Gotta love the things kids say...

I was sitting at the dinner table tonight with the kids after Jeff had left for the T-Ball coaches meeting. Addison was exceptionally hungry as she whined for more food after devouring a whole bowl of cereal. As I was finishing up giving her the last few bites of her green beans, Brooke and Austin decided to start discussing how we needed to have a 4th baby. I asked them if we should have a boy or a girl and they said a boy. Brooke's reasoning was so that she could sit next to Addi in the car and Austin could sit next to the baby. When asked what we would name him......Brooke's reply was "Plant."

Mmmmm, Good!

We piled in the car and went for a family outing to the mall tonight (note to self: this is getting much harder than it used to be!) Shopping was of course, not so much fun so we made a valiant effort to grab a few items for Jeff and I along with bacterial hand soap from Bath & Body works (the kids LOVE picking out the scents for their bathroom), then it was on to the food court for some dinner. Addison was pretty cranky throughout and even more so once her cereal was devoured in about 30 seconds. Of course she made me nurse her while I was trying to enjoy my yummy salad. Nursing didn't go so well as she kept pulling the cover off of me and tried to expose me to all of the passers by. I was getting frustrated so I decided to let her try a little "big kid" food. She had a few licks of the ice cream cone Brooke and Austin were sharing and REALLY enjoyed it (personally I think it felt nice on her budding teeth.) When that novelty was gone I decided to let her suck on a fry. Jeff looked at me like I was crazy and thought she was going to choke on it, but 2 soggy fries later she had successfully sucked them clean. Just another milestone I wanted to jot down.

VBS Cookout Pictures

You will notice that food in the mouth is a common theme amongst the kids :o)

Riley is NOT a fan of baby spit-up

So, yesterday was the last day of VBS and there was a cookout afterward. I brought along some squash to feed Addison since she's not quite ready for the burgers and dogs yet :o) After we ate we made our rounds to visit all of our friends and ended up moving over to the table where the Wagners were. Riley is always wanting to hold Addison and is very intrigued by her. In the middle of all of the chaos of Brooke, Austin, Reid, and Riley running around the sanctuary, Riley decided to take a little pit stop to visit with Addison and I. Just as she did Addi decided to regurgitate her squash all over me. Riley looked at me and said "What is that?" I told her that it was Addison's lunch and where I made the mistake was in telling her that it was nasty and all over me. I then asked her if she wanted to sit down and hold Addison so that I could take a picture of them together. Riley looked at me with a disgusted face and replied "Um no, I don't want that nasty stuff to get all over me!" Too cute :o) Needless to say I didn't get the photo-op I was hoping for.

Sippy Cups must be better than bottles

Since birth I have had a VERY difficult time getting Addison to take a bottle for me or anyone else. I think she has maybe taken a bottle about 6 times in her 5 months of life. It definitely is not for a lack of trying either, as I take a bottle everywhere we go in hopes that she will drink it. I went to visit my parents on Sunday (6/14) and decided that I was going to try a sippy cup out with Addi. She had expressed interest in drinking from a cup when she saw Brooke and Austin doing it, so I thought maybe it would work. Sure enough she drank out of it like a champ! I guess she just wanted to be like the big kids and now she is getting water so that makes me a happy Mommy. Last night Brooke and Austin helped hold the cup while she drank. They love helping me out with all things Addison!

Boys will be boys

Now that Austin is potty trained I am having a hard time keeping his pants on him. His Daddy has taught him that it's okay to water the grass when he is outside and needs to go pee-pee, but forgot to instill that he should only do so in the PRIVACY of his OWN yard. When we went to Wild Waters the other day Austin had a look on his face as though he was about to do something not so nice in the water (#2 to be exact.) I quickly scooped him up and dried him off and told him to wait for his Daddy to get back with Addison from getting her stroller out of the car. Austin can never sit still for very long, so he was up and out of the lounge chair in a matter of seconds. The next thing I know he is in the grass with his pants around his ankles and ready to relieve himself. In my mortified state I quickly scanned the nearby chairs to make sure nobody had seen him and ran over to yank his pants up to his shoulders.
Two days ago, my girlfriends Lark and I took Austin and his friend Grant to the park after we dropped the older girls off at Vacation Bible School. We took the boys potty when we first arrived so that they would be good to play with no interruptions. For some reason they found it more fun to play around us under the pavilion than actually enjoy all of the playground equipment. I was talking to Lark and the next thing I know Austin was between the pavilion and the playground with his pants around his knees. Once again in a mortified state I quickly gave Addison to Lark to watch, scooped up Austin after pulling his pants up, and then took him to the potty. Of course he didn't end up going on the toilet. Somehow I just don't get the urge he has to drop trow in all of these public settings. Doesn't he understand how much it embarrasses Mommy?!?

