It's Thanksgiving eve, and there is much to be thankful for. Naturally dear friends and my precious family are at the top of my list. Words can't describe how amazing my husband is, and to try here would just really embarrass him - and me!

Then there's amazing Adeline. She is just so much fun! Her latest thing that made my heart glow is she pretends to be a dog. Those who have known me awhile may remember me pretending that I was a dog when I was a kid. I pretended to be a dog for so long that friends and family were starting to wonder if I needed some help!

Addie isn't stuck on being a dog though. She also really loves acting like a snake. She sticks her tongue in and out really fast and hisses. It really cracks me up. I'd get that on video, except that I dropped our $500 DVD recorder on the driveway pavement last night. And there's no hope of Santa bringing me a new one after the blue streak I let out after doing that. Straight onto the "naughty" list for me!

Ok, ok. It's official. I'm the worst blogger ever. Sooooo much has happened since August that it would be really impossible to capture everything, so I'll just try to capture the highlights.

Adeline is turning into a full fledged kid right before our eyes. She can now put her hair into pig tales, but she prefers a "pony trail, mommy". She can put on her slip-on shoes all by herself, and gets them on the correct feet about half the time. Her most favorite toy at the moment is the play kitchen Dennis picked up at a consignment sale. She is always wanting to "play kitchen, mommy?". Once we go to her "kitchen" set up on our front porch she become all business asking politely if I would like some coffee or a sandwich. It's very difficult to not giggle in her very earnest and expressive face.

A couple weekends ago we were in Cozad and Addie and her cousin Katherine played tea party for a good 30 minutes. I just loved it. Another recent trend is that she's become a bit of a hoarder in her bad. At night she likes to gather up about 25 toys, books and stuffed animals and put them into bed with her. I try to sneak some out, but she usually catches on with a point and a "hey!".

But hands down my most favorite development is that she now spontaneously tells me she loves me. My heart completely melts every time. She is in a very affectionate phase. She has taken up hugging strangers legs. This is cute, but it could be a little unnerving for the strangers she suddenly attaches herself to. Thankfully, everyone she's done this to (a guy at church, various parents in line at the museum) have been very sweet about it.

I need to remember these incredibly sweet moments when she's driving Dennis and I nuts, which she did when we visited Granny and Grandad mid-October. She was all - "no! mine! no way! go away!" - I was tempted to leave her there. But later that evening we attended a retirement dinner for Dennis' boss and there was a two year old just a couple months older than Addie. I secretly rejoiced when she shoved Addie and said "no!". Of course her parents swooped in and apologized. I just smiled and said "that's OK", but what I really meant was "that's a huge relief!". It put me back into reality that my kid isn't "bad", she's just two.

Halloween was last night and Addie had a total blast. It is really the first Halloween she understood what was happening. We took her to a couple different Halloween things - one at the Lincoln Children's Museum and then last night at the South Point Mall. I was a little depressed about going to the mall to trick or treat - where's the community connection? what about being surrounded by all the commercialism? Plus, I loath malls - but in the end I realized that it was extremely practical for us living in the country (no hauling Addie in and out of a car seat), plus Addie didn't even know we were at a Mall. This is a lovely outdoor mall full of flowers, so it was more like a really nice neighborhood with a lot of heavy glass doors and piped in music - OK - it was nothing like a neighborhood, but it wasn't totally mall-ish either. Addie loved seeing all the other little kids in their costumes. Addie, naturally, had the best costume (thanks, Granny!). Here's a picture -

Now, I need to get used to the idea of it being November!

Sweet Things Addie Has Been Doing Lately

She’ll come up to me and for no reason say “mommy have kiss” and she’ll pucker up her lips and point her face up.

Sings “when you’re happy and you know it” and the ABC’s song.

She’ll carry on an entire conversation with you about something, but I’m not sure what. She’ll have a lot of inflection in her voice, volume changes and grand guesturing, but I have no idea what it is she’s talking about.

