No No No No No

Addie has taken to a new word- NO- and spends her whole day saying it. She says it to mommy (and gets in trouble), to daddy (and gets in trouble), and to the cat. Here are some pictures of her saying it to Timmy. Evidently she pays attention when I scold Timmy for trying to run out the front door- since when he's by the door she'll toddle over to him and stick out her pointer finger and scold him with "No no no no no."

 
 

Another enjoyable anecdote with Addie and Timmy took place last night. She has started to hug things- soft things- by laying down on top of them on the floor (teddy bears & such). Well, Timmy IS a soft cat.... last night he stood still long enough for her to get her arms around his belly and then....
She took him DOWN. She pinned him on the floor with all the love she could, while his back legs sprung up spastically in the air I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. After a few loooooong seconds, he managed to escape. Addie went on thinking what a nice loving girl she was, and Timmy kept his distance for about an hour. 

Feeling Better

Yeah! The antiobiotic has seemed to clear up Addie's ear infections! We can tell that her ears aren't bothering her anymore.

Her reflux has flared up, which is normal after another sickness has been in the picture. BUT- she has slept the last THREE nights in a row. That makes the world a rosier place for mommy and daddy.

Addie has been talking a lot the last few days. She can now say "No No" way too well, also "car" and "cracker". Sometimes we can tell she is saying "kitty cat" and "bear". She also makes the "sss" sound trying to say sheep, fish, and sleep. We love hearing her little voice!

Oh What A Feeling...

 
I'm dancin' on the ceiling! 

Due to OVERWHELMING demand...

We thought you would all enjoy another video. This is Addie dancing along with baby music video. She had never seen it before, so I thought it especially funny that she started clapping at the end of the song!

Ear Infection #6

What a long and tiring 24 hours it's been! Addie has just not been sleeping- for naps or for any good amount of time overnight- so we took her into the Pediatrician this morning. We were so thankful that one of our favorite doctors was available and he let us know that Addie now has a booming infection in her right ear too. Her left ear has improved a little, but not enough. So he switched her to a stronger antibiotic and gave us a good deal of encouragement. What a blessing he was to these exhausted parents!

Greg just said that he wishes we could earn airline miles or something for being at the Pediatrician's office this much! He also said we should be invited to their holiday party. :) It's a good thing we haven't lost our sense of humor yet.

2 AM

 

To make a more balanced blog, we thought we'd share with you a glimpse of the Spangler household at 2 am. Due to ear infections, or reflux, or who knows what else, Addie has been waking most nights. She wakes up at some horrible hour and will not go back to sleep for 2 hours. No matter what- she is awake for 2 hours. Since we don't want her to cry for that long and give herself a tummy ache, we get up with her and usually end up watching a movie or late late late night TV. So here we are, zoning out and exhausted. This doesn't happen every night of course, but about 3-4 nights a week when she isn't feeling well. We are hoping this most recent round of it will end soon! 

Valentine's Day

Our Valentine's Day was pretty interesting- but not in the usual way. The day before, we found out that Greg had to have a tooth extracted on Valentine's Day. It meant being knocked out all the way, which he had never done before. What fun!

Addie still suffering from the ear infection, being a handful and not sleeping, left a tired mommy wondering how she could care for both of these pathetic Spanglers (although secretly she was glad not to be one of the pathetic ones this time).


 

Greg came home from work at lunch and we all exchanged Valentines. Here is Addie and Daddy exchanging cards...

 



 

Greg did really well with the anesthetic. He didn't feel any pain or get nauseous. Here is he and Addie once we all got home from the Oral Surgeon's office.

 

And here is the best part- our friend from church, Shannon, came over to help us cope! Thank God for her! She helped me take care of Addie and Greg, which I couldn't do alone, and also washed the dinner dishes, helped with some quick chores, and helped get Addie to bed. After Addie was asleep, Greg had a hankering for some ice cream. Well, there was none in the house and the idea of going to the grocery store didn't thrill me. Then what should we hear but the happy ding of the ice cream truck outside. Yes, our charming multi-cultural neighborhood has an ice cream truck that comes along most evenings. It isn't a glorified old mail truck like the ice cream trucks of my childhood, but a big catering truck that serves soft-serve cones. They cost $1 each and come to our doorstep. Can you imagine? It was great! So here we are, celebrating surviving Valentines day with an ice cream with Shannon. Thanks again Shannon! We were overwhelmed with God's love and goodness to us on Valentine's Day. 

