hillbilly. toddler style.

everyone is sleeping. i've been editing for hours with no end in sight. but, i need to document this little happening. this week's agenda was filled. with easter egg dying to egg hunts and parties for both the kids. at one of our playdates blake fell on the concrete. immediately when i picked him up there was blood. but, honestly this wasn't the first time he's bled from hitting something so i wasn't too concerned. until i noticed a little piece of his tooth missing. my sweet boy with the sweetest smile took a little chunk out of his tooth. i left he playgroup because we had lunch plans. trying to call the dentist on the way to tell me what to do. we went to the dentist (where gigi met us) and tried to get an x-ray. apparently, they expect a 19 month old to sit still and not scream while this takes place. needless to say, no x-ray was taken. he's acting fine thank goodness but his poor little tooth. i felt so bad for him. i found myself crying talking to mark on the phone when i finally explained everything to him. but, in the grand scheme of things, it's just a tooth. a baby tooth at that. it's a little part of his story and who he is. it's not a broken bone or something worse. it's just a tooth and i think he rocks the snag pretty well! everyone is looking at those big blue eyes anyways!

so, after not photographing my children's parties because the camera was the last thing on my mind and my memory cards are filled with client photos i had to snap some today. and bless avery's heart she prayed for blake's tooth to grow back!

he also loves to read. he loves to sit and "read" books. ten in the bed is one of his favorites. and before i forget we had his 18 month appointment. a month late due to a stomach bug and then sister got sick and i finally was able to get an appointment! :) he's a healthy little boy who's 22 pounds and some change. and i think they said 31.5 inches. i *think*. love this little guy! 

the only picture i could get where you could see his little tooth and swollen lip. but, it's going down nicely. 

avery told me to put the camera down and come color with her. 

 

so i took a pic and did just that. 

still three.

my sweet girl is three and a half. she talks about her fourth birthday almost daily and tells strangers she's going to be four next week. i want to remember this age. she way she talks. and the sweet things she says. she thinks she's a big girl. when we are playing with friends and the babies are playing and us moms are sitting and talking she wants to be right there with us. she joins in the conversation saying going something like this. um, yeah, so i have a boyfriend. she knows that will get peoples attention and have us talking to her immediately. i just love that she is confident and not afraid to join in even if she has never met that person before. today she picked some flowers (that's what we'll call the weeds) and said they were for me. they were my present. she something how they grew in the ground. so i went on to elaborate about roots, etc. she then added, yes and then they grow so they can be your present. naturally, i agreed. :) she'll figure it out eventually. somedays it's hard. i feel guilty because she went from being an only child and getting all the attention to sharing it. but even when her brother is getting all of the attention, like he was at dinner tonight, i glance over at her. she's not sulking or pouting but she's smiling at him and watching us interact. i just love her. i love her helpfulness. she loves to help put her brother to bed. daddy's had some late nights for a couple of weeks now and i've actually enjoyed putting both kids to bed. we put brother to bed first. i sit in the rocking chair with him and avery and i together sing him songs while she rubs his head and he sucks his thumb. in those moments i realize, while they might not always get along, their bond is special. and giving her a brother was the best gift i have given her. she's got a nurturing personality and i have no doubt she will continue to care for her brother. 

she takes delight in seeing her brother laugh. they always play these silly games that she makes up. the other day i was putting clothes away in the bedroom while they were having a snack in the kitchen. i hear hysterical laughing from both. usually a sign a huge mess is being made. i walked in and asked what they were doing. avery said "we're playing the spoon game". they were throwing the spoon at each other and then both would crack up. thankfully, neither has great aim. i know i should have stopped it but it's so cute watching them play together and laugh together that i just let them. and then made sure the clean up the mess because they didn't clean the spoon before the throwing started. :) 

little girl. you have a beautiful heart. you are my avery, my only avery. 

strawberry farm.

spring break is here. gigi is officially a texan. we took the kids out strawberry picking. perhaps a little early in the season but it was a beautiful day! turns out a lot of other people had our idea but we had a good trip. taking pictures at noon is definitely not my speciality but we had a great time!

