When I'm Big

Driving home the other day, Blake and I were talking about getting big. I told him he needed to be a little bit bigger to climb up on a ladder we saw and so it went...

Blake: I'm gonna get bigger.
Mommy: Really, when?
Blake: Um...in 4 more days, just like Daddy.
Mommy: Wow, only 4 days.
Blake: Yes, and I'll get that hair on my face too like Daddy!

Addie's Walking

On December 11, our little angel took her first steps. We were all here to witness it and even caught it on video for all to enjoy.We're SOOOOO proud of her.

Merry Christmas

Happy Birthday My Little Angels

Our little man turned 3 on November 25 (Thanksgiving this year) and our baby girl had her first birthday on December 3! We celebrated at Grammie and Grampie's house (and Chuck E. Cheese's) with Auntie Amanda and Uncle Tony. Then we went out to eat (the four of us) back here in Birmingham. And finally when we all had a few minutes when everyone was awake and home together, we opened more presents from Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Christine, and Monie. Thank you to everyone for making our babies' birthdays so very special.

Blake and Daddy opening birthday presents

Addie obviously enjoying climbing on the presents rather than opening

Look at the mess we're making mom

Blake playing with his new play-doh set from Aunt Christine-thank you!

Trying to get a cute sibling shot on Addie's birthday

This is more like how they usually are with each other!

Attempting the perfect family photo, close...

Mommy and her little man

Daddy and his birthday girl

My handsome little man

Happy birthday dear little angel

I am so pretty in my birthday dress!

Addie enjoying her first taste of sugar

Happy early birthday Addie

Happy birthday Blake

Blake and his baseball cake

Mommy, Grammie & Chuck E Cheese

Catching Up-Oregon

Sorry to be so behind, but please enjoy all of the photos from our unexpected trip to Oregon in October.

Playing in the snow-disregard all of Blake's girl clothes-they are all borrowed!

Addie all bundled up with Grandpa

Grandma, Addie and Sophie watching from the warm car

Addie trying to "drive" a big rig

Blake "driving" the big rig

Addie becoming a pro stair-climber

Our handsome little man

So happy in the tubby

Uncle Peter and his grand-niece

Our happy family!

My little munchkins

Our beauty queen

Football player Blake and the neighbor ready for Halloween

Our little pumpkin and football player

Pure Love & Happiness

This is pure sibling love. Only Blake can make Addie laugh like this! You can just see the admiration in Addie's eyes as she watches her big brother.

The Little Things

You can't help but smile when you watch this. 

Cleaning...Addie's Version

Isn't it wonderful to have children who are always there to lend a helping hand!?!? Well today, Addie really was on top of her game!

She first started out by dumping over Blake's pee from his little potty all over the kitchen floor. Let me stop here and address a few questions I'm sure you have...1. you are wondering why in the world the potty is even in the kitchen to begin with, well, that's where the magic happened the first time Blake used the potty and so it stayed. 2. yes, there never should have even been pee in there to begin with, but I was in too much of a hurry to dump it out because we were running late for school this morning. 3. the silver lining here though is that I hadn't mopped the floors yet!

Back to the "cleaning!" Now, we are downstairs and my little angel is playing so happily, all because she has just spit up and is rubbing it all over the floor. But again, I haven't mopped quite yet. Then after a number 2 accident, Addie is now on outfit #2 (not counting the fact that her pj's got pee on them from this morning's incident).

Alas, it is naptime. That means mommy starts running around like a crazy woman trying to clean as much as I can before our little sunshine wakes. Let the mopping commence!

With my spic and span floors, I am feeling very relieved to have this done - mopping is not my favorite pastime. My little darling wakes up and it is time to eat. You need to know how very talented Addie is...she can make more of a mess from a few goldfish crackers than you ever imagined possible. Combine this with banana bread and the floors don't stand a chance! But, I am happy that she is eating something besides goldfish. I slowly watch crumb after crumb after crumb fall to my nice, clean floor. Another hidden talent she has is to wipe her hands all over the highchair tray and watch food go flying in every direction. Finally the little stinker has finished, I picked her up and OH MY, there were only about a million little remnants of goldfish and banana bread on her highchair and pants. There goes outfit #2!

Finally, the crumbs are all contained, so I go over to empty the dishwasher and begin to think, hmmm, boy Addie is awful quiet. Low and behold, she is practicing her gardening skills in the plant and again doing s great job "cleaning" the floors with the dirt. As I am picking this mess up, helpful Addie wonders over to the dishwasher that I left open and begins to help unload it by taking out two plates and using them to "mop" the floor!

So if you are ever in need of free housecleaning services, I really think you would be more than satisfied with Addie's services! She might need a few more lessons, but you will never find a more adorable or happier cleaning assistant.

Adorable Addie

We have been waiting for so long to see those little hands in motion and then finally yesterday morning, Addie waved bye bye to daddy. Seeing her chubby little hand wiggling in the air was just about the cutest thing ever. Then she followed it up with saying "da da" for the first time. Daryl was just beaming!
It's little moments like this that make even 6:30 in the morning the best part of the day! Thank you adorable little Addie, we love you.

And ... Splat Goes the Camera

I have been away from the computer for the past week or so as my family has been in town. Thank you so much to Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Amanda and Uncle Tony for coming to visit. We all had SUCH a great time.
I would love to post pics of all the fun times we had...but a certain little someone did a face plant with the camera in the pumpkin patch. So until I decide if I want to buy new or try to fix this one, we are temporarily out of service for pictures.
Here are the last few pics before we were camera-less.

