pleas of a 2 year old

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We had a busy day today. Church, a baptism immediately afterwards, home for an hour, then back to the church for baptism #2. Shortly into the 2nd baptism, Finley was DONE (in her defense, it had been a LONG day- especially for a 2 year old). She was being loud and irreverant- she had to be taken out in hopes of perserving the spirit of the service. On the way out the door, in Paul's arms, she pleaded (LOUDLY).... "nooooooo, please, I don't want to be on the naughty list!" When she came back in, she sat quietly for the remainder of the service (then ran around crazy as soon as it was over). The thought of being placed on santa's naughty list was just the motivation she needed. I might have to exploit that angle for the next few days :) I am still giggling at her little outburst though. That child continually cracks me up.

"what would you like for christmas?"

Finley found a Santa hat lying around, plopped it on her head and immediately assumed the role. She grabbed Avery and proceeded to ask her what she wanted for Christmas- complete with the deep Polar Express Santa's voice. I heard it from the other room. It was a crack up. I had to have her re-enact it for the camera. She happily obliged, but it really was funnier the first time, when she didn't know I was listening. Where does she come up with this stuff?!

On the girl's wishlists this year....

Avery wants anything she sees on a commercial, in an ad, or at a store (oh, the joys of commercialism-repetative marketing works, unfortunately). She is constantly changing her story about what she is going to ask santa for. The last I heard it was a baby Cinderella doll with a blue bottle. That is the official request we sent to the big guy. wink wink.

Finley has been steadfast in her request for a blue skategord (translation: blue skateboard). We correct her everytime, but it is so darn cute when she says it incorrectly. Everytime she is asked (and even when she is not asked) she makes her desire for this item know. Not nearly as fickle as her sister. Santa has an in on this one (thanks Kate :). I can't wait to see her face Christmas morning. Mama has put in a request that the skategord come with a helmet and pads... safety first!

Emerson wants her 4 front teeth to come through for real, instead of this peekaboo thing they have been doing. I pray for the same thing... maybe I could finally get some sleep if she wasn't constantly crying out in pain?! Other than that, the child wants or needs for nothing... that is what happens when you follow in the footsteps of 2 bigger sisters. At some point she will have her own personality, her own wants, her own opinions, but for now she won't know the difference and we are going to take advantage of that:)

It is getting so close. We are all excited and having fun in our preparations! There is still lots to do! Cookies to bake, gifts to wrap, movies to watch, books to read, crafts to make, fun to be had! Busy, busy, but wonderful all the same.

"such hard work"

After her 3rd time out in a 20 minute span (for attacking both of her sisters repeatedly), I reminded Avery, yet again, that she needed to make good choices. Her response, "but mom, being a big girl is such hard work." I couldn't help but smile. Oh, sweet girl, yes it is. It is a good thing she is so cute- it goes a long way in taking the edge off of mom's wrath.

It has just been one of those days. The girls have been testing limits at every turn. Avery has been very physically aggressive (Finley has scratches all over her body to prove it), and blatantly defiant. Between spurts of giggles, Finley has been screaming almost constantly- either because she is wounded (emotionally or physically- thanks to Avery), or because she is defending her territory/property (from Avery). Early in the day, Finley stuck her hand down her dirty diaper and wiped it all over (flashback to THIS). Then later, she took her diaper off (her new thing- ever since THIS incident), went and peed on my rug, announced it, and then proudly showed me the spot. Emerson has also been crying all day- the poor thing has not gotten more than a 5 minute nap. Between her own tummy troubles, teething discomfort?!, and other baby ailements, plus her LOUD, disruptive sisters that make it their mission in life to wake her up, she can't sleep for any length of time. Days like this are very, VERY long. I love them all so very dearly, but I am ready for a break. Is it bedtime yet?!

giving up naps?!

