Stories

7/18/09 - We had a fun time last weekend with Uncle Cory, Aunt Lisa & Grandma here.  We did some shopping, ate pizza, ate desserts from AJ's for Lisa's birthday, went swimming, went to church and out for breakfast before they headed home.

Yesterday, Grandma & Grandpa picked Avery up and took her to a make-up swimming lesson, then out to dinner.  Uncle Cory & Aunt Lisa stopped by the swim school to watch Avery's lesson and joined them for dinner as well.  They said Avery did a super job during her lesson and even went under water to pick up the diving rings!  

Last night daddy and I were bored without our little girl here, so we rented two movies and stayed indoors while the huge dust storm hit.  We had high hopes to be entertained by Paul Blart: Mall Cop, but it ended up being a disappointment.  We still have to watch Gran Torino, so hopefully that one will be better.

This morning we woke up to see the mess last night's dust storm left.  Our front porch, side patio and back patio were covered in a thick layer of dirt, so our Saturday morning was spent hosing everything down.  I met Avery and my parents at the swim school for Avery's lesson today.  Avery was back floating all by herself today at swimming lessons.  We're going to time her next week and see if she can earn her back floating ribbon! 

Daddy went out tonight to play "Twilight Golf" with his friends for charity, and Avery & I did a little shopping and brought a pizza home.  We were outside in a parking lot when the dust storm, then the pouring rain hit....that was fun!

Add A Comment: Your Name:

Please enter the number below:

7/10/09 - Avery is stitch free.  Wednesday night a friend of ours, who happens to be a nurse, took them out.  Once again, Avery did great!  I'm so proud of her for being so brave!

It's been a nice, quiet couple of weeks with daycare as a 3 of my kids have been on vacation! 

Since last Saturday was a holiday, we didn't have swimming lessons, so we're anxious to get back in the pool tomorrow.  My mom & sister are meeting us there to watch Avery's lesson, then are coming back to our house for some pool time . . . depending on how much of the heat we can handle since the pool water feels like bath water!  Uncle Cory is going to come & meet us after the Dbacks game is over and we're all having a sleepover here.  :o)  We're going to celebrate Aunt Lisa's birthday, since she & Cory were in Chicago, my parents were in Wisconsin and we were here in Arizona on her birthday.   

Add A Comment: Your Name:

Please enter the number below:

7/5/09 - About 2 or 3 months ago, Avery decided that she wanted to start sitting at the big table with us to eat dinner instead of sitting in her high chair.  That was fine with us because we were anxious to get rid of the high chair to have extra space in the kitchen.  She started off sitting in a booster chair that we have attached to one of our chairs, but Avery decided really quickly that she'd rather sit on her knees "like a good girl".  She had done really well with this until last Thursday.  We were two bites into our dinner when Steve & I saw Avery adjusting in her chair.  A moment later, she lost her balance, her feet went out through the back of the chair and her chin came down and hit the table with a loud "thud"!  We picked her up and noticed the blood coming from her chin and knew we had better take her to Urgent Care to see if she needed stitches.  Thankfully, it didn't bleed a ton, and had stopped by the time we got to Urgent Care.  The cut was only about an inch long, but was deep and opened up like a little mouth.  The doctor said she had cut through all the layers of her skin and that is why it looked that way.  Avery ended up getting 3 stitches in her chin that night and was a CHAMP the whole time!   I am very thankful that she isn't so afraid of going to the doctor's office like I was as a child. 

We had a nice holiday weekend, but I feel like all I did was run errands all weekend.  We did manage to head over to the neighbor's house for a 4th of July BBQ/birthday party, so that was nice.  We decided to bypass the awful heat and just watch fireworks on tv!  When Avery gets a little older, we'll have to venture out to watch them for sure!

Avery has been in swimming lessons for a little over a month now and is doing so well!  "Swim Teacher Lindsey" is so impressed with how quickly Avery has caught on to the routine that she has suggested for me to think about moving her up into a "semi-private" class where I'm not in the pool with her!  I really enjoy getting in the water with Avery and learning the proper techniques and language so I can follow through with her at home.  I think we'll give this class a few more weeks and see how it goes before I make that decision.   

Add A Comment: Your Name:

Please enter the number below:

7-2-09:  Fist off we want to say "Happy Birthday Aunt Lisa!"  We hope you're having a fantastic day in Chicago and enjoy the Cub's game tonight!!!

