Addysin's blanket died!

In memory of "the tag"...

For those of you that are ever around us, you know that Addysin was obsessed with her blanket. It is one blanket in particular, not just any soft pink blanket. OK, its not even that blanket that she was in love with. It was the silky tag that used to say the brand name and how to wash it. I hate tags and usually cute them off of new stuffed animals or blankets but never did on her blanket. When she was about 7 months old she started sucking on it. It comforted her so much and I LOVED IT. After a few months the once white silky tag was starting to turn brown. After 19 months of being constantly in her mouth, on the ground, and in the wash whenever possible, the poor tag was brown and NOT silky. It was super embarrassing because she had to have it everywhere we went or she was a pill. I would wash it and that same day somebody would ask if I ever washed it. Thats how grungy looking it was. I was not going to try weening her off it. Why make my life harder? That made absolutely no sense to me. I knew the day was coming that it was either going to fall apart or we would lose it. Most likely fall apart though because I watched that blanket like it was a child. It was Addysin's better half. She could fall down the stairs and almost get a concussion, fall in the shower and split her lip open, wake up screaming at night or after a nap and the tag is all it took to make everything better. It was literally a miracle worker. I was never good enough, but the tag was. That blanket made being a mother to a whiny infant (Caiden) and a toddler so much easier. If I could not take care of her because Caiden was upset or I was feeding him, i would just give her the blanket. I saw the end coming and I dreaded it. I even went a bought her the exact same blanket to replace the disgusting old one. She was about 22 months at the time. I tried to do it discreetly while she was falling asleep at night in the dark. She put it in her mouth and then spit it out and kept saying "yucky". It made her mad! Chris thought maybe he should suck on it to make it old and nasty so she would like it, but that would defeat the purpose of the new blanket.
Well after being her best friend and comfort, she ripped the tag with her teeth. It hung on for another week before she killed it by completely ripping off the half she liked to suck on. That was February 1st. It was totally frayed so I cut it mostly off. I left just enough so she could see that it was still there but not the same. If it was just gone, she would have had a nervous breakdown. She obviously knew what she had done because she didn't care that the tag was gone. As she was going to bed that night she looked at it and said, " Oh no, tag went away!" and threw it on the ground. It was so bittersweet for me. As a mother, I think I get attached to things my children love. I was very excited to only have Addysin to take care of and not her blanket. She was completely fine for a day or two and I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT. I put the blanket in a closet so she would forget about it. Then a couple days later she realized what had happened and she has been so hard since. From there, she dove into the terrible two's. This is the hardest stage she has ever gone through, but I know with time she wont feel like something is missing. I gave her her blanket back to comfort her but sometimes it just makes her more angry, but sometimes it works. Its so funny... she latched on to her new pink blanket (that she never liked) so now she sleeps with two blankets and carries them BOTH around the house. Addysin is a funny girl.

Poor Addysin, Poor Tag...

Here it is after i chopped it off

This picture is so funny to me. I bought Caiden the same blanket as her (except blue). Dont ask why I left the tag on his blanket as well, but in this picture
Addysin is sucking on hers and checking out Caiden's tag.

Valentines Day

So Chris and I decided that we are going to take turns planning V-day and our anniversary. I planned our anniversary last september so he took Valentines this year. If you dont do this already, I would suggest it. It is so hard to know what to do, because he might do it too. for example, imagine waking up early to make breakfast to suprise him and as your cooking away, he walks in to prepare you a special breakfast. So instead of having that happen we both just dont do anything to avoid any mishaps. And another thing, its hard to come up with something creative and new two times a year.
This year Chris went ALL out. In the morning I cleaned the house and then was getting ready when the doorbell rang. I went to get it with the underside of my hair in curls and the top as straight as a ski slope. There outside was a group of four men. They came to serenade me with two wonderfully harmonized songs and a rose made of feathers.

Chris and I left for Salt Lake around 2:00 pm. My sisters Amy and Sara came to watch Addysin and Caiden. I had no idea what was planned untill we pulled into the Grand America Hotel.

A feeling of panic came over me because I knew we were going to spend the night without the kids... without Caiden, my baby. Its so hard for me to be a mother and relax when I'm away from them. I knew we were staying there before he even told me we were because everytime we see that hotel in Downtown Salt Lake we wonder what the rooms are like. It was really nice. So we took our stuff up (that Chris had packed) and looked around. Then we had dinner at The Roof, which is a fancy buffet on the top level of the Joseph Smith memorial building right next to the Salt Lake Temple. We had been dieting all week with Nutrisystem so I ate A LOT, especially the desserts. Afterwards, we went to Nordstrom Rack to shop (he knows what I love). I found some good deals and we left to rush back to the hotal before the pool closed at 10:00. We only got to swim for about 20 minutes, but it was really fun. After we got back up to our room, Chris ordered Pizza! Yes, thats right. We ate a buffet and then 3/4 of a large pizza! I seriously was sick untill monday. Thats what people call "crash dieting". I could not wait to get back on my diet though because desserts and pizza in mass amounts dont make a person feel their best. We woke up at 8:00 sunday morning and went home (we have church at 1:00). It was so fun, but I called to check up more than necessary. I needed to know everything was ok. I drove Chris crazy. Well that is just who I am... a paranoid protective mom and nobodies gonna change that. My children are my life. I think I need them more than they actually need me. Thank you Chris for a romantic, almost care free, get-a-way. I love him so much! I'm so thankful that my sisters were willing to watch our kids. That was really sweet of them.

