Addison loves spaghetti

Now that Addison has some chompers we are slowly introducing foods cut into small pieces and not so smooshed. She loves being able to eat what we are eating and lets us know when she wants a bite. Enjoy her beautiful, messy face!

Beautiful Days

When we have beautiful weather we do our best to make sure we play outside and enjoy it as much as possible. Last week we had a couple of days which made it hard to stay at work so we decided to leave early and go to the park. Jack met us there and we played on the swings, and ran around. Addison is learning to enjoy sand. It's always funny to watch kids touch sand for the first couple of times, they have no idea what is going on or what is sticking on them.
We also visited my grandparents. We hadn't seen them in awhile and the kids love seeing them. Jack loves looking for wizards (lizards) and now that he knows their favorite sunbathing spots he is sure to find one. His legs are finally long enough to reach the peddles on his tricycle so now he races through the backyard bumping into everything. Since Addison is walking everywhere she likes to explore the grass and plants and follow her brother everywhere. We just have to make sure that she doesn't get plowed over by her brother.
Addison is starting to become quite the princess. Her little redheaded temper is coming through. She definitely lets you know when she wants something! She starts arching her back if she wants down, screeching if she wants something that you have, cries when you take something away from her and throws mini tantrums by bouncing up and down and throwing her arms in the air. I have to say it is cute for now and it makes me laugh, but I know it wont be for long.
Enjoy some of our latest pictures.

Jack-isms

Every day Jack blows me away with his expanding vocabulary and creative sentences. I love it when I ask him if something is yummy and he tells me, "No mommy, it's delicious!"
The other day in the car we were taking Addison to my moms and then going to school. We were just driving along and from the backseat he tells me, "Mommy slow down, you are making me sick!" For the record son, I was not going fast.
If you have driven with me you know that I yell at everybody on the road. I yelled at someone who cut me off and Jack says, " Whats wrong mommy, did the man crash into you?" You would think I get into a lot of accidents with that question.
We say, "Oh sugar," instead of "Oh sh*t! or "oh crap" because someone started repeating them at the most perfect time. I saw that there was a lot of traffic on the freeway one morning and said "oh sugar" and in the backseat, shaking his head Jack says, "Oh crap, mommy and daddy can only say oh crap."
There are so many more, I wish I could remember them all. Whenever I think of them they make me smile.

We are walking!!!

Addison decided that since she was going to be turning 10 months that it was time to walk. Yesterday when I picked her up she started walking and didn't stop all night, she even skipped her afternoon nap. I think it was because she was so excited to walk. Jack did the same thing when he first started walking. Her record had been five steps, but now she is mooooovinnnn, we knew it was only a matter of time.

We have all finally recovered from getting the worst stomach flu. It started with Jack waking us up at 3am on my birthday getting sick every half hour. Then 2 days later it got me. I made it through the day at school and was on my death bed for two days. Then 2 days later when I finally was feeling better Jack got it. Thankfully Addison didn't get it. It was bad enough seeing Jack terrified of what was going on, all he could say was, "I spit up" in the most pitiful little voice.

We were barely better in time to make it out to Arizona for Casey and Steve's wedding. It was amazing, everything was beautiful and we were able to see so many friends that we hadn't seen in over a year. Jack and I had a great night without kids for a couple hours. They were all nice enough to take a 2 hour nap before the wedding so I was able to get ready, with no distractions. I can't remember the last time that that happened. The kids were with babysitters at the hotel so we were able to spy on them whenever we wanted. I think I sent Jack to go listen at the door 3 or 4 times. So I am a little compulsive and maybe a little overprotective of my kids. When I get some pictures of us I will post them. I was impressed with how well we cleaned up, it doesn't happen often.

Here are a couple of our latest of Addie. She finally fell asleep in her high chair. When Jack was a baby he would always pass out after eating and she hadn't yet, so when it happened I had to document it of course! Then we were at a friends house and Addison wanted to be outside with Jack, but it was too cold so I made her stay inside. You can see her two teeth that she has. She was having a blast banging on the door. And then a couple of bath time. They loooove baths!

My baby girl is 9 months!

Addison turned 9 months on Saturday and everyday since then she has showed us what a big girl she is. She took her first two steps on Sunday and her second tooth came in on Monday. I am excited that she reached that big milestone of starting to walk, but that just means now I can have two kids on the move and possibly going in separate directions. Who do I go after first? The idea just scares me. I don't know where this extra energy is going to come from.
It is so much fun watching the kids start to play with each other more and more. Jack asks me every day if Addie is going to play with him when we get home. She has always thought that he is the funniest and laughs at whatever he does, promoting him to do it again. Last night we were reading stories in bed and he started to hide under the covers. She figured out that if she lifted up the covers she would see him. He would laugh, she would laugh and then she would do it again. It was bed time, but I couldn't stop the fun they were having. Jack and I watched them and couldn't believe the interaction that is growing between them.

Enjoy the pictures of her, look how big she is!

Weekend fun!

