Shoutout to Grandad

These pics are for my dad. I thought he would appreciate Avery's love of measuring. He's the perfectionist and I love him for it! In these pictures I asked her "How many inches is it?" She said "Umm, 40 inches!"

What my life is all about...

The PT saga continues. Avery is doing extremely well with everything EXCEPT public peeing! AHHHH I think she is somewhat afraid of the toilet - and I honestly can't blame her! Maybe she senses my anxiety and disgust in public bathrooms and therefore refuses to actually pee in them! We made 3 attempts to go on the potty in Cracker Barrell on Thursday but she wanted down after 1 second. It's quite tiring doing the whole "trip to the bathroom" thing. I feel like this is my speech "Avery, don't touch that. Avery don't touch the potty! No! We don't pick stuff up off the floor. Ew, yuck, no we don't touch that either. Okay, let's go, don't touch anything. Let's wash our hands. No, don't play with the soap in the bottom of the sink. Quickly, our food is getting cold. Here's your paper towel, dry your hands good. Good job! Okay, throw your towel away. No, don't stick your hand down in the trash can. No, we aren't going back in the stall. Come on let's go, the bathroom is not a playground." I mean seriously, I hate listening to myself as I narrate our way through the bathrooms! Anyway, I also need to say that for some reason I thought we could get through this phase without any actually "public accidents". Not in our case! Avery made a puddle in a local childrens shoe store right after we had "attempted" the public potty. I was so embarrased but the store owner assured me it was not the first nor would it be the last time. That was sweet of her to say! And would your PT days not be complete without a trip to ToysRUs to make yet another puddle in the floor! This accident came after we had just had a successful trip to the potty at Lowes! We told the store clerk at ToysRUs but he didn't seem to be phased by it. At least it was a bigger store and no one knew except for the squeaking sound of Avery's crocs on the floor as we finished our shopping! I mean do you remember the days when you said to yourself "I WOULD NEVER....let my child walk around in their wet underwear". Well, my day has come. I got her cleaned up as best I could and since she wasn't dripping we continued our quest to buy a present. So, we are entering week 3 of PT and so far it's going well. We will try to avoid the public potty for at least a few days....

Potty Training Update - *Warning* - Lot's of potty mouth talk! ;-)

Monday I was really discouraged about our unsuccessful day of PT. Avery just didn't seem to understand the concept of poo poo in the potty and we had several accidents that just didn't make for a fun day! We had also gone to our first swim class and apparently when you swallow too much chlorinated water you can get the runs! YUCK! Luckily we had a pull-up on for that one, but it was still a mess! I went to bed feeling really frustrated and then felt guilty for feeling frustrated! I know Avery is smart in my book but maybe I was putting a little too much on her too soon. I refocused and I fell asleep feeling somewhat excited about the progress we had made in just about a week. So, Tuesday was a new day and thank God for new days! We had no accidents but Mr. poo poo didn't show up at all that day either so I was preparing for the big reveal! haha I woke up this morning at 7:00 to Avery saying "Mommy, I go potty". That can snap you out of a dead sleep really fast! About 3 hours later Mr. Poo Poo showed up in the toilet! HURRAY!!! I don't think I've been so excited about something in a long time. I did a little dance for Avery and she thought it was the greatest thing ever! So, today has been a great day - a small victory in the life of this stay at home mom!!! I feel really encouraged that this PT thing will be a breeze by the time the new baby comes! YAY Avery!!!!

Our day so far!

Avery and I were laying in bed this morning while I was trying to wake up...which was taking me a while. Luckily she was happy with laying there and being tickled by me. After a few minutes of it she said "Mommy, I think that's enough!" - That woke me up! I couldn't help but laugh because it sounded so grown up! Avery seems to think that she is going to have a baby sister. She talks about "baby sister" all the time. This morning we were singing a song and it goes something like "Let's sing hello to Mommy, let's sing hello to Avery etc. etc." We had already sang hello to Daddy, Scooter, Mommy and Avery and then I mentioned Baby. Avery proceded to sing "Let's sing hello to sister, let's sing hello to sister, etc." She thought it was so funny and continued the song many times just to sing hello to sister! Either Avery will be dissapointed when this baby is born or she knows something I don't! At nap time today Avery got out of her bed and came to the stairs - I was trying to tell her to get back in bed without having to walk up the stairs. This was our conversation - Avery: "Mommy, you know what?" Me: What hunny? Avery: "I love you so much!" Me: Thank you! I love you too. Avery: "Mommy, you know what?" Me: What Avery? Avery: "Daddy will be back after work" Me: Okay. Avery: "Mommy, you know what? I got stinkies on!" (That will give you a clue as to how our poo poo training is going! And up the stairs I went!)

Diapers are for babies!

Our first day of potty training was a success! Avery only had one accident early in the morning! I am so proud of her - it's amazing what you get excited about when you have a child...peeing in the potty! haha Here is a picture of Avery from today. When I put her to bed tonight, she said "Mommy, I so proud of you!"....I think she had heard me say that to her all day and decided to say it back to me! But to tell you the truth - I am proud of me too!

7 years later

I can hardly believe that Ryan and I graduated from college 7 years ago. We were in Tennessee this past weekend so, we decided to make a stop in Cleveland and see our old stomping grounds. It had been several years since we were each there and I can't remember the last time we were there together. We drove around campus and were amazed at the changes that had been made and how beautiful the campus was. Of course, we did a lot of riminiscing and "remember when" but it was really neat to see the place we called home for 4 years! We both agreed that we would be willing to let Avery go away to college when the time comes because of the positive impact it had on our lives! Although, we are talking about 16 years from now...so, let's not get ahead of ourselves!

This past weekend we were in Lawrenceburg, TN for Ryan's brother's wedding. It worked out really well because I have an Aunt and Uncle that live there. So,we went a day early to spend some time with them and some of my other family that lives in TN. There is an Amish community in Lawrenceburg so we spent some of Friday and Saturday driving around looking at the land and seeing the people. There was a lot of men working out in the fields both days and it was really amazing to see the equipment they work with and how they do their farming. It really takes you back in time and makes you appreciate the modern conviences that we have today. We stopped by Walmart and they have hitching posts and water troughs for the horses. Who knew that the Amish shop at Walmart?? Well, they do and they have places all over town for the horses when the Amish make the trip in. It's really fascinating. We went "shopping" at some of the houses on Saturday. Ryan was told that the Amish jam is worth trying, so we went looking for some. We stopped at a few houses and I got scolded for taking pictures. I had to share this one that I snapped just in time. Avery found a little girl that was 2 1/2 and was trying to make a friend. She kept telling the girl to "Come on, let's go" "Let's go see the horses". The little girl was adorable. She followed Avery around a little bit and wouldn't stop smiling the whole time. She never spoke a word. This is Avery leaned up against the shed trying to coax the little girl into following her.

My drive to GA

I am so proud of myself! I drove 7 hours and 20 minutes with Avery and my dog Scooter all by myself. This is quite an accomplishment for me because almost every trip we make in the car, Ryan drives the whole way. He was born a driving man, so he really enjoys it (at least that's what he says). I, on the other hand, usually get really bored and tired while driving. Today I just put the car on cruise and headed down the road. Luckily, Avery was an angel the whole way! We only stopped once for a snack, stretch and potty break! So, we are here in GA. We will be meeting up with Ryan on Wednesday and heading to Tennessee for his brother's wedding on Saturday - again, more driving - but Ryan will be behind the wheel!