Jack and Avery

Christmas 2011

2011-12-28T21:15:00.000-08:00

I am a delinquent when it comes to this blog. I really have no excuse other than that I haven't made the time, maybe a New Year's resolution is in order!! Anyway, here is a highlight of the last month...

A family Christmas photo at the tree farm

Our tree, and some wet and soggy kids

Court got the most wet of all of us because she had to crouch down to cut the tree down.

Avery's last night in her cast. It was removed on Dec 1st!

Girls' Day (and one boy) at Auntie Steffie's house

Evening in downtown Seattle, Aves and one of her favorite people.

Checking out the amazing gingerbread houses

Snowflake Lane in Bellevue

Waiting for the music, the drummers and the snow to fall!

Christmas Eve and Nana and Bapa's before the toast. I can imagine a number of things she might have been thinking...

Yeah for Christmas!!

Cute girls on the couch (Lillie, Abbi and Avery)

Cousins goofing off for the camera

Family Photo

Jack in his new double-sided batman/spiderman cape made by Nana.

Tubing is awesome!!

Ready for another run!

Holiday Spirit!!

2011-12-21T19:33:00.000-08:00

Here are some videos showing Jack and Avery getting into the holiday spirit...

Anticipating the "snow fall" at Pacific Place

Avery watching Santa at Pacific Place

Avery chasing down the snow at Pacific Place

Jack playing with the snow at Pacific Place

Jack singing Christmas songs

And Jack singing some more (Avery wouldn't cooperate for the camera)

Avery Peg Leg

2011-11-28T22:43:00.000-08:00

Nickname was coined by Courtney and it has kind of stuck. She even refers to it as her "peg leg".

We've been trying to get video of Avery running around in her cast, and I finally managed it. My camera is in the shop for the third time since July, grrr, so I've been relying on my phone for pictures lately.

Anyway, this little girl isn't letting some silly cast slow her down. I just have to giggle watching her run around in it though!!

This video was taken a few nights ago. They were riled up before bedtime so I told them they had 5 minutes to run their wiggles out, and they did!!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-02T16:29:00.000-07:00

Each holiday gets more and more fun as the kids get older. This year they were thrilled with the idea of trick or treating and couldn't wait to go. This year preschool fell on Halloween so we got to get dressed up in our costumes (I was working that day so I put my witch hat on to show my spirit). This is before we got in the car to go to school.

Sassy little Jessie from Toy Story!

And Jessie and her buddy Buzz. I did not suggest that they pick coordinating costumes at all. I let them decide what they wanted to be and they just happened to pick characters from the same movie.

Here they are (bottom right of picture) during circle time at preschool. After circle time they got to frost some cookies, have a snack, then we all headed into downtown Snoqualmie to do some trick or treating with the local vendors. Each parent was assigned two children to take trick or treating. Teacher Amy assigned me a little boy and Jack......hhhhmmmm. And Avery got to go by herself with Teacher Amy. Jack did great and didn't run off and Avery was happy to hold hands with Teacher Amy for the first time. In fact, afterward, she told me that it was the first time she ever held Teacher Amy's hand....EVER!

When we got home and Mum got off work, it was back into costumes and trick or treating at the local outlet mall. Court wanted to wear her motorcycle gear, but Avery said that wasn't a costume so Court just went as herself!

Waiting their turn to trick or treat at the Nike Outlet!

We found Ian and Miles at the outlets while we were trick or treating, too!!

By the time we got home it was dark, but the kids weren't ready to be done so we unloaded from the car, Court ran in and got flashlights and we trick or treated in our neighborhood, too. Halloween is the best way to get to know your neighbors. I met several families for the first time and we've lived here for 8 years. It was great!!

Checking out their loot before heading upstairs for bed...

Avery has already decided her costumes for the next two years. First she wants to be a kitty, then after that she wants to be Minnie Mouse and Jack wants to be a puppy. We'll see if those choices stick until next year.

Motorcycle videos

2011-10-28T08:27:00.000-07:00

Some people couldn't view the videos, so I uploaded them to youtube and posted them here:

Playing in the leaves and a new motorcycle...

2011-10-27T19:58:00.000-07:00

Gasp, three blog posts in two days. I can't believe it. I think some of it has to do with the fact that Jack and Avery haven't napped the last two days. Tonight they were asleep before 6:30pm, I can't remember a time they've been to bed that early since they were infants. Anyway, it leaves me time to blog in the evening!

We are making the most of our sunny days and getting outside as often as possible. We met up with Cindi, Ian and Miles at Rattlesnake Lake to throw rocks in the lake and to play in the leaves.

There's never been a tree/stump that Jack hasn't tried to climb.

It took him a couple of tries but he got up there all on his own. And everyone followed right behind him!

Four little blondies...

Best buddies! Avery and Miles have a little bond ;)

Leaf Angel

Court came home from a business trip today and promptly went out and picked up the motorcycle she found on craigslist. I'm not sure who was more excited, her or the kids. She promised them a ride on it when she got it.

Avery getting suited up

She looks so tiny next to Court

Ready to go!

Jack was admiring the big bike

Jack, ready to go

Sis, looking so cute!

Jack, wishing he could do it all himself

The first video is after Avery took her second ride on the bike.

And Jack, well he leaves no question in your mind whether he likes the bike! This is after his first ride.

First Field Trip and Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-26T20:54:00.000-07:00

The first field trip was to Jubilee Farms in Carnation. Wow, it's amazing how cold 36 degrees feels when you've just returned from 75 degree weather. Brrrr.

First, everyone had a little snack. This is a picture of some of Jack and Avery's classmates

And some of their other little friends, with Jack, Avery and Nana and Bapa in the background

They are easy to spot in most of these pictures because they have their bright red hoodies on.

After snack, it was a hay ride to the pumpkin patch to pick out yet another pumpkin!!

Jack found his!!

This is about half of their class. The other half of the class were all sick with a stomach bug. Thankfully we came away bug-free!! Yippee! I can handle colds much better than puking.

Learning about all the produce grown on the farm

Checking out the pigs

And the pigs checking out the kids!

Then back home to carve the pumpkins we picked out a few weeks ago. Jack thought the gooey insides were pretty cool. Avery touched them once....then used a spoon from that point on.

And she wore a kitty mask while carving!!

Helping Bapa

and helping Nana

Ta-da!! Avery's is on the left and Jack's is on the right. For some reason they scooped the guts out of each other's pumpkins then realized they were in the wrong places and carved their own.

Fall Fun and Disney World!

2011-10-26T08:28:00.000-07:00

Our favorite place lately is Fall City Farms. We ventured back to meet up with Cindi, Ian and Miles to help them pick out pumpkins and hang out.

Ian and Miles had the right idea, wearing their shades. It was a bright, sunny day.

Jack helping Miles pick out a pumpkin

Avery posing for a picture for Miles. He's a pretty good photographer if you ask me!

Jack is in a new phase of sticking his tongue out for photos. This too shall pass....right?

Peek-a-boo!

Cindi and her boys on the hay ride!

We also met up with the Slanes and Nana and Bapa for a birthday dinner for Julian. Hansen was very gracious and let Jack sit with him for a bit. I think the finger in the catsup might have been a little much, though!

And then we were back to Fall City Farms on another bright sunny day, but this time with Auntie Steffie. We helped her pick out a few pumpkins, too.

Then it was off to Disney World!! It was an early flight, but they did really well on the flight.

Avery does look a bit tired though.

Sunset view from our hotel room

My favorite app for the kids, PBS Kids. They love Curious George!

Dining area in the hotel/condo

Master

Jack and Avery's room that didn't get used except to store their clothes. It was too scary in there, they said.

And off to Magic Kingdom...

On the tram to Magic Kingdom. I had no idea the effort it takes to get inside the park. Tram from parking lot, stand in line, monorail to entrance, stand in line, then enter the park. It's at least a 30 minute undertaking.

Finally inside! It looked beautiful with all the fall colors and the Mickey head pumpkins everywhere.

Yeah, the tongue is in the mouth!

Buzz!!

This was as close as Jack wanted to get to the characters. He wanted a safe distance between himself and them. They creeped him out.

This is a woman dressed as a tree or a branch. It was amazing to watch.

Giraffe at the Animal Kingdom

I thought they were called Antelope, but the guide said they were Gazelles. They were miniature and very tiny

The boy was so tired he couldn't even finish his bite of popcorn.

If you look closely you can see Avery peeking at me from inside her stroller. She didn't want to rest.

Yahoo! Avery finally got to meet Minnie. If you could pan right, you would see Jack about 10 feet away glued to the spot where I left him ready to have a panic attack. The people behind him in line were trying to encourage him to go meet Minnie. He ended up in tears. He said he likes the characters on the movies but the real ones freak him out. So, no picture of Jack with any characters!

Minnie gave her a big kiss after this picture. Avery was so proud! She keeps asking me to get the picture so that I can put it in her book. She wants to see her picture next to Minnie's autograph.

Fall City Farms - Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-02T20:30:00.000-07:00

Today was the perfect day for a trip to the pumpkin patch at Fall City Farms. We have had so much rain the last couple of weeks that I thought we'd be picking pumpkins in the rain, but we had sunshine and warm weather.

Jack and Avery were excited to go tromp around in the fields and pick their own pumpkins.

Getting a lift from Mum to the pumpkin patch

This pumpkin launcher was fun to watch. He used the mini pumpkins and they flew as far as the tall trees in the background. I have no idea what the contraption was, but it was cool.

Jack and Avery thought it was a little too loud.

