Find Your Station-A toddler, an infant and a SINGLE stroller!

The thought of a toddler not in a stroller in a store (or any public place) made me go into a panic attack until I read "Loving the Little Years" by Rachel Jankovic. Now we can walk with Caleb in the stroller and big sister walking beside us!!!! Sometimes the double stroller is not suitable where we are going (tight places, quick stops, or simply a toddler who needs to burn off energy, etc.).

It is simple, we put something we call the "special station strap" on the single stroller and Addison must "find her station" when we walk. She holds on to this and walks beside the stroller. She is expected to hold on to it for the duration of our trip or when we tell her she can let go for some reason. We hyped it up and made a big deal about it the first time and gave her a special treat after her first successful shopping trip using it. Now she says "yay yay yay" when we tell her to "FIND YOUR STATION EVERYONE"!! And when Caleb touches her strap when we are walking we be sure to tell him not to touch big sisters special station strap (as if he understands right now) and Addison feels even more special. It's working great so far and gives her some much deserved freedom.




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Pat It and Scooting

A couple of videos of Caleb...

I guess we play patty cake a lot

Why do kids love sesame street characters so much?!  

Also, it is funny how different yet similar my kids are.  Addison was sitting up easily on her own by 5 months but in no way interested in scooting around like this for a LONG time!

Sweet Giggles

This is what makes it all worth it and worth staying at home....

Our Little Cookie Monster

Although it looks like this party was complicated, it was actually very easy.  Addison loved the cookie monster and pink theme and walked around saying "num num num" all day!  Most of those who came were from Addison's class at school and then a few close friends.  It was neat to see her interact with kids her age and she was very comfortable/familiar with.  We had a blast celebrating Addison's second birthday, check it out below!

Thank you to Sheila Ewerth for taking the time to shoot these photos and edit them.  If you live in the D.C. area, please check out her website!  There is also a slide show of all the photos at the very bottom!

Invitations

Snack Table

Fruit and veggies with dip, goldfish, chips and salsa, M&M's, Hershey Kisses

Cookie Monster favor bags for each child to take home some homemade cookies!

Homemade Cookie Monster Cupcakes

Too bad everyone was so full of cookies we could hardly eat a cupcake!

Candy Tower

Pink and Blue M&Ms and Kisses; Addison went around to every plate within reach when no one was looking and ate EVERY M&M!  Can you tell she does not get junk food often?

Goldfish

No toddler party is complete without Goldfish

Milk Station

Milk should always accompany cookies!

Cookie Station

Four kinds of homemade cookies for party attenders to bring home as a thank you for coming; double choclate chip, oatmeal chocolate chip, peanut butter and sugar.

Cantelope

Of course Addison wants the fruit to eat over the junk first :)

Love Her!

Proud Mommy and Daddy!

2 years old!

1 year old!

This is her in the same spot at her first birthday party!

Snack time!

Decorating Sugar Cookies

The "activity" was decorating sugar cookies, it was beautiful chaos!

Decorating Sugar Cookies

Cake time!

She was too full of M&Ms to eat it :)

Presents

Every child helped her open the gift they brought.  Cute.

Slide Show

Addison is TWO

Happy, Happy, HAPPY Second Birthday Addison!

2 years!

1 year...what a difference a year makes!

The Stats

Weight:  28 pounds (78%)
Height: 35.75 inches, thats about 3 feet!!  (95%)
Overall:  The doctor was impressed with Addison's verbal development and pleased with her growth.  She recommended we wait to potty train until closer to 2.5 years so that when she gets it, she gets it.  I think she would do it now, but no sense rushing especially with a 5 month old rolling around too :)  She also said her paci at night has not effected her mouth, yay.  She recommends dropping that soon; after a few things settle down around here we will.  Again, doctor agreed there is no sense rushing it especially since she has had to contend with so many changes lately.

The Developments

Words to Describe Her: Compassionate.  Loving.  Energetic.  Intelligent.  Determined.  Obstinate. Inquisitive.

Verbal:  Addison is using complex sentences and verb conjugation; her sentences are up to 10 words long already.  She has trouble with r's and l's just like her Uncle Matt did but you can still understand her perfectly.  She is beginning to use pronouns with about 75% accuracy and even understands that Mommy and Daddy are also Kelly and Matthew.  Her verbal ability blows us away.  She still uses sign as she speaks the word mostly because we encourage her keep the skill so she can help teach Caleb.  We can have conversations with her now, how fun!  And singing, oh how sweet it is to hear her sing all kinds of songs: Twinkle Twinkle, BINGO, Jesus Loves Me, ABC's etc.

Reading:  I dont know how else to categorize this, but Addison knows all her ABC's perfectly and even knows the sounds of many of the letters.  When shown familar words, she can sound out the word.  One of my favorite things is she can tell you about several bible stories from the bible we read at night (thank you McKinnon family for her Bible last Birthday).  It makes me realize how important teaching them about Jesus is even NOW.

Abstract/Art:  She is starting to learn some of the less common colors like grey and white and brown.  She loves coloring and talking about all the colors.  She can draw a circle with astounding accuracy and also an M; random I know.  She knows many shapes and in fact loves teaching Caleb the shapes.  Art is definitely  something she loves, chalk, markers, paint, crayons, gluing, etc.

Personality/Disposition:  Addison has really developed a sense of humor and she does ANYTHING to make me laugh.  Anything.  She has her typical terrible two moments, but those are far and few between.  She loves learning and being independent.   It is often hard for me to find things to teach her, that is why I am thankful for her school!

Mobility:  Running, jumping, forward roll, skipping...she can do just about anything now.  She was a little slow in the walking department but once she got it, she got it!

Eating:  Although she has food strikes every now and then, she is still a great eater.  She loves variety in a meal and seems to eat better when the meal has several different foods.

My Sweet Blessing Addison:  Everyday I spend with you is pure Joy.  You bring such happiness and laughter to our lives and I consider it an honor to be chosen to be your mommy.  Thank you for making me laugh, giving me kisses and hugs and loving you little brother.  We are so proud of everything you have learned in these first two years of your life; you are so smart.  You are growing into a beautiful person both inside and out.  We love you so much Addison Joy; more than you will ever know!

She looks a little like her cousin Lyla in these big smile pictures!