Adison Being Silly

Motorized Children!

Adison thinks that she is very grown up because she knows how to ride the four wheeler, so she rides it while Nicolas rides the gator. She isn't very good at steering, but she has more idea than Nicolas had at her age.

Adison's Cute Little Legs

I love the way Adison walks and this was just a cute little video of her

Leo Watching TV

We had a yukky wet day this week so I watched Lady and the Tramp with the kids. Leo usually falls alseep by the door but as soon as he heard the puppy wimpering he came in the room and watched the screen intently. Everytime the puppy cried he'd cock his head as he obviously thought it was a real dog.

It reminded me of our old dog Meg's reaction to the Champion the Wonder Dog record. For those of you who remember that song, did you know that was Simon Cowell's start in the music industry and he used to dress up as Champion to promote it! Look it up on Youtube if you have no idea what I'm talking about.

Nicolas Skating

Nicolas is at the stage where Adam just pulls him around, but he loves it. He's just started using proper skates rather that the baby skates that you can stop from going backwards, so he's still getting used to rolling all over the place.

Valentine's Skate Night

We finished up a wonderful Valentine's day by taking all the kids to skate night. Their school organises a skate night every couple of months and now we all have skates we were excited to take the kids and all skate together. Nicolas has graduated to Kirsten's old skates and we would have put Adison in the baby skates, but that didn't seem fair given that she already has one broken bone! She'll have a go next time.

She was a little angel and watched us skate for at least an hour before she complained about being in the stroller. Adam or I were with her the whole time, so it meant that we didn't get to skate together, but I got to watch him do all his amazing skating moves.

I'm determined Nicolas and Adison will learn to skate while they are little so they'll be like Adam and not like me! I can skate, but I can't stop and I skate VERY slowly because I'm scared of falling. Adam is so good and makes it look effortless because he learned so young.

Poor Jaden never wanted to skate when he was little and now we have to force him to skate and he's just embarrassed because he wants to be cool. He's getting so much better but he lacks confidence. Kirsten and he are about the same skill level, the difference is that Kirsten is convinced she is the best skater in the world, so she goes out there with lots of confidence and he goes out there convinced everyone is better than him and that he's going to fall!

We are going to go as often as we can as it was lots of fun and the kids got to see their school friends too, so it was a great end to Valentine's Day in the Woodall house.

Nicolas' Valentine's Party

My friends Andrea and Kristen organised the party and it was wonderful! Each child had a balloon and all the food was heart shaped or red.
The room looked so pretty and the kids had a wonderful time.

I'm getting used to how cute the parties are now, but they are still lots of fun.

Nicolas decided to tie the balloon onto his gator when we got home and they looked really funny riding aroud with the balloon floating behind them.

He kept stopping and getting really annoyed with Adison because she kept holding onto the balloon and then it wouldn't float behind the gator like he wanted it to.

Valentine's Day for the Kids

Valentine's Day was definately not a kids celebration when I was younger, I knew I'd never get a valentine from anyone in school, so I never looked forward to it particularly. I did end up gettin 3 during my time at school. I did find it strange that it's such a big thing for kids here, but now I really enjoy it. We really celebrated this year now the kids are living with us and Nicolas is old enough to understand.
We decided to celebrate on Thursday as Nicolas had his preschool valentine's party that day and the kids were going to their Mom's for the weekend.

I got up early and hung the decorations I'd made and then I made Adam a heart shaped omlette and the kids pink heart shaped pancakes with icecream and syrup. Adam isn't big on pancakes or he would have had the same as them.

We'd got them some candy and Nicolas and Adison had a teddy as I try not to give them too much candy.

It was a fun start to the day, especially being able to eat so much sugar for breakfast!

Adison didn't wake up until 7:30am so she missed out on the main breakfast, but she loved her bear.

This is the expression Adison pulls now when you say 'smile'! I think I prefered her scrunched up nose smile instead, it's definately not her best look!

The Many Faces of Adison Rose

Adison suddenly seems so big and like a little girl rather than a toddler. She has gone from scrunching up her nose when she smiles to pouting and sticking her bottom jaw out. Now she finally has some hair I can put bows in it so people know she is a girl, not a boy! She gets mistaken for a boy quite a lot without the bows.

