I think that Addison has found her holiday. Except for the whole people with masks on, she LOVED halloween. Luckily not many of the neighborhood kids had masks on. So, she was able to happily trick or treat. She would not let me hold her bag of candy. I think she was afraid that if she gave it to me, that I wouldn't give it back. She walked right up to people and got her candy. There was even a dog at one of the houses and she didn't even notice. Nothing got between her and her candy. She wouldn't wear her ears, but she kept her costume on the whole night.

Regan had fun, too. Of course, every day is halloween for her (minus the candy) in that dressing up is her favorite thing to do besides drawing. In fact, towards the end of the night she had a costume change. Our neighbors have a party every year, so we walked down to that after we trick or treated. This year they got a fun jump and I think Regan stayed in it for two hours straight.

Dentist Visit

The girls went in for their semi-annual checkup today. Addison was excited about going to the dentist until we walked into the office and she realized what the dentist was. The whole time we were in the waiting area she was telling me that she wanted to go bye bye. This is after saying "Yay! Dentist!" in the car when we pulled into the parking lot. She did pretty well, though. Regan, as usual, was a very big girl and good big sister example. She got x-rays for the first time and the dentist showed her her grown up teeth that are in her gums. She also got her teeth scraped and polished. She was most excited about getting a new princess toothbrush. Addison let them put the polisher on her teeth (without flouride). They said they just wanted to get her used to it, since she had watched Regan do it. That was sitting up and she was fine with that. They put it on her finger first to show her it wouldn't hurt. She even let them brush her teeth. But then I layed her down for them to count her teeth and check for cavities and she didn't like that so much. However, I think it was better that she cried because then her mouth was open wide for them to really see in there. Both girls got a clean bill of health.

Big News!

Addison did not cry when I dropped her off at school yesterday. They said she still doesn't like it when they leave the room to go outside or to a bigger room to play. But it was major progress that she didn't cry when I dropped her off yesterday.

Quote of the Day

"Let's go see the sleeping lions." Said by Regan about the lions who are ALWAYS sleeping at our zoo.

Halloween Fun

One of Addison's best friend's had his birthday party this weekend. She is in kindermusic with him and they are in the same class at school. I think they think they are cousins. And now that I am looking at the pictures I can see why. She looks more like him than she does her own sister.

After the birthday party we all headed over to Addison's school for "trunk or treat." Most of the kids at the party either went there or go there now. The kids had a great time at both the party and the trunk or treat. Addison wasn't to keen on anyone wearing a mask, but she sure enjoyed taking her friends candy. One of her teacher's had a "trunk" and she didn't cry when she saw her. I think that made her teacher happy.

Dress up

After a small mishap with Regan trying to help Addison put her costume on, Addison played dress up with Regan for the first time today. The costume was a little big on Addison and Regan kept trying to pull up the sleeves. I finally told her to leave it alone that it was going to fall down because Addison is little. And Addison said to her "I little." They posed for pictures and then performed a little bit. It was very cute.

It was cold today and Addison refused to wear her jacket. She told me I'm not wearing that today. Her new word to use in a sentence is today. I'm a little concerned and I am thinking I should go buy her a couple of sweatshirts. Luckily for her we live in the south and it rarely gets cold enough for a jacket.

In other news.... they let Addison stay the whole day today. They said she did well, but she does not like when they leave their room. Usually it is to go outside, but today was yucky so they just went to a bigger room. They say that she plays for about 10 minutes and then she gets fussy. Regan did the same thing, so I am not worried. They said that she can start staying the whole day, but to leave my number just in case. I think we are over the hump and she is going to do fine from here on out. Fingers crossed.

Why Buy Toys?

Speech Therapy

Addison is finally going down to once a month for Speech Therapy. They kept telling me every week that the next week would be our last and that we would start going once a month. I was starting to get a little frustrated. I really think they were keeping her around for her adorable personality. And today I really thought that when the Speech Therapist said that she was sad that Addison was leaving and I really thought she was going to cry. We will have stuff to work on during the month and then I will bring her in once a month for them to evaluate her progress. They are really impressed with how she is speaking in sentences and that she can spell her name. I have been really happy with her progress over the last couple of months. I think it helps that she has a big sister who talks constantly.

