Brownie the Bunny

This little girl has really settled into her new home and we are all enjoying her. She is right at 7 weeks old and truly couldn't be any sweeter!

We've had the best time watching Belle and her play together! Belle is so excited to finally have someone her size to run and play with! When we put Brownie back in her cage, Belle sits in front of it and whines for us to get her out. They're best buds...at least in Belle's eyes!


Luckily, Belle is even sweet enough to share her toys with her...

Addison is thoroughly enjoying her and in all honestly, probably holds her too much! We have to constantly remind her that if Brownie is in her lap, she can't eat or drink.

We had quite the entertaining conversation with Addison about Brownie the other night. I asked Addison why she had chosen her out of all the other rabbits that Aunt Bridget brought to the party and she very seriously looked up at me and said, "Because this rabbit matched my hair Mom!"

And there you have it...that's how Brownie came to join the Skalon crew!

Addison's 4th Birthday Party...

It's still so hard for me to believe that this little lady turned FOUR this year! Where does time go???

Addison loves to paint and draw so we came up with a "Painting Party" theme and ran with it...

I ordered these cute little piggy banks from Oriental Trading...

Made a sign to put by her awesome cake that Mom made...

And a few sweet centerpieces for the tables...

Added an apron for each child to wear while painting their pigs and a few polka dot balloons and POOF! We had a party! :)

Addison had about 25 of her friends there to celebrate her special day and each of them were so cute painting their pigs.

Love this sweet picture of the birthday girl working so hard on hers!

Mom truly out-did herself on Addison's cake this year! She even included a little pig pink (Can you see him???) to go along with the piggy banks...so stinkin' creative!

The beautiful cupcakes that went along with the cake...they were DELICIOUS!!!

And just to top everything off, even this paint bucket was cake...yep...you could eat it!

Addison was in awe of her cake as you can tell! She couldn't stop looking at it.

Happy 4th Birthday sweet girl! Make a wish!

Duke and I were so proud of her this year as she took the time to open and "read" EVERY card that came with EVERY present before she opened the gift. Then after she opened the gift, she found that person and said "Thank you" for her present. We were quite proud parents even if it did take her a hour to open her gifts!

The guest(s) of honor at the party were definitely these sweet little bunnies that Aunt Bridget brought to share! Aunt Bridget had asked us before if she could give one to Addison for her birthday and we had agreed. Addison SQUEALED with delight when Aunt Bridget told her she got to take one home. She picked the little brown one immediately and made sure everyone knew that one was going home with HER. We had fun teasing the parents by telling them the bunnies were the kids party favors! The looks on their faces were priceless!

A proud NaNa and Pop-Pop with their birthday girl!

Such a beautiful group of girls...Aunt April, Aunt Bridget, Addison and Maw-Maw!

We had such a fun day with our sweet girl and simply can not believe she is truly 4! It's even harder to believe that this time next year we will be a family of four!

Happy Birthday to our sweet little lady! We are so proud of you and love you SO very much!

Addison's Thanksgiving Feast

Right before Thanksgiving, Addison enjoyed a Thanksgiving Feast at her school with all of her classroom friends. They had the best turn out and all of the parents provided the yummiest food for the children to enjoy. I am truly loving being Room Mom and having the opportunity to be so involved with Addison during her first year of school. She has the sweetest teachers and Duke and I both feel so blessed that she is in their classroom.

Look at this craft they did...What a sweet reminder this will be of how precious she was at this age!

Some of the sweet children in her class...

Our little turkey waiting to eat...

Each child shared with Ms. Tracy and Ms. Christy something they were thankful for before their Thanksgiving feast and their answers were proudly displayed around the classroom. Duke and I got the biggest kick out of Addison's answer!

Me with my sweet (and growing up WAY too quickly) girl!

Addison with her precious teachers. SO very thankful for them!

Thankful for Sweet Girlfriends...

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, Addison and I met Christina down at The Cheesecake Factory to celebrate both of these lovely ladies birthdays. We sure do miss our "Chris-nina time" since she married her prince charming and moved to beautiful Destin but we were so glad to squeeze in some girl time (and yummy food) with her while she was home.


I stumbled across this photo of the three of us at Addison's 2nd birthday...look how little she was! Precious!

So thankful to have such wonderful girlfriends that love your children like their own!

Fun Surprises!

These pictures are back from when we told my parents we were expecting again so they're a little old but too funny not to share.

