Birthday Girl

Addison turned 1 today. I really cannot believe my youngest baby is already a year old. Time has gone so quickly. It has taught me that I shouldn't just have another child so I can have a "baby/infant". They stay that big for a day and then they're 1.

We had a fun day even though Daddy was on a business trip. We met Heather & boys (and both grandma's) and our friend Deidre and son Will at "Going Bonkers" this morning. The kids had a blast and got worn out just in time for afternoon naps. We finished the day by going out to dinner with cake & ice cream. The big boys don't care who's birthday it is just as long as there is cake & ice cream. They all sang Happy Birthday to Addison in unison. It was quite cute.

The chair in the picture is her birthday present. She loves chairs and this one has been put to great use in the first day so I know it will be well worth the money.

We had her birthday party this past Sunday. She was sick so she wasn't quite herself but at least she wasn't a total grouch. We had a bounce house in the basement for the older kids. Before Addison was born we barely knew 1 little girl but we had 4 girls under 1 year at the party. Riley, Addison's best friend, came all the way from Florida to visit and be at her party. We had a great visit with them and it was sad to see them go home. We are so excited to go visit them and Mickey Mouse in the fall.

She is walking in full force now. Still a little wobbly but it is her primary way of getting places now. Another love for her lately is stairs. Nana has gotten her very spoiled and its about all she wants to do lately. She gets very angry at gates that try to stop her.

Jackson is just about the best big brother anyone could ever ask for. He's super sweet and never wants her to go to bed or nap without hugs and kisses. We're working on sharing and making him realize that she doesn't know how to be gentle with his things. He is particular about his toys and she comes through like a tornado.

Jackson loves preschool and they keep telling me how sweet he is. He's starting to learn his letters and how to draw letters and numbers. He amazes us daily with his vocabulary and just his funny charm.

Life is hectic and busy for some reason but so much fun.

Christmas

I'm almost certain this was the best Christmas yet. It was so much fun watching the kids on Christmas morning. Jackson was dying to know who saw Santa and when we said that we hadn't seen him he wanted to know who had. He just asked yesterday where Santa was now and what he was doing. There is nothing like being at home for Christmas. I love all the traditions- especially the ones that come now that the kids are getting old enough to know and love them too! We got to spend a lot of time with family which is so special. We spent the Sunday before Christmas with cousins, aunts & uncle on the Chapman side, Christmas eve with my family, Christmas morning with the 4 of us and then went to Nate's parents for the day. Addison had a playhouse waiting for her and it was all she wanted to do- forget the presents they were boring compared to climbing all over her playhouse. Whereas Jackson wanted to open every present under the tree- and then some. I was impressed, however, with him caring for each present. He took time and wanted to play with each gift before going on to the next one. Nathan was smart and unpackaged the difficult ones the night before and we just sat those under the tree. I'm not quite sure of his favorite present- the green tractor, ambulance, all the books and games, dump truck from Gram, scooter from Gram, cash register from auntie or his love for his new camera from Nana. They have all been popular. His favorite just might be Addison's ball popper. Addison got some great gifts too- playhouse, dollies (which she isn't into... yet), popper, clothes and a great doll house bookshelf (from Gram). She isn't into things as delicate as dolls and is more destructive and into banging and knocking things over. Addison started walking this week. 10 steps is her max right now but she is constantly doing 4-5 and then falling. She finally caught on that she can get somewhere walking and is doing it a lot more now instead of just giving up and crawling. She's a super quick crawler so that is still her quickest means. She is also a climber and throws FITS to get up on anything- the stairs are her new love. We're looking forward to an eventful 2008. Addy turns 1 in a few weeks. Cousins move within 1/4 mile in less than 2 months. That is perhaps what we are looking forward to the most. How fun it will be to see each other constantly!! For Heather & I and the kids... not sure about Nate & Phil! Nate & I go on our first vacation since Addison the end of February- Cobo San Lucas. Enjoy!

Santa? or not?

