And One Year Later!

And here we are.....A YEAR LATER!!!  You are definitely our little miracle!  If we ever get around to posting the whole injury story with the pictures, anyone who reads this will be shocked to see what all you have overcome.  I know we will get around to posting about it, but I think truthfully I am procrastinating because it just hurts so bad to think about it or have to spell it out in words.  Sometimes I just think there is no way that it all happened.  A nightmare.  BUT here you are a year later and ready to conquer anything that gets in your way!  You are one determined little lady and will stop at nothing!

Here are some pics at therapy one day.  (this wasn't the actual anniversary day).  That thing you are standing on is not stable.  It's rounded at the bottom and rocks side to side.  Lots of core and leg work to keep it stable!

You and Melody love to get into Daddy's hats.  You think you look pretty cute in them!

We love hanging out with our neighbors.  It feels like we've known them for life and we are just a part of their family.  The girls love going over there and playing with their grandaughter Lilly.  We have become really good friends with Lilly's parents Laura and Clay.  They also live right around the corner.  Can you tell Addison is a happy camper?  We love playing with them on the weekends!

We have been spending so much time outside lately.  Y'all love to color and paint together.  Then when that is over you just chase eachother all over the yard and climb in the tree house.  Melody is such a little monkey and can climb anything and is FAST.  She makes me so nervous and I always have to be right behind her.  She is determined (just like you) and will find a way to make something happen.  Y'all have been getting along a little bit better.  There are days where it is just great and y'all will play side by side with different toys and be completely content.  Then you will chase eachother and laugh for hours and hours.  Those days are great.  THEN there are days that couldn't be more opposite.  Lots of screaming, crying, pushing......where I am just a referee and am about to lose it.  Poor Matt ends up getting several desperate phone calls on days like that.  When it's bad I will sometimes get out of the house when he gets home just to get a breather.  Being a Stay at home Mom is INTENSE!  BUT I do love it and I know that my girls benefit from it. 

You always insist on wearing your sunglasses outside.  One day we were loading up in the car and I look back at you and you're walking out with your glasses on, purse on your arm and necklace around your neck.  WOW.  What a little miss priss!  What's funny is that you are waaay more stylish than I am!  You get in our closet when I'm getting dressed and try to tell me what to wear.  I will usually go with it too!  My very own stylist!  I certainly need the help!

Here you are posing it up on the day of the anniversary.  I thought alot about how we would approach this day as it was getting closer.  It would be very easy to be sad and ask "Why" all day long but we decided to do the opposite.  We will always look at this day as a celebration of how far you have come and all you have accomplished.  What a strong little girl you are and what you have taught every single one of us about Faith, determination and strength.  On this morning March 26, 2012 I got up super early to go get you and your therapists Krispy Kreme doughnuts.  They are your favorite!  We made sure you understood what was going on and what happened a year ago on that day.  We brought the doughnuts to therapy that morning so every one of your therapists could celebrate with you!  I wrote a letter to them letting them know how much they mean to us and thanking them for all of their hard work.  They really mean the world to us!  So that entire day you were sure to let everyone know that it had been a year since you hit your head and were sent to the hospital.  You told everyone this for atleast a week. 

Here y'all are at Totsie and Papa's house.  We have taken Melody out of her crib at their house and she now sleeps in your big crib.  So, you had nowhere to sleep!  I brought your old crib mattress from home for the time being and that seemed to work just fine!  Melody really wanted to sleep with you!  That night after you had fallen asleep, I snuck in the big bed next to you and you never even knew.  I told Matt it was so soothing to have you in there with me and listening to you breathe.  We have now purchased one of those fancy portable blow up mattresses from One Step Ahead.  We haven't used it yet but we will very soon.  You have 2 weeks of swim lessons coming up that will be in Ruston.  You are SOOO excited about this and have been talking about it forever!  You were signed up last year but couldn't do them because of the accident.  You are ready now!!

Here we are at Log Cabin.  I think you may have inherited my obsession for their chips and salsa.  You can put them away like no other!  I need to video it one day. 

Here we are at the car wash.  It really is great entertainment for kids and they sell icees too!  You girls were amazed with the whole thing and you are now quick to tell me when my car is dirty and needs to go to the car wash. 

The next Picasso

You can never wear too many sunglasses!

I'm guessing these pics were taken at the end of April beginning of May.  I say that cause it's obviously already getting hot here (look at your red face) and you would ask everyday when we can start to swim.  We have several blow-up pools we pull out in the Summer.  Since the swimming in the backyard can be a bit of a chore, Matt and I would tell y'all we can't swim until it's Summer.  Then we would say Summer isn't here until school is out and then it will be hot enough.  Poor thing.  It would be mid 80's and you would say," It's not Summer yet, we can't swim yet cause I'm still in school and it's not hot enough. " Brainwashing 101.  We won't be able to get away with this for much longer. 

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So y'all just played and played in the sand/ water box during those April days.  I am very behind on these posts but right now it is almost June and am happy to say that the pool thing is going pretty good so far.  It's just alot to watch both of you around water and that makes me VERY nervous!  I think there should always be 1 parent to 1 child when there is water involved and so we try and do all of our swimming on the weekends when Daddy can help us!

I thought this was such a sweet dress on you.  Funny story behind it though.  It was teacher appreciation week and on this day you had to wear your teachers favorite color.  Mrs. Blanchard's is yellow.  WELL, I searched your closet and couldn't find anything yellow so we went out the day before and found this sweet dress.  It is clearly made to be monogrammed but they didn't have time for that!  Oh well!  It still looked precious and I eventually got your name monogrammed in pale pink.  (there is a pink stripe at the very top).

