First Big Snow

I don't know that you would call 2-3" of snow a big snow, but we sure have been enjoying it. We broke out the sleds, drank hot chocolate, and made snow icecream. As we headed home from the nearby sledding hill yesterday, I mentioned that today would be a school day and that I needed to remember to take Avery's snow pants to Lynette's (daycare). As soon as I said it, I waited for Garrett's response. You could see him slowly start to process the idea that he would be sitting in school and not playing outside. He asked, "Mom, when am I going to get to play in the snow??!!" I assured him that we would make time for that after school. We did.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A few days before Thanksgiving, Avery and I had a cute conversation:
Avery: Is it Valentine's Day?
Me: No, but Thanksgiving is this week. Do you know what that is?
Avery: No.
Me: It is a time that we get together with our family, eat turkey, and think about all of the things that we are thankful for.
Avery chimed in, "AMEN!"

I guess that must have sounded like a prayer!

Big Helper

I think the first day of school was more tiring for Avery than it was for Garrett! She seemed a little lost without him, almost not knowing how to act when it was just her and I (and Emmett!). The first day of school she fell asleep on the living room floor, holding my phone and listening to kids music on Pandora radio.

Avery is very proud of her big brother and loves to help take him to school. She often rides her bike. When we walk home from school, I can tell that she wishes she could go to. She says things like, "I can't go to kindergarten yet." She can't wait to pick him up every day. She asks, "Is it time to go get Garrett?" Going back to work after maternity leave was tough because I miss all of those little moments.

After school each day, Avery often checks Garrett's backpack before we do! She wants to see if he has homework! She also checks in on his behavior. One day after school, she asked, "Garrett did you tease the girls today? Did you call anyone names?" I had to remind her that I am the parent, not her!

First Day of Kindergarten!!

My big boy started Kindergarten this year! I can't believe that 5 years can go by so quickly. Garrett is so excited for school. He was such a big kid when we went to open house a few nights before school started. He was excited and a little nervous before the big day, but not scared. The timing of Emmett's birth worked out perfectly so that we could walk Garrett to and from school for the first few weeks. He seemed to grow up overnight. Although we can't get a lot out of him about his daily activities at school, he has been talking a lot about science, singing songs from music, singing us the alpha friend songs and the good morning song, and talking about the Schools Out after-school program that he attends. We couldn't be more proud.

Emmett update

Emmett is one cute baby. We discovered that he likes to "talk" to things with eyes/faces. When Emmett was almost 3 months old, he was lying on the floor when I noticed him cooing to a Santa Claus book with big googly eyes that was propped up against the couch. Since then we've been propping up books with big pictures of faces as well as stuffed animals/toys with faces for him to "talk" to. And he sure does! The next night Greg had him cooing to the Disney princesses pictured on a pull-up box!

First Haircut

Awhile back Garrett and Avery woke up before us (as usual) but didn't hang around our room trying to get us out of bed. Instead they helped themselves to breakfast! They got out poptarts and Garrett got them both a cup of water. Luckily they actually chose to eat breakfast food (versus Cheez-its other goodies in the pantry). However, after they ate breakfast, they proceeded to cut their poptart wrappers into a million tiny pieces with scissors. I can't complain...at least I got little extra sleep!

About a month ago Greg was home with the kiddos while I was working later. He was changing Emmett's diaper when he overheard Garrett say, "Okay that's probably enough..." He found Garrett with a pair of scissors and a handful of Avery's hair. He called me right away, starting the conversation with, "You're not gonna like this..." Somehow I knew right away. I knew the day would come. Luckily when I arrived home the damage was not as I had imagined. It was a chunk cut out of the front left side but I think we can blend it in by creating some layers. And we often pull that part of her hair away from her face anyway. Whew. I was picturing a giant chunk out of the back. Avery has had her haircut several times by my hairdresser. This was her first "sibling" haircut!

Welcome Emmett Dean!

