LIFE AS A LANKFORD

...not stressing.  That's my motto as I'm planning the 2nd birthday bash.  July has come out of nowhere, and although I marked Avery's invitations as a favorite in Etsy in January and have known what her gift would be since before Christmas, I feel like I'm doing a bit of scrambling.  Her birthday isn't until the 23rd, but we have a beach week between now and then, and that's thrown me a little off.

I've debated and debated on how big this party should be and if we should try to invite all her little buddies from the babysitter's and playgroup.  I know she would love to see her friends, but I also know at 2 she isn't really going to notice if they're not there.  So, it will be family and friends and a few children of friends.  I think I may have managed to save myself another year without goodie bags, games, and chaos!  It will still be enough that we won't fit into this house comfortably, so we're having it at the fire department.  That sounds a little country, but oh well.  Tonight I've been patiently waiting for Ned to get home from drill to tell me we definitely have the room, but the siren just went off for a call and I'm out of patience.  The location is a pretty important part of the invitation, but luckily I'm going to use some that I print myself.  I'm trying not to be nervous about that.

I bookmarked all these wondeful, great-looking, time-consuming things to make for food and decorations, and then I erased them.  Simple worked well last year, and I'm feeling simple again this year.  I got a lot done today during naptime and once she went to bed.  What in the world would I do without online shopping?  Now I'm down to paper products and cake which can both be done locally.  My goal is to get it done quickly so that I'm not shopping with my iPhone on the beach.  Avery will love whatever we do and will probably not notice anything other than the firetrucks...and cake.

When we started showing our house, we switched Avery from her space-saver high chair to a booster seat that would allow the chair to go under the table.  The trays on those are pitiful, and since she was eating at the big table at Jen-Jen's, I knew we could do the same.  She's needed a wipeable place mat since then.  I passed on some at PBK and would either forget to look while I was out or didn't see anything I like.  I was so glad when a great idea popped up on Clover Lane.  I love the inspirational posts, real-life stories, recipes, and ideas on that blog.  I have one more project to do from there, but it's one that will take the majority of the summer.

Using Picasa, which I had downloaded to make my photo header (another idea from Clover Lane), I made a picture collage of Avery's favorite people, pets, and items.  I added Avery's name at the bottom as we're starting to point out her name, letters, etc. 

Hello summer!  This was my first week of summer vacation, and after some initial craziness at the beginning of the week, our goals were to get into our summer routine and relax.

Ned played golf early Sunday morning to finish out the member-guest tournament.  He and Owen did well, and Ned enjoyed having Owen play with him.  I slept in, enjoyed some quiet time at home, then went to pick up Avery.  We had lunch when we got home, then she took a good nap.  I went to the store when Ned got home and then cooked lasagna for Ned's Father's Day dinner.

My Monday woes were discussed here.  I was feeling better about things before bed that night.  Ned got his old laptop working, but sometimes it was touch and go.  My jack of all trades father-in-law took the Pepsi logged laptop apart mid-week and got it back up and running!  The space bar is a little stiff now, and the battery is completely gone, but it was well on it's way before the spill.

The air conditioning men came back Tuesday but were done before lunch and were outside most of the time.  We had a nice, cool house when they left.  I did have to get them to secure an air vent in the living room, because in the span of about 0.4 seconds that morning, Avery had the cover off and half of Felix was in the duct work.  Those two make quite the team.

During the week, Avery and I tried to get outside for playtime and errands in the morning.  We played in the yard, took walks, and went to the church playground on Thursday and Friday.  That was a BIG hit since they have a wooden train and boat plus 2 slides.  Avery has asked to go to church no less than 100 times since, which I suppose is a good thing.  Running errands is taking a little longer since Avery lists all the things she expects to see along the way.  Sometimes I feel like I am running a bus tour, but I know driving by a school bus won't always be the highlight of her day like it is now.




Friday was a little like Christmas with the arrival of some fun things.  After visiting the playground, Avery and I picked up something for her at the UPS Store.  When we arrived home, the prints we ordered from our pictures with Jennifer had been delivered.  They are even more special in person, and I can't wait to see our album that will be arriving soon.  After Avery's nap, I made a strawberry pretzel salad.  To occupy and supervise Avery, I brought her table in the kitchen so that she could have a snack.  She was more interested in me hammering the pretzels, though.  Ned had a funeral visitation after dinner, so after Avery and I rode by the house, we played outside.



