Memories

I was posting a video of our Avery at their hockey fest last weekend on YouTube and found another video that I had uploaded a nearly three years ago.  He was so stinkin' cute and wish it wasn't gone...they grow too fast.  Now we have a 5 year old who wants to do everything his big brother does including tying his shoes and losing teeth.  I am so glad we have this memory but I miss this LITTLE boy.

My baby...

...is growing up!  Avery has his first loose tooth.  He came into my room last night when he was supposed to be sleeping and said his tooth hurt.  I asked him to let me see it and discovered it was super wiggly.  He has wanted to lose a tooth so bad but I didn't think it would be this soon. 

He is 5 months ahead of when Blake lost his first tooth.  I can't believe how old he is already.  Until he turned 5 I kept thinking of him as a 2 year old.  I don't know why but I did.  I think I just don't want him to ever grow up!  At least he still likes to cuddle with his mom a little.  He is a momma's boy through and through.  He doesn't like how his daddy tucks him in so I always have to do it.  Apparently I am the 'best tucker-inner in the world'! 

Funny Business

I had to share this story because I was laughing so hard I was crying! 

Those of you who know Avery know that he loves to make people laugh and is constantly the entertainer around here.  Today as I was tucking him in for nap he grabbed both sides of my face and kissed me firmly.  It made me laugh so he did it again.  I asked where he learned that and he said from the movie Sandlot 2.  There is a part when a little boy goes to the kissing booth and grabs the girl in it and kisses her hard.  He kisses her so much that he steals her gum.  Avery didn't say how he thought that happened and I didn't ask but man it was funny.  I had tears running down my cheeks. 

Date Night

So Mike and I decided to take the kids on individual dates tonight.  I was taking Blake out to eat and let him choose where we went before we headed to Wow Zone.  Blake chose to go to Culvers to eat.  I thought Mike was taking BW3 before taking him to the hockey game.  As we were eating in walks Mike & Avery.  Of all the times to show up at the same place.

We had a good time at the Wow Zone.  We did the black light mini golf and Blake had a good time but I felt like it was kinda dumb (not about me though right?).  We finished up our date at Cold Stone with some ice cream. 

Unfortunately our night ended with some attitude being thrown around....guess it was bed time.  Avery and daddy had a great time watching the Mavericks beat the Beavers and he even got a puck.  I wish I had a picture of when Mike told him that is where they were going...you'd have thought he was getting to go to Disney World!

Long Awaited Frame

I have been looking everywhere in town for a panoramic frame to fit this picture I had the photographer take when Avery got his team hockey picture taken.  A mom behind me suggested a picture of all the kids' skates because Avery's were so high off the ground while everyone else could touch (in case you didn't know he's kind of a peanut).  So I asked the photographer if they could do that for me and they obliged.  When they came back I wasn't thrilled with the angle they'd taken it at, but after a little cropping and making it black & white it was perfect!  The only problem was finding a frame. 

I couldn't find any in town so I finally looked online.  I found one at Amazon.com and it is exactly what I had in mind.  It fits perfectly, is black and just simple.  It looks just like I envisioned it...LOVE when that happens!

Do me a favor...

Do me a quick favor and scroll down and on the right side click on my 2007 posts.  Go and watch the video of Avery saying 'Happy Halloween'.  It is so adorable.  I miss those moments!  Not that they aren't still cute at times but not like when they are almost 2.  I miss my babies!

Moon Sand

I have found my new arch nemesis! I used to think Play Doh was the worst mess the kids could make but thanks to my brother, Sonny, I have found something even worse. He gave the boys Moon Sand for Christmas and of course they wanted to play with it this mroning. I have been trying to get all the Christmas decorations put away and reorganize the house to put away all the new stuff. I tried to hold them off as long as I could but they persisted...OMG the stuff is AWFUL! It breaks apart into a million pieces. It was all over the floor, the chairs (which are upholstered), and their clothes. It seems to be a pretty easy cleanup but it won't be something they get to play with on a regular basis! HOLY COW!

Younger Brothers

I guess being the younger brother teaches you things that you wouldn't otherwise know. So after Blake posted a sign to keep Avery out of his room Avery decided it was time he had a sign too. Not knowing how to spell he just put an 'X' on the sign and that was sufficient for Blake to know it was meant for him. It was very cute! And it wasn't long before both signs were down and they were once again playing in each other's rooms.

What would we do for entertainment if we didn't have kids?

Annual Checkup & Birthday Boy

The past week was a very eventful one around our house. Tuesday was avery's annual checkup with his cardiologist, Dr Burton. He was given a clean bill of health. Everything is looking great and we go back to see him in another year! He did so well with all the tests. So glad to have the appointment behind us. Afer the trip to the dr we went to the Mall of America. We took the kids on some rides and then to the Underwater World. You should have seen their eyes when we walked into the mall...they were both in awe. It was a great day!



