Disney: Kate's Time to Shine

This trip had Kate written all over it. She was the perfect age for this sort of trip. She is still young enough to fall asleep just about anywhere (and of the right personality… Sister never did sleep on the go, regardless of age). She has enough understanding to be excited and enthralled, but not so much that she is scared or considers any of it real yet. At the end of a Nemo ride, she let out a deep breath, and with all the inflection a girl her size can muster, uttered a simple, “whhhhoooaaa!”

Coming into this trip, Kate had a vocabulary of maybe 10 words, and only 3 she said often. On the ride home, just from what we can remember, we were able to count roughly 20 brand new words that she began using during the week!

Kate loved everything about Disney. She loved the shows, the rides, the stroller, the fireworks (a total surprise!), the characters, and especially the non-traditional attractions, like the boat that ferries from resort to park. Every time she’d hear it’s honk, Kate would drop everything and run to the window, yelling, “Boat!”

Kate was so worked up at nights and during rest times from all of the excitement. One day, Nana had to hold her legs still so that she would quit kicking and moving. Once she had a gentle arm across her legs, she went limp and was able to fall asleep. The next night, Kate yelled, “AAEEEEEEEE! Aaaaaaa! Eeeee!” nonstop until she fell asleep. There was no change in volume or frequency before she fell asleep. She went straight from full volume to passed out cold.

Kate’s biggest moment to shine was at the Princess breakfast. Sister was tired (see Experiments in Child Sleep Deprivation) and was intimidated, but not Katie Beth. She loved the attention, loved meeting all 6 princesses, and especially loved being oohed and ahhed over by her twin, Snow White. She watched the princesses circulating around the tables for a while, and then climbed out of her chair and began visiting tables herself. She truly believed she was Princess enough to sign autographs and take pictures with the tourists. And we think she was, too.

Disney: Where a Little Girl's Every Dream Can Come True

Avery’s Disney experience vacillated between exhaustion and exhilaration. She absolutely loved It’s a Small World and rode it three times (which, in her opinion, was just shy of enough). She is at the stage where she believes that things that seem real must be real, and so many of the rides were “too scary” to even attempt. On the first day, during a momentary lapse of judgment, I marched my overly tired 4-year-old onto Journey Into Imagination, the Figment ride. She survived it with amazing gumption, but told me about 30 seconds into the ride, “I will not ride this ride again. Never. Not ever!” And it took a good bit to earn her trust back on our ride-approval scale.

Avery was so timid of rides after that, in fact, that when it came time to ride the Mexico ride in Epcot, she was only coerced into going when the ride attendant offered up her flashlight. Avery proudly shone that flashlight all through the ride, and sure enough, it wasn’t scary after all!

Later, when it came time to ride Nemo, Avery was again timid. Uncle David was along that day, and so we talked her into riding as long as David would come along and protect us. Later, when Daddy wanted a chance to ride Nemo with Avery, she told him, “You can ride with Kate and Mommy. That ride is me and Uncle David’s ride.”

She was such a delight with her relatives – she interacted and attached herself lovingly to each of them. She specifically requested Mimi and Gran to ride on either side of her for It’s A Small World, chose Aunt Erin to eat dinner next to and ride with on the bus, lavished love (and demands) upon Nana and DD, and was quite taken with “that white girl” (second cousin Kathryn, who happened to wear an all-white dress one night).

What was remarkable about this trip for our Avery Girl is that she really did have all of her dreams come true. Anything she could have imagined being true of her Disney vacation happened. She ate breakfast with the princesses (she later told Trey, “it was the best breakfast I ever ate, ever.”), she rode rides, she sat on DD’s shoulders through the Electric Light Parade, she had Nana and DD in the same room as her, she got ice cream and Sprite and toys and trinkets, and she got to experience the Bippity Boppity Boutique.

This is a special experience for princesses in Cinderella’s castle. One of the Fairy Godmother’s helpers do their hair and make-up. The entire event is something to behold, and Avery played the part of pouty princess very well. Then, clad in a sash, a princess dress, and new hair and make-up, she was set free to enjoy the Magic Kingdom and have tourists of all ages ooh and ahh about her. She loved every second of it! It was as if the experience was created with her in mind.

Avery turned to DD the other night and told him, “Disney World is better than Disneyland!” Whether the statement is debatable or not, for Avery Girl, the combination of family and experiences made it true for her!

Pet Sitter Extraordinaire

While Nana and DD were in Germany, I took super care of Mitzi, Rascal, and their two cats. Word must have gotten around that I am practically an expert at pet sitting, because this week, I got to pet sit for a frog and two dogs!

Froggy came to us on Wednesday. Katie and I love to stand and stare at him. Sometimes, Kate will suddenly yell out "Froggy!" and we will both drop everything to run to his cage and stare.

Katie Beth and the frog seem to have a love-hate relationship.
She loves him. She shrieks about him and spends all of her time watching him.
She hates him. She refuses to touch him and has to yell at him all the time about once when he accidentally jumped at her.
She doesn't know quite what to make of him, but Froggy sure is an important guest at our house this week.

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE WEEK

Love,
Avery Pet Sitter Extraordinaire McClinton

Guess Who is a Big Girl Now?

Me!

A few weeks ago, I climbed out of my crib. It wasn't so fun and I haven't done it since, but it got Mommy and Daddy thinking.

We're going on vacation next month and Mommy says she doesn't want to mess with a Pack & Play. Daddy remembered that Sister was about my age when she moved to a big girl bed... and voila! I'm in a big girl bed now, too!

