Life is not meant to be perfect, but it helps if one can find humor in the silver lining. Hardly a day goes by in our home without something we can choose to laugh about (although, at times it may be easier to laugh in hindsight).
Everyday is an adventure through the lens of our children's eyes. The simplest things, like eating a cold popsicle on the porch on a hot afternoon or talking on the phone with a relative, bring them so much joy. We as parents find amusement watching our kids get caught up in such moments.
During some of these moments I am lucky enough to remind myself to write what I see down before the memory slips away. That is probably what this blog is about. To record snippets of our family to help preserve these precious memories.
Here are some snippets from the past month...
This was the first year that Avery could attend Vacation Bible School. A couple of missionaries spoke in Avery's class about how they were collecting bucket money to buy supplies for African families in need. When I came to pick Avery up, one of his teachers laughed, pulled me aside and told about the huge awkward meltdown Avery had right in front of the missionaries about how he did not want to give up his allowance money. He didn't quite understand, of course, what was going on until we were able to talk to him about it later at home that evening. We even told him about missionaries that he knows and how his great grandpa Avery was a missionary. By the end of the week, Avery was reminding us about bringing money for the bucket collection.
At the end of Vacation Bible School week, Avery participated in a program where his group stood up in front of church and sang a song they had learned. Avery was so excited, sang so loud and proud and followed the choreography with such spirit, we had several people come up to us afterward, laughing about how much they enjoyed Avery "really getting into" his performance.
Our son does everything with happy gusto. While Aileen snacks on Cheerios, picking one up at a time and daintily placing them in her mouth, Avery is on the other side of the table trying to crush them with a chip clip. If there is a puddle on the ground, you bet he will stomp in it (even in church clothes like a few Sundays ago). If there is a crack in the street with gravel, Avery steers his bike TOWARDS it with FULL SPEED. If Aileen and I are learning to clap and singing songs such as "If you're happy and you know it...", Avery will chime in his own lyrics like "then kick HIYAH!" or "Do a rock n' roll!" or "pow the sword!".
Avery owns a toy net that he has been using to "hunt" birds, rabbits and snakes in the backyard with. So far, he has told us that he hasn't caught anything yet. He wants to catch a rabbit "so that we can eat it's muscles! Muscles are the meat, right mom?!" His latest scheme to "trap" birds, with are apparently the hardest to catch, is (and I quote) "Find a dead bird. Tape some seeds to it so that the other birds will come and eat. Then use the net to catch the birds!!!"
Along with his interest in hunting, we also were discussing pets. Avery said that he would like to have a pet bunny so that "we can cook it and eat the meat!".
After crawling into the van, which had been sitting a while in a hot parking lot, Avery screamed (so the world may hear) "IT'S TOO STINKY IN HERE TO SURVIVE!"
We frequent the library often, so many of the librarians are acquainted to our little conversationalist by name now. Avery was questioning one of the librarians at the checkout counter about her cat. He wanted to know the cat's name. The librarian told him a name. Then, he asked about the cat's last name. The librarian said her cat didn't have a last name. Avery didn't understand and was a bit frustrated the cat didn't have a last name. Then, upon leaving, Avery playfully tossed a little wadded up piece of tape to her, smiled and sang "Here's a goodie for yah!" (Thankfully, the librarians find his humor fun and not offensive.) Then, on the way home, Avery demonstrated to Aileen what a cat sounded like when it sings. Aileen studied intently as if to absorb this important piece of information.
It is no surprise that Avery is not shy in public places. At the grocery store, one way to keep his active mind and personality busy is to assign him as my assistant. I tell him what to pick out, and he dutifully works, sometimes above and beyond his assignments. One job was for him to pick out a box of cereal. A couple of shoppers behind us laughed as Avery bounced up to the cart, tossed in the cereal box and proclaimed "Heeere's the cheapest deeeeeal for yah Mommeee!"
Our family went to the gym together to exercise. Avery and Aileen played in the childcare area. We told Avery to make sure and help watch out for Aileen. After finishing the workout, we picked up the kids and proceeded to walk out to the van in the parking lot. When we were about to approach our vehicle, we noticed something stuck to Aileen's back. Come to find out, Avery purposely stuck a piece of Barbie underwear that had velcro on one end to Aileen, thinking it to be very funny. So, we had to run back into the gym, hand the tiny piece of Barbie underwear to the front desk and explain the situation.
Avery asked to make a water xylophone. When I finally figured out what he was talking about, we set out four babyfood jars with water filled at different heights. He grabbed a handful spoons from the silverware drawer and clinked the sides of the jars to make "music". As I sang some soft, sweet songs to poor Aileen who was upset from teething, Avery played along with his water xylophone "rock n' roll style" (as you can imagine, with water all over the table).
While sitting on the side of Avery's bed in the middle of our bedtime story/song routine (he is usually still wound up and tries to stall by talking), Avery interrupts and whispers "Mom, smell me!" "Why?" "Mom, just smell me!" "Avery, please be quiet so you can listen." Now, a little louder, Avery says "Do I smell like garbage since you didn't give me a bath?! " (Then, he laughs hysterically at his own joke....)
(Avery) "Mom! Look how big I can open my mouth! Let me show you!" Then, he proceeds to turn his head to the side and strains to open his mouth as wide as possible.
(Avery) "One of my talents is talking."
Avery said he ate a "root beard" flavored popsicle for snack.
In the midst of all of Avery's fun energy, Aileen likes to watch and anticipate what he will do next. She smiles, laughs and sometimes carefully tries to join in. She will come over to visit him when he is in time out, as if to comfort him with some company. During mealtimes, she will pause, and study what he is eating. When she was sick, we finally got her to eat some banana by placing Avery in front of her eating a banana so that she would want to try one too (and be like her big bro).
Aileen is a good eater. She loves to climb and seems pretty strong for her age. We really have to watch her so that she doesn't quickly put herself into too much danger. Although her personality is calmer, she is also active too. She is content to play alone for longer periods of time, and will often talk and whisper to herself while doing so. Her fine motor skills sometimes surprise us with how far along they've come. Like her mommy, she likes to "pick at things". Most of the time she is quietly studying what's happening around her, but she will babble to us in a conversational tone and point to what she wants. She calls for her favorite blankie by saying "Gee! Gee!" When we ask her to clap, or to find a "ball", she can comprehend pretty easily. Church nursery workers have commented on how calm, happy and content she is.
It's a blessing to share life with these kiddos and continually discover how God has uniquely made them.
