Aven Turns 4

It is truly incredible to me that my little baby girl, the girl that made me a mama is now four.  Not that four is "old" per say but that my life as I had known it has so dramatically changed and shifted in the last four years.  These years have been packed with so many memories, photos, emotions, moments, laughter, frustrations, joy, silliness, amazement and wonder.  When I think of all of these things, four years seems like a lifetime, 1460 days you've been in my life my little flower girl, 35,040 hours that we've spent living in this house together as a family, 2,102, 400 minutes of life.  A full robust and pulsing life.

You are your own little person.  My wild, strong willed, independent, intelligent, outgoing little flower child.  It is a pleasure getting to watch you grow and change and to see you begin to understand God, life, nature, language, beauty, technology, and math.  It is amazing the way you observe, ask questions, use your senses to their fullest, incorporate new information and generally expand your knowledge as you grow.  Here is (to no perfect end) a summary of where you are at on all things Aven.

• Your favorite things: sweets (treats), dutch baby pancakes with lemon and "sugar powder," candy, chocolate, your dollies and babies, your blankets, books and reading and dance parties, spending time with your friends, walking and lounging outside, snuggling with Daddy to watch cartoons, visiting the library, pizza, ice cream, dresses and twirling skirts, using your imagination, beans & rice, cereal, peanut butter, organizing objects, animals, being a mama.
• You are learning about: letter recognition, picture stories (yellow book curriculum), shapes, drawing/writing your letters, counting your numbers (up from 30+), addition, baking, dinosaurs, ecosystems, Jesus' death on the cross and his resurrection, God's unconditional love for us, plants, making safe choices, how to be a big sister, consequences, some Spanish words and phrases and the world around you!
• You amaze me: today you said: "Mama, five plus three plus two is 10."  You picked up on the word "distinctive" when we were reading book about Mangroves.  You asked for crepes for dinner for your fourth birthday.  You reached out your hand (yesterday) to a perfect stranger (the age of your great grandmother) and asked: "what is your name?"  When the stranger replied she put her soft hand down and grabbed yours and relied with the same question and you smiled, held her hand and said your own name.  You stopped eating your breakfast today, got up from the table and shook your hips back and forth to the music.  You love to dance!  You are not afraid of talking or meeting anyone or going anywhere.  You are so outgoing, not shy and not afraid of new situations.  It is so refreshing.  You seem to love, above all things, books.  To you, being spoiled would probably be getting read books to all day and then getting an ice cream cone.  You amaze me that we took a road trip totaling about 650 miles and you only wanted to use your leap pad for about 20 minutes total!  You have a fantastic memory for details ands stories.

  

  My little sweet tooth, first Easter egg hung at home.

  
  

  

  Her hands are looking so big.

  
  

  

  Learning about drawing people.  She's gone from scribbles to shapes in a matter of months.  It is so neat to see her skills progressing and really blossoming.

  
  

  

  She's ex-static :)

  
  

  

  Daddy's girl, loves adventure and always sporting her dress or skirt.
  
  

  My little girl, you challenge me, amaze me and surprise me every day.  I love you more than I ever thought I could and I am so honored and thankful to be your Mama.  We love you, my big girl.  Happy 4 sweet pea.

family pictures 2013

In October (yes, I know, I'm quite behind).  We had the privilege of having the wonderful Joe & Patience Photography capture our family.  It was a lovely afternoon, the kids were in great moods and the sunset was casting a wonderful glow on the day.  They did an amazing job of capturing our family, the playfulness of our daughters and their presence was overall awesome.  Aven was quite taken with both Joe & Patience and had no problem going to them when we were taking pictures ourselves.

Growing up, my Dad refused to have his picture taken (still does today) so I don't really have any family pictures of us growing up let alone when we were so young so when we had Aven, I really wanted to start a tradition of getting our pictures done every few years and especially close to our kids first birthday.  These images are a great reminder of love, joy and how time truly can go too fast.  I treasure looking back at the pictures we took with Aven when she turned a year old and I love looking at these of our growing family too.