Why is it that when we are little and have to take naps we don't want them, but when we are older and want them, they are almost impossible to come by?! I put Finley down for her nap this afternoon and proceeded to listen to her scream and cry for a good solid hour- with no sign of backing down. Avery was concerned, so while I was nursing Emerson, she went in (against my pleadings) and turned on the light. I rushed into Finley's room to do damage control, only to find that Finley, during her "nap," had thrown all of her bedding out of the crib onto the floor, stripped down naked- tossing her clothes and diaper on top of the pile of blankets, and had also opened the shutters letting in the afternoon light. I really couldn't do much but laugh and run to get my camera.

Finley is getting to that point where naps are no longer necessary for her, but for my sanity I wish she would keep them up a little longer. But, she is so incredibly stubborn I won't hold my breath. If I want her to nap, I will just have to step up my game and do more to tucker her out. Getting the backyard up and running will help with that. Work has begun, so we are on our way. Yahoo!

trying to get my feet back under me

Emerson is 6 weeks old today, which is just crazy to me. Time marches on no matter what you are doing, which for me feels like I have been going non-stop, but have nothing to show for it. The jump from 2 children to 3 has been a little more challenging than I expected. It doesn't help that I am not getting much sleep... if any at all. Emerson grunts and groans, fusses, and cries all night long. She finally settles in for a solid stretch of quiet sleep just as Avery and Finley are getting up. Emerson is also pretty fussy during the day and requires a lot of attention- on top of the attention the other 2 demand. In order to get any rest at all, I have to go to bed as soon as we put the older girls to sleep, which leaves me absolutely NO time to do anything productive. I know things will get better- this insanity won't last forever. Unfortunately I know it will all go by too quickly and they will be all grown up. But, at the moment I am just trying to get my feet back under me and figure out how to do everything I need to do (including new Relief Society Presidency responsibilities, writing a talk for church next Sunday, photo shoots, coming up with ways to tucker out the 2 older girls all summer without preschool, not to mention normal day to day things like laundry, grocery shopping, feeding my family, cleaning the house, etc...) with 3 kids in tow. Life goes on and we will make it. Slowly I will get back up to speed. I got brave and ventured out to the Avila Valley Barn and then to Costco with all three today. Everyone survived. Baby steps.

happy mother's day, with love from Avery

Avery brought this home from preschool yesterday (I added the editorial comments). I got a good chuckle out of it. A little insight into the mind of a 4 year old!

who do you think this is?

Finley and Avery were looking through my old photos and they both kept pointing out "Finley" in all of MY baby pictures. I can really understand their confusion.... the resemblance is uncanny!

flashback to 1983

Yesterday we got the bassinet, the newborn baby clothes, the swing, and all the other baby paraphernalia out of the garage. Along with that, we somehow decided that it would be a good time (just days before having a new baby) to FINALLY (after 2 years of living here) to unpack. We brought 10+ boxes in to sort through?! What?! Yeah, I am not quite sure what we were thinking- I don't believe we were actually thinking at all. Anyway, among the boxes were photo albums. Dangerous. Serious time suck. Paul was taking a walk down memory lane into his mission days. We found some pictures of our early days together- even before we were married. Photos of our first condo that we remodeled. Koa when he was a puppy. I also came across all the albums from my childhood. Avery LOVES to look at pictures, so we were going through some of them this afternoon. As we were looking, I came across this photo of MY 4th birthday party back in 1983....

Does it bear any resemblance to THIS cake at Avery's 4th birthday party last month?!

I did NOT have a clue that I was recreating a similar RAINBOW theme for Avery's 4th birthday as my mom used for mine. I got quite a kick out of that coincidence. Too funny!

are you kidding me?!

On Tuesday, in the crazy wind we have been experiencing, a tree fell on our neighbors power line. The weight of the tree pulled the power pole away from our house, snapping all of our lines OFF of our house. We had live wires on the ground in our front yard! Kind of scary!

I had JUST gotten Finley down for a nap, Avery snuggled on the couch for a rest, sat down for the first time all day when I heard the crash. I peeked outside, but didn't see anything alarming from my vantage point, but then the fire department came and evacuated us! I had to wake up Finley- the horror- and go take refuge at the neighbors house across the street.