We welcomed our beloved baby boy into our family on July 14th, 2011. Emmett Dean Stohs was born at 8:03 am weighing 8 lb 2 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long. He was born by scheduled c-section. We were quite surprised that he was a boy since both Greg and I felt we were having a girl! Our first hint was during the surgery when Dr. Taylor said the baby had very broad shoulders and they had to widen my c-section incision. I have to admit it took an hour or so to adjust to the idea that we now have 2 boys! Emmett was born healthy as can be. He was a calm little man too, not even crying until they started to examine him on the warming table! He was able to hang with his Momma in the recovery room and I actually got to watch the nurse give him his first bath. These two things did not happen with Garrett and Avery's births, so it was quite a blessing.

Big brother Garrett and Big sis Avery came up to visit (with Grandpa and Grandma Stohs and Grandpa Reimer) about an hour or so after we settled into the postpartum room. They brought Emmett a balloon! Avery was a little unsure of all the medical equipment and hospital bed. She hung back by the wall during the first visit and wouldn't climb on the bed to sit by me. Garrett was a little quiet, taking it all in, but he did hold his little brother right away! Avery checked out Emmett while Grandpa held him. She said, "He likes me Mommy, he likes me!" We've all been enjoying him every since!!

Baby Update

Can it really be almost 2 months since I blogged last? Yikes. We've been busy around here....

Here's the latest baby update....I am currently 36 weeks along. My c-section is scheduled for July 14th. We'll have to be there bright and early at 5:30 am and baby will probably arrive around 7 or 8 am. I've been having a lot of mid-upper back pain this pregnancy, feeling as if my ribs are crushed, which means I've resorted to spending some time each night sleeping in a recliner. Yuck. I actually googled "broken ribs in pregnancy" about 2 weeks ago! So I am very ready for baby to arrive!

I feel like this baby might arrive early based on the number of Braxton Hicks contractions that I have especially when I walk any distance at all (i.e. walking the dog around the block) and the painful rubbing of the baby's head against my pelvis which seemed to start a little early this time around. So we will see. My c-section is scheduled for 39 weeks and my actual due date is the 20th of July.

The kids and I had hoped to squeeze in a lot of summer before the baby arrives, but that isn't really happening. The weather has been really cool so hanging at the pool and even playing with water toys at home has been limited. I guess I should be thankful for the cooler weather!

I think the kids are excited about the baby. Garrett still thinks the baby is a girl and Avery is wishing for a boy. I'm trying to prepare them that it could go either way! Garrett is very sweet and asks me questions about if I think the baby would like this or that. I think he will be a good helper. He also has been telling me that all of his favorite stuffed animals are "newborns" except for his stuffed Cookie Monster, who is 5 years old, just like Garrett!

In the beginning of my pregnancy, Avery said she had two babies in her tummy, a boy and a girl, but then she lost interest for awhile. Now she has one again. We were eating supper the other night and she leaned over to tell me, "My baby is kicking in my tummy right now." She has also been 'mothering' her stuffed animals, strapping them into the baby's bouncer and feeding them with an old sippy cup that I let her play with.

The countdown is on...only 18 days to go!

Kindergarten, Here We Come!

The past two weeks have been very busy for us! Garrett had his kindergarten physical, luckily with no shots required (we took care of those at the 4-year check-up). His current stats: Height 44", Weight 35.8 lbs, Body Mass Index 0% (off the charts). His body mass was never high (usually around 5% but it took a downward dive so we are supposed to get this skinny boy to gain about 3 lbs this summer. Sounds like an easy feat, but I can't remember the last time this boy gained a pound. Guess we'll have to start eating his favorite food (PB&J) more often to make sure that he's eating enough! Garrett enjoyed the visit and was all smiles for the nurses, as usual. When a nurse asked him if his Mommy and Daddy know if they are having a boy or a girl, he promptly replied, "It's a girl." Very matter of fact! I had to explain that we actually don't know what we are having.

