22 Months Old!

John took this picture of the kids behind our recliners. Think there was any naughtiness happening here?

Yesterday was a day of highs and lows. First of all, Adam pee-ed in the potty! We always offer them the chance to go before bath, and Adam did it! I'm not sure he is really ready yet, but it was sure exciting!

Then, we found out that John's dad passed away around 7 PM. He has been struggling for the last 4 months--bypass surgery, staph infection, etc--but has been very strong. He had actually been moved from the hospital to a rehab center, and we were hoping he would come home next week. Well, yesterday he fell and hit his head and had a brain bleed. When John talked to him around 11 AM, he was fine--then he died in the evening. Everyone in the family seems to be doing ok...

Finally, around 9 PM, the Personnel Director called and said I had been approved by the School Board and was officially offered a teaching position! I will be teaching 5th grade at the Intermediate School--it is actually the school that first hired me in Glen Rose. Oh, the irony! After being away from school, and then back at teaching, I have realized it is my true calling in life! I feel thankful for the opportunity to teach again.

So, enough about us....The kids are doing great! The last month has flown by and the kids are funnier than ever. Aaron finds it humorous to tell us that he has pooped, only to laugh out loud when you check his empty diaper. Adam is talking up a storm. Everyday he wants John to play baseball on Wii. All three kids love watching! Avery is pointing, grunting, and getting her brothers to do all of the talking for her! She is doing flips all over the house, walking in play high-heel shoes, and enjoys showing us she can jump off the ground.

The kids LOVE Sesame Street! They ask for "Elmo" and "Cookie" everyday! It cracks me up!! They still love going to the park, and they want to be outside as much as possible. We finally got sand for a sandbox given to them as a Christmas present. Avery loved playing in the sand...Adam was a little tentative, but liked it....Aaron hated it! He did NOT like the feel of the sand and wanted out quickly. Here are some pics.

Also, our friend Sonja and I took all 5 of our kids to Fossil Rim two weeks ago. Same scenario as the sandbox...Avery was practically crawling out of the window to feed the animals..Adam sat in Sonja's lap as she drove and talked the whole time.....Aaron stayed as far away from the open window as he could. He kept saying "Oh, no" when a big animal would come up to his closed window! It was so funny!! I will upload pics when I get them from Sonja.

21 Months Old!

It is so hard to believe, but the kids are 3 months away from 2 years old! Everyone said that it goes by fast, but we had NO idea. When we checked on the kids in bed tonight, John put his hands up showing me how big Aaron looked in bed. We are both so amazed by them....completely.


I wanted to give you an update on each one. They are all very different, and I was hoping to give you a good picture of their personalities!


Aaron

When I think of Aaron, the first word that comes to my mind is "Hilarious." Aaron is so funny and so mischievous. Aaron is full of personality--he is very outgoing, loves to talk to people, and is a huge flirt. For example, we went out for lunch on Sunday. There was a table full of junior high girls behind us. When Aaron noticed them, he said "Hi" in a really sweet voice. Of course they noticed him, and the flirting was on. He would turn his head, smile, laugh, talk, and then turn away quickly. I would look at him, and he started cutting his eyes trying to get the girls' attention again. They just oohhed and aahhhed all over him and he ate it up!


Aaron feels things in extremes. If they are sick, he takes it the hardest. If they are laughing, he laughs the loudest. He dances with crazy arms, takes pleasure in throwing toys, and gives the best hugs ever. He loves food! You can count on him to eat the most, say "MMmmmm" after the first few bites, and be the first to ask for "Bites." He still loves his Paci at bedtime, must have a blanket for snuggling, and he will sit with his sister when she is in time-out. (Which happens frequently!)


Aaron has an uncanny ability to understand sports. The first time he ever watched golf or baseball, he responded appropriately to what he was seeing without having heard crowd noise first. John loves it!


Aaron has many nicknames, but the two that describe him best are: Aaron the Destructor (he loves to throw toys, tear down block buildings, etc) and Grabby Grabberton (he has to touch EVERYTHING!) Aaron is SSOOOOO much like me! I swear it is like looking at myself sometimes!

























Adam

Adam has the sweetest smile I have ever seen on a child. He looks just like John, except for the hair and eye color. Adam LOVES to learn! He will spend hours each day looking at books or bringing books to you to read. He says "That?" all the time, loves watching "Wheel of Fortune" (and yells O and I at the TV), and his favorite thing is playing basketball with John every night. Adam also has the sweetest little voice. He has become the most verbal of the three and will try to repeat anything you say to him. He too loves to talk to people and is constantly saying "Hi" to anyone who gets within an earshot. He likes his Elmo PJ's, giving pretend bites with a spoon, and reading to Aaron.


