Lately

We're getting back into the swing of things after the holidays.  I just got back from a weekend trip with friends (more on that in another post) and we're back in the groove of working, schooling, etc.

Last week was COLD.  Like, 0.  No degrees.  That's pretty cold.

We spent a lot of time inside.  The kids found lots of ways to amuse themselves.  I love when they play together.  I have noticed that when Avery is coloring, reading, watching tv, or anything like that, Ben doesn't pay her any attention.  However, when she is rambunctious and running around, he is all about that and will always join in.  That's when they play together.

Here they are crawling around, pretending to be babies.

Here Ben is trying to steal the Play Doh, to her dismay.

They have been enjoying the new towels they got from Uncle Tom and Aunt Laurie.

Avery had a dentist appointment.  She did much better than the previous two times.  And by that I mean an actual cleaning and exam occured.  She was still very nervous, but she did well.  They have tv's above the chair, so she got to watch Tangled for a bit.

 

We treated ourselves to a donut afterwards.

Dance class started back up, and she is still on the fence.  She wants to go, but yet she doesn't.  But she affirmed that she does want to continue, and after the recital and costume fees, we will be sticking it out until the season is done.

Ben, 18 Months

This past Sunday Ben turned 18 months old.  Poor guy has really not been feeling great lately-probably the past two weeks or so.  In spite of that, he has still been making us laugh (and sometimes making us pull our hair out) and amazing us with all the new things he does.

As far as his vocabulary, I'm not exactly sure how many words he has as I'm not one to keep track, but off the top of my head:

Dada

Avee (Avery)

Mama

Ducky

Packi (paci)

Dog

Orse (horse)

Arfur (Arthur)

Backy (vacuum)

Bye

No

Outside

Sauce (applesauce)

Mi (milk)

Maw (more)

Orge (orange)

Airpane (airplane)

Appy (open)

Soovie (smoothie)

Truck

And lots more that he will repeat if you ask him.


He is busy, busy, busy.  Into everything (still).  He can climb onto the couch, climb stairs, and step onto the step stool.  He can also climb to the top of the play area at Chick fil A (I learned this lesson the hard way).


He can feed himself with a spoon (it's messy).

He loves to be outside.

He is obsessed with the vacuum, and while the one he got for Christmas is pretty cool, it's not quite as cool as the real thing.

He loves to watch cars, trucks, trains, airplanes, or construction work.

He is ornery and knows when he is doing something he isn't supposed to do, such as:

pulling toilet paper off the roll

playing in Arthur's water bowl

turning up the volume or messing with the stereo

and when you catch him, he shrieks gleefully.  He also loves to knock down things that his sister has build with blocks or Legos, or tear up something she has colored.  And he likes to pull hair.

He is curious and loves to see how things work.

He loves to sleep and takes solid naps and never has a problem going to bed.

He still loves his ducky and packi (paci), which we typically only allow him to have in the crib, but since he wasn't feeling well over the holidays he got it much more.

He gives hugs and kisses if he is so inclined.  Actual hugs around the neck (adorable).

We recently turned his carseat forward facing and I love seeing his face in the rear-view.

Unsure about the car wash

He's recently starting feeding Arthur.

He has a pretty short attention span, but he will sit down and read books (short ones).  He can flip through a book by himself, and has a few favorites which all include either touch/feel pages or trucks/cars/airplanes. He has no desire to watch tv at all.

He will follow one command (if he feels like it), such as "bring that to me" or "put that back, please."

He's hilarious and keeps us all laughing.

We love you, Benny, and can't wait to see you grow over the next year!!

Avery's Christmas Program

The pre-k and K classes at Avery's little school performed a Christmas program the week before Christmas.  Rob and I headed in with much anticipation and excitement so see Avery's first program.  So the classroom was of course very crowded with other parents, and when the kids filed in Avery was standing on the complete opposite corner of the room.  So, we didn't have a great view of her.

The kids sang several Christmas songs complete with hand motions.  Avery, ahem, didn't look too thrilled to be up there.  She was definitely trying to hide in the background:)  But we were proud of her for remaining up there (one little kid burst into tears and ran off, another stood there crying-it was cute, but I'm sure they were scared).

I got several videos but it's really hard to see Avery.  She behind the girl in the polka-dot dress, on the far right.  I'm honestly not sure if she even sang:)  Some of her friends are definitely little hams though.

Afterwards, she was pretty excited.

Now she's all smiles!

Christmas Party

We woke up to a blanket of ice the morning of the Christmas party.  In spite of freezing temps, we enjoyed an afternoon and evening with family.  Lots of great company and food!

Santa visited Aunt Marilyn's house and left treat bags for the kids.  Avery and Ben had a great time running around with their cousins, and we got to meet the newest family member, Piper.

The Christmas Train

We jumped on the Christmas Train bandwagon this year, and bought tickets when they went on sale.  I wasn't sure what to expect (I'd heard mixed reviews), but it was pretty neat.

It's about a 45 minute drive from our house, so I hoped to get tickets for a weekend, but was only able to score Wednesday night tickets.  It worked out fine, even though it was a late "school" night for the kids.

We actually didn't ride the train (we didn't want to stand in line), but there was plenty to do.  Lots of shops, restaurants, carousel, playground, go-karts, carriage rides (we didn't do this either).  You could visit Santa but we had already done that, so we didn't bother.  Everything was pretty reasonably priced, so that was a pleasant surprise (I was expecting fair prices).

Even though Ben was up past his bedtime (something he doesn't usually tolerate well), he was perfectly happy since there was so much to look at.  He was mesmerized by the train.

Who is more excited about the go-karts?

Overall, it was a fun holiday activity!

Christmas Vacation

I've had a week and a half off work and it seems like it's been forever and yet has flown by at the same time.

We've spend a good amount of time at home.  We've shopped.  We went to the Children's Discovery Lab.  We've eaten.  We've played with Christmas toys.  We've been sick.  We've lounged in our pjs.  We've been to the doctor (twice).  We've been to the park.  We've watched movies.  We've gone to look at Christmas lights (twice).  We've slept in.  We watched movies.

It's been fun.

The Nutcracker

Gigi took Avery and I to the Nutcracker again this year.

Avery looked beautiful in her dress.

We tried to get a pic with Ben before we left.

Not so much.

Avery enjoyed the show, but she was a bit squirmy.  I think she was tired (Ben woke us all up very early).

Fun afternoon!