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Saturday, February 26, 2011

Blink

I’ve been feeling a bit sentimental about Will lately.  Maybe because I blinked and he was almost 4 1/2. Or maybe because it has hit me that Avery isn’t a baby anymore, which by default makes Will like a middle-schooler, at least. Whatever the reason, he is changing before my eyes on a daily basis. He is no longer that chubby, round faced little guy. He is a tall and lean pre-schooler. Better yet, he is a tall, lean pre-schooler who shows genuine love and concern for others. Most of the time. :-)

He is no longer a toddler who needs my help (whether he wanted it or not) for most things. Instead he now sets the dinner table, gets drinks for him and Avery in the afternoon, helps feed the dogs…..I could go on and on. 

One of the biggest changes I’ve seen with Will lately is his interaction with Avery. Don’t get me wrong; he has LOVED and ADORED her since he first saw her in the hospital. He has always called her “his baby”. But lately he has really become a little mommy/daddy to her. He reads books to her and gets things for her that she can’t reach.  He asks to hold her all the time….or maybe I should say he offers to hold her all the time, which is a huge help for me when I am trying to get dinner on the table for two over-tired and hungry kids, with 30lbs (I am sure you know what 30lbs I am referring to) on my left hip. He will rock her when she is upset, while he rubs her back and sings songs to her.  I guess he has become my “Avery Whisperer”!  
Yes, they still quarrel. Especially over monster trucks and cars. Avery also is in the habit of taking his stuff and making a game out of running away with it. But his maturity in dealing with these situations has improved basically overnight. Just another way I know he is growing up. Way. Too. Fast.
He misses becoming a kindergartner in the fall by 7 days. I think those might end up being the best 7 days ever because they mean I can make him stay little for one more year.
Now if I could only get him to change diapers………….

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Valentine's Day Fun



 Just a few pics to capture our baking and crafts for Valentine's Day festivities. I wish I had gotten a picture of the aftermath in the kitchen on Valentine's night after all the cards and candy from school had been opened.
cookie time

We had a little flour here and there

arts and crafts while the cookies bake

Avery's Silly Monkey

Will's Toadally Terrific Frog



This little girl is on a sugar high

me and my boy

More, please

Another new toy in the house

But this one is MINE!!!

Friday, February 18, 2011

The Greatest Show on Earth

One of my favorite childhood memories was coming to Raleigh with my parents for the circus. When I saw it was coming to Raleigh, I knew we had to go. Plus, I had to justify a previously purchased smocked outfit by finding an appropriate event to wear it to!!

We went with Will and Avery's friend Garrison and his family, just to ensure that was lots of toddler passing amongst laps!! 

Will thought everything was simply wonderful. He loved the animals and the flying trapeze. But he especially loved the motorcycles. He sat virtually motionless for their entire performance.
a cage of cycles
intently watching the motorcycles
He was learning about the circus in school the next week so we told him he could pick out something from the vendors to take for show and share.  Can you guess what it was?

Avery loved the elephants but didn't like that she didn't weigh enough to keep her seat from folding up on her. It was a tag team effort between me, the man sitting beside her and the lady sitting behind her to keep her from getting eaten by the non-Wolfpack red folding chair! She even threw such a fit over it at one point that we had to take her out to the concourse.
Theodore came with us
The Circus Train



Tiger Time

The Elephant is picking up a basket and a dog

Not sure why she looks so terrified and/or sad

During intermission, the announcer was talking about upcoming events at the arena, one of which is Monster Jam. Little does Will know, but he will be there in a few weeks! But if you ask him what his favorite part of the circus was, he will tell you it was when they were talking about monster trucks.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

You can always go downtown.....

One Saturday recently we had a family fun day. With Will taking a break from soccer for a few weeks, it is nice to have Saturday mornings to do fun stuff as a family. We are trying to take advantage of these last few “soccer free” weekends.  We started out the morning by sleeping in. We NEVER sleep in. I eventually woke Avery up at 7:40.  Of course while sleeping in was nice, it ruined the day for me b/c I had less hours to accomplish things. I don’t have enough hours on a normal day!

We hopped in the car and headed downtown to have a big country breakfast at Big Ed’s.  After my big omelet and a homemade biscuit, I didn’t need to eat the rest of the day. The kids ate a big pancake and plenty of biscuits and jelly. In fact, before we left Avery had downed 4 packages of jelly. With her spoon; no bread involved.  Later that weekend she got hold of a stick of butter on the dinner table and went to town on it. She has a thing for accouterments evidently.

After naps, we went back downtown (inefficient, I know) and went to Marbles Museum.

