Happy Halloween! (For some reason the pictures won't download...be patient)

I was so excited for Halloween this year since last year was such a hit!  I started asking the kids really early what they wanted to be.  It didn't take long for Avery to announce that she wanted to be a nurse.  I don't suggest pulling up nurse costumes online, take my word for it...there is nothing there I wanted to see my baby girl wearing!  Luckily for me, she changed her mind after a few days and decided she would rather be a doctor.  Whew!  Those costumes were much more appropriate. 

Here is my beautiful doctor.  Her doctor act is the best part.  She will say "what is your name Momma?" and shake my hand, then she will ask to listen to your heart (she then says "bump bump" for her heart sounds), and then she will get the thermometer and ask to listen to your armpit (my favorite), if you are still sick, she will go to the playroom and get some pretend food from the kitchen and bring "your medicine".  She is a pro! 

When I asked Evan what he wanted to be for Halloween he politely told me he wanted to wear a costume.  :)  That didn't really narrow it down, so I went on a mission to find the perfect costume for Evan.  I decided that a cowboy would suite him well since he loves wearing hats and we could use the costume for dress up later.  He loved wearing his costume and even said Yee-haw!

They wore their costumes the entire day at the Harvest festival we attended and had a great time playing in with hula hoops and bubbles, unfortunately, that day I forgot to put the memory card into my camera so I don't have any pictures at all.  :(

We also attended the Harvest Festival at the preschool.  I should have put Evan in his costume for that since it was a Western theme!  The kids were able to show us some of the work they are doing in class, and Evan rode on a pony for the first time ever.  He was in heaven!!!  It was night time so we couldn't take pictures there either.  Avery decided that she didn't want anything to do with the ponies...she is so much like me it is crazy!  Though, it was probably a good thing since she is so much like me she probably would have been allergic too. 

Ok, enough about all of this...let's get to Trick or Treating!  Avery was so excited all day.  She trick or treated for toys through the living room all day.  When it came time for the real deal though...she stayed in the wagon and only whispered once in awhile.  She gets so shy!  Evan on the other hand was perfect!  He walked up to the neighbors and with the perfect volume said "Trick or Treat" and then he even said "Thank you very much!"  I couldn't have been more proud!  Once we finished the neighborhood, we pulled our chairs down the driveway to pass out candy.  Evan was the best candy passer-outer and made sure he gave everyone one piece.  Poor Avery, however, was scared of everyone, by the end of the night, even the princesses scared her.  She did get very excited to see a baby dresses as Elmo, and that must have trumped all the fear because when I ask her about Halloween, that Elmo is the only thing she talks about.

That night, she told me that she wants to be Elmo next year and Evan has to be Snow White.  She then told me that I will be a doctor and daddy will be a cowboy.  At least my planning for next year is done!  :)

Unnamed...

Ok, so the name I really wanted to name this post was "Babies and Balls", because this is about the babies (of course) and the Khaki and Navy Balls that Aaron and I attended since the last post...but for some reason it seemed inappropriate...Ha ha.

I know I am missing a blog post about Aaron's induction and his awesome trip to Boston and the USS Constitution, but he promised me he would write that part himself and since he is a bigger procrastinator than I am we should be seeing that post sometime in early 2012.  ;)

 This month has been pretty fun for the kids.  They are both really loving school and getting excited for Halloween or "Harvest" as we have to call it for school.  Avery loves to dress up so Halloween is right up her ally.  She has been asking to be a doctor/nurse (it changes from doctor to nurse daily).  I bought her a new doctor set that she started playing with last night and all morning she was chasing Evan around with the thermometer asking him to let her "listen to your armpit."  She is getting smarter every day and her vocabulary is amazing for a 2 year old! 

