The House is Ready

The tree is up (see the little one in the corner)

and the stockings are hung.  It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the Harding house.  I love all the Christmas decorations that will flood the house for the next month. 

The girls had a blast playing while Mark and I got the tree ready to decorate. 

They hung out here while we put the tree together and fluffed it! 

Then it was time for the ornaments.  I love Addison's face (even though you can't quite see it.)  She was holding her ornament from last year, getting ready to put in on the tree. 

Lauren was very excited to put her ornaments on the tree as well.  She has a Nemo ornament and two Aerial ornaments.  Lauren went from this big smile....

to this pretty quickly.  She woke up Friday morning with a fever (probably had it Thursday night overnight.)  She felt pretty bad most of the weekend.  When the fever would go away she would be full of smiles for maybe an hour.  Then she would be back down again.  It hit her pretty hard.  She was cold, had the chills, then was sweating.  She did not eat or drink much on Friday.  She was a little better on Saturday.  I thought she was all better until Saturday night when she spiked a fever again.  Sunday morning she woke up better and stayed fever free all day Sunday.  I think she is better now, at least I sure hope. 

We were supposed to go shopping to get our ornaments, but we did not make it.  We were supposed to go the the new movie Tangled, but did not make that either.  We did end up going out to dinner Sunday evening as we all needed to get out of the house.  So I think on Tuesday night Lauren and I will go see Tangled.  I think this weekend we will go and get ornaments when Mark is in Dallas watching the Huskers take on OU. 

Addison felt great all weeekend.  Mark would make her give him a kiss each time she wanted another ornament to put on the tree.  It was SO cute.  She is such a sweetie. 

Can't forget Zoe's stocking!  We are a little worried about her.  She is just not herself and she is not eating like she normally does.  She is on an antibiotic and anitfungal right now, so I am hoping it is just that and nothing else....poor Zoe. 

She always has a smile for the camera.  Now we just need to keep her away from the tree! 

Happy Holidays. 

Thanksgiving 2010

We spent the day in Lawrence.  It was an awesome day that ended too quickly.  We had a huge celebration with 40 people present.  My Mom was the host and she did a tremendous job!  We had a huge buffet of food and tons of desserts.  The Merritt family is truly amazing and the Thanksgiving tradition is one I hope will carry on for years to come. 

I took tons of pictures (as always) but found a way to share several from the day.  Enjoy...

Lauren was hard to find most of the day.  She was running around with her new friend Fairlyn and of course Luke and Martin.  The kids entertained themselves in the basement by building forts out of mattresses.  They had a blast.  Addison hung out with whomever would hold her (which was everyone.)  Addison is so social and just loves to be with everybody. 

Here are all the girls with the family quilt.  We decided it went to Cindy this year (Jason's wife.)  We were so thrilled they were here to join us for Thanksgiving that we decided they have to come back next year! 

All the cousins that were present (and Addison too!) 

My Mom, her brother Marcus and sister Renee. 

The cousins and their spouses.  I love this picture! 

Last weekend we were in Omaha celebrating Thanksgiving with Mark's family.  It was a quick trip, but a ton of fun.  The girls had a blast playing with their cousins, and they can't wait to go back for Christmas. 

Thankful

The Things that I am Thankful for this Holiday Season:

• My Amazing Family
• My Incredible Husband who is the love of my life.  I truly adore you Mark :) 
• My older one who adores Addison
• My little one who is a ball of fire
• My job in this economy
• Mark's job in this economy
• My health (and Mark, Lauren and Addison)
• No debt (except house and car)
• That we were able to take our girls to Disney World this year.  If you don't remember you can look here for all the memories.  We loved Disney World and can't wait to go back. 
• Zoe- our big screen TV!
• My gym membership to stay in shape this winter
• My accomplishment of running a 5K this past year (and a few more races)
• Nebraska football (has been really fun to watch this year)
• Our ability to spoil the girls rotten for Christmas

