April: a smattering of snapshots

On top: his first tub bath. Below:big yawns during general conference-his hair is getting so light!

Daddy got a new baby(...and I don't mean Hudson) which means he left Mommy home alone with the ankle biters over conference weekend while he went to OREGON to pick it up. Nice, real nice... & Addy celebrated her lack of usual tight supervision with a make-over--I actually have to give her credit for staying in the lines!

I was super proud of my son's hair, that is until the girl at the pediatrician's office called it a MULLET! Can you believe?! The nerve...humph. Now she's got me all paranoid that everyone else secretly thinks the same thing. But I just can't bring myself to cut it! It's just so...unique...that's the word.  Maybe he could use a trim. Anywho, here he is with his cousins just before Easter.

The Easter baskets our ever-talented great Grandpa Patterson made for the kids. It only took mom a year to paint Addy's. Our girl loves taking the deer for a ride at grandpa's house--while signing "deer," of course--that's the best part :)

Walks to town square have become part of our daily routine--It's the best solution when ya got a teeny tiny house, a girl on energy overload, and a sleeping bear named daddy that worked all night in the next room. Nobody wants to sit home and be quiet all day, where's the fun in that!? & between the splash pad, library, carousel, good eats, and all the festivals, how can we resist? We just may be down-towners for life. And in scorching St. George, all the big trees don't hurt either:)

Addys first Easter Egg Hunt. Who needs a fancy Easter dress when you've got a Rabbit suit, seriously?! This is one of her favorite outfits. She gets mad and signs "Rabbit" whenever you're getting her ready for bed and, heaven forbid, you ATTEMPT to put her in different pjs...let's just say, it's a good way to go deaf. If you value your hearing, better make sure they're clean.

I don't think she quite got the concept...I fully expected her to go hogwild. But instead she would pick up one, spend five frustrating minutes trying to unwrap it, give up, find another one and do the same, and so on... This girl wasn't waiting. If she sees candy, of course she's going to eat it! So needless to say, our haul wasn't very big.

She was happy as a clam with her handful of sweets.

Snack time with Auntie Morgan's Easter card. If anyone thinks little kids don't give a hoot about cards, I beg to differ.  She carts them around the house for days.

A little man of many faces.

"Dump! Dump!" Currently her favorite thing to at her grandmas' houses.

Apparently a nice picture of these boys in their cute, matching Easter outfits from Grandma IS too much to ask for. Next thing we knew, Addy wanted to get in on the action, (she spent all of her time running away from the camera til we started taking pictures of someone else besides her--i.e. Brother) and it was all down hill from there...silly kids.

This is the epitome of our typical, everyday Addy. Outside, in boots and little else, in our ugly hole of a backyard-which she thinks is an adventure-pushing something, usually with her mouth covered in dirt. And I wouldn't have her any other way.

The cradle sweet great Grandpa Patterson made just for her. (She thought it was for her in the literal sense, not the baby dollies.) Also, a highly rare and beautiful moment when both of momma's angels are asleep...AT THE SAME TIME! Don't blink, you might miss it:)

I've learned this lesson, I swear I have, but every now and again I need reminding...If we go to storytime at the library, which is in very close proximity to the splash pad, just plan on her getting wet. Cuz swimsuit or not, it makes no difference to her!

Why am I not surprised that this little gal already has an opinion about what she wants to wear?! She makes me smile. The outfit on the left is an outfit completely of her own design. And once her mind's made up about what she wants to wear, don't even try to convince her otherwise. It gets really loud and goes nowhere. Can't imagine where her stubbornness comes from:)  It's cute some days, unless you're headed somewhere respectful, like church.The picture on the right should give you an idea about what a great big sis Addy is: you probably can't tell, but she's loaded him up with about six blankies. She takes good care of him.

Great Grandpa Patterson. He's a sweet old man.

We found Hudson with dolly's bottle propped in his mouth--I think Addy's ready to babysit! But joking aside, she's always trying to put his binky in his mouth when he's crying. And when that doesn't work you'll catch her squatting down trying to get her arms around him cuz she knows he wants to be picked up. She's a good sis.  & on the right, Mr. Hudson with his buddies, Camden and Sam.

A typical Thursday starts with a trip to the Library for Toddler Time.

And next it's over to Judd's for some yummy, one of a kind soup and breadsticks. (And you can pre pay for a sucker, or Addy can steal it when you're not looking, but either way she's walking out with one!)

After lunch we take a ride on the "See-Sees"(horsies) and end with a little splash pad fun, which wouldn't be complete without a bucket. All less than a block from home. I call Addy a lucky lil girl.

Addy's snack of choice on our way to the splash pad :)

I love that she doesn't mind sharing her day with him. She's always been social, and even though he might not be too terribly exciting yet, I think she enjoys just having him around.  My cute boy fell asleep during tub time!

At the Dixie Kite Festival. Other than the fact that it was hotter than hades, and there wasn't a tree in sight, (and the breeze or lack there of wasn't helpful either) it was a really enjoyable day! Addy loved chasing the kite.

But mostly she kept pointing at the train/tractor ride-and she DID NOT want to get off when it was over!

Then, on a whim, we headed over to the Virgin River--which is more like Virgin creek at the moment--and had a grand ol' time. The water was absolutely, perfectly warm! We also had the place to ourselves. Couldn't have been better.

Travis' family joined us at the end.

"Mee-Ma,"as Addy affectionately calls her, and some of her grandbabies at the splash pad.

I love to watch Addy play with her little bro--which mostly means she gets right up in his face and says "Hi! Hi! Hi BUDDY!" a lot, head butts and pushes on his tummy, or pushes his chair along the floor. We just have to remind her now and again to "be soft!"

Addy's room was actually clean, so I had to hurry and capture the moment. I really do love her room. When we move someday that's one thing I will truly miss. It was built just for her, from absolute scratch, with loving hands.

I had her name on the wall in cute white wooden letters above her crib. But apparently she didn't like it there cuz as soon as she could reach them she ripped each letter off the wall and chucked them at the floor and broke them...so much for that...

Daddy always has to have a kiss from his little girl before he leaves. I'm convinced he physically can't make it through the night without it. She usually obliges willingly, or sometimes when he leans in she laughs in his face and tears out of the room. It's one or the other.  & here's Hudson with his cousin Ella. She and him, along with Greyson, could all be in the same grade at school someday.

We love our little boy. We have a mommy and a daddy and a sister and a brother. On some level it feels so complete. Like we've come full circle. We are so lucky and so blessed.