Addie talks with her hands!

This video is self-explanitory, but we thought you'd all especially enjoy the part where Addie excitedly signs "dada".

Two Fisted Guzzler

Addie has been so excited about water lately that she was walking around the other night with a cup in both hands. 

Ear Infection #5

Yes, it's true.

Addie's left ear was horribly sensitive to touch while we were in Newport Beach. The night we arrived home she woke repeatedly and had a fever of 102. So into the doctor we went this morning, and she has a "big glob of puss" in the left ear (doctor's words, not mine). A real good ear infection.

So she starts antibiotic this afternoon and we hope it will help quickly. It is getting overwhelming- these non-stop health issues. Check that- it was overwhelming months ago- I don't even know what to call it now. :)

God is supplying the strength that we desperatley need. He is giving us each the energy for each moment, and we only get overwhelmed when we think about tomorrow or the next day. Greg has learned to be a great nurse and a great encourager to me too! Maybe Valentine's Day will not be the easiest in the world (due to a sick kiddo), but I sure have a great Valentine!

Also, at the doctor's this morning, I noticed that Addie has cut another tooth sometime during all this! It looked like a molar, but I have to look closer to be sure. Suprisingly, a tired, sick kid in pain isn't really letting me look in her mouth right now. How odd.

Disney Day- Before & After

We snapped this picture when we woke Addie up from her nap to go to Disneyland. She wasn't excited yet.
Back at the condo after a long day at the park (or long for us at least), here is Poppi feeding Addie some dinner. 

DISNEYLAND!

While in Newport Beach, we were treated to a trip to Disneyland. What a great day we had! We went with my parents and sister, also her boyfriend Keith, his daughter Mikayla, and their friends Cori & David Lewis. (Cori is employed by Disney, so she got us some special treatment).

Here we are on our way in. You can see Mikayla was dressed for the occassion in her Cinderella dress & crown. This was her first trip to Disneyland as well as Addie's!
Of course we had to pose in front of the flower Mickey!

Here is Addie in her stroller with her Grammi & Poppi. 

Disneyland Pt.2

It's a small world after all, it's a small world after all...

Are you singing it yet?

The first thing we did after entering the park was to go to Small World. Here, Niki's sister Kim waits in line. Notice the sunny weather- it was suppossed to rain this day, but it didn't, and so the lines were REALLY short!
Here we are!

Later, we took Addie on "Pinnochio's Daring Adventure" with my parents. It was a bit dark and scary for her. (you can see it got colder by the evening) 

Disneyland Pt.3

Besides Small World, what else can you ride at Disneyland with a little one? Plenty!

Here is the boat we took on the Jungle Cruise.
Addie doesn't want to miss a thing!
We took Addie on the teacups too! She rode in a cup with Grammi & Poppi, while we rode in a cup on our own. Riding without the baby meant we could SPIN!

Greg felt a little... unsettled.... afterwards, but Niki wished we could go again and again and again! 

Disneyland Pt.4

Look closely- that's our little sweetie in the Ice Cream Parlor. Anyone who knows Niki's dad won't be surprised to see that we had to stop for some ice cream on Main Street.
Here Greg and Addie excitedly wait for the show "Billy Hill and the Hillbillies" to start in the Golden Horseshoe Pavilion.
If you have never seen this show at Disneyland, you really should try to go next time you visit! It's a hoot! 

Disneyland Pt.5

What's Disneyland without rubbing elbows with some real characters?

Here Addie meets Minnie. I wasn't sure if Addie would like this experience or not, but she loved it! Minnie played peek-a-boo with her and she got so excited- she squealed and bounced up and down in my arms.
Here Addie takes Greg for a ride in the car.
We got to watch Mary Poppins dance in front of the Fairytale Castle. What a great show!
We enjoyed some Pirate singing and dancing near the Pirates of the Caribean ride. 

Blowing Kisses

Addie learned how to blow kisses this week...
We think it's pretty cute.
Here she is blowing a kiss to Auntie Kim. 

Riding the Carousel

My parents took Addie for a ride on the carousel at Fashion Island, an up-scale mall we visited while in Newport Beach.
This is Addie before the carousel started moving. She thought it was GREAT!
Then it started spinning...

Everytime we saw my mom and Addie come around, we saw her making this same face. It's that familiar "I'm not sure I like this" face.
But at least she wasn't crying!
My dad meanwhile...




(In all fairness, Kim and I put him up to this)