Wander into the room and say “hug mommy” and I’ll crouch down and she’ll give me a hug.

She’s really interested in her privates. During bathtime she looks down between her legs and goes “what’s that?”. I tell her and she yells “vaginee!”. I try not to laugh, but it’s hard.

She pats her lap and says “sit in lap”. I tell her mommy is too big to sit in her lap but she keeps right on asking.

On Saturday all of Dennis’ Aunts and Uncle and most of his cousins gathered in Auburn, Neb., to celebrate his grandma’s birthday. It took a little while for Addie to warm up to all the new faces, but she eventually had a great time. She spent most of her time near Scott and Julia’s little girl, Sabrina who had already changed so much since our recent visit to Des Moines. Addie had a lot of fun playing with her cousins.

On the way home from Auburn we discovered that the AC in my car was no longer working. This was really lousy timing since it’s been in the upper 90’s all week with horrible humidity. I’m still waiting for it to get fixed. It needs some clutch thingy. All I know is that I don’t know how people ever traveled in cars before AC.

Addie and Dennis went to Cozad this week. Daddy had asked Dennis to help take honey off, and Dennis was excited to give it a try. Despite my accounts of the blistering heat and the claustrophobic feeling of having millions of honey bees buzzing angrily around your head, he was excited for the experience. I stayed behind, and it was really strange to be in our home alone! I did manage to have some fun by going to dinner and the latest Harry Potter movie (two thumbs up!) with Malia.

Dennis and Addie made it back home on Wednesday. Despite picking the hottest week of the summer and getting about 6 six stings Dennis said he enjoyed the work. Addie had a great time with cousins Katherine and Luke, and Dennis finally got to meet baby Devon. We think he looks a lot like his daddy (lucky kid). Granny and granddad sent us home some of daddy’s wonderful BBQ ed brisket and peaches from their tree, so I got a taste of home.

I felt silly at how much I missed them after just two days! It seemed like Addie had even gotten bigger while she was away. I think I'm nuts.

Addie is talking so clearly now. She seems to know some of her colors, and when she goes up the stairs she counts the steps – “five, six, eleven, nine, twelve, three” – you get the idea. It’s so cute! I keep trying to remember the funny things she says so I can write them down, but I never seem to.

Addie gets to hang out with her little buddy Sydney tonight and tomorrow. We’re doing the “kid swap” again with the Aldrich’s so we can each go out on a date. So Dennis and I get to go to dinner and a movie tonight! Sounds perfect on a blazing hot summer night.

I know I say this every single blog entry – but WHERE did the time go? I can’t believe it’s nearly August. Good grief.

Summer has been full of fun. Here are the highlights from June and July:

On June 15th Dennis and I had a real, live date! Our friends Collin and Maggie offered to watch Addie while we went out for dinner and a movie. It was soooo great! Then next night we returned the favor by watching their little girl. Syd and Addie were in heaven getting to spend so much time together. We need to set something up like that again soon!

June was also filled with lots of opportunities to see friends and family. Dad and Cynthia kept Jackson and Parker (Ellen’s boys) while John was at a piano tuning conference in KC. They all spent the night with us one night, and I can’t believe how BIG they’ve gotten since Thanksgiving. It was fun to hang out blowing bubbles, running races and watching cowboy movies. Their visit was much too short, but we had another opportunity to see them, thankfully.

Mom, John and the boys and us all headed over to Des Moines the last week of June. They went to Des Moines because I had a meeting there for work, and if I was going to get to see them, then they had do come to me! I’m soooo grateful that John was willing to do that. So while I was at my meeting, G-ma, the daddies and the kiddoes explored Des Moines. They had a ton of fun, and Addie fell in love with the boys. I was pretty jealous that they all got to spend so much time together. I only got to see everyone briefly in the evenings after work. Still, it was great to all be together.

