christmasssssssss

we started a new tradition on christmas eve. before we headed out to do my step-mom's family thing, addison got to open one present. i labeled it with a heart instead of an "a" like all of her other ones. so she had to do a little hunting to find it.

it was a pair of princess christmas pjs. i figured that since we'd be out late, they would be good for her to change in to and wear for christmas! it's definitely something that i want to continue to do.


so we headed out to do my step-mom's family christmas around 4:30 and we didn't leave until 9. and we still had to go back to my dad's and open presents. so needless to say, it was a long night.

addison had a lot of fun though. my step-mom's niece has two boys and addison is right in the middle of them age wise. so she always loves playing with them!

when we opened presents at my dad's, it got kind of ugly. addison wanted the same presents as everyone else, so she kept getting upset. i blame it on the fact that she was really tired.

when we got home, which was around 11, she had a hard time going to sleep. but after some cuddles, she passed out.

then i got to put on my santa hat. i had gotten the baby doll, stroller, and diaper bag from my dad earlier on christmas eve {they were already wrapped}, so i had to unwrap and open all of that. then i had to take her pink guitar out of the box. then it was just figuring out where to place everything!

i pretty much just stuffed as much in her stocking as i could. and everything that wouldn't fit sat on the floor beside it.

i finally went to bed around 1. i was exhausted.

luckily, addison was too. she didn't get up early or anything. chris came over christmas morning and we both went upstairs to wake her up.


she somehow got turned around in her bed. i honestly don't know how that happens.


chris brought her downstairs and made her close her eyes. she was SO excited to see all of her presents.





after addison got to play some with her santa gifts, we had a yummy breakfast. my granny spent the night christmas eve so she could be here christmas morning, so that was nice. after breakfast, we went and opened all of the gifts that were wrapped under the tree.

addison definitely racked up. i didn't go as overboard as last year, but i still went a little crazy. at least i'm going in the non-crazy direction.

addison's loot included {but not limited to}: bitty baby + stroller + diaper bag; pink barbie guitar; pink hunter boots; 2 pairs of toms {silver sequined from papa and mimi & purple herringbone from friends}; ariel & tangled barbies; clothes {4 shirts + furry jacket + purple coat + white skinnies + denim jacket + 2 pairs of pjs + tights); 2 scarves; mermaid potato head; picnic playdoh; llama llama book; cupcake cake pan; mix & measuring set; animal cookie cutters; candyland; hello kitty umbrella. that's all i can think of. now that i'm listing it out, i realize how much it was. and i'm sure i'm forgetting a few things. goal for next year: go less crazy with presents.

her stocking was full of random things. hello kitty undies + chapstick + nail polish + coloring book + stickers + other things.

yes, my child is spoiled {just like her mother}.

but seriously. look how adorable she is with her baby. and in her new toms. sometimes i wish i could borrow her clothes.


i won't go into much details about what i got from santa, because that just isn't as exciting as what addison got. but i did get some cute new clothes, for work and play. and lots of gift cards, which i'm super excited about using. santa brought me my watch that i have been lusting after {i was planning on buying it with my first check from my internship}. he {or should i say she, aka my mom} surprised me with it early. i'm totally in love with it!

christmas this year was a blast. i'm so glad i got to experience watching addison get excited about everything and tearing into presents. this was the first year that she has really gotten into it, and it was awesome! i'm excited about the years to come. but for now, i'm ready to regain energy from christmas chaos and relax before my crazy semester starts {in less than a week!}

happy birthday gigi!

happy birthday mom!



you are a wonderful mom and gigi. i don't think addison and i could have done any better!

hope you have a great day!

it's santa time

i don't think addison could have been more excited to see santa this year.

when i told her we were going to see santa, i asked what she was going to tell him she wanted. she could only come up with 2 things. a doll and a pink guitar.


when he asked her what she wanted, she got shy and said she didn't know. but after talking to him for a minute, she warmed up and told him her 2 things.



i love the place we go to. we went last year and again this year, and they have been great both times. we didn't have to wait to see santa. and we can take our own pictures!


addison last year with santa.


and the year before that.

funny thing about her wanting a doll. on black friday, my mom told me that american girl was having a sale. so i looked on there, and decided to suggest that papa and mimi {my dad and step mom} get addison a bitty baby for christmas. i also picked out a cute diaper bag and stroller. i figured that if addison got a nice baby doll, we could get rid of the rest and she could just have one.

who would have known that my idea would have been the only thing she wants. the doll, diaper bag, and stroller are already wrapped under papa and mimi's tree. but i talked to them about switching gifts so santa could give her that stuff, and they were fine with it. so i'm just going to wrap some of the gifts i got addison for papa and mimi to give her, and we'll swap.

and i ran out this morning and got a pink guitar. from santa, of course. it's a barbie one. and it's obnoxious. i don't know how long it will last. it may be returned to the store. we'll see.

rudolph the red nosed reindeer

last week addison had her first school performance.

