All About Kids

This weekend Avery’s school had a family fun night at All About Kids. It’s this big gymnastics place with bouncies and foam pits. It’s a kids dream place (still wondering why these places didn’t exist when I was a kid). The girls love it there. There is a trapeze that you hang on and then fall into a big foam pit. Kids seem to love it. Every time we go Camille just stands there and watched kids do it over and over again. Some of Av’s friends do it but Av will not try it. I always thought C was too little for it but not daddy. He showed up after work and saw C staring at it. He thought “why not.” Sure enough she LOVED it. She did it over and over again. She would hang from it, swing out, let go and flop like a rag doll into the pit. It was kind of hard to watch your mimi kid doing it. She had quite the group of adults watching and laughing at her. Every time John fished her out of the foam pit she was run around and say more. I really just could not believe it. She has no fears. Avery’s bff Caroline was there but she was tired so she was kind of just sitting with her dad. I was so proud of Av, instead of just sitting there with Caroline she took off and played with 2 other girls that she kind of knows but not really. She was having a ball. Even when Caroline had to leave Av wanted to stay and play with the other girls she was playing with. She ran and jumped and walked on balance beams until she was completely wore out. It was a fun night!

Avery

Avery is getting so strong. I’m just amazed by her. She can now go up the stairs alternating her feet without holding onto anything! She does it like it’s the easiest thing in the world. That horseback therapy is really helping her. She has also started speech therapy at the same place. She does the therapy sessions back to back on Thursdays and so far so good. I think we are going to start OT soon too.

Mary Ann still has a strong presence in our lives. Most days she is sporting a new outfit that is supposed to be Camille’s and lately she even has started wearing Camille’s shoes and socks. Avery has many many many toys/stuffed animals/bags that sleep with her every night and she can’t possibly get them all up and down the steps herself so every morning as I am sitting on the couch cuddling with a just waking up Camille, I hear Av call down to me, “come get Mary Ann for me please!” Mary Ann has her own spot on the couch and I have to help position her legs so she is sitting up not lying down to sleep like she did all night. Heheheheh its all pretty funny.

Avery bowled for the first time on the Wii the other day with John. She had a great time. She got a 106 all by herself. It’s great eye hand coordination plus its good OT too so we will be playing more of that.

Here we go again

I got the surprise of my life on Friday Jan. 22nd. A positive pregnancy test. Wow. We were 95% sure we were going to have a 3rd but I was shooting more for the end of 2010 to get pregnant not the beginning. I really wanted Avery to be in primary school before our sweet little 3rd baby was brought into the world. I guess someone had a different idea for us. The irony of the situation is that this baby is due on Camille’s bday. I guess we are just meant to have fall babies. I am still in disbelief and shock. I think John is too. Since we found out John has been zoning out and worrying about the financial impact of this since that burden mostly falls on him (I am sooooooooo thankful of him that he not only takes that burden on but does such an excellent job taking care of us. I know how lucky I am.) I on the other hand have been zoning out and worrying about the logistics of caring for 3 kids (carting both C and a baby into Av's school to drop her off, taking 3 kids to the zoo-yikes!) and the basic day-to-day running of the house since that duty falls more on me. I’m sure John is worried about some of that too though. He is a terrific father; we are so lucky to have him!!!

feisty

When I picked Camille up on Monday the teachers had some not so good news for me. They said, “I can’t believe how aggressive she can be.” Ugh I knew that didn’t sound good. Thankfully they saw her start to bite and were able to stop her before it happened. She was wrestling around with some other kids and they were all having a great time until she opened her mouth on one of the other kids. The diligent teachers were watching and put a stop to it right away thankfully. They took her aside and told her sternly that she could not bite her friends. They were surprised because after that she sat and looked at books by herself for about an hour and then sat and did flash cards with them too. She is “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and “feisty” they say. I hope she grows out of this soon!

