Life With The Avis Family

Be My Valentine

2012-02-14T20:30:00.001-05:00

"Mom, the flash is totally freaking me out!"

Storybook Dance

2012-02-12T13:53:00.001-05:00

On Thursday night Lindsay's school held their annual "Storybook Dance." The kids can dress up as any storybook character and spend a night at the school dancing and playing games and having fun.

This is Lindsay's first year being able to attend (we moved to our house and the new school the day after Valentine's Day last year), and she was so excited! The whole family was invited, but seeing as I had just had Luke, only Lindsay and Daddy went. Heather was pretty disappointed, even though I informed her she'd be able to go next year since she'd be in kindergarten, but that wasn't good enough. So we had a special night at home, picking up some Little Cesar's and watching Kung Fu Panda 2.

She decided to dress up as Belle. She was so precious posing!

We had no idea what to dress Ben as, so I told him to just dress nicely and go as "The Beast in human form" - ha!

Lindsay had a great time and a special evening with her dad. She apparently got a lot of compliments from her classmates that she looked "so beautiful" and "like a real princess". She was in heaven!

Pictures

2012-02-11T20:46:00.002-05:00

Today my mom left to go back to Las Vegas. I was pretty bummed. She's been a big help and it is always nice spending time with her. Thanks, Mom, for all your help - it was really appreciated!

Then Kira heads home on Monday and we'll be a family of six by ourselves for the first time... we will miss her, too!

Luke Is Here!

2012-02-05T08:10:00.000-05:00

For the life of me, I cannot get this picture to flip.

Luke Charles Avis was born at 2:04 PM on Feb. 3.

He weighed 9 lbs. and was 20.5 inches long.

We are so happy he's here!

LICE

2012-01-24T10:48:00.000-05:00

Yes... those nasty bugs have infected our house. I first noticed them on Sam Sunday afternoon. I was just running my fingers through his hair (he loves this) and they got caught on something. Upon further inspection, it was part of his lunch in his hair, but then I noticed something dark underneath it. I proceeded to check that out and pulled out a bug I had never seen before in my life. My first thought was, oh, he must have gotten some dirt and bugs in his hair from playing outside earlier... but then I did more investigating, and found more of these bugs. I started freaking out. Lice did cross my mind, but we've never had them before so I had no idea what they looked like. It was nap time, so I put the kids down for their naps, came back down stairs and hopped online to investigate what these bugs were... and of course, they were lice.

I started freaking out! Where did we get lice from? Does anybody else have it? OF COURSE I have to have it, don't I? How long has it been in the house?

I began cleaning like crazy, which is kind of hard to do at this point (37.5 weeks pregnant), but lice freaks me out. I called my mom and had a good cry (I know, pathetic) about having lice in the house. It's just these last few weeks of pregnancy have been really difficult themselves, and I really didn't need lice on top of it!

Heather woke up first and I checked her head... and found only one louse. Then it was Lindsay's turn... she was pretty loaded. At first I thought Sam got the lice from the barber, but then Ben informed me they cut his (Ben's hair) before Sam's, so if they hadn't cleaned their supplies before cutting Sam's hair then Ben should have lice, too. But I checked him and he was clean. Thankfully I'm clean, too, so it's just the kiddos who are contaminated. Since it's not the barber who gave us these lovely bugs, the only other possible place is school. But this surprised me, because I have not received any sort of notice from the school that there have been any cases of lice, and isn't that something the school should inform you about?

So Sunday night after Ben got back from duty, he ran to the store to grab the necessary debugging supplies and we set to work. Now everyone has been treated (except Sam because he is too young, but we have been checking him thoroughly every day and getting rid of whatever we find) and we are cleaning everything like crazy! Stuffed animals and Barbies have been taken away for decontamination and everything you can possibly imagined has been washed and/or vacuumed. It has been ridiculous work, but hopefully we will squish these bugs out of our house!

Yesterday I kept Lindsay home from school just to give the medicine more time to do it's thing... not sure if it makes any difference, but it made me feel better not sending her to school right away. I did call the school to inform them we found lice in her hair and explained that's the only place she could have gotten it... so why didn't we receive a letter from the school that it was going around? I was informed that the school only notifies parents if there is a mass infestation and that individual cases are not reported - WT...? Apparently they keep track of which students in which classrooms get it, and then if a high enough percentage report it, then they notify parents. This made me pretty angry... if I had known even ONE case had been reported, I would have been on the look-out and hopefully this whole thing could have been avoided! So I will be contacting the school board about this policy and hope it changes!

Anyway, that's our last few days in a nutshell - not fun.

37 Weeks

2012-01-20T15:52:00.000-05:00

I don't know what it is, but Ben has been taking awful belly pictures of me lately. They either have funny angles or bad lighting or I'm mid talking... they just all look horrible. So today for my official 37 week picture, I took a picture of him to show him how I wanted the picture to turn out. He posed so nicely for me...

And apparently here is the outcome. Not as bad as the previous weeks, so we'll go with it.

I feel huge and according to the midwives the baby is getting pretty huge, too. I was asked what size my biggest baby was (Heather was 8 lbs. 11 oz.), and was told this little guy would be similar sized or bigger. As long as he's not over 10 lbs. I think I can handle it... ;)

Always Nice...

2012-01-13T08:39:00.000-05:00

It's always nice to hear you're doing a good job as a parent. Especially after days like yesterday - I literally wanted to give up. I was exhausted, sore and sick. The last few mornings I've woken up feeling sick, somewhat like morning sickness... shouldn't that be gone by the last month of pregnancy? I love being pregnant and I am so thankful to have a healthy baby boy growing inside of me, but my body is taking a beating and I am struggling to make it through each day (and night). I have been extremely irritable with my children (I know, shame on me) and I think they're noticing I'm not keeping on top of things like I should and are starting to act up. Yesterday everything kind of just culminated into a horrible day. I felt like such a terrible mother and wanted to have a good cry.

Then I checked Lindsay's homework slip and saw this. Maybe I'm not doing such a bad job. Lindsay is such a good girl and I am so proud of her - she is a great student and such a polite girl. I'm so glad she behaves in class and I'm thankful for this nice note from her teacher - it helped me through a rough day.

Not A Baby...

2012-01-05T15:16:00.000-05:00

During break we moved Sam from the crib to a twin bed. It was a little bittersweet. He's been really good about staying in his big boy bed and seems to be sleeping fine in it. It's just a little saddening to think that he's not my little baby anymore.

Anyway, I loved how he sleeps. He ended up taking a ridiculously long nap this morning and I caught him still asleep when I went to get him for lunch. He was just too cute I had to snap a picture. I love these sweet, quiet moments (the quiet moments are rather few with him).

These moments go by so fast...

2011... in review

2012-01-03T15:16:00.000-05:00

2011 was a great year for our family. It started out a little crazy (trying to buy a house to move out of our rental that was going into foreclosure), but we have been very blessed this past year.

Some exciting highlights:

1. WE BOUGHT OUR FIRST HOUSE! So exciting! And scary at the same time. But it has been worth it. It's a great feeling knowing all the work we're putting into this place is for us and our children and making it a home.

2. Baby #4 on the way! We are so happy to be adding another little kiddo to this crazy bunch!

3. We went to Disney World! The kids had a lot of fun seeing their favorite characters, as well as riding the rides and spending time with some extended family.

4. No crazy health scares! We've had some issues with this in the past, and we are glad this year was a relatively healthy one!

5. Ben has a great job - I am so thankful for that every day. I cannot imagine what we would do with it.

2011 was great, and we're hoping 2012 is just as good, if not better!

We hope you all have a wonderful year as well!

18 Months

2011-12-28T18:32:00.000-05:00

18 month stats

Weight: 27 lbs. 13 oz. (75th percentile)

Height: 33 inches (75th percentile)

Talking: not so much... he mostly grunts and groans. The doctor thinks speech therapy might help, but I'm kind of hesitant to start that up in the near future - I'll have a newborn and I'm hoping Sam will start talking more on his own... we'll see how he does the next couple of months.

Mood: super whiny today at the doctor. I guess he's still not used to her dark skin. Clung to Mama like there was no tomorrow. I think someone is going to have a hard time when little brother gets here in a little over a month...

8 Years

2011-12-27T11:04:00.003-05:00

8 years ago today I was getting ready to marry the man of my dreams...

Man, we were so young!

Happy anniversary, my love! Here's to 80 more years!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-26T09:02:00.000-05:00

PICTURE OVERLOAD (mostly for family)

Harry Potter legos!

Princess dresses!

Not sure why this one turned this direction, but I thought it was cute - Sam laying in wrapping paper opening one of his presents... it was difficult tearing it apart tiny piece by tiny piece

Gel pens from Grandma and Grandpa Avis!

The "Awake-inator" - alarm clock from Grandpa and Grandpa Avis - how cool is that?

Princess wardrobe from Grandma and Papa Howe!

Art kit from Aunt Lisa and Uncle Dave!

Again, not sure why it turned this direction, but Sam showing off his clothes from Aunt Lisa and Uncle Dave

The newest How To Train Your Dragon book!

Thor Hammer from Heather!

Thor sword and shield from Lindsay!

Art easel from Grandma and Papa Howe!

Barbie car from Aunt Livi and Uncle Stephen!

Toy tools from Grandma and Papa Howe!

Sam's favorite gift of the day - the light saber/candy stocking stuffer!

Ben got some Star Wars books

And some awesome Call of Duty pjs from the kids!

I got a food processor, Evanescence CD, Once A Witch book, and Cuisinart Griddler (not pictured because used for Christmas breakfast) from Ben... and a hand blender from my mother-in-law

Having fun with our presents... building legos together is the best!

Heather could NOT stop playing with her new princess barbie stuff

The kiddos in their new Christmas outfits!

We had a lovely Christmas and hope you all did, too!