There were about 100 edited pics but I'll post just a few of my favorites here.

from the mouth of babes (update on Aven)

Lately Aven has been cracking me/us up.  I wanted to record some funny things she says so I don't forget later.  Even though she can construct pretty complex sentences she still is figuring out tense.

For example, every night while on vacation before bed she asked me to sing the song that my mom "teachted" to me (Magdalena Hagdalena --as a side note why she wanted this to be sung before bed is beyond me but that is another story).  Another funny one is when she was talking with Abe and told him that she "bleeder" on an owie.  When Abe gently corrected her saying it was "bled" she said, "No, Daddy, bleeded.  Do you know what bleeded means?  It means to bleed blood."  Also, even though she gets the general concept of time she often uses the references interchangeably and without the correct time period.  For example, she'll say "the other day" meaning any time in the past or possibly even the future.  She'll use, last year, the other day, yesterday, etc to mean anytime in the past.  Last year could mean something yesterday and vice versa.

She is very curious about all of life as she has finally gotten to the why phase.  Once you begin to explain something you better be in for the long haul because even if you explain it to her (whatever "it" may be) she may ask you to repeat it over and over.  I am sure this is a technique to attempt to understand the concept but it can be very exhausting trying to re-explain something in a new and fresh way.  For example, we were driving in the car and the sunset looked to me to be the color that shows when there are wildfires.  I then attempted to explain what a wildfire is.  And how it starts, and how it makes me feel.  I used basic terminology to say that often fires start in nature when something happens like lightening.  Then she said: "tell me about nature."  Dang, this girl is smart!

She has a mind of her own and knows what she wants in life.  This is usually really helpful but can also be a source of frustration (for me).  She has a style of her own and is totally gregarious.  She will talk to anyone anywhere and has no shyness or fear about it.  She loves her dresses and skirts but will play anywhere in them, even the fanciest of dresses.

Things she has been loving this summer:

• still her babies, she has many and doesn't seem to have any one favorite although they are all special at one time or another.  She has a stroller, a car seat, a baby carrier and blankets galore and at any one time they may all be in use.
• still books.  I am happy that this girl is still so enamored with reading books.  She loves to attempt to read them to herself, constantly asks for books to be read to her and my favorite thing she does is bring books to Elodie and reads to her (so cute)
• still being outside.  This summer has been beautiful with so many sunny and warm days.  This girl uses any attempt she can to be outside (fall and winter will be a shock).  She loves playing in her pool and running through the sprinkler.  She just experienced her first spray park and she loved it!  She loves playing in the rocks of our walkway, with sticks, in the grass and has no problem improvising and using her imagination.  She loves going to parks and could spend all day there if you let her.  She has named each park by the color of the slides and she has assigned a park to each of us.  Franklin park is "her" park; Rock Hill Park is Abe's park and Carl Cozier (Elementary School Playground) is my park.

  

  After a big tumble at school, she needed a lot of band-aids.  It cheered her up to have so many colors too.  Thank you $1 store.

  
  

  

  Elizabeth Park--playtime.  One of my favorite parks because of the big beautiful trees.

  
  

  

  Aven and Sonja--it is so cute to have friends.  She loves hanging with Sonja and 4th of July as they snuggled under the blankets together and watched the fireworks was no exception.

  
  

  

  my girl: personality galore

  
  

  

  happiness and silliness all in one package

  
  

  

  before bed one night, she laid on the floor next to Ethel and said  "look mommy, we are doggies"
  
  

  This girl is growing up.  She is almost 3 1/2 and she's in total preschooler mode.  She is independent and has a mind of her own and is getting very proficient at so many things in life but she is also a little girl always giving and asking for hugs, playing with her little sister and wanting to help out and be around her family and pets and friends.  We love you Aven Lily.

Happy 3rd Birthday Aven Lily

Hard to believe it has been 3 years already and my oh my how life has changed.  From one baby and parenthood to a toddler and a newborn; hard to imagine my life any other way now.  

