Ryan & Jenny plus 2

I've started watching Jon & Kate plus 8. It's become a temporary obssession. I'm fascinated to watch these parents juggle 8 small children knowing how stressed I (needlessly) get with only 2. Ryan has heard me mutter under my breath on quite a few occasions recently that "it could be crazier. there could be 8 of them" :) I just need to chill out.

Audrey put me in time-out yesterday. I definitely deserved to be there - and I was quite impressed with how well she executed my "system" :) According to her, I said a "not nice word" (crap) and I had to sit there for 5 minutes.(longer than she usually sits) During my time out, I said something to Ryan and she quickly informed me that I needed to be quiet or I wouldn't be able to get up. At the moment I was happy for an excuse to sit in peace for a few minutes, and I was also hoping to show her that it was possible to handle a little time in the corner without drama. Afterwards I made sure to say "I'm sorry" and give kisses & hugs. Sometimes mommies are wrong too. (ryan found this whole little charade pretty funny from across the room)

Ava took a little walk on the wild side today. For her that means she took lots of steps from our living room chair to me and then back again... over and over. She was really practicing and finding herself absolutely hilarious. What a sweetheart she is!

I do have to brag on both my girls. Yesterday I decided that Ava needed to see the doctor so off I went with the girls. I took one toy for Ava and a small ziplock bag with a few crayons and a little notepad for Audrey. We sat in the CRAZY waiting room for an hour and fifteen minutes. At one point it was standing room only. I knew it would be busy since we're just a few days away from school starting but I didn't really have a choice. My girls were absolute angels! I'm so glad we went too b/c Ava had another ear infection, and I can tell she would have been in pretty rough shape if we'd decided to wait any longer. It's so hard to tell when Ava's sick....she's so even-tempered that it's a guessing game sometimes.

Things I love about being a mom:

* the way my girls can make each other laugh in a way no one else can
* the curl on the back, right side of Ava's hair
* the sprout on the top of Audrey's hair where I can tell that she cut it with nail scissors but no one else would notice
* the smell of their shampoo
* that Audrey asks me every single night if I'm going to check her "lots and all the time"
* hearing Ava on the monitor, knowing she's OK
* the goofy chicken dance Ava does when she hears music
* the words Audrey mispronounces (erections instead of directions, brekstuss instead of breakfast, whoopsite instead of website)
* Audrey's wild imagination
* the mischievious grin that Ava gives right before she gets into something
* listening to Audrey "read"
* finding toys in the craziest of places and realizing it makes sense (her toy hairdryer under my bathroom sink)
* teaching Audrey new words and hearing her use them
* Ava's ability to match sounds almost pitch perfectly
* those BLUE eyes!
* being asked to sing "deep and wide" and "the circus song" (really, you want me to sing the Star Spangled Banner AGAIN??)
* hearing Audrey use her manners appropriately without being reminded
* the way Ava's eyes squint just like her daddy's
* having a husband who is an incredibly daddy to share all of these things with - and so many more

Braves win! Braves win! Braves win!

OK...so it wasn't quite that dramatic, but today we took Audrey to her 1st Braves game! Apparently she brought them some (much needed) good luck :) Thanks to someone kind enough to share their season tickets with us, we had front row seats on the 3rd base side! And it sure was HOT!! Audrey had a great time - she will tell you that her favorite part was running the basepath in the kid's area. Why anyone would want to voluntarily sprint in that kind of heat is beyond me, but she sure enjoyed it. (we thought it was pretty cool that the bat boy gave her a ball, but she didn't really seem too impressed...)

We've had a fun summer filled with lots of family time. Audrey is really starting to love "swimming" at the pool and is growing increasingly more adventurous in the water. Ava is busy following Audrey around most of the day. She took her first steps not too long ago and for several days I thought her crawling days were over, but she's reverted almost completely back to crawling now. She doesn't really like the "crash & burn" method of learning. I can't blame her - I don't really like to learn that way either.

Ryan celebrated his 29th birthday a few days ago. I've been teasing him lots about being an old man. Ava's got a big birthday coming up in September.... I still can't believe it....

Ryan goes back to work tomorrow and I'm sad that the summer is ending - we've had such a great one. I will say there's a little part of me that will always find some excitement at the beginning of a school year... I guess in my mind it symbolizes a fresh start. (I need to go buy myself a box of tissues, some new crayons and a bottle of school glue for old times sake....oh, and a folder with 2 pockets & brads. ha....... or even better... a Lisa Frank Trapper Keeper. with hot pink lips on the front. ) please tell me someone gets this....