Yesterday we headed to Kindergarten round-up. Garrett was all smiles and acted a little shy when the principal said 'hi' to him. All of the future kindergarteners were divided among the kindergarten teachers and got to hang out in a classroom while the parents sat through an informational meeting. We won't find out who his teacher is until right before school starts, so they just randomly divided them up. Garrett happened to be in the same group as his friend, Julia, from daycare that will be attending the same kindergarten as him! He seemed excited about that. He got a stamp on his hand, colored a picture, and wrote his name on it while they were in the classroom. I can't believe what a big boy he is! It seems like just yesterday that we were bringing him home from the hospital and now he is headed to kindergarten very soon! He is excited about kindergarten and I hope that school is a wonderful experience for him. The principal said that parents are always welcome to come and eat lunch with their child. I'm looking forward to some lunch dates with my boy since I'll have Thursdays off this next school year!
Here are some stats about our school (which is about 1 1/2 blocks from our house!): I believe it is the 3rd largest elementary school in Lincoln (that scares me a little bit). They are expecting approximately 120 new kindergarten students, divided among 6 classrooms. The biggest class in the school is the current 2nd grade with 138 students.

What We've Been Up To...

I should be able to think of a more creative name for this blog post but for right now, that's all I've got. Here are some updates...

Garrett's stitches are out! We've been using steri-strips to hold his gash closed a little longer while it finishes healing. Today should be the last day. Swimming lessons can resume this week since he is fully healed! These are all wonderful things!

Avery has discovered my perfume. She came into the kitchen last weekend saying, "mell me, Mommy, mell me." She wanted me to smell her - she leaves off her 's' sounds. It's too cute to start correcting it yet! Turns out she had sprayed my perfume right onto her forehead. Thank goodness she didn't get it in her eyes! Guess I'll be keeping that out of reach from now on. She is very proud of 'being like Mommy!'

Avery is really into nail polish. Unfortunately we don't always have the same taste in colors. I prefer pinks and reds and she prefers green, orange, and purple! She insists that our nails must match so now I am wearing green, orange, and purple! It's hard to resist my little fashionista's style recommendations.

We have a sick bird for the first time in 13 years. Yes, much to Greg's dismay, the birds are going on 13 years now. Harry came down with a sinus infection and is taking a daily antibiotic (by tiny oral syringe!). We discovered that avian exams cost about twice the price of a dog/cat. But like I told Greg, we can't let her die of something easily treatable, and turns out, that was the case. Let's just say that Greg and I are becoming very experienced at medicating a tiny bird, again, much to his dismay. The birds have also been very unsettled lately, squawking at anything and everything. I think their general tolerance for a noisy environment is decreasing with age. It just so happens that my tolerance is decreasing with pregnancy. Anyway, this weekend, for the first time ever, I had suggested that maybe they need a quieter home. When I asked Garrett what he thought about this, he said, "No Mom! They can live in my room. If they keep me awake at night, that's okay." That boy has such a big heart. We definitely can't give his birds away.

My doctor's office is working on getting my c-section date scheduled. The date will be either July 14th or 15th, both good dates for birthdays, I think! I really seems like a reality when we start to talk about a birth date! This last trimester is going to fly by. I'm not quite sure that I'm ready for the sleepless nights and restricted diet again, but I sure am ready to start sleeping on my back again!

This might be the best news yet...there are only 33 days of school left!! Woo hoo!

Welcome to the World of Boys

Within 1 week's time, Garrett experienced his first goose-egg to the forehead/black eye and stitches! I already briefly blogged about him missing the front porch steps at Grandpa's house and his big black eye that formed later that day. Thankfully that is looking much better these days. On Saturday we went for our bike ride to our neighborhood park. A steep sidewalk leads into the park and Garrett and Avery typically fly down this on their Strider bikes. That day, Avery decided to hang with me and Garrett raced ahead. I could see his front tire start to wobble followed by a big crash. Thankfully he was wearing his helmet, but it didn't protect his forehead very well. He came running toward me with blood running down his face, a big gash in his forehead, and a bloody nose. We wiped up the blood the best that we could and I tried to calm him down. Anyone that knows Garrett well, knows that he is our spirited child and his reactions are usually elevated above most children's. It was a long slow walk toward home. Thankfully our friend, Audrey, who lives nearby, gave us a ride. I wasn't sure if we would need stitches or not, but luckily our pediatrician's office is open on weekends, and they said to come right in. When the doctor saw him, he asked if he had lost consciousness (referring to his black eye) and I had to explain that his black eye was from the previous weekend. The doctor laughed about that and said, "Welcome to the world of boys." Sure enough, my buddy needed stitches. He didn't want anyone to touch his face, so they had to "papoose" him with velcro to a backboard. It still took 2 of us to hold him still while the doctor gave him 5 stitches! My poor boy! Avery was a good sport too. Thinking that he wouldn't really need stitches, I had taken her along with me. She sat in the corner and rocked Garrett's stuffed cookie monster back and forth. Let's just say that it was traumatic for everyone involved! But the good news is that his stitches are healing nicely and he gets them removed on Thursday. We'll probably be a little more cautious around our house for awhile.

