Happy Bday, Aunt Kimmie!

Cheers to you! We hope you have a wonderful birthday!
Hugs & kisses from NY! Miss you!
Adam, Aunt Kimmie, Seth & Colin

First Day- Pre-K

Today was Ava's first day of Pre-K. She was so excited.
Seems everything went excellent, I'm so happy!

She came home with 2 art projects, a homework binder and a library book. She was eager to tell me that her helper job today was passing out the cups at snacktime. We've already read the book and her homework is finito. Yay!

Here are some pics that I took before and after school. As you can see, she was really determined to show her backpack in her pics! =)
When I dropped her off...checking out the pet guinea pig, Lilly.
When I pulled up at the end of the day they were outside on the playground. Here's a few pics of them lined up to go back inside.

All Done

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Took this video 8/31/09.
This is what Dean does when he is finished eating. He brushes his hands together and says his version of, "All Done."
I just love this kid!

CT Vacation

Seems we've been back from our trip to Connecticut for just about a month now. And yet, I am just getting around to uploading a few pics.

In my defense, we were all sick for a while, Mamaw & Papaw came to visit from TX, we had Dean's 1st bday party, the consignment sale, etc, etc. Things have been busy.

Back to the vacation, we had such a nice time. This year five families went away together; Behans, Devines, Grabers, Grazianos & McCormacks. There were 10 adults and 8 kids. This was the 5th year to go away as a group. Good times.

Happy Birthday, Gram!

We love you, Gram! Happy Birthday!!
xoxox Ava Grace, Dean Douglas, Janis & Chet

One Year Stats

Dean had his annual check-up Monday morning. Here are his stats:


Height: 31.5 inches ~ 92 percentile

Weight: 22.37 pounds ~ 44 percentile

Head: 18.5 inches ~ 69 percentile

6 Years

HAPPY 6 YEAR ANNIVERSARY, CHET!
All my love, Janis xoxoxo


THEN:

NOW:
(Photo courtesy of Miss Ava Grace! Taken Aug 2009, on our way home from our CT vacation. Ava was so excited to see where Mommy & Daddy got married!)

Look who's 1

Our baby boy turns 1 today! Happy Birthday, Dean Douglas!
xoxoxo

Reunion Season 09

Well, we had our annual reunion blitz over Fourth of July weekend.

It was so nice to see and spend time with everyone again. Ava & Dean hadn't seen their cousins since Thanksgiving, so as you might imagine, they went nuts together the entire time.

We got to meet 4 new babies this year, which is always very exciting. Last year Dean was in my tummy, so he got to meet so many new people.

So now we have our first big 12-hour car trip and hotel stay under our belts as a family of 4. Not bad at all.

I have been meaning to post pics forever now, so here goes.

11 months

Dean turned 11 months on Sunday. Our little boy is really growing up! I can't believe he'll be a year old next month. It just doesn't seem possible. But, alas, this clock just keeps on tickin'.

As you can tell by the frequency of my postings lately, our little guy keeps me incredibly busy. He's everywhere. In to everything.

Quick updates. He has 5 teeth, but he's definitely working on a few more. His eyes are still a mystery. Don't believe them when they tell you eyes don't change after 6 months. Ava's eyes took a full year to turn brown and Dean's eyes are still TBD.

Dean's favorite game is playing ball. Although, he loves to throw anything. He also says "ball" now too, along with "uh-oh" and many other almost words.

On the sign language front, he's enjoying using the sign "more" as often as it works. Cute. =)

Well, until next month...

CSA- week 5

This week we had a lovely selection of:
~ Arugula
~ Cucumbers
~ Black Currants
~ Dill
~ Lettuce
~ Sugar Snap Peas
~ Scallions
~ Squash
~ Turnips (Oasis)

Beach Day

Wednesday was our first "beach day" at our neighborhood beach. It's a lake beach. A beach at the lake. But it's a cool lake beach. There are lifeguards and sand and a playground and shaded grassy areas and a huge covered pavilion and restrooms, etc.
Yes, this is the same lake that is at the foot of our neighborhood. The one we drive by multiple times a day. It was our first time, somehow.

Ava was going with her summer camp, and some friends were also planning to go, so we decided it was a good day to try it out. I'm so glad we did!

Anyway, since it was Dean's first official "beach" experience, I thought it deserved documentation. He loved it! It was also Ava's first day on a school bus. She was was excited. I snapped a secret shot of her getting off the bus. Such a big girl!Now I absolutely cannot wait till our beach vacation in a few weeks.

Weekend Projects

Some weekends around our house are very productive. This weekend was one of those weekends. Here's a sneak peek of a few of the projects goin' on around here.

First, we borrowed Uncle Joey's big truck. The kids love riding in there!
Then we headed to the nursery and Home Depot and filled it up with lots of rocks & plants & such.
Uncle Tony came for a visit and helped "babysit" Ava in the pool while Chet and I laid a stone walkway to the pool.

Here's a pic of the walkway. Shortly after this picture was taken, we had a change of heart and decided to go with a single row of stones instead. No photo though, oopsie.
Chet has really wanted to lay stones around the base of the pool fence for a while now. So he did. Don't ask me why cuz I don't really know why.
Then we ran into this little fella, trying to sneak some of our booze.
Chet planted a few hydrangea bushes next to the driveway. So pretty.
Next, he planted 13 of these lovely grasses around the yard. They really remind me of the coast. I love how they blow in the wind.The big trees are being delivered on Thursday, I'll post some pics.