Then Thursday we celebrated Thanksgiving with our first official Thanksgiving at our house. Everything went great and it was a great relaxing day.

Finally we celebrated Avery's 4th birthday! He was so excited for his birthday but he couldn't decide what he wanted for a gift. The only thing he told us he wanted was an Iowa Hawkeyes sweatshirt. I believe he has one coming from Grandpa & Grandma Berg but he hasn't stopped asking about it since Saturday. He is so excited for it. Mike asked him on Friday (while I was out Black Friday shopping) what he wanted for his birthday and his response was 'I don't know but I better figure it out because my birthday is tomorrow!'

We are hoping that him turning 4 flips the switch to make him act older and be more well behaved. So far so good on that front! Hoping that it continues!

More October

We ended up getting tickets to the Vikings game vs. the Ravens at the last minute. So we packed up the truck and headed to the Metrodome. It is the first live Vikings game that any of us had ever attended. We were kind of worried about Avery as he doesn't like loud noises but he did pretty well actually. He covered his ears a lot of the time when it got loud but he still had a lot of fun! We all managed to have a good time despite getting bad news at the beginning of the game that Mike's uncle Mark had passed away. Here are some pictures from our exciting day!

Out of the Mouths of Babes!

So Avery has always been our comedian but some days it come out more than others! He is so crazy sometimes. Sunday he was full of it. When we were getting ready for church he was putting some dress shoes on and I told him he looked handsome. He looked at me and said 'Some people say that.' I couldn't even hold back the laughter.

Then later at lunch the same day he told us that he 'doesn't want to be 4 1/2 but just wants to be 5 right away' ...could he be any funnier! The funniest part of that story is that we couldn't remember what it was that he had said so we asked him and at first he didn't remember but last night at supper he repeated the story because he remembered what he had said. Stinker!

Avery's Cut

We were back in the doctors office yesterday getting Avery's cut checked out. It looked like it was infected so we thought we better be off getting it checked. The verdict from the dr is that it is infected. She seemed very confused as to what to do besides giving him antibiotics. She decided to make a small knick in the glue to get the pus out of the cut. It came out easily although I am not sure that it was the right choice as I fear that more germs will find their way in. It does look better today after two doses of ammoxicillin and a warm pack. Hopefully it continues to improve.

Rough Day

Wednesday was a rough day for Avery. He decided that instead of taking a nap it was more fun to mess around in our bed. He found out quickly why his mom always tells him to stop jerking around and lay still! He fell off the bed and hit the night stand on the way down. I heard him hit the floor and went in. He had blood everywhere and a 3/4" gash above his eye. And let me tell you these head wounds bleed! I first called Grandma Sue to come sit with the daycare kids so I could take him to the clinic. Then called the clinic and they informed us to just come in and the dr on call would fit us in. When it was time to leave I couldn't find my keys...can we say panic? Turned out they were in the garage from the night before when I went for a walk.

When we got to the clinic we got right into the room. Dr Townsend checked him out and said we would need to get it cleaned up and then she would glue it. So the nurse came in and cleaned him up and then the dr came back to glue it. He was surprisingly brave and never shed a tear while they fixed him up! I haven't gotten a picture yet but hope to soon!

Avery the Comedian!

Avery is always quite the the comedian but yesterday he was full of it! First in the morning he was shooed into his room to get dressed. He was throwing a fit about having the door shut but I cannot allow him to run around without clothes on. So he finally stopped throwing a fit and I thought he was getting dressed but had been in his room for quite a while so I went to check on him. The light was off and he was finally getting dressed. When I asked why he had the light off he said 'Well I was in my bed. I was going to lay in there until 9:30 but I don't have a clock!' I was rolling with that one.

Then later in the afternoon when we were playing outside he came over to me and told me that he 'doesn't like himself without his hat on!' Bahahahaha! My funny child!

Trap Shooting

Mike wanted to see if Avery could handle the guns shooting if he were to take him hunting this fall. Avery doesn't handle the noise well when we go to parades so it might not be fun to go out hunting with the loud noise. But he did fine! Mike had some ear muffs to keep some of the sound out and it helped him to relax.

The boys also got their first chance to shoot a gun while we were out there. If I remember right it was a 410 that they shot. Still a little big for them but they definitely thought it was pretty cool. Even mom got to shoot the gun and try to hit some of the clay pigeons. Didn't do too bad but nothing spectacular. It was the first time I have ever really shot at a moving target with such a big gun.

Here are some pictures from our adventure but of course there are no pictures of mom because I'm always the one behind the camera!

Busy Month...

So what can I say, it's been a busy few weeks and I haven't posted! I have lots to catch you up on. Let's see...after Father's Day weekend we spent the weekend at a softball tournament. Mike played with a bunch of his old softball buddies in honor of their friend Tim Voigt who has Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS). It is an excuse for everyone to get together once a year. Everyone had a good time and the boys really enjoyed watching their dad play.