My Bug

2011-12-16T10:34:00.001-05:00

It's been a really busy week here in the Avis household. Between wrapping presents (the WORST part of the holiday for me), shipping presents, getting the house ready for visitors and the new baby, etc., I have been running around like crazy and I'm completely exhausted! Add to that the not sleeping well at night factor, according to my husband I've been a little ornery lately. But shouldn't he know better than to tell a pregnant woman how to act/feel? I guess he's forgotten a few things since the last pregnancy he was around for was Heather's 5 years ago!

It's also been a busy week for Lindsay. They've been having a lot of fun activities this week at school, since it's the last week before the holidays. She will have the next two weeks and one day off from school... fun for her, tiring for Mama, but it will be fun for me, too.

Monday was "Around the World Day". Lindsay kept going on and on about how they would be visiting Hawaii and she really wanted to wear her Hawaiian things she got from Grandma and Papa (my parents went to Hawaii last year and bought each of the kids a few special things - for the girls, they got cute flower hair clips, shell necklaces, and two bracelets). I was kind of hesitant to let her wear the jewelery, but I decided to let her wear the clips and necklace. She was so excited and just had to get a picture of herself. Unfortunately, they ended up going everywhere EXCEPT Hawaii and Lindsay was pretty bummed. She also ended up letting one of her friends wear her shell necklace and it ended up broken - figures.

The next day was pirate day and she came home with an eye patch. Then Wednesday they worked on fun projects for their "Winter Party" (unfortunately this school calls it Winter instead of Christmas like her old school did last year). All she brought home that day was some word searches and connect the dot drawings. Such a hard life for a first grader! ;)

Thursday was her class "Winter Party" - the students got stockings full of goodies and a pizza party! Heather and Sam enjoyed the pizza, too, as did the little man in my belly! ;)

I decided to bring her home early after her party, seeing as she had a gingerbread house they built, her stocking, a giant coloring book, and a bag of presents for Ben and I she had made. I don't think she could have carried all that home on the bus by herself, and who doesn't love coming home from school early?

And today at school they got to wear their pjs and bring a blanket and pillow and watch "Polar Express". She has had quite the fun week.

I did have a special moment with her the other night. I read to her every night, and now that she's getting older and can read herself, our book selections are becoming more mature. We've already read all the How To Train Your Dragon books and we are currently on book number four in the Harry Potter series. She told me the other night as I sat down on her bed to start reading, "Mom, thanks for reading to me every night. I really love it."

Me too, Lindsay Bug. Me, too.

Chin Toucher

2011-12-12T08:59:00.002-05:00

You know the show Everybody Loves Raymond? Well, it's on re-runs almost every night on TV Land, and I confess I watch it quite a bit. I especially love Robert's character. His quirk where he has to touch something to his chin a certain number of times before he can eat is just hilarious to me.

Anyway... I have my own little chin toucher on my hands. The last few days I have noticed Sam touching the hanging part of his pacifier to his chin whenever it's nap time or bed time (the only times he gets his pacifier). He repeats it 4 to 5 times, like it's some sort of routine to comfort him. The last two days, however, I've noticed him touching the back of his hand to his chin in the same way when he's awake and doesn't have his pacifier. I'm not sure what the reason is, but it must comfort him in some way. Every time I see it, I can't help but think of Robert Barone, the chin toucher!

On another note, my little Sam has been very snugly lately. It has been so nice getting big hugs from him and just holding him in my lap. I know these moments are becoming more and more rare as he gets older, especially since there will be a new baby in the house soon. It's kind of hard to realize he won't be my little baby anymore... after all, he's almost 18 months old. And he's almost as tall as Heather! It's bittersweet watching my little boy grow up...

Ben's Birthday and LM Christmas Celebration

2011-12-09T13:16:00.001-05:00

We met Ben up at work and headed to Red Lobster from there.

After a yummy dinner, the waiting staff came out and sang "Happy Birthday" (which he didn't want, but as soon as we sat down the girls shouted out to our waitress it was Daddy's birthday, so there was no going back). At least he got a free dessert out of it!

Then we headed back to Ben's work for their annual Christmas party. It was the official tree lighting ceremony, followed by pictures with Santa! The girls had been dying to see Santa for so long... it was all Heather talked about yesterday.

While we waited in the incredibly long line, we met some friends and the children were entertained by the lights...

...and dancing!

Poor Sam was so exhausted! Good thing he had his favorite blanket!

Finally we met Santa!

Once the big moment arrived, Heather was absolutely HORRIFIED of Santa. She wanted down as soon as she got up.

Then next was our little screamer - we're sorry, Santa! ;)

After the "trauma" of seeing Santa, it was back home for Ben's gifts. Sam was in a much better mood when we got home (of course, it was an hour and a half after bedtime...)

It was a Star Wars birthday for Ben! He got a lego set...

...and a book.

I did make him a birthday cake, but by then it was so two hours past bedtime and the kids really needed to get to bed. So we'll be having some birthday cake tonight!

Ben says thank you to everyone who wished him a happy birthday and sent him cards. It seems like he had a pretty good birthday!

Happy Birthday, Ben!

2011-12-08T10:14:00.001-05:00

Happy birthday to the love of my life! I hope you have a wonderful day! Thank you for all that you've given me in our almost 8 years of married life - a great house and home, three beautiful children with another soon to arrive, security, love, and comfort!

The kids are really excited to surprise you with their cards and gifts, after we go to your favorite restuarant, Red Lobster, for your birthday dinner. Thank you, Discover Rewards! ;)

Happy 28th birthday, Ben! I love you!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

2011-12-07T10:35:00.001-05:00

Ugh!!!! It has been raining NON-STOP the last two days... I had some errands I had to run yesterday, but decided to put them off because I hate dragging the kids around in the rain. I was hoping things would settle down today, but no, the rain is still coming strong! So this morning cloudy and early of we went, tramping through the rain. Of course Heather had to jump in all the puddles! Again, ugh!!!! My yard is completely flooded and I'm hoping it will all go away soon!

Ready, Aim, Fire!

2011-12-06T16:28:00.001-05:00

Last night something happened to me that hasn't happened in almost a year...

I was changing Sam's diaper for bedtime and praising him for being such a good helper with his diaper change. He holds his legs up for me and never runs away or squirms during a diaper change. Well, as I'm telling him he's such a good boy for holding his legs up for mama, he pees on me!!!!! First time in almost a year - I was shocked! He totally knew he was doing it, too. He smiled about it as I was shrieking in alarm - little stinker!

Oh, Christmas Tree

2011-12-05T08:43:00.001-05:00

This weekend we brought out all the Christmas decorations and started unloading. The kids were really excited to help with the tree (except Heather - she likes to sit back and watch if it requires "too much" work) and put on the lights and ornaments.

Yes, the bottom third of our tree has no ornaments. Have you met my 17 month old, Sam? ;)

We have a disagreement in our house - when should you put up stockings? I like them up for as long as possible. I enjoy looking at them. My stocking was made by my Grandma Howe. My kids stocking are my by their Grandma Howe. It's a nice tradition and I like looking at them. Ben, however, feels you should not put stocking up until Christmas day. What do you all think?

After all the decorating was done, the girls were acting rather rambunctious. Ben was constantly asking them to calm down, but they weren't listening. So he called them over and asked them, "Which part of calm down did you not understand?" Lindsay takes a few seconds to think about it, then answers, "The 'c'." I had to hide my face in a pillow not to laugh!

BRRR!

2011-12-02T14:48:00.001-05:00

Do you see the frost on the ground outside? It was 24 degrees when I woke up to get Lindsay ready for school this morning - I HATE the cold!

When we went out for errands this morning, I made sure Sam and Heather were bundled to the max - unfortunately, Sam didn't want to keep on his little mittens. But isn't his hat awesome?

30 Weeks

2011-12-02T14:05:00.001-05:00

30 weeks

How do you feel? Don't know if you can tell in the picture, but I feel tired, sore and HUGE!

And the baby? He's doing fine... although he's moved himself into positon to kick all my internal organs and it's not feeling too good. But still, I enjoy just feeling him moving and squirming around inside of me.

How are the siblings feeling? Excited. Lindsay knows not to expect the baby being born right away, but Heather really feels he should be here by now! Sam, he has no clue what's in store... I think he'll have a tough time adjusting to not being the littlest one in the house.

Do you have a name picked out? EEK! This has been the hardest part... we just cannot agree on a name! We think we're close, though... and no, we're not telling. ;)

Are you ready for the baby to be here? Honestly, getting everything "ready" for the baby is not the most pressing thing for me. Baby clothes are packed up in Sam's closet, Sam is still sleeping in the crib (although we did buy a twin bed to move him out of it soon), and my bedroom where the crib is going to go is a disaster zone! This pregnancy is just sucking all my energy and it's hard to get a lot accomplished in one sitting. But I do have a bunch of diapers stocked up - got to love sales and coupons!

The Joys of A Boy

2011-12-01T14:25:00.001-05:00

It's been very different having a little boy. From diaper changes to eating habits to talking, it has been such a different experience.

Lately Sam has been such a fun, helpful boy. He LOVES his sisters and is always trying to copy them. Unfortunately, sometimes they get tired of playing with/entertaining him, and when this happens, he attacks (in a playful way, of course). He is so much fun to watch learn and grow.

This morning Heather spilled some water in the kitchen, and Sam rushed to the rescue. He grabbed a kitchen towel and mopped up the water right alongside her (in the middle of getting dressed). It was too cute!

I found this really cute Green Eggs and Ham bag on clearance at Target for $1. I LOVE that one side says, "I am Sam" - it's perfect! We use it to hold his diaper supplies. He's such a good helper and tries to carry it himself.

I love this little guy so much! I know he's going to make a great big brother!

Success!

2011-11-28T20:27:00.001-05:00

After being on "poop watch" all day... we found the penny! We almost gave up hope as dinner was finished and still there was nothing... then Lindsay goes to the bathroom and shouts, "Hooray! It's the penny!" It was hilarious, and very relieving! ;)

This penny is going somewhere special!