We had a wonderful weekend of celebrating Aven's 3rd birthday with friends and a big party as well as a visit from Ahma and Boppa (Abe's parents).  It was  a busy weekend with too late of bedtimes and a lot of stimulation but it was a celebratory weekend nonetheless.  

Aven is quite the little 3 year old and she is in full force.  Things she (still) loves:

• her babies (she even got a doll pram for her birthday)
• her blankets, her favorite is still froggie, then people and then flower
• her books (although this has taken a recent increase in interest)  this girl loves to go to the library, participate in storytime and crafts, check out loads of books and sneak out of bed to read them when she should be going to bed.  She will spend hours sitting and listening if we'd just sit and read books to her and she loves reading them to herself, us and her dolls and Elodie.  I am so happy that she loves to interact with books; I hope this doesn't disappear.
• her imagination (although she doesn't have any make believe friends, she is so inventive with her toys and with our things- it is so neat to see a child's mind at work constructing a little world around herself with objects as they take alternative forms)
• the sun (the girl loves to be outside; always has)  now she can open the back door, put on her shoes and play in the yard all by herself.  She loves her flip-flops, skirts and short sleeve shirts and sunglasses and would spend all day at the park if you'd let her).
• sweets (she is her mama's girl- she loves anything sweet and would eat them all day if I'd let her);  for her birthday she requested pink candy canes and green pie!
• fruit- this girl has always loved her fruit- she has never been big on vegetables (maybe someday) but she will easily eat 5+clementines if I let her and she has no problem eating a bowl of strawberries or a full pear
• music- she is so good at remembering words to songs- tonight she sang the whole "take me out to the ball game" song that she must have heard at school.  The girl also loves to dance.  Almost every time we get in the car she asks for kids music please.

Lunch of the Birthday Girl (clementines, oatmeal and superfood juice with a pink straw)

Dad flashes his "3" sign

Loot from the party (hats and decor)

Aven Lily, you are growing up into quite the little girl.  I am so awed and proud of who you are becoming.  You are so intelligent, kind, funny, sweet, creative, voracious in appetite, loving, social and unique and I am so proud to be your mama.  You make me laugh every day and you can challenge me like no one else (maybe your sister someday).  You have taught me so much about myself and about how to live life fresh and with full force.  Thank you for the privilege of being your Mama.  I can't wait to see what this next year will bring and the adventures we'll have of you being 3.

Happy 3rd Birthday Aven 

the 3 month old and the almost 3 year old

Updates on life from my little 3's: Elodie 3 months and Aven {almost} three.

Aven:
Has been absolutely loving books lately and I adore it.  We started letting her watch little cartoons now and then and I started to worry that she wouldn't want to read her books anymore or be as interested in them.  Of course she'll still ask to watch a cartoon but she also is always bringing books to us and asking us to read.  If you remember, she's always loved books and I have so many pictures of her reading with just about every family member that comes to visit too.

Here is a dialogue from a few days ago during some extended reading time.  Keep in mind I not only always say the name of the book but tell her the author and illustrator.  We read several books from the library and ones tucked away on her shelf and then she grabbed her kids Bible.

"Mommy, let's read God."
"This is my Bible, right?" (me: yes)
"Momma, who wrote this book?" (me: well, Kenneth Taylor did this version but the Bible are God's words to us)  "Hmmm."

After reading several stories in the bible (all of which seem to have a lot of punishment and death in the Old Testament) Aven had this to say regarding the story of David and Goliath.

"Mommy, what did Goliath do to David?"  (me: that is a good question)

On telling her the story about Pharaoh's soldiers persecuting the Egyptians and treating them unkindly Aven's response was: "that is not okay, we don't treat people like that."

I loved her simplicity and her approach to the stories from the Bible.  To her they are not laden with all the baggage that we carry to the stories as an adult.  They are rather difficult to interpret and explain to an almost 3 year old though.  I was totally impressed because she was listening carefully and turned page after page for probably a half an hour listening to the stories and asking questions and answering my comprehension questions.  She's one smart cookie.