Addison = Funny

Addison is a funny kid. She is always making expressions or doing things that make us laugh. And sometimes I think she does it on purpose. She is also getting smarter by the day. Today after we came in from playing Regan said something (that I can't remember at the moment) that I didn't approve of. So, I said "Regan" in my disapproving mom voice. And Addison said "that not nice." Then we were in Regan's room after their bath (it's where we moisturize the kids) and Matt came in and Addison said "What's up, Daddy?"

Regan in her Skates

Pumpkin Patch

We took the girls to the local Pumpkin Patch today. They have really expanded it since we first started going three years ago. At that time they basically just had pumpkins, unless you went with a school as a field trip. Now they have a hay ride, a fun jump, you can decorate your pumpkin and they have small farm animals on display. The girls had fun, but Addison was rubbing her eyes on the hay ride. She had a late nap today, and by the time we got home she was letting us know that she did not appreciate having her nap pushed back.

In other news.... I took Regan to a skating party yesterday. It was a workout for me and I have no idea how to teach her how to skate. If I remember correctly, my grandfather taught my cousins and I how to skate. Skate parties were the big thing when we were kids. Todays fun jumps, if you will. Anyway, I didn't have my camera but our friends are supposed to be sending pictures. So, when I get them I will post them. Now Regan is saying that she wants a pair of skates for Christmas. We'll see about that.

School

We had Regan's Parent/Teacher Conference yesterday. It went very well. She got the highest marks (which is a C for Consistently) on everything that they evaluated her on. Her teacher also had nothing but nice things to say about her. In her remarks she said "Regan is a joy to teach! She is friendly, easy going, and very cheerful. Regan takes part in our class activities with enthusiasm and she follows our classroom schedule with respect. I appreciate her creativity and love of learning. Regan is a nice addition to my class and I am happy to be teaching her."

Addison is also doing much better in School. She had done well on the Monday before we left. So well that they called me and told me that she was having a great day. I think because I had called them on that Friday and expressed concern about pulling her out. Not because I was worried about her, but because I felt bad for the teachers. So, we thought she might have a hard day yesterday because she didn't go on Thursday. But they said she had a good day, except that I forgot her blankie and she was not happy about that. However, they said that she didn't cry for very long after I left and that other than the blankie she had a good day. I promised that I wouldn't forget her blankie next time.

More Disney Pictures

In case you didn't see enough pictures in the last post, here are the ones my mom took.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=mbfh4e1.bx5pvdgp&x=1&y=-kukswt&localeid=en_US

Also, the username for the photo account is maggie.manning@gmail.com and the password is disney1

Disney Pictures

It was a great trip! As I suspected, it was a very different experience as a parent, but still a great trip. Disney got on my last nerve with something for sale every 5 feet. Especially with an overtired little girl who loves everything Disney! And because we were only there for a few days, there were times that I felt that I was shoving fun down Regan's throat. But the expression on her face when we saw the princesses and the shows and on the rides made it all worth it. Our hotel was on the monorail and that was really nice. The halloween party was SO much fun. We were all really amazed at how in character the characters were. At the halloween party they have all of the villain's out (so if you are a fan of a disney villain, this is the party for you) and we got to take pictures and get autographs with the stepsisters and stepmother from Cinderella.

We didn't see much of Addison as she was with my mom most of the time. But we hear that she really enjoyed the rides in Fantasy Land. But did not enjoy any characters coming within 5 feet of her. Thanks mom! We couldn't have done it without you.

Two big differences from when I was a kid. One is that Disney seems to be always crowded now. When I was in high school it was dead during the week during the school year. It was crowded the entire time we were there. The other is that you can't just walk up to characters anymore. They are treated like celebrities. You walk through rope lined walkways to get to them. And you could wait in line for 20 minutes only to be told that they need to take a break and will be back in 10 minutes. Very annoying!

