don't leave home with out them

This is a transcript of an email conversation I had with a few of my friends. They shall remain nameless as I wish to protect their identities because of the delicate nature of the conversation.
Just another reason why I love my village:

Me:
I didn't pump this morning because I didn't have time and when I went to pump at work, I realized that I have everything except the little bottles. What to do!?!

I'm considering using coffee cups.

Just needed to share.

Friend A:
Do you have ziplock baggies? I pumped into a nalgene once. Pretty sure they don’t include that in their marketing.

Me:
LOL!

I do have a nalgene but it's got coffee in it.

Ooh, just spoke with Nikki and she's on her way!

Friend B:
HILARIOUS! We have all been there! You are in good company! I just work in a company large enough, that someone always has rubber bands and extra bags! :)

a little vivi

I guess I could have just done a post about Avery, but I had these super cute pictures of Vivi so she gets one as well. Since her 8 month birthday is just around the corner (March 6th!!!) I will save the extensive Vivi update for then because truth be told it is a little harder to write paragraphs about someone who mostly just puts stuff in her mouth all day while keeping an eye out for her brother. Plus, I already covered the eating thing.

I am also testing out different editing techniques and I'm a big fan of these.

a little avery

Gotta love these impromptu photo shoots! The boy earned his Avery show tonight.

I actually have been meaning to write a little about what Avery has been up to lately because even though he's growing so quickly that we can't keep him supplied with properly fitting feetie jammies, it is his little brain that has me in awe. The kid can reliably count to 100, read every street sign including the different speed limit numbers, has an associative memory that blows my mind, is such a stickler for instructions and I fear for the game manufacturers that do not ensure that their instruction manual shows the EXACT same thing contained in the box.

The Zingo box shows a bug playing piece and it took Avery about 5 minutes to realize that the actual game does not contain such a piece. There are countless examples of him noting similar inconsistencies. He has also started to understand the concept of 'clues.' Instead of saying "It's a cup of water," when describing a cup of water during guessing games, he can now describe its qualities and uses. I don't know if that's a specific milestone but it shows me that he's gaining a more complex understanding of things. He is very in to games and his number love has somewhat surpassed his letter love. We have also been making lots of forts.

The power of an Avery show (goodness, I cannot wait until he outgrows Dora and Diego. Who in the hell is she yelling at all of the time?) to whip that boy into shape is awesome. We are trying to instill in him the concept of earning privileges and that there are consequences for bad behavior. And no, we are not afraid to say wrong or bad.

Also, have I mentioned how polite he is? Most of the time I get unprompted pleases and thankyous and I just love it. He also uses the phrase 'really, really, really...' to emphasize his point or demonstrate just how badly he needs his Dora fix.

Daddy's iphone is also on his favorites list these days. Games, text messaging, calling people...he'll do it all and beg to keep on. He talked to Arlin the entire way to school last week.

It just so amazing to watch him transforming into a kid, that's KID people. Does a baby wear boxer briefs? I don't think so :)

**I should mention that Avery is smiling because he tooted during our photo shoot.
***I also forgot to mention that Avery is now using terms like 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc. as well as single, double, triple. Yup, numbers have surpassed letters. He also always needs to know how many ounces we're feeding Sister.

why people have kids

It is truly moments like these where I find myself saying 'this is why I have two kids' even though I never anticipated that this would be the best part. Watching Avery and Vivi interact and play together brings me nothing but pure joy. Vivienne ADORES her brother and he is the best version of himself when around her. I am so proud of Avery in the compassion, love and care he shows towards his sister and I want to savor every moment before the inevitable sibling rivalry enters our household. He always needs to know where Sister is and she is of his first concern when returning home. Their faces light up when they see each other and can play happily for hours.

