Upon enterting our bathroom

Our cat Connor has a mental issue, he likes to go poo on the bathroom floor next to the litterbox. This only started to happen about a year ago. He didnt do it when the litterbox was in another bathroom, and he doesnt do it in any other bathroom…..just right next to the litterbox. It is something we hate, yet we have not been able to fix. It has nothing to do with the cleanliness of the litter, and we have used many different cleansers on the floor to get rid of the odor. Nothing we have done has stopped it. The only thing that gives us hope is when we move it wont happen. It stopped at my Mom’s house.

So this morning I was going into our bathroom to brush my teeth and Ava followed me in. Next to the litterbox on the floor was a huge pile of poo. Ava stopped, took a step back and said:

“JUMPING JUNE BUGS…….THAT’S A BIG POOO!”

She said it like she really meant to say “Damn! That’s a big pile of poo!” but she doesnt know “damn” so she put in “jumping june bugs”. It was mighty funny.

She is oh so yummy and so very cute

It’s very, very, quiet…..

A photographic journey looking for Ava…

An abandoned Ariel doll and unfinished snack….

Too tired to play….

Sleep sweet, my sweet.

Little Words

Audrey keeps knocking out new words, or really phrases. Yesterday she started saying “All done” after meals. Tonight after dinner she was walking through the kitchen just repeating “All done, all done, all done, all done”. It’s so cute.

Earlier today we were at the drive though Starbucks on highway 9 and the girl in the window was looking at Audrey and Ava and talking to them. Audrey was putting on a HUGE smile and talking to her through the window, she kept saying “whats she doing”, of course it’s all one word “whatsshedoing”. And Ava would smile then look away, she knows yummy blueberry muffins come out that window.

Here’s Audrey’s little words:
Who is it
What is it
All done
Cracker
Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee
Yaaaaa
Hi
High five
Whats she doing
Good Morning

She’s also a great little dancer. Ava has more of a stomp motion, she would be perfect in the broadway show “Stomp” or “Riverdance”, but Audrey is a total groover. She shimmies her rump, her shoulders, swings her head from side to side and then moves her feet, it is complete cuteness. If she isnt standing to dance, she’ll do a little wiggle when she’s sitting or when she’s on her hands and knees and just wiggle her rump. She even does a little “happy dance” like when she’s eating something yummy, she’s shimmies in her chair or standing while eating something. She loves to groove.

She loves flowers

While looking at my catalogue for Stampin Up, Ava saw a set called “baroque motifs” and exclaimed with a gasp:

“These are the most beautiful flowers I’ve ever seen in my entire life!”    (maybe I should get this set for her)

Learning more all the time

I bought these alphabet cards for Ava from Whole Foods about 6 months ago. She already knew the alphabet I just wanted to get her cards with flowers on them and new words to learn. There are two cards for each letter, and each letter represents a flower with it’s picture and name on it. They also have little fairies, butterflies, ladybugs, bumble bee’s, grasshoppers and snails on them, quite cute. You can play with the cards 7 different games, she wasnt as interested in them as I had hoped when I brought them home. Maybe she thought “I already know the alphabet……”

But when we moved home and got her big girl bed, I wanted to put some cute decorations on her walls and I bought the same cards but in 8×10 size from “Merry Go Round” in Bellevue, right next to Whole Foods. I attached them from the walls on twine and mini-clothespins, super cute. Since she has had them in her room she’s taken more interest in the smaller cards.

Each day we bring them out and look at them, organize them by the alphabet and learn the names. Since she has the big cards in her room sometimes she wakes up saying the names of flowers she didnt remember the day before. It’s really cool. And she doesnt just know them from straight memory of their order, because I’ll mix them up and she recognizes them. She remembered Tulips from her first trip to the Tulip festival 2 years ago, after that trip we take her every year. She absolutely loves flowers. If we are outside she’ll call out pansies, or hydrangeas and lilacs. She’s so dang smart, it kills me.

I thought I would list all the flowers and I would make the one’s that she knows in bold. (for those keeping count, she know’s 19 out of 26)

A: Azalea
B: Black Eyed Susan
C: Cosmos
D: Daffodil
E: Elderberry
F: Forget me not
G: Geranium
H: Honeysuckle
I:Iris
J: Jack in the pulpit
K: Knapweed
L: Lilly of the Valley
M: Morning Glory
N: Nasturtium
O: Oxeye Daisy
P: Pokeweed
Q: Queen Anne’s Lace
R: Ranaculous
S: Sweet Pea
T: Tulip
U: Utricularia
V: Violets
W: Waterlilly
X: Xanthium
Y: Yellow Ladys Slipper
Z: Zinnia

Speedwalker

Audrey has become quite the speedwalker, she’s working really hard on getting up to running speed. It’s really cute watching her go, she walks superfast and then her feet get too fast for her and she get’s a huge grin and then….splats! It’s funny, and she laughs every time. She goes after Ava, which makes them both squeal with delight as they try to chase eachother.

I love my “little big one”.

Oh, by the way…..I HATE the bangs. And she finally is letting me put clips in her hair, so they are officially growing out. Im just not a “bang” type of gal, I like little girls with long pretty hair, and fortunately both the girls have really strong hair genes. Ava’s hair is almost to her rump and Audrey’s is proudly at her shoulders. Not bad for 3 years and 18 months.

