New Summer Pictures...

A couple of weeks ago after breakfast, I bathed the girls, got them dressed and hair done and took them straight out to the backyard to do a little photo session. I got some good ones, I think.

Avery-ism...

After dinner last night, I took the girls outside to take advantage of the perfect weather. I was pushing them on the swings and I started saying, "I'm gonna get you!" and tickling their legs or bellies when they would swing towards me. They were both laughing hysterically, yelling, "Again, Mommy!" At one point, Avery said, "Oh my goodness, this is soooo CRAZY!" and "Oh my goodness, this is soooo funny!"

I realize when it's written out, it doesn't seem that funny, but I love it when little kids repeat things they've heard (when it's not a swear word!) and it was the first time Avery had said this phrase. I just love my sweet girl.

Avery-ism...

This weekend, Stephen was pushing the girls in the swings in the backyard and had this conversation with Avery.

A: Next time at my birthday, I'm going to be 5!
S: Well, right now you're three. What comes after three?
A: FOUR!
S: Right, so at your next birthday, you are going to be four.
A: And then, I be 5, like Hannah! When is Hannah's birthday?
S: March 3. When is your birthday?
A: Mommy told me it's forty cents.
S: Really? We should ask Mommy and see if that's what she told you.
A: Ummm, I just made that up!

An Avery-ism...

Ever since Avery's new cousin, Claire was born a few weeks ago, Avery has been begging to go to her cousins' house so she can meet Claire, and play with Hannah and Sadie. I told her yesterday that we might be able to go this summer...maybe. This morning in the car, on the way to church:

Avery: Daddy, I'm going to Hannah and Sadie's house tomorrow, but you can't come because you probably have to work.
Daddy: Really? You don't want me to come?
Avery: Well...you just have to work.
Daddy: Avery, you can start praying to Jesus and tell Him that you really want to go to Maryland and ask Him to provide a way for you to go. He might say "no," and He might say "yes." But, it's something that you can ask Jesus for.

Later tonight at dinner...
Avery: Daddy, I asked Jesus if I can go to Maryland to Hannah and Sadie's house and He said, "Yes!"

It's a Lose-Lose...

Our house is a disaster area. The Bruce bomb has gone off again, making our house more cluttered and dirty than usual. Last night, I told Stephen that today would be a cleaning day. My children will play nicely in their playroom, sharing, singing, loving each other, and not screaming. I will get so much done!

I told Avery this morning that Mommy has a lot to do today - I need to clean the house.

Her response: Why? Who's coming over?

What We've Been Up To This Afternoon...

Catch Up...

Well, once again, it has been over 2 months since my last post. Life has been continuing to keep us busy, as is expected with a 3 and 1 year old.

Avery is now 3 and almost 3 months. She has always been our agreeable girl - we never experienced the "terrible two's", but during the last couple of months, she has definitely entered the "testing threes."  She has decided that she has opinions and preferences and when they are not met, as she sees fit, she is not afraid to express her disappointment. It usually shows up in the form of crying and whining, and occasionally collapsing in a pitiful heap on the floor. It's all very dramatic, but that's not surprising, as she has always had a dramatic "flair."

However, she continues to be our happy (for the most part), overall wants to please Mommy and Daddy, and mostly sweet older sister.  She continues to go to dance class once a week, and is getting better at not being easily distracted by her classmates. I'm crossing my fingers that she actually participates at this spring's recital.

She loves to play with her baby dolls most of the time, busily putting them to bed and feeding them, and asking Mommy to help her wrap them up or put them to bed. And occasionally, she prefers to be called "Mommy," instead of "Avery."  She is getting good at praying at meals and at bedtime, making sure to bless her friends and family and praying for gentleness towards Evelyn.

Evelyn is almost 16 months. At her 15 month appointment, she was 20 pounds, 1 ounce and 32 inches tall. Although skinny like her sister, she is not such a peanut anymore, as she has shot up the charts in height! She's even taller than Avery was at her age. She got 3 shots at her appointment and cried for about 5 seconds and then was totally over it. She's a tough cookie.

