Catching Up...

I feel like we've had a whirlwind couple of weeks here! Starting with our good friends Travis and Andrea's Wedding, which was an absolute blast. Andrea looked amazing, and it is always so wonderful to see two people you care about starting their lives together. The reception was so much fun that I got home and realized I never even ate any of their gorgeous wedding cake. WHAT?!?!?! I love wedding cake...it's my favorite food group! I guess I was having a REALLY good time! The very next day we had the birthday party of all birthday parties for the kiddos. It was for all of the cousins, and they loved it! There was a bounce house, petting zoo, pony rides...too much fun. Ava, Liam, Hannah, Hunter and Aidan all have birthdays within a couple of months of each other, so we just threw it into one big party! A few days after that we packed up and headed to Houston, dropped the kiddos off with my Dad and Pam, then Jon and I left for our Anniversary trip to Key West. The day after we got back, he left for Charlotte, and threw me back into the real world. WHEW!!! Now here I am trying to catch up on everything from laundry to photos to finally getting all of my Christmas stuff packed away (totally mortified that I'm admitting to it still being up in the middle if Jan....but we've been kind of busy!). It was a fun couple of weeks though :)

Here are a few pics from the kiddos party!



Absolutely adorable cakes that my super talented friend Jennifer made for each of the kids!



Ava coming out of the bounce house for the zillionth time.



Liam on the pony! Ava wouldn't ride it until she saw her brother on it ;)



Kiddos about to dig in to their cakes!



...and a cheesy family pic.

Christmas

I have to say we had a really great Christmas :) We were in Dallas Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, which is good because I love getting to see the kids open up their gifts at home. Plus, it was our 1st White Christmas! We got several inches of snow Christmas Eve...it was crazy. Then we got to spend a few days in Houston with Dad, Pam, Tiff and Brad. I even got to see my cousin for a few hours and meet his wife and little girl for the first time! This year, we told Ava that she could ask Santa for 3 gifts, because Baby Jesus got 3 gifts, and it was His Birthday, he was sharing it, etc. So, one day, she comes home from school and tells me that I am wrong, Baby Jesus got 4 gifts. When I asked her what she was talking about, she told me that he got the gift of music from the Little Drummer Boy. I tried to argue, and Jon told me that technically, she was right! I totally got schooled by a 3 year old! After laughing my ass off, I explained that Christmas Carols were our gift of music to each other, and that she absolutely did not get to ask for another present. You have to give her credit though ;) I still haven't taken down my tree...that's my least favorite part. I feel like I just put that sucker up. I love decorating, but really, really don't enjoy de-Christmasing my house. Don't get me wrong, I'm over all of the festiveness, I just wish I could bypass the clean-up!



The kids got a special visit from Santa on Christmas Eve!



First candy cane...not too thrilled when I took it away.


Obligatory family photo.


That's alot of snow for Dallas!




She had to go play in what was left the next morning. PJ's and rainboots are perfectly good snow attire...no?



With their sweet cousins at Nana and Papaw's on Christmas Day.



Roasting marshmallows with Grandpa in Houston.




Testing out the new trampoline...thanks Grandpa and Grandma!!

Meet Ellie...

Ellie the Elf came to live with us last week. Santa sent her to make sure Ava was being a good girl (as in I went to the store, bought the infamous "Elf on the Shelf", and have been using it to bribe the Monkey ever since!) Money well spent so far. So Ellie goes home to the North Pole each night and tells Santa how Ava was that day. Then she comes back and is in a different spot the next morning. Being the totally stellar parents that we are, Jon and I forgot to move her on the 2nd night, nice huh? We had to come up with a good story. I have to say that it's been fun coming up with places to put her, and Ava gets so excited when she finds her. She needed a little help on this one!

