Safari Girl

I love this outfit! The cute little skirt and the giraffe top always get Addison compliments. Too bad it's now October and it has gotten a little too cool for the skirt!

6-12 mos clothes. . . really?

Addison is STILL wearing her 6-12 mos clothes! The girl is 18 months, but I put 12 month pants on her today and they were as saggy as could be! Now, she can wear 12-18 mos tops and they are fairly big on her, but especially on bottom she is still in the 6-12 mos size.
Last time Addison had a wellness check, she was 2% for height and 2% for weight. I'm begining to get nervous that when I take her back in (which I totally need to schedule) that she is going to have fallen off the chart. The doctor told me last time we were in that Addison is definitely growing, but that he didn't like that her percentages keep going down.
It just has me all tangled up inside over this! I worry when she won't eat very much, and it is even worse when she is sick! Last weekend, she had a fever and she never eats as well when she is sick. She got better, but then Friday night she wakes up in the middle of the night with, you guessed it, a fever!
Aaaarrgghh! My gut tells me my child is happy and fine, because she has a gut and has folds in her thighs, but still it just weighs on my mind.
I remember my mom telling me when I was pregnant and was always worried about my growing baby that I was now going to be worrying for the rest of my life over that baby. I REALLY think mom was right!

Addi's NEW daddy!

A couple of weeks ago, I was driving Addison to daycare. She suddenly starts saying, "daddy, daddy, daddy" and I was trying to figure out why. That's when I realized. . . .the man in front of us- the black man in his 30's on a motorcycle with no helmet and a nice suit- Addison thought he was her daddy.
Now before you think Addison is crazy, here is the thing. Most Sundays, Steve likes to ride his motorcycle over to my parent's house. We follow in the car, and I try to entertain Addison by saying, "look it's daddy!" etc. the whole way. We wave to him, and he waves to us. So, I guess every man on a motorcycle is now Addison's new daddy! :)

Tick-riffic!

Okay, it was completely the OPPOSITE of tick-riffic, but I'm trying to be cute instead of conveying how much of a failure I felt. Addison got her first tick this last week. I felt terrible! I really felt like I let her down. At some point on Wednesday she got the tick. I didn't give her a bath Wednesday night, because we were at Scout's and didn't get home till 8:45. She was SO exhausted, I just let her go to bed.
She woke up at 3a.m. with a 104* fever! We gave her tylenol, and she was waking up/going to sleep for a couple of hours. I put in an absence at work and discovered the tick while cuddling with Addi in the morning. Steve used tweezers to get it out, and then he and I went back and forth on whether or not it was really a tick (it was very small and I couldn't see a mouth or feet)
Good news: the doctor said that her illness was a virus and that you can't get sick that quickly from a tick. Bad news: Addison had a virus. So, at this point, we are just trying to get over the virus, and we are supposed to keep an eye out on her until next Thursday to make sure she doesn't get Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Doc says she doesn't show any symptons so far; we just get scared as her parents because my former Middle School Principal died last year from Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever! Sorry Addi that I didn't catch the tick sooner! I love you!

Door!

Addison LOVES being outside, so she has now learned a new trick. She will bring me her shoe and will say "uh, uh" until I put her shoe on. She will find another shoe (whether it matches or not) and will get me to put that shoe on. She will then go over to the door and will say, "door, door!" It's pretty cute. I've been trying to let her go outside and walk around. We've also started going for family walks again (since it has finally started cooling down!) and playing on our playground. Addison now can appreciate the slide (before she had no reaction to going down the slide) and smiles and laughs as we slide down. We sure our enjoying Addison at this fun age!

Tribute to summer days

I am posting pics of events from this summer that I haven't had a chance to post yet. This is from our trip to the Larsen family reunion. Addison and I went (Steve had school and work) and had a wonderful time. It was great seeing all my dad's side of the family. It wasn't fun sleeping in the same room as Addison, but she was a great trooper with all the traveling!

Being at Great-Grandma Larsen's house helped Addison get over her fear of touching grass.

Addison with Great-Grandma Larsen. Steve and I really wanted to have Addison meet all of her Great-grandparents quickly, so we're glad we have accomplished that goal.

Addison with Great-Grandpa Larsen. Grandpa Larsen said that Addison had a great personality-that she is sweet and he could tell we were raising her right. That really meant a lot to Steve and I.

Addison and I took one last trip out to see Steve and work and eat lunch with him. Now that school has started, we won't be able to run out and see him.

Addison is a hard worker! She wanted to give her daddy and poppa a hand!

