Allie's first time on her big girl bike

Avery wanted a helmet too!

security blanket I made for a friend's baby shower

Regular size blanket for baby Ashlyn

Not only did the girls and I go to a baby shower this weekend, but Allie went to a birthday party (the kind where I dropped her off). She's getting to be such a big girl!

Pictures for the Grandparents!

I think I might just start posting a couple pics here and there with little or no commentary just so the grandparents can get their daily dose of the girls (got your message GG!)

Just a quick note - Avery had her 2 year check up. She's in the 20th percentile for everything. The doctor said if she doesn't start talking more and putting 2 or more words together in the next couple of months then we'll need to schedule a visit with a speech/vocabulary therapist. -

Allie loves school! She's starting to learn the days of the week.

Went on a bike ride last weekend.....the girls were being pulled behind Derek. Just imagine how hot WE were!

First Day of School

Allie had her first day of Pre-School today. She was sooo excited for it! On the drive to school Avery fell asleep and so Allie wanted to wake her up when we got there so she could say goodbye. We decided to go ahead and let her sleep. As soon as we got in the school Allie wanted to go straight to her classroom. She had to wait for her teacher to come and get her though. As soon as she saw Miss Bellah she was so excited. When Miss Bellah told the kids to line up to get ready to go to the classroom Allie ran over and never looked back!! I thought I might cry, but I didn't. I was sad that she didn't seem to be care that she was leaving me though!
Avery slept until we got back home and the first thing she said was, "Sissy?" Awww, she really missed her sister and she asked where she was several times.

special sandwich for a special girl!

After I picked Allie up she talked about a couple of friends she made (one little girl, Penelope, has already invited her over to her house, lol!) but for the most part she didn't really remember what she did besides color a picture of an apple, eat lunch and play on the playground.

Texas Tidbits

It's been about a week since I've blogged. I know some of my faithful followers are probably wondering what's going on! The answer is not much! Just the same old thing - trying to keep the house clean with two little ones running around. It's been kind of nice to not always be on the go. Now that school is starting up we probably won't be doing as much. Kinda sad, but it will be okay.
We did go to Sea World yesterday. It was short lived though. About an hour into being there we were ready for snacks. All of a sudden Allie starts crying that her stomach hurts. I asked her if she needed to go to the bathroom and she said no. The next thing I know she's standing up, crying in pain and her face is turning white as a ghost. Then her lips start turning purple. I knew she was still breathing because she was talking. I got out her water and made her drink as much as she could. I think she was dehydrated. I remember asking her at breakfast if she wanted milk or water and she said water....I also remember when we left the house her cup of water was still full. She's okay now. We just need to make sure she's getting enough fluids in her.
We also skyped for the first time this week! It was a learning process, but so fun and neat. If anyone has a webcam and wants to skype look us up! (bhuber11)
So, yeah, Allie starts preschool Monday! All kinds of mixed emotions going on about that. She's excited though. Avery strangely seems older now that she's two. It's like she knows it and wants to act more her age....in just about every picture on her she's holding her blankey. She usually doesn't go anywhere without it. Well, just in the past couple of days she will make sure her blankey stays in her bed - - and that's the only time she has it!
Derek is busy with work and now he's in Scouts again so that takes up his Tuesday evenings. He's also training for a 1/2 marathon and some xtreme race. The race consists of 6 miles of running, 22 mile biking, 2 miles of rafting, and then there is a mystery event.
I've been doing my boot camp with getsexysanantonio. I feel good, but still waiting to "see" some results. It's all good though.
We started doing a Thursday night swim as a family. I'll post some pics, but for now I'll go on to my Texas (at least San Antonio) Tidbits.

• 
  the drivers here are CrAzY. No joke. I am so cautious when I'm out driving b/c people here seriously have no clue. There isn't a day that goes by that either Derek or I haven't seen an accident of some sort -- especially when it rains.
• the road system is different from the Midwest (and everywhere we've visited). They have access/frontage roads everywhere! It makes it hard to get to where you need to go. I don't even know how to explain it.
• People always say that everyone is friendlier in the south. I don't think so.....at least not here. Don't get me wrong, there are some great people, but we've come across some pretty mean and rude people.
• Weather is HOT, can be humid, but no matter what it makes you sweat even if you're just standing there doing nothing.
• Texas has tax free days! I think it's just on clothes, backpacks and school supplies. It's this weekend, which probably explains why the store was so crowded today.
• Tons of military bases around here
• San Antonio is huge. When my parents were visiting they kept asking if we were still in San Antonio or Helotes. Helotes is super tiny.....San Antonio is massive! I believe it's the 8th largest city in the US.

I'm sure there are more, but it's getting close to time for us to leave to meet Allie's teacher.....so here's some pics!

this one cracks me up. She's so fearless! (or maybe just clumsy)

Avery is TWO!!

Happy Birthday to our Ave babe!! Saturday was her birthday and it was a very busy, fun-filled day.

Fun at the Kiddie Park

Her favorite rides were the ones with horses. I think the big horse outside our back door has had some sort of influence on that.

Lunch at Wienerschnitzel

Both girls must have been starving b/c normally they would have ripped the breading right off of their corn dog

Birthday Shopping

       Avery got some money from her Great Grandpa and a gift card from her Aunt and Uncle so we went and let her spend it.

Then it was off to get ice cream!! And after all of that she (and everyone else) was exhausted!