In the above pictures Avery was eating a veggie booty snack (after he had come in with me after her nap) and of course, Vivi wanted some. When I told Avery that the pieces were too big for her, he volunteered to bite off smaller pieces and feed them to her. It was just so sweet and fun to watch him carefully chew the right size piece and inspect it one last time before offering it to her. Frankly, I am surprised he didn't lose a finger in the exchange because that girl can eat.

I feel so grateful that their interactions are a part of my daily life. I love my children and I love even more the relationship they have with each other.

sleeping beauty

Vivi's diaper had come open in the early morning hours leaving a 'big huge' mess needing to be cleaned up. Since the laundry was not done by morning nap, Scott put her and her entourage to sleep in Avery's bed and it was so sweet that I couldn't resist taking a picture or two.

friday night

Watch out! Friday nights tend to get a little wild around here!

Avery plays a mean game of Candy Land.

Getting a lift from Big Buddy (Brad)

Avery and I went on an adventure to pick up dinner on Colfax. Flashlights were needed.

Times have changed. Rarely is the Friday night that Scott and I go out and I have to say that that's okay with me. Luckily, we have a few friends who are willing to come over and play with Avery until he goes to bed and then hang out with the grownups. Brad, aka Big Buddy (coined by Avery when he realized how tall Brad is) came over to play video games with Scott and was nice enough to keep Avery entertained. I'm sure Candy Land isn't at the top of his preferred Friday night activities, but he is always a great sport about it.

Avery and I had a fun adventure walking to pick up dinner at Pete's Gyros on Colfax. We got dressed, grabbed our flashlights and hit the streets. It was actually very fun and it was nice to have some one on one time with him.

picnic!

Quite possibly my favorite noise, ever.

eater eater pumpkin eater

Thanks, Mom. Dinner was great.

First I ate the food...

And then the plate.

Could it be? Is it possible? Does this little girl actually like food?

YES! She loves to eat and will eat anything (lint included). It is a joy to feed Vivienne because of the ease with which she eats. Bland baby food? Add a little garlic! Add some curry powder! Spicy pasta sauce? Of course...next course!

I am a lot more liberal in what I'm feeding her than I was with Avery (gasp, she has had some non-organic food) and is doing so well with tidbits. She has yet to choke on food and seems to understand "chewing." I wouldn't let Avery within 10 feet of a potential choking hazard for almost 2 years, but I guess that's what it's like with subsequent children.

I don't want to jinx it, but having a kid who loves food is as awesome as I thought and hoped it would be.

growing

You know it's time for new feetie jammies when...

valentine's day

Vivienne working on Daddy's card.

Avery just circled his favorite letters. A.V.E.R and Y.

Argh. This had so much potential, but Viv pulled Avery's hair and then there was some crying, it was all over.

Vivienne would prefer to look at her brother for the better part of her day.

Just trying to get a nice picture here...nope, not today.

Scott and I are not much into the Valentine's Day thing (our standards our low - cards only), but it is a good opportunity to tell our loved ones how much they mean to us. Vivienne took the time to appropriately slobber both the card and envelope while Avery scribbled away. I should mention that he did not want to take the time to write out his name on the card but was more than willing to fill out the "My Name is ____" in his new Thomas reading book. Infer what you will.

Stacy and the kids ended up coming over for dinner while my Scott went to the gym (probably the best gift I could have given him) and then brought home some frov-yov (frozen yogurt). Not such a bad holiday.

the girliest thing i've ever seen

Brought to you by Auntie Sarah.

vivienne | 7 months

Oh, the shame. I'm going to admit something to you (and you, and you, and you) that I just knew was going to be a problem, Vivienne's birth date (7-6-10). You see, I have a certain fondness for odd numbers and was a little dismayed when Avery was born on the 2nd, but I moved on. Then with Vivi, I constantly repeated her due date in my head (7-7-10) throughout my pregnancy. I liked the cadence, the oddness of it, but alas, I gave in, had acupuncture, and gave birth on the 6th. Literally, every month I have to remind myself shes a 6 and when I fill out her birth date on forms, I always pause. Always. Um, yes you can say bad mom.