It was taking forever for PG&E to get out there to shut the power off, so we were just stuck. The firemen wouldn't even let me, in my "condition" go back into the house to grab my keys or purse, but when Paul showed up they let him in... apparently HE is expendable?! When we got the keys, we drove the van to safety (it was getting pelted by flying shingles- we have several good sized scratches on the van to show for it!) and took Paul back to work and walked around downtown for what felt like HOURS (as I was already tired- we all were). We went to mutual at the church and then got home when it was dark... still no power. That wasn't too surprising, but I was still hoping?! We broke out candles and flashlights and all turned in early to bed.

I was dreading another day without power and interruption to our routine (and loss of what little time I have left to get ready for baby). Fortunately, PG&E worked diligently through the night and the power was on when we woke up. Hallelujah!

It is all quite humerous now, but I thought I was going to go crazy... it was just the icing on the cake after a long stressful week/string of events. It also was an eye opening experience to show us just how UNPREPARED we are. We HAVE most of the things we need for an emergency, just not all in the same place and ready to go. We really need to work on that!

t-minus 34 days and counting

I am most definitely at THAT point in this pregnancy- all of a sudden. Maybe it was the 14 hours on my feet for 2 days in a row at Disneyland that pushed me over the edge?! It might be a little early to start the final count down, but the days are numbered and I am going to focus on that. Keeping my eye on the prize- the END with a precious new baby (who STILL does not have a name) in my arms. It will make these last few uncomfortable weeks bearable?! Maybe?!

questions

We had the missionaries over for dinner last week and when I told Avery about it ahead of time, she has several questions....

Why are they coming over?
Are they eating dinner with us?
What is for dessert?
Are you cooking?
And then the kicker (given my recent string of accidents) You are not going to hurt yourself again, are you?!

WARNING: pregnancy causes impaired judgement and clumsiness

I am not sure what it is, but have come to the conclusion in the past 24 hours that the above statement is in deed true (for me at least).

Yesterday while pitting an avocado- with the tip of a knife (which was probably my first mistake)- the knife slipped, went through the avocado flesh and into my index finger of the hand I was holding the avocado with (again, not the smartest idea- I did say that my judgement is compromised in my current pregnant state). I was home with the girls by myself as Paul was still at church. I did everything I knew to do and I stayed completely calm- but I could not help but feel like I was going to pass out. I don't do well with blood (and to think I was convinced I wanted to be a doctor at one point?!). So, my 3 year old daughter, who is really into playing doctor right now, attended to me. I must say she has GREAT bedside manner! "I will be right here. Let me know if you need anything and I will get it for you." "Of course," she said as I asked her to bring me a bandaid - which really didn't do much for the bleeding, but is was worth a shot. She just stayed with me asking me if I was ok as I went in and out of lightheadedness. Then she escorted Paul back to me as soon as he walked through the door. Now, Avery might actually be up to becoming a doctor or a nurse- it is definitely not for me! It is probably a good thing that I have girls too as I don't know if I could deal with all the injuries boys would sustain being boys.

I am recovering. My finger finally stopped bleeding- I don't think I need stitches. It is still throbbing and smarts, but I will survive. I did change my bandage while Paul was still here this morning... just in case I started to pass out again.

That was not the end of my clumsiness. This morning Paul was running a little late, so he asked me to iron his shirt. Harmless enough. Everything was fine until I set the iron down to move the shirt around. Mid-shirt spin, my wrist came in direct contact with the face of the HOT, HOT iron. So, now to add insult to injury, my left hand is now throbbing AND burning. At least it is all on my one hand!

I had big plans for putting together some bookshelves we picked up over the weekend, but given my recent track record, I am thinking I should do something a little less hazardous. I obviously don't need to do anything with potential for injury as I have gotten injured doing the most innocent of tasks.

i know this sort of thing happens...

I have just never experienced it first hand until now.

