Avalee’s Four Month Stats

Avalee had her four month well checkup on Thursday. Her pediatrician said she’s perfect, which we didn’t need to be told, of course. ;0)
She now weighs 14.63 lbs and is 25 ¾” tall. She’s still taller than average at about 79% and in the 59% for her weight.
She’s definitely much bigger than Z ever was, and actually fits into the clothes meant for her size (Z just graduated to 3T pants!)! And, she has all these adorable fat rolls, which is new because Z was never that chunky. I can’t wait for Summer so I can put her in more dresses and shorts and show off her chunky, rolly polly legs! :D

Avalee with Daddy at her checkup

Beautiful day…

…For a trip to the coast, which is exactly what we did on Sunday! The weather had been gorgeous all week, capped off by a perfect sunny Sunday.
Our plan going into the weekend was to spend Sunday cleaning and organizing, but once I saw the blue skies, I had a different idea! I checked the weather forecast for the coast and it was supposed to get up to 69 (which is great, for the coast).
I knew I’d have to convince Colin though, since he’s not a big coast person and doesn’t take to spontaneity too well. ;) When he readily agreed, I put my plan into motion. We managed to get out of the house within the hour, which is a pretty amazing feat considering we needed to shower, dress kids, pack stuff for taking kids on a trip to the Oregon Coast (sunscreen, hats, coats, cool clothes, warm clothes, etc…LOL!).
We were on the road and pretty proud of ourselves too, until a voice from the backseat uttered the dreaded words, “I’m hungry!” Well, it just gave us an excuse to stop by Northwest favorite, Burgerville, for lunch. YUM!
We got on our way again, only to have Miss Avalee start whining, then crying, then screaming (luckily Z had fallen asleep by this point)! We had to make an emergency food stop for her too… in the casino parking lot. Once again, we were on our way; this time with two happy, well-fed and sleepy kiddos.
Z woke up as soon as we got to the coast and was so excited to see the ocean! We decided we wanted to find a beach that wasn’t so crowded, so drove a bit until we found the perfect spot! There weren’t many people and it was a beautiful beach, covered with logs and scattered with shells. We found our spot and got ourselves all set up to enjoy our afternoon.
Z immediately ran for the ocean, yelling, “water, water, water!” Of course, he kept getting sidetracked by all the shells he found along the way. And, once he got to the water, and realized how cold it was (gotta love that Oregon ocean!), he decided sand castles were more his thing. He had a blast digging holes, covering our feet with sand, making sand angels and collecting rocks and shells.
And, Avalee enjoyed it too! She loved the feel of the sand, and was enthralled with Z’s yellow sand bucket. She also enjoyed watching her dad and big brother playing in the sand, and watched with intensity, until she got all tuckered out.
We stayed on the beach for a couple hours; playing in the sand, watching planes fly by, kites overhead and even some people riding horses down the beach. It was a perfect afternoon!
We were all a little hungry when we left, so decided to stop at the casino for their buffet dinner on the way home. Normally, I don’t like buffets, but this one is amazing! So much food of all different varieties and the dessert area is unbelievable! After eating, we took Z to the arcade and he had so much fun playing skeet ball and air hockey with Colin. After collecting 52 tickets worth of prizes (that cost $5), we headed home.
Both kids fell asleep on the way home, and Colin and I were very happy to have had such a wonderful family day! :0)
So…
Gas to get to coast: $17
Lunch on the way to coast: $18
Dinner on the way back from coast: $23
Watching your daughter experience sand for the first time and your son dance around on the sand? Priceless.

Swimmin’ like a fishie…

We decided to enroll Z in swim lessons at the Y again. He had done swim lessons before, but they were the parent/child lessons and Colin was with him throughout the lesson. This time, it would be the pre-school aged kids.
Z had been looking forward to lessons for SO long (we asked him if he wanted to take them, just to be sure)! On the Big Day, he was so excited and practically ran to the car. We were already a bit behind schedule when we discovered the car battery was dead. After getting our wonderful neighbor to come give us a jump, we were off…albeit about 10 minutes late.
Colin dropped Z and me off so he could find a place to park. When we got in, lessons had already started, but I found out from a lifeguard where Z was supposed to be (there were several classes going on at the same time). I walked him to the edge of the pool and got the instructors attention to tell him Z was there. He told Z to sit on the edge of the pool, and I turned to walk away. I suddenly heard a huge splash and heard the two women in front of me say, “Did that boy just jump in the water?!” As I slowly turned, I was thinking… “Please don’t let it be my boy.” Of course, it was my boy and there he was sputtering out water with the instructor putting him back on the wall. I guess Z just figured swim lessons happen in the water, so he would get in the water.
The first lesson didn’t go so well, because the instructors had the kids sitting on the wall most of the time. The instructors seemed to be a bit overwhelmed, which was unfortunate for the kids. Z especially, was unhappy and bored. He kept climbing into the water and hanging off the wall in the water.
The next lesson went much better, and the kids had a lot of pool time. Z was very happy and kept telling us afterward how much fun he had.
He has now had three lessons, and is having a great time and hopefully even learning some new things. ;0)



Being good and sitting on the wall...


...now boredom has set in and he has decided to get in by himself!