One thing I have to say about Disney is that they are the ultimate planners! They literally think of everything! They have this thing now called Magical Express where you put tags on your bag and you don't have to go to baggage claim. Disney buses you from the airport to your hotel and your bags show up three hours later. I really think every hotel should do this. They also have professional photographers throughout the park taking pictures, so you can pictures of your entire family.

Anyway, here are the pictures. There are a lot, and I apologize for that.

http://www.disneyphotopass.com/photoalbum.aspx

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=lp2j34m.ayxd43ja&x=0&h=1&y=-t8tuvr&localeid=en_US

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=76j0kwm.9biidsli&x=0&y=-q198om&localeid=en_US

Ready for Disney

I did something today that I swore I wouldn't ever do and that is buy an expensive umbrella stroller. But the umbrella stroller that we have does not have a good visor to block the sun. The only other strollers I had were a jogging stroller (to big) and a double stroller (way to big) Everyone says the strollers that you can rent at Disney are good, but since I have never seen them I didn't want to risk it for Addison. Who will hopefully be sitting in her stroller most of the time. Regan won't be in the stroller very much, so I don't mind renting one for her. And if we get there and decide that the rented stroller will work for Addison, then we can always leave this one in the room. Anyway, with that justification out of the way, Addison loves her new stroller. She climbed in it by herself and did not want to get out of it to take a bath (one of her favorite things). Thus the scowl.

Addison Can Slide By Herself

Tonight was so nice that we played with the girls in the backyard past when we usually are outside. Addison learned to slide down her little slide today and hold herself up. I couldn't get a good picture of her, because my camera is so slow. I should have gotten the video camera, because she was so cute. She was very proud of herself.

Addison Counting

You may have to turn your volume way up, because Addison doesn't talk loud unless she really wants something. I discovered that she could count when I was giving the girls a bath (Matt was playing softball as Addison will tell you in the video) and Regan was looking for the number 6. Addison said 7,8,9. So then I said 1 and she started counting. She gets to about 11 accurately and then she starts confusing the numbers. I think she is trying to count to 20.

Addison, who cries at school, insisted on riding with her friend to Target yesterday after Kindermusic. My friends little boy sits in his older brother's car seat when his older brother is at school. Well, Addison wanted to sit in his seat and go with them. We decided to go to Target, which is right up the street. I was sure that Addison would change her mind, but she didn't. My friend and I laugh, because her little boy is also in Addison's class at school. He is fine at school and Addison is not. But at Kindermusic he wants very little to do with the class and Addison does everything. If you saw them at Kindermusic you would think that he would be the one who would have trouble at school. Kids are so funny.

Why I Love Addison's Teacher's

Park Fun

We went to the park today. It didn't start out very well. We got Popeye's for a picnic. Well, we got there and the grass was overgrown and the trash was overflowing. I guess they have gotten behind because of the hurricane's. Also, Addison had no interest in eating and kept telling me over and over that she wanted to go swing. We finally went to swing and things got better. We fed the ducks. They weren't hungry which is good, because Addison did not want to feed them. She wanted to eat the bread herself. We did help a crane get some fish. The fish were eating the bread and the crane was able to catch the fish.

Colt turns 1!

It is hard to believe, but our nephew Colt is one. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go to his party. I had to work an event for JLL. Matt took the girls and a good time was had by all.

Zoo

Today was a nice day, so we decided to join our friends at the zoo. They just built a big playset at our zoo, so we wanted to check it out. The weather wasn't as nice as I thought it was going to be, and I dressed Addison a little warmly.

The second to last picture was taken right before they crashed and burned. Ruthie came by holding Addison's hand and sort of dragging her along. I thought it was cute I started chasing after them trying to get a picture.... not realizing that they were heading for steps.

Addison doesn't take a pacifier. Mostly because when she was a baby she couldn't keep it in her mouth due to her cleft pallet. Well, she is so enamoured with babies that she wants one every time she sees a baby with one. We have one and it actually belongs to one of the little girls that we played with today as she left it at our house. I keep it in my purse to have it ready anytime she wants it. The way I see it is that I don't think that she will get addicted this late in the game. It is more of an accessory than a comfort item. And it is easier to give it to her than to have her meltdown because she wants it. I had to take a picture of her with it, because it matched her friends (because it belongs to her friend) and because we were laughing that Addison holds the pacifier in her mouth like an old man with a cigar.

