Best Friends Forever

Sunshine

Ava just told me that syrup tastes like sunshine.

At the Culinary Institute

Silly Girls

At the McDonalds near the Crayola Factory, Kira and Ava fell in love
with a snowman.

You'll Just Have To Wait...

Tomorrow is Ava's birthday. On their birthdays, I love to tell you about my wonderful children, so that I can have a chance to remember all of their wonderful details myself. Well, we're in New York with Melanie and Kira, so you'll just have to wait!

Mayo Sandwiches

Tonight, on my way home from running errands, I picked up Chik-fil-a
for our dinner. I had a chicken sandwich, as always. Ava said that she
wanted a sandwich, too, so I cut off a small corner of my sandwich and
gave it to her. Well, that wasn't what she wanted. It turned out she
wanted a sandwich with mayonaise only. And I mean ONLY! Mark and I
were a little skeptical, but she'd eaten what was on her plate, and
could ask for more of whatever she wanted. We quickly went from
skeptical to a little grossed out because Ava and Charlotte each ate
two mayo sandwiches. Gag! These kids will eat anything!

Art Museum

We went to the Art Museum with friends. Ava touched art. I almost died!

Key-cause

'Why' is Charlotte's favorite word. The other day I turned the tables
on her and asked her 'why'. She turned the tables right back and
responded with 'key-cause'! Love that girl!!!

This is the face...

This is the face that Charlotte made when I told her she couldn't have
a cup of coffee.

Quit that!

Aren't you supposed to lay back in a bouncer and be a baby? Isaac,
quit that sitting up!

Sweet Sleeper

Sorry for the poor quality. Isn't he so darling!

We love leaves!

Sleepy Isaac

Isaac fell asleep while playing at the nursery today. He just slowly
stopped bouncing and fell asleep. After a few minutes his eyes opened
and he just slowly started bouncing again!

I love this boy!!!

Baby Isaac is the best baby!

Bowling!

Daddy helped Ava bowl today.

After the party!

We had a party at our house today. This is what the girls looked like
afterward.

She is a helper!

Ava 'helped' Mark bring the garbage cans in tonight.

Put Me In The Zoo!

We think these jammies from Melanie and Kira look like the creature in
the book 'Put Me In The Zoo'.

She is ready for anything!!

Here we are!

Just in case you're mad at me for never posting pics, here we are this
morning!

Charlotte learned how to say...

In the last two days, Charlotte has learned to say a few fun things.  She can now say ‘Here you go, mama.”  This is an improvement, because she used to just whine no to me when she wanted to give something to me.  She also says, “I don’t want this.” 

 

Also, today I was trying on a new pair of snow pants – just planning for a wild, snowy winter with my girls – and they are a bit too tight.  Ava thought it might be because my bottom is too big! 

Thank You, Auntie Danie!!

Oh Today's The Day We Celebrate Her Birthday!

If you haven't had a chance to meet my darling Charlotte Grace, there is a small void in your life that you don't even know is there. Here she is at the tiniest she ever was, in size and in personality. She was a wonderfully easy little baby. I remember being at a friend's house (SG) when Charlotte was tiny, and Charlotte just quietly fell asleep in her infant seat without anyone noticing. My friend couldn't believe what had happened. Charlotte was just a mellow, little, lovely darling. (On a side note, when Ava first met Charlotte at her birth in the hospital, she immediately called her 'maya' (mine). This is now Charlotte's favorite word...thanks, Ava!)

I always say, "Charlotte Grace, I love your face!" And, that is because she has the most wonderful face. She is the most expressive child. I can tell that she will be the one making funny faces in pictures when she is older, just like her dad and gram. She has the most wonderful cheeks, and she lets me munch on them whenever I want...as long as I get her neck, too.

Well, now she is a very real little girl. She wails (squawks) at me every evening when I put her in bed. She has so much to say and so many little opinions. She is so quirky and silly. The girl wants to wear a hat, earrings, a swimsuit, leg warmers and black patent leather shoes....all at the same time! She eats and drinks anything she can get her hands on. Yesterday she brought her cup to me and said, "sparkling". Yes, she was asking for a sparkling water with lime. She was so cute that I gave it to her! You can't resist this girl. Of course if you fall in love with her, it will likely be in vain because she saves her love for very few people. She always adores Biva, her mom and dad...and baby Isaac. "Miyel," she hollers in his face about ten times a day. And of course, he does.

