The Adventures of Tweet & Whoot

Homeschooling check up...& you deserve a prize

2012-01-06T23:24:00.000-07:00

I get the question "how's homeschooling going?" a lot since we started 'officially' homeschooling Ava this year. Its a hard and complex question to answer. I'm sure I could write a novel. It would probably be a boring rambling novel, but a novel none the less. Still, I usually answer, "oh, good". But I have been meaning to write down some of my thoughts. So here it goes. It might be a little messy, since its messy in my head and I have no clear order on how this post is going to go.

1. Its hard.Kind of. But totally. In a good and bad way. The whole curriculum and school part is not necessarily hard. I really enjoy it myself. I could sit down at the table and do it myself and love it! So why is it hard:
A. Ava loves it the majority of the time, but she did have some growing pains in the beginning getting use to doing a little more school work than she did before. And it wasn't coloring rainbows in the correct order or matching shapes anymore because educationally she is way beyond that, but her smarts don't exactly meet up with her maturity level, so finding the right balance between her actually learning and her maturity level took a little bit of time because this stuff, this schedule was new to her...and to me!
B. There were points of burn out, but they were also the points I found myself growing the most when I stopped to evaluate the situation. If I'm not in the Bible, prayer, etc, if I don't have some time to myself during the week, and sometime in fellowship (especially women's Bible study), I burn out. Homeschooling or not. Moving to a new place made these things a little harder, but they are getting easier and better. Thank God! (literally!) I have learned more about myself(... than I've ever wanted to. : ) ok maybe a little overstated.) Maybe the biggest burn out point is expecting too much of Ava and myself. I can think I've failed if I didn't check everything off or if I did not schedule my day at all how I feel I should schedule it. Or my attitude goes south. GRACE.
C. I'm still learning this one.... I'm trying to find the right rhythm to our day and that takes grace, time, discipline, and prayer. phew. Asa is the biggest factor because I want him to be apart of it. He loves being apart of schoolwork and having his own age appropriate activities to do. This part that was really hard is also becoming one of the best parts.

wow. well I guess I messed up my numbering system because that covered all the tough stuff. So I guess I'll move on too number 2...the good stuff. I did always choose to save the best news for last.

2. It's good. On so many levels. So what have I loved about this year...Just today I realized I would have not seen Ava until 3:00pm everyday since August. That it a good majority of our day. CRAZY. So first off, I love getting to see her, spend time with her, hear her thoughts and concerns. There is so much our family wouldn't get to experience together if Ava was at school most the day. So what do I love about it. Sheesh. a lot.:
A. Relationships. Some could and do argue that homeschooling does not give children an opportunity to socialize with peers. I have to admit that there are times when I almost feel guilty that Ava it not socializing with friends her age more often. (yes, we are involved in a homeschooling group, church, American Heritage Girls, etc.) Then I see her sitting next to her brother as they laugh and talk together while doing schoolwork or drawing a billion pictures a day. She talks to him so clearly and plainly and lovingly. I think I might just say she has a natural teaching gift. And whats more, I would have never guessed they would be so close. I heard a lady speaking on homeschooling recently (I have to share the link sometime!) talking about everything on organizing, training, to socializing. She commented that our society puts a lot of emphasis on peer socialization and while its not a bad thing in the least, there are more important areas of socialization. The chances are slim that our children will be only socializing with their 'peers' after they graduate in the real world, but what was more powerful was when she ask who would you call if you found out your mom had cancer. It probably won't be your friend in 4th grade who you sat next to you in math class. While a classroom usually mimics real life, home is real life and learning to deal with and love brothers and sisters is a real as it gets. Seeing the two of them interaction is one of the best parts of my day. If Ava goes somewhere without him, he constantly asks, "where's Aya?" looking forlornly. I also don't know if Asa would have learned so much without her around. His "Why" stage is in FULL swing. And believe me, he wants a good explanation to every "why" asked.
B. Curriculum. Ok, so I was very hesitant to homeschool because I hate text books with a passion. serious PASSION. seriously. My sisters talk about how they love the smell of old text books. I'm sure they would wear text book cologne if I could find some. The smell makes me nauseous. I look in a text book and I feel dizzy. I'm so visual, but text books look messy and ugly, I have a serious text book phobia or something. Ava is only in kindergarten so why should I worry about this. I had a gripping fear that if I started it, then I couldn't get out of homeschooling for the rest of my life and what if she is crazy smart and flies through texts books so I'm looking at texts books all day. I could start having nightmares of creepy textbook monsters chasing me or something. If I could only show you the pictures in my head. Its a little ridiculous. Sorry for the incomplete sentences and bad grammar. You will be happy to know that I did not write Ava's curriculum and I don't have to smell or see ugly texts books because her AMAZING curriculum is nearly text book free. I know, I know, if you haven't heard of Sonlight its hard to believe there is a curriculum that can cover everything and be text book free. And I know this post just keeps getting longer and longer. Adam is next to me snoring and I can write a lot, late at night, so you might want to give up reading the rest of this now. On the other hand if you have gotten this far you are probably in too deep and now there's not looking back. Anyways, her curriculum is filled with "Living" book...like real books people LIKE to read. We started off with the Boxcar Children for her read-aloud and she was hooked. It was magical or something. One of my favorite memories will probably be reading the Boxcar Children to her. She almost cried and didn't want me to read the last chapter because it meant it would be over! SO SWEET! But I reassured her that there is a WHOLE series. The curriculum not only ROCKS when it comes to creating a love of learning, but she has learned a boat load and it is so flexible that it can be simple enough for a child just starting or challenging enough for a child more advanced. Science is definitely (and not surprisingly) Ava's subject, but history is a very, very close second. Plus, its all scheduled our and really easy to follow.
C. Worldview. Its really hard to teach a 5 year old a worldview if she was in school. Not to say its impossible, but it would be a lot harder. Back to the curriculum I do love that Sonlight does not shield her from the world, evils and all, but talks about a world that needs a Savior. Ava is very easily influenced when it comes to what's "cool". At 5 years old its a lot to have to sort out what's really cool or what's hurtful, what's truly meaning full in life, how should I act, etc. God made people in family for so many reasons, but ultimately to glorify Him and be apart of His forever family. Homeschooling gives us this amazing opportunity to teach her about God's worldview. We get to read and talk about the Bible, yes, but it seeps over into every subject and into our actions. I've learned that homeschooling might just shape me more than its shaping my children. It might just effect my worldview all the more. It really makes me prioritize our day, change our speech, and goals. An education is absolutely important, but loving God and showing others His love is even more important. I am ASTOUNDED at Ava's heart for God. I would not have known that she would comprehend so much at her age. She relates Bible stories to other Bibles stories and verse to everyday life. I feel honored to get to hear it. She bought a Bible for Asa for Christmas (same one she has and is very attached too). She teaches Ava the Bible stories from it. Love it.
D. Crafts. Yep, it has its own bullet point so too speak. I'm getting better at them. In the order of the list in my head, cleaning becomes before crafts. Last, uh, semester, we didn't do a whole lot of crafts, but we are changing that. Already it has brought so much more joy to our day. We take a lot longer...Ava is not one to be rushed!!!! hm, where does she get this from. Oh, wait. I don't like to be rushed!!! So when we do a craft, we get to work....and it takes a while. But its a craft that's related to our curriculum and not only gives us an opportunity to bond (slight pun), but learn more about the material and make it stick (ok, sorry). We've made a covered wagon and a teepee this week, but we still have a parachute to make as our science experiment tomorrow...oh, not to mention she is already making Valentines and a bizillion pictures (the norm...they are so cute! I am bias).
E. Growth...mine, I mean. In the book Sacred Parenting, Gary Thomas quotes prize-winning novelist Rachel Cusk, "As a mother you learn what it is to be both martyr and devil. In motherhood I have experienced myself as both more virtuous and more terrible, and more implicated too in the world's virtue and terror, than I would from the anonymity of childlessness have thought possible." I'm not only learning head knowledge everyday from my kindergartner's curriculum, I'm learning the heart stuff. There are times thoughts have run through my head of sending my child to school because I feel like a failure. Usually this comes at a time of discipline or a character issue. Then I think, what in the world, you are going to send you child to school so they can teach her character and how to obey her parents so you can be selfish or not feel like a failure. ok. dumb thought. that won't help. I have to stop and evaluate my own heart. I need to start the day with a date with God and know that God entrusted two children to me. With His grace, mercy, and strength, its usually a beautiful day. And if it isn't...well, those are usually the days I learn most about myself. I am seriously grateful. I have also learned that we need to get out of the house, listen to worship music, interact with adults, read, and just stop to play with my kids...and go on a date once in a while!

Ok, pretty long I know. But one last thing. To say I have a supportive husband would be an understatement. When I say supportive, it reminds me of someone standing on the sidelines cheering you on. Instead he's in the game with me. His heart for God is the drive, but his fun and loving personality are the kicker...wow... the puns. I should go to bed. I really didn't mean to do that but then couldn't help but finish it off. No, seriously, I am so thankful to have him as my partner in crime.
There is a good possibility I'm going to regret posting this in the morning and I do need to add pictures. Please don't edit my grammar and please note that I did not write Ava curriculum so there is hope that she will be a good speller. If you actually read all this, you deserve a prize!