Needless to say, as you can see from the pictures, they were quite surprised and we definitely caught them off guard...FUN TIMES! :)

We told them right around Grandparents Day so I purchased a frame that said something about being Grandparents and placed the ultrasound photo where the picture would go with a note that read, "Coming in May 2011."

Here is where the fun began...

Addison opening the "flap" for them...

Oh boy! Even Addison looked shocked! I think this was the first time she really heard us talk about the baby because we were so afraid she would tell everyone (she would have) if we told her before.

Think it's starting to sink in...and Dad's just realizing what's going on. I LOVE his face here. PRICELESS!

Let me look at this a bit closer!

And who knows what was being said here...but it's a classic moment caught on film of my dear parents. :)

I told you...too good not to share. I love my parents!

It's A......

We are THRILLED to announce that this little one...

Is A...

BOY!!!

Duke and I took Addison on her birthday (November 24th) and had a 3D ultrasound done of the baby so he (Wow! Still getting used to saying that!) could wish her a "Happy Birthday" and meet his big sister. She was so excited when she learned that she was going to get to meet the baby but I think she was a little disappointed when the image appeared on the screen. I hadn't even thought that this little one wouldn't exactly resemble a "baby" to her but she did think it was really neat to see him moving around and see his little heart fluttering. She was equally as excited as Duke and I when we learned this little miracle was a baby boy since she has said since the beginning she wanted a baby brother.

We let Addison share the news with our families on Thanksgiving and she was so precious. I wish I would have thought to of video taped it but we were dying to tell everyone and I didn't even think about it until afterwards. All we would have heard is a bunch of screaming anyways, this group is definitely excited about a little boy and has you can imagine, Duke is still on cloud nine.

Let the days of cars and trucks begin! We can't wait to meet you little prince!

Thankful

For my little turkey, my little one in the oven, my best friend and husband, family and friends and especially for a God who loves me despite all my imperfections.

I didn't take a single picture this year at any Thanksgiving function which completely stinks but as soon as I steal some from other people, I promise to post.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday filled from top to bottom with family and friends. We spent Wednesday evening with friends (so many that we haven't seen in SO long) and it was so wonderful to catch up. We are so thankful for friends you can truly GROW with and this past year, GROWING seemed to be the theme in all of our families.

We spent Thanksgiving day at Duke's Mom's house with both of our families. It was so nice to have both families together enjoying each other company and the WONDERFUL food was an added bonus. This was the first year that Mom and I did not battle the crazies (except for the year I was in the hospital with Addison) but since I am still trying to get over a horrible cold, we decided it was best to skip this year. So sad!

We did announce a FUN surprise to all of our family and I will post about separately.

Stay tuned...

Happy 4th Birthday Addison!

Dear Addison,

Wow! Your Daddy and I simply can not believe that you are 4 years old! You won't realize the meaning of "Time Flys" until you have children of your own (at least I never did) and honestly I don't think your Dad and I truly realized the meaning of it until this year.

This has been a big year for you! You started a Pre-school program at a church down the street from us 3-days a week for a few hours each day and (thankfully!) you are finally enjoying it. This was a very big adjustment for you (and me) but we have pulled through it together and you are doing SO well. Both of your teachers ADORE you and tell me and your Daddy all the time what a joy you are to have in their classroom and what a big helper you are to the other students. They say you are quite the "pleaser" and always want to do what is right (Lord, please stay this way!!).

You know all of your letters (upper and lower case) and can write all of them. You always tell people that your name is Addison Lee Skalon and your Daddy and I get the biggest kick out of that. You can write and spell your name as well as mine and most of the time you get your Dad's 90% correct. You love to read and thoroughly seem to enjoy learning and being challenged. We spell and rhyme EVERYTHING at our house these days and there is never a quite moment!

You have such a big heart and are the most thoughtful 4-year old I know. You are always asking about other people and make sure all of them (and their pets) are included in your prayers each night. You adore your Uncle Adam and light up when he walks into the room. You are quite the family girl and are definitely the happiest when we are all together.

This is also the year you learned you were going to be a big sister. You couldn't have been happier when we told you and your reaction was priceless. You are very curious about the baby and like to kiss and touch my belly to try and feel him/her move. You are going to be a wonderful big sister and your Daddy and I can't wait to watch the two of you grow up together.

Addison, thank you for being you! You are such a blessing to your Dad and I and we thank God everyday for trusting us with such a precious gift.

