Santa's Little Helper...

Oh, a tub full of pretties!
Smack one of these on and I'm ready to go under the tree!

Ruddy...

Enough, if enough mom! Nana gave me the reindeer and I want to take him home! I demanded on Ruddy sitting on my lap for the car ride home, I wasn't having it any other way!

Ruddy was a pretty good sleeping buddy and blankie!

Piano Lessons...

I received my first piano lesson today Mr. Frosty.
I played the keys right along with him.. that's called a duet.
All I really wanted to know, was where the music was coming from???

Silly Nana...

Like my new holiday PJ's?
I woke up to a scene right out of Happy Feet!

Nana knows the last scene of the movie is my FAV-OR-ITE!!!
A singin' Frosty the Snowman card, what more could a kid ask for?

Could it be Christmas morning already... NO! My Nana just likes to spoil me rotten. Mom calls it all Christmas tchotchke, but I think it's GREAT!!! I sang and danced with the penguins all morning long.

Happy Birthday GiGi Tovey!

This is me with the VIP Birthday Girl.
Nana and GiGi
I can put anything on my head and still look cute as a button!
GiGi Newton, Me, Mommy, GiGi Tovey and Nana

Out for a birthday brunch... it was a girls' day out.

We didn't let Grampy attend. Nana said, "No boys!"

Happy Birthday Alli!!!

Abby, Alli, Angie & Amber
The Gang's All Here

Last night we had a girls' night out at PF Chang's in honor of Alli's 31st birthday celebration. We had such a great time. Lots of stories, lots of laughs and great food. You gotta love that "special" sauce!!!

Take a deep breath, it's a LONG one...

Today marks Addie's 16th month of life. Our daughter is such a blessing in our lives and we thank our lucky stars that she is the baby God gave us to raise. Addie continues to amaze us on a daily basis. She is feeding herself with a spoon at each dinner setting... the food actually makes it into her mouth! She is speaking more words on a daily basis and truly understands what we are saying when we ask her to do something. One of my absolute favorite things about my daughter is that she is so affectionate. She will hug, love and cuddle on anyone. Don't get me wrong, she's no angel. We are proud owners of a new time-out chair and have had to use it twice since Thanksgiving. God, even when she is a rotten stinker, I LOVE HER, LOVE HER, LOVE HER with all my heart and soul.

You may be aware however, that you haven't read any blog entries or watched any video clips of Addie taking her first steps as a little tyke. It will probably be awhile before you will. This afternoon we spent some time with two very nice ladies, Miss Leslie and Miss Julie from First Steps. They came over to play with Addie and evaluate her developmental strengths and weaknesses.

Addie is off the charts for cognition developments, reasoning and fine motor skills. I'll be honest folks, she brought her "A-game" today! She put on quite a performance, throwing balls, stacking blocks, sorting shapes and colors. She was happy and really enjoyed working with Leslie and Julie.

Addie will however require physical therapy. She will receive services once a week for gross motor skill weaknesses. From her face to her knees she has lax muscles that are under-developed. Her joints are also loose. This is why her legs can't support her body, she sits in a very slouched position and her cute baby cheeks are so chubby.

It is a condition that she has had since birth, but doesn't become apparent until the big milestone of walking. Big factors that contributed to her already existing condition were having her in an exersaucer and a jumping gyminee. The use of these two products during her infancy, actually made her condition much worse. (I guess that throws all hopes of "Mom of the Year" out the window!)

The good news is, we now have a diagnosis and we will sit down with our therapist and work out a plan and set goals. We have a list of fun products and activities that we get to do each day with Addie and she thinks we are just playing and having fun! We get to sip milkshakes and smoothies through big kid straws. We will be doing baby sit-ups and side crunches. Daddy took us to Wal-Mart tonight and we got a new automatic Hello Kitty toothbrush to stimulate her face muscles. Best of all, we get to finish our day with a massage from head to toe after bath time... Ahhh!!!

So she may be a "delayed walker." Put any label you want on her. The kid's OK in my book, I think we'll keep her! Oh, and when she does take those first precious steps, you better believe there will be a video waiting for your viewing pleasure!

Thanks to all of you who actually read this far...

* Side Note for Nana: As we walked into Wal-Mart tonight I said "Wal-Mart" and Addie repeated it clear as day. We knew this would make your evening!

And They All Fall Down...

These are a few of my favorite things...

1. Addie's little fingers tapping a rhythm on her legs
2. A Christmas tree that looks like it belongs in a family room, not on a page in a Pottery Barn catalog
3. Doug making breakfast in the morning
4. A warm cup of Joe... strong and brewed fresh
5. New makeup
6. My daughter's and husband's blue eyes and long eyelashes... gorgeous
7. Authentic Mexican cuisine
8. Red velvet cake
9. Singing in the shower
10. Clean clothes that are folded and put away
11. Our Joey & Chandler chairs in the basement, they are broken-in just right and fit my hiney perfectly!
12. Beautifully written books... I recently readWater for Elephants. I highly recommend it!
13. Addie's ringlets when her hair is wet

Batteries...