The Things They Say...& Random Things

We just returned from a wonderful spring break visiting Grandpa Reimer and family. We also celebrated Sissy's birthday with the Stohs family and the Reimer family over spring break. Pictures will come when I finally get them downloaded. We came back from spring break with 2 tired kids and one very black eye. Poor Garrett missed Grandpa's front porch steps completely on the way down. His forehead caught the brunt of his weight. Luckily he had no signs of concussion but got a nice scrape on his forehead and a very black eye. It's starting to turn yellow around the edges so I know it's healing. He's a tough guy.

I wanted to blog about the cute things my little kids say....

Avery associates everything purple with K-State (her daddy is very proud of this). When she sees purple, she says, "Go K-Steak!"

I'm amazed at how much Avery and Garrett are alike. When Garrett was 2-3 years old, he was obsessed with dogs and would pretend to be a dog everywhere we went. I remember him barking and licking packages in stores! Avery often pretends to be a dog and refers to herself as "Arfie." "Arfie will open the door." "Arfie wants another sucker." The funny thing about this is that Garrett also referred to himself as "Arfie" for a short time, but Avery would have been too little to recall this.

When Avery hears something new, she will often respond, "I didn't know that..." with a really high inflection on the word 'know.' Garrett did exactly the same thing when he was 3, and again Avery couldn't possibly remember that. How is it possible that she says some of the exact same things that he did at her age???

Garrett asked me tonight, "Mom do you remember when my favorite color was blue? And now it's orange and green."

Happy 3rd Birthday Avery!

Avery,

Happy 3rd Birthday! We can't believe that our baby is turning 3! You've grown up so fast. Sometimes you seem so mature for your age that it feels like you are 2 going on 8. We are so proud of the big girl you've become. You are such a kind sweet like girl with a big caring heart. When you saw your birthday presents the other day, you said, "These are for me and Garrett?!" You would share anything if you were asked to. You LOVE your big brother and mom and dad. Tonight, as I tucked you into bed, you said, "I'm your best friend, Mommy. And I'm Casey's best friend, and Garrett's best friend, and Daddy's best friend. You have a soft spot for animals, much like your mommy and Grandma Reimer. When Daddy didn't let Casey come inside one day, you burst into tears. Three of your favorite stuffed animals/blankets are puppy dogs. As you turn 3, your favorite things are playing with Garrett, snuggling with Casey, your 2 blankies and stuffed puppies, anything that is green, riding your bike, listening to books and "reading" them yourself!, matchbox cars, trains, stuffed animals, Scooby Doo, and watching movies like big brother! Happy Birthday sweetheart! We thank God for you everyday and are so lucky that God has chosen us to be your family.

Love, Mommy, Daddy, & Garrett (& Casey too!)

Welcome Cousin Colton!

We welcomed another cousin last weekend! Colton Peddicord arrived March 6th, weighing in at a solid 8 lb 13 oz! He's a healthy boy and looks very cute! We can't wait to meet him and will post pictures of him when we can. Congratulations Kim, Tucker, and big sister Isabella!

