Christmas Wish Lists

UPDATED 12-3-08: Below I listed some of the gifts that I know the kids will be receiving for Christmas, mainly from us and from my parents.I hope these lists will be helpful for those of you who will be Christmas shopping for Ava and Dane this year. These are just some ideas, and I will continue to add to them as I think of other things. If you get something on this list, let me know, and I will cross it off (I promise not to tell this kids!). Please do not feel obligated to stick to this list, I just wanted to put some ideas out there.

Ava's Wish List:

Winter clothing, size 3T for bottoms, size 4T for underwear, dresses, tops and pajamas
Spring clothing, size 4T

Shoes, size 8

Ava could especially use:

shoes,

casual "everyday" dresses,

a new white sweater to wear over church dresses,

a new winter hat.

Disney DVDs, especially Princesses (we own The Little Mermaid and The Jungle Book; specifically requested movies include Cinderella and Tinkerbell)
Dress-up dresses

Barbies/Barbie clothes and accessories

Floor puzzles

Viewmaster with slides (yes, they still make them!)

LittleTouch LeapPad books (made by LeapFrog; we own "Let's Get Busy, Baby" and "Where the Wild Things Are)

Toy digital camera

Ava's favorite characters/TV shows:
Any Disney Princess
Dora the Explorer
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

UPDATED 12-3-08: The following gifts have been purchased for Ava:

Finding Nemo DVD

Dollhouse with furniture and family

Mrs. Potato Head

Snow boots and wool socks

Snow White doll, dress-up dress, and tiara
Set of Disney Princess dress-up shoes

Stick horse

Winter coat

Dane's Wish List:

Winter clothing, size 2T for shirts, pants and pajamas

Shoes, size 8 wide
Spring clothing, size 2T or 3T

Dane could especially use jeans and non-athletic or dress shoes.

Books and DVDs about tractors, trucks, farm animals, etc. (we already have Baby Einstein Little MacDonald)
Toy tractors and trucks
Farm animals

Dane's favorite characters/TV shows:

John Deere/Johnny Tractor

Thomas the Tank Engine

Disney Cars

UPDATED 12-3-08: The following gifts have been purchased for Dane:

Mr. Potato Head

Sit-n-Scoot John Deere ATV

Fisher Price Little People Racin' Ramps Garage

Cars DVD

Fisher Price Little People Lil' Movers Airplane

Snow boots and wool socks

Play workbench with tools

A rather large John Deere dump truck

Talking Johnny Tractor "fix-it" toy

Stick horse

Winter coat

Love Affair

A declaration by Ava over supper last night:

[on a sigh, with arms wrapped around cup] "Chocolate milk, I love you."

Then: "Chocolate milk loves me!"

The poor child obviously does not get to drink chocolate milk often enough!

Fire Drills are Scary

Especially when you're three.

I don't have any photos to go with this, but I did want to share this little story.

Ava absolutely loved going to preschool, up until about a week and a half ago. She would talk on and on about her teachers, her friends, singing songs, painting, gluing, and coloring. No worries, no fears, just fun.

On Wednesday, Oct. 8, we were going about our usual routine of getting up, eating breakfast, going potty, and heading out to Ava's school. We all got out of the car and headed toward Ava's classroom, just like we always do. All of a sudden, Ava said she needed to go potty, even though we went right before we left home. So we went to the bathroom, and nothing happened, even after 10 minutes of sitting on the toilet. We washed hands, and went back to the classroom. Again, Ava says "Mommy, I have to go potty!" Again, we went to the bathroom, this time with a small success. Mind you, we haven't had any potty training issues for months. This time, she agreed to stay behind in her classroom, but not with the usual, "See ya later, Mom" attitude. She looked very worried when I left, but was fine the rest of the day.

Over the following weekend, she kept saying her ears hurt. She even woke up once Friday night complaining of ears hurting. I was getting over a really bad cold, so I thought maybe she was catching that, but she didn't really have any other symptoms. The only other thing I noticed was that every so often, she would talk about the fire drill. Her teacher mentioned about a month before that they had a fire drill and all the kids did great, so I didn't think much of it.