All of the Halloween-y Goodness

This year was so much fun! I always say that, but the older Ava gets, the better it is! She was such a pro at trick-or treating this year. She didn't ask me to go to the door with her once. We went with Aidan again, and they would walk up, ring the bell and wait for their candy. We had to remind them to only ring once a few times, and make sure everyone said thank you...but the were great! Wednesday we took the kids up to the school/Church for trunk-or-treating and Ava got to see some of her friends. Thursday was trick-or-treating through the classrooms and a party at school, and then Boo Bash Friday night. Aidan came to that too and they danced their little tushies off all night. It was so cute. Then we hung out at the park for a neighborhood Halloween party with Jon's family before heading out to get waaay to much candy on Saturday night. Needless to say, I got my money's worth out of their costumes :) Ava has already asked how many days until it's Halloween again, and has her costumes picked out for the next 15 years. Seriously...she informed me that she wanted to be a cowgirl when she was 18 after rattling off a huge list of other costumes. Spider Girl, a bunny, a princess and some sort of fruit were in there too. At least she plans ahead, right?

Hello Sleep!

I'm sure I'm posting this waaaaay to far in advance, thus completely jinxing myself...but I think Liam may have FINALLY become a good sleeper. Granted, my definition of good sleeper is probably so much different than most other people's. We were so spoiled with Ava, who slept through the night at 6 weeks, and was sleeping 12 hour stretches by 3 months. Liam, not so much. It took him a while to find a pattern, and he went through phases of sleeping great, then being up several times a night every couple of months or so. For the past few months he's only woken up once, but still wanted (not needed) a bottle. He'd take it in his crib and put himself back to sleep, so it's not like we were up for hours at a time at night. Had he been my first kid, I would have labeled him as a pretty darn good sleeper, but his sister had to go and ruin it for him. Still, I've been ready for an uninterrupted night of sleep for quite some time (a little selfish, yes....but much needed). We decided no more bottle at 3 am, and after 2 nights of a little fussing and overall "what the hell guys", he's over it and has slept from 8pm to anywhere between 6 and 8 am. This I can deal with. If he wakes up in the middle of the night tonight...I'm deleting this post!

Noodle Nose

...and cheeks, hands, eyes, hair. You get the picture! Liam is so over his bottle, and it's a pretty big struggle to get him to take enough formula each day. He wants his big boy food, and he wants it now! Last night I made Chicken Parmesan and thought I'd see how he did with some chopped up spaghetti. He was in heaven. He made a huge mess, of course, and I'm still finding noodles in places that I thought I'd cleaned...but he loved it! He shoveled handful after handful into his little mouth, and about half made it in. I think he was thankful for a little variety :)



That's one dirty, happy baby!

Just Slap a Bumper Sticker on Me

Because I have officially entered "Soccer Mom" territory. Lord help us all! If you're waiting for me to cave and bust out with a minivan to go with that sticker, don't hold your breath ;) After 2 rain outs, and a couple of interesting practices (3 year old girls who pretty much all know each other running around for an hour, use your imagination), Ava had her first real game this morning. Her team is called the Rockettes, and her friend Marcy's dad is coaching. Alot of the girls on the team are from school or ballet, but she has met a few new friends too. There are only 2 teams of 3 year olds, so they are playing four, and even some five year olds this season. The team they played this morning was older, faster and most definitely more coordinated. What they did not have going for them were rockin' pink and white tie-dyed shin guards...thank you very much! Needless to say, the Rockettes got their cute little booties handed to them. Luckily, they have absolutely no clue! They had fun, and sweet Lily even scored a goal. I have to say that Ava does seem to get the basic concept of the game, but she is way too nice. We have to work on that! She seems to really enjoy it though, and it holds her attention for more than five minutes. That's always a plus :)

I'm sorry, WHAT?

