Family Updates

So much has been going on with the girls, that even though I haven't had time to record it here until now, I have taken notes for you (aren't you lucky?). Here's what they have been up to:

AVA

Miss Ava is turning into a teenager with her attitude these days. Whew, what do I have in store for the next 15 years??? She wants to dress herself every day including accessories, which makes me want to make her wear a sign saying "I dressed myself" so other people don't wonder what kind of mother sends her daughter out of the house looking like that. She proclaims pink is her favorite color and had a fit the other night when I insisted she wear her blue pj's (for the record, all of the pink jammies are in the laundry).

I have come up with a chore that Ava loves to do (again, the start of our next 15 years together I am sure) - sorting laundry. She absolutely loves to sort by darks and lights, and honestly I don't mind her helping at all. I think it's cute and we can take a long time to sort the rest if we can get a first load is washing. (Guess what's on the agenda today?)

Ava has started dressing up her stuffed animals in her clothes, naming them, creating families for them, etc. Quite funny! She also has begun drawing stick people (out of the blue!) that look like potato heads, but the other day she sat down and created a drawing with our whole family in it. Talented isn't she?

She has decided that the time when Ava and Lily are napping in the afternoon is "special Ava time", which I have called it before and even given her fun things to do sometimes, but now that she insists it's everyday.  And when my planned activities aren't special enough, she's just pushing my buttons. I never claimed to be good at fun kid projects; in fact, I am horrible - just ask Ava's Toddler Time teacher, who will tell you that every time we do a project I almost have a panic attack that they don't get too messy.

We moved Ava into a toddler bed last week as we had to get Piper into a crib (from the bassinet to the Pack n Play to the crib). Ava loves her big girl bed. Did I mention that she loves loves loves it? I am instilling the same rules for bed usage though - Lily is not allowed on it unless Ava says it is OK. I feel it is important that the girls have some personal boundaries while sharing a room, even if they are little. I am moving furniture around today so that Ava can get a nightstand and a small lamp for bedtime, now that she is missing her crib soother (which Piper too inherited and is love with).

Ava has taken it on herself lately to be her sisters' interpreter. After Piper is done vocalizing, Ava will say something like this: "She says 'I want mommy milk. I'm so hungry. That's what she said." Thanks Ava.

LILY

I think Lily may be getting the last of her molars, poor baby. She is doing better this week, but last week was rough as she was extra moody, clingy and cried alot. She was an extremely picky eater last week, which I tried to chalk up to not feeling well but she may be getting in trouble soon if that tantrums continue. I am giving her the benefit of the doubt right now.

She continues to talk more and more, and her voice inflections are cracking us up. She repeats things in question form, with her little voice going up at the end. Example - "what's that mommy?" that's a bug Lily. "oh, a b-UG?" (Can you hear her voice going up?) She interacts so much more with Ava and Piper each day, and figures out the world around her at remarkably fast speeds. The other day I was cooking in the kitchen and she came in and said "mom, sit da bum-bum da floor", so I sat down and she promptly crawled into my lap.

She is also getting better at answering "yes" to questions. Previously she would only say no, but you could tell by her voice inflection she really meant yes. It's not 100% there yet, but she is starting to say "yeah" and "yes" more frequently. Which is lovely when you are trying to figure out what the heck she is saying.

PIPER

Piper will be 6 months old on Saturday and it is official - our newborn has left the building. In her place is a young baby who thinks she can do anything. Pretty soon she'll actually be able to!

She is a champion eater. I have been feeding her dinner regularly, of vegetables or fruit and rice cereal. So far she has tried (and liked) squash, carrots, peas, green beans, sweet potato, applesauce, peaches, and pears. Bananas didn't do it for her, but we will try again. I had quite a bit of baby food I had made and put in the freezer this fall, but I have also discovered the joys of making baby food in the crockpot. Seriously addicting. Here's how you do it: in the morning, pour in a bag of frozen veggies (like peas), turn it on low and let it go. When you get around to that afternoon/evening it you can turn it off and let it cool down. When you remember it's still sitting on the counter, go ahead and throw it all in the food processor. Works like a charm! I have never been able to get smooth green vegetables when I made my own baby food - until now. Hooray!

Piper likes to communicate in the form of raspberries right now, so much fun. She has TWO teeth.  She also will scoot and roll around pretty much anywhere she wants to, especially if she's going after something. She will get very focused and pull herself forward on her elbows, kinda like you and I would do if our legs went numb. She's good, I'll give her that. On the flip side, I caught her going after Lily's dropped crayons the other day. Not so good.