Ned fished Saturday morning, and Avery and I met Kristin and Emerson at the pool.  I still have no pictures because there simply are not enough hands.  After a little yelling, I got Avery into her float long enough for her to realize she liked it.  She had fun talking to "E" and spotting tractors, bees, and planes.  The baby pool was nice and warm so we spent some time in there.  That isn't as refreshing for Mama but allows Avery to burn off some energy.  Ned was home we we got home, so we all had lunch together.  Avery napped and Ned went to a funeral.  She woke up asking for E and church, but she had to settle for Walmart.  Ned was back when we got home, and he grilled burgers for dinner.  Avery had no interest in burger, cucumbers, tomatoes, or watermelon, but requested lots of beans and sweet potato fries.  Menu planning will be a challenge this summer as fickle female behavior is already emerging.  We walked around in our foundation then came home for Avery to play outside for awhile since it was such a nice night.

We're looking forward to a normal week this week as we continue to get into our at-home routine.  I'm still working on ways to keep Avery active and engaged and also need to get in the grove with my weekly chore list.  I can't believe July will arrive this week.  Summer just started and is going by too fast already.

Construction on our house began this week!  We are building not too far from our last house on a lot we bought the winter after Avery was born.  This was our top pick for neighborhoods, and with limited lots for construction in the city, we knew we needed to act fast.  We contacted the current owner and told him that we were interested in this lot if he ever wanted to sell.  Wouldn't you know, a few weeks later he was ready.



We are building a house that I have loved since high school.  A couple that I babysat for built the first house I had seen like it, and then another was built on the road to and from college my last 2 years.  I saw the lady I babysat for in a grocery store parking lot one day, and asked if she had a magazine with the plan.  I think I was still in college, but I know I had not yet met Ned.  She sent me a copy of the page, but the picture of the house had been cut off.  My mom (who likes to look at house plans) bought a book not long after that, and it just happened to have several versions of my house, including the one we're building.  I had no intentions of building any house when I asked that woman for the plan, but I knew I would need it one day.  That may sound strange, but perhaps if I tell you I have names picked out for any other children that we will be blessed with, it will make more sense.

Luckily, Ned liked the house too, although he did have one that he loved more.  I loved that house as well, but even though it was bigger and had cool things like a butler's pantry, I wanted my house.  Cost won out of course, and my house was the winner.  We had a local architect re-draw the plans in December. Our house went on the market at the end of February, we signed a contract the first Saturday in April, moved into our rental the 2nd weekend of May, and closed on our house about 2 weeks after that.

All of that brings us to breaking ground on Monday.  This picture was taken Tuesday night when the smoke from the wildfires in North Carolina was terrible.  I had the wrong lens on my camera, so I'm not sure that I got everything in the frame.  They had done some digging and poured concrete along with marking off the house.


These pictures were taken Wednesday night after they delivered our block and brick.  It's really hard for me to make much sense of what they've done, and it's my house.

Dear Avery,

You are 23 months old today!  I can't believe that in one short month I will have a two year old.  It seems as if you were just a baby yesterday, but at the same time it feels as if you've been with us forever.

We went to the doctor a few weeks ago, and you tipped the scales at just over 23 pounds.  That did include some clothing, a diaper, and Giraffi though.  You are filling out your 18-24 month clothes better, but some shorts are still too big.  You fit into many 12-18 month items from last summer just fine.  You remain in a size 4 diaper and have continued to use the potty some for Jen-Jen but not at home.  I think if I sat you on it regularly you might, but I'm in no rush.  This week we pulled out your size 5.5 Keds, but you are still in a 5 in your sandals.

Your sleep habits remain about the same, and in the few days we've been out of school you've usually slept until at least 7 a.m.  I hope that 6:30 wake up time will soon be a distant memory for you.  Naps are usually 2 hours but sometimes stretch to 2.5 or 3.  You do not nap in the car very well, so I'm glad we're not on the go so much.  As I type, you are in your bed talking after what appears to be only a 40 minute nap.  We haven't done that in a LONG time, and I'm trying not to hyperventilate.

