The Seasons

Emily got this really cute dress-up doll set from The Hayes' for Christmas. It has really come in handy for talking to Emily about the seasons of the year. We talk about a season and the weather that you'll find outside at that time, and then dress the dolls so they're ready for that season.
And for every season, there is a time for CANDYLAND!!! Our favorite game! We like to pretend to lick the candy along the path and make believe that we can smell the different candies.

How do YOU keep sane?

I stick 'em in the cupboard.

Don't worry, I throw them a cookie every once in a while.

Can't you just feel the love? *sigh*

*no Gladware was harmed during this announcement.

Avery JOY

Avery is seriously a joy. I was truly inspired to give her Joy as her middle name. She makes me smile from the moment she wakes up until...well...for a while, anyway. She can be a toot and she is pretty stubborn, but she's so stinkin' cute that it doesn't really matter. Her dimple erases most of my frustrations.

She is so in LOVE with her sister! She follows her around everywhere. We're already hearing conversations that sound like this: "Stop touching me!" "Don't look at me!" "Mine!" "Aaaah, she's pulling my hair!" "Get away from me!" She tries everything Emily does. And when they do get along (which is few and far between) it's so fun to listen to their giggles mix together. Bathtime is especially fun to listen to! Lots of laughs and splashes...

Avery doesn't say much. She used to say "baby" all the time, but now she just points at stuff and says, "Da-da-dat!" We're pretty sure she's saying "that". I just love how she says it..."dat" has sort of a whispered "tuh" at the end. "Da-da-dattuh!" She doesn't know how to say "drink", but she'll for sure throw her juice cup at you and yell at you until you get the hint. She knows the sign for clock, and she's constantly signing it and saying, "tickatickaticka."

Ice cream is her favorite food, especially chocolate. Get outta the way when ice cream is on the scene. She'll bowl you over!

Oh, and she LOVES wearing shoes! She's the only one in our house that likes to wear shoes. She will dig through the shoes and get hers and try to put them on. She's crazy.

She likes to put things on her head. Not sure why, but she does. Whatever keeps her entertained is awesome in my book. The other day she had pajama bottoms on her head for like twenty minutes. She looked like a nun.

Avery likes to help clean. The other day I was wiping sticky off her hands and she took the wipe and "helped". I'd say, "Scrub, scrub!" and she'd wipe and wipe.

I love how she walks. It's sorta like a penguin.

What is the opposite of OCD? Because I think Avery has it. If anything is in order, she has to un-order it. If it's stacked, she knocks it down. If it's lined up, she messes it up. If it's laying there really quiet and being good (Emily), Avery will poke it and get it riled up.

She loves to dance and wave and clap. She loves music. And she loves making racket music.

Oh, and she has this funny fake laugh! If everyone is laughing at something, she will laugh, too. Cracks me up! She has a fake cry, too, for when it's time to nurse. I love to just watch her face when she fake cries. Cute. Although, it's not really funny at 4am.

I love her feet and her thighs. I love her back fat and her belly fat. I love her chins and cheeks and her mullet. I love her dimple and her multi-colored eyes. I love to call her Toodles and Sunshine.

Hi

I'm having a hard time sitting down to update this blog. Someone always has to pee or they need a drink or something. It's very frustrating.

We had a good Christmas. Emily is just now grasping the concept of Santa Claus. She wasn't too crazy about this strange man coming into our house and leaving stuff for us. You know how you can threat some kids that if they're not good, Santa won't come? Well, Emily was perfectly fine with Santa not coming! So there went that tactic.

But once she saw the stuff under the tree and that Santa ate the cookies she left him, she was pretty cool with the whole thing!

On Christmas morning, Rob and I stood at the side of Emily's bed waiting for her to wake up. She snoozed for a long time! We talked in normal voices and even burped and giggled to try to wake her up! She finally came around and I said, "Emily, Santa ate your cookie!" and she sat up and said, "Oh!" Then the craziness began!
And poor Avery! Daddy woke her up! She was NOT ready for the festivities to begin. I mean, really, it was 8:20! She slept long enough. And we couldn't wait any longer!

Just look at their matching pajamas! I swore that I would never have my kids all matchy-matchy. Pfft.

Avery thought the presents were all great. She didn't care about opening them. But she sure helped play with all the toys! The girls have "shared" their presents with each other all week.

Okay, so now Emily needs food, so that's the end of this post. Enjoy this little update on the girls! I plan on doing more updates this year.

No really! That's my plan!

Probably.