Next time you see me you may not ask how homeschooling is going. That is unless I delete this rambling post in the morning.

Our Family Pictures (finally)

2011-12-26T20:36:00.000-07:00

Our family pictures....finally. We have never taken professional family pictures before. What's more is I'd be hard pressed to find one decent picture of all of us together so we were very excited when we saw our beautiful pictures taken by Rachel Clarke, a local photographer here in Wheeling. Her photography was impressive in it of itself, but she is only a junior in high school (homeschooled). She posted some of the many pics on her blog. Thank you Rachel!...view her post here:

Photographie is Felicite: Wheeling, West Virginia Family Photography | The M...: Hey everybody! I hope your Christmas was wonderful in every way. :) And nooooow... Meet the Mick's. (Isn't that fun to say?) This Past...

All About Ava: then & now

2011-08-19T17:33:00.002-07:00

Oct 2010

Favorites:
Fav Color: Orange
Shape:square
Dinosaur: pterodactyl
Movie: Toy Story
Animal: Zebra
Flower: Dandelion & Sunflower
TV show: Cat in the Hat
Sport: walking around to find Rainbows
fun things: buying shirt with skateboard @ Ross, Christmas (excited about Asa's airplane)
Place: swapmeet
Music: Uptown CD
Favorite brother: Asa
Song: ABC's (Asa's favorite too) and twinkle, twinkle
Food: macaroni
Dessert: little ice creams
drink: capri suns
book: ABC
Toy: Woody
Stuffed Animal: Dounut (cat)
School SUbject: shapes
Word: CAT
Bible character: God

Now Aug 2011

Fav color: Black
Dinosaur: pterodactyl

After Ava cut her and her brother's hair! (can't see full effect)

Movie: Wild Kratts
Shape: square and diamond
animal: zebra, giraffe, Tasmanian devil, cheetah
Flower: roses
TV show: Wild Kratts
Sport: Soccer
Fun things: run like cheetah, jump like kangaroo
place: church, Bob Evan, and park
Music: Cov kids' music
Brother: Asa
Song: Cha, cha, cha Fiesta from VBS
Food: macaroni and canned pears
Dessert: strawberry sunday
Drink: strawberry tea
Book: her books about animals and a book about cowboys
Toy: ?
Stuffed Animal: Big dog & Grrr
School subject: everything!
Favorite word: rockstar
Bible character: Jordan river : )
Bible Verse: Joshua 1:9 Be strong and courageous and do not be afraid...
Bible story: all of them, Wedding story (Jesus' first miracle, water into wine)

The Big Two!

2011-06-10T04:57:00.000-07:00

So...little behind...as always, but Asa turned 2 on May 18th! And he has certainly grown into his whole two years of age, going from the struggle of realizing his new independence to FULLY embarrassing it! On the morning of his birthday, I found him drinking from the almond milk carton in the living room, all smiles, saying, "mmm. mmm!" What a way to start off his two year old year. There seems to be something funny and terrible everyday, being covered in paint or making the bathroom sink overflow, finding all kinds of new things to climb, oh I missing funny one's I know it!!! the list goes on...and I watch the boy constantly!..well, except the the occasional bathroom break and coffee refill...

His birthday was so fun and totally unplanned...sorry...but don't tell him, he did not notice at all! my mother and father-in-law drove up from Charleston to help us finish moving in and have a bbq at Wheeling park with my sis, nephews, and niece. Asa LOVED the Schrader Environmental center at the park...and its free! He loved the puppet stage and coloring and all the buttons to explore in the kids room, but he ADORED the snakes and creepy crawly things! I didn't even know of his love for reptiles!!! ..uh, or they amphibians or something. You'd have to ask my daughter. We finished off with cake. always a favorite of my sweet-toothed son.

Happy Birthday Asa!!!

Asa: 1st year in review...sniff...

2011-06-07T06:41:00.000-07:00

Happy...uh...late, late 2nd birthday Asa!!!...since I can't find my camera (though I do have birthday pictures on my sister's camera) here are some pictures of Asa's first year! Nothing like a child's birthday to make you get all teary-eyed! Second year coming soon!!!

Come out of the Cave

2011-03-05T10:24:00.004-07:00

Photo credits

The other day I read a question: "What was the date of the Civil War?" .....uh...uh.....[insert crickets chirping] Ok, ok, I admit I don't remember a lot from school. I figure I will get a 2nd and 3rd chance when my kids go to school. Right? I do remember literature more than dates as it turns out...though still kind of rusty. When I heard the song, The Cave by Mumford and Sons, I heard hints of the cave analogy by Aristotle...again, please don't critique my intelligence...but Aristotle asked if we are in a cave simply seeing shadows casted upon a wall of the real thing or maybe the object casting the shadows were just copies of the real things themselves. I think their is something intrinsic that knows we were created for more. Created to serve a Creator. Created for more that's intended in this world we see.In God's Kingdom in heaven there are things that we have only had a glimpse of. I've been hearing the words "Life Saving Gospel" swirling around in my head. "Life Saving!" True Life. Something more real than our own heart beat. It's pretty exciting really, until I think about how God commanded us to GO preach the gospel to the ends of the earth...then I get a little more timid. I don't even know where to begin honestly. Anyways, getting back to this song...I think its pretty amazing...especially the line about coming out of the cave Walking on Your Hands...the idea of God's Upside Down Kingdom...its opposite of what the world deems "logical"...and what we so often deem as logical. The last shall be first. We are meant to glorify God, not ourselves. We were meant to give, pour out ourselves, not gain. Dye to ourselves only to TRULY live. Become a Servant as Christ and then you will find Freedom. All sound like one big oxymoron, but couldn't be more truthful. I think that's pretty amazing. As for the American Civil War? 1861-1865. I heart Wikipedia.

A walk in the park

2011-03-02T23:46:00.000-07:00

one of Ava's favs...."the bouncy things"

noth'n wrong with being a tree hugger

I should be cleaning...

2011-03-02T20:59:00.000-07:00

I wish I had a fancy, shmancy camera...because pictures make me so happy. Here are a few cute ones from today...oh yeah, HAPPY BIRTHDAY Adam (even though I didn't get any pictures of you!) and my sis, Kate...and Dr. Seuss.

Asa loves his "dog shoes"

Asa's digging spot he is very proud of and shows me his progress everyday!

allergy eyes

strangely his favorite digging tool

Asa's "Cheese" face

best buds

mommy: "Ava just have a relaxed face" Ava: "Ok, mommy"...

one of the many crafts for daddy's birthday

Organize Your Stuff: JOYS on Homestead Revival

2011-03-01T07:59:00.001-07:00

Yep, another giveaway before I even post about my kids..love this one though. It's for a filing system by Organize Your Stuff...it takes a creative right-brain approach to organizing which I love! Ok, ok, sometimes I feel dumb when I'd like to use colors or pictures instead of words, but it just makes so much sense to me...the JOYS system used color in such a cool way. Anyways HERE is the giveaway!

Also LOVE this idea using paint cans which I found on the Organize Your Stuff site...

Plan to Eat giveaway...

2011-02-21T10:25:00.002-07:00

yes, that's right...I'm on a giveaway streak...And you get an extra entry for blogging about it! I will eventually blog about my family that I so love...but for now I'm trying to get free stuff : ) Keeper of the Home is having another giveaway, this time for Plan to Eat, which is a great online recipe organizer and scheduler...I really like it. Here is the LINK.

Berkey Light Water Filter Giveaway @ Keeper of the Home

2011-02-19T23:19:00.000-07:00

I have been dreaming about filtered water from a Berkey water filtation system for some time, its true. One of the blogs I follow, Keep of the Home is having giveaway week and giving away a Berkey Light...which is definitely big enough for our fam! and unlike Brita and such, the filters not only last super long, they filter out SO much more! Here's the link Keeper of the Home.

It’s the Nutrimill GIVEAWAY

2011-02-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

I love Kitchen Stewardship where I found so many super healthy and fugal recipes...she is having a nutrimill giveaway! Check it out!

Christmas Celebrations

2010-12-24T11:44:00.000-07:00

This year we sought to find ways to celebrate Christmas that would help us and our kids focus on Christ's birth, sacrifice, hope and love for the world. So I thought I'd briefly...I mean briefly share a few ideas we have discovered.
1. We will create a book list soon! We have found some amazing books I didn't know existed, but one that I love and it way too hard to get unless you can get it from your library is The 12 days of Christmas: the story behind the song. Did you know the 12 days...doesn't start until December 26th and extends to Jan 6th which was a holiday to celebrate when the 3 Kings brought gifts to Jesus. When Christians felt oppression in by the Church of England because of their religious regulations, parents would use the 12 days of Christmas song to teach their children about Jesus. Every day have a very profound meaning! "The 1st day of Christmas my True Love gave to me was a partridge and a pear tree"...My True Love is God because no one loves us more...and the partridge bird will protect her baby birds even if it means her life...Jesus and the pear tree represents the cross Christ came to bare. Seriously now, this song is amazing. My mom told me it was...but I'm a slow learner. Anyways...there is still time to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas...you can even use one branch from your Christmas tree, put it in a pot, and place little paper numbers on it each day when you read the story. The book it better, but here is a link to the story. This same author's actual book has some helpful questions so children can understand even better and great illustrations compared to this link, but still wonderful and easy to print out...12 days of Christmas. I'm going to print it out in case we can't rent it from the library because its out of print and going for $150 resell on amazon!!! Yeah, crazy...yet the library has it...I wonder how much they'd sell it to me!?