each of the classes at her school did a different christmas song.

her class sang rudolph the red nosed reindeer.

we had been practicing singing it for a little while.

she was super excited about singing.

all the kids wore christmas pjs. {of course addison needed a new pair for the occasion}.

i was scared she would get stage fright and not want to sing.

some of the kids before her, which were in the younger classes, got upset. nothing too bad though.

let me just say, it was hilarious. she was adorable. as soon as she got up on the stage, she waved at EVERYONE. she was smiling and waving like it was her job.

then when the music started, she stood there and sang and danced. it was adorable. and i couldn't stop laughing. i was so proud. it made me so extremely happy. i can't believe how big she is.


it was a little dark, so the pictures weren't great. but i will never forget the first time she got up on a stage to perform, and just how cute and funny it was.

oh, and i'm pretty sure addison had the most fans. there were 10 of us. me, her dad, my mom, my granny, my step-brother and step-sister, maegen, jenna, haley, and jake. so ya, my child has groupies!

addison's christmas list // 2011

well, addison didn't exactly put this list together. when i asked what she was going to tell santa she wants, she said "micky mouse strawberries". i have no clue where she got that. just putting together 2 of her favorite things. but i thought these would be things she'd like. and some of them have already been ordered.


1. bitty baby stroller // $48
2. bitty baby // $48
3. bitty baby diaper bag set // $36
4. martha stewart mix and measure prep set // $19.99
5. pink leotard // $15
6. llama llama home with mama // $15
7. kids original hunter boot // $75
8. pink tiny toms // $34
9. toddler cardy uggs // $120
10. disney princess briefs & hello kitty briefs // $18 each
11. sally hansen insta dry nail polish in fuchsia flare and chartreuse chase // $2.49 each

i love spoiling addison. i'm so excited for her this christmas! she loves opening presents now and seeing everything, so it's going to be so much fun.

i can't wait for christmas!!

christmas-y

santa's coming!!! i know him!!! -- from my favorite christmas movie.

oh, christmas. i love it so much! especially the decorating and shopping.

which is why i wanted to give my blog a little holiday love.


source
yay for christmas!!

meet jerry + first day of presents

this year we decided to start the elf on the shelf tradition.

we read the book on wednesday and addison named her elf. i have no idea where she comes up with certain names. but we now have elf jerry to look over her and report back to santa.

yesterday morning was the first day he was out, and he was eating breakfast when addison came downstairs.


i'm hoping jerry will encourage addison to be on her best behavior, since he's reporting to santa and all. i know i will be!!

addison also gets a present every day in december until christmas. it was something my mom did for me, so i wanted to do it for addison. i always loved getting to open something every day. they aren't big gifts, just little things from the dollar section of target and such.

so last night she got to open her first present. and she was really excited about it.





she opened green nail polish. i wanted her to open it well before christmas so her nails could be green {kinda christmas-y}, so i'm glad it was her first gift! it's sally hansen insta-dri nail polish. i heard that it actually dries fast {sometimes nail polish doesn't do what it says it does}, so i thought it would be good for addison. since she never sits still and all. i painted her nails last night and it does dry super fast! score.

finger and feet craft

a few months ago, addison made a super cute craft for her dad's birthday.

of course i found it on pinterest.

she made a caterpillar with her fingers, and then a butterfly with her feet.

i'm not going to lie. painting with a toddler is kinda difficult. especially when you're trying to actually make something and not just paint for fun. but she liked painting and having her feet painted and seeing the final product. she was quite proud!


butterfly // caterpillar
i think it turned out really cute!! i'm excited to make more {messy} crafts with addison!

big things

big things are happening.

for me.

a month or so ago i applied to graduate. it's kind of weird that you have to apply to graduate. i thought you only applied to get into school.

but, i had to apply to graduate. which will officially happen in may.

i will graduate college in may.

i guess technically it will be the second time. but this will be the first time i walk. i graduated from community college in may 2010 with my associate degree, but i didn't walk. i'm definitely walking this time, though.

a few weeks ago i got accepted to graduate school. i'll be going to school even longer {i may be crazy}. i'm really excited, though, and i know it will pay off. i'll still be at belmont...yay! i really do love belmont and all of the friends i've made there. and even {some of} my teachers.

and, to add to what i'll be doing next semester, i got an internship!

i'm really excited, and equally nervous about it.

i didn't know if i'd be able to do an internship, or even if i would get one. i decided to apply to a couple part time ones that were posted on belmont's career site to see if i would get any interviews. i figured if anything, it would be good experience to interview. i ended up getting an on-campus interview with one firm, which led to an interview at the firm. and that meant i needed a suit. cue crazy suit search. but it was successful and i got a suit that i love. and i'm kind of excited to dress business casual 3 days a week. don't know how i'll feel when i have to do that 5 days a week. i am sad that i'm going to have to take out my nose ring. it's not really a ring, just a stud. barely noticeable. but i don't think that's acceptable in accounting. i'm planning on taking it out in the morning and putting it back in when i get off work. every day. we'll see how long that lasts. {i'm sure my dad is hoping it doesn't last long}

anywho, next semester is going to be crazy. super duper crazy.

