{beads}

A few weeks ago while we were out and about we stopped by the Dollar Tree. It's always fun to stop there because you never know just what you're going to find.

I had been wanting to get some fun craft supplies for Addison, since summer is definitely upon us (hello 108* on Monday) and playing outside isn't always an option. We found these fun beads and I thought they would make a great activity for her, and also help her work on her fine motor skills.

It only took a few tries and she was off like the wind. She was very patient and really enjoyed doing it. We've added another necklace to our collection since I took these pictures last week. Watch out, we've got a little jewelry maker on our hands!

The finished product...I couldn't get her to look or stay still...so this will have to suffice.

{wordless wednesday}

More to follow shortly on this little activity...

{30}

Yesterday, I turned 30. It was a great day. I got showered with love and was surrounded by some of my favorite people. I was gifted some great things, and even got visited twice by the flower delivery people!

My good friend Candice surprised me with this adorable "calorie free" cupcake!

My amazing husband sent me these gorgeous Dendrobium Orchids and funded a shopping spree for me!

My BFF Anaya did it big! Can we say tickets to see John Mayer at the Hollywood Bowl in August?!

And I also got quite a bit of cash that I'm saving up for the iPhone 4 in white. It's expected to be released in late July.

We had dinner at one of my favorite local restaurants with my sister-in-law, Becca. Frugatti's never lets me down! Love it!

I also had a pre-birthday dinner this past Saturday courtesy of my in-laws at the Cheesecake Factory! Red Velvet Cheesecake FTW!

Thank you to everyone who made my big day extra special. I had a smile plastered on my face all day!

{wordless wednesday}

{mr. waterpillar}

Mr. Waterpillar, how she loves you so. You're quickly becoming our "go-to guy" after we get home in the evenings. You're a great way to kill some time and let the Little Miss keep cool on these hot pre-summer night's. Thank you for being you!

{boots}

Rain. Boots. Hello Kitty. Hello Kitty rain boots. Apparently my daughter thinks that this is appropriate footwear for hot weather.

I purchased these rain boots back in March when it was rainy. They were too big for her back then (they're and XS and my kid has really small feet. She's 2 and wears a size 6), but now they kind of fit. And she insists on wearing them with everything.

We were goofing around the other night and I asked her if I could take some pictures of her in her dress and she ran and put on her boots. She was so proud of herself and even demanded that I take some pictures of just the boots so that she could see. A diva in the making. Watch out world. She had a melt down at the end of our little photo shoot. Classic.

{wordless wednesday}

{sunday funday}

This weekend we had a much welcomed visit from Grandma & Grandpa, and they also brought along Addison's favorite cousin, Jake. They played for a good long while outside on the slip n' slide, in the pool and with the Waterpillar. It was pretty warm out (95*) and they didn't let that slow them down one bit!

{howdy}

Sorry we've been MIA for the past week. Life is just busy, busy, busy.

Addison is adjusting to her new Preschool pretty well, but now the area that needs improvement is the dropping off in the morning. We now latch on and cry. It's horrible. Her teachers assure me that she is fine within 10 minutes of getting dropped off. Hopefully the newness of it all will soon wear off and she'll be comfortable first thing in the morning. I keep reminding myself that it's all still new, and the staff in the morning is on a rotation, so it's a new face each day. She's not used to that. She is sleeping, eating and tolerating the bathroom really well. Her teacher was telling me yesterday that she's also really getting her fellow classmates' names down. Considering there's about 12 kids in her class, I'm impressed! That's a lot!

She is still enrolled in her gymnastics class and is making huge improvements in that as well. She's almost got a somersault down pact, and she is an excellent jumper on the trampoline. She's finally to the point that she's using both feet to jump rather than galloping as she was doing in the beginning. She loves her instructor, Miss Chloe. She squeals in delight every time we pull into the parking lot and frantically seeks out Miss Chloe. So funny!

We've also been spending a lot of time outside playing in the water after we get home in the evenings. She's quite fond of the Waterpillar we picked up a few weeks ago at Target. She prefers that over the pool & slip 'n slide. Go figure.

My poor camera has been neglected as of late, but I hope to bring it out this weekend and capture some more shots of the Little Miss.

Last night before Gymnastics (or "mastics" as Addie calls it) - captured by Daddy

{baby loves bieber}

Addison has taken quite a liking to Justin Bieber's song 'Baby.' We're not sure what to think of it, but it's pretty darn cute!

{wordless wednesday}

{first day of preschool}

Today was Addison's first day of preschool and it seemed to go well. We only had 2 items of concern going in, and they both reared their ugly heads today.

We both dropped her off and she seemed very at ease. I of course teared up (I'm such a Mom that way) and had to quickly say goodbye after a few minutes of milling around. Karl stayed behind for a while longer and said that she did great.

I broke down at lunch to call and check in on her. Her teacher told me that she was doing great, but our items of concern were definitely in effect.

1. Pull-ups. They require that the 2 year olds wear pull-ups. No diapers allowed. We started putting her in them solely this weekend to get her used to them, but I think having to go into the bathroom today for her changes was a bit too much for her. Potty training here at home hasn't really been going. Hopefully this will change soon as she becomes more comfortable in her new setting
2. Nap time. They nap on mats on the floor. Addison is still sleeping very happily in her crib, and at our prior daycare she would nap in a pack-n-play. She slept about 30 minutes max today. I don't know what we can really do here at home to help ease her into this sleeping method. I'm just banking on time and repetition to help her with this.

She seemed in great spirits when Karl picked her up this afternoon. She ate all of her lunch (they got my kid to eat a hot dog...seriously!) and seemed to have made new friends just fine.

I'm hoping that this ends up being the good fit that we thought it would be for us. She's already talking about going back tomorrow! Woo hoo!

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{happy birthday, gigi!}

We love you and hope that your day was great!