Despite everyone being sick all week and this weekend we still tried to squeeze in some fun. Kids can only be stuck inside for so long, and moms too. Since the weather was beautiful we spent some time outside and rode on Thomas. Jack got a Thomas train for Christmas that he loves to ride on. It works for some pretty good bribery too. We even let Addie have a ride too. Jack loved that she was on there with him. I'm not sure how long that is going to last for.

Addie had her 9 month check up earlier in the week. I can't believe she is already nine months! My baby girl.I guess it is time to start planning the big b-day party. She is growing like she should and at the top of the charts. She is almost 19 pounds (You should see my toned arms to prove it) at 68% and 75% in her height. She definitely is not taking after her brothers petite frame. She is only 9 pounds away from him.

Enjoy the pics!

The Rader Fam

P.S. This is the second post in one month!

It's been a looooong time!

So ever since I went back to work things have been crazy! Crazy would not even begin to explain it. I'm finally getting used to this whole working full time and being a mom.
Jack is doing great in school, he has adapted so well. At least that's what his teachers say. We have parent teacher conferences next week so I am excited to see how they think he is doing. I can see such a big difference in him. He surprises me every day with the things he is picking up. Some times he is too smart for his own good. Poor guy is catching every virus that comes into his classroom. At the moment we are fighting a fever. It has only been 10 days since his last. I wish I could follow him all day with hand sanitizer. He had his first performance at school for the holidays and looked so cute with his elf hat on. He isn't much of a performer yet. He didn't sing, cried a little bit and crawled into my lap after the third song. He'll get there one day if he is anything like his father.
Addison is almost nine months now. I know can you believe it? She has grown up so much. She got her first tooth just before Christmas, and has been crawling since Thanksgiving. She has gotten the crawling down and is all over the place. It is a matter of days till she is taking her first steps. Addie is such a happy girl and she loves to smile. She scrunches up her nose and shows her little tooth. By far the cutest thing. She claps at herself all day long and loves music. She will be sitting and playing and as soon as she hears some music she starts bouncing.
Addison and Jack are starting to play with one another more and more. Jack is so sweet at times and loves it when she follows him. He will call her and say, "Addie, follow me, follow me Addie." He loves playing with her toys, but she is not allowed to play with his toys. This is something that we are currently working on and I am sure we will be working on for a while. When she cries in the car he will sing to her until she stops. He loves that he can make her happy and laugh. She seems to think that he is the funniest guy in the world. I am just enjoying it now, because I know this wont last forever.
The Jacks have been baking a lot together. Blueberry muffins are their specialty at the moment. We have realized that if he makes it, he is more likely to eat it so we are trying to get him to help out in the kitchen more. He can be so picky at times, everything is, "I don't like it!"
The holiday's were a lot of fun this year. Jack really got into Santa and was so happy when he left him presents. He had a blast choosing the cookies to leave out for Santa and he helped pour his milk too. He couldn't believe what a mess Santa made, "Too much crumbs!" He also asked every night for the next week if Santa was coming and bringing presents. He helped everyone open their presents and was always looking for the next one to open.
Our weather has been amazing, amazing for January. We have been spending a lot of time outside walking at the bay and playing at the park. Jack loves to dig in the sand and Addie loves the swings. Jack is a fan of the swings too, he wants to go "so high."
Well I am going to do my best to update this blog a lot more then I did last year. There is so much to share with the kids. We wish everyone a Happy New Year and all the best in 2011! We are so happy to see 2011.
Enjoy some of our latest pictures.
The Rader Family

2:00 am

So it is about 2:00 in the am and I am wide awake and cant go to sleep. After laying in bed for 30 minutes trying to fall asleep after I watched all of the ridiculous shows that I love to watch (Bachelor Pad/Dating in the Dark) I figured I might as well wake up and do something with my alone/ quiet time. So what did I decide to do, fold laundry and check my emails. Now that that is done I figure I should maybe update my blog since I have been so horrible about updates and it is only going to get worse once I go back to work. It actually could get better b/c I like to take what I call brain breaks at lunch, and updating the blog is a good brain break.
So these could be the reasons why I am not sleeping at this hour that I haven't seen in a very long time... Jack is going to be starting preschool in 3 weeks from tomorrow (or actually today), Addison will not take a bottle, Addison will not let anyone else hold her for more then 5-10 minutes without screaming and searching the room for me, and I am going back to work in less then 2 weeks. I have been with my kids or should I say surrounded by my kids for the past 16 weeks. It is going to be really weird not having my kids with me and having 23 other kids surrounding me for 8 hours of the day. That means I will be spending more time with somebody elses kids then my own. Does that seem right? Not really. I will actually be having real conversations and not only talking about fire trucks and trash trucks that highlight Jacks life right now.
Addie has become quite the mommas girl, but can you blame her. Her dad works 7 days a week and I have been to lazy to get her feeding from the bottle which means she has not left me for more then 2 hours, and that was only once. We have been a package deal. A pretty good package if you ask me. And wouldn't you know since I have decided to try the bottle feeding and need to pump my wonderful dog decided to take a piece of the pump (a major piece) from off of the counter and chew it up one day while we weren't home. So now that I am on a time crunch I have to wait for this piece which you can only order online to arrive in the mail. Thank you Kona for making my life a little more difficult. So back to Addie loving her mom. It breaks my heart when she gets so sad and wont calm down that her face is bright red and she actually has tears running down her chunky monkey cheeks. I don't know if you know this but when babies are first born they don't make tears, it takes a while for that to happen and Addison is just starting to make tears. I don't know what it is that she can sense about me, but she knows it is me within a second of being back in my arms.
I am excited for Jack to be going to school and to be going to school with me is even more exciting. That means we have been successful in the potty training department. Lets just hope it stays that way. I'm a little nervous that the teachers will get to see how my son is. It is going to be his first experience being with someone all day that isn't a family member or close friend. I'm just dreading that I will get a call in my class from his teacher or worse... the office.
Well I think my little man who still doesn't always sleep through the night is jumping into my bed as I type so I should probably go and claim my spot in the bed.
I am going to need a very strong coffee tomorrow. If you see me there will be some type of caffeine in my hand at all times with some blood shot eyes to go with it.

