Happy 1st Birthday Addie...

I can't believe it but my precious little baby is now a year old. This milestone has been an emotional one for me mainly because I can't believe just how quickly this past year has flown by. Up until February 14th she still seemed like this little baby to me but then I went and had Cadence and she is so tiny compared to Addison. It's a constant reminder to me that Addison is no longer my little baby...she's my big girl. She's a big girl with an even bigger attitude. This child keeps us on our toes and she has a mean streak a mile long. As hard as we try to remain composed when dishing out her punishments we can't help but laugh because she is so overly dramatic it's hilarious. Daniel would be the first to tell you she takes after her Mother in the drama department...lol. Here are some notes about what she's up to...

• She has spent entirely too much time with the family dogs. Addie likes to lick everything and enjoys eating food off her tray like a dog.


• She is starting to enjoy TV, if there is music on the TV she will dance to it.


• She is not shy by any means. When I was in the hospital having Cadence, nurses would walk in and Addison would go straight to them with her hands in the air wanting picked up.


• She will eat just about anything but she's like a bird. Sometimes trying to get her to eat isn't worth the fight.


• She stills gets up once or twice a night. I pray that this doesn't last much longer. Even though she stills gets up during the night we can usually put her to bed between 8 and 9 and she can sleep until 9 or 10 the next morning. Of course these past few days she's been getting up around 7:30/8 so we'll see if this is a new phase.


• She says a few words like Mommy and Daddy. On rare occasions she can say Addie and Sissy. I have heard her say cake once and my Mom now has her saying kitty kitty. Even though she is still mumbling it's actually starting to sound like she's trying to say something. I could listen to her talk all day long.


• She is wearing 12-18 month clothing and it's leaning more towards the 18 months more and more everyday. Sister has some chubby feet and she is currently in a size 4 shoe, althought today we put her in a size 5. A month ago she was 20 pounds, not sure what she weighs now but compared to her sister it's a lot. She's also wearing a size 4 diaper which further enhances her behind which my family has affectionately nicknamed the Kim Kardashian butt.


• She has her top two teeth as well as her bottom two teeth and just this week a tooth next to the bottom teeth has started to poke through. With these new teeth she's learned the concept of biting. Girlfriends already gotten a swat or two for biting Mommy.

In honor of Addison's first birthday we had two parties. The first get together was on her actual birthday which was the 17th. It was very low key seeing as I had just gotten out of the hospital with Cadence so it was just us, my Mom, and my brother Steve. We got her her own little cake and she thoroughly enjoyed it. It was good practice for party #2.

We held her second party this past Saturday at my step-dad and his girlfriends house and I think it's safe to say she had an absolute blast. She had lots of kids to play with and had balloons to play with. We know now that if we ever want to entertain her for long periods of time all we have to do is get her a balloon. She was still pulling those balloons along with her today.

The theme in her nursery is farm animals so I decided that was the theme we would use for her party. I had her invites professionally done which I would share with you except for the fact they have my telephone number and the address of my step-dads house and I don't know how to blur it out so for safety reasons I won't be posting it. It was super cute though with a little farm scene, her picture, and lots of pink and green. Her cake and the balloons matched perfectly!

By birthday round two she was a professional at destroying cakes. This pictures cracks me up. Needed a beverage break at half time.

She did pretty good with presents. She didn't concern herself much with actually opening them so I did most of the work but as I would unwrap she would play with the item. She got lots of clothes and very few toys which surprised me but she needed the clothes so Mommy's happy. Her Papaw gave her money so we'll get her a few toys with it. Just this afternoon we purchased a pink tree swing for her with it and she loved swinging so I think she's happy with her loot.

Overall I think she had a great first birthday celebrated with lots of family and friends. She continues to be the light of my life and I think God every single day that he gave me this precious little girl. There are times when she tries my nerves so bad I just have to cry but just minutes later she's walking up to me and resting her head on my shoulder as if she's apologizing. I like to think I am pretty good with words and writing my feelings down on paper but with this little girl I am wordless. There are no words or nothing that I could write that would properly express what I feel for her and what she has brought to my life. Her Daddy and I have had a pretty tough year starting with my job loss. We have lost our home, given up one of our vehicles, and gone without many of things in order for me to stay at home with her and her sister and I am all right with those decisions because spending my every waking moment with these two little girls is worth all of the money in the world. We moved in with my Mom in order to start putting money away in savings and to get ourselves out of debt so that in a year or so we can move out and start fresh without having to worry about where next months rent is going to come from and whether or not we'll be able to afford groceries. We're doing this all for our daughters because at the end of the day they are our light at the end of the tunnel and they make us feel like the richest people in the world.

Happy Birthday Addison Grace, I love you to the moon and back and I look forward to watching you grow into a beautiful young woman!