Splash Pad Holiday

We've never been big Memorial Day planners. If something interesting comes up, we'll attend. Otherwise, we enjoy Luke's day off of work quietly, but we're learning that kids make most everything more fun and they give us an excuse to enjoy things like splash pads.

We called up my sister and her hubby, picked up sandwiches, and headed out to Leander for some splash pad fun with Avery. She's been pool-shy this season, so we thought this would be more enjoyable for her (and it doesn't require a swimsuit for this preggo mama). It took her a few laps around the edge of the pad to become comfortable with the other kids and the water shooting up everywhere, but she eventually ventured in, tested the water with her toes, and then sat underneath one of the spray pipes. 

always finding something to climb on

milk and grilled cheese break

The men stayed in the shade, but the gals joined Avery for a bit, avoiding all major splash pipes and buckets. 

me looking quite a bit rounder than my sister - 25 weeks

Avery then caught sight of swings in the distance, so a quick change later, we headed over to the playground. 

We all crashed for a nap at my sister's in the afternoon before parting ways to get Avery fed and bathed and down for the night. Thanks for being spontaneous Nick and Shell!

Avery-isms

Avery is cracking us up these days with the things she says. Some are funny, some we're working on teaching her how to respond appropriately instead.

"No, MINE bouncy ball!" (Said as she's staring into the oven door so she can see what she looks like when she says it)

"How about...?" For instance, the other day I told her no, she couldn't watch a movie, and she responded with "How about Caillou?" and a grin

"Good job, Mommy!" when I opened her string cheese packet

"Kick it so high!" - the big exercise ball

"Yeah, mmm-hmmm."

"More tickle, all done tickle"

"Let's go!" when we're off to do something that excites her. Today it was going to brush her teeth with her toothpaste.

"Flush?!" She gets SO mad if I flush the toilet and fail to let her do it for me. She'll run into the bathroom and stand there just bouncing with excitement at the prospect of flushing. Thankfully she understands that we only need to flush once, at the appropriate time, so that I'm not catching her flushing all day just for fun. Phew!

Nesting and Other Symptoms

Last time I was pregnant, I was working full-time and rarely home, or when at home - I slept, non-stop, because of the hours and type of work I was doing (on my feet, all day, lifting, bending, carrying). The nesting instinct didn't seem to kick in like I thought it would. This time around I'm home with Avery, and I can finally see what nesting is really like. I have to say, it makes me do some very ODD things.

For instance, this weekend I tackled lots of items with a toothbrush. I sat down and scrubbed the one spot that is hard to clean in our shower. Luke is normally the one who takes over bathroom-cleaning duties when I'm pg, but he just misses some things, like the weird spot in the shower, or the dusty baseboards...things that drive me crazy to look at day in and day out.

I also pulled out the toothbrush to get rid of the spots on the (not-so) awesome rental carpet we're sporting these days. Now they're a weird bleached color thanks to the oxi-clean in the carpet cleaner, but it's better than before. I might need to negotiate a professional cleaning from the apartment office before the baby comes.

I organized the books on our shelf by color.

I sew like a madwoman some days.

I recruited my mom to help me move furniture in the kids' room, and our room is next in the line-up for reorganization.

I sit and stare at a spot for up to 10 minutes, trying to decide what (if anything) needs to be done to it. Nothing is safe.

I also find that projects are left half-done...I get the one thing most critical done, and then my energy peters out. Avery's room is reorganized, but her closet needs some maintenance, plus I have to make room for the baby clothes in her dresser. The spot in the shower is clean, but the rest of the shower missed this week's scheduled cleaning. I have half-finished sewing projects, with new ones being added. We cleared out a desk, but everything is sitting in a paper bag waiting for a new home. Dishes made it through the dishwasher, but anything hand-washed was left. Laundry was washed, but didn't make it to the dryer.

And, my brain function, it's slowing WAY down. I almost put a bag of tortilla chips in the fridge today. Avery wears fur-lined crocs in the 100 degree heat and I think it's a good idea, because they're quick to put on. I have a package to mail to someone, and it's 3 weeks late - I walk by it daily and the thought doesn't cross my mind to actually take it to the post office. I failed to notice that my shirt was completely see-through last week and went all day like that. I don't think I've brushed my hair in a week - it gets washed, it air dries, I leave it.

Let's hope that I get my act together sometime before the baby comes to finish things, and that I find my brain again for the safety of all my children.