Rough Day

Friday ended up being a rough day for us. When I arrived at daycare to pick up the kids, Lynette surprised me with the news that she has now decided she will NOT take care of our new baby this fall. Like I said, this was a bit of a shocker to me. When we initially told her I was pregnant in the fall, she said she had room for the baby. Then later this turned into only 3 days at the most. And now, not at all??? What?? I'm very puzzled and irritated by this. She explained that she prefers to focus on the kids preschool activities and playing outside (both things we love about her) and that she can't keep up with a little baby in tow. I do understand that, but couldn't she just do us a favor? She currently has a baby that comes once a week and she said she dreads that day. She doesn't want to dread taking care of our baby each week. I don't want that either. Our baby is welcome at Lynette's when he/she is 9-12 months old.
On our drive home, Greg called me. "You won't believe what the dog ate today," he said. Apparently Casey decided to chow down on an entire large tube of Aquaphor that I left on the kitchen table. I proceeded to tell Greg that we had bigger problems than that, and told him about Lynette. When I arrived home, I checked the ingredients label of Aquaphor - petroleum and mineral oil. That can only equal one thing...diarrhea. So the dog spent all of his time outside or penned in the kitchen this weekend when we were not supervising.
Greg headed off to poker night with his coworkers after the dog incident on Friday, so I had the evening to myself with the kiddos. It was easy-going and relaxing, which was nice. However, when I climbed onto Garrett's top bunk bed to read him some books, I managed to catch my big toenail on his ladder. This particular toenail was black and blue last fall and had released from my toe about 2/3 of the way. One side was still growing and attached so following my doctor's advice, I had been taping it on until it falls off on it's own. Well that won't be necessary now because I ripped it completely off. So now I only have about 1/4 of a toenail and a very irritated spot where it was ripped off. Pretty painful for several days, but thankfully much better starting yesterday. To make matters worse, I wasn't wearing socks on Sunday, trying to let it breathe and heal a bit when I dragged a big cardboard box across my foot and got a big paper cut where I should have a toenail. Ouch.
Luckily, Grandpa called on Friday night with the news that he wanted to come visit us for the weekend so that helped to cheer me up. We celebrated Avery's 3rd birthday a little early with him and she loved opening her dollhouse from Grandpa and us! Garrett also insisted that she open the Tangled doll that he picked out for her! Don't worry, we still have a smaller gift for her to open on her actual birthday.
There's more to tell about the weekend, including a dog pee incident, which involved both myself and Grandpa sitting in dog pee, but I'll spare you the details. Thanks to the advice of my friend Ashley, it turns out that vinegar and water is really the best carpet cleaning solution.

Our Ultrasound

We had our 20-week ultrasound today! Several hours later, I still can't believe that we did NOT find out if we are having a boy or girl! The suspense might kill me, but it is exciting! The baby is perfectly healthy which is the most important thing. Garrett and Avery joined Greg and I for the ultrasound, which was a pretty special experience to see them smiling and watching their little baby brother or sister on the monitor. During the ultrasound, the technician asked the kids what names they liked for the baby. Garrett came up with the following ideas: Peaches, Diego, or Possom (wait a minute...aren't those characters from Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs?) or Dora. The baby's heart rate varied from 138 to 133 beats per minute and later 154 with the nurse. We'll see if my theory (and gut feeling) that it's a girl holds true. I have always heard that lower heart rates are girls and that held true for Garrett and Avery. We got to see a lot of movement including the baby opening and closing her mouth and swallowing. It took a long time for the technician to see an air bubble travel to her stomach to pinpoint that the stomach was located in the right place, so the ultrasound took a really long time. We even took a break and tried a second time before she located the stomach. But eventually she saw it and everything looked great, so all is well.

Garrett's First Love

When I picked up the kids last week from daycare, Garrett pointed out one of the school-age girls sitting on the porch. "See that girl over there Mom? I like her. I think I'm falling in love." He gave me a big smile. I couldn't tell if he was teasing me or serious. I asked, "What's her name?" He replied, "I don't know..." (This week I finally remembered that her name is Morgan.) Garrett might have his first crush. My boy is growing up!

Still running

I have to brag about myself a little bit today. I am still running 1-2 times per week. Granted, I'm running a little slower and mixing in some walking breaks to keep from getting really out of breath, but I'm still doing it. I'm only covering 2-3 miles at a time now. But the dog still needs his exercise and my goal is to stay really fit for as long as possible this pregnancy. I have my doctor's blessing to run as long as I am comfortable. The last 3 runs have been a little less comfortable with my growing belly, so I'll be curious how much longer I will continue. This weekend we spent our Saturday afternoon on a nice bike path south of town. The kids rode their Strider bikes, Greg rode my bike, and Casey and I had a nice jog. It was a beautiful day and felt so good to be outside enjoying the fresh air as a family. That night after baths, Garrett crawled into our bed and I tucked him in while we finished getting Avery ready for bed. He was such a tired guy that he fell asleep! He hasn't fallen asleep like that (outside of his regular bedtime in his own bed) since he was 1 or 2 years old!

