splash park

I took the girls to the splash park at the zoo yesterday. Av didn’t even have any friends with her but she had a ball! The minute we got there she took off and was soaked within seconds. She ran right up to the slide line and stood there like she did it every day. She knew right what to do and waited in line over and over again. I’m so impressed all the time by the things she knows and does. She is just amazing. Camille liked it pretty well. She didn’t really get to wet other than when one of the jets surprised her and soaker her right in the face. It was so funny to watch. It just surprised her and she came running back to me like “hey what just happened?” It didn’t bother her at all though. Only problem is that the splash park is at the bottom of this huge hill. Pushing that stroller back up in the heat is a work out!!

"my belly hurts"

Av has officially learned how to put on the pitiful face and get mommy to pick her up from school in a second. About once a week I either get the call -“Avery is in the office saying her belly hurts” or hear from them at the end of they day she was in the office saying her belly hurts. Her belly is the catchall. She is able to look real sad and stick out that bottom lip and get everyone feeling sorry for her. When I get to her school I usually find her lying on her favorite teacher just soaking up the extra attention. The first time I picked her up it was pretty justified. She had a cold. The second time she was fine half an hour after getting home. Today I just got a call from the office and I know she is not sick. They promised they would call me back in half an hour if she were still acting puny. Ugh parenthood is hard!!!!!!

mother's day

I got my mother’s day on Sunday. It was the best. I was spoiled rotten and loved every minute of it. John got up with the girls and I, and got us all our bagels, milk and coffee. Then he had to take care of a smelly diaper and wipe Av all before having his coffee. It was a pretty sufficient taste of what my mornings are like. I am a pretty lucky mommy!!!

baseball game

We took the girls with some friends to a baseball game this weekend. We all had a blast. Surprisingly we watched most of it. We had great seats. 4 rows behind home plate and most of the seats around us were empty so the kids could wander/play, as they wanted too. We were right by the door to the field that the kid’s entertainment used so they got to see everyone come and go. Av was so excited and loved it all. Camille on the other hand was very scared. At one point she was standing up with a handful of popcorn and this big blowup parrot ran into the net that was right in front of us. Her popcorn went flying and she back peddled up the stairs to get to us as fast as possible. The look on her face was priceless. It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Even the people around us were laughing. Poor Camille.

garden

This weekend we finally got the garden in. On Saturday we walked to the farmer’s market to buy plants. They didn’t have everything we needed so we went to Home Depot as well but it was kids day at the market so every kid got a free tomato plant. That worked out perfectly for us. We got cucumbers, red and orange peppers, tomatoes, basil and banana peppers. We all started out helping John plant but it was quickly discovered what we were not as much help as we thought we were so we went to a friend’s house to play. John did a great job though and set up a watering hose throughout the garden as well. Makes watering it a breeze. I can’t wait until we start getting some yummy stuff. Av planted some seeds with Grandma and some at school as well so she will have her own little garden. We are going to plant that one night this week. She is so proud of her little sprouts. I hope they do well.

ncb saying hi to daddy

John felt ncb kick for the first time this morning!!! So fun. I am 21 weeks today.

Camille counting

She is soooo funny. I have been trying to work with her on how old she is. I will say, “Camille are you 1?” and will hold up one finger. She then just starts counting and says 2, 3, 5! It’s so cute. She just has it memorized what comes after 1 and anytime anyone says 1, 2 is automatically what you say afterwards.

Grandma

Av got up yesterday and came down and first thing she asked me was “are those grandma’s shoes” Poor thing. Last Friday when G&PP came they didn’t get to our house until after the girls were in bed. So G was there when Av got up. So when Av got up and saw strange shoes by the door she was hoping they were Grandma’s. They were not unfortunately. They were John’s big huge basketball shoes. Hehehhe He had played the night before and got home late.

After Av’s bath the other night I asked her to go into my room and get my brush to brush her hair (hers was downstairs). She came back with a comb I use. I told her the brush would be better but she said, “Grandma uses a comb like this.” I asked if she wanted me to use that instead then and she said yes. She loves her Grandma.

school

Av has been doing some really cool things at school lately. They watched caterpillars eat, make their cocoons and then turn into butterflies. She told me on Monday that they let the butterflies go. Last week they also made a worm compost for their classroom and they are watching the worms eat/decompose a apple core. Today when we got to school there was a tent and a fake paper campfire in her room. Her eyes just lit up when she saw that tent in her classroom. Seeing that happiness on her face is what I live for. This week and next a traveling planetarium is coming to school, Mr. Magic is coming and then they have a last field trip to the science center. One evening the school is also having a “messy science” night for all the kids. The last day of school is next week and they will have a carnival for it. Being a kid is just too fun.