2. Jesse Tree- I only found out about the Jesse tree a year ago...then my amazing sis, Kate Marshall, made me this insanely wonderful one. A Jesse tree is a unique advent calendar of sorts. Each ornament describes something about the genealogical of Jesus through the line of Jesse, while learning about the great story of God's love and all the messed up people he uses, really. It's pretty amazing. There are lots of ways to do the Jesse tree and you can sit down and read about all the ornaments at once or you can read one each day, you can find a place to print out little ornaments to color, or make your own, or buy some. Anyways, my sis' present to us it pretty amazing. Thanks, Kate!

3. Our church has also been doing this thing called Advent Conspiracy... Christmas can (still) change the world . I have a feeling our church will do something like it every year, as will we. They have been helping our church community focus on how we can actually share Christ's love with hungry orphans (or other's in need). Our church sought out to feed 1500 orphans in a year in an African region we support. It only costs $40 to feed an orphan their for a whole year!!!! CRAZY. It has been very convicting fo our entire church for sure. we can change a LIFE for $40. Ava even raised her own money, not $40 but a good portion of her allowance and went to donate it last week. Our church gives you a little gift box with a ribbon and tissue paper inside with a magnet you can put on your fridge to remind you that an orphan in Chikudzulire, Malawi, Africa is being fed today. The gift you put under your Christmas tree to open on Christmas to remember the gift you gave. It make me cry. It also puts everything back into perspective.

Have a very Merry Christmas!

Rain is on Ava's head

2010-07-31T10:41:00.000-07:00

Ava titled this post herself. What happens when it rains in Arizona...you finally get to play outside. Ava frequently says in her cute little voice that rain is her favorite weather. A girl after my own heart. We took some pictures while playing outside under the overcast. I didn't have the card to my nicer camera or the pictures would be better quality, but still can't help but love em. I seemed to have posted all the pictures....

practicing her smile

I didn't take many pictures of Asa as he was moving too much or too fascinated by the 2 teenagers tossing a football in the park

Asa repeated, "ball, ball" as he watched the older boys play football

a few songs

2010-07-27T23:01:00.000-07:00

a few songs have meant a lot to me, so I'd thought I'd share them.

You are with Me Still
http://www.worshipcentral.org/song/you-are-with-me-still

Your Love Never Fails
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoezWBPGRAc

How He Loves- one of the most impactful and favorite songs, David Crowder sings this song by this guys, but I really like his original version.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0luHiWwi08&feature=related

The Story behind the song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NXWE6AC8ao&feature=related

poor little guy

2010-07-25T14:57:00.000-07:00

Asa had a little trip to the hospital a few weeks ago. It turned out to be nothing at all, but we had a precautionary stay at the hospital from Monday to Thursday. Poor little guy didn't sleep so well with all the beeping and checking and IV hooked to him and all, but the nurses and staff were so nice. Fortunately he liked his crib and he even got a cute quilt and some handmade balls that he loves. Childlife provided toys for his room and a wagon to take rides in around the unit and to the activity room. Ava was a great big sister, helping Asa feel at home when she visited. She also loved the activity room...but she adored the "nourishment" room where they had supplied food and snacks, including those pre-made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches...she has told me she wants us to go to the hospital again whenever we are sick.

Seventh Generation Giveaway

2010-06-22T21:49:00.000-07:00

I ususally only post all the kids cute stuff on my blog to that not only I can remember it, but its so much more fun when you can share it with your friends and family. Besides...I'd forget to tell you! and I'd for get myself! Sorry kids. See...I love you...I blog about it...sometimes.
Anyways, I usually don't post giveaways, but today I read AnotherTeenMom 's blog review for envibum. She did a fabulous job, mentioning points that were very practical...plus stated that she would use an envibum for a pillow she loved it so much. Her blog was complete with a video and pics.
Anyways, again, I was looking around her blog and saw a giveaway for a seventh generation kit. Part of me though, oh, I shouldn't enter, I should let someone else win...uh, then I remembered that I haven't bought any cleaner since, uh, (pause) (crickets chirping). yeah, that's about right. I've been using vinegar, vodka (yep, that's right), essential oils, and a teeny tiny bit of rubbing alcohol. While avoiding buying consumable products (mostly meaning money, yes, environment too though) and avoiding chemicals, which really do bother me and aren't at all safe for the kids, I have missed the pleasure of products that really, really work well. I know seventh generation does indeed work well. I am envious. sigh. especially seeing how I was just cleaning and didn't make a dent...and yes, my counters and mirrors have streaks. so...back to cleaning...seriously. you can check out the giveaway if you want!

sweet things to remember...best buds

2010-06-19T00:58:00.000-07:00

these are in no particular order...I just haven't wrote them down and don't want to forget, so you get to share them with me...please add if you have any you remember!

May 2010

-Ava frequently says, "I love you, Asa" in the most sweetest voice
-Asa use to give Ava huge licks for kisses.
-They both cuddle with each other and laugh so much.
-If one if crabby, or both are, I can just put them together and they start laughing and make each other happy.
-Ava has wanted to be a cowboy for, heck, I don't remember, around when she turned 2. I can't remember what inspired it...actually I think it was the cowgirl hat Aunt Rachel gave to Ava...which she paid a lot of money for initially...which was loved so much in was in smithereens. and I do mean smithereens.

March 2010 bedtime

-The first time I have EVER heard Ava say that she wanted to be anything else but a cowboy (she has been very, VERY adamant about that...even to say, no, mommy, remember I'm going to be a cowboy!) was 2 weeks ago...she said she wanted to be a balloon maker (balloon artist) when she grows up.
-When filming some envibum clips, I asked Ava if she wanted to work for envibum and she said she was going to be a cowboy, but she could ride to mommies houses to deliver envibums. She frequently reminds me that she will do this..."I'll just ride my horse to a mommy when she has her baby and give her envibums".
-She also reminds me she already works for envibum, because she does special jobs for us.
-Upon meeting you, Asa may just want to give you a hug. I think Asa's favorite person has to be Papa (my dad). He gets thoroughly excited when he sees him and immediately wants to hug him and not leave his arms...which is a big thing considering he doesn't like to be held much...he'd rather explore.

March 2010 bedtime

-Asa broke my sister's child locks on her kitchen cabinet(s)...he really wanted to play with the pans. He LOVES getting into everything....I really didn't understand that phrase fully before Asa.
-He calls me mama and mommy and I love it He calls Ava "Aba"
-When Asa sucks him thumb and holds his ear, its the cutest thing ever!
-Asa loves to sing. His faves to sing, La, la, la, la,la...elmo song, E I E I O...old MacDonald part, and his fave to have sung to him is Jesus loves me. It's really funny how excited he gets.
-Ava and Asa's fave place must be there room.
-Asa takes his big stuff animal caterpillar that's I don't know how many feet long and wraps it around his neck and cuddles with it.
-Asa love peekaboo, but love hiding, especially if it involves putting something over his head (and body) like a bucket. He thinks its hysterical.
-Ava still loves Woody, her cowboy doll from Toy Story that her Uncle Matt gave her. He's really the only thing she's been attatched 2 though she had to minky baby blankets, one from Uncle Matt and one from Bridget, that she really loves too.
-Ava loves to learn new vocabulary words. If she were a super hero she would be Word Girl...then again, if she were an animal, she would be Martha from Martha Speaks...maybe we watch too much tv. Some of her fave words, exquisite, veracious (hungry), loquacious (talkative), temporary, permanent, etc. I don't know where she gets the energy to talk so much!

the superhero team

-Ava loves reading Bible stories out of her children's Bible. But her favorite Bible Story is "The Wedding Story"...just because she loves weddings and has been talking about them since her Aunt Rachel's wedding 2 years ago....what is the wedding story all about...Jesus turning water into wine and all the guests thought it was the best wine of the wedding...yeah, that's all. Her favorite story is about wine. We ready it at night at least 3 times a week.
-Ava, "I really love you mommy" Mommy's heart melts.
-When I tell Asa to shake something (toy in hand for example), he gets really excited and starts shaking it...I think he got it from when would shake his bottle.
-by far more than "mommy", I am Buzz, Woody, Jesse, Slink, or Rex according to Ava...It's pretty much CONSTANT that we are playing toy story no matter if we are eating breakfast, taking naps, sewing, reading books...its constant pretend play...almost exclusively toy story. Asa plays too. He is Buzz and Rex a lot...sometimes Ava says he is Bo Peep (Little Bo Peep), but I got his back....I tell her he wants to be a boy part. This has been happening for a very...very...very long time.

December 2009 Best Buds

-Ava refers to the last apartment we lived like this, "mommy, you know the tiny, tiny, tiney, tiny house we use to live in?"...I feel the same way about it. She actually had a hard time moving and try to convince me of the great stuff that was there so I started referring to it as the really small house and I guess I convinced her.
-I never expected Ava and Asa to love each other and play with each other so much at such a young age!
- On Halloween or Harvest Fest, or whatever you want to call it, we went to trader Joe's in the morning where they had a petting zoo (Ava had turned 3 the month prior) Ava dressed up like Jesse from Toy Story and Asa like Woody. Ava was petting a lama and asked the worker, "Can I ride him? I'm a cowboy?" in a very serious and hopeful voice.
-Asa screeches like a pterodactyl, but we are working on that : )
-Asa's nicknames include, Ace, JAM JAM (we can use this to talk in code so he doesn't know we are talking to him...its his initials), there are more, but I guess I listed them in the last post.