How Do You Clean A Penny?

2011-11-26T19:12:00.001-05:00

Well, if you asked Lindsay this morning, she would have told you to lick it.

She found a penny in the van this afternoon.

On the way home she decided to "lick" it clean.

And she ended up swallowing it.

Now she would tell you to clean your penny a different way.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T08:45:00.001-05:00

We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Looking forward to some turkey later today!

Don't you just hate...

2011-11-20T14:21:00.001-05:00

...that really sticky snot you get sometimes when you are sick? It's like it clings to your sinuses for dear life. I can't stand it and I hope it goes away soon...

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year...

2011-11-17T10:28:00.001-05:00

... but not really.

It always seems like this time of the year sickness enters our house. Sure enough, this weekend Lindsay ends up sick, and now it has moved on to Sam and I. Can I just say how much I hate getting sick?

So... I will be moping about my house, not getting much accomplished and feeling miserable for the next few days (and hopefully that is all).

Veteran's Day

2011-11-12T08:09:00.001-05:00

Thursday night Ben's work hosted a Vet's Night dinner.

It is so nice to have Ben work in a place that appreciates his service.

We lined up a babysitter for the night (which NEVER happens - it was so nice!) and made our way into downtown Marietta. There was an hour of mingling at the beginning. It was nice to meet some of the people Ben works with that I've never met before, as well as spend time with some familiar faces. It was also fun to see most of the vets in varying degrees of uniforms (most wore whatever fit them, so there was quite a spread).

I do LOVE a man in uniform! ;)

After the hour of "mingling", we headed inside the banquet room to take our seats. I went in by myself since they were planning on doing a roll call of all the vets that were there that night. Here is Ben walking in when his name was called.

There was a mediocre dinner and nice conversation, then it was time for the guest speaker. It was a woman who served in the Army as a nurse and was actually deployed to Vietnam during the Vietnam war. It was fascinating listening to her stories and experiences. I am always honored and overwhelmed when I hear stories from those who have served in defense of our country.

I am so blessed to live with the freedoms I have. Thank you to all the vets out there! A special thanks to those in my family: my hubby, my dad, my sister, Kira, and two of my brothers-in-law, Blake and Scott! Thanks for all you do and have done!

This is Halloween!

2011-11-01T10:20:00.000-04:00

Lindsay as Princess Jasmine

Heather as Rapunzel

Sammy the Fireman

So excited for trick-or-treating!

Showing off their goodies!

We actually got a pretty good haul just going around our neighborhood. About every third house had their light on, which was pretty decent. The girls were always trying to run ahead, but little Sam was rather slow so they always had to wait. Sam was such a trooper - I know he was exhausted, especially since he carried his pail the whole time. He refused to let it go and towards the end it was just too much for him he started dragging it. He was very well behaved - he kept his hat on the whole time and was so cute, reaching into the candy bowls and grabbing one candy, then gently placing it in his pail. Too cute! The kids had a great time and for some reason, there is no school here today so they are enjoying a day bumming at home pigging out on candy!

Pumpkin Party!

2011-10-30T16:24:00.001-04:00

Last night we had some friends over for pumpkin carving (and burning) fun!

Here are the girls in their princess costumes - the little one is Ellie and she's a little older than Sam. The girls loved her!

Ben working hard on his pumpkin design.

Lindsay showing off her haunted house pumpkin that Daddy carved (of course).

And here's the pumpkin line-up for this year:

Trogdor (Ben's pumpkin)

The Ghostbusters pumpkin (by Nick)

Darth Vader (my pumpkin donated, carved by Nick - I'm not that great of a carver)

The traditional jack-o-lantern (by Kallie)

Ghosts in a graveyard (by Paul)

Monster tree (by Kallie)

The Haunted House (Lindsay's pumpkin, carved by Ben)

Pumpkins on fire!

Slowly burning...

We (especially Ben) always have a lot of fun at our annual Pumpkin Carving Party. This was our first year hosting it, since the couple who usually host it moved away a couple months ago. Funny enough, they moved back a few weeks ago and were able to come this year! We look forward to doing this again next year - thanks everyone for coming!

25 Weeks

2011-10-30T16:12:00.000-04:00

25 weeks... over halfway there!

Can't wait to meet the little guy growing inside me!

And here is our family pumpkin wall. I love seeing them every time I leave or come home - so cute!

Randomness

2011-10-24T10:35:00.003-04:00

Ben had drill this weekend... so it was a long weekend with the crazy kiddos.

I know they don't really like the weekends Daddy is gone working, and I know I certainly don't! They are always so excited when he comes walking through the door - sometimes it makes me a little envious. I'm hardly ever greeted that way, but then again, I'm hardly ever gone to have the chance to come back again and have them miss me.

Here is what our grass looks like now!

Yeah, there are a few bald spots still, but it has grown so well that we put down more seed.

We even filled in some giant bare spots in our yard of weeds and they have "blossomed". We were tired of the lawnmower choking out on those spots from all the dust it sprayed up. Isn't the grass so nice and green compared to the yucky weeds?

Sam is learning to undress himself. The last few mornings I have gone in and found him with his socks off... this morning I found him with his shirt half off. I was quite impressed! Hopefully we don't have a streaker on our hands!

As you can see, he was a little unhappy this morning, cold and half naked. He did not want a picture taken.

Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere!

2011-10-17T16:26:00.001-04:00

This weekend was full of pumpkins! Saturday we went to Burt's Pumpkin Farm with some friends. The girls were impressed by how big pumpkins could grow.

The kids really did not feel like getting their picture taken. This was the best family photo we got from that day...

They had hayride there, so of course the girls wanted to do that. I thought it was really boring, but the girls absolutely loved it - I'm glad they did, new experiences are always fun.

After picking out our pumpkins we got in line to check out and saw these - they were called turban pumpkins. Aren't they strange?

A picture of the girls and I on the hayride. Not sure how it got out of order...

This weekend we also did a fun craft - making paper pumpkins! I got the idea from my cousin, Hannah's blog. She did them with her Achievement day girls and I thought they were so cute!

(Sorry about the sideways picture)

And here they are... our family of pumpkins. A Ben, Beth, Lindsay, Heather, Sam and baby pumpkin.

I love this time of year and look forward to more fun pumpkin/fall family activities!

Learning With A Four Year-Old

2011-10-13T16:41:00.001-04:00

My conversation with Heather in the van today (she has been working on her letters lately)...

H: Lindsay has two S's in it.
Me: No, it only has one S.
H: Let me say it for you - Lindsay. Two S's.
Me: I'm pretty sure there's only one S. I named her.
H: Lindsay has a Z in it.
Me: No, sweetie, there are no Z's in Lindsay.
H: Let me say it for you - Lindsay (like Lin-Zee). One Z.
Me: (sigh)

Sometimes she cracks me up, she's so persistent.

Boom Baby!

2011-10-05T12:30:00.002-04:00

The last few days have been a little rough for Sam. He has been crashing all over. I think a lot of it has to do with walking in jeans as opposed to shorts like he's used to. His legs and feet keep getting tangled up in his saggy jeans.

On Sunday he fell into this decorative ledge in our family room and gashed his cheek, then yesterday he took a face dive on the sidewalk and scraped up his nose and forehead. Poor Sam!

And here's a picture of his first drawing - so creative! ;)

Happenings

2011-10-02T12:10:00.000-04:00

These lovely little raspberries are our first official raspberries from our little sticks we planted in April. They have grown a bunch and now are finally giving fruit!

It's been kind of chilly here lately (highs in the 60s), so we played some Kinect Adventures inside to stay warm. The kiddos were loving it!

Even Sam got in on the fun!

Heather has also been working on her letters! These are her first official attempts at the alphabet! I love when kids are learning to write - so cute!

Gas prices

2011-09-28T13:54:00.001-04:00

So I was out in town doing some errands and I saw gas for $3.15! I was surprised and pleased (which is sad, considering it's still over three dollars a gallon). I think the national average price of gas is $3.50, and the Georgia average is $3.28. What's the price of gas in your neighborhood?

15 month check-up

2011-09-27T12:51:00.003-04:00

This little man had his 15 month check-up today.

He had to get three shots and wasn't too happy about it.

But he is growing like crazy!

3 months ago:

Weight - 21 lbs. 9.1 oz

Height - 30 inches

Head circumference - 18.75 inches

Today:

Weight - 25 lbs. 12.8 oz

Height: 31.5 inches

Head circumference - 19 inches

The doctor was impressed by how much he has grown. She said this is usually the age when babies are starting to plateau on their growth since they are becoming so active. Sam eats a lot, but his weight is all muscle - he is one buff dude.

She told me that he should still be on whole milk, but I always give my kids 2%. I'm not buying special milk just for him.

I was also informed that it's recommended for babies/toddlers to keep their car seats rear-facing until they are two - no thanks.

Anyway, everything looks good, even though he screamed like crazy the whole time because she has black skin and for some reason, Sam is terrified of people with dark skin. Hopefully he gets over it soon, seeing as how we live 45 minutes away from Atlanta.

Look at my grass!

2011-09-27T12:45:00.000-04:00

4 days ago

Today

Look at my grass growing! There are quite a few bald spots where we'll need to add more seed (some of the bigger spots already have seeds down), but look at how full and tall it's growing - so exciting!

Yard Work

2011-09-23T10:03:00.000-04:00

Our yard is in pretty bad shape. When we first bought the house in February, our yard was about 90% dirt, 10% weeds. Once it started getting warmer out (about April), we tore up the front yard and laid down some grass seed. The next day, a giant thunderstorm hit and washed most of the seed away. It's been hard work for us growing things in this clay - anything on top of it washes away with the littlest of water/rain! Grass did grow in a few spots where the seed wasn't completely washed away, but otherwise it was still mostly dirt. Then come July - we went on vacation to Michigan for a week and a half and came back to a yard full of tall green weeds! They were everywhere! In a way we were thankful to have some kind of green in our yard, but were bummed it was mostly weeds.