Speaking of cookie, this girl has her Momma's sweet tooth.  When I asked her what kind of muffins we should make today she said chocolate with chocolate chips (need I say more)?  The other morning Abe brought us some donuts.  I insisted that Aven eat a yogurt before she have her donut but it was so funny because on our way getting out the door for work/school, Abe asked regarding Aven's crazy behavior: "do you think it is the result of too much sugar?"  Aven popped her head in the back door and said "we don't" right on cue and then closed the door.  Timing can be everything!!

Elodie:
has been growing and changing everyday.  She is finally falling into a bit of a rhythm in her daily routine and is getting more interactive and playful each day.  She has been really smiling and starting to laugh.  I can even put my fingers in her armpits and gently prod her to laugh a little.  Her sister is the one that gets her to smile the most though.  The last few days she's been really into folding her hands together and holding them together.  It is almost a posed look but very sweet.  She is starting to be more drooly (Aven never was) and tonight she just started really kicking her legs and noticing her feet.  She is getting stronger with her head and neck when you lay her on her tummy and she can really start to push herself up a bit.

This girl doesn't deal with disappointment well.  If you pick her up and she thinks you are going to feed her but you take her to the changing table, she practically melts down crying.  If she is tired and you try to feed her, she won't have any part of it.  I am usually pretty good at anticipating what she needs but every now and then she'll throw a curve ball.  She'll be crying/screaming and I'll think, I just fed you, you can't be hungry and then when everything else fails, I'll start to nurse her and she is clearly happy.  She is pretty go with the flow but when she is unhappy she will for sure let you know and she will cry until she gets her way; she isn't easily appeased by compromise.

I can't believe this girl is already 3 months.  It feels like time is going so fast already.  We are really starting to enjoy this little girl though with her happy cooing noises and her early morning smiles and the way she looks at her big sister and takes her in stride.

I love these girls!

smile & sleep

aven

elodie

aven, 6/10/10, about 8 weeks old

elodie, 2/13/13, about 8 1/2 weeks old (First smile caught on camera)

what to do when Dad's away

1.  Eat pancakes

2.  Make cookies

3.  Make homemade valentines

4.  Try to sleep in

5.  Go to Saturday morning gymnastics at the YMCA

6.  Eat dinner for breakfast breakfast for dinner

7.  Sneak an extra cup of coffee during the day

Two weekends in a row Abe had youth retreats at FPC.  The first was for 2 nights (for the middle schoolers) and the second was for 3.  Luckily my mother in law came into town for the second weekend since they were back to back!  Aven, Elodie and I survived.  There were some chaotic moments but overall it was a relatively nice time.  Aven is going through a rough patch with sleeping where she has been waking up at night crying and wanting us to hold her.  She has also been waking up really early in the morning and crying really hard wanting us too!  They were some long days but I tried my best to enjoy our time together and do some fun things just Mommy & Aven.  We went out to pizza one night;  we had a playdate with friends from Seattle we hadn't seen in awhile;  we made pumpkin pancakes and we read stories and watched some cartoons.  Needless to say, we were all happy when Daddy was home.

hi, I'm Aven (and I'm 2 & 3/4)

So, needless to say, life with two kids and a busy husband is...well...busy!  No surprise there!  Little Elodie is now 7 1/2 weeks old and changing every day (post to come soon).  But her big sister is also keeping us entertained in the interim and I wanted to update on her also.

Aven Lily is now 2 3/4 and it is sort of weirding me out that she is going to be three in only 2 and a half months.  She is quite the little person, verbal as ever and teaching me constantly about patience and about life and imagination.  Here is a brief update on Aven and what she is up to these days.

