Welcome Friends and Family.
We are glad you could join us on our new blog adventure. Since our move we wanted to find a better way to share all of our happenings in one spot. So here you have it!!
Enjoy and check back often.
Love, Maggie, Jeff, Addison, and Woody
Just the three of us
Easter 2010
Our Move
A brief summary of everything from our move until today can be found in the right hand column under Pages, titled "Our Move"
Here we are enjoying the fireworks show on Lake Cable up in Canton, Oh. This is where a fussy Addison led to the discovery that ice cubes will keep this child happy for hours. She loves to eat ice....we can give her an ice cube bigger than her hand, and she will bite it in haf and eat it. The craziest thing I have ever seen from such a small child.
After six months in Ohio we have received word that Maggie is to receive full benefits, and better pay at her job but will have to move to the Atlanta, Ga area. Last year when we visited Atlanta we found that it had bad traffic, but great housing at affordable prices and great weather. We have enjoyed having family around so close to, and getting to know them and spend time with them. It will be tough to move again, but we have to follow the money. As it stands we will be leaving sometime before the end of October. The only hope right now for staying in Ohio is for this corrections position to come through. I am still waiting to hear back on the background check. That would be amazing if that came back positive, then we would have options.
After days of searching for a town home to rent, we finally found one. It is just what we need, basic, a great price, plenty of room and it allows short leases. It is in a new area, Dublin, Oh and we absolutely love it. It is only 20 minutes away from where we live now but it is so much newer, with all kinds of restaurants and shopping centers close to us. The town home is nothing special, about 1660 square feet, with three levels. It will work out perfectly for us. I also went for a Community Based Corrections interview in Franklin county today. It went really well, I feel really good about the interview like it could lead to something. All I can do now is wait and see. Things really seem to be looking up for us! We are really excited to see what the future holds for us after today.
Well some on you may not know I broke my leg recently, in two places. I still can't believe it happened, I was riding a skateboard but I was not doing anything crazy, just fell the wrong way on it. That was on may 27th, but here it is almost 4 weeks later and I am walking on it with a cane and no cast. Modern medicine is amazing! As you can see from the picture I have a titanium rod down through the center of the bone, with two screws holding the bone together. It was quite an ordeal but we pulled through it pretty well. Onward and upward, I tell Maggie things can only get better from here.
Addison said hi on Monday May 24, 2010 A day later she said Hello. She does it when picking up a phone - real or fake but just waves when saying hi or bye to someone.
May 31, 2010 Addison says up ... she has mastered that quite well now and wants "up" far too often!!
Yesterday, June 28, 2010 she pointed to a basketball and said ball.
she still says uh-oh, mama, dada, and lots of animal noises (buzzzz, meow, woof) pretty regularly. Also, she yells mmm.....with jibber jabber following when she wants milk.
I wanted to wish you a happy Mother's Day!! Being a mom is a tough and very important task and something you can't truly appreciate until you become one yourself. So, for all those wonderful mom's out there, a little prayer I borrowed to say thank you for who you are and all you've done.
Mother Prayer
Dear Lord, today we pray for mothers-- our own mothers, and mothers everywhere, who have made such a major contribution to the good qualities we have, sometimes through genetics, more often through great effort and patient instruction, and who have done their best to gently polish away our rough edges. Lord, please bless our mothers for the endless hours of time they spent and the boundless energy they invested in us. Bless our mothers for their sacrifices on our behalf as they often gave up or deferred their own dreams so that we could have ours. Bless our mothers for always being there for us, for being the person we know we can turn to when we need comfort, encouragement, or just a hug. Bless our mothers for making a home for us where we could feel safe, where we felt we belonged. Most of all, Lord, bless our mothers for their unconditional love, for loving us no matter what, and for frequently showing love in ways that make us feel valued and cherished. Lord, please bless our mothers mightily. Strengthen them, soothe them, wrap them in Your infinite love and shower them with blessings too numerous to count, too magnificent to describe. We love them, admire them, respect them, and we wish that You would give them back many times the good they gave to us. In Jesus' name we pray; Amen.
Note: The pictures are just a few of the many mom's that I know and love. Pictured or not you are all dear to my heart - Maggie
Addison had her 15 month well visit this past Wednesday. Everything about the checkup went great! My favorite part was when Addison was walking around the patient room in only a diaper with her cheerio cup. She kept dropping them everywhere and would watch Jeff and I pick them up and toss them into the trash can. After a couple times she caught on. The next ones that dropped she picked them up and walked over to the bin and put them in herself!! Wow, 1 years old and already picking up after herself?! Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come.
The horrible part at the appt. was the shots ... whoo wee! She had 6 shots in 4 needles. One of them being the controversial MMR which we decided to go for. So, the nurse gently laid Addison on the table and begin the process. I have never seen that poor little girl cry so hard! Jeff sat there comforting her as she screamed bloody murder while I sat in the corner cringing. But she pulled through, our little champ, and walked out with some shiny bandages on her legs!
I was recently in California for one of my best friend (Melissa)'s Bachelorette party. We had a great time but it was pretty weird being in California knowing I wouldn't be staying and it was no longer "home".
Well, I am getting ready to head back again but this time with Jeff and Addison in tow. We are excited and hopeful we will get to see everyone we miss dearly and just have a great time. Nana, and Grandpa are extra happy Addison will be back visiting with them! We will be sure to let you know how it goes and what we do.
We went to Creekside in downtown Gahanna this past Thursday for their monthly Paws in the Plaza. Woody met many dogs and even got some treats. They had vendors set up and dogs of all shapes and sizes bringing their masters along for the event. We really enjoyed the scenery and went venturing out on some wooded paths along the Rocky Fork Creek river. It was a beautiful evening and will be sure to visit again soon!
