Easter 2009!

Somehow, these pictures upload in order backwards. Anyway, I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings so I just uploaded a few pictures from our trip home to highlight the trip. Slideshows are a lot of work and take up a lot of space. This picture is of Addie with her Easter basket at our house on Easter Sunday morning. She got a bunny, and Pinocchio the movie, a few little toys and some candy. She had the basket thing figured out at this point and just dumped it in the floor! This was basket #4!



This is Addie with Tarah and Justin when she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore. Finally, she just crashed on Justin. About two hours later, she had a fever and her sickness began. More on that to come.









We spent Saturday lunch with the Yates' family. We had a wonderful lunch with Ma, Pa, Memaw, Papaw, Grandmother, Justin and Tarah. We had an egg hunt, and drove the boat (out of water of course). Addie is officially terrified of the horses and cows now. She got basket #3 here in the picture! After spending two weeks talking about Pa, she enjoyed flirting with him but really didn't want to kiss him! Right now he is loved dearly but only from a distance!






We started our visit at mom's house. She had a basket for Addie (number #2). This basket was filled with several outside activities, bubbles, jump ropes (yes, Addie thinks she can jump rope), bats and balls and other goodies! We had pizza for dinner from the infamous Simple Simon's! We got to visit with Aunt Wheezer and Uncle Julio!

Her first basket came from Aunt Linda and Granny. Mom has the pictures of that visit!

More Spring Break

Oops I forgot to update!

Addie turned 16 months old on the 26th, which was during our break. When she was younger there were such huge things happening from month to month. The last few months have seems somewhat uneventful but this month we have noticed a lot of new things. She is doing so many things that make her a little girl and not a baby anymore.

Our precious baby is not a baby anymore. Here are all the things you are doing:

• Binks is gone this month!
• You are starting to use two words. You say "bye-bye ____", "Sprout Please" (that is from Sesame Street On Demand, and you can say "more Moo" (to Uncle Will's cell phone)
• You are a wonderful climber. We bought you a slide to try and redirect all your climbing into a positive manner.
• You still have only 12 teeth but I keep waiting for the others any day.
• You love to watch Sesame Street (only 1 a day)
• You are fascinated with your Pa. He is a very memorable person and you constantly look for him. You have found him in your Peter Rabbit book and you think Doc in Snow White is also him.
• You are starting to develop more fine motor skills. You love to put the animals in the barn and you are starting to play with blocks.
• This is also a new kind of play we have been seeing. You are playing more with your toys; instead of just exploring them.
• You are showing great concentration and attention to toys and books. You love to read your books and you point to the words. Except it sounds more like humming than reading!
  
• You also have continued your love for music and dancing. You dance with "fast feet" and you love to spin in circles.
  
• You have gotten your first skinned knee outside.
• Your hair seems to be thickening up but really isn't getting any longer. I trimmed the back today because you had a few long hairs.
• You love every animal that you meet and are not afraid at all. You tried to smother the bunnies in your Easter pictures.
• You answer all questions with "no" except it sounds more like "na"
• You say so many things that we cannot understand.
  
• You are the light of our LIVES and we can't imagine life without you!

One More Favor!

To the right of this page is a list of friends and babies that we know. My friend Devon's daughter was recently diagnosed with a stage 4 Wilm's Tumor. If you have a moment to go to her site and leave them an uplifting message or add them to your prayer list, I would greatly appreciate it. Devon is a kindergarten teacher at Decatur with 4 children. She and her husband are wonderful people going through a very rough time.

Mission Accomplished!!!

The Yates family had many goals for Spring Break.

The first one was Daddy's goal of mailing in his National Board portfolio. I think most of you have heard us speak of this grand event. Jeremy has been working on it since August. It is a huge project with teaching, student work, community involvement and interactions with parents that involves DVD's, paperwork, forms and lots of writing. It is finally mailed!! The last month has been a little stressful at the Yates' home. But my beloved husband has finally mailed the BEAST and returned to his normal loving state. He has 3 years to pass it so please pray that he does so it does not return to my home. We will not know until November or December, YUCK!

The second goal of the break was to get rid of the beloved Binks. Addie was starting to call it by name which to me meant time for it to go. She had it the Friday of the break when we left Anna's house and rode home to Mansfield with it. And she has not had it since! YEAH! She only used it in the car and for sleeping and honestly the car has been more stressful than the sleeping. She has been a wonderful transitioning baby. Our last big goal is sleeping all night in her bed! She goes there, goes to sleep there, but we never know how long she will stay!?

We did make it to Tulsa to the zoo, mall, Cheesecake Factory, aquarium and Los Cabos Mexican Grill. We had a great time. Addie preferred the chain curtain at the bird sanctuary, the pots and pans in the hotel room, and the Card Keys for the hotel room. Yes, there were pots and pans we stayed at an extended stay hotel because everything was booked up due to Spring Break and the weather being nice.

Back to school tomorrow!

Tulsa Vacay

To be or not to be a good mom?

Most of the time, our lives involve us going to school, and WalMart. In my happy little world, I think of myself as an above average mother doing and providing all these things that mothers do. However, the more mothers that I am around the more insufficient I feel sometimes. Over Spring Break, I have had the opportunity to be out in public more with Addie at Chick-Fil-A, shopping, the zoo, the aquarium etc.

I see all these mothers doing all these things and it leads me to think do I do that? Is my working bad for her? Did I breast feed her long enough? Am I not getting on to her enough? Am I feeding her the right things? Do I talk to her enough? Does she feel loved? on and on the list goes.

Then I started thinking about Dads. They have it so easy. If a Dad changes one diaper in a day and helps carry the diaper bag in from the car, they are considered above average. Thankfully, Jeremy does help with Addie and household chores.

I realize that this is something most mothers go through. But I am starting to realize it. As I watch my bestfriend, Jamie mother her daughter, Maebrie (7 weeks older than Addie). We both do things very differently and are teaching our daughters different things but one is not better than the other. I guess this is what makes the world go around. I always knew that home environment had a large part in who we were but now that I have my own child I am realizing it more and more.

So this is my open forum. To all my friends who are mothers and daughters, I am asking for comments with the one piece of advice that you would give to someone. Maybe something that you wished your mother had done, or something that your mother did do, or something as a mother that you have learned!

Thanks to all the mothers I know!