The family on a private plane flying to the Troy game. I got to sit in the cockpit & remember the days when I used to fly...

Daddy & Blake at the high school football game

Above is the scene of the crime at the Pumpkin Patch and probably the last day in the life of the Osbahr camera!

Opa!

Last night, the three of us went to the Greek Food Festival. We weren't sure what to expect, but not only was there yummy food-gyros and chocolate baklava, there was lots of dancing. Between performances, the stage was fair game for the little ones to go up on and show off their stuff. Look out ladies, Blake has some moves!

Blake breaking it down

Addie was captivated too and showed off her flexibility

Blake stood right at the stage during the whole dance performance

Energy Balls-not really!

To call these "energy balls" is REALLY stretching it! They really are an amazing dessert ball or as Blake and I call them, chocolate balls! The bad part is they are incredibly easy to make and even easier to devour!

Get ready to get your hands dirty:

1/2 cup peanut butter (I am a creamy fan, but sure either will work)
1/2 cup powdered nonfat milk (weird, I know, and impossible to find anything but a giant box of this, but that's ok because now you will always have it on hand to make a million more of these yummy little treats)
1/4 cup honey
chocolate chips (I used a whole bag, think that was a little much, but hey, more chocolate means more deliciousness)
You can also add raisins to make it seem a little more healthy!

Mix altogether in a bowl and then form into little balls. They can be as big or small as you want, bite size might be best-then you won't feel as guilty when you eat more than 1!!! Place balls onto wax paper, chill and keep in refrigerator. Enjoy your little balls of heaven!

Get your kids into the mess too. Blake loved mixing everything and then helping me make little balls.

Soccer Blake

This was just too deserving to not get its own post! Our little man had his first sports debut today. He joined Sunday Soccer for kids here in Birmingham. This past week we went and got all geared up: soccer shoes-check, soccer socks-check, shin guards-check and of course, soccer ball-check!!! Just to make sure it all fit well, Blake thought it was best to wear everything home from the store!

So the first Sunday Soccer game was finally here and Blake couldn't have been more excited. Until...we actually arrived at the soccer field. As soon as we got there, he said he just wanted to watch and not play. So as cheerleader Addie watched on, Mommy went out onto the field with the other adorable little soccer players and started to run around and play the fun games and then guess who finally came around...yes, Mister Man began to realize this is actually quite fun. As the hour quickly ticked away, he just couldn't get enough. And the rest is history...

Intently listening to the Coach

SCORE!

All the little ones having a blast chasing the ball

Next Sunday can't come fast enough!!!

Cancer Run & Football

Grammie and Grampie visited this weekend and we had such a fun time. Saturday was the run for Ovarian Cancer Awareness that I did in honor and memory of my best friend, Amanda Brock Dufon. The event raised tons of money for cancer research and helped spread awareness.

Grammie and Addie cuddling

We then visited Daddy being the team doctor at a Troy University football game. Blake got a chance to go on the sidelines for a few minutes with Daddy!

Daryl is in his glory with his son at a football game

Grammie and Grampie and Addie cheering for the Trojans!

On a separate note, to bring even more happiness to this weekend, Daryl just got the results from his Boards and he PASSED!!!! We are SOOOOOO proud of him.

Addie's New Trick

Only 9 months and she is already trying to stand. Yikes! This is her new move today, we haven't seen it before. The weird thing is she rarely tries to pull herself up to stand on anything. Guess she's going to skip that step altogether and just stand right up with no assistance at all.
I'm sure you'll appreciate the angle of the video a much as I did...capturing those super chubby legs was just irresistible! Addie also provides her famous "growling" in the background for your entertainment!

Our precious little girl!

September is Teal Month

Get out there and wear your teal all month long in support of Ovarian Cancer Awareness. My best friend, Amanda Brock Dufon, was taken from us by this horrible disease last year at only 31 years young. This weekend I am participating in a little Fun Run in memory of her and to raise awareness of ovarian cancer.

Paint your toes teal, wear your favorite teal shirt or shorts, have a drink in honor of Amanda with Blue Curacao, or eat teal M&M's...whatever you do, make others aware of this silent, but deadly disease. Know the signs and symptoms. Go to http://www.ovariancancer.org/ to learn more.

Please also visit my fundraising page to donate in support of ovarian cancer research. Thank you.

My Teal Toes!

First Day of "School"

Hmmmm, how should a mommy feel after dropping her first born off at his first day of school? Well, this mommy was a little emotional. I just couldn't believe he was already big enough to go to school. Granted, this isn't full-time school (only 2 times/week for 4 hours each), but still it is a BIG first step!

Ready for his first day of school!

And from the back!

We have been talking about him going to school so much over the past few months and built it up so much that I think it actually paid off. Blake couldn't have been more excited for his big day. He gladly got dressed, put on his backpack, carried his lunchbox and was ready to walk out the door! There was no sadness on his part saying goodbye in the classroom to mommy. Although, I secretly hope he misses me, I really do want him to grow from this experience and have the time of his life. Now on these days when Blake is off learning all about the world, Addie and I can have special time together.

Blake took this picture and I had no idea his teachers were in it. Not their best expressions, I'm sure, but here are Miss Elizabeth and Miss Kim - outstanding teachers!

Before I even left the room, Blake was down on the floor playing!

Where does the time go? This is just another example of how precious time is and we need to cherish our children every moment, because they get big so quickly. I know this seems a little extreme, but for a stay-at-home mom who has been with her little man every step of the way and only been apart for about 5 or 6 nights ever, this was a morning never to forget...