HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY, ADDIE!!

Yes.. its true. Our litte one is not so little anymore. We offically have a toddler! That is so weird.. she'll always be my baby anyway. We had a great day with her. She started off the day by sleeping in until 11pm! She has NEVER slept that long. I guess that was her gift to ME! She snuggled with me in my bed all morning. I loved it. We both have had colds this week so it was some much needed rest. It did the trick though, she was happy the rest of the day. We had Josh's and my family over for a BBQ and festivites. Here are a few photos..She was great with the presents. She loved all the attention and toys. I thought she might get over whelmed with it all but she did just fine. She got such nice things from everyone. Thank you!! Her party was Elmo theme and she got lots of toys to go along with her favorite show ever!

And here comes the cake... She got her own cake to demolish how she pleased. I think she would have more fun with the candle though! Addie is so good at sharing! "Here mommy, you eat it." Addie wouldn't touch her cake. It was the strangest thing ever. What kid wouldn't go crazy over a messy, frosting cake? She just stared at it. Josh finally grabbed her hand and jammed it in the cake. She got mad and yelled at him and tried to shake all the frosting off her hand. haha. What? now she decides to be a danty eater?? Whatever. We waited and waited for her to dive in, but no such luck. Josh ended up wiping frosting on her face for some pictures. Pretty sad that we were forcing our 1 yr old to make a mess!

Here she is mad and looking up at ol'dad thinking, "Why would you do that? Look at this mess"

"What am I supposed to do with this? Gross.. I just want my bath now."

Oh then she finally decides to try the frosting. She still wasn't a fan even after that.
Well.. the boys got sick of no one getting messy. Josh grabbed the whole cake and totally smashed it in his brothers face. T.V. style too. It was so funny. Jonny chased Josh around the yard while Josh squealed like a girl! Jonny finally caught up and tackled him. Man I thought Addie would be the one needing a bath.. not her dad!!

My shopping buddie

Addie is totally walking now! She can go across the whole room! :) And when she thinks I'm not even watching she will go walking across the room to get a toy... no coaxing needed! It is the cutest thing. And now she will walk over to me and put her arms around my leg, it used to be that she would have to climb up my leg. She still seems too short to be walking... haha

Time to read

We were at my parents house the other night and we got distracted from Addie for a few min. we came back in and this is what she had been up to! Haha guess she wants to start reading now! It was funny to watch her grab a book off the shelf then throw it over her shoulder and go for another one!

Boating

On Monday we went boating with Josh's family. It was a great time and also another one of Addie's "firsts". We got there in the morning and it was cold! As you can see Addie and I are all bundled up for the winter! Her life jacket was so big and uncomfortable.. poor girl. I didn't make her wear it the whole time...oops. She had fun and didn't mind the wind or loud engine. She even fell asleep in Grandma Johnson's arms!
This is Addie's great grandparents, Granny and Gramps. This is a very special picture because Addie is finally letting them hold her again without screaming! For a few months she went threw this weird stage that if one of them even talked to her she would cry. But luckily she has grown out of it and she can see how cool they are!!
Just chillin in the cutty of the boat...
Watch out! Addie is at the wheel!!! She looks like an ol' pro!

Tonight our sweet little girl took her first steps!! Holy cow! I wasn't expecting her to walk to Daddy but she just did it! At least 4 steps every time. It was amazing! I wanted to cry and cheer for her at the same time. She was so proud of herself... she clapped after every time. We just kept having her walk back and forth from mom to dad. She loved it.
I can't believe our little Addie is starting to walk all on her own. What an exciting and unique feeling! I have loved watching her try to roll over, figure out crawling and now walking without anyone holding her hands! She has been so determined to accomplish those things. She continues to try again and again! Addie has been such an inspiration to me this last year... Being a mom has been the most wonderful and satisfying thing I have ever done. Each day is new and exciting with Addie. I feel like she really is my best buddie! She makes everything fun.. even boring ol' errands.
It makes me sad to see how fast she is growing and learning. But I'm so proud of her and what a great baby she has been. She has brought so much love and laughter to our home! With her starting to walk and her up coming first birthday, it really makes me think of how entirely grateful I am to be her mom! And to have her in my life everyday... I'm addicted to that sweet, toothy smile! :)

First Trip to the ZOO

Yup we took Addie to the zoo last week. We went with my mom, little sister, and nephew Parker. He has been visiting for a few weeks. He goes back home to Virgina this week.
:( We have had fun hanging out with him. I love Addie's face when we were at the Zebra exibit... I don't know what she is doing. Parker was probably making a silly face or something. I think Addie's favorite thing was the elephants. She started at them for a long time... I think they are my fav too. We had a good time and it was nice weather.. I hadn't been in years!!

