Final Thoughts for 2008

Just a final post for 2008. My sister, Kelly, had done this for her children, so I thought it would be a nice way to end the year for our girls.

R- Stands for relentless. Those of you who know Rylan are laughing right now. She accepts nothing less than the best in herself and everyone around her.

Y- Stands for youth. Rylan represents everything wonderful about being young. She's silly, trusting, full of life, and kind to all people and animals.

L- Stands for loving. Rylan is loving to all of her friends and family. She is a great snuggler and a wonderful big sister.

A- Stands for athletic. Rylan is a natural athelete. She is good at everything she tries.

N- Stands for no day is complete without her smile. When Rylan smiles, her whole face lights up. She lights up our home every day.

A- Stands for adorable. You've seen her or her picture need I say more?

V- Stands for vivacious. Avery is always full of life. She dances and sings most of the day.

E- Stands for exceptional. Avery has an exceptional vocabulary for an almost 3 year old. She can and will say anything.

R- Stands for reading. Avery is so cute when we read to her. She asks, "What's That?" about every single picture on the page. Imagine reading a book to her with multiple pictures and characters on each page. She says it so cute that we don't even mind.

Y- Stands for youngest. Avery is our baby.

Christmas Fun

Rylan and Avery love their American Girls dolls, Kit and Emily

Me and the girls after our Little Mermaid on Broadway Shot

Our family in Rockefeller Center Plaza in New York City

Rylan and Avery at American Girl Place in New York City

Fun at Kozier's Christmas Village

Our family at Longwood Gardens' Christmas

Avery freestyles

Ryley had "Bring a Friend to Class Day" at her dance studio. I had the bright idea that she should bring her little sister, Avery. Avery really wants to start dance in January when she is three, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to see if she is ready. Well, Avery loves the whole dancing part, but she's not so into the whole standing in line thing. She refused to stand with her sister, and she spent most of the time solo dancing in front of the class. If you watch closely, you will see Rylan dancing on the far right near the mirror. Avery pops in and out near the front doing her own thing. The circle dance is particularly entertaining. Mike and I were laughing so hard the whole time.

Rylan pedals her bike

Ryley is working on riding her bike without training wheels. Here is a video of her first day in the backyard.

Avery Pedals her Bike

Avery has learned how to pedal her bike. I know that she's not wearing her helmet, but it was a losing battle that day. Her friend, Max, also makes a brief apperance in this video.

Please don't take this the wrong way...

Maybe this makes me a bad mom... I don't enjoy seeing my children get hurt, but this was funny in that America's Funniest Home Videos kind of way. Avery was performing for me, and you have to see the results for yourself.

There was a hole in the middle of the mouth...the prettiest hole that you ever did see...

My little Rylan lost her first tooth last night. She was so excited. Mike and I were also thrilled to sneak into her room and play tooth fairy. She woke up right after we slid it under her pillow. I was sure that we were busted, but she had no idea. She was excited to receive her letter from the tooth fairy and her ticket to see High School Musical 3 at the movies. I have attached a picture of her smiling her huge grin. This was a quick snap last night with bounced flash (still learning), so don't hold me to the technical aspects of it. By the way, I asked her if it felt weird, and she said, "No, I've had a lot of practice with the space on the top!) That's Ryley: Always looking at the bright side of everything.

Meme

I have been tagged by Lori to do a Meme. I'm supposed to tell you 6 random or weird things about me. Here goes:

1. I have moved over 20 times in my life. I've actually lost count. It's probably closer to 30!

2. I have lived in 5 different states...See Above

3. I have pictures of the inside and back of my eyeball. My parents have the polaroids somewhere at their house to prove it. Those polaroids won me a ribbon in the science fair in junior high.

4. I'm pretty sure that I have OCD, but I've never been diagnosed. I'm able to keep most of it internal. I repeat random sayings or (usually rhymes) in my head most of the day. I love things that rhyme! I even repeat them when I fall asleep at night. I also lock and relock doors several times before leaving my house. You don't even want to know how many times I check the gate at the top of our stairs before going to bed! I will actually leave my house in the car, and turn around to come back again-unlock the door, go back into the house and check to make sure things are unplugged, and relock the door. This happens at least 3 times a week!

5. I have an extremely high tolerance for alcohol. I'm usually one of the last ones standing. I think most of my college friends would agree to this.

6. Both of my girls were born at 34 weeks premature only one gestational day apart. Rylan was born on the 29th and Avery on the 30th. 34 weeks must be my magic number! When I delivered Avery, my blood pressure was 210/110. Normal blood pressure is 120/80! I can definitely say that both of my children and myself, for that matter, are miracles.