Anyway, I uploaded the pics for the blog on Saturday thinking I had a jump on things and that on Monday the 7th, I would publish it so that the date stamp would reflect her birth date. I even mentioned to Scott this morning that our baby was 7 months old today and he countered that she had already been 7 months for one day. In the craziness that is a working morning, I let it go and even went as far as to start composing an "I Told You So" email to him when I got to work claiming that he was wrong and that today was indeed the 7th, her birth date. Luckily, I realized my folly before hitting send because I might have never lived that down.

So yeah, I missed her day. She was born on the 6th, THE 6TH, THE 6TH, THE 6TH!

Okay, onto Miss Vivienne...7 months and 1 day old. She has really started to enjoy eating and would eat her weight in puffs if we let her. She will be wiped out from sitting in the high chair eating her dinner, slumped over, and still continue to maneuver puffs into her little mouth. She hasn't quite gotten the pincher grasp down so eating small objects is still a whole hand operation. If one happens to fall onto the floor, she will keep looking at it longingly until I pick it up and give it to her. Her object permanence is prime. Now that she's eating more calories during the day, her night sleep has improved. She even slept 12 solid hours this weekend! Of course, the second I hit 'send' on the email to the sleep consultant, she decides that now would be a good time to start sleeping consistently, but I'll take it. I think after Sarah leaves (she's coming this week) we'll night wean her, so fingers crossed.

I'm now at the point where I could just keep repeating myself each month because her baby personality has not really changed. She is a very happy, interested, playful baby. She has started "calling" to Avery when he goes further away from her than she should would like. This entails a very high-pitched scream, but one that is reserved especially for him, as opposed to her other screams. Yup, she's loud and she's a chatterbox. She adores her brother. They actively play together for most of the day and she never tires of his antics. She can repeat raspberries and "baba" if you say them to her. Still no teeth, which is funny because she had molar buds at 3.5 months, but those have gone back in. Her hair is wild in the morning and she tolerates my brushing, pulling and styling almost too well. She HATES having her nose suctioned, wiped or touched for that matter.

I am grateful every single second that I have her...now, if I could only get her birth date correct...

costco

Wow. Lou riding big girl style in the cart for the first time!

They sampled many of the delicacies offered at the Aurora Costco. Surprisingly, this is the only place we can get Avery to try new foods. Peanut butter granola bars are now on this week's grocery list.

I just wanted to commemorate in blog form our trip to Costco today. Nothing special, except that Vivi rode in the cart like a big girl for the first time. She made it about half-way before getting a little too tired to keep herself upright. The important thing is that we went as a family and I had a great time. Avery even made us hold hands 'like a family' while we were in the parking lot. Also, it's nice to have an iphone so that I can actually get the pictures onto my computer. Well, for that and Angry Birds.

Oh, if you want to elicit several comments from strangers while at Costco, let your baby ride around without her socks. She kept taking them off, so I just left them off and I think a few people were considering calling protective services.

the view from above

These shots are from Vivienne's 7 month photo shoot (blog and more pics forthcoming on her actual 7 month birthday) but I couldn't resist posting these because I think they turned out so well. I follow Kelle Hampton's blog and not only is her writing amazing (it makes my text seem like a 4th grade writing assignment), but she takes the most beautiful pictures of her girls. I especially love the ones where she is looking down at them and I used her photos as my inspiration for part of this photo shoot. The light was beautiful this morning and I had Avery assist me in getting Lou to look my way. She was not particularly smiley because all 3 of us are suffering from colds. Yuck.

Also, stop keeping a tally of how many pictures there are of Avery vs. Vivi. I've mentioned before that it is much easier to hit a non-moving target than a I'm-much-more-interested-in-playing-won't-get-out-of-my-jammies-no-matter-what-the-bribe toddler. At least he took a few moments to stand still for the shots I did get.