Secondly, Sorry I've been M.I.A. for the last few days . . . . I discovered Facebook.  Enough said.

Add A Comment: Your Name:

Please enter the number below:

6/22/09 - Friday night after all of the daycare kids left, Steve, Avery & I drove up to Show Low for the weekend.  Steve attends a golf tournament every year on Father's Day weekend in memory of his friends' (Tim & Frank) dad who passed away.  This year was the 14th annual KVC memorial which benefits Hospice of the White Mountains.  Avery was a little on the crabby side driving up there so after trying all of the movies, toys & snacks we brought along, we made a "game" out of looking for the green signs along the highway. Between that and watching the rain hit the windows Avery stayed somewhat content for the last hour of the drive.  She was relieved (and so were we) to finally arrive at the hotel.   We got unpacked, set up the pack & play and were all ready for bed. We didn't have the luxury of having a suite this time so Avery could have her own "room", so she stood up in her pack & play and watched daddy as he caught a little bit of Sports Center before bed.  After a few minutes she asked daddy to turn off the tv and went right to sleep!  

Saturday morning we all woke up quite early (5:45) and had breakfast at the hotel.  Avery was thrilled to see they had Fruit Loops, something she doesn't get at home, and even ate two bowls full!  We drove over to the golf course to see Daddy before he tee'd off and waved to all of the golfers as they drove off in their little golf carts.  Avery & mommy walked around the beautiful Bison Golf Club and had to stop to pet all of the statues of animals (horse, bison, bears, deer).  Then we headed out for a drive around Show Low and stopped to do a little shopping at the local K-Mart, something fun for us since we don't have one of those around here.  Avery got a new Elmo bikini, princess nightgown and a new Elmo DVD to watch on the way home.  We stopped and ate some chicken nuggets for lunch, then headed to the park with our friends Hilary & Isabelle.  Avery rode a "big girl swing" all by herself for the first time and went down a big tunnel slide too.  The weather was absolutely perfect - mid 70's with a little breeze, but at times quite windy (not good for daddy's golf game).  After the park we headed back to the hotel with high hopes that Avery would take a long nap, since mommy only got about 2 hours of sleep Friday night (thanks to being wired off my first diet coke in weeks).  No such luck in the napping department - Avery was wired too, and she didn't even have any Diet Coke!  We decided to shower and get ready for the post-golf barbecue at the Elks Lodge.  Daddy came back to the hotel from a "not so good" round of golf (he blames it on the wind), showered, and we all headed to the barbecue.  It was fun to catch up with a bunch of our old friends & see how much their kids have grown.  We were a bunch of losers when it came to this year's raffle, except for Avery winning some sidewalk chalk in the kid's raffle.  Avery was getting to the point of a meltdown and mommy was exhausted & tired, so we headed back to the hotel for an early bedtime.  Avery was a little congested and had a nagging cough all weekend so we convinced her to take a steamy shower to help her sleep.  This hotel didn't have bathtubs, so Avery took a solo shower!  She had so much fun taking a "big girl shower" that she stayed in there for nearly 30 minutes and we had to bribe her to get out!  It really helped her nose & cough and she slept for 11 hours that night!  We had a little Father's Day celebration in the hotel room before we went to bed.  Avery (and all of the daycare kids) made their dads a "Top Pop" award (see pictures).  Avery gave daddy his award, "pop" gift & card, then his gifts: black crocs and Ed Hardy cologne with an Ed Hardy "diaper bag".  Daddy liked all of his surprises and especially liked Avery's very first real drawing - a picture of him!

Sunday morning we woke up early, had breakfast in the hotel's breakfast room, said goodbye to all of our friends and headed for the valley.  Avery was excellent on the ride home, which made the drive sooooo much faster!!  Once we got home, we all crashed for about a 3 hour nap.  Ahhh, nothing like being back in your own bed for a good rest.       

Add A Comment: Your Name:

Please enter the number below:

Add A Comment: Your Name:

Please enter the number below:

06-10-09:  I just thought I'd let you know why daddy made his blogging debut . . . it took me 2 hours to go through the 127 pictures that I took on our 4 day vacation and upload some of them to the website.  I had started to blog about our little vacation, and left the screen up when I got side-tracked.  Daddy came in and started messing around with the computer and deleted what I had wrote!  So, I told daddy to "have fun" retyping what I had written.  ;o)  I do have to say, his version is much more comical than mine was! 

