Happy 30th Birthday, Daddy!

We made Dustin a German Chocolate cake and my friend, Abby, brought us some cupcakes (Addison's favorite!) She thought they were for her, so we gave her one with a candle in it.

Opening Daddy's gifts, of course. It was HER birthday!

Daddy and Addie

Daddy and Addie before heading to cousin Aaron's 3rd birthday party.

She loves her Daddy!

And I love her hair. Seriously, I'm very jealous of her beautiful, silky, golden locks.

I like sledding

The little girl who just a couple weeks ago told me that she was scared of the sled has had a change of heart. Big time. Daddy took her sledding today (while Chase and I watched from the car). She said she didn't want to go when we asked her, but were able to convince her by telling her we'd just make a snowman. Little white lies on occasion are harmless, right? :)

After about 1/2 hour of sledding, Addison and Daddy made their final decent down the hill and came to the car. Addison was in tears. "I don't want to go! More sledding! More sledding!" It turns out our neighbors were there and had some really cool sleds. I guess our little toboggan wasn't good enough. Once she saw the other kids on the sled and went on them herself, she was a changed girl. The neighbors sleds went FAST and she wanted to go all by HERSELF! I guess our sled wasn't DANGEROUS enough for our little dare devil. :)

The problem was that our neighbors were leaving and it was their sled she wanted to ride on. So, we told her we would go get a sled for her and head back to the hill for more sledding. 4 stores later, no sled. Fortunately she was understanding of the situation. The entire city of Columbus is sold out of sleds (we called a half dozen more stores when we got home). We'll definitely have to put this on our list of things to get at the beginning of next season and in the meantime, hopefully our neighbors won't mind us borrowing theirs!

Now, Addison tells everyone who will listen, "I like sledding!"

Thumbs up!

Softball Game

Addison and I went to cheer for Dustin during his Softball Playoff game.

Addison said hi to everyone she knew (and didn't know).

If you look closely, you might notice her filthy dress and leggings. They got that way when she fell off the bleachers face first onto the dirt slid into home plate, scoring the winning run.

Everywhere she goes, her baby goes. Her innate abilities to nurture at such a young age is incredible. (Tonight she slapped her grilled cheese against her plate and then proceeded to kiss it and say "sorry".)

Dustin up to bat.

There's that Adam Lambert expression, again!

She was covered in dust by the time we were leaving, so I stripped her down to her diaper (and bow). She thought it was really funny and was making me laugh the whole way home. I couldn't decide which of these pictures were my favorite, so I included them all.

Music Class

We attend music class every Friday morning. We've been doing this since Addison was 6 months old and it's always been one of the highlights of our week. The entire 15 minute drive there is spent singing in preparation for class. As soon as the car goes into park, Addison chants "Music class! Music class!" We walk up the stairs of the preschool where class is held and she runs into the room, waves and smiles at the other children, and sits down.

She loves the 30 minutes we spend singing and playing with different instruments more than I ever would have imagined. I get so much satisfaction from seeing how much enjoyment she gets from the class.

Dustin had the day off Friday and was able to come see for himself just how much she loves the class. Addison was so proud to have him on "her turf"!

The very, very best part of class is the end when Addison gets her "la la stamps". She shows everyone, strangers included, her stamps the whole rest of the day. She points to her hand and says "la la". She also gets stamps at Gym class and calls those "la la stamps", too!

Zoo with Daddy

Dustin hadn't a chance to go to the Zoo with us yet this year, so we took a couple hours to go as a family last Sunday after he rested up from the triathlon.

It's my goal to post a picture of every type of animal at the Zoo by the end of the year. It's not really going to happen, but it sounds like a good plan.

I have to post 2 pictures of the otters because they are just so darn cute! I think my next pet will be an otter.

The Orangutan's are interesting. They always look so sad and annoyed.

Oh my gosh, I am totally joking with that last picture. It was one of the images that came up on Google when I was checking the spelling of Orangutan. And I wouldn't have been surprised if our Orangutan's actually did that! I mean, I really appreciate the zoo, but can't help to feel like it is a little inhumane to keep animals like this in such small quarters. It makes my heart break a little.

Addison bonded with this guy as he played with his brown paper bags. Maybe she cheered him up a bit.

We never stop at the Komodo Dragon because, well, we don't care for reptiles. But, I think it's a neat concept that dragons actually do exist and wanted to get proof for all you skeptics!

Triathlon

Dustin and his brother participated in a sprint triathlon (.5 mile swim, 12.4m bike and 3.1m run) last weekend, starting at the lake just a couple minutes from our house.

They are the pair of swimmers closest to the bottom of the picture - Dustin is on the right, Damon on the left.

After the swim, came the bike. Damon is in the front, Dustin in the back.

The run concluded the race. Damon on left, Dustin on right.

Aaron and Addison played with bells as they cheered for the racers.

And Noah ate his breakfast.

The two competitors with the kids. A job well done!

Daddy and Addison.

Addison giving Daddy "five".

Addison giving her Uncle Damon "five".

Congratulations to the guys for completing the race with great times!

Helping Daddy in the yard

I woke up from my nap and realized that Daddy was working really hard on our landscaping, so I wanted to help. I thought if nothing else, I could bring him some water. I also picked up a dish for Bubba because he was rolling around in the fresh black mulch helping Daddy, thus staining him and making him stink (which quickly resulted in a thorough bath with the hose because our little white indoor dog is not allowed to roam our house even the least bit dirty) and looked really thirsty, too.

Hollering at Daddy so he knew I was awake and ready to help.


Here I come, Daddy!


One sec, Daddy. I need a water break.

Don't worry, there won't be any backwash.

Nope, I am totally not backwashing right now.

See, I told you. (I am saying "cheese" here).

Actually, Daddy, I think I'll stay here and finish my water. You're not that thirsty, right?