20 weeks

I love love love love feeling him move. This morning I woke up a little early and he had both his hands and feet going. I just laid there and enjoyed every minute of it. I can’t wait until John can feel him. I can’t wait until Av can feel him. I remember sitting with her on my lap and feeling Camille kick and telling Av her sister was kicking her. She was still pretty young then though and I’m sure didn’t understand at all. I have been telling her about that and telling her that soon she will feel her baby brother kick from my belly. I think she is getting it.

I get so burpy with my pregnancies. At night my chest kind of starts rumbling with air and it means I need to burp. It happens almost every night and happened with Av and Camille as well. If I sit up it helps and John atomically starts patting me on the back to burp me. It’s awesome he knows just what to do to help me without even saying a word. He’s a great partner.

pj day

We had our PJ day yesterday. Actually Camille and I did. Av wanted to get dressed. She has been getting dressed right away lately. She is obsessed with her dresses and that’s all she wants to wear. She puts one on the minute almost that she gets up. We just played, cooked, did laundry and played some more yesterday. It was exactly the day I needed. It was kind of icky outside but we got out for a bit to take a walk and for the girls to splash in the puddles. I have kind of realized that we are on the go a bit too much and I need to slow us all down. Life is just going by too fast and I know I can’t stop that but if I take more time to slow down I’m hopeful life will slow down with it. Even if it’s just a little bit. I guess I just realize I need to “stop and smell the roses” more often. I think that’s a very important thing for my kids to learn to enjoy.

sausage

All weekend while G&PP were in town they were calling Camille sausage. Hehehe Grandma said it was like stuffing a sausage putting her shoes on. How rude to say about your granddaughter.

little man

Look at this cute little random boy that John took with him to a U of L game. Isn't he a nice guy? Oh wait, is that Camille? I think it is. hehehehh I do remember that game and how everyone said how cute he was. It's funny to look back on and see that she really did/does look like a boy. It will be just my luck and little ncb will be all "girl."

hoarder

Camille is a hoarder. She has to have every one of the items of the moment and she just holds them tightly to her chest and just stands there with them. Does not use them for their purpose or play with them. Just hoards them as if her life will crumble if she does not have them. Last week it was these silly little yellow sticks that came with these gardener bags G&PP got for them. They were supposed to be used to label what plant it was that you planted. 5 were in Camille’s bag and 5 in Av’s. Camille needed them ALL. Just to stand there and hold them. She held them most of the car ride home. She does it at school too. Yesterday we went to Costco and got a sample of chips. Camille I guess didn’t want hers but she did want to hold them. She held that little paper cup all through the store and all the way home. She was carrying it around the house too until Jack took care of that. She is something else.

trip to WV

Bernheim Forest BloomFest

On Saturday we all loaded into the van and headed to a festival about 30 minutes from our house. I have to admit that the van is nice and very convenient. We all had plenty of room and it was so nice to be able to ride together. Camille and I sat together in the way back, mom and Av in the middle and my dad was the co-pilot. The festival was really nice. Some great live music, kids activities and some yummy food. Not your usual festival food. This was healthy/earthly food. We had grilled veggie wraps and grilled corn on the cob. Camille liked playing with the bubbles and chalk while Av and grandma collected materials from nature to make a “fairy” house. The houses were all along a trail through the woods and were part of a contest they were having. It was a really cute contest/idea. I may be biased but Av’s house was the best!

super bummed

Avery didn’t get into the speech camp I was trying to get her into for the summer. I am super bummed but there’s not much I can do. I really worked hard to get her in and even had her speech therapist write her a letter of “recommendation.” (the letter she wrote was so nice, made me burst with pride that Av is my daughter) The camp is intended for kids without a diagnosis and she of course does have one. It’s just really sucky because that label is holding her back and that makes me very very very sad/mad. I understand, I really do, but I'm bummed. I know they have to draw the line somewhere and keep it fair for others but it has been proven that all Av needs is speech (she does not have any behavioral problems, does not qualify for state funded PT or OT and is cognitively age appropriate). I was really hoping they would make an exception in her case. It’s their loss really. They are missing out on helping/getting to know an exceptional little girl.