Getting a ride

Easter

Easter was spent at home with the kids (we made the grandparents come to us) and we had a great day.
We had baskets ready on the table for Z & A on Easter morning. Z had a blast going through his basket finding all his goodies. I scattered some jelly beans in his basket and filed a couple Easter eggs with his favorite candy, Tootsie Rolls. Normally, he doesn’t get candy, but hey, it was Easter! What I failed to consider is that my darling son would attempt to consume aforementioned candy within a matter of minutes. Colin and I tried holding him back, but it was like trying to take away a lion’s kill. Cut to an hour later, and Z was bouncing around the room and seemed to be speaking in tongue. Yeah, you can go ahead and send me that Mother-of-the-Year award now.
Avalee didn’t enjoy her basket as much as Z, for obvious reasons, but she will eventually appreciate her treasures, I’m sure. ;0)
We decided to let him channel his energy into finding the Easter eggs that Colin had hidden earlier in the morning. He had so much fun finding the eggs (some had money in them and some had more of those crazed-inducing Tootsie Rolls…oops). Later, Aunt CC his some eggs for him in the front yard. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t cooperating that day, but he still had a small window with no rain/wind. He decided that he wanted to hide eggs for Dad, so Aunt CC helped him find some great spots. Unfortunately, he was so excited that he showed Dad where most of the eggs were!
We later enjoyed our lunch of glazed ham, potato salad, sautéed green beans and homemade rolls (Mom makes the best!). YUMM!
After lunch, we just sat around and enjoyed our time together. The grandparents got in some prime Avalee holding and playing time with Z.

Warning...picture heavy!

Z dying eggs the night before Easter


Look at that concentration!


Even Avalee gets to join in the fun!


The kids' Easter baskets


Z checking out his loot


Avalee looking at her goodies


Z searching for Easter eggs inside...


...and outside too


Miss Glamorpuss Avalee!

It’s been a long week!

So, I know I haven’t blogged in awhile, but for good reason…
On Monday, I got a call from my dad telling me to call my mom. He wouldn’t say why, just that I needed to call. When I called, my mom said, “Oh, I told your dad not to bother you. It’s not a big deal.” Well, apparently she had been having some pain in her arm for awhile, then a headache for a few days and then sudden chest pains. She decided to take herself to the Urgent Care, which is of notice, because she never willingly goes to the doctor (gee, must be where I get it). As I was headed to meet her there, she called back. As it turns out, it was important, because after taking her stats, they decided she needed to go to the ER, by ambulance. So, I picked up Colin and had him drop me off at the ER, while he went to my parent’s house to pick up my dad. I actually beat her ambulance there, so ended up having to wait in the waiting room.

Sidebar about ER waiting rooms:
Presumably, at some point, most people will find themselves in the ER for some reason. Teachers, mailmen, grocery store clerks could all be potential ER candidates. So, why is it everyone in the ER seems like they’re on something or there to get an STD treated?? Not exactly the cream of the crop in that waiting room, ya know? And, why is it that the TV in those waiting rooms is so tiny and stuffed in the worst viewing corner. You have to contort yourself so much just to catch a glimpse of the screen, that you might actually need the ER afterward! And, could they turn the volume up, please?! It’s not like I’m overly anxious to watch Nancy Grace, or anything, but it’s highly annoying to only hear bits and pieces of a story, and between that and not being able to see the TV well, I just feel like I’m not catching enough.

So, my sister (she met me there) and I were finally allowed back to the room my mom was in. Of course, she’s trying to downplay everything, but we find out that she had high blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat. They decided to keep her over overnight for observation, so they can keep testing her.
The next day, the doctor gave her the green light to go home. He didn’t give her any real explanation and my mom didn’t ask (she is the worst self-advocate!). All we found out is that the tests came back negative, but that she did have an irregular heartbeat. She has appointments next week with the doctor to find out more.
In the meantime, most of this week has either been spent in the hospital or running errands for my mom. The week has gone by so quickly, I can hardly believe it’s already Friday!
This weekend, I will try to get to some of the blogs I’ve been working on, so stay tuned… :0)

A (surprise) visit from Uncle!

Since Avalee was born, we’ve all been waiting for my little brother, John, to come up for a visit (from CA). Well, a couple weeks ago I got an email from him saying he wanted to come up the 1st of April. Oh, and he wanted it to be a surprise to my parents.
So, we went about planning his visit, which only myself and Colin knew about. John was flying in on the 31st, when Colin and I would pick him up. The next day, April Fool’s Day, I would take him to my parent’s house. He wanted to call my mom to tell her he couldn’t make it after all, than…April Fool’s!!
I had to leave the kids with my parents so Colin and I could go to the airport, so told them we were going to dinner in Portland as part of a mystery shop (which I’ve done before). They bought it and off we went to pick him up. When we got back into town, we dropped him off at our house then went back to pick up the kids. We were excited for Z to see Uncle again, especially since he had no idea he was coming. Unfortunately, Z fell asleep on the way back home! But, Avalee got some uninterrupted time to meet her uncle. She loved him right away (of course the feeling was mutual) and couldn’t stop smiling for him. The next morning, I told Z there was a surprise waiting for him downstairs. When he got down there, John was hiding under a blanket. The look on Z's face when he saw it was Uncle was priceless! :)
The surprise plan went perfectly the next day and my parents were very surprised! They couldn’t believe we did that to them and that they didn’t know anything.
We had a great visit, and even made it to the casino for some dinner and slots. :0)



Uncle and Avalee meeting for the first time!


Heyyy, you're pretty cool!


Aww!


It's Uncle!!


Z is very happy!








At the airport, saying our goodbyes.