I got my own computer!

For Valentine's day, Dan bought me my own laptop computer! What a great husband!

"My tummy is beautiful!"

Dan and I were in the office this afternoon talking/working while Anderson napped and Ava watched cartoons (or rather was supposed to be watching) in our bedroom. Ava walks in to the office and tells us, "my tummy is beautiful!" while holding up her shirt. There is nothing visible so I figure she is just being silly. As she comes closer, I start to smell something that smells like Dan's cologne. Her tummy is "beautiful" because she got into Dan's deodorant and rubbed it all over her stomach! She did smell good, but my 2 year old little girl smelled like a grown man!

I need my own computer!

It feels like it's been forever since I have had a chance to sit down and update my blog. The reason being is that I no longer have use of the computer during the day. Dan started a new position within his company last week and he now works from home! While it is is GREAT to have him home, we are still trying to adjust to a new routine. After being on your own for 2.5 years, you kind of get used to doing things a certain way. It's a good problem to have though! Speaking of Dan's job, it was announced today that he won the consulting excellence award! He deserves this so much and i can't even express how proud I am of him. The best part is that the reward for winning is a trip (usually to Cancun)! The company is not doing the trip this year b/c of the economic trouble right now, but when they take the next trip we'll be going!

Dan and I are finally taking the vacation we wanted to before we had kids this summer. We have booked our 12 day vacation to Hawaii in June! We are both really looking forward to that!

On the kid front, Ava got her first bad report from her teacher today. :( Apparently she had several meltdowns during her 3 hour school day. One was over the birthday cupcakes. There were pink and brown cupcakes to choose from but apparently Ava wanted white so she threw a fit. Some days are very challenging with her! I think some problems would be resolved if she would just take naps...

Anderson has his first tooth!! I was shocked b/c I really thought he would be like Ava and be at least 1. He is starting to stand by himself now so I think he is on target to walk around/by his birthday. It would be fine by me if he took off and walked tomorrow b/c he is wearing holes in the knees of his jeans! His growth has really slowed down. He is not much bigger now at 10 1/2 months than he was at 6 months. He has been wearing the same clothes for the last 4 months so they are really starting to show wear. Hopefully we can get them to last until spring.

Let it snow!

On Tuesday night Indy was hit with the the biggest snow storm in 13 years! We have a foot of snow! Ava begged all day Tuesday to go out and play in the snow. She had to wait until daddy was done working since I couldn't take Anderson out. The wait about killed her At that point we only had about 3 or 4 inches so it was just the perfect amount for her to play in. When we woke up Wednesday morning there was 3 times that much. She came outside with me when I went out to shovel the drive, but she couldn't even hardly stand up in it. Thankfully some neighbors came over with their snow blower to help me clean the drive out. It would have taken me hours by myself. We have yet to venture out of the house, but I'm sure the roads are fine by now since schools were back in session today. Guess we'll see tomorrow!

Is it Friday yet??

What a week this has been so far. Ava continues to beat up her brother no matter what I say or do. I feel like I am a referee! They can be sitting and playing so well together and then something suddenly sets Ava off...kids! What can you do!