May 2010

-Asa get's excited when he sees the toy story characters and he definitely recognizes them...at the grocery store or the dolls at home, etc. Its quite cute. When he gets excited he smiles his big cute, bright smile and gasps and bounces up and down.
-Asa isn't much for toys when there is so much to explore..but he does love his alphabet train he got for his birthday from Uncle Jay, Aunt Rachel, and gang. He also loves the pool...his nana and papa got him a cool floaty thing so that it actually makes it possible for me to take the kiddos to the pool. He also likes a fire truck and ambulance we have that drive by themselves and big, squishy school bus he can push around...he is very much into the putting things in and taking thing out of something stage...this includes my kitchen cabinets and whatever else he can find. He love to play in the "house" section in our house...kids table and cradle with a baby and pretend kitchen things. He also loves anything electronic and buttons
-When we walk into a new building, Asa immediately looks up and is thoroughly fascinated...is it the lights, the structure of the building? I'm not sure but its really cute. He points and gets really excited as he inspects it.
-Asa gives and mostly blows kisses and its the most adorable thing...when I am laying him down he immediately starts blowing me kisses with the biggest smile on his face. tear.
-Yes, Asa is 1 and I need to post a blog about his birthday, updates, etc....because I haven't recorded it any other way...except some pictures
-Ava has been wanting to do school work and read for a long time. I finally sat down with her and taught her some word families and words from word families and constanent blends. I'm kind of guessing on what and how I'm suppose to be teaching her at the moment and remembering how my mom taught me, but she makes reading look like baby stuff.
there are more memories I want to...uh...remember...and more cute pics...so this is just the first installment...I wish I was better about scrap-booking or keeping records or something : ) Thank goodness for blogs. This was really for me... : )

Ava wanted to wear socks on her hands just like little Jordan Asa...she did that quite often

Asa's 10 month update

2010-03-29T23:39:00.000-07:00

Not only do I not update the blog on a regular basis, I've been very bad about writing Asa's milestones down. So sad! I'm sorry second child!!! But what a lot he has accomplished thus far. I have decided to finally sit down and write out all the new and exciting things he has learn...so bear with me this is a little for my own memories and the fact that I have to fill in his baby book : )

Jordan Asa is just under 20 lbs, something like 28 inches, the proud owner of 8 teeth (more coming in!), mostly wears 12-18 month clothes

Food:
Asa is a bit picky, but he loves blueberries, blueberry pancakes, blueberry waffles, blueberry muffins...and pizza!

(Um, yeah, he sort of favors junk food, anything fatty and sweet over healthy stuff. When the baby is in utero, it is said that the baby and taste what the mom tastes, hence why babies in India do fine when there mothers eat curry and breast feed and then the babies at a young age eat curry themselves....guess what I ate! Yeah, with his pregnancy healthy food often made me nauseous. Terrible, I know. )

Motor skills:
Asa can pinch objects and shift them from one hand to the other and all of that, but his real love is to find everything he is not suppose to be playing with and examine it in great detail, especially if it has small parts and is electronic. He is a climber and will climb up the stairs if I let him. He has graduated from his one armed army crawl to a real crawl now. He pulls himself up on practically everything now, but also loves to crawl under things, which often leads to him getting stuck. He is getting much more coordinated now and it won't be much longer before he walks! He is trying to stand up from sitting position...he stands on his feet with his hands still touching the ground...a little scary, but so cute.

Verbal skills:
Asa has grown in leaps and bounds in his verbal skills in just the last couple weeks. His first word was ball (which was Ava's as well). He will push a ball across our tile and crawl after in, then repeat the process until he runs out of tile. He is SO PROUD of being able to say dog and he absolutely loves my sister's dog, Sophie, they were cuddling! The day after he first learned to say dog, he woke up in his crib that morning chanting, "dog, dog, dog...." (though the 'g' is a little hard to hear) and boy does he know what he is talking about. Poor kid has a mom whose allergic to dogs, so he is going to grow up with "his dog" living at his aunts house. He still doesn't say mama! but he is starting to say Ava, "A-ba" But he smiles and laughs every time I tell him to say 'mama', so that makes me happy. I am working on the signs for more, milk (he said 'milk' once), and all done. He kind of has 'all done', but mostly he just shrieks like a pterodactyl when he wants something. He seriously shrieks. But we call it 'squeaks'.
Anyways, he now can say (and associates it with the objects): ball, baba, dog, balloon (or his version of it), Ava, Papa (my dad)... I don't know if I'm forgetting any of them or not translating any of them correctly yet. He tries to say all done, but hasn't quite got it down yet. It's so cute and such an exciting stage! He is very good at practicing what he is trying to say and then becomes very proud of himself when he pronounces it well. wow. should I be scared?. Man, what are the chances of me ending up with 2 talkers!?! Just kidding. uh, I don't think he will talk as much as Ava. Am I jinksing myself? Actually I think he might.

Bed time: Asa loves when I lay him down in his crib for that brief moment when I lay him down and rub his head, he is smiling so big...until I leave. Then not such a fan for a minute or two. His favorite thing to have with him is a small board book, which he basically wrestles with his hands and feet and the looks at it. Strange I know. He will throw his little blankie or a stuffed animal out of the crib, though he absolutely loves Ava's Woody doll, I don't think she would share.

Ava & Asa
They are so adorable playing with each other. Asa LOVES his big sister. Ava usually LOVES her big brother, though she usually has a plan she wants to follow through with so hopefully Asa is on board in her eyes. Their favorite time of day has to be before bed when we play in there room. They are always so happy, while Asa tackles his sister with cuddles...or just to get the toy on the other side of her. While Asa usually tries to run when I start reading a book...he's not one to stay still...he literally crawls away fast, he does love cuddling or climbing his sister while I read.

Nicknames:
Squeakers McSqueakington from Squeakersville
Squeakers
Asa Basa
Ace
Asa Bear
Acer
flying Ace
there are more, but I can't remember them right now

Random Asa things:
favorite places: in front of the window, in his room, hanging upside down!!!
favorite mischievous things to do: trying to sneak and eat the dirt and leaves off of our house plants, try to play the DVDs in the electronic cabinet thing, and play with my cell phone
favorite thing to do: snuggle for short periods of time, climb, play with Sophie the dog
there are more things I will add here later
his schedule: taking 2 naps a day, wakes up about 7:30, though has his moments of sleeping in! which is wonderful! well, especially when both kids to that!

Jordan Asa melts my heart. He just steals your heart with his smile as he reaches out to cuddle with you, cuddling his head against yours. It makes you so happy how happy he gets when he greets you. Its so amazing to watch him grow. I can't imagine that one day he will be towering over me. crazy. Uh, he is going to be a heart breaker. It's so sweet how much he loves his sister, and aunt Rachel, and nanny...I mean, cousin, Sarah, and to see him and his cousin, Isaiah, now playing and starting their great adventures.

there's a snake in my boot!

2010-03-02T16:55:00.000-07:00

I know its March...but while making an updated post for Asa, I found that I had this post in my drafts from October!...so here it is...

Going with Ava's obsession, the kiddos dressed up like characters from Toy Story for Halloween. The Toy Story obsession...Ok by me! I think its so cute...I like Toy Story 2 better (its great having kids, watching kids movies without being weird and all) Ava was Jesse- the cowgirl from Toy Story 2 and Asa was Woody...seem true to their personalities as well. This was quite nice because Ava has continue to pretend she is 'Cowboy Ava' on a daily basis, so we had some cowboy stuff...she is on her third or fourth cowboy hat now because she plays with them everyday!

We started off at a little festival at Trader Joe's in the morning. Ava adored the petting zoo and was equally fascinated with a little pony she got to have painted on her hand (the whole face painting thing was a bit to much for her taste it seems). She stayed in the petting zoo area until it was closed. There was a rather tall lama there...well, I guess they are all tall, but Ava asked the worker, "Hi, I'm a cowboy, so can I ride him!?" It was adorable! um...but she didn't get too.... Later, while Asa spent some time with his cousins, we went to Ava's 1st movie! Toy Story 2 3-D! Now let me tell you, if it is possible to take a child to a movie they already know and love for their first movie experience...its a must. What child doesn't love watching their fav movie over and over...let along on the big screen with super cool glasses! Hello...genius. We had a blast! even if it was the hundredth time we've watch that movie...at least its a good one.

That night Ava went trick or treating with her cousins, while the cousins collected cans for charity (but people still gave the kids candy too).

Her uncle Matt love Toy Story equally as much and now has pasted on his beloved Woody doll to her (which she has inscribed her name on the bottom of his boot...next to the other boot with Matt's name). I'm not sure how Uncle Matt is going to sleep with out Woody at night, but he is well loved in our house hold...Asa looks at Woody in amazement and loves to play with his as well. He already knows that his sister's stuff is cool and wants to join in the fun.

Update: Ava LOVES Woody and can't sleep without him. In fact if we are away from the house a lot during the day and she doesn't bring Woody, she says in such a forlorn voice, "I miss Woody" Is so sad and so cute! I have hunted for woody several times at night as she can't sleep without him!

an emotional number...