miss my girls

Kind of having a downer of a day. I think it’s the rain but I also miss the girls a ton. My parents were in town this weekend and although I LOVE having them here and I love the help I am def chop liver when they are around. I didn’t get my quota of hugs this weekend so I think that has me down. It was nice though. John and I not only got to go to dinner with friends to a favorite restaurant we also got to run errands together. I forgot how nice it was not to have to carry snacks and constantly be meeting their needs instead of sitting back and talking with John. Today though I wish we were still in our PJ’s cuddling all day. Part of me kind of hopes it does rain tomorrow so we can have a PJ day.

neighborhood

Friday we had a block/welcome to the neighborhood party. It was really nice and fun. Not sure how we can move. We have the greatest neighbors and friends. There were about 20 people there. A 5 month old being the youngest and Miss Virginia being the oldest at 91. Other than weddings you don’t usually have such varying ages at a party. It’s really nice to get to know the people who live around you and all come together and have a great time. The girls had a great time and by the end they were fighting over sitting on “uncle Dan’s” lap.

19 weeks

I am 100% positive I am feeling him moving now. It’s so exciting. This is what I have been waiting for. To me this is the best part of pregnancy. I just love it so much and I love having a baby in my belly. It’s still not all the time but enough to make me happy (for now). We are absolutely no closer on having a name for him. We just have a huge problem with boy’s names. Even when I was prego with Av and we didn’t know if she was a boy or a girl we never settled on a boy’s name. I was in labor and we still didn’t have a name. There are a few we like but none of them just stand out and say, “I’m it!!!!” to me. We have time, I know, but since there has never been a boy’s name I love I’m starting to feel hopeless. I feel great though. No real complaints. I crash/hit my wall about 9:30 every night and I am still sleeping really well. My belly button has stopped hurting so that is nice too. That has happened to me every pregnancy; my belly button gets very tender and sore to the touch. I get frequent headaches too but nothing horrible, not like the everyday ones I had with Camille. Also, better than the nosebleeds I had with Av or the carpel tunnel issues I had with Camille. I guess there’s still plenty of time though, better knock on wood.

house

We are contemplating a move. We love our house and even more we love where it is. The location is just the best. 4 blocks from the park, 3 blocks from shops, restaurants, Walgreens, Starbucks, ice cream shop, bars (not that we use those much anymore), 8 blocks from either girls school, 3 good friends within 8 blocks of us, great neighbors, and much much more. It’s just a great area. The 2 problems are, we are outgrowing our house and it’s a neighborhood on a grid (meaning it’s busy and gets lots of thru traffic). The road makes me so nervous. I want a road that the girls can ride their bikes on and that really does not get traffic other than the people who live there. It’s really hard to balance what we as the parents would ideally want (city) and what is the best situation for the kids to grow up in. We looked at a house last night. It’s father out than John ever wanted to be (still not the suburbs though) but the house is in a pretty neighborhood, great school, cul-de-sac, on a nice flat lot, and has great space (each bedroom (4) has 2 walk in closets in it all upstairs). It needs work. Can we really handle the work right now? We can’t afford the space we want, inside the city, and updated. What do you give up? Do we just stay where we are? I just don’t know what the answer is.

ever changing schedule

With the summer coming up our schedule will be changing. I will work on Tuesdays and Thursdays and that is when the girls will go to school. So for the first time we will be home together 3 full days a week! I will no longer have my day with Av and my day with Camille so I am going to enjoy my last 3 as much as possible. Av will start back at Camille’s school June 1st. I am sooooooooooooooooooo dreading that day. I know she will adjust as she always does but I hate it for her. Can’t let her know that though, only positive thoughts on it!! We have already started talking about it and she is excited as of now. Only problem is they still nap in the 4-year-old classroom. Ugh, that will make bedtime so much harder if she actually sleeps. She’s not used to having to lie down at school anymore but we have played that up too. She is excited to get to take her blanket and monkey to school and lay down with them. She really is such a good girl. Not sure yet what day will be her therapy day. I am trying to get her into a 6-week speech camp. It would be twice a week for an hour and half each time. It would be really good for her but not sure it’s going to work out. Keep your fingers crossed for me on that! We will have to do OT and speech for at least part of the summer. Next school year Av will go to school Mon, Tues, Thur, and Fri. Tues and Thur she will be there all day. Mon and Fri will just be in the am. Camille will go Tues and Thur all day (those are the days I will continue to work) and then depending on when Av’s therapy is she may go another day. We will see.

first minivan road trip

We went to WV last weekend to see my parents and sister. It was such a nice weekend. Too short and I got a cold so it was not enjoyed as much as it should have been but it was so nice to see everyone. The girls ate up the extra attention. Camille has quickly learned how fun Grandma and PP are. She wants nothing to do with me when they are around. It was kind of sad but I love seeing them having fun together. When we got there Friday we stopped at Aunt Anne’s and Uncle Matt’s. We had a yummy dinner there and hung out for a while. Av ran down to play with the neighborhood kids and got to drive one of those Barbie jeeps. That is all she wants for her bday now. On Sat we went to a very pretty park with waterfalls by their house. The girls loved it. We saw some tadpoles, frogs and salamanders. We walked there for a while and then headed back to g&pp’s house for a shrimp boil. My Aunt Jenny came in from Pittsburgh and joined us. It was great to see her. It was soooooo yummy. After dinner we took a minivan load of people to get ice cream (see it’s coming in handy). On Sunday we had to head back to KY. It was a quick weekend but so nice. The girls were great in the car and it was nice to have all the room in the minivan. Even Jack got to go with us!! I received lots of hugs and two very nice cards for mother’s day promising that we would postpone it and I could be properly pampered this coming Sunday when we didn’t have to spend all day in the car. I can’t wait!

minivan mama

John came home with a minivan yesterday for us. He claims it’s my mother’s day present. He has another thing coming if he really believes that. Hehehehe he will get a toilet seat for Father’s day. It’s very nice though. 2007 Odyssey. White with a tan leather interior. It drives very nice. The girls were so excited. Av could not wait until John put her seat in it and for us to go for a drive. I know I will love it (I am already getting there). Yes I know it was completely necessary but never did I picture myself driving a minivan. I don’t think a lot of people that knew me back in the day did either. I like it though, it’s my life, and I would not change it for anything.

all boy

One of the old wives tales about guessing the sex of your baby is the heartbeat. If it is fast (in the 160s) it’s a girl but slower (140s) it’s a boy. From my experience that has been true. Both of our girls were always in the 150s or 160s and this sweet little ncb was 136 on Monday and 142 last Wednesday. He does not at all want to be mistaken for a girl.

toilet seat

Our house has these seashell toilet seat covers that John just can’t stand. I don’t even notice them but they drive John crazy. Slowly but surly we have been replacing them. So the other day he bought a new toilet seat for the kid’s bathroom. It’s a really cool one. The outer ring is normal size but from the lid you can flip down a smaller ring for smaller bum bums. We figure we have 2 more small bums that will be on that toilet so why not. Av loves it! The first time she want potty on it she said, “look Mama, no hands!!!” heheheh so funny. Normal seats she has to hold onto so she does not fall in. I know gross in public restrooms but she is going to wash her hands no matter what so it really does not matter that much. We might buy another for the half bath on the main level of the house.

elmo

Camille is obsessed with Elmo. Not sure how or why it started. She never sees him on TV. The only time she watches him is when we take trips we have an Elmo video she watches. Av had a few Elmo books that she never really liked but Camille has. I guess that’s where it started. We happened to have 2 Elmos at the house. A smaller one that she started carrying around with her a few weeks ago. Now she found a bigger one and added that to her pile of must haves. She gets in her bed and hugs them both and says “Elmo.” It’s just the cutest. Now she has 2 Elmo bibs that she wears everywhere. It was a good find for me though because for a long time she would not wear a bib. She would pull it right off. I wanted some that you slipped over the head and when I went looking I found Elmo! Now you can’t get them off of her. They are boy bibs too so that just compounds the “boy” look that she has. When Av was Camille’s age she loved Mickey Mouse. She had 3 small ones I rotated though her and the wash. It’s very cool to see the different personalities they have and the different things they pick to love.

parade

I took the girls to the Derby parade by myself last week. Yes I am proud. We were meeting friends but I had to find a place to park and our friends in very heavy traffic. We were meeting on the north side of the street on Broadway between Preston and Jackson streets. I did it! Not the biggest deal I know but John is a great husband and father and I have really learned to rely on him for this type of stuff and have taken for granted that I never have to do it. Just ride in the car and follow his lead. I still have it though! Anyway, the girls loved the parade. It had a lot of horses in it and some big blow up horses. Whenever the horses would come through a few people would follow them with a big roll garbage can to clean up after them. Av thought this was hilarious. Every time she saw someone rolling around a garbage can she had to point it out to me. For over an hour they both sat in their seat on the bleachers and watched the parade (someone had brought tootsie lollypops, a first for Camille). Once they started getting restless though we left. I walked them the million blocks back, loaded them both into the car, loaded all our stuff back into the car, and then the big jogging stroller back into the car. And that is why I barely look pregnant.

18 week ultrasound

We had our big 18-week ultrasound today. It was nice to see little ncb. He is so cute. He wiggled so much it was hard to get any good pics of him. We saw his heart and all 4 chambers clearly but didn’t really get a good pic of it for the dr. He just kept moving. He also was not shy at all about showing off his boy parts. Didn’t want to be called/mistaken for a girl. Not sure we would have missed them had we not wanted/known the sex. He is looking great. Growing well although I am sooooooooooo small. People are shocked when I tell them I am pregnant and 18 weeks at that. I was not this small with the girls but I think just taking care of them and chasing them is keeping me small. Our ultrasound was with the CVS dr. Since he is a high risk they really check the baby over. Looked at everything. They did not see anything concerning. We got a good look at his face and lips. Hehehe John’s lips are pretty non-existent as are both of my girls but I think ncb got my lips!! I hope he looks like me. I am sick of these little John clones. Hehehehehe kidding, I have the 2 most beautiful girls ever. I am one lucky momma. Oh one funny thing though, his size makes his due date Oct. 1st. Poor Camille.

oaks

Oaks was a blast!!!!! For being pregnant and not having a sip of any alcohol I still had a total blast. Huh, fun with no hangover. Something to think about. The babysitter and the Shuman kids arrived promptly at 9:30. Av was so excited she had been standing at the window since 9 waiting on them to arrive. The kids were all in a great mood and Camille even let Heidi hold her before we left. We left to go to Marci and Brent’s house to “pre-game.” They had mimosas and bloody mary’s and some breakfast. A bunch of people ended up coming and we hung out there for a bit. A limo came to pick us up around 11. hehehe That was a surprise until the night before. Marci and Brent are friends with this couple that is very well off. They got our tickets for us and came in their limo to pick us up. So fun! Off we went. We were dropped off right at the front gate and told the limo would be waiting for us when we were done. The weather was perfect! The girls and I found a mojito maker guy that made them fresh fruit mojito’s and me a virgin one. So nice, felt like I was enjoying a yummy drink. We had 2 of those before we even made it to our seats. Once we got to our seats we started betting. The first race we were able to bet on there was a horse named Lou something running in it. I told John to for sure bet on it (Avery Lou). He placed 2 different bets on it and we won them both. Started the day off nicely. We won on most of the races. We will not be quitting our jobs or anything but it still made the day a lot more fun. Brento came out about half way through the day. So funny. Marci knew and was worried but we all thought it was funny. She had right to be worried. He started vomiting during the last race and all through the limo ride home. Since the limo picked us up right in front we sat in a lot of traffic. That was a lot of vomiting time for Brento. We had a lot of fun in the limo making fun of him as did the cars around us. Had to be very entertaining for them as well. When we got home the kids were waiting outside for us. All in their matching PJ’s. They had a great day but I think Camille was a little out of sorts. She would not let me put her down for the rest of the night (she had taken a very long nap so was up till 10). It was nice to have the attention from her though. I soaked it all up.

oaks

the bell(s) of the ball

or the derby.

Avery loves this dress. She looks so grown up in it. She did not get it dirty on Sat so she wore it again on Sun. She is obsessed with dresses. That's all she wants to wear. She does not sit like a little lady in them though which does not make her daddy happy so we all compromised on shorts under the dresses. Works well for everyone.

again take notice of Av's smile and also notice the backpack straps. That’s her baby that I think we will have to get surgically removed from her when she is ready.