Your most favorite activities continue to be ones done outside.  You love your house, car, and swing and ask about them all day long.  You are happy to take walks in your stroller and want to know what everything is along the way.  This morning we played on the playground at church, and you had a great time.  We need to pull out your little pool and also make some trips to the big pool.  Inside, you are an excellent mother to Bitty Baby, love sharing toys with Felix, and request books to be read all day.

You are talking up a storm these days.  Your conversations still sound like gibberish, but you are learning words at a rapid pace.  This month you have loved calling the names of your family and friends.  Lolli comes out Yaya, but we're going to stick with Lolli.  You have known Poppa and Mimi for awhile, so now all we need is Grandaddy.  All day you ask for Dee-Dee (Jen-Jen), Dodo (Andrew), Jax (Jackson), Wibi (Livi), and Caca (Carter).  We hear about Wibi the most, from who you're going to play with to who caused the boo boo.  You have become obsessed with wain and boom boom (thunder).  I made the mistake of turning your sound machine to the thunderstorm sound yesterday, and it's all I've heard.  You are also obsessed with bees.  Bees give you boo boos, bees are in your house, bees are in your hair, etc.  You seem to really like them and were so happy to see bees on Regis and Kelly this morning.  Mama does not like bees and has to really work to keep her cool so that you won't pick up all my fears.  Down is also used an awful lot...down from the table, down from your car seat, down from the bathtub when Daddy is making you scream by washing your hair.  You know the word out, but you prefer down.  You want to speak to everyone when they are at a distance but can't seem to find any words when strangers are talking to you.  You yelled and yelled at the men on the roof next door yesterday.  Usually it's the other way around, but we will have to have a talk about that.  You are also very into singing and give your requests.  Up until recently it had been "Baa Baa," "Row, Row, Row," and "Bus" (Wheels on the Bus).  When you hit the bee infatuation, I sang "I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee..." and now that gets the most requests.  Today you watched Bon Jovi on Oprah and sang and danced along to "Livin' on a Prayer."

"Eat eat" is something we hear a lot as well.  I think we need to move to several smaller meals each day, because the time before lunch and dinner can sometimes involve a lot of tears.  I don't like to be hungry either, so I do understand.  Sometimes you eat a lot, and sometimes you're ready to get down after a few bites.  You continue to expect dip with everything and have not yet learned that some meals aren't made for dipping.

You remain pretty even-tempered.  You've had a few instances of throwing an item down in frustration, but it passes pretty quickly.  You don't get mad often when we tell you no, and no is not a word we've heard from you.  You whine when something is hard for you and if you want something you can't get yourself.  We're working hard on using words and showing what you want.

Avery, you are such a loving child.  You stop playing frequently to come for a cuddle, kiss, or hug.  You have started asked for hugs and call them huhs.  You need to hug a lot at mealtime which can be tricky with dirty hands.  You love all your family, but you especially need your mama.  I'm afraid that may only get worse this summer.  Good manners go right along with your lovingness.  You say "peas" now most times when you want something and often say "peas" when we don't know exaclty what you want. 

I'm not sure that you forget anything at all.  You know that the the blue Easter egg is from Jen-Jen and that we see ducks and kitties when we go to the new house.  You know exactly where you should see trains, tractors, and buses along our driving routes and do not appreciate when fog, weekends, and summer vacations interupt your viewing of these items.

Avery, we have loved these 23 months and all the memories we have made.  Life with you keeps getting more and more exciting, and we can't wait to see all the fun the summer will bring.  Each day we learn from you and hope you learn from us.  We love you.

Mama and Daddy

I've was horrible about taking and uploading pictures during the last bit of school.  Here are a few that should have been included in recent posts.


Yes, that is TV that's been propped in that corner since we moved.  It must stay upright, and it must go to Lolli and Poppa's soon.


I don't foresee a trampoline in her future since her father sells insurance, so she makes do with what she's got.



I got shoes, Avery got a box, and everyone was happy.


Sharing secrets, and kisses, with Doodie.



I stumbled upon this bottle in my toolkit over the weekend.  Before we moved, I was going through some baby things in hopes of selling a few items I knew I wouldn't use again.  Ned and I had a big discussion about the bottles we used with Avery, and I pulled out the above bottle that I had purchased at some point and never used.  We never came to a decision about getting rid of the old bottles, and somehow this one missed it's ride to the storage unit.  Ned packed up the room it was in, which explains how I had a bottle in my tools.  Bitty Baby much prefers this bottle to her normal 1 oz version.

