Trip to Nashville - Sari and Owen

Sari

Owen

These are some of the pics I took this weekend on our trip to Nashville. We had such a great time relaxing at the pool with Preston and Karen and the kids. Ava is always having a good time when there are other kids around. Sari is 7 months and is absolutely the happiest baby I've ever seen. I could blog 20 pictures I took of her smiling - adorable! Owen is all little boy - playing with his train set and chasing torpedos to the bottom of the pool - so much fun! I'm going to blog a few more, but these were a few of my favorites of the kids.

Cauliflower and Cheerios & French Fries Dipped in Applesauce

Ahhhhhh yes - food experimentation has begun. Two days ago I watched as she plunked her pile of cheerios right into the middle of her bowl of cauliflower trees and began eating by the handfuls without batting an eyelash. Then today she wanted to dip her french fries in the applesauce just like mommy was dipping hers in ketchup. Apparently she will not grow up to be a chef.... or maybe she will.

Along with her varying food choices, she has developed what we call a bit of an opinion. For those of you who know me well, I know it will be shocking to hear my daughter is opinionated... what can I say? Feisty? Independant? Call it what you want. My mom used to ask me, "but wouldn't you rather have child with a little spunk and independance, than a child who does whatever you say and relies on you for everything." I used to answer quickly - I definitely want the independant child. Notice I said 'used to.' After the past five days I may not answer so quickly. Ava has decided she knows what she wants and the word 'no' brings about a dramatic episode beginning with some weepy eyes and loud sobs and finishes with a slow motion throwing of her body to the ground. And when she's really upset she throws her head onto my lap as if to say 'why are you doing this to me mommy?' I find myself wondering how she is possibly at this point already. She's only a 13 months old. 13 months!

Consistent. Be consistent with your discipline. That's what all the parenting books and magazines and grandparents say. And before I had children I used to say it myself. That would be so much easier if she was consistent and if my emotions didn't get in the way. And I ask myself over and over 'is THIS something that is worth the battle?' Dropping things on the floor? Playing with the remotes and the cell phone? Climbing up the slide (with my help)? Picking the flowers? Playing in the dirt? Feeding herself the yogurt? Playing with the toilet paper roll? Opening and closing the cabinets? Every thing she does all day long I ask myself - Will this be a problem later? Will I have wish I never let her do this? If I don't let her do it am I not letting her experiment and play? Am I letting her manipulate me into doing this? Of course, there are some things that are just an absolute 'no', but she is already discovering there are grey areas.

Anyone out there with any advice - give it to me! It is no doubt going to be a busy and boundary testing summer and I need all the help I can get.

Can I sit on the table too Narma?

Emme came over today and we made Father's Day cards. Emme calls me Narma because when she first started talking she couldn't say Marcia and now it has stuck. Now that summer is here, she comes to play with Ava on the mornings her mom works. Ava loves every minute of it! I, however, am totally exhausted by the time Tierny comes and I find myself wondering how stay at home mother's find a moment of peace. I suppose they don't. But tonight, when Ava snuggled in a big ball on my lap and laid her head on my chest and the rocking chair swayed back and forth, I realized too things... 1 - it's worth it and 2 - I've never felt so peaceful.

Schools out for summer!

The words to this song have been floating through my head for 2 days now. I am officially done and though I'm so excited to have time to spend working on things at home and hanging out with Ava, I'm already feeling a little lonely.

In the past couple of months I've been thinking a lot about the fact that I have, since the day I was born and up until I married Greg, always lived with other women. And, being the social person that I am, this had worked very well for me. Women love to talk, share in conversation, and listen to other women's stories. But lately I have found a longing for that kind of closeness. Greg, wonderful man that he is, has to process every word that comes out of my mouth before he can formulate a response. For those of you that know how quickly I process and converse, you can imagine the frustration I feel when trying to communicate with him. I can only imagine the overwhelming feeling he must have in trying to sort through the thousands of thoughts that fly out of my mouth at any given moment.... and I appreciate his attempts. But, it isn't the same and I find myself missing those kinds of conversations. The ones women have that go on and on for hours and seem to have no lull, but continue seamlessly into the night.

There are three women with which I have had such conversations over and over again and my heart longs to see them. To sit on a porch in the summer night and talk about nothing and about everything all at once. The summers used to be filled with such nights and I find myself wondering lately why I don't have those friendships now. Is it because I'm older? Is it because I'm busier? Is it because the opportunity and time it takes to forge such a close friendship no longer exists for me? I don't know the answer, but it is the question of my heart right now.

I love you ladies - you know who you are and I miss you deeply.

Trip to Grammys...

Today we chased the ducks and played in the sprinkler! What fun!

Helping Daddy with his new mower

Just some proof that she is walking. It amazes me how much she falls, but never fusses, just gets right back up and keeps going. She walked all the way from the swingset, through the gate to the front yard, and to the middle of the cul de sac tonight and she must have fallen every 7 or 8 steps, but nothing stopped her, she just kept right on moving. All I can say is that must be one sore tushy!

