Saturday, February 27, 2010

I'm Not Tired

I try my hardest to get all my weekly errands run in one day, sometimes two. I would just prefer to get it all taken care of and then spend the rest of the week playing at home with the kids, going on fun little outings, doing activities or having playdates. The kids are always troopers when errand day rolls around. But, I'd be lying if I said every trip to the store was a dream. There are definitely "THOSE" days when I swear my children's bodies have been taken over by some strange creature with a high-pitched whine. So, we had one of those days not too long ago. As we got in the car to go home Ava asked if we could go to the park. Of course, I'm thinking, "Are you kidding me?!" But, I chose go with a calm, "Oh honey, I think we'll go home. You and Jax are so tired, I think maybe a little rest would be nice." Of course, she emphatically exclaimed she wasn't tired. Which then made the little repeater announce, "I not tired!"

Not two minutes into our drive home, this is where we stood with the whole "not tired" thing.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Leapin' Lizards

We took a little trip to one of our favorite little museums the other day, for a very special Reptile Show with our friends.



Ava and Jax have no fear, if it creeps, crawls, hisses, slithers or slimes, the more they like it. So, you can imagine their excitement when they got to pet a turtles, a lizard and a snake! Ava and Ethan wiggled in their seats as they waited for their turns to get a few fingers on the critters. Jax took a much louder approach, yelling "My turn!" until the animal was within reach. With each animal I asked the kids what the felt like, here's their report:

TURTLE
Ava: hard
Jax: bumpy





LIZARD
Ava: poky
Jax: Ouch


SNAKE
Ava: squishy
Jax: smooth, gross


In the end, Ava and Ethan took turns playing tortoise with a real shell on their backs. Jax wasn't interested, he wanted to know where the snake went. "Where snake go?"

The kids had a blast and Ava has already asked when we can go again.







Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Just Something I Whipped Up

I haven't had much time for sewing as of late. When I'm not being a wife and mommy, I'm a businesswoman. My little business keeps me much busier in my "off" hours (aka, naptime and bedtime) than I could have ever dreamed. It's a blessing, but it can be exhausting. Many-a-night as I sit in my room designing or cutting vinyl, the yards and yards of fabric that sits patiently in my closet calls to me, "Use us, use us." While the temptation is sometimes too overwhelming to resist, alas, I somehow find the strength to tune out the calls. But, the other night, I gave in. I'll admit, I let my fabric get the best of me and now I can't stop. Here's what I've been working on (although I haven't finished everything): drawstring bags for the kids' toys, two dresses for Ava, a skirt for Ava, shirts for the kids, a "lovey" for Jax, dresses for my friend's twin girls, a carseat cover and covers for the rocking chair cushions. My to-do list is much longer.

I will have pictures of everything in the near future, but for now I had to post Ava's skirt. This is my first skirt attempt and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. What's most important is the Little Miss loves it!





I learned a couple things for the next time around: I think I'll gather the bottom portion a little more so it's a little "rufflier" and I'll do a drop-waist instead of elastic. But overall, not too shabby. If you're interested I got the basic info for the skirt here but I changed it up a little adding the contrasting band and flower. I know, I'm fancy ;)



All-in-all this project took me about an hour-and-a-half. Honestly, I think I could have done it in an hour but my sewing maching seemed to be a little possessed, or maybe a little jealous that I caved to the pleas of the fabric, but previously ignored the glances of my sewing machine.

I know this probably isn't a big deal to many. And the more experienced crafter/sewer could hammer this baby out in no time. But for me, an amateur to say the least, I'm pretty excited. Can you tell? Now, on to the next project...

Monday, February 22, 2010

Love Our Wildcats!!

Our Wildcats are having a tough season this year, but that doesn't stop this family from showing our Zona Pride! Andy and I firmly believe in starting our kids young and raising them right! So, I bought Jax this adorable little jersey, which he loved so much he cried when it was time to take it off!


We owe a lot to the University of Arizona... without it, we would have never met. And just think of how terrible Andy's life would have been... haha ;)
This is what Ava wore as we rooted our Cats on (hey, it's blue!). I actually ordered her a cute custom-made UofA dress. I was going to buy the fabric and make it myself, but the cost was the same so I thought "why not." Unfortunately, it hasn't arrived yet.
We may be hundreds of miles away, but a different state and a different school hasn't changed our love for the UofA. In a few months, we'll be even further so we'll just have to cheer that much louder and make sure everyone knows where our loyalties lie!










Cracking Up

Jax thinks it's hilarious to storm into the bathroom while I'm in it. He pushes open the door and comes tromping in with a mischievous smile on his face. He could care less what I'm doing in there, as long as he gets to interrupt it. However, one day he got me on my way out, hitting me with the door. The bonk, followed by the surprised "oof" that came out of my mouth sent him into hysterical laughter. So, of course, being the type of mother who will do just about anything to hear her kids laugh, I let him continue to attack me with the door, and each time I pretended I was surprised. Ava got in on the fun and the laughter that followed made me smile so big my face actually hurt. Andy, being the good dad he is, grabbed the camera and immediately began recording.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Head Banging

I don't really need to explain this video. It pretty much speaks for itself. I should say though that this kid had me cracking up for a good 15 minutes.