After John and the boys went home we spent the night at Dennis’ cousin’s house. Scott and Julia had a little girl in December, so it was great to finally meet her. She is so sweet, and Addie wanted to “hold the baby” all the time. We all met up with Dennis’ other cousin, Susie and her two girls at the Des Moines zoo. Who knew we’d use our zoo pass the most in Des Moines! : )

The next day we met up with my dear friends Kathryn and Megan and their families. Addie and Alex became fast friends. They're both two. We had a ball at the Des Moines science center. After all the fun of the week Addie fell asleep on the way home almost immediately.

Then later that week we headed to Cozad to celebrate the 4th. My brother Chris and his family from Atlanta were home, so it was really fun to get to see all of them again. This also meant that all the girl cousins were together again. It was fun to see them play together, even if a few “MINE!”s were exchanged. They had the most fun swimming in the horse tank Granddad and Uncle David rigged up for all the kids. Granny bought all the girls matching dresses, and we got some nice photos of them in the garden.

We all were hoping Anna would have the baby while we were all at home, but no such luck. She did end up having it on cousin Luke’s 9th birthday, so that was pretty special. Anna’s labor was a grand total of three hours! Devon Jeffery is a real sweetheart. Unfortunately, I have no photos! I was so excited to meet him that I completely forgot to snap any photos. Duh!

For the week of July 15th, Dennis led a group backpacking in the Rocky Mountains. I had a meeting in Scottsbluff that same week, so Granddad and Granny offered to come out west with me and baby sit Addie while we all camped out in the Airstream. Luke ended up come too, so that was a lot of fun for Addie. Luke is SO sweet to her, and she just adores him. Great memories!

Other than traveling around Nebraska and Iowa, we’ve just been enjoying the dog days of summer – eating fresh veggies out of the garden, going for walks, bike rides, and spending some time at the pool.

Addie just keeps growing and growing. She’s 26 lbs of “MINE!” and “NO!”. I’ve been assured this is completely normal for a two-year-old, but we wonder sometime. She also completely cracks us up sometimes. Like when she told Dennis to stand in the corner, or when she calls us “honey” - like when we sneeze “bless you, honey”. It’s also fun to see her little imagination working. I often catch her talking to herself or her dollies, so I know she’s got something major going on in her mind. She has really been interested in pretending to put diapers on her dolls and stuff animals. Maybe she’s getting ready to potty train? I’m not really looking forward to that task. Maybe she’ll just miraculously figure it all out!

May has flown by, and looking back, I'm sure it's because we were so busy! The month started with a celebration for Addie's (and mommy's) dear friend, Julie. She has taken care of Addie for the past year, and she has now graduated from grad school. So Addie's favorite baby sitter is now moving onto a much higher paying job! Addie will miss her! Congratulations, Julie!

Later that same weekend we had a visit from the Menke family. Art and Dennis ran the 1/2 marathon (slackers!). They did run with a team who push a guy in a wheel chair, so I guess they probably did get a work out. The whole family came up for the weekend. Anita is my idol because she just had Asher 4 weeks earlier. We were so happy to get to meet this Menke so soon after his arrival.

Addie was pretty excited to have a baby around and she did a nice job holding him, but she made me pretty nervous around him with constantly wanting to touch him, hold him, jump up and down beside him, etc. . . Nita, naturally took it all in stride. Maybe the more kids you have the more laid back you get? I'd have to have 300 children to be as easy-going as Anita. Like I said, she's my idol.

The next weekend we drove to Cozad to celebrate Mother's Day and Addie's 2nd birthday a little early. Granny and Granddad fixed a yummy steak dinner for her and fed her some chocolate pie, then it was time to open presents. Katherine and Granny helped. Addie and Katherine had a lot of fun playing together, and Dennis had his first opportunity to "work bees".

Later that week Grandma Pope and I celebrated mothers day by cashing in our gift certificates from Dennis for a hour-long message and a pedicure. When I got home Addie immediately ran over and squatted down by my feet and exclaimed "Oh WOW! Pretty toes!!".

