Romping and Tipping

Addie loves to do the dishes. It's right up there with playing doll house or riding her bike. "Do want to help me do dishes?" "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Can I wear nour dubs? (translation: your gloves)" I realize this will probably not last, so I'm taking advantage of her willingness now.

I dragged my family to the St. Patrick's Day parade this year. I think I was the most excited about going, although Addie thought she wanted to go...

...until we got there. She was entertained, but not delighted. Neither was Jason. I was, however, thoroughly delighted and pleasantly pleased. This is the only time of year we can listen to bagpipers, so I don't like to miss the opportunity.

Ahh, the bagpipers in their skirted glory. Once we saw a couple groups of bagpipers pass under us (we were on a bridge) my yearly desire for this type of piper was satisfied.


A war between Old Man Winter and The Spring Maiden (I think I made that up) is currently raging here. One day, it feels like spring is finally here and the next, winter has managed to regain rule. I desperately hope The Spring Maiden wins. And soon. This happens every year, and yet every year I still managed to be baffled and feel tricked. Anyway, we had a wet but lovely spring Sunday a few weeks ago and Addie headed out in her rainwear for a good outdoor romp.


It was some good quality rompage, like only a two-year old in frog boots can do.

I really love this kid, she makes life a party. For example, we were having a fun making-dinner-with-mom party (above photo) until she slipped off the chair and landed on her head. Then we immediately began the sobbing party. It's just party after party around here.

An awesome dad is one who is willing to sit and play Barbies with his two-year old daughter.
Jason is a really awesome dad.

Addie made her first valentines this year. She colored them and put the stickers on all by herself.

Then she mailed them.

Yes, she put on her hat, coat, and purse just to go out to the mailbox. She was pretty excited about the whole process and couldn't wait to tell daddy about it when he got home.

So, I've been keeping a list of all the funny things Addie says and does so that I don't forget them. I know it's probably boring to read all about someone else's kid, but what did you expect when you decided to read my blog? Besides, I know a couple of grandmas out there that will eat this stuff up. Here it goes:

THE LONG LIST OF ADDIE-ISMS

• The other day Addie and I were at Target in the check-out line when Addie pointed to the lady in front of us and informed me that "she has a big bum." I could feel my cheeks start burning from embarrassment and my ability to breathe disappear momentarily. I looked at the lady, wondering if she had heard. She wasn't looking so I just assumed she was oblivious. I didn't want to say, "I'm sorry my daughter said you have a big bum. Oh, you didn't hear her say that? Well then, I'm sorry I said that my daughter said......" so I didn't say anything to the lady. But I quietly explained to Addie that "we don't say things that aren't nice, even if they are true." How does that even make sense to a little kid? Yes, she has a big bum and she probably knows she has a big bum, but we don't acknowledge the big bum. It's okay to say she has a red shirt or brown hair, but it's rude to mention the big bum. It must seem so confusing. Anyway, I hope she at least learned not to tell people they have big bums.

• She told the bishop last Sunday that his office smells like meatballs.

• We went out to dinner a few months ago with some friends. At the end of the meal the waitress asked if we wanted any dessert. We all said no, and the waitress started walking away. Addie, seeing that her opportunity for dessert was slipping away, loudly called after her, "Yes. Yes please. YES PLEASE!"

• During a sacrament meeting (while we were in Richfield a month ago) Addie was eating a sucker. She pulled the sucker out of her mouth and announced, "My sucker tastes like cranberries and...(long pause for thinking)... Carebears." (It was a strawberry sucker.)

• That same trip to Richfield, we were out at great-grandpa's farm and getting ready to leave. Addie was saying goodbye to all the animals, and it went like this, "Bye sheep! Bye horse! Bye poop!" Poop is a big part of a farm... maybe it should get more recognition.

• I caught her picking her nose one day and I said, "Addie, don't pick your nose." She immediately shot back, "But I have to get them out!"

• If you happen to ask what time it is when Addie's nearby, she will always answer "one o'clock". If you ask about the price of something when Addie's around, she will reply "fifty bucks." She's full of answers, even if no one's asking her the questions.

• She was eating a cinnamon graham cracker with milk one day after lunch when she told me, "I don't like foods, just desserts."

• One morning Jason and I woke up to the sound of quiet rustling in the living room. I got up to see what it was and found Addie sitting in a pile of gum wrappers. She grinned at me while she informed me that she ate all of my gum. Yes, ATE. It was a total of about seven pieces. As much as I tried to tell her that it was wrong, she just kept grinning and feeling so pleased with herself. She ended up being just fine, but her all diapers were minty that day.

• I was sweeping the kitchen floor one day while Addie was sitting in the doorway tossing a ball into the kitchen. We were playing a game where she throws the ball in the kitchen and I swat it out with the broom. While hitting one out I said, "Out of my kitchen, ball!" And Addie gave me a really serious look and said, "Mom, it's not your kitchen. It's Addie's and daddy's and mommy's. All of us."

• We went to put her to bed one night when she explained to us that she couldn't go to bed because her bed was broken. I'm sure she thought that excuse was foolproof.

• She does a lot of imagining during mealtimes and has her different foods talk to each other. One day she was making a chip walk around her plate and talk, then she took a bite out of it and said,"Oh no! My face is gone! I can't talk!"
  

• She puts on "tipping tows" for us, which is Addie for "skipping shows". She says, "Welcome to my tipping tow!" And then skips across the room and back with great gusto. I've had up to six "tipping tows" in a row.

• She says "new-brand" instead of "brand-new." "I want to hear a new-brand story." "Can I have the new-brand cereal?" It makes me feel like I need to get designer cereals and such.

• She was eating a cookie the other day when she announced, "Cookies is my whole world!"

• During Christmas she had her own holiday lingo:

ho-nans (snowmen)
gin-nan-nans (gingerbread men)
ta-ta-taus (santa claus)

• A few weeks ago she walked into the front room, stopped and said to herself, "Hmmm... what does it smell like in this room? (pause) Oh, it smells like mushrooms!"

• We made a nest out of pillows and blankets in the front room on Monday. Addie started filling it up with imaginary things. When I asked her what she was putting in the nest she said, "little bumpy pink birds."

She cracks me up!