4th of July
Then came the 4th of July weekend. The kids were especially excited to attend the annual parade in Elysian. The parade wasn't as good as in past years but it didn't matter to the kids! After the parade we headed to the lake to take the jet ski (Mike's uncle's) out on the water. After some fun at the beach we were off to watch the fireworks. The kids were quite tired by then but enjoyed it. If we could just get Avery over his fear of the loud noises...need to get some ear plugs for that kid!

Moondogs & Fun Days
Last weekend was spent with more fun at the Moondogs game and North Mankato Fun Days. Friday night we went to the Moondogs game Grandpa Bruce & Grandma Patty. The game was lots of fun and the first one we have gone to all year. Unfortunately the Dogs didn't win. Saturday was the parade. We were having a good time until Avery started to get sick. He started out whiny and then would just lay on Mike's lap. Eventually I took him inside where he threw up. He was pretty miserable but eventually decided he felt better and we went down to the carnival and did a few rides. He got scared on one of them and decided that he was done. After we got back to Grandma Sue's house he was not feeling well again.

Enjoy the pictures and I promise I will TRY to get better at posting things on here!

Caterpillar Farm Operation

Not really sure what is going on around our house the past few days but we have found over 30 caterpillars. They were two different kinds. We knew there was one nest in the neighbors apple tree just over our drive way. Those all came out on Sunday. We kept them but they didn't make it. Today we found a TON more (17) and we have kept them and put them all in cups with some grass and a stick. So we have 17 cups all set up with one caterpillar in each. Last year we found the same kind and they made their crysalis and turned into butterflies. It is kind of exciting to see what will happen. It will be our science experiment for the spring I guess!







The other news is that Avery has decided that he will not be taking the training wheels off his bike EVER again! He was all excited to go ride his bike again yesterday before supper. His second try he got a little wobbly and neither one of us was close enough to catch him. He ended up with road rash on his face. He was not pleased and refused to even eat supper because he was so upset. He said to me 'you should have caught me'. When I told him I was too far away to catch him and he then said 'well then daddy should have caught me!' Broke my heart. But we put the training wheels back on and went for a walk later after supper so he isn't too freaked out although he is a little more gun shy!

Exciting Times

Last weekend we ended up taking the boys to the MN Zoo. They loved it. Both of them walked the entire time and if you've ever been to that zoo, you know that it is a TON of walking. They did really well. The grizzly bear decided to give them an up close and personal look as they were standing at the window. I think that was their favorite part.

Thursday Blake started his first season of t-ball. They practiced and he had fun. He was so excited. His hockey buddy Tyler is on his team so that was very exciting for Blake. At home they are both trying enjoying playing baseball in the backyard. Blake hit a couple balls right over the tree and Avery is starting to get homeruns frequently too!

Today's exciting news is that Avery is learning to ride his bike without training wheels. He tried it one day last weekend and didn't do so well so he was scared and wanted them back on. Today we went for a walk and he was scared he was going to fall even with the training wheels on. Then at supper he told me he wanted to take them off again. So we took them off and headed over to the church with all his gear on. He got scared at first again but soon figured out that we weren't going to let him fall. So by the time we were done he was doing great! He isn't confident enough to want us to let go but he is doing great! He was so excited that he had to call Grandpa & Grandmas to tell them.

Fabulous Weather

What a great weekend! The weather has been great. The boys got to get their bikes out today to ride. They both needed a lesson before they could get going! How soon they forget things. We also got out the grill tonight. Man did those brats taste good! Our local DQ opened today too so after supper we got some blizzards.

Both the boys have been little comedians today. Blake told us on the way to hockey that he sure wished it wasn't 52 degrees. We asked him why and he said 'because I'm hot!' Of course we had our winter stuff on because we were headed to the arena! Then tonight after we put him to bed Avery came out to the living room. I asked what he wanted and he said 'Mommy, thank you for giving me my toys back.' Mike and I were both laughing. He had gotten his toys taken away over a week ago because he wouldn't pick them up. I finally gave them back last Friday. Funny that it took him so long to tell me thank you!

Avery said the 'F' word...FAT!

Sitting at hockey waiting for all the open skating people to get out of the way so we could watch the Zamboni and this kid walks by and Avery says to me as he is pointing...'He's a fat kid.' Now I don't understand him at first so of course I ask him to repeat it and this time he says it louder. Luckily I don't think that anyone else would have understood what he said but OMG I can't believe that my kid said that. Blake has never said anything of the sort and we don't say those things in front of them for that reason. Guess he got it from somewhere.

This comment comes after his answer to the question "what do you do when you break something that belongs to someone else?"...'vacuum it up!' She said he said it with much conviction too. I know exactly where that thought came from as he has watched us vacuum up glass things when we break them but I don't think that is what they were looking for!

I pity the teachers...