Finally a couple weeks ago (once it started cooling down again), I reached my tipping point. I was so tired of my weed lawn. So I weeded out a section of the yard (nothing huge or my yard would be back to all dirt), and in the picture below you can see... almost everything was weed. There was only a little bit of grass closest to the front of the house. A little over a week and a half ago I laid down seed and watered it little by little to make sure the seed wasn't washed away (and prayed lots that there wouldn't be any torrential storms washing them away, either).

This is what it looks like now:

You can see little green sproutlets! Yay!

I am so excited for some grass to be growing! Slowly I plan on weeding different sections of the yard and seeding as I go, hoping one day to have a yard of mostly grass, not weeds.

We also bought a little crepe myrtle tree for our front yard. All the other houses in our subdivision have a tree growing in their front yard, but ours was missing. All we had was a giant hole in our front yard. On further inspection we noticed it's because the area they planted the tree in was mostly rock and nothing would grow there. So we planted this tree closer to the house where there was less rock. We are excited for it to grow a little taller and bloom a lot more!

And It's A...

2011-09-22T10:57:00.001-04:00

20 weeks along

Little feet and toes

Looking straight at the baby

Profile

Yep, it's another boy! Ben is over the moon with joy! Looks like it's going to be an even split for the Avis family.

Everything looked great - he has all ten fingers and toes, organs looked good, he has a strong heartbeat. We are so excited for this little guy to join our family!

Stay Tuned

2011-09-21T14:07:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow morning is our ultrasound appointment to find out baby Avis' gender!

Will post the announcement tomorrow!

Finally Home

2011-09-07T11:21:00.003-04:00

Well, after being stranded in Las Vegas another day (thankfully I could stay with my parents - I hope they didn't mind!), I am finally home! I got home yesterday around 2:45 EST. It was nice to get away, but I sure am happy to be home! Dorothy had it right - "There's no place like home!"

Vegas Getaway

2011-09-01T09:35:00.001-04:00

Well, tonight I am flying out to Vegas to spend the next four days with my mom and two of my sisters. Ben kindly offered to take care of the kids for the long weekend so I could have some me time. When I bought the tickets two months ago, I was so excited to be going somewhere all by myself.

Now that it's time to leave, I am slightly hesitant to go. I am really excited to see my family and I know Ben will take good care of the kids, but it's breaking my heart to say goodbye to my kids. I know I'm going to be a teary-eyed mess at the airport tonight, just hopefully I can keep it all in until after saying goodbye to the kids.

Ultimatum

2011-08-11T11:01:00.001-04:00

As I was sitting here typing my previous post (Sam's new obsession), Heather comes in and asks if it's time to go shopping yet (I have to do some grocery shopping today and told her she needed to get dressed before we left). Well, printing out my coupons took longer than expected, so I put Sam down for a nap and now I'm catching up on some blogging. I told her we had to wait until Sam woke up. Apparently this did not make Heather happy. She just told me, "Fine. Then I'm taking off my clothes and playing in my room without them." WHAT??? Oh, she cracks me up.

AFLAC!

2011-08-11T10:28:00.001-04:00

You all know that annoying white duck on tv that always shouts, "Aflac!", right? Last month when we went to visit my in-laws, they had a miniature white duck toy and guess what he shouted... that's right, Aflac.

Of course the kids loved playing with it. The one that surprised me the most was Sam. For some reason, he was drawn to this toy. Since we've been home, Lindsay loves to play "Aflac" with him. She'll shout out "Aflac" and Sam will respond "Aflac". Yes, Sam's official seventh word is Aflac. We're so proud! :)

Lindsay's Birthday Celebration

2011-08-05T08:47:00.000-04:00

After her second day of first grade, Lindsay came home and celebrated her sixth birthday. Of course, we had to wait until Daddy came home from work before she could open her presents, which made her incredibly antsy!

She got outfits from Grandma and Grandpa Avis and Aunt Lisa and Uncle Dave...

A Hannah Montana microphone that you can sing into and record yourself (from Grandma and Grandpa Avis)

Lindsay loves to be creative and she got some special pencils, gel pens and color pencils from her grandparents.

A Zhu Zhu pet and accessories from Grandpa and Papa Howe

And some Phineas and Ferb figurines which she was really excited about from Mom and Dad!

Her little sister got a Rapunzel doll for her birthday earlier this year, and Lindsay has loved that doll more than Heather - so we thought she should have one of her own. She is always telling us Belle is her favorite because her dress is yellow (Lindsay's favorite color).

Ready to eat some Perry the Platypus birthday cake!

"Doof you, Doof me, Doof us!"

As we were saying goodnight, Lindsay gave me a big hug and told me it was her best birthday ever.

Thanks to everyone for their gifts and birthday wishes!

Happy Birthday, Lindsay Bug!

2011-08-04T10:25:00.000-04:00

Today my Lindsay turns 6. These past six years sure have flown by. It seems like just yesterday I was sitting in agony in the hospital bed, three days overdue with my sweet little girl in the face up position...

This is my absolute favorite picture from the day she was born. Her snuggling with her daddy - can you see the similarities in their faces? My first thought when I saw her was, "She looks nothing like me." She is all Ben.

Celebrating her 1st birthday!

Turning the big T-W-O!

Lindsay entering the "terrific threes"

Turning four and saying goodbye to being a little girl...

Celebrating her fifth birthday and her love of dragons!

My silly six year old!

We love you, Lindsay! Thanks for being a part of our family!

First Day of School!

2011-08-03T15:43:00.002-04:00

Yes, here in Dallas, GA, the first day of school is AUGUST 3! A little insane if you ask me, but it is what it is.

Lindsay started the first grade today. She was a little nervous about it last night, but when she woke up this morning it was just like any other morning. I was very relieved, I don't know what it is, but the first day of school makes me very nervous for my children!

She came home today and told me they didn't learn anything new, but it was a good day. She has some friends in her class from kindergarten, so she was happy about that.

I'm just happy she had a good day.

Here We Go Again...

2011-07-29T10:06:00.004-04:00

Meet Avis baby #4!!!!!!

Estimated Due Date: Feb. 10

We are all very excited to be welcoming a new baby into our family!

Michigan Vacation

2011-07-16T14:52:00.000-04:00

This Fourth of July holiday we went up to Michigan to visit family (and to get away from the heat down here). Our first full day there (after a 13 hour drive) was my mother's side of the family reunion. It was nice to see everyone and catch up. The kids had fun playing with other kids their age and all sorts of fun water games.

They especially enjoyed popping balloons filled with shaving cream.

The next day we celebrated my nephew Jalen's 11th birthday at my all time favorite restaurant, Tomato Brothers!

Lindsay and Heather were very excited to see their Aunt Lisa (she flew in with my mom for the weekend).

Heather was completely IN LOVE with Aunt Lisa - she was always hugging onto her and hardly ever left her side.

Yes, this is Jalen smiling. :)

Lindsay got a piece of birthday cake with one of the red flowers on it... yummy!

The next day (July 4) we spent with the Avis bunch. We started out our morning with riding the four wheeler.

Grandma Avis bought the girls butterfly catchers and Lindsay became a pro over night.

We got to meet our new niece/cousin Rachel. Heather loves babies and kept giving Rachel hugs and kisses - too cute!

These girls love their Uncky Dan!

The next day (after staying up late catching fireflies and watching fireworks), we headed up north to Green Lake (next to Interlochen) with Ben's parents.

There was swimming...

Lindsay loved trying to skip rocks.

Sam started out enjoying the water...

...but after 20 minutes he was done and sat with Mama on the boat dock.

There is a chipmunk there that LOVES sunflower seeds. Grandpa showed the girls how to lure him out and sure enough, out he came!

He came right up to the girls and they loved it!

We also had a bonfire and roasted marshmellows. Here's Lindsay with her roasting stick.

I think Heather ate about 8 large marshmellows, then proceeded to tell everyone, "I don't feel good."

After two days at the lake, we spent two more days in Fowlerville with the family. It was nice to see everyone, but after a week away from home, it was nice to be home again.

Heather's Hair Fix

2011-06-26T13:39:00.000-04:00

Here is the after picture of trying to fix Heather's self haircut.

We went with layers to try to hide her handiwork (since what she cut was way too short to cut all the rest of her hair to that length). I'm just really disappointed that she cut her hair, I was really hoping to grow it out again...

And here are my youngest two being goofs. Gotta love 'em!

Late Spring In Review

2011-06-23T15:02:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it's been over a month since I've blogged. Ugh! I don't know why I've become such a horrible blogger lately, but here is some catch up.

Lindsay graduated from kindergarten at the end of May. She was very excited. They had a huge ceremony of all the kindergarten classes and they sang two songs that Lindsay worked really hard on memorizing. Afterwards her class has a little barbeque and celebrate the end of the year.

My sister, Camille, and my nephew, Scotty, came into town for Memorial Day weekend (which coincided with my birthday this year). It was a lot of fun seeing them and watching Sam and Scotty "play" together - most of the time Sam was pretty jealous of the attention Scotty was getting from his sisters and sometimes his mother (what can I say, Scotty is just such a cutie)!

For my birthday, Marlboro sent me this awesome mountable bottle opener... not sure how they knew it was my birthday or why they thought I would want a bottle opener, but thanks, I guess. Fortunately, some stranger at the Goodwill will be the happy recipient of this bad boy.

Last week Heather decided to trim her hair... why do my kids always do this? Do you see the lovely chunk of hair missing?

Saturday we had a barbeque celebrating Sam's first birthday (and to show some friends our house). It was a lot of fun and Sam really enjoyed his cupcakes!

His actual birthday was on Father's Day (sorry you had to share the day, Ben, but what better gift can you have on Father's Day than your first son?). Here he is chilling with all his gifts. The Cars couch was from us. He LOVES it. And he's very possessive of it. If either of his sister's is sitting on it, he come over to them right away and starts grunting at them and trying to get them off.