Once we got home and she saw the package waiting at the front door she was wide awake for the rest of the night though.

We played with all of her new toys until we woke Daddy so we could head for dinner at Texas Roadhouse.

Buddy & Kim - this is what Avery picked out with the gift card - it's a FurReal Friends Furry Frenzies....really cute and lots of fun. They BOTH love it!!

They both fell asleep on the way home from dinner. It really was an exhausting day. We didn't even have time for the cake and opening presents from Mom and Dad so that was all done yesterday (Sunday).

cheezin' it up w/ her caterpillar cupcake cake

Avery's Favorite Things:
Brushing her teeth
Playing with her sister
Her blanky
Climbing onto anything and everything
Saying "What?" and "No"
White cheddar popcorn
Hot dogs
fruit (even though it makes her bottom really sore)
Running really fast

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Avery is still napping every day for 1 or 2 hours. She used to be really good and not fight me about it, but she definitely fights me just about every time anymore.

She is just now starting to talk a little bit more. I think she's probably way behind in her communication. I'll definitely be working with her more when Allie starts school (gasp!) next week.

She's very active, but also very clumsy. She falls at least 2-3 times a day just while she's walking.

She's extremely ornery and stubborn. She definitely challenges us, but I think that's a good thing.

She's the complete opposite of her sister, but they get along so great.

We're starting to learn that she loves the water! She doesn't mind going under and is not afraid of anything.

That's about it for now..........Happy Birthday Bug!!

Mehson

Meh-son (medicine) is one of Avery's new favorite words. When we tell her it's time for her medicine she shouts mehson over and over and runs as fast as she can to the kitchen to get it. Who knew a kid could love medicine so much?! Although, as I'm typing this I feel like I've said something like this before. I don't know if it was about Allie or Avery or if I'm just dreaming that I've said it. At any rate, Avery's been taking this medicine for some fungus under her toenail. Well, we weren't sure if that's really what it was or not because her toenails have been growing kind of weird since birth.....but we're pretty sure that is what it was because it seems to be clearing up.

The doctors are pretty sure she's going to have psoriasis like I have (I developed it about 9 months after I had Allie). She already has indentions in her fingernails like me. She has a dry scalp too. I feel so bad for her if she's going to have to live with it all of her life.

The doctors also suspect she may be anemic so we had to go get some blood work done yesterday. The lab tech put the rubber band around her arm to feel where her veins were and Avery started crying. Allie had this done about a year ago so she knew what was going to happen and she covered her eyes and said, "She's going to cry just like I did." The lab tech was really good. He told Avery that she was strong and told her exactly what he was going to do and what it was going to feel like. He even gave her a little pinch with his fingers before he stuck the needle in. When he went to stick the needle in Avery just watched and then looked away until he was done. No crying!! We were all amazed. What a trooper!

She goes back for her two year check up/toenail check up in a couple weeks so we'll see what the results are then.

showing off her "pook" bandaid

Little Book Worm

We have the smartest little girl ever! The other day I walked in the room to hear Allie reading a book to Avery. I peeked over her shoulder and she was reading it almost word for word! Where in the world did she learn this? I know it has to be just from memorization. I hate to admit it, but we don't read to our kids all that often anymore. We need to get in the habit of doing it again.......and going over the alphabet and numbers. Allie really is so smart. Her little brain is like a sponge right now. She just absorbs everything and doesn't forget it. That's why it's so important for us to really start teaching her everything now. Avery is a smart cookie too. She picks up a lot from her sister and I have noticed her talking more and more and we're able to understand what she's trying to say. Kids are just awesome!

Anyway, I recorded Allie reading a book the other day. I tried to get up by the words, but the sun was glaring right onto the pages so it's hard to see.

Weekend Review

Last weekend I got a facebook message from an old friend of ours from Scott AFB, Illinois. They were in the area while her husband was doing some training out at Randolph AFB. We tried to get together during the week but it just never worked out so we had them over for dinner Friday night. It was so great to catch up on things from the last 4 years!

Thursday was their daughter's birthday so they brought cupcakes, hence the messy faces

Saturday evening we went downtown to the Ripley's Believe It or Not Odditorium and Wax Museum. It was pretty neat, but probably one of those once is enough things.

The Alamo was right across the street - we didn't visit it this time, but it's on our "to-do" list

this elephant's bones were found in Ohio!

Sleeping Beauty

Look-alike Meter

I've been wanting to do this for awhile now. I, personally, think both of our girls look like me. When Allie was born everyone said she looked just like me, but now most people say she looks like her Daddy. The opposite goes for Avery. When she was born, she looked like her Daddy and now most people say she looks like me.

I used the look-alike meter from heritage.com to see what our results would be. The pictures I used of Derek and I with the girls are when we are at the same age as the girls are now. I was surprised with the results! I changed Avery's picture 3 times to try and get the results changed...only to find the percentage of her looking like her Dad go from 3% to 4% to 42%!

Projects Around the House

The girls room

Before:

After:

The Back Yard

{still a work in progress}

Before:

After:

Computer/Office Desk

Before:

this desk was free, very heavy duty

this is what happens if you're not careful when moving it! oops. We've since fixed it, but it still needs repainted

After:

not the best picture, but we really love how it turned out. The top is black, the handles gold. Perfect for our Purdue themed office!

A LOT MORE TO COME!!