i'll have 2 undergrad classes {all i need to graduate!!!!!!}, 2 graduate classes, and my internship 3 days a week. and of course being a mommy 8 days a week, 30 hours a day. lots of mommying over here.

i'm nervous about being an adult. having a big girl job. juggling something else on top of what i already am doing.

so i will officially have no life.

i'm ok with it though. it will be totally worth it.

birthday day

we started out addison's birthday with some lovely cuddles.

i actually blew up balloons the night before to put in her room. i got the idea from mandy at harper's happenings. i was so excited for addison to wake up and see all of them!

but, she woke up pretty early saying she needed to go potty and then she wanted to sleep with me. so she didn't really get to wake up and see them, but as soon as she woke up {which was later than usual. happy addison's birthday to me too!} she went into her room and was so excited!


we spent a good part of the day just playing in her room with her balloons.

she had a super healthy breakfast.


yes, a cupcake for the birthday girl.

we went to lunch with gigi and granny at one of addison's favorite places, firehouse. kid's eat free on mondays so we hit that up a lot. and then got this awesome new coke machine. it's just one thing and has a touch screen and a button to push to dispense your drink. i want one. i'm a dork. ok, enough about that.

addison worn her princess tiara most of the day, and i didn't object. it was her birthday.

it was raining too, so she wore her rain boots. and jumped in lots of puddles. i've taught her well.



apparently you're supposed to do the chicken dance on your birthday. she has no clue what the chicken dance is, but it sure looked like she was doing it when i was taking her picture.

if you look closely, you can see her present piled up in the background. we had her party on sunday, so her presents were already opened. and she got a lot. which means i will be doing some toy organization/purging. while addison sleeps, of course.

her third birthday day was quite the success. we didn't do anything too exciting because we were both still exhausted from the party the day before. but we got to hang out and play all day long, which was a win.

three

i still remember almost every detail three years ago.

that i had lunch with my dad. that i was trying to organize addison's closet. that i thought i peed on myself while doing said organizing. that i soon realized that actually my water broke. that i couldn't get ahold of my mom. that i called mary and calmly asked what she was doing, and when she said she was at work i started screaming and crying that my water broke. that i didn't have a bag packed because my due date was still 16 days away. that i finally calmed down and packed a bag and headed to the hospital about an hour later. then addison was born about 8 hours later.

i can't believe it's been 3 years. that a year has already passed from you turning two. i have a feeling this will continue happen from year to year.

i love the things that you're doing at this age. you constantly crack me up with the things you say. you pick up on everything, which sometimes bites me in the ass {she can't read yet}. i'm amazed at the things you can remember. i'm so proud of the little girl you're becoming. i can't wait to watch you grow and do more and more. two was a great year, and i'm sure three will be just as awesome.

happy third birthday pookie. i love you more than you can imagine.

randoms

oh blog. you have become neglected.

i'm sorry.

my dad has been pestering me to post some pictures, so here i am. finally blogging. and it's going to be a bunch of random stuff since halloween.

addison went to her first classmate's birthday party the saturday before halloween. i'm so glad we went! i was able to meet a few of the parents and watched addison play with some of her new friends. and she had SO much fun. they had playtime, snacks, cupcakes, face painting, balloon animals, and goodie bags. i want to be invited to a birthday party like that.


addison and i went to my friend's halloween party later that night. addison was a pirate, and my friend and i were mr. and mrs. potato head. i was the mr. and haley was the mrs. i made them the night before for only $9 i think. super cheap. we found the pullovers at cvs for $1 each {who woulda thought!}. and then we just got felt and velcro {i made them to where you could move the pieces around so we could swap throughout the night. that was a lot of wasted effort because it would have been just as easy to switch pullovers. oh well. they were cute!}


on halloween, we still have 2 pumpkins that needed to be carved. so i looked up some stencils and settled on one. i thought it may be kind of hard, and it was. mainly because the pumpkin was so freaking thick. whatever. it was totally worth it. turned out super cute.

i love hello kitty!


we went to the zoo last week with my friend amy. it was a perfect day. i didn't know how many more days we'd have like that, so i wanted to take advantage of it. we went through the whole zoo, which we hadn't done in a while. there were a ton of kids there on field trips, but they were all dispersed so it didn't seem that bad.


addison is obsessed with all of my friends. so whenever they're around, she wants to play with them and not me. so she wanted amy to take her to see the meerkats.


we went to the petting zoo and a lot of the goats were actually out. so addison got to run around and pet a lot of them. one of which was quite fond of me and my sweater. i had forgotten that they like to eat clothes.


and addison promptly passed out on the way home. seriously passed out. i tried to wake her up to get lunch and nothing. if i hadn't had to drive, i would have passed out too.