Audia is 3!

Dear Audia,

Three years ago today you entered this world in your own way, and you've been doing things your own way ever since. I cannot even begin to put into words how you've changed our world, how you've changed us. You've taught us so much already about life and what's important. You have such a bright light inside of you, my darling. My goal is to make sure you know to always let it shine.

Here you are on the day you were born.

One year old

Two years old

Three years old

At age three, these are some of the things you are doing and are into:

You love, love, love to sing and dance! Some of your favorite songs are, in no particular order: 'Twinkle, Twinkle,' 'Distant Melody,' 'Don't Stand So Close to Me,' 'Be Mine,' 'Lullaby and Goodnight,' 'I'll Stand By You,' and every song in the Care Bears Movies from the 80's.

You are compassionate and sweet. If someone is hurt or sad or upset (or even if they aren't but you imagine that they are or should be,) you immediately try to console that person and to make the situation better. You love giving kisses and hugs and snuggling, especially with your baby brother.

You are insanely imaginative. You have entire conversations back and forth with all of your toys, and you regularly ask us to make the most random things talk to you: the sun, the trees, the car, and of course all of the characters from shows or movies you've seen recently.

Your favorite TV shows are: Dragon Tales, 30 Rock, Shaun the Sheep, Yo Gabba Gabba, Wonder Pets, Pee Wee's Playhouse, and The Backyardigans.

Your favorite movies are: Disney's Peter Pan, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Care Bears Movie, The Wizard of Oz, and The Aristocats.

You love to sort things and set everything out in vast piles, I'm assuming so you can see them all and admire your collections.

• You eat things most people assume kids don't/won't like: Asparagus, spinach, green beans, pickles, mushrooms, onions, and olives, to name a few.
• You love scary things. You love to spook people and to be spooked. The other day, while watching the Wizard of Oz, you said to me "Momma, I don't like the pink witch. I only like the green witch, 'cause she's scary!" And, you've locked into being a skeleton for halloween this year.
• You are still, and probably always will be, incredibly willful. If there is something you want to do, it sticks in your mind like glue and you will find a way to do it. Same goes for things you don't want to do.

Happy Birthday, my little munchkin. While part of me really wishes that time would slow down, and that you could stay our little girl forever, another part of me is so excited to watch you continue to grow and blossom into the amazing woman I know that you will be.

I love you more than words.

Audia's 3rd Birthday Party

While Audia's birthday isn't until Thursday, we had her party this past weekend. Audia's favorite movie these days is Disney's 'Peter Pan.' So, of course she wanted a Peter Pan themed party. Unfortunately she is about 15 years late on the Peter Pan wagon, and it is near impossible to find any party supplies that are Peter Pan themed. There are plenty of Tinkerbell supplies, but she isn't into Tinkerbell as much as she's into Peter Pan himself, as well as Wendy, John, Michael, and Captain Hook. We did manage to find a life-sized Peter Pan cutout online but it was wicked expensive with shipping, and we just couldn't justify spending upwards of $40 for a piece of cardboard. The stars aligned, however, and just a couple of weeks ago my parents needed to buy a new fridge. While I of course am not happy that they needed to buy a new one, my mom has been saying for a few months that she thought theirs was on it's way out, so I am just glad that they needed one when they did. They gave me the box, and I borrowed a good friend's projector to make our own life sized Peter Pan. We took photos of all of the guests with Peter, and I intend to make a little photo album for Audia of all of her family and friends with her beloved Peter Pan. I'll let the rest of the party happenings speak for themselves through photos....

Searching for buried treasure

Decorating their pirate hats

Nana and Grandpa Mustache came from Illinois to be there!

Opening presents

She got a musical Peter Pan pop-up book from Pappy and Grandma!

The cake

Being bashful while everyone sang

BFFs

Yarr!

Auntie Em was in town from NY!

Daddy's girl

State Fair 2011 - Part Two

So our second trip to the State Fair was a blast. While there was a 30-40% chance of rain forecasted for the entire day, I think it only sprinkled on us for about 2 minutes, and was nice the rest of the time we were there. It certainly is a different ballgame going to the fair with four kids; while it is a lot of fun, I think next year we'll need to add a third trip and go without the kids one time. We hardly went into any buildings at all this year because just the thought of going into them with the strollers was exhausting enough!



We had to see the butter heads!

And of course you can't go in the dairy building and not get a shake!

Getting a good photo of the girls together proved difficult....

Bumper boats!

The boys

A wanted her face painted like Gene Simmons from Kiss. The butterfly was her second choice.

Callen was mezmerized by the marionettes

Mmmmm....Pickles.....

