Happy Thanksgiving

Well, I have to say that Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday; it does not get much better than friends, family, good food.  It was always our family's biggest holiday.  Ian worked this year and I was really nervous about making mashed potatoes for 16 (my speciality) and getting both kids dressed, myself dressed and all of us over to my moms house-but it all just worked out. 

Avery also decided to demonstrate proficient she has gotten at climbing up and down off the couch.  I know that she has done this before, but she actually had confidence in herself now...not good.  Nothing is sacred.  I had to change Owen's diaper and left Avery in the living room (as I often do) and went and changed Owen's diaper and clothes.  I came back and she was on the couch-had changed the channel on the TV, was drinking water from my water bottle and looked as if she was texting-possibly somewhere in the middle east.  Great!

I then decided to give Avery her new favorite breakfast, Oatmeal!  She loves to eat it herself, urgh, what a sticky mess!

We did make it to my mom's house and I have to say that I was so nervous about drinks being left low and Avery running amuck and getting wasted off low-lying booze.  Nope-no tanked toddler and in fact, everyone was so helpful I can't thank everyone enough.  Everyone wanted to hold Owen and Avery really is so much fun (just requires a little extra watching-she can get into most anything).

The following day Ian was home and we went to the park with the kids, I was really cold!  But Avery had a blast and daddy ran all over with her.  It was a great weekend.

Seriously???

So yesterday we had doctors appointments for both, Avery and Owen.  Ian was home and I met the three of them at the doctors office (remember, I am back at work now).  Can I just say, our doctor rocks!  He does not get excited, listens, calls us at home, and well, basically is the smartest man alive in my book!  He said that Avery is definitely verbally advanced and that the constant running is normal for her, so not to worry, she is just a "High Energy Child"-that can't be good coming from a person who deals with kids constantly!  Thought I would up date everyone on their stats:

Avery-18 months

Weight: 21 pounds 11 ounces (7th percentile)

Height: 31 3/4 inches (48th percentile)

Head: 18 1/2 inches (61st percentile)

*I asked why she is not gaining much weight and he said something to the effect of, "Have you not seen her move?"...point taken.

Owen-3 months

Weight: 13 pounds 12 ounces (29th percentile) *Which seems huge compared to Avery

Height: 24 1/2 inches (52nd percentile)

Head: 16 1/2 inches (54th percentile)

So kids go back and forth on so many things...one thing that she would not wear to save her life when she was younger were hats.  Now, she seems to wear them even when she does not need to. Thanks Uncle Ronna for the beanie-it seems to be part of the required wardrobe for putting Elmo night night (he is under the blanket).

For all those parents out there who don't have one of the floor gyms, you are missing out on at least 30 minutes of straight down time.  You can eat a quick meal while watching a 30 minute DVR-ed show and still have time to go to the bathroom all by yourself!  

What you can't see here is that his legs are kicking and he is talking to the star that is apparently telling him the most amazing story ever-perhaps of a land where milk flows like water?

 Tonight I got home from work just in time for Ian to leave.  He took 12 hours of vacation to watch the kids so that I could go to work.  Sometimes child care is a real challenge but anyway, while we were eating, Avery decided to entertain herself...she is just so cute!

Just in case you could not get the full effect of her "costume"...

Ok, so daddy is off to work and Avery is off to bed, it is time for the Littlest Lowe to get a bath a topper and to get off to bed.  I leave him in the swing (another item any parent must own) and get everything ready...bath time here we come.  So about halfway through our bath, everyone is happy and we are enjoying ourselves, LL decides he is too comfortable and poops everywhere...this is the first time he has made such a performance!  Ironically, Avery only did it when Ian was gone also.  It presents quite a challenge; ok, have to get the kid clean while avoiding the crap in the sling-thingy in the tub.  Everything got wet but the poop remained in the tub-the sling acted much like a siv and filtered it nicely.  I am not sure if we would actually call this a successful bath or not, but I got a clean kid out of it so, why not?

Happy Thanksgiving...I know we have a lot to be thankful for.  

Back to the Grind...

So Avery was sick all last week so no school for her but that is ok, we found stuff to entertain ourselves with...

Grandma Itsy gave Avery a picnic table and we put it in the kitchen for her to color and eat and play at.  She loves it, although we don't, she keeps getting up when she is eating.  I think that I will stick to strapping her down for a while.

This weekend was my mom's birthday and we went to Julian to "hike" but we got there and it was 65 degrees...we left a record breaking Santa Ana day by the beach so we were all wearing shorts and tank-tops.  We got there and it was so cold that Avery was wearing my mom's extra shirt, I was wearing my brother's sweatshirt and Owen was wearing his "in case of an accident" pants.  It turned into an eat, swing and get the heck out of there trip.  I think that we may have actually spent just as much time driving as we did there.  Here is a picture of Owen after he got a freshie...he is just so happy.

When we got home everyone got showers and got ready for bed.  Seriously, if that kid is not smiling he looks shocked.  Not sure if he is just that amazed at the wonderful family he has or scared for his life because of his spastic sister...either way, it is pretty funny.