But the baby wants it...

We made a family trip to Target this weekend because we were out of all of the necessities at our house. Avery got to do a little birthday idea shopping to see what she might want for her big day. To our pleasant surprise, she was really into the big dollhouse that I've had my eyes on for awhile now (sigh of relief...my little girl actually wants a dollhouse and not a monster truck...). After that she got to pick out some plates/napkins for her party. She spotted the Tangled plates right away and added them to our cart. Then she spotted the Spongebob Squarepants cups. She said, "Mommy, the baby likes Spongebob. Can the baby get Spongebob cups?" Nice try!

Fooled

Happy Belated Valentine's Day by the way! We had a nice relaxing evening at home. The kids came home with lots of goodies from daycare and a favorite neighbor of ours stopped by with delicious sugar cookies (frosted - my favorite!). Lynette had given the kids frosted sugar cookies at daycare too. When we walked in the door after school that day, Garrett said, "Mom, can I eat my cookie, because the other kids ate theirs and I didn't have time to eat mine." I pulled it out of his goody bag and let him dig in. A little bit later as I was sorted through Avery's goodies, I realized that she had a cookie too, so I seriously doubt that the other kids ate theirs without Garrett! I think every kiddo came home with one and he managed to get his before supper!

No Petting the Baby

I showed Avery how much bigger my belly is getting these days. Her response was, "I don't want to pet her, Mommy." I smiled and told her she didn't have to touch my belly! She still says that she has 2 babies in her tummy. The last 2 times that she talked about them, she called them her "Garrett babies." How do they come up with these things? Garrett overheard this and was NOT happy!

Is He Real?

Garrett asked me a few weeks ago if the Easter Bunny is real. I said, "I don't know...what do you think?" He said, "No, I don't think he is." Maybe he has heard this from the big kids at daycare? A few days later he asked if Superman is real. My response was the same, asking what he thought. He said, "I think he is." I smile when I think that my little boy doesn't believe in the Easter Bunny but he does believe in flying superheroes.

Leave the snow ON

We've had a lot of snow lately. It snows, it starts to melt, and it snows again. I'm beginning to feel like I just really want to see the ground and the grass again. I remember feeling that way last January too. Avery loves the snow. She loves to look outside at it. She likes to play in it too, but she gets cold quickly and she's usually ready to come inside right away. Garrett, on the other hand, could take up permanent residence outside. The last two big snows, Greg has kept busy helping the city plow the streets after his regular work day. When Avery learned about this last week, she became genuinely upset. She said, "I don't want Daddy take the snow off. I want Daddy leave the snow ON!" She seems to think that her Daddy is working against her love of the snow. She was almost in tears. The next day she witnessed Greg snow blowing the driveway. She stood in the garage yelling over and over, "I want you leave the snow ON, Daddy!" Of course, with the loud snow blower, he couldn't hear her and kept on going. She eventually came inside and then watched him from her bedroom window, yelling the same thing!

My Avery

I had a cute conversation with Avery today. I referred to her as "my daughter," a term I guess I don't use often enough, because she looked at me, puzzled. She said, "I'm not a daughter." I replied, "You're MY daughter." She said, "No, you're MY daughter! I'm not your daughter. I'm your Avery."

I'm Finally Cool!

I almost forgot to announce that I'm finally joining the ranks of my cool friends. Greg and I recently upgraded to SMART PHONES! Woo hoo! So I went from not being able to text on my phone to being able to search the web and do everything you can imagine. Pretty cool. I've downloaded some cool apps included 5000+ Baby Names and the kids' all-time favorite, Talking Tom Cat. Talking Tom Cat is a cute little gray cat that mimics what you say in a funny voice. He also purrs when you rub his tummy and says "no" if you touch his tail. The kids are nuts about it. Turns out it's a pretty good incentive for using the potty also....

