Happy Easter

Happy Easter Everybody! I hope your day was as Blessed as ours! I can not remember a day that was this great! Daddy has been home all week to play and do yard work and take care of us because we have been sick AGAIN!!!!!! But that is why I am behind on my posts!I will play catch up all week and give the details!
Avery, loving the Easter egg hunt!

Adelyn, strutting her stuff!

Sheppard our best boyfriend! Isn't he a cutie?

The Arnold's!!! Yes folks Avery & Adelyn do have a daddy!

Daddy & his girlz!
Thanks daddy for such a great week!

Spirited Child

Avery is my Spirited child!

As described by my friend Webster this means: Spir´it`ed
Adj. 1. spirited - displaying animation, vigor, or liveliness
Antonyms:
spiritless - lacking ardor or vigor or energy; "a spiritless reply to criticism"
2. spirited - marked by lively action; "a bouncing gait"; "bouncy tunes"; "the peppy and interesting talk"; "a spirited dance"
Synonyms: peppy, zippy, bouncing, bouncy
3. spirited - willing to face danger
Synonyms: game, gritty, mettlesome, spunky, gamey, gamy
4. spirited - made lively or spirited; "a meal enlivened by the music"; "a spirited debate"
Synonyms: enlivened


Avery is so full of life and character, animation and confidence that this is her world & we are all visitors!!! I love this about her on most days! I helped encourage this character, I believed that she should be able to explore & see everything through her own eyes and definition. Not what I see or believe or think or feel! I mean I get discouraged when people say to her or anyone for that matter… “No don’t eat that you won’t like it” Well honestly how do you know, because you don’t like it, or when they say “ Don’t do that you will get hurt,” (and they do not even know what she is about to do). I mean let her and all people try things without unsolicited advice and opinion! She is exploring & right now she is only 3 and at such an impressionable age, everything is new, it is on most days the first time she has ever seen, tasted, touched, heard or experienced whatever or wherever are journey is taking us to! I have to constantly keep reminding myself of all of my own beliefs, Lately my patience are not what they were with only toddler & one infant! Now I have two toddlers!!! Both very independent & SPIRITED!!!
I am constantly reminding myself that she is only 3 & learning, like when she puts her dirty hands in the not yet ready purple Jell-O & pulls it out dripping sticky purple drops all over my clean floor saying look mommy! How was she to know Jell-O took hours to become ready! I mean really at Luby’s it is always ready to eat!!! Now next time I am allowed to get mad right?

This is Avery tooting her own horn, Supergirl hat, orange apron digging in the dirt for treasure!!!! Gotta love it!!

This is where my challenge comes in. I am so afraid of breaking her spirit that I sometimes let her get away with too much!!! I feel as if I am the child needing to go to timeout or give my self a spanking because she is only acting the way she is allowed to act! I need balance, I give to many choices so I set myself up for a fight! I have been praying very hard about this dilemma! I do not want to break her spirit, yet I feel I am constantly on her case for something. God works in mysterious ways, I was looking through a book of testimony and saw a verse that just spoke to me Proberbs 17:22 A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. I am a little confused on the verse, does it mean don’t crush her sprit, where do I draw the line? Boundaries? I need tem. Send me another verse Lord!! Please. Proverbs is such a great chapter in the Bible,I should just keep reading! Or, maybe I am as usual over analyzing this!!! Feel free to leave advice, I need it!

Date Night

I had been asked out on a date sometime last week! I was so excited, I said yes immediately! My date already knew what we were going to do all I had to do was chaperone and pay oh and take Adelyn to Nanny's house.
Avery has been a little bit over looked the last few weeks due to Adelyn being sick then having surgery then having the big 2nd Birthday party! So last week we were reading our night night books, saying our prayers & singing our songs and she said "Mommy, can you & me go on a playdate?" I said sure baby where do you want to go? Very quickly as if she had been thinking about this for hours she said...." I want to go & get a manicure & pedicure & go to a mommy & daddy place to eat!" She was so matter of fact, I loved the idea! She wanted to go eat at a japanese restaraunt in Conroe, Tx so I told her we would go on another date for that! Maybe even with Daddy & Adelyn.



We started off at Starbucks! She was so excited about her very own Hot Coco! The lovely lady working offered to take our picture. She could tell we were on our first date!!! We only spilled the coco once as we tripped out the door! Avery tripped for all my friends that know what a clutz I am it was not me but my graceful daughter!! Poor baby of all the traits to get from me and she gets the gift of
GAB and being GRACEFUL!!!! Sorry Avery!



Here we are getting our relaxing Mani & pedi's! Avery corrected me no mommy manicure & pedicure!! Sorry again. Avery took the liberty of picking out our colors, bright turquoise with turquoise glitter! Hot stuff! She was so talkative and excited. Thanks to Lauren a customer who was getting a pedicure with he mom who took our picture!

The lady working told me oh please make sure she no spill her drink, I no clean up mess! Then the lady told me tell her sit still no move, I only do once! Even though she did fix at least 5 times! I bought the beautiful turquoise polish for a souvenir of our date! Poor Avery, she thought the experience was so great even though the lady needed a chill pill! Avery told me on the way home, "Mommy, maybe we can do this agin sometime just you & me! I had fun!!!!" If my my baby only knew how much the evening touched my heart! I had fun & I hope in 10 plus years you still want to have a manicure & pedicure with your mommy & go eat at a mommy & daddy place for dinner!
I love you Avery Ray!!!!

