Avery-isms

First, a few bluebonnet pics:

And now...

Avery-ism #1:

Mommy: Avery and Kate and Oscar and Dottie are all going to stay with Nana and DD tonight so Mommy and Daddy can go watch Aunt Jennifer be a white C-rah (bride).

Avery: OK, Mommy. You go see White C-rah Jenn-fer. And bring Avery pictures!

Avery-ism #2:

Avery (instead of sleeping an hour after being put to bed): I need-a go potty!

Nana: Avery, do you really need to go?

Avery: Uh-huh, Nana. It make all my dreams come true.

Avery-ism #3:

Avery: Mommy, you have two sisters. Two princess sisters. (Pointing to Kate and herself.)

Click here for pictures of the week.

Kate's Big News and Avery's Big Week

Mommy has been talking a lot about Kate growing up, but to me she still seems an awful lot like a baby. Only, I have noticed that when I play alongside her, she's started trying to grab my stuff. Uncool!
Some of the things Mommy has been talking about this week are "Kate firsts":

First tooth (no one even noticed it until it was fully cut!)
First foods: carrots (she likes it much better than rice cereal!)
First night away from home (thanks Nana and DD!)
First haircut (just a trim along the back)


Mommy says she did it all while sweetly cooing (which to the untrained ear may sound more like a pterodactyl shriek), never once fussing about the tooth or otherwise requiring attention. People spend a lot of time talking about how Katie is the perfect second child. Well, she may be, but I am certain that I am the perfect first child! When Kate spit up today, I worried about her to the point that I had to stop eating and run upstairs to get her new pjs and 2 stuffed animals. To make her feel better, of course.

This week was a busy one for me, but I handled all of Mommy's plans and all of the excitement just like a perfect first child: with wide-eyed wonder and unbridled enthusiasm. Life is so much fun when you're a toddler!

On Tuesday, we went to a St. Patrick's party at Miss Stephanie's house. We got to find green flowers (clovers) and trade them in for bubbles. Then, Mommy made a green dinner: green mashed potatoes, green peas, (normal colored chicken) and green jello jigglers cut out like those funny green flowers.

On Wednesday, I got to go to storytime and later have dinner at Clay's with Nana, DD, Mommy and Daddy. I giggled so hard when the horses ate out of my hands and told Daddy that the chickens were saying, "Don't eat me! Don't eat me!" Then, I had my normal bubble bath and ice cream at Nana and DD's and slumbered with them.

On Thursday, Mommy and Kate came to pick me and Nana up. We went to the rodeo, where I got to enjoy a petting zoo, ride a pony, see baby piggies, and pretend I was a farmer. Next year, Daddy says he'll take off work to take me, because I kept asking Mommy to ride the "big slide" and other crazy carnival rides. That's a job for Daddy! I ended out Thursday with my favorite mid-week activity: bible study!

On Friday, Mommy locked her keys in the car and so we couldn't go to our playdate. Instead, we made bubbles in the sand and water table and played at home. But, when Daddy got home, it was time for my date! Daddy and Mommy took me bowling. I loved throwing the ball down the shoot and carrying it around. (I didn't care much if it hit the pins or not...) Mommy is such a stellar bowler that she scored a 49! Then we got ice cream. Yum! At the end of the night, I told Daddy, "Daddy, I much fun bowling. Thank you for eating ice cream." Daddy said it melted his heart on the spot.


Click here for pictures.

Love,
Avery "FIRST child" McClinton

Our Resident Geek

Brilliant Daddy and his brilliant friend just finished CJ Yardwork's website. Click to see the masterpiece!

And recently, he also complete Gym Station's website. Another work of art, geek-style.

On to the next project!

As Promised!

The rest of last week's news, with pics:

(Avery says:)

Every day at naptime, we have a ritual. I ask Mommy or Daddy, "What my treat tonight?" If I nap (and sometimes even if I don't), Mommy and Daddy have a special treat waiting for me when I wake up!

Last week, my treats were so special:

Monday - Park time with Daddy!

Tuesday - Make brownies (and lick the bowl - literally!)

Wednesday - Rainforest Cafe with Nana, DD, Mom and Dad (despite the lack of nap)

Thursday - Bible Study! Yay!

Friday - This was a special day! I got to go to Lockhart and see my Nanny and Mimi and Gran! I stopped by Nanny's first and showed off my singing, and then headed to Mimi and Gran's to spend the night.

Saturday - play with Mimi and Gran and DD while Mommy, Aunt Amanda, and Nanny helped throw a shower for Cousin Sarah. Then, even though I wasn't feeling at 100%, I did get to stop by and see the party for a little while! (I ran a fever Saturday and Sunday but I never had any symptoms. Great-Gran is still a brilliant doctor, at 89 1/2 years old, and he checked me out and gave me the okay. What a guy!)

Sunday - Pancakes and eggs with Nanny and then a special trip home to see.... Daddy!!! I missed him, but I kept asking Mommy if we could "get Daddy and go back to Mimi Nanny house". I love Lockhart!

Click here for pictures and videos - one of the videos is of me "reading" to Katie Beth. You'll love it for sure! :)

Love,

Avery "What My Treat Tonight?" McClinton

First Foods!

