On one of the few nice days we had in May I took Harrison, Avery, and my nephews to the zoo. WHAT WAS I THINKING TAKING 4 KIDS UNDER 5 YRS OLD TO THE ZOO???
I thought I could handle it, and honestly I thought I did pretty well. I only lost them a few times in the reptile house, and we all left crying. I wouldn't say it was a success, but it was an experience.

We started the day out with kisses....

....and smiles

Hopefully they had fun!

Here are a few pictures from Avery's first birthday party! She loved being the center of attention.

...waiting for her cake.

.....fascinated with the candle.

...enjoying the messiness!

Here are her one year stats:
19 lb 2 oz
28 3/4 inches
45.5 cm head (she has a big head)
She has been taking steps since April 28 but really started walking on May 23rd!
She is a mess...into everything.
She eats anything...dirt, rocks, leaves, etc. It's kind of hard to be outside with her.
She likes to grab a phone and pretend like she's talking REALLY loud.
She still only has two little bottom teeth, but she chews and chews like she has a mouth full.
She is getting a little dramatic....who am I kidding...she's always been that way, but when you take something away from her she opens her mouth super wide and gives you the fakest cry. If she could talk I bet she'd be saying, "why why why would you ever take that away from me???"
She is so sweet at times too (more often than not) and she is such a lover and gives the sweetest hugs!

I have to post a funny story about Harrison. Today in nursery I was substituting for a lady and we were talking to the kids during snack time. They were eating animal crackers and one little girl said, "I bit this ones head off". Another little boy said, "I bit this ones bum off". And then Harrison held up his animal cracker lion and said, "I ate his wiener!" Not my proudest moment, but I couldn't help but crack up laughing. I love that kid.

Happy Birthday to Avery!

Our sweet baby girl is one! I can't even believe how fast she has grown. She has turned into a little tiny tornado just like her brother. We love you so much Avery.

A few of my favorite things about Avery:
She is so playful now
She loves to talk on the phone, mostly she just listens to whoever is talking to her and smiles and tries to kiss the phone.
She still has no hair, but it's ok because it keeps her looking like a baby. (I am trying to look at the positive :)
She likes to dance
She is so sweet to hold and put to bed, and she is super great at going to bed.
She doesn't spit up anymore!
If she sees you eating anything she HAS to have a bite, and will beg at your feet like a little puppy until you give in.
I say this every time but I love that she loves her brother.
She is so loving and gives the cutest hugs and kisses.
She is trying to walk, but is a little bit chicken to let go and just do it.
There are a million more things, but I can't write them all. We love her to pieces!
Happy birthday baby girl!

I love them, love them, love them!

Look at those two little teeth. Finally they are coming in! I love these two so much!

Avery is 10 months. She is so much fun and such a happy girl!
She loves to swing on our swing set.
She is a tiny little tornado and LOVES to make a mess.
She still loves to eat anything you put in front of her.
When she gets up in the morning she says dog and crawls out to the hall to pet Macy.
She loves to go outside, but gets upset that I don't let her eat stuff off the ground.
She goes to bed so well and likes to let you rock her. She is so easy going and totally goes with the flow.
She loves to take baths with her brother, which I am going to have to stop soon because I caught HER playing with HIS private parts today.
She wants to walk, but she is just too spazzy. She gets up on her tip toes like a ballerina and tries to run to you.
She loves to go swimming, but I forgot my camera when we went.
I don't know if her hair will ever grow, but I secretly hope it's curly because I don't know how to do straight hair.
She loves to say daddy.

She has a cute smile as you can see.

When she decides to give kisses they are the sweetest slobbery kisses.

Harrison is feeling better and acting better. We had a couple of rough weeks, but I still love my little man. I told him the other day, "Buddy, I love you to the moon and back." He replied, "Mommy, I love you to the sun and back!" He's so funny. He's been super excited that the weather is warming up a bit. He's learning to ride his Buzz Lightyear scooter and loves to ride it down the "hill" at the end of our driveway. He has been on this pirate kick and words like "scallywag" and "scurvy sea pups" are a regular part of his vocabulary. I love his so much and he is my best helper and best buddy!

