Our Little Cover Girl

Look who's on the cover of Hall County Magazine this month!!! Soooooo fun!

I have to say I learned a few things during this photo shot with Addison:

A). Getting a good photo or trying to get a child to warm up to a complete stranger isn't as easy as it looks.

B). Warn the nice photographer that saying "That's a nice shot" while shooting a 3-year old in a doctor's office isn't smart! Addison heard that, thought he meant that she was about to get a SHOT (makes complete sense, we were at a doctor's office) and it resulted in a complete meltdown and at least a 30-minute break. Oh well!

Addison was so funny when I showed her the picture. We had gone to Publix and the magazines were sitting on the rack. I grabbed one and said, "Addison! Who is that on that magazine??" Her eyes got real big and she replied, "That's Addie!" I said, "How did your picture get on here?" In which she replied, "Oh Mom...that man just took my picture and put it on there."

Of course! Silly me! :)

Three Is So Much Fun!

Addison has been VERY vocal lately that she wants a little brother or sister. It changes everyday on which one she would prefer but we are excited she has backed off on telling everyone she is getting 2 babies! Yes....TWO!!!!

This morning when I woke her up for church, I had the greatest conversation with her. It went something like this....(keep in mind this popped out of her mouth the MINUTE she opened her eyes!).

Me: "Hey sweetie! Did you have sweet dreams?"
Addison: "Yes, I did. Thanks. Mommy??? I REALLY want a baby brother. Why can't we go to the hospital and get one?"
Me: "Well Addison we will have to talk about that."
Addison: "I know how we can get one Mommy."
Me: "Really, how?" (I thinking it is WAY too early to be talking about this!)
Addison: "We just go to the hospital and put a quarter in! That's how we can get one!"
Me: "Really? Just a quarter, huh?"

I love this kid!

You Might Be A Redneck If.....

It started like this....

Turned into this....

And the kids had a BLAST!!!!

And here's a video just so you can see how "redneck" this was!

Friends, Cookouts and Lazy Afternoons!

A few Sundays ago, we headed over to Kris and Jessica's house for some yummy food and fun times with great friends. We absolutely love the beginning on summer when it's not horribly hot and the bugs aren't eating us for dinner! We had such a fun evening with the kids...I captured a few priceless photos of the kids and a video to go along with them that I will post in a separate post. It's so good, it deserves it's own post...don't worry...you will agree when you see it, I'm not just being lazy. :)

Addison and Landon jumping in the bouncy house together...

Addison and Uncle James sportin' their "mean" faces.....

Addison and Mommy.....

Who knew a lawn mower could be so much fun...this gives you a glimpse of what my next post will be all about!

It was a great beginning to many summer nights! We can't wait!

Little Friend, Little Friend....

Let me introduce you to Addison's newest friends...(I would tell you their names but they change everyday).

Addison and Mom ventured into PetsMart one afternoon and this is what I came home to, two tiny, tiny mice. Of the joys of being a Grandmother! Unfortunately they only lasted at our house about 2 weeks before Duke said they had to go, but I am sure they are much happier at my Mom and Dad's house (although I don't think my Dad feels the same way).

As you can see, Addison adores them and has zero fear of them...

Although the mice didn't live with us long, they provided lots of entertainment during the short time they lived under the Skalon roof. One night Addison came into the living room and informed me that her mouse wasn't laying on her blanket anymore with her. You can imagine the look on Duke's face when she said this! I calmly (Yes...I remained CALM) asked her what she meant and she begin to explain to me how she had gotten one of the mice out and laid it on her blanket so it could watch her movie with her. Of course she did!!! Isn't this a normal thing to do with a mouse???? Ummm, No!

It was quite funny because Addison was heartbroken that this little mouse didn't want to stay on the blanket and Duke and I were freaking out that there was now a mouse loose in our house! No worries, the mouse was still in the playroom (thank goodness!) and after about 45 minutes or so of a nice game of "chase," the little mouse was back safetly in it's cage and had earned itself a one way ticket to live at NaNa and PopPop's house!

From the short amount of time they lived at our house, I think they are much safer over there anyways!

Fun Times With NaNa and Pop-Pop!

Last Saturday morning, Mom and Dad came over and picked Addison up for a fun filled day at the Yellow River Game Ranch. The original plan was for me to also tag along on this trip, but Addison decided she did not want me to go (she told me this OVER and OVER) so I decided to stay back and let her have some one on one time with them minus me.

Addison had such a good time and was sound asleep (and VERY dirty) when they pulled up in the driveway with her. Her favorite part was seeing the deer (Bambi) and loving on the bunny rabbits.