2009-11-27T23:53:00.001-07:00

I put on some classical music for the kiddos at nighttime since they both seemed wide eyed and bushy-tailed. After they were tucked in, Ava started yelling for me...keeping Asa up, poor guy. Anyways, when I whet into her room, Ava remarked, "Mommy, this music is very good. It about emotions. Some songs are happy and some are sad. But right now I'm singing about presents".

sweet and sassy...

2009-11-05T17:00:00.000-07:00

ok, really I don't have a lot to post here...I just wanted to show off some cute pics of Ava!

update...

2009-11-05T16:29:00.001-07:00

ok, hm...what's been going on around here...

Asa:
-loves to drool
-loves to rolls around everywhere
-loves applesauce, but hates green beans (who wouldn't- puree that is)
-loves to talk...or shriek when he wants something
-loves to flirt
-loves to "fly"
-love to suck his thumb when he sleeps
-loves "playing" with Ava and finds her fascinating
-love being home and routine

Ava:
-loves to learn new words...has a bigger vocab than me!
-love Toy Story
-not loving naps right now...tries to find excuses
-loves testing us right now
-loves to do things...anything...
-loves to do "cowboy jumps" and "space jumps" inspired by Toy Story
-loves to continue to be cowboy Ava
-loves drawing on her magnadoodle
-loves us taking pictures of her
-loves to brush her teeth with her eclectic toothbrush
-loves to pretend all day
-does not like to be called anything but Ava...no nicknames allowed

cute stuff

2009-09-08T08:34:00.000-07:00

super cute Asa...I just wanted to share his sweet face...

Rain, rain...

2009-09-05T14:35:00.000-07:00

Finally! Today has been rainy...I have no idea why we say we have a monsoon season?!?! It never really rains. It rains more in February. Anyways...Ava was so excited to wake up to the rain that she picked out her own outfit equipped with rain boots and her new umbrella and got dresses all by herself (refusing my help I might add). Asa joined us as well, but just gave Ava funny looks and she tapped dance and did some "rock star" move she calls it which I'm not sure where she learned. She could have spent all day outside if I'd let her!

A Wide U Turn

2009-08-16T00:56:00.000-07:00

I just thought this blog entry was simple yet so truthful, honest, and powerful and thought I'd share it....
It's from the blog Our Crazy Marriage

Joanne: More of a wide U-turn than a turning point

So a couple of people have asked me in the past day or so what the turning point was in our story. Of having the conversation to call it quits to moving back to some sort of a happy "normal" life.

And as I've thought about it and answered someone last night, I realize there was not really a turning point. It's not like one day we were headed for divorce and the next day we weren't. There wasn't really a defining moment when I thought, This is it. We're turning a corner and we're okay now.

It was really more of a wide U-turn. So slow and gradual that it took a year or so rather than a moment or a day to get turned around. So slow and gradual that we didn't even notice it was happening at first.

The truth is, it took a while to hit bottom. And we stayed there a while. And it took a while to climb back out. And we're still climbing.

love....is thicker than....anything, really.

2009-08-16T00:40:00.000-07:00

"blood is thicker..." how does that quote go "thicker than water"? ok, its late. I can't even remember. Anyways, I guess that's true in all, but is that really the thickest bond? I'm not saying that because I'm close to my family, in fact, I think saying that underplays the strength of true family bonds and friendships that are as strong as family bonds, because those bonds have nothing to do with my gene pool or family tree. True bonds are formed from love and trust and time and tears and smiles, etc. I have to say I know and love and am surrounded by so many good people that my family and myself would not have been or will be the same without.
The truth is we don't spend nearly enough time with all these people that have strengthen us and love us. I guess life just happens. I guess I'm not use to voicing how I really feel about people or I'm not use to being intentional about it. Or what if I did, how would people respond because its not necessarily normal...that's pretty lame though. I don't even spend any time with so many people I love....some of my favorite people probably have no idea I even like them! Let alone know the fact that I stink'n adore them!
Anyways, I just feel incredibly blessed to know and be loved by so many amazing people. I want to be more diligent and intentional about telling people how much they really mean to my family and me....ok, I'll start with you. Ya, you. The fact that you are reading my jiberish I wrote late at night when I should be in bed is pretty amazing. Thanks. That's love for ya.
Man....If I really want to thank people and let them know what they mean to me...my list is going to be really, really, really long. I'm not sure if I'm tired because I'm thinking about this or because its stink'n late...and Asa is going to wake up soon : )

pictures from the hospital

2009-07-31T09:27:00.000-07:00

Answers from a Three Year Old...well, almost

2009-07-31T09:09:00.000-07:00

I saw these questions on Becki's blog...so I decided to ask Ava, though she got really bored of it fast and kept telling me wanted to play with her play kitchen and trying to wiggle off my lap. I'll try again later, but her answers were pretty cute anyways.

1. What is something Mom always says to you?
"You always say I love you, I love you, I love you...you keep doing that to me."
(YES!)

2. What makes Mommy happy?
"gray, like that" (pointing to the color gray) hm...

3. What makes Mommy sad?
"I don't know what mommy makes sad"

4. How does Mommy make you laugh?
"Agh, sigh" she just wanted to go play at this point combined with the fact that I must need to
work on my comical impact on her or something

5. What was Mommy like when she was a child?
"you were little like this (making a small circle with her fingers...I was small..not that small),
and you had baby milk, and now you are a big girl like me now!"

6. How old is Mommy?
"three...I don't know"

Mommy: "you want to know how old I am...25...is that old or young?"
Ava:"young" good answer

7. How tall is Mommy?
"this big!" holding out her hands wide....I hope she isn't taking about my width : )

8. What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?
"play with me!"

9. What does Mommy do when you aren't here?
"Go to appointments"...that's true

10. What is Mommy really good at?
"playing with me again!" yeah!

11. What is Mommy not good at?
"playing hair with me" ...true again, its hard to get a 2 1/2 year old to stay still

12. What is Mommy's favorite food?
"gold fish" I obviously have such refined taste

13. What makes you proud of Mommy?
"saying baaa to me" she was getting really bored about now

14. What do you and Mommy do together?
"play together, shake like this" (shaking her arms and legs, we had just sung the hokey poky
song)

15. How do you know Mommy loves you?
"this much!" holding hands out

Jordan Asa Mick

2009-07-28T21:19:00.000-07:00

Jordan Asa Mick
born May 18th 2009
weight: 8lb 6oz height: 20.5 inches

I haven't yet shared pictures of little Asa on our blog...for one, I'm bad at keeping it updated...but determined to get better! And two, things have been crazy around here...two kids and all, sleep and schedules turned upside down, envibum starting up, etc. I really am looking forward to having time again...just having time...would be nice, but I love this time with little Asa.
I went into the hospital for a non-stress test and ultra sound because I was suppose to get checked out ever couple days since I was past my due date (May 17th), which could have been expected since Ava was born almost two weeks past her due date...hey, its comfy in there. But after the ultrasound nurse said I pretty much had no ambiotic fluid in there...poor guy. So after talking to my doctor they thought it was very necessary to induce me...which meant the dreaded pitocin, which I was trying to avoid....after the nurse wiped the smile off my face, as she put it, I started feeling the most annoying, irritating, just weird pain ever, much different than with contraction with Ava...then I said bring on the epidural, I couldn't handle it anymore. I thought for sure I was at least 7 mm dialated. NOPE. just 3! Man, Jen, You go girl! (She had pitocin and no epidural!) Anyways, it actually wasn't long after that he slipped out..ok, maybe too much info! sorry.
Ava is a great big sister! She sometimes says she wants to cuddle with him but I'm not invited because "You're too big, Mommy"...way to give me a complex. She loves giving him giving him kisses and hugs and playing with him, but is she sees or smells a poopie diaper, she's outta here. I do love seeing how they interact. Asa recognizes Ava and now smiles...instead of scrunches his forhead like he use too.
Ava loved the fact that Asa wears socks on his hands so he doesn't scratch himself...she decided that she should do the same and came running from her room with socks. She also loves it when they both dressed up in their super suits, Ava being "Super Ava" and her side kick "Super Asa".
I'll have to get better hospital pictures from my sister, but I wanted to share a few.
When Asa was 1 month old, Jill, my mother-in-law, who is....wonderful! got to visit us for a couple of days from West Virgina. Not only was she such a help Asa loved her...and of course Ava does too!
Asa is so sweet and cuddly. My sister calls him squeakers because...well, he squeaks. He is now 10 weeks old and I feel like his newborn stage is flying by! He is such a cute little guy and is started to coo and talk...which melts my heart! His poor little head went through a lot since birth. It started to get flat on one side and while I tried to have him lay on the other side of his head, it seemed that his neck was hurting a lot. So I found out he had a pretty had sutcher, which means that one part of his scull bone was behind the other messing up all sorts of things. He started crying in pain last week when I was simply changing his clothes. It was so so sad. So I've taken him to a pediatric chiropractor and a cranial sacrum therapist and its amazing the difference, not only in the back of his head, but his face and demeanor too!
Anyways, I so glad we get to hold Asa now. He was a long time coming...well, at least it felt like it. I'm so blessed.