Austin-isms

So, I totally forgot to blog about this when it happened, but I was reminded of it yesterday and decided it was definitely blog worthy. A few weeks ago I took the kids swimming at my parent's house. My brother was also there with my niece, Cheyenne. He had been working on teaching her several new things and she was telling us what she learned. Potty training was the BIG one, but she was also learning what her WHOLE name was. My Mom asked her what her name was and in her own version of English she said Cheyenne Elizabeth Harwood. "Yeah!" We all replied and clapped for her. My Mom then asked Austin what his name was and he replied "Austin." She then said, "Austin What?" In typical Austin fashion his colorful response was "Austin Danger!" We of course all cracked up laughing and said "No it's Austin Taylor." With a stern look on his face he scolded us all and said "No! My name is Austin Danger!" "That's what Mr. Phil says!!"
So, Austin now thinks his real name is Austin Danger. Perhaps this is his Father's fault as when he was a baby we used to joke and call him Austin Danger (derived from the Austin Powers movies). Our good friend Phil, has kept that name in tact and now his two kids, Reid & Riley, who are Austin's closest friends call him that. So, funny the things kids pick up and keep a hold of! Now on a related note, Reid told his Mom the other day that he wanted to change his name. She asked him what he wanted to change it to and his reply was "Austin Danger." Kelly told him that there was already an Austin Danger and Reid still insisted that he wanted to be called Austin Danger just like his buddy. My response to all of this....."The world can only handle ONE Austin Danger!"

Jeff turns the BIG 3-1

So, as many of you know, I married a younger man...LOL! What a Cougar am I?!?! For his birthday I cooked Jeff and the kids a yummy (well at least I thought so) french toast with strawberries and whip cream breakfast. We then loaded up the family and headed down to Wild Waters. The kids had a blast, but it only lasted for 2 hours because Addison(and I) weren't a fan of the EXTREME heat. No fun nursing a baby while sweating the death :o( That evening I surprised Jeff with a babysitter so that he and I (Addi in tow) could go out for a nice celebration dinner. I invited our friends, The Wagners, to join us. We went to BJ's and had a nice time! It was the first time trying out the new restaurant and we were impressed. The inside was REALLY nice and the food was great! Jeff had a calzone(but thought it was on the small side, although it tasted good) and I had Parmesan crusted chicken with white cheddar mashed potatoes(YUM!) and broccoli. I even got to have a drink with him to celebrate the occassion since Addison is finally eating some solid foods...hooray! SO nice to go out to a restaurant and not have to nurse her when my food comes :o) She now gets to eat her cereal, sit in her portable highchair and play with toys. The next night my parents came over and we had pizza and cake. the kids and I went to Publix on Monday (they picked out Funfetti cake with white icing) and we baked it that evening. I attempted decorating it to look like a golfball on a tee in the grass. It was my 1st attempt at decorating, but I think I actually did a fairly decent job. Tasted good too! Not sure what he wished for when blowing out the candles (Brooke and Austin helped him while Addi had already gone to bed), but my wish for him is much success and happiness in the year to come! Like the old saying goes: "It gets better with age!"

A big week for Addi Rae

On Wednesday, June 3rd, my sister and I took Addison to the mall to get her ears pierced. In tow were Austin, Kayt, Lyce, and LoLo(the little boy Moe watches). It was an experience to say the least with 5 kids, but we survived...and so did little Addi for that matter. I chose round little earrings with her garnet birthstone encased in sterling silver. It took several attempts before the girl had drawn holes on her ears that we agreed were in a good location before I would let her get on with the actual piercing. My sister held Addi (I'm too much of a wimp to do so and am sure would cry myself). She had done this for Brooke when she was 3 months old as well, so I knew she was the right person for the job. Addi cried for a moment after the 1st ear was pierced and then cried a little more after the 2nd. It took some prying to get her from my sister, but as soon as she was in her Momma's arms she forgot about the pain. The other 4 kids received lollipops from the girl for being such good watchers during the process (this made their day!) We were then off to surprise Grannie, except my sister had spoken to her on the way to the mall and well, the cat was already lete out of the bag :o(
The next day while sitting on the couch I noticed a little something in Addi's mouth....her 1st tooth! All I could think of was "Oh my goodness! My little baby is only 4 1/2 months old and she is already getting teeth!" My 2nd thought was "Oh no, does this mean she's going to start biting me while nursing now.....OUCH!!!" You see, I went through this with Austin, albeit he got teeth a little later, but it is the precise reason why he was cut off from nursing. He was a little piranha!
On Friday I dropped the older kids off with Grannie and Grandpi and Addi and I were off to Jax to meet up with Jeff and attend the wedding festivities for Riley and Jenilee. This was already the 2nd wedding Addi attended in her so far short little life. She was a trooper for the most part, but had her melt down both nights by about 8:30 (understandable since her bedtime was 7:30.) She got to see the beach for the 1st time (no pics though since it rained for the ceremony...booo!) It was nice to spend a little bonding time with just Daddy, Mommy, and our new little princess.