Update on Avery's silky . . . she quit asking for it by the week's end, but now has taken a strong liking to her little giraffe "lovey" from her Great Aunt Gail and it now goes where ever we go! 

Add A Comment: Your Name:

Please enter the number below:

6-10-09:  We just got back from our first official family vacation!! On Saturday morning we loaded up the family truckster and hit the open road towards San Diego.  We left the house around 5am, and our plan was to have Avery fall back asleep but things don't always go according to the plan.  Avery only slept for about 45 minutes but she was a very good girl on the ride over.  She only had one issue, she kept telling mommy and daddy she had to poop, but because she was sitting down she was unable to pull the trigger.  She fussed a little bit, but overall she did well.  We got to San Diego around 11am and decided to head right to the hotel to see if we could get an early check-in. Of course with daddy's stunning good looks and witty charm the lady at the desk had no problem giving him the keys to the room early(She even gave Avery a Shamu stuffed animal). We headed up to our room on the third level to settle in and get little Scooter a nap.  Avery loved the hotel and all the things she could play with at her level (i.e Mini-Fridge, AC, Microwave and TV).  Remember earlier I told you  Avery had some issues with the plumbing on the ride over, well in the first hour of our hotel visit, Averado worked her magic 3 times. I guess she did have to PooP. We all decided to take a little nap and regroup from the drive.  When we awoke we decided to head over to Coronado Island and let Avery play in the "ocean" and on the beach. She loved the beach so much that next time we need to set aside an entire day for beach play and possible boat ride.  Avery just loved watching all the boats come in and out of the harbor.  As the sun set we decided to go get dinner at Fuddruckers and head back to our plush accomodations.  We got Avery to bed at a decent time because we had big plans for Sea World on Sunday.

We woke up at 7am on Sunday morning and started getting ready for our Sea World Adventure.  We decided to make a trip down to the "All You Can Eat Buffet" provided by the fine folks from the Comfort Suites. The buffet included cereal, toast, bagels, waffles, fruit, something yellow (eggs I guess) and something pinkish/brown (Sausage?) 

We got to Sea World around 8:45 am, parked in the front row and headed in.  We started the morning by viewing the Manatee and Shark exhibits then going to the Sea Lion and Dolphin shows. Avery loved both of them, especially the dolphins because they splashed everyone below us (we stayed out of the soak zone).  Then we took Avery over to the Sesame Street Bay of Play. We saw Elmo and all his friends singing and dancing on a big ship. Then Avery wanted to hit the rides. First we got on Elmo's Flying Fish ride (Avery and daddy rode in a Zebra Elmo while mommy rode a Piggy Elmo). From there we got on Oscar's Rocking Eel ride, Avery loved it and had her hands up in the air the whole time, Mommy did her best not to puke and embaress the rest of us. And finally we climbed up on Abby's Sea Star Spin (Tea Cups) another ride Avery loved even though mommy made a rule that we were not allowed to make the cups spin.  Then Avery spent a liitle time running thru the splash pads and tunnels. After that, Mommy watched Avery so dad could ride Journey to Atlantis (he loves it).  All the excitement caught up to her and she fell asleep in her stroller.  Mommy and Daddy found a quiet shaded spot to eat lunch, talk and relax for about 2 hours. When Avery awoke mommy got to ride the Atlantis ride (what's good for the goose is good for the gander) then we went to see the Penguins and Polar Bears in their "natural habitat" and a few more shows, Pets Rule and the Sesame Street 4 D imagination show.  Avery didn't really like the Sesame Street show, she just laid on Daddy's shoulder with her back to the screen.  I don't think she liked the 3 D glasses and the images that came with them and to top it off every seat had water misters built in that sprayed you in the face a few times during the movie.  Mommy and Daddy thought it was pretty cool!!!  We then went to see the World Famous Anhueser Busch Clydesdale horses (Daddy didn't want to see them, he said those horses represent the bad guys!). Avery did her best horse immitations and then it was time for the BIG SHAMU ROCKS SHOW!!!  We decided to sit in the soak zone and even though not a single drop of water hit us, if you ask Avery she will reply "Shamu splashed me on the face".  We left the park around 10pm, we all had a great time and it was so neat watching Avery get so excited about every aspect of Sea World. It's pretty cool to see the park with a little one, they see and enjoy things most of us adults just take for granted. She was an absolute TROOPER all day long, all 13 hours. We look forward to taking Avery back in the near future.  We got back to the hotel and watched a little tv to wind down, we were all sound asleep by 11pm.

