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! :)