Addison at 2.5 years old

-Oh, my. Addison is a little spitfire most days. I keep thinking "oh, she'll outgrow this phase" and then the phase morphs into something even more challenging to manage. She is not a trouble-maker and she doesn't do "bad" things, but she just whines and cries a good part of every day. She constantly wants to be held, and gets mad when I need to take care of Kimber. She screams and cries when she doesn't get her way and when something is not just right for her (like if a sock doesn't feel good, etc.) Most of it is just typical behavior for a two year old, minus the wanting to be held all day long. I don't remember my other kids being so demanding of me at this age. I definitely butt heads with. Thank goodness Wes is around a lot of the times because he can talk to her and get her to do just about anything.
-Addison is potty-trained, minus when she sleeps.  She initiated the whole process which surprised me. I was happy to take her whenever she asked and then I buckled down a few weeks ago and made an effort to get her out of diapers for good.
-She is having trouble going to sleep and staying asleep. She will cry/yell for me to come a few times right after I put her down and sometimes a few times throughout the night. Generally I just need to put her back in bed and she's fine (until the next time). Sometimes she says she's so "scurred" (scared), other times she needs her baby, or a tissue or a drink, but most of the time she doesn't need anything and just wants me to put her back in bed.
-She really loves Kimber, but is getting more and more rough with her. She likes to steal her toys and give her food to eat. She loves to play with her sisters friends (and Zaiden too). She likes going to "class" at church and singing the songs. She is learning a few phrases from "Latter-Day Prophets".
-Addison speaks in full sentences. Last night she had a rough night and was in bed with me. We were facing each other and she said, "Mom, stop breathing on me. You making me hot." Addison has been rolling her letters lately. I don't really know how to explain it, but she says "daddddddy" while rolling her tongue on the 'd'. I don't know where it came from but I'm sure its just a phase.
-She likes to go up to people and say "ding dong" and that's it. Random.
-She loves when Jaxson plays with her.  She goes up to him quite often and says "Jaxson, be a monster" and then he growls and chases her and she screams at the top of her lungs in delight. It's really endearing to see him play with her since he still doesn't give Kimber the time of day.
-Her favorite movies are "The Croods" (she goes around saying "dun-dun-DUN!") and the Leap Frog Letter Factory. I let Addison and Kamryn watch it almost everyday that we don't work. I figure its only 30 minutes, which is enough of a break for me to do some cleaning, and they are learning something too.
-She is deathly afraid of spiders. I blame Jaxson for this one. The other day at work we were cleaning some stuff out and she came across an old bag that had been sitting around for years. She started playing with it and we went about our business until she yelled out a blood curdling scream. We didn't know what was going on because she was hysterical, but after she calmed down she told us she had seen a "spider in there".
-Addison loved being at work with Papa all the time. She has done surprisingly well with her grandparents gone (for now, at least) but the other day she asked if Nana was home and if we could go see her. She knows they are on a mission across the ocean, but that's about it.
-Our family would not be the same without Addison.  She makes us shake our heads on a daily basis. But she can be your best buddy too. She loves to cuddle and say I love you and will rub your arm/back. She can be the sweetest thing, or the whiniest thing, depending on the day/hour/minute, but we wouldn't have her any other way!