She still sleeps with a million toys in her bed and anytime anything touches her eyes she cries "poka eye!" and makes me kiss it better it is hilarious.  We have also been working really hard with potty training!  It is hard work, but we have to keep reminding ourselves that she is 1 year younger than Evan was so we shouldn't worry too much.  She is still very artistic and we recently learned that she also loves to cook.  Together we made oatmeal cookies and she was so proud of herself!  The problem we run into now is that she wants to cook all the time and it isn't always possible.  I love that she is so independent...most of the time.  More often than not we are hearing "I DO IT!" or "DADDY STOP!  GO AWAY!" 
Little Evan Is getting so big!  Since it is getting a little chilly here I started putting him in pants.  All of his 4T pants fit perfectly around the waist, but are about 3 inches too short in the legs.  Unfortunately the next size up is a little long in the legs so he is in an in between stage.  He is really loving school and since he has mastered all of the 3 year old academics for the year, they have started working with him on kindergarten skills.  It took about 2 days for him to have all the months and the days of the week memorized and he has also memorized our address, neighborhood and city.  We are still working on the phone number, but by the end of this year, he should be graduating kindergarten academically...but he has two years before he even starts it.  He was given a project for his class to make a poster about his family.  I thought it was pretty funny so I had to include a picture.  :)

He is still really loving his Leapster and even beat the game Jewel Train the first day we bought it!  Right now he loves the game Sugar Bugs, which is a disgusting dentist game.  We plan to download a new games soon and hope he forgets about that one!  :)  He also really loves playing the Wii.  He loves Wii Fit and Wii Sports the best and Aaron and I get a kick out of watching him act out a victory dance or hang his head in defeat.  He is so animated.  It is also great to watching him learn about different sports and use his Spanish, which he loves to do while watching bowling. 

I know this is mostly a blog about the kids because of course they area always more interesting than Aaron and me, but, we finally have some pictures of the two of us and darn it...they are going to be posted!  This first picture is of Aaron and I at the Khaki Ball.  It was the first big event since Aaron became a Chief and it was pretty fun.  

Last night we went to our first Navy Ball.  We had a great time, and did a lot of dancing with our friends the Pokelwaldt's.  The highlight of the night (other than seeing Aaron in his dress blues) was that we won the drawing for 1 of only 4 prizes!  We won an Ipad 2 and we couldn't be more excited!!!  We have been pretty lucky lately and for that we are very grateful. 

Oakleaf Acorns!!!

Evan has started soccer!  We have had two games already...I'm super happy they aren't keeping score.  Evan is too nice though. He refuses to take the ball away from the other kids, but really loves playing in the net.  :)  He is doing better with practice and we hope by the end of the season he will enjoy playing and want to play again next season. 

Avery on the other hand, is ready to go.  She loves soccer and wants to be on the team too!  She has one more year to go, but I have no doubt she will be a pro by then since Nana has bought us a goal for the backyard to practice with!  Go Acorns!

The First Day of Preschool!!!

August 30th was the first day of Argyle Christian Preschool for Evan and Avery!  Evan is one of 5 boys in Mrs. Ingrid's class and Avery has a full class in Mrs. Julie's.  They were both a little nervous on day one, but were as brave as they could be.  Evan is a pro and went right in and started playing with the toys.  Avery, having never been away from me before, was quite a bit more nervous to find that I wasn't going to be staying with her, she cried most of the day, but is getting better every day.  She is having so much fun now and talks about all of her friends and loves to show me her art work. 
 We started off the day with a great breakfast of Honey Nut Chex or "squares" as they are known in our house.  Avery took this time to do her famous pirate routine!  If you can't tell, she is saying "ARGH Matey, get the treasure!"  She also has one where she talks about booty.  I'll try to get that on video soon too! 

 Even in the car ride Evan was excited!  I hate to brag (but isn't that what this blog is all about anyway?) but I was told by the principle today that Evan is the smartest child she has ever had in the 3 year old class and for the first time, Mrs. Ingrid is starting to bring in math and new reading books just for Evan.  It will be amazing what he will know by kindergarten!!!

 This is in Evan's class.  He wanted to run off to go play and Avery was just realizing that today was the day mommy had been talking about when I would say "Mommy will come back and we will do the stairs one time."  Up until then it had just been talk. 

Avery was being so brave until she heard all the other kids in class crying (they are two....give them a break!).  She then realized that she needed to cry too, and did that for the first couple of weeks.  I do have to say that the last week she has been so awesome and hasn't cried a tear!

