After what has been a rough couple nights of bedtime battles, we started off this morning with some screaming and door slamming.  Thane and I were both not quite ready for that from Miss Avery bright and early at 7am, but we ignored it until she calmed down, then we were able to sit down and have a conversation.  Anyway, I was worried that was the indication of what our Friday was going to look like, and Fridays are usually always fun-filled.  Well, Avery surprised me.  She apologized for the episode this morning and was very polite and listened at breakfast and when getting ready.  We went to our Friday playgroup and she had tons of fun with the kids while I got to enjoy some much-needed girlfriend bonding time as well.  Then we headed to swimming and she did a super job in swim class.  Now this is the part that I thought was so sweet.  Thane and I gave her a $5 in her birthday card-just a little something that we told her she could spend on anything (normally all her money goes in the piggy bank or her ING account).  Well, she asked me if she could use her money to buy herself and her friends in swim class a Gatorade after class.  So she asked their moms if it was okay, and then paid for all the drinks for her friends with her own money.  What a sweetheart! :)  I was so proud of her for wanting to share and get something for her friends too.  It made my heart smile.  It's always a parent's hope that you teach your child how to be giving.  And I know it was just a Gatorade, but it still shows how she's learning to share with her friends.  I love you, Baby Girl! :)

Well, I know it's been way too long, but here I go and I promise to make a better effort at updating the kiddos' blogs.

I can't believe it but Miss Avery will be 4 this weekend!  It's hard to believe that almost 4 years ago, Thane and I were welcoming our first child into the world.  What a special day it was!  I keep asking Avery if she can stay 3 because I don't want her to grow up anymore and she says, "but Mom, that's just how it goes!"  What a smart girl...too smart for her own good sometimes if you ask me.  I really think she is 4 going on 14!  Lord, help me!  I've got my hands full.

We've had our rough patches here and there over the last several months...I can honestly say that the "terrible 2's" were nothing, but 3, watch out!  I'm hoping that 4 will be a breeze but something tells me it will have its challenges just like every age.  But I must say, that she really is a good kid.  That little girl has had a lot of change over the last year-moving to Colorado from California, living in a big house with lots of family, the birth of her baby brother, and finally moving into our new house.  That's a lot for a little one to deal with.  She has adjusted pretty well.  The only thing we've really had to deal with has been bedtime battles-just the constant stall tactics, getting out of bed multiple times with every excuse known to man as to why she got up.  Oh yeah, and not listening too.  That's another favorite, you know, tuning mom and dad out with that look like "you're talking to me!"  Needless to say we're nipping that one in the bud ASAP! 

Avery continues to amaze me every day.  She is learning more and more and can't wait to start preschool in the fall.  She's learned to write her name and we're working on knowing our address and phone number.  She loves to color and write and is always making notes and asking how to spell things.  She knows pretty much all her letters and sounds and now we're working on some words.  (The teacher in me is so proud!  She even has her own "school" downstairs in the basement with my teacher posters and stuff up everywhere.  She loves to line up her stuffed animals and pretend they are her students.  It is so cute!  I love every minute of it!)  She loves to swim and is learning more and more each week with lessons.  She is enjoying summer, spending lots of time outside.  We're gearing up for her 4th birthday party this weekend.  We're having  a Little Mermaid/Under the Sea party at our house with fun water stuff to do outside.  She's got a Little Mermaid slip and slide which should provide endless entertainment. (Let's just hope the weather cooperates!)  MeMe and Pops are arriving tomorrow and Avery can't wait to spend some QT with them.  (And I'm rather excited about 2 extra sets of hands to help with the kiddos!  Thanks MeMe and Pops!)

Now on to another favorite of Avery's...her baby brother.  She really does love the little guy!  She's always singing to him, playing with him, and is constantly concerned about him.  She did ask me the other day when Jack was going to be big enough to play with her.  I think she's ready for him to be a little more interactive like her cousin Inara.  She remembers back when all Inara did was sit around and now those two girls chase each other all over the place.  It's so fun to watch.  Avery did provide us with quite a scare with Jack...on Father's Day Jack's monitor alarm went off (it's motion sensored so if he stops moving or breathing, it goes off) so I flew out of bed and ran to his room only to find his crib...EMPTY!!!  I frantically began running around yelling, "Where's Jack?  Where's Jack?"  I went into our room thinking Thane got him and forgot to turn the alarm off...no, he was in bed still asleep.  So I ran into Avery's room and low and behold, I found Jack laying on the floor by her door with this look of "Where am I and how did I get here?" but was otherwise unharmed.  I scooped him up, knees shaking and heart beating like crazy!  So we sat down and talked to Avery and discovered that she went into his room to return a toy, Jack was awake, so she thought she'd get him out of bed.  The girl got her step stool out of the bathroom and put it by his crib and scooped him up and carried him into her room...all by herself!  Now mind you, Jack probably weighs half of Avery's body weight so we were amazed that she picked him up without dropping him, slamming him into furniture, etc.  And the sensor goes off within 15-20 seconds of no motion, so not only did she manage to get him out of the crib, but she did it pretty darn fast!  Whew!!  I think I aged 10 years that day.  We had a talk with her about how dangerous it was and she promised that she would never do it again.  I know it was completely harmless on her end and she didn't really think of the consequences-she just thought, "Hey, my brother's awake, let's take him in my room to play!"   It hasn't happened since and let's hope it never does again. 

