I packed away the girls’ hippo mat yesterday – now that Avery is crawling, she doesn’t have much interest in lying around. I wasn’t feeling that emotional about it, until I found our very first picture (below) of Avery on the mat. She was only five days old – and so small! – and I’m amazed at how fast she has grown… (And on a funny non-hippo-related note, when I first saw this picture, I was convinced it was Zoe – and I had to look at the date to confirm that it wasn’t. I couldn’t see the resemblance between Zoe and Avery as newborns before, but I sure can now!)

-M

A few recent stories from Zoe:

-Not long ago, Q sang Zoe a few lines from “Escape (The Pina Colada Song).” A few days later, I heard her sing it – except her version was slightly different. Apparently she thought Q was singing about pina latkes.

-Zoe has slept with her white blanket (“blankie”) since she was quite small, but a few weeks ago she decided someone else in the house needed it more than she. “No, I don’t need it,” she told me one night, as she placed it over one of her stuffed animals. “Big Bear is sick.” Big Bear wound up snuggled on the couch, covered by her blanket, every night for the next week – until Zoe determined he was “all better.”

-In the car the other day, Zoe blurted out – quite out of the blue – “I like my baby sister so much!” And not long afterwards, she decided Avery’s new nickname should be “Babycita.” (Now it’s common for Zoe to tell her, “I love you, Babycita Baby Sister Avery Browdy.”)

-My mom saved a bunch of toys from when my sister and I are little, and she’s been gradually bringing/sending them to us. I’ve been keeping the more advanced ones in the garage, and I told a curious Zoe one day that they were for when she was older. Now, almost every night when we come home and she walks past the pile, she asks me, “Am I older yet?”

-I was helping Zoe out of the car recently, when she wrinkled up her nose. “You’re stinky,” she told me. “You need a shower!” (I wasn’t, and I didn’t, but it made me laugh.)

So, yesterday turned out to be a very fun (and crazy) day. We had lots of people over (14 babies or tots, plus their parents!) and Zoe and Avery – who didn’t much care about the score of the game – spent hours running or crawling around with their friends. By the end of the night, Zoe’s room was trashed, and we were all exhausted (putting an over-stimulated Zoe was no picnic!) – but it was worth it.

I had hoped to have some party pictures to post, but between watching the kids and putting out food (me) and playing bartender and taking bets on the score of the game (Q), there was little time to grab the camera. Before everyone arrived, though, I did snap some pictures of Avery, who quietly and happily ate Cheerios while I did some last-minute prepping. She was a great little assistant!

-M

Another year, another Super Bowl party! We’re getting ready to celebrate and watch the game with friends, and it occurred to me this morning that this is Zoe’s FOURTH time doing so! (Check out her first experience here.) Zoe’s all excited for the party (and for the first time, she helped me with the deviled eggs), and I hope Avery is too. Hopefully we’ll have some fun pics to share from the day.

-M

As mentioned below, Avery and I are back on track when it comes to our Fridays together. Yesterday morning we had a playdate at a friend’s house, where Avery got to crawl around with Greta (who is one month her senior) and play a bit of piano. She was a big fan of the keyboard; perhaps a career in music is in her future??

-M

‘re sti

A few months ago, around the time that I returned to my normal (4 day/week) work schedule, I started feeling a bit down about life – and the main reason, I think, was that I was missing Avery. Sure, I spent a good amount of time with her – but it just never felt like enough, and it was rarely one-on-one time. (The latter is hard to get when you’ve also got a bubbly three-year-old bouncing around and demanding your attention.) And yes, we had our Fridays together, but there always seemed to be something other than “hang out” on our to-do list: errands, chores, doctor’s appointments, volunteering at Zoe’s school, etc. After one too many sob sessions with Q, he finally suggested that I forget all that other stuff, put off chores for another day, and focus on just being with Avery on my day off – which is exactly what I’ve been doing lately. And the result? I’m much happier than I was before, and I feel less stressed and overwhelmed by the day-to-day stuff (and believe me, with two little kids there’s a lot of day-to-day stuff). I guess you could say that Avery is good therapy for me!

-M

When Avery came down with the sniffles and a fever the other day, I was filled with a sense of dread. “Oh, no – not again,” I thought, thinking the worst, until a quick trip to the doctor identified teething as the culprit. Ah, teething. I had a faint recollection of what Zoe went through when her teeth first arrived, but it wasn’t until I did a quick search of past entries (two are here and here) that I really remembered how unpleasant teething can be. (It’s amazing how much you forget!) The good news is that Avery’s fever is gone, and she was much happier yesterday and today – so I’m hoping the worst is over. (At least until the next two teeth decide to arrive…)

-M

As we were coming home from school yesterday afternoon, Zoe commented to me, “I love Avery and Daddy. They’re the best.” And this morning, she also mentioned how much she loved “Baby Sister” and how sad she was that she’s sick. (Avery’s not really sick – just teething – but that’s a different post.) Zoe has always been pretty loving with her sister, and she’s a big fan of hugging and cuddling with her. Here are some pics from one of their recent cuddle sessions.

-M

Now that we are halfway from 35K to 40K I thought it would be a good time to post the previous winner’s prize. Check out the look on the winner’s face when he received a one-of-a-kind work of art from Zoe!

Good luck to everyone on trying to be the first to 40K…

Jon Q