Transformation

Today marked the first day of summer Bible study, and we opened up with an icebreaker on how we are the same and different from our high school selves. I thought about it after, on the way home, and realized I've come pretty far from my original goal of wanting to be a doctor (this was the long-standing dream from childhood). I had ALWAYS wanted to be a pediatrician, and started at Baylor pre-med. I think I switched to the pre-PA (physician's assistant) track with a major in Nutrition during my first semester. I knew I wanted to have kids eventually, years down the road, so I knew med school didn't fit that dream well enough. But PA - that I could do! And then I hit organic chemistry, and opted to just focus on nutrition - I was going to be a dietitian, still helping people, still in the medical field, and I could still focus on pediatrics. And then I had a crisis after college graduation because of a snafu with placement in the dietetic internships, and somehow I eventually ended up at culinary school.

In summary, the process:

Doctor (help kids, lots of money, prestige) --> PA (sort-of a doctor, help kids, decent money, prestige) --> Dietitian (at least still in the medical field, worked REALLY hard at this route taking on extra work in summers for experience in the field, help kids, some money, some prestige) --> Pastry Chef (make kids fatter, not in the medical field at all, it's a novelty to people, I'm in a ton of school debt) --> Mom (left the job to raise the kids, negative money, poop and puke, but I'm also: in the medical field, I'm helping kids, Avery thinks I'm awesome).

How did I get here?!

So, I kid, really, because I see where God has worked in my life and it's been such an encouragement to me to see his hand guiding me and shaping me to be the best version of my self (still a long continual process because I am way off mark even yet). He's taken the initial interests and tweaked them, some a lot, some just a little. The money was never a deciding factor for me, it was just interesting to see the downward spiral of my potential income. He could have led me down any number of paths, but this is the one I'm on, and I'm thoroughly enjoying the ride. It was a slow process in changing my mindset, dealing with the "why" and "what went wrong", and changing it into joy in the moment, a calling to be a mom and a godly example to my children and to enjoy it. He took the decision out of my control and blessed us with Avery a few years into the marriage (as a surprise). And looking back on this, and looking at where I am now, I've never felt more at peace with who I am and where I am.

Though, if we're talking seriously...God, a bigger home would be nice, preferably one where I don't share walls with a neighbor! :)

Sewing Projects

I've been bit by the sewing bug. I've had a machine for 4 or 5 years, and I only dabbled in it on occasion - I was intimidated and didn't know where to start. Last year, I made this with the help of my mom, which instilled a lot of confidence in me and then in the past couple of months I've become addicted. Some friends and I have a sewing night every few weeks, but I've been working on projects more at naptime and after Avery goes to bed.

sprucing up some old burp cloths - more on the way when I can get more thread

new larger nursing cover, because Avery was an acrobatic nurser and I flashed more people than I should have

complete with terry cloth pocket, which needs some adjustments because it's a little too loose

And - the one I'm most proud of - a throw-size rag quilt for Avery's big girl bed

rag quilt back

I've also whipped up a drool bib for the baby and a pillowcase dress for Avery, which is still in need of the ribbon ties. I have a whole set of projects in queue, just waiting for a chance to get to the store for more fabric.

♥

Baby Love

Our girl is becoming more aware of babies and baby things these days, in a good way. I'm hoping that her love for the baby doll translates to love for the little brother or sister.

She discovered the bassinet and has helped herself into on many an occasion when my back is turned.

 

All morning she's had a conversation with herself, or her baby, with running commentary such as this, "Good-night baby, sweet dreams baby...goodnight hug, goodnight kiss...sweet dreams...all done sweet dreams...lovie blanket baby...." The baby has been put to bed in the bassinet, on the couch, on the floor, on the coffee table, under the lovie, under the blanket, on top of both, with Avery on top of her (have to watch that one when the real baby arrives!!), with multiple hugs and kisses and then tossing about by the arm or leg. It's sweet to see her pretend and play in her own little world.

Birthday Weekend

"more cup-cake!"

"smoomies" - the first run in the VitaMix. This machine rocks.

the paint missed the paper by a wide margin

Birthdays these days are kind of anti-climactic. A trip to the store by yourself can be the best.gift.ever. Sleeping in ranks even higher. Luke cooked pancakes for breakfast, much to Avery's delight, and I got to sleep in til 10 (!), waking to a barricade of chairs in front of my bedroom door because Avery knows how to open doors and the lock is broken. My sister came over and surprised me with cupcakes (I broke my no-sugar rule for the big day - everyone needs cake on their birthday), though Avery had the most fun with them. Last night Luke and I had a dinner/movie date, and the fun continues when I get a massage on Wednesday. Avery and Luke also worked on a craft project for me - a nature painting, though Luke had to finish it by himself because Avery decided that she didn't like her hands being dirty and we had to wash them off. So, 28 didn't bring much hoopla like 16 or 21 did, but it was the sweetest of them all.

Outside Fun

Avery always gets dirt on the tip of her nose when we play outside.

Who needs an eraser for chalk when your shorts can do it for you?!

Uh-oh, where's Avery?!