I love Energizer rechargeable batteries. I think they are bar-none the best batteries on the market and they are also good for the environment. Just like any other battery, they will eventually run out of juice after repeated uses. I was just hoping that it wouldn't happen on a holiday weekend! The sad situation this put us in was no pictures for the rest of the weekend.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Reusser Klan on Saturday at our home. Doug and I worked together like a fine tuned and well equipped machine! The house was clean, the kid was well rested and all of the food was delicious and timed just perfectly for dinner time. We laid down in bed Saturday night, pretty pleased with our accomplishments for the day.

The secret to our success... we started off our day with a Bloody Mary Brunch!!! God I LOVE my husband, he is so much fun!

Wow! Look at that kid's hair!!!

Just a Couple of "Turkeys" Playing Around...

I had a BIG time playing with Kay-Kay, she's going to be a good mama!
She taught me to ride the Buckin' Bunny... yea hah!
Kay-Kay, you're so silly!
Singing on the big-girl karaoke machine with Nana and Meridith.

Thanksgiving at the McKnight's...

Family gathered for a day of Thanksgiving

We even had a guest of honor in the house. Mark gave the Thanksgiving Day address for the 3-ID serving in Iraq. His interview and speech were covered on ABC. He called afterward and everyone got the chance to speak to him. (Sorry for the poor quality pic, it was on the TV)

Jesse carves up the turkey and the ham

Meredith wins in the wish-bone contest All the grand kids

(Mandy, Ian, Sarah, Meredith, Addie, Angie and Mitchell)

Mr. Mom???

Has anyone ever told you that my Uncle Jesse is a big sissy. No? Well, have I got a story to tell you. It all began with a poopy diaper... a very poopy diaper I might add.My mommy asked Uncle Jesse to change it. The silly fool went and put on rubber gloves... what a wimp! Little did he know that this encounter was going to change his outlook on fatherhood all together.
First he pulled the tabs and... SURPRISE!!! It was a doozy. The big coward actually ran away.
He returned holding his nose and yelling that is was "syrupy" and he had never smelt anything so bad in his life. He complained that it was warm and squished everywhere. What was he expecting a garden tea party?
At this point, I think he is trying to cover up the fact that he is crying... you're losing points buddy. Buck up and finish the job, I've got toys to play with!

Tickle Monster...

Grampy and Nana arrived on Tuesday. I tell ya folks, they can't get enough of me. We went out for dinner and Grampy must have been real hungry, cause he kept on nibbling on me!

A Family Outting...

We spent our morning on Tybee Island. Daddy treated us to breakfast at The Breakfast Club. It is the place to be seen on the island, if you're anyone at all. The owner is a die-hard Chicago Cubs fan and JFK Jr used to order out from there. The "Grill Cleaner" got two thumbs up from the Reusser Klan. We walked the beach and tide pools after breakfast.
We headed back in to Savannah and walked River Street. We visited one of Uncle Jesse's art galleries and mom did some shopping, of course!
We decided that breakfast out wasn't enough, we wanted lunch too! We ate at the world-famous The Lady & Sons. It is owned by Miss Paula Dean, she is one of GiGi Newton and GiGi Tovey's favorites! They just go on and on about her. I will have to admit that it was some gooood home-cookin' food. Mommy insisted on a picture!

Watch out Georgia, here we come!!!

Captain Reusser on her inaugural flight!
Karaoke with Uncle Jesse
Mindy, Mandy and Angie
My new boyfriend Matt... pint-size "buddies" aren't so bad!
Doug being... well, Doug

We arrived in Savannah on Saturday afternoon. Miss Addie got an A+ for flying. She slept the entire first flight and read books on the second flight. It was so good to see Jesse and Mandy and pat her little pooch. Mindy and Matt came over for an evening of good food, drinks and laughs. I have been dieing to get to Savannah for weeks and we were finally there!

Sweet Home Indiana...

We just arrived back home from Savannah tonight. I'm too tired and hungry to blog, hopefully I'll get some pictures posted later this weekend. Hope you all enjoyed your "Turkey Day" celebrations, we sure did! It feels so good to be home, but I already miss the warm weather and Mandy Kay... sniff, sniff. I can't stand her being pregnant and not being able to rub that belly anytime I want!

15 months old and "sliding" into my toddler years...

I love sliding down the slide!

I deserved a good time tonight. Last night I had to visit the doctor and get shots... BOO!!! Here's the skinny folks: Height 31 1/2 inches (75%), Weight 24.1 lbs (75%). My head measured in the 90th percentile... what can I say I'm good looking and smart!

Just for Jesse...

Hey Uncle Jesse. I'm starting to catch on to this coloring thing. I love crayons and mom tells me that drawing circles is developmentally advanced. What do you think? I can't wait to color with you next weekend! XOXO - "your favorite poop stain" Addie Leigh