Jeff, Addison and I ran our first race of hopefully many to come. Although it was just a 5k ... we are training for the big halfer in September. We can't wait for the challenge. In the meantime, it's back to training for us!
Addison came in at 54 1/2, followed by daddy at 55 and mommy at 86. We will let you know the official times and how many participants as soon as we know .... they will be posting on www.ultrafit-usa.com if you want to keep an eye on it yourself.
She constantly puts any phone behind her ear as if she's talking. Only at this time she is a much better listener then talker cause she just holds in there and doesn't say a peep
She now knows where her ear is (she's got all her facial parts down now with some confusion between mouth, tongue and teeth but hey that's tricky!)
When she hears an airplane she points to the sky and sometimes waves at the traveling passengers
She uses her pointer finger and does the come here sign when she want's you to bring her something ... quite a crack up!
Today My grandmother and I took Addison up to the trailer at Indian lake. It has been close to 15 years since I have been here to visit. It is oddly familiar, faint memories come rushing back as I step into the place where I spent many summer weekends of my childhood. The place where my father spent many summer weekends of his childhood. And now, I walk around following my daughter, as she runs around exploring the new terrain.
I feel a sense of family, of times past as I walk down that hallway. It is covered with old team bowling photos that hang on the wall, taken in the 60's, 70's and 80's of a much younger set of grandparents, great aunts and great uncles. Much has changed in 20 years, people have passed, become distant memories as life moves on. But as I stand there in that hallway for a fleeting moment I feel as though time has stood still here in this trailer.
I look forward to the special moments to be had here with my family as the days roll on, and it reminds me just how important my family is to me.
Okay not quite yet but 6 days from today and since I'm going to be gone on his real birthday yet again (sorry sweetie), we did a lite celebration at home. Addison was amused and afraid of the candles all at once. I'm guessing because there was so many of them (sorry again sweetie). Anyways, it was a nice celebration and yes, Addison had some funfetti cake too. She sure acted like it was fun-tastic!! Enjoy the pics and don't forget to wish the old guy a Happy Birthday for yourself :)
Addison had her first experience in the kitchen with mommy today. I baked a cake for Jeff's birthday and she took to the floor with some bowls, water and cups. We will get to the egg cracking at a later date. In the meantime, she splashed, scooped, poured and at the end drenched herself and the floor. But she had a great time doing it!! A cook in the making ... she must get that from her nana, definitely not from me :)
This was Addison and Jeff's recent adventure. It seemed like they had a great time!! Addison was a little afraid of the ball pit and the mesh surface. But she still tested them out with a little encouragement ... she didn't last long there. Instead, she had a blast carrying, throwing and catching the big purple ball above. Obviously, I then ran to the store and bought her one to have at home ... she loves it! She also did some climbing. It will be a great place when she gets a bit older as there are lots more things to do at a bigger kid size! Jeff will hopefully add some videos soon.
Well, this past Wednesday, Jeff, Addison and I headed to the library to become members. We signed up for some cards and had a great time reading and exploring the books. The rest of the time we spent chasing around Addison as she walked in circles around the towers of books. We brought some home for all of us and even some CD's for Addison. It was a really nice library and we look forward to getting her in some storytime classes when they start in June!!
So, Jeff and I have decided that it would be a good idea to get him and Addison out of the house on a regular basis. Daily to be exact! So, yesterday they went to Rocky Fork Creek in Old Towne Gahanna and walked around and looked at the ducks. Today they are on their way to a place called Galaxy Games and Golf which is a 3 story indoor playground. Sounds like fun if you ask me! I am just thrilled to see them getting out and seeing new places .... Not to mention, it's nice to have some peace and quiet to get work done. Which reminds me, I better get back to it!! Hope to post pictures from their adventures soon :) Oh and if you have any ideas for places to take a 1yr. old ... do share!
It is hard to believe how much our little girl is soaking things in. I often forget that even though she isn't saying much, she is listening lots!!
Tonight when I put her down to bed, we went through our routine. However, this time she always seemed to be one step ahead of me. We climbed the stairs and headed for her room. I asked her to turn her turtle light on and there it was lighting up the room in blue stars. I then said okay wait here we need to brush your teeth. She pulled open the door and headed straight for the bathroom. She said aaaa and then headed back to her bedroom. I told her it was time to read and she trotted over and handed me a book. We read some stories and then did our regular say good night to everything routine. However, this time I had her walk around with me instead of carrying her. She touched the books, chair, door, clothes and everything else to "tell" it goodnight. It is just remarkable how much she picks up on.
Similarly, every time Jeff would get her in the morning he would ask for her to hand him her bottle. Now, as soon as that door opens in the morning she frantically searches for her bottle to have it in hand when he gets from the door to the crib .. ha.
I better be extra careful from here on out because our little girl is REALLY listening and learning.
I wanted to wish you a happy 
Mother's Day!! Being 
a mom is a tough and very important task and something you can't truly appreciate until you become one yourself. So, for all those wonderful mom's out there, a little prayer I borrowed to say thank you for who you are and all you've done.
This was Addison and Jeff's recent adventure. It seemed like they had a great time!! Addison was a little afraid of the ball pit and the mesh surface. But she still tested them out with a little encouragement ... she didn't last long there. Instead, she had a blast carrying, throwing and catching the big purple ball above. Obviously, I then ran to the store and bought her one to have at home ... she loves it! She also did some climbing. It will be a great place when she gets a bit older as there are lots more things to do at a bigger kid size! Jeff will hopefully add some videos soon. 