Photo op!

Mum says, "Jackie, give Mommy a wink!"

and "Sis, give Mommy a wink!"

Some of our picks, I think we ended up with 9, yikes. Luckily, the white and greens ones are actually squash...squashes?? so we can eat them.

Avery wasted not a second loading up our basket with pumpkins...she was on a mission.

Figuring out how to carry the bigger ones to the basket

"here, Jack, you do it."

"Okay, Sis"

Feeding the goats apples. They must have had their fill of apples because they wouldn't even take the apples Court was handing them.

Having a blast in the maze!!

Where are you Jack?

Closing their eyes and counting to ten before they go find Mum who is hiding!

First Day of Preschool - Alligators!

2011-09-22T22:17:00.000-07:00

I know it is common practice these days to have your kids hold a sign with the date and their grade and the name of their school and I'll probably regret not doing it, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. It's about as rebellious as I get, watch out!!

We talked a lot about preschool in anticipation of the first day. Jack seemed like he was okay with whatever happened, but Avery was nervous about going and Mommy not staying with her. It's a coop preschool so I'll spend some days there, but not the first day. Lucky for us, they let parents stick around for the first 20 minutes or so. I followed her around, well she dragged me around mostly. I watched Jack going from spot to spot and look up to see where I was then continue on exploring. Teacher Amy called everyone to circle time and Avery was all over it. She was raising her hand and yelling out answers and singing along to songs she'd never heard before. When circle time broke up I told her I was going to leave if she was comfortable and she looked over her shoulder and said, "Bye Mommy!" Jack did the same. I came back to get them at the end and both greeted me with big grins and lots of stories.

Before we got into the car, I had to take a few pictures...

Oops Avery, I caught you blinking, let's do a couple more.

Can you guys act like you like each other?

Cheeeeeese!

I should have stopped here, but I was hoping for a close up of the two of them

Jack losing focus and Avery trying to cooperate

Avery is trying to get her arm around his neck so they can look like buddies. She's a bit frustrated.

Jack can't stand to be confined so he didn't want Aves' hand around his neck.

Now she's really sad. She said, "I just want us to be buddies for the picture"

Jack apologizing...

Working on cooperating...

And this is the end of my efforts. Jack saying cheese while looking out the back window and Avery holding her eyes open so she doesn't blink for the picture!!

Festival at Mt. Si

2011-08-13T15:49:00.000-07:00

We made it out to the Festival at Mt. Si to see the parade this morning. The kids were so excited to get some candy, they could hardly stand themselves.

We arrived about 30 minutes early to assure ourselves a good spot and it was the longest 30 minutes ever!!

Here they come!!

Their hands over their hearts as the flag passed.

Everyone clapped and there were lots of "thank yous" from the crowd

Okay, so now where is the candy?

Saying cheese with Mum

Finally what they've been waiting for!! Someone is bringing the sugar!

Avery loved watching the drill team, but when she saw the cheerleaders from the high school she acted out their routine along with them. They had pom poms and I know Avery wanted to get her hands on some so she could dance around with them!!

Jack really enjoyed the marching band, but was enthralled with the singing/chanting and drumming of the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe. He loved it!

The fire truck sprayed all the kids. It wasn't even that warm and all the kids took off running toward the water!

Avery tried, but decided it was too cold.

Jack wasn't interested at all...

I'm happy that we made it through the entire parade and everyone was happy at the end. Only a few complaints of tired feet, but otherwise a success!!!

Boating...and the dentist

2011-06-06T15:52:00.000-07:00

The boat was out on Saturday and Sunday. The forecast called for temperatures in the 80's on Sunday so we were excited to spend the day on the water. In actuality, the sun didn't shine on Lake Sammamish until we were back on land and heading for home. We still had tons of fun though.

The water was so cold on Saturday, according to the boat thermometer, the water temp was a cool 60 degrees. I got in up to my waist and didn't want to go in any further. Since Court was already in with the kids, I was off the hook. Phew. With just my feet in, my bones ached all the way up to my thighs. I'm a pretty big wuss when it comes to cold water though. Avery was in hog heaven swimming around with her Mum all to herself and she cried when it was time to get back in the boat. Her lips were blue and she was shivering like crazy but she still didn't want to get out of the water!!

On our way to the lake on Sunday morning we stopped and got them wetsuits so they'd be more comfortable and that helped a lot.

These are pictures from Saturday:

One video from Saturday, getting ready to test out the water...

And on Sunday the wetsuits are on, I even put my full wetsuit on and I was still cold!

This is on the ride back to shore. They got all bundled up in their cozy blankets and stayed that way until we got off the boat. Brrrrr.

It was way past their normal naptime and I had dropped Court off to get the truck and trailer and if you could see my expression, I wasn't too pleased with the kids. They wanted to get up and squirrel around and I was not having it!!

After all the fun over the weekend, we had to go to the dentist on Monday morning, bummer. They didn't actually mind at all and they both did very well. Avery has always sat on my lap at the dentist and this time she climbed right up on her own and sat through the entire cleaning all by herself.

Maiden Voyage!

2011-06-04T15:48:00.000-07:00

Today was our first trip on the boat as a family and our first trip on the boat for the season. It's in the high 70's today and the weather couldn't have been better. The kids did amazing on the boat and loved every minute.

I have some pictures, too, but for now I'll just blog a couple of videos...

Next stop....the roof!

2011-06-03T09:54:00.000-07:00

Once we arrived at the park, the puddles we're too cool to ignore!!

Houston Zoo

2011-05-12T08:30:00.000-07:00

Visit to Auntie Crystal in Houston

2011-05-10T15:44:00.000-07:00

We just returned from a sunny and warm visit to Houston. Court's niece, Crystal lives in Houston and we've not been to visit her as a family so we made the trip over the Mother's Day weekend. Crystal just had a pool installed in her back yard the week before we arrived so guess what we did while we were there! I think Jack and Avery will forever associate Auntie Crystal with her swimming pool or as Jack calls it, her fwimming cool! And yes, Courtney was there, too. She happens to be taking many of the pictures but there aren't any of her actually in the pictures. I think Crystal took one of the 4 of us with her phone, but that's probably it!

Some perks of Court's constant travel is that we get to take advantage of Alaska Airline's VIP room at Seatac when we travel. Here we are watching all the planes and eating pancakes...I absentmindedly left my coat (with the car keys inside) here and luckily they kept it safe for me so that we could pick it up when we arrived on Sunday night.

Watching the planes...

On our airplane, watching Toy Story 2

A little nap before we land in Houston

And the wonderful pool!

Avery wanted to help Crystal plant some flowers

Crystal came back from the hardware store with some noodles, too!!

She still has a good frumple face!!

Pretty flowers

Snuggling with Auntie Crystal and her friends Blake (left) and Summer (right)

Jack was the first one up every morning, so we hung out and ate breakfast and visited together until everyone else woke up.

We visited the Houston Zoo. It was amazing. We saw lots of animals and the weather was warm but there was lots of shade and a nice breeze.

Best buddies. Auntie Crystal had a constant shadow while we were there. Avery didn't want anyone else to buckle her into her carseat or take her to the potty or sit next to her at dinner. It had to be Auntie Crystal!

Eating some Dip 'N Dots with Auntie Crystal

Watching cartoons one morning

bedtime cuddles with Auntie

Cooling off in the shade after some swim time

Conked out in Auntie's super comfy bed at nap time. Notice the bungee cord in Jack's hand. Crystal used a bungee cord to keep the door to the pool locked. Jack caught sight of it and had to have one of his own.

We took a walk to the park at the end of the street. It was a warm afternoon. Jack's cheeks are all pink from running around.

Avery walking back home from the park with Auntie Crystal

Same outfits, but this is the flight home from Houston...they are excellent travelers.

I have lots of video of the kids in the pool, but Jack wouldn't keep his swim shorts on so there are very few that I can share. Here are a couple of videos that are safe!

Spring is here....maybe?

2011-04-23T14:31:00.000-07:00

We were out of commission for what felt like months, but I think it amounted to a couple of weeks. Jack caught a cold, then Avery got it. Jack never really got rid of the cough, then 2 weeks ago he got really sick with high fevers, a bad cough and he wouldn't leave my lap. I ended up taking him to the doctor and she said it was probably the flu and pneumonia on top of that with an ear infection in the right ear. He's never been on antibiotics before so I feel lucky that we've gotten this far without a major illness (other than colds and stomach bugs). He perked up with the antibiotics and as he was turning the corner, Avery went downhill with the flu that he had. Luckily she never got the pneumonia that he did, but she was pretty miserable too.

Everyone is healthy now and we've been busy! We had a birthday party to celebrate Ian and Miles' 3rd birthday (before the bugs hit).

We went hiking at Twin Falls on the first dry day in a long time....

We had family come stay with us last week. Court's cousin, Mel, and her family came to hang out and visit over their spring break. Jack was in heaven playing with her boys the entire time. Avery warmed up a bit, but just about everyone morning when she woke up she told me she was a little shy, but she liked Auntie Mel. She was shy of Colton, Keaton and Mel's husband, DeVon. By the end, she came around and everyone got hugs goodbye!! They're on their way back to Salt Lake City now and we miss them already!!

While Mel's family was here, I snuck away with the kids for an overnight with other 3 year-olds and their moms. Cindi rented a house in Mt. Vernon that fit all of us and we had a great time. The kids played their little hearts out. In the morning we drove to the tulip fields and admired all the beautiful flowers. It was freezing cold and the kids were all crabby so we lasted about 20 minutes before we left. Poor Court, Mel and group made the drive up from North Bend that morning to meet us (2 hours) and then turned around and drove back after a half an hour.

