I ♥ Faces Week 23- Sepia Toned

This is a picture of Ava that I took a few years ago. I have always loved how intense her eyes are in it. I am entering this photo in the I ♥ Faces photo contest for sepia tones. You should head over there and see all the wonderful entries. http://www.iheartfaces.com/

Out of the running for Mother of the Year

Ava lost her third tooth on Sunday night. It has been all she could talk, er mumble, about with a finger in her mouth for weeks since it really started to losen. She was determined to let this one fall out on its own as opposed to me pulling it. Well, Sunday came and that tooth was hanging by a small amounth of gum, and I was afraid it would be swallowed if she went to bed with it. So I was sure to brush it well. So well that it "fell" out. Ava was so excited at the thought of the tooth fairy coming. We had the tooth all set up for her visit.

The next morning, Ava woke up all excited to find her treasure. Only problem is I have come down sick and passed out before remembering to make the switch. Ava came downstairs all confused as to why her tooth was still sitting in the glass and there was no money in its place. I had to think quickly. Um...think. I told her because she lost it so late at night, the tooth fairy didn't have time to make it to our house. She bought it. Whew...

So, she spent a good hour yesterday morning making the perfect card for the tooth fairy to let her know she was not mad about not getting anything that night. She set it up standing right next to the glass of water holding her tooth. Beautiful... I was sure to be on top of it that night.

Come morning, I wake up and jump in the shower. The hot water ran over my face as I attempted to wake up. CRAP!!! I had forgotten to make the switch AGAIN. I ran out of the shower dripping wet, my newly dyed hair dripping all along the floor as I ran to see if she was awake yet. I heard her dancing around as I spotted Daniel on the computer and mouthed that I forgot again. He, of course, takes that oppritunity to bust my chops about being the worst mother for forgetting. Apparently, being sick is no excuse. Sadly, I have to agree.

I made my way back to the shower hoping she didn't notice since she was awake and had not been downstairs in tears. I get back in the shower and close my eyes only to hear her sad little voice, "Mommy...the tooth fairy didn't come again.". I played dumb. I asked her why she thought she didn't. Thankfully, Ava has a vivid imagination and came up with about ten different scenarios as to why she wouldn't. She was on a vacation, she was sick, she didn't know, etc...

Clearly, I felt awful and set out to make it right. I had Daniel distract the kids with breakfast (not a difficult thing if you know my kids and food) while I typed up a letter from the tooth fairy on official tooth fairy stationary. I managed to make the switch as Daniel loaded the kids into the car to go to dance class. Ava was thrilled to make her discovery when she came home, and the letter explained it all.

Another visit from the Tooth Fairy

Ava lost her second baby tooth this week. She was much more confident this time with having it come out. She wiggled it and wiggled as much as she could. I finally had to yank it, though, before bed on Tuesday. It was so loose, I was afraid it would come out in her sleep and she would swallow it.

The tooth fairy ended up bringing $5 in quarters this time since she was slightly unprepared for it to come out that day and couldn't get the gold coins that she had planned to leave.

Ava left the tooth in a glass of water again and awoke to find the water yellow meaning the tooth fairy was wearing a yellow dress when she dove in for the tooth. Ava is now requesting the tooth fairy wear a purple dress. Yeah, I haven't quite figured out how to make the water a nice purple color, so that is why I hadn't left it that color yet. If anyone can clue me in on this, I would greatly appreciate it.

Here is her new smile.

Sticker Love

This is what happens in our house when you stay in one place too long.

When photoshoots go wrong

Leila has a bit of a cold this weekend, but the weather has been so gorgeous that I wanted to get the girls outside for some pictures. Of course, she wakes up from her long nap cranky as can be and really not all that interested in heading out to do anything I want. So, I did want any good mother would do and offered her a bribe of jellybeans if she cooperated. She didn't get the jelly beans.

Ava earned her jelly beans, though.

