Avery decided this weekend that walking is much more exciting than the crawl. Presley is doing well, she just hasn't come to the same realization yet!

Happy Autumn!

A work(s) in progress

Unlike anything else so far, the walking progress is pretty much the same for both of them. It's going to be fun to see who conquers this stage first!

We started this year's Halloween festivities about 2 weeks before the actual holiday when Caleb's Superman costume arrived in the mail. There were many moments of the flying superhero beforehand!

Along with Superman, we also got to show off two adorable puppies...

These are Caleb's favorite

neighborhood friends...

This is Avery's famous pose...

The examination and taste testing of the goods...(I have vivid memories of dumping my candy out and looking at it!) Caleb willingly shared 5 pieces with both mom and dad. I'm sure next year, it will only be one each!

We went from this

to these,















in a year...AMAZING!
















"Want to taste mine?"

They loved their first chocolate experience!

Happy Birthday to my two favorite girls in the world!

My girls

Avery..

gives perfect "closed-mouth" kisses when she's in the mood

loves to point at the pictures in books, after she's unloaded the whole bookshelf on the floor

drinks her bottles in record time

utilized a unique rendition of crawling to get places quickly (her right leg is extended to the side and she uses her foot instead of her knee, it's kind of hard to explain)

says "uh-oh" every time she or someone else drops something

pushes cars on the floor while making a "vrrrroooom" sound effect

always has her hair in her face, unless mom has succeeded in putting a clip or rubber band in, which isn't very often

would crawl around all day on the pavement in the cul-de-sac (ouch!) if I'd let her

needs more sleep than her sister

understands and usually obeys when I say "sit on your bottom" (in the bathtub)

throws her bink back in her crib when she wakes up


Presley...

always has a bruise somewhere on her forehead (she doesn't understand "sit on your bottom" yet)

gives sweet, open-mouth kisses like Caleb used to do

loves to take her time drinking her bottle

shakes her head back and forth and smiles when I tell her "no"

is an early riser, takes forever to fall asleep for her naps, and is always the second one to bed at night

enjoys cuddling, especially before I put her in her crib

crawls well, but is pretty slow and methodical (her dad thinks she resembles a robot)

almost has both her two front teeth

is a daddy's girl

has begun to follow her sister as she walks around furniture

They both...

love to dance to the sound of just about anything

adore their big brother

have begun to play together and entertain each other, giggle together and kiss each other

let me know when they've had enough of each other and want mom to come rescue them

aren't content to just sit in the jogger stroller anymore, and if I give them a toy to hold it better be the same toy for each of them or a battle for the best toy will begin

understand the words "be soft" (something I have to remind them when they start tackling one another)

know and can point to where mom's or Caleb's eyes are

terrorize Jack

can scream in a very high-pitched tone, especially during mealtimes

are going to be ONE year old in a week!

My 3 1/2 year old

For the last two weeks, Caleb's been going to preschool and oh, how I wish I could be a fly on the wall during those three hours. He gets in the car after his day, smiles and tells me it was "good" and then no matter how many questions I ask on the way home, he doesn't have much more to say...until he decides he's ready. Brushing teeth before bed the other night he told me they say "different prayers" at school, "A B C prayers". On another random occasion he said, "Mom, Joshua was wearing a Handy Manny shirt at school!" Or, "Mom, I did my first painting at school today." If he's in the right mood, I can usually get a few more tidbits of information out of him like how he used purple, not yellow paint. One time it was "Mom, did you tell Mrs. Dunston AND Mrs. Johnson that I could go to the bathroom by myself?" He hadn't said his teacher's names until then, and it caught me off guard!
It makes me so happy that he is having a new experience with different people that he is beginning to trust. My heart overflows with emotion when he kisses me goodbye and jumps out of the car, holding on to his teacher's hand and not even looking back. I am proud of the 3 1/2 year old he's become and yet, wow, is he already old enough to be walking away from me like that? We saw one of his teachers in the hardware store and he was a little shy as she talked to us, but I could also tell he was so pleased that we saw HIS teacher. My Caleb is growing up so fast!

It was Caleb's request last spring that we grow a watermelon plant along with our tomato plants. The plant ended up taking over our small garden area, but produced only one good sized melon. It was pretty sweet, very juice and extremely fun to watch him eat what we grew!

Is it already time to eat again?

I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining, this is just a journal entry for myself so I can look back on it and be grateful I am past this stage (although I think this activity lasts for years...) It seems like I get both girls cleaned up (which includes hands, faces, ears, necks and hair) after they eat, along with their trays, their chairs, and the floor and I turn around and it's time to do it all over again! Also, other than the fact they are adorable and great eaters, the actual activity we do 3 times a day isn't all that enjoyable for me either. I haven't figured out how to feed three kids and myself all at the same time. Usually Caleb is whining, both girls are screaming for more and I'm running around the kitchen like a maniac. So, does anyone have any helpful suggestions?

