Happy Halloween

Pumpkins!

Unfortunately, we were not able to make schedules work to do pumpkin carving with Uncle Chris, Cousin Landon and Papa Doc like we have in years past.  No worries...Mom to the rescue!  I had big plans to create a masterpiece with and for my toddler.  Or so I thought...

With my trusty sidekick we got to work on the kitchen floor...

 

Addison quickly lost interest in cleaning out the pumpkin, so Dad jumped in and helped her decorate her small pumpkin with stickers.

 



After I finished cleaning out the pumpkin, I told Addison I was going to cut Elmo's face out of the pumpkin.  No sooner did I explain what I was doing and she was back in the kitchen with the scissors from her hair salon set.  She wanted to help!

Maybe I should have let her do it, she might have had more luck.  I quickly realized I had bitten off more than I could handle and my Elmo needed some help!  Before all was said and done, Elmo's entire face collapsed into the pumpkin.  Addison brought me a band aid because I told her Elmo had a booboo...ha!  I think Addison was on to something, so I turned Elmo into Mummy Elmo.

 

 

The finished masterpieces!

You CAN have your cake and eat it too...

Or in this case, a pumpkin spice cupcake with cream cheese frosting!

Build-A-Bear

Addison received a gift card to Build-A-Bear from Papa Doc and Lisa for her birthday.  We met up with them Friday evening to see how much damage we could do in the store :)

She was a bit overwhelmed when we stepped into the store, but who wouldn't be I suppose?!  The bear select was interesting...I'm not sure if she wanted all of them or none of them.  She seemed to show the most interest in a One Direction bear, but Mom vetoed that quickly because 1) she has no idea who One Direction is and 2) it was $15 more expensive because it was One Direction.  We settled on a plain bear, very similar to the 1D bear minus their faces on its paws. 

The stuffing of the bear was where we almost lost it...to say she was terrified of the stuffing machine would be an understatement.  We quickly got the bear stuffed and moved onto the next station and thankfully Addison loves giving her dolls a bath and knew exactly what to do.  We even made it home with a scrub brush as a must have accessory for her new bear.

 

 

And then the real fun started!  Addison was in heaven looking/touching/grabbing/throwing all the different clothes and accessories for her new friend.  Most everything was right at her level so it was perfect.  She had to try several outfits on the bear before ultimately landing on a rainbow tutu and top, pink panties and sunglasses for her new friend.  We named her new friend "Rainbow" because of her colorful attire!



 

 

 

She was very proud of her new purchase and carried the box all the way to the car by herself.  John and I knew she was happy because she didn't turn to us and say "Pretty heavy...mommy hold" which is her new go-to phrase when she doesn't want to hold something...her water cup, a blanket, anything?!

 

 

And of course, a trip to the mall wouldn't be complete without a stop at the fountain!

Mommy's Helper

Addison loves helping me unload and load the dishwasher lately.  And surprisingly knows where most things go in the kitchen!  She stands on her tip toes and can drop the silverware in the drawer and is a huge help putting all the plastic containers away in "her" cabinet --- the only cabinet that doesn't have a lock on it.  She insists that we both wear aprons anytime we are doing dishes.  She used to wear one of mine folded over but got one her own size from Grandma Diane for her birthday and I have to wear this one with the flower on it...HAVE TO!

TOYS!

Addison was one lucky little girl and received so many wonderful new toys for her birthday...she has been very busy the last week or so playing with everything!

Everyone (Mommy, Daddy, most of her stuffed animals) have all gotten several hair cuts / hair do's this last week.

She has no pants on because she insisted on trying on her new Elmo panties and then serenading us.

"Price Check!"

Burr...no pants (again?!) but let's wear a winter jacket!

"All Aboard!  Choo Choo"

Hugs from Elmo

LOVES her new hat...

Taking a break from all the playing!

Scanning her groceries...BEEP!

We have been BOO-ed!

The Halloween BOO ghosts have been busy in our neighborhood and Addison was BOO-ed this week.  I'm not sure she got it...scratch that...she didn't understand what it meant but enjoyed playing with the little goodies left.

We did our part and went to Walmart and collected a bucket for of goodies and passed along the BOO to 2 of our friends in the neighborhood.  They both go to daycare during the day so Addison was able to help me leave it on their doorstep during the day and they had a nice surprise waiting for them when they got home.

A fun little tradition that I look forward to continuing in the neighborhood as Addison gets older...

Addison's BIG Day

With no extravagant birthday celebration in the works for Addison's 2nd Birthday, we opted for a relaxing day doing some of Addison's favorite things. 

John took the day off work, so he was able to join me as we serenaded Addison with a Happy Birthday wake up call.

She feasted on pancakes in the shape of A's and 2's for breakfast.
This is her holding up 2 fingers...one on each hand...to show how old she is.

What would a birthday be without a few presents from Mom and Dad!

A little batting practice with the new t-ball set.

Miss Thing in her sunglasses headed to Wild Wilderness Drive-Thru Safari.

Addison drove us through the park :)

We had to stop for this guy to cross the road.

Like Father...Like Daughter...

This emu was either trying to go after my daughters hand or wanted to join us in the car...either way we got the window rolled-up just in time!

Papa Doc joined us for the fun!

We got to get up close to one of Addison's favorites from last trip...z-ba.

She was still pretty excited but I don't think they were her favorite this go around.

After a lovely drive-thru the park we enjoyed a picnic lunch...as much as we could with peacocks and rosters walked all over the place.

Addison wasn't too sure what to think of the petting zoo and Papa Doc had bought a little food so all of the animals LOVED him.

Mom wasn't too sure what to think of the petting zoo either...ha!

This is more her speed...

 

Addison is TWO!

Favorite this trip...THE BUNNIES!  Post trip if you ask her about it she will say..."The bunnies eat Addie's finger"

It was this finger the bunnies ate...ha!

Silly kids...



Trying out some new birthday presents once we got home...loved the new "hat" aka bike helmet.

And scooter!

A little more batting practice with Dad.

Chick-fil-a for dinner with ice cream for dessert.

Pretty good day for a 2 year old!  Thank you to everyone who called, sent texts, FaceTimed and sent presents to help make this a special birthday for Addison.