Baby Belly

2009-02-26T13:10:00.000-07:00

At 28 weeks...I think I look like I could give birth already...well, ok, I'm still not as big as I was with Ava...yet. I'm so glad my little boy is doing so well...he is a little mover and kicker. Ava always puts her face up to my belly and says, "He kicked me!" even when he's not moving. It's so cute. I'm sure May 17th...or whenever he decides to come, will be here before I know it! Ah, I have a lot to do : ) I'm not too worried as of right now. Instead I just have an excuse to eat ice cream. Oh, man, maybe the baby fat will be easier to work off since I have two...Hey, mom sister's doc told her that ice cream makes the biggest babies...and big babies make good sleepers...right!?!?!?

Avaisms

2009-02-22T22:42:00.000-07:00

Funny things Ava says...I know there are more...but here are some...

Ava: "That's Weird"

"Ava, you're a cutie"...Ava: "No me Not! Me Ava"....she thinks you're calling her one of those
little oranges called "cuties". "No me not" is a catch phrase of hers and can frequently be heard
around my brother-in-laws house when Ava isn't there and he doesn't want to do something.

Ava got a ball pit for Christmas...she calls it her "armpit"... I don't correct her, it's so darn cute.

computer: "puter"

treats for potty training: "poo poo prizes" and "pee pee jar" (that's fun to talk about in public...though now she gives me poo poo and pee pee prizes...I don't complain)

She thinks you eat candy canes (her favs) like carrots...crunch...she must hold some kind of
record of fastest candy cane eater in the west of something...

Uncle Jay and Aunt Rachel were putting Ava to bed, looking at one of her favorite books that
happens to be about the human body...including muscles and veins and stuff...no idea why it's
her favorite. Uncle Jay asked Ava is she wanted to be a doctor when she grows up and Ava
excitedly said yes, "I fix Nana!"

"I be the shark, you be the dolphin," (deep voice) "I'm gonna get you..." don't know where she got that

"A is for Ava!"

Ava sometimes does school work (with my help) while my nieces do there school work. One day
Ava played geography bingo with the girls...you never can get an early enough start right. That
night the baby moniter was on after she went to bed...I heard her wisper, "bingo" and I
wondered if I heard right...then she screamed, "BINGO" yep, I did. I should take her to a
nursing home to play. She would love it.

Ava says to Mommy, "I have curly hair...you have (pause) that hair!"

Concentrating as she is looking at the baby (in my tummy)...."Mommy (pause) you have wrinkles" (referring to my stretch marks...that she made!) ...then "I want baby wrinkles" (looking at her tummy) ahhh...

Aunt Rachel had gas...Ava was walking behind her...Ava starts to gag and cough, "Aunt Rachel, are you going poo poo?" gag, cough some more...sorry, Rachel, just so darn funny!

a couple of cute pics

2009-02-22T22:41:00.001-07:00

Peek-A-Boo

My Fairy Wings

2009-02-14T22:21:00.001-07:00

Get your free online pregnancy calendar from WhatToExpect.com

the many faces of Ava

2009-02-13T16:52:00.003-07:00

Snow Angels

2009-02-13T01:27:00.000-07:00

When Ava had just turned two, she loved and still loves to play with her little doll as "they make snow angels". She learned it from TV...even though my little Arizona girl has never been in snow before.

Mommy Wrinkles...

2009-02-13T00:18:00.000-07:00

It's happening...my sister tells me that her girls have always had a knack to telling the truth, but for insulting her with it. Yeah, its happening...first is was, "Mommy, I have curly hair (in an adorable bragging voice)...and you have...that hair". Ok, really funny. Not so bad. So I have really straight hair and she recognizes it as less than hers : )
But Not only has she giving me stretch marks, she...well, the other day she lifted up my shirt to see my growing belly, so she could talk to the baby. I could tell she was really concentrating and thinking about something. Then she points to my stomach and says, "You have wrinkles, Mommy". I couldn't help it. I started laughing. I told her she made those wrinkles on my tummy when she was growing inside of me as a baby and that they were 'mommy wrinkles'. She then lifted up her shirt to look at her tummy and said, "I want mommy wrinkles on my tummy"...ok, so she totally made up for it. That was adorable. Hey, I know. We should all be proud of the mommy wrinkles! I had been thinking about how ugly my deflated wrinkly tummy would look once my baby was born...but instead I'm going to be grateful. Mommy wrinkles are so worth it...

"the clarnet and the fute"

2009-01-15T22:49:00.003-07:00

a while ago, Ava and I went to a band concert my nieces, Alyssa wasplaying in. Alyssa plays the clarinet and Sarah plays the flute, which Ava now loves can calls "clarnet" and "Fute". My wonderful, yet embarrasing sister relentlessly told Ava to yell things to the girls...especially when it was quiet so everyone could here...oh yeah, and she gave her a lollipop to make sure she was good and loud...ok, I did think it was cute and pretty funny...what a great influence Aunt crazy is! Oh, wait, and I forgot to mention that she brought along two presents for Ava...two flashing shirts! that would light up everytime she moved...Just in case she didn't get enough attention.
For Christmas, I bought her a recorder from the dollar store...I know, I'm crazy. She loves practicing now with Sarah and Alyssa. She takes practicing with each of them...taking it very seriously...

My Baby Einstien

2009-01-15T22:48:00.001-07:00

My brother was going to garage sale this...uh...Einstein wig...or maybe it's suppose to be a hat. But we put it on Ava. Oh my gosh! It was hilarious...but the funnier thing was she actually liked it. This was in early January and we were living with my sister Rachel. We were going to the store and my nieces told Ava she should wear it in the store...of course, they go off and Rachel and I are left with baby Einstein! You couldn't' tell it was a wig! I've never gotten as many double takes before...ok, I know I'm beautiful in all...oh, wait, it wasn't even me, it was my Einstein baby. Yeah, it was embarrassment. Ava loved it.

reindeer

2009-01-15T22:46:00.000-07:00

Oh, my cute Ava...

"Happy Thanksgiving Everyone"

2009-01-15T22:40:00.002-07:00

I will never forget how Ava learned to love to yell, "Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!" at the Thanksgiving Day parade in Fountain Hills. In fact...she still does. You would have thought she was in the parade! She frequently relives the event where she got candy and coloring books thrown at her. Very exciting! This is also where her passion for candy canes began. It was my favorite parade of all times.

Turkeys and Leaves

2009-01-15T22:26:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving...what could be more festive than turkeys and crunchy leaves...

We use to walk a lot : ) We will again soon...but in our neighborhood, there was a house with huge turkeys...Ava would love to go "visit" them. Poor neighbors...we went trampling over their yard and their rocks were even raked! Who does that! Sorry, if you do...if you do, then maybe you should come over and clean off my porch or something. Anyhow, Ava also loved the fallish leaves at Jeremy and Karina's house...you can't find them much here...the leaves that is...

Ava's Name and Baby's name?

2008-11-06T20:40:00.000-07:00

So at the beginning of next month we should find out if this baby is a boy or a girl!!! I can't wait! I have no idea! With Ava it was so easy! We both immediately thought she was a girl...knew she was a girl...not that we preferred either way...she just was and her name was Ava. Which has a story to it as well. Adam was going to get me a bird as a pet for Christmas, which was a bit of a sacrifice for him, but I really wanted one. For Christmas he took this big decoritive egg we have and put a cute note from my future bird in it, describing his breed and what breeder he was coming from and so forth...really cute...he is always great at presents. The day before New Year's Eve...and my birthday, we found out we were pregnant. We knew her name would be Ava...what we didn't know is that Ava means "bird like" also they think it was dirived from the Hebrew word meaning "life". Even after we knew her name...but not the meaning, I really wanted a name that reflected God's grace and the freedom we have in him...It's prefect. Thanks, God.
As for this baby....do you hear the crickets. Well, I guess we still have a while. I really like the name Selah for a girl, pronounced "say-la", it's a word in Psalms used at the end of the stansas, thought to mean 'reflective pause' because you are to think about what is just said...such a simple, almost quiet word with a lot of power. but...we really, really don't know. that's all for now.

"Aunt Rachel..."

2008-11-06T20:28:00.000-07:00

Aunt Rachel (or Aunt crazy, as we like to call her), I just thought you'd like to know that I left Ava's room at 7:30 on the dot and had her all tucked in....it's 8:30 and she's still talking...well, not talking exactly..actually she's singing...about you. It's a song about Aunt Rachel...and pizza...I have no idea! um, she is definitley excited you are coming over tomorrow.

oh, now she is yelling "baaarrrrrk, baaaarrrrk". I really don't think that has anything to do with you, Rachel, though.

"I pee pee in the potty"

2008-11-06T20:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, the title was support to reflect Ava talking...not me! So I'm excited to say we on our way to being potty trained...and when I say we...I mean Ava..I mean I'm already...you know what I mean. Anyways, Ava has had a potty chair for a while, but we haven't really tired to potty train yet. Until a couple of days ago...well, it was all Ava's doing. She carried her potty chair out of the bathroom and into the living room, then proceeded to take all her clothes off, which she has grown accustom to doing, including her diaper...sat on the potty...and went potty!!! You should have seen her face...she was SO excited...SO was I. We broke into her halloween candy to celebrate (and we wonder where emotional eating comes from). She has been doing GREAT ever since. Seriously, this was suppose to be so much harder!!! and I know it is for so many...my heart is with you! It's pretty crazy though. I don't have to remind her or anything. She is using the last of her diapers at night and pull ups at bed time and when we go out for now, though she frequently keeps them dry. She loves calling her daddy, aunt, and nana to them them how she pee peed or poo pooed in the potty. It's so cute. She said "I so proud!" over and over after she potties...I think she got it from one of her potty books. Man! I guess she was ready!!! Nice!