There she is! She's so sneaky.

Oldies but Goodies

I was pulling a few pics off my mom's camera from our spontaneous trip to visit my parents this week, and I found some old pics of Avery. Oh my, I had forgotten just how bad that haircut was!! These were taken about 11 months ago.

Peach and berry picking

Keys are still a favorite, a year later

And, some funnies from February:

Today's Reasons Why I'm Crazy About Her

1. She sat in her little reading chair and read her counting book, only this time instead of just naming the animals on the pages, she said "quiet walk, quiet talk, tea". The book starts out "One is good for a quiet walk, two is right for a quiet talk, three is nice for having tea...."

2. She told me her lovie was driving the scooter, as she laid it gently over the handlebars. Later today, she gently placed it on the handlebars again, buried her face in it, and blindly drove the scooter as fast as she could into the doorway, repeatedly, laughing hysterically each time. 

3. She skipped over the yummy chicken salad salad I made, and dipped dry cereal in the dressing instead.

4. Every time she asks for something, and you repeat it back to her to clarify, she responds with "yeah" and the most hopeful look on her face.

5. She thinks the monkeys hanging off Noah's ark in her book are in trouble and acts very worried about them. We can't leave the page until she is completely sure they aren't going to fall into the flood.

6. We've read Click Clack Moo approximately 472 times since Monday. She stares at the page where Farmer Brown is furious for a very long time. I think she's worried about the cows.

7. D-Dad came to town for a couple hours for work and treated us to lunch, and she squealed with excitement when she first laid eyes on him. She then ate a bowl of sour cream for lunch, with a couple bites of quesadilla for good measure.

8. Buckles are her favorite thing, and she proceeded to buckle every stroller in Baby Earth today.

9. She smacked her lips when she gave kisses today. This also means her kisses are more slobbery.

10. She's finally tall enough to put the key in the lock (which means I don't have to lift her and hold her while helping her figure it out), and she unlocked the door with only minor assistance from me.

11. I told her Daddy would be home soon, and she yelled, "Lock!" and ran over to the front door to unlock it for him.

12. While Luke was picking out pjs for her to wear tonight, we noticed that she was pretending to fill her teacups with water from her play kitchen faucet so she could drink them. Apparently she shared some of her yummy water with Daddy after I left the room.

13. She colored on her Magna-Doodle with her crayons...not sure when this happened, but we discovered it tonight. Anyone know how to remove crayon marks? At least it wasn't the walls!

14. She always leaves the house fully accessorized, and all jewelry tends to remain in the car for days as she takes it off bit by bit. We never return back home with her wearing the same type or amount of jewelry.

High Praise

Something must have stuck with Avery after our potty-training attempt, because tonight she looked at me (as I was using the restroom), and proudly stated, "Good job, Mommy!"

Quitting Time

Day 4, 10:15 am


You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em...

I'm pulling the plug on this potty training thing. She is SO distraught this morning over it that we're just done. I don't want to scare her so much that she won't ever do it, so even though she showed great promise last night, it's over. She seemed to show all the signs of being ready, so we thought we'd try, but it's not worth it if it causes her so much heartache. We'll wait a few months and try again.

Can I Outsource This?

I think they have those doggie obedience schools where you send the dog off and he comes back completely trained. Sometimes I wish I could do that with Avery. Like during potty training.

Day 2
Tears all around. I had to give myself a time-out at one point. I began to think I wasn't cut out for this, much less parenting in general. Ready to give up.

Day 3
We took a break, risked regression (as if you could regress from zero success) and put a diaper on her, and drove a meal down to a friend and popped in at a playdate to visit another friend visiting from out of state (Hi, EMU and Bop!). She sacked out in the car on the way home, because it's been an exhausting 3 days, and after a quick lunch, down for a nap, in which she didn't nap. So up again, back to full-force potty training, and after 2 accidents, we had nothing but success the rest of the afternoon! The winning strategy? Keep her favorite shows on repeat so that she sat on the potty until she went, and then went again, and again. Full emptying here. I was so proud of her!! Now, we just need to work on getting her up and moving around and realizing when to run to the potty.

For Realz

Potty Training: Day 1

I'm going to let you in on the mess of today. No need to put down food...nothing that will make you squeamish, hopefully. If you could care less about the bathroom activities of my two year old, please visit again in a few days. But, so I can remember this in 25-30 years, when Avery is possibly potty training her own child, I'm documenting the weekend.

No successes, by potty standards. We had one "finish" in the potty as we flew her bottom over to her little toilet. She got a sticker. We sang and danced. We high-fived. This was half-way through the day, after 2 accidents on our well-protected floors and lots of practice sitting. She napped, wearing a cute cloth pull-up I found on Etsy, and finally pooped. Just a small one, because she'd been holding it all. day. long.

