Great Grandma came to visit!

Great Grandma came to visit...all of the way from West Chester, Ohio. For you foreigners, that is about 20 miles up the road.

Last Tuesday, we hiked North to grab my Grandmother. Ava totally loves Gram, and my grandmother's love and respect for me has increased greatly with the addition of Mark and my two darling daughters . Of course, my love for Gram increased because of the wonderful cherry pie she brought!

When Laura and I were children, my grandmother took us to the zoo quite often. So, when Gram came to our house, we headed to the zoo! Ava said, "Great Grandma, do you like the train?" "Great Grandma, do you like the zoo?"

Since we have a membership, we only went for a little while. We checked out the Gibbons, ate some lunch with this peacock, and rode the train! I almost beat up some rotten school children who were terrorizing the peacock. Instead, I had a talk with Ava about the way we treat God's creations...except bugs!

Addition: I have been telling Ava that Mark is her Dada and my husband. I thought we had the concept of husband down until, one afternoon as we were getting ready for a nap, Ava said, "I love Great Grandma. She's my husband."

The Girls Are Getting So Big...without permission of course!

My little girls are getting so big! While we were in California, Ava stopped wearing diapers. She won't even go potty in the potty chair! She wants to use the toilet. She is actually happy to use all of the toilets, everywhere we go! I can see that she feels very big about all of this. An interesting thing happened yesterday, though. A four year old girl who was playing at our house yesterday afternoon realized that Ava wasn't wearing diapers. As she questioned me a little to get the whole story, I could see Ava growing up in her eyes, too. She asked questions to find out exactly how 'potty trained' Ava was, and as Ava kept passing the tests, it was obvious that Ava's position in the hierarchy was changing. It is so interesting to see how kids evaluate each other...

Then, last Monday, my baby started crawling. It was the beginning of a week of unauthorized moves by Charlotte.

Charlotte had been doing very difficult and intricate push ups for weeks. She'd get up on her hands and tip-toes and do some odd V thing with her body. I tried it...it wasn't comfortable at all!

Then, suddenly she moved across the floor. So, that is fine. I can probably survive that.

THEN...

On Friday, twice while I wasn't looking, Charlotte moved herself into a sitting position! It was just the two of us because Ava was snoozing, so I know she was doing it by herself...I just didn't know how. Come to find out, Dada is an evil conspirator! He had been teaching Charlotte these tricks! I had a very direct talk with him that almost resulted in 'ti-MOUT' as Ava calls it.

So, I don't know why I was surprised when Charlotte started pulling herself up to a standing position by Monday.

LISTEN UP! Charlotte is my baby! Don't teach her tricks, don't encourage any growth, just coo at her like she is a baby! Otherwise you could jeapordize our friendship!

Slacker Mom...

Ok. Here's an update on the last month. We've been too busy living our life to blog about it!

So, at some point last month, Charlotte and I went to see Danielle and her family (really we went to see baby Havah, but we're going to act like we visited the rest of them. Really, though, we also wanted to have a little bit of time with my mom. It would be unkind to blog about what a 'mom thief' Danielle is, so I'll just let you know how much I love and need my mother and that she has been staying with Danielle and her crew since a week before Havah was born. Anyway, back to the point. Charlotte and I flew standby to Kansas City. Everything went fine on the way to Kansas City. We got on the first flight we tried for. Then, on the way back, we missed two flights! We spent hours in the airport (except for a quick trip to Taco Bueno (Mexican for heaven in a tortilla shell)). At the end of a twelve hour day of airports and airplanes, Charlotte was in my arms on the bus to the parking lot, flirting with everyone. She was making it very easy to smile.

Then two weeks later, the girls and I flew to California for a very important birthday party and a final San Diego visit with friends. Charlotte had obviously forgotten that she likes air travel because she wailed at least three of the three and a half hour flight from Minneapolis to San Diego. She wailed the entire return flight to Minneapolis, and then Ava wailed the following flight home to Cincinnati. It was eventful...

But, we had a wonderful time in California. The weather was sunny and mid-seventies, so we were happy. Below we are at the beach, looking at huge seals, sunning themselves.

At some point in the visit, the little girls were a little tired of sharing their toys, mommies and space. Ava and I decided to run out for some Krispy Kreme donuts! Ava loved the experience. She went out wearing her pj's, borrowed Crocs and a new Krispy Kreme hat. Here she is, holding the wonderfully delicious treats. We also spent about half an hour mindlessly wandering through a dollar store. I am always amazed at the things you can find at a dollar store. I found Ultra Brite toothpaste, which I'd just seen recommended in Consumer Reports as the best whitening toothpaste! Ava found some Play Dough toys...

We were all very glad to be home with Daddy a week later. It is amazing how wonderful home is!

By the way, when we got home, I asked Mark if he thought we should consider moving to San Diego. I talked about the wonderful desert air, the great weather, the beach. He said maybe we should move to Portland, OR! That must make sense in a man's mind...

Jeannie's Party

Okay, family! We're going to celebrate Jeannie's baby boy on Sunday, June 22 at 2pm at my house. I'm not certain about invitation status, so mark the date on your calendar. She is registered at Babies R Us.

And, yes, that is the day after the family reunion. What a wonderful weekend it will be!

(Ann, that is the Byler Family Reunion.)

Hello to Aunt Betty and Uncle Lou!

My mom told me this morning that my Great Aunt Betty and my Great Uncle Lou have been checking out the blog!!! Hooray!

Where the air is 'weep'

So last night we were driving in the car, singing all sorts of songs. I asked Ava what song she wanted to sing. She thought for a minute, then said "Sunny days....".

So, I start singing the theme song from Sesame Street. I haven't tried that one in about 22 years...not since Danielle was about 2. As I try to finish the second verse, "where the air is...clear? clean?", Ava says, "the air is weep." So I start singing it her way, giggling a little and making a funny face at Mark as I use the words she suggests.

This morning I do what any good mom would do...I 'google' the lyrics. Sure enough, "the air is sweet (weep)." Good job Ava!

Here are the lyrics...so you don't look silly at your house.