Addie had fun on the train. She wanted to stand up like this the whole time with her hands on the chair. She got excited when it started moving. And this is my cute mom with Parker also.

Miss Independent

So I decided it was time to start letting Addie feed herself from a spoon. We tried it and of course she was such a mess. She did really well, I was surprized. She could hold the spoon and scoop... just had a hard time finding her mouth. She sure knew how to rub in her hair though!! It was really fun to watch her try it. She liked being independent too. But I think next time we do that... I'll give her fruit. Something not so messy like these sweet potatoes were!

Take that!

As you can see, Libby is showing Addie early on who is the boss here! :) haha

Check out all the girls!

Heather and I went to visit Ness and baby Libby again. She is growing so fast.. man why do kids have to do that? Addie loved to stare at Libbs as long as she could. She wanted her to crawl and play.... soon enough though Addie. It's always great to get us girls together again!

August fun

Addie adores my little sister Candace. Ever since she could smile, she has been smiling, laughing, and dancing every time she sees her. It is the cutest thing to watch! They really are buddies! Addie is showing off her new hair do too... curly mohock. It is hilarious that Addie is still trying to sheild the camera. What does she think she is a movie star or something?? No cameras please. :)
"mmm I love banannas!"
Our little Miss. has been learning so much lately! She is getting close to walking and keeps trying. She doesn't mind when she falls constantly. I'm proud of her for not giving up. She loves giving kisses. But it is an open mouth kiss so watch out!! I love how I can say " Give mama a kiss please" and she leans in and opens wide!! haha. And now when she sees Josh and I kiss and has to give us both kisses too! How cute is that! And if she hears us even talk about saying bye she starts waving goodbye. I LOVE IT. It continues to amaze me how smart and clever she is! She is also learning how to have tanturms ... ah man. :(

oops forgot a few favorite photos...

Cousins!

The girls! My cousins Krysta and Alyssa and my sisters Candace and Janell.

Me with my handsome brother Eric and my nephew Parker.

Fun Weekend

This is my nephew Parker. This is Addisons only cousin. We were so excited for them to visit! Addie loves him. She laughed so hard when he would play on the floor with her and chase her around. Cute little friends they are! My brother-in-law Jeremy is an AMAZINGLY talented musician! He can play any song on the piano after just hearing it once. And he'll play it better. We all love to hear his music. This was Addie's first encounter with the piano actually. She was movin' and groovin' to the music! It was so funny. And she would add in a few notes of her own sometimes. This was sweet to see her be so happy hearing him play!
Addie says '' Good morning Auntie Janell!"

Eric's Wedding Day!

My little brother Eric got married on August 2nd to Courtney. My new sister-in-law! :) It was such a great wedding. They are so in love and Eric is usually a joker, but he was so serious and in love all day! He looked so sharp in his white tux too! Congratulations you guys!!
My older sister Janell and her husband Jeremy. They came all the way from Virgina! We are so glad they were able to make it. Their son Parker was the ring bearer, he did an excellent job. We miss you guys already! Thanks for an awesome weekend!
We had a scare with Addie the day before this. I got home from girls camp and she was really sick. She was really stuggling to breathe. So we went to the E.R. at 1am. She had Croup. :( So her throat was swelling closed and she couldn't get any air through. They gave her a breathing treatment to help but she still have a few hard days. She was so good for the wedding though. She really tried to be happy the whole day even though she felt crumy. I'm so proud of my little angel! She is doing MUCH better now! But it was scary for awhile there!
My cute hubby always looks so great in a tux!
The whole family! Wow its really growing! Welcome to the fam Courtney!