Yesterday the girls wanted popcorn as a snack. They both LOVE popcorn, so I made a bag (actually it was 2 because I burnt the 1st bag. I guess you can't really multi-task while making popcorn. Side note: burnt popcorn smells horrible and it permeates the entire house). After I made the good batch, I put the popcorn in individual little cups for each of the girls and set them up in their chairs. I went about cleaning the kitchen, and doing what I needed to do. Finley started whining and rubbing her nose. She has been teething (all 4 of her 2 year molars are trying to break through) so, I thought she was complaining about a runny nose and was just ready for her nap. I took her into her room to change her diaper, do a little snot sucking (with a bulb syringe), and put her down to sleep. We did not get far before I realized that it was NOT a runny nose, but in fact the unpopped popcorn kernels she had lodged in each of her nostrils that she was complaning about. I tried to get them out with the bulb syringe, but that did not work. I tried to call my dad- he is always my first line of defense, but he was not answering his phone (I am sure he was tending to his own patients). I then called our pediatrician Dr. Bravo and they just told me to bring her to the office and they would work us in.

We got to the office, they got us in, and after several attempts, a handful of different tools and gadgets, plus many pairs of hands to hold Finley down, Dr. Bravo was finally able to dislodge the blasted popcorn kernel! He only found one, so he thinks the other one was either moved down her throat and was swallowed OR it is stuck further back that he can't see. If that is the case, he said the popcorn will NOT dislodge itself because the kernels swell, get bigger, and get more stuck. She would have to go see the ear, nose, and throat doctor to have it removed. We are just on the look out for any signs of infection for the next few days, but she seems to be fine. She didn't seem to be too traumatized by the whole thing- she got a sucker and fell sound asleep on the way home.

All in a days work.

"i stuck."

I was getting the groceries out of the car today and as I was coming back inside, I could hear Finley crying. I called to her, but she did not come running as usual. I asked Avery where she was and why she was crying. Ever so casually, she informed me that she had pushed Finley into a basket and that she was now stuck, unable to get out! This is the image I walked in to find...

" I stuck. Help," she said, looking up at me with wide wet eyes. The horrible mother I am, I made her stay there until I could grab my camera!

our crazy christmas week

We had a whirlwind of a week (and there are more festivities to come)! Last minute preparations of shopping, sewing, cooking, and baking, (as well as a few unexpected events) consumed the days leading up to Christmas and after....

Saturday 12/20- Paul, his brother Chris, and my brother Robert (a.k.a. "Bubba") all worked hard to put together the HUGE trampoline that we got for the backyard. Even though we took every precaution to prevent Avery from seeing it (putting it together behind the house, covering the deck banisters with blankets, closing all the blinds, and trying to keep the girls in no view rooms) she still figured out what was going on. She came to me after finding a little hole on the deck that wasn’t covered by blankets, had me get down to her level so she could quietly whisper to me, “I think they are building a bounce house.” I tried to play it off as best I could, but the cover didn’t last long. She came to the conclusion that mommy and daddy got her the trampoline. At least we got to take the credit! We ended up letting her use it a few times before Christmas- in between the rain storms.

Sunday 12/21- Paul’s older brother Chris was ordained an Elder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This was a very special event for the whole family as Chris has come back to full activity in the church this past year after a 30+ year period.


Monday 12/22- I finished up my mom's gifts (I made her a family tree and filled a set of wall frames with photos) and wrapped them before she got here. My mom came into town to help with preparations and to spend a little extra time with the girls.

Paul's brother Tim and his family also made it in from Utah. We also had an unexpected visitor....

'Twas three nights before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring EXCEPT for a mouse! I kept hearing something scratching around in the middle of the night and woke Paul up to check it out. The sound would disappear as soon as he turned on the light. We went back to bed, but the scratching resumed. Finally around 4 a.m., Paul emptied all the clothes out of my dresser (haphazardly making a COMPLETE mess that I would later have to deal with), pulled the drawers out and found a little mouse inside the dresser. Paul tried to catch him in a tupperware container, but the little bugger hopped out of the dresser and under a pillow. Paul trapped him and the little guy didn't survive. I was just happy to go back to sleep (for a very brief time) sans scratching noises.