We didn't have a set start time for Monday, so we slept in and enjoyed breakfast in our room. Then we headed off to the San Diego Zoo. The zoo is huge, for those of you that have visited the Phoenix Zoo multiply that by 100.  After seeing the San Diego Zoo the Phoenix Zoo will never be the same again.  The trip to the zoo didn't go as smoothly as Sea World and Avery had seen enough after about 4 hours. So we ended our zoo visit with a guided bus tour so at least Mommy and Daddy could see the entire property. Avery sang the Wheels on the Bus song for everybody in the first couple of rows, (I bet they didn't know that was included, but it kept her from crying so pick your poison). Our plan was to have Avery take a nap so we could enjoy our last evening in San Diego. Well Avery fell asleep in the car on the way back to the hotel so by the time we got to the room she was wide awake and ready to roll. We all got back into the car and drove down to Seaport Village for some sight seeing.  We shopped a little and Avery rode the Carousel.  While we were shopping Avery wanted to buy a book, when daddy asked her how she was going to pay for it she replied "let's just charge it daddy". Later on, mommy wanted daddy to buy a shirt at the Harley Davidson store that daddy thought was too expensive, Avery told daddy "that's alright daddy just buy it". I wonder where she hears these phrases? We walked around for a while enjoying the cool ocean air and each others company.  We stopped by the local Target on the way back to the hotel to pickup some water and juice boxes.  Mommy and Daddy got a couple gourmet pizzas from the Pizza Hut Express located inside Target and we dined inside our Hotel Room.  Things were going well and then Avery's evil twin paid us a visit! She had the meltdown of all meltdowns, she cried so loud that our hotel neighbors were banging on the wall.  The joys of parenthood!  She finally fell asleep and mommy and daddy followed shortly there after.

On Tuesday we woke up and Avery and Mommy headed down to get some cereal and bagels while daddy loaded up the truckster and showered. Mommy and Avery brought daddy a bagel and daddy ate breakfast while mommy finished packing a few last things.  We all did a final inspection of the room and proceeded to check out and head back home.  Mommy and daddy wanted to stop at the outlet mall oustide of San Diego. We have been there before and wanted to get out and let Avery run around and hopefully tire herself out. No such luck, Avery had meltdown #2 so we loaded up the car and headed towards the valley.  Her little episode lasted about 45 minutes, kicking, screaming, hitting mommy, arching her back and acting like the car seat was strangling her. She eventually dozed off, but mommy couldn't leave good enough alone and tried to cover her up with her blanket. Meltdown #3 didn't last that long and we convinced Avery to watch a movie.  The Wiggles worked their magic and she was pretty good the rest of the way home.  She once again had a plumbing issue around Casa Grande but we made it home fast enough for her to clean her pipes.  Before we made it home though mommy and daddy stopped by Subway for their anniversary dinner. Tuesday we celebrated 8 wonderful years of wedded bliss! Daddy surprised mommy with a Chocolate Chip M&M cookie from Subway.  Happy Anniversary Sweetheart!! We made it home safe and sound, the daycare reopened today and daddy will enjoy the rest of the week off.  He absolutely deserves it, he is simply amazing! 

Today is  Liberty's 7th birthday, the little ones grow up so darn fast!

Bye for now

First time blogger (Daddy)

Jen made me add the part about being amazing.

Add A Comment: Your Name:

Please enter the number below:

5-26-09:  We had a fun & busy weekend.  Friday night we moved furniture around to get ready to have our carpets cleaned first thing Saturday morning.  In the process of moving things around and getting things up off of the floor, we misplaced Avery's "silky".  She went to bed without it just fine, so we didn't say a thing. 