Camille's new obsession

NYE

bed time stories

Snow Day

While Camille was napping the other day we took Av out to play in the snow. I think John and I ended up having more fun than she did though. Hehehheh We built a fort using their new fort building things and ran around the yard more than a few times pulling her in her sled. Jack was very excited to be out playing in the snow too.

Photo Shoot

For John’s birthday he picked out a watch for himself so the girls and I just got him a few other little things. One thing I wanted to get him was a photo collage of the girls for his desk at work. So one morning while John was at work the girls and I had a photo shoot. Surprisingly it went great. I will post the pictures soon. I was able to get 3 pictures put on a 8x10 and write, “we love you” on the top. It turned out really cute and John was very happy with it.

stinker

Camille is a big stinker. Her classroom at school is called the Explorer room and that fits her to a T. She will not sit in a highchair or a stroller for more than a few minutes. After that she is done and wants to be down roaming. If we do put her down she does not stay in the area she is off. She thinks it is so funny to run from us when we are calling/chasing her. Makes taking her out to eat impossible. She bit her friend’s face the other day. I was mortified. She didn’t break the skin but left a big bruise. She seemed to have this entitled air to her. My friend’s 4-year-old boy was sitting on a chair and Camille kept going over to the boy and trying to take the chair over from him. I had to keep pulling her off him. I think it’s because she basically gets her way and can bully Av. She figures if she can get her way with big girl Av she can do what she wants. Yesterday Av got new rain boots (she was very excited) and Camille walked over to steal one. Off she ran with Av chasing her to get the boot back. They ran into the other room and I just sat there waiting to see what would happen or waiting for someone to scream. They were in there for a good 2 minutes and then they both came back into the room and Camille had both boots. Not sure what went on in there but it sure seemed like Camille won that one.

Avery

For the first time Av came into our room in the middle of the night and told us she was scared. I asked what she was scared of and she said her “room was scary.” It was kind of cute in a way. Yes she woke me up out of a dead sleep but it is a very typical thing for a kid her age and it always makes me happy when she does “typical” things. It also just means her imagination is starting to kick in and that is pretty exciting! I love it though because right now the power of suggestion is enough to make her think things are all better. I took her back into her room and told her “this is the same room we hang out in and have fun in all the time, it’s not scary.” Then I acted like I had just come up with the best idea. I told her I would move her night light and that would help her get more of that light and that would let her see things were not scary. It worked like a charm. The other night she came down after we put her to bed and told me her belly hurt. I knew she was fine but I told her a drink of milk would help it (she loves milk) so after her drink of milk off to bed she went and that was the end of it. hehehhehe John told me to never give him milk when his belly hurts.

Saturday Night

We had our monthly dinner with the Masons and the Shumans. This is only the second month but it was a blast!!!!!! Everyone came to our house and we had an appetizer party. No sit down dinner which was much easier with 6 kids running around the house. The older kids were sooooooooooo good. They played and played and there was barely a fight. They played a lot with each other and built forts instead of playing so much with toys too. It was very cute. The babies did pretty well too. We were able to get them all to bed, which let the adults have a nice break. The girls and I made John an ice cream cake for his bday. As I was getting out the cake I realized I didn't have candles like I thought I had, so in my wine silliness I thought it was so funny to use Av's 4 and Camille's 1 to make the candles on his cake say 41. Yep, I'm pretty funny! Everyone stayed until about 11:30. I think that is an all time record for Av. Since we don’t get to go out and dance at bars much anymore Melissa, Marci had our own dance party at home. It was a little silly but so much fun. Can’t wait for next month!