Addison is Thankful for:

• Dora
• Tinkerbell
• Cake

Lauren is Thankful for:

• Mommy, Daddy and Addison
• Our car
• The moon, sun and trees
• Zoe
• Food
• God

Mark is Thankful for:

• The little stuff
• A job in this economy
• Happiness with his family
• Appreciation of the little things in life and the things that surround us each day

My hope was to compile a huge list, but time just got away from me...like it always does.  So this is what you get!  I asked Lauren the things that she was thankful for on the way home tonight from school.  I was so proud of her to say she was thankful for God.  Maybe this church thing is starting to sink in with the girls. 

So, Happy Thanksgiving everyone.  Enjoy the day with family, eat lots of turkey and pumpkin pie, and watch lots of football. 

Christmas Tree Lighting in Lee's Summit

It's late...I am tired...still need to pack for Omaha...we are leaving first thing in the morning.  So, enjoy the pictures from our adventure tonight.  The girls had a blast.  We kept them up late, past their bedtime.  It was worth it, even though the battle of bedtime was a nightmare for about 20 minutes.  We had 2 little very tired girls, asking to go to sleep, but needing baths since we are heading out of town tomorrow.  Once baths were done, they went to bed, fell asleep quickly and have not moved for 2 hours! 

Here comes Santa Clause! 

Watching Santa talking to all the kids.  Lauren still does not want to sit on Santa's lap!  Maybe next year??

Addison was asking to go home.  "I want to go home Mommy."  Poor little girl...

This is all I Got...

So it is November 15th and I have not taken ANY pictures of the girls this month.  What has happened to me?  I typically take pictures on the weekends when we are out doing fun stuff.  Well the last two weekends have been filled with fun, but fun for Mark and I. 

Last weekend I spent all day Saturday scrap booking with my friend Aimee.  I did 25 pages in one day!  Granted it was a whole day.  We started at about 10:30 in the morning, and scrap booked until 9:00 at night.  Mark took the girls to Paradise Park, but the only pictures he took were the ones on his phone.   They had a blast, as they always do with their Daddy! 

This weekend Mark went to the NWMSU vs Pitt State game at Arrowhead.  I was supposed to go with him, but it did not work out.  It was turning into too much of a Phi Sig reunion with very little wives tagging along for various reasons.  I decided to go ahead and take the girls to my parents house and I went shopping.  I went shopping for myself, and got some Christmas shopping done too! 

Tonight when I started to clean out the dishwasher I found this!  It made me smile.  I am sure little Addison had something to do with this.  Who knows when she put them there.  Probably yesterday afternoon sometime when I was cooking dinner or something. 

That little pink bear is her FAVORITE little toy right now.  She carries that thing around day and night (well night if I would let her sleep with it.)  It came from one of Lauren's Polly Pocket set and she loves it.  She even takes it to school with her, but puts it in her cubbie so it does not get lost. 

And this dog she got for her birthday.  It barks, whines, and pants..leading to Addison panting as well.  It really is pretty cute. 

So not a lot going on in the Harding house hold.  We are headed to see Grandma Harding and all the cousins this weekend which Lauren is so excited about.  It will be a quick trip, but should be a fun one.  I can't wait for Thanksgiving with my family next week.  I think the head count is close to 50 people!  I love the Merritt Family Thanksgiving.  It is such an amazing tradition. 

Wordless Wednesday

Way too much candy...and little Addison who did not want to open her eyes for the picture. 

Addison is 2

I have been meaning to update a few things since Addison turned 2.  At her well child check she was a whole 23 lbs 13 oz.  She is my tall and skinny girl (well Lauren is too!)    The Dr. was amazed that she know several of her colors already, and the Dr. said her speech was amazing.  She is growing and changing so fast. 