On the 18th we celebrated Addie's 2nd birthday quietly with just the three of us. We met at the park then went and had dinner. I was surprised at how blue I was about her turning 2. When she turned 1 she didn't seem so changed, but now my baby is completely gone. I think just the big change was hard for me, and maybe now that Addie is no longer that docile, agreeable bundle of smiles. Now she's a rough and tumble, moody toddler. I guess I miss my baby, but I'm pretty delighted with my toddler - (and I can hear my parent's saying "you can always have another one . . ." : )

That weekend we finally had book club (aka-get together and eat and visit club). We hadn't seen each other since January! That is far too long, in my opinion, so we all swore to do better next time. We may even decide to read a book!

Memorial Day weekend was another wet weekend. We have been blessed with a lot of nice rain, which has done our new trees and garden wonders, but it's reeked havoc with Dennis' runs. He got rained on during the marathon, and rained on again for his trail run at Platte River State Park. Despite the gloomy weather the race photographer caught him with a smile on his face.

We also took Addie "camping" Memorial Day weekend out at Dennis' camp. We stayed in a cabin, so it wasn't hard core, but we had a nice campfire and went for a beautiful hike through the golden sun lit bur oak trees. Addie really seemed to love it. She'd point up at the trees and exclaim, "TREES!", then crouch down and point "BUG!" She did this constantly, and I kept trying to keep her out of the poison ivy!

Addie had her 3rd and final birthday celebration this weekend as well. Uncle Derek and Aunt Stacy and Uncle Zach brought out her new sandbox on Saturday. Addie thought Aunt Stacy was pretty amazing when she showed Addie how to make a sand castle. Then on Sunday we all met at the Lincoln Children's Zoo and later had a picnic. Addie had a blast and loved riding on the train.

Addie and I spent Memorial Day with Addie's best buddy - Sydney and her mommy, Maggie. We all met out at Roca Berry Farms for a picnic then we headed out to the strawberry patch and picked strawberries. Looking back, this may not have been the best activity for a couple of two-year-olds! Addie kept trampling the plants, pulling up plants and picking green berries. I think she and Syd ate about a pound of berries a piece! But they had a lot of laughs and got nice and dirty, so that was fun.

Memorial Day will always be a sad day for me, which is appropriate since it's a day set aside to honor those who have died in service for our country and those in our family who we've lost. But I will always think of Ellen. I remember Ellen and the boys coming to Nebraska Memorial Day weekend of 2004, and seeing her at the Omaha airport looking so tired and thin. "What is wrong with my sister?" I remember thinking to myself. Not in my wildest dreams could I have guessed how wrong things really were. So it's a sad time, but it's also good to be reminded to be thankful for all of the many blessings life has to offer, and to never forget about those we love.

What a difference a year makes! April 29th marked the anniversary of Addie's seizure. Needless to say, this year was a MUCH happier day. We had a lot of fun celebrating the birth of Max Latta.

Max's baby shower was orriginally planned before his birth back in February, but due to a blizzard, the shower was postponed. We all agreed that it was much nicer to sit outside in the breeze and eat grilled hot dogs, so it worked out well.

It was a lot of fun to see all of the kids together. We have quite a big group now that we all have a kid or two. All of the kids have fun hanging out together, esp. Addie and Syd. When Dennis and Collin (Syd's daddy) kept the girls while Maggie and I went out for a girls night, Dennis said that when Addie left Syd's house she told Syd "I love you", when they left. Little girls are so sweet!

We also got to see another one of Addie's good frineds earlier this month. We met Nick and Sarah in Omaha for our annual meet up. It was pretty amazing to get our "babies" together and see that they've both turned into toddlers. Since that day was so cold and wet after dinner we hung out in the lobby of the Embassy Suites. That gave the kids lots of room to run, and as a bonus the hotel had a waterfall and pond with real fish, which Nathaniel and Addie thought were pretty cool.

We're happy that Addie has so many great friends to play with - and we're happy that they have such great parents!