Tiny Dancer

I couldn't get a picture of her standing up, because the shoes are to slippery. Addison is very interested in Regan's dance bag. She carries it around and yesterday, while I was doing things around the house, she took Regan's tap shoes out of her dance bag and put them on her feet. She even got the feet right. She was very proud of herself.

Not So Different After All

Well, I am now picking Addison up at 11:30am. They think that she has potential to like it there, but they think that the 2:30 pick up might be to long for her until she gets adjusted. So, we are going to try picking her up at 11:30am for a little while. If that doesn't help, then we will pull her out and try again next year. What can I say? My kids like me. They really, really like me.

Lots To Talk About

First of all we went to New Orleans this weekend. We needed to get haircuts, we were supposed to go to a birthday party, and I had a long standing shopping date with a friend for me to get a new bag (a belated birthday present from my husband. Thanks Matt!). We ended up not being able to make the birthday party, because Addison got sick. Only she has probably been sick for a while and we just didn't know it. Matt's mom got her up on Sunday while Matt and I were out for a run. She said she had noticed before some white stuff on Addison's hiney. I had also noticed it, but wrote it off as diaper fuzz. And so had she. But upon closer look on Sunday she determined that Addison had pin worms. Apparently, something that is very common in kids even though I have only vaguely heard of it. She also came down with a fever on Sunday, so we decided that the birthday party was out. I took her to the pediatrician on Monday and he gave me a pill that is one dose and works like a pesticide. Ahhh the joy of having kids. He also put her on antibiotics; because she had fluid in her left ear, fever, and a stuffy nose. She also made him laugh because after he examined her (which she was not appreciative of) she kept saying "that hurt me." Which is her favorite phrase at the moment.

Addison is still not liking school very much. She cried all day Thursday and they said she even sniffled while she slept. I am sure that this is an adjustment period and I don't think it helps that the big kids are all still crying, too. We hear crying all the way down the hallway and then the other kids in her class are crying when she gets there. It's enough to make anyone nervous. But the teachers are still smiling at the end of the day, which continues to amaze me.

We went to Kindermusic for the first time this week. My mom took her the first week and then with everything last week I forgot. She enjoyed it for the most part. There were a few things that she didn't like, but she did participate and she was happy to go get her stuff and to put it back. She also walked when we went around in the circle. It was reported to me that the only thing she did the first week was put things away. Presumably because she thought that once she put them away that she would be able to leave.

Addison has had a huge improvement in speech. She is enunciating better and she is saying sentences and phrases. This week and next week we are only going once a week and then after that we will start going once a month for them to keep track of her progress. I almost wonder if they are keeping her around so long just for her charming personality. I say this because last week her speech therapist said to Addison that she needed her that morning because it had been a rough morning. And then today she told me that Addison was one of her favorites. What can I say. My kids spread the joy around. : ) Her speech therapist did say that she is making very good sounds. I was concerned that she is not ending with the n sound on words like on. But the speech therapist said that sound comes much later.

I know I promised a video of Addison singing, and I wish I could deliver because it is unbelievably cute. However, she refuses to perform on command. I will keep trying.

And finally, I went to Regan's school last Thursday to bring her library book because we forgot to put it in her backpack that morning. She was outside with her class and the assistant and her teacher was doing things in the classroom. Her teacher told me that Regan is very creative and pays attention to detail. She also said that Regan will play with a wide variety of kids (both girls and boys) based on if they are doing something interesting.

Regan's Book Dedication

She looked very nervous to be up there. Which was weird considering how much she loves a stage. But she was very excited to have books dedicated to her.

Video of Regan's Book Dedication

Who Knew?

Yesterday, when Matt dropped Regan off at school the teacher getting her out of the car told Matt that Regan was a pleasure to have in class. While flattered, Matt had no idea that Regan was in her class. She is a new teacher and we have seen her doing carpool, but didn't know what she taught. So, Matt asked Regan last night who the teacher that got her out of the car that morning was and Regan says nonchalantly "she teaches me sign language." We had no idea that they even taught sign language, let alone that Regan was learning it. Apparently it has been added this year as a part of her Music class. She even showed us some signs that she knew last night. Again, who knew?

