Thanksgiving Means...

Some people think of turkey and pie when they think of Thanksgiving. I forgot to eat real food this holiday, so turkey isn't really what Thanksgiving means to me. To me, Thanksgiving means...

*SUGAR RUSH! I had desserts, desserts, and more desserts! Yum!
*Being spoiled with love, attention, and sugar by my Mimi, Nanny and Nana.
*No sleep! (Maybe because of the sugar?)
*Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Grandparents! Family is bliss!
*Playing during an Aggie game and getting caught up in the excitement.
*Christmas decorating. I keep asking if I can open my presents now. A month's wait is too much!

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES!

Love,
Avery Sugar McClinton

Houston, We Have A Climber!

Dear Mommy,

Please stop calling me "the baby". I am 13 months old. I climb all over everything. I walk, I play 'big girl' games, I feed myself, I even know how to escape from hotel rooms. I am trying everything I can to show you that I am not a baby anymore. I've even started using my words! ("Mama", "Da", "Bebe", "Whoowhoo" for my lovey and even "A-Bree"!) So, please, opt for one of my many other nicknames, but just not 'the baby' anymore!

And while I have your attention, no other lovey will do. It's the puppy lovey or it's screaming. And yes, I know a difference, even in the dark. And when we used to play the hot and cold game with my pacis where I would hide them and then scream until you found them, I never thought you'd just stop looking. I'd like them back, please. I don't like going to sleep without them!

I'm glad we've cleared everything up.

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES OF KATIE'S TO DO LIST

Love,

Katie (NOT "the baby") Beth

Elegant Weekend

Fancy Nancy went to a posh hotel once (in Bonjour, Butterfly). She said that going to a fancy hotel is extraordinary.

You know something? Fancy Nancy is right! Nana and Mommy went to a Women of Faith conference this weekend, and DD, Daddy, Kate and I joined them downtown for some fun. We stayed at a posh hotel with glass elevators that went all the way up to the 30th floor! I also loved the chandeliers ("Mommy, those chandeliers look like jewelry."), the fancy soaps in our rooms, and the escalators in the lobby. I was living the high life!

While Nana and Mommy were busy during the day, DD and Daddy took us to Disney on Ice. I loved every part of it. I even told DD that this one was better than the last!

It was 'quite elegant' like my good pal Fancy Nancy says.

Thanks, Nana and DD, for my elegant weekend!

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES FROM THE WEEKEND

And check out what Katie learned to do:

Love,

Avery Fancy Nancy McClinton

Pirate Party!

I threw a party for my Daddy's 30th birthday. Turning 30 is big stuff, so I planned a very special party for him. At first, I thought I would do a princess theme for him, but once Mommy reminded me that he is a boy, I changed it to a pirate party. I've been working on it and looking forward to it all week, and when my guests started to arrive, I was beside myself with excitement.

We had so much fun! We played Pin The Treasure On The Map and had a pinata! We also ate a pirate cake (Mommy made it but I picked out what it should look like), and I got to decorate cupcakes with special toppers I chose all by myself.

It was such a special night to celebrate a special man! I love you, Pirate Daddy!

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES FROM THE PIRATE PARTY

Love, Pirate Avery

It's My Party and I'll Cry If I Want To...

I've witnessed parties before. In fact, as a guest, I quite like them. There's food, friends, and cake! But when my first birthday party came, I wasn't so sure I liked being the guest of honor.

All these people kept looking at me and talking to me and I was just sleepy, sleepy, sleepy. And grumpy. After I had some birthday food, I was ready to at least look around at all of my friends and all of the fun: riding toys, a slide, a tunnel DD built for me... I have to admit, it was pretty fun!

One thing no one told me, though, is that I'd have to sit in my high chair all by myself while everyone looked at me and sang. At first, I was embarrassed, then I was sad. But when I realized, finally, that the cake was all mine and the singing had stopped, WOW! All that sugary goodness just for me?!? And no one to stop me??? This party thing isn't such a bad idea after all! (As a side note, while everyone was singing to me and I was trying to fade into my high chair, Sister was busy sticking her muddy feet on the table, dancing around, and otherwise begging for the attention to be transferred to her.)

Something I completely understand is the present opening. I loved tearing into the gifts and hugged my new babies, read my new books, open and closed my singing cards, and squealed with delight over each and every toy.