She is my little angel and is a pleasure to be around 99% of the time.

Feeding the Ducks

For those of you who haven't heard from me for a couple of weeks I am still here, just very tired and ready for a quiet, romatic weekend with Adam (andNicolas and Adison of course). Packing to go on vacation, the vacation, 12 loads of laundry and unpacking when we got back, working Cannon's Consignment Sale, an extra unexpected weekend with Jaden and Kirsten last weekend, Adam starting his amazing new job, othopedic Dr visits, a great girls night out with one of my friends, eye Dr visits, MOPS and just life in general, has left little time for anything else!!

We did find time to go to the park as I haven't walked in ages, and feed the duck while we were there.

Wednesday was kind of a sad day for me as I took Nicolas and Adison to the eye doctor (that's a fancy way of saying optician to anyone who isn't American!!). Their Dr had said Adison had a lazy eye at her 18mth check up and that Nicolas had a very slight one. I was prepared for Adison to have a patch maybe and Nicolas to be fine.

After 2 hours of extensive tests and checks they told me Adison was fine but that Nicolas will probably be wearing glasses in 6-12 months. I was so upset. I hope it comes to nothing and we will get a second opinion, and maybe he'll just need a patch, but his beautiful eyes (thanks to Granny Teresa) are what take people's attention away from his lip. I know when he's older there will be no problem as he can wear contacts or get lasik, but when he's little and has another scar from his next surgery and glasses, it just seems like a lot for a little boy to deal with.

I felt the same way when we were told he'd have no teeth at the side, but then they came in, plus an extra one for good measure, so I hope it will be the same with the glasses too. I feel OK about it now and know that he's such a resiliant little boy that he will cope with anything. When I see what other people have to deal with with their children I feel selfish for worrying about a little thing like glasses, but sometimes it's hard to help it in the moment.

Injuries and Our Last Day

Once the power came back on they could heat up the pool. It was still a bit cold for Adison but she got to wear her new swimsuit from Lianne and she and Nicolas both tried out their new floaties. They are like mini life jackets rather than the arm bands they used last year.

Nicolas loved his and took off swimming after a few minutes getting used to it, but Adison was cold and just wanted to be held.
The kids had a great time and then we went home for lunch.

I'd dried Adison's hair and it was all cute and fly away, and actually looked quite thick. We had taken her travel highchair that clips to the table but because it's really hard to undo the straps, we hadn't bothered strapping her in. I NEVER leave her unstrapped at home, but on vacation everything just seems more relaxed.

Anyway a few minutes after this photo was taken I was sitting on one side of her with Adam on the other at the table and I took my eyes of her for a second, and that was the moment she decided to try to climb out of the highchair and as I looked back at her she was falling out of the highchair backwards!

I grabbed for her but was too late and she fell onto her back on the carpet. I was worried about her neck but as I saw her fall I knew she would be OK. She cried and touched her right should a couple of times, but I thought she was just so tired from the swimming in the morning that she would be OK. She went down for her nap and we didn't think too much of it until 4pm when we went to wake her and she cried pitifully and carried on touching her shoulder.

To cut a long story short, I took her to the ER 30 mins away on twisty, icey road while Adam stayed with the other kids and she has broken her collar bone. She was a bit sad the first two days and we kept her dosed up on Ibuprofen, but now 10 days on you wouldn't know there was anything wrong with her. She saw an orthopedic dr in Atlanta who gave her a little sling, but she refuses to wear it, which apparently is normal and doesn't affect the healing of the bone.

So we left on Wednesday morning and made the beautiful drive back. We all survived sledding, skiing and icey roads only to have Adison break a bone in her high chair!

Our vacation was amazing and I can't wait to go back, but this time Adison will be strapped into the highchair, no matter how hard it is to get her out!!

Getting Used to the Skis

These were just the photos I got when the kids started out skiing. They were awful on the baby slope and I never thought Jaden would make it up the ski lift, but once they got on the big slope, where they could just slide and hope for the best, they did great.

Jaden had to be dragged off the ski lift each time by Adam or the ski patrol!