• Mrs Chatterbox- Aven loves to talk and communicate with words and she is quite good at it too.  Now she is really the age that we have to watch what we say since she will literally use the words that we used with her.  Here are a few of my favorite things she has said (back) to us lately:
• When I was getting frustrated helping her put her coat on the other day since she was insisting on doing it herself and taking f-o-r-e-v-e-r  she told me "Mom, you just gotta chill out."
• When we were driving in the car the other day and Daddy was expressing some rather strong opinions about a neighboring driver, she told him "Dad, you got to gather yourself" a phrase we use with her when she gets a bit over the edge!
• Still a little Mama- Aven still absolutely loves her dollies and she is constantly taking care of them either wrapping them up in her blankets, putting them to sleep, rocking them, putting them in timeout since they either a- hit her; b-weren't listening to her words or c-were ignoring her.  She is also doctoring them from various ailments and injuries sustained in all sorts of ways.  If not disciplining her dolls or doctoring them they are going to sleep or on an adventure, say to "gymnastics" or their lunch break.
• New toys- a few things that have made their way into Aven's repertoire are the following- her new backpack which she puts books, babies, blankets, toys, etc to take around the house and anytime we want to go somewhere in the house.  It is a super cute backpack and she looks really cute toting it around.  The other day she was playing with it and then she was eating a snack at the dining room table.  It was really bright and sunny outside and so she was also wearing her sunglasses; it was quite a sight.  Another "new toy" that she loves is a set of small plastic discs that she calls "circle time."  These are assorted colors but she loves to line them up, organize them etc.  The other day she used a mirror and placed them all over the mirror stating this was her pizza- what an imagination.
• Music- my little girl still loves music.  She has opinions about which songs she loves and which she is willing to listen to.  We spend quite a bit of time listening to the Pandora Toddler Radio Station.  Some of our favorites right now are "Shake our Sillies Out," "Hokey Pokey" and the new CD by Laura Viers Tumblebee with our favorite song being King Kong Kitchie Kitchie Ki-Me-O. Check out the album, it is great!  Almost every day we are home together we do some dancing and singing and movement time.  It is quite fun and silly.
• TV- while I am still reluctant a bit, we have started to allow Aven to watch some snippets of TV.  So far we have only allowed her to watch Sesame Street and some short cartoons (usually only about 7 minutes long) and try to limit it to one or two a day at most.  She is really into watching them but I realize how much a child can be exposed to in one cartoon.  We didn't even let her watch these until she was over 2 and a half though and didn't allow her to watch any TV before then other than music videos (mostly of Hallelujah).
• Clothes- this kid is opinionated and what she typically chooses to wear is not only not weather appropriate but also often leaves a little to be desired but God help us if we try to steer her towards something practical, matching, etc.  It is cute however to see her express her opinion and style and the fact that she isn't tied to any sort of cultural norms or worries about what others may think (like adults).

She never lets me do her hair but here was about a 5 minute stretch she didn't pull them out - so cute and looking more grown up.

Love this girl, here she is with her new favorite tights and her froggy blanket

I realize this isn't the best quality picture but it was too cute.  We were playing playdough with each other and made bracelets together one of each she put on her arms and then I gave her the necklace.  What a cutie.

I'll be honest, I know there is lots more I could say about this little kiddo.  She is loving and kind, funny and silly and can be helpful and sweet.  She is 2 and 3/4 and she can test your patience and your humanity.  I love her and it is amazing to be her Mom, every day.

sailing along into the holidays

Dear friends, I can't believe its been a month already since I posted and I missed the cool date by a few minutes (12/12/12).  I'm sitting in the quiet of my house, dog is snoring and Aven is asleep and Abe has wandered up to bed after falling asleep on the couch.  I am enjoying the shadows of the Christmas tree and twinkling lights illuminating the cool evening and early morning moments.  It will not be this quiet a month from now holding a newborn baby and adjusting to life with two kids.

Had a doctors appointment today and as much as I am getting anxious to have this baby I am a little scared too.  My due date is only 3 1/2 weeks away and there is still so much to do between now and whenever she enters this world!  The Christmas tree is bare underneath, the meal plans for hosting my family to complete, the bags to pack the plans to make, oh so much to do.