I especially liked clean up time. I seemed to come to life when everyone went home and Mommy and Daddy were busy cleaning up. Mommy says when I get old enough to say no to parties, she'll listen. Until then, we'll keep celebrating Mommy-style.

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES from the party and Halloween celebrations

(Sister "helped" Mommy on the computer this morning and when Mommy reclaimed the screen, a few favorite pics had been deleted into the nothingness of cyberspace. She'll try to find them before next week, but for now, these are the ones that survived.:))

Love,

Kate "Is It Over Yet?" McClinton

Kate Elizabeth and other things

(Mommy says:)

First things first, Katie Beth turned one last Friday. To say this past year has been surprisingly joyful would be an understatement.

When we found out we were having another girl, a part of me honestly wondered how in the world a girl would fit in with Avery, who seems to fill every space with life and energy. Oh how Kate has answered the call.

Instead of what I expected (another boisterous sister vying for attention with over the top shenanigans), Kate has carved out a space in our family with gentleness, quietness, and just a hint of quirkiness. From her tiny little birth size to her own understated way of doing everything, Katie has filled our hearts with a new kind of love and a new kind of joy.

Really, to write a post that is fitting this precious child is impossible. There are no words that are adequate to describe the way I fall in love with her every time I get a glimpse of her, or the way she balances vitality with calm, or the way I look forward to racing to her room in the mornings to get another Katie hug. She is everything I never knew I wanted but that now I cannot imagine life without. She has surprised us with her ability to bring even more joy, even more adoration, and even more life into our home.

Katie Beth, we absolutely adore you. You make our world a better place and you make me want to be better for you. Happy birthday, little pumpkin.

And, as if there is anything that could add to a post about our little lady, we also had a full weekend on other counts:

We made our first fondant covered cake (translation: Jordan made our first fondant covered cake while I looked on with support).



Jordan raced his first triathlon and did swimmingly (haha) in the first leg. 14th out of 55 in his age range for the swim leg!



Avery and her adorers saw Mary Poppins on broadway. Kate spent the day with a babysitter (the first time we've ever left a child with a babysitter!) and loved every minute of her time with Bailee.


And we had our annual Rowdy Rebel Halloween party with a new addition: structured games! It was so much fun and my favorite part was the impromptu foot races. Good times.



CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES OF THE WEEK

How To Get Attention in 10 Easy Steps

(Or: Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better)

By Katie Beth

1. Start at your 9 month check up, gaining less weight than desired.

2. Three weeks before your desired day of attention, begin sporting 103.5 temperatures, off and on, with no real reason and no side effects.

3. Baffle doctors when Mom takes you in after 2 weeks of this.

4. And this is important, choose a weekend full of big plans, most of which you'd be certain to be a spectator rather than a participant.

5. That particular weekend, shoot the fever up to an all time high.

6. This should result in a baffled Mommy and Daddy and a full day at the doctor's office (if possible, plan this for a Saturday, so as to cancel the family trip to Dewberry Farm).

7. Make sure your white blood count is up.

8. (This is where the first step factors in.) Your tiny size, coupled with your elevated white blood count and inexplicable high temperature, will be sure to get your doctors worried. The most important part, step 8, is to make sure this all happens on a Sunday, when there is no other choice but to go straight to the ER.

9. If at all possible, coordinate with the doctor to call Daddy with this news right before he goes on to lead worship for the first time ever.

10. Since Daddy isn't immediately available, Mommy and DD will come along with you to the ER. Daddy will join you after he plays his music, giving you 3 adults, trapped for 6.5 hours, in a tiny room with nothing to do but lavish attention on you. (It's polite to think of Sister, too - make sure her Nana can take her to her first ever Tea Party and provide her with a day of fun.)

Bonus Step: If somehow you notice Sister regains control of the attention when you return home, you can finish the night with a 45 minute scream fest resulting from excessive constipation.

Yes, you will be poked and prodded and stuck and x-rayed, but those are small prices to pay for the sympathy, love, and special treatment you receive. And, I haven't proven this yet, but I suspect that the week following a traumatic series of events such as these will be full of more sympathy, more love, and more special treatment.

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES OF THE WEEK (including well and sick days)

Sister may have made a trip to the ER, but I think I've got her beat. Go ahead, Avery. Anything you can do, I can do better!