8 of the kids at the rental house. We stayed over on Thursday night, but another group showed up on Friday for round 2. If we'd been able to all stay there together, it would have been pure mayhem. I think it would've been 14 kids altogether!!

Auntie Mel and Colton looking at flowers with Jack and Avery. You can seee Keaton off to the left of the picture.

3 Year Check-Up

2011-04-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

This morning was an early day for us. Jack and Avery had their 3 year check-up and we all had to be in Issaquah by 8:30am. Lucky for us, Jack and Avery wake up with the sun and now that the sun comes up earlier, so do the kids. Poor Jack has another cold with a snotty nose, cough and a fever. He's taking it like a trooper. It's so strange to see him so still and quiet when he's sick. I got them up and dressed this morning and I took Aves to the potty and when I got back to their room he was still lying down in the same spot I left him.

Weight:
Jack - 33 lbs 13 oz - 50-75th percentile
Avery - 32 lbs 13 oz - 50th percentile

Length:
Jack - 39 3/4" - 95th percentile
Avery - 38" - 75th percentile

BMI:
Jack: 15% - 10-25th percentile
Avery: 16% - 50-75th percentile

They got one shot and little Avery just whispered, "owww, owww, owww", for her poke. Jack was fragile from being sick and did fine until he felt the sting and cried, cried, cried. All the way to the car, he kept saying, "It hurt Mom! It hurt!"

They're on track for all their developmental milestones which is always reassuring.

I don't think I've blogged about this, but I'm so proud of both of them for being officially potty-trained, too. Avery decided in the same week we started with no diapers that she didn't need them at bedtime either. I haven't put them on her at bedtime and she hasn't had one accident. Jack still wants a diaper at bedtime, but otherwise they are in big kid undies now! Yeah!!

Easter Bunny Pictures

2011-04-07T07:06:00.000-07:00

I thnk I had more fun this year doing bunny picture than Jack and Avery, although, looking at the pictures it is evident that they had a blast. When we were driving home Jack said, "Mommy, that was really fun at the bunny's house!!

The link to all the pictures is to the right, but I'll put some of my favorites here...

The photographer put a bunny stuffy on her head and had it "accidentally" fall off. She did it several times and they thought it was hilarious!!

I think this is my favorite picture of the two of them together. And Avery with her ever-present tongue, I love it!!

She asked them to kiss each other it was comical to watch.

Waiting so properly for a kiss on the cheek from her brother!

No trace of a baby, or even a toddler in that face. He's all boy now.

And he has smile that is infectious!

And those cheeks!!

She's becoming a little lady, for sure!

Haircuts and Trampoline Fun!

2011-04-02T15:08:00.000-07:00

The kids got their hair cut on Friday in anticipation of Easter pictures next week. We always have fun playing at the mall afterward....

These big balls are new to the mall and I think the kids thought they were more fun than the $.25 rides in the race car.

My sweet little girl who is getting so big and grown up!

The cool braids the stylist gave Avery after her hair cut!

Last week we had our annual birthday party with our twin friends. These are the families that we met in our "Preparing For Multiples" birthing class. We were only missing 2 of the families. There are 16 3-year-olds in the picture below.

I'm amazed that one of the staff members was able to get this picture where nearly everyone is looking in the direction of the camera!

Avery jumping with one of her best buds, Miles.

And today it is raining , raining, raining. It's been raining for what feels like months. We found a fun indoor activity for the kids and we all had a blast. We went to Sky High Sports in Bellevue. It's a place that is wall to wall trampolines.

Happy kids after an hour of bouncing and jumping...

Fun fun fun!!!

And they also have a pit of foam squares that you can jump into. I got a few videos of Jack and Avery leaping in. Avery's jumps are tentative, but oh so cute. Jack jumps with all his might, as you would expect Jack to do!

In this video, Jack gets major air and has so much fun that he quickly jumps right back in for a second time without going back to stand in line. I stopped the video right before he jumps!!

3 Years Old...

2011-03-21T15:26:00.000-07:00

Their birthday morning, opening one present before Mum had to leave for work. Avery opened Jessie (from Toy Story) and Jack opened Buzz (also from Toy Story). They were THRILLED!!

Getting a good look at their birthday cakes. Jack picked a Buzz and Woody cake and Avery picked a Dora cake.

That would be Jack's finger sneakng frosting from Avery's cake

Notice all the vertical lines in Jack's cake where he'd been sticking his finger in to get a taste or two or five of frosting!!

Avery was a little more dainty about it, but still licked her fair share of frosting from her cake...

Tinker Toys!!

Party at Nana and Bapa's house with their cousin, Lillie who turned 8 three days later.

Avery, Lillie and Jack. Nana made all three cakes. What lucky grandkids!! Thanks, Nana!

Proud of themselves for finding a way up onto the windowsill.

Naked 3 year olds!

In the new camper. They thought they were pretty clever by mixing up their boots/

Mum found dress outfits for them for Auntie Steffie's wedding. It remains to be seen whether they will make the final cut, but Jack and Avery look pretty cute I think!

Blurry, but adorable!

Jumping (and climbing) Jack!

2011-03-01T15:46:00.000-08:00

Jack is the topic of conversation for this post. We've been out of our routine since last week was mid-winter break and we got snowed in for several days. It's always an adjustment getting back into the routine. Today was our first day back to preschool and that seemed to put Jack into hyper-drive.

I knew the day would come when he'd be able to do this, but I thought it would be more of a challenge for him than it ended up being...

Here is Avery while Jack is getting into mischief. She is trying to put a new puzzle together. It ends with Jack getting into mischief...he finds the butter dish on the kitchen counter.

The last video is a couple of minutes long. Jack opened the gate, went and got the stool, brought it into the kitchen, then proceeded to climb up onto it. I guess I don't need to keep the stools in the other room if he can just go get them himself...

Stuffies, Crayons, Snow and more

2011-02-22T16:41:00.000-08:00

Avery has been really tired by lunchtime lately. I think Jack's growing out of naps and Avery's not ready yet. He ends up waking up at 7am and torments her until she wakes up. If she had it her way I think she'd sleep until 8:30 or 9:00 in the morning. Yesterday while I was cleaning up from lunch, I noticed her puttering about and finally looked to see what she was up to.

She took every last stuffie out of her basket and lined them up against the wall. I asked her what she was doing and she said she was putting them to bed. They were tired and they needed a nap.

Then she proceeded to count each one of them.

Against my better judgment, I purchased some bathtub crayons and since Court is out of town this week, I'm trying to find fun and different things to do to change up our days and evenings. I got the tub crayons out last night. They were a lot of fun, but "easy clean-up" statement on the box wasn't entirely true. Had we only drawn on the tub and tiles and not touched the grout, we'd have been fine.

Avery drew pictures of the three of us. She got 2 eyes, a nose and a mouth on each of us. We all got hair, arms and legs and she even added shoes to some and eyelashes and eyebrows to some. Jack drew a rocket ship and a soccer ball and a basketball, he said.

Videos of their bathtub art session:

This morning while I was getting ready I could hear them on the monitor talking to each other. I knew Jack had looked out his window because he said, "Look Sis, it's snow time!!"" The snow has been falling all day and it looks like a winter wonderland out here. We'll probably go back out this afternoon as long as we can stand the cold.

Video of our snow time outside:

Our attempt at a snowman. We got derailed lookng for eyes for him. We remembered to bring carrots out for the nose...

This video was taken a week or so ago. Jack is forever finding himself in precarious positions. He climbed up into the window and because he wasn't in serious danger, I let him stay up there and I wanted to see him get down on his own. He eventually climbed down without any trouble...

And a few weeks back, Ian and Miles came out for a visit. They had a giggle and screamfest playing with this toy:

Avery's Magnificent Memory!

2011-02-01T22:04:00.000-08:00

We've chuckled at Avery's amazing memory for a while. She doesn't forget a thing and even if you don't think she's listening, she is! For the last several months while reading to her, if you flip the words around or use an "a" instead of a "the", she will correct you. There have been a few times where she will recite a sentence or two of one of her board books or finish the page once you've started it, but tonight I was truly impressed.

We have a book called Hoot by Jane Hissey. It's a hardcover book about 30 pages long and it's about some stuffed animals who discover an owl (stuffy) living amonst them. We haven't read it in a month or so, but Avery picked it out for reading at bedtime tonight. It was our last book before lights out and I opened up to the first page and didn't even utter a word; Avery read the entire page word for word without making one mistake.

Here is the excerpt:
It was the middle of the night, and all the toys should have been fast asleep. But Little Bear was wide awake.

He leaned over and tugged at Robbit's ear. "Wake up," he whispered. "I heard a funny nosie."

"What sort of noise?" muttered Rabbit sleepily.

"Well, first there was a thump and then a Whooo," said Little Bear. "Do you think it was a ghost?"

"Probably just the wind outside," said Rabbit, sitting up and starting into the darkness.
Then they both heard the noise.

Whoooooo.

"It doesn't really sound like the wind, does it?" said Little Bear nervously

What is just as impressive in my opinion is that she continued this way thoughout the entire book. She didn't recite the rest of it perfectly but she recited about 80% or 90% accurate. When her memory failed her, she would say, "What comes next?" I would read the next sentence and then she'd be off again. She rattled off sentences like, "He rummaged through the drawer for the flashlight, and set off to investigate."