We haven’t been in a while and if Avery has ever been, she was tiny and in a stroller. She was a little overwhelmed at first because it is crazy on a Saturday, but quickly found her groove.
Not sure if she likes all the hub-bub





Still hasn't found her groove


The children had a blast. Will loved the hockey rink and dumping balls down the slide in the money exhibit.  Avery sat for a good 30 mins coloring with dried out markers (bless her heart) while Will explored more play areas.

Future NHL player?

I wanted to get out there too!

Dried out markers
 It was really crowded when we got there but we stayed until closing and pretty much had the place to ourselves the last 20 minutes or so.  The kids had so much fun and we will definitely visit again soon.
I think she found her groove
Some little girl was hogging the Wolfpack red ones so we had to settle on Duke Blue
Hang Ten!
Jump, Jump

Ready for Shack!

Avery driving the "bus" (or mail truck)

What a fun day!!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

The Squirrel Whisperer

Matt's obsession with squirrels started back in college. He and his old roommate Pete turned their back deck into a squirrel hacienda. There was even a contraption that involved an old aquarium and a rope threaded through an upstairs window. Yes, they actually did capture one.  All this was fine and good until the squirrels starting eating the deck.



There was also the trip to Charleston when Matt convinced the squirrels in Battery Park to eat directly out of his hand.

I am sure you are thinking "What an appropriate hobby to pass down to the children!" If those were your thoughts, you are correct!!  A favorite past time in our house now is feeding and watching the squirrels on the back deck. First there was the occasional leftover bread left out for them. Then it was a spare handful of deer corn. All of a sudden there were what seemed like weekly trips to buy bags of corn. Ears were tied to branches, creating The Squirrel Olympics. Next thing I know corn ears are tied to string hanging off of various items. The squirrels quickly realized they can chew through the string and make off with an ear. Nothing is funnier than seeing a squirrel 30 feet in the air on a tree branch with this huge ear of corn.

Now snacks are eaten with the chairs not at the table, but at the back window. Avery thinks it is hilarious when the squirrels start fighting, or "tackling" as she calls it. Will likes to count the seemingly hundreds (okay, not really) squirrels that congregate on our deck. And let me tell you, these are some FAT squirrels.

The worst was one day when a neighborhood cat made it into our back yard and was hunting the squirrels. If I hadn't run outside screaming, Avery would have gotten a very close up and personal National Geographic nature lesson!!!

It could be worse....as long as those bushy rats don't eat the deck, I suppose I can tolerate this!

Monday, February 7, 2011

Searching for the perfect pink shirt

One night recently Avery was like a mad woman, searching for the perfect pink shirt to wear to pre-school the next day.


Poor thing, she has nothing to choose from....

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Kids say the darndest things

One thing I have always wanted to do was capture the funny things Will says on paper. Ironically, I think since I started this blog to do just that, he has become less funny. But here are few things out of the mouth of my babe in the last month.......

-Upon overhearing me complain about my weight: "I like you squishy."

-His new found food love: "I love roasted carrots. Can we have roasted carrots for dessert?"

-Out of the blue one morning recently: "Why is it so hard to quit smoking?"

-After admiring my sparkly new jewelry I received for Christmas: "Mommy, you should marry Daddy since he gave you that ring."

-During a conversation about who had one more basketball games, the Boo Tarheels or the Wolfpack: "Daddy, you remember things from 9 months ago, why can't you remember this?"

-When trying to avoid telling me why he got in trouble at school: "It will creep you out."

-Random comment: "Why don't you ever call me Buttercup?"

-When I couldn't find a particular item in a hidden picture puzzle: "I'll just ask Daddy. He's smarter anyway."

-When he couldn't play with the toys he wanted to play with in the tub: "This is not how I planned on spending my evening."

-At dinner one night: "What if enough people accidentally voted for me for President?"


And not to leave Avery out....she actually does say a lot of funny stuff too.

A: "I need a tissue" - I hear this 100 times a day and she uses 100 of them a day. She's a single use girl when it comes to tissues, napkins, etc.... I guess this isn't really funny, but she says it A LOT.
A: "Wash my pillow." - This was at 2AM one night when she had RSV. She had drooled/snotted (you know what I mean) all over her pillow and it was soaking wet. She screamed this over and over into the monitor until I went in and got her a new pillow.
A: In response to me telling her it was time to change her stinky diaper: "BaBa's turn" (the back story is that we are always teasing Will that it is his turn to change her diapers and his response: not until he is 16).
A: "Kiss AB!!!!" (AB being what she calls herself.) This was her demand in response to Will just trying to blow her a kiss goodnight from across the room and then walking out.