Addison's First Day of School

Sadly, I don't have a picture. I was up all night with my mom at the ER (she has a kidney stone) and only got home in time to get Regan ready for school and get Addison up and ready for school. Yes, I had to wake her up. Of course, today she doesn't have school and she is up in plenty of time. She may be more like me than I thought. : ) Anyway, they said that she cried all morning. And then she took a 45 minute nap and was a whole different kid. I know that as she continues to go and gets used to the routine that she will start to like it. When I picked her up she was playing and only started crying when she saw me. I'm just still a little nervous about her naps. She is very attached to her bed. She usually takes 2 - 3 hour naps, but they have to be in her bed. If we are out and about, she is up the entire time. I am hoping that as she gets more comfortable that she will start to sleep longer. Regan (who never napped at school) keeps telling her that if she doesn't want to sleep she can sleep by the teacher. I keep telling Regan that we don't have to tell Addison that there is an option to not sleep at school. I'm glad that I started Addison now and not later. Her teacher's don't seem that bothered by her crying. I think it is because all of the kids are crying at this age. Whereas with Regan she was one of the only ones and she really seemed to stress her teacher's out. Although, in Regan's teacher's defense she did cry all day long. As Matt says, she was tenacious.

Apparently Addison is already learning at school. Yesterday Addison was singing bah bah black sheep and ring around the rosy (video soon, I promise). I'm pretty sure she learned bah bah black sheep from one of the cd's that we have in the car, but I had no idea where she learned ring around the rosy. I was talking to one of my friends last night who's son is in Addison's class and she said that the teacher told her that they played ring around the rosy at school.

San Diego Trip

September 8th was Matt's 30th birthday and this past week we went on a trip to San Diego. Matt needs so many CPE credits to keep his CPA. I don't know the exact details, but he needed to get a bunch before next year and they were offering a week long course (i.e. lots of CPE credit) in San Diego. It was an opportunity we could not pass up. I went to San Diego with a friend in 7th grade for a month and fell in love. I swore I would live there some day. Now I know I probably won't ever live there, but I still like the idea of vacationing there every now and then. However, this trip had a slight glitch. What seemed like a good idea a few months ago no longer seemed like a good idea with Hurricane Ike possibly heading our way. Even though I knew they would be in good hands (thanks mom!), I was nervous about going so far away from the kids. Matt assured me that he would watch the hurricane closely (thanks Phil!) and we would head back as soon as was needed if it was needed. So, with very mixed feelings (I almost cried) I got on the plane to San Diego. Once we got there, I was glad I went. Especially after a few days when it was pretty clear that Ike was not going to hit Louisiana and Addison seemed to be doing pretty well. I was worried that she was going to have a hard time, because every time I would try to warn her that we were going on a trip she would put her head down on me and say "no, mommy. no. no, mommy." But every mom needs a vacation once in a while. The hotel was nice, there was a mall next door... what more could you ask for? : ) The concierge was so nice. The first two pictures are of Matt in his birthday shirt (work shirt) on his first day of class and of the cheese that the concierge sent up for Matt's birthday. He also reserved a table for us at a very nice steak restaurant. It was a typical old school steak house except for the Bob Marley playing pretty loudly throughout the restaurant which was weird to me, but Matt liked. Must be a California thing, I don't know. While we were in San Diego I mostly read by the pool (heaven) and did a little window shopping. I even read the paper for probably the first time in my life. Who knew that it's pretty interesting? I also (and this is a big one) took a bus by myself to the San Diego Art Museum. I am sure that you all know what a big step that is for me. But it was nice to browse the museum by myself. Poor Matt had to be in class until 4:30 every day. Not horrible, but I'm sure he would have rathered lounging by the pool with me. However, he is probably glad that he didn't have to go to the art museum with me. But don't cry for him, Argentina, because we did also go to a Padres vs. Dodgers game. The Dodgers won, which was a little disappointing..... and now I know more about Manny Ramirez and his antics than I ever wanted to know. Matt is actually a life long Cub's fan, but a baseball game is a baseball game. To him, anyway. All in all it was a good trip. As much as we love our kids, it is always nice to get away for a while. However, we decided that next time we will not plan a trip in August or September and we will go on just a trip. Because the trip home was terrible and made me not want to get on another plane for a while. Even though the hurricane was not hitting Lafayette and Lafayette wasn't in any real danger, they still had strong wind and rain. We were supposed to fly into Houston yesterday, but had to fly into Atlanta instead. We thought that this would be better, because it is a Delta hub and we thought we could fly into New Orleans and impose on Matt's mom to drive us home. Well, you can only fly 100 miles from your original destination. We couldn't fly into Lafayette last night, because the airport was closed. We could have flown into Baton Rouge, but we wouldn't have have gotten in until 10pm. So, we decided to spend the night in Atlanta last night and hope that the Lafayette airport was open today. We got to the airport this morning and were happy to find that our flight into Lafayette was still on schedule to leave at 9:29am. Before we took off the pilot warned us that he might have to divert the plane as the winds in Lafayette were still pretty strong. I thought, it has to be okay to land otherwise why would the airport even be open. OMG. During the tried landing the plane shook so much I really thought it was going to come apart. It was a harrowing experience that I cannot even begin to describe and hope to never repeat. And after all that we weren't able to land and we had to divert to Baton Rouge. My mom was already in the car with the girls on the way to get us so I just had her drive to Baton Rouge and get us (Again, thanks mom!). Matt and I are very happy to be home and happy to be in one piece. And as much fun as we had, I will never leave the girls again when a hurricane is heading in this direction.