Swan Lake

Ava had her first community ballet performance this past Sunday. Her ballet school put on Swan Lake, and she was a castle courtyard fairy complete with wand and wings. She has been preparing for it since September. So, naturally this is all we have heard about from her since then.

Here are a few of the pictures we got of her as a castle courtyard fairy.

Sick Day

I was hit with Leila's lovely stomach bug from the weekend yesterday. Of course, this hits me just when Daniel is having to work waaaaay more than normal with a new restaurant opening and having to set up their wine list. This means that he has been gone all days for the past week. By all day, I seriously mean that he is gone from the time I get up until well after I am asleep. I have been in single parent mode. Obviously so not the time I want to be getting knocked down with a nasty bug. My mom came to rescue last night for the worst of it, but I was on my own today.

Thankfully, my girls have taken pity on me and been relatively well behaved. I didn't even need the tv to babysit them. I printed off a ton of coloring pages and worksheets to keep them in school heaven all afternoon. The kitchen table is a disaster area at the moment, but that is a small price to pay.

It is times like this, though, when I think about how fortunate I am to have my girls. They are pretty spectacular in my book. Even when I am feeling my worst, they are able to make me smile.

Just can't win with her

We had a rare night out for dinner this evening and decided to make it a kid-friendly by taking them to Fuddruckers for burgers. Leila has been on a particularly big burger kick lately, so she was thrilled to get to eat one tonight.

Daniel ordered everything while I took the girls for a much needed potty break. So, we didn't hear everything that was ordered. I take them to sit, and Daniel comes back with drinks. Sodas for us and water for the girls. Pretty standard since I only let them drink milk or water.

Well, he then goes back up to the counter without saying anything. The girls asked where he was going, and I said that the food was ready. Unbeknownst to me, he had ordered them vanilla milkshakes and was proudly carrying the whipped cream loaded treats back to the table. He sat them down in front of the girls.

Ava's eyes immediately lit up with excitement, and she dug as fast as she could probably out of fear it was a mistake and would be taken away in no time. Leila, on the other hand, looks and them and grimaces. She then says in her not too happy with you voice, "But I wanted a hamburger...".

It took some explaining to convince her the her burger was still coming and that Daddy only wanted to get her a nice treat to enjoy in the meantime. After that, she was more than happy to drink it. In fact, she started to steal Ava's when she was too full to finish it.

Little rat...

Around the house today

Today was not out of the ordinary. I woke up at 7am to a cranky 5yo. That was fine. I needed to get up anyway in order to get out the door on time. I ended up leaving said 5yo at home with Daddy (again, the beauty of a husband that works evenings) to take Leila and Violet with me to my monthly LLL meeting. I had a great time sharing with other nursing moms. Then, I came home, started a load of laundry, and fed the kiddos lunch before settling them down for their afternoon nap. Or as I like to call it, the magic hour. I even managed to doze off with my snugly baby for a bit. After they woke up, I fed them a snack, started our afternoon routine of learning work, made dinner, and got them in bed. A pretty average day of activity. What wasn't normal was all the funny things my kids were up to today that just had me smiling and laughing at their antics.

First, I came home from my meeting to Daniel telling me about Ava's food person. Her what? Yes, her food person. She gets rather creative when left to entertain herself, and that is when she comes up with bizarre things like this. It even talks.
Second, my little baby must think the Bumbo seat is like the greatest and most comfortable thing ever to take a nap in. Every time I stick her in it lately, she is completely conked out in as little as a minute even after just having napped for three hours straight. I stuck her in the seat for a moment while I was prepping lunch on the counter next to her only to find this before I even had their sandwiches sliced. Yes, I know I just posted a pic of this, but I had to show you how funny a position she found herself in and stayed in until her sisters started screaming at one another about which napkin had their name on it. Plus, it is so cute, and you will just have to deal with seeing another pic of it.