He got this toy guitar from Grandma and Grandpa Avis. He enjoys playing with it, when his sisters aren't busy fighting over it.

Grandma Howe made him his first pillow. She does this for all her grandchildren, makes them a pillow with their initial on it. It's cute.

He also got some fun kid books from his Aunt Lisa and Uncle Dave.

On to the cake... can't you tell they're both excited?

Not to sure about the taste...

Now on to summer! We are planning a trip up to Michigan for the week of the Fourth, so we're really excited about that. Ready to get away from the heat for a while!

Tooth Drama

2011-05-12T15:38:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week, Sam's top left front tooth was close to breaking through. We saw his pediatrician that morning to get him some help with his sinus problems he's been having lately (we all have been horribly sick with sinus crud the past month - on again off again). So we have been checking to see if his tooth has popped yet. Last night when we went to check, we noticed a sort of fleshy/gum-like flap hanging from where his tooth was about to break through. We kind of freaked out.

We had NO idea what it was. It was the same color as his gums, and it felt like flesh does, kind of squishy, and it was attached to his gums. But he didn't fall and hit his mouth on anything so he couldn't have broken his gums open that way. We didn't know what it was or what to do. So we left it hanging there oddly and waited till this morning to call his pediatrician.

I got an appointment at 11:10... where the doctor was stumped. She remembered that his tooth was about to break through, but she had never seen anything like this and had no clue what it could be. She looked in some of her books and couldn't find anything, so she called in the other doctor she partners with, who was also stumped. She did suggest that maybe it was a tooth abnormality (which I was thinking, too). Maybe his tooth didn't fully form and this was it (it did have a white sort of edge on it). Last night when I first noticed it I figured a dentist would have a better idea about what it was, but since Sam is only 10 months old, he hasn't been to the dentist yet.

So our pediatrician called the girls' dentist and was able to get us in at 1 this afternoon. As soon as the dentist saw it she said, "Yep, no big deal. It's just a follicle." Apparently a follicle is something your tooth grows in, like a protective shell. Usually as the tooth breaks through the skin, the follicle breaks as well and starts to dissolve, so you never notice it. In Sam's case, it didn't break, it just fell right through the whole his tooth had made. Apparently it's not very common, but it does happen.

In my concern, I forgot to take pictures to show what it looked like. But thankfully everything is okay and Sam has a new tooth poking through!

Florida Vacation Days 4-7

2011-05-08T12:35:00.000-04:00

Day 4 was spent in our hotel suite. My parents had invited my sister's in-laws over for dinner (my brother in-law, Stephen, is from Scotland, and so is his entire family. They were all in Florida for a vacation). She wanted to make them an American barbecue. It was nice to visit with them, although a little hard sometimes to understand what they were saying because their accents. They are very nice people and we are so thankful they paid to have my sister and her family come to the States for a visit so we could see them!

My baby sister, Camille, me and my slightly older sister Olivia

We had fun goofing around after my sister's in-laws left and she stayed behind with her husband and son. We played Apples to Apples and Skip-bo, family favorites.

The babies had fun playing together.

Day 5 - We started that morning off by going to the lazy river at the hotel. The girls had a hard time trying to stay in their tubes, but by the end they got the hang of it and had a blast.

Even Sam got in on the fun - he LOVES being in the water!

But it sure wore him out!

Scotty loved the water too - he is so stinking cute!

That afternoon Ben took the girls to Downtown Disney while my mom, Camille and I went shopping downtown. The girls got their faces painted. I think it was the most exciting part of their trip!

Day 6 started off with baths for the babies. They both love bath time, although they weren't sure about having to share the tub with someone else...

After hearing Ben and the girls gush about Downtown Disney, we all decided to head down their that day. We did some perusing in their MANY stores where Sam tried on some Apprentice Mickey ears. Poor baby, he was feeling terrible.

Then we headed to the Lego store, which apparently is the biggest Lego store ever. They had all these cool Lego statues around the store.

The Loch Ness Monster... which Lindsay calls the Ogopogo Monster (from Destination Truth - yes, we're nerds).

Dragon Maleficent fighting Prince Philip

After Downtown Disney we came back to the hotel, had some lunch, then my sister, my mom and I Skyped with my other sisters while Ben and Sam took a a nap.... and Papa and the girls did some light reading on the balcony.

My mom buys all her grandchildren Mickey ears. This year it was Sammy and Scotty's turns (I don't think I mentioned it, but Scotty is three months younger than Sammy... so he's 7 months and Sam is 10 months).

We got some pretty cute pictures of the babies together.

Day 7 was a day of parting ways. Both my parents and Camille and Scotty were flying out that day. My parents had to be at the airport by 10, so we said goodbye to them first.

Then we said goodbye to Camille and Scotty and Livi and Evan (Livi drove Camille to the airport since her flight was a lot later than my parents and Camille didn't have a car) and headed to Disney for our third and final day.

Heather had been really wanting to meet Minnie, so first thing once we got in the park was meet Mickey and Minnie at the Town Square Theater.

Sam LOVED Minnie, and she loved him to. He kept kissing her nose and she kept gushing all her attention on him. I think Heather may have been getting a little jealous, but she was still happy just to see Minnie.

Then out in the main square we met Daisy. She loved Sam, too. I would hate to have to dress up as one of those characters - it must be so hot in the summer!

It started raining, just a sprinkling, but it was nice because it kept the temperature down. We bought some hats to keep the rain off, which Ben and Sam happily modeled off.

Then we were able to meet Ariel and Eric. At first Heather didn't want to meet them because she was afraid of Eric. But after a few minutes waiting in line, she said she would only like to meet Ariel. I asked Lindsay if when we got up there she would go to Eric first so Heather could be close to Ariel and not freak out, and Lindsay agreed. Unfortunately, once it was our turn, Lindsay forgot the plan and bolted for Ariel. I don't know if you can tell in the picture about, but Heather was NOT happy about having to talk to Eric. Finally she turned to me with almost tears in her eyes and said, "Mom - I don't want Eric, I want Ariel," which made Eric laugh a little and Ariel rushed over to give her some love.

A little further down the way were Tiana and Naveen (from Princess and the Frog), but the wait for them was almost two hours (in the rain) and we just weren't feeling that, so we quickly snapped a picture of them while we walked by.

We rode the Pirates of the Caribbean ride (this is the girls holding hand while walking worriedly up the dark hall to the ride). It was such a corny ride, but Heather was terrified the whole time. She is my little scaredy cat.

Than we toured Frontierland, ate lunch, and by then the rain had passed, the sun was out and shining and the humidity was killer, so we called it a day. On our way out of the park we passed Woody and Jessie (Heather LOVES Jessie) and rode the train back to the font of the park.

We ended up leaving the park a 3, then driving 9 hours back home, which made for a very long day. Lindsay ended up throwing up on the way home, which didn't help anything. We got in a little after midnight and were just so happy to be home that we all crashed.

We had a great time seeing family and visiting Disney, but I don't think we'll be visiting another Disney park until all the kids are a bit older.

Florida Vacation Days 1-3

2011-05-08T11:41:00.000-04:00

We got into Florida last Saturday afternoon (Day 1). My parents own a timeshare, so we were staying there with them and my sister Camille and her baby Scotty. My other sister, Olivia and her husband, Stephen, and their son, Evan, came over that night and we talked, let the kids play with each other, then went out for dinner and ice cream. It was so nice to see everyone! It's been over a year since I've seen Olivia and her family and almost a year since I've seen Camille... and I'd never met Scotty before.

Day 2 (Sunday) we went to Magic Kingdom. Our first stop was the Town Square Theater to see the Princesses! The princess here were so much better than the ones at Disneyland from last year. These princesses actually talked to the girls for longer than two seconds and gave them big hugs goodbye. The girls loved it!

The first princess up was Belle. Lindsay was so disappointed that she wasn't wearing her Belle shirt! It was too cute!

I love how far away Heather is sitting from Aurora! She was so excited to meet her, but once she got up to her she was so nervous!

On our way further into the park, we were able to watch a show at Cinderella's castle. It was very cute - about following your dreams. We got to see some princesses and their princes dancing and singing, as well as Captain Hook and Smee and Maleficent. It was pretty cool!

In Tomorrowland, Ben got caught up in the Star Wars section of the store and just HAD to make not one, but two lightsabers (one for the kids, one for him).

Then it was time for the Mad Hatter's Tea Party ride. Ben had to take this girls on this one because this kind of ride always makes me sick!

I stayed with Sam, who was enjoying a nice nap in the Florida heat.

We ran into the White Rabbit.

Later in the day (after Ben stood in line for an hour and a half and the girls and I went on a few rides), we were able to meet Rapunzel and Flynn! They had this area set up like the movie - it was so cute. While waiting to meet the characters, they had a coloring activity, a dancing activity...

...and the girls got to meet Pascal!

Rapunzel was so cute! She was really interested in what the girls had to say, maybe it helped that they were wearing their Rapunzel shirts that day! ;)

I LOVE Flynn Rider's face - he always posed with this smug sort of look. It was hilarious!

We did a couple more things in the park after our visit with Rapunzel and Flynn, then headed back to the hotel for the day. We had dinner with my family and relaxed after a fun day. I was also getting pretty sick that night from my sinus infection that did not go away with the antibiotics I had been taking the previous week. And Sam was starting to get sick and he was teething... so it was a really long night that night.

Day 3 was family day at Magic Kingdom! My parents, two sisters and their families joined us at the park that day. First we rode the train around the park.

Then Ben, Stephen and the kids went and saw the Monster's Inc. show at the Laugh Floor. They said it was cute and funny. Then it was adult fun at Space Mountain. I had never rode on Space Mountain before, so I didn't know what to expect. I LOVED it! So fun! Then Ben took Lindsay on it... I was a little concerned because it's a fairly grown-up ride and it's in the dark... I didn't think Lindsay would like it. It turns out she was a little scared of the ride (mostly because of the dark), but handled it really well for her age.