At the end, I told her how impressed and proud I was with her ability to recite the entire book and she said, "Thanks, Mama." I think she was proud, too.

Tape and toe nails...

2011-01-27T22:34:00.000-08:00

We've been doing our best to get back into some sort of routine now that we're home from Mexico. It's been a little hard since Court turned around and left for NY the day after we got back. We've managed to keep busy with preschool, family night at preschool, the grocery store, a visit from Nana and Bapa, trips to the park, and random play time at home.

I made the mistake of telling Jack and Avery on Wednesday morning that it was a Nana and Bapa day so they went into high gear and ran around the house and every time the dogs barked or they heard a noise, they ran to the front door to see if Nana and Bapa were here yet. So in an effort to distract them I got out paper and markers. I taped the paper down with painter's tape and the tape ended up being more fun than the drawing.

I get such a kick out of some of the conversations I have with Avery. They usually start out based in reality and then they quickly turn into fantasy and it's so fun to watch her make up the story in her head and then tell it to me. Tonight at bathtime, Jackie's toe nails ended up poking Avery in the leg. It was bothering her so she was telling me about it. Oftentimes, when she tells a story it starts out with, "when I was a baby..." so that's what she says about Jackie's pokey toe nails. At one point I ask her if he ever said he was sorry for poking her with his toe nails and she said, "He EVER didn't!" which I'm pretty sure meant that he never did.

We didn't see the elf :(

2011-01-26T18:47:00.000-08:00

Avery and Jack spent the day with Nana and Bapa. At the end of each evening they always take a ride in their car down to the mailboxes and back to the driveway. I met them at the truck to bring them back in the house. As we were walking in the front door, Avery looked back at me sadly and said, "But we didn't see the elf!" I repeated it to be sure that I heard her correctly and she said, "No, the Eeeelf!" I asked if she meant Buddy the Elf that was here at Christmastime (our Elf on the Shelf that watched over them and reported back to Santa). She said, "Nooo, not Buddy the Elf, the elf with the pokey horns!" Finally it dawned on me.

Last night after they were asleep Katie started barking like crazy and I couldn't figure out why she wouldn't stop. She was giving me the creeps making me wonder if there was someone in our yard sneaking around. I finally went to the front door and looked out the side windows and was face-to-face with a big elk. It was maybe 5 feet from the front door. I am always so shocked at their size each time I see them, they are bigger than cows, at least they are taller than them. Anyway, I was relieved to find that it was just an elk and not someone trying to find a way in our house.

I told Mom and Dad about it during lunch time with Jack and Avery listening in. I'm assuming that when Mom and Dad took the kids for the drive that Nana talked about looking for the elk. Anyway, Avery came inside so sad that she didn't see the "elf"! So cute!

And Jack's funny word for the day happened this evening as well. After baths we were downstairs and Jack looked at the window to the backyard and said, "Mommy, what is that?" It was a moth and I told him, "It's a moth!" He said, "Woweeee, that's a really cool mop!" Dad corrected him and he repeated it and said, "It's a moffff!" I personally like "mop" best!

Puerto Vallarta 2011

2011-01-24T16:44:00.000-08:00

We made our annual trip to Mexico and had a fabulous time. Each year it gets easier with Jack and Avery. They did a lot of walking and for the longer adventures, they sat in their strollers. We spent a lot of time in the pool, played in the sand at the beach, took a ride on the city bus, talked with the locals, and ate a lot of food...

What was so wonderful to witness was their willingness to use the spanish they have learned. They would pass people on the street and Jack would say, "Hola!" and he overhead us saying, "No gracias" alot on the beach (to the vendors) so he started saying that alot, too. They learned to say, "gracias", "adios", "buenos dias", "buenas noches", "de nada", "hola", and most of the colors and their numbers up to 10. What made me giggle to myself was when I took them to the store on Sunday when we got home. We were wandering up and down the aisles and Jack said to someone who passed us, "Hola!" I didn't correct him, I thought it was too cute. As we were leaving the store he looked back at the cashier and said, "gracias!"

A video of Jack and Avery awaiting take-off. Avery is so chatty and she has an amazing vocabulary. Sometimes I forget that I'm talking to a 2 1/2 year-old. She's becoming such a big girl, with big ideas and big opinions.

Moments after take-off...

Avery sprinkling sand on her legs while Jack plays in the sand with Nana in the background

Crocs make good sand toys...who knew?

Auntie Crystal flew down from Houston to spend a few days with us, too. Here is Jack sunning himself with her on her towel.

Aves insisted on having her top off for a while....

And here is video of Jack being buried in the sand. It's all fun until someone gets sand in their mouth...

And some dancing on the beach:

Santa and Rudolph in sand:

Playing in the pool with Nana and Bapa

Auntie Crystal!!

Avery Frumple Face

My happy little girl!

One of their favorite places on earth....a swimming pool

This frog planter is outside the elevator at our condo. They had to greet him each time we passed by

With their two aunties, Steffie and Crystal.

More pool play time.

Jack could hardly contain himself in the pool. He would jump from the ledge and go completely under, coming up gasping then climb right back up and jump again.

A quiet evening playing Memory with Nana. We play with the cards facing up right now, we'll work up to flipping them over...

We celebrated Mar's birthday on the 19th even though we couldn't all be together. Jack and Avery were so excited to blow out the candles and to sing Happy Birthday!

Avery getting braids in her hair from a vendor on the beach

Pretty girl!

Jack wanted them, too, but didn't like them much once they were in his hair. By bedtime he had insisted that I take them out.

Family photo at the Botanical Gardens

And at lunch at the Botanical Gardens, Jack discovered my camera holder and thought it was Bapa's so he tried to give it back to him. When he realized it was mine, he wanted everything in it. What struck me most about this video is how blue his eyes look. I think I recall Stef commenting on it while we were sitting at the table too.

Jack is in a phase of saying, "I love you" to everyone. It is usually directed at Avery as, "Lis, I LOVE you!!" Here it is followed by a big hug.

The bus ride home. If it hadn't been so rough a ride, they'd have both fallen asleep like that.

We arrived home to cold temperatures and rain. I guess it wouldn't be January in Seattle if it weren't cold and rainy. We went outside and played anyway and we got out one of their cool Christmas gifts. It took me almost an hour to blow the damned thing up but it's provided hours of enjoyment and has been well worth it. Thank you, Crystal, for the super-sized gerbil ball for the kids!

Jack is still up to his crazy antics and Avery is my almost 3 year old going on 25 year old. She was so excited when I asked her to help me pack up some of their old clothes. She said, "oh yes, I would love to help you, Mama!" Jack appeared and promptly dumped one of the boxes over and stood on it while yelling, "To infinity and beyooooond!". Later he had even more fun with the boxes as you can see from the picture below...

And a little video of me asking him what he's doing on top of the boxes..The first thing he says is, "Mommy, I love you!"

And finally, to pass the time indoors during the rain we got out one of their Christmas gifts from Auntie Crystal. I think it's called a hoppy ball or something like that, but when I look at it I think of a gerbil ball so that's what it's now referred to. Avery is fiercely independent and you can hear her reprimanding Jack for trying to help her inside. She wants to do it all by HERSELF!!

December 2010 - This and That

2011-01-06T14:22:00.000-08:00

December was a busy month for us and it still seems that things are going at mach speed. So I'll sum up the happenings with a few pictures from the last several weeks...

These photos may actually be in a prior post, but I don't remember for sure...We visited Swanson's nursery with Cindi, Ian and Miles to say hello to a couple of Santa's reindeer.

They also had a big train set up that Jack and Avery watched for quite a while

Then it was back to Cindi's house to make shrinky dinks. Avery had a blast. Jack spent most of the time climbing in and out of Ian and Miles' beds and jumping off things...

Then one of my kids decided to get naked so everybody got naked.

We also discovered that our siding was going bad...not a surprise, but really bad timing. So the week before Christmas they were out replacing all the siding on our house...

Next was Robby's 4th birthday party. Birthday parties are a big draw for Avery. She loves presents and singing happy birthday and she especially loves cake and ice cream.

We cleaned out the living room in anticipation of the new tv and the kids found their infant car seats. They insisted on sitting in them!

Our new 3D glasses. We have yet to watch a movie in 3D. Court can't even tolerate wearing them without getting a migraine so it may just be for the kids!

Making lefse with Nana. Jack tried to help, but he had more fun brushing the flour off the counter and onto the floor than actually helping.

Reading a book with Bapa after lefse

Christmas morning!! Jack loved his drum from Santa.

Avery on her new bike.

A few days later we went to see the lights at Bellevue Botanical Garden. They were amazing!

Jack liked the puddles and mud best of all.

The new tv stand mostly assembled...

The tv

Two little blond heads watching Shrek on blu-ray...

We got more snow. This is the next day. Nana and Bapa came out the day before and made a snowman with J&A. It fell over in the night, so we went out in the morning and tried to put it back together. Avery and I would put it back together, then when we were distracted, Jack would knock it over again...

Jack eating snow off the snowman's body

And on New Year's day, we headed to the airport to visit with Court's Aunt Gin and Cousin Darcy while they had a layover on their way to Alaska. Gin is 91 and still sharp as a tack. It was good to visit with them.

When we got home from the airport, Court's nephew, Kegan and his friend were waiting for us at the house. We got to visit with them for a couple days while they stayed with us and did some shopping downtown. Jack loved hanging out with his Cousin Kegan. Avery warmed up to him quickly.

The next day was Hansen's birthday party. So we headed to Covington for the festivities...