The third and final thing that just made my night came from Leila. She has taken to singing herself to sleep lately. I am always amused to hear sweet little toddler songs coming from her room. Tonight had me a little more concerned, though. She has obviously had entirely too much television since coming down with her awful cold last week because this is what she was singing up there tonight.

I know you are singing along now, too. Oh, I was on the floor rolling over it. I think I know what we are eating for lunch tomorrow.

Rockin' to sleep

Daniel and I have always felt that music is one of the best parts of our relationship. It has really played and integral part of things since we began dating. There are albums that immediately bring me back to specific moments we have shared. We love to go to concerts and make a point never to miss anyone we really like. The few times we have, we just kick ourselves forever after. We always have music on in the house, the car, and anywhere we can get it to play.

The girls are really into it, as well. We love to take them to see live music whenever we can. They have their own iPods, and we have filled it with really diverse and interesting music that should help them grow really interesting opinions on what they like at a young age...we hope.

Each one of them was exposed to concerts in the womb. With Ava, it was Peter Gabriel and the Foo Fighters. With Leila, it was NIN and U2. With Violet, it was Neil Diamond, The Police, Elvis Costello, and Bruce Springsteen. Now, we aren't sure if any of it set in with them, but they do seem to enjoy all of this music when they hear it.

This evening, Violet was being a bit fussy as she has not slept a ton today. We were trying to watch the Super Bowl and the half-time was starting. We were really excited to see Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band playing. As soon as they began to play, Violet perked up to hear the music and got very calm. In the 15mins or so that they were playing, she was lulled off to sleep.

Now, I have no idea if it was the music she enjoyed or if it brought her back to some memory of being in the womb, but it worked so well in settling her. Maybe I will keep that in my bag of tricks, and bust it out whenever I need to get her down for bed.

My poor little sick bugs

This week is turning out to be a bit of a rough one for us. Both Ava and Leila have come down with a nasty cold and cough. That has meant of a lot of me wiping noses and spraying down things they touch and demanding that they wash their hands anytime they touch their nose or mouth. I am trying my hardest to keep Violet from coming down with this. I have the girls pretty much sequestered to the game room with the promise of television as long as they stay in there. Of course, Ava jumps at any chance to watch TV, but Leila couldn't care less about it. So, I have had to swap out toys for ones she hasn't seen a while to keep her occupied.

My only wish is that this were one of those good sicknesses. You know, the kind where they lose their voice and scream and yell at one another, or the kind where they are too weak to punch one another. I have had to put them in a streamed up bathroom to help their congestion, but let me tell you how close that has come to turning into a UFC match. Earlier today, Ava was pushed into the shower by Leila. Luckily, she landed on the side where the scalding hot water wasn't. UGH! I am now having to hang out in their sick sauna with them just to keep the peace. While it is doing wonders for my skin, my hair is now looking like Ms. Frizzle's from The Magic School Bus series. Hey, maybe I will drop some weight in there. One can only hope.

Here is a pic of my sickies eating the delicious chicken noodle soup I made them. Notice the straws...that's how I get them to willingly drink the broth.

Oh, and if anyone has any tips on how to get a 5yo to understand the concept of blowing her nose, I would greatly appreciate it, especially considering her 2yo sister can do it. *sigh*

What's the going rate?

It looks like the Tooth Fairy will be making her debut at our house tonight. Daniel and I had a frantic conversation about what we are going to do tonight on the phone after Ava's tooth came out right after he left for work. Meaning, I would not be able to sneak off to make arrangements. I think we agreed that he will pick up $5 in gold coins for her. I am going to have her put her tooth in a glass of water tonight on her dresser. The Tooth Fairy will have to go into the water to get the tooth. Ava will be able to tell what color dress she had on by the color the water turns. See...that is how you keep them from wanting to put it under their pillow. *wink, wink*

Here is my girl's new smile!

Potential?

