Dear Me: 3.5 years ago.

Hi!

When that precious little baby comes, don't worry over everything. Don't be so worried about "another person raising your kid" (daycare), Addison will absolutely love it. You'll also meet some amazing mommas and she will meet her bestest friend forever in the process.

You'll get thrown up on. Projectile vomit style many times. Sometimes not just formula either. The time with freshly eaten eggs was probably the best.

Oh so you will never let your child have a pacifier or a lovey? Ya, not going to happen. 3.5 years later that blanket (also known as "B") will go everywhere with you. And FORGET about washing it. WW3 better happen before it gets washed.

And bottles. "No bottles after 1, we are done!". Try 15 months..and that was hard. But you'll realize it's just for comfort and not for food. and there will be sippy cup in bed, no getting rid of it any time soon.

For everything that is good in this world, tell her no. Do not let her be one of those little brats that run the house. Sure let her get away with some things, but other times, put your foot down. You're the mom. Pick your battles.

Let her be independent. She's stubborn and strong willed just like her daddy, fighting is only going to make it worse. Speaking of dad, MAKE her spend time with him. He works crazy hours and when he's home he just wants to be with his baby girl. Also, make HIM spend time with her. The computer can wait. Sports can wait. She won't be little forever.

Teach her not to be a bully and to stick up for her friends and herself. Teach her to defend herself. Kids are mean, even little 3 year olds. It is NOT ok to be mean.

Put her in sports at a young age. Don't let her be a hermit like you were. She will grow to love dance and gymnastics. Grow with her. Be that stage mom, cry at her first recital {oh, did I fail to mention that? Ya. Like.A.Baby!!!}, and be proud when she does something, even it's not the greatest. Quality over quantity.

PLEASE!!! Don't stress over preschool! It's just preschool. She doesn't have to get into the best school because "all the cool kids are". Well you know what, cool kids don't always get the good grades. Cool kids are probably beyond spoiled and raised by helicopter moms. Find a school that you and Kyle like and go with it. It's JUST preschool.

OH and all those birthday parties that you have for her? WHO THE HELL CARES WHAT EVERYONE ELSE SAYS! They didn't pay for it so if you want to have 10 parties for her 3rd birthday, go for it. If you want to spend $25 on a princess cake because she's obsessed, do it. If you're planning a 1/2 birthday party in the summer so she gets to experience that pool or bounce house party, do it. It's none of other people's business how many parties she has or how much you spend on them. She's your only child. And her birthday. Party on!

I think that's it for now. I'm sure there's more but for now, just cherish every moment because the time really does fly and she won't be little forever.

Little Ballerina

Oh Addison, my little ballerina. Tonight was her first recital and she (and the class) did absolutely amazingly well! I was in tears I was so proud of her! I didn't take any pictures because I was too busy focusing on her but I did get the professional DVD so I should have that soon. I did take some before and after though. Here's the dress rehearsal video, take this and multiply it times 100 and THAT'S how well they performed. Even though all of the family and friends left we stayed so she could watch the big kids and participate in the finale. She loved it!! She's already asking when she can go back on stage. :Sigh: I'm not ready for my baby to be this big yet.

Happy Father's Day!

...Ok, it's a day late. I know, I know. We had a busy weekend!

I made Kyle this gift after seeing it on Pinterest

and bought him this one from Kohls. Pretty sure loved them both.

I also found this little thing on Pinterest and we filled this out.

Since it was Father's Day, I let Kyle do whatever he wanted. He chose to sleep all day. So Addi and I packed up our stuff and headed over to the inlaws to take advantage of the beautiful weather and go swimming. 6 hours in the pool. 3 times reapplying SPF 50. And I still burnt. Addi on the other hand? She looks Mexican. Too bad she didn't sleep in today. Up bright and early wanting to watch the Nutcracker. Yep. It's June 18th, well aware. She's also asking where Santa is and how much longer until Christmas. Christmas?! Are you kidding me? Kid, it's only June. Slow down!

Anyways, hope everyone enjoyed their day!

Hear that school bell?

You are now looking at a college student (again)!!! I'm so excited to be back in school. I'm getting my associates in medical assisting and if I only do 2 classes a semester with no summer school (although I'd like to take any classes that are offered) I will be done fall 2014. Whoa. 1 of those years is externships where I'm hoping to get a job at the site. Sometimes the places keep the students, sometimes they don't, it really all depends if they need help. Speaking of school, Addi will *hopefully* be starting preschool in the fall. Wait. What?! I can't believe it's even possible for me to have a preschooler. My little baby is growing up fast :(. We have a couple options. She's the 1st person on the waiting list at a school called Sandpiper Co-Op preschool in Ogden Dunes. The other is called Smart Start. It's located at St. Peters Lutheran Church on 1100N in town. That place seems wonderful too. Smart start works closely with all the kindergartens in the areas to get the kids on track for school. AND! Kindergarten is now (free) full time! Woohoo!

Wordless Wednesday

I.Loathe.Genetics.

Well it's {un}official.

Addi has PKD. I talked to the NP at the nephrology department for a good 20 minutes today. Basically getting my family background and going over test results. Since she just had all this blood work done there's no need to do it all again. She will continued to get monitored by the best nephrologist there, Dr. Bobrowski. We don't go in for an appointment until August. They want to continue checking her blood pressure, u/s and creatinine levels  for any signs the cysts are getting worse. 

 Ugh. This sucks. While this isn't a death sentence by any means, just knowing my families history of it scares the living crap out of me.

It just worries me that if the cysts are already this big, what's going to happen in another 3 years?

So at least that's one "problem" out of the way. Now to figure out what's causing her to throw up....

It's baaaaacccckkkkk

When addi was a baby she had horrible separation anxiety. I could barely even step foot in our kitchen before she'd freak out. Leave her with Kyle? Ha you're funny. A sitter? Hilarous. When I went back to work in '09 it really was the best thing for us. Working on and off for the past 2.5 years has really been great. But now that I've been off for 6 months and she's with me 5 out of 7 days a week 24/7? It's back. With a vengeance. I can't remember the last time I showered without a child in the room. Or got dressed by myself. Or sat on the couch with out a child on my lap. Or slept in my bed by myself (Kyle's on midnights). She HATES being alone. Especially at night. She sleeps with a lamp on, 2 night lights and over 100 glow in the dark stars on her wall. I don't know how she even falls asleep with all that on. At some point in the middle of the night she creeps into my room, gets on Kyles side and goes back to sleep. I don't hear her anymore and sure don't feel her in bed. Sneaky little child I tell ya. Oh and don't even mention me going back to school (during her school hours). Be prepared for a WW3 meltdown. If I'm not in seeing distance she freaks out. I always joke that the umbilical cord is getting stretched a little far when she's playing by herself, realizes I'm not there and freaks out. I know it's just a phase but come on, when does it end?? Any suggestions??

Urologist=waste of time

Well. Good part of Thursday? New children's memorial is beautiful. I can't wait to see it completely done. Bad part? The urologist was NO help at all. Hes sending us to a nephrologist. Hmmm isn't that where she should have gone in the first place?? She doesn't have a UPJ. The cyst is on the upper portion of her kidney (good news). Still don't know if it's PKD or not. Sooooo now we are going to the kidney dr. Who is looking over her test results BEFORE making the appt. such a genius idea. But seriously? I'm just glad it's nothing serious (as of now). She's still happy and healthy and really, that's all that matters to us.