She loves playing with whatever her older sister is playing with, which drives Avery nuts. She is also in a stage of being incredibly rough. Mostly with friends that are her size or smaller (including small babies). We are working on getting her to understand her own strength, as even when she is hugging, she is squeezing as hard as she can. Anyone who knows Evelyn can attest that she is freakishly strong. She has also started hitting, although I think she thinks she is patting. It's just plain smacking.  I'm worried that soon she won't have any friends!

She likes to pray, finishing with an emphatic "Amen!"  She is obsessed with books and if given the chance, she'll grab one and back herself up onto a willing lap, exclaiming, "Buh!" It's hard to say no to that! She is still a little dare-devil, constantly finding things to use as stools so she can reach things she's not supposed to and climbing things like bookshelves and the back of the couches. She is steady on her feet, though, so she rarely gets hurt. When she does get hurt, she rarely cries about it. She likes to count to "free."  A month ago, she said nothing but "no," but now, she loves to respond to questions with a sweet little, "Yeah" and a nod of her head.  She is going through the normal separation anxiety that is typical at this age, which drives me crazy, as I can't be out of her sight without her screaming. She has pulled the long fence out of the concrete basement wall for the second time.

We have moved both girls' bedtimes to 8:00, as this way, they sleep until about 7:00 am, which is much more doable for Stephen and I. Before 7:00, we are just zombies and grumpy. With them getting up a little later than 6:00, I can actually get up before them and shower and eat breakfast and the day starts much more functional. I have learned that kids' schedules are constantly changing and needing to be adjusted. Especially when they are so young. Avery still naps every day, but they can't be in their room together for naptime, so she naps on the playroom couch. For the most part, she does go to sleep. Evelyn has been napping just once a day for a few months already, but I recently got her to stretch until noon. The past couple of days, she has napped for two and a half hours, which is amazing. I'm hoping it becomes the norm.

Even though they are so skinny, they both want to eat every two hours throughout the day. Needless to say, I am tired of preparing food! I feel like I'm constantly in the kitchen, making snacks and cleaning up.

Their favorite "shows" right now are Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Curious George, and Cinderella. We will be canceling our cable in a couple of months (after basketball season is over), so I'm learning how to stream things. It's pretty slick. We should have canceled cable a long time ago.

All in all, things are good with us! I will not look back on these days and miss all the screaming and fighting, but I'll try to remember how sweet both girls can be, and how their curiosity and innocence makes them so cute. God has truly blessed us with our babies.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

We have been busy lately, with the usual things that keep us busy this time of year...plus some colds.

Avery had her first dance recital at the mall. I would put the video here, but Blogger is being stupid again and doesn't like it, for some reason. Sum up: Avery freaked out because of all the people and shut down, spent most of the performance at the side of the stage, crying with me, and I got her to go back out, but her teacher pretty much carried her around and then she finally danced the last 10 seconds, maybe. It was still really cute, though!

This girl got her hair cut. Before: 

 After:

For the first few days after her hair cut, she was constantly running her hands through her hair and commenting on how much she loved it.

We had Thanksgiving at my parents' house. My Grandpa John and Grandma Nancy made the trip up to see us, so it was fun to be with them, too.

Avery turned 3! I can't believe I have a three year old, but it's true. I do. We asked her what she'd like to eat for her birthday dinner and she said, "A cheeseburger." So, we headed to Red Robin.

The day after her birthday, we had a small birthday gathering with all her grandparents that were in attendance: Bompa, Gramma, Grammie, PawPaw, and Great-Grandpa John and Great-Grandma Nancy. She was in heaven all night, as all the attention was focused on her!

 She LOOOOOOOVES to open presents.

 Evelyn made sure some attention was focused on her.

Then, this week, I've been slowly getting Christmas decorations put up, Christmas cookies made, and lots of Christmas music listening done. Today, we had a great quiet family day at home. During Evelyn's almost 3 hour nap (I KNOW!!!), we decorated a gingerbread house with Avery. That was a huge hit!

It's only going to get busier these next few weeks! I'm trying to take the time to remember what we are really celebrating, and just enjoy my time with my sweet ones.