They then spent 5 or 10 minutes trying to stand up, only to fall over trying to get back down the little slope to the bottom of the lift again! It was very funny to watch, especially as they had both told us what good skiers they were! They are fearless, but not very skillful. Having said that, we'll have to see how good I'll be next year, I may be worse!!

Nicolas Watching the Skiing

Because of the power problems we could only ski on Tuesday night. I realised it would be no fun for anyone if Adam and I both tried to ski so I said I'd watch Nicolas and Adison while he skied with Jaden and Kirsten. I can ski a little bit, thanks to my friends Angie and Rich, but I'm used to skiing on powdery Canadian snow, not packed ice, so I knew I wouldn't have been able to help the kids, where as Adam is excellent on ice as that is all he's skied on. Part of me was really envious of them all skiing, but I know that in a few years all four kids will be skiing with us.

Nicolas and Adison were both cold and miserable as it was bath and bed time as far as they were concerned, so they shouldn't be freezing watching the kids skiing! Nicolas hates it when the sun sets because he know it's nearly bedtime, but he knows the sun goes to Australia to give Uncle George sun light and keep the wombats warm! As you can tell he wasn't happy but I took them both back and gave them a bath and ice cream as a treat while Adam and the kids skied. In the end it was a great day and I know one day Adam and I will ski together at Tremblant with Rich and Angie!!

Jaden & Kirsten Skiing

Once Adam got the kids on the bigger slope they did really well. The slope is just packed ice so unless you are a good skier, you can't use any technique to get down, you just snow plough the whole way and hope for the best! The kids aren't good enough yet to be able to use their poles, but they are fearless, especially Kirsten. They set off from the top and went straight down to the bottom as fast as they could go!

Jaden is on the left and Kirsten is on the right. Adam is the skier with them.

Trying to Get on the Ski Lift

After 3 attempts (and 3 rescues by the ski patrol man!) Adam gave up trying to get Jaden up the lift on the bunny slope. He took them on the big slope as there was a chair lift that the kids could get on easily.

Nicolas Sledding

Nicolas is totally fearless when it comes to speed, so sledding was his dream come true. We pushed him down the hills and he held on to the bottom of the hill.

Alison Sledding

Yes I am screaming like a girl!! It was pretty fast and hard to steer the sled, also I was heading for the bunker on the right and I wasn't about to jump in the sled!

Adam Sledding

Jaden & Kirsten Sledding

This was only a short run, but it was really fast, until some idiots came and parked their car right at the bottom of the run! Some people have no common sense!

Adam & Craig's Sled Race

Do men ever grow up? I hope not or life wouldn't be as much fun!

Sleding on the Golf Course

More Sledding and Snow Fun

We had some more sledding fun on Monday because the ski lift finally had power but would only open at 5pm.

Adam is just the most wonderful father! I love his patience and firmness with the kids, and the fact he is always rational, which allows me to have the emotional response to things as I know he'll keep me balanced. He's also my favorite person in the world as we have so much fun together!

Of course we had to have more tractor time too.

When you are freezing cold after sledding, what's the best thing to warm you up? According to the kids a snow slushy!! Luckily I'd taken the syrup just in case.

Fun at the Condo

Once the power came back on we were so happy. We had a relaxing morning on Monday as we couldn't ski (still no power at the ski lift) and we were so tired from two days of sledding.

Adison's hair is finally long enough to put into two tiny pony tails. She won't keep them in for long but I have to try as shes been mistaken 3 or 4 times for a boy in the last couple of weeks.

We all got very pink cheeks from the glare, inspite of sunblock.

Each day this squirrel would come and try to get some food from us. He was very cute and Nicolas loved talking to him through the door. He wanted to bring him inside and play with him.

Beautiful Scenery

I don't like the pine trees they have in the south as they just drop limbs and tonnes of pine straw, but I changed my mind once I saw them covered in snow. It was just breath takingly beautiful!

Everything looked like a picture perfect wonderland.

I was so glad I got to share this with the kids. The only bad thing is if it doesn't snow when we go back next year the kids will be very disappointed.

This valley was called Lonesome Valley and it reminded me of Yosemite.

The clear blue skies made it even prettier.

This is probably one of my favorite photos from the whole trip.