Names

Lately I've been in the habit of calling Garrett by his full name when he is not listening. Something along the lines of, "Garrett Scott Stohs, get in here right now!" Avery seems to think she has the same middle name. She was walking around a few days ago singing, "Avery Scott Stohs, Avery Scott Stohs!" Luckily, her brother didn't hear her.

We've been working on our list of favorite baby names. Since we're not finding out the sex of the baby this time, we'll need a boy and a girl name. I've been asking the kids lately what names they like, just for fun. Garrett always says we should name the baby, "Avery" and Avery says we should name the baby, "Garrett." Either the teasing just never really stops at our house or they don't quite get it.

Doggy Heaven

I told the kids last night that we would be visiting Grandma and Grandpa this weekend. They both shrieked with excitement. Avery said that she wanted to see Abby, Grandma and Grandpa's old yellow lab that recently passed away. Garrett said, "Avery, remember that Abby died. She's in doggy heaven now so she can eat as many dog bones as she wants. Isn't that right, Mom?" How sweet is that?

Tomboy

Our little girl is always dressed in pink and has pretty long hair. But that's about where the girly qualities end! Tonight Avery went to bed with a big rubber dinosaur and her brother's monster truck. For her upcoming 3rd birthday I have dreams of buying her a big Barbie-sized dollhouse but in reality she would probably much rather have a shake-and-go race car track. What should I do? I guess we better take her shopping before the big day...

Happy Anniversary Greg!

Nine years ago today I married my best friend. And if it's possible, our life together continues to get better and better...

The Prank

Sometimes we underestimate our 2-year old. Avery was busy playing in her bed after bedtime on Saturday evening. We could hear her through the baby monitor but figured she would fall asleep quickly since she was a tired girl. A little bit later we heard some loud noise and Greg went to check it out. Turns out she had come out of her room, walked into Garrett's, and said, "Time to wake up Garrett. I'm locking you in." Then she headed out and locked the door. (His doorknob is turned around so he can't lock us out when he's in trouble, so Avery locked him in from the outside). Garrett immediately started screaming. That little girl was in big trouble! So my big question is, how can a little kiddo that knows how to play pranks on her brother not know how to use the potty?? (Actually on a positive note, we went back to underwear today and she stayed dry all day!!)

Happy New Year and a Dog Emergency

I had no intention of staying up to ring in the new year this year. I always stay up until midnight but given our recent bout with the flu and my pregnancy-induced sleepy state, I thought I'd turn in at a decent time that night. Greg and I were lucky to have a babysitting offer from my friend Alyx, so we actually went out on a date on New Year's to celebrate our anniversary a few days early! After arriving at a local favorite restaurant with an hour and 45-minute wait, we quickly hurried to Shogun's where we got in within 20 minutes and had a delicious supper. Then we hit the movies with no time to spare. We had a great time!
When we arrived home, we chatted with Alyx for awhile and watched the ball drop on TV at 11:00. We lot the dogs (Casey and Alyx's dog, Bryda) outside one last time and when they came in Casey's foot was bleeding badly. We laid him down and realized one of his big back claws was bent over completely sideways. After stopping the bleeding and making a quick call to the emergency vet office we decided we couldn't attempt to clip his claw because it was anchored too tightly sideways, so off I went with Casey to the vet's office. After they checked him out I received the $73 bill with news that they couldn't do anything so they wrapped it up, gave him a nice lampshade to wear and told me he needs surgery in a few days! The clock struck midnight on my way home. I arrived home to tell Greg, "Happy New Year and your dog needs surgery!"

Casey update:
Casey's beloved kids have been taking the BEST care of him. They snuggle with him and tell him what a good dog he is. Avery lays down with him and puts her head inside his lampshade to snuggle her head next to his. The second night Casey was in a lot of pain and couldn't fall asleep. At about 2:00 am, I found him fast asleep stretched out on his little girl's floor. I guess he just felt better being near his kids.
Casey went in for his surgery to remove his toenail today. Luckily they sedated him and were able to do some major clipping instead of surgically removing the toe. He has exposed bone and his foot is really sore so we are spoiling him. He gets a check-up on Wednesday to see how his toe is healing.