She's Not Picky

Addy really likes raspberries. A lot. My parents have a big raspberry patch that Addy has frequented this summer and fall. The pricklies (I don't think that's a real word) on the raspberry plant posed a slight problem for Addy in the beginning. She quickly figured out that she could just grab the raspberry straight from the stem with her mouth. She was not picky at all when choosing which raspberry to devour. As long as it had a slight pink tint, it was eatable.
The last time we were at my parents house, my mom took Addy out to the patch to see if any of the raspberries survived the first freeze. This time, Addy could care less about the pricklies; she just grabbed the plant and started stuffing her face.

She was a pro.

11-11-11

When I woke up the morning of 11/11/11, I thought to myself that today would be a great to get married or engaged or have a baby......easy date to remember when you get old and start loosing your mind. However, today for me was just a regular day of keeping Addy busy and the house intact. My sister had this great idea (she always has great ideas) for all three of us sisters to record our day on 11/11/11. Both my sisters have their posts up which means I am the last one to get the post up. This is not uncommon for me to be trying to play catch up with my sisters. They are always on top of things while I just struggle to feed my one child three semi-healthy (heavy emphasis on semi) meals a day. So, with out further adieu, I present to you my day:
 This morning, Addy woke up around 7:45 which is a killer for me since before this week she was waking up at 9:00 every morning. Darn day-light savings! I let her sing in her crib for about 5 minutes but she started to wonder where we were, so she started yelling, "To, To." Which means Toph. This is generally how we decide who gets Addy out of her crib in the mornings and after nap time. She will either yell "mom" or "To". This morning, I lucked out so I  was able to stay in bed for an extra minute. Toph walked in and snapped this pic of Addy and her blankie ready to get out. She always grabs at least one binkie her pink blankie.

Toph brought her down to our room and she cuddled with us for about 2 seconds. She let us know she was ready to eat by pointing to the kitchen and saying "eee" (eat). We got her some delicious and nutritious cold cereal. After eating three bowls, she was finally done. Then she had us get her drinks out of the fridge. We always have a cup of milk and one of water in the fridge for her to choose from. Today, she chose both.

While we were cleaning up the house a little bit, Addy settled down in her favorite chair to read a book.

While I was getting ready for the day, Toph got Addy in the tub.

Addy was not quite sure why I was getting in her personal space to take the picture.

As soon as Addy and I were done getting ready, we got the mail which is one of the highlights of Addy's day (That is pretty sad, I know).  She always has to hold the key while we are walking to the mail box and she puts the key in the box. I am pretty amazed that she can remember which box to put the key in.

As soon as Addy realizes that we are headed back to our house, she throws a fit and starts running in any direction she can. I had to chase her down which is kind of embarrassing because it took a little while to finally catch up with her.

Now it is time to perform the daily task of sweeping the cockroaches that died during the night off the doorstep just in case we have a visitor. I'll admit it, we are pretty popular people.  The only visitor that comes to our door is Maintenance Man Sam (as he affectionately calls himself).  We have been having problems with our furnace, so he has frequented our doorstep this last week which has been pretty exciting!

Once I was finished disposing of the carcasses, I checked the mail to see if there was anything exciting besides bills.  As I was looking, I spotted a coupon that was a great deal on cheese. The only problem was that I could only get one block of cheese per coupon. I had the perfect solution to that problem. A solution that was taught to me by my oldest sister, Aimee. It is something I like to call. . . . . . dumpster diving!!! There is a garbage can by all the mailboxes in our complex, so after looking around to make sure I was not being watched, I dug in. I was not too successful, because 1. Addy was with me and we have been pounding it in her head that it is not okay to pull things out of the garbage. 2. The office is right next to the garbage can and I was afraid someone was going to come out and discover me.  And 3. I did not have a look out person to alert me if someone was coming (I may or may not have been that look out person for Aimee a time or two).  I decided I was going to go back later without Addy and when the office was closed. I knew I was not going to be able to find a look out person because the two people I am closest to in the complex were not available..... Toph just thinks I'm a little crazy, and maintenance man Sam had to go home to his family.

I was going to work concession stands at 4:30 PM until 11:00 PM, so I tried out a new recipe for BBQ pulled chicken in the crockpot. Addy assumed her usual spot on the counter and we got cooking.

We didn't get too far because I realized I forgot a few ingredients. Toph saved the day by running to the store for me.

After I threw everything in the crockpot, it was time to get Addy some lunch. I went out to lunch with a friend, so Toph whipped up some mac and cheese for the two of them.

It is now 1:30 P.M. and we are just trying to make it another 1/2 hour before Addy takes her nap. This is usually a rough time of day for us. For about the 10th time today, Addy pointed to the TV and said "bir". She really likes the first 2 minutes of a show called Third and Bird. I put it on for her and she was squealing the whole 2 minutes. There is a character in the show called Muffin. Muffin has a little dance she does every once in a while during the show. Toph is trying to teach Addy the muffin dance which is pretty funny to watch. Toph would not allow me to take a picture of him doing the dance, so I took a picture of Muffin doing her dance instead.