I don't usually use this blog to vent. I love my kids, they truly are blessings in my life. That being said, I think that 3 years old is the worst age ever! I don't know when Harrison became possessed, it must have happened one night in his sleep. I feel most days like I live with a combo of Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde and a whiny emotional teenage girl. Pick your battles? Every choice is a battle, "I don't want crust on my bread." I take the crust off and then, "Why did you take the crust of my bread?" (cry, cry cry) "I want to get in the tub all by myself!" he gets in the tub all by himself and then, "Why didn't you help me get in the tub mommy?" (cry cry cry). It is so hard. I love him so much, and yet most days I want to go lock myself in my room, go to sleep, and let him fend for himself eating only cupcakes and cosmic brownies. He has been sick with this stupid fever/cold/ cough thing that has been going around. I am sure that this compounds the problem, not to mention the fact that HE WON'T EAT ANYTHING! When your child will eat absolutely nothing you feel like such a failure as a parent, I can't even explain it. Like my only job is to take care of this kid (eating is a big part of that) and I can't even do it. The thing that totally stinks is that I don't know if anybody even knows what they are doing. I think we all just make a decision and pray for the best! ONE DAY AT A TIME!

On a happy note....look at the booty on this girl!

Almost 9 months!

I missed the 8 month post and I know I will miss the 9 month post if I don't do it now while I am thinking of it. We have her 9 month appointment next week so no stats today, but as you can see from the pictures she is growing.

This girl loves lasagna and Oreo's. Needless to say, this shirt is stained forever!

Avery is getting so big and she is such a good baby. She says mama and dada, and she loves to just jabber. She LOVES to eat. There is a wonderful satisfaction that comes with feeding a child who will actually eat. It feels so good, I can't even describe it to you. Only someone who has dealt with a child who eats absolutely nothing (aka Harrison) can understand what I mean.

Avery loves to stand up and she thinks it is a really great trick! I can't believe how well she gets herself up with just a little help from a chair or a wall or my favorite, the toilet. We love her so much!

Happy Birthday Harrison!

Harrison is 3! I can't believe it. I never thought he would ever be three and now I can't believe it happened so fast. We had a fun little party with some friends and cousins and he had so much fun. He loves Toy Story 3 so we had a little toy story party complete with "Pin the Badge on Woody" and an Alien cake. I was so proud of how nice he acted to all his friends. We had no tantrums and lots of fun!

A few things about Harrison that I don't want to forget:
He is a wonderful big brother and always watches out for his little sister.
He gives me the biggest hugs.
He has a fun personality and loves to tease.
He is strong willed/stubborn, and one day, after time-outs and potty training, it will serve him well.
He LOVES candy. What 3 year old doesn't? But, when we go to Maverick he walks up and down the candy isle carefully thinking about his selection. These are big decisions people. Like his daddy, he usually picks something different every time. I like the same thing all the time (Snickers), but Harrison likes to mix it up a little.
He loves to watch movies over and over.
We love going to the library and picking out new books. He always likes to drop our old ones in the return slot. He says the title of the book and then drops it in. It's pretty cute.
He can put together just about any puzzle you put in front of him. We call him "the puzzler".
He likes to help me wash the dishes, put dishes away, bake cookies, dust... really he just likes to help out (sometimes).
He still doesn't eat much, but somehow is growing.
He loves Ritz crackers dipped in sweet and condensed milk (thanks mom). When he eats them he says, "Mom, I could eat this every day."
He can't say his "c" or "g" or "k" sounds, so we have words like dum-gum, titty tat-kitty cat, and dreen-green. I still can understand him just fine.
He likes his hair short and spikey. I have been trying to let it grow out and if I don't spike it up he says, "but mom, my hair doesn't look handsome like this." I gave in and cut it yesterday.
We love him so much, and are so proud of the little guy he is becoming.

This was my attempt at making the Alien cake that Harrison requested. When I asked him what kind of cake he wanted he said, "An alien cake, like the one that says 'the claw'." I'm not one for theme parties, but I had to give in. I don't think it turned out too bad for my first cake. I'm just glad he didn't ask for a Buzz Lightyear.

I went to get Avery from her nap and this is what I found. She is standing up now. Needless to say, we lowered the crib so she doesn't tumble out. She is growing up so fast.

I love that she wakes up so happy. Who can resist that sweet face?