And Julian coordinated a cool 40th birthday gift for Maren from all of us, an iPad. I think she was surprised and very pleased with the gift.

It's now January and we're trying to get back into a preschool routine and a normal schedule. I love all the fun and excitement of the holidays and I'm always sad to see it go, but I'm also glad to get back into a routine and back to our normal schedule. Now if the rain and freezing temperatures would stop already. I can't wait for some warm weather!!

Normal or Extreme...

2010-12-12T15:13:00.000-08:00

This is the question I ask myself when I watch Jack move, jump, run, hop, kick, and tumble through his day. It seems that the last few weeks, he's been more active than usual and I have some examples to share, and just keep in mind that he's 2 1/2 years old:

Scaling the 20 foot tall bouncy ladder at Katie's birthday party...

He wanted me to turn on the tv so he could watch a moooooveeeee, PLEASE! I told him the remote was above the tv and I wasn't going to go get it. He said, "I get it for you!". I was on the couch and watched as he climbed over the gate into the tv space. He turned around to look at me and said, "Mom, don't lay (say) NO!" I didn't lay no and I continued to watch him just to see if he could do it. The remotes are always on the built-in cabinet above the tv. I witness him turn around and face the tv, then lean his body out (as if rock climbing) to see where the remote is. His hands are patting the cabinet above his head. He grabs a remote and shows me, but it's the wrong one. He was not to be stopped, he kept patting and leaning and looking until he got the right one. Once he had it, he climbed right back over the gate and brought it to me and said, "I watch a moooveeee now?" How could I say no?

This little escapade was a bit more disturbing and panic-inducing. I was changing Avery's diaper in the other room and I hear Jack say, "Mom, I way up high!" He often says that when he climbs the stairs or stands in the hallway upstairs so I just commented to him that I heard him. The next thing I hear him say is, "Mama, heeeelp mee!" I jumped up to see what he was doing and I find him on the OUTSIDE railing of the stairs at the very highest point, so top left of the picture. I scrambled up the stairs and pulled him over to the other side and he was no worse for the wear. I've since purchased some plastic to somehow affix to the lower railing so that he can't get his feet in the railing and climb all the way up from the bottom again.

The last three examples don't have any pictures, but they're still good stories. He now climbs into the window in his bedroom without any step stool or leverage. He just jumps up and locks his elbows and then somehow gets his little body up on the window sill. He thinks it's fun to stand in the window (sometimes naked) and look outside at what's going on. The window is on the second floor. We have locking windows, but don't want to run the risk of him flying out because the windows pop out of their frame, so we've now purchased a window guard to keep him from climbing into the windows....I hope.

He climbs up onto his dresser in his room and jumps onto the bed while yelling, "to infinity and beyoooond!" Avery is closest to the dresser, so unless she moves he has to jump over her to land on the bed and not her head.

And lastly, during baths the other night he decided to get on his hands and knees and stick his forehead in the water. He would sit up and laugh at the water running down his face. I was distracted by Avery and the next thing I know he's upside down and submerged, while doing a somersault in the tub! He got up rather quickly, sputtered a bit then laughed. Then he did it again and again!!

I'm a little desensitized to his craziness, but I often wonder if this is normal boy behavior or if Court's right and he have a future Shaun White (extreme snowboarder) on our hands!!

Santa 2010

2010-12-06T14:51:00.000-08:00

This year's Santa picture was a bit more of a success than last year's. Last week they had their hair cut so we stopped by just to say hello to Santa and talk to him a bit. He gave them candy canes and asked them what they wanted for Christmas. They warmed up a bit to him by the end. I've been talking to them since about next time when we go to see Santa, we'll get our picture taken with him. Avery didn't like that at all and said, "I don't want to sit on Santa's lap, he's scary!" We finally negotiated that she could stand next to him. Jack simply wouldn't discuss it. When I told him we were going to go see Santa today, his response was, "You have money in your pocket? I ride on race car?" All he cared about was the little car he could ride on at the mall!!

As we approached Santa, Jack grabbed onto my leg with both hands and both legs (I'm holding Avery), so I've got one kid in my arms and they other one is dragging behind me with his face buried in my leg. I look up and see the photographer watching us. He leans over to Santa and says, "we've got a couple of shy ones coming right now!" We went over and said hello and in a matter of about 30 seconds Jack was sitting on Santa's lap rather happily. Avery stayed true to her word and would not get on his lap for anything. Santa clearly has done this a time or two because he slid the rocking horse right over and Avery climbed right up. Phew!! Disaster averted. They took some pretty silly shots and many of them were with Avery's tongue hanging out. This is the best one we got and I think it turned out alright!!

Much better than the one we took last year!!

December Fun!!

2010-12-05T15:00:00.000-08:00

We've had a fun weekend and are getting into the holiday spirit. On Friday, we met Cindi, Ian and Miles downtown and rode the carousel and watched another performance by Caspar Babypants. Jack and Avery loved the music and danced right along until they grew bored and Jack tried to climb up onto the stage. We made a hasty exit after that!

Yesterday we went to Katie's birthday party at KidzBounce, a bouncy place nearby. Katie turns 7 on December 24th, but they celebrated her birthday yesterday before the actual date. Jack and Avery were in heaven! Jack didn't want to stop bouncing and climbing and Avery kept running back to the eating area saying, "It's almost cake time!" That's all the girl wanted, cake and frosting!!

There are several videos and some are rather long...

Jack is a monkey and impressed Court and me with his climbing abilities. He never tired out and he never lost his grip or his footing.

Avery did an awesome job climbing, too. She held her own while playing with Katie and kept up with her fairly well.

Jack got tired of climbing through the bouncy toy so he decided to go through it backwards...

And lastly, here is Avery enjoying her chocolate cake. Why use a fork when you can just use your tongue?!

Haircuts

2010-12-02T22:26:00.000-08:00

Jack and Avery had last minute haircuts today. I've been trimming Avery's bangs and trying to keep Jack's hair trimmed, but they were due for real haircuts. They acted like it was something they do all the time. They picked out their chairs and promptly played away with the toys in the bucket they were given. We were in and out of the salon in about 20 minutes. It was fabulous! Jack's hair is a bit poofy on the sides so I'll probably fix that one day soon, but otherwise a great job, especially considering how wiggly they were throughout the process.

Enjoying their lollipops from the stylists who cut their hair.

And the balloons they got, too.

In order to view the entire screen of the video, you'll need to double-click on the image and view it directly via youtube
Pre-haircut fun:

Haircut in Process:

Post Cut in a sugar coma:

And playing with Mum while listening to Katy Perry:

Christmas Tree 2010

2010-11-27T15:28:00.000-08:00

I posted these pictures without any commentary and then felt like I needed to add a little something to it...We made our annual trek to Keith & Scott's Tree Farm in North Bend. One of the perks of living out in the sticks is that places like pumpkin patches and tree farms are right down the street! Auntie Steffie joined us an helped cut the tree down and keep track of Jack and Avery.

In search of our tree

Jack really wanted to get his hands on that saw in Auntie's hand!

Avery is really getting into the Christmas spirit. When we got home all she could say was, "Merry Christmas, Mama! I love you, Mama!! Our tree is so beautiful!"

Family photo attempt!

Stef took this picture and told Ave to do her "frumple face". She, of course, did not disappoint!!

Snow tasting!!

2010-11-22T16:00:00.001-08:00

It's best to double click on the video and watch it in youtube to see the full screen...

More Monkey Boy and Avery Frumple Face

2010-11-17T21:39:00.000-08:00

Jack will find a way to vault over any obstacle in his way, if for no other reason than to prove to himself that he can do it. Here he is using his little red car (with wheels, I might add) as a stepping stool to climb over the other gate in the kitchen.

Avery has a face she makes when she is frustrated or mad and sometimes she makes it in a really exaggerated way. It's been termed her "frumple face" and I can't help but giggle every time she does it. She gets a kick out of the laughs she gets and it's also hard for her to stay mad when everyone around her is smiling at her. Stef, I took this video just for you. You're the one who loves the frumple face the most!!

Say Cheese!

2010-11-11T22:03:00.000-08:00

We went to a photo studio to have pictures taken for our Christmas card and we were able to get a copy of the photos on disc, yay! I love it when that happens. Those of you on our Christmas distribution list will get a copy of one of these photos and if you're not on our list (didn't get a card from us last year) and want one, let me know!! I'm not telling which picture it is so you'll just have to guess!

Jack had a good time at the photo shoot, but Avery was very leery of the photographer. She didn't warm up to him until the very end, so all the pictures of her are rather serious.

Here are some of the choices :)

The first photo of the shoot, neither is to sure of the photographer...

When asked to smile, this was Avery's response...total bratty brat :)

The photographer had a Bert stuffie and was bonking him against one of the light poles. Jack thought it was hilarious which is why he's cracking up here...

Peace, Hang Loose and Rock On are common hand gestures in our household. Sometimes they get all mixed up, but that's what they are doing in this photo. The photographer said, "Thumbs Up!" to them for cooperating so they started in on all the signs they knew...

They managed to get the thumbs up sign right eventually!

I'm so glad they love each other most of the time!!

Avery loves babies!!

2010-11-08T15:29:00.000-08:00

I visited a high school friend a few days ago. She has a 16 month-old little girl (Katelyn) and a 7 week old baby girl (Jenna). Avery kept asking over and over and over again if she could hold baby Jenna. She finally got the chance. In the video if you listen carefully you can hear Avery say, "that's my mama (pointing to me) and that's Jenna's mama (pointing to Lori)!"