"I'm a big sister"

2008-11-06T19:58:00.001-07:00

So we were trying hard to tell our some of our friends and family that we were pregnant. My sister, Rachel, was watching Ava for me while I went to the doctor. I called her on my way home and told her that it didn't look good and I could have tumors or something (which is what I had thought before seeing the doctor...wow, a baby is WAY better!). She was very supportive, poor thing. I stopped by the store to pick up two matching bibs, because my sister happens to be a month farther along in her pregnancy. When I got to her house...my nieces, Alyssa and Sarah, and brother-in-law, Jay, were there as well, I said, "hey look what I got at the doctors" (ok, so that doesn't completely make sense), "I thought our kids could wear them together". They looked a little confused for half a second and then my sister, pregnant mind you, started jumping up in down saying "I told you! I told you!" (which she had been telling me I was pregnant and I was thouroughly annoyed by it because I knew I wasn't). It was great!
THEN Rachel helped me pick out a plan shirt for Ava and I ironned on letters that said, "I'm a big sister". Ava really got it. Especially after she got to see the baby on the ultrasound, which she called "peeking at the baby". She laughed so much and thought it was so funny. I asked her if she knew what being a big sister ment and she said, 'baby in mommy's tummy'. She could have melted my heart. Anyways, I went over to Becki's house, who I had told that I probably had tumors or something, and as soon as she opened the door and read Ava's shirt about 5 times, she started jumping...and I mean jumping up and down, screaming (oh, yeah, did I tell you she was about 6 months pregnant, oh man, was it a sight). Serioulsy now, that will go down in my funniest memory book in my head.
Ok, so I have more to tell you...but I want to break it up so you'll actually read it...so more of all that later : )

Suprise!!!

2008-11-06T15:27:00.000-07:00

Hi friends!
Adam, Ava, and I have some excited news if you haven't already heard...We are pregnant!!! It was a real surprise to me, because I had taken 4 pregnancy tests which were all negative! I finally went to the doctor thinking that something was definitley wrong with me. I don't want to gross you out of anything...but I couldn't do the urine sample at first because I had only just drank a bunch of water. I went through the whole appointment with my doctor and the options weren't looking good. She said if they found out my pregnancy test was negative, they'd send me in for an ultrasound to see what was going on. Well, I got an ultrasound anyways!!! Let me back up. After I had finally peed in the cup, I sat waiting in the...waiting room. I started smiling really big wondering if I really was pregnant....I thought "Leah, you are going to look ridiculous, smiling from ear to ear, only for the nurse to say, 'what? why are you smiling, weirdo? It's negative like you thought it would be". Luckily, it happened very differently...and frankly, if she would have talk to me that way...well, pregnancy hormones, you know. Anyways, she opened the door to the hallway smiling ear to ear as well. The nurses gathered round this really sweet young nurse who said "You're pregnant!" I was SOOOOOOOO excited! And dumb founded! I really felt like I was dreaming! I told them that too. I think they thought I was pretty funny. The nurse told me how she talked to the other nurses because she wasn't sure how to tell me and showed me how bold the pregnancy line on the test was. Then I rambled on and on to the nurses and doctor who had now all gathered. It was great!
You a Daddy...Again!!! I couldn't wait to tell Adam! I couldn't wait until that night and I didn't really just want to tell him over the phone, so I called Candace, who works at his branch, and she so thoughtfully bought balloons tying them to a baby bottle and a card. The funny thing was, Adam wasn't having the best day and as I've heard, he didn't look very happy as his staff approached his desk with the balloons. They took a picture as they gave him the balloons, while the whole "your a dad again" hadn't quite set in...he quickly realized what was going on and said, "oh, take a good one!" Everyone thought it was pretty funny after the fact. He is very excited as well and has been so supportive with backrubs, lots of cleaning, putting up with pretty crappy dinners and a dirty house for the whole first trimest.
The day after we found out we were pregnant. I got an ultrasound and I was already 9 weeks!!! Oh, wow, that's why I've had no energy!!!

Wow! Sorry that was so long. I had no idea...I even left stuff out!!!

Birthday with the Fam

2008-09-03T23:32:00.005-07:00

Birthday with the Fam

2008-09-03T22:21:00.000-07:00

For Ava's 2nd birthday with my family, we went to Organ Stop Pizza, as suggested by my Dad. Good call, Dad, good call. Ava LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it. A man plays this huge organ, whose pipes run through the whole building (the organ...not the man). Not only did Ava absolutely adore being a ham as she danced to the music, she loved these cat puppets that would 'perform' ever so often (then the curtain would lower over their stage). She was so distraught when the curtain went down. I told her when they went behind the curtain, they were taking a nap. She was ok with that. Every time after they would dance and the curtain went down, she would proclaim that they were taking a nap...she still is talking about it at least twice a day! When she talks about it, she looks up to the sky and dances her hands in the air like she immetating the cats. The organ player man played every style of music imaginable...but we came on the right now because tons of people had b-days (he plays requests through out the night) and not only did Ava get to hear him announce that it was her birthday and she was turning the ripe old age of 2, but she thought they were playing 'happy birthday' (which really does happen to be her favorite song) all night long (especially since we would sing it to her every time). She had so much fun (and so did her parents) between the music, dancing, puppets, pizza, balloons, light up bracelets, happy cake, and nana, papa, aunt Rachel, uncle Jay, Alyssa, Sarah, and Uncle Matt...not to forget her presents! She loved her presents! She got a McDonald's cash register food, head set etc. thanks to my sister's fam and a great gift card to Barn's and Noble's, which she already used. I can say without a doubt that the books and McDonald's set is about the only things she plays with all day every day. So good job, fam!!! Ava thanks you so much!!! And we have memories to last a life time!!!

Super Ava!

2008-09-03T21:44:00.000-07:00

So, for a while now Ava has been running...or flying...around the house, shouting, "Super Ava!" (she draws out the beginning of the word 'super' and also 'Ava'...it's hysterical) I have no idea where she learned it. She also plays 'super bunny' and will call us 'super mommy' and 'super daddy'. The only influence we can think of is 'super Grover' from Sesame Street. Right after she started playing that game, I walked into her bed room to see her slipping her arms into a spaghetti strap tank top to wear as a cape! And it totally worked! So now she frequently uses the tank tops as cape...she actually always refures to those shirts as capes instead of shirt now too. It's quite funny.

Soccer Game

2008-08-20T13:33:00.000-07:00

Game! Game!

Ava now thinks that when she plays ball, such as just throwing a ball across the room, it's a soccer game. I think she's actually thinking of baseball...because just about every time she plays ball she puts on a baseball hat..that's too big for her. It's really the cutest thing ever. Well, along with all the other 'cutest thing(s) ever' she does all the time. She also likes to play with this stuffed football. Maybe she is trying to play football. Who knows.

Shoes!

2008-08-08T15:16:00.000-07:00

So I didn't need to teach this girl to love shoes! I'm not much of a shoe girl myself...but she loves them!!! In fact this picture was taken in July when we were shopping for wedding shoes. She was sitting behind where we were looking. I turned about and she had done that ALL by Herself!!! It was so funny! For the last week she has insisted on wearing on big shoe and keeping the other barefoot. Every time I turn around, she's wearing this one shoe thats too big for her. She's so funny! She also gets very excited when she sees shoes in the store...man, we are going to have to watch her...and our money as well. Just Kidding.

Mommy's Daughter

2008-07-30T17:56:00.001-07:00

Once about a few days ago, I told Ava that she was my daughter and daddy's daughter too. I told her that I'm a mommy, Adam's a daddy, and she's a daughter. Many times randomly, she has told me, "I mommy's daughter. I daddy's daughter." Or point to her self and say "daughter". (She pays particular attention to the possessive "s"...I'm not kidding. She looks so proud when she tells me. It makes my heart melt. She also has been pointing to herself and saying "I 2! I 2!" I know it's a little early...but she's practicing. She also says "I girl". She is the cutest...

Oh Happy Day

2008-07-29T15:00:00.000-07:00

Even though Ava's B-Day isn't until September 2nd, she got to celebrate it early with Gianna, her cousin in Tucson, since Jill (Mamaw) won't be here. Adam, Ava and I stayed in Tucson Thursday night till Saturday night at a house that Jill was house sitting at. Our nephew, Brandon, also stayed with us and Adam had fun playing video games with him. Ava LOVED playing with Gigi, mostly playing at her play kitchen together. They were adorable! They were both excited for the Mickey birthday party...Ava was talking all about it before hand, especially about "numbers" on the cake. She adored her uncle Mike and loved playing with him. Her Aunt Erin made everything look so cute!!! Ava loved, loved her presents. She got a whole wardrobe from her Mamaw...super cute by the way. A Cinderella Birthday doll...so appropriate...who has a present that plays the happy birthday tune...Ava sings along. Super cute jammies, ballet slippers, a gift basket from her aunt Erin...and a bunch more!!!

