Ava's Last Day of Nursery School

Wow! I can't believe that my little girl finished her first year of school. Even though it was only Nursery School, it was a big deal for both her and I.  She started out a shy girl and ended a less shy girl. Ha!

Towards the end of the school year, Ava started talking and interacting more with the other kids. She would say "hi" when they were washing hands in the morning and when some of her friends walked into the playground. It was awesome to see. She learned so much. She can write her name, use scissors, draw shapes and many more things.

I think this year was hardest for me. Letting your kids in someone else's hands is always nerve racking. You never know how they will be. Lucky for me, both my kids are really good in the company of others. I get many compliments when we are out on how well behaved they are.  (That is not the case at home!!)

I digressed.... So proud of my girl, so proud of myself for not being a total wreck.

Next year, she will be going back to the 4's classs, which is Monday, Wednesday and Friday. She is growing up so fast.

During this school year, Ava managed to get sick once every.single.month and go figure, she got a sore throat the Monday before the last day of school. I, like any good mom, still sent her to school on Tuesday. She couldn't miss her last day!!! She was feeling better, acting more like her usual self and not her whiny sick self that she was just the day before.

We got a video of the school year and it was awesome to look through and they thought ahead and sent home an homemade Father's Day gift too!!


Ava on the first day of school....(She wasn't happy taking that picture)


Ava on the last day of school...


We are so proud of her!!This is the first of many years of school.

Cousins

My sister, Jaclyn and her son Sam have been coming over to our house once a week while she is on maternity leave. It is a nice outing for her, I get my baby time in and the kids really like to see baby Sam too.

We tried to get a good picture, but really, is that even possible.


This is my favorite!

Our Family Night Out

I have mentioned before that we have taken the kids out to eat a couple of times. No where fancy, but it is fun to try something different. They love it. They love new places and new experiences. This isn't something they are used to so it is fun to watch them, mostly Ava.

This Friday we went to Jimmy Joe's Pizza. You can get pizza by the slice on the cheap. They are huge too.




I think they love the drinks the most. Ava had pink lemonade and I didn't give Noah any until he was done eating and he sucked down a cup of it.

They get so much joy from the littlest things. This time they actually ate the food.

That Sounds Like a Good Idea, NOT?!?!

I will be the first to admit, I never thought this would happen in my family. Thursday afternoon, just as I was getting ready to put the kids down for their nap, Noah walked over to me and said, "Get the bead" and he was picking at his nose. At first, I thought he had a booger, but quickly realized he stuck a bead up his nose. We were playing with 2 of them before we left to pick up Ava from school. Noah put them in my purse, so I thought we were safe. That and the fact that he has played with many small objects and never put one in his nose. I grabbed him, ran the the nearest flashlight to confirm what I had thought. Yup, there was in fact a bead up his nose. I freaked! I turned off the oven (I was getting my lunch ready so I could eat once I put them down), grabbed Noah and told Ava to get in the car. I strapped Noah in and made Ava buckle herself in. I put some shoes on and left with the kids sans shoes! There is an Urgent Care across the street from our neighborhood, so we drove there. I made Ava run across the parking lot without shoes on! MOM FAIL. I ran in and I think the staff thought I was a freak. They were calm as if nothing was going on. I guess that is their job. One lady told me they had to see if they even had the tools to get it out. What! I kept telling Noah, not to breathe. Ha! He was calm and just sat in the chair next to me. Ava on the other hand was very concerned and asking a ton of questions. The staff didn't seem too concerned as we weren't whisked away to see the doctor right away. In fact, their system went down and it took a bit before we went back.
Once we finally got in the room, Noah was super tired and Ava was super concerned. I did everything to keep Noah awake, but it wasn't happening, so he fell asleep. It ended up being better that way. After waiting for about 30-45 minutes, we were finally seen. Mike had arrived around the same time too. I made him make sure that I did indeed turn off the stove and grab some shoes for Ava. The Dr actually told us that if she didn't think she could do it, she would send us to the ER. She started prodding at Noah and as soon as she got a hold it Noah woke up. One more try and it was out. Phew!! What an experience.

Here is Noah and I waiting in the waiting room.


Here is the bead that was "recovered"


I know that this is the first of many with this boy!

Kids and the Tomato Worms

The other week, I went outside to check out the garden and what was in front of me? None other than a tomato worm. Yuck!

Mike ended up pulling off over 20 of them in 2 days. We haven't seen one since. Fingers crossed. The kids had a blast playing with them. Mike would put them in a bucket and they would carry them around.

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We started a new tradition of going out to eat about once a month with the kids. I thought they should get used to doing it since we never eat out and they don't know what it's all about. For the most part, they don't really eat, but like the experience. They are just so picky with food, it is hard to find things they will eat.
The other week, we went to Paradise Bakery. They had fruit salad and a cookie.



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NOAH

We took Noah to the doctor last week because his voice had changed. No, not like when boys turn to men, but it was a raspy higher pitch girl like voice (get the idea?) Anyway, after doing some research online, I came to the conclusion that it was either his reflux bugging him again or allergies. The Doctor gave him some children's claritin and after about a week, his voice returned to normal. It was weird to hear him talk. Although his voice is normal again, his behavior is like the devil's child. He doesn't sleep and if he does, it is a 1 hour nap and he is awake at 5 am more days than not. Ahh... I know he is tired because anytime we get in the car or go for a long walk, he is out. I just wish we could figure out what is wrong with this kid.
Also, when we were at the doctors office, she told me that he hasn't gained a pound since his 2 year appointment. Not a shocker here. The kid is so picky and doesn't eat a meal except for dinner time. He is a grazer. Currently he is in love with Trader Joe bars.