I've gotten back into my picture taking ways this week with more pictures of Avery and also of our house progress.  That's one item off the to-do list, and 456 to go!

Our summer got off to a bit of a bumpy start today.  As I mentioned previously, we knew we would be getting an new heating and air conditioning unit for the downstairs of this house.  The house had one unit for both floors, and it was not keeping up, especially upstairs.  As I also mentioned, I had a good pout before moving on and getting up and embracing the day.

I was doing well, ready to stick it out unless naptime was in danger, until the men started rolling up.  They may be the greatest workers ever, but they arrived in a harum scarum mixture of vehicles that closely resembled what the tornado chasers drove in Twister.  Our friend who owns the house had led us to believe that they may need to come inside once or twice; head worker quickly informed me that they would be "cutting our house apart."  Avery and I grabbed the essentials, locked Felix in the office, sent Sammy to Mimi's, and headed to Lolli's.  We had a fun time visiting and playing, and Avery took a good nap.

We headed home and arrived about 5 p.m., the time when the men had said they'd be done.  They were still here, and one told me they would be leaving, while another said they could stay and get it done.  I was hoping for the latter to salvage my day tomorrow.  Since we now have no air downstairs, Avery and I went to change to go out to dinner.  The man who thought they could finish finally yelled up the steps that he would be leaving since all his men had left him.

Oh well.  An hour or two in the morning is certainly worth a nice, cool house this summer.  We can already tell that the air is blowing harder upstairs and will surely be fantastic downstairs.

But it gets worse.

Ned got home and I was deleting some pictures on the camera (because I need to print a zillion) in case we rode by the lot.  I don't know what I did, but I somehow managed to knock my cup of Pepsi from this morning all across our laptop.  It remained on until Ned started trying to shake the Pepsi out.  I very quietly encouraged Ned to take Avery to dinner without me.  She needed to eat, and I needed to clean the carpet and have a good cry.  Patient Ned would have none of it, ready with stories of how the carpet would be fine and tons of ways to fix or replace the computer.  They only made me madder and sadder.  I know exactly why this happened.  We've been holding our breath about that laptop for awhile now.  It was isssued to Ned when he was appointed to city council, and he bought it for $1 when he lost the election.  It was a good laptop but has seen it's better years.  Our talking of it dying and Ned drooling in the Apple store was all that the universe needed.

WE WEREN'T SERIOUS, UNIVERSE.

After a good Mexican meal and a trip by our lot, we returned to survey the damage.  The hardrive is not wet or sticky, but not much is going on with the computer.  The power light is on....but the computer is not.  I can't imagine that's a good sign.  Luckily, we've got my desktop and Ned's college laptop.

I'm going now to watch The Bachelorette in my not-so-cool living room.  More Pepsi is certainly in order as I prepare to try again on Tuesday.

This week certainly made me work to get to summer vacation.  We didn't go to church Sunday since Avery was still coughing.  I had lots to catch up on since I hadn't been home for much of the day Saturday.  Grocery shopping and piles of laundry kept me busy, while Ned helped Lucas put insulation into the ceiling of his new man cave.

Either Ned or I had something to do each night of the week.  I hate weeks like that.  I prefer to be home most of the time and keeping up with our routines.  Monday we traveled to Waverly for our family pictures.  Avery was kind of fussy in the car, but she was ready to "eat, eat."  She did great for the hour we took pictures, and then we put her in her pajamas before leaving for home.  Although we left at bedtime, Avery was awake for most of the hour ride home.  I'm doing better at being calm when the schedule changes, and she went right to bed when we got home.

Our busy nights continued with Ned having a meeting Tuesday night, Honor's Banquet for me Wednesday night, and drill for Ned Thursday night.  We were also staying up late each night, and I was struggling.  Our students got out of school at 1 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and the teachers had time to work.  On Thursday the entire staff waved the buses off for the last time of the school year.