Yesterday I loaded up the kids to go to Winamac to stay at my parents. My goal was to leave at 2 since that is Anderson's afternoon nap time. I was running right on schedule...for a short time. I went out to the garage to back the truck up and start it so it could warm up. When I came in, I found that Anderson had dumped Toby's water bowl. He was soaked! So I tried to get him changed quickly since the car was running. However, changing this boy is no easy task. I can hardly manage to get a diaper on him without manhandling him. I had to completely strip him b/c even his onesie was wet. When I finally managed to get that done, I got everyone loaded up including the dog. I got about a mile away and realized I had forgotten Toby's leash. So I turned around to go get it. Now we are off. I get 2 miles down the road and I am stopped by a train. I should have known better than to go the way I did (there is another road that goes under the tracks), but it this particular road is the most direct way...just my luck. Sometimes these trains take over 30 minutes too! Luckily we were only stopped for 5 minutes. So after about 3 hours, I finally make it to my parents (it usually only takes 2 hours!). Yeah...Tuesday is finally over!
This morning I got up super early to drive my mom to an appointment for an MRI. This was my reason for coming. The trip to and from Lafayette was uneventful. It gets exciting after I drop my mom off and try to leave to come back to Indy. We pulled in her drive and I didn't want to unload the kids so mom stayed in the running truck with them while I ran in to get our bags and Toby. I put the bags in the back and let Toby in after mom gets out. In the 10 seconds or less it took me to walk around to the driver's side door, Toby had managed to lock the doors. The truck is still running and both kids are in the car. GREAT!! Luckily, we have a family friend who runs an auto shop/towing business just minutes from mom's house. He was able to come get me into the truck within 15 minutes! Thankfully the truck was running so the kids stayed nice and toasty. Whew...crisis resolved. Now onward to home...
We made it to the halfway point of the trip and Ava decided she needed to go potty. Fabulous! So I stopped at a gas station, unloaded both kids and ventured in to find the potty. Of course, the restrooms are all the way across the store so we have to walk by all the junky gas station food. Then Ava promptly announces she's hungry. I successfully squeezed all of us into a tiny stall in the nasty bathroom so everyone could potty. As we exit the bathroom, Ava immediately starts begging for some chips. It takes awhile, but I finally make it to pay for the chips. It's amazing to me that some people can be so rude. Here I am, by myself, trying to juggle a baby, a toddler, a bag of chips while digging for my wallet...people cut in front of me and didn't even bother to help me with a door. The best part was that there was a group of policeman that just stood there smoking the cigarettes and staring at me. After what seemed like a lifetime, we were back on the road. At least Ava was silent b/c she was shoveling chips into her mouth. I probably should have been a "good" mom and bought something a little healthier, but it wasn't worth the battle! ;) Now we are home, the kids are in bed, and I am off to clean purple crayon out of the bathtub! Here's to an uneventful Thursday!!

Odds and ends

I thought I would give you all a quick update on what is going in in each of our lives....

Dan has been able to work from home for the past month. It has been fabulous! It is so nice to have help with the kids in the evenings. It has also made me start cooking again, which is a good thing. I enjoy cooking meals, but I never really cook when it is just me and the kids at home. He is considering trying to transfer to a different position in the company which would require less travel. He was also nominated by his boss for a consultant of the year award! He works so hard and has sacrificed so much. I hope he wins b/c he deserves it!

I have been staying busy with the kids and holiday/post holiday stuff. I haven't been able to get into the gym as much as I should this month with all the traveling and illnesses we've had, but I was able to reach my weight loss goal for the end of the year. I actually beat it by 1 pound! Now only 4 more pounds and the baby weight will be gone! My goal to lose that is by Anderson's first birthday.

Ava...where to begin...She has been struggling with some jealousy issues this past month, but it seems to be improving. She was having "accidents" in her pants sometimes up to 3 times a day. She has also really started to beat up on poor little Anderson. I caught her slamming his head in the cabinet door once and she likes to push him over. She is getting better at sharing with him, but she has panic attacks every now and then when she thinks he is after something of hers. They are quite the pair! She is still really enjoying "school". She is so VERY verbal. There are sometimes when I wish she had a mute button! She is still a super shrimp...nobody believes me when I say she is going on 3 until they hear her speak. I figure Anderson will catch up with her eventually.

Anderson is now into EVERYTHING! He has started pulling up and is surprisingly sturdy. He unloads the dishwasher as fast as I can load it. Now that his ears are healthy, he has started to talk so much more. He says dada, mama, and ba (for ball), and baba (for bottle). He also also recently started clapping and waving. He is now getting to the age where they really start to do new things and really interact more. I love this age! I now have 2 children who LOVE music. If you have seen any of the videos of Ava, you probably noticed she sways side to side...Anderson does the exact same thing...check out the video.



We have had a busy 6 weeks or so and are looking forward to things slowing down. At least of of us is always sick...I'm ready for the cold and flu season to be over!

Meet Ramona

Meet Ramona...She became a member of this family on December 21st.

Ava meeting Ramona for the first time.

Ramona now walks where we go....(notice Ava "walking" her around by her hair!)

She even eats babyfood...

and chicken fries...
and of course has her own cup of milk.


Ramona also sleeps with Ava (though I don't have a picture of that). She is now truly a member of our family.

It is so funny to watch Ava play with her. She puts her down for naps (on the couch) and then demands that we all be quiet. She also tells me that Ramona is a little shy. I caught Ava stealing one of Anderson's diapers the other day and she had it opened up and was doing her best to actually put it on the doll! So funny!