Summer is here!

I am anxiously awaiting my last day of school - a week from today! My husband always makes fun of teachers not having real jobs because we get the summer off. I always tell him that it's either the summer off or life in prison because if teachers don't get a break - they may be forced to end the life of a child. All joking aside, it is time for a break! I am ready to hang out with the peanut for a few months, get some work done around the house, and relax and read a few good books. Although, now that Ava is on her feet, I'm guessing the only work I will be getting done is during naps. Luckily for me she usually takes 2 good long naps a day. The problem is that when she is resting I want to be resting too. Ahhhhhh... it's good to only have the small stresses of life. Life is good...

Happy 1st Birthday Ava Grace!

Mommy and Daddy love you and couldn't imagine our lives without you.
May God bless you with many more years as wonderful as this one.
Happy 1st Birthday!

so much personality... so little time

What a face...

This is our friend's daughter, Emme. I was thinking I would write something about Emme's personality here, but I think the pictures say it all. She has always had this look about her - even when she was bald and first born. The curls and the small gap between her front teeth have just been the icing on the cake. Hope you enjoy these pictures of her as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Heading into the traveling green bean caserole era...

Today Greg and I rearranged and cleaned out our kitchen cabinets as our little one has found her feet and her curiosity. We moved all dangerous objects to unreachable cabinets and tupperware and junk drawer playables to reachable areas. All other cabinets were given a safety lock. The title of this blog comes from a comment Greg made that made me laugh out loud. We were deciding about what we needed to get rid of from our pots and pans cabinet. Somewhere from the back he pulled out one of those traveling warmers for a 9x13 pan. I could see him contemplating whether this was a keeper or a goodwill item when he says "We'll need this since we are heading into the traveling green bean caserole era."

When people say that children change your life forever, you always imagine it as a sleepless, but full of love sort of change. But I've realized that isn't what they mean at all. It means that everything that used to be simple in your life has now become complicated. Every decision you make, every item that you set down, every minute that you spend for yourself... all of that is tied to this little person. Two weekends ago we put up gates that now have to be opened and closed every time we walk up the stairs. Today we put plastic tabs on the cabinets and we will never open a cabinet the same again. Every time a waitress sets something down at our table I wonder how hot it is and make sure it's out of reach. Every time I walk out the door I ask myself... diaper? wipes? bottle? snack? sippy cup? toy? Last Saturday morning I got my daughter dressed, loaded her up, and went to the grocery store in my pajamas... didn't even brush my hair. I made myself coffee, but I didn't brush my hair. Coffee is way more important! Children really do change EVERYTHING! I hope this doesn't sound like complaining because I truly do love every bit of her and tomorrow when she is unloading her new tupperware cabinet I will laugh out loud watching her enjoy a simple piece of plastic.

Ava's solution...

Here was Ava's solution to the crawling in a dress problem - hike those knees up girl!

Happy Easter!

Here is Ava in her Easter dress from Grammy. Why do we feel the need to torture our children? As much as I love this dress, Ava hated it! Can you tell? This is something I wish someone would have shared with me before I bought her all kinds of dresses... baby girl's can't crawl in a dress that is longer than their knees. Their knees get caught and they end up face planting every time they try. She has piles of dresses she's never worn because if I put them on her I have to listen to her scream all day. They shouldn't even sell dresses like this until they are walking age! It's depressing to pack up a pile full of skirts and dresses with the tags still attached. So, to you mother's shopping for cute spring dresses for your crawling baby - put them back - wait until next year!

Emme and Ava sharing some peach puffs.

The toad in our pond.

Emme and the toad... give him a kiss!

Playing on the porch... who needs toys when there are holes in the wood!

ahhhhhhhh springtime!

How can this little teeny tiny person bring so much big huge joy to our lives? I know all of these pictures are of her smiling, but she really is that happy... which can only rub off on the people around her. The warm weather has also put a smile on everyone's face these days. The flowers are all blooming, Greg mowed the lawn for the first time today and I washed all the winter dirt off the windows. Emme (almost 3) came over and her and Ava were introduced to their first toad... two of them in fact... who had made a new home of the water that had filled up our pond from the rain the day before. (I'll blog those pics in a second) Ava also got her first experience with bubbles... I was unable to capture any pictures as I was the bubble blower, but she was in heaven. I decided that bubbles were sort of a mean trick to play on a little one as I watched Ava concentrate to try and pick them off the carpet. She would concentrate harder and harder with each one hoping that she could pick up just one and hold it in her hand. No luck... they just kept popping. She did however like it when they would come at her face and pop on her nose and cheeks, so we tried to stick with that game. There is something about a baby that makes you discover the world for the first time. I've seen kids play with bubbles over and over again throughout my life, but watching my own see them for the very first time made me enjoy them even more than I ever have before. I don't remember the first time I experienced bubbles or grass or a toad, but I feel like it was today. It's springtime, take a little time to discover something all over again for the first time!