This isn't from the first day of school, but it was the first day Avery went out and about with french braids and I was pretty proud of them. She is so stinking cute, I wish I could have gotten a picture of her face and her braids at the same time.

Chief, Operation and Ms. Sassy Pants!

Oh my goodness! I don't even know where to begin with this one...things have been CRAZY lately!!!

I think I will start with the super great news! Aaron has made Chief! Not only is this an amazing feat for someone his age, but it is a way bigger deal that I would have ever thought!!! We have spent $1200 on new uniforms and I even had to take a class on how to be a supportive Chief's wife. Right now Aaron is going through induction which pretty much means that he won't be able to sleep until September 16th. They are literally running him ragged! We are told it will all be worth it when it is over...I'll let you know if that is true or not!

On another great note, Aaron was one of the few chosen to man the USS Constitution this week! He is in Boston, I assume having a wonderful time marching through the streets and playing on the oldest Navy ship in America. According to the Senior Chief, who I met at a picnic, only the best of the best were chosen, so I must say that I am doubly proud of Aaron, both for what a great father he is and for what a great sailor he is too. :)

Next up I will talk about little Evan. He has had a lot going on lately. We are trying to get to the bottom of what is going on in his tummy and so we met with a gastroenterologist and little Evan had to have an endoscopy and and a colonoscopy...never words I would have associated with my sweet 3 year old, but hopefully (tomorrow!) we should get some answers and get Evan as healthy as possible. He was so great on operation day and was far more brave than I was. He slept a bit longer (3 hours!!!) than the nurses expected, so he had me in a bit (to say the least) of a worry. But, once he was awake, he was himself again in no time. I was proud of how brave he was. He has a big doctors appointment this week to get his official diagnosis...it should be interesting.

He is still so funny and likes to make jokes about everything, usually pertaining to Mr. Pencil Saves Doodleburg, his favorite game on the Leapster. He would play it all day if I would let him. Whenever I ask him to turn it off, he says, "goodbye play and learn!". So cute!

Next up is sweet Avery...or should I say Sassy Pants McGee! She has hit the terrible twos with a vengeance!!! She loves to do things "All Myself!" and unfortunately also thinks everything is "Mines!" But, when she is being sweet, she is the sweetest angel I have ever seen! Whenever Evan is upset or cries, she runs to his room and gets him his blanket, or favorite book and comes to him and says "Come here, Ev Boy, wipe your tears." It is so cute! When she wants to be held she comes over and says "Come here Mama!" with her hands out just like I do to her when she is upset. :)

She is super smart, and recently has decided she loves to "make her bed", which means she finds EVERY toy and book in her room and puts them in her bed. Then she comes to get me to show me that she "finished her room", and gets so excited when I tell her she did a good job.

Her hair is getting really long, though it is still pretty thin. I am thinking she is going to be ready for her first haircut soon so hopefully that will thicken it up a bit. I know she will be great at her haircut because she lets me play "salon" everyday. She sits in the bar stool and I put a blanket around her like a cape and she will stay there as long as I want her to. She loves to look in the mirror when it is done, but is always sad when she can't see her hair bows. Here is her first french braids!

As if that wasn't enough, the backyard has received a makeover! It is an amazing transformation!!! The kids and I have spent a good deal of time out there and plan to do even more when it isn't 800 degrees! Here is the before picture:

Here is the after! Isn't it beautiful?

As for me, I am along for the ride! Stay tuned, the kids will be starting pre-school next week, I hope to take great pictures then!

Avery's Birthday!!!

Can you believe my baby girl is 2? Ok, I know she has been 2 for nearly a month now and I am just now doing the blog, but my computer has been broken so I have had to wait. But, we are up and running and will hopefully have blogs much more often. Now, back to the birthday!

We were so lucky to have Nana and Papa with us on Avery's big day. She started the day out by having her favorite breakfast...donuts. She finished two of them and asked for more! Later that day the whole family went to Chuck E. Cheese for pizza and fun and Dora cupcakes. We all had a great time, but the most fun was had when the kids started climbing up to the tubes and down the slide. She was so happy to open her presents too. Her favorites being her "Leester" or Leapster and her tent and tunnel.