Monkey Boy!

2010-11-08T14:40:00.000-08:00

Just the other day, Jack discovered how to climb over one of our gates. I didn't see him do it the first time, but I caught him in the act the second time. What's funny is that when he got to the other side, he looked at me and said, "I don't want go in time-out!" That boy spends enough time in time-outs that he knows what not to do. Sometimes he just can't help himself. His impulse control just isn't quite strong enough to keep him from doing all the things he knows he should not do...

Trick or Treat!

2010-10-31T22:10:00.000-07:00

This year for Halloween Jack chose to be Woody from Toy Story and Avery wanted to be a witch. This is the first year that they actually went trick or treating, too. In year's past, they were either too little or too tired to make it out to go trick or treating. I thought they might get spooked by all the decorations and by some of the costumes, but they were in awe instead.

On Saturday, we went with my folks and Auntie Steffie to the Halloween Train at the Snoqualmie Train Depot. What fun! We got to watch apple cider being made in an old cider press, we got to ride the train and we saw all kinds of other kids in their costumes on the train.

On Sunday, we headed down to Puyallup once they woke up from their naps so that we could trick or treat with my cousin, Annie, and her three children. It took Jack and Avery a couple of houses before they caught onto the way things work, then they were running up to the doors with the big kids. Much to my embarrassment, Claire (Annie's daughter), reported to me that Avery was sticking her hand into the treat bowls for 2nds and 3rds. We had to have a little talk about only taking one or two pieces of candy at each house. When we got back to Annie's house, it was clear that Avery had extra helpings because her pumpkin weighed about twice as much as Jack's pumpkin. Jack had more fun looking at all the spooky decorations. One house had a candy bowl with a talking skull in the middle of it. Jack stood there with his nose mere inches from the skull trying to figure out how it worked and watching it talk back to him. At several of the houses, Jack just followed the mass of kids up to the door and watched what was going on and didn't even get a piece of candy. He was so interested in what was going on around him that he could have cared less about all the goodies he was forgoing!!

Waiting in a local coffee shop until we were ready to get on the Halloween Train

On the train!

Best buds!!

At Auntie Annie's house getting ready to trick or treat

Jack was so excited he could hardly contain himself

Mum with her little ones

Claire, Avery, Alex, Jack and Miles. Annie's kids were so good with and tolerant of Jack and Avery. Avery insisted on holding Claire's hand for most of the trick or treating.

Off we go to our first house!

Getting tips and tricks from their cousins!
And a short video of the fun...

Dress-up at Preschool

2010-10-19T16:05:00.000-07:00

Avery and her tongue!

Jack as a cross dressing firefighter?? Notice the choice of shoes...

Avery can't have just one of anything, she needs all the necklaces and all the bracelets.

....and a fire hat!

And here she is so proud of her creation...with a nice snot trail wiped across her face, sorry.

Fun in Fitness and Caspar Babypants

2010-10-18T15:40:00.000-07:00

Jack and Avery finished their art class last week and started their Fun in Fitness class this week. I was a little nervous about this class because the parents are expected to remain in the lobby during the class. They've never met the teacher and most of the kids were new to them as well so I thought they may be a little shy. I shouldn't underestimate them, they did awesome. They were never sad and stayed in the class the entire time and really enjoyed it. They played with a parachute, instruments, scarves, balls, etc. They both had a great time. Jack dreaded the art class and spent more time inspecting the room (and locking himself inside closets) than doing actual art projects.

When art class was over, we headed over to the library to see Caspar Babypants perform. They are a local children's band and the lead singer/songwriter is from Presidents of The United States of America. It was a great performance. Jack and Avery were up dancing around and jumping most of the time. If you have kids and have not seen this group, you should. They are performing at many of the local libraries right now.

They stood up next to each other and Avery wanted to hold Jack's hand while she danced. Below is how they ended up, be still my heart!!

A short clip from the music performance:

Fall Fun

2010-10-16T21:36:00.000-07:00

Lucky for us, Nana and Bapa have an apple tree in their backyard and Nana makes the best applesauce. Nana brings the apples out to our house and Jack and Avery get to help make the applesauce. They love it and we get to enjoy the end product, yum!

Trying to get a picture of these two together is just as hard as it's always been.

Sweet Sissy lovin' on her brother. He's loving all the attention!

Visiting Swanson's Nursery with Ian and Miles. They had a koi pond in their cafe and the fish were enormous. Jack and Avery were fascinated, especially since the fish came right to the surface and opened their mouths begging for food. If they got too close, they would back up and drag everyone away from the wall with them.

Next, we visited the chickens at Swanson's. Miles boldly reached into the coop and got a little peck from the black chicken. He jumped but otherwise wasn't bothered by it. Jack, on the other hand, was upset. Anytime after that when someone got too close (as defined by Jack) to the coop, Jack would grab their shirt and yank them away from the cage.

Trying for a photo op with friends. (Jack, Ian, Avery and Miles)

Patiently waiting to sink their teeth into the cupcakes at Uncle Julian's birthday party.

Bath time!!

We've had some beautiful, warm Fall days this last week and we've taken advantage of it. Here they are swinging at the local park with Mt. Si in the background.

And another trip to Swanson's Nursery. Peek a boo, Jack!!

And of course, video from the last several weeks:

Hiding from Mama, then getting chased. It's such fun!!

After Swanson's with all their twin friends (12 in total), 10 kids ended up back at Cindi's house (with their parents) for more play time and some dinner. We put mac & cheese and pizza in front of them and there was silence...

Discussing names in the tub one night. Avery's expression towards the end cracks me up. She's such a goof sometimes. Then Jack ends the fun by throwing a soaking wet washcloth at me, lovely!

First Day of Preschool!!

2010-09-28T13:44:00.000-07:00

Jack and Avery started preschool today. We've been talking about it so much in anticipation that the whole family was excited for them to start. The program we found has a parent education component to it so I attend with them (which also helps keep the costs down for the attendees). I get to go sit with grown-ups for 45 minutes every other week which is fun. The door stays open so the kids can come check in if they need to. Avery came in to visit me a few times and Jack hopped in and out of the room a few times to show me some cool tools he found.

Backpacks on and ready to get in the car.

My backpack is too big for me? Naahhhhhh!

Jack being a goofball with a teething toy he discovered in his toy box in his bedroom

Jack eyeing the big toys on the way into class. He did well and passed by them without having a hissy fit. I was impressed.

Avery was a little unsure at first and wanted to hold my hand. Once she warmed up to her surroundings and the new people, she did great. I sat with Jack at the snack table for several minutes and watched Avery sit by herself and play with playdough alongside one of the teachers. She was perfectly content to be by herself and doing her own thing.

Jack didn't really need me by his side as long as he could come find me easily. The issue with him is keeping him out of danger or out of mischief.

Avery making dots on a piece of paper

This water table had apples and sponges in it. You were supposed to wash the apples with the sponge and soapy water. Jack thinks apples are for eating, which is what he did. The teacher had to remove a few apples after Jack was done playing.

Snack time!

Teeter tottering with friends!

Play-Doh and Dog Poop....

2010-09-22T22:02:00.000-07:00

This gives me the giggles every time I watch it. Jack eventually says the word, Play-Doh, for me. He calls it "pah-day-doh". At the 45 second mark, Avery says the most hilarious thing (in my opinion), watch and listen!!

It's best to double-click on the video and view it on youtube because blogger cuts off part of the image and you can't see all of Avery through some of the video.

A Toast to Grandma!!

2010-09-18T21:51:00.000-07:00

We spent the day with family toasting my Great Grandmother on her birthday. She was born 115 years ago today. She was an amazing woman for so many reasons, not the least of which was raising my mother and her sister when their mother was unable to do so. She died when I was 8 years old but I have wonderful memories of her. She always called us her "little chickadees" and would send us for her purse to give us money when we headed into town with Mom or Dad. I never heard a cross word uttered from her mouth. She was sweetness and light and full of love. Anyway, my mom and aunt had her grave marker redone to reflect the woman she was. We all met up at the cemetery to toast her life and her memory! Happy Birthday Grandma Melde! We miss you!!

Ring Around The Rosie!

2010-09-14T15:22:00.000-07:00

Jack and Avery have started playing with each other so much more lately. It seems like up until recently, they'd play with each other if I was involved in some way. Now, they will play games together and pretend and tell each other stories.

Today it was Ring Around The Rosie. The second verse is, "Cows are in the meadow eating buttercups, thunder, lightening, we all stand up!" Jack says, "lunder" for thunder.

"I'm not juice, I'm Sissy!"

2010-08-30T16:37:00.000-07:00

Avery and Jack crack me up lately. I love the conversations you can have with toddlers. They have such open minds and they are so creative. We were sitting at the table having some orange juice and some crackers. Avery was playing with the tab from the orange juice container, put it on her finger and said, "I'm juice!" I repeated what she said to make sure I understood her,then she said, "I'm not juice, I'm Sissy!!" I just thought it was the funniest thing, especially coming out of her little mouth. Here is the full clip. She also puts her crackers in her juice and she looks at me knowingly then says, "that's not a good idea."

And another video of Avery talking about how she misses her friends. She lives such a deprived life...poor girl! I try to whisper to her that she misses her Mum and she looks at me and says, "what is it?" I keep trying to mouth it to her but she doesn't get it....

And a final video of Avery talking about her friends. The sound is a little wonky because Jack is climbing on me and I'm having a hard time holding the camera. I think I put my finger on the microphone part on accident.

