You Might be a Preemie if...

...At 21 months old, you already know how to give yourself a breathing treatment!

I Can Do It!

Things change so fast in this toddler world Avery lives in. One day they depend on you for everything ...the next you wonder why they keep you around because they can do EVERYTHING by themselves! Just ask Avery when she takes off her own diaper, unloads the dishwasher 'all by herself' and especially at mealtime! Some nights I'm allowed to feed her, but most nights go something like this...

...hand her the spoon...

...and she goes.to.town

And don't you dare even think about trying to help!

Happy Birthday Bram!

On Saturday, it was Avery's cousin Bram's 3rd Birthday Party. It was the first birthday party that Avery has ever attended (that wasn't her own!) As you know, in the last year we've been on 'lockdown' during RSV season, so we didn't get to go to Bram's 2nd Birthday Party. Avery had a good time playing and eating cake!

Bram on his new 4 wheeler

Bram and his mommy, Lindsey (Charlie's sister)

Eating cake

I think she enjoyed the cake!

Riding the donkey from Backyardigans

...she loved that thing!

Charlie came right after LSU lost, so that was the best smile he could muster up - we HATE to see our Tigers lose :(

Watching Bram open birthday presents...

The birthday boy was so busy riding his new 4 wheeler that I forgot to get a picture of them together! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAM! WE LOVE YOU! :)

Free French Fries

I have to admit that I really did think I was going to win McDonald's Monopoly. Maybe not the million, but $500 would've made my day! I played religiously, eating way more McDonald's than I care too admit (so much that Charlie went to the doctor the other day and for the first time in his life, he has extremely high blood pressure...yeah, that much!) I played online, watched Jay Leno, even became a fan of McDonalds on Facebook and annoyed workers by making sure I got as many game pieces as possible when I ordered. (Yes, I'm that woman...the one who says "Umm these hash browns are supposed to come with game pieces, could I have some, please?") I even asked a lady who was leaving without pulling her stamps if I could have them (wish I woulda had a camera to get a picture of the look on Charlie's face...priceless!)

So anyway, the only thing I really won was 3 medium fries and some Coke Rewards points. LOL. Oh, and did I mention I used those Coke points to enter yet a few more sweepstakes. I'm determined to win something out of this whole thing! But I digress...

One of Avery's favorite foods is french fries. And to be honest, I don't know too many people who aren't fans of McDonald's French Fries! I figured I'd better cash in my free fries before it's too late and Avery enjoyed an afternoon snack...for free! So million or no million, she was happy with fries and I was smiling on the inside knowing that I'd "won" those fries!

A bunch of McDonalds fries in the bouncy seat w/ Baby Einstein...

doesn't get much better than this!

Can I have a turn in the recliner, pllllease?

The other day Charlie got home from work and Avery did her normal routine. She ran full speed to meet him at the back door and give him a big ole' hug. After that, it was back to work! She walked into the living room. We followed, just a few steps behind. Charlie walked into the living room and immediately said "Oh my gosh Casey, we have a problem!" She had climbed on the couch all by herself! We thought we had a real problem on our hands until my mom suggested that we teach her how to get off. Since then, things have run much smoother. What would we do with ya, Nonna? : )

In the last week, she has learned to climb in the recliner and the computer chair. She is becoming a bit demanding and wants to do what she wants, when she wants, in the order she wants. Now, being rocked in mama's favorite recliner doesn't suffice. She pulls on me until I get out of my favorite chair, then crawls in herself and asks for her blankie. Did I mention that she also gets highly upset if anything but Baby Einstein is on the TV? She finds the DVD case and brings it to me and points at the TV. I figured I would 'fix her little red wagon' so I hid the DVD case. Well, now she brings me the remote (and not just any 1 of the 3 remotes - she brings me the remote that turns the TV to the DVD player!) and points at the TV until her show comes on! So, you can imagine us trying to reason with a 21 month to 'please let mama sit in her chair with you' and 'Can we please watch this instead of Baby Einstein?' Charlie thinks it's time she got her own TV. Um, NO, not gonna happen!

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

...to my sweet, sweet Grandmother!

Chores

Avery is a busy girl lately. When she's not unloading the dishwasher or wiping the counters, she's stirring and seasoning our supper or sweeping and mopping. She also helps with sorting mail and throwing away trash, sorting and 'folding' laundry...and believe me, the list goes on. Anything mama can do, she can do...and puh-lease don't tell her ANY different! She takes her work very seriously and doesn't even take a break when she's at Nonna's! Don't believe me? Just look...!

