The Easter Fun Has Begun!

This week, my playgroup pals and I enjoyed an Easter party. Mommy only had to show me what to do once for the egg hunt; after I understood what was inside the eggs, I was hooked! I've been walking all over the house putting eggs into my Easter basket ever since. Sadly, they don't always have treats inside... what gives?

We also got to dress up in our fancy Easter dresses today and take pictures. I love my Easter hat! It was windy outside and every time the wind blew my hat off, I'd yell, "No! Haaah!" It makes me feel so 'glamorous', as Fancy Nancy and Fancy Avery would say, that I wear it even when I'm not in my Easter dress. It's a little big on me... but at my size, what isn't big on me?

I hear there is more Easter fun on the way: Easter Fest at my church AND celebrating the real deal with my family. All I have to say is, there better be treats in the eggs!

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE WEEK

Love,

Katie Beth "Egg Hunter Extraordinaire" McClinton

Spring Break Means...

Of course Spring Break means no school or regular activities for a week... but this week, for me, Spring Break also meant...

*Picnicking and biking with the family
*St. Patty's Playgroup Fun
*Green jello and green mashed potatoes with Daddy on St. Patrick's Day
*RODEO! (Which I loved. Kate was terrified at the Petting Zoo, but Ms. Gen pointed out that it's probably because the size ratio was similar to an adult being released in an elephant den. Makes sense...!)
*Spending time outside with Nana and DD
*Snail gardens and flower picking
*Kite flying (and chasing)

Tonight at bedtime, I told Mommy and Daddy that I have so much to tell Miss Barbara and Miss Michelle about at school tomorrow. It was such a special week!

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES OF THE WEEK

Love,
Avery Spring Break McClinton

Mommy Loves The Little Gym

And so do I!

I know Mommy loves The Little Gym because her face lights up when we walk through the doors. She says it's her favorite hour of the week. I don't know why Mommy loves The Little Gym. Maybe it's because it's time we spend together, just the two of us, working on independence and self-esteem but also bonding. Or maybe it's because I'm so small that it's like I'm making a joke every time I do the activities. I don't really know why Mommy loves The Little Gym, but I know why I love it!

I love the bells. I love the bubbles. I love the balls. I love the parachute. I love the exploring time. I love forward rolls and straddle rolls. I love backwards whoop-de-doos. I especially love hanging from the bars and climbing on the obstacle courses. I love Miss Paige and I love it when she uses me as an example in class. I love the routines and being able to anticipate what comes next. Classes at The Little Gym were the perfect birthday present for me!

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES OF THE WEEK

Love,

Katie Beth "Small Enough to be a Gymnast" McClinton

Avery, Version 3.5

I'm 3 and a half now, which I remind my family of on a regular basis. As a 3.5 year old, I have a few new thoughts on life. For one, those so-called "rules" are much more palatable when taken as mere suggestions. Mom and Dad aren't on the same page with this one... yet.

I'm really having fun with rhyming words: "cat rhymes with bat and mat and gat". Sometimes, though, I get a little confused: "kite rhymes with high". I'm working on it.

At school, we're doing a Dr. Seuss unit and we made green eggs and ham in class:

"Sam I Am called Miss Michelle! He told her, 'Here's how you make green eggs and ham. Eggs. Ham. Food Coloring. Mizzapizzah!'" (Mizzapizzah is alive and well. Apparently even Sam I Am uses it.)

The last page of The Cat in the Hat reads, "Then our mother came in and she said to us two, 'Did you have any fun? Tell me. What did you do?' ... Should we tell her about it? Now, what SHOULD we do? Well...What would YOU do if your mother asked you?" Every time we read the book, Mommy says, "You'd tell Mommy, right? Because Mommy and Avery don't have any secrets, right?"

Well, at school, we read The Cat in the Hat and then we got to tell Miss Michelle what we would do if the Cat in the Hat came to our house. My friends said things like, "I'd fly a kite with Thing 1 and Thing 2", or "I'd hang from the lights!" When it was my turn, I said, "I would tell my Mommy."

I'm also figuring out really effective reasoning techniques. One night, after 11 hugs, Mommy told me no more hugs tonight. So, I cried in my room for a while, and then:

"Mommy. If you come hug me, I can stop crying and then I can sleep. But if you tell me no, then it will make me cry so hard and I cannot sleep when I cry so hard!" Mommy couldn't argue with such solid logic.