Later on in the day we made our way to Adventureland and took a ride on Aladdin's Magic Carpets.

We saw the Swiss Family Robinson's tree house.

We passed by Aladdin and Jasmine (doesn't Aladdin look like he's checking Jasmine out in this photo?)

Then we tried taking a picture of all the grandkids in their matching shirts Grandma and Papa got them... this was the best one of the bunch. It was hard getting them all to look and smile as it was 3 PM and they were all hot and tired.

My dad and mom - aren't they cute?

Heather and Scotty - she LOVED spending time with him. She was so sweet with him, and I think he enjoyed spending time with her, too.

Isn't he the cutest chubby baby ever?

After one last ride on the Jungle Cruise, we all headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest. I think that was the hottest day of our whole trip.

Going to Florida!

2011-04-29T08:58:00.000-04:00

We are leaving dark and early tomorrow morning for a week of fun in Florida! We'll be spending time with my parents, sister Camille and her baby Scotty, and my other sister Olivia and her husband Stephen and son Evan. We are really excited to see everyone and just get away for a week of fun! Not to mention the girls are really excited for Disney World! Hope you all have a great week next week, too!

Heather's 4th Birthday

2011-04-26T18:43:00.000-04:00

We had a pretty simple party for Heather. It was just our family. She LOVES Tangled, so we bought the Rapunzel party plates, napkins, etc. to try and make it more exciting for her.

Here is the birthday girl with her presents. She's in this weird phase where she grimaces instead of smiles... but when she does smile, I promise it's really cute! (And yes, she dressed herself - what can I say, they girl loves pink).

She got these cute clothes from Grammy...

As well as some beads because she loves making necklaces up in Michigan with Grammy. She also got a really cute Rapunzel doll, but I guess I didn't get a picture of it.

For some reason, this picture is sideways, but she got this cute Minnie Mouse dress-up doll from Lindsay and Sam. Heather's on a bit of a Minnie Mouse kick.

She also got a Minnie Mouse shopping cart from Mama and Daddy. She drives it EVERYWHERE. We have wheel trails all over the carpets.

A cute pink dress from Aunt Lisa and Uncle Dave.

And she literally SQUEALED when she unwrapped this gift from Mama and Daddy - Rapunzel figurines! It was too cute!

(The pink v-tech computer is from Grandma and Papa - the girls fight over it all the time and it drives me nuts! I think my mom is paying me back for all the grief I caused her as a child...)

Heather blowing out her pink candles on her pink birthday cake. She had a great day! Thanks to everyone for their cards and presents - she loved it!

My sister did this really cute thing on her blog that I am stealing from her!

Heather's Favorites:

Color: Pink

Book: any princess book (especially Rapunzel)

Song: Flower Gleam and Glow (the healing song from Tangled)

Movie: Tangled

Food: apples and sandwiches

Look Who's 4!

2011-04-21T09:33:00.000-04:00

I can hardly believe my baby girl is turning four today! She seems so grown up...

Happy birthday, Heather! We love you so much and are so thankful you're a part of our family!

Love,

Daddy, Mama, Lindsay and Sammy

The Dreaded Pink Eye

2011-04-20T10:54:00.000-04:00

Yes, the awful pink eye has entered the Avis house. Monday evening Lindsay's eye started gooping like crazy, and sure enough over night it was glued close. She freaked out, of course, when she woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't open her eye. Yesterday morning it was off to the doctor where it was confirmed it was pink eye, as well as two ear infections. We filled her prescriptions so hopefully soon she will be a healthy Lindsay bug.

At the beginning of the month Ben's mom came down for a visit. It was Lindsay's spring break, so all the kiddos got to spend tons of time with Grandma Avis, whom they started calling "Grammy" while she was here. They LOVED having her. They got so much attention and love... not to mention Mama got some quiet time and also adult conversation. We had a great time and hope Grammy can visit again soon (hopefully with Pops aka Grandpa Avis)!

In other news, Sam is a climbing machine. He is pulling himself up on everything and is starting to take steps while holding on to the furniture. Why do they have to grow up so fast?

Sick... like a dog

2011-04-12T11:14:00.000-04:00

So the last couple of months I've been fighting a sinus infection. It makes me feel miserable for about a week, then starts to fade away, then comes back worse then ever. I don't like to take a lot of over the counter medicine... I try to avoid putting too much of that stuff into my system if I don't need it. However, this past weekend my sinuses hurt worse than they have in a long time. I was absolutely miserable. I had to break down and take something, but that didn't even touch this thing. So off to the doctor I went yesterday afternoon. I really don't like going to the doctor, especially since I already knew what was wrong with me, but I knew I needed some prescription drugs to finally get rid of this crud!

We went through the whole song and dance and when the doctor went to touch my face, I cringed. It was so sore yesterday. They realized I have a pretty severe sinus infection and decided right there to give me a shot in the bum! I haven't had a shot in my bum since I was 10 - boy, did it hurt. My butt is still sore this morning... I'm sure the people at the pharmacy yesterday had fun watching me gimp around with my bum bum (get it, "bum" bum, like if you hurt your knee, you have a bum knee - yeah, it's a bad joke). Anyway, this morning I am feeling a lot better, but still pretty cruddy. Hopefully all this lovely medicine I have will finally get rid of this infection!

Haircuts

2011-04-06T13:07:00.000-04:00

Yesterday the girls got new haircuts. They wanted to go really short, but the shortest I would go is to their chins (which is still really short to me). The girls LOVE their new haircuts!

Sam didn't get a haircut, but he loves posing with his sisters. I think their haircuts make them look older. They sure are growing up fast!

Oh no!

2011-03-30T12:53:00.000-04:00

Sam is learning to climb the stairs! Time to get the gates out!

Bad Blogger - For Real!

2011-03-25T13:24:00.000-04:00

What can I say... my life has been busy. That's not a good reason for not blogging, especially since this is my way of journaling and so for the past two months... I have nothing to show for all we've done and been through.

So... here is the long awaited, long in the making, update.

If you can't read the message, Lindsay wrote, "Wecome to the Avis famalys houes" which translates to "Welcome to the Avis family's house"

The girls are very excited to be in our new house. Lindsay loves having her own room so Heather doesn't disturb her sleep, and Heather always tells me her favorite part is the stairs. I'm not really sure why she loves the stairs so much, especially since that's my least favorite part, but she's always been my silly girl.

We've been busy trying to make this house what we want it. I don't have any pictures to post about it because... I don't feel I have a single room finished. Now that we live in a house we own (or atleast, are making monthly payments to own in 30 years), I want to make each room look as nice as possible, and I just don't think any of them are quite there yet. I'm hoping to have the girls' rooms finished soon, maybe our office as well, so hopefully soon I'll have some pictures for you to see. In the meantime, I'll just update you on how we all have been doing.

BEN: busy working like crazy. When he's not working overtime (which is almost every week night and some weekends as well), he's busy working on the house. I'm thankful he's such a hardworker, but I'm hoping all this craziness will die down soon so we can spend more quality time together!

BETH: you name it, I've been busy doing it. Unpacking, organizing, trying to figure out where to put all those little odds and ends that don't really have a home... plus keeping track of the kiddos and all that come with that. Laundy, dishes, cooking, cleaning, Skyping with my family every Monday (and sometimes later in the week, too)... it's been busy. Like I said, hopefully the craziness will die down soon!

SAM: growing like a weed! My baby is 9 months now and has quickly gone from being a little baby to a big baby. He looks like such a little boy now! He can sit up by himself, army crawl, roll like crazy, say hi and wave, clap, and lots of other accomplishments. He is such a joy! Can't you tell by this picture? He is my smiley boy and we all love him to pieces!

LINDSAY: busy with kindergarten. She transferred to a new school with our move and has adjusted well. She's at the top of her class in everything, and I honestly feel like she should have been promoted to first grade earlier in the year, but the teacher thought otherwise (even though she says Lindsay is at almost second grade level for everything). She loves to learn and come home and teach everything to Heather (who doesn't want to learn :| ). She is such a joy to have and when she doesn't bring home her "I'm a wannabe teenager" attitude, we have a lot of fun in the evenings together.

HEATHER: loves having the rule of the house during the day. She is such a great big sister to Sam, whom she just loves to pieces... sometimes to his annoyance! She enjoys playing with her princess barbies and figurines, and looking at EVERY book we own! I think she's going to be a book worm like her mama! She has this horrible habit of picking at her scabs till they're giant sores, and she definitely likes to test the limits with her parents, but when she gives you her sweet little girl smile, you just melt!

So... that's what's going on. Hopefully I'll become a better blogger again!

Bad Blogger

2011-02-05T20:01:00.000-05:00

I know I've been a bad blogger lately, but I have a good excuse...

WE'RE MOVING (again).

We are closing on our new house Monday, so I've been busy with paperwork, etc., not to mention packing everything (again). I am so ready for this to be all over! And to live in a place for longer than 10 months. Seriously, the last few places we've lived we've stayed for such a short time:

our current house: 5 months
Las Vegas: 10 months
Georgia 2009: 6 months
Florida: 10 months
Michigan: 6 months

Do you see a trend?

Anyway, it will be nice to actually stay in a place and make it a home (and to actually own the home, too).

So, when the dust settles and we get all moved in, I promise to be a better blogger.

Love Note

2011-01-28T13:13:00.000-05:00

This morning Ben left Lindsay a nice note on her lunchbox. I noticed the note when I went to make her lunch, so I called her over to look at it. It read: "I love you, Lindsay. -Daddy." Very simple. Lindsay gave a little smile and said, "Aww... now I can remember Daddy when he's dead." WHAT?!?!?!?!

Gas Prices

2011-01-20T12:47:00.000-05:00

Today as I was running errands I noticed that all the gas stations around our area were the same exact price. This never happens! Gas is $2.99/gallon here, I think they're all afraid to hit that monumental $3/gallon price.