It was time for Addy to go down for her nap and she let us know by saying, "ni-ni" (night-night) and crawling up the stairs with her blankie in tow. She pretty much puts herself to bed, all we have to do is lift her into her crib and cover her up.
I had an hour before I had to go off to work, so I tried to take a little nap so I could make it that night while Toph was applying for jobs.
The rest of the night was spent working at the concession stand with Char and Hal.

Before I took the picture, I tried explaining to them that I was recording my day to put it on my blog. They seemed pretty confused, but were nice enough to let me take the picture. As soon as I was done, Char asked me what a blog was. I tried explaining it the best I could, but I don't think she understood. I gave them the web address so they could check it out. I hope they are able to figure it out.

While I was slaving away, Toph and Addy were having a great time. Addy got a kick out of biting Toph's toes. I can tell you that if I was there, there would have been no disgusting toe biting. Oh well, I guess it could have been worse.

I came home around 11:30 to this cute sleeping beauty.

 

11/11/11 was just another day in the Pace house. I am excited to look back on this post in a few years and remember what a day was like with my little family in the year 2011.

Trick or Treat

I'll admit it, I was way more excited for Halloween than Addy. There is nothing funner than torturing your daughter by putting them in some cute, frilly costume. She had no idea what was happening when I was putting her butterfly wings and tutu on. She wanted nothing to do with it, especially when we tried taking pictures. She would not hold still which explains the blurry pictures.

(I bet you can't guess which pumpkin I carved.)

  It wasn't until that first piece of candy hit the bottom of her bucket, that she really got into the Halloween spirit.  Once she realized that just by knocking on a door she received a piece of candy, she was on a mission. Toph and I could not keep up with her as she ran from house to house. We were only planning on going to a few houses, but we ended up hitting the whole neighborhood (which meant more candy for me and Toph....er...I mean Addy).

The blur of a butterfly off to the next house

(I have never been able to wear flip-flops, capris, and a short sleeved shirt on halloween....I loved it!)

Halloween was so much fun this year!

Cartoons

Addy will watch cartoons for about 4.5 seconds before she is ready to move on to the next activity. One morning Toph and I were getting ready to go, but Addy thought she needed to be held so she could be in on the action. We were running late and desperate, so we decided we would try to force our daughter to watch cartoons (we are amazing parents). We sat her in her special chair and gave her some crackers in a bowl and her drink.  Addy had never had crackers in a bowl before and she thought she was pretty special. Every time we would walk into the room, she would hold up her bowl of crackers and say "ca-ca" with a big smile. 

 As you can see, the crackers and drink did the trick and Addy watched cartoons for about 5 whole minutes. As soon as the crackers were gone, Addy was done. I walked into the kitchen and found that she had kindly set her bowl in front of the sink for me to wash. 

I don't really know why she put the bowl right there, but I'd like to think that she is just a big helper and likes to keep a clean house.......I can dream.

Bad Combination

There are some combinations that are never a good thing. Here is an example.....

Take this horrible insect:

and this cute girl:

Put the two together to get this very itchy, red forehead:

As if that isn't bad enough, let's add one more thing to the combination:

and we get this very messy girl just trying to get some relief from those itchy bites:

One Year Pictures

I guess it is time to post Addy's one year pictures. My sister Aimee took these and I love them. I couldn't get all of them to upload, but this gives you a good idea of how cute Addy is!

I also got some pictures in her birthday outfit. Thanks to Toph's cousin, Whitney, for taking these cute pictures.

Boating

Addy went boating for the first time a few weeks ago. She just wanted to get in the water, but when her toes touched the chilly water, she wanted out.

She had a fun time waving at the person being pulled behind the boat.

Thanks to the Barnetts for taking us boating! It was so much fun!!

True Love

Addy likes my parent's dog, Mooch.  She likes to step on him, poke his eyes, pull his tail, pull his legs, poke his nose, take his food while he is trying to eat it.....She likes him.  Mooch, on the other hand, is not so much a fan of Addy. 

Mooch is getting very old and only moves when absolutely necessary. Addy gives Mooch the motivation to move every time she shows her "love" for him. In the above picture, he is actually trying to stand up to get out of Addy's way. It takes him a few tries to get up.

In the last few months, Addy has found another way to show her love for Mooch; she gives him things. Many nights, I find presents in Mooch's dog bed that Addy has kindly left for him. 

  

The other night, I was trying to find Addy's binkie so I could get her in bed.  I searched and searched, but found no binky. After searching for a good ten minutes, I came upon this:

If you are having a hard time seeing the gift Addy left Mooch, here is the picture zoomed in.

Addy does not give her binky to just anyone. Mooch better consider himself one lucky dog to receive such a gift.