Addison really loves baby dolls and often has a doll in hand (she always has SOMETHING in her hand- a spatula, doll, etc.)

Addison loves going for rides in her car. She will hop in and I'll ask her, "You wanna go for a ride?" She loves going all around the house and all around our neighborhood.

We try SO hard to keep the bathroom door closed. She loves toilet paper! I guess we didn't close the door all the way this time, because she came running out with the rest of the roll (good thing the roll was almost empty)!

We came home to this BEAUTIFUL sunset one day. Our fence was in the way, so this was the best shot I could get. It was like the heavens were open and light was setting the clouds on fire. I just wish my picture did it justice.

Say hello to our garden spide friend. She lived at our house for 3 days. I begged Steve to kill her, because I didn't want her having eggs. On the 3rd day of begging, we found a HUGE ball on her web that we're pretty sure was her eggs. Finally, Steve gave in and killed her. Sorry girl- I did not want lots of garden spiders running around our house!

I took pics on Sunday of Addison to create a photo book for her. I am trying to make a book on Shutterfly that would be a play book for Addison. It identifies part of her body and is full of pictures about her. I think it will turn out cute. It won't be as cool as the example book I found (I'm not at tech savy with editing pictures), but I think it will be pretty cool!

And so it begins. . .

The school year and started again and our lives here at the Dodson house are definetely at full pace again. I haven't blogged lately because of everything that has been going on, and with school starting I don't know that life will slow down any time soon.
With the end of our summer, we enjoyed being able to go to the Larsen reunion in Idaho and celebrating Kimber's wedding in Utah and reception in Oklahoma. The Larsen reunion was lots of fun, and it was fun to be able to be a part of Kimber's wedding. I've already worn my bridesmaid dress again if you can believe that, so good work Kimber.
This school year looks like it will be a busy one. Our school is now on a 7 period day instead of our 4 block day. It is taking a little time to get used to it. Our passing periods are shorter too (5 mins. instead of 6, which doesn't sound like a lot. . but it makes a difference to me). I think it will be a good year; I just have to get adjusted to it. It will be a nice change to be able to have students for an entire year instead of just a semester.
Addison will be on her same schedule as last school year. Two days a week she gets Grammy time with my mom. She gets some one on one time and gets to bond with her Grammy, and then three days a week she goes to a home daycare by my school. Debbie is great with the kids, and Addison loves playing with the other kids.
I'm hopeful that this next year will be filled with as many wonderful memories as we made last year, and I'm also hopeful that with Steve graduating in December that we will be able to find the right job for him once he graduates. Happy New School Year!

Scorpion flashback!

I had a little surprise in my laundry basket this morning. I was folding laundry and I picked up a t-shirt only to unveil a scorpion that was at least two inches long (probably 3 inches if his tail was laying flat)!
I grabbed Addison and went to my room for a shoe. I put Addison behind me and started my attack! I was SOOO nervous! I missed him the first time and he started to run and try to hide in our other clothes. After about 20 hits and with Addison bawling behind him, the scorpion was no more.
This has definitely flashed me back to my childhood! When we first moved into our house on Santa Fe, it was a brand new house that had been sitting there for a year. It was chalk full of scorpions! For months, we would be walking around and see one of those creepy creatures running around! Thankfully and surprisngly, none of us got stung (that I remember).
The best story, though, is my dad. My dad wore his jeans two days in a row (pretty typical of him). In fact, the man could put on his pants and shoes in the morning without even getting out of bed. He went to work and began making calls. Suddenly, he felt something moving around in his pants! In the middle of his office, he took off his pants only to find a scorpion had had breakfast with him, driven to work with him, and had been making calls with him!
Here's hoping the bug killers that come next Monday will rid us of any of this scorpion's relatives, because they probably don't like me anymore. . . :)

Cousins!

I forgot to post this from our cousin playdates earlier in the summer, but they are SO cute playing together!

Neighborly Fun!

Here is Addison playing with our next door neighbors son Zane.

Rocking Out!

At the lake house, Grammy has a rocking chair that Addison just loves! She loves to sit at the table like a big kid and she loves rocking herself!

Great Grandpa Dodson

Here is Addison sitting with Great Grandpa Dodson. Most of the time she didn't want to go to him, but she decided he was okay when he started reading books to her!

Suckin' Noodles!

Here is Addison enjoying some noodles!

15 month checkup!