   

blake never really got into strawberry picking. but he did take a nibble or two.

my brown eyed girl.

oh my sweet brown eyed girl. i'm pretty sure she knows how beautiful she is. but, she's at that age where she also sees differences. i honestly didn't think it would come this soon. what a great segway to explain god made her perfectly. and she is beautiful. and so is everyone else in their own special way. i thought she got it. and i know it's reinforced at school. until the day came. when i was putting her to bed because mark was gone and we went to say our prayers. and she said she wanted god to give her blue eyes so she could match with me. i, of course, thought it was cute. until, she kept repeating it. at the dinner table and randomly to me. every place we go people comment. not on her, but on her brother and his beautiful blue eyes. yes, they are beautiful but there is more to these kids than looks. she asks me a lot "how do i look?" of course we flood her with compliments and tell her she's beautiful everyday. because, of course she is. i shared with her teacher what she was saying because i wanted to address this is the correct way. i can't express how much i love her school and her teacher for taking the time to talk to her and tell her how beautiful she is. she said they played the eye color game at school. so thankful she goes to a christian school with teachers who care so much!

but, it breaks my heart. she's 3.5 and when asked if she loves her brown eyes she says no. i know this will pass. but, for the moment it's heart breaking and hard not to feel helpless because what i am saying is not getting through. it's also terrifying to think about the next 15 years. 

i was signing them up for preschool last week, and someone said to b, look at those big blue eyes. who did you get those from? they of course looked at me and then at avery. and said to her, well you must get those from your daddy. and her response, was "no, jesus gave me my brown eyes." i wanted to melt. man i hope she knows how perfect she is. how beautiful her heart is. how special she is. she's a pleaser. that's her personality. i pray she knows how much she is loved. 

on a much lighter note. she has her first boyfriend. his name will remain anonymous. but she says "she loves him." and i am thoroughly enjoying listening to her tell daddy all about him at dinner while he continues to say he can't be her boyfriend. she cries. it's so cute and hilarious! 

it was pretty warm last week after school. and i really just wanted to sit in a chair and enjoy the sun while the kids played. i thought i had a brilliant idea! so, i got a long roll of paper and finger paints! got them all set up and sat down. even thought i'd take a couple of pictures. well, avery was ready and started right away as usual. blake, well...he put the paint straight to his mouth. the kid would won't put a piece of cake in his mouth decided he'd try the paint. (it was non toxic paint in case you were concerned) let's take a flashback to his first taste of paint that his sister so nicely decided he needed. 

other than blue specks in his diaper for a few days all was well. so, they started painting so nicely together. he was watching her and i thought, here he goes. 

i guess he decided he needed to wash his paint down and wanted a drink. 

the activity quickly changed. 

oh well. needless to say i didn't get to bask in the sun. but, atleast the house didn't get destroyed for one afternoon! 

b+w wednesday

i am ashamed. i got my real camera out today to snap some pictures of the kids for the first time...since christmas? certainly, this can't be true. thank goodness for cell phones! i have no idea what we've been doing. well, i do know! i took the first two weeks off of the year from sessions. after the madness i just needed some time to re-group and school was out so it makes it difficult to much done. the big exciting news is that gigi is moving to texas. and not just texas but 10 minutes away from us! i CANNOT wait! i am so overjoyed that my kids are going to grow up with their grandma so close. i keep telling everyone that my mother-in-law is moving. the looks are usually pretty funny. and are followed up with "um, is that a good thing?" or "are you happy?". i guess they find my excitement different from the norm. but, we are excited and can't wait to have more family to share our life with!! so, the countdown has begun! and i'd be lying if i said i wasn't looking forward to a few more date nights with my husband! i might even let him pick the movie...doubtful. ;) we can't wait for you to come gigi! other than that marks been running and running and running. he'll he doing his first marathon soon!

blake and avery. well, their bond just continues to grow. i love my one on one time with blake. with only a few months left in the school year i'll miss it next year when he will be going as well. he loves picking her up from school and gets excited to see her again. today we went to pick her up and she was completely asleep. i think waking her up is on the top of blake's favorite things to do. i usually take pictures of the cuteness but changed my mind mid waking sleeping beauty. if this doesn't make you say aw i don't know what will!



awwww!!!!