And this is a video of Jack climbing on his bouncy ball to play with the ipod:

Dress-Up and Fun Times With Friends

2010-08-29T22:16:00.000-07:00

We are packing in as much as we can in these last few days of summer. School starts soon and everyone will be back to the grind, including us. Jack and Avery start preschool in September. It's a co-op and they're not old enough for traditional preschool so they go one day a week and I go with them. Next year they'll go for either 2 or 3 days a week and for a longer period of time each day. They are definitely ready for the new experience and I think they'll enjoy meeting new friends and gaining some more independence.

Playing in Mum's new lounge chair from Nana and Bapa

They look like they are conspiring against me...

We hung out at Maren and Julian's last Wednesday with Nana and Bapa and Hansen and Lillie. Jack spent most of the time outside throwing balls, kicking balls and hitting balls. Avery enjoyed playing inside with Lillie and they were more than happy to pose for me for pictures. They soon decided to go upstairs and put on a fashion show. They are two peas in a pod!

Avery in one of Lillie's dance recital dresses

Another of Lillie's dance recital dresses

And Lillie in one of her holiday outfits

Somehow Avery discovered this Teletubby costume and Nana helped her put it on. This is a costume Nana made for Preston when we was a toddler so it's about 10 years old!!

We visited Regina, Suzie, Katie and Betty this last week and Jack could hardly contain himself once he discovered Katie's Jeep in the backyard.

The nice thing was that it hardly went more than 1 or 2 mph's in the wet grass so it was just their speed, rather just MY speed!!

Then we had a visit from Cindi, Ian and Miles and enjoyed some play time outside at Rattlesnake Lake and some play time in the back yard.

Blowing leaves...who knew that could be fun?

And throwing rocks of course!!

I cut his hair the day before and I have some finish work I need to do. I keep finding little patches that need to be trimmed, but thankfully he has the curls to hide my mistakes!

Elk poop!!

Slug!!

Static, Oh My!!

Video of throwing rocks at Rattlesnake Lake. It's such a beautiful place, I really need to go there more often, especially since it is only 10 minutes from the house:

Avery's dance moves with a little love-fest on poor Miles!

Lake Wenatchee 2010

2010-08-24T14:34:00.000-07:00

We spent a long weekend (Thursday through Monday) on our annual camping trip to Lake Wenatchee in Eastern Washington. The nights were rather cold but the days were relatively sunny and warm. The kids are getting better at entertaining themselves and keep themselves out of danger. They're still a handful and have to be watched at all times, but they listen better and really enjoy following their older cousins around and doing whatever they do.

Jack climbing on the big toy at the campground

Camping is not complete without playing in the dirt a little bit

She was having such fun sitting in the dusty dirt, spooning dirt all over herself. She was so filthy in the end!

But she was having such fun, I couldn't stop her!

Jack checking out the view from atop the big rock. He thinks he's as big as the "big kids" and wants to do everything they do, including climb around on the big rock all by himself. Maybe next year...

Posing on top of the big rock with (from left) Alex, Hansen, Jack, Lillie, Avery and Claire

Playing in the sand with cousin Miles

Annie, Auntie Sue and Court lounging at the water's edge

Hansen floating around in the chilly water

Claire and Hansen

More playing in the sand and water

Nana giving Sissy a ride on one of the floaties

Jack hanging out with Bapa

Lillie, Jack and Avery on a much safer "big rock". Just their size!!

Taking 5 in the camper one afternoon. They wore themselves out!!

Playing on a grassy hill in Leavenworth

Jack and Avery had already eaten their ice cream. Avery noticed that Miles still had ice cream in his bowl.

Miles sharing his ice cream with Jack.

And sharing with Avery, too.

Notice how close Avery is to Miles now. She saw where the good stuff was and wanted to be as close as possible!!

Dirt? On MY face? No!!!

Auntie Annie with Avery

On the morning we left, Nana took the littlest campers off to the playground to blow off steam before our drive home

And a short video of Avery playing in the dirt!! Julian took this one:

Cousins!!

2010-08-01T23:21:00.000-07:00

My cousin, Annie, and her family came out for dinner and some jumping fun on the trampoline.

Ring Around the Rosie for the 204th time.

Avery and Miles stopping for a drink.

Alex taking a break from the jumping for just one moment.

And a video clip of more Ring Around the Rosie. Auntie Annie and Claire were so tolerant of the repeated requests for Ring Around the Rosie!

More Outside Play

2010-07-27T15:01:00.000-07:00

More playtime outside. When we bought this house, I had no idea how much we'd use it after we had kids. I'm so thankful we have all this space and grass to run around. As soon as the sun started shining through the clouds this morning, we headed outside.

Otter Pops before lunch, I ought to win Mommy of the Year!

Not many smiles from Jack today. He's still feeling pretty crummy today.

Last night, I discovered a nest of baby robins in our honeysuckle. They are so young they hardly have any feathers. They just sit in their nest with their heads pointed to the sky and their mouths wide open hoping their mama will come and bring them a worm. It's the cutest thing. The nest is in the dead center of the image and if you click on the image and make it bigger you can probably get a look at some little birdy heads.

Avery was flirting with me while I took her picture. She looks like she's up to no good here.

Jack refused to look at me for any of the pictures....again, not feeling so hot today.

Not looking at you no matter how many times you ask!

Here's a good one. I didn't realize how much taller he was than Aves until I looked at this picture.

Still no smile.

She just noticed the lens on the camera and that it changes when I push down on the shutter (or whatever it's called). She was intrigued...

Still curious about the camera lens.

LOVE that face!!

And some videos. Last year, my cousin Angie posted a video on her blog of her son eating fresh peas out of their garden. At the time I was so in love with that video and the idea of my own kids doing the same that I swore I'd plant them the next year...and I did. Here is Jack picking all the peas out of the pea pod. Avery wouldn't put them in her mouth. She was also obsessed (as you can hear in the background) about a slug we discovered that she named Slimey. She was terrified of him and it took some major discussions to assure her that he wouldn't hurt her and he doesn't move much at all.

This last video is another conversation with Avery. Sometimes I have a hard time following her because our talks don't generally make any sense from beginning to end. They end up being little snippets of a bunch of different topics. This one starts out about a surprise for me, then turns into a talk about my birthday, a surprise for my birthday, then about birthday cake and that you eat it with a fork. The video ends with Jack hucking rocks in his basketball hoop. He's lucky none of them landed on his toes...

Conversations with toddlers...

2010-07-26T22:23:00.000-07:00

We attend an Ostergard family reunion on Sunday and so many of the families were able to make it. The one disadvantage to having such a large family is that there is no way to actually talk to everyone. It was a wonderful park down in Centralia, called Fort Borst Park. I know a lot of my mommy friends are always looking for places to let their kids run around so if you're ever passing through Centralia and need a place to stop, it's right off the freeway.

The highlight for me of the reunion was getting a picture of my dad with his 93 year-old mother and all of his siblings (11 kids in total).

Lucky for us, the warm weather has continued. Today we stuck close to home because Jack's got some sort of a cold that has him in a crappy mood and it's just easier to have him at home where the meltdowns don't bother other people. We had a great time in the backyard as usual. Here is a video of Avery telling me about an ant and his mommy and what goes on in their day....

And this conversation with Avery is about the strawberry that Jack picked yesterday and was supposed to share with Avery but he stuffed the whole thing in his mouth. I was assuring her that she could pick the next one and eat the whole thing. She thought about it then said, "I no want whow fing....might choke"....and on and on.

This is a video from the reunion. I missed the first part of it, but Jack was making raspberry noises at Preston and Preston was saying, "Ewww!" back at Jack. Jack thought it was hilarious and Avery thought Jack and Preston were hilarious.

Waterslide

2010-07-21T22:10:00.000-07:00

Nana and Bapa were out today for their regular Wednesday visit. Lately, since Hansen and Lillie have been out of school they have joined us in the Wednesday fun. Our back yard is turning into a great place to hang out for kids. We spent most of the day outside. We played in the trampoline and Hansen and Lillie showed Jack and Avery some of their tricks. Jack desperately wants to jump and spin and land like Hansen, but I'm sure in time he will catch up and be jumping right along with him.

We all worked up an appetite and Bapa didn't disappoint. We were served a delicious dinner of waffles, sausage, bacon and eggs. Breakfast for dinner is one of my favorite meals.

Eating a ymmy dinner prepared by Bapa: waffles, sausage, bacon and eggs. Thank you, Bapa!!

Avery making a splash on the homemade waterslide, thanks to Nana!

Avery busy dumping water in and out of the pool

A couple of videos below of our afternoon fun on the homemade waterslide. You have to listen for Avery's squeal of joy after she lands at the bottom of the slide. If you look closely you can see her tongue hanging out. That's a sure sign that Avery's enjoying herself!!

I took this last video yesterday. We were having a little orange juice after they woke up from their nap and talking about things. Avery started talking about how Jack is her brother. I love how she says the word brother. Anyway, it was a really sweet interchange and then there are kisses and hugs and then Jack wants to give me a hug and starts to climb over the table to me so I had to put the camera down.

Trampoline Fun

2010-07-19T14:38:00.000-07:00

It's no shocker that we've spent much of the last few days in the trampoline. Avery gets a little bent out of shape when Jack jumps too close to her or too high. She seems to be coming around though. We played in it this morning and she was a bit better about jumping around and playing in it.

Cindi came over on Sunday with Ian and Miles and we jumped some more.

Giggles....

