Swing Project Complete

We finished the swing project today. Avery loves the cargo net, and Paige enjoys swinging as well.

Sigh...

Today Gram and J worked on Avery's swing set. We didn't finish it completely but Avery was able to try the swing. We still need to level the set, add a cargo net and trapeze. Its very sturdy and will last for many, many years (until we have grandchildren J said!). Avery had lots of fun and giggles playing with just a tarp in the backyard.

Max really went downhill last night. He was really struggling to breathe. We tried giving him extra medicine but it didn't give him any relief. Finally this afternoon we had to let him go. We already miss him so very much. Avery was napping during all of this. When he woke from his nap, I told him that while he was sleeping Max went to doggie heaven.

A: "Oooohhh (very quiet and sad) ... did you bring him there?"
Me: "Yes"
A: "Oh... I didn't give him enough love today" What a sensitive little man I have! It was all I could do to not completely break down at this... and I explained to him that he gave Max lots of love and he knew Avery loved him. A few minutes later...
A: "When is he coming back"

Generations

Four generations of beautiful Davis women.
Three generations of handsome Richard men.

Art and Science

These are some of Avery's latest works of art. Avery explained to me that the beads are rocks and the green paper is seaweed in the fish bowl. He has granted permission for the parrot to go to work with me on Monday - I love it!

Yesterday afternoon Paige, Avery and I attended a free children's concert at the library. It was incredible! The performance was by a quartet consisting of two violins, a viola and cello played by musicians ages 19-25. They played Haydn and Mendelsohn. They also took time to talk with the children - about how the music made them feel, about themselves and their instruments. Avery was completely mesmerized and extremely well behaved despite not having had a nap!

Now for the science part... yesterday morning while Avery and I were having our morning snuggle, he looked at me and said "ma, you know when the rain goes back up into the clouds and comes back down again (hand movements making rain go up and down), that's called evaporation".

Being a stay at home mom does not by itself make one a good mother. By the same token, being a working mother does not by itself make one a bad mother. Its no secret that I would love to stay home with my kids. For the time being, I need to work and I'm really lucky that Paige and Avery have such amazing childcare that is safe, loving, educational and creative.

Life

Life with Avery: He was kidding with me and the camera a bit here... but this illustrates the life of Avery right now. One minute he's tortured by, well, just being three... and the next he's hugging us and declaring that he really loves us. He enjoyed fishing but really loved being in the canoe with his dad. From the water they saw a bald eagle family (mama, dad, babies in nest), loons and loon nests, and a nervous beaver (who splashed his tail before diving under water).
Life with Paige: Need I say more?

Happy Father's Day

We spent another Father's Day at Whispering Pines Campground. We really love this small, family oriented campground - its quiet, nearby and has great sites with water views. Avery and Jason enjoyed a couple of outings in the canoe. We had a nice campfire. Avery now associates the smell of campfire with marshmallows. Although he doesn't care so much about actually toasting them he's ready to eat them as soon as there is smoke. The guys also caught a sunfish and a few small bass from the shore. Avery gave me a fishing lesson as well... explaining "pay attention to the bobber, ma"...

Bounce

Paige has been enjoying the Johnny Jump Up (and Exersaucer) for a couple of weeks now. She's starting to bounce around quite a bit.

Happy Birthday to You

Happy Birthday to Gram! We kicked off the celebration last Sunday with some poolside grill action. Enjoy the day - we ordered this beautiful weather just for you.

Twiddlebugs

Avery was sick on Sunday night and again last night... so its another home day for him. He is still having some digestive issues (I'll spare the details) but feeling a bit better. He loves to read the Sesame Street Library books that were mine as a child. One of the volumes showed how to create a Twiddlebug village. We spent the morning creating our own version. He used his scissors, tape, glue, paper and stickers to decorate the box buildings. I love experiencing his imagination and creativity! Paige supervised.

Note Avery's new haircut. He is not impressed that we "cut it all off" with the clippers. I usually cut it with scissors which takes a long time and lots of patience by Avery. The clippers were much faster.

Walk in the Woods

On this particular walk in the woods, Avery correctly identified both maple and oak leaves. He's such an interesting short person (not that I'm biased). And Paige... she slept through the night last night for the first time, yup, 9pm to 6am!

I love being a mom! I'd choose three year old tantrums over a day at work. I'd choose spit up in my hair over the most expensive name brand conditioner. I'd rather answer 1,000 "whys" in a day than a single phone call or email. I love my kids!

I have a few short weeks left at home. I'm overwhelmed with mental to do lists and yet spend my entire day cuddling my precious little girl. I'm going to try to work four days a week when I return. J is concerned and wants to ensure our family's financial stability and security. I'm thankful that he looks out for us in this way. I'm also thinking of our family in my desire to be at home with the kids. I need the time with them. I'm a hard worker and I'll do my best to accomplish what work I can in four days and see if we can make this compromise work for my family and my employer. Hopefully the big, beautiful bouquet of flowers J brought home last night is a sign that he understands just how important this is to me.