I tip my hat to the goverment. Thank you for putting us into a $14 trillion deficit and devaluing the dollar, making the price of everything under the sun skyrocket. You're doing a great job! I hope you increase your salaries this year, as well... not.

Anyway, I was just wondering, what is the price of gas in your area?

Look Who's 7 Months!

2011-01-19T11:56:00.000-05:00

SURPRISE! It's me, Sam!

I know all mom's say this, but I can't believe it's already been 7 months since my baby was born! He is such a good baby, too (which is great, after all the grief he gave me during his pregnancy).

He sees the doctor in two weeks, so I'm not sure how much he weighs now, but I'd safely say he's 20 lbs. He rolls all the time and loves getting into his big sister's stuff (so they need to start keeping it out of his reach). He scoots on his back, but no forward or backward motion on his belly. He can sit up by himself some of the time, but sometimes he'll fling himself in any direction and it's not safe to leave him sitting up alone.

He LOVES baby food. He is such a good eater. His favorites so far are bananas, applesauce, squash and sweet potatoes. Next up to try: green beans (which I'm sure he'll hate - the girls definitely hated them).

He takes two two hour naps (unless his sisters wake him up), one in the morning and one in the afternoon. He is also sleeping through the night. Hooray! He loves to be cuddled by mama, but he really loves being tickled and played with by daddy. He sure is his daddy's boy.

We love our little Sam and are so thankful he's a part of our family!

Question For Moms

2011-01-18T09:21:00.000-05:00

After reading everyone's comments yesterday, I have to ask - what do you do when your kids don't eat their food? How long would you make them sit there with their plate of uneaten food? I am really unsure of the best way to get them to eat...

Trying Something New

2011-01-17T08:07:00.001-05:00

This morning we're changing things up in the Avis household. The girls did not eat their dinner last night (chicken, stuffing and corn) and I've officially broke down and done something I never thought I would - make them eat their dinner for breakfast. I've always hated the idea, and I especially hated it when it happened to me as a child, but now that I'm older, I'm just annoyed that my children don't eat the food I make for them. It really irritates me that I work hard to make it for them (let alone that they are blessed enough to have food to eat ALL THE TIME), then they just whine about it and waste it. Well, not anymore! They have been sitting at the table already for over 40 minutes, and all that has been eaten is a single corn kernel by Lindsay. Yep, it's going to be a long morning at the table...

Day 4

2011-01-13T07:47:00.002-05:00

... of no school. Will it ever end?

Oh My...

2011-01-11T19:31:00.000-05:00

I got another phone call at 3:30 this afternoon from the school... telling me school was cancelled AGAIN! Poor Lindsay was devastated! I hope everything clears up by Thursday... good grief!

No School

2011-01-10T21:27:00.000-05:00

School was cancelled today for Lindsay. Our area got about 8 inches of snow, which is quite a bit for here. Then it rained and refroze on top of the snow, so it was a little treacherous out this morning. I was called again this afternoon by the school to inform me school is cancelled tomorrow, as well. It's been a long weekend in the Avis house...

Heather's Excited

2011-01-07T17:09:00.001-05:00

Heather is really excited about something.

She's been looking forward to it all day.

The anticipation was killing her!

But she knew it was worth the wait.

Well, maybe not so much... that really hurt!

Not so excited right now, but later I know I will be...

Heather got her ears pierced this afternoon. She was so excited to be a "big girl" like Lindsay because Lindsay already has her ears pierced.

As soon as we got home, she was over the pain and just really happy to have earrings. She's my girly girl.

Entranced

2011-01-06T11:57:00.000-05:00

Sam got a really cool toy that lights up and plays music from his Aunt Lisa. He loves it! He just stares and stares at it... so funny. I think it might have some sort of hypnotic power over him...

Visit to Michigan

2011-01-03T08:54:00.006-05:00

Early the next morning after Christmas (see post below), we started our 12 hour trip to Michigan. We got there around 6 PM, ate some dinner, then spent some time with Grandma and Grandpa Avis.

The next morning we had the family Christmas with Ben's brothers and their families. We got to meet our new nephew (and cousin) and Alex. And the aunts and uncles got to meet Sam for the first time as well.

Time to open presents!

The girls got bikes from Grandma and Grandpa and LOVED them. Heather is a natural.

Lindsay needs a little more practice, but we still love her! ;)

Alex and Sam playing nice.

The next day was SNOW FUN!

Look how deep the snow was on Heather, my little shortie.

Sledding fun!

The last few nights of our trip we stayed with Ben's brother, Daniel, and his wife Stacey. They have two dogs, Lily and Zappa. Heather LOVED Zappa. She kept calling him "The Fluffy Dog".

We had play-doh fun - Sam was so excited!

My smiley boy, so close to losing his toothless grin (his two bottom teeth are SO CLOSE to coming in)

The girls love playing with Uncky Dan!

Stilts fun!

It was nice to see everyone, but nice to get home as well. We are in the middle of buying our first home (hooray) and it was hard to take care of everything from Michigan. But we are back and ready for business!

Our Christmas

2011-01-03T08:26:00.004-05:00

This year we spent Christmas day at home. It was such a nice day! We started it dark and early (thanks, kids) after being bugged to look at the tree every ten minutes starting at 5 AM. The kids sat impatiently by the tree while we read Luke 2 and then it was dig in time!

Lindsay got a lot of first reader books... unfortunately, she is already well beyond that step and flew through those books in a matter of minutes.

Heather got her favorite Toy Story 3 character from Grandma and LOVES her!

Sam got some Phineas and Ferb plushies (LOVE that show) and enjoyed eating them in the bouncer while his sisters were in their own little world.

Lindsay got the Red Death and the Boneknapper dragons (from HTTYD) from Santa, as well as a cool double headed dragon from Grandma.

Heather's ultimate gift - a dollhouse! She wouldn't stop playing with it all day (and when she actually did, she went right for her Jessie doll). Thanks to all the family members who contributed furniture - she is obsessed!

I make my kids crates to hold toys or clothes in, and this year it was Sam's turn. I couldn't find any small letters like I could for the girls', so his doesn't have as much decorations on it as theirs do. We went with the space theme, since Ben already bought Sam the whole Star Wars bedroom set (go figure).

All morning long the girls kept asking if it was really Christmas because there was no snow on the ground (thank you, Christmas movies). I kept telling them it really was Christmas and that we might not get any snow. Lo and behold, around lunchtime it started snowing. The girls were so excited! They got out their coats, scarves that Grandma made them, and their new boots we got for our trip to Michigan and ran outside to play in the snow.

Daddy joined them outside and they ended up building snowmen. Too cute.

We had a great holiday and hope you all did, too.

Lately

2010-12-24T08:13:00.004-05:00

This time of the year is always full of happenings, yet I am always slow to blog about it. I enjoy being able to spend time with my family. It's one of my favorite things about Christmas.

A week ago Lindsay's class had a Christmas party (YES -they actually used the word Christmas in school). It was cute seeing all these little kindergartners eating snacks, singing songs, showing what they've learned. They even made special shirts for the day. Here is Lindsay showing her's off.

The antlers are her hand prints and the face is her footprint. Very cute!

Sam has been growing like crazy. He still only rolls in one direction (he's my little chunker) but he's scooting a lot and is sitting up (somewhat). I don't think he'll crawl or walk as early as his sisters (they were walking at 9 months). He has his sisters wrapped around his fingers, especially Heather. They really are best friends. I can't believe my baby is already 6 months old!

Here are the best friends holding hands yesterday morning. They sure do love each other.

Wednesday afternoon as the girls were getting up from their naps, Lindsay fell off her ladder and slammed her face into the floor. Blood was everywhere! Poor thing. You can tell in the picture below how swollen her nose got. It's still a little sore, but thankfully the swelling has gone down.

I can't believe how quickly this year has gone by. And here it is... Christmas Eve. I am so thankful for the gift of my Savior. He truly is the best gift we have ever received. The girls are understanding more and more the real meaning of Christmas (but they still like to focus on the presents). We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and remember the REASON FOR THE SEASON!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The Joys of Winter

2010-12-16T15:51:00.001-05:00

We had freezing rain yesterday and last night... that meant no school for Lindsay this morning. She was very bummed about it - she loves school, especially today because it was wear your pajamas to school day and they were going to watch "The Polar Express". She still is pretty devastated about it.

Ben also stayed home from work today... too dangerous to drive to work in. We have had fun spending time together as a family today. But, I still don't like winter.

WANTED

2010-12-10T15:27:00.001-05:00

The Pterodactyl Kid

For the crime of being cute

Reward: lots of hugs and kisses

During Ben's birthday dinner, Heather called herself the Pterodactyl kid. Ben and I starting cracking up, it was so funny. Since then the name has stuck. She often runs around calling herself the Pterodactyl kid and flies after you. It's hilarious.

I LOVE Christmas

2010-12-10T15:24:00.002-05:00

After Ben's birthday we pulled out our new tree and decorated it. This is the first year we've had a "tall" tree. When we first got married we bought a little three foot tree. We feel so adult! ;)

Anyway, we hope you all have a lovely Christmas season! It's my favorite time of the year!

Happy Birthday, Ben!

2010-12-08T09:00:00.003-05:00

My hubby is turning 27 today. Happy birthday to my love - hope it's a great one! Thanks for everything you do for our family. We love you!

-Beth, Lindsay, Heather and Sam

Check-up

2010-12-06T11:14:00.002-05:00

Today Sam had his four month check-up (although he's almost 6 months old). He weighs 18 lbs. 1.6 oz (75%) and is 25.75 in. tall (50%). He's my big boy! He also got his shots today, so he's having a rough morning.

On Saturday we took the kids to get their hair cut (yes, even Sam - he needed a little off the top. You can see his "new" haircut in the picture above). Lindsay just got a trim, but Heather got quite a bit cut off. It's funny how everyone commented on how long Heather's hair was getting... I've been meaning to get it cut for a few weeks now.

Here's the end result (she's a little pouty in this picture). I think it's pretty cute!

