Addison's Favorite Things

Addison is at such a fun age....6 months today!  She is so alert and loves to play..which got me thinking...

I have been asking so many moms that I know what toys have been hits with their kids and which ones we should pass on....I'm looking for ideas for Christmas.  So...I thought I would put it out there which toys/things have been hits with us...and which ones we should have passed on.  I know it was so overwhelming trying to register and figure out what we needed/wanted/or shouldn't waste our time on.  So I decided I would make our own 6 month hit and miss list.

If any of you have any advice on which things are "must haves" for 6-12 month olds, please let me know!

Addison absolutely loves....

This Manhattan Toy "winkle" has been a hit for a few months now..

Infantino Bendy Bug....great rattle

This one has been a life saver....actually lets me get a shower in and entertains me as much as her...well almost.  It at least has a little hip hop, jazz, and reggae music instead of the nursery rhyme stuff...

Leap Frog Learning Table....huge hit.  She reaches for it all the time.  As an added bonus, has a bilingual button which, let's be honest is a lot more fun for me than her.  "Arriba!!" 

Evenflo exersaucer.....I didn't actually register for this one.  Wish I did, but ended up finding one for cheap on Woodlands Online.  I am addicted to that thing.  It's like Ebay, but in your own neighborhood.  It gets more hits than my email.

Vtech little driver

28....29.....Augghh!

30.  

Well, I hit the big 3-0 this week.  I knew I was old when I completed a survey yesterday and had to check the next age bracket up.  We had a little shindig to celebrate last night.  

We hired a local wine steward, Jack, to come bring lots of wine and tell us a little bit about it while we "tasted" throughout the night.  I use the word tasted lightly....because 25 bottles came and went pretty easy.  It was so much fun though and it was a bit like being at a winery in your own house.

Of course we had a little bit of drama before the party started.  

Key Players: Melissa, Andy, Addison, Jack the wine steward, 5 pizza boxes, oven.

M: "Andy, can you throw the pizzas in the oven to keep them warm?"

A: Yeah, done.

I get Addison in the bath with only 30 minutes until the party....I'm not even ready yet.

M: OMG, (yes, I'm 30 and still use that)...what's burning?  Andy, can you go check on the pizzas?

A: @^#$*@&%!!  IT"S ON FIRE!!!!

I grab Addison, still with soap in her hair and naked, and run towards the kitchen.  

Doorbell rings....Jack is here.  I answer the door, thinking Andy has this little "fire" under control by now.  Open the door for Jack while holding naked Addison.....

A: "Get in here.....I'm not kidding!!!"

 

I run in the kitchen and see Andy at the sink, and think, "oh good, everything is under control"...only to find a foot of flames coming up from the pizza BOX.

Oh yes, I said box.  

Lesson: Do not put 5 pizza boxes in the oven all at once....or one for that matter.

Anyways....here are some party pics.

Jack and Ruby educating us on a little bit of vino

Jacqueline, old lady, Sheila, and Becky

Pregnant lady...serving it up!

Just Because...it's fun!

So yesterday we were going through Addison's closet and Andy came across this adorable pink and brown tutu I bought for pictures a long time ago.  He asked me why she never wore it and I was like, "when do you wear a tutu?"  

Answer: Today.  Today I put the tutu on her with these cute baby leg warmers and she loved grabbing at the tulle and pulling on her feet.  So thanks dad for reminding us that we don't have to have a reason to wear a tutu...being a girl is reason enough!

New pics, finally!

I've been terrible about taking pictures lately!  Well, blame Ike, lack of power, and figuring out the new computer.  Finally!  Here are some recent ones......

Forget the toys, what's on TV?

Little Jokester

Addison has discovered her tongue.  She is constantly sticking it out at us.  Probably not a good habit to encourage, but gosh, it's so cute.

Laughing

Ike

Well, just 48 hours ago on Friday night Andy, Addison, and I were "hunkering down" with Sam and SHeila and "sheltering in place" waiting for Ike. We had a few drinks, made some good food, and talked about how it was a little bit "exciting", but would stink to be without power for a few days. How wrong we were.

Ike has totally devasted Houston and surrounding areas as many of you know. We were actually lucky and blessed to come through unscathed, safe, and without damage to the house. However, many were not so fortunate. My parents have lived here for over 35 years and have never seen anything like it.

The aftermath is quite amazing. ANdy and I drove with Addison to Dallas today to stay with friends because at home we are without power (being told for about 3 weeks), no sanitary water, gasoline, and few stores for neccesary items. Driving north to Dallas on I-45 today, you could see just a little bit of the extensive devastation. Billboards were twisted and slammed into apartment buildings, destroying several units, trees down everywhere, no gas station that was available until Corsicana. The few that we did see had lines of literally 100 cars parked and waiting for gas...even as far North as Centerville.

Most importantly, we are safe. We will stay in Dallas at least until Wednesday and assess the situation then. Hopefully my parents, who live south of us will be getting power restored more quickly since they are with Centerpoint. If that's the case, we will be moving to Glenloch Farms with the Lebo's until the same happens for us. We hope everyone is safe, and we look forward to touching base with everyone soon.