Alpaca Fun

A Little Airplane Fun

"Were was I tonight?"

No, I did not make a typo. If you happened to watch the first season of So You Think You Can Dance, you may understand the reference. Basically, there was this chic who was quite ... odd. She performed poorly, then to redeem herself with the judges, she wrote on her stomach, "Were was I tonight?" She meant "where," but as mentioned above, she was quite strange. Obviously, the judges were unimpressed.

All this to say that I realize I've been absent this past week. Nathan was sick with a super stuffy nose. Never a good thing for a paci baby. Plus we all know how men are when they're sick. I think I held Nathan all day on Monday. The only time he let me put him down was when he was all hopped up on fever reducing meds. So, the rest of the week was spent recovering from minimal sleep.

These last few days, we've been preparing to fly back east for Christmas. It should be interesting flying with Nate at this age, but I know we'll survive. Avery always seems to know when it's time to step up and we've told her that she her job is to help us with Nathan. At dinner, she told Nathan to get lots of sleep because we have to get up real early. She's great. Luckily Nate really likes books and tools and trucks. All sitting activities. Unfortunately, he also likes running, climbing and throwing. If you happen to think of us on Tuesday, send up a little prayer for our travels!!

It's nice traveling before Christmas because all of my shopping is done!! Although I did battle Toys R Us last night and it was pretty horrific - even at 9pm on a Sunday night!

Is your shopping done? What is the worst store you've had to visit this season?

Merry Christmas!!

Doin' a Job

Avery Misunderstood

Oh, my dear Avery. She's pretty much amazing. As I've shared before, Avery can be sort of socially challenged. She'll tell strangers thank you in an inaudible voice. She'll shy away from saying hello to people who she's known for years, all three of them.

Avery and E

Once you've enter her approved circle, however, you cannot get rid of her. You cannot shut her up. She cannot keep her hands off of you. We have play dates with Jessica and her 19 month old daughter, E, fairly often and Avery cannot keep her hands to herself. They hold hands. Avery leads her all over the place - to not always great places. She must be touching E while they're sitting next to each other. She cries if they go to the bathroom, because she just might miss out on something exciting. When we're caravanning, Avery constantly makes sure she knows the location of Jessica's car. "Are they behind us? How do you know? Will they meet us there? Will they park next to us?" She's nuts.

We recently went to another friend's birthday party - her first birthday party that she'll remember - and she must have given the birthday girl 14 hugs. Okay, it was more like 3, but it felt like 14 to me. That same friend moved up to the four-year-old Sunday school class at church this week. When they joined classes for worship, Avery got in trouble because she tried to hold hands and steal her friend away. When they told her to pay attention to worship, she went into pout mode.

At the birthday party, she did so great. She interacted with the other kids really well. She didn't cry one time - which is a feat for her. She was patient and waited her turn. She wasn't selfish at all. She fully understood that the party was for her friend. I could not have been more proud.

So, I worry that Avery get's misunderstood. I think her swings from shy to smothering can throw some for a loop. It's hard to reason through as an adult, it can seem pretty ridiculous. Mike's helped me realize that she has so many emotions, it is difficult for her to filter and decide which one should surface. She's getting better, though. We've seen so much growth in her lately. Thanks to all of our friends (and their kids) who are patient with her and her emotions!

Have you had a similar experience? How was your child's first birthday party experience?

It's All Worth It

Driving along one day, Nathan was being a fuss bucket. I lost myself in Silver Bells, escaping to the city streets lined with wreaths and magical lights. I realized I had not heard Nathan in a while. I looked back and Avery was holding his hand. They are really far apart in our car, so they were actually holding fingertips.

She looked at me and said, "Mom, he was sad. I think he just needed a friend."

Yep, it's all worth it.