My new favorite picture

This picture is my new favorite.  I love that I captured my girls during a moment of pure love and affection.  When we decided to have another child, I worried that Ryley would feel threatened.  She had been our baby for 3 1/2 years.  It has been the exact opposite.  She has embraced her role as big sister.  It is amazing to see the ways that she has matured and changed since Avery's birth.  Here we are 2 1/2 years later, and seeing this picture makes me even more pleased that we did take that step.  It was so worth it.  Not only did we gain our beautiful, Avery, without whom I now know our life would not be complete, we gave Rylan a beautiful gift.  A friend, a playmate, a wrestling partner-a sister.

The times they are a changin...

Its been really busy around our house the past couple of weeks. Rylan turned 6 years old, and we celebrated with a jewelry party at Buttercup Beads with her girlfriends. We also had cake and ice cream with her grandparents. Both of my girls also started school this past week. Rylan started kindergarten, and Avery started 2 year old preschool. Our year is starting to crank up, and Fall is right around the corner.

Longwood Gardens

We visited Longwood Gardens a couple of weeks ago, and I'm finally getting around to posting a couple of pics from the trip. It was a beautiful day, and the girls loved it. There was plenty of room for them to run around and chase butterflies. We stayed until 10:00 to watch the laser light show and fountain dance. It was a wonderful day.

Dog Days of Summer

It's feels like summer is on its way out, but we are doing everything we can to hold onto it. We are spending as much time as possible at the pool, and the girls are loving it. They both have new swim goggles. Ryley loves her "big girl" goggles that allow her to put her head under water, and she has started jumping in more since she is wearing them. Avery does not want to take her purple octopus "woggles" off. She ate lunch in them yesterday even though they were fogged over! As soon as we come down the stairs, she starts asking for "my woggles" "my woggles". I know that the leaves will start to turn and fall in no time flat, and my big girl will be headed off to kindergarten, but we are determined to make the most out of what sunny days we have left.

We Love Our BB

We have been back from Alabama for a couple of weeks, but I haven't had much time to post. We have been really busy getting back into our daily routine. My niece, Abbey, rode home with us. The girls have had so much fun having her around. She is leaving this weekend, and we will miss her so much. We might not see her again until Christmas!! Here is a pic of our beautiful "BB".

Sweet Home Alabama

We've been in Alabama for over a week now, and we have been so busy visiting with family and friends. I haven't had much time to write. The girls are having a blast playing with their cousins. They will be so sad when we leave. We met my good friend, Lori, her husband, Kenny, their beautiful daughter Kate, and her sweet parents at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens today. Lori is the hot new photographer in the Atlanta area. She is extremely talented, and the girls had so much fun getting their pictures taken. It was a really nice, but extremely hot day. Let's be honest, it was a typical July day in Alabama. Anyway, it was so worth braving the heat to see everyone and to get beautiful shots like these: http://shootstarphoto.blogspot.com/2008/07/ryley-and-avery.html

New Dog Part 2

As promised, here is a picture of Zoe after her haircut...Doesn't she look cute??? Doesn't she look guilty??? She knows she has been caught on the furniture.

New Dog

You can always tell when we are getting ready for a road trip-besides my obsessive list making-Zoe always gets her bath and haircut. This is a 2 evening process for Mike-bathing Zoe and Sage and cutting their nails the first night, and giving Zoe her haircut the second night. Sage does not need a haircut due to her smooth coat and psycho obsessive shedding! Those of you who know Sage know what I'm talking about. As much as I love Zoe when she is all scruffy. Mike has really learned how to give her a cute cut over the years. (Sorry, Zoe, the first years were a little scary) Here is a picture of Zoe before her haircut. I'll post a picture of the after later today.

Happy Father's Day!

Hope it was fun!

Today was Minnie Mouse day in our house. Don't you just love the gloves? The girls can't wait to go to Disney World again, so they can wear these dresses on all of the rides. They just love dressing up, and I love seeing them in their outfits.

Beating the Heat

It has been hot here, and remember I'm a Southern girl. I kept the girls in as long as possible yesterday, and we spent the rest of the afternoon trying to find ways to beat the heat. Here are some pics of the girls in their suits.

Some Thoughts on Raising Girls...

Watching this video of Avery at the park gets me to thinking about a few things:

1. No matter how many times I tell her to go up the stairs and down the slide, there will always exist the temptation to do it her way.

2. Although I do not pride myself on raising "little rule breakers", there is some worth in teaching children to go against the grain, follow their own path, etc.

3. I feel a tremendous responsibility as a woman raising 2 future women to teach them to be strong in their spirits, minds, and bodies, and, at times, to be stubborn or strong minded.

4. And I have to admit that I do feel a small sense of pride in the fact that she can climb by herself even if it is in the "wrong" direction.