Here We Go Again......

2010-12-04T14:11:00.002-05:00

... no, I'm not pregnant.

We're moving... AGAIN! Apparently the owner of the house we are renting has not been making his house payments and he's going into foreclosure! The real estate agency we rent the house through told me about this yesterday, and informed us that we have 60 days to find a new place to live.

So... it looks like we'll be looking for a house to buy ASAP!

Picture Post

2010-12-02T10:02:00.003-05:00

Well... I don't really have much to say. Thanksgiving was nice, except we all were sick. Sam and I are still working on getting better. Yesterday we took the family to see Tangled - so cute! My mom and sister (who had already seen it), said it was the best Disney movie in 20 years. I had a hard time believing that, thinking of Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. But after seeing it I have to agree with them - it was fantastic! I loved the songs. The girls were glued - no interruptions from them AT ALL (which is highly unusual).

Anyway... here's some recent photos to shed light on what our family has been up to.

Sam has been working on his hide and go seek skills.

Lindsay and Heather were working on their Hannah Montana fashion skills (in my opinion, they got it down perfect!)

I tried to get a nice picture of our three turkeys for Thanksgiving... lately Heather has been into the whole squint your eyes for every picture thing. I love Sam's face in this one, though - pure joy at being on the counter!

Yet again... Heather had to be a goofster.

This is the best I could come up with, although the lighting isn't that great. I enjoyed that they were holding hands - they really love each other, although they don't always show it!

My blue eyed boy

Heather with her constant companions - Sleeping Beauty, Prince Philip, Barbie, Rosetta and Cinderella.

Lunch With Lindsay

2010-11-19T13:26:00.002-05:00

Yesterday the parents were invited to have lunch with their children to celebrate Thanksgiving. Lindsay was so excited for me to eat lunch with her. Here she is marching down the hallway waving at me.

The cafeteria had turkey, stuffing, gravy, rolls, green beans, sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce for lunch. Very festive, not too incredibly yummy.

It was fun watching Lindsay interact with her friends. Being her first year in school, it's the first time she's doing something that I'm not a part of. It was nice to get a glimpse into that part of her life.

Everyone kept telling Lindsay how much her little sister looked like her. Yeah, they look similar, but I think Heather and Sam look more alike... Lindsay kept telling them, "No, she's born in April and I'm born in August. And she has hazel eyes and I have brown eyes." HUGE differences! ;)

Our little family enjoying lunchtime together (although I was the only one to eat my food - typical).

It was a fun experience, although a little hectic with the two little ones. Apparently parents are allowed to eat lunch with their child any time they want to. I didn't know this before. Not sure that I'll do it all that often, though. It's a lot of hassle. Maybe every once in a while.

Thank You

2010-11-11T15:24:00.002-05:00

Thank you to all the men and women who have fought to protect our great country. I am so thankful for all the wonderful blessings in my life thanks to living in this country, and they wouldn't be possible if not for your service! Special thanks to my dad, brothers-in-law and husband! And thank you to all the military families for the sacrifices they make!

Hope you all have a wonderful Veteran's Day!

Dance Party!

2010-11-09T09:28:00.003-05:00

I know I've previously posted about our after dinner dance parties... it's something that we really enjoy doing as a family and the kids burn a lot of energy. Well, Sam has officially been inducted into the Avis family dance party extravaganza.

Sam sits in his high chair while we all eat dinner, so once dinner is done (and Heather has finished her food), she starts wheeling his high chair all over the kitchen/dining area. Sam LOVES it! And it's so nice that she includes him in the fun! She's such a loving big sister!

Are You Lost?

2010-11-02T14:27:00.004-04:00

A few days ago Lindsay decided to make a bunch of signs labelling each room. I'm not sure why she did it, I guess she's worried we'll get lost in our own house. I have to say, it was pretty funny reading some of these signs.

(the door room is where we enter the house through the front door - funny, huh?)

(Lindsay wanted everyone to know you can go both directions in the hall)

AND HERE ARE SOME OF OUR FAVORITES:

(pointing to the attic door on the ceiling)

(be careful when entering the "die"ning room - ha ha!)

Costumes and Pumpkins

2010-11-01T18:04:00.004-04:00

This was the first year the girls got to dress-up in costumes. They were so excited! They were more excited about that than the candy.

This year we went to a friend's house to celebrate. We did the same thing last year before we moved to Las Vegas.

Here we all are ready to go trick-or-treating.

Lindsay aka Toothless (minus the wings - she took them off during trick-or-treating)

Heather aka Minnie Mouse

Sam aka Batboy

At this party, the guys stay behind while the women and children are out trick-or-treating and they do "manly" things like carve pumpkins. Then once the rest of the group gets back, we all go outside and watch them light the pumpkins on fire. Here they are prepping the pumpkins.

Let 'em burn!

My favorite pumpkin was the Mario one - isn't is really good?

Once we got back home, we put our pumpkins outside and lit them up. From left to right: mine, Sam's (with no face), Ben's (a cow being abducted by aliens), Heather's (she wanted a skull and Ben drew the Punisher's sign), and Lindsay's (of course, a dragon). I carved both mine and Lindsay's... I think I did pretty good.

No lights!

We had a great Halloween and hope you all did, too!

I Love These Kids

2010-10-30T15:05:00.000-04:00

2010-10-29T17:14:00.001-04:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Stage Fright

2010-10-26T18:33:00.002-04:00

Sam was having a grand old time playing with Heather in the bouncer. He was laughing so hard, it was really cute. But once I turned the camera on, he was slightly distracted...

And if you couldn't hear Lindsay in the background, she was VERY jealous!

Festivals and Pumpkins

2010-10-25T09:08:00.005-04:00

Friday night was the Fall Festival at Lindsay's school. I've never been to one of them before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Lindsay was thrilled to go - it was all she talked about last week.

I have to say, it was rather disappointing. Very boring and not well thought out, in my opinion. But the girls didn't mind. They were excited by all they saw. The first thing they just HAD to do was jump in the moon bounce.

Then they had to go down the giant slide.

Next was hair spraying - Lindsay chose a lovely shade of blue.

Heather stayed true to her favorite color pink and even got some glitter added into hers.

After that was face painting. The art teacher was in charge of the face painting and so we waited in line for our turn. Of course when our time came, one of the older students (maybe a 5th grader) took us instead. Lindsay picked a ghost.

And Heather chose a pumpkin. They weren't as great as the drawings were, but what do you expect from a kid. The girls didn't care, they loved it.

This weekend we also went pumpkin picking. We were originally supposed to meet up with some of Ben's friends from work and their families... but we were a little late to the meeting point and Ben forgot to bring his phone... so we ended up venturing out on our own!

After wandering through the Georgia countryside for hours, we finally settled on a place called Yahoo Farm. It was very cute and quaint.

The kids posed so nicely. Heather was so excited to be a pig!

There were all sorts of farm animals to see. Sam was very interested in them.

So were the girls. Lindsay really loved the bunny.

There was also a really cute butterfly garden there. The girls loved the flowers and butterflies, but were a little worried about the honey bees.

Here's our festive family enjoying Yahoo Farm.

This week's activity - carving pumpkins and cooking pumpkin seeds. Yum!

Snuggles

2010-10-25T09:01:00.002-04:00

In the mornings the girls love to snuggle with Sammy. He's so nice and soft and warm!

This week at school they are having special dress-up days. Today was wear your favorite sports team jersey - GO RED WINGS!!!

"Mature"

2010-10-20T11:30:00.001-04:00

Lindsay and Heather had their check-ups at the dentist this morning. Both received excellent remarks. The dentist did inform me that Lindsay has "mature" teeth and that she is losing and growing new teeth at a fairly early age. She also told me that there is a connection between losing teeth early and starting puberty early... I had never heard this before. If it's true, I am so not looking forward to it!

HTTYD

2010-10-18T13:23:00.001-04:00

So we've been watching HTTYD all the time this weekend and all I can say is...

I LOVE Toothless! He is the cutest dragon ever!

Exciting Days

2010-10-16T15:59:00.002-04:00

Well, on the sick front, Lindsay still has a stuffed/runny nose and cough. Ben and I are slowly on the mend... still a lot of sinus congestion. Yesterday Heather woke up with a runny nose and hacking cough. So far Sam has been spared... fingers crossed he'll stay healthy.

Yesterday Lindsay's absolute FAVORITE movie came out on DVD. Of course we had to buy it! I saw on the sign at Walmart that you could get your picture taken with a dragon and the photo center would print you a free 5 x 7. Here is Lindsay posing with her favorite dragon, Toothless, from "How To Train Your Dragon". She was so excited to get her free picture!

Today was the start of the Air Show here in Atlanta. Ben took the girls and they had a really fun time seeing all the jets.

The Canadian Snowbirds flew today... Ben was kind of bummed he didn't get to see the Thunderbirds, but they're not flying until tomorrow.

Lindsay had a blast posing for a bunch of pictures (thanks to Ben for taking them... he usually never takes pictures).

Heather wasn't as cooperative. She wanted to stay in the wagon the whole time. She did pose for one picture, though. (I don't know why it's flipped this way... I can't fix it).

I enjoyed having quiet time at home today while Ben and the girls were gone. Sam was a great baby and slept quite a bit. It was so nice to have some quiet me time!

Thanks, Lindsay...

2010-10-13T14:44:00.002-04:00

... for passing your illness on to Ben and I. Ben started feeling sick yesterday morning, and he actually called in sick today (which is unheard of). I started feeling sick last night around bed time, and sure enough, as the day is progressing I am feeling worse. Thanks, Lindsay!

Sick

2010-10-10T14:22:00.005-04:00

My poor little Lindsay is sick today. She woke up about 5 AM complaining of a sore throat. We got her something to drink, then tucked her back in. But she woke up around 6:30 and still complained of a sore throat. Her nose is also runny and now she has a fever. She keeps telling us, "I'm just not doing good." The joys of having school aged children...