Learning letters

The Little Genius!

Wow, I have REALLY been bad about keeping up to date! I will have to make it up, but in reverse order.

Addison started school a few weeks ago. She is attending Tall Oaks Montessori School. The first few weeks were a little rough, but she is now in the groove and there is very little (if any) tears when we drop her off and/or pick her up. She is the youngest in her class and probably the shyest, but she is adapting well. I peaked in the window the other day as I was picking her up and she was standing by herself, on the other side of a bookshelf from the rest of the kids. It made me feel so sad for her! Hopefully being a big sister will help her with her social skills!

Addison has been learning so much recently. She received a toy from her Gammy (Addison has refused to call her Gammy and now only calls her Mimi) that has all the letters of the alphabet. She LOVES letters! All summer and fall she would walk up and down Luke's work van pointing to all the letters on the side of the van and asking us to say them. There are not a lot of different letters in ridestride.com, but the toy from Gammy opened up a new world! On top of that, she received Chicka Chicka Boom Boom from her Grandma and that has become her new favorite book. I will read it on average, seven times a day. Luke has been so great about being really involved in her learning. He will write out names and letters for her. All that work paid off and she new hew alphabet before she turned two!

A few weeks ago I pulled into the parking lot of the Staples store. Addison immediately started spelling out Staples. It took me a moment to figure out exactly what she was doing, but then I was blown away! I am really so proud of her!

Addison Turns 2!

I cannot believe Addison is already two years old! We had a small party this year, with some family and friends... pictures to come. Addison's party was on Saturday, but her actual birthday was on Sunday. Family left town mid morning and Addison spent the afternoon with Mommy and Daddy at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center. She had such a great time swimming with Daddy! The aquatic center is brand new and really incredible. It has a huge water slide, for older kids, which was actually a really big distraction because that is all Addison wanted. Luke had his hands full trying to distract her attention from all the fun on the slide. Addison was fearless in the water. She kept insisting on walking into the deep end until she couldn't touch. Luke would pick her up and carry her back to the shallow area at which time she turned right around and started marching into deeper water again. I guess it is time we start with swim lessons!

Suited up and ready to swim!

"Wow! This pool is awesome!"

"No Daddy, I think I will walk from here."

The little angel

Waiting for the water to dump out of the buckets over head

Decided to try out the arm floats after Addison refused to stay in shallow water

Eating cake.

Rafting, Take Two.

We all had so much fun rafting last month, we decided to get in another day of fun while the weather still permitted. This trip was a bit longer than our first rafting trip. Our friend Brian, who joined us for our first trip too, joined us again for a scenic float on the New River.

We took a break about halfway through our trip to check out a really great riverside spot owned by a friend of Luke's. He owns a hunting and fishing outfitter and has put up a yurt on the side of the river for camping or just hanging out for the afternoon.

This was a beautiful spot with big cliffs on river left and wild turkeys running around on river right. Addison was getting a little tired and grumpy sitting for so long, so this stop was a nice break. Next time we will have to bring a picnic!

Brian rowing us down the river.

It was a pretty chilly day so we had to bundle up. Addison loves to wear her mittens and hat, so it was even more fun of an adventure.

Addison gives the biggest and best smiles!

Addison wore herself out and ended up taking a forty five minute nap in my arms. I don't get to hold her that often while she sleeps as I am pretty strict with her nap and bedtime routine, so this was a lot of fun for me to just hold her and watch her sleep. I am really looking forward to many more trips with her and teaching her all the great things to love about the outdoors.

Trick or Treat!

Since we do not live in a neighborhood that offers trick or treating, we decided to head out to the local shopping center for their community event. Addison woke up a little grumpy so it was difficult to get her out and dressed. She was not interested in putting on her costume and would have nothing to do with the antenna headband. The shopping center was having a cake walk and Addison and I won two cupcakes our first try. Walking around in circles and looking at the other kids in their costumes helped get her out of the funk and she became a lot happier.

Addison got to pick out her own pumpkin from the "pumpkin patch."

What a perfect pumpkin!

Painting and gluing things on the pumpkin is a lot of fun. It didn't matter what it looked like, the more colors and stuff, the better!

Enjoying arts and crafts time.

Madam Ladybug.

I continue to find it so funny that Addison is very shy with strangers, but has no problem with giant animals. The first time she saw someone dressed up as the Hokie Bird she ran over to it to get a better look and couldn't stop smiling at it. At another event, she did the same with the Chik-fil-A cow. Today was no different. She loves animals!

Hide and seek. Where is Addison?

I am not really sure who enjoys the shoulder carry more, Addison or Daddy!

Whitewater Rafting!

Addison went on her first rafting trip today! She was really excited and had so much fun. We had great weather and fairly decent water for so late in the year. She did seem to get a little tired of it after awhile, but hey, that is to be expected from a twenty-one month old.

What a great day for a rafting trip! Daddy and the little ham enjoying some time on the river.

I love how she never misses an opportunity for a smile at the camera. Addison spent a lot of the time hopping over the thwarts up and down the raft. She loved all the bouncing.

Addison and Daddy

Lulu joined us for the day too. She loves being on the boat as much as the rest of us.

Addison loved to stand in the front of the boat as we paddled through the Class I-II rapids. She screamed with delight the whole time the boat bumped up and down over the waves. She is definitely a water girl at heart.