C the smurf

Doesn't everyone play soccer in a dragon puppet hat????? C does!!!

That's her out there with the pink thing on her head.  She had worn it on the walk we went on earlier.  It was new to her (as is all her wardrobe) and she just loved it so she refused to take it off.  Why would we make her????  It is a cute hat.  Dragon on the top that can be a puppet.

 Here is a close up of her in it.  She has it on kinda wrong so you can't see the dragon but you get the idea.

My baby is 2!

I'm still crying.  I can't believe it.  How did this happen.  He is so sweet (when he is..hehheh...if not he is so bad) and cuddly.  I hate he is growing soooo fast.  We had a great day.  It started at 745 when J and I got up because we were doing the Downs Syndrome walk today.  We were going straight from there to soccer so I was up making lunches and getting soccer stuff ready.  It was pretty cold (45) so I had to dig out hats and gloves and warm clothes.  We were rushing around and all the sudden we realized crap we have no decorations up for him.  Poor E.  Being #3 and his bday right after C's he is going to get the shaft.  Anyway we hurried up and put some stuff up.  It looked pretty bad but he didn't care.  We got his new chair ready for him as well.  The first thing he said when I showed it to him was, "I no want that."  hehehheh not sure why.  I think he will love it though.  So we left for the walk.  It was really nice.  John and I have 2 friends that we do boot camp with that both have a child with downs syndrome. So I joined one of their teams and J joined the other.  I also have some friends at Av's hbr therapy that were there and a friend in C's class so we have quite a few Downs connections.  On top of the fact we spent almost a week thinking Av had Downs.  So it was a walk we have been wanting to do for years and I don't think we will miss another one.  After that we had soccer.  It was fun as always.  I love love love love our team.  We know everyone and have become such better friends with everyone.  C has really gotten to know her team and really feels they are all her new friends.  Which they are. It is great.  After that we came home to get a few things done.  We were supposed to be going camping but it was just too cold.  Not going to be warm enough so the Shumans invited the camping group over to cook out and have a camp fire.  We brought E'c cake over there!!  It was a blast.  The Shuman's new neighbors have 2 boys so they play with Jackson of course.  The neighbor's best friends though have 2 girls who C but esp Av has gotten close too.  They have a blast so it works out nice.  It is a nice 4some of couples.

 He was a little unsure for some reason.

Here is E's cake.  A dirt cake in his dump truck

       
Eating a worm off of it.

  Blowing out his candle!!

He also got a basketball for his bday as you can see above.  He LOVED it!!!  Had it with him for an hour.  We were going to take it to the Shumans with us.  Just as we were leaving I asked if we had it.  J said no and got out of the car and went inside to look for it.  Couldn't find it so gave up.  As we were pulling out we heard a noise.  Yep you got it, ran over the bb.  Soooooooooo sad.  Popped it.  Av said E was playing with it and it went under the car.  Oops.

"Even....."

The most common word in my 4 your olds vocabulary????  "Even"  So weird.  Example, she just came running up to me and said, "Will you put this ponytail in my hair? Even, it has sparkles in it."  It's how she starts sentences a lot of the time when she going to describe something.

life

Man you sure just don't understand things fully about what your parents went through raising you until you are a parent yourself.  Like how I just announced after college graduation that I was moving to Austin, TX.  No regard for how my parents felt on the issue.  MY KIDS ARE NOT DOING THAT TO ME!!!  So sorry mom and dad!!!!!!  Today Av has a friend coming over to play.  We have played with them many times before but the mom was always with us.  I think this is the first time this friend will be at someone's house wo a parent present.  I have talked to both parents and both of them have said, "I know you, I know she will be fine."  Yes she will be, I will take great care of her and we are not one of those weird/bad families but really how do they for sure know that???  Sucks in this world you have to worry about everyone.  Even people that seem so normal (do we seem normal?  heheh)  I worry about my kids going to friends houses and in fact they have not been to a friends house wo us yet, who we do not personally know well, but people worrying about me like that?  I am not used to being on the receiving end of it.  But sadly in this world I guess parents have to worry no matter what.  A friend of ours first grader had a classmate "expose" himself to their kid several times in one day AT SCHOOL.  So much so that the friend's kid finally told the teacher and the exposer was expelled for the day.  The point of that story is that the exposer looks totally "normal" and seems to come from a good family.  My friend would never let her boy go to this boy's house now but would have before.  Scary.  So I have regressed a little but I am now feeling nervous.  What if this girls gets hurt at my house???  Which led me to remember a time probably one of my first friend over experiences when we still lived in CT.  My friend jumped off the top bunk of our bed and broke her arm.  My poor mom!!!  She must have felt soooo bad.  It's sooooooo hard being a parent!!!!!!!!

Girl Scouts

Avery joined the Girl Scouts w her bff Caroline.  Going into it she was excited she didn't understand what she was excited for.  When she got to the first meeting, Caroline screamed in excitement and that was all Av needed.  She knew it was going to be a good night.  Av joined the troop that is at a school close to our school.  Wilder does not have a first grade troop.  I was tempted to start one but this troop took us in with open arms so we are happy to be with them.  All the girls were together last year in this troop but they were still sooo nice and welcoming to Av.  I was very impressed by these little girls.  It is a small troop so I think it is going to be a great year.  The meeting was at someone's house and the girls were wild!!!!!!!  We ate pizza, had our meeting, did a craft and played.  It think it was one of the best nights of Av's life.  She was soooo sad to hear the meetings were not every Monday night.  J who was home with the other 2 was not sad to hear that too.  (esp since Av has dance tues so he was home that night with them too.)

Bday for C take 3

Finally the real day came.  After a weekend of celerbrating C we woke up Mon to do it again. hehhehe Av and E had prob had enough of the attention on their sis and C was prob soooo confused as to what a bday was.  I told her "today you are 4!" That seemed to make her very happy.  We didn't do much on her real bday.  We were partied out.  We spent the day having a playdate with Marci, Stella and Emi.  Daddy was home as early as he could be and we had leftovers and opened her presents.  

Look at this lovely bday outfit she put together for herself.  

Her last piece of rainbow cake!!!

She got a guitar and a sax for the stage in the basement.  She also go some rainboots, tights, headband, and Doc McStuffins, Hallie and Lambie from her bro and sis.  She was so excited!!!  Daddy and E took her to get ice cream that night.  (Av had her first Girl Scout meeting....more on that later).  They then went to target.  He said she could get something from the dollar bin.  The first thing she picked out was a ball she knew E would like.  Then she got herself and Av a light up ring.  Soooo sweet she was thinking about her bro and sis.  Av's ring didn't really light up though.  The next am, the first thing C said when she saw Av was, "you can have my ring bc yours does not work."  Sooooo sweet!!!

Joint bday party w/the Hoekstras

They all come over Sunday.  It was so nice of them.  We had chili and rainbow cupcakes.  

C looking at E

E looking at C

 Looking at each other.  I could not get them looking at the camera.

They got E a light up turtle.  He LOVES it.  Takes it everywhere with us.  Shows us where the moon is.  

They got C some really cute clothes.  She didn't seem thrilled at first but the next day could not decide what she wanted to wear first.