Early Saturday morning, our friend Tim came to clean our carpets as Avery and I got ready to go to her very first swimming lesson.  My parents met us at the swim school to watch Avery's lesson.  Much to my surprise, we were the only ones there, so we had an awesome private lesson.  Avery did fantastic!  She was very cooperative and didn't even cry when we dunked her for the first time.  She was not afraid to try anything the lady had her do: monkey along the wall on her own, back float, blow bubbles, go underwater, sing lots of songs (motor boat, ring around the rosie, the kids in the pool, humpty dumpty).  After swimming lessons, my parents took Avery to their house to spend the night.  They went to the railroad park, to church and out to Ruby Tuesday for dinner.  Avery asked for her silky once at church and at bedtime, and my parents told her it was "lost".

Sunday morning my parents took Avery out to 5 & diner for breakfast, then brought her back home.  Steve and I got the house and backyard ready for our pool party & barbecue that we were having that afternoon.  In the midst of putting furniture back where it belonged, we discovered Avery's "silky" shoved into the recliner.  We decided that since she had been without it for almost 2 days, we wouldn't give it back to her.  She has a habit of sucking her two middle fingers when she holds her silky, and per her dentist, we need to wean her from sucking her fingers by the time she's 3 to hopefully avoid costly orthodontics. 

That afternoon we had family, friends and our neighbors over for food, cold drinks & relaxing by (or in) the pool.  Avery didn't want to nap on Sunday because she was so excited about her cousins and friends coming over to party.  She had a blast with the kids swimming in the pool and spa, and running through her Elmo sprinkler.  Unfortunately, that night at bedtime Avery threw up from all of the junk she had eaten (and all of the juice boxes she helped herself to) that day. 

Yesterday was a day with no schedule and it was great!  It was so nice having the day off from work and have some extra time to run errands, clean the house and surprise Steve by washing his filthy car inside & out.  Avery and I went shopping at two of my favorite stores - Dollar Tree & Tuesday Morning.  As usual, everything I bought was for Avery.  On the down side, Avery asked for her silky all day yesterday and even sat in her closet digging through her basket of blankets trying to find it.  It was breaking my heart and I kept thinking how "mean" it was to take something away from her that she loves so much and brings her comfort.  I almost gave it back to her last night, but didn't want to be the one to cave.  I'm torn with this decision . . . . what should I do? 

It's now Tuesday and 2 hours into daycare and I have no kids here yet.  There is only 1 child who may show up later in the day, the rest are on vacation, so I'm going to try and get some laundry done, and if I'm lucky, maybe a little scrapbooking!

Avery is still asking for her silky . . .

Add A Comment: Your Name:

Please enter the number below:

05/21/09 - What I thought would be a quick stop at Kohl's yesterday to get a pair of black shorts turned out to be an hour long process.  They were in the midst of having a HUGE clearance sale and the store was jam-packed.  They had no carts left, so I had to carry Avery or let her walk through the store, which takes even longer.  The women's dressing room was full, so we headed over to the children's dressing room.  I only had 2 pair of shorts to try on, so we'd be in & out of there in no time.  While we were in the dressing room (which was full of mom's and kids) Avery decided to bust out singing her new favorite song . . . Katy Perry's "Hot & Cold".  The song starts out . .  ."You change your mind, like a girl changes clothes.  And you PMS, like a B****, I would know".  And unfortunately, those first two lines are Avery's favorite . . . probably because when she surprised us the first time with the lyrics, daddy burst out into belly laughter hearing his daughter say the "b" word.  I took a video of Avery singing this about a week ago, and I'm not sure if I want to laugh or cry at it.  Needless to say, when the coast was clear, we BOLTED from the dressing room!  

Avery's newest trick is being able to open the refrigerator door.  She can't seem to get the kitchen one open, but the refrigerator in the laundry room happens to be our beverage fridge and now she just helps herself to juice boxes any time she feels like it.  Grrr!!  :o(  I guess we'll be looking into getting a refrigerator lock.     

Add A Comment: Your Name:

Please enter the number below:

Add A Comment: Your Name:

Please enter the number below:

5/17/09 - This past Thursday evening the 3 of us jumped in our pool for the first time this "summer".  It was so nice to be in it again, and Avery picked right up where we left off last summer - loving the water and putting up a fight when we had to get out.  It was a little different this year compared to last because last year Avery was just learning to walk.  This year she was walking all over the baja step all by herself and even wanted to "swim" all by herself.  Unfortunately, she seems to take after mommy with her sinus issues and woke up Friday morning with very irritated sinuses from the chlorine. 