Yesterday, Baby Amelia needed the crib at Nana and DD's house at naptime. No problem, Baby Amelia. I'm a big girl, and I can sleep in a big bed with my Daddy.

And when we got home, Daddy took the front off of my crib and all that was left is a big girl bed. I had so much fun climbing in and out of it and collecting babies and laying them in bed. But once the lights were turned out, I stayed in my bed (except for one small bump in the night when I rolled out and onto the pillows below). This morning, Mommy and Daddy knew I was awake, but it wasn't until they came up to get me that I got out of my bed.

I love being a big girl!

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES OF THE WEEK (including an almost-spend-the-night at Miss Ella's, Nana and DD's return from vacation, and DD's Father's Day cake, decorated entirely by Chef Avery.)

Love,
Katie Beth "My Own Big Bed" McClinton

Father's Day with My Daddy!

Father's Day with my Daddy is always so special. This year, I decided that for his present, I would make him a cookie cake with a guitar on it, since he loves guitars so much. I came up with the idea all by myself and Mommy told me it was inspired. I helped with cooking the cake (Kate helped by licking all of the sugar off of the counter as I spilled it), and then - for the first time ever! - I got to try my hand at decorating with icing. Mommy made the guitar and one heart, but I did all of the rest. I was so proud and Daddy says it is a perfect cake!

One of my favorite Father's Day traditions is picking blueberries with Daddy, Uncle David, and the family. After three years of practice, this year I got it! I was filling up my basket while Kate filled up her mouth. It didn't take her long to learn the blue ones taste better than the pink ones... and then there was no stopping her!

After church on Sunday, we got to go play at a lake together for more Father's Day fun. Being with my Daddy, splashing and sliding, was so much fun!

Father's Day was a really special day for me AND my daddy!

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES OF THE WEEK!

Love,

Avery "My Daddy is the Best!" McClinton

"I Smile Because You Are My Mother..."

"...I laugh because there's nothing you can do about it."

That's what a pillow says that Nana helped me buy for Mommy. And this week, was it ever true!

Katie Beth and I have been really busy thinking of creative ways to try to make Mommy crazy. It's not easy, but when we work as a team, we're pretty effective. Just this week alone, here are some things we are proud to say we've accomplished:

General, around the house:

*Disconnect Daddy's Wii and leave the pieces laying about the living room floor (Katie Beth)

*Create a beautiful glued art project on the back of a professional 8X10 school picture (me)

*While Mommy is cleaning those two messes, head upstairs and dig old shampoo bottles out of the trash can. Use new shampoo and lots of water to mix in the old bottles. Pour bubbles all over the sink and floor. (me)

*Cover head in an entire bottle of baby powder (me again)

*Wait until Daddy heads downtown for a meeting and Mommy is stranded alone... then throw up. (Yep... me again)

While Shopping (This set of events took a good bit of teamwork and coordination. We're quite proud of the results, though):

*Spill bags of coffee beans all over the aisle (me)

*While Mommy is cleaning up the coffee bean bags, hold on to the side of the cart and do a forward roll out of it, dangling and screaming from the edge. (Katie Beth)

*Take Mommy's credit card out of her wallet and hide it in the DVD player. But do it quietly so she doesn't notice until she is trying to pay at the grocery store. (Katie Beth)

*While Mommy is moving her groceries over so she can pay with a check, find chewed gum under the conveyor belt. Peel it off and use it as silly putty. (me)

During naptime (Surprise! These are all me!)

*Choose not to flush the potty. When asked why: "Because I didn't want you to know that I wasn't taking a nap."

*Climb the dresser in my room. Use the shelves as a ladder. Get things off of the top of the dresser.

*Climb the dresser in my closet. Narrowly escape as it falls forward. Cry and wonder why Mommy and Daddy are so upset.

*Unplug and plug in electrical devices: my night light, my noisemaker... anything I can find.

Mommy and Daddy know that Katie Beth and I are just creative spirits looking for ways to explore and understand the world. But Mommy and Daddy haven't forgotten that Curiosity Killed the Cat!

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURE FROM THE WEEK

Love,

Avery "Creative and Curious" McClinton

One Fish, Two Fish...

Sister has always loved the water. And I mean LOVED the water. By the end of last summer, she was swimming as much as she was on dry land and after only a week back in the water this year, she's a regular dolphin again.

I wasn't so sure about the water. We've been swimming for about a month now, and for the most part, I've been happy watching, playing in the sand table, or eating poolside.

But this week, something happened! Our friend Seth had a pool party and the pool we were at had an extra long step (Mommy says, 'tanning ledge'). I could stand on the ledge and jump into the water to Mommy! It wasn't as far of a jump to get to the water and didn't take as much courage as going from the edge of the pool to the water does. I was hooked!

In a matter of minutes, Mommy went from having one fish in the family to having two fish. I get it now! Ever since Tuesday, I've been drawn to the water like it has some sort of magical spell over me. (Of course, since I'm Kate, it takes me a few minutes to warm up to anything. But instead of an hour to warm up, now it's more like 10 minutes.)

Nana and DD say I'm at the "dangerous" stage because I run to the pool without any fear of the water nor skill of what to do while I'm in there. Luckily, they knew this was coming and I'm already enrolled in swim lessons.

Either way, it doesn't matter to me... as long as I can get more pool time!

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES OF THE WEEK

Love,

Katie Beth "Two Fish" McClinton