Oh-Bla-Di

Lots to say, no photos sorted, so that means it’s time for a Ten on Tuesday!  Here’s what’s going on around these parts…

1.  Last week, Ava’s preschool class talked about what they were going to be when they grow up.  Monday through Wednesday morning, she was going to be a princess.  But, on Wednesday afternoon she decided she was going to be a mommy instead.  When I asked her if she was going to be a mommy who stayed home with her babies or a mommy who went to work, she told me she was going to “go to work and chew bubblegum.”  She’s seen the bubblegum dispenser I keep on my desk and has decided that that’s what I do when I come to work.    Whoozers also chose her outfit to dress up like a mommy for school on Thursday…khaki shorts, cute blouse, and a headband.

2.  This week at school, Ava’s class is learning about volcanoes.  The lesson yesterday was so terrifying to her that she cried all the way through it and had to be reassured repeatedly that there aren’t any volcanoes anywhere near Las Vegas.  Awesome.

3.  Noah continues to grow like a weed and has progressed from cruising to walking with his walker.  His new favorite game is to walk back and forth on the tile from one end of the house to the other.  We’re really wishing we’d bought a more maneuverable baby walker.  Also, he’s stood on his own for a few seconds a couple of times.  No consistency there yet, but it’s only a matter of a couple of weeks before this little dude is off to the races.

4.  Doozers is really an independent kid.  Must be the second baby thing, but he’s pretty much content to be plunked down in the middle of the playroom with some toys and have at it.  That independent streak leads to frustration, though, when there’s something he can’t do.  And that frustration leads him to biting the offending toy.  We’re thinking we’re going to need to take proactive steps to keep that from developing into a habit.  Kiddos who hit can stay in school, but kiddos who bite get booted to the curb.

5.  For all the toy biting, I can’t for the life of me get Noah to eat real table food.  He’s all about the purees, oatmeal and cheerios.  He’ll eat chunky food and will feed himself, but won’t feed himself soft-cooked veggies or breads.  This is such a new thing for me…Ava flat out refused purees starting at 10 months.  I don’t know how to teach someone to like real food.

6.  I’ve got a real interest in teaching Noah to eat real food because I don’t really want to spend all the time making purees anymore.  Our schedule is hopping around here and Matt’s been at work a lot lately.  I’m thinking that any job that he could work fifty hours a week and have no night and weekend time would be an awesome step up.

7.  Speaking of a hopping schedule, we got to hang out with some great TPS friends last Thursday night and will get to go to a mini-TPS reunion this weekend at Edwards.  The Traynors are back on the left coast and we’re all getting together to celebrate their arrival as well as Sparky’s return from a desert on the other side of the world.  We’re so excited to go see these people this weekend!

8.  Just to keep things interesting (and not get too settled in at home), we took off for Mt. Charleston right after the Traynors left on Friday morning.  We spend Friday night camping on the mountain and got home mid-afternoon on Saturday.  We were wiped out when we got home and spent the rest of Saturday recuperating.  We all had a good time, though, so think we’ll go again soon.  We’re slowly working up to longer camping trips…pretty soon we’ll leave for days at a time!

9.  Since Sunday was our only day at home this weekend, we used it to get a bunch of stuff done.  Of course, nothing we did was on any of our mile-long lists of “things to get done” but, instead, we engaged in some extreme puttering.  You know, the kind where you work on tons of stuff and it’s all physical, sweaty work?  Libby got a bath, I cleaned out and reorganized the closet under the stairs (here’s where I really wish I’d taken before & after shots), Matt cleaned up and repacked the camping gear and cleaned up the garage, and the kids did their best to stay out of the way.

10.  And, now, that we’re all settled, and in between trips and visits, I’ve got to do some writing.  Dr. Ackerman, my fave professor from my Masters program, has asked me to write a book chapter with him.  It’s due on August 15 and I’ve not yet started.  Ah, Procrastination…been a long time since I’ve seen you.  Thanks for the clean closets, though.

Summer in Vegas is HOT!  And HOT means lots of pool time.  Since we keep our pool fairly warm (to ward off the chills when the dry air meets skin while above water), it’s perfect for baby’s first swim.  Lucky for us, Noah (the chillest baby ever) loves the pool and to ride around in his ladybug floatie.

Doozers is perfectly content to kick his little legs and chew on diving rings for the hour or two we all float along with him.  Throw in a cup of water and a binky and he’d probably stay there all day.  The first few times we pulled on the swim diaper and suit, he kicked his legs like crazy to fight it off; now, though, I think he knows that swimsuits mean a pretty good time and he’s quite cooperative!

Of course, Noah’s had a great example set for him by his part-fish big sister.  Ava’s down to just water wings and has become a pro at swimming with her face in the water and jumping from the edges.