We had a work day on Friday as well.  I had all of my paperwork done and spent the morning packing up my classroom.  I met with my principal and found out that I will be back in 2nd grade next year.  I think I would have been ok to stay in 3rd, but I am relieved to be out of a tested grade.  I don't know yet who I'll be working with, which is a bit scary.  We had lunch as a staff and shared our most memorable moments of the year.  Our third grade moment was my student in the electric wheelchair getting stuck in the sand on the playground.  This happened at the beginning of the year while I was still reeling from being put in third grade.  It was funny once we got him unstuck and was really funny Friday.

We were able to leave school around 2 p.m. and I headed home.  Lolli picked Avery up since she was staying with them for the weekend.  This weekend was the member-guest golf tournament, so she stayed all weekend since we had something both nights.  Ned and I signed a zillion papers and closed on our construction loan.  We then decided to skip the Friday night dinner for the tournament and instead went to Brittany and Brandon's house at the lake and went out to eat.  We had a great time talking and laughing, but I was so tired.  A quick nap after we closed had not even helped.  I was happy to get home and get on the couch.

Ned had an early tee time Saturday morning, and I slept in.  I hadn't been up long when the Jehovah's Witnesses came with their hitting children.  I did nothing productive with my time other than enjoy it.  Ned came home and we both fell asleep before getting ready for the Saturday night dinner.  Ned's friend Owen played golf with him, and we all went together.  The crowd was not the best, so we left and went to Lucas and Kristin's.  We stayed out too late even though Ned had another early tee time due to a tough day of golf.

My summer vacation is getting off to a rocky start with the installation of a new heating/air unit on Monday morning.  I know it will benefit us greatly but I really had to take a few minutes to pout.  My main concern had initially been Avery's nap, but Ned is not sure if we'll have air downstairs or at all during these few days.  This too shall pass and we are always welcome at Lolli and Poppa's.

The best news (other than no school) is that they are going to start digging at our lot.  The house is marked off, the digger is parked and ready, and the contractor's sign is at the road.  It's looking a little smaller than we thought, but each time we say that we laugh and remember we can't afford anything else.  I have no idea what to expect from this process, but I'm excited to see it beginning.

I've had e-mails and comments about problems commenting on the blog.  It's not something that I've done intentionally, and if I have messed it up somehow, I'm not aware of it.  Several weeks ago I was having trouble commenting and signing out.  I found that if I did not check the stay signed in (or something similar) on the sign-in screen, I didn't have any problems.  I did check the help section when I realized my blog was also having trouble, and others had had the same experience.  I know there are other ways to set-up comments, like having a new window open, etc.   If you think I should be doing that, please let me know.  I love to read what you have to say.  With that said though, the main goal of this blog is to record as much as I can about our life as Lankfords.

Now that that's out of the way, let's move on to something good.  We've had a very busy week, but a highlight was definitely visiting Jennifer Warthan at Warthan Farms Photography for pictures.  The night could not have been more perfect...cool temperatures, no nighttime humidity resulting in puffy hair, little to no breeze, and a happy 22-month-old (probably the most important component.)  I first thought about getting Jennifer to do pictures when a friend did some near Valentine's Day and mentioned that the kissing booth would be a lemonade stand during the summer.  I made the appointment after she had a post on Facebook about the importance of having family pictures because tomorrow is never guaranteed.  We had never had professional pictures taken as a family and it was certainly time.

I was so excited when I received an e-mail with this link last night:

http://warthanfarmsphotography.zenfolio.com/p1057695728/slideshow

Ned and I are in love and couldn't be more happy with Jennifer's work.  Yesterday I cried all the way through 5th grade graduation, and we all know I don't have a 5th grader.  But I do know that I will have a 5th grader in the blink of an eye, so I will buy too many of these pictures that captured everything we love about our Avery at this stage in her life.  Teachers shook their heads today when I said we'd be going to Conway Photo Shop for our timeless two-year portraits in July, but I have no doubt that those portraits will capture everything we're loving about Avery at two.  My pictures are some of my greatest material treasures, and we are so fortunate to have two incredible photographers helping us to preserve our memories.

We had a pretty busy week, although I can't remember much that went on. We got up Sunday morning and went to church. Avery cried when we left but stayed in her class the whole time. We are in the middle of a funny mood/I need my mama more than ever/approaching two phase, and she needs me an awful lot more than usual. We went to Mimi's for dinner, and Avery got to visit with Dixie.