A NEW ME

Ok, Caiden is 6 months old today! I CANNOT believe it. Its even harder to believe that I cant find time to update my blog. Whats wrong with me, when am i going to get it together? TODAY! YAY ME!

Well, I'm not going to attempt to catch up since November. I'm sure all of you dont care to read my huge long posts. The honest truth is that my last two updates (that seriously took about 4 hours each) were journal entries for myself. I dont keep a journal (which I am not proud to say) so this blog serves as one. Someday I will print it off. Too bad I procrastinated that and now my printer doesn't work. One more thing on my list...

Anyway, this is a new year... Ok yeah, i missed the boat by a month and a 1/2. Its still a good time for me to set goals and work on improvement. Caiden is 6 months and Addysin is 26 months. If I live like this for the rest of my years of raising children I will not have much to show, except wonderful children of course. So here are the things I am going to improve upon.

1. Write in a journal or blog at least once a week
2. Pray and read from scriptures or church material every day
3. Nutrisystem! (that will be a future post in case you're wondering what I'm talking about.)
4. Get some excercise at least 3 times a week
5. Stay caught up on laundry and dishes ALWAYS
6. Take time away from kids once a week so Chris can have time alone with them and I can have sanity
7. Make a budget and stay on it
8. Spend more time with friends and family, even if its only on the phone
9. Take Addysin to fun places to play instead of letting her watch TV so much
10. Get Addysin and Caiden on FABULOUS sleep schedules

Whew, I'm excited to get started.

Flordida & Disney World (November 16-21, 2008)

Ok, I have got to get back to my old blogger self. I used to dig through my brain trying to think of something exciting to blog about just because I loved making new posts. Now with a new baby (well, not so new anymore) and all the holidays and excitement, I have plenty to write about and I just dont have (or make) the time.

We went on an amazing vacation. The fact that it was 2 months ago and I'm still raving about it says how much fun it was. Heres the travel log:

Sunday 11/16


We arrived in Florida after two long squishy flights around 9 pm est. After waiting for Colling and Dani Brinkerhoff's flight, renting a car (mini van actually), and driving to Chris' sisters house (Anna) a couple of hours away, we were exhausted. We went to bed pretty late and woke up the next morning to a boy that Anna was babysitting. To put it nicely, he had a pretty annoying cry. It was a good wake up call though.



Monday 11/17


After breakfast and getting all ready for the day, we headed to our resort in Daytona Beach. It was another couple hour drive. We got there and we all put on our swim suits. We went all that way, I was gonna work on my tan... NOT. we got out to the beach and it was FREEZING. It was windy and in the low 60's... which, by-the-way, was a degree or two from record lows for Daytona beach in November. Anna's three girls and Addysin didn't seem to mind though. Chris and Collin couldn't care any less. They were in the ocean probably for an hour. Afterwards we warmed up in the hot tub, then checked into our beach front resort. Chris' parents had given us the vacation for Christmas 3 years ago and we never found the time to use it. The condo had 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, full kitchen, living room, dining room, laundry, and a balcony facing the ocean. Anna and her girls went home and we went to a cute Diner across the street for dinner. Addysin was so tired she just fell asleep on the booth's bench.

How sad... our only picture of the four girls together.

Tuesday 11/18

We woke up later than planned and got ready to go to Disney World. Once we got in the car and a few blocks away, we decided to wait untill the next day to go and we would wake up early to get to the park when it opened so we could spend more time there. That day we saw the town a little and hung out. It was just sooo windy so Dani, Addysin, Caiden, and I stayed in the room and watched Chris and Collin boogy board in the ocean. They dont let anything ruin their fun. For dinner we went to a delicous homestyle kinda restaurant.

Wednesday 11/19

We got up early and drove the hour and a half to Orlando. We starting the day with Waffle House, an east coast restaurant chain. At Disney World, we each got a 2 day park hopper pass since their are so many parks to see. You could EASILY spend more than 2 days at Disney World. We started in Hollywood Studios. Addysin LOVED seeing all her friends from Playhouse disney. She really does think they are her friends. She was so shy when she would see the characters in real life. We were sooo glad we waited a day because the weather got a little warmer and we didn't have to wear jackets the whole day.


Collin and Dani

Addysin saw Minnie, look at that smile! Not Chris'... Addysin's :)

We went to a playhouse disney performance. Addysin loved it... and so did Chris. He sang all the songs :)

Caiden was so good for us. He was just over 3 months when we went.

For the evening, we went to Epcot. It was super awesome. I thought it was just the big golf ball thing before we went. Nobody ever told me it is like a big city around a lake. It has houses/builings from all around the world. I felt like a literally walked around the world in an hour and saw so much!