Tuesday 12/23- Despite my exhaustion from the lack of sleep the night before, and with my mom's help, I got most of the sewing projects done that I had planned for gifts. The aprons I made for my girls and all the nieces turned out great. I got the inspiration HERE. I LOVED theirs, but did not have $28 to spend on an apron for each girl, so I tried to recreate them myself. They are not perfect, but for a total of about $6 per apron I think they turned out pretty good.

Wednesday 12/24 (Christmas Eve)- We took the girls out to see Santa (at the Mission in downtown SLO) so they could give him their last-minute requests. Avery told us ahead of time that she would stand next to Santa for a picture, but she would not sit on his lap. I had to get in the picture too, but there was no screaming or crying involved which was a dramatic improvement over years past. Then we also took a ride on the carousel, which Avery LOVED and Finley wanted absolutely NO part of- she had fun watching Avery from the side-lines.

Paul's parents reserved their community clubhouse for Christmas Eve dinner and festivities. When we got there, there was no electricity! The power came back on just about the time that we pushed all the tables together under the emergency flood lights to eat our pizza and salad. We ended up having a wonderful time all together exchanging gifts and letting the kids run around (Avery, Audrey and Finley running around screaming while the older girls sat back and watched).

We got home late, let the girls open one present (pjs and slippers), put them down for bed, and set up to do the last of the wrapping. We didn't get far before Finley woke up screaming. We tried letting her cry it out, but after 30 minutes (and a house full of people trying to sleep) it was obvious she was not going to go back to sleep on her own. Nothing would calm her down- I offered her food, held her, rocked her, read a book, took her into our bed and turned on a movie- with no avail. Finally I had Paul drive her around to look at Christmas lights so I could get the rest of the wrapping done. She ended up falling asleep in the car and I was able to transfer her to our bed (I did not want to risk another screaming fit in the middle of the night) without further problem.

Thursday 12/25 (Christmas Day)- We got up, (not too early since Finley was tired from her crying fit) and opened presents with our family, my mom, Larry, and Bubba (my brother Robert). The girls had fun- Avery really got the present opening thing this time around. She just wanted to open more and more asking constantly, "what can I open next?!"

We had a nice relaxed morning, until....
the crazy wind gusts threw our brand new trampoline into the side of the house, broke an exterior light fixture, and busted the trampoline and enclosure completely. Paul and Larry had to go outside in the heavy wind, pouring rain, and muddy mess of a yard to try to tame the beast before it did more damage. They ended up taking off the enclosure and turning the trampoline upside down so that it wouldn't be able to take flight again. You can only imagine how happy Paul was during all of this. The brand new trampoline that he, just 5 days earlier, spent several hours putting together just broke- before we were really even able to enjoy it! Plus, he was wet, cold, and muddy to boot. I didn't hear any profanities while inside so I thought he was doing pretty good, but he assured me that he did let a few escape his lips during the ordeal. I was pretty upset myself- the idea of spending that $ again to replace something we just bought made me absolutely sick to my stomach. We are going to try taking it apart and take it back to Walmart to see what they will do- I am pretty sure they will take it back?! I hope! But, that just means that Paul will have to take it apart and put a new one together! All we can do now is laugh and do what needs to be done.

My mom and I prepared our Christmas dinner and the troops all gathered at our house that evening. The main topic of conversation of the night was names for baby girl #3- everyone was giving suggestions (except Paul of course). I don't know if we are any closer to narrowing it down, but we got a few good ideas to add to the list.

Friday 12/26- My mom and I resumed sewing as well as finished up baking cookies and making treats that we didn't get a chance to make before Christmas before she and Larry left to go home and we packed up to drive to L.A. for the night.