Fun in the Sun

2008-07-29T14:48:00.001-07:00

Ava and I had a fun week of swim lessons last week at the phoenix pool. Though Ava was definitely a bit caution, she practiced picking up toys off the ground of the kidding pool...though very afraid of getting her face wet, blowing bubbles, touching her chin and nose to the water, kicking, floating on her tummy and back, scooping her arms (that was a hard on for her), and getting out of the pool (her fav because she'd say "elbow, elbow, knee, knee" in the process). It was a lot of fun. We are definitely going to start at the beginning of next summer.

The Cutest Flower Girl EVER!

2008-07-29T13:07:00.000-07:00

So my beautiful sister married Jay Sibel (right), equally as beautiful...jk, that would be weird on July 19th at Joe's Farm Grill. Guess who was the flower girl...that's right! AVA! She was the cutest flower girl ever in her puffy dress. She had lots of fun and was an angel...well, a bit of a loud angel. It was 9:00 o'clock in the morning and her poor little head was really sweaty, but she strolled down the isle because we told her to "run to uncle Jay". She loves, loves, loves uncle Jay so this wasn't a problem, but she walked slowly because I think she loved all eyes on her. She held a cute little basket and some of the puddles fell out of it as she bobbled a long which was perfect. She also held a little wand that she likes to 'poof' people with...especially when they pretend to be 'poofed' into an animal and make animal sounds. She ran around a little during the wedding. One of my favorite parts was when she saw Rachel start to walk down the isle and yelled "YEA!". I think she found out why we kept having her and Rachel try on the dresses leading up to the wedding. She practically looked over Rachel and Jay's shoulders as they were taking communion because she was wondering what was going on. She also flicked her lips and made a loud "brrrr" sound during the vows. It was pretty cute though and my sister's a great sport, not to mention Ava's biggest fan. Ava's favorite parts were running to uncle Jay, eating Happy Cake!, and eating the organic grapes off the vines. I have some pictures that my sister in law Erin took as you see, which are super cute. I'll also put up the ones Matt took when they are developed and scanned. Maybe we will put some videos on here eventually. Click on any of the pictures to make them bigger!Isn't she the cutest!

Mamaw's visit and Dress Rehearsal

2008-07-28T14:02:00.000-07:00

It's been crazy around our house, with Rachel, Alyssa, and Sarah, and Jay staying with us some because Jay's house is been sold in Tucson. Jill or Mamaw came to stay with us too. Ava couldn't be more happy to have a house full!!! Especially because it's people who adore her...well, who has the strength not too... We had a week of fun and ciaos, but Jill was a really, really good sport!!! Mamaw surprised Ava with a yellow wooden duck that's so cute and matches her room..the best part is she spotted it amongst other ducks and went right to it think it looked like Ava and it had a name tag that said, "My name is Ava" What are the chances!!! She loves it!!We went to Barns and Nobles. Adam was with Ava and she started going crazy over "Happy Cake" she saw in the coffee shop window. Adam told her that she should ask her Mamaw...thinking that she would forget about it...but she never forgets about 'Happy' cake. As soon as she saw Mamaw...as I hear the story goes...she was saying

"happy cake, happy cake" and pulling Jill to the coffee shop. She very enthusiastically pointed at a chocote cupcake with yellow frosting and then held her hand pulling her over the drink section and pointed out the milk carton with a straw...she knew excatly what she wanted...this girl doesn't full around when it comes to happy cake. She was soooo excited. Once Mamaw trying breaking off a peice of the cupcake because seh was having a hard time eating because it was so big, but she was really upset about that until Mamaw put it back together using the frosting as molding...It was really funny. She really liked eating the leftovers too...she's a slow happy cake eater. Mamaw sure made her day with that happy cake!!!

At the dress rehearsal dinner we got to thoroughly embarrass Jay and Rachel by making them wear cute outfits that the girls picked out at the dollar store. My camera died, but we also made jay wear a coconut bra and Rachel had to wear this big heart shaped light as a necklace that said, my heart belongs to Jay as we went to Islands for drinks that night. It was pretty funny...at their expense...

A Note From Ava

2008-07-16T15:11:00.000-07:00

Hey Dudes (she's learned it from Backyardagans)
I just wanted to let you know what I've been up to and what I'm doing lately.

What Vava LOVES
Happy Cake!!!
Animals
Her Beep beep car (a plastic car a sit in while mommy or daddy pushes me)
Books
Yellow Bear with a heart (build-a-bear from uncle and aunt)
Blocks (relocated them around the house)
Talking
Her uncle Jay
Shoes and dresses
Jumpin on the Bed
Jack
Fruity cheerios
Raisins ("beans")
Caillou
My yellow Ava duck
Baby Einstein
Maw Maw's phone
My first swim lesson
Saying "Nope" in a silly way
Milk
Accessories
My Mommy and Daddy!!!

And best of all, ME!!!

Updating!

2008-07-16T15:08:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
So we haven't added anything to our blog since Ava was 5 months old!!! So now I'm going to be better about it! Just thought I'd tell everyone : ) There are a lot new pictures on the right side column and there will be more to come! So keep checking. I'm hoping to blog at least a couple in the next week. We love you!

our myspace

2007-02-18T10:27:00.000-07:00

Hey, Please visit our myspace at www.myspace.com/mickfam That's were we have most of our pictures and everything now. If you don't have a myspace...well, you should get one, but even if you don't have one, you can look at the slide show there. We love you all!..well, most of yo anyways ; )

giggles, wiggles, and greanbean gotees...

2007-01-30T08:23:00.000-07:00

So long are the days of running grocery store or anywhere else for that matter. Everything is an adventure, just some times a slow one. But we did trade in those easier, not so sleep deprived days for something much cuter. Ava! Ave is 5 months old now as of Jan 27th. She is now eating some baby food. Her favorite happens to be green beans. She lunges at the spoon. Kind of scary. Who knew we would get so excited about grean bean gotees...well, maybe our parents. She sits up a little, rolls over a little, and smiles and laughs a lot...except for those craby days. Nothing makes us happier than when she laughs so hard when we're playing the kissing monster game. It's hilarious. I'd write more, but yesterday was one of those craby days and I'm worn out.

Our far too late, never sent Christmas letter

2007-01-22T15:31:00.000-07:00

Well, Adam and I got around to writing a Christmas letter and addressing the envelops, but never actually put them in the mail box. They would have been a little late if we had sent them out after we wrote them, but sending them out at the end of January would be a little embarrassing. So instead, we announce our embarrassment to everyone on our blog and post our Christmas letter here. We had a cute little card with a picture of Ava and pretty green vellum paper, but you are just going to have to pretend ; ) So here is the letter:

Dear friends and family (not to say that if you are family, that you’re not a friend),

We hope this letter finds you in good health and spirits! We apologize for the Christmas card…after Christmas, but we just wanted to celebrate the holiday a little longer (and maybe we just procrastinated, but we can pretend, can’t we?).
We have had a year full of changes and adventures. A year ago, at this time we lived in Tucson and Adam was in the midst of training to be a Wells Fargo banker and Leah was working as a social worker. We had all our plans figured out. We were trying to buy a house and we finally had one picked out. It seemed perfect, but then it did not pass the VA inspection and the purchase fell through. We thought we would never know exactly why God let that happen.
We were still excited to celebrate our second Christmas together. For a Christmas gift Adam gave Leah a large, decorative egg container to open and inside she found a letter from the future bird Adam was going to buy Leah. Then we were overjoyed when Leah got an early birthday present, finding out on December 30th, 2005 that we were pregnant with Ava! Actually, Adam found out he was a daddy, when Leah gave him the same large, decorative egg container to open up. He thought a bird was going to fly out or something, so he held it as far away from his body as possible, opened it, and four positive pregnancy tests fell out. After a second, Adam couldn’t stop smiling, laughing, and saying “No way!”

We think Ava was the first name we thought of. We prayed about it and sorted through many other names, but Ava stuck, even before we knew what it meant. And the name fits her so well! Ava is derived from “bird” or “bird like”. How ironic that Adam was getting Leah a bird for Christmas and we had already received our little bird, Ava. Furthermore, we wanted a name that portrayed the freedom we have in Christ and the name Ava represents that freedom.
We then moved back to Phoenix (Mesa, specifically) to be near Leah’s family and our friends. God knew what He was doing all along. If we would have bought the house in Tucson, that would not have been possible. Adam was then promoted to a branch manager position in Scottsdale, which made it possible for Leah to stay at home with Ava which also would not have been possible, if we had bought the house in Tucson. God is so good even when we don’t know what He’s up to. Ava was born on September 2nd, 2006, a full eleven days late! But finally our Sunshine was born and now she is growing like a weed…or a pretty flower! She sits up with some support and talks, smiles, and giggles like crazy. She is so enamored by her daddy. We are so blessed that God decided to let us be her parents when she was born.
A lot has happened in our lives in one year. We want to thank you for being a huge support to us. Our friends and family make our lives full of joy and growth and that’s all we could ask for. During this holiday season , remember Christ’s astonishing and, yet, humble birth.

Love, Adam, Leah, and Ava Mick

“Love was born on Christmas day
Sleeping in a manger
Was the world’s only Saviour Humble beginnings of love
We're given and shown to the world
Love was born on Christmas day”
Love was born on Christmas day