I will be busy this week visiting wth family and seeing a good friend. I’ll have lots of updates on Sunday. Meanwhile, check out the photoblog each morning. I’ve been posting photos from our past weekend on a different theme each day and my photoblog is lonely.

My Mother’s Day Recap:

I woke up in a good mood despite it being before 8am. Kids made cards and crafts while waiting for Dalton to wake up and then presented me with stepping stones they made, each unique and special its own way.

We packed the kids and stuff into the car and headed out to visit a beach on the boulivar pennisula near Galveston. We had a hot tip that it was THE place to spend the day beaching, shelling, etc. The weather? PERFECTION it was like 70’s and breezy - a far cry from the mid-90s from the previous week.

We took a ferry to get to the beach and it was really fun! We saw dolphins playing in the water. And by playing I mean mating. A small fact I did not realize until I went home and examined some of the photos I took and now I am traumatized!!! It was super cool to see them splashing and jumping and flipping in the water. None of us had ever seen dolphins in the wild so it definitely made our day.

The beach is one of the few drive-on beaches left in the US which meant we just drove the coast until we found a great place to park and stay. The water was typical golf coast ugly but the beach was really nice, clean, full of shells. The kids filled a bucket with live hermit crabs and Dalton even nabbed himself a baby speckled crab.  We found a dead jellyfish which was super cool since we’d never seen a jellyfish in the wild - dead or alive. And frankly, I’d rather see them dead.

The kids had a blast in the water. Even Addy, who I knew would be totally freaked out by the water this summer, eventually was willing to dip her toes in and run along the edge. The water is always warm in the coast so that makes it really fun to play in. Noah got to go out alone and body surf the waves for the first time. He is getting to be a major swimmer this summer! Amazing what a difference a year makes!

And best of all, I got to take tons and tons of pictures. 350 to be exact. I’ve felt guilty for disconnecting a bit from our family experiences because I’m so busy taking pictures so I’ve tried to balance it more and leave the camera at home but I really wanted to get some great beach pictures so it was definitely a great Mother’s Day treat! I got to take all kinds of pictures I had really wanted to take including some cool gull shots, pelican shots, the dolphins of course and I got to really experiment with direct sunlight and shadows which is perfect for this week’s Theme Thursday over at Land of KA.

We had some awesome seafood for dinner, of course, and then headed home late into the night. I just love going out to Galveston but our new favorite spot will be Crystal Beach, for sure.

Check out my photo blog today and this week. I’ll be posting a few pictures every day from our great Mother’s Day adventure. I promise I won’t post all 350! haha.

Happy Mother’s Day to my Mother, my Step-Mother and all my dear friends whose mothering inspires me on a daily basis!

Happy second birthday, Miss Addison Mai Noelle Bradley.

Today we celebrate your life. We celebrate your first Mother who chose to give you life. We celebrate your past, your present and your future. We might not have all the answers, we might not be able to fill in all the blanks but there are some things we know. We know you are the most loved baby girl that has ever existed, we know that you have a gift to offer this world and we are incredibly blessed to be the vessel from which you are guided toward that gift. We know that two countries celebrate your life, your joy, your intelligence, your spirit, your beauty.

Addy-Mai, you do 2 like no other! Your spirit and joy are palpable and contagious. You have brought laughter into our home and hearts. People can’t help but smile when they see you, talk to you or watch you. You are a total character. You have sass, you have attitude, you have grace, you have humor, you have sensitivity. You have it all.

You understand that your birthday was coming, you know what this means for you: presents, cake, food! You talk about where you will eat on your birthday and get really excited with the options, you help decide how we will spend your day. You have opinions, you understand complex ideas, you are grasping the concept of time. We get to experience anticipation through your eyes!

You are a talker. You have big long sentences now, you convey everything you are thinking and feeling, you talk out your problems and discuss your opinions. How does this happen in just a matter of months? You still use a few baby signs, specifically the sign of banana, sometimes the sign for more and the signs for ice cream and bird. But now you use the signs like a flamboyant speaker, going on and on about birds while doing the sign, for instance. How is it possible that just 4 months ago you only just strung your first 2 words together?

You are a social butterfly, carefully feeling out situations but willing to giggle with a new friend very quickly. You love to play! You don’t understand when kids are mean or rough, it breaks your heart in a million peices. In your world, there is nothing but love and joy. You are accepted easily into groups because you will openly applaud and encourage other kids’ silliness and make them feel important.

You are still a total girly-girl. You love your babies and your play kitchen. Playing “house” is a full time job. You love to have your nails done. Now that you have long hair, you have developed the age-old ability to shake the hair out of your eyes or brush it aside with a flick of the wrist and you do it with drama and intent! If I brush that hair out of your eyes for you, you will intentionally replace it covering your face so you can dramatically shake it away. You like the accessories - shoes, hats, bows, jewelry, purses. You have already asked to have your ears pierced and are sure you won’t mind the pain. You like new outfits, you love to shop. How does this happen to such a tiny girl?

But no, you aren’t a delicate flower. You are one physical kid. You jump everywhere if you aren’t running at full force. You climb, you explore, you get dirty, you fall and rub your knees and run off again. You will try anything at least once. But you are wiser now and have discovered your limits and so you are careful, steady, wise in your approach to some things. The exception to this would be gymnastics where you may break your neck but it will not stop you from contorting your body in new ways, pushing yourself to the limit. You have a natural gift, you are strong, determined, focused and fearless. This scares me to no end. You challenge all of my vulnerabilities as a parent, what a gift that is! When you aren’t back-bending, front-rolling or doing the splits all over the house, you are throwing and catching balls, playing catch with your baseball and mitt, kicking balls. You also love to dance and can be very dramatic with your dance moves.

Was there ever life before Addy-Mai? Sometimes one of the kids will say just that. No one can remember how we found joy, what we smiled about and who entertained us endlessly before you came into our lives. No one can remember what we did with the ridiculous amounts of love we feel for you. We are more complete, as humans, for knowing you and loving you.

And Addison now I can really say without a doubt that your love and attachment to me are every bit as strong as mine to you. While I loved you at first sight as if you had grown in my womb and sprung forth from my own body, you took much longer to learn to trust again, to learn to rely on human love and nurturing, to learn to feel things other than joy. I remember when I first met you I thought that I would never let you cry again. Now, when you cry, I know that you know I am here, I love you, I will make it better and you can count on me. I will hold you endlessly, carry you next to my heart whenever you need me to, dry your tears, feed your soul and grow your heart. And now I can see in your eyes, hear in your voice and feel in your touch that you know this too.

Today we’ll have a quiet family day…..well, as quiet as our family could possibly be! We’ll share fresh fruit for breakfast, explore the aquarium and ride rides together, cuddle up for a nap together, tear through your gifts, play and play, eat cake and celebrate this amazing human being that is you.

*** for my real picture post of the birthday girl, check out the photoblog