Girl's Weekend

Just throwing this one in there to show you her silly personality. She gets so shy in public. But give her a few minutes...here's what you get.

We had a girls weekend. Dusty went with Freddy and Jason to Kentucky to the race...

So we got wild and crazy and changed Avery Claire's earrings. She was so excited and wanted Daddy to see, so we sent him a picture. 

We went to the pool for a bit yesterday morning, then headed to see How to Train Your Dragon 2 in the afternoon. I wasn't sure how she would like it, but she really enjoyed it. I saw someone say HTTYD2 > Frozen. I wouldn't agree with that, but it's a really cute movie. 

We made a couple of stops after the movie. You can tell I take pictures of everything. Avery Claire got a little Sophia pencil set at Target and was practicing writing "R's." She hopped out of the stroller and said "You wanna take a picture of my R's?"

An ice cream break after dinner bought me a few minutes of peace and quiet! 

And then this girl was worn out and hit the sack early! 

She watched a Berenstain Bears epidsode about a wishing star and has been asking a lot about the wishing star. We've explained that shooting stars are really hard to see. It's been too cloudy to even see the stars at night, but we've told her she can always wish and say a prayer for something that she would like to happen. All week, she's been wishing she could buy one of "those baby tractors from Walmart for Bennett." Today, she got her wish! 

I sent her to time out a bit ago for whining and told her she was going to have to lay in her bed and rest for a bit when she got out. Here's what I found when I went to get her out of time out. 

She looked so sweet, but I did move her so she didn't have to sleep on the hard floor. 

VBS (and random happenings) Week in Review

Our church's VBS started Monday. I'd told Avery Claire about it last weekend. Sunday night, she called me in her room and said "I'm just not sure about this thing tomorrow." After she understood what would really happen, she said "I'm just getting excited!" She's called it Bible study all week. I go to Bible study every week, so she's lumped the two together, I guess.

Becca snuck a couple of pictures for me Monday.

After Bible school, we've done a lot of nothing! Avery Claire loves to "chalk" on the driveway. That's her term. And we've pulled out the playdough.

I took her to the park one hot afternoon. She has begged to go to the pool and the park. It seems like it has rained every day and we couldn't go swimming, but it stopped one afternoon around 5:00, so we headed to the park. 

One afternoon, we had some sun and met LeAnn, Grant, and Stacy for lunch and time at the splash pad/park. 

VBS ended Thursday. Avery Claire was so disappointed when I told her it was the last day. She (which isn't unusual) had a hard time saying good-bye when I took her, but loved it after she got over the good bye part. 

I stole pics from another mama on facebook.

I let her scan the few things we had in our buggy that afternoon. I would have thought I'd died and gone to heaven if I couldn've done this as 4 year old. She loved it. 

We did make it to the pool Friday, after a big rain shower. We were the only people there. It was cold, but quiet and enjoyable! 

I told her we would find something fun to do even if we couldn't go to the pool. Dusty laughed when I pulled out foam stickers and cardstock. We made monster faces and Avery Claire said "this was more fun that I thought it could be!" 

22 Weeks

How Far Along: 22 weeks

Size of baby: Baby #2 weighs almost one pound and is about 11 inches long from head to heel.

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  Around 10 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Yes!

Gender: It's a boy! 

Movement: Yes, especially at night when I lay down. Or maybe that's the only time I'm still enough to feel it so much. 

Sleep: I've been sleeping great! I even sleep through the night some nights! 

Cravings:  Hmmmm....I guess I'm still on the Bojangles fries. 

Symptoms: The acne, still, although I've seen a little bit of improvement. And heartburn. 

Best Moment this week: We've had Bible school this week, and Avery Claire has loved it!! 

Baby Brother Has a Name!

http://youtu.be/CnUNmr65tAU

21 Weeks

How Far Along: 21 weeks

Size of baby: Baby #2 weighs about 12 ounces and is about 10.5 inches long from head to heel - about the size of a carrot.

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  Around 10-12 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Yes!

Gender: It's a boy! 

Movement: Yes, especially at night when I lay down. Or maybe that's the only time I'm still enough to feel it so much. 

Sleep: I've been sleeping great! I even sleep through the night some nights! 

Cravings:  White Cheddar Cheez-Its!

Symptoms: The acne, still, although I've seen a little bit of improvement. And heartburn. 

Best Moment this week: We've had an eventful week! Avery Claire and I went to the beach with Nana, Papa, Matt, & Sarah. Dusty wasn't able to go with us, but for a great reason! He started a new job! AND we finally locked in a name for Baby Boy!

Date Night

We had a dinner and ice cream date last night. It was much needed by all! Today, we're cleaning, cleaning, cleaning...which is also much needed by all!

4 Year Old Well Check-up

We headed home yesterday. Leaving the beach was a lot easier than it usually is  because Dusty was waiting on us at home!

Avery Claire had her 4 year old well check this morning. She weighs 41 lbs and is 40.5 inches tall. Dr. Hamilton said she's a "good looking 4 year old!"

Because she was a big girl and talked to the doctor and answered all of his questions, she got to go pick out her very own "Bible study" book. It's a little daily devotional for kids, which she said was "the best prize ever!"

That afternoon, we went to the wildlife show at the public library. Avery Claire just so happened to be right beside where the guy kept squatting down so the kids could see the animals closer. 

When he bent down with this tiny crocodile-y thing, I was waiting on her to high-tail it to us. And then the thing peed on the floor beside her. I just knew our time at the show was over. But she did great, although she did scoot further back with each animal he brought close. 

She loved seeing this owl. It was so very cool! And huge! 

You can check out their facebook page NHECM for a show near you! 

Beach Pics - a trip requirement

Even though Dusty wasn't there, we quickly got ready before our pizza delivery Wednesday night so we could snap a few beach pics. I think we got a few "framers."

Last Day at the Beach

I wish I could record every conversation with my girl. She tickles me and surprises me every day. 

Couldn't you eat that cuteness up?

We managed to get her to the beach for a bit this morning. 

But we ended back up at the pool, where she is in her element, teaching swimming lessons to all of us.  

And jumping off the side and going under. 

Baby Boy was there, too! Getting bigger and bigger by the day! 

Look at that sassy pants strutting to the beach. 

And she wouldn't miss an opportunity to pose!

She was so excited that she got in the ocean and found this shell all by herself for her Daddy. We had to send him a picture. 

And because hours of swimming wasn't enough during the day, we kept our promise and let her swim at night! She loved it! 

And she got brave enough to jump off of Matt's shoulders!