Food Thief

And it’s not Jack. It’s Camille. She is horrible. She can eat a full meal and the minute I go to put something into my mouth she is right there begging like a dog would. It’s horrible. She steals food from Av all the time. Camille will tell us she’s all done so we get her down from her chair and she goes right for Av’s plate that is sitting on the little table in our kitchen. It’s the same food Camille just ate. She took over Av’s bagel this morning before either one of us knew it. No wonder we keep sharing colds. I only cook breakfast on the weekends. I usually always just make eggs and Camille LOVES eggs. I will only let her eat one a day but she wants “more, more, more!” This Sunday I made French toast instead. You would have thought her world came to an end. I guess since dad was home and I was cooking she was expecting her egg. When I handed her a soggy bland piece of bread (no syrup for her) she was mad. Ended up having to make her an egg. She loves to eat!

sick again

This has been a bad winter in terms of sickness for the Hoekstra girls. First Av had pneumonia, which I don’t think completely cleared up and so it turned into a respiratory infection, then Camille got RSV and then Av catches the cold part of it. Camille is now fine (let’s hope she stays that way) but Av is back to coughing and green icky stuff coming from her nose constantly. I just really really really really hope it does not get worse for her and we do not have to go back to that doctor. Every time I walk into that office lately it’s like “it’s us again, we just can’t get enough of this place.” Please don’t make me go back. Poor little Camille was so sick though. Instead of breathing she was wheezing. She needed breathing treatments. She had to sit there for 8 minutes breathing in this mist through a breathing mask. The first time I had to hold her down to get her to keep that mask on. She just looked up at me with these big sick eyes pleading with me to take that thing off of her. Then she got used to it and realized it was making her feel better so then she would point to the machine and ask for more. The minute that mask was attached to her face she would just go limp and totally relax and enjoy it. It was nice getting cuddle time from her. As soon as she was better though she would have no part of it. Sitting still for a minute is tough for Camille let alone 8 minutes.

Mary Ann

Has become a major fixture in my life. She is Avery’s baby. It’s pretty cute to see her pretending. When I take Camille up to change her diaper Av brings Mary Ann and changes her diaper. Last night Av was sitting in bed reading to Mary Ann. Av has also been taking Camille’s “baby toys” and giving them to Mary Ann. Our friends Matt and Andrea got Camille a toy cell phone. Camille loves it but now her and Mary Ann are fighting over it. hehehehe When Av used to nap at school she had a certain blanket and stuffed duck like thing that were left at school for her to nap with. Since then that blanket has been her “school blanket.” This morning Av found that blanket and duck and said they were Mary Ann’s school blanket and duck and sent them to school with her. Thank goodness I didn’t have to drop Mary Ann off this morning too.

Sunday

After our weekly gym visit I took Av to the movies with a few friends. It was the first time I have taken Av to the movies. Grandma has taken her a few times and warned me that she eats a TON of popcorn but after she is done with the popcorn she is done with the movie. So I got a large popcorn and in we went with her friends. The theater was crowded so we all had to sit behind each other. We went with Caroline, Jackson S and Jackson W. We saw The Princess and the Frog. It was pretty cute and Av made it through the whole movie! Afterwards we met the dads and younger kids at a restaurant. Camille was not acting like herself. Just sitting on my lap. John tried to grab her and get her to play but just then she vomited everywhere. All over John and her new shoes. It was a big gross mess. We left money and Avery with Marci and got Camille out of there. It was weird though because she didn’t have a fever and she was pretty fine afterwards and the next day. I think it was just from 2 weeks of excitement and from all the extra drool she has from her teeth.

2 week holiday break

All week John and I got to be together with the girls. It was the best. Sunday we all went grocery shopping together after the gym. Monday we got up early to take Camille to school (she had school and we thought we would keep things as normal as possible for her) and to take Av to hbr. Avery did great and was glad to be back. She rode Charlie. Afterwards we took her to breakfast and ran some errands. We picked Camille up from school right as she was getting ready to nap at school (it was so cute to see her all curled up on her cot) so she could instead nap in her own bed. Tuesday we cleaned cleaned cleaned. We have not done a big cleaning purge since we moved into the house (4.5 years ago). We took 2 jeep loads to Goodwill. Lots of clothes, shoes and baby toys. It feels so good to have less clutter in the house. I am going to try so hard to keep it that way. That night we went to dinner and then to the Louisville science center with the Hoekstra’s. Avery’s school won a grant from the science center and so they started having family nights once a month and so we decided to take advantage of that. John’s 3 siblings as well as Opa and Shelly went with us. It was really a good time. Camille has just learned to go down stairs on her belly so she mainly enjoyed the stairs. It’s pretty funny she sits down and gets on her belly about 10 feet from the top of the steps and slithers backwards until she hits the steps. Cute to watch. She is also obsessed with standing on things. She climbs up and then stands on EVERTHING she can but I guess that’s a topic for another post. Wednesday Camille went back to school and by then Av was dying to see a friend so we went out to see Caroline. John stayed home and cleaned some more. Thursday G&PP were there. We just hung out during the day and that night John and I went out with a bunch of friends. We had a great time. It is so nice of G&PP to come watch the girls for use every NYE!