A Mover and a Sitter!

A mover and a sitter! It's a good thing it's not two movers because I have really needed the refresher course on what a mobile baby means - and I'm glad I'm relearning before I have TWO eating dog food, going for the staircase, hanging onto my ankles and getting caught under the furniture!

Good purchase!

Because I can't realistically take all three kids to the swimming pool, I thought it would be fun to purchase this water playmat I saw in a catalog...I think it's going to be the best $19.95 I'll spend all summer! And yes, I bought the fun water thing before I bought bathing suits for the girls! When the hose is hooked up to it and turned on, water sprays up everywhere. That was Caleb's favorite part of course but the girls couldn't decide. They loved just hanging out in the little pool of water after the spray was gone, kicking and splashing. We all had a great time!

Our neighbors have a great swing set that they let us use whenever we want and in the late afternoon the trees in their yard provide some shade. So we braved the humidity and the mosquitos (yes, it's only the first week of June!) and had some fun taking pictures. The girls love to swing, especially when Caleb pushes them!

Here are "during" and "after" bathtime shots of Avery. Don't you just want to squeeze her? (I do all the time!) Now that the girls are sitting on their own I think I'll be able to give them baths more often (I think). The poor girls hardly know what it's like to be in the water cause I don't get them in the bathtub more than once a week! I still can't bathe them together though and I didn't feel comfortable taking my hands off Presley yet to get a good picture of her.

An eventful couple of days

Our good friends Josh and Kristina Rolph came to stay with us over the weekend. They live in Virginia, near DC and they made the 5 hour road trip down with their 17 month-old twin boys, Michael and Sam. So, we had five fun kiddos in our home. Caleb loved the boys and they loved him back. He definitely got a taste of what it's like to share all his stuff with busy little toddlers, which he'll be doing a lot of in the next year! We had a great time catching up with Josh and Kristina (after all the kids were in bed of course!)

Then on Monday afternoon Caleb was trying to tell me there was a hole in the carpet at the top of the stairs. I kept telling him there couldn't be a hole, and he kept insisting. It turned out the hole was the indentation in the carpet from the water drip that was coming from the ceiling. To make a long story a bit shorter, it turns out our water heater has caused a lot of damage. The ceiling and wall by the girls room and even the carpet was soaked. So some insurance restoration guys came this afternoon right after the girls had fallen asleep. I had to wake them so they could cut the wall, pull up carpet and install huge fans to dry everything out. So tonight I put them both to bed downstairs in the playnpacs in the guest room and we are still waiting for the water heater people to come and install a new one (they were supposed to be here 3 hours ago!). Who knows how long the fans and the mess and people coming to work on everything will be happening, so I guess my girls will learn to sleep together again...:)Anyway, we're a bit misplaced, but fine, and thankful for insurance and thankful that it didn't happen Saturday morning when our guests were arriving. We all would have had to go and get a hotel room together, ha ha.

I love this stage!

I've decided that my 6 1/2 month old girls are at an ideal stage that will disappear at any moment. They both love to sit up and play. Avery is the best at it, Presley still takes a dive once in a while. It's a perfect moment in their lives because they are happy and entertained easily while sitting there, and more importantly for mom, they SIT there and aren't moving all over the place yet. It is a fleeting moment...if Avery is on her stomach she is getting very good at rolling and turning and even scooting backward.

This was a very unlike-Caleb thing to do. He very rarely likes to get messy but I guess this banana split was just way too delicious. After he finished using his spoon, he gave it to his dad and picked up the bowl. We couldn't help but laugh out loud and of course that was all the encouragement he needed!

I have THREE kids!

Recently, I have become more ane more aware of the fact that I have three kids. I guess because I was pregnant just twice, or because two of my kids are the same age, my mindset has been skewed and it really hasn't hit me that I am a mother of three. Three is a lot! Three is a challenge! Three is fun! I am also starting to recognize how unique they each are.

Caleb got to hold a baby chick the other day and pet some other baby farm animals. And here he is in his fireman gear (he recently told us he wanted to be a fireman when he grows up and so for his "surprise for being good at bedtime for mom while dad was out of town", we got him some fireman gear.)

The girls have tried a few things to eat lately and Presley has very good manners compared to Avery. She's patient when it's her sister's turn to take a bite, she keeps most of it in her mouth, and she very rarely grabs the spoon.

However, unlike her sister, Avery has become a lot more mobile and independent. She is working on mastering the sit (with mom' s foot strategically placed) and loves to play play play on her tummy and stand up in the activity station.

Smiles

Caleb

Presley

Avery

These are the smiles I get to see every day - aren't they wonderful?