So, Happy Birthday to you, Charlotte Grace! I love your face!

Old chair made new

Laura sent this recliner home with us ages ago. It was dark blue and a
little tired. The girls loved it.

Mom recovered it in this sweet print and it was a hit before it was
even done. To test it out, Ava snuggled in and popped her thumb in her
mouth. Wouldn't that have been the picture to have.

Ava eats a pepper

Here's a peek at Ava eating a pepper from our garden.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB04qCJyp6k

Charlotte Picked Her Clothes

Lately, Charlotte has been picking her own clothes. I wouldn't let her
do it if it weren't so entertaining!!!

We made a cake for Gram's birthday!

We made a cake for Gram's birthday!

We're still here!

We're still here, but we've been a bit busy living our life! Isaac is growing big and strong, and he is truly the most wonderful baby I've ever met! He is easy and pleasant. He loves to smile at his sisters...and they love to talk to him!

Charlotte continues to be delightful! She is such a character. She has opinions about things that Ava never cared about. Yesterday she wore the dress in this picture below with her clothes under it. I had her hair in two pigtails, and she insisted on wearing funny sunglasses and her pacifier. As she walked through the aisles of Walgreens, she'd look people straight in the eye and say, "Hi." They couldn't keep a straight face!

My Ava

These pictures were taken by our beloved Sara Green. You can check out her wonderful photos here. Also, you can usually spot her work on any picture we send out of the kids.

Today Ava went to the fabric store with her Gram. She had heard me complaining about a rubber band shortage and spotted two on the floor of the store. She asked the young man cutting fabric if she needed to pay for them. He said no, that she may have them. When Ava and Gram got to the register to pay for the fabric they were purchasing, Ava said, "He said I didn't have to pay for these, but I need them in a bag for my mom." Then, she told Gram that she wanted him to see her shoes. He, of course, admired them appropriately - as a man should when offered an opportunity to compliment a young lady! (What a total flirt!)

Also, she has begun to speak with a Southern accent. We believe that this is a result of our recent visit to Laura's house in Tennessee. She is actually quite good. She talks about things being, 'Mahn (mine)' all of the time! And she won't stop!!! I think she may be gearing up for a life as a Kimmel wife. She'd sound just like her mother-in-law, Ann.

We fell off the grid...but we're back!!!

Here's what it looks like at our house these days!

We love it when Charlotte says Ava's name. Really, she calls her 'Biva'. It is so sweet, because she only says with love. A few weeks ago, Ava fell asleep quickly when the girls went to bed (a truly rare occurance). As we sat in the living room, we heard through the monitor, "Biva...Biva...(sensing that something must be wrong)...uh oh...". It was so sweet.

Here are a couple of videos where we're trying to get Charlotte to say Ava's name...and we just enjoy listening to her cute little voice.

Our little Isaac spends a lot of time doing this. He's a big time snoozer, and when his Gram talks to him while he sleeps, he smiles at her. Actually, he is turning into quite a 'chunka munka'. If he keeps this up, we're going to have to change his wrestling name from 'Ike the Spike' to something more suitable to a Sumo wrestler.

His Name Is Isaac Wade

So, finally, here's the story of our darling little baby boy. Friday, April 24th, in the early hours of the morning, the slow, gentle labor that led up to the birth of Isaac Wade began. Unlike the train wreck, 3 hour labor we had with Charlotte, this was peaceful and mellow...until the last 20 minutes of course. Mark was a great support through the whole thing...love that man!

He was born at 9:40am on Friday morning. He weighed 9lbs 1oz and was 21.5 inches long. He cried at birth and really hasn't cried much since. During some prayer ministry while I was pregnant, someone said that he was going to be like his daddy. Turns out that so far they are right! He is a mild mannered, beautiful little baby.

The girls love him. Ava says, 'His name is Isaac Wade.' She sings sweet little songs to him all of the time. Here are some examples:

Oh baby, baby. I love you, love you, love you.

