catching up - 5!!

addison had a big birthday this year. she turned 5! it's still hard for me to believe that i have a 5 year old. partly because i can't believe it's been 5 years since she's been born and partly because it makes me feel super old.

her birthday morning she woke up with tangled balloons in her room. her party was tangled themed (can you tell what her favorite is? well, was. now it's all things frozen). we went to mexican that night to celebrate her birthday (we have a thing for mexican). she got whipped cream in her face and got to wear the sombrero. she kinda loved it.

the next day i worked a half day and went and got addison out of school early. we had a girls afternoon with lunch and a manicure at a little kids place (that had hello kitty pedicure stations. i need). and then some last minute errands before her big party!!

catching up - november

addison had her picture taken at school // i met keith bulluck before a titans game (and took shots with him. woo!) // addison saw santa at home depot // she then built something (what, i can't remember) // haley and i ran 5 miles on thanksgiving morning (and came in 2nd and 3rd in our age group!!) // addison and my mom ran a 5k that morning (addison got to lounge for part in her stroller but ran some too)

that was about all the excitement for november. well, not ALL. because addison turned 5!!!

catching up - september & october

let's try this again. almost 6 months since i last blogged. oops. i'm going to do some posts just to catch up on lost time. then maybe (hopefully) i'll keep up with blogging from now on.

september:
we go to workshops at home depot and lowes once a month for addison to build things. we go pretty regularly and addison has accumulated a nice collection of useless cute crafts.

i took addison to see beauty and the beast at TPAC at the end of september. it was so good and addison and i both loved it! she did really well and got really into it. i can't wait to take her to more plays (we also went to the nutcracker before christmas - her first time).

october:
i LOVE disney on ice. i think i get equally as excited as addison (maybe even more). addison dressed in her tutu skirt and wore her tiara. her and gigi split a funnel cake (they both LOVE them), and chris and i got to be adults and drink a couple beers. they really are smart for selling beer at the kids things.

halloween!! i kept with my tradition and made addison's costume. she wanted to be tangled, naturally. i got the little crochet top and tulle from etsy. i found a costume that i really liked and thought i could make and i went for it. i think it turned out super cute! it wasn't really all that difficult (once i actually did it. i'm a terrible procrastinator). addison loved it, which is really all that matters.

we went to a halloween party where i wore my dorothy costume from when i was like 7 (thanks mom for making it!). i put out halloween candy at my cube and decorated at work (halloween hello kitty!! i may have a problem). we went to the zoo for their halloween thing again and had lots of fun. addison always gets a kick out of going there and riding the hayride and the spooky carousel. and the candy, of course. she posed with gigi's skeleton flamingos (gigi loves flamingos, if you didn't know). on halloween, addison got sick at school. she ended up missing her school party but felt better later in the day. the weather was supposed to be nasty so we went to city hall for their trick or treating thing and then addison handed out candy all night. i think she likes handing out candy more than going to get candy (she gets to hand it out AND snack on it at the same time - win win).

and some random from october. addison being herself and jumping on her bed. and in her 3d glasses from when we got to go see free birds (for free!) before it came out in the theater.

coming up: november, december, january, and other fun things that happened. woo!

the fair! the fair!

we love the fair. we took addison for the first time last year and had so much fun, so i knew i wanted to do it again this year.

we went on a sunday - the weather was perfect {aside from the rain right at the end} and we all got our hands stamped so we could get unlimited rides. addison definitely got the most out of her stamp. my mom and i probably just broke even, but it was much better than having to deal with tickets and such.

addison was big enough {and more adventurous enough} to want to do some other rides. we rode the tilt-a-whirl {or whatever it was called} two times in a row. she was a little scared at first, but after the first time, she ran back in line {and tried to cut some people} because she wanted to ride it again. i'm glad i hadn't had any fair food before that ride because it probably would've made a second appearance.

addison has decided to call the ferris wheel the merry-go-round. luckily we still knew what she was talking about. they had a smaller one that we rode right when we got there, and a big one that we rode towards the end. i'm not going to lie - i was a little scared. not so much before, but when we were on it - no thank you. but we survived. and it was fun. and most importantly, addison loved it.

and of course we got some fair food. my mom loves funnel cakes, so she and addison split one of those. i thought i should try some other fried food that you can only get at the fair {i got a fried snickers last year}, so i got fried reese's. oh. my. god. so good. i don't know if i'll want to try something different next year.

we also got roasted corn right before we left. i'm going to just say we broke even with that and the fried food {even though the corn was dipped in butter}.

i'm already ready to go back next year. who knew i would be so excited about the fair?

beach vaca

my mom, addison, and i went to the beach a couple months ago. we went to the same place my mom and i went last summer. lucky for us, the beach trip with addison this year was much less sea-weedy, which meant we spent a lot more time on the beach.


i went on a couple morning runs on the beach.
we had a bunch of fun in the sand.
addison was braver than me and wanted to go far out in the ocean.
we ate at some yummy places.
we went putt putting {addison did much better this year. she even hit a hole in one!}
addison got to put a stingray and touch a snake.
we went to a movie on a rainy day.
we made friends.
and my mom wrote a note in the sand to addison that we could see from the room.