She has been fighting a cough/cold for several weeks now.  Anyone that know me knows I have a tendency to "sit" on my kids a little bit when they get sick.  I have the ability to listen to her lungs and know she is fine and just has a "viral something."  Well after three weeks of a cough/cold I finally took her in and turns out it is just allergies.  So both Lauren and Addison have been on Zyrtec for the last month...and they are better now.

Addison had a follow up optho (vision) appointment this past week at Children's Mercy.  She had a clogged tear duct as an infant (and that has cleared up) but she has a large degree of far sightedness, that will probably develop into near sightedness...which would mean glasses.  How cute would she be in glasses???

Addison continues to be a little devil in disguise (I almost dressed her up as a little devil for Halloween.)  She is ornery and starting to act like a typical toddler.  She messes with Lauren just to mess with Lauren.  She screams to get her way (and I usually give in because really there are not many battles I am choosing to fight these days.)  She had Cheetos for dinner the other night...that was it...Cheetos...Mark just shook his head at me...

The second child gets away with so much more than the first! 

But, we adore her and can't imagine life without her.  Her relationship with Lauren continues to amaze me each day. 

Lauren and Landen

Look at the look on her face!  This is from a few weeks back when Landen was in town from Chicago.  His Mom always comes up to the daycare to say hello to the teachers and other kids.  I knew he was stopping by, but I did not tell Lauren.  She was so excited when I picked her up that night!  She had so much to tell me about Landen stopping by school and surprising her.  I love it!

Halloween Madness

Halloween day was a fun filled full day.  We headed out to Columbia (with our Husker gear on) to go to Luke's Halloween party.  We got into town around lunch time so Lauren and Luke could play and spend some time together before the party started.  They of course had a blast.  Addison did her best to keep up with the two of them, but it was not easy. 

My cousin Lora goes all out for Halloween.  She loves the holiday and had her house fully decorated for the party.  When each kid arrived they had to stop and get their pictures taken after they walked in. 

Lora had an arts and craft activity for each kid, then 4 games planned outside in the backyard.  After that, there was cake and punch, and then a treasure hunt! 

Lauren had a great time with Luke, and she made a new friend while she was there also.  It was hard to leave the party, but we had to get back to KC so we could trick or treat with Killian, Seth, and their baby sisters Charley and  Macy.  Very fun! 

Seth, Killian, Lauren. 

I love the look on Lauren's face because it captures the utter excitement of Halloween and getting all that candy!  Lauren, Killian and Seth ran from house to house all night.  We probably hit close to 50 houses! 

Addison chilled in the stroller for a while with Charley and Macy, while the guys talked fantasy football.  After a while, Addison realized there was more fun outside of the stroller and tried to keep up with the big kids.  That is never an easy task...

Lauren always made sure that Addison got candy.  At each house (when Addison was in the stroller)  Lauren would ask the person handing out candy for some more candy for her "baby sister."  Each time Lauren would come running towards me with candy and say "I have candy for Addison Mommy."  Then she would put it in Addison's bag and take off running with Killian and Seth again.  Lauren is such an awesome big sister. 

Addison tried to keep with the Killian and Seth, but the other kids in the neighborhood just seemed to run all over her.  She was the cutest Minnie Mouse out there though! 

Addison finally decided to go back to the stroller after a while, which was fine with me.  Mark and I took turns carrying her from house to house just trying to keep up with Lauren, Seth, and Killian.  At least all of the adults (well Moms) took turns watching the kids running crazy in the neighborhood while the guys talked fantasy football.  Did I mention that already?  Oh, and they had to check their fantasy scores too...crazy boys! 

It was a great Halloween night, and the girls had a blast.  I had fun watching Lauren laugh and run with the boys.  I loved watching Addison go right up to the houses and sat "trick or treat" and "thank you" after she got the candy.  Like I have always said, this girl does not know a stranger, and has NO fear.  She had a blast and I know it will only get better in the years to come.  Lauren was so awesome always making sure Addison had candy from each of the houses as well.  Way to go Lauren.  You are the best big sister ever!