Storm Shelter

Speaking of ALL the rain we've been having, apparently we live in the natural disaster capital. Storms, Tornados, and Earthquakes have apparently become the new normal for Birmingham. We had rain. Lots of rain. And as the power flickered on and off, I thought it couldn't be THAT bad. I. Was. Wrong. We kept calling the power outage line, and it would say an hour, or two hours until the power would be back on. It lied. By the next morning, (this was Tuesday) it said it would be SATURDAY before it was back on. Because of rain. CRAZY. Well, I'm not crazy. No WAY I was staying in a house with no power for 5 days with a 2 year old! So, I called Liz. And told her we needed a storm shelter. And she was nice enough to say of course. So, we left for Atlanta!
Addie was VERY excited to see Penny, Aunt Liz, AND Uncle Chris. Which is fun, because she used to not really like Uncle Chris. However, now she loves him!
Penny gets to jump on her bed. Addie does not. (Addie's bed is MUCH higher than P's, she has bunk beds so she'd hit her head, AND we have wooden floors...so she'd kill herlself. Ha) Addie thought jumping on Penny's bed was the most fun thing ever. Then the two girls made themselves somewhat of an obstacle course that they went round and round on. It's so much fun to see how they choose to interact with each other!
Penny and her Daddy

 Addie's turn with Uncle Chris

 Addie was also OBSESSED with this Lady Bug Backpack that Nan gav Penny for her 1st birthday. The ONLY time she took it off was for bath time. She even slept in it.

 LOVE.THIS.PICTURE.

 Silly Girls.

We hit up story time at their library. Most of the kids did exactly what they were supposed to, however, Addie and Penny thought it would be MUCH more fun to chase each other in circles and laugh hysterically.

 Ring around the Rosy

 Parachute Time

We played outside in the backyard. Liz played fetch some sort of hide and seek game with them. Which they loved. 

We also visited the indoor Mall Play Place. Addie being the super sweet little girl she is, decided no babies should be allowed to play where she was. She also decided the deciding factor for a baby was how they fixed their hair. If they had a ponytail or pigtails, it was all good. If not, she would yell "Stop, Baby. Stop, Baby." We're working on her manners now...sigh. 

They had quite a few tea parties together, and Addie made sure Penny always said "cheers" and tapped their glasses together before drinking. 

Sassy, of course, went with us. However, her skin allergies were going NUTS and only seemed to get worse the longer we stayed. I finally ended up taking her to a vet that Shadow used to go to. Apparently, she had gotten a few fleas (8 to be exact) from their yard while we were there. And since she's so SUPER allergic to everything, it sent her over the edge. So she got a couple of shots, some medicine, a flea pill, and some special shampoo, and we were on our way. 

Me and my first born. 

Lots of bedtime stories read by Uncle Chris

 Putting on a concert together.

We went and ate some yummy Mexican food, and the girls got balloons after they ate.

The girls built lots of castles together.

The girls also constantly wore each other out!

On Friday morning, we FINALLY had power back, so we went to a park in Marietta before heading home so that Addie could get some energy out before riding in the car.

We had SO much fun and were SO VERY VERY thankful to be able to have somewhere to stay until we had power back on! Addie slept the entire way home, which was great! She even helped me clean out our fridge and throw EVERYTHING away when we got home. 

A portion of what I had to throw out. So sad. 

Grocery Shopping as soon as we got home! 

Here's hoping that was the last of the Natural Disasters we see in Birmingham for a while!

Rainy Days

We've had NONSTOP rain here, and Addie had had enough of being cooped up inside. Aunt May was visiting over Labor Day weekend, so we put on Addie's rain gear and let her play outside for a while. In the rain. And she thought it was hilarious. And refused to come back inside. But she had fun, so it was all good.

Aunt Liz to the Rescue

I called Liz in somewhat of a panic needing her help to organize Addie's toys. You see, they had TAKEN OVER our entire house. She had toys in the living room, including her kitchen, she had taken over the small bedroom on the main floor as another playroom, she has her big playroom downstairs, it was to the point of craziness. So, I called my oganizational guru. And she came through like a champ! My house is organized, we crammed in the closet got rid of all the old toys Addie had outgrown and they're ready to go to a consignment sale next week. Not only that, but Liz also organized closets, the fridge, and the pantry. Yay!
It wasn't all boring organizational stuff though. Addie and Penny are finally old enough to LOVE to play with each other. They have full on conversations and it is SO VERY cute and sweet! So, we had LOTS of fun with Little Wiggy here!!
Addie's playroom was in desperate need of some fun artwork on the walls, so I came up with a little project for the girls to do to add some color to the otherwise boring beige walls.

 Penny checking out her paint brush

 Then they decided it would be more fun to paint with their feet!

 Wiggy was pleased with her work!

 Addie adding some finishing touches.

Then we had to hose them off. I cleaned Addie up first.

Then, Addie being the SUPER SWEET cousin she is, helped clean Penny up. Hahaha. This MAY be my favorite picture of them so far.

After some painting, they had to get some energy out on the tampoline.

Then they had some dinner together.

 And took an after dinner drive together.

We waited for their masterpiece to dry, and then hung it over one of the couches in the playroom, and it actually turned out completely adorable!

Addie LOVES when she gets to see Penny, and I LOVED having Liz here to organize my life!! So, thanks, Aunt Liz!!