it was a really fun trip. i'm already looking forward to our next trip to the beach {and wishing it would happen soon}.

mani/pedi time

my mom, addison, and i got mani/pedis before we went on our trip to the beach {2 months ago).

it was addison's first time to get a professional mani/pedi {i know it might be shocking that i'm not a professional. i just have skills}.

addison did great! her favorite part was having her feet in the water. and the sparkly nail polish she picked out.

well, hello

we're still alive!

just a little busy.

but hopefully life will be slowing down and i'll have time to start blogging again. ya know, about our beach trip in june and the 4th of july and other fun things.

for now, here's the little girl that won't stop growing. or being awesome.

sounds game

addison and i got free tickets {5th row on the third base line} thanks to some friends a little over a week ago {score!}. and a bunch of other friends came too. it was also "throwback thursday". aka thirsty thursday. so there were deals on beer and some food. and the weather was fabulous. so we all had a good time!

addison charmed one of my friend's boyfriend into getting her some dippin dots. she's got that affect on my friends. i also got her cotton candy. my dad always told me kids who get cotton candy aren't loved by their parents, which was his was of getting out of ever buying it for me. dad, you'll be happy to know she took about 2 bites and was done.

addison is slightly obsessed with the sounds mascot. she was determined to find him and ended up seeing him a couple times. he gave her a kiss and she wouldn't stop talking about it. i'm glad he wasn't stinky like he was when we went to a game last year.

one of my friends went to take addison to get more food {kid's an endless pit sometimes} and she ended up on getting picked up to get on top of the dugout to dance.

the game didn't end until well past addison's bedtime. but i promised her she could run around the bases, so we stayed until the very end. and addison flew around the bases {i don't think she touched any of them}. she also had a crowd cheering her on.

i'm planning on taking addison to a few more games this season. fun and cheap entertainment!

swim lessons // week 1

we're back at it again. swim lessons!! it's hard to believe this is addison's 3rd year. let's recap on the past 2 years, shall we?

2011
week 1 - part 1 // part 2 // week 2 // week 3

2012
week 1 - part 1 // part 2 // week 2

it's hard to believe that she's the same child as the one from the first year.

day 1:
i'd be lying if i said i wasn't dreading the first day. we had been talking about swim lessons for a few weeks and she was really excited. we went to my dad's pool and tried to practice once, and addison didn't do great at first. but towards the end she got much better. even so, she started to talk about how she didn't want to go to swim lessons. she would randomly bring it up and would say "i think i'm going to be sick for swim lessons."

so day 1 came and off we went. i talked it up the whole morning and ride there. addison didn't seem too scared or anything, but i wasn't sure. we got there and she went right in without fussing. all the teachers remembered her and gave her hugs and kisses.

for the first part of class, ms. carolyn talked with the parents out on the deck so we couldn't see the kids. after she was done, she told some of us we could go in. even though she said i could, i was still hesitant because i didn't know if addison would get upset. i peaked my head in and addison saw me and smiled and waved, so i took that as my cue that i could go in.

i went in and watched the rest of her class and she did great!! it's so amazing how different she is from the past 2 years.

day 2:
chris and i went to her class the next day. she was awesome. it's fun being able to sit by the pool and watch opposed to hiding and trying to see.

they worked on blowing bubbles and being a "sleeping fish" {just blowing bubbles underwater and not moving}. addison kept moving her arms and legs at first, but she caught on and stayed completely still at the end. and then happily jumped off the diving board.

day 3:
it was pretty uneventful. they just continued to practice blowing bubbles, floating on their backs, and flutter kicking.

day 4:
they started off class with laying on their backs for 15 minutes. they did that last year too, and it always amazes me to see the kids just floating there for so long. they'll float into each other and the teachers will move them apart, but they never flinch.

day 5:
last day! addison was excited to be done. which was kind of funny because she loved it while she was there. they got to dive for rings at the end like usual, and all the kids loved that.

and to make this post even longer, here is a SUPER high quality {not} video of some stuff they did!


addison has another week of lessons at the end of the summer. we're going to go to the pool as much as we can and practice with her. she'll be a little fish in no time!

lately

addison went to the beach with her dad last week. she was gone the entire week. so i had a whole week of no work or addison. i missed her a bunch {but it was kind of nice having me time}. while she was gone, i went to the pool and studied for the next part of the CPA exam i take. relaxing time with a side of being a grown up. oh well. at least i'm not a ghost anymore!

also while she was gone, my mom and i did something we had been talking about doing for a while. we got tattoos! it was the first for both of us. my mom got the symbol for hakuna matata above her right ankle. i wanted to get something for addison but that i could add to if i ever have more kids. so i got her birthday in roman numerals on my right side. i kind of love it. a lot. whenever i see it i have to do a double take because i can't believe i did it. and i kinda like looking at it.

remember when i got hooded? and finished grad school? i finally went by school and picked up my diploma. it feels so official now! NO MORE SCHOOL! i think it will really hit me when summer school starts, and especially when school starts back this fall.