I was excited when Jackson was eager to go see Santa. On Friday, Ashton & Jackson saw Santa at another mall in St. Loius and they both waved and wanted to go over and see Santa. So last night we packed up the family and braved the wintery mix and headed to the mall. We arrived at Santa. Jackson was instantly nervous and didn't want to go up to Santa. With my help he went and sat on Santa's lap and I handed Addison to Santa. As I was walking away Addison looked up at Santa and started wailing. I must say that I can't blame her much- I was a little afraid of Santa myself. So... no pictures with Santa. BUT as we were leaving Jackson was asking when he could go back and see Santa. Maybe we'll try again... On friday, Nana & Papa took all three boys on a train ride from Jeff City to St. Louis. Heather & I drove to St. Louis for a little shopping and to pick them up. They were 2 hours delayed in leaving but wasted time at McDonalds. The boys LOVED the train and are still talking about the tunnels, freight trains they met and the conductors. I think Nana had about as much fun as the boys and is looking forward to another trip next year and adding Addison to the mix. Heather & I are looking forward to another shopping trip :). Addison's foot update: tomorrow will be our 3rd visit to the PT. I felt so great after the last appointment we had with Debbie (her PT). Addison does so well and I can see her progress. Addison and I have been working at home on exercises and she is doing so well. She has taken her first step by herself and I feel this is the perfect time to be working so hard on her feet. I'm confident that we can get her walking and standing straight. Happy Holidays!

Jackson's 1st Day of Preschool!

The call we've all been waiting for came and Jackson started pre-school last week. All a bit sudden for me (and Gram). Tomorrow will be his 2nd day. I asked him today if he was ready to go back and he said "not quite yet".

His first day went perfectly. Cousin Ashton was quite the nurturer and made sure Jackson knew everyone and what to do and when to do it. I stayed and watched him for the first hour but he never needed or wanted me. The teacher told me that when they were coming in from playing outside- around lunch time- Jackson asked if it was time for lunch. When she replied yes he said, "I brought my lunch in my lunchbox!". He was very excited about his new lunch box and packing a lunch.

I really think he will do great with pre-school. I think it will help build his confidence. He likes people to help him do things- and I'm very guilty of doing things for him. It has gotten better since sister came along but he sometimes wants more attention because sister is here- he wants to be the baby.

Speaking of the baby- which she is NOT anymore... she has two teeth now. It came in on Friday but really popped up yesterday. Addison is seeing a PT and we are working on her walking. She has a problem with her flat feet and they always face outward. We have our 2nd appointment with the PT tomorrow. I do exercises with her and try to build her muscles in her ankles and ankles.

Addy has started throwing things and is working through cause & effect. Oh, if I throw this it will be on the floor instead of in my high chair... how cool is that?! And then mommy has to pick it up! Yea for me! She finds throwing facinating. I find it extremely frustrating!

The picture is of Addison riding in the back of Jackson's BIG dump truck. He had been pushing her around before this picture. And then yesterday she was pushing him in the dump truck! They are quite the pair- Jackson can do NOTHING wrong in the eyes of little sister.

Sickness and a tooth!

The "well" doctor check turned into sickness. Jackson started running a fever on Saturday and yesterday was our first day without one. But Addison woke up with one instead! Jackson still has a very bad cough which in turn hurts his throat. On Friday night we couldn't understand him very well- he kept telling us that his mouth hurt and pointing inside. We got the flashlight out and everything... and finally figured out (when he started losing his voice) that it was his throat that hurt. It has been a tough/needy/whiny week. Wednesday morning I needed 2 laps because they both HAD to sit on my lap and snuggle (didn't mind the snuggling bit!). We've called the doctor and its going around and just needs to take its course. Yesterday afternoon (after a very crabby/needy day with Addy) I saw a tooth coming in! So... at this point we're not sure if she has the sickness or just teething. I'm suspecting this could just be teeth. Her gums are all swollen. So after a week of sickness we are now starting to deal with the spoiled rotten boy that I've turned Jackson into while he's been sick! He's still not feeling up to par but I can tell its going to be a tough weekend. Sorry, no pictures of my sick kiddos. I'll try to get a picture of that tooth! It's almost like she knows about it cause I'll talk about it and she'll just smile so big. Precious.

Doctor visit

We ALL went to the doctor this week (Nathan came with us- thankfully) for well- checks. Jackson's 3 yr and Addison's 9 month. The kiddo's look great- still keeping their 100% figures.

Addison is scheduled to see a PT & OT later this month for her feet. Both feet go outward when she walks and she walks on the side of her left foot quite bad. We also have to buy her some high top shoes to keep her ankle and foot straight and strong.