Saturday 12/27- The girls and I hung out at the hotel, watching the airplanes land and watching movies while Paul went with ALL his siblings, mom and dad to the L.A. temple. Chris was going through the temple for the first time. What a momentous occasion! Lee and Harvey had all their children in the temple with them! I would have loved to be there, but I am so happy that they had that opportunity and were all able to support Chris in this exciting event.

We then gathered with the extended White family to visit with Paul's grandma- Grandma GG, who recently moved back down to Glendale from her senior living center here in San Luis Obispo. I got to meet Paul's cousins that I have never met in the 8 years we have been married. We also got to meet the "other" Avery that we had heard so much about. One of Paul's cousins had a little girl they named Avery, just 2 months after our Avery was born. All the kids were tired, but we got a few pictures before we loaded up in the car and headed home!

Whew! What a week! And the fun continues...tomorrow the other side of Paul's extended family are coming to visit for the day. We will be having a big lunch gathering at our house, after the boys get back from their golf excursion. We are also gearing up for my dad, my brother David, and his girlfriend Mary to get here tomorrow evening. They will be here for the week, which will also be full of activity- watching the Oregon Ducks in their bowl game, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day (watching football- blah) another round of gift exchanging, and hanging out. Plus, I have a couple of photoshoots scheduled! Busy, busy, busy!

what we will NOT be naming baby girl #3

It has been brought to my attention by several people (my dad included- how does he know these things?!) that Angie Harmon (of Law and Order fame) and her NFL player husband Jason Sehorn have 2 girls- Finley and Avery- just like we do?! Yes, I am VERY aware of this. This was not done intentionally- in my defense, we had an Avery and a Finley before their Avery was born.... I am just saying. When I heard they were expecting again (which was also brought to my attention over and over again) I was bound and determined to wait to see what they named their new addition before we got too set on a name of our own. I just saw HERE that they welcomed baby girl #3 into the world today and her name is Emery Hope. So, just to clarify- we will NOT be naming our baby girl #3 Emery. It is a cute name, but we will be going with something else- I don't know what yet, but rest assured Emery is off our list. I was thinking seriously about Emerson, but I think that might be too close?!

Now, the serious contemplation and discussion can begin- suggestions welcome! I just have a few requirements- it can't start with the letters P, M, A, or F, I would prefer a name that doesn't end in y, and I would like to use Bailey (my maiden name) as her middle name. Any ideas?

the infamous mushroom story

On my recent post about our music listening habits, my dear friend Kelli (who has known me a very long time) left a comment alluding to a certain incident in my younger years. It is a story that needs to be documented for posterity sake- for no other reason than for a few good laughs.

To give a little background...

I was a junior in high school, coming from a very small town in Oregon (total population of 1,200 and a high school class consisting of 67 students). I had just gotten my driver's license a few weeks earlier. Within the first week of getting my license, I got pulled over and got a ticket (by a family friend none the less who was trying to make an example of me- thanks Pat!) in front of the high school, AS SCHOOL WAS LETTING OUT. Yeah, I don't think I EVER lived that one down. Anyway, this piece of embarrassing information is essential to understanding why I was at traffic school... where I met Graham.

Graham was from a much larger school in the "BIG" city of Eugene and it was apparent that he had a little bit of a bad boy streak in him. I was a sucker for bad boys, so we hit it off as we sat next to each other... at traffic school. That really should have been my first red flag.

Graham and I hung out for a few weeks, getting together occasionally and talking on the phone regularly. So, when my mom was in town for the week, I wanted her to meet him. I called him up to see if we could plan something. This is how the fateful conversation went down....

ME: Hey, my mom is in town and I wanted to see if you wanted to get
together so she can meet you.
Graham: I can't
ME: Why not?
Graham: Well, I am kind of grounded.
ME: What did you do?
Graham: I got arrested last night!
ME: FOR WHAT?!
Graham: Well, some friends and I were driving around and we got pulled over
because there was a SUBWAY that had been robbed in the area.
ME: Did you do it? Did you rob the SUBWAY?
Graham: NO!
ME: Then what was the problem?
Graham: When they searched our car, they found
mushrooms.
ME: So you DID rob the SUBWAY?!
Graham: No.
ME: But, what about the mushrooms!?
Graham: SHROOMS!
ME: Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh! Got it.