While Nana and Papa were here we also had a chance to go to the Alligator Farm. Evan was able to touch an alligator and a snake. The kids favorite part was feeding the alligators. Avery still talks about how the alligators "chomped". I personally liked the albino alligators the best. :)

Avery has been taking being 2 in stride. She is equal parts terrible twos and terrific twos. She is the sweetest little girl around and always gives the sweetest compliments. No matter what I am doing she stops to tell me "great job mama!". It is so much fun to have conversations with her. She comes up with the funniest things. The other day when Evan was sitting on the big potty and she was on the little potty she said "Evan has a penis and Baby has a gina." She was so proud of herself.

Little Ev has been doing really great. Summer has been tough because he is happiest when he is busy. He has used this time to become proficient (if not addicted) to his Leapster game Mr. Pencil Saves Doodleburg. He is really good and he has all of the dialogue memorized and will tell us all about it.

We have some interesting stuff coming up for Evan in the next few weeks. We are meeting with a specialist to try to find out what is going on in his tummy. I'm crossing my fingers that we can successfully add dairy and gluten back into his diet! Cross your fingers for us!

I am going to be adding the software for the Flip camera to my computer soon so I will be able to do a fun blog with movies soon!

Avery is 2!!!

A note to my sweet baby Avery on her 2nd birthday!

I made a list to share with you when you are older so you can know exactly how you were when you turned two!

1. You think your name is "Baby".

2. You are very indendent and always want to do everything on her own. You now say "I do it" instead of shouting "Baby do it!". You can put your shoes on all by yourself and you try so hard to put your pants on, and sometimes do.

3. You think kisses make everything feel better and you never forget that Mommy needs kisses too. Somehow you "poka eye" a few times a day and only mommy's kisses will make it better. You also ask for bandaids any time you have a bump. Lately when you have an ouchy and I won't give you a bandaid, you are content to "ice it". When Evan gets a bump you try to ice that too.

4. All of your toys are your babies. You kiss them and hug them and even pat them and says "shhhh, it's ok!"...even the cars and kitchen food. :)

5. You act shy in public, but doesn't take long for you to need to be the center of attention.

6. When music is on, it is time to dance. Sometimes you sing yourself and dance along. You also watch movies and do the choreography right along with the characters. It is amazing what you can do. Annie and Barney movies are her favorite routines for now. You are my Sunshine and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star are your favorite songs to sing.

7. You have the best manners (not counting the screaming requests once in awhile) and you never forgets to say "thank you mommy/daddy".

8. You like to help me sweep the floors and use the water sprayer to dust the tables. I hope you love chores when you are older. :)

9. You love your brother so much! You are constantly taking him out of his comfort zone and it is a wonderful thing. Seeing you kiss and hug him makes me so happy. You are the best sister a boy could ask for, even if you do steal all of his toys.

10. You love to read books, especially the "planets" book (Little Einstein Picture Dictionary).

11. You can already count to 13 and you know your ABC's. All of Evan's therapists are shocked by how smart and clever you are...not to mention cute.

12. I love that you like hairbows and pretty dresses. I love that when I am doing my makeup you want "my turn" and you don't mind that I pretend. I also love that when I am ready for the day you say "pretty mommy".

13. I love that you still say "mommy hold you" when you need to snuggle and you give the tightest hugs.

14. i love that when we read stories at night you hold Buzz and Woody (Toy Story) stuffed animals and make sure they get to touch each page.

15. While it gives me a heart attack every time you still love to stand on the coffee table and jump to the couch. It is hard to remind you that you aren't as big as your brother.

16. You are such a little myna bird and copy everything we say. You also repeat everything Evan says so as soon as a movie comes on the first thing out of your mouth is "main menu" and "fast forward".

It is so amazing how much you know and how much personality you have at age two! I am scared and excited at the same time for what the future brings with your amount of energy and your mischevious mind! I love you so much and hope I can make your 2nd birthday a happy one. *Mom

Zoo, Bed, Potty...Oh My!