Happy Birthday Matt

We won't be here for Matt's birthday on Monday, so we celebrated with the girls tonight. My mom, Regan and I went to get a cake for Matt this afternoon. Matt had her well trained, because she told me at least 5 times that "Daddy wants a cookie cake with all white icing." When we were going in to get the cake she asked me what we got him. I told her that if I told her that she couldn't tell him because it was a surprise. She said that she knew, but that he couldn't hear her from where we were. I thought that was very smart for a 4 year old, and I thought in my head... wow, she understands. Fast forward to arriving home from getting the cake and what is the first thing that Regan says to Matt... Do you want to open the present that we got you? It's a work shirt! So, I say to her... Regan, you weren't supposed to tell. She says (in a very cute, but honest way)... I know, but I did anyway. What can I say? She's 4. Addison, our little sweet tooth, was very excited to eat cake. But she also ate some steamed brocolli (for the second time), so I guess I can't worry to much.

Quote of the Day

I finally broke down and bought Regan a pair of athletic shoes. They really want them to wear them to school, but there are much cuter shoes out there.... that it was hard for me. So, we were at the mall with the fountain and Regan found some that she liked. Matt was with us and has wanted her to have some for a while now..... I think he took advantage of my weakened state. : ) When Regan was trying them on I asked her how they felt and she said "pretty."

Accidental Vacation

Well, with Hurricane Gustav heading our way we decided to get out of its way. We first headed to New Orleans, thinking that would be far enough. However, he decided to turn enough east that we decided it was in our best interest to go even further away. So, we took Granny and headed to Aunt Carla's house for a few days. Our kids were not fazed, because we go there often enough that I think they just thought we were on vacation. And we were, sort of. We had a nine hour drive to get there (normally four) and we weren't able to do much the first day, because we got enough of the Gustav weather to keep us home. But the next day was a nice day, so we were able to take Regan to this mall that has a fountain for kids to play in. All in all it was a pretty nice vacation. And we were most appreciative that Aunt Carla was willing to house us for an unknown amount of time (and seemed pretty happy about it. : ) Thanks Aunt Carla!! We had no traffic on the way home, so that was really nice. When we got home, Phil and his family were on their way back from Houston. They still didn't have power, so they spent the night with us. Regan was extra excited! A vacation and she got to come home to her cousins. I don't think life gets much better than that for her.