Hair

Apparently, I have an attachment with hair. I can admit it. It likely stems from my childhood. There was a span of my life when my mother cut my hair like a boy. Short bangs, short sides, short back. Short. Short. Short. Sorry Mom, but it was awful, what were you thinking?

Maybe a few of you were lucky enough to suffer the same "boy-do" that I did. If so, maybe you are the only ones who can fully appreciate my angst.

Ya know, strike that. I should replace suffer with endure. At the time, I didn't seem to mind. I guess it's the same blissfully blind perception that any given 6 year old has. Ya know, running crazy through a water-park. Bathing suit hiked up the tush, hair going every which way. Racing up the waterslide-line-stairs, skipping as many stairs in between as your little legs will allow. Not an inkling of vanity to be found. Pure adrenaline. Those were the days.


*****

Anyway, enough about me and my hairless childhood. As you can tell from my Ava's hair, that isn't the case with my little girl. Her hair is long and curly and beautiful. I can't tell you how many strangers stop her and want to feel her hair or tell her how pretty it is. Especially when it's all wrapped up in tight little ringlets. I am also fully aware that there is another segment out there who do not share my rosy perception, at all. But, that's what makes the world go 'round, now isn't it?

Getting back to my point....

Ava has been asking me to get her hair cut to her shoulders for what seems like forever. I sort of ignored her at first because I thought it would pass. Even when we first took her to Snip-its, she wanted to get her hair cut "like Grams". Grams hair is shoulder length. In actuality, we got a few inch trim and that was that.

But, she hasn't stopped asking. She talks about it constantly. Every image she notices in a magazine, or on TV, or any person walking in a store, "Mommy, that's how I want my hair!" She has even gone as far as telling me, "Mommy, I know you don't want me to cut off my ponytail, but I really want to." I've even stooped so low as pointing out how pretty the princesses long hair is. I know, terrible. Sue me.

Well, after much ado, I am finally listening. What can I really do, it is her hair, after all. And, since it is so long, she's decided to donate her hair to Locks of Love.
She can't wait to "give her hair to all the little girls who don't have any". It's a great cause and I think it seems to mean a lot to her, so we're pretty pumped about it actually. To qualify for a donation, you must cut 10 inches, braided or in a ponytail. Then they have to take off another 2-3 inches to even the hair out. So, we're looking at 12-13 inches off her hair. Gasp!

Ava and I have made a pact to get our hair cut really short, together, after our beach vacation in August. Yeah, you heard me right, I said together! I've agreed to get mine seriously snipped as well. Why wait, you ask? Why after the beach vacation, wouldn't it make more sense to get a snip before hand, to stay cooler? Remember folks, you're still talking to the girl who wanted "honeymoon hair" on her honeymoon. Somewhere in there I associate the beach with long flowy hair. So, Ava will have it for one more year. Stay tuned for more about all this as the time approaches.

*****

What's that? Could there be even more hair news? YES, in fact there is!

My little Dean-O got his first big-boy haircut on Friday! His bangs were really long and I couldn't take it anymore. They are pin straight and they just cascade down his forehead like the teeth of a comb. So, I thought it no big deal to take him for his first trip to Snip-its and get a little trim.

Never did I anticipate the physically ill feeling I would have while my little boy was in that chair. I was completely fine at first, but then she just kept cutting and cutting and cutting. Cutting the back. Cutting the top. Cutting the front. The top was very long and she seemed to cut 2 inches from there. By the end of the trim I was past ready for her to be done. Then she spiked it. It was a cute idea, but it didn't come out that well. It just looked wet and felt hard. So, when we got home I washed the baby gel out and went with the natural look. Much better.

He was too cute sitting there in the chair getting his very first snip. My little boy is really growing up!
Remind me not to eat lunch before Ava's big cut! Breathe, Janis, breathe.

(see slideshow of Dean's first haircut below)

CSA- week 4

The most delicious share yet! This weeks bag has a gorgeous assortment of:

~Cucumbers
~Sugar Snap Peas
~Green Garlic
~Basil
~Squash
~Cabbage
~Red Leaf Lettuce
~Marjoram
~Radicchio

In case you noticed, there was no "CSA- week 3" post. We were out of town so I let a friend enjoy our portion. Bon appetit!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

COOL

At five minutes and six seconds after 4 am on the 8th of July this year,

the time and date will be...

04:05:06 07/08/09

This will not happen again for a thousand years!

What's new?

I know. It's been a while.

Can you say...
Well, I don't think I would go as far as sleep deprived, but maybe a little bit. More so, a little stressed. Nothing to do with the kiddos. I just haven't been feeling so hot lately. I'm hoping it will pass soon. It has already subsided a little, so that's some relief.

And, since I love the sentiment so much, and I feel it never hurts to remind myself (ourselves)...

On another note. Chet was able to go to the US Open with his dad. Unfortunately, they got rained out after the early morning practive session and a few holes. Luckily though, they still got to see Tiger and a few other favorites, so I was excited for them.

What else? We've enjoyed some baby pool action...
As well as some "family pool" action...
Chet went away on a "fellas" camping weekend...

Ava graduated from The Mother Goose School of Etiquette. Hee.=)

Some random cuteness...
Now though, I must go pack! It's "family reunion season" again. I'm really looking forward to seeing my family so much!

Have a safe and fun 4th of July!