my friends and i are newly obsessed with the game ellen degeneres created called "heads up". i love ellen and pretty much anything she does, so it should've been a given that i would love her game. my friends and i played it this weekend and had so much fun. we even played it at a bar. we may have gotten weird looks but we didn't notice because we were having so much fun.

addison came back late saturday night and i picked her up sunday morning. after i stopped to get her some welcome home donuts. we played at home and ran some errands. and got one of my favorite summer treats - icees! i always get coke and cherry mixed. and i make sure to put cherry on top. i have a feeling we'll be getting a lot of those this summer.

well if that wasn't random, i don't know what is. but that's what's been going on lately. addison has swim lessons this week and has been a rock star. she's so different that the first year she went. i'll update on that at the end of the week :)

puddle jumping // again

such an awesome puddle. how could i say no?

girl can get some air.

mother's day weekend

mother's day weekend started on friday with muffins with mom at addison's school. it was raining that morning and addison has been obsessed with umbrellas lately, so i let her use one to walk to the car.

saturday we had a couple graduation parties to go to. addison was super excited to see everyone.

addison got me a card and painted me a mug for mother's day. i'm a big coffee drinker now, so the mug is perfect. i love it!!

we had a big day with my mom on mother's day. the three of us went to brunch and then went to lion king at TPAC.

it was addison's first time to something like that and she did great! we watched lion king the night before to get her ready for seeing it. she was so into it at the theater! she sat on the edge of her seat and would talk to me about lots of the things that happened.

it was definitely a lot of fun! it's amazing to see how they can make people into animals. and i love all the songs! beauty and the beast will be there this fall, so i'm thinking i'll take addison to see that. i love going to these things just as much as she does. maybe even more.

i'm DONE!!!

NO MORE SCHOOL!!!

my hooding ceremony was 2 weeks. i decided not to walk at graduation since i walked last year for undergrad and i didn't want to go sit through it again. the hooding ceremony was just for graduate students, so it was much shorter. i still have to go get my diploma though since i didn't walk.

i told addison i was graduating and would be done with school forever. she was so excited! and then she asked when i graduated from work so i would be done with work forever. i wish that's how it worked.

we stopped by to see granny before we went to the ceremony. and then we went to chagos for happy hour. it's a mexican restaurant right by school that some of my friends and i would go to for happy hour. a lot. like to the point that they knew us. i'm gonna miss that place.

it's hard to believe that i'm finally done. and that i have my masters degree!!! in accounting, of all things. but i'm a dork and i kinda love it.

now i just need to finish up the CPA exam, which i CANNOT wait to be done with.

i start work full time in june at the firm i've been interning at. i sometimes stop and think "when did this happen? when did i grow up?". and i have no idea when it happened. well, i may have not grown up completely, but i'm definitely getting there.

the color run // round 2

a little while ago addison and i did the color run. ya, i'm a little late blogging about it. oh well.

my mom, amy and i did it back in october and it was so much fun!

this time, my mom, addison and i were going to do it. one of my friends and her mom were going to do it too, so we were all going to meet up. my mom ended up not being able to do it, so amy did it again with us!

this was addison's first time to do the color run. i took the stroller because i figured she'd want to be in it for at least a little while.

the stroller was a waste. addison was in it for about 5 minutes and then she hopped out and ran the rest of the race.

i was really amazed/impressed that she ran so much.




we had a blast! addison especially. she wanted to get right in the middle of the party after the race and cried when it was time to leave.

since the race, she's done a couple 5ks. like ran the whole thing. it's pretty amazing.

we'll definitely be running the color run the next time it comes to town. without the stroller.

tools, tea, and a dance party

last saturday we had a big morning.

my mom has taken addison to the kids workshops at lowes and home depot a lot, but i've never taken her because of school. but since school is over now, i took her to one that was at home depot. when my mom takes her, they come home with complicated looking things {and my mom usually tells me that it was slightly difficult to make}. apparently i went on the day they made the easiest thing ever. and i'm not complaining!

after we finished at home depot, we headed home to change for a tea party. my mom found it and signed addison up. it was in one of the historic houses at the park near our house. addison wore a princess dress. and her rain boots. she's too cool. she took her bitty baby {it was an american girl doll tea party}.

addison had a blast! she got to have tea and snacks. and she got to make a craft. and even play a game! although the game had to be inside since it was a wet mess outside.

and then we went home. and had a dance party in the driveway. i couldn't have thought of a better way to end our fun morning.

lunch date

last week i had a surprise lunch date.

with addison {and chris, because obviously addison can't drive}.

chris was taking addison to the park in by my work to ride her bike, so they picked me for lunch! it was a nice little break from work.

we went to one of my favorite places - star bagel. it's delicious. and right by my work. perfect!

i love surprise lunch dates.

st. patty's day

we spent st. patrick's day making green things.

green rice crispy treats and green jello.

addison wasn't really into making the green jello. she wanted pink jello. so of course we made that too.

my mom even got a set of small cookie cutters at a yard sale and it had a clover!! so we used that to cut some cute jello bites. and addison insisted on cutting one into a heart. so we did that too!

but i forgot to be festive and didn't wear any green. oops. at least addison was rocking some green!