That was my response when my daughter, who is obsessed with all things pink and princess...twirly and girly, informed me a while back that her new name was...are you ready for it: SPACESHIP ROCKS! Huh? I kind of blew it off at first, because she does have a slightly over-active imagination. She has not one, but at least two full time imaginary friends that we are aware of. Then, of course, those friends have friends, siblings, and so forth. You get the picture. While I was surprised at the name itself (I mean "Princess Fancy Pants" I wouldn't even bat an eye at), I was even more surprised at how adamant she is that I use it. I'll ask her to do some simple little thing and her response will be "But Mommy, my name is not Ava." I have found that there is no sense in arguing, because as soon as I ask "Spaceship Rocks, can you pick up your room"...voila, you can see her floor! Who knows how long it will last. I'm sure it's just another passing phase, and at least it's an amusing one. I think Jon and I are the only people that are required to call her this, and it's at random intervals. This officially confirms my theory that all kids have multiple personalities from birth, well into their teens :)

Kind of like Shampoo, but without the "P"

We went to Sea World with the madre this past weekend and when Ava asked for the millionth time what the whale's name was, that's what I came up with to help her remember. Maybe not the most creative thing in the world, but it seemed to do the trick. Ava absolutely loved it, and Liam was even more intrigued than I thought he'd be. It was fun to watch them. Ava even went on her first roller coaster, and put one hand up in the air...the little dare devil ;) I think it was worth the arm and leg you have to pay to get in!






The sea lions were so precious...loved them!


Obligatory "we were here" family pics. All hot and sweaty and my camera was about to die...nice one!

Because we are total suckers, we agreed to a $15 face paint job. Justifiable because she was on her very best behavior that day, and because I'm pretty sure we're the only business the poor kid who did it had all day!






We also got to hang out with Angie and her sweet family. She's getting married in November and we got to celebrate a couple of wedding showers with her. That wedding is definitely at the top of the list of things I'm looking forward to. Can't wait to see you guys in Asheville :)

Dig in....the Dancing Queen!

Ava started her first REAL dance class last week, and while there are always things that she does that make me proud, excited and all goose-bumpy, this is currently topping the list. If you know me at all, you can practically feel all of that oozing off of your screen this very minute at the thought of my daughter in ballet shoes! She is absolutely loving it as much as I am. She has always been a big fan of our little dance parties and getting her groove on in the back seat, so it will be interesting to see how she does in a more structured environment. No tu-tu's or pink leotards (can you imagine how that conversation went?). She has to wear a black leotard and pink tights, just like the big girls! One reason I just adore her teacher, Ms. Janie, is because she is all about teaching them how to be proper little ballerinas. That means being on your very best behavior and remembering your manners at all times, in the studio as well as at home. She is the sweetest, tiniest woman, but commands all of their respect and attention because they are simply in awe of her. She is, after all, a REAL ballerina! THANK YOU MS. JANIE!! I'll take all the help I can get in the manners department. Of course, when it's combined with arabesques, grand jetés, and pliés...well then it's all good in the eyes of most 3 year olds! Ava does all of those at least a thousand times a day; the grand jetés over a pillow for the full effect! It's adorable and hilarious, because they are so eager to learn but completely uncoordinated still at this age. Who knows how long she'll want to do it, but you know I'll encourage it as long as she wants to go :)

Walking up to class...shoes in hand!!



Just before she went in. What a cheeseball.



Circle time before class. Then Ms. Janie closed the door and they got down to business.

Bug Catchin'...

...That's what I seem to be doing a lot of these days. "Brother Bug" as Ava calls Liam, is on the move! He hasn't completely mastered crawling, since he likes to go backwards rather than forwards, but he is officially mobile. His favorite thing is to work his way under my bed when I'm not looking...something new to explore, I suppose. Too bad I can't teach him to dust while he's under there. He couldn't care less about sitting up most days. He can do it, but I think he has figured out that it gets him absolutely nowhere. Oh, and we are now the proud owners of two very sharp teeth! Real food, here we come :) Here are a few recent pics:





I think these were all taken maybe within a week or so, and it just amazes me still how different they can look on any given day!

Has anyone seen the Remote?