They are all good kids, but Adam is the one that always does what he is supposed to be doing. One day the five of us took a shopping trip to WalMart. When we got home John and I unloaded the kids and went into our bedroom to put on some shorts. I thought John put the gates up in the living room, and he thought I did. So after a couple of minutes, Adam walks over to the gate in front of our bedroom door and starts saying "Uh-oh! Uh-oh!" We knew instantly that the other two were up to something. John went into the living room and Avery and Aaron had already run through the kitchen, down the hall, and up the stairs to Taylor's room. And Adam told on them for doing it!


Adam is very cautious when playing at the park, thinks that going a medium speed (like on the swing) is FAST, and prefers scoping things out completely before joining in. He must have his Steeler's Terrible Towel to sleep, and most nights he wraps it around his head when sleeping. Adam LOVES music!! He dances (in rhythm) to songs on CMT, plays a keyboard, and does a smooth thing with his hands while dancing when the mood strikes.


Adam doesn't require as much sleep, but heaven forbid you wake him up before he is ready. NOT GOOD!!!












Avery

Avery is very smart and very strong-willed. She is 100 MPH or dead asleep...with no inbetween! Avery fully believes that this is HER world, and we are all just a small part of it! Avery has a very deep voice and a laugh that is truly contagious. She is completely fearless. It is nothing for her to try to jump off the couch or to insist that you flip her over backwards over and over again. She has physical abilities, like balance and coordination, that are more advanced than the boys. Avery can already do a somersault by herself, balance in the windowsill, and likes to put little chairs together and walk on top of them. Needless to say, Avery loves the park. She starts laughing and kicking her legs as soon as she sees the covered play area. She will climb and slide with no assistance from us regardless of how little she seems compared to the large playground equipment.


Avery mastered every wooden puzzle we have, and within a few hours of seeing them. She is very spatial and has great reasoning skills already! She does not talk as much as the boys, I think mainly because she hasn't felt a true need to do so. She gets most of what she wants by pointing or getting her brothers to say it for her.


Avery thinks that every toy belongs only to her and frequently takes things from her brothers. She bosses them around, telling them "No No!" if she deems their behavior inappropriate. One time Adam kept trying to get behind the TV. Avery picked up her little spoon from their play kitchen and smacked Adam with it, while saying "No! No!"


Avery is a girly-girl: she loves dresses, bows, purses, and looking pretty! She has the most beautiful eyes, hair, and face. She loves getting her hair blow-dried and looking in the mirror. She LOVES to snuggle in the morning. She will sit in your lap for an hour and just let you hold her. (After that...forget it! She's on the move!) She gives sweet hugs and likes to hug her special book about babies. At the same time, she doesn't mind getting dirty or wrestling with her brothers or John. She is a Daddy's Girl completely, and I think she is a little John. Not only does she have his black hair, but she has his personality! She loves her brothers so much and hugs them every day.


Avery doesn't talk to people when we go out. She is always too focused on her surroundings. Most times, she doesn't even smile. She is very quiet outside of the home.
















There is no way to describe everything they all do, but I hope this gives you a good picture of who they are becoming. They are all so good-natured and fun. We have to be the most blessed parents in the world!

Happy Easter!

We hope you all had a very Happy Easter! I have lots to tell you about how much the kids are changing, but I'm going to devote today's blog to Easter. I'll write the updates later this week! Here are the kids with an Easter Cookie my Sister bought for them!

Yesterday I set the kids up in their chairs and we colored Easter Eggs! (Once a teacher--always a teacher) I explained everything I was doing and the kids laughed, clapped, and Ooohhhed at the colors. We had a wax crayon that I let each of them color on one egg before we dyed it. Also, we did one type of "Tie-Dye" egg and each kid got to help with an egg. It was so much fun. My parents were here and they helped and took pictures.

Since I knew it was supposed to rain Sunday, we decided to let the kids hunt eggs on Saturday. They really weren't that interested! Avery walked around and kept trying to step on the eggs. Adam just wanted to carry his Easter bucket and his Steeler's Terrible Towel (which made John happy!). Aaron would actually put eggs in his bucket, but only after I would hand them to him. We did get some cute pics of them, though!