Oh my goodness! My little 3 year old going on 16! Sweet Sally, she thinks she is Carrie Underwood & actually if she is in the guitar pickin, song writing & singing mood she will tell you that her name is "Avery Carrie Underwood A@#$". When she plays make believe that is always her name!
She amazes me with what moves she has picked up off of just music videos. I will be monitoring what video's she watches a little differently! This past weekend we went to Corpus Christi to visit the in-laws, Meme & Papa & Avery took her guitar & Cowgirl hat as she never leaves home without & proceeded to perform what I thought was to be just a song she wrote. Well then she started dancing like a big girl, moving her hips and wiggling around a bit to much! I was shocked. Fortunately I do not think she knew what she was doing only that we were laughing & changing the activity to a bit more modest tune. I just hope she does not repeat that at church choir practice or Sunday school! They will wonder what her mommy does at night? I am all about encouraging her spirit but Avery you are only 3!!!! (As you can tell by the food all over the shirt, she still needs a little assistance with pudding!)
And that face she is giving me is just tooo much!!!!

Avery

What a trooper!
I must say children feed off of our moods & temperament! Despite all the chaos in our lives Avery is such a precious Lil angel!


Well Angel may just be the character she portrayed at church on Christmas Eve!

She is such a character! All she wanted to do was see baby Jesus! "Mommy, can I hold him?, can I feed him? Did he come from heaven? Can I sing Happy Birthday?" Then when it was time for her to walk down the isle she ran down and went straight for Baby Jesus and we did not see her face until it was over! Only the back of her head, I am surprised that she and Mary did not get into a wrestling match over whose turn it was to hold the alive, really breathing baby Jesus! It was cute! Thanks to all my family & friends who came to watch Avery in the Nativity Scene at our church! And a HUGE thanks to my mommy who made Avery's costume! Again mom you out did yourself! She had the fanciest costume up there! I love all the feathers.


What a good little mommy Avery will be one day!

Addiction......

The last several days have been hard! Avery my oldest is giving her pacifier to Santa to give to a baby in need of one! Well, it is not that easy. Poor Baby girl and poor mommy! For those of you that know Avery know that she is a very strong willed, well adjusted, secure young lady! (All of three) Except when it comes to her "PACI".
We went to see Santa on Thursday and have talked about giving it up since she turned three in Sept. when the paci fairy came and took all her pacifiers and left her a fancy surprise with glitter and stuff, that day was only temorary because she got sick and was in the hospital & how do you tell a sick baby, Uh no paci sorry when she has an IV in her arm.
Well today was the big day! We get out of the car with our list of wants for Santa and our paci! She is excited and sits right on Santa's lap and proceeds to tell him what she wants, "I want Candy Land Castle & a real Gecko and on & on....." Santa knew from a prior conversation with the photographer that he would be receiving the ever so coveted Finley Fish Pacifier. It of course is not an ordinary pacifier, it is a FANCY one that comes with a name and closes when it is dropped to prevent as many germs and yuckies found on the floors and wherever else it may land! I was very surprised with how well the drop off of Finley went until we get to the car and she realized it was not coming home with us for her nap! Oh Lord........... I have prayed about this day on bended knee for strength and wisdom! WHERE IS IT? My strength and wisdom?
She cries and cries and throws up and just plain acts CRAZY! Honestly that was just the beginning of the consequences that follow well into the wee morning hours! That night she is crying so hard and for so long it was like someone going through withdraw! She did not sleep. I finally gave in at 4:30am. oh and did I say her daddy is out of town yet again or still or however you want to say it, so alone again I am. God made Adam & Eve, Right?
An addict, an over eater, a smoker, an alcholic, a gambler all with a vice have to go through a program or some type of support group. Maybe a diet but they still get to eat, a nicotine patch but they still get the nicotine and sneak in a cigarette or some type of tobacco, an alcholic goes through a 12 step program, a gambler well you get my point! My poor baby has had this DAMN PACIFIER since birth! 3 years & 3 months to be exact and never slept without it! Not even a nap! I always had a reserve, backup, substitute, extra one whatever! I thought I was doing myself a favor by having one around for her naps and Night Night! She has always been a great sleeper! NOT ANYMORE! I feel so bad for her, she shakes, cries, tells me her stomach hurts her head hurts. I only have a caffeine addiction...and beware when I don't have my Dr. Pepper or cup of coffee, I get a headache and the whole world pays! I guess what I am so frustrated with is why does she have to give it up? She is not hurting anyone. I know it looks silly for a 3 yr old to have a pacifier hanging out of her mouth in public BUT I only let her have it at home or in the car! I just have all this guilt that she is to big for it and needs to get rid of it for Dental reasons, oh ya my dentist said told her to give it to the fish, he knows she loves to fish! Easy for him to say, why doesn't he try to give something he LOVES away to the damn fish!I have guilt when Family & friends say or by the look on their face that says, "Aren't you a little big to have that in your mouth or why do you let her have that or My, my, the dental bill for her is going to be outrageous!? I wish they knew how bad that makes me feel and by the who are they to comment on something like that! Don't they know I know she is a little BIG for a pacifier! My words to them will be next time."Why don't you stop smoking, don't you know it gives you cancer? Why don't you go on a diet, your jeans look a little tight, My you drink alot are you an alcoholic! UGH! Of course I will not say anything to anyone but I sure would like to! If anyone has advice please comment my way! My little girl said to me mommy please go buy me a new paci and tell Santa I dont need any new toys!!!! What do you say to that? This is a picture of how her last few days have been! SAD!!!!!