When I was just a little older than Addison, we used to visit the game ranch quite a bit so it's neat to see my parents take her there and make special memories with her. As you can tell from these photos, Addison got her love of animals from her NaNa....




Thanks to NaNa and Pop-Pop for such a special day!

Mother's Day

As always, I am late on this post but since "late" (I simply prefer "behind") seems to be normal for this blog, I guess I really don't have anything to apologize for, right?? :)

Nonetheless, I had a wonderful Mother's Day surrounded by lots of lovely and amazing women that make my life so special. Mom, Dad and Adam went to church with us in the morning and we celebrated our church's third birthday! Happy Birthday to The Vine! It was a great service and they showed a video of our church's last year, which was amazing to watch.

Later that afternoon, our families came over and we enjoyed a cook-out while the cousins had a wonderful time playing with each other. We had a houseful so I was a horrible picture taker, but Dad did snap this photo of Addison, Mom and I right before they walked out the door to go home.

Most days, I am still in awe that I am a Mom. You would think that after three and a half years I would be settled into this responsibility but I'm not sure if you ever really do? Just the other day I was filling out paperwork for our insurance and I listed myself as Addison's "Mother" and I paused for a short second. I remember being little and thinking that my Mom was the prettiest and greatest lady around. This probably has something to do with the fact that she never left the house unless she was fully dressed with her makeup just perfect (unfortunately, Addison has been subjected to many a trip to Publix with me in a baseball cap and not a trace of makeup on) and on cold winter days, Adam and I would get off the school bus and have hot apple cider waiting for us (yes...I am serious). So my views of what this role called "Mother" should look like, come with pretty big shoes to fill. Most days, I feel like I take it day by day and wish that Addison came with a handbook. :)

However, I am so thankful that I have a lady that I still find to be the prettiest and greatest lady around, to ask all of my questions about Motherhood to (thank goodness!).

Addison. thank you for giving me this title of "Mom." You will never know the honor that I feel each time I get to call myself your Mother. I dreamed of what you would look like and what you would be like from the minute I found out I was pregnant. Thank you for making my most amazing dream come true. I love you baby girl!

Happy Mother's Day!

Dear Mom,

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you hang my
first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately
wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you feed a
stray animal, and I learned that it was good to be kind
to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make my
favorite cake for me, and I learned that the little
things can be the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn't looking I heard you say a
Prayer and I knew that there is a God I could always
talk to, and I learned to trust in Him.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make a
meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I
learned that we all have to help take care of each other.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you take care
of our house and everyone in it, and I learned we have
to take care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw how you
handled your responsibilities, even when you didn't
feel good, and I learned that I would have to be
responsible when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw tears come
from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things
hurt, but it's all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw that you
cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking I learned most of
life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and
productive person when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking I looked at you and
wanted to say, 'Thanks for all the things I saw when
you thought I wasn't looking.”


Thank you for always being the perfect Mom, no matter who was looking. Thank you for providing me with such a wonderful example to follow.

I love you!

Love,

Missy

Pre-School or Bust!

Last Tuesday was a big day in the Skalon house (well...before you get too excited, it wasn't THAT big of a day but it felt VERY big to me). Last Tuesday, Duke and I went and toured a pre-School for Addison. (Do any of you reading this have as big of a knot in your stomach over this as I do???) Probably not!

No worries, I am rational enough to understand that this is a much bigger deal to me than anyone else - even in my own household. Duke thinks this will be good for Addison (I know that it will) and Addison is very excited and ready to go...although she is ready to jump right into kindergarten and skip pre-school all together so that she can ride the school bus (this of course puts an even bigger knot in my stomach!). The program we are considering for her is 3 days a week from 9:00 am -12:30 pm, which I think will be a good starting point for her since she has never been in any type of "school" environment before. It is right up the street from us at a local church, which is actually the church I attended throughout high school, so I feel a little more comfortable with that part or I at least feel like I am somewhat familiar with the environment.

Again, I understand that most children cross this milestone sooner than later and I am not the first parent (nor will I be the last parent) to send my child to a pre-school program. However, I simply can not think of another time (up to this point in her life) when as a parent, I am expected to drop my child off with a room of strangers and then leave her....this is the part I struggle with. So, we will see how my feelings on this progress over the summer and I will continue to pray that I become excited. Speaking of getting excited, I do get excited over the idea of being "room mom" and don't think I didn't ask the sweet lady that gave us a tour of the school when I could sign up for that! :)

As always, thanks for sharing in all of our adventures and milestones (big and small) with our family. Any suggestions for me on this topic are greatly welcomed!