Avery
Avery is as lively, verbal and energetic as ever. It is especially fun now that he can
verbalize his thoughts – and his mind is always in action! He is also still sweet, lovable and good
natured.
Avery is growing up, but still has the wonderful child-like
imagination that confuses reality from fantasy from time to time. For example, he truly believes in magic. Clint has a talent for amateur magic tricks
and enjoys performing them for Avery.
Avery LOVES it, and is in awe of his magical daddy. Avery tries to copy Clint’s tricks, but tells
us “When I try magic tricks, they don’t always work out like I expected.” Clint uses a pen as a prop in his
performance, and Avery is also in awe of this pen that lays around the house,
convinced that it has magic powers.
Likewise, Avery loves anything Disney because of the magical
idea the stories hold. His favorite show
right now is “The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” cartoon. He told us that Mickey and Lightning McQueen
are actually real people because he once saw “them” (people in actual costumes)
on a Disneyland DVD advertisement we got through the mail. “See?
Mickey and Lightning McQueen are actually real, mom” as he points to the
TV screen.
His imagination follows him everywhere. When we go for walks around the block, he
will give me a running commentary of what is playing through his mind. He sees Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters in
the clouds – except for Pete – (in a serious tone) “he did not make it into the
clouds.” Avery has also described a
rollercoaster that he is going to invent a few times on our walks. It is the same each time: it has fire bombs, water guns, stretches to
outer space and back and includes a bounce house that has all the candy in the
world. He drew it out on a piece of
paper when he got home too.
Some recent funny sayings:
(while mixing paint) “This is like a miracle of colors!!!”
(while racing us home from a walk) “Whoever gets there first
gets to wash dishes!”
(the first thing he said coming home from his first day of
preschool) “There was a beetle. Someone
STOMPED it, and I smEEEEEEEred it……(quietly) I do
not like beetles.”
Aileen
Sometimes I like to pause and try to memorize what she looks
like at this point in her life. There
are many beautiful things about Aileen, inside and out, that I want to share
with her when she is older.
Such as …
- Aileen’s long, thick, reddish-brown eyelashes that curl up
at the ends
- her creamy-peachy-pink complexion
- the way she shows her personality through her eyes. They light up and are very expressive.
- She is mostly observant, taking in how people act towards
her as if she is figuring out how to react to them.
- Although she is serious most of the time, she does enjoy
laughing with and being amused by others.
Her dad and brother are the entertainers of the family, and she loves
being around them to watch and laugh.
They can make her grunt, cackle, giggle and squeal with delight. However, if she is upset, she wants her mom,
who is able to give her the calm, quiet nurturing she seems to need. Too much stimulation and being around people
can sometimes overwhelm her.
Developmentally (6 months), she is:
- reaching for and grabbing at objects and people (she is
very determined and excited about the idea of getting them herself rather than
waiting on someone to hand them to her).
She grabs at my long hair, shirt buttons and drawstrings, the buckle on
the high chair, Avery’s clothes, the mail in my hands, objects we walk by when
carrying her, etc… Best be on the
lookout for cute, chubby little hands if you are around us.
- rolling over frequently from left to right. She will roll over to help her reach toys and
gets frustrated if her attempt is not successful after a few tries
- eating well. Aileen
doesn’t seem to be too finicky about a food’s texture or temperature. She isn’t particular about eating in a
certain spot or who feeds her either.
Although, she is very easily distracted, especially if her brother is
being silly.