slumber party

The day after Christmas we drove home. The girls were great. We only stopped for gas once. We were home in record time and we were all glad to be home. We had a sitter that night because it was the 14th annual chili cook-off!! My favorite event. Hehehe it was fun though. All John’s friends come in for it ever year. Marci and Brent were also out that night so we met up with them for a bit. We shared a sitter with them so we all went back to our house for a big slumber party. John’s friends Jeff and Matt came back to the house as well. None of the boys got to sleep in like they wanted with 4 kids running around. Hehehe

Christmas

Avery was very excited this year. I think this was the first year she really got it. We had an advent calendar leading up to it and every day she asked if it was time yet. It had M&M’s in it so I made her wait until the afternoon for it. On Christmas Eve John and Av spent a lot of time getting the cookies, milk and sugar (for the reindeer) ready and talking about Santa and his reindeer. She was so excited. She smiled and took pictures with each of us. Here are a few pictures of what Santa brought them this year. Christmas morning they were up kind of early but I don’t think it was because they were excited. We were able to keep them back in their room for a bit until Suzanne and Matt could get over to the house. I think they forgot but once we reminded them they were ready to go. Seeing the excitement in their eyes is the greatest gift in the world. My mom loved her new ring we all got her and my dad loved the GPS and camera. We are truly blessed and very thankful.

Christmas week

The Friday before Christmas we celebrated the holidays with our good friends Marci, Brent, Jackson and Stella. They were our neighbors before they left us. Heheheh Marci and the kids came over about 4 and soon after that the dads joined us. We exchanged little gifts and then walked to our favorite Mexican restaurant. It was a very nice night. The next night was our Christmas with the Hoekstra’s. We all met at a restaurant and had a yummy dinner and then headed back to John’s dad’s house for dessert and a gift exchange. That started the spoiling of the girls for this season. They got a sled and some snow fort making blocks (kind of like buckets for the snow) books, clothes and lots of other stuff. Nana gave Avery a doll that was hers. Her name is Mary Ann and she is around 53 years old. Av LOVES it. Mary Ann pretty much goes where Av does. Mary Ann is very heavy (sometimes Av has a hard time carrying her) and life-like. A lot of time out of the corner of my eye I will think its Camille. Hehhehehe It was a very special present. On Sunday the girls and I got up and started our drive to WV. It went pretty well. My parents met us half way and after that Camille was kind of fussy and didn’t want to be in her car seat but we made it. It was exactly the week I was wanting. Good times with family. We saw both sides of my parent’s families in Pittsburg. It was great to see cousins and aunts and uncles that I had not see in a long time. On my dad’s side my cousins have kids that Avery fit right in with and played with them like she plays with them all the time. It’s really nice to see her start to come out of her shell. We also went to the Pittsburg science center, which both girls (and the adults) loved.

thankful

The holiday season was so nice this year. We are a very lucky and blessed family and I am just so thankful for each and every one of them. We had Christmas with the Hoekstra’s, the Werner’s, the Welsh’s and then our little family of 8. My girls got to spend so much time this year with G&PP. They have a very special relationship. John and I got a lot of time together this year as well. We both had 2 weeks off of work. It was pretty amazing. Not that we really needed to re-connect but we did. We saw lots of friends too that we don’t get to see enough. It really was a special holiday season.