2010, here we come!!!

I have been trying to be reflective today, and also think about what to focus on in the coming year, especially being what feels like a numerically significant year: 2010. However, I am just not feeling it. This coming year I think will have a lot of milestones and goals, but I think I am short on resolutions.

- Complete MBA.
- Enjoy travel.
- Sell damn house?
- Improve finances on current course.

I think we will head off to OBX again, and also to Disney. We will plant our garden, and enroll Ade in some daddy and baby cooking classes. Maybe some ballet... who knows. I am excited that things seem to be dropping off the busy list, not being added to it. I get an extra week of vacation this year as I enter my 10th year at IBM, which I am already planning to use for an awesome stay-cation of Spring cleaning projects.

Looking back, our nugget has once again changed so much:

January 09	December 09

Ade has gone from being a bit of a talker to being a full conversationalist, as well as going from an occasional potty pee-er to fully panty-wearing. She is truly our little buddy now, and we do everything together. She might not look as different this year as last, but the changes in her development are huge. Overall, I think 2009 has been good to us, I have to say. We are really getting it together, and I feel like 2010 is going to be an improvement on that. I am excited to head into the New Year with plans just to keep on the same compass and see what is in store for us!

It's been an amazing decade.

Building Frosty

This year Adelaide has been obsessed with Frosty - singing it, watching it, you name it. Well, luck for her, our trip to Merrimac brought her many kinds of Frosty the snowmans! We left the day after Christmas to head up for some Malynn family festivities, and Ade had her first airplane ride in her own paid seat.

We hung out with everyone home, and she got even more gifts. One was even a singing dancing Frosty from Lindsay and Luke who didn't even know about her deep love for the guy.


Then, she even got to make a real Frosty out of snow with Grammy and Grampy!


Ryan, Lindsay, Dylan and I took a trip into Boston for lobster rolls and gelato - yum! Ade slept well, which is always a concern, and we had a really nice visit!

Ho ho ho!

Santa came in spades this year! No sooner had the Guhs left leaving behind 2 tupperware totes full of toys but it was time for the real deal! We built a gingerbread house, and played with a few early gifts.


Ade was psyched up, and she loved putting cookies and milk out for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. We had of course ensured all gifts were built/wrapped in advance, so while I put her to bed Ryan laid out the glorious haul.




The next morning really had to be experienced. We took plenty of video to capture the amazement and glee. She ran into the room, spying an unwrapped teddy bear, "Santa got me a teddy bear!" At one point after opening a gift she repeated something I'd said earlier, "I've been wanting this forever!" She did very well taking turns and helping us open our gifts as well (pearl Pandora ring, composter, beer brew kit, etc.) Occasionally she would want to open something immediately and play with it, but for the most part she wanted to unwrap everything and then play later after she took inventory.



We spent hours and hours playing. Then we cooked up a simple dinner with Aunt Jenna and Uncle Jon and they played while we packed since we were leaving for Boston the next day (traveling the day after Christmas is a bad idea we won't repeat).


The day was really amazing, and it was such a miracle watching her be thrilled by each thing she opened from Santa. In fact, as I write this she is busily cooking some Kung Pao chicken at her new kitchen with daddy. :-)

Holiday brunch

The Guh's came into town Thursday for our family Christmas celebration, and Ade couldn't have been more excited. Friday we did our family gift exchange and Ade ripped through the gifts with amazing speed. She assessed the gift, said thank you, and was ready for the next item to unwrap. She made a good elf handing out gifts and helping others open their presents as well.

Saturday we had our huge Holiday Brunch. We were worried as the forecast said snow, which in Raleigh means a total shutdown of the whole area. We got some light snow flakes Friday while we did our family gift exchange, which was perfect ambiance, and then nothing stuck. I was a whirlwind getting everything ready for the brunch, and it went so well! We had about 50 adults and 20 kids. We hired our neighbor's daughter and a friend to help babysit, and they did a fantastic job keeping the kids safe and entertained on the third floor so the adults could mingle and eat - except, of course, my own child, who insisted on bring downstairs with her grandparents the whole time!

But, how can you deny this face anything???


Ade apparently loves MMPORG - she sits and loves playing World of Warcraft with her grandpa, or, in her words, "Play monsters!" Don't worry, he only sticks to the PG rated areas while playing. I think if you are ever looking to break someone's addiction to online games, set a toddler on them. They will wear them down until there is no enjoyment left in playing :-)

Chuck E. Cheese is the ghetto.

We know that Adelaide has been a big talker from a little age, but I am always impressed by not only her vocabulary, but her ability to express complex thoughts. Lately she has taken to asking about others' thoughts. For example, Aunt Jenna had a slumber party with Ade while Ryan and I went out to eat with the Franks (first time without kids in over 4 years!!!), and they watched Elf together. At one point, Buddy the Elf is looking out over a bridge kind of sad and forlorn. Ade said, "What do you think he is thinking?"

Saturday we did some girls shopping in the morning, where we found a leftover tiger costume at Old Navy for $4. Ade has worn it nearly all weekend at home.



We were *supposed* to go to a birthday party for Ella Black from down the street. However, Adelaide decided to sing in her crib for the first hour of what was supposed to be her nap, and then proceeded to take a 2.5 hour nap. By the time, Ade woke up the party was over. But since we had told her we were going to a birthday party, she thought we would be going to a birthday party! Ryan had the idea to take her to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time. So, we drove down Capital to where it is located in a fairly unsavory stretch, and we got an education! As Ryan put it, he can't recall a time recently when he had been more concerned that gang violence would break out. Adelaide, though, oblivious to the clientele, had a blast. She immediately understood she put a token in anything she wanted to play with, and she went to town. The place was unbelievably jam-packed. Who knew Chuck E. Cheese was a Saturday night hotspot? After some pizza, lots of games and rides, we cashed in our tickets. One of the workers thought I had pretty blue eyes, and gave me like 100 extra tickets. I thought we were set - Adelaide walked away with stickers, a lollipop, plastic ring/bracelet/barrettes, and some other very random junk. I have to load some of the pictures I took and add them to this post later.

For today, I leave you with Ade enjoying a Starbucks, some books, and telling Aunt Jenna what to do (just like her mommy):

Business trip

Last Sunday I took Ade for a walk and explained that I would be going on a business trip for a few days and that I would be going to a place called Sweden. She walked alongside me, holding my hand, listening to everything I said. Then she responded, "I'm going to cry." I got down on my knee and said, "No, why would you cry?" And she replied, "I don't want you to go." If only this were a made-up story, but no. After I asked her what she wanted me to bring her back (a pig costume, smurfs, and a teddy bear), she was very brave about it. When it was time for me to leave she said "Stay! I want you to stay, mommy!" But, as heartbreaking as her verbal skills are, she didn't cry when it was time for me to head out.

Daddy made a calendar showing 4 days and she put a sticker on each day until I got back. She was an angel (most of the time), and Ryan of course was an awesome distracting daddy who spoiled his little dear.

I had a good time in Stockholm, and it was definitely a worthwhile trip. The best part was the big smile my angel gave me when I got home though!

This weekend we already had a Christmas party, where we had a great time. Right now Ade is supposed to be falling asleep but instead of singing at the top of her lungs, "It's almost Christmas Daaa--aaa--aaa--aayyy!"