I was going back over and looking at old posts yesterday (noting the long span between many of them!) and remembered that I started this thing when Ava was just turning ONE!! She was still a BABY! Then realized that in less than 5 months, that will be LIAM. Cue me freaking out, and holding back a few tears. How do I slow this the heck down?
Ava was just a little munchkin, and before I know it, my little dude really will be a little DUDE. The baby phase goes by so fast, and I love it so much. I love all of it really, but if you've ever heard the term "Baby Rabies", well that's me in a nutshell. I love everything about them. Except for the being knocked up part, and I'm not ashamed to admit that. Don't get me wrong, I love the IDEA of it, and there are a few months in there that are okay, enjoyable even. The rest, not so much. If someone would just give me one every few years, I'd be good! Even now, when I have no intention of having another for a little while (No, I'm NOT DONE!!) the thought of not having a baby in the house makes me want to cry.
Although, I absolutely love the stage he'll be heading into pretty soon as well. That early toddler stage where they're into anything and everything, but everything is so new and fresh...and it's all a big adventure. It's like they KNOW you can't keep up with them! But watching them figure it all out it so worth it, and so much fun. I remember Ava being there, and it was never a dull moment! I treasured every single second of it. It's times like this when I'm even more thankful that I have a husband who works his ass off so that I don't have to miss any of it. I have all of these memories of her, and get to have them of Liam too...I didn't miss a single thing and even on days when they drive me batty it is SO WORTH IT.
I'm even managing to see the good in the terrible 3's. Just FYI, whoever coined the term "terrible 2's" was an idiot. There are days where I want to put her on the curb w/ a sign that says "3 going on 30. Free to a good Home". But watching the little person she's become over the last 3 years has me truly amazed most days. She is SO smart...and not in that "smart because she's my kid" kind of way. I think she's going to know more than I do before she's in High School...then what? Plus I SEE so much of myself in her (good and bad!). It's different when they are babies because they are just developing their little personalities, and it's mostly about who they look more like on any given day. Now I look at her and literally see myself. It's so crazy, and amazing, and scary...all at once. If my grandmother were to read this, she would simply say to me "Retribution Veronica, retribution". Oh, but I love that child , both of them, more than I can describe in any amount of words. There simply are no words. I think that Jon is going to have the same reaction to Liam in a few years. I just have this feeling that he is going to be an exact little replica of his daddy! He's going to look at him one day and just go "Holy crap".

There's no real point to all of this, other than the fact that I'm still amazed at how fast it all flies by. Even with all the warnings everyone gave me about how "fast it was going to fly by"!

...And I'm still looking for my DAMN Pause Button.

Watch Out Colicchio

Because Ava might be coming after your job in a few years! Maybe that's a little ambitious, but I definitely thing she has inherited my love for cooking! She's always asking to help out in the kitchen, but last night she said that she wanted to cook dinner! She has a great little Sesame Street cookbook that her Aunt April gave her a couple of years ago, and I told her she could pick any recipe out of it and make it. She picked "Abby Cadabby" Bowtie Pasta, and after we made some alterations to the recipe, she embarked upon her first (semi) solo cooking experience. I chopped the veggies, measured out the olive oil and seasoning, and boiled the pasta...but the rest she pretty much did on her own. I was so proud of her, not just because she actually did it, but because it was GOOD!

Here's our version of what will forever be known as Abby Cadabby Pasta in our house: (the original is carrots, sliced ham and parsley...not all that appealing, and I'm thankful she let me take a few liberties!)

7 oz Farfalle (bowtie) pasta
1 small zucchini thinly sliced
1 carrot thinly sliced or 10-12 baby carrots
Large handful of cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp butter (we used smart balance)
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese...or that's about what it looked like while I was watching her shake it in :)
salt and pepper to taste

While pasta is boiling:

Add olive oil to large skillet (on med heat) then add carrots and saute for 3-4 min. Add zucchini and seasoning, saute for 2-3 more min. Add tomatoes and turn skillet to low. I like my veggies al dente, but if you're a soggy veggie fan, up the cooking time and/or temp a bit.
Drain pasta and add to skillet (reserve just a little pasta water and add to skillet as well). Add butter, Parmesan, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly.

Quick, healthy, and easy enough that a 3 year old can do it!!







The finished product!! Don't think we'd win Top Chef with it or anything, but not too shabby if you ask me.