It has been a busy couple of weeks here! I'll start first with our trip to the zoo!!!

We were lucky to be invited through Evan's school to Dream Nite at the Jacksonville Zoo. This was a free (our favorite price!) event where hundreds of people volunteered their time to help special needs kids have a really great experience and we were happy to be a part of it! :) When we arrived, there was a table with free stuffed animals. They gave the kids a choice between a rhino, giraffe and an elephant. Both kids chose an elephant and Avery carried hers through most of the zoo (no big surprise there). When we stopped to smell the flowers, she had to make sure her elephant smelled the flowers too.

After we chose the toys, there was a zoo keeper who was holding an alligator for the kids to touch. Evan decided he wanted to hold the alligator and reached right for his mouth! Evan the zoo keeper was a bit surprised and had to turn to keep Evan and the gator safe. Evan also touched two snakes and Avery touched the snakes too. Evan even got to feed a giraffe, but Avery wasn't interested in that at all, but she clapped for Evan and told him good job. :)

We rode on the carosel and since there were no crowds we were able to spend time talking with the zoo keepers who taught us all about the animals. The kids really loved seeing the jaguar and all the lizards and snakes. Evan really wanted to hold the 150 pound anaconda and Avery decided that it should be her baby. They were so funny! We also got to see the dinosaur exhibit, but unfortunately, the zoo closed before we were able to see all the animals. I don't think I have ever been to the zoo and spent so much time looking at each animal, but the kids loved it (and therefore so did I!).

The next big even that has happened in the last few weeks is that Avery finally got her big girl bed! The transition was amazingly easy. And, while she fusses a bit during naptime, she is a perfect angel in her bed. She takes all of her toys, Buzz and Woody from Evan's room are her favorites right now and one book that she chooses to bed. She has yet to get out of bed without Aaron or I in the room, I am not sure she understands that she can. She loves her new Dora sheets too. She is also really loving having her Grandma here and loves all the extra attention and is showing off her singing and acting skills. Grandma is also really impressed that she can already catch a ball when it is thrown to her. She is such an amazing little one!

Speaking of amazing kids...Evan has begun potty training! I have had the feeling for the last few months that he is getting a bit old not to be potty trained, but he really showed no desire to start. We decided though that it was time and on Thursday we spent most of the day in the bathroom and there we pretty much have stayed since. It was a slow going process and I was starting to get frustrated and worried that he would be going to kindergarten in diapers, then today, he has made huge strides and I am confident that we are done with diapers (except at night...that is a bridge I will cross soon). I am really proud of him, he has been working so hard and through all the changes has been holding it together well.

I'm so proud of my little ones! This week we are spending tons of time at the pool since Grandma is here to help us out, it should be a great week!!!

May!

Just when I was thinking that I didn't have much to blog about this week has been a whirlwind and I don't really know where to begin!

I guess I should start with the Evanator. He finished his first year of preschool on Thursday. He had such a wonderful year and it makes me so proud that he was brave enough to try new things and make new friends. Here are some memories I never want to forget about Evan's first year of preschool:

1. He finger painted for the first time.

2. He always ran up the ramp one time before we entered school.

3. As a reward for being good at school we always got to do "stairs one time" where we went up the outside stairs and looked down on the cars.

4. As we left class everyday he loved to read his friends names next to their art in the hallway. This shocked the other parents in the beginning.

5. When one of the girls in his class brought the book The Napping House to class Evan read it to everyone. I'm pretty sure he was the first kid in Mrs. Cassie's two year old class that could already read. :)

Here is a video of him singing to the Annie Soundtrack before we went into school. He loves Tomorrow while Avery is all about Hard Knock Life.

Not to take away from the fact that he finished school, but the most amazing things have been happening this week. It all started when we offered him a taste of a waffle and what do you know...he ate it! I was able to give him a waffle for lunch the other day and while he didn't eat all of it, he tried. Then, another day he tried a chicken nugget, and yesterday a blueberry! He hasn't tried anything new in two years and then in one week he tried many things! I can hardly contain my excitement!

