The mind of a 3 year old

Tonight while we were playing family "Animal Charades" before bed, Ava had a hilarious one!

She acted like she was real heavy, squatted down and started pushing.

Umm, we were a bit stumped!

"A COW!" she squealed, "I'm making milk!"

We were all rolling in laughter!

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As if the Christmas season isn't magical enough, getting to experience it through the eyes of a 3 year old is amazing. Once the Christmas season began and we were out looking at decorations and talking about setting out our snowglobes, Ava grabbed my hand and squeezed it tight and said, "I'm so happy mommy, I feel like I'm going to cry." She was seriously about to cry tears of joy. It made me tear up. As well as the lady who heard her in Target.

It is so special.

Bath time!

Bathtime just got a lot more fun and interesting.....

Baby brother has joined big sister in the tub and the result is pure bliss from both of them.

I Feel Like Makin'......

FOOD!





I loved making food when Ava was a babe and was looking forward to doing it again with Griffin. Until the time came and I just wasn't as motivated. However, I found the time while Ava was at school one day and Ryan was home and just went to town! I made a huge batch of peas, green beans, acorn squash, and carrots. The excitement of it all, that I'm giving my little baby the purest, freshest whole foods that I can give, returned and I was once again motivated!

Griff, on the other hand, isn't real keen on eating. He'll eat, don't get me wrong. He is just still not trying to bite my hand off in the process. He makes grossed-out faces, spits a lot of it out, but then always comes back for more. It will just take some time and persistence and I'm sure he'll be chomping at the bit in no time.

His favorites so far are acorn squash and carrots. I need to do sweet potatoes because he is liking the orange veggies. He'll tolerate the green veggies, peas and green beans so far, but smiles more with orange. The only fruits thus far that have been introduced are bananas and avocados, since those are easy and truly raw.

You can tell by his face that he feels so-so about food, lol. Too bad his big sister feels the same way at this point in her life, but she used to be the BEST eater!

Green beans!


Banana!


Acorn Squash!


Avocado!


Carrots!

Letter to Santa

Ava told me what she wanted me to write and she helped me by tracing key letters at the beginning of certain words. She was so proud of herself! And look! She wrote her name!

Countdown to Christmas

We are having a fun time counting down the days until Christmas. Each day we cut a piece off of our chain and open a box on the advent calendar. There is a little treat inside and an activity to do that day. I have wanted to do this for years, and finally got around to getting it done this year. Ava is so good about remembering to do it everyday.

Our activities look like this:

W Dec 1 - Make a paper chain to countdown to Christmas
Th Dec 2 - Write a letter to Santa
F Dec 3 - Check out Christmas books at the library
S Dec 4 - Attend the Merry Main Street Festival
Su Dec 5 - Polar Express Birthday party
M Dec 6 - Take canned goods to food pantry
T Dec 7 - Make S'mores
W Dec 8 - Winter Party at School
Th Dec 9 - Make a Christmas craft together
F Dec 10 - Drive to 4015 Bryson Drive to watch their light show to music
S Dec 11 - Visit fireside with Santa at neighborhood event
Su Dec 12 - Make a card for a friend/family member
M Dec 13 - Read and/or make a Christmas book
T Dec 14 - Make a holiday-themed food treat
W Dec 15 - Wear red or green
Th Dec 16 - School Winter Performance
F Dec 17 - Make hot chocolate with marshmellows
S Dec 18 - Attend Holiday Party at the Hoffman's
Su Dec 19 - Donate a book to a child in need
M Dec 20 - Watch a Christmas themed movie
T Dec 21 - Listen to Christmas music and learn a song
W Dec 22 - Take a family photo in front of the tree
Th Dec 23 - Go See Christmas Lights
F Dec 24 - Make treats for Santa

Griffin's First Thanksgiving

We spent Griffin's first Thanksgiving at Grandma's house in Tulsa, just like Ava's First Thanksgiving and we got to meet the newest member of our family, Aunt Gretchen's baby, Jack. He is so sweet and so little, it's crazy that he is only 4 months younger than Griff b/c Griff is so big!

We had a great time hanging with my mom and sisters and their kids and Ava LOVED hanging out with her Austin cousins once again!

The Magic Beans

Oh the wonders of Playdoh! What starts out as eyes on tamborine face, turns into cutting and slicing of magic beans, to be buried and waited upon for growth.

Oh the minds of preschoolers.....pretty magical!

P.S. We are STILL waiting for those magic beans to sprout and see what happens?

Wordless Wednesday: Sleeping Baby

First Puzzle

This a big first for Ava because she tends to get a bit frustrated with puzzles when they won't stay together and ends up just giving up. The other day at rest time she was sitting quietly on the rug downstairs and asked me to come see what she was doing. We both patiently watched as each piece was completed. I was so proud of her. Even better, SHE was so proud of HERSELF!

Griffin's Love Affair with Sophie

The Giraffe.

Oh, how he loves her so.

Smiles when he sees her.

Kicks when she squeaks.

And she's good enough for mama too.

Pumpkin Splash

Although it happened over a month ago, I found these pics on Ryan's phone that I never shared.

We attended a pumpkin splash event at the athletic center, where the kids find a pumpkin in the pool area, claim it and decorate it. Ava had such a great time.



Making a mad dash with her pumpkin...reminiscent of the Easter egg hunt much?!








And just because Griff wanted in on the action....we look like twinsies here, huh?

Grandma's Birth Announcement

for Griffin.

Isn't it perfect!

Thanks mom!

One Step Ahead of Us

Ava's questions and quick retorts are baffling us and it just keeps getting better, more witty and more sassy (unfortunately).

The other day it was gloomy and very low clouds were overhead. Low enough and spread all over enough that it didn't look like there were any clouds in the sky. It began to rain.

Ava: "Hey mom? How is it raining when there are no clouds in the sky?"

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Driving in the car.

"Mom? Why are there stop signs AND stop lights?"

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Walking around at Target.

I see a DVD on sale that has Barbie as a mermaid on the cover. Knowing it is right up Ava's alley, I slyly (or so I think) look over at her to see if she spotted it--seeing as how she wants everything in the store and I hoping it wasn't seen. She already has her little eyes on ME just waiting for me to look at her, with a sly smile on her face. She had already seen it and was anticipating the whole thing before I knew what was happening.

Always a step ahead of us.

Wordless Wednesday: First Tooth

And you can maybe see the second one that poked thorugh right next to it.

Frisco Discovery Center