Happy 30th to ME!!

Oh I had a nice 30th birthday!  It was very low key and sweet, sweet, SWEET!  I don't really know why but I was super emotional on the day this year.  I can't remember how many times I cried in that one day.  They were all very happy and grateful tears though.  I thought about my emotions and what in the world could be going on.....Matt loved to add his two cents in at this point:)  I just think this time of year will always be a little extra sensitive because Addison's accident was on March 26, 2011.  I will always associate my birthday with her injury- my bday is March 23rd.  That is ok though.  As the anniversary grew closer I just found myself thinking about it alot more and how grateful I am that we have come SO far and that she is SO healthy.  It could have been a very different story.  It was very bad but it could have been so much worse.  Anyway, I need to save all of that for her big anniversary post!  

Mom came over on my birthday and Matt left work that day around noon.  We did cake and then Matt and I were off to pizza and a movie!  I just love getting to hang out with him- just the two of us!)  One of the best things about that day was how considerate Addison was.  Anytime it is someones birthday, she really gets with it and makes sure that person is totally taken care off.  She is always concerned if they have a drink and if it's what they really want, the first piece of cake, a plate, napkin......you get the idea.  She was definitely in charge of the whole thing and at the very end when I blew out my candles she shouted, "Mommy!  Don't forget to make a wish!"  If she only knew what my wish was (I choked back more tears as I told her I already made one).

Matt made my delicious cake.  We love the homemade ones cause Addison can enjoy them too!  Here she is helping Totsie put candles on the cake. 

Mom and Matt showed up with identical balloons for me!  I thought it was so funny- great minds think alike! (OR that was the only 30th balloon at the store)!

The very next day Matt and I went to Dallas for a getaway and stayed at Hotel ZaZa.  This is where we always stay if we are in Uptown.  That might be our last time though.  Something was different about it and we just might venture out next time. 

When we got there we stopped for lunch at the Idle Rich Pub.  We just love it there.  We like to eat on the deck and people watch on Mckinney. 

Oh this is funny- poor Matt.  He always gets me an ice cream cake and he ordered it in Dallas and we let the hotel keep it in their freezer till we are ready for it.  WELL, he gave very specific instructions to make it pastel colors (cause that's what I love). The look on his face was priceless!  He was so mad and disappointed.  He tried so hard and I just laugh everytime I look at the cake.  It was like red, purple, white, green and pink.  It was perfect:)  It tasted amazing and that's all that matters!

On Sunday we stopped by our favorite breakfast joint.  The Original Pancake House (Not to be confused with IHOP!)  It's incredible.  I could just eat there all day long.

A couple of weeks before we went to Dallas, we headed over to Baton Rouge so Matt could meet with some clients and we could pick up our new Tahoe!  On the way back I was craving Stanton Hall/ Carriage House in Natchez and Matt said, "Well lets go then."  I just didn't think about it being on our way home.   We would always go here growing up and I have the best memories of it.  I even did the pilgrimage at Elgin Plantation for 3 years.  I got to dress up in those cool hoop dresses and give tours of the house!  Anyway, the best memories. 

They closed at 2 that day and we called them probably 5 times telling them we were going to cut it close and they said they would let us in.  I'm telling you, I HAD TO HAVE those biscuits.  It was one of those situations. 

Matt was happy to take me there- no complaints on his part!

Seriously?!  I'm pretty sure I licked that plate.

Since we were the last ones to be seated and leave, I begged them for a thing of biscuits.  They were happy to give these to us cause they said they just throw them out at the end of the day!  WHAT??!  We didn't eat all of them though:)  I gave some to my parents. 

Hanging out in front- It was just beautiful.  We timed it perfect with the azaleas blooming.  They are my favorite!  They just scream Southern to me.

I thought this tree was so beautiful.  It's right in front of Stanton Hall.  See that house with the coral roof?  My great uncle Thomas Howard use to live there for many years. 

Here we are at the Dragon fly inside of Hotel ZaZa.  We had just gotten back from dinner and decided to be wild and crazy and stay up past 10.  We were soooo out of place.  It was almost uncomfortable.  But we had to take pictures to document and then we rushed back to our room.  I quickly changed into my raggedy old sweats.  I swear if we weren't staying there we wouldn't have gotten pass their special rope. 

The pool outside.  The last time we hung out by this pool was when we were living in Texas and I was pregnant with Addison. 

I think she looks SO grown up right here.  When I see pictures of her like this, I find myself trying so hard to see that baby girl I delivered almost 4 years ago.  Even in this picture I can still find those eyes and that same nose that I saw for the first time on July 29, 2008.

BLESSED!  Truly blessed.

Matt got me the new iPhone 4.  I knew in advance cause I got to pick out my case! 

Here's another one of those emotional things that happened.  So, our wedding video is on a VHS tape (it was in 2004 and I guess some people were still using VHS).  Anyway, for a very long time I have always worried that someday we would never be able to watch our wedding cause there would be no more VCR's.  It was one of those nagging, Honey do things that has always been on our list.  Well, he found a place that converted it to a DVD!  I knew it was possible, it was just making the time to do it.  So, when I opened it I was kinda shocked and thrilled and then I have no clue what happened.  Addison was pretty confused to say the least.  I had to explain that you can cry when you're happy too! 

Mom and I have always gone to Dallas for my birthday so we went the very next weekend!  That's right, two weekends back to back in Dallas- Perfection!  We got up early Saturday morning and ran 5 miles (stayed close to the hotel).  It was really fun and then we shopped and ate the rest of the time!  I really love running with her cause it is the only time we can talk without the girls screaming at us!