We have also been using birthday candles as food rewards (which he has been getting a lot of lately!). We sing Happy Birthday (mostly to Baby Simba) and then both kids get a chance to blow out the birthday candle. It was my goal for Evan to be able to blow out a candle by his 4th birthday, but alas...he mastered it this week! Once he got it, it was like second nature!

He is also working really hard to get off the sippy cup and was able to drink from a straw for the first time this week! I know...too much excitement for one week. I feel the same way. I kept telling Aaron that I had such a weight lifted off my shoulders (to see huge progress) that I felt like I had won the lottery. :)

While I am on a roll with the great news, I also have to brag for a moment (isn't that all this blog is really about anyway), about my sweet baby girl! Just today she has mastered a forward roll! And...that isn't even the most exciting thing she has done this week (though, it is pretty big since now we can progress to cartwheels!).

Yesterday, Avery and I gathered up all of her paci's, put them in an envelope and walked to the mailbox and sent them to the "babies and Elmo". Because Avery was so brave (and really only cried for a few minutes for it) she gets a new big girl bed! We went to buy it today and it will be here on the 9th of June. I am so excited. I think she is going to be so proud of herself, just like I am proud of her!!! In this picture, she is laying down on the back of the futon...she says she is "relaxin".

I wish I could convey in an email how much personality she has for those of you who can't be around her everyday. My favorite thing she does right now is yell "I FOUND IT!" Whenever I ask her to get something for me! It is so cute! She also is starting to love talking on the phone and will even have short conversations with her Grandma, Nana and Aunties. :)

More April

Well, I was waiting to post a blog so that I could post super cute Easter pictures. But alas...we all came down with a stomach bug that prevented us from really celebrating the season on Easter Sunday. Since Aaron had to work today, we didn't quite get Easter Monday either. Luckily for us (and this is probably the last year) the kids didn't even know about it. :) They did enjoy all of their new gifts though. Ha ha.

So, instead of Easter, I will give an update on what the kids are loving now days. Avery is all about art!!! She would do "art time" all day if I let her. She loves crayons, markers, chalk, paints, you name it! Though her most favorite right now is glue and glitter (much to my dislike!). But, she loves it so much that we have to bedazzle all of her pretty pictures before they are finished. Unfortunately, she has also realized that paper isn't the only thing she can color with crayons. Last week was her tummy with a marker, this week, the dining room wall.

Another of her favorite things to do during art time is Play Doh. She likes to make people, jewlerly and anything else she can design. Here is a close up of her "man". The criminologist in me is slightly worried about the crayon/blunt object she has jammed into his head!

She still shocks everyone with her vocabulary and how well she can communicate what she wants. I am shocked every single day by how smart she is. I often have to remind myself that she is still 1! Just today she took some change out of the bank, put it in her purse then came to me and said, "need glasses, keys, go Target." She was ready to go!

Another thing she really loves is Evan! She wants to hug and kiss him all day. She asks him to play Ring Around the Rosie and I'm happy to say that he often plays with her! We bought a new game for Evan to practice his fine motor skills and they love playing it together. We have also recently introduced Don't Spill the Beans and Candyland, which if you follow the rules are both works in progress. :)

As for Evan! He is all about Disney movies. Right now his favorite is Tangled and he will carry the box with him wherever he goes. He loves watching the feature where you can watch a second of all 50 of the Disney animated movies. He can name about 35 of them as they flash past. He is so great at memorizing things!
We had recently signed him up for hockey lessons. We were so worried about it wondering if he would be willing to wear the gear or the skates (or if his feet would fit in them?). But, in true Evan form, he showed us that we should never underestimate him. When we got there, he was so excited! He put the jersey on and thought the skates were so funny.

He galloped to the ice and was ready to go! We were sad that they made a mistake when they let us sign up that he needed to be 6 and that he would have to wait a few more years to start his hockey carreer, but he loved it! You can see in this picture that he is having a blast. Poor Aaron was having to stay on his skates and hold all 40 pounds of Evan while he wiggled around. I was really super proud of him for trying something new and being so excited to do it!