2010-07-19T13:58:00.000-07:00

Stef took this video on Saturday after Thomas the Train. We went to McDonald's for lunch and Jack found great pleasure in scaring his Bapa with the bat toy that came with his Happy Meal. At the end someone in the family next to us yelled for their Jack to see if he was ready to go and it ended the play time for Jack, too.

It was filmed in portrait and for some reason when I flipped it, it squished the image so it looks a little weird, but you can still see Jack and hear his giggles...

Thomas the Train and Trampolines!!!

2010-07-17T23:14:00.000-07:00

Today was the day we went to see Thomas the Train at the Snoqualmie Train Depot. What fun!! I'm not sure what was more fun for Jack and Avery, the ride on the school bus or the ride on Thomas the Train. Either way it was great fun. We went with Nana, Bapa and Auntie Steffie.

All grins on the school bus

Peeking out the window of the school bus

Getting ready to go for a ride on Thomas

Sitting like a big girl on the train

Nana and her little ones

Trying to smile for the camera

Mum and her girl

Beautiful picture from the train. Stef took this along with many of the other photos on this post. Thank you for sharing your pictures, Stef!!

Playing with the choo choos at the Day Out With Thomas event

In heaven!!

Sissy was having fun, too.

If you look closely at her mouth you can see that she's saying, "choo choo!!"

The other two highlights of the day were going to McDonald's for lunch with everyone and then stopping at Sport Authority and buying a trampoline for the backyard.

Jack found a bouncy ball in a bin and somehow got himself into this shelf to play with the ball. Stef got this picture...

While the kids napped, Stef, Court and I put together the entire trampoline in record time. We wanted to have it done so they could see it and play on it when they woke up...

I think we'll have a hard time getting Jack to come out for meals and naptime and bedtime from now on!! He is in LOVE with the trampoline.

Bucket or Pool?

2010-07-15T14:54:00.000-07:00

I really need to get my act together and get a new kiddie pool before summer is over. The one we got two summers ago is ruined from the cold weather this last winter so it's in a heap in the back waiting for the next trip to the dump.

Jack and Avery had such fun with the slip 'n slide at Court's birthday party, I think I need to get them one of those as well.

Jack and Avery have been playing in one of my gardening buckets and splashing in a little sprinkler, too....

Also, Stef shared her pictures and video with me from Court's party and she got some funny stuff. The video below is of Avery playing on the slip 'n slide with her cousins Lillie and Claire. She was loving all the attention from her older cousins and having a blast in the water. The funniest part of the video is after she gets up from the slip 'n slide. She looks at her Nana then runs off and squeals in delight, then notices someone's cake and ice cream plate on the ground next to her. She quickly turns around, grabs a couple of handfuls of cake, shovels one handful in her mouth, drops the other handful back on the plate and continues on. What a goofball!!

And one more slip 'n slide clip from Auntie Steffie...

40th Birthday Bash

2010-07-13T14:33:00.000-07:00

Many of you know that Stef and I have been planning a 40th birthday party for Court for some time. It took place this last Saturday. In honor of Court's love for Rachel Alexandra, 2009 Horse of the Year, the party had a western theme. It was complete with a horsey bouncy house, straw bales, cowboy boots, horse shoes, cowboys hats, etc. Many of Court's friends and family came to help celebrate. It was a gorgeous day with the sun shining and a slight breeze; it couldn't have been more perfect.

The day was full of surprises. Her best friend flew in with her family for 24 hours to be at the party and to help Court celebrate. Thank you Alissa, Hasani, Aayden and Quinlyn!! Her brother and his family drove 11 hours from Montana to help her celebrate. Thank you Lloyd, Brenda, Kegan and Kilian. Her niece flew in from Houston! Thank you , Crystal!

I made friends with some wonderful people in Kentucky who helped me with a birthday surprise for Courtney. They sent her some Rachel Alexandra goodies along with some amazing music written and performed specifically for Rachel Alexandra. Thank you, Corrie, Amy and Rachel and to the folks at The Sweetest Sound!!

We had so much help making the party a success. Thank you to everyone who helped set up, watch the kids in the bouncy house, clean up, etc. We couldn't have made it such a special day without all of the help.

Here are some photos from the fun in the sun!

Birthday Eve cupcakes!

In retrospect, it probably wasn't such a good idea to give Jack a cupcake while he was still recovering from his stomach bug. I think he'd disagree though. He savored every last bite of that icing and never touched the cake.

Avery, the sugar fiend!!

The horse bouncy house

Happy Birthday sign that Stef masterminded

Cowgirl Avery

Cowboy Jack

A quick photo op

Old camping buddies and work buddies

Stef and me with the birthday girl

Karla, Stef and Court

Deb and LuAnn with their twin granddaughters and Court

Court and Jenelle

Avery loving the slip 'n slide. Poor Jack slept through much of the afternoon so he missed out on a lot of the pictures and the fun. He needed the rest though.

Ready, set, blow!!

Opening presents

A video of some of the fun on the slip 'n slide. Thank you, Karla, for bringing it. That was a great idea!

And eating cupcakes on Court's actual birthday:

4th of July Festivities

2010-07-05T19:00:00.000-07:00

I think these two pictures were taken a day or two before the 4th of July, but they were too cute not to share.

Auntie Steffie giving rides in the popular blue box from Ikea

Avery enjoying all the attention while in the blue box

Getting ready for the 4th of July parade

Post parade dessert....ice cream cones!!

Watching Hansen and Lillie run through the smoke from the fireworks

Jack hanging out with Auntie Maren

Lillie and Avery

Hansen and Lillie lighting some fireworks...

And of video of the highlight of the night for Jack and Avery...their first experience with Pop-Its

Fun and play time...

2010-07-01T14:39:00.000-07:00

With the few rays of sunshine we've seen this June, we've tried to make the most of it. We had a play date with Nana and cousins, Hansen and Lillie.

We picked strawberries

We visited with relatives from Finland

We spent the morning at a park in Issquah after dropping off the lawnmover to be serviced

And some fun pictures in the tub!

This is a short video I took. I was asking them to smile for the camera for a picture and they were cracking me up so I asked again, but instead of taking a picture I took video.

Swinging

2010-06-17T22:12:00.001-07:00

Avery and Jack's latest favorite thing to do is swing. They have taken to swinging from the counters in the kitchen and a friend of mine had just bought a pull up bar for her two kids, so I decided I'd do the same. Jack and Avery love it!!

Just before this video was taken Avery asked me to push her dolly's grocery cart and I told her I was too tired to do it. Her response was, "I go get your fuzzy!". So off she went to find her blanket and Jack's blanket. Jack is clearly uninterested in receiving his fuzzy when she delivers it to him. Avery is so good at pushing his buttons!

Puddle Jumper

2010-06-11T20:56:00.000-07:00

We headed out to play at our local park today. It was warm and a little overcast and I was thinking we'd get a little wet, but I wasn't expecting the humongous puddles that Jack discovered. No point in fighting it though so I just watched...

Avery never did step one toe in the puddles, I thought for sure she'd join in since she has in the past, but she was not interested in it at all. She was content to stomp on mole holes and saying, "ewww, yuck" every time Jack jumped in the puddles!!

Oh and I also have to brag a little bit because I"m so proud of myself. We've had a king sized bed in the guest room since we've lived here and it has always been on the floor and has always bugged me. I finally ordered a hollywood frame for it on amazon and it arrived today. I couldn't resist and once the kids woke up from their nap I dragged it upstairs and asked them to "help" me disassemble the king sized bed and box spring so that I had room to assemble the frame. Ever tried to lift a king sized pillow top mattress by yourself, in order to get the box springs out from under it while keeping 2 two year olds safe? It's a challenge, to put it lightly. They helped me assemble the frame by confiscating bolts and sticking them in their mouths, then walking off with the casters to the frame, then sliding down the mattress that was precariously propped against the wall. After about an hour the frame was assembled, the box springs were on the frame and the mattress was plopped on top of it and I was sweating like a pig. Not one injury in the entire process, not even a broken nail on any of us. No wonder my back hurts tonight, though!!

Little Helpers

2010-06-10T22:04:00.000-07:00

I got the vacuum out to do a little deep cleaning around the house (under couches and cushions and such) thinking that I wouldn't get very far since neither Jack nor Avery care for the vacuum. To my surprise they did well. Jack ended up pushing the vaccum around himself and Avery took some of the attachments and copied what I was doing (and in so doing, she misplaced one of the pieces and had me on the hunt all day).

Later in the day it was time to unload the dishwasher. Avery is a superhelper with the dishwasher. She usually hands me one piece at a time and I put them away. Today as we were doing our routine, I noticed one of the kitchen table chairs moving across the floor towards the kitchen counter. I knew Jack was up to no good so I grabbed the camera. There is very little video of Avery emptying the dishwasher because I was too distracted by Jack trying to climb onto the kitchen counter. You can hear her in the background, though. She takes one utensil at a time and puts them away in the proper drawer. They don't necessarily make it in the right receptacle, but they are in the correct drawer and that's good enough for me!

The latest favorite toy is the remote control car Jack got from Auntie Steffie. This is a 2 minute video of them playing with it. They get so amped up running away from it and jumping over it. Avery gets so excited then all of a sudden decides she's freaked out so she takes five on the couch then returns for more.

The last video is from a few nights ago. They were playing "get you, get you" with Mum. Again, Avery loves to play but her imagination gets the best of her and she gets freaked out. She would run to my lap for protection, then decide she'd want to play, too, go out and play, then run back to me.