Happy 4th birthday sweet girl! We love you!

Mommy and Daddy

Whew! Catching up!

Its crazy that I haven't updated this blog in a while! It honestly took every ounce of energy I had to post the video of Addison announcing that we were pregnant and after I did that, I just disappeared! Ha! It probably has something to do with the fact that life hasn't stopped or slowed down one bit since we found out we were pregnant again and when you combine that with a very sick pregnant lady...it doesn't make for a good combination. So all of my "plans" for documenting this pregnancy with this blog have gone right out the window along with most of my meals the last four months. Sorry but its true!

So where are we now??? I just had my 4 month appointment yesterday and everything looks wonderful with the baby. I have been just as sick with this little one as I was with Addison and I am back swearing to Duke that this will be the last baby I give birth to. Ha! Most days I still live off of Zofran and as of yesterday they put me on Zantac to try and help heal my esophagus since the last couple of times I've gotten sick its been very bloody (Fun times! I know!). I've gained right at 6 pounds total and this will probably be the only time I post my weight gain.

I have said since I first found out I was pregnant that I thought this little peanut was a boy and I still feel that way. I have managed to convince most of our family members its a boy so if its a girl, we are all in for quite a shock! Addison has been so precious and can't wait for the baby to get here. She loves looking at my belly and likes to talk to EVERYONE about the baby that is in her Mommy's belly. Lately, she even brings them over to "see" the baby and then promptly tells them that they can't really "see" the baby because it is inside my belly and isn't big enough to come out yet. Love her! She is going to be a wonderful big sister!

Speaking of the little peanut, here is a picture of my ultrasound photo at 8 weeks:


Quite the looker already, huh?

Hopefully I will be better about updating this blog...at least I promise to try. Its funny because I write all sorts of blogs in my head all throughout the day, but when it comes to actually writing them or going to sleep - sleep always wins.

Thanks for hanging in there with us and for celebrating our blessings!

Christmas Cards!

Don't you just love getting Christmas cards in the mail? It is one of the things I look forward to the most. I remember when I was growing up I would take all the Christmas cards that my family got and put them up on our walls in the kitchen. I loved looking at the pictures and seeing how people have changed and how children have grown up. Now as I have my own family and my own children, I look forward to sending one out just as much as I do getting some.

There are so many different places to choose from when making your Christmas card. I have used Shutterfly before and will be using it again this year thanks to an offer for free Christmas cards to bloggers (that would be me!)

Just look at all of there adorable choices (over 700)! Here are some of my favorites...

A classic example

LOVE this one...

I seriously don't know which one to pick! I guess I'll play around with all of our million photos from the year and see what I come up with! But you can check all of their designs here http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards

And, just to make your shopping a little easier...they offer lots of awesome photo gifts (perfect for the Grandparents)! Last year we did a photo calendar for Duke's Dad and he LOVED it! You can check all those wonderful products out here http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars

And if you are a blogger and want to get in on this too, you can check my Facebook page!

Now to start working on my cards! Woo Hoo! Check your mail people!

Addison has something she wants to say...

Trick or Treatin' 2010

We had such a fun time Trick or Treatin' with some awesome friends! This was the first year that Addison TRULY got the concept of going house to house and boy did she get it! It didn't take long for her to realize that the more houses she visited...the more candy she got!

Addison decided that she wanted to be a Baby this year and since I have felt so crummy lately, I was thankful for the easy costume...plus she was warm and comfortable. She also had ZERO interest in standing still for me to get any photos of her but between all of the cameras, I managed to collect a few decent pictures.

Enjoy the photos of our Halloween adventure!

Addison enjoying some pizza before filling her belly with goodies...

My sweet "baby" and her TIRED Mommy...

Some of the kiddos on the Hay Ride...all ready to go! (Yes...there were more kids than this!)


Awesome friends...

Sweet Kaylee the Scarecrow...

And the "KING" of the Hayride...Landon!

Our drivers for the night...James and David

And my two favorite people...

Lola Cate the ladybug and Addison the baby, gathering some candy...

Capturing a rare moment where the kids stood still for a photo...

Landon LOVED Trick or Treatin'!!!

Addison and "Beans"...

Kris and the "safety sword" he would wave to let James and David know all the kiddos were on and they were good to go...Hey! We're all about safety people! ;)

My sweet girl at her last house!

We had a wonderful night and Duke and I are LOVING the candy Addison worked so hard to collect for us...Just kidding! :)