After nap, she kept yelping and crossing her legs and saying "diaper change" and she'd even run to sit on the potty by herself sometimes, but she refused to go in it. Every single time. So, we had another wet accident.

I think by the end of the day we had 4 accidents total. But, she isn't minding sitting on the potty, especially if we prop her up with books or pull the laptop down and let her watch a few minutes of a movie. We sing a lot and practice our This Little Piggy or Itsy Bitsy Spider. She was given stickers for voluntarily sitting on the potty, for running to the potty when the timer went off, or for even just sitting there happily. If she'll pee or poop in it, I might even bring out the M & Ms. Lucky girl.

The logistics of set-up: We started the day with one all-weather blanket (waterproof), another old blanket, and tons of old towels. About an hour into it I ran to the store and picked up plastic drop cloths and carpet cleaner, thanks to accident #1. She went right NEXT to the all-weather blanket, instead of on it, and certainly not in the potty. We layed down the plastic and put the towels and blankets back over them. And we washed laundry all day long, cycling towels out. Notice the pile of clothes and towels on the couch? Her little potty migrated between the living room and the kitchen, wherever she was playing. We wanted something nearby in case we couldn't get her to her bathroom in time. We'll eventually bring everything to the bathroom after a couple days and hopefully get rid of our CPS (carpet protection system). She's allowed to run around with nothing on her rear end for the next 3 days, unless we venture out for a short trip to the playground.

We aren't attempting night-time training yet, so diapers still for that. I'll be using cloth pull-ups for naptime for the foreseeable future, and if we have to take a car trip this week.

Part of me is creeped out by a toilet in our main living space, but it can't be any grosser than pee on my carpet, so I'm going with it.

Easter 2011

Luke's family has a big Easter get-together every year at the ancestral homeland in Louisiana. His grandparents open their home to whoever wants to come, and we made the trek out there this year. It's a LONG drive for us, but it's so fun to be removed from crazy everyday life and spend some time in the country, surrounded by family and REALLY good food.

His parents have a camphouse, The Estate, that we all stay at, while the rest of the cousins and such stay with the grandparents or in campers near the lake. We managed to fit 15 people plus 4 dogs in the camphouse, and we all shared one bathroom. Whoa.

relaxing in Great-Grandad's chair

sweet cousin Sidney - he is literally the happiest baby we've ever met

20 weeks! Luke loves when I wear this shirt, because the space between stripes are twice as wide in the front as in the back.

the youngest cousins enjoying breakfast together

Nana gave each of the kiddos their own beach chair. We love it!

Avery relaxing before church.

trying on her new jewels - apparently the necklace makes a better headband

 

I completely failed to get pics of any of the adults or the older cousins. Major fail. But, we had a blast playing all weekend. And Luke hid one egg so well that he offered $20 to whichever kid could find it first. They spent over an hour looking for this egg, and because they had such a hard time, he started selling clues for $4 off the total. They got down to $4 and still couldn't find the egg. It was buried in the ground, and Luke had to dig it up. The kids now all think he's a liar, because he told them it was blue, when really it was pink. He has the worst memory!

Good(Night) Moon

Avery's first favorite book was Goodnight Moon. We read it every single night before bed for probably 6 months straight. We've taken a break from it for awhile, but she pulled it out again yesterday, and we sat together on the couch for 20 minutes. I read through it once and then she pulled it onto her lap to "read" it herself. She's decided that the best use of time is finding the mouse on each room-scene page.

"Nother mouse! Kee-keet!" (translation - another mouse, squeak squeak!)
"Climb up, mouse!"
"Silly oatmeal! Silly mouse oatmeal!" (The mouse is peering over the bowl of mush, and she thinks it's the funniest thing in the world that he'd want to eat it.)

Her Favorite Book

These days we're reading a lot of this:

img source

Every morning I get a request, "Read, Boom Boom Shin?" How can you resist a request 1. to read? and 2. that sounds like that?!

To Tide You Over

The camera has been lost in dead-battery-limbo for days now, so all pics are stuck on there until we can get the charger. But, a couple weeks ago, when we had perfect spring-time weather, we spent EVERY evening outside, playing with the neighbors and riding scooters. Well, she rode the scooter. I sat on the blanket.

Um...

Avery seems to think that all sleeveless shirts belong off the shoulder. One day I caught her playing outside with the shirt hanging out around her waist. I informed her that as long as she lived in our house, she wouldn't be dressing like that, and I pray that she never attempts it when she's out of the house either.

Little Miss Houdini appeared again at lunch today:

Oh, hi. Um...

I can explain.

See...it's just that, well, the straps, you know...fell down or something.

Mooommm - just hear me out.

It's modest, I swear.