Seriously, with all that gear, how could she not be a great swimmer?    She wears goggles sometimes now and, although we started the summer with them, she no longer needs her ear plugs.  Hooray for one less thing to armor up with as we head out the door!

Bottom line, in HOT Vegas, the pool in your own backyard is the the place to be!

She’s smart, she’s sassy, she’s hilarious, she’s chatty, and oh by the way, she’s three and a half. (Because you know it’s that extra half that makes all the difference.)

I don’t do monthly updates on Whoozers anymore since changes with her seem to creep up rather than jump up.  But, so much about her has grown (Can’t say changed since that’s not really it. She’s still her just more so.)  since her third birthday, that I thought it was time to share.

To say that Ava has grown up would be an understatement.  Matt and I are constantly asking her, “When did you get so big?”  It seems like everything about her is big – her personality, her vocabulary, her sense of humor, her range of emotions.  Sometimes it’s hard to remember that our dearest girl is only three and a half.  Her ability to understand and communicate can leave you feeling like you’re talking to an adult.  But then, she’ll have a three and a half moment and you remember that she’s not quite done growing up yet.

Whoozers is fiercely independent when it comes to making her own decisions and doing things for herself.  But, the other side of that coin is that she loves to be around people and loves a new adventure.  For example, she’s not a huge fan of playing by herself, but is totally the boss when she finds a new playmate.  Favorite games these days include “Mommy & Honey” (“I’ll be the mommy and you be the honey”), anything pretend princess, pilot (a la Elastigirl from The Incredibles)  and nosing around in Noah’s business.

Envisioning herself as “Ariel” on my parents’ patio.

Flying her airplane.

Big sister.

School is still going really well for Ava. She loves her preschool teachers, Ms. Lindsey & Ms. Rosario, and knows so much!  Ava knows all of her letters and numerals, colors and shapes, and has been interested in some basic math.  She loves counting my fingers as math problems and delights in the idea that 4+1=5 and 3+2=5.  Last night at dinner she was telling me that dinosaurs and Peep are similar because they both hatched from eggs.  Also, dinosaurs (read: brontosauruses) and giraffes are similar because they both have long necks.  Also, Ava and music are continuing their long, lovely relationship.  She really picks up on lyrics these days and has been known to break out in song – to songs we aren’t even able to understand lyrics to!  We’re pretty much learning (again!) that she’s a total sponge…everything present will be absorbed…and someday will be expelled when squeezed.

I’m sure I probably say this every time I write about her, but it seems like Whoozers is growing up so fast.  She’s great….she’s fun…we love having her as part of our family.  We learn so much from her and are working to be the best parents we can for her and Noah.  The last three and a half years have gone by so quickly.  It’s comforting to know that Ava’s fundamentals haven’t changed much in spite of all her growing – she’s still happy, healthy, funny, strong, determined, special.

Love you, baby girl.

It’s been nearly a month since we celebrated our daddy all Hallmark-like around here, but we couldn’t let a whole year go by without saying all the reasons we love him!

We love Daddy because…

he shares his toys with us (even the expensive, fancy ones) and…

he lets us explore exciting new places and…

he teaches us important life skills and…

he lets us open his presents and…

he always has room in his arms or time on his hands for a snuggle.

We love you, Daddy!

Our annual trip to Kansas is, of course, an opportunity to visit family, but it has also served as an opportunity to make a pilgrimage of sorts.  Each Memorial Day, as my family gathers to celebrate our country and honor the family we’ve lost, Matt & I also take a trip “up the road” to visit the Yellow House.  In the past couple of years, that’s been a kind of difficult thing to do.  The house was falling into disrepair and we no longer had access to it the way we had in the past.  If those years were difficult, this year was closure.

Thanks to some wonderful new owners, the Yellow House is once again being loved by a family.

See that, right there?  That’s this house after some love and that’s my family walking in the front door.  When I saw them all walking up to the front porch, I hollered at Matt to get a picture.  I wanted to be able to remember what that looked like.  We all went inside -admiring changes, updates and reliving old times – and tromped around through the first floor and back out through the back door.

And then, this happened.

That’s my family walking up the outside stairs to check out the upstairs of the house.  We haven’t been up those stairs in years.  If it’s possible, this house is making up for some lost time and may be even better than when it was last lived in.

This photo is a treasure.  Great-great nieces and nephews and great-great-great grandkids of the people who lived here.  All piled up on a too-small couch and told to smile for a picture.  Priceless.

As hard as it’s been to visit this house in the last few years, this time I left it in peace.  It’s not so sad to leave when it’s full of life and love.  It’s ok to pass it to someone else.  It’s ok for it to change.  I think I just needed a chance to really say goodbye – in a way that was full of family and talk and happiness.  Closure.