State Fair 2011 - Part One

It is no secret that I am a little obsessed with the Minnesota State Fair. Or, as it is more appropriately (and lovingly) called, 'The Great Minnesota Get-Together." I can't put my finger on one thing exactly that makes it such a big deal to me. I love everything about it. The people watching, the animal watching, the rides, the food, the music, the experience! When I started going to ASU, I had to miss the fair 4 years in a row because school starts in Arizona at the end of August rather than after labor day like it does everywhere else. The fifth year, I actually skipped my first week of school so that I could go to the fair. Because I missed it that much. One of the many reasons I listed to move back to Minnesota is so that we could go to the State Fair every year. Just a little obsessed. So, needless to say, I am thrilled to be able to share this experience with my children. Proud to make it a tradition to go (at least) twice; once with my parents, and once with our friends N, D, A, and M.

So, part one is the trip with my parents, which we did yesterday. The weather was perfect fair weather, in my opinion. Mid-to-upper 70's and partly cloudy, with periods of clouds and sun. We got there early, as we always do, and stayed for about 5 hours. I think that's pretty good considering we were with a toddler and a 2.5 month old! Speaking of which, both kids did super well. Callen was a real champ, just taking in all the sights, smells, and sounds, and napping in between. Audia had a couple of minor meltdowns towards the end of the day, but in her defense, we had gotten up about 2 hours earlier than she's used to and she skipped her nap! Overall I would call the day a success.

So, here's a little photo journey of our trip with my parents. Stay tuned for Part Two, which will take place on Friday!

Gotta get our cream puffs!

When Audia saw the piglets nursing, she asked Chris "So, are those boobies?"

Audia loved petting all the animals!

Bacon on a stick! And it was goooooood.

Waiting to get on the Carousel

So excited for the ride to start!

Hooray! It's starting!

(one revolution later) Aaaand she's done!

Scared of the Carousel but loving the Big Slide!

Eating. It's what you do at the fair.

Callen at 2 months

Callen's 2 month appointment was a couple of days ago. At 15 lbs, 3 oz and 25 inches long, he is in the 97th percentile for weight and off the charts for height! It is crazy to think that at 2 months, he is the size of the average 5 month old!

Doctor S was very impressed with his neck control and ability to hold himself up/steady. He's definitely a strong little boy; when he's on his belly he is already able to push himself forward with his feet like a little rocket.

In other developments, we had to move Callen from the basinette into the crib because he reached the weight limit for the basinette we were using. The transition has been a little rough; The mattress on the crib is quite a bit more firm and apparently our little dude doesn't like firm mattresses. The first few days, he refused to sleep in it at all during the day and at night was waking up every hour to two hours. Thankfully he's now sleeping a little better at night, for 4 hours and then waking every 2-2.5. But he still will only sleep in it during the day some of the time. Thankfully he will snooze in the bouncy seat or the swing, unlike his sister who napped in my lap for a whole year.

Callen is also now not only smiling all the time but also babbling all the time. It is so funny to hear him "talk." Check him out below. Isn't he just the cutest??

A day without a toddler

I will be the first to admit that life with a newborn is hard. However, as of Thursday I am also willing to say that life with a toddler is (in some ways, at least) harder. Or at least more chaotic. Less productive, perhaps? I used to be so eloquent. I suppose I'll find the words I'm looking for at 3:24 am next Tuesday.
Anyhoo, my mom took Audia on Thursday in order to give me some time to get some stuff done around the apartment. It is not a common thing for me to spend a day without Audia. I honestly think that since she was born, I've had maybe a total of 7 days where the majority of the day was not spent with her. When I say it out loud, it sounds ridiculous. But, as a stay at home mom, it also makes sense.
Point is, I got more done on Thursday than I've gotten done in most full weeks! I did four loads of laundry, one load of dishes in the dishwasher, 5 loads of dishes by hand (yes, five!!), washed all the counters/surfaces in the kitchen, vacuumed the living room and dining room, re-organized some of the stuff in our dining room, organized some of the random stuff that's accumulated in our bedroom since Callen was born, and rearranged the furniture in Audia's room. All while still tending to Callen's needs. And I even managed to watch an episode of Arrested Development and eat lunch, too! Needless to say, I was amazed at what I was able to accomplish. I've heard that "Good moms have sticky floors, dirty ovens, and happy kids." It might be too early to tell how well Audia is turning out, but I'd like to say that she is happy 98% of the time, and, for the record, if the floor is sticky, it does get cleaned. But after seeing how much I can get done when she's not here, I feel a little less guilty about what doesn't get done when she is. ;-)

Smiley Boy

A few weeks ago, right around the time Callen turned one month old, I noticed him smile at me while I was changing his diaper. It was a pretty quick thing, so I figured it was just gas or something along those lines. Then, a couple of days later, he smiled at me while I was playing with him in his bouncy chair. When I smiled back and cooed at him, he did it again. Since then, our little squeaker has been smiling up a storm! I can't even begin to put into words how heart-melting and exciting it is, even weeks later, every time I see that goofy, gummy grin of his. And I can't get over how quickly he's already growing up!