Someone at the babysitter's had croup the previous week, and others started fading fast on Monday. Avery woke up hoarse with congestion Tuesday, and when the phone in my classroom rang with an outside line that afternoon, I knew it was Jennifer. Avery was running a little fever and coughing and was about to fall asleep at the lunch table. Lolli picked her up after her nap, then I took her straight to the doctor because her cough was sounding like a bark. We saw a different doctor since ours is on maternity leave, and he quickly determined it wasn't croup. She was the third to be seen by him on Tuesday from Jennifer's and the fifth since the Thursday before. Whatever germ it was, it was a big one.

Lolli kept Avery Wednesday and Friday, and Ned stayed home with her Thursday.  She never ran anymore fever, but she was slow in the mornings, would perk up after nap, then fade again by dinner.  Oddly enough, she never coughed much at night.

Since she had a better day Friday, we thought we would go out to eat.  Halfway into our ride, we realized it was probably a bad decision.  I really blamed hunger, but she wasn't interested in much to eat.  Some saltines and cocktail sauce were the biggest hits.  I ended up eating my crab cakes with Avery on my lap.  She did decide then that her sweet potato fries would be good in the cocktail sauce as well.  Ned and I both admitted that while driving, we each considered mentioning going through the Chik-Fil-A drive-thru, but neither of us said anything.  It actually wasn't a bad meal, but I hated that Avery still wasn't feeling well.

We all got up about 7:30 a.m. Saturday.  Ned and Avery went to Cracker Barrel with Mimi and Vincent, while I got to go to school for our bazaar.  I served a lot of hot dogs in 4 hours, but it definitely beat running a game outside like some teachers had to do.  Ned went fishing when I got home, and Avery I went in search of some shoes for me.  Avery again was not pleased to be in the car, but she didn't look sick like she did on Friday night.  Luckily, the shoe process went quickly because Avery needed to "eat, eat!"  We went to Chik-Fil-A, but Avery was not quite as excited as I was.  I think she's needing more snacks so that she's not totally starving at mealtime.  When that happens, no food is acceptable.  She did eat some chicken, some of her fruit, some of my fries, and plenty of ranch dressing.  She also had her first lemonade.  It's so funny watching her drink new things when she only gets water with us and watery juice at Jennifer's.  The lemonade turned out to be a hit though!  She was still a little fussy in the car on the way home, but was happy as could be once we got there.  She seems to have a lot of frustrations that she needs to share without being able to communicate them all.  I'm hoping the unusual whining is a result of her being sick this week, but I've been rereading The Happiest Toddler on the Block just in case.  She went to bed and I enjoyed some time to myself before Ned got home.  We both fell asleep watching TV and didn't go to bed until after 1 a.m.

We have a lot going on this week in addition to it being the last week of school.  Two full days and two half-days with the kids, and a workday Friday that will hopefully be done by lunch are all that stand between me and summer vacation!

Let me introduce our new residence!


So far this little house has been good to us and we're enjoying many of the things it has to offer.  We're living in the front section of the house, which is all of the 2-story part.  Our back door is to the left of that pine tree.  The one-story section to the right of the tree is an apartment that the owners are using for storage.

In this house we have a living room, dining room, kitchen, and t.i.n.y. laundry room on the first floor.  Upstairs we have 2 bedrooms, one bathroom, an office/storage room, and what I think is a closed-in porch that I'm using as a walk-in closet.

I find it funny that a Cozy Coupe and wagon on the front porch no longer bother me.

For a few months around the holidays, I did posts welcoming in the new month and including all the fun things we were looking forward to.  I think they came to a halt after the holidays.  Looking back, those yucky winter months were the very time I should have been reminding myself of good things to look forward to.  We've made it to summer, though, and here are some of the things the Lankfords are looking forward to.

**This is undoubtedly a no-brainer, but I'm counting it down until the end of school.  With 8 more days with students and 1 work day after that, I can safely say I've made it through a year that I was sure was going to kill me.

**Soon we'll be doing our first family portraits with Warthan Farms Photography.  I'm excited for some outdoor, natural-light photographs and am praying for low humidity.  I'll also be taking a class done by Jennifer in July for moms and their cameras.  In my case I'm hoping it's "moms who need to get their cameras out of automatic."  I do feel like I'm cheating on my beloved Conway Photo Shop, but Jennifer's night/weekend availability worked better for us.  We'll be in to see our favorite ladies at Conway Photo in July for Avery's 2-year portraits, though.