April has gone by way too quickly, it is going to be summer before we know it!!!

We March, We March in the Month of April...

The marching song is one of our new favorite songs to sing now days! It is perfect to get the kids moving when we have to get out the door early......which lately is often. :)

We have been keeping really busy lately. Ev is doing lots of therapy and is making a ton of progress. His fine motor skills are improving and his language improves every day too. Since we started him on his new GF/CF diet, we are seeing some amazing things from him. As always he is a little jokster. He still loves to read more than anything and now instead of taking a nap he likes to spend quiet time in his room reading his books...loudly. I love to sit back and listen. Today he has also decided he loves stuffed animals and walked around all day with Baby Simba and his Harrod's dog which he named Rover. I'm pretty proud that he named him Rover since he names all of his toys Shakespeare or Van Gogh. :)

We are really excited for mid month to come because Ev is going to be playing his first sport...ICE HOCKEY! We can't wait. I hope he goes for it!

As for beautiful little Avery...what can I say about her. I wish there were words that would describe the amount of personality that comes out of this baby girl! If you look closely at this picture, you will notice that she drew all over her tummy with a Sharpie marker! Lucky for me when she found it it was right before bath and she didn't have a shirt on. It was also lucky for me that her first instinct was to draw on her tummy and not my couch! Thanks Avery!!!

No matter what we do with this girl we have to add about 5 minutes to get it done because she is in a "BABY DO IT!" phase! This is her way of saying "I can do it myself", but she prefers to call herself baby. Tonight she had to zip up her own pajamas. She also puts her own shoes on and is able to put her own pants on too (but has a hard time getting them over her diaper in the back). She (and Evan too) are really loving Barney and she walks around saying "I Ya You" for I love you. We used to think she was hitting us in between until I realized that she was trying to give a high five! This girl keeps us on our toes!!! Last week we got really lucky and had Nana and Papa come to visit. It was a very busy weekend and went way too fast. Avery still wakes up every morning and says "Nana wake up, donuts!" When I ask her what her favorite part of their visit is though she always says "swing Papa." Thank you Nana and Papa for spending fun time with us and spoiling us all rotten. :) I'm not really sure what it is about this picture that I love so much, but it just makes me smile. And, according to Aaron it is "nice to see that they shop at the same store."

Marching Along!

First of all I would like to say Happy Birthday to Aunt Sara! We hope you have a great day and we send hugs and kisses your way!!!

It has been so crazy here lately. I am busy making hairbows for the Spring Fling Expo so I don't have much extra time at all. But in honor of Sara's birthday I wanted to take some time to update everyone on the Crazy Colemans!

Little Avery...my dear baby girl gave us a fright this week when she had an allergic reaction to Penicillin. A night spent in the ER and two trips to the doctor and she is starting to look better. Her beautiful face had been so swollen that she even scared her brother. It was tough to look at because it looked so painful, but she didn't seem to notice and continued to dance and be a cutie pie! Her face is almost back to normal but she is still covered from the neck down in hives.

She is all about the potty lately and has had a few successful trips there too. She is such a nice mommy to her toys that she takes them to the potty too. She is also really excited to put her toys in diapers and panties. The only problem we have had recently is that she really loves to put toilet paper in the potty and flush, so we have to keep her out of there unless she is going. :)

She really loves watching Barney and Dora right now and will sing songs with them. She also gives the best hugs and kisses ever!!!

Little Evanator is doing great too. He is all about the Leapster which is helping him write his letters. He is doing wonderful in school and just this week he has eaten a marshmellow and many bites of a brownie. Great progress! He loves reading Hop on Pop and can read all 60 pages all by himself, and even reads the pages with the right emotions. I have a great video, but I can't figure out how to post it yet.

He also really loves to sing. We are still listening to Christmas music in the car and he sings along to every song. I love listening to the words he makes up for the words he doesn't know. There is a part of Silent Night where instead of saying "shepherds quake" he says "showers quake". I will try to get it on video soon, but I am usually driving when it happens so that is a little tough.

