Our Little Bookworm

Addie loves books! I can't even begin to explain how excited this makes me (and her Dad)! 

We've been reading to Addie since she was in the womb. I remember receiving weekly e-mails on fetal development all through out my pregnancy, and when I got word that she could hear we started reading to her. We actually began buying her books before we even thought about conceiving her. Needless to say, books are valued in this family.

I have to admit that I often feel as though I short change Addie with story time. At the end of the day I am exhausted, and the last thing I want to do is read stories. I almost always opt for Goodnight Moon not only because it is short and cute, but also because it takes little effort on my part. I worried that my night time indifference would hamper Addie's love of books. Luckily this is not the case, and I usually make up ground in the daytime with a few stories. 

Addie rarely sits through a whole story, but her attention span at story time is getting longer. When she wants off my lap I just continue reading while she plays. She just loves to look at the pictures, especially if the pictures involve animals. She will go to the book shelf pick out a book, sit on the floor, and flip through the pages. Often times the book is upside down, but she still studies the picture with gusto! 

Recently she has decided that she wants to look at "grown-up" books too. She points at the one she wants and whines until I get it off the shelf. As you can tell, I usually oblige. 

Hmm...I don't quiet think she's ready for A Million Little Pieces.

Water Play

As I was cooking dinner a couple of nights ago I heard splashing nearby. I turned around to find...

It is evident that Addie is in dire need of some water play. Unfortunately, we haven't had very many hot days here in Upstate New York. I guess Jake's water dish will have to suffice for now. 

* Note: I do realize it is dangerous to have standing water (in any amount) around a baby or toddler. We do have the kitchen gated off so Addie can't get to the water. I have tried putting his water on the counter when Addie is around, but then I forget to put it back down. Obviously a thirsty dog in the summer isn't ideal. So for now the solution is that Addie is only in the kitchen when I am cooking. 

Big News!

Loosen your belts a couple of notches and start brushing up on your Italian because we're moving to ... Naples, Italy! 

As if that weren't cool enough, Nathan has been assigned to a NATO unit pending his graduation from WOCS. Essentially this means that he will have a non-deployable status during our 3 year (or more) stay in Italy. He reports to duty on June 19, 2010, so we have about a year to go (and a move to Georgia to make). 

All in all, we are super-excited to have the opportunity to live in such a historical location. We are looking forward to the food (and wine of course!), the weather, the art, being 2 hours from Rome (and close to a lot of other great cities) amongst other things. We're not too enthused about the organized crime and the garbage situation, but hey "C'est la vie!" I know I will really need to learn so Italian!

Another Haircut

Last time we were in Virginia my mom kept joking that she was going to cut Addie's bangs while I wasn't looking. After her first haircut I swore I wasn't going to cut her hair for a REALLY long time. The more my mom's words resonated with me the more I started to think it was a good idea to straighten it up a bit.

I knew that I had to have someone else do it this time because there is no way Addie would sit still for me. Luckily we have a cute little kids salon just blocks from our house. The moment we walked in the door Addie wanted to play with this house. She loved going through the door.

When it came time for the actual haircut I put her in the barber's chair, which just happened to be a Barbie Jeep, and she new something was up. She literally jumped out of the jeep and into my arms when the hairdresser came at her with the scissors. Luckily I was able to hold her while the hairdresser worked her magic. This was the best shot I got afterwards, which is not so great, but it gives you a good idea about how things went.
I had mixed emotions after her haircut. On one hand she looked very well groomed, on the other hand I miss her long unruly locks. I will say that it seems as if her hair gets more red every day!

Old McDonald's Farm

Addie's love of animals seems to grow everyday. The excitement is overwhelming when she is in the presence of any animal. I thought it was high time she'd enjoy Old McDonald's Farm. I have heard about this farm since we moved to New York 6 years ago, but never really had any need or desire to visit. They do have a pretty wide variety of animals.

Addie's favorite animals were the buunies. I think it had a lot to do with the fact that they were right at eye level, and we were allowed to pet them. It was really hard to pull her away from the bunnies to go see the other animals

Addie wasn't really sure what to do in the bounce house. I don't think it will be long before she has that one figured out.

This little mule (umm...I think it's a mule) was literally just days old. It was so cute!

These baby pigs just loved their Mama's milk. I love to see other mammals nursing their young!

Addie's Walking

Addison has been walking for awhile now, and everyone has been asking for videos. Well, I am happy to announce that I finally have one for everyone's viewing pleasure! 

I created this in iMovie, and had the time of my life. Many more of these types of movies will follow. Sorry, but the quality of the film is not the best in most clips. Our new computer has really made a new video camera seem necessary, as I normally just use the video function on my camera. It just isn't high-speed enough to keep up with our new computing technology. 

I hope everyone enjoys nonetheless.

Happy Fourth of July!

Eat your heart out Uncle Sam!

I'd also like to wish my husband a very happy anniversary. I really can't believe that we have been married for 6 years! It really feels like we got married yesterday. Okay, when you count the actual time we've spent together it's more like we've been married for 3 years. Though, in my book we should get extra credit for all the time spent apart. I guess marriage doesn't really work like that.