Well, that's a rap on Little Miss Avery right now.  I love that little girl, with all my heart.  Happy 4th Birthday, Avery Nicole!!! xoxo       

So obviously we have been a little busy recently so the posts have been few and far between.  Well here we are about 3 weeks after Baby Jack's birth and we are starting get situated.  Jack is cute and Avery loves being a big sister.  She is always trying to help any chance she gets...it is so cute. 

Prior to Baby Jack's arrival Avery has been going through a period of waking up at the butt crack of dawn.  For all of you who know us we are not morning people.  She tends to rise anywhere from 5am to 6am on bad days...way too early for us.  We have been trying to figure out how to get her to sleep a bit longer or at least stay in her room and read books until 7am...she/we need it ;)  I thought surely this can't be too hard...well I was wrong.  A while back we found out about a nightlight that was designed by a Dad who created a nightlight that is a "Sun" during the day and at night is is the "Moon".  It was called the GoodNiteLite. The concept is that you can set the nightlight to any time you want it to change to the sun to help identify that it is morning so they can understand that it is morning and they can get up.  Looked great...sounded great...to bad it has been on backorder for like 2 months.  So here we were on the waiting list....still waiting... ugh!

http://www.goodnitelite.com/


 
...So with the nightlight on backorder...I figured there has got to be another idea.  Lately Avery has been intrigued with time and "What time is it?".  She always knew that 7:00 was dancing with the stars but that was about it.  Well I found another option to help with the early rising plus teach her time...TeachMeTime.  We tried it last night for the first time...and although we still had a rough morning I think it will prove beneficial in helping her identify time and when to get up.  Obviously, at 3 she has no concept of the duration of time....so when I tell her she has to wait about 30 minutes...she asks me about every 5 minutes..."has it been 30 minutes yet".  The great thing is that it can also play games to help teach time.  Hopefully we can get her to sleep in or chill in her room...she gets so cranky with the lack of sleep.

http://www.americaninnovative.com/products/teachmetime.php

 

 

Well, it's official-our daughter is addicted to "Dancing in the Stars" as she likes to call it!  The girl absolutely loves dancing and started watching this show from time to time as both me and her Grammy watch it weekly.  She now knows that the show is on Mondays and always reminds Grammy that their favorite show is on and she can't wait to watch it.  She also repeatedly tells her Daddy and Grandpa that we like "Dancing in the Stars" much better than football and the news.  It's too funny.  Her other favorite thing to do now is put on a pretty dress up dress when she is watching the show and then she goes to get her Daddy a.k.a. her Prince to dance with her.  She tells him to stand across the room and then they come together and dance.  It really is the sweetest thing to watch!  She also likes watching the dancers and then will ask me, "Mommy, can Daddy do that?" And unfortunately, I have to tell her "no" as her Daddy really isn't what you'd call a dancer.  He is quick to tell her that "yes" he can, but I myself have known him much longer than her and am well aware that dancing is not his favorite thing to do.  But he sure likes to do it for his daughter...it's true what they say about Daddies and their little girls-they'll do anything for them!  I love it and it melts my heart to see them together.  She likes to watch the kid dancers too and really wants to be one.  So who knows...maybe some day we'll have our own little "Dancing in the Stars" dancer in our family! :) 

Well, this weekend the weather was beautiful so Thane and I decided to venture out into nature.  Shawn and Marisa had taken Inara to a place near Golden called Golden Gate Canyon Park and raved about how pretty it was so we decided to give it a try.  We packed a picnic lunch, our water pack, and a backpack for Miss Avery (she really wanted to carry one so Thane found a small packable one of his and she carried her digital camera and a very tiny doll-she wanted to take the bigger ones, but we put our foot down as we knew that we'd end up carrying it...) and headed for the park.  The drive there was really pretty-the Aspen tree colors are amazing!  We stopped at the visitor center to get our park pass and Thane picked out a trail for us.  We parked the car, got out, and started our hiking adventure.  This was considered a moderate hike (there weren't any labeled easy) and we decided we'd take it slow and go as far as we could and then turn back.  Avery did great!  She loved looking at all the trees, leaves, bugs, etc. and really enjoyed picking up sticks and rocks.  She was quite the little hiker.  We hiked for awhile then found a place to sit down and enjoy our lunch, and then we asked her if she wanted to head back or keep going.  She said, "Keep going," so we did.  We hiked a little further and then she started asking to be carried.  So we didn't go too far and then turned around to make our way back.  We stopped and rested on our way down but Thane and I both refused to carry her, telling her that "Hiking Princesses walk the whole way!"  She really wanted to be a "Hiking Princess" so she kept on walking.  We probably did almost 2 miles round trip, which I thought was pretty good for her first time (especially since she isn't the best walker around-she loves her daddy to carry her so we are working on it!)  And honestly it was pretty good for me too as I'm slowing down these days...When we made it back to the car, she was so proud of herself!  It was cute.  The minute we got in the car and headed back to Golden, she was out like trout and snoring!  I mean, Hiking Princesses do need their rest.  She slept until we got to Golden and then we woke her up as we had promised to stop for ice cream.  So she had a chocolate cone, enjoying every minute of it and you could definitely tell-she had it everywhere!  It was a very special day and we all had fun.  Colorado truly is a beautiful place and the fall colors are something to see!  We love living here! :)