When Monday rolled around, we once again went about our usual routine. When we got to school, she pulled the same bathroom stunt to keep me from leaving. When we returned to her classroom this time, however, she held on for dear life. She cried and clung to me, all the time saying "Mommy, my ears hurt!" So off we went to the pediatrician's office.

The ears checked out just fine. No infection, no redness, absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. Fortunately, it wasn't a wasted trip, since both kids were able to get their flu vaccinations. Ava didn't even have to get a shot -- she's old enough for Flu Mist now. Yay!

So Wednesday, off we went to preschool again, but this time I was prepared for the tears and clinginess. Do you know what the problem was all along?

Not worrying about an accident.

Not hurting ears.

The fire drill.

It turns out the school had a fire drill -- complete with bells, kids lined up to file outside, and fire trucks -- two weeks ago, on Monday, Oct. 6th. The one her teacher told us about was a practice drill. All the bell and commotion must have scared poor Ava -- her teacher remembered that she kept her hands over her ears the whole time. After much reassurance that their would be no more fire drills (please, please don't let there be a real fire at Ava's school!), more clinging, more tears, and a little screaming (Ava's, not mine), we were able to detach her from me, and she had a good day at preschool.

Thank goodness, the mystery of the hurting ears is solved. Now we can (hopefully) get back to the normal "preschool is fun!" attitude!

Our Newest Addition

We have a new family member. I'm a big softie and couldn't resist bringing home this fluffy little orphaned kitten from the farm. Isn't he cute?

I justified the impulsive decision by telling myself that he's Ava's kitten. She's very proud of him. She named him "Sammy".

At first, Sammy was pretty tolerant of Ava's "mothering": Now that Sammy is bigger, faster, and more energetic, he sometimes manages to run away and hide before Ava can catch him. Ava gets mad, because she just can't understand why he won't do everything she wants. The kids both really enjoy Sammy. We have to watch out for Dane, though. He likes to put Sammy in a strangle hold.

2008 Cole Camp Fair

We attended the world-famous Cole Camp Fair the first Saturday in September. Russ and I participated in the 2-mile walk (I ran the 5K last year, but couldn't this year due to my ankle injury), with Russ pushing the kids in the stroller.

Then we watched the main event -- the Grand Parade of All Floats. The theme was "Building Strong Foundations for Future Generations."

This is Russ's church's float. He was responsible for the mechanics -- the flower in the center rotated.Some of the other floats:Finally, the Grand Champion winner:

The Letter "A"

I *think* Ava learned this at the sitter's house. She works with the older kids on letters and numbers on a daily basis. I don't think it's from preschool -- her teacher said they don't start working on letters until January. I don't mean to brag, but I'm so proud of her for learning how to write the letter "A", or at least something that vaguely resembles it.

Intense concentration -- apparently having your hood over your head helps:See what I wrote!Dane loves to scribble . . .. . . and taste the crayons. Yum!Here's a video to prove that I didn't stage it -- she really can write the letter "A", sorta.

First Day of Preschool

Yes, I am way behind on blogging. I have a greater appreciation now for moms who work full-time jobs. I can't seem to find time for anything now, and I only work three days a week!

Ava went to her first day of preschool way back on August 25th. She absolutely loves it! Here's photo documentation of us getting ready to leave for the big day.

Waking up, getting dressed (though we opted for a different pair of shoes):A good breakfast is essential for a strenuous three hours of school!Brushing teeth:And the obligatory standing-on-the-porch-on-the-first-day-of-school picture. I can't remember now why we changed her shirt. She refused to look at the camera, as usual:I had to get a picture of her wearing her backpack. She picked out the princess backpack herself, and it's almost as tall as she is!I wish I could have gotten a picture or two actually at the school, but it was pretty hectic with all the dropping-off and soothing of terrified children happening. I figured a picture-taking mom wouldn't help matters. I was just grateful that Ava happily waved good-bye and went off to play, rather than cling and cry like many of the kids did.

Now a good six weeks into the school year, Ava is still thoroughly enjoying preschool. She's learning the names of the other kids, and is always singing new songs that she learned there. The best thing, to my mind, is that she's really come out of her shell, especially with adults. She used to go completely mute when just about any adult asked her a question, but just yesterday, the nursery attendent at the Y told me Ava was chatting her ear off! Yay Ava!