I started back to work this week, what a disaster.  I just could really do without the whole working thing.  Oh well, money does not grow on trees so until it does, "Hi Ho Hi Ho It's Off To Work I Go..."

Lots to do so little time...2

Ok, this would be the second installment of the two part saga of the last couple of weeks...post our return from NY, Avery got pretty sick so no school, which is a real bummer for me mostly.  We all survived but not without getting whatever Avery had.  We hung out and it even rained on the road to recovery so it felt like we were not missing out on much being stuck at home.

For whatever reason, my son always looks a bit shocked.  I guess I can't blame him considering his company.

I also turned 30 this last week and we decided to have a party to commemorate the occasion.  A lot of planning was done by myself and good ol' Ronna, or Monna if you are Avery.  One of the nights she was over my mom also came over to help chase after the kids and hang out...

Avery's favorite song these days is a modified version of "If You Are Happy And You Know It", I thought that you all should be rewarded for reading this fine work of literature with a little "Happy" (don't mind my lovely voice) from one of those "planning" evenings.

Finally, I will conclude our blog for the last couple of weeks with a story from our evening "showie".  Avery and I took a shower to, well, get us both clean.  It is actually really fun, she loves the water and her "friends" in the shower and I can kill two birds with one stone.  Anyway, so there I am shampooing my hair when I look down to see Avery squatting, which is not out of the ordinary, however...something was not quite right...crap, no really, crap!  Avery was taking a poo in the showie!  I was yelling for Ian to get a little help because I had shampoo dripping down my face.  He never came-he could not hear me-whatever!  Anyway, I turned off the water, grabbed "Ora" (the Dora potty seat) and threw her on there.  I then took the two breast pads that I had taken off prior to jumping in the shower and used them to pick up the log on my shower floor.  We have Bleach Wipes in every bathroom, and I used them to clean the poo-spots and then turned the shower back on to rinse all of the nasty away.  All the while, no more poop from Avery, we got back in the shower and proceeded to complete the task at hand.  No photos of this event for obvious reasons.

Anyway, I hope you all feel as if you have participated in the last couple weeks of craziness.  I go back to work in a week, not sure how I feel about that but I will do what has to be done. 

Lots to do so little time...1

Ok, so a lot has happened over the last couple of weeks.  I will continue the adventures in a two part series to be sure to capture all of the fun, and well, not so fun details.

We went back east to New York to visit my dad and his wife and family at the end of October and through the beginning of November.  We made it, let's put it that way.  The flight out was actually not bad at all and the "Family Line" to go through security was a blessing.  We did not feel rushed-this line was made for us!  Avery played with all her new toys and read her new books within the first 15 minutes, so you may be asking yourself, what did you do the rest of the way...that is a very good question, the same things over and over again but it worked!  We arrived safely at JFK to a rainy cold snap that we were not prepared for.  We had to go get more pjs from Cost Co (all of which we had at home).  Avery had so much fun with her PopUp, Abuela and cousins.  But I think that she had the most fun with Martha and Sophie, their dogs.  Sophie got up and ran the minute she heard the tip toes of Avery come running her general direction, but Martha, good old Martha, she would just lie there and let Avery have her way with her.  What a wonderful dog!

Ok, so I figured out why Martha was so sweet and gentle with Avery...

We spent Owen's first Halloween here with everyone and well, the picture says it all...we started out strong and melted down!  I think my face sums it all up! 

We also got lucky and were able to go to Cousin Ryan's 2nd Birthday Party...Avery loves PopUp, wanna know why???  He gives her what ever she wants, including Diet Coke!  And yes, there is a balloon tied to her shirt...

Owen got passed around to everyone at the party, it was great for mommy and daddy!  What a cute little man!

I will conclude this episode of the two part series with the flight home and thank you's.  We arrived at JFK with just enough time to make it through the slower than slow line at the American Airlines desk where we checked two VERY heavy bags and two carseats.  Why two you may be asking yourself...well, Owen did not have one at the other end and we thought it would be best for Avery to have hers on the plane so that she would feel comfortable...yeah, for any of you who have the Britax Marathon-a carseat we really LOVE, do NOT bring it on the plane, I repeat, do not bring it on the plane!  The seat was so bloody big that once we got it buckled in Avery would be kicking the back of the seat in front of us.  Just great!  Ok, so I interjected a bit of additional information into my already long story!  Anyway, we made it and then eventually made it through security.  This time the "Family Line" just meant anyone who snuck under the velvet rope.  We got on the plane and got situated when Avery decided she did not want to drink anything so we had to do something to get her to move her jaw...we had Annie's Organic Fruit Gummies...perfect, or so we thought.  Avery choked on one, which is not shocking on its own, but the fact that she decided to go in after it was not so good.  She puked everywhere!  Ian Hulk Hogan-ed her shirt off and we proceeded to change her clothes and calm her down.  Eventually she did not smell anymore and she actually did great for the rest of the flight.

Thank you PopUp and Abuela for having us, or better yet, tolerating us.  That place looked like a tornado had gone through by the time we left!  We are glad we went but are even more glad we are home.