Night night!

3 weeks left

So I have been home with the kids for 14 weeks and only have 3 weeks left till it is time to go back to work. I am so thankful that I have had this time to be with the kids. It has been very busy, doing what exactly I couldn't tell you. I know there's been a lot of diapers and feedings in those 14 weeks. I have also memorized kpbs' schedule of cartoons, a couple Blues Clues episodes and the trash man schedule in our complex. I have also learned Jacks version of his expanding vocabulary. When no one else has a clue what he's saying, I do. We are still working on his potty training and have gotten pretty good, but still have a lot of fine tuning to do in the next couple weeks. The "teet" or treat/m&ms have worked great. Addison is growing up so quickly before my eyes. I'm trying to take a lot of pictures of her b/c I don't want her to look back when she's older and not have any pics b/c she's the "second" child. It's a little hard when Im constantly guarding her from her busy older brother. He's so sweet with her and wants to be right by her side especially when I'm giving her attention. He just doesn't realize it hurts when you bonk two heads together, or when you pull an arm too hard. Also whenever I take a picture he wants to see it, "I see, I see" he says.
Addison rolled over today for the first time. I missed it too. I had her laying on her back on her play blanket, went into the kitchen with Jack and then she was crying. I went out to see what she was fussing about and she was on her stomach trying to lift her head up. I couldn't believe I missed it. Addie also likes to have your attention all the time. She doesn't want to sit there by herself, she wants you talking to her or holding her up so she can stand. She has also turned into a mommas girl, it's hard not to be when she has been with me everyday,all day, since day 1, literally. We need to work on that in the next 3 weeks. We also need to work on the bottle and formula feeding. She is still sleeping through the night which is amazing for me. I wouldn't be able to keep up with her brother if she didn't. I think she knows. She doesn't sleep much during the day, just a couple cat naps, but i'm not complaining. She tries to carry a conversation with you when you talk to her. Tonight while jack was eating dinner I had her standing in my lap facing jack in his high chair. He would be talking about Addie, pointing out that she was blowing bubbles and she would start making noises back to him, with her arms flying in the air with excitement. It was really cute I wish I was able to get it on video. She loves watching him and is always smiling at him. She must not realize that he is the one that makes her cry every once in awhile.
We will be staying busy and enjoying the next couple weeks before Jack starts preschool and I go back to work. I'll keep you updated.
Love you!

Addie is 2 months

So time has gone by so fast. I can remember when I was just 2 months pregnant and then had only 2 months left to go till she was born. Now she is 9 weeks old. On Thursday she had her 2 month well check with the Dr. We knew she was getting big, but didn't realize how big. She is 11 pounds 12 1/4 ounces, and 23 1/2 inches. That means she has gained almost 4 lbs. in 7 weeks and grown 3 inches. We have a growing girl on our hands. She is in the 75% for height and weight. Jack was always on the lower end and still is. So she is 2 months and weighs half as much as her 2 year old brother, makes sense right? I'm loving all of her little dimples and rolls that are starting to form. She is awake now for an hour or 2 every couple of hours and we have a lot of fun when she's awake. She is full of smiles and talks, and makes cute little faces. When she gets really excited her arms and legs start moving around so fast. She is starting to recognize her brother and smiles when he comes up and says hi. He's pretty good at saying her name. Below are some pictures I took one morning when she was in a smiley mood.

Jacks 2nd Birthday

So we finally celebrated Jacks 2nd birthday on Saturday at Kate Sessions park. We had a little bbq and pinate with family. Jack had a blast playing on the slide and swings and chasing his cousins. The weather was nice, a little windy, but we still had a really good time. I can't believe he is 2, it seems like I was just getting everything ready for his 1st birthday. He is wearing his first Padres hat that he got on Father's Day. He is super good about wearing it, I think he looks pretty cute in it too.