FINALLY!!!!

Tomorrow Sean and I finally take off for a vacation! From Saturday until Tuesday we will be at The Stephanie Inn at Cannon Beach, Or. The Stephanie Inn is a wonderful place, beautiful rooms, wine tastings with snacks at 4, “night caps” and treats at 10pm and the most AWESOME and amazing free breakfast every morning. Plus they have flat screen tv’s with dvd players and hundreds of dvd’s to borrow while you stay, delicious hot cocoa and tea, and a fully stocked humongous cookie jar with fresh baked cookies 24 hours. 

This year we are staying in the cabin house, which is a seperate small building next to the hotel. It’s a 4 story house that has a suite on each floor, I believe we have the second floor. We have two balconies, one in the living room and one off our bedroom that are right on the beach.

We plan on having a bonfire again this year, going to the “Driftwood Inn” for the tastiest fried mushrooms ever and looking for a new piece of art for our house. Last year we decided to start a tradition that on our anniversary we would buy a piece of art, an easy way to start and build a collection. Last year, our first purchase was a beautiful black and white, signed and numbered photograph of the beach and haystack. It is now in our bedroom, and probably what we buy this year will go in our bedroom also, that room is pretty bare.

It’s been a year since we got away, too long. And after the whole house situation this is a much needed rest. Fortunately in September Sean has a conference in California that I will go with him too, and we will extend that stay a few days to hit Disneyland.  So we wont make the mistake of waiting 12 months to go away together.

And when we come back we will begin a brand new adventure, with lots of excitement and benefits. This is definately a life changing summer, for body, mind and spirit. And I cant think of a better way to start it off then with our trip to The Stephanie Inn.

Hardwired

I am a perfectionist. But I believe there are two types of perfectionists, those who keep doing something over and over until they get it right, and those who try and try to get it right but if they cant then they quit. I am in the second group. I want to do everything perfect and I expect to do it perfect on the first try, if I cant get it within a few tries then I quit and dont do it anymore. I dont like to do things that I dont feel I can excell in, that’s my perfectionism. It has kept me from playing instruments more than 7 years, because at year 6 or 7 I realized I wouldnt be a world class player or play in a professional orchestra because there were far better musicians out there. I also undervalue everything I do because I expect to do it perfectly, so anything less then perfect is a failure.

To an extent my mom and Jen and I are all aflicted with this “perfectly perfect” nonsense. I believe that my mom and Jen are in the first group, trying over and over until they get it right. I also attribute this partially to my OCD, which now is a shadow of what it was when I was younger. Although for Sean it’s bad enough, and he can do without it. Making sure the jars of mayonnaise are perfectly even. Not eating out of a tub of ice cream on just one side, it has to be smooth, even and look like new. Not bending the spines of the books. Everything must always look as new as possible. All my clothes in the closet arranged by type: shirt, sweater, sleeveless etc. Then in those catagories there are subcategories  done by material and in that category they are arranged by color from lightest to dark left to right. All items on the same hanger, facing the same way.  Just to name a few.

I have watched Ava for the past 2 years as I’ve seen her develope and kept an eye on her. I’ve noticed that to an extent she is a bit OCD, but I dont indulge in it, for the most part. She has loosened up now that I havent fed into her habits. She does however have a few that I do let her get away with. For instance she cant stand to have food on her hands, her mouth, on her clothes or on the table….she is neat. So she likes to keep a wash cloth with her at the table to dab at the corners of her mouth, wipe her hands, and tidy up around her plate and placemat after EVERY bite. I cant complain, while most toddlers are notoriously messy she has come to me a nice, neat, clean little girl.

But she also has perfectionism in her, and from what I’ve seen it’s the do it over and over until she masters it kind. Like with her fingernails and toenails. She cant stand a rough edge and will tidy them up until all the rough edges are gone. And by tidy I mean pick at them until she has little stubbies. I am to blame for this. I am a notorious groomer, wanting every hair to be perfect on everyones head and plucking those that arent. I also started to groom her fingernails and when she had one that was lifted at the edge I would say “Let me fix your fingernail.” In the past 6 months she stopped saying “I have a fingernail!” which was the signal to fix her nails. She now just does it on her own. Several months ago on the way back from the zoo Audrey had several “fingernails” that needed fixed. Audrey will not stand to be cleaned or groomed so I have to wait to take care of her when she’s sleepy. But Ava saw Audrey’s fingers and started to yell “Audrey has a fingernail! Audrey has fingernails!”. It was pretty funny actually. I know at some point Ava and I will be attacking Sean making sure all the hair on his head is only the tip top best.

I hope I am able to encourage Ava to practice and do her best, without feeling like she has to be perfect. It will save her a lot of heartache and worrying later in life. I also hope that she remains neat and tidy without feeling like she cant sleep unless all the shoes in the closet are in the right boxes all facing the same way, and arranged according to color, style and season.

Whatizit

This is Audrey’s phrase…..what is it. But it’s all blended together and it sounds like whatizit. She says it when there is a noise like a car or an airplane “Whatizit?” or when she see’s something new “Whatizit?”.  She also says ‘whoizit’ when she hears someones voice but cant see their face, or see’s someone new “Whoizit?”

So cute, I love it! I dont remember Ava blending her words, she spoke more cave baby “Whats it?” “Who’s it?”