Last night Grandpa & Grandma Chapman came over to visit. Dr. Jackson worked on Grpa- he had some monkey's in his ears and some ticks on his back. I think after some medicine and some very odd care Dr. Jackson got him feeling better. It was a sight to see- Grandpa laying down on Dr. Jacksons towel getting checked over by a 3 yr old. Grandpa was a very good patient.

Meanwhile, Grandma was holding Addison- surprising how Addison was just sitting there very peaceful. I got the camera out and when I started shooting pictures and telling Addison to say cheese she would wrinkle up her nose in the funniest way. I had never seen her do it before when I took a picture- she often does something to that sort when she's being dramatic. I guess that was her way of smiling and saying cheese. I would set the camera down and she'd go back to a pleasant face but when I picked the camera up and faced it towards her she'd wrinkle her face back up again. Quite the character.

Month of October

I guess this is starting to be a trend. I am making a November resolution to start blogging more... we shall see... What a busy month October was. Every weekend we had something major- starting with my 10-year reunion and the rest of the weekends were filled with friends birthday parties. It seems that all of Jackson's friends (and a cousin- and Jackson) have birthdays in October. We had a lot of fun! We had a great visit from Nathan's relatives. Nathan's Aunt, Aunt & Uncle, cousins and their 3 kids came to visit in early October. Jackson fell in love with Cora (age 7) and Dominic (9?). They played so great and were so cute with Jackson and Addison. Jackson is still talking about them and misses them so much. They live in Tuscan so we don't see them often. That needs to change! Then we had Jackson's party on the 21st. It was a construction theme where Uncle Phil brought his bobcat and gave all the kids rides. Then Nathan got the great idea (I wasn't thrilled about it at first but it turned out to be so much fun) of getting the lawn mower out and pulling Jackson's wagon behind it. It hauled 2-3 kids in it and a kid on Nate's lap driving- up & down the driveway for probably an hour. We also had a big pile of rocks, plenty of dump trucks and some loaders to work with. Jackson got a bunch of new toys which still take up the entire living room space and give us lots of enjoyment each day. The next weekend brought us Parkers bonfire/hay ride party. That was a blast. It was out at mom & dad's house, it was a cool night and perfect for roasting marshmellows and enjoying the tractor/hay ride. A few days later we got together AGAIN for halloween at Shana & Chad's (Lauren's) house. Dee & Tim supplied pizza and salad and we all went trick-o-treating. Addison was a bumble bee (compliments of Lauren) and Jackson was a fireman. We had the best looking bunch on the whole street. Farmer Parker & Elephant Lauren took the prize for cutest outfits. We also had princess Alexa, pirate Blaine, cheerleader Erin, thomas the train Jordan, Superman Ashton, Street patrolman Will (most creative- and best at his role). Except for a few falls from running too fast we had a perfect night. Jackson keeps surprising me daily with what phrases he comes up with. I have got to start writing them all down. He has been a super sweet boy lately- bringing mommy flowers from his kitchen and snuggling each night before bed. He tries very hard to be a big 3yr old boy. The other day we were leaving the park and he was throwing a fit because he didn't want to leave. We get in the car and he's still crying and throwing a fit and all the sudden he shuts off the crying and says "mommy, I'm a big boy now". It was day & night in seconds! Addison is busy as ever. She is all over the place and impossible to distract from anything. I realized the other day that she had eaten a moth. She was being so quiet... I should have caught on quicker. Quietness is not good! She is 9 months old- loud as ever, crusing like a pro, pushing a walker or anything else that moves, starting to get into cabinets and has really started talking- screeching/screaming (happily). She is saying mama, dada, more, bye bye, ball and the other night at Shana's she said uh-oh out of the blue. She is also starting to say Jackson- you can't understand it but I was calling for him (holding her) and she repeated me with the same syllables. Talking seems to be her focus right now. A month or so ago it was her gross motor- trying to walk, pull up and such. She is still progressing at that but is really trying to talk. She can also sign "more" and "all done". She waves and claps too. She is such a happy girl (especially when she's on my hip) and is really getting animated. Enjoying our busy life. Looking forward to the holidays, Addison 1st Christmas and Jackson's 3rd. We are home for all of it. More soon!!!