Then, Jax suckered Andy into making a fool out of himself... I mean, getting in on the fun.



Surprisingly, no one was injured and no balloons popped during the filming of these videos.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

How Sweet It Is

One of my parenting magazines had information about this website that lists kid-friendly factory tours for every state in the U.S. (see Andy, those magazines are good for something). So, I checked out our good state and found a mine and a whole lotta candy and cookie factories. Fine by me! And definitely fine by the kids! So, this morning at 9am we began our tour of Sweet's Candy Company, and by 9:30 my kids had already consumed more sugar than in the past week combined. But, I didn't care it was all part of educational experience, right?

I have to say, I was really impressed by this tour. I fully expected some less-than-enthused grumpy woman to take us to look through a few windows in the factory then lead us to the gift shop. Ava on the other hand, expected edible wallpaper, Willie Wonka and happy little Oompa Loompas. Let's just say, our our expectations met somewhere in the middle. Our tour guide was a super-perky youngin' named Francesca. The tour took us all throughout the factory: from the storage area, to the room where jelly beans are flavored and colored, to the belt where chocolate is draped over marshmallow eggs, to the taffy room, to the chocolate room... all of which made my nostrils dance... such yummy smells. Francesca was informative and spoke in terms the kids could understand, at each "station" we received a candy sample and, of course, in the end we landed in the gift shop. Where, we kept our hair nets on to pose for this picture:



We walked away with quite the haul: chocolate-covered cinnamon bears, chocolate peanut clusters for Daddy, cherry-limeade jelly beans, some Valentine's candy, saltwater taffy and some gifts. I'll admit, I went a little overboard, but Ava and Jax were literal kids in a candy store. They ate more sugar today than ever before. I'm usually very strict about their sugar intake, but today I was so not me. It must have been the chocolate fumes. By the time bedtime rolled around, the kiddos were bouncing off walls, and asking for more candy. I finally had to cut them off, scrub the sugar layers from their teeth and put them to bed, despite their attempts to do otherwise. However, I think they came down from their sugar highs at just the right time because within a few minutes both were asleep. I'm sure they'll have sweet dreams of giant vats of sugar and a chocolate waterfall. I'm just wondering which one is going to ask for candy for breakfast first!



Wednesday, February 10, 2010

The Sweetest Things

After Ava's dance class this morning and lunch this afternoon the kids and I spent some quality time with the camera, well they posed and I snapped away. As I scrolled through the pictures tonight I couldn't help but think of just how much I love these two little people! I love how much their personalities come through in these photos:

Ava, our little tender heart. She is so considerate, so thoughtful, so kind and oh-so loving! I love to hear her explain how she sees the world, she finds joy in simple things like pink tutus, canteloupe slices still on the rind, having more than one book in her bed at night, twirly dresses, putting the silverware away -- I could go on. To me, she's the perfect little girl, she's bright and shiny, saccharine sweet, her laugh is infectious, her curiosity is astounding, she is the little girl who invites the new girl in Primary to sit by her, she has the memory capacity of a herd of elephants, yet seems to always forget when Mommy was a little grumpy, she's forgiving, she's cuddly, she's the princess who splashes through the mud puddles in her fancy shoes, she loves to learn, and loves to teach her baby brother, she's sensitive, she's silly, her mind goes a mile a minute like her Mama's, but she can focus like her Daddy, she and Jax are the best of friends, although she assures me I'm her very best friend (I hope she remembers that when she's 13), she tells me she can't wait to be a mommy, I just tell her her time will come but to enjoy being a little girl, because I sure enjoy her!



Jax, our all boy little boy. I don't think I could have ever prepared myself for just how wild and crazy our little mancub would be! He came wired to jump and climb, put things in his mouth that don't belong there, make noises that only a boy can make and scare the bejeezies out of his Mama. But, while he's bound to send me into shock one day, he makes up for it in advance with his constant hugs and kisses, his nose nuzzles and mischievous grins. He's a whole lot of snips and snails and puppy dog tails.... and a whole lot of sweet. In my wildest dreams I couldn't have conjured up a more amazing son! He's laid back and methodical like Andy, he's playful and goofy, he's animated, he's an entertainer, yet totally content to play on his own, he loves cars, trucks, trains, bikes and all other vehicles, but he rocks his stuffed animals to sleep, he's got a cannon for an arm and kicks like the soccer player , he rarely sits still except to cuddle, when he smiles his eyes twinkle, he has a great big belly laugh and a great big belly, he hates to have his face washed but loves his bath, he almost always says "please" and "thank you," he's intuitive, he has a big heart, he hates to be away from Ava, he loves to annoy Ava, he runs everywhere, he tiptoes when he's being sneaky, he laughs when he burps, he laughs harder when he toots, he signs "I Love You" every night when I put him to bed, but says it during the day. He's our little buddy, the mancub, the little dude, Bubba, Babbaloo, J-Fiz... he's our boy!
He was not interested in having his face washed after lunch!

