Are you happy?

Wow, it’s been a month since I last blogged. Wow. Glad you’ve missed us (subscribe below if you’d rather not keep checking and checking). Where have we been? We’ve been here, doing life with two kids. We’ve been wrestling Avery, and when we haven’t been actively engaged in battle, we’ve been exhausted. Managing the needs of two kids often feels impossible. Sometimes it is easy; most times it is trying.

“Are you happy?”—This is what Avery asks us after we’ve been “un-happy” with her. It’s her little way of inching towards reconciliation with dear ol’ ma and pa. Avery has been giving us plenty to be “un-happy” about it lately. Honestly, we’re a little puzzled why this has been a difficult month for Avery. She’s absolutely CRAZY about school. The teachers have been remarking that Avery is doing well there, and loving it. On the flip side, Avery’s been bringing home some new “habits.” Extreme bossiness, defiance, yelling or screaming, talking back, pouting, and hitting are now regular occurrences in our home, and we’re struggling to figure out how to get through to her. Consequences and discipline are barely scratching the surface. Perhaps this is what 3 1⁄2 year olds are like? Perhaps there are a couple children in pre-school that are showing Avery the ropes? Maybe I’m jumping the gun here, but it seems as though outside influences (school friends, who, of course, aren’t being monitored every single second by the teacher (and I wouldn't expect that they would be)) are having an influence on Avery. The timing of this “eruption” of behavioral stuff is just too suspect. And so, it seems, it’s begun: teaching Avery that what she’s learning from others may or may not be something that we feel is acceptable behavior, and, more importantly, why. Sure, Avery’s a little young, but I believe we’ve got to start laying the foundation now. The shift from compliance to discernment isn’t far off.

And so, where’s Ro? In the midst of the craziness she’s still sweet little Ro—likely taking notes on all that is occurring around her. Her nine-month appointment went well (she's now ten-months), and she’s busy fine-tuning her cruising skills, and perfecting her pincher-grasp. She’s got four little teeth now, and loves to “tackle” Avery. I’m so glad that they have each other.

And, we’re absolutely loving fall—so beautiful, so delicious (bring us pumpkin flavored stuff and we’ll love you forever). There’s so much I’d love to blog about, and hopefully will soon. In the meantime here’s a few of my favorite pictures from the last month.

Avery riding the train at one of our favorite fall stops--Sonny Acres.

Avery loving the pony ride.

Cheesing by the ghosts--and yes, I know her pants are rolled up too high.

Avery embracing her roots.

Feeding smelly, dirty animals...and enjoying it.

Cuddling with smelly, dirty animals. Seriously kid, show some restraint!

Displaying what I like to call the "sponge phenomenon." She saw a character on Dora make a silly face and then turned around and made a silly face at me.

Avery sporting Dan's Cubs hat. Yep, Dan's a glutton for punishment. In his own words, he needs to "get a new team!"

Two of my favorite people--Happy-Go-Lucky-Ro and Perk Dan

Baby Steps

Surely and slowly we’re getting back to normal. We’ve had our fair share of illness move through the house, and we’re cautiously optimistic that we’re beyond it. It really, really stinks having sick kids, and we’re prayerful that our turn is up for now. So, why not send Avery back to preschool tomorrow to pick up a new strain, right?

So, how’s school going? Overall, great—Avery loves it! Avery’s teacher reported that Avery needed a little more “reinforcement” during the first week—what a lovely way to say that Avery wasn’t listening (hysterical, predictable, and not surprising). The second week Avery’s teacher said that Avery was improving and learning the routine, so I’m encouraged that she’s “getting it.”

Aside from her first ear infection and teething, Romey continues to be our little smiley pie (remember those cookie cakes from the 1980’s?) and absolutely loves being on her feet. Her car walker toy is the toy of the moment, and I’m predicting that she’ll be walking in the next few months (as she’s fearless, and an avid cruiser). Here are a couple cute pictures of Romey at her walker and her Labor Day "flight!"

Our little buddha at her walker.

Making an ugly cry face.

Waving to her admirers.

Perfecting her "squint and smile."

Ro's sweet little grin of accomplishment.

Dan gave Ro a little toss--which she loves.

I turned the flash back on, and Dan tossed her again. This looks totally fake, but it's actually a legit photo ;)

Preschool

So we're here. We're now officially parents of a pre-schooler. This transition is bringing about such a strange mix of emotions—excitement for Avery; sadness that she’s growing up and it’s happening so incredibly fast; relief to be consistently ‘offloading’ a child for a bit; anxiety about Avery being in someone else’s care, etcetera.

So, how'd it go? Great! She loved it, and it was fairly anti-climatic. She did mention though that her teacher told her to be quiet, which we thought was totally hysterical. Oh little Avery....this is going to be so good for you!

And here she is.......little Miss Pre-school modeling her very cute backpack.

Avery: "I'm so excited, I can hardly stand it!"

Walking into the school, and waving to Dan.