Just wanted to take a few moments to catch you up on the last month.  We have been trying to spend more time together as a family.  It has been really special seeing Aven embrace the Christmas season and her excitement about the wonder and magic of Christmas.  She doesn't even know that she'll get presents or how lucky and blessed we are.  She loves the white twinkle of the trees, the ornaments that decorate our tree and her room, the fun music and the sprinkles on cookies.  She lights up and gets excited about the wonder of it all and I think that is why kids can really remind you of how magical Christmas is.  I have also been really trying to enjoy having this little amazing person in my life before another one enters and to hold onto the moments with her only.  She is so smart and captivating and there are so many little things she does that I don't ever want to forget.  She is so sweet and sassy and fun and playful and I know soon I will have baby brain and be sleep deprived and focused on nursing a new little one.

Some of my favorite things that Aven is doing these days:

• she always wants to know people's names- in the grocery store line she will ask the checker "and what is your name?"  and then of course she'll volunteer her own too.  When new people come to our house she asks what their name is and introduces them to the house and the dogs and tells them her name.  She is not shy and is so friendly and outgoing with everyone, it warms my heart and makes me happy to see so much joy exude from this little person
• she is the sweetest caretaker- for a long time she has loved taking care of her babies but the ways in which she does it are so instinctual for her, she carries all sorts of babies and stuffed animals around, wraps them up, cares for them, shushes them to sleep, sings them songs in her bed, snuggles with them, picks them up when they get booboos and kisses them and generally always has at least one she is taking care of - I think she will be a helpful and loving big sister and I can't wait to see the way she will dote on her new little sister
• giving- Aven is always so giving with those around her; she shares her cookies, her toys and never really seems to be too possessive of her things.  When friends come over she wants to share and play with them and isn't concerned with having "her" toys to herself.
• conversation- it is fun now that Aven is so verbal to actually have a conversation with her in the car driving home asking her about school or about what she did at a friends house, she gets so animated in telling the details and stories of her day.  She is very opinionated and articulate so she can really explain everything that happened in detail.  She is also very observant and notices all kinds of small details that I pass over.  Not only this but she remembers them later.  We were at the grocery store and she was asking me, what is the yellow and black thing Mommy?  It took me quite a while to realize that she was taking about an antennae topper that was Mickey Mouse.  Now every time we go to the grocery store she asks me if we'll see the Mickey Mouse again?  What a memory!

Life is busy and having a baby in the midst of the holiday season feels a bit crazy but it is also keeping me a little distracted too :)  It is fully fall (and almost winter) with mostly rainy days and too many hours in the dark each day but in 9 days that will start to go the other way and I can't wait.  I wonder if we'll see snow this winter.  

Nothing terribly new to report, just musings on everyday life and mother hood.

family warms the *heart*

A short piano session with Daddy, sans pants :)

Lately I have just been trying to enjoy all the little moments that are strung together that make up life.  Often times it isn't the big picture moments because we place a lot of pressure and hype on them (like a first birthday or crawling for the first time, first steps, family photo shoot or first bath/first taste of food).  I find it is all the little sneak moments that you don't plan for that can warm your heart and make you laugh at the end of a long day.  I have to say that right now having Aven is so fun!  She is at such a great age and it is really entertaining.  She is so verbal and able to explain herself in words and actions that it just makes life fun.  The following are some pictures from the past months but I think they show the range that this child is capable of.  One moment she is silly and dancing with the dogs.  The next she is helping make food (in her underwear no less).  Then she is running around the house in nothing but her rain boots....and she's carefully playing the piano alongside Daddy with nothing at all!  Sometimes she is so contemplative when she is trying to problem solve or figure something out, she gets this cute little pouty face and concentrated brow....I love it!

Aven discovered she can crawl into the console and then close the door.  For some reason she thinks it is absolutely hilarious!

A very cute drawing Abe made of Aven's name that she kept coming back to add to.  I love to watch as her hands learn how to hold crayons and pens and how she is learning to hold her writing utensil.  She even gets the concept of writing her name (although she doesn't know any letters yet).  She'll say, "I need to write your name Mommy." Or she'll draw a line and say "look at my rainbow."

Aven is such a caretaker.  She loves to take care of her dollies, her stuffed animals, the dogs and even us.  Often times she'll snuggle with us in bed on a lazy morning and she'll wrap us up in blankets, pat us, tell us to close our eyes and go to sleep.  She will be a good big sister.  Here she is giving her red teddy bear a ride.