With the inauguration today, Ava has had an immense amount of interest in presidents. She had me tell her who all of them are (thank you, Google) and tried to memorize the list herself. Hey, maybe she will and add on some random info. Maybe we can get her on Leno or Ellen to show off all her skills. That should then lead to the Oprah show and maybe even President Obama. Oh, one can only dream.

Oh, the DRAMA!!!!

Ask anyone who has a girl, especially those that also have a boy, and they will almost always tell you that girls are so dramatic. Lately, I have been experiencing this to the max. Funny, with four girls in this house, you would assume it is off the hook with drama here. It isn't that bad normally, though. I mean, do you think we would have continued having them if it was.

Well, I think Ava has been giving Leila some drama lessons recently, but has us mostly rolling in laughter than stressed out. For example, Leila will do something like, oh... I don't know, breathe the same air as Ava. This will inevitably send Ava into a high pitched wailing about her air being taken without asking. Leila will then retaliate against the tattling by pushing Ava aside to get her side of the story across because, you know, she just has to breathe, too. As we are separating the two of them to their opposing corners of the ring, Ava will just go sit and wail as loud as she can. Leila witnessing this will have to out do her by wailing her loudest and then repeatedly smacking her legs with her hands in that exasperated manner with a distinct HUMPH.

My goodness...the competitiveness of the two of them at such young ages has me pretty worried. Our current amusement of this behavior is really all we can do besides sit and cry in frustration. I think I am going to have to reread the book, Siblings Without Rivalry, soon.

Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!

Sorry, I had to get that out.

Happy 5th Birthday, Ava!

Five years ago today at 1:16pm my life completely changed when Ava Grace arrived into this world. I can't believe how quickly these years have flown by and how quickly she has grown. I am so proud of the little lady she is becoming.

Here is a little bit about who she is right now:

• She is 42.5" and 36lbs.
• She is obsessed with writing, but she often cheats and writes squiggly lines when she has a lot to say.
• She can count to 100.
• She loves her daily chores that include making her bed and feeding our cat.
• She is learning to tie her shoes the right way-- not the odd way she has figured out to make her laces look like they are tied in a bow. I just can't figure out how she does it.
• Her favorite thing to wear would be skirts. Almost every ensemble to comes downstairs proudly wearing includes a skirt of some kind.
• She is obsessed with pierced ears ever since she bailed on her first attempt at getting them pierced. She keeps saying that she wants them soon, especially now that she is five. We will see how long soon takes.
• She is sooo proud to now be a "big-big-sister" to Violet because Leila is only a big-sister and she is bigger than Leila.
• She makes up the funniest songs to well known tunes just like her daddy.
• Now that she is five years old, she is now old enough for school. It has been hard explaining to her that school won't start until next August.
• She is very black and white with rules now and insists that Leila is always breaking some rule that we never knew existed.
• She is still one of the kindest hearted little girls I have ever known.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY GIRL!

Well, if it's alright with her...

My conversation with Ava while watching the Rockettes dance in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade:

Ava: MOMMY, come see the pretty girls kicking all over!!!

Me: Yeah, those are the Rockettes. They dance well, huh?

Ava: YES THEY DO!

Me: I think they are coming to do a show here after Christmas.

Ava: Can I go see them?

Me: Well...we'll see. It is going to be downtown and...

Ava: I'm alright with downtown!

Me: Yeah, I bet you are...

Image via Discover OC

Ava's Birthday Party

Ava will be turning 5 years old in a few weeks. However, given that I am about to pop another kid out here in a week, I did not think hosting a birthday party two weeks later would be something I would be up for. So, we decided to have it early.

A few months ago, a new cupcake shop opened up in Houston called Sugarbaby's Cupcake Boutique. Daniel happened by there one afternoon and brought home the most delicious cupcakes ever and was raving about how precious the shop is. He then mentioned that they do birthday parties where kids can decorate cupcakes. After taking a peek at their website, we knew it would be the perfect place to have Ava's next party.

I mean, does this get any more precious?

