The Joys and Pains of Change.

It is nearing half a year since I have posted on this blog. Funny to look here and see that nothing has changed. And some things in our lives have not. We still are trying to sell a home, trying to afford what we have. We still love each other. We still eat, sleep and laugh...sometimes. On the other hand though, many things are changing faster than we can register. Or, maybe it is too slowly for us to notice. Either way, six months pass and things once familiar feel foreign. My girls look nothing like these pictures. They change between naps and episodes of "The Little Einsteins." I have had many people ask why I no longer post, a surprising number to me. I have no good reason. So, perhaps, I should try again.

Potty Training, Day 356

By golly, I think she finally has it. Aveline has been uber stubborn when it comes to potty training. I have sat through many a discussion with other mommies, cycling through shades of green and red, listening to them chuckle as they mention how "effortless" or "surprisingly simple" this phase of child development passed for them. Meanwhile, coming up on the anniversary of the first potty success for Aveline, we are pleased to announce that she is Day Trained. Ok. So she's not fully trained yet, as we still don the pull ups at night. She puts panties on in the morning and if all goes well, they don't come completely off until night. We have had number one AND number two in the loo, a feat that allowed Ave's toes to be painted pink.

I didn't realize how long the potty training was taking, until I pulled out some panties we bought her at it's onset, and they are way too small! I guess we will have to save those for Scarlett. Speaking of the second born, she has started to show interest in our potty chair and has told us she needs to go, with no success. One time, she sat buck naked on the potty for nearly an hour, standing up only to pee on the carpet. That's my girl.

Flamingos and Antique Tractors

We had a family day today, as Dan and I both had it off. The local park hosted a guest appearance by the Columbus Zoo along with free lunch from Wendy's. There had to be more than 300 people there to see the traveling menagerie. We had gotten there late and were waiting in line for our food when they took the first guest, a Chilean Flamingo named Marty, out of the truck. A truck that was parked not five feet from the line. Marty trotted around until his handler could herd him towards his intended target. Aveline got a close up look at the pink bird and even collected a pink feather he had left behind. That was certainly a prize! We had gotten there too late to get a good seat, but munched on our free lunch atop a hill overlooking the show. An armadillo, sloth, legless lizard (isn't that a snake?) and some kind of monkey thing later, we had full bellies and had learned a few things about animals. Aveline even learned something about local government, as we entered the nearby city building in search of a restroom (no potties at the park and Aveline with a serious attitude toward using one!) We walked into the cold, deserted building. Aveline asked where everyone was. I told her that I didn't know, distracted by my desperate search for a restroom. Without blinking, she decided she knew where they were, when she told me she thought they were probably "on a break." I had to chuckle at that observation.

After the nomadic zoo at the potty-less park, we headed south to the Yesteryear Tractor Show. Aveline and Scarlett have been obsessed with the movie Cars as of late, so we thought this might be fun. Dan was interested and I knew there would be good ice cream there. That and it was free. We wandered through the antique tractors and other implements. Dan paused here and there to look more closely. Scarlett was content in her stroller. Aveline held Daddy's hand. We opted to take a wagon ride through the adjoining park, guided by a conservationalist (notice I did not say conversationalist, because his tour guide skills were nothing special.) We did get to see some interesting things, like the second largest Green Ash tree in Ohio. I am a tree geek, so I really enjoyed learning and seeing all the different species. Once off the wagon, eyelids were heavy while parental patience was growing thin. I suggested we find the ice cream and head home for nap. We shared a bowl of strawberry, all of the ladies taking turns feeding Daddy. He liked that.

Once the ice cream was devoured, we meandered through a row of old tractors as we headed to the van. The girls napped when we got home.

"Berry, Mine!"

This is the phrase of the week here at our home. Scarlett has discovered what succulent, red strawberries are, and she's not sharing. The astonishing and disturbing thing is that she eats them hulls and all. When we are at the farm, she usually has a tell tale red streak racing down her shirt and crimson-stained lips uttering the words : "Berry, MINE!!"

Blowing Out Three

Here is a picture of Aveline blowing out her candles on the cake. I thought she would be shy during the birthday song, but she looked around and soaked it all in.

Aveline's Third

We started the big third birthday a day early with a blue and horsey themed party, per Aveline's request. She wanted blue balloons, blue presents and a blue horsey cake. We opted to have a very small gathering this year, due to the fact that our place is tiny. In fact, even our limited guest list had us all rubbing elbows and bumping behinds all afternoon. Good thing no one is really shy in our family.

Have a look for yourself at all of the fun we had.

Lauren and Ben playing peek-a-boo with Aliya

Aveline, Kelsey and Everett playing hard.

Scarlett proving she's a party girl!

The Blue Horsey Cake--apparently frightened by his intended destiny.

Look closely...Scarlett is double fisting it.

Aveline meeting Aliya for the first time with Grandma Wilhelm.

Aveline giggling with Grandma and Grandpa Wilhelm.

Scarlett and Mommy pre partying.

Everett meeting Aliya.

Aunt Kelly amidst the party debris.

Everett having gotten the balloon away from Scarlett.

Avelinisms

Aveline has just hit that stage when she has mastered her words and some logic to be able to share her understanding of the world with me. I hope I can remember all of the gems I hear during our time together.

Me: My Aveline! You sure are getting big! And so tall!

Aveline: Watch out! My bump my head on the sun!

Me: Yep, that would kind of hurt.

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Aveline: Me sad.

Me: Why are you sad, Aveline?

Aveline: I had dreams.

Me: You did?

Aveline: Yeah. (sigh) Me see them in my eyes.