Avery was miserable all day Friday, but managed to cheer up a bit Friday night when Grandma & Grandpa Maize & cousin Jordan came over to celebrate a belated Mother's Day with us.  We ordered in pizza and Avery & her cousin Jordan provided the entertainment.  They dressed up in hats, beads, sunglasses & dancing shoes and danced & lip-synced to music until it was almost bedtime. 

Saturday morning daddy played in a golf tournament, and Avery & I met up with my sister & brother-in-law at the Ford dealership.  I took my truck in for an oil change & detail service, so they drove us back home and on our errand runs.  We floated around on the pool rafts for almost 2 hours while Avery napped, then all went out for dinner once daddy got home from golfing.  Avery was still not feeling like herself, and ended up having a lovely meltdown at the restaurant. 

The swim school finally opened and called us Friday night to let us know swimming lessons were on for Saturday morning.  I decided it probably wouldn't be the best scenario to start Avery on her first day of swimming lessons when she was whiny, crabby and had a bad cold.  Hopefully she'll feel better this week and we can start this Saturday.

Add A Comment: Your Name:

Please enter the number below:

5-13-09:  Avery just got off the phone talking to daddy at work, which she does every day.  She always gives daddy the same "sign-off" which is "I love you, bye-bye" and hangs up.  Today . . . was different.  Avery decided to end the conversation with "I love you dude, bye-bye"!! 

Add A Comment: Your Name:

Please enter the number below:

5/12/09 - We decided we were going to celebrate Mother's Day on Saturday, so the plan was for the 3 of us to go up to my parent's so I could celebrate with my mom.  Steve ended up getting sick in the night on Friday night, not sure if it was the flu, or bad Mexican food.   Avery & I didn't want to take any chances getting sick, so we decided to head up to my parent's house & spend the night there.  We went to Sat. evening mass, then out to Red Robin for dinner.  My dad had a coupon for a free birthday dinner and as a little surprise to him, the wait staff came out clapping and singing with an ice cream sundae complete with a lit candle.  My dad was pretty embarassed, but Avery thought it was great!  She & Grandpa shared the ice cream and thoroughly enjoyed it.  After dinner we headed back to my parent's house and played for a while, then Grandpa babysat while Grandma & I went and did a little shopping. 

Sunday morning we woke up, went out for breakfast, then headed to the train park for a few train & carousel rides.  It was getting close to naptime, so Avery & I headed back home so she could take a nap.  Daddy & Avery surprised me with some really sweet cards, and an Ed Hardy Life, Love & Luck perfume gift set & tote bag.  For dinner, I decided that I wanted a salad from Outback - my FAVORITE SALAD in the whole world . . . nothing fancy, but the ingredients are so crisp and fresh.  I am not a huge cucumber fan, but there is something about their cucumbers...they are sooo good . . . and the garlic croutons & ranch dressing are to die for!  Then I used my gift card that I won on my birthday for AJ's to buy some yummy desserts to top off the evening.  It was a very nice weekend . . . .  and then I ruined it Monday morning when I stepped on the scale . . . .

Add A Comment: Your Name:

Please enter the number below:

Add A Comment: Your Name:

Please enter the number below:

4/26/09 - We had a fun weekend.  Yesterday Avery & I participated in the MADD (Mother's Against Drunk Driving) walk in honor of our special friend, Candace.  We walked the 5K with Candace's mom, sister's and nephew through the Phoenix Zoo.  It was a beautiful day for a walk, and we were honored Candace's family asked us to participate with them.  After we finished the walk, we took a little rest at the zoo's splash pad.  Avery has never experienced a splash pad before, so Candace's sister Katie showed Avery the ropes.  Avery had a great time watching the water pop up and splash her.  We ended the morning with a carousel ride & kettle corn!  YUM!

Today Grandma & Grandpa came down to visit.  My parents, Avery & I went to Lowe's and Home Depot to get a new rose bush, Lantana, and a flower pot & flowers to set on my new table & chairs.  I also bought a bunch of squirt bottles for the daycare kids.  Now that it's warm out, they are having a blast getting "misted" with the hose, so I thought they'd enjoy their very own "mist bottle".  After we were done planting, I BBQ'd a London Broil, and had baked potatoes, salad, sourdough rolls & apple pie pizza for dessert.  It was another gorgeous day to be outside!

