a tradition in the making.

I'm not sure why I like St. Patrick's Day as much as I do, maybe it's the whimsical part of it, maybe it's because it's another chance to decorate the house, maybe it's another excuse to have a party. I really don't know why, but I really like it.

I thought I'd ease into beginning of what could be some fun traditions. I didn't think Avery would understand the whole leprechaun thing, so I thought I'd begin by making rainbow pancakes.

reading a book while mommy's making the pancakes



and wearing green.


Next year, we'll take it up a notch.

Off to have corned beef and cabbage at Mimi and Papa's....

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

maternal sacrifice.

After several minutes of watching Avery use one hand to play around the house, and at times struggling because she was using just one hand, I decided to ask.

Mom: "Whatcha doing Avers?"

Avery: "Feeding Pig-a-let."






Mom: "Oh, right. You sure are."

one of these things is not like the other.

Only one of these activities truly fits the category of a "winter time activity," however we have done them all in the last month. It's been an interesting and fun- filled southern California "winter."

Trips to the beach with Mommy and Daddy





Trips to the park {with Uncle Cooper}

{and Archer}

{and Beau}

Decked out for a trip to Mission Viejo Lake

... and a trip to the snow





all done

now it's daddy's turn




... wonder what spring has in store for us...

Daddy's little helper.

babies

If I had to pick one thing that is Avery's favorite thing to do, it would be pretending. Right now most of her pretending is centered around babies... thanks to the sweet babies in her life that she loves- Baby Cole, Baby Christopher, Baby Christian.





Several times a day, she will say to me, "Mommy, I'm Baby Cole." That's my cue to ask her questions addressing her as Baby Cole. She makes noises and tells me that's Baby Cole crying. When I remind her to be polite, she informs me, "I'm being Baby Cole" (as if that will get her out of it).

Sometimes, she pretends to be Auntie Kelly with Baby Cole in her tummy. Here's some snapshots of her at Target. The entire trip, she had this ball under her shirt, rubbing it and talking to it and telling me, "Mommy, I have Baby Cole in my tummy."






While she is crawling, she will tell me, "Mommy, I'm Baby Christopher." That's the prompt I get to start calling her Baby Christopher. These pretend little scenarios are a perpetual part of our day.



When Avery is around the babies, she wants to hold them, rock them or put their pacifiers in their mouth. She is so gentle and sweet. We haven't yet had to remind her how to be around babies. Her voice softens and pitch rises; her movements slow and her smile stretches from ear to ear.




Another special baby had made his debut into the world, but unfortunately he lives in Chicago. Baby Theo, we can't wait to meet you. Until then, we are thankful for Skype. It's only a matter of time that Baby Theo will be added to Avery's "baby repertoire."

Spanish 101

Some parents buy bilingual toys for their little ones to expose them to Spanish words- "rojo, azul, verde, hola, adios." Some parents speak Spanish to teach their children to teach them new words- "uno, dos, tres, por favor, gracias."

Not us, we start with words like "linda, todo bien, un beso, guapo, que tal..."

Why, you ask?



Well, mommy bought Spanish conversation hearts.

Where, oh where has my little girl gone?

Where, oh where can she be?