"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.

why not?!

Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain.

{author unknown}

When it was pouring rain, the girls were continually begging to go outside and play. I repeatedly said "no." Then I thought, why not?! We got coats and boots on and I grabbed my camera. They got COMPLETELY soaked and had an absolute blast doing it. It lasted a whole 15 minutes before they realized they were wet and freezing cold. We stripped off wet clothes at the door and they got straight into a bubble bath to warm up.

Oh, the simple joys of being a child.

dancing diva

Avery's dance class performed a "nutcracker" dance for their winter presentation (they danced to a selection of nutcracker music and a small wooden nutcracker made a brief appearance, however that is where the "nutcracker" similarities ended). Avery has been dancing since she was itty bitty and has put on countless "performances" for us at home, but this was her first actual dance recital. The other studio she attended prior to this class had one BIG show a year, up on stage, with lights, $35 tickets and was always held on a Sunday. Someday maybe, but for a 2, 3, 4 year old, this more casual recital atmosphere seemed much more appropriate.

Avery loved every minute of it. She loved dressing up, she loved having her own little cheering section- YaYa, PaPa, Bubba, Gramma Lee, Pa, Mom, Dad, Finley, and Emerson were all in attendance, she loved performing her routines... she was completely in her element. It was so fun to watch her do something that she loves so much.

Her favorite part of all.... receiving flowers from her adoring fans! She thought that was just the greatest thing ever. "Just like Angelina Ballerina," she said. Avery did prep me for days ahead of time, wanting to make sure that we would have flowers to give her after her show :) Can you say high maintenance?! Even still, her reaction was just priceless and made it well worth the covert mission we sent YaYa on at the last minute to grab the forgotten flowers.

princess, flower, and tiger, oh my

Halloween has come and gone. It was not my most creative year- no coordinating, handmade costumes, but we all survived. Also, after the one night we set aside to do pumpkins turned into a night of mishaps, one after another, we threw in the towel and didn't carve a pumpkin at all. I do love Halloween and all that goes along with it, but this year I had to let go of something- hours of costume fashioning and pumpkin creation crafting were unfortunately the first to go.... I plan to come back with a vengeance next year:).

Avery wanted to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Easy enough. We had a Belle dress up dress already. Add a crown, gloves, and a red ribbon necklace and we are done. For trunk-or-treat at church we did not have the gloves yet (finding kid sized gloves, when you want them or course, was a challenge) and Avery refused to be an "incomplete" Belle, so she went as a ballerina- we came straight from dance class... convenient:). She did go as Belle (after I got her the appropriate "accessories") to Tiny Tigers on Thursday, Pismo trunk-or-treat on Friday, and on Halloween night at the Rober's (thanks for inviting us and accommodating Paul's Oregon football obsession :). Avery LOVED all the festivities, trick-or-treating, and the windfall of candy (of course).

The day of trunk-or- treat I set out 4+ full costumes for Finley to choose from... minnie mouse, a butterfly, a fairy, and a ballerina. She refused them all. She was insistent that she wanted to be a tiger. I didn't have a tiger costume, so we quickly fashioned a cowgirl costume, complete with a stick horse. She ended up staying in the back of the van the whole night because she was too scared of all the "monsters"....everything is very REAL to her at this point. We went and got a tiger outfit for her to wear for our other events, but when we got it home she decided it was too scary. She did end up wearing it (without the head and paws... those were the scary parts) for the Pismo ward trunk-or-treat and on Halloween.

Finley loved the candy, but was not thrilled about how you go about getting the candy. She was done after trick-or-treating at one house... "can we go home now?"

Emerson went as a flower dressed in a green track suit and a $1.00 flower headband I got at Target a few years ago at Easter time. She was cute, and I have no pictures.

Paul dressed up as a tourist for work on Friday- madras plaid shorts, yellow Hawaiian shirt, black socks, sandals. It was a good look for him.