Colling and Chris had been dying all day for a turkey leg. They looked like carnivores. Dani and I got Chinese food. You could eat food from where ever in the world you wanted, but since we're cheap skates we found the cheapest place there.

The park closed at 9 and finished with fireworks. We got to bed late and woke up early for our second day.

Thursday 11/20

We started at Animal Kingdom. The weather got a little warmer and we were soooo happy. Animal Kingdom is also really cool. Its like a big, awesome zoo full of exotic things you never see.

This is how I carried Caiden the whole week when we was tired of being neglected in the stroller. He LOVED the sling more than anything in life (he has finally out grown it). My back and shoulder got very sore after so long.

This is how we got through the park.

Ok, just kidding.

Look at the huge fake mountain built just for a roller coaster. Disney doesn't mess around. That was my favorite roller coaster.

Addysin wants to be a grown up. She loves to mimic everything.

I think she was most excited to see Pooh, Tigger, and Eyore.

We went to Magic Kingdom for the second part of the day. Collin and Dani say that it is almost a replica of Disney land in California. The was my least favorite park. Maybe I was just exhausted. It is definitly a great place for children though.

We just happen to be there on the night they did the Christmas kickoff. It was sooooo beautiful. Everything was lit up and they had a fake snow machine. We figured out it was tiny little bubbles stuck together, but it looked exactly like snow was falling.

Our trip was so wonderful. Disney has made everything so perfect. Every building and ride are so cool. You just feel like you're in another world. You know that commercial where the mother and daugher are there and then the mom becomes the daughters age and they have a ton of fun together? That is kinda what its really like. You feel so excited, amuzed, and happy like a child!

Friday 11/21

We made the drive back to Orlando one more time (whew, we spent A LOT of time on the road) and flew non-stop to Salt Lake City. It was the perfect flight. We got 3 seats, even though we only paid for 2, and the kids were wonderful. It finished off our vacation nicely.

Thanks MOM & DAD LEE for the vacation!!!

where has the time gone?!

Wow, three months have FLOWN by! I cant believe I have let my blog become so outdated. Caiden is so old now and Addysin has started her terrible 2's. I feel like I am finally able to make time to update everyone. I dont know where to start so I'm going to start with where I left off! Ok, here it goes...

This is on my birthday (8/15). It was a good day, especially since I had a new baby. This is the first bath I gave him. He HATED it. 

Kara, my sister, got married Aug. 22 in the Salt Lake Temple. Here are some pictures.



All of my sisters.
My parents.
On August 24 we traveled to Washington. Chris had to go back to work knocking doors there. We had a fun time with our families and enjoyed the parks and river. 
After Addy's first jet ski ride. This is 2 1/2 weeks after I had Caiden. What was I thinking? I just wanted to enjoy the last days of summer.
Chris on the Columbia River... so beautiful. 
Addysin being helpful. 
Chris' sister Becca got married September 6 in the Columbia River Temple. Here are the Lee's.

My dad has a "flying machine", I don't know the real name. Here are some pictures that Chris took, from the back seat, of our farm. This is where I grew up. 

Four-wheeling one night out on the farm. 
Chris blessed Caiden on September 7 in my home ward. (I made his blessing outfit.)


Addysin seeing if Caiden will bite her if she gets too close. Her touching him is a rare occasion so i love capturing it on camera.
Caiden at 1 month old. (My grandparents gave me that bear when I was about 4 years old.)

We love going to Provo canyon in the fall, especially after being gone all summer. This is at Sundance Ski Resort.

Caiden's announcement that only made it out to our immediate families and when he was 2 1/2 months old! I've been slacking bad. I took the picture September 19 and made it on adobe photoshop. 

This was so funny because she kept striking different poses. 

"Cheeeeez"

At the canyon again on another sunday with my sisters.
On our 3rd anniversary September 24.
This is a great picture of how ugly Caiden's hair was. It fell out in a horse shoe shape all the way around his head. I cut his hair when he was about two months old. 
His two month old picture. Wow, he got chubby! At his two month appt. he weighed 15 lbs!
Chris' brother tony got married October 18 in the Rexburg Temple. That was a really fun weekend, a nice get away. 
Most of the Lee grandchildren. Addysin thought everyone was staring just at her and she panicked. 
Miniture golfing with Chris' sisters family that came to visit from Washington. 
We went to Cabela's with them as well. 

So sweet. He loves to be held and cuddled.
In case you were wondering, Addysin is still addicted to the tag on her blanket. 
Halloween!!! Minnie and Mickey were sooooooo cute. That is Addysin's favorite show, along with Winnie the Pooh. We had a fun weekend. Chris was "metro" and I was a "utah girl".

We went trick-or-treating around our complex.
The day after halloween we went to a party at some friends (Dave and Jill) house. This is Kara and Adam as Little red riding hood and the wolf. so cute. 

Here is Chris letting loose on Guitar Hero. 
ooooohhhhh, How much cuter can a baby be?
He's so big now, I really cant believe it. He will be 3 months on Nov. 11.
Here is a clock I started making with my sister in laws on the Lee side in July. I just got the vinyl words and finished it. 

Ok, I'm burnt out now. Hope you enjoyed the brief update and pictures!