Learning to Talk vs. Talking Non-stop

Avery

Likes for his daddy to read him a chapter from Beverly Cleary books (a favorite is The Mouse and the Motorcycle) at night.

Got really excited when we bought him new superhero underwear and sometimes announces what pair he is wearing for the day.

Draws “NO NO” signs and tapes them to the couch so that Aileen won’t climb up on them.

Tries to draw scoreboards with backwards numbers to keep score when he is playing a pretend game.  He will even add levels.

Draws make believe video games out on to paper, and uses his finger to trace his way through his video game avoiding the obstacles and “jumping” up to grab the gold medals for extra points.

Sometimes tries to write out sentences spelling words as he sounds them out.  He wrote the word for weed by spelling it “wiid” (like the Wii video game).

He wanted Aileen to wear her “headbone” (headband).

Sometimes we have Avery help us cook.  On one occasion, we were teaching him how to make French toast.  He decided he needed to add a “secret ingredient” to it, so he blew kisses into the mixture to “make it special, even though kisses weren’t in the recipe”.

Avery, noticing that his mother’s eyes looked tired commented “Mommy, did you know that your eye has roots?” as he pointed to the red blood vessels.

Loves for his mom to scratch his back.

His aunt was treating him to a bowl of ice cream, and she was about to put whipping cream on top and asked him to “say when” (meaning to let her know when to stop applying the whipping cream).  Avery misunderstood and excitedly shouted “NOW!”

Avery’s aunt was making conversation with him and knew that he was a big fan on Mickey Mouse and Lightning McQueen, so she asked him which one he liked better.  Avery, a little indignant at the question of choosing between his loyal favorites, said “Well, let me ask YOU a question.  Which one of your DOGS do you like better?”

Likes to chew gum and keep his mouth busy.

Made his mom a get well soon card in Sunday School without anyone prompting him to do so.

Gives his mom a “kiss hug” every night, and sometimes does it double if he is afraid he has missed a night.

Found an origami book and asked his mom to make him an animal.  He of course, picked out a spider (the hardest one in the entire book).  Then he carefully positioned it places to try to scare her with it.

His older cousins sometimes give him hand-me-down shirts, and he loves the idea that he gets to wear them and be like them.

Tries to identify with his dad by announcing all the teams that he likes, which are also his dad’s favorites.

Aileen

Now sits in a booster seat

Now uses a plate and can drink from a variety of sippy cups.

Can sometimes drink water by herself from a babyfood jar (held like a cup).

Has all of her baby teeth now except her second molars and cuspids.

Can imitate our funny faces and is expressive when she is in a playful mood.  She is still shy around strangers, however.

Gets jealous if she sees her mom or dad holding another child.

Runs around the house on her tip toes.

Here hair is long enough now that it has perfect little ringlets at the ends.

Tries to drink the bath water.

Tries to say “shoe” and runs to point to them if she wants to go somewhere.”  Tries to put on her own shoes, but still takes them off everytime she sits in the van.

Points to the window and says “go” because she loves being outside.

Likes to playfully hide behind the couch and giggle when we go looking for her.

Shakes her head to feel her hair swish back and forth

Turns all her legos right side up, as if she is picky on what side they are facing.

Folds her hands when we pray before meals

When the phone rings, she runs to find her toy phone.  She will pick it up and try to make singsong  beeping noises while touching the buttons as if she is dialing a number.  Aileen also will bring the phone up to her ear to listen, or she will place it against Avery’s ear.  Avery laughs and enjoys that she is interacting with him.

“emo” = Elmo (she recognizes this character from her books)

Points to the door and says “Go?”.  She gets frustrated that she cannot turn the doorknob handle to let herself out.

Says “baby”

Tries to say “kitty cat” and points happily to the TV screen or book if she sees one.  She seems to like other fuzzy or farmyard animals too.

Hugs her stuffed animals and says “awwwww” in a motherly voice and sways them back and forth.

Tries to say “thank you”

Loves to climb, especially on the kitchen chairs.  She would love to climb on top of the table to reach food, but we stop her before she gets a chance.  That doesn’t stop her from repeatedly trying.

Pulls on the table placemats to scoot the object she wants closer to her grasp.  When Avery is not watching his food or drink carefully, she has pulled his placemat up from underneath him spilling everything onto the floor.

Can say “ball” and loves to drop toy balls through the net of her toy basketball hoop.  Sometimes she will laugh and clap for herself and then look to us to do the same.

