all of my local favorites during the week. Jersey Mikes is always a first night deal followed by skyline, greaters ice cream and if I am lucky Larosa's Pizza. We went to a new Thai restaurant that I feel in love with too. Addison got to play with all of Grammie's fun toys and follow Papa around the house. Harley did a nice job of keeping Addison happy as well. Most importantly Jenny and I caught up on our tv show that week. Late nights equaled early mornings so it was a good thing Grammie was around! It was a great week and Addison and I are lucky to live so close right now. I will say that the drive home was not so lucky. Poor Addison was not having it and I had to pull over a few times to calm her down...which didn't work. 

We made it home just in time for Dave and I to say hello and finish writing out talks for sacrament meeting the next day. I haven't had to speak in about 2 years so it was time. Dave on the other hand had just spoken about 6 weeks earlier and was a good guy and agreed to speak again. My talk was on Finding Strength in the Lord and Dave spoke on Following Christ. I managed to hold myself together and not cry during half of it (must mean I am getting more mature). I was tempted to keep talking so that I could continue to watch Dave struggle with Addison in the pews. It was a peaceful 20 minutes of not picking up thrown books or chasing after Addison. I was grateful for the opportunity to take time and reflect on my testimony and build my thoughts about our Savior. Also I got so nervous that when I was introducing our family I forgot to mention that we had a daughter! 

I also got a new calling a few weeks ago. I am now the primary secretary. Apparently someone thinks that I know how to be organized! As soon as they can find someone to take my place as nursery leader I am sure that I will enjoy the change of pace and being around more adults on Sundays. Dave is headed on a high adventure with the scouts next week .They are going on a canoe trip which he has been looking forward to all Summer. Grandma Michael is on her way here as I type for the week. She hasn't seen Addison since Christmas time so I am sure she is in for a treat! We have a lot planned and I am excited to be able to go to the temple one of the days she is here!

Surprise for Dave

I pulled off the surprise of a lifetime for Dave's birthday this year. I want to toot my own horn for a bit on how awesome it turned out. I arranged for his buddy Jeremy to fly in for them to have a "guys weekend". I have been on a few lady trips this year and I am always sneaking off to see my family. Dave has worked really hard this past year in school and makes a lot of sacrifices for Addison and I. Dave's birthday was on a Friday this year which worked out perfect. Dave was on his way back from Syracuse when I went to pick up Jeremy from the airport. I had told him that I had one more fast errand that I had forgotten about. He thought that we were going to go to a nice dinner that night and then go hiking all day the next day. I had even promised him that I would last like 10+ miles this time with no complaints. I really had him going:) Jeremy rang the back door bell and just as I predicted to Jeremy Dave went, "Jeremy? Dude!" He was pretty confused, but really excited. We jumped in the car and dropped Addison off at a friend's house so we could go out to eat. I made reservations at a place called, Chef's Italian. It was TERRIBLE. I felt bad that the meal and service was so bad. I tried to make up for it by serving fruit topped cheesecake for dessert. Addison gave her dad Kan Jam (a frisbee game) and I gave him a cool tungsten ring. He received lots of warm wishes and nice cards. Dave and Jeremy spent the weekend kayaking, mountain biking and camping. I regretted letting Dave be gone over Sunday as I wrestled Addison alone in sacrament meeting. They came home dirty and exhausted. I made a nice steak and corn dinner to end the weekend. It will be hard to top this birthday bash in the years to come! Thanks again Jeremy for taking the time off to come celebrate Buffalo style. Happy 28th Birthday Dave! We love you!

A Day at the Beach

My parents were dog sitting in Pittsburgh so I decided to meet them half way for the day at Presque Isle state park. It was beautiful! It had a ton of beaches and a few lighthouses to go see. The beaches were clean and Addison loved playing in the sand. She has gotten really good and backing up going down the stairs. She took this stance as she would get into the water and it was so funny to watch. It was the perfect day. One more day closer to Dave being done with Syracuse! 

Family Days

I have been passing the weeks that Dave is gone by visiting family. I was able to go to Pittsburgh for a week to hang out with Jen, Paul and Harley. Addison chased Harley up and down the stairs trying to share his toys. She found a new home in his kennel. She would back it up into the kennel and whisper, "WOOF" They have an L shaped set of stairs so Addi would get to the landing and peek around and say, "BOO"! We did a little shopping, went to a science museum and helped pick paint for their new home. I attempted to help paint the bathroom, but Addison wanted in on the fun and so I ended up playing with Addi while Jen finished painting. We caught up a lot of trashy teenage tv and nail painting with popcorn.