He has been working really hard on his fine motor skills with his hands and has mastered Thumbs Up and almost has the "OK" sign too. He tries so hard!!!

Where Does The Time Go?

Oh my goodness! It seems as if Christmas has just ended and it is already the end of January! We are still rocking out to Frosty the Snowman and "Pa Rum Pum Pum Pum" in the car and during meal times so maybe that is why it seems that time is standing still.

January has been busy busy busy for us. Evan is the king of therapy and now has an entourage of about 10 people. But, he is coming along so well! He is reading like a champ, and even better he is interested in hearing stories that Aaron and I read too. So for the first time in who knows how long we are able to read whole books to him without having to let him finish every sentence. Right now his favorite book to read before bed is The Napping House. I tried to include a video here of him reading Good Dog Rover (a level 2 book!) but it took way too long to download. :(

Ev has also been given a new nickname. Houdini! Somehow, my little magician is able to squeeze his body out of his feety pajamas without unzipping them since we safety pin the zipper up. He loves taking off all his clothes and laughing about it when we catch him. But, I think this era is over since I have discovered a new way to keep his clothes on...a tee-shirt over his pjs! I just figured this out tonight, so he should probably have the code cracked in a day or two and I will be back at square one.

He currently has a favorite toy and it is a little alligator that is supposed to go in the bath, but instead goes with him everywhere he is able to take it. He loves when we cocoon him in his blankets, but we have to cocoon the alligator too! :)

He is making some great progress on his eating...he has added bananas to his diet and is so close to eating mandarin oranges that I can't stand it. I can get him to put them in his mouth, but we have yet to get him to chew....cross your fingers for us!

We had a chance to go to "Chuck A Cheese" as Evan calls it. We went once with Nana and Papa during their visit (more on that next blog) and again with our friends. Ev loved the crazy car (Mollie not so much) and he loves to play the basketball game too! I will post a video of that as soon as I figure out how to do videos on the blog and not have it take 2o years!

As for little bitty Avery...where to begin? She had her 18 month visit today and weighed 23 pounds. She seems so tiny and yet she is soooo smart. She is speaking in sentences now and knows exactly how to get what she wants! Unfortunately that means that she needs to scream the same word over and over at louder intervals until I am able to grant her wish. But, she is using her words, so that is good right?

She is all about her babies! She loves all babies real or stuffed. Whenever she hears a baby cry she says "blanket and paci!" She knows exactly what makes all babies happy. :) She loves to have her babies in bed with her and will choose new ones every night. Once she falls asleep I take them all out so she has room to sleep, but they keep her happy.

Another thing that keeps her happy is jumping! I remember being so worried about Evan since he couldn't jump for the longest time, well...we for sure don't have this problem with Avery!!! She looks like she is on a trampoline half the day. The best is when she is all fancied up in her dress up clothes and is jumping around the house. She has also started to pretend cook in the kitchen and brought me "milk" that she made today. It was delicious. Ha ha.

She isn't quite the great eater that I prayed for, but she is all about "spicy goldfish". She will snack all day if we let her, but when it comes time to eat meals, she isn't interested. She likes to put her feet on the table and push herself away and even when daddy gives her stern words not to do so, she looks him in the eye, pushes back and laughs in his face. I fear for my future! Here are other reasons I fear for our future with this girl:

1. She pretends to drink everything straight from the bottle or tea kettle, much like a binge drinker would.

2. She loves to dance on tables.

3. When she sees a camera she pulls up her shirt. I am sure it is because she loves her belly button, but still...not a good sign.

4. She blatantly defies authority...as described above by laughing at her dad.

5. She has no fear and will jump off everything and anything.

6. She will copy everything the bigger kids do (especially boys!)

7. She gives french kisses. She is fully capable of the pucker, but often chooses to open up and lick the lips of the other kisser, usually me, but still not good!

I know there is more, but I will have to continue this later. My next blog...HARRY POTTER WORLD! Ok, I know it is called The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, but I like to make up my own names! Also, I know that we went almost a month ago, but it is still Christmas here, so I am right on track. :)