Belly laugh

Sometimes I just get in the mood to write these sappy posts, I guess I just have days where I use this blog as my journal. Goodness knows I could go on forever about how much I love these kids, but I won't now... I'll save it for another post.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

And They're Off...

Oh my goodness, I can't belive I haven't posted this post yet! Better a week late than never!

Ava has been burning rubber on her brand new Disney Princess bike! When weather permits we take family "rides" around the block -- she on her bike, Jax on the trike, Andy pushing the trike and me walking beside Ava. The little miss and I are usually in the lead with Daddy bringing up the caboose. Ava loves to be the leader and often tells me how big she feels on her bike. While she is a good leader and has a great sense of direction, her sense of speed tends to be a little, well, off. The thing is, Ava is an explorer, it's one of the things I admire most about her. A bike ride isn't just a bike ride to her, it's an adventure. We make the same loop each time we go out, yet each time she spots something new which tends to slow down our little bike train while she observes or asks questions. So, we go from me having to walk extra fast to keep up with her to Jax's front wheel rubbing against Ava's back in no time flat. But, once her attention is back on the ride she's a little speedster. It's so cute to watch her skinny little legs pump as she zooms over a flat part, or to watch her push the handbreak as we near the street or a little bump. She's very cautious, and always a stickler for the rules of the road (she ALWAYS walks her bike across the crosswalk). Andy and I often smile at each other as we watch Ava navigate her bike around a corner and then listen to the excited, "I did it!" that comes from in front of us. She's getting so big!

Jax loves to cruise on the trike. Actually, I think he just likes wearing the helmet because when it comes to the actual trike he seems very uninterested. First of all, he can't quite reach the pedals. Well, he can reach them he just can't extend them far enough to actually move them in a complete circle, so he just sits while Daddy steers the trike via a push-attachment. But, rather than keeping his feet on the pedals (which keeps them from rotating when someone is pushing) he prefers to drag them on the ground, which forces Andy to push Jax like this:



Yep, he pops a constant wheelie around our neighborhood. And, I gotta say I'm very impressed by just how much Jax trusts Andy because more often than not he doesn't have a single finger on the handle bar. Nope, they just dangle by his side or sit in his lap. He has full confidence that Daddy will keep him balanced.



We made a stop at the church parking lot so the kids could ride in open space. Here they are in their very first race









Ava did have her first major biff while making the parking lot rounds. Now that I know she's okay and a little time has passed, it's actually kind of funny because I'm not really sure how it happened. Well, I know how it happened, but, well read on... So, Ava decided to speed from one side of the parking lot to the other. She had done it several times before with no problems. But this time, she went full force, pedaling lightning speed toward a pile of snow. Here's the thing, the first few times she did this she stopped well before the curb in front of the snow. But this time she didn't. But, it's not like she just couldn't stop fast enough, she saw the curb, she knew she was going fast yet she plowed right into it. I don't know if she just wanted to see what would happen or if she's watched one too many monster truck videos with Daddy and Jax. Anyway, she fell right off her bike and into the snow. Her head hit the light post next to the snow, but was saved by her princess helmet, thank goodness. She cried a little and expressed her concern with getting back on her bike because it was "too dangerous." But, after a little encouragement and me telling her a few of my childhood bike wreck stories (there were many) she got back on ... and five minutes later, she fell again. This time she took a turn too sharp. Again, she cried, I hugged her, then my brave little girl wiped the tears from her face, then her hands on her pants and hopped back on that big pink bicycle -- and she was off! It was a proud Mama moment. I think it was an even prouder Ava moment.

Daddy's Glasses

Our kids only know Andy with glasses. When we first met and into the early years of our marriage he always wore contacts. However, soon after Ava was born his perscription ran out and he got in the habit of wearing glasses, and has ever since. So, our kids don't "recognize" him without glasses. If Daddy's face is naked, Jax immediately begins demanding "Gasses! Gasses" and will go get the darn things himself if Andy isn't moving fast enough, which often results in bent rims. Ava, on the other hand, isn't as aggressive in her tactics. Rather than physically obtaining the glasses, she chooses to pelt Andy rapid-fire with questions, "Daddy, where are your glasses? Daddy are you going to wear your glasses? Daddy can you see?" until FINALLY, Andy just goes and puts them on. Which, always results in a contented Ava sighing, "That's better, Daddy."

So, the point of this prologue is that while going through Christmas pictures, I came across these:

I think they look pretty cute in Daddy's glasses!