I went as a tired, overworked, underpaid mom of 3 small children. I have yet to take off my disguise:).

breaking the mold

Avery and Finley followed a very similar growth and development pattern- neither one were on the charts for height or weight during their first year, were very petite and often mistake for younger than their age, they got teeth about the same time, had similar dirty diaper issues (or lack thereof)... things were fairly predictable with Finley because we had already seen it with Avery. Emerson is a different story all together. I am not sure what to expect with her- it is a whole new game. We had her 6 month well-check on Wednesday and she continues break the mold. She is in the 90th percentile for weight (17 lbs. 8 oz) and 50th percentile for height (25 1/2 inches). Dr. Bravo assures me that the upside down ratio of height to weight is not of ANY concern at this point. I even had to break out the box of 6-12 month clothes last week... right at 6 months, instead of 12 months. Still no teeth- and it doesn't look like they are coming anytime soon (the other girls had 4 by 6 months). She has NO problem filling her diapers... several times a day even. We are going through diapers faster than ever before. Even though she not following the "pattern" we are used to, she is perfectly healthy in every way.... and adorable to boot! She gets a lot of attention for her eyes (which are not as light as they were- I am not ready to concede the dream just yet) and even more specifically her eyelashes (just like the other girls); but, if I hear one more time how HUGE her thighs are, I might have to scream. I know. Just like I know I have 3 girls- besides stating the obvious, there is nothing wrong with it, and there is nothing I can do about it- good or bad.... it is what it is. We love our squishy little mold breaker. She is keeping us on our toes!

she did it!

As a sunbeam (sunday school class for children ages 3-4) this year, Avery participated in her very first primary program at church on Sunday. We practiced her lines over and over (Finley was going around saying "I must take care of my body" and "Repentance helps me return to my Heavenly Father" right along with Avery), but it was no guarantee that she would actually get up and talk into the microphone... it is a little intimidating for a 4 year old (who am I kidding, it is for me too). There might have been some serious bribing involved but, when it came down to it, she did it and she did great. She sang most of the songs too (or at least I could see her mouth moving :)). Ya Ya and Papa came too- Avery loved sharing it with them. When she was done, Finley rushed to her side, gave Avery a big hug and said " I so proud of you Avery! I knew you could do it!" So sweet (it is good to know that in spite of tormenting each other a lot of the time, they can be sweet when they want to be). We are very proud of her too. It is a right of passage of sorts. She is growing up so quickly.

life happens...

and at lightning speeds it goes by. The months have just flown by. Last thing I remember it was a few weeks into summer (and I was kind of bored and a little stir crazy to tell the truth). Now, all of a sudden it is the middle of October- fall is upon us, our routines are back in full swing, and I am FAR from bored. Where did the time go? We have most definitely not been idly passing our days... we have been busy, busy, here, there, home, gone again, and back. I finally have just a moment to breathe and to do some SERIOUS catch up...

1. The end of August, the girls and I drove to Oregon to attend my brother's white coat ceremony upon his entrance into Oregon Health Sciences University Medical School. It has been a long fought road to get him there and I am so very proud of him. I am so happy we made the trip to be there to share in that event.

We figured that if we were going to drive 12 hours there, we were going to stay a while. We were gone for almost a full 2 weeks enjoying beautiful Oregon summer evenings, spending time with family and friends, and having a blast.

On the way home, my sister drove with us down to Loomis, CA so we could visit with our grandma. It was wonderful to see family!

We missed Paul terribly by that point, and were very excited to get home again. However, the drive from my grandma's house to my mom's house that usually takes 1 1/2 hours ended up taking 4 hours because of road construction (at midnight). At one point, everyone was screaming at the same time, Avery had to go to the bathroom, but we weren't near an exit, she wouldn't use a cup, I tried to put a diaper on her- she wasn't going for that either. I had to take Emerson out of her car seat to nurse ( we were at a standstill). When we finally got off the freeway, the gas station's bathroom was out of order, the 24 hour McDonald's was closed, but we finally got her to a bathroom on our third try. Whew. That was exhausting. Comical looking back- not so comical in the moment :).