Addison had her 15 month checkup today. I'd been focusing so much on getting ready for our trip to Idaho that I didn't have my usual long list of questions with me today; I'm sure Dr. Simmons was relieved! :)
Addison is 2% (18 lbs. 6 oz) for weight, 2% (28 inches) for height, and 3% (43 1/2 cm) for head circumference. Dr. Simmons looked at her stats and said that even though she is really small that she is consistently growing, which is good. I asked Dr. Simmons if I needed to be concerned or how we would know there may be a problem. He said we will continue keeping an eye on her development, but that as long as she continues growing and doesn't fall off the chart she is probably okay. He does know that my brother Tyler was growth hormon deficient, so we will keep our eye on her. We finished the appointment with two shots, which Addison took like a champ. Within minutes, she was smiling and happy again!
I think Great Grandpa Dodson has it right by calling Addison "lil' bit." I sure do love my "lil' bit"!

The Shockers!

Steve has been playing softball this summer, so Addison and I go and watch when the games aren't too late!

Here is Addison spending time with Catie and Camilla. Their husbands are also playing on the team. Go Shockers!

Addison loves to walk around and stand by the fence.

Which one is my daddy again? They all look the same to me!

Softball games sure are fun!

Addison's first sucker: One of the umpire's thought Addison was very cute. He loved all of her waving, so he bought her a sucker. He told us that he would provide the sucker, but it was up to us to clean her up afterwards! :)

Yummy Sour Apple!

Is it me or does this sucker seem to big for her?

I can do it myself mommy!

I wasn't finished with that!

Are you talking to me?

How about we share?

Got Milk?

Here is Addison indulging in an Oreo cookie. The cookie didn't stand a chance. . . :) Got milk?

Bricktown Burgers!

Addison and I drove down to Oklahoma City to meet up with Daddy for lunch last week. Daddy wanted us to go to one of his favorite Burger joints- Bricktown Burgers!

Addison enjoyed Cheerios and cheese cubes while we waited for our food. We also enjoyed looking at all the old sports memorbilia that was hanging on the walls. Thanks for lunch daddy!

Cousin Playdate!

Before Jen and the girls ditched us, we had a few playdates! It is so fun to have cousins to play with!

Bryn and Addison loved playing in the ball pit!

Tickle my neck mommy!

Okay, so it's totally fuzzy. . .but isn't it cute them doing it at the same time?

Laying on each other

Bryn loves to cheese for the camera!

Bryn puckering her lips!

Brynn decided she liked Addison's sippy cup better! We do encourage children to share don't we?

Cookie Monster later went for a swim in Gigi's water bowl. . .

They loved playing music together and dancing! It is a lot of fun watching these two beautiful girls play together!

Addison's Safari

We went to the zoo last week with Aunt Melissa and cousin Nate. Addison was very excited to go to the zoo. They immediately gave her a card and a crown to wear. The crown was off in seconds, but the card was a different story. . .

We first stopped to see the rhino. Every animal we stopped at, Addison wanted to get out of her stroller and be held up so she could see better. (notice the card is still in her hand)

The elephants were in Tulsa this time, but that didn't stop us from taking a ride on the elephant statue!

Still holding the card. . . .

What a beautiful zebra! I love that the zebras, giraffes, ostriches, and some different types of birds were all in a section together. It was like an African safari!

Baby giraffe and her momma.

Daddy giraffe was BIG!

The baby giraffe was less than a year old (sorry for all the giraffes, but I just love giraffes!)

One cute family!

Here is Nate's favorite animal. . the opaki. It is related to the giraffe. Looks an aweful lot like a zebra to me though!

Addison voluntarily jumped over to her Aunt Melissa for part of the visit. . . .with her card in her hand of course.

We went to story time. Addison got to eat Animal Crackers and she tried to drink from a juice box. Still got the card. . .

I didn't even realize he was on my back until Melissa said something! I don't exactly look relaxed about it do I?

You got any food in there?

Addison loved seeing all the pretty birds. We got nectar to feed the birds, but we let Nate do most of the feeding for us. I'm just glad we didn't get pooped on!

Can you guess who was the birds' favorite?

Our last stop was the petting zoo. Addison saw the goats, which she called dogs. She actually called several of the animals dogs. We might need to work on that some more. . . She loved looking at the animals, but she didn't want to pet these goats.

This was the smallest goat. So cute!

p.s. Addison still has her card. . .

And what was Addison's favorite animal? The chickens! This one really big chicken kept running around and ruffling his feathers and bawking like crazy. . . Addison loved it!

This is Addison when we got home. She loved the zoo, but she was pretty tired. She still has her card though. . . .