He has started signing the ABC's and most of the time he does it all the way through. He loves to sing and can pick up on a song pretty easy.

He spends most of his days in timeout. I guess we are getting a real picture of the terrible two's. He just.won't.listen!!! He loves to bug his sister, A LOT!!! Hitting and throwing are his 2 major issues. The yelling has gone down a bit.

He is so not ready for a big boy bed or to be potty trained. Every time we ask him he says no to both.

He loves to play by himself, read books, ride bikes and be goofy.

He is still my snuggler and you can tell when his snuggle tank is low because he will follow you around saying "please hold me 5 minutes." Melts your heart, but it is always right when you are in the middle of something.

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AVA

Ava is growing up before our eyes. She is in her last week of school. She has finally broken out of her shell a bit and talks to her other classmates. It is so nice to see. She still won't sing at chapel, but we made serious progress in that area. At her last chapel, Mrs Turner got her to smile and move her hands a bit! It was quite an improvement from standing shell shocked with no smile and not a movement at all. So proud of her. I think I am a bit more teary eyed about her last day that she will be. She really loves her teachers (Mrs. Mascari and Mrs Turner) and they have worked very hard with her.

Ava still challenges us at night time. She now reads her books after we put her to bed with her light on instead of just her flashlight. I think she also gets in her rocking chair. She still comes out of her room 1-4 times after we put her to bed, but are working out negotiations for it to be just once. She is a negotiator.  The other night, I heard her go potty around midnight. At that point I realized that our AC fan wasn't running (I like the noise) and went to turn it on when I saw the light on in her room. She decided that she couldn't sleep and that she was going to read books. I made her turn it off and go to bed, which she then cried about.

She, just like Noah, is very sensitive when you tell her no or not to do something. She will usually storm off into her room. I thought that only happened in the teenage years.

She is a good eater. Many nights, she won't eat dinner, but we save it for her and she will eat it later.

She has the best imagination and I can't wait to watch her grow up.

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Mother's Day 2013

Another Mother's Day in the books.

It was a relaxing day. On Saturday, I went out for a couple of hours to do some shopping. Much needed mommy time. My mom came down on Saturday afternoon and Mike and I went out to the mall to do some shopping for him. He only goes once a year. It was time for some new things!

That night, my mom was up sick with a bug. (Sorry mom, but all family things are fair game on this blog!) So we spent a relaxing Sunday with her in the morning. We went to my sister Jacy's house for dinner. It too was a quiet evening.

This year was a special Mother's Day for me because it was the first one that I got a homemade gift from Ava. Hopefully the first of many. You know for sure this one is going in the keepsake's box!
It was a pin.




Mike got me a spa day at Dolce, which I have already booked for my birthday. I am getting a facial, massage, pedicure, shampoo and style, lunch and makeup touch up with customized lip gloss. They were having a deal on it and was more than half off. Can't wait!!! It is much needed!

This and That and Sleep and Garden...

There are a couple of things that I have been blogging in my head for some time now, so I guess I should just do it!!!

Right before Easter I decided that it was time to shut Noah's door during nap times. He was fine with it being closed at night, he just got used to it being open during naps and I didn't want to have to tiptoe around for the next year. One day, I just shut it. Of course he cried, but it was only about 3 minutes. The next day he cried about 2 mins and it went down from there. It took about a week and we now shut his door. It is so nice. I knew he could do it and I knew that he would cry at first, but I also knew that it would be short lived and it was! I also think closing his door has shortened his naps. Ever since we closed his door he wakes up and cries after about an hour to an hour and ten minutes. So he spends a lot of time doing this...

But it is usually on mama! He will fall asleep on us after we get him up for a good hour usually.

Around that same time, Ava started just getting up out of bed when she was done napping or sleeping. Let me tell ya, it scared the heck out of me the first time because she is so quiet and she just popped her head up from the behind the couch. I actually really like it because she wakes up much happier that way.  But, with that said, the kids have started going down for their naps a little later and Ava likes to read for a bit, so there are many days I have to go and wake her up at 3 pm and she is NOT a happy camper! She has had a couple of days where she hasn't napped too. I know that days are coming where she won't nap anymore, I am just hoping we can make it another year!

Because of Ava's new found "icangetupwheneverIwantto" attitude, she does get up many times and comes out of her room when we put her down. Just recently she started coming into our bedroom and stands by Mike and it scares him half to death. There is always some silly reason that she is out of bed.

The garden is coming along nicely. The green beans are taking off and growing so high. We have been able to sample a few here and there. the tomatoes are going crazy. We have only gotten a couple there too. The kids had a turnip yesterday. They love eating things right out of the garden. We check out the garden every morning and every evening. It is pretty awesome.

Basil and Tomato box

Sunflower seeds


Squash

Last weekend when we went on one of our weekly walks, Mike and I were feeling good so we did some running. Ava REALLY wanted to run too. So when we got to the end of our street she ran down the street with me. I told her she was my running buddy and she has wanted to go running every day.


Today Ava and I went to Brayden's 4th birthday party at Peter Piper Pizza. Ava couldn't wait to go. She kept asking all day if we were going.  She remembered that we went last year and played games and ate pizza and had cake.

This game was a bit hard for her. She made me do a bunch.


We had a lot of fun!

We've had some lazy weekends here. Mike has been working on the garden a lot.
We have been debating doing some kitchen remodeling. We did buy a new refrigerator and are crossing our fingers that it will fit ok. We have always hated that when you try to open the freezer, the wall stops the door from getting all the way open. We bought a 30.7 cubic foot French Door refrigerator. It will be bigger inside, which we NEED. We also need more pantry space, so those 2 things have made us think about remodeling, but only is the price is right!! I hope it is, I would love a better set up!