But don't try to get me to talk if I don't want to. Sometimes I turn into a Pterodactyl and only screech.

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES OF THE WEEK (Including my first pretend-sleepover and Aunt Amanda's birthday at Clay's)

Love,

Avery v.3.5

Two Men and a Little Lady

I am one special girl. I know it, because my daddy got all dressed up and even wore a tie and took me to a fancy dance at our church. I got to curl my hair and wear make-up and a real life necklace and carry a purse and eat fancy noodles and dance and dance and dance! (DD brought Kate up for the last part so she could have a little time there, too.) It was such a special night that for the last week I have stopped what I'm doing to let Mommy or Daddy or whoever will listen know about another fabulous part of the dance.

Then my Daddy went out of town to a worship conference and us McClinton ladies took a vacation to Nana and DD's house.

We missed him so much, but it was really special to stay with Nana and DD during the week. And, since Daddy was out of town, DD and I got to go to Dad's Night at my preschool together. I dressed up like a cowgirl and DD wore his special Texas shirt and we painted with marbles, ate trail mix, colored a cowboy, and even did a rocket experiment. It was a wonderful night with my other favorite main man. Daddy was truly sad to miss my big night at school, but there will be plenty more and the sacrifice was well worth the time he spent learning so much about leading worship and praising the Lord. Plus, this way, I took my two main men to two different events in the span on 3 days. Talk about special!

And, Mommy says that behind every good man is a good woman. Case in point: Mommy helped plan the Father Daughter Dance at church, Nana took great care of us all while Daddy was out of town, Amanda and Amelia drove in town to keep Mommy and Kate company on Monday, Mimi sewed my cowgirl outfit for Mom when she was a little girl, and we all know how important the blue dress up dress and doll outfit are that Nanny made us. Kate won't put the blue dress doll down!

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES OF THE WEEK (Kristin King Photography was at the Father Daughter dance so when she posts those pictures, we'll put up a link. These are just from our camera.)

Love,

Avery Little Lady McClinton

(PS - What I dictated to my teachers about my Daddy:

My daddy is 8 yrs old.
My daddy's favorite food is oranges.
My daddy's favorite drink is coffee.
My daddy's favorite color is blue.
When I am at school my daddy is at work.
When my daddy goes to work he walks around.
When I'm with my daddy I like to go upstairs and make a choo choo train I got for Christmas.)

Sister's Shadow

My sister is the best. Anything she does, I want to do, too! When she has a baby doll, I get a baby doll. When she plays Barbies, I play Barbies. I even pretend to teetee after she goes potty so I can be just like her. She's my role model.

I love Sister so much that I sometimes lunge at her without warning for a big hug. My favorite hugging time is bath time, which stresses Mommy out because sometimes our hugs involve my face staying under the water for a second or two.

Luckily, Sister loves me right back. She is gentle and loving and completely happy playing Leader in our ongoing game of Follow the Leader.

What a lucky girl I am. What do little girls without sisters do? Play age-appropriate games rather than Barbies and dress up? How boring.

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES OF THE WEEK

Love,
Katie Beth "Sister's Shadow" McClinton

Daddy's Valentine

Every year, Mommy helps me make a present for Daddy and Daddy helps me make one for Mommy in honor of Valentine's Day. This year, Mommy gave me about 10 papers of ideas she'd torn out of magazines to choose from. I didn't really like any of the ideas that much, so Mommy thought of another idea: Valentine's cupcakes. She pulled out the cupcake book and the pages flipped open to alien cupcakes instead of heart ones. I was riveted! Could there be a better Valentine's gift for Daddy?

Three times, Mommy tried to persuade me to do a Valentine-themed gift for Daddy. But every time, I was adamant: aliens. So, Mommy decided that if this gift was really from me, and if I was so sure about aliens, aliens it would be. Who says little green men don't scream Valentine's?

The aliens were fun to make for the first hour. But then I asked Mommy if I could go play while she finished up. Three more hours and they were ready for Daddy!

When Daddy got home, I told him, "Your aliens are on the table and they are kind of cute." He agreed, and said that aliens were the perfect Valentine's day gift. I knew Daddy would get it!

CLICK HERE FOR THE ECARD I MADE FOR MOMMY AND DADDY WITH NANA AND DD'S HELP

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES OF THE WEEK, INCLUDING OUR ANNUAL PLAYGROUP PARTY

Love,
Avery "Out of This World" McClinton