Then I laughed, trying to play off that I really knew what he was talking about the whole time. ha ha!

Needless to say, that was the last time a talked to Graham- although I did run into him a few times around the BIG city. Each time he would laugh at my expense. It's ok though, because I have continued to tell the story for the same reason. It really is hysterical. I mean, first of all- I don't think that mushrooms are even an option at Subway- in fact, I have checked and they are not. Secondly, if they HAD robbed the Subway, why on earth would they have stopped to grab the mushrooms? My rational for this thought process initially was that maybe they tracked mushrooms in on their shoes?! Weak, I know. And lastly, I had absolutely NO clue that he was talking about mushrooms as in the drug kind. How was I supposed to know?! Now, if he had just called them 'shrooms from the get go (that is what I learned them to be called in my health drug education class- which is the only way I knew anything about them), I wouldn't have this crazy story to tell, which illustrates my naivety at its finest. Kelli kindly brought this to my attention as she thought that me not realizing what the words of songs are actually SAYING was another example that fine quality. Thanks Kel! I have other stories- a few actually, but those will just have to wait for another time- or maybe never.

I want to clarify that I am not a ditz. I really am intelligent, by most standards. My husband just likes to point out that I may be book smart, but don't have a whole lot of street smarts. Is that really such a bad thing?! I don't think so.

Pirish?!

We got a special Minnie Mouse for Avery at Epcot Center's World Showcase when we were at Disney World in April. The World Showcase is really incredible- each country is represented by replicas (nearly full size) of famous landmarks, eateries with authentic food, and shops with souvenir items that you would find if you were actually visiting the country itself- and some country specific Disney paraphernalia mixed in, of course. Anyway, I digress.

The stuffed Minnie Mouse we got in "Ireland" was a "must get" because it was green and had shamrocks all over it. Since Avery's birthday is March 17, St. Patrick's day, we thought it was appropriate (and oh, so very cute). Avery, however, loves this Minnie not because it pays homage to her birth date, but because she thinks it looks like a pirate (she has been on a pirate kick ever since we went on Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland forever ago- she even recognizes and points out Captain Jack Sparrow when Johnny Depp's picture pops up during the Disney montage at the beginning of her Enchanted DVD- EVERY TIME). So, she calls (or I should say called) this particular minnie her "Pirate Minnie." We recently tried to explain to her that it is actually "Irish" Minnie, with interesting results. Avery does try to say "Irish" upon prompting and if she concentrates really hard, it comes out correct; but, if she is not focused, it comes out "Pirish." I don't know if she is just having a hard time with the pronunciation or if she is consciously mixing the two names (Pirate and Irish), but this is now her "Pirish" Minnie. It just cracks us up every time she says it! So, without further ado, I introduce you to the Irish Pirate.... "Pirish" Minnie!

I guess I can see Avery's confusion- she does kind of look like a swashbuckling pirate to me too!

don't mess with me!

The things my children learn from their aunties and uncles just astounds me! For example, here is Day-Day teaching Avery the fine art of intimidation!

She is a quick study... I think she has it down. She already uses this technique on her little sister. Fortunately, we do not have football helmets at home- that could be dangerous!

ARGG!

EXCUSE ME?!

The girls and I were driving home from our weekend in Carmel and Avery was being so whiny... there are very few things I despise more than whining. I reprimanded her and told her that she needed to shape up or she was going to lose the privilege of watching a show in the car. She quieted down for a minute and then said "Mom, Finny and I don't like your attitude." EXCUSE ME?! I had to try so very hard not to laugh, even though it is really not funny... I think we might be in for BIG trouble if she is already sassing me like this at the tender age of 3! Both of the girls can give the dirtiest looks too... just check out that picture above. If it is possible, Finley's looks are worse- just ask anyone who has had the unfortunate experience of having one of her looks directed at them! Heaven help us!