Kate says:

I've been watching the grown ups and big sister lately, and they do this funny thing where they put something in their mouth. They do it over and over and it seems like it just goes in there and disappears. At dinner a few weeks ago, I lunged at DD's "salad", a word I've heard the big people use about some of this stuff.

I guess that's what Mommy was waiting for, because she got busy preparing for my "first foods". She had daddy pull the high chair out of the attic, cleaned it, and set a date!

Well, from there, very odd things started happening. Mommy put this white stuff in my mouth. I was so busy smiling at my family that I didn't even notice at first. After a little while, I did a lot of licking followed by an involuntary swallow, which made everyone cheer. Then, DD gave me some more of the white stuff, and I after a few more bites, lost it. I do NOT think this is the same stuff I've seen the big people eating, and I certainly can't figure out what I'm supposed to do with it once it's in my mouth!

Mommy and Daddy have tried again every night since last Wednesday, and for 4 days in a row, I made faces and tried to communicate to them that this was NO FUN! But last night, something finally clicked, and I ate 6 bites! I think this eating thing may work out for me after all!

I grew up in another way this week also. I've started sleeping from 9 pm until 6 am without a feeding! What a big week for me!

We had other fun this week, too, but the camera that documented all of this weekend's events is riding around in Abilene right now, so Mommy says we'll post on Wednesday about the rest of the weekend.

Click here for pictures.

Love,
Kate "Growing Up So Fast" McClinton

Today, I Appreciate My Mom

Mommy says:

Today, I stand in the kitchen surrounded by sugar cookies.  They're out of the oven, half-iced, and cooked unevenly because I'm still learning to roll dough correctly (after 29 years!)

All of the baking and rolling and icing makes me think of my mom.  It's too true that we don't fully appreciate our own moms until we ourselves are moms.  

My mom used to make sugar cookies at every major holiday: Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's, Easter... she'd bake them and then let us help ice them and add the eyes and decorations as we saw fit.  When I was a kid, it looked like this:

(Skipping in from careless play)

Mom: I have cookies, you want to ice them?

Me: Yes!

I never realized that "I have cookies" meant she'd spent the last 2-4 hours mixing, rolling, cleaning... I never stopped to think that she had a million other things going on.  It was just cookie day.  Man, I love that lady.

This got me thinking about other things.  Like the fact that if I brought home 1 or 14 friends, she'd order pizza for us or hand out candy bars like a vending machine or have fresh baked brownies.  Like the fact that I had more experiences in my youth than most people have their whole lives.  Like the fact that she constantly had a new art project, a new science experiment, or a new pet for us to use as we learned through play.  And she did it all for us, all without ever having anyone fully realize the depth of love and effort she was pouring into us, every single day.

I take being a mom more seriously than any other job I've ever had.  I love it, I throw myself into it.  If only I can give my girls what my mom gave me.

Today, I appreciate my mom.

The Big News This Week...

...is that I got my haircut!

This week I heard Mommy and Daddy talking about my hair. They were saying something about it getting too long and stringy and then I heard Nana (lovingly) call me "Cousin It". There was some discussion of cutting it off into a bob, but Mama is too in love with my curls to let that happen.

Cousin It

Even though a bob was out of the question, all that talking got Mama thinking and so while I was outside playing in the water, she came out with some scissors. I knew what was up, and started crying and saying, "I don't want a haircut". Mama paid me no attention and snipped away.

My first ever hair cut!

Apparently she'd never cut hair before, because she seemed a little unsure of herself and was surprised that 2 inches off the sides equals more like 5 inches from the back. Oops!

But Daddy says all is well, I still have my curls and it's long enough for styling. He says I look beautiful - and of course I reply, "Like Aurora."

The wave in my curls makes this look crooked - but Mama thinks it is actually pretty straight.

We had other fun this week also - St. Patrick painting, story time, and decorating for Easter. Kate didn't feel great this week, so we skipped our Friday activity and found fun around the house. (She's feeling much better now.) Kate stayed busy trying to sit from a laying position - she was unsuccessful, of course, but is building some killer stomach muscles. She had to be content sitting propped up on the couch with help instead.

Click here for pictures.

Love,
Avery "Where Are My Curls?" McClinton

Kate in C#

public class KatieBear {
      public static void Main (string[] args) {
          System.Console.WriteLine ("Like father, Like daughter");
          }

     }

Kate's To Do List

From Kate:

Whew! I've been a busy girl lately! I'm looking at my to-do list from the last week, and I'm proud to say I'm ready to check off most of my items:

*Follow Avery to her fun activities and observe peacefully (check)
*Sleep through the night (che...HAHA! Just kidding!)
*Learn to roll from back to front (check)

(I'm pretty proud of myself for this one)

*Celebrate with Aunt Amanda and Uncle David since they found out the gender of my new cousin - and that it's a completely healthy baby so far! (check)
*Pose for March calendar pics (check)

*Convince mom I'm ready for solid food despite her desires to keep life simple and go without them for another few months (I think this is a check... although I have yet to see any solids)
*Stare at sister in adoration (check)
*Refuse to roll over anytime the camera comes out, only to roll wildly as soon as it's batteries die (check)
*Forge a new and lasting friendship with a lovey (check)


Check out the pictures of the week for some funny ones of sister. Mommy says she's a mess, and I'm taking careful notes, because being a "mess" sure sounds like fun! :)