Add A Comment: Your Name:

Please enter the number below:

4/22/09 - With a few doses of antibiotics, Avery & I are feeling much better!  Thankfully, we had nothing on our agenda last weekend, so we could rest and get the house cleaned & free of germs!

We have Avery signed up to start swimming lessons next week.  We were supposed to start in March, but we are registered at a swim school that is opening a brand new pool, and with construction delays, their grand opening is a few weeks behind.  Avery is already asking when she can go in our pool, so I hope it works out to be a great experience for her.  She loves the bathtub and shower and doesn't mind water getting into her eyes, so I think that's a good start!

Avery has done some things lately that make me smile & laugh. 

1) A month or two ago, I noticed she started calling me Mrs. Jennifer.  I thought it was just a phase, but it seems to have stuck.  Whenever we are home or out and about and she can't see me, I hear "MRS. JENNIFER ...... WHERE ARE YOU?" or "Come on Mrs. Jennifer".  I tell her that I am "mommy", and she can call me "mommy" but I guess she thinks if the daycare kids can call me Mrs. Jennifer, then she can too. 

2) Avery has not been wanting to lie down when it's naptime, so I told her that if she isn't going to sleep, she needs to sit in her bed and have quiet time with her Elmo's.  Each day I listen via the baby monitor to her teaching her 3 Elmo dolls about lessons in life.  Yesterday I heard her pushing the buttons on her Baby Einstein music thing to the fast songs and asking Elmo if he liked the music.  Today when I put her in her bed for naptime, I turned on the soothing classical music and she jumped up, switched it to the fast songs and said "Elmo's songs, mommy!" 

3) Avery loves the Wiggles and has for some time.  After watching the same DVD's over and over for the last 2 years, I recently discovered the Wiggles have a tv show on the Disney channel.  I let Avery watch it each morning, and the daycare kids have gotten to like them too.  Today my oldest daycare child started dancing around to their little show and I asked him if he liked the Wiggles.  He told me yes, then started to tell me how he like the other one better.  I realized he was talking about Greg - the original yellow Wiggle that has been replaced by Sam (due to Greg's health).  I was explaining to him that Greg is no longer on the show because he was sick and got too tired from all of the dancing and needed to take a break, etc. etc.  Then my daycare child asked if he had to go to the hospital, along with some other questions, which turned into a 15 minute discussion.   About 4 hours later, Avery was looking at her Wiggles book and was asking the picture of Greg the yellow Wiggle in a very concerned voice "Siiiiiick?  Hospital???  Tired?  Take a break?"  It was pretty cute. 

Add A Comment: Your Name:

Please enter the number below:

Add A Comment: Your Name:

Please enter the number below:

4/14/09 - Today has been a fun day!  To start the morning off, I listened to 99.9 KEZ this morning to hear my name & birthday announced on the daily birthday segment.  My mom enters our names every year and I'm usually never up in time to hear it.  Today I woke up extra early to listen . . . . and guess what?  I won their birthday prize . . .  a gift card to AJ's!  I won the prize the year Avery was born too - that year it was a floral arrangement from Cactus Flowers.  At about 6:45 a.m. my phone started ringing like crazy.  I received birthday greetings from my parents, grandparents, in-laws, sister, and my friends . . . it was great!  Then my first daycare child shows up with a gorgeous plant and a lemon pudding cake!  I couldn't resist having lemon cake for breakfast.  :o)  Once Avery woke up, she & daddy went to the store to get me a very special card.  Daddy let Avery choose the card by herself . . . it is a Thomas the Train card that beeps when you open it.  The front says "For the Birthday Boy"!!!  Oh well - it's the thought that counts, right?  Steve & Avery went and got Happy Meals for lunch for the daycare kids since it's a  very special day. 

Today is also a very bittersweet day.  Not only is it my 34th birthday, but my dear friend Mary's daughter, Candace would have been 34 today too.  Not a day goes by without me thinking of Candace, her little son and husband, and her mother and my friend, Mary.  When Avery is a little older and can better understand, we will tell her why we chose to name her Avery Candace.  For now, when we look at Candace's picture sitting on a little shelf above Avery's bed, we tell her Candace is our special friend in heaven . . . and Avery's guardian angel.   

Add A Comment: Your Name:

Please enter the number below:

Add A Comment: Your Name:

Please enter the number below: