WV and snowshoe

WV and Snowshoe were amazing! First and foremost thanks to everyone that was there and helped me with the girls. You made my time much more relaxing than it would have been!

We drove to Pitt with John on Thursday night. It was an uneventful drive and we arrived at a hotel close to the airport at about 11. One funny thing was that Av complained the whole way there that she didn’t want to go and stay in a “hospital” she wanted to go straight to G&PP’s house. Kept trying to tell her it was a hotel we were staying in but she just could not get it right. Hehehhe We all slept but only for like 6 hours or so. Camille was up bright and early. I guess she wanted to spend more time with John before he took off.

Friday the girls and I dropped J off at the airport and started the 1.5-hour drive to my parent’s house. After a Starbucks I was feeling better and the girls were good. My dad had set the pool up for the girls so they were excited to enjoy that when we got there. My dad worked the night before so he went to bed and my mom had to work for a bit so we headed to Aunt Anne’s house. AA had like a wonderland of crafts planned for the girls. It was the best ever!! Camille took a nap and didn’t want to get up when it was time, as usual. When she finally did get up she tackled my mom so hard she knocked her right off the bed. After knowing my mom was pretty okay from her fall we all laughed pretty hard about it. Av also took a bath in AA’s big bathtub and then we headed back to G&PP’s house for dinner.

Saturday was the Welsh fam reunion. My grandfather was one of 17 so my mom had over 100 cousins! It is a BIG family. There were over 200 people at the reunion. It was in Pittsburgh so we drove to my Aunt Jenny’s house where we met up with the rest of my mom’s sisters and families that were going. From there we headed to the park for the reunion. The girls had the most fun. Av collected and ate more candy than she has ever had in her life! They made friends, played with bubbles, helped crack a piñata and got pretty darn dirty. After that we headed back to my Aunt’s house where Av sat with the “big girls” aka my cousins or now known as “my cousins” to Avery. She didn’t even want me outside with them. It was my first taste of what my week would be like with all my aunts and cousins playing with the girls. It was great. We left about 8:30 and headed back to my parents. We didn’t sleep so well that night. Av was over tired and woke up about 2:30 and was just a mess. She came to get me and woke Camille in the process. Camille never wakes up in the middle of the night so I didn’t know what to do. Then Camille was awake again at 6 am. As soon as I got her back down Av woke up again. Ugh!

Sunday we had to get ready for Snowshoe. Or really I should say Matt, Suzanne and my dad got us ready for Snowshoe. There was not really a grocery store within an hour and since we were 2 hours away we thought we would do the grocery shopping for the week before hand. Those 3 went and did an amazing job!! I am so glad I didn’t have to do it. $800 later we had food for the week for almost 20 people. Not sure how it all got packed in many many different coolers and tubs but it did somehow (Matt) and made it to the house. Wow that was a big job. Camille of course got sick again! She woke up with a fever. Every time my kids are with G&PP one of them gets sick. Double Ugh

Monday we left for Snowshoe. My mom and I drove up first with the girls and most of the food in the mini van. We got to the house and got to explore all 4 levels, 7 bedrooms, 5.5 baths, and 2 kitchens first. It was fun. Very nice house. My Aunt Rosie, her two girls Emily and Rebbeca, cousin Mike, my dad and sister all joined us that first night. By the time we got there and got settled it was time to make dinner and hang out. The girls got in the “cool tub” with their cousins and loved that.

Tuesday we just kind of hung around. Walked to the village but the whole time Camille was throwing a fit bc she didn’t want to be in her stroller and she just wanted me to carry her. She was very tired. Her and I stayed at the village for about 2 minutes before I took her back to the house for a nap. The rest of the group stayed there for a while and had fun. After that we just hung around the house playing and waiting for more of our group to arrive. That night Aunt Sally, Aunt Jenny and Danny all joined us. On Wednesday it was a rainy, over cast, and kind of a cold day. We still decided we wanted to go hiking. We went on one hike to see some waterfalls. The girls and I with my parents didn’t make it to the very bottom but had fun throwing rocks in the stream waiting on them. We had hiked down many many steps and both girls walked up every step on their own on the way back. It was pretty neat. We picked a lot of wildflowers. Camille is now obsessed with wildflowers and wants to pick every flower she ever sees. On top of picking them she still has her hording tendencies so she holds onto them forever. I find dried flowers all over my house. After that we went to check out some cranberry bogs. All of this was kind of a long drive and I rode in the back of our van with my Aunt Rosie. It was really nice to get some one on one time with her and pick her brain about good teaching strategies (she is a first grade teacher) for Av. That night the last of our group arrived. John(!!!!!), my cousin Katie and her boyfriend. It was great to see them.

Thursday we decided to take the girls to the pool. They had been dying to go. It was a pool at the resort at the top of the mountain at the village. It was an indoor-outdoor pool. Very nice pool. Both inside and outside had a water slide for the kids that Av and C did at least a 100 times. They loved it. The pool inside was like a splash part with very shallow water and jets and sprays. We went before nap and then again before dinner time that day. I forgot my camera so I was not able to capture any of the big slide smiles. So sad. The rest of the group took the chair lift to the bottom of the mountain to the lake. My poor sis came down with Camille’s flu and spent all day in bed.

Friday it was my turn to join the flu crowd. Ugh it was not fun. I was not totally horrible. I kept debating on if I was just over tired or did I have the flu so I went with the rest of the group on the train ride. We went on a real coal burning train into the mountains. The girls really thought it was pretty neat. After that I went home to nap with Camille while my dad and John took Av on the chair lift down to the lake. She was so excited to go on the chair lift and to be with PP and Dada! It was neat for her.

Saturday it was time for us all to say bye. It was very sad to leave everyone. We had such a blast. The girls just loved being with “my cousins” as Av calls them. We headed back to KY on Sat. I was still not feeling well so the car ride was long for me. Luckily the girls were good and I actually slept a lot of it.

On a side note the AC in the house did not work all week. It was pretty frustrating. Most of the week was very hot so sleeping was pretty hard. All and all the week was great but I don’t think I got one good night sleep the entire trip.

baby brother

Avery has been talking a ton about her baby brother. It is too cute. She asks me all the time where he is and when I tell her, “his feet are here and his hands are here.” She asks where his head is and even asked if he would have hair the other day. As I was cuddling on the couch the other day with them I said, “I love my girls so much!” Av said, “do you love my baby bother too?” She loves feeling him kick and is very excited to pick out a blanket for him. Blankets are big deals in our house. Av has about a million that she loves and plays with on a daily basis. Camille has one special one that she loves. So picking out a blanket for her baby brother is very special to Av. She loves her blankets so much so she wants to get one for him that he will love. Camille has a lovie (giraffe) that she loves. Avery says that she will pick out a blanket for baby brother and Camille will pick out a lovie. They are sweet!

time flying by

Wow! Where did the summer go? School is starting in 3 weeks. The summer is GONE! Avery will go back to her normal preschool and be in a class that is called the “4 day 4’s.” It’s crazy to me she will be in school 4 days!!!! This will be a first for me. It will be so weird for me to be home with Camille and not have Av home with us. It’s the first time school will actually be school and not just a day care for the girls while I work. It’s going to be such an adjustment on me. My big girl will be at school while I’m home. Not sure how I am going to handle that. I guess with Camille and ncb I will be just as busy but she’s my girl, my baby girl. I will almost feel like I am cheating on her. I can’t go have fun and take the other 2 to the zoo without her. Avery will go to school Mon, Tues, Thur and Friday. She will be there full days Tues and Thurs while I work as will Camille at her school and just till noon on Mon and Fri. We will all be home Wednesdays together. I have a feeling Wednesdays will be my new fav day!

31 weeks today

My sweet little baby boy, he is making his presence known more than ever. His kicks and movements are pretty constant throughout the day along with contractions. He is just too sweet. I can already tell. I am going to miss him so much when he is not with me constantly. We are still doing pretty well. I am starting to slow down big time and hit a wall with comfortableness. My muscles holding up my belly are starting to protest and the screaming from them is getting louder by the day. When I get up from sitting it takes me a minute to get everything going. I’m stuffy every night when trying to sleep and heartburn and the burps are always an issue as well. Thankfully this has by far been my easiest pregnancy. Even so though, I am about done. I love being pregnant and I love being with my boy all the time but I am ready to shut this door of my life. Which I’m glad I feel that way. Being pregnant has been wonderful for me and I thought after this I would be very sad to never be pregnant again. I probably will with all those hormones that go nuts after birth but right now I can confidently say I am done! I am so blessed to have been able to carry 3 wonderful babies and have loved it so much but enough is enough and it is time for the Hoekstra family to move on from the baby stage and into the fun family growing up stage!!

talking

Camille is learning so much from big sister Av. Some of the sentence (yes I said sentences, she is now talking in full sentences) could be something that came from Av’s mouth and not Camille’s. It’s amazing. Av is always so proud when she finishes her food (we had such eating issues with her for so long it was a big deal) so she always shows me her empty plate. I act so surprised and pretend not to know where the food went. She says, “it’s all in my belly!” as she rubs her belly. Camille has taken to saying the same thing. Today she told me all her bagel was in her belly when most of it was still in her mouth. Last night John was asking her who the Sesame Street characters were in her book and when they came to one she didn’t know she said, “not know is.” Meaning I don’t know who that is. It made us both stop to laugh. Camille has never said anything like that and really with a word or two added that could have come straight from Av’s mouth. For the longest time Av said, “I not know.” We finally have broken her of that and she says, “I don’t know” now. Looks like we will be working on that with Camille too. Also, if you ask Camille, “did you play with Emily today?” She will answer with, “I played with Emily today.” She does that with most questions that could be answered with a yes or no. Kind of neat. I guess they are teaching her that way at school.

"big pool"

We went to a friend’s pool over the weekend and since there was not a baby pool the girls spent the whole time in the “big pool.” They swam and swam for 3 straight hours. Such fish. Av can now climb out of the side of the pool and jump back in totally unassisted and Camille just needs a touch of help climbing out. They had a ball. At one point Camille kept telling John, “big pool.” He thought that’s what she was saying but was confused bc they were in the big pool. The only pool. She was getting frustrated and he was as well. Finally figure out that the big pool she was referring to was the deeper end they had been swimming in earlier. Being almost 2 is hard, no one understands!

Fashionista

Av has become my little fashionista! She is cute. We all know she totally cares about her pretty dresses she wears but now she is helping me out. Nothing fits right these days and I needed a tank top to wear to something. I just wanted something cheap so while at Target I was trying on tops and she said, “no momma, that’s too big.” Then she picked out the one she thought looked the best on me. I agreed. Last week I decided I had to have a new bathing suit. I have been wearing the same all black maternity bathing suit and I wear it a lot. Like 4 times a week, every week. I was going to throw up if I put it on again so while at Target I was looking at the maternity suits. I found a few that were ok and asked her which one she liked. She had very strong opinions that one was the best so that’s the one I got. Shopping with her is going to be fun!

July 13th

Is the day 9 years ago that John and I met! It’s an anniversary of sorts that we always ‘try’ to remember. Really it’s the day we started dating too because we were inseparable from that day on. I knew shortly after that day that he was the one! I say ‘try’ to remember because we don’t really celebrate it just say a special “I love you and I am thankful for you” to each other. Anyway this year my incredibly sweet husband came home with flowers and a card for me. Being an almost stay at home mom I never know the date and had not thought at all about it so it took me totally surprise. He is so sweet and wonderful and I am so lucky.

wild child

Camille was in rare form yesterday. Wow! Made me ready to come to work today. I took the girls to the zoo. Camille has not really had to ride in a stroller in awhile and I knew she was not much of a fan but I thought at the zoo we would be all good. So in the parking lot I got us all unloaded and tried to put her in the stroller. The fit started immediately. If I had been trying to leave the zoo with her instead of walking in I would have been worried someone would have stopped me for kidnapping, she was making that big of a fuss. The whole time I was thinking just make it into the zoo and she can walk as much as she wants in there. Well when we got in I got her out and told her she could walk. Nope that was not going to do it either. She wanted me to carry her. No way that was going to happen. My friend Melissa finally thought to let her ride with her son Max and I could push the big girls as they wanted to. That kind of worked but she was still fussy the entire time and we had a few more fits. So much so that she had red marks on her neck from where she was fighting against the stroller straps so much. Ugh. She was tired. So we went home and put her down for a nap. She took a great nap and Av and I had to wake her after 2 hours. She did not like to be woken and threw another fit for 30 minutes. Finally we were able to distract her and that was the end of the grouchiness for the day. She is still wild though. After dinner we went with John to Bass Pro Shop so he could get a few things for his trip coming up. She didn’t want to be in the cart in there (can’t blame her lots to do and see) so Av and I spent a long time following her around. She was everywhere exploring and Av is so good. I can always count on her to be right with us following her crazy sister. Avery thinks Camille is very funny. They laugh a lot together. Anyway, Av had to go potty and I could not find John so off we went. They have bathrooms there where the entire men’s and women’s bathrooms do not have a door on them. So as I was trying to wipe Avery, Camille takes off. Out of the women’s bathroom and right into the men’s bathroom she runs!!!!!!! She thinks it’s very funny to see mommy chasing her. After that I handed her over to John. This morning before school she was in time out twice bc she kept turning off the TV while Av was watching and she broke a glass candle that was on the counter. Who knows how she got it. As soon as I walked into her classroom her teacher said, “wow, she seems to be in a bubbly mood this morning.” Hehehheeh If that’s what they want to call it. They have no idea what they are in for.

Barren River Lake

We went to the lake this weekend. We had such a blast! I really love it there and feel so thankful that we have such nice friends that let us borrow their lake house. It is so nice and peaceful and the kids just love it. We got there late on Friday night and had a Hoekstra dance party until the rest of our group arrived. Jennie and Brandon and their little boy Jake and Jeff and Kristal and their little girl Maya all joined us. The kids went to bed way too late on Friday. I knew it was going to make Saturday harder but we were having so much fun. I think we got them to sleep about 11. I was very hopeful they would sleep in esp since I didn’t go to bed until 1. Very late for me these days. Av would have if Camille were not up right as 7 standing in her pack and play saying, “Avery, Avery.” Kind of cute. John and I were also in the room; I tried to grab C before she woke Av up but no such luck. So the girls and I got up. We played until the rest of the group woke up. Around 10 we headed down to the lake. We swam and the kids went on their first jet ski ride. It was a blast. After lunch Av was still going strong so John took her back down to the water with the rest of the group while C and I took a nap. Not sure how it happened but in those 2 hours Av grew up a few years. When I got back down to the lake Av was jumping off the dock by herself (life jacket on), had been tubing and doing tricks with daddy on the jet ski! Where did baby Avery go??? We swam and played awhile longer until dinner time. I got stung by some huge black and white bug and also got a splinter in my foot. No fun. Felt kind of beat up but it was still a fun day. We all cooked dinner together and had the kids in bed by 8pm that night! The next day we went back to the lake and swam the morning away. Camille kept telling John, “more boat daddy” meaning the jet ski. By the afternoon it was time for lunch and to pack up. After an easy drive home we were home in time for dinner. Perfect weekend! I thought we had made it without a “Camille incident.” I was wrong. I talked to Jennie that night and she told me that Brandon had found a mark on Jake and thought it was ringworm. She took one look at it and said, “nope, that’s a Camille bite.” Heheheh Kind of funny. I had warned her but she was not too concerned. She just thought Jake would bite her back. They must have somehow figured it out between them bc we didn’t even know it happened.

cots

Since Av started at Cornerstone she has been pretending to put all her “friends” night-night on cots all over the room, I guess like she does for naptime at Cornerstone. It’s pretty cute but they are all over the room we happen to be in and keeping little sister from messing them up is impossible. Avery will put usually a pillowcase down first. That’s the cot. Then she puts down one of her favorite “friends” with a pillow and small stuffed animal to cuddle with and then covers it all up with a blanket. Heheheh it’s pretty involved. After a while she will say, “it’s time to wake up friends!” That part cracks me up every time. I am sure that’s what they say to them when naptime is over.

writing her name

We have been working on Avery writing her name. She is doing great. She has the A, the V and the E pretty well mastered. Goal is to have her writing her name by the time she starts Friends back in the fall.

week 27

NCB is still very happy where he is!! Things still have been pretty easy other than I keep getting colds!!!! I never usually get sick like this but since ncb has been brewing anytime the girls get sick I am for sure getting a cold no matter what. The biggest problem is they take turns getting sick so they are not sick too much but I am! The colds I have been getting with him are so annoying. I am congested so badly. It is beyond ridiculous. I really don’t feel bad at all other than the fact that I can’t breath and it’s making sleeping for both John and I very difficult. It’s miserable and I hope so much this is the last one before he joins us. He is still moving all over. Av got to feel him the other day. She thinks it was pretty neat. She talks about him all the time. I think she is pretty excited and ready to be a big sis again.

Remember Me

I don’t get to see many movies anymore. Just one of those things. I did get to go see Eclipse with my girl friends on Tuesday. We had a really nice time watching the moving and getting some dinner afterwards. The movie was good. I’m a little over the series but still had to see it of course. I thought they did a good job with sticking pretty close to the book. Anyway, I think Robert Patterson is just too cute. I had been hearing a lot about the movie Remember Me so last night I got it On Demand while John was playing softball. Camille had not napped yesterday so I had them both in bed right at 8. I never rent movies like that so it felt like a special treat. The movie pulled at many different heartstrings. It was very good. I had no idea the ending so it was a total surprise. I could not believe they could give it the ending they did.

Before I started the movie I BBMed John and told him I had rented a movie and not to rush home from softball. He asked which movie and I just wrote back “Remember Me.” His reply, “ohhhhh he’s so cute.” Making fun of me. How did he know that’s why I rented it? John will always be my Edward though!!!!

cute girls

Today was a great morning with my girls. The kind of morning that just makes you never want to leave them and sad when you do. I got Av dressed in an athletic outfit that she looked SO cute in. It’s something that although the shorts are purple and I thought she would love it she will not wear it bc it’s not a dress. I got her to wear it today though. She had on a cute matching headband and just looked adorable. I asked if I could take her pic. Camille was running around completely naked bc she had leaked through her diaper and loves being naked so I thought I would give her a few minutes. When taking the pic of Av, Camille wanted to be in it. So I got some great pics of them both smiling and looking too cute but C was naked. Hehehehh Finally grabbed Camille and got one of Av. Av by this point was forcing a smile and doing her normal “I think this is a great smile, smile.” I told her to laugh at Camille instead and that did the trick! I got a beautiful pic of my beautiful daughter!!! I went on to get Camille dressed. For school I usually try to pull her front hair up into a little ponytail to keep it out of her eyes. She will not keep a barrette in it and her hair is just so uneven and filling in differently in different spots. On top of that she hates when I mess with it so it’s very difficult. The result this morning was very funny. Avery and I were cracking up but trying to hide that fact bc if C knew what we were laughing at she just would have pulled it out. I had to get a pic of Camille’s side horn. I left it for school. No way I was going through that again.

headband

This is how Camille wears her headbands. Looks like she going to work out.

boy or Camille?

For all of you that say we have two girls I have the pic to prove you wrong. Isn't he a cute little guy? heheheheh This was how Camille came home from school one day. No this is not how she went to school that morning. She had messed up her clothes and this is what they put her in instead. I didn't even realize it was her when she ran up and hugged my leg. I thought it was some random little boy. hehehehe

fish

Monday after nap we took the kids to the pool. We had not been there in over a week so it seemed new to the girls again. Av is doing so well swimming. I just can’t get over it. She uses water wings but otherwise swims on her own. She even puts her face in the water to swim like she sees her friends doing. I think soon she will not even need the water wings. I’m just so proud of her. Camille uses water wings too and free floats in the pool but cannot figure out the kicking thing to make herself go places yet. She gets so frustrated. They both love to jump in over and over again. Av can swim herself back but C gets so mad she can’t. She will learn just like big sis someday soon!

4th of july

Love, love, love 3 day weekends! So nice having John home an extra day and it usually means my parents are in town too! They arrived Sat after nap and the girls took right too them. John and I were instantly chop liver. We had a BBQ at home that night and just played and enjoyed the company. We had told G&PP about all the cute things Camille was saying now but she would not say any of it for them. Seemed a little strange but I blew it off as being tired which made sense since the night before she was up late with the sitter and also woken in the middle of the night to be taken home. By bedtime when I got my first hug since G&PP arrived I noticed she felt hot. Ugh!!! She had a fever. She woke with it on Sunday too. One of my kids is always sick when G&PP come to town. It’s so sad. Anyway with some meds in her she was able to play for a bit that morning. By 11ish my parents decided to take Av to the zoo. It was so hard for them and me to make Camille stay home but it was best for her. I put her to bed early and she slept all afternoon. G&PP and Av had a great time at the zoo, McDonalds and the store. By the time they got home C was fever free and doing well. We decided to have a picnic dinner and try to see the fireworks with friends. After awhile though C was back to not feeling so well so G&PP took her home. They gave her some more meds and ended up having a really nice evening of playing with her. Av stayed with us and our friends to see the fireworks. She wanted to see them so badly. Poor thing tried but just could not stay up long enough for the fireworks. PP came to get her about 9. Broke my heart but I didn’t want her to get sick too so I sent her home. She had ice cream and G&PP all to herself so she didn’t mind much. Monday morning G&PP played with the girls for a long time while John and I cleaned the inside and outside of both cars. They are such a big help when they come. Only good thing about them having to leave is we get our girls attention back!

track

Friday night we left the kids with a sitter and went to Churchill Downs. They have started night racing in the summer and call it “Downs after Dark.” It’s a pretty big deal and the boxes sell out weeks in advance. We got a box right on the finish line but you can also just hang out in the paddock area where there is a band, happy hour and a DJ at night. It basically turns into a nightclub with everyone dancing. It looked fun, but we stayed in our box to bet and watch the races. We didn’t win anything but had a great time. Marci had driven us all in the swagger wagon so we headed out for some La Bamba afterwards. The kids did great with the sitter and there were not any Camille incidents! The theme of the night was “Boots, Brews & BBQ” so Melissa, Marci and I all wore our boots. Aren’t we cute?

week 26

It is going by way too fast!!! I am in the home stretch and can’t believe it. It makes me sad. I have not sat around and relished being pregnant at all. Heheh that sounds crazy. Really though I love being pregnant and this is my last time, I just want to sit down and cry when I think about that. I need to enjoy every minute of it. How in the world do you do that though with 2 crazy little girls to chase after, worry about, love and take care of???? Just not enough time in the day. I am starting to slow down and feel it. Just getting sore. Tired. Hot. No major complaints though. I had another migraine the other day. Those are no fun period but when you are prego they are the worst. You can’t take anything and with 2 little girls you just have to keep going. It was Saturday night and we were at a friend’s house and all the sudden I started seeing spots. Oh no, I thought right away. She didn’t have any Tylenol so I didn’t catch it until later. It was not horrible. Not the worst I have ever had but still not fun. I’m pretty sure he is still breech. He better have plans of turning. I am not having a c-section!!!!!!!! He still does not have a name. Poor boy. I just have not found the name that I love, the name that I want to spend the time and energy talking John into it. I guess he has not found that name either because he is not working on me with any names either. Avery seems to be getting more and more excited. She talks about her baby brother a lot. I think she likes being a big sister. Still worried about how Camille is going to take it. The other night I was sitting on the couch and John laid down and put his head in my lap. She did not like that. She had to climb right up and be in my lap. She still says no when you ask her if a baby is going to come live at her house with her. She is too young to really understand. I think she needs a boy to rough house with.

"it's good"

Camille is talking sooooooooooooo much. All the sudden she is saying everything. It is really cute how she talks. Almost like she has a mouth full of marbles. She sounds like a little Arnold Schwarzenegger. Certain words it sounds like she is hawking a loogie in them. Like horse or outside. Really funny. When she is eating something she finds delish she says between bites with her mouth full, “it’s good!”

softball

We took the girls to the ballpark to watch John play softball. It was the first time this year we have gone. A girl in Avery’s class at Cornerstone was there and they recognized each other right away. It was so cute to see them at first being hesitant. By the end they were running around that park together like they were teenagers. She is growing up way too fast. Makes my heart so happy though to see little girls wanting to play with Av. We know she is a sweet and fun little girl but I like seeing others realizing that. I also, love seeing her come out of her shell and just take off to play with new friends that she does not know so well. She is a very special little girl. Camille was good as well although she was all over the place and as always needed watched like a hawk. I was not going to have another biting incident on my watch so I hovered. I am sure the other mother’s thought I was crazy standing over my child while they lounged in the bleachers but I wanted to make sure the terror didn’t make an appearance. I needed to be right there though. Her little hands find and grab everything including someone’s soda, push pop, sippy cup, and beer. There was a gross stopped up water fountain I had to keep dragging her away from and the mud puddle under it. A lot of the kids had their shoes off in the dirt so Camille had to walk around in them all and I of course had to keep track of random shoes. I got her a ring pop that she loved putting in the dirt and then bringing to me so I could wash if off again for her. It was definitely a bath night when we got home!

Sweet big sis

Camille did not want to nap yesterday. When she finally fell asleep it was about time for her to get up. I let her sleep a little late but then we had to get ready to go to John’s softball game. She did not want to wake up and was the biggest grouch! Huge! I pulled out all my tricks, sang to her, rocked her, tried to read to her, and got Elmo out. Nothing was making her happy. Finally I needed to get ready so I put her down to ignore her. She came into my bathroom still crying. She sat on the floor throwing a fit. Av came in and said “sissy is hurting my ears!” I had no symphony at this point and told Av to walk away then. She came back 30 seconds later with Camille’s blanket. It did the trick. She finally calmed down and started to get happy at that point. Avery knew just what would make Camille feel better and just went to get it for her without being asked. It was about the sweetest thing I have ever seen. Man, why didn’t I think of that? Silly mommy.

berries

Marci and I took the kids to Huber’s to berry pick on Wednesday. We had a blast. Loaded up the mini van and off we went. Big kids in the back in boosters, toddlers in their seats in the middle and Marci, ncb and I driving. The big kids thought they were so big rocking out in the back to their kid rock music and in control of their own snacks and drinks. It was very cute. When we got there we found out there were blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and peaches available for picking. Yep we did it all. We got on the tractor and got off first at the blackberry fields. Picked for a bit then hopped back on. Next stop was raspberries. They were kind of picked over so we didn’t stay there long. Off to the blueberries we went. We picked for a while there. I think the kids ate about as much as we picked. They were covered in berries. Last stop were the peaches. We were quite the sight. Marci and I, 4 kids, one belly and buckets and buckets of fruit. It was a blast.

Sunday BBQ

Before we had Avery, John used to work at a different place. It was small and the employees were pretty close. We used to hang out with them often. Since then we have all had kids and pretty much everyone has switched jobs. We don’t see that group of people at all anymore. Until Sunday, when the group got back together and had a BBQ. It was so fun. The group with kids now is huge. We are not the only family pregnant with our 3rd. Anyway these are kids that Avery does not know at all but by the end we had to drag her out of there. She was having so much fun she did not want to leave. Neither did John actually. It was time though, Camille has just bitten another kid and I was mortified. I felt so bad that she had hurt another child. In her defense it was a little boy that had been taking toys from her and bullying her all day. It was my fault, I should have seen it coming and not left her side. Got distracted for a minute and that’s all it took. It was the first time though I have seen remorse on her face after an incident. She was really upset about it. Crying like she was the one bitten. Who knows what happened before the bite, maybe he did something to her but I am hopeful she is starting to learn and the remorse on her face meant something.