Ava was on board just with the simple notion of cupcakes being involved. She wanted to know what needed to happen in order to have her party there. All Daniel told her was that he would call a guy about making it happen. So, for the next three months, she would tell people, "My daddy is just going to call a guy about my cupcake party." in that "yes, I am better than you" tone of voice. Nooooo, we are not spoiling these girls whatsoever...

The party was all set to go. I went on a search for the perfect party favor, as I am not satisfied with loading a bunch of plastic bags up with candy and junk that will be stuck in mine and my friends' vacuums for months. Well, not Tricia's at least. I ended up finding plain aprons from this wholesale store online that was perfect. I bought the cutest cupcake iron-on appliques that I found at Michael's to add to the aprons. All of the kids looked amazing dressed up in them.

(Ava with Tricia's girls, Jill and Emmi)

(Ava with her friend, Savannah)

The kids spent their time turning these plain cupcakes...

...into delicious works of art like this...

(cupcake by William)

...and this?

(cupcake by Jill)

Each child got to decorate a cupcake to eat and one to take home. Or in Leila's case, two to eat and none to take home causing her to cry on Sunday when she had no cupcake to eat while her sisters enjoyed theirs.

And no children's party is complete without the swarming of the birthday girl by her friends as she attempts to open presents before her air supply runs out.

Overall, it was a wonderful party that I think the kids really, really enjoyed. I also liked having it weeks ahead of Ava's actual birthday. It softened the blow of her turning 5 years old. Where has the time gone?

Just so you know...

...if you ever walk into a four year old girl's room and see something like this, it is a Pony Tree. I was not aware such things existed, but apparently they do in the world of little girls. Hey, you learn something new everyday.

The Big Show!

Well, I am just getting around to posting this from last weekend. I was too lazy all week to move to the other computer to upload the picture and video.

Anyway, the performance went so well for Ava. Instead of it being on stage at her studio, it was at the big high school preforming arts center down the road. Again, her class did the best for her age group. Not to be a proud mama or anything. I mainly attribute it to her teacher being so good, and she does jazz and not tap. I am sorry, but three and four years clacking away without any kind of rhythm drives me crazy. I am so proud of her, though.

I spent the entire show in backstage helping with her class, but I was able to watch her from the stage wings. I am really glad I did that, too, because I would have hated to run back and worth to do her costume changes. Anything to make it easier on me, right.

So, I don't have any pics of the her preforming because you could not use a flash in the auditorium during the show. They only allowed it for the trophy ceremony. Yes, they all got trophies, and they all deserved them. We did get video of her dances. The ballet one is pretty shaky. Daniel was in charge of that. Let's just say that after a night of working and getting up very early for her recital, it took a few Red Bull to give him wings and apparently the shakes.

Here is the video of her dances!

Ballet- "The Work Song" from Cinderella

A repeat of her Jazz dance- "Let's Twist Again" by Chubby Checker

Ava's Dance Recital

Ava had her second mini-dance recital on Saturday. These past two recitals are preparation for their big end of the year recital that is put on at a local high school. They try to prepare the younger girls to preform on a big stage by putting them on the smaller stage in the studio.

This time, Ava would be doing her jazz dance piece. They did a dance to Chubby Checker's "Let's Twist Again". The costume was, of course, a pink poodle skirt over her regular black leotard. They also added pink scarves for their neck and hair. They were all so precious.

The dance went very well. The girls preformed wonderfully. And this is not a "proud mama" statement, but her class was the best group that morning. I think it may have a lot to do with the fact that they were doing a jazz dance and not a tap dance. Let's just say that a bunch of 3yo's tapping is not the most perfected thing. It was hard to tell anything they were doing.

At any rate, we are so proud of Ava. She did wonderfully. More importantly, Ava really, really enjoys dancing. She loves being on stage preforming, as well. For me, it is just great to see your child loving the same things you are passionate about, too.

Here is her recital video to watch. Ava is the second from the right.