Did I mention she takes her work seriously? Just look at that expression!

Oh and how cute is her new LSU Cheerleader Uniform!

Thanks Jami! :)

Fall Collection - Part I

If you know me well, you probably know that I'm not a big shopper. I buy clothes few and far between and don't enjoy doing it. In fact, I almost went shopping at the Chase website and stocked up on blue Chase shirts and black pants, that way I could wear the same thing every day (which isn't required at the call center), but Charlie talked me out of it. (Sad, but true!) So, off we went on my birthday shopping for my fall wardrobe, since you may remember that all of my winter clothes got accidentally dropped off at the Goodwill! Well, $270 later I had three sweaters. And I would never ever ever spend $270 on three sweaters. Never! Actually, I refuse to ever pay over $20 for any shirt, so you can imagine that Avery really racked up. She got 6 outfits, a black peacoat, 3 pajama sets, 4 bows, 10 pairs of socks, some cute new black shoes and an adorable pair of boots (yes, with the fur!). And boy, was it fun! I've discovered it's not that I don't enjoy shopping, it's that I don't really enjoy shopping for myself. But shopping for Avery is another story! I am going to try to get pics of all of the new outfits and here is the first set. She was sportin' a cute new (little bit too big) long sleeved shirt and those boots with the fur I mentioned. : )

Not Me Monday

Happy Monday! I don't know if MckMama will be participating this Monday, as sweet Stellan is in the PICU, but feel free to hop on over to her blog and read all about Stellan. So, here we go:

1. I did not have a really 'off' day Saturday which started with putting Avery in the car seat, cranking the car, turning around to start Baby Einstein and realizing she was not strapped in! I certainly didn't read a smiliar incident on MckMama's blog last week and say "Wow, I can't believe she did that!"

2. Later that day I did not leave my purse in the cart at Walmart in the parking lot and not realize it was missing for the next 4 hours.


3. I did not go to Walmart and buy a huge bag of dog food, only to get home and see that the dog was sold while I was at Walmart (what are the odds?) And I certainly did not get a tad bit sad that I didn't get to tell him good bye and even more sad when Avery looks for him and realizes he is not there! I'm sure Cannon's new family will make him happy though : )

4. I did not take the money that Charlie gave me for Cannon and put it somewhere safe while I looked for my purse. I did not realize my purse must be at Walmart and figure it would never be found again. And I certainly was not shocked when Walmart had it, safe and sound, with not so much as a penny missing!

5. I did not search for over an hour for the money I put in a safe place. I did not end up blaming it on one of two things: either someone came in the house when I went back to Walmart and stole it (yes, I really convinced myself this could've happened) OR Avery reached up on the counter, got the money and hid it (yes, I really blamed the missing money on my toddler!)

6. I did not find it, hours later, long after I had given up the search under a bottle of lotion on my dresser. Of course, I did remember leaving it just there. I never totally lose my mind and absolutely cannot remember doing things that I clearly did!

7. I have not totally been putting off making decisions lately. Decisions such as: Should Avery go to church during RSV season and should she be in the nursery? Should I sell my house? Should I live in an apt or rent house - and WHICH apt or rent house? Should I give Avery the swine flu vaccine although its not recommended by the pedi? Should I trick-or-treat w/ Avery every year even though me and Charlie didn't really celebrate Halloween growing up? I did not declare a decision making strike and my answer to all of those questions is currently not: I DON'T KNOW! If you decide you'd like to make one for me, feel free to leave a comment w/ an answer. I'm not so exhausted just thinking about all of these decisions that I'll just do whatever you tell me to do at this point!

Tiger Time!

Charlie's dad got us free tickets to the LSU game last weekend. Now you know I don't pass up anything that's free :) So, off we went. I booked a last minute hotel for a great deal at hotels.com but I was pretty nervous about it. Anyway, it turned out to be a great weekend and the hotel was fine too! Avery got to spend some time w/ Nonna and Poppa and you can read all about that here.

We usually only get down to Baton Rouge about once a year, but when we go I always wonder why we don't go every weekend. It's just that much fun. I mean where else can you go and find...

Cheerleaders and fans cheering in the streets...

...and a band marching right behind them!

A granny riding a bike decked out in purple and gold...

...and a group of Tigers dressed in Toga!

The best coach in college football...

...and of course, the best players too!

A multi million dollar habitat for the mascot...

...and the most beautiful stadium on earth?

Well, you can find all of that and more...

at L S U of course! : )