Avery loves books and stories!  We've been reading to her pretty much since she was born and the girl's love of reading just continues.  Thane and I are both amazed at how well she can retell stories in books that we read as well as made up stories that we tell her (especially her Daddy's stories-he is so creative and she loves them!)  She pays such close attention to detail and it's so much fun to watch.  When things are quiet and we start to wonder what trouble she might be causing, we often find her sitting quietly and "reading" books.  She likes to "read" books to her babies too and again, she tells the story pretty darn good.  It makes the teacher in me so proud.  After all, retells stories, including beginning, middle, and end is a kindergarten/first grade standard and our little girl hasn't even started preschool yet!  (I know, I know...I can't help it!  What's wrong with being a proud parent?!)

So a few weeks back we went to the Airforce football game. One of my old high schoold buddies was in town that I have not seen in a while. We were invited to a pre-game tailgate party. It was a really good game although Airforce came up on the losing end.  After the game we went back to the cars and hung around talking and watching our kids invent a new game. It is truly amazing what kids think of...and to think only 32 years ago I was doing the exact same thing!

Well, 3 is proving to be quite the challenging age.  Everyone that knows me has heard this a gazillion times lately so I'm actually not going to post about how tired I am, how frustrating some days can be, or how some days I want to put a sign on her that says "free-please take her" and put her on the front lawn.  (And those of you who know me, know I am truly kidding...has the thought crossed my mind?...yes!  But no follow through...)

Instead, I've decided to write about our little Miss Avery and how excited she is to be a big sister.  She has been very curious and asking lots of questions ever since we told her we were having a baby.  Well, lately she has really started talking to "Jack" aka the belly for now and patting him, giving him kisses, etc.  She has even started singing him lullabies, particularly "Rock a Bye Baby" and when she is finished she whispers, "I think he's asleep!"  It's so cute!  Yesterday I went to Wal-Mart and picked up some storage bins we had ordered online to use for Jack and his clothes, diapers, etc. to put on the extra changing table we bought since we don't have a dresser or anything for him (and don't plan to until we buy a house and he has a room to call his own)  When I told Avery about them and showed them to her, she went to my belly and said, "Baby Jack, look what Mommy and Daddy got you!  They got you some baskets for your changing table!  Isn't that nice?"  Again, so cute!  Then, Thane was gracious enough to want to buy me a new diaper bag since we are reusing so many other things and he wanted me to have input so I knew about it.  Well, it came in the mail yesterday so he opened it up for me and we all checked it out. (I LOVE it by the way-so cute and will work as a purse too-bonus!!!)  Avery saw it and asked about it and then went to my belly again and said, "Baby Jack-look what Daddy bought Mommy!  He got her a new diaper bag to carry all of your things!"  And then she said to me, "Mommy, that was so nice of Daddy.  I'm going to tell him how nice that was." And she did.  We could all feel the Avery love in the house last night.  It was a couple of those special moments that made me forget (for a short time) all the trials and tribulations of having a very strong-willed 3 year old.   What a little sweetheart she can be!  

We recently got back from a great family vacation as we all traveled to The Gathering Place on Red Cedar Lake, Wisconsin.  This is the second time we have made this trip so we were all excited to get back and leave all our worries behind.  The Gathering Place provides tons of fun including fishing, water trampoline, canoes, kayaks...bonfires you name it.  The benefit is that the cabins are really nice so even though you are in the wilderness you have all the great amenities you need.  It was great to get back an see family and see how big all the cousins had grown up. It was a much needed vacation.  Avery had a blast from learning to fish with her cinderella pole, buggy rides with Pops, bonfires/smores and hot chocolate in the morning with MeMe. 

Avery loves being silly! This was just before making smores.	Did you here about the record fish caught with the barbie pole? This was my attempt using cinderella...no luck :(
Family kayak trip! Kristi sure is a trooper. Btw way she is going on 7 months preggo with Jack!	Don't we look happy? It is nice to be on vacation and sharing some good times.
We took a 7 mile canoe trip down one of the local rivers. It was so much fun.  Avery is lucky to get a free ride.	We ate dinner one night on Stout island. If you look we have a seat saved in the middle for Avery and the fam photo. And if you look really hard in the background you will notice "Crankasourous Rex" making her choice to not be in the photo.