If a few words could describe this kiddo they are: independent & opinionated.  She is really my child.  She always has an opinion about what she wants to wear and what she wants to do.  Aven is very good at getting herself ready in the morning.  She is able to do socks, pants, underwear and shoes.  She is also doing a pretty good job of mastering potty training these last few weeks.  She has had very few accidents these last two weeks  and she seems pretty internally motivated to do it as well (no bribery).  She still needs help with shirts or sweatshirts and sometimes tricky shoes.  She is very cute because if we are outside and she is in, she'll run to the deck, see that we're outside, run inside, put her shoes on and come out and join us....all without us asking.

What can I say, the girl loves to take care of her dollies.  She wraps them up in her blankets and takes them everywhere.

Sweet uninhibited spirit of a child- dancing the afternoon away with an audience of one: Ethel.

In brief, Aven is growing up to be quite the little girl.  She is almost 2 1/2 (next month) and she is learning so much every day about how to be herself.  She goes to the Y ("school") three days a week and to a friend's house one day a week to play with their kids.  Abe is back to having Aven one day a week and they seem to be getting along well so far.  Aven loves to go to school and has her favorite friends: Evan & Riyer.  They are doing an excellent job of teaching the kids songs, letters, colors, reading books, learning about sharing and being responsible, etc.  I am glad that she has this outlet of time to play and interact with her peers.  She loves going to our friend's out (the Bandstras) because she gets to see her friends: Isla & Noah.  She looks up to them and loves to play with them (but she has no problem telling them what she does and doesn't like).  On the weekends we have gotten to spend more time together and I think it is good for her spirit.

A few weeks ago we went on a solo camping trip.  It was our first camping trip as a family just the three of us.  It was challenging sleeping in a tent together and she never did take a nap in the afternoon in the tent....just didn't work.  But Aven did a nice job of being careful around the fire, hanging out with Mom & Dad and just spending time together.  Of course there are many moments that are filled with chaos and interruptions and teaching our child about manners (please say "excuse me" and then wait if you need to say something).....(don't scream in the tent so loud, there are other people here), etc.  But the moments seem mostly filled with hugs and stories and laughter and giggles and sweet conversations and little pockets of things I will hold dear as my little one grows bigger every day.

Aven at "school"

Aven has been going to the local YMCA since she was 3 months old.  Awhile ago we took to calling it school.  One, because she does learn a lot there.  Two, she'll likely attend preschool there.  But, she truly does learn a lot.  They do thematic units like family, pets, jobs, etc.  When they do a new unit they read books, sing songs and lots of other activities surrounding the theme.  The people who work there truly care about the kids and treat them with patience and kindness.  Aven loves to go to school and see her friends and her teachers.  I was so thrilled when I saw these pictures of Aven at "school."  One, she is the cutest scientist ever!  They said she kept saying "I'm a sciencetist" over and over- and gosh, doesn't she look happy and like she's having fun!  I am so glad that she gets to spend the day with her friends learning and playing and that she spends time with excellent and caring teachers.  And I am glad that she has a good time while learning and playing too.

photo update

I have been taking a lot more pictures with my phone lately and doing a lot less blog posts....somehow the two haven't caught up with each other so here is an update in photos.

Aven putting on chapstick & wearing a ponytail (she loves them even though she won't keep them in her hair for long)

Aven tickling the Ivory keys on our new free Craigslist piano (it is 100 years old & has ivory keys)

New Sunglasses

Cuddling with Eleanor in Mommy & Daddy's bed

Walk at the local cemetery

Aven on her new motorcycle (Goodwill find for 5.99)

Video (never posted on Blogger before so I don't know if it will work)- of Aven riding her new motorcycle down the alley

Hanging in the pool with baby

Breakfast with Ahma in Seattle, taking doggie treats home for Eleanor & Ethel

Aven loved the sparklers and fireworks at 4th of July, a few big ones scared her but overall she loved it!