Putting Avery's nametag on. Bummer, there's more than one Avery, but I don't suspect it will take the teacher long to figure out who's who.....

And one last peek.....sigh.

Highly Motivated

Ro is highly motivated (see pictures below). She wants to get around so badly (crawling doesn't seem good enough anymore) that she'll try and try, grow frustrated, get stuck, and start crying. Little Roji (Romey’s new nickname courtesy of Dan, pronounced like Row-G) is crawling, and attempting to pull herself up, known as “cruising” for our non-mommy readers. This crazy kid will even “walk” (move her feet as if she were walking) when we hold her upright. I’ve heard it before, and now believe it to be true, the second child hits their developmental milestones so much faster than the first did. It's hard to believe that she'll be nine-months old on September 6.

As I’m typing this quick post I can hear (through the monitor) Avery “praying." Her prayer is always the same: “Thank you Jesus for Mommy and Daddy and Romey. Amen!” It always makes me swell up when I hear her “pray.” It’s cute how she has her prayer memorized and races it through it and ends with her little amen finale. We’re talking about thanking Jesus, talking to Jesus, etcetera, which sometimes prompts her to make some additions to her prayer, but mostly she thanks God for her family. It’s hard to believe that she will start school in a few days. I will.............miss her.

Ro: "I see you!"

Ro's newly acquired skill, which has recently turned into finding her in the same spot but on her knees.

Attitude August

Prior to having children most of our friends were like us: kid-less. We did have a few "kid couple" friends. One of these "kid couples" came to mind recently. Dial back five years, and we were having dinner with this couple at their home, and one of the parent-child interactions was quite memorable. It went a little something like this:

The mom (exhausted) said: “Greg, Josh needs an attitude adjustment.” Note: Josh was three at the time, and giving his mom a hard time.

Greg (the dad) said: “Okay, I’m on my way.”

Now, what’s memorable about this isn’t necessarily the interaction between the two parents. What’s memorable is how Dan and I thought it was absolutely hysterical. We laughed about it for weeks, and still remember it to this day. I’ll bet you can see where I’m going with this…..karma has slapped us in the face, and over the past month we’ve seen an eruption of attitude from our dear sweet Avery. Avery’s become increasingly more demanding. She’s sweet as pie as long as she’s getting her way, but whoa to the parental who dares cross her. Avery attitude is best characterized as screaming, hollering, adding the word NOW to every phrase, and the best are the looks and the way she crosses her arms. I’m impressed, really, by her little looks –not particularly effective, but very laughable. Yes, she’s all three-year-old—a little manipulative negoitator swallowing up her parents. Homes where three-year-olds reside really should be outfitted with a trap door. Are you with me on this?

Aside from a little sprinkling of attitude, we’re doing well. Here are a couple highlights from the past several weeks:

*We celebrated my mom’s birthday with the ‘best steak ever.’ While we were indulging Avery was torturing the baby sitter, and ended the evening by doing cartwheels down the stairs. Super.

*We took a tour of Avery’s new pre-school, and, wow, was it awesome. Honestly, I did have a moment of “Wow, we’re here already? I can’t really believe it.” We’re all stoked, but I expect that Dan and I are going to have some first-day jitters (September 2). Avery, though, is going to love it. I’d be kidding myself to say that introducing Romey into the mix hasn’t totally TKO’d Avery’s social life. It has.

*I woke up one morning hearing Avery say, "I cut my hair while mommy and daddy were sleeping." Luckily it isn't very noticeable. Her shorter-layered hairstyle conceals the choppy parts fairly nicely. As typical with Avery type experiences, Dan and I said, "It could of been so much worse."

*Romey continues to be a joyful and happy kid. She’s just pure sunshine. Romey has started crawling and displays fierce determination when she’s got her sights set on a toy. Romey is sitting up, and has started babbling. She’s got one little tooth now, and continues to be such a sweet little girl. We’re still waiting for her to develop a love for solids, but, sadly, it hasn’t really taken off yet. It’s hard to believe that she is 8 ½ months old. Gratefully, though, she’s finally sleeping through the night (well, she won’t tonight cause I’m jinxing myself).

*It seems that there are a lot of babies sprouting up recently. I think I counted five in one week (born to friends/acquaintances). All these new baby pictures cause me to wonder, “Are we really done? Should we try for one more?” And then it occurred to me: I’d love to have another baby in the hospital but I don’t want to bring another baby home. We’re done. So done. Again, am I jinxing myself?

*Dan’s still a weight-loss fool, and we’ve been steering clear of the summer heat by watching some of the past seasons of the TV show 24. Wow, it’s cool. Don’t mess with Jack Bauer. ;)

Enjoy these recent pictures of the girls. We might be a little partial, but we sure think they are beautiful!

Our beautiful little brown-eyed blondie. Check out her first tooth.

An attitude moment.

Avery as a joey at Brookfield Zoo.

Avery feeling a little un-impressed by the giraffes.
All she wanted to do was play at the park and ride the merry-go-round.

Finally, Avery rides the merry-go-round and perfects her Miss America wave.