Also, I had them come to school a couple of weeks ago for pictures with the Easter Bunny. Aaron is in the pink shirt.

Our 1st Trip to Mamaw and Papaw's House

My parents live about 30 miles south of Tulsa. While we've wanted to take the kids to their house for some time, I just couldn't imagine the long road trip and all of the stuff we would have to take! Well, we figured it was definitely time to do it, so we went last weekend!

Let me paint the picture. I started packing and organizing on Tuesday night! So I wouldn't forget anything, I made a detailed list of everything we would need to take. Taylor was off until Wednesday afternoon, so when she got home we first packed the kids clothes. The weather was supposed to be cool at Mom's house, so we had to make sure and pack clothes for warm and cool weather. John worked Thursday morning, but as soon as he got home, he started loading up the Suburban.

-3 Pack 'n Plays

-3 Booster seats

-Suitcases for the kids, John, me, and Taylor

-2 security gates (Just in case we needed to block the kids off from things at Mom's house)

-Small cooler with 3 milk cups, 3 juice cups, and snacks

-Pillows for John, me, and Taylor

-Laundry basket with toys, diapers, wipes, rubber bibs, baby monitor, and their sound machine. (We use it for naps and to help put the kids to sleep. It plays music or makes sounds--like rain. The best $15 we ever spent!)

-Camera and camcorder

-2 strollers

-A bag of shoes for the kids (3 pairs of tennis shoes, 3 pairs of boots, 3 pairs of sandals)

-Medicines, bath supplies, toothbrush

John is a MASTER at packing! The Suburban holds ALL of the above items, as well as 3 toddlers and 3 adults comfortably! It was amazing!

The road trip went very well. Our kids don't sleep much in the car, so they each only slept about 45 minutes in a 5 1/2 hour trip. They were completely fine on the way up but pretty restless on the way home.

We had so much fun! The kids rode the riding lawn mower with Papaw, played with Sadie the dog, played on the wooden rocking horse Papaw made for them, and loved all the goodies Mamaw cooked! My sister was there with her 2 sons, and my brother was also there! (I only get to see him about 2 times a year). It was a great trip and I have TONS of pictures. Here are a few of them!

Adam's Mean Face

Taylor taught Adam how to make a mean face. Isn't it hilarious??!!! He will do it and then smile really big!! For those of us who watched "Diff'rent Strokes", it's the "What 'cha talking about, Willis?" face!

Here is also a video of all of them making a mean face. Aaron doesn't make one...I don't think he has it in him!

I never knew we could laugh this hard!

I know that all of you with kids understand how cute this age is, but John and I had no idea! Every day the kids absolutely crack us up! They are so funny, and words can't describe how cool it is to see them interacting with each other.





They love to play together, as well as by themselves. They will chase each other around the couch, push each other down the slide, "cook" in their little kitchen, play blocks, and sit together to watch TV. After playing together for a while, they will just gravitate to different parts of the living room to play alone. If you are on the floor with them, they will play with you for a short while before going off to play with each other. It cycles like this all day long. They will occasionally watch TV too. Here are pictures of them sitting on the couch watching Sesame Street and laying on the floor this morning for their first ever "Movie Adventure" with Taylor. (They watched most of "The Little Mermaid.")







Last weekend was the PRCA Rodeo here. We took the kids for a little while Thursday night. Adam loved watching the dog herd the sheef for muttin' bustin'-- Aaron liked the music--Avery LOVED the horses. She would watch them so intently. Guess what we will be buying her at some point?

18 Month Check Up

We took the kids to the doctor yesterday for their 18-Month Check up. (Their original appt scheduled in January got changed due to icy weather.)

What a great visit! First of all, no shots this visit. Yeah! Here are their updated stats...

Aaron:
Height: 32 1/4 inches
Weight: 24.5 lbs

Adam:
Height: 32 1/4 inches
Weight: 24.11

Avery:
Height: 31 1/2 inches
Weight: 23.3 lbs

In the past 4 months, each kid has gained 3 pounds and has grown 2 inches! But, the exciting part is that they are all now in the 50th percentile on the growth chart!! YEAH!!!

I know this may not seem significant, but for so long the babies weren't even ON the growth chart! I heard over and over again that preemies usually catch up with their peers by the time they are 2, but it was so amazing to actually see it on that growth chart! Developmentally they are also on target.

Thank you again for all of your continued prayers. We are so thankful for the ways God has blessed us with our family!

Here is a great video of me getting Aaron's belly!