Good Bye Preschool Addie

Well it has happened. There is no turning back. Not only is she no longer my little baby, but she's no longer even a little girl. Addie has officially graduated to being something much older and mature than I care to admit!

Look how tall and proud she stands? I hope she maintains that level of confidence. It makes my heart sing to see her shine.

I know the question you're all asking... What does little Miss Addie want to be when she grows up? A teacher, apparently! Whoop! Whoop! I thought for sure she was going to say the Tooth Fairy, just like Mommy.

I know, I know. We're all just a wee bit surprised at how quickly this one snuck up on us!

Date with Addie

Wordless Wednesday

Addie Draws

I am loving how Addie draws things that I never would have thought a child would draw. With Ellie, it was always cute pictures of family or animals with an occasional monster or dragon tossed in for fun. Addie? She draws everyday life, though I'm sad to say I haven't been able to capture very many of them because she loves to give her drawings away as gifts. This one was a gift for Daddy. It's a football game.

And when she does draw something in the fantasy realm, her details are incredible. I would consider bringing my dragon to life (via felting) if I understood what was going on around his feet area. Hahaha.

This Valentine's Day monster is a strong contender for the next creature I create out of felt. Isn't he fantastic? Addie says if you're feeling sad, you just have to pick a heart off of the monster and it will cheer you up again.

Long Live the Tooth Fairy!

It's been nearly a year and a half since I thought the Tooth Fairy was debunked. Since that day, there have been many times when Addie will casually comment on me being the Tooth Fairy.

There was one time when Addie was telling me that she understood that it's possible to be more than just a mother, and that there was more to life than just having a good career. I thought she was going down the path of combining the two, and was about to tell me about her dreams of being a mother AND a veterinarian. Alas, the words out of her mouth were "I can be just like you! I can be a mother AND a tooth fairy!"

It wasn't until the other day that I realized the damage our conversation from years ago had caused. It's not just that I'm the Tooth Fairy, it's that I. AM. THE. TOOTH. FAIRY.

ADDIE: Mommy! I missed you today! Here, you will need this.
MOMMY: What is it?
ADDIE: It's a list of all my friends who have loose teeth. Did you know that I'm the first one in my class to lose a tooth?
MOMMY: OH! Why do I need a list of all your friends?
ADDIE: Because you're the Tooth Fairy and I am helping you so that you know to pay attention to them because they have loose teeth!
FRIEND #1: Are you really the Tooth Fairy?
ADDIE: YES! She is! AND she's my Mommy!
FRIEND #2: Can you come to my house when I lose my tooth?
FRIEND #3: Don't forget about me!
FRIEND #4: I live at...
ADDIE: It's OK. It's OK. My Mommy will take care of all your tooth needs!

Oh boy.

One can't help but love how she never lost her innocence even when faced with the truth.

Wordless Wednesday

Addie's Rainbow Unicorn

How you know he's the right man to marry

ADDIE: I'm sad because Ozzie says he doesn't want to marry me.
MOMMY: Oh?
ADDIE: Yeah, he told me "I don't want to get married!"
MOMMY: Oh, that must have hurt.
ADDIE: Yeah, but I tried to tell him that we could get married when we're much older, not now. Right now we're too young, but I was asking if he would want to marry me when we grow up."
MOMMY: Sometimes it's hard for people to imagine things way out into the future.
ADDIE: But I know I want to marry him.
MOMMY: How do you know?
ADDIE: I know because I think he would look really good in the outfit that the groom wears!

Wordless Wednesday

Addie's Bronco Caterpillar Dragon*

* When watching the Thanksgiving parade, and the Chinese dragons came out to play, Addie said "Look Daddy! It's a caterpillar dragon!"

Home

PAPPY: How are you enjoying living in your new house?
MOMMY: We like it. We like the location a lot because it's closer to a lot of the places we were going anyway. We thought we were going to have less yard work but it turns out we have a lot of leaves, but over all we're happy with the change. It's smaller than our old house, but it fits us nicely. It's easier to clean. It...
ADDIE: It feels like home.

Heartthrob

Another Addie-ism...

MOMMY: Addie, why are you crying?
ADDIE: Because I just saw Ozzie and he makes me cry.
MOMMY: Why is that?
ADDIE: Because he is the pillow of my heart.
MOMMY: He's the pillow of your heart?
ADDIE: Yeah.
MOMMY: Uh, really? Why is that?
ADDIE: He is so handsome. I love his long hair.

Oh boy. She's in trouble. I'm guessing that Ozzie is not going to be a lasting love (after all, they're both only 5 years old), but I do hope that someday she really will find the pillow of her heart. haha.

Addie and the bears

Cheering up

MOMMY: Addie, you seem to be having a sad morning.
ADDIE: Yeah. I just don't think I'm going to be happy.
MOMMY: I have an idea! One thing I know always makes you happier is if you do something very nice to make someone else happy. I happen to know for a fact that it makes you happy when you make others happy.
ELLIE: Mommy, don't worry. I can help her!

... and at the end of the day, I had this gem to cheer me up. When I expressed how happy I was to receive such a beautiful gift, Addie smiled her big beautiful smile and said "It worked! I had the best day EVER!!!"

Four Thumbs Up

Addie approved with four thumbs up.

And not to be out-done by her sister, Ellie insisted that she approved with six thumbs up.

The best present

With celebrating Christmas among 4 sets of grandparents, as well as our own little family, combined with celebrating a week of Hanukkah with Aunt Erin's little family... let's just say that with gift giving spreading across the month of December is prime time for our kids to develop a strong sense of entitlement.

So it comes as a bit of a shock and definitely a pull at my heart strings with both of my daughters, on separate occasions, whispered in my ear something along the lines of:

"Mommy, I don't know what to ask for Christmas because the best present is my family."

With all the frustrations that come with the holidays, and trust me... they exist even for me, it warms my heart when my girls can remind me that it's not about the frustrations or materialistic things. I love them for it.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Addie's hunt for stained glass windows.

For Addie's date this month, we decided to finally retrace the path Ellie and I took years ago to hunt down stained glass windows. That trip with Ellie years ago will likely remain on my list of best days ever had, and I knew that Addie would enjoy it just as much.

Armed with my new camera, we were off on our hunting trip. Bussi bear joined for the fun, and everything was going according to plan.

The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception was just as pretty as I remember it, and Addie was quick to pick her favorite window.

And Mommy was quick to take a photo of the two of us.

Sadly, though, that's just about the end of how my adventure with Addie was similar to the one I shared with Ellie. I didn't realize how lucky Ellie and I were that day, when just about every knock on a church door was answered by a kind person welcoming us inside. All the other churches were this time, and no one answered Addie's knocks.

Addie might not have seen all the magic that Ellie saw, but I have to say... it didn't stop Addie from creating her own magic. She has always been that way - creating her own joys in life. You saw the photos I posted yesterday. There is no denying that this girl creates the magic she is looking for. This day was no different. When she finally decided that she was tired of having the real doors be locked, she started pointing out the magic doors that could let us inside. Here she is standing next to such a door. Instead of commenting on how silly she was, I asked her in a very serious tone of voice "How is it that you are magical enough to see these doors when no one else can?" She just beamed with pride and told me that when she looks in the doors, she can see the pretty stained glass windows.

Heartbreaking in a way, but heart melting in another, don't you think?

So, no... Addie and I were not quite as successful at finding stained glass windows, though the Brown Palace did not let us down either, but Addie reminded me of something that I had temporarily forgotten... Life is too short to get upset when things don't work out according to plan. Life gives you a magic wand. Sometimes you have to shake it a bit to get it to work.

Addie's love for life