If you want some na-na (our funny word for nursing), if you need some na-na, you can have some na-na.

Even Charlotte loves him and helps out by bringing him paci's and throwing away diapers.

So, we are thankful for Isaac. He is delightful and wonderful, and we hope that you'll come see him soon!

Happy Birthday, Dear Leah!

This is what we have to say today!

Can't fix the dumb thing!

So, I realized that I've entered the wrong date on the baby countdown thing on this blog. The problem is that I can't fix the dumb thing! The good thing about this is that the baby can't count...or is that a bad thing!!!

Don't worry...

Don't worry. We haven't had our baby without you. We've just been too busy enjoying our lives to tell you about it! A few cute things, though...
- Charlotte calls Ava 'Biva'
- If the baby gives me a good kick or I have an uncomfortable contraction, Ava gives me
Pam, her pink doggie, to snuggle my stomach. The dog doesn't help, but Ava's sweetness
and generosity always does.
- My mom is here, so in general, everything is better than it used to be!

Things that Charlotte likes to do.

Charlotte LOVES to build! And, if you don't know what to do with her for about 15 minutes, stick her in a booster seat and give her a box of crayons! Paper is totally optional!

Girls and Puddles!!!

I would have never known that 'puddle jumping' was intuitive, but when Charlotte was let loose in the driveway - which is full of puddles - she walked straight to the biggest puddle and started stomping! Also, these are the first real shoes that she has worn. She has only worn Robeez shoes or boots up to this point, but she was a natural in rain boots!

Cute girls and Jeannie Bean!

The girls love a sunny day and an ice cream cone. When we were at Ikea on Sunday (all of us love it except Charlotte), the girls were eating a 'reward' ice cream cone. The woman at the table next to us commented on how well the girls managed their ice cream cones. Please! I have raised these girls from birth! They are not rookies in this area! I mean, really! We live in Norwood! The home of United Dairy Farmers!

Here's Ava, drenched from swimming with Ms. Marsha. (darling swimsuit, complements of Wonderful Kira)

Jeannie Bean and Ethan came to help mom with the garden yesterday. The girls loved it because we spent hours outside. The best part was the wagon ride, though! The rest of the time, Charlotte wandered around chattering about outside things, and Ava sat with her feet up in a green plastic chair from Aunt Laura. Ava was playing the part of the supervisor.

Too much fun...

Last week we spent the morning with our friends, the Gilles gang. Here's
how it ended...

Different Girls

This afternoon, as I pulled the car into the garage, I asked Ava, "Are you my girls?" She replied with, "No, we're different girls, and we live in a different house."

Well, there you go!

Formatting

I have lost all control of the formatting on my blog. Does anyone know what to do? Often my pictures end up in the margin...or miles down the page!

HELP!!!

Catch up...

I know. According to my mother, we are tragic blog neglectors...but so are all of you! So, here's my update. You'd better update, too. Otherwise I'll tell my mom where you live, and she'll show up at your door (without her sewing machine).

Ava calls this doll 'big girl', but when Aunt Sandy was over this morning, I think we named her Betsy. There is something written in German on her dress, but we don't know what it is. Maybe Pete will know!
















Wednesday nights are 'Aunt Lynda Nights'! Lynda comes over to read books, play, put the girls to bed, and let mom and dad to go their Reset group (bible study). Last week Ava told Lynda that she didn't have to obey, but this week Ava was so into Lynda. She brought her pretend drinks, acted caring and sweet, and showed her where the lotion is kept. Lynda is very special to us.















Ann and Ladonna came to help mom paint for the weekend. Ann brought baby dolls, baby blankets, baby bottles, pacifiers, and rockin' cool pink camouflage bags for carrying it all. Ava wasn't sure that her baby liked the bottle, so she nursed her...with her Boppy (travel neck pillow). Actually a couple of weeks ago a friend was over and fed her baby some formula in a bottle. Ave kept asking, "Is that milk good for the baby?" Funny little hippie Ava. She also knows about cloth diapers, slings and composting. Sarah Gilles would be so proud!

And, we've had some nicer weather. Charlotte wouldn't hold still for a picture - story of her life - but Ava was a doll!