2. Home for a week, crammed in dentist, doctor, and hair appointments before heading out again. We went to Utah (early September), with Paul this time, for round 2 of visiting with family, friends, and enjoying our time together. Another LONG drive, but we had a great time.

We stayed with our good friends the Clawsons for a couple of nights in their beautiful home... (Kelli is the most wonderful hostess- thank you my dear friend!) and then went up to Park City for the rest of the week. Had fun visitors come up and enjoy the pool with us. We finally got some updated family photos too- thanks Kelly... we love them!

Kelly also introduced me to tres leches from Cafe Rio. I came home and HAD to find a way to recreate it. Found a good likeness HERE. Made it, LOVED it. Heavenly yumminess. Truly.

Stopped in Vegas on the way home. Stayed HERE. Had a great view of the Bellagio water show. The girls were glued to the window the whole night. Finley liked it from our room, but was NOT a fan of it up close (or it might have been the crazy people she didn't like down on the street- the angel and satan street performance pair were more than a little creepy).

3. Avery started back to school ...tiny tigers again- minus Mrs. Waterbury :( She is loving it. Finley wants to go so badly- but she is still pretty far down on the waiting list. Oh, how glorious it would be to have them both at the same place at the same time- for 2 hours I would just have one!! I know the day will come, all too soon, that they will all be in school all day and I won't know what to do with myself... but, that moment feels very far away at times. I can't believe that this time next year Avery will be in kindergarten!? She is getting so good at recognizing and writing letters and simple sight words. She wrote BOO on a piece of paper the other day after pointing out B-O-O on my halloween banner. She is growing up so fast.

4. I turned 30. It is done- nothing more to dread. Now, moving on. Thank you to all who helped me celebrate this milestone birthday (including my husband who wasn't going to do anything, saw the error of his ways, and then surprised me with a spa day at the last minute... good save babe! It was lovely). Beautiful flowers courtesy of my thoughtful sister-in-law and brother-in-law. Thanks Jodi and Chris- they were gorgeous! Smeared writing on my cake (and notice the piece with my name is completely missing?!) thanks to my girls :)

5. Avery started back at dance class- after months and months of asking, pleading, and begging. I told her "in the fall" and now it is fall and there is no escaping my promise. Our favorite dance teacher Miss Daniella is not teaching now, so we found a little class at the Avila Community Center that is great. Miss Kristy is great- she is teaching them well, but overall it is more low key. The recitals are small and on a weekday evening (instead of at the cal poly theater with a big stage, lights, and $35 tickets). Avery is just happy to be dancing again. Finley is still dying to get in on the action. Soon baby girl, soon. For now, Finley gets to have one on one with Gramma Lee while Avery is in class. It is a win for all!

6. Emerson is 5 months old already (actually she is almost 6 months old now). I am not sure how that happened?! She is so squishy and just adorable. She has the. best. smile. EVER. Oh, it melts me like nothing else.

7. Our dirt plot is finally looking more like a real yard. Only 2 1/2 years in the making! There is still more to do, but at least we have a good start on it.

We are enjoying the new play space we have. Now we just have to replace the trampoline... almost a year later:)

8. Paul turned 32 and we went to Disneyland to celebrate. We discovered Avery is 42 inches tall and was able to go on Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain Railroad and a few other rides that were off limits before. She LOVED splash mountain- went 3 times. She tolerated Thunder Mountain once, but did not want to go again. It was fun for us because we got to go on something other than dumbo, the teacups, the carousel, and small world. A welcome milestone!

Paul then stayed in L.A. to go to a Laker's preseason game and a Oregon/UCLA football game while I went home with the girls to execute craft day :) Fun times were had by all! (there might be just a hint of sarcasm in there)

9. I have been keeping crazy busy with my church responsiblities (craft day was this past Saturday. I found planning and executing it to be very time intensive and exhausting), photo shoots (it is family photo time again :), and mom duties. NEVER a dull moment. I take moments as I get them... which isn't very often. Might be why it has taken me 2 months to get this post up?!

There it is...a "quick" recap of our past few months. Just for you mom! I think we are up-to-date now:)