A Sprinkler Kind of Day

Yesterday was one of the hottest days we've had in a while so Addie and I decided to whip out the trusty sprinkler and give it a whirl. It probably wasn't that hot out, but I thought it sounded like fun anyway!

Here is a look at Addie's first adventure with the sprinkler. She wasn't sure at first, but then liked it so much that she got upset at me when I turned it off. When she first started to get wet, she said, "uh oh, potty" because she thought she pottied in her swimsuit. Luckily, I caught that on video!

Later in the evening, she helped daddy wash his truck and even dried it with the shammy. She has a true love for "soapy" and loves to play in the bubbles.

On another note, this little girl has been talking like crazy the last week or so. She says at least 15 words on a regular basis and even more occasionally or when she is just repeating something we say. It is hilarious to hear and I just can't wait until she is able to put all those little thoughts into phrases and sentences. Some of her favorites are, "Joe," (our dog), "uh oh," "mess," "chicken," "soapy," "ball," "bye, see ya," "shoe," and the latest "beebo," which means "bug." Of course Mommy and Daddy are probably the most common along with "nummy," which is what she calls her pacifier and "mink," her favorite blankie. She just continues to amaze us more and more each day!

Oklahoma Trip

This blog is WAY late, but I guess it's better late than never, right? A few weeks ago, we (being me, Chris, Addie, and my parents) hopped in the van and took a trip out to good ole' Oklahoma.


My cousin Rebecca got married over Mother's Day weekend and we headed out early and made a few stops along the way. The original plan was to stop at the St. Louis Zoo, but unfortunately the rain caused us to drive on further to Oklahoma City...and their zoo was great! It was a Friday in May, which I should have known meant that every single school child in the city would be on a field trip there, and they were. The zoo was large enough that it really didn't make a difference how many thousands of kindergarten through high school kids were there. Addie really enjoyed the elephants, apes, and meows (tigers and other cats).

Despite all of our expectations, Addie was a total angel the entire trip. Even on the longest driving stretches in the car, she managed to entertain herself (and the rest of us) by playing the game of throw something down then say, "uh oh" so someone would have to dig it out or replace it. She wasn't very good at napping in the car, but still managed to be in good spirits the whole time.

Rebecca's wedding was absolutely beautiful and we were even able to spend some extra time with the whole family afterwards at their home in Mangum, OK. Look it up on the map....it's literally out in the middle of NOTHING, but it was wonderful to finally see where they live and catch up. I loved it there, even though we were about blown over by all the wind :)


Grandma and grandpa even made the trip out (they flew with Aunt Minky and Kelsey) so it was great to have almost everyone there to spend time together. Here is a great picture we captured of 4 generations!

A Neat Encounter

Almost 3 years ago, on June 25, two couples were married in two different places. Chris and I shared our vows in Indiana and Chris and Kristen Brace shared theirs in South Carolina. I'll never forget sitting in the airport in Atlanta for our 3 hour layover on the way to St. Thomas, USVI. We were dog tired and just wanted to get to our final destination. And next to us, sat this nice couple who also had that "honeymooning" look in their eyes. After an hour or so, we both finally introduced ourselves to one another and the rest is history!

First of all, the guys had their names in common to say the least. After talking for a while, they found out many more ways in which they were alike. Kristen seemed to be this caring, down to earth person from the start and we certainly hit it off when we figured out we were both first grade teachers! The rest of the layover was spent talking and getting to know one another, sharing stories of weddings, families, and thoughts of our futures as Christian married couples.

After departing ways once we arrived in St. Thomas, we decided to meet up during the week for an outing together. Chris and I are extremely laid back, non-planners...and Chris and Kristen, well, they were the yen to our yang. They planned for us all to go on a submarine trip to explore the beautiful sea creatures, then we headed to the highest point on the island for some lunch and relaxation. The day ended with a trip to one of the prettiest beaches and we were practically the only ones there. The guys explored the "sea cucumbers" while snorkeling and Kristen and I just laid back and enjoyed the beautiful scenery and jabbered on about everything imaginable.

We even met up with them again in both airports as we all made our way back home. I remember exchanging emails and talking about keeping in touch, but it seemed like life in our own worlds had just begun when we landed back home. Over the last couple years, Chris and I thought about the Brace's often, even trying to get in touch with them when we were vacationing in Myrtle Beach one summer. The connection was never made. After we had Addie, we both wondered if they had any babies yet. It was always a big mystery to us what they were up to until I received an email recently from Kristen! They do have a little boy who is a few months older than Addie and a little girl on the way, due just a few months before our second!

It's just so funny how you can meet people one time in your life, but feel like you've known them forever. We have always felt that connection with the Brace's and now we can actually keep in contact and meet up with them again. We sure hope an "anniversary visit" is somewhere in our future.

Addie Updates

If you've read most of my blogs on here, you may already know that Addie has had some experience going to the bathroom on the big potty since she was about 7 months old. Not our attempt at potty training, just our attempt to eliminate the worst possible messes in her cloth diapers :)

For the past month or so, I have been putting her on the potty every time I change her diaper and she usually goes, but lately she has been going into the bathroom and getting her potty out to let us know when she needs to go. She LOVES her potty so much that sometimes she will carry it around the house and just sit next to it on the floor looking at it. (It sounds gross, but I assure you I clean it well). And sure enough, every time I ask her if she needs to go, she runs in the bathroom and drags the potty out. I know at only 16 months this is just the beginning, but at least she is showing interest :) Maybe we'll have it mastered by the time the new baby comes!

Yesterday, she had her first experience helping Daddy wash the van. It was pretty funny to watch her with the scrub brush and even more funny to see her pretending to spray it off everytime Chris was using the hose. She even made the "SSSSSHHHHH" sound the hose makes :) She's growing up way too fast and it seems like every little moment like this makes us enjoy her even more!