Loves to eat and will pull out a chair from the table, climb up into her booster seat and point to the sink or cabinets to beckon for food or drink.

Starts dropping food from her plate onto the floor to signal to us she is bored and finished with her meal.

Laughter is Good Family Medicine

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.

May Happenings

Avery's preschool graduation.

Aileen watching her brother at preschool.

Avery's creative headquarters.

Family Fun at the Zoo with Avery's Preschool Class

Big Brother always makes van rides more fun.

Avery is studying the map to navigate the group.

The kids thought it was so cool to be able to ride the really old turtle.

The preschool class

Avery discovered that giraffes have long tongues.

Daddy took the day off so that we could have time together as a family.

All of the fun helped little Aileen take a great nap.

The animals were out enjoying the good weather too.

The Softer Side of the Family

1.) Aileen sucking her thumb and cuddling Mickey.
2.) Big brother reading to his little sister.  She doesn't sit this still for a story with her parents.
3.) "More sauce please?!!"  A trip to the Pizza Hut buffet is a real treat for our family.  Aileen's favorite part was simply the sauce all by itself!

Random Fun with Learning in Mind

1.) plexi glass monoprints and learning to use a brayer
2.) homemade soap crayon, homemade multicolor wax crayons from muffin tins, salt dough snakes
3.) Avery's "My Mommy" project from Sunday School

Never a dull moment...

Avery

Avery's preschool class took a field trip to the zoo.  Parents were invited to come and we all carpooled together.  Before leaving for our trip, Avery was invited to lead the group in prayer.  Avery, not being shy, gladly accepted.  He was even sure to ask in his prayer that God "would not let any of the animals bite anyone.  Amen."

Lately, our son has taken a great interest in "being funny", and has been learning to use appropriate humor in and outside of school.  To help with this, his preschool teacher gave him a couple of joke books.  We keep them in the van and try to have a "joke of the day" before heading over to preschool in the mornings.  After hearing mommy read the joke of the day, the rest of the van ride consists of Avery doing a stand-up comedy routine making up his own jokes.  Aileen is a great audience because even though she doesn't understand anything going on, she still delights in her brother by laughing and therefore encouraging him on.

Besides being funny, Avery can have times where he is really sweet on his mom.  He enjoys going outside and bringing in platefuls of dandelions and flowers for his mom.  He even taped all of them to the back of a cereal box for her so that she has something to reminder her of him "when he is gone at preschool".  The cereal box has found a home on our kitchen sink windowsill.

On mother's day, Avery was giving several compliments to his mom.  He would even list them.  "Mom, you're better than chocolate pudding."  "Mom, you're better than all the chocolate in the world."  "Mom, you're better than...".  Finally, at the crescendo of his list, he announces loudly, "Mom, you're better than A ONE HUNDRED YEAR OLD!"

"Mom I love you all the way to the top of outer space all the way down to the hot lava in the earth and back."

If you come to our house and find a blue surgical glove tied and filled with water laying in Avery's room, let me explain.....
He brought that home from a recent trip to the doctor's office.  Aileen had to have her blood drawn from her fingertips, and the nurses wanted to promote circulation in that area first.  In order to do so, they filled a warm surgical glove full of warm water and we held it on her finger until it was warm to the touch.  Aileen did great by the way.  She didn't even flinch when the nurse pricked her.  While the blood was being drawn, it was amazing how she patiently waited and watched the nurse's every move and facial expression.  On the other hand, in the background, Avery was PLEADING with me to ask the nurse if he could take the glove home.  Sort of in an embarrassed way, I asked the nurse thinking it couldn't hurt.  So, on our way out of the doctor's office, past a waiting room full of amused staring people, Avery happily walked out with us with a surgical glove bouncing up and down from his grip.


Aileen

She can now happily clap her hands when you ask her to.

When I mention, "Ok, Sugar Pie.  It's time to go pick up your brother."  She recognizes what I mean and points to her coat as if she is ready to go and see him.

"Tiny Dancer" was playing over the loudspeakers in Wal-Mart.  I looked down at the front of the shopping cart to notice our little dancer bobbing up and down to the music having a good time.

Our little girl adores her brother.  She calls his attention by saying "Bah bah" (brother).  In her eyes, he is wildly hilarious, and sometimes watches him with a grin of anticipation.


Never a dull moment is what I often say about life in our house.  These kids bring humor, liveliness and lots of love.