**Before June is over I'm expecting a visit from my good friend Courtney.  I fully expect lots of baby talk.  I am excited to hear all she has planned and could talk baby gear all day.  Courtney hasn't seen Avery since she was 6 months old, and I pray that she will not leave wondering why in the world she thought babies were a good idea.

**We are always excited about 4th of July with a small-town feel in Newsoms.  I know Avery will love the parade even more this year.  There are usually tractors and firetrucks, which are two of her favorite things.  If we could throw in some farm animals she might hyperventilate.

**The beach countdown began months ago and we eagerly anticipate our week in July.  I'm glad I already have a vacation trip with baby under my belt, although we will have a very active, almost 2-year-old accompanying us.  Thank goodness for Lolli and Poppa.


These fun things will take us through July.  We'll of course have lots of pool, outside, and family and friends fun.  Hopefully we'll squeeze in some more excitement before school starts, and we hope to also be monitoring some house progress.  What I love most about what summer has in store is that it's simple, fun, and us.

After our fun Memorial Day weekend, we were ready to get started on a short week.  Tuesday and Wednesday were typical days for everyone, just extremely hot.

We took Avery back to the ENT on Thursday and got a great report.  Her ears were still clear, making this her longest stretch without fluid in awhile.  Her ears continued to show no damage from the infections or fluid, and her hearing was fine.  The doctor asked if I wanted it tested, and I certainly wasn't going to say no.  I know she can hear, but I was still nervous.  Luckily it was quick.  After her appointment we stopped at the mall where I did some quick shopping for our pictures and Avery and Ned hit up the Apple store.  Lunch was again at California Pizza Kitchen.  Avery ate almost all of her kid's pizza, and I am so proud to be raising a pizza lover.  I popped in Gymboree for the $12.99 sale before we came home.  We were a good hour past Avery's nap time and she took f.o.r.e.v.e.r. to fall asleep.  I was starting to think it would be her first day without a nap, until I remembered we still had her Jen-Jen bag, which contains a pacifier for nap time.  It didn't work right away, but she finally managed a quick catnap.  She is just not a car sleeper.

On Friday the third grade took a trip to the Living Museum in Newport News.  The weather was perfect and the kids were really good overall.  It was my first field trip without parents, and we did just fine and brought everyone home.  Ned too had a busy day with it being the 3rd of the month and a Friday, so we went to Applebee's for dinner.  After Avery went to bed, I read on the front porch for an hour while Ned worked on the boat he's trying to sell.  I impressed myself by staying awake until 10 p.m. after that busy day, but when I hit the couch I was out.



Avery slept until after 7 a.m. Saturday and we all got up together.  Two neighbors were having yard sales, and Sammy got started with the barking about 6:30.  We sent Ned off to help Lucas, and Avery and I got ready to meet Kristin and Emerson at the pool.

It is so, so hot here.  Just a week or so ago I was wishing for the weather to get a little warmer since Avery's pants/short-sleeve shirt combinations were pretty limited.  I think I got what I wished for and then some.  It's hot, humid, and just plain gross here.

The hot, humid, gross had done a number on our little house.  It seems that we're working with one pretty old air conditioning unit for both the upstairs and downstairs.  The poor thing hardly keeps up on a good day, and the past few days have been bad.  Tervis Tumblers are sweating, and Avery, who tends to be a sweaty mess anyway, ends up dripping wet just from running around inside.  Avery's room is the coolest, and our room has a window unit, so we're managing at night.  I am one to make it like an igloo at night though so that I can have my covers.  Luckily, we're getting a new heating and air unit for the downstairs in the next week or so.  I guess as long as something is running I shouldn't complain.

Field Day is tomorrow at school, and I would be telling a big, fat one if I said I wasn't a bit glad that we're going back to the ENT tomorrow.  I did not know the date when we scheduled this appointment, and I wasn't going to change it when I found out last week.  I hate I won't be cheering my kids on, but I'll be happy to be in my car, in the doctor's office, and in the mall in the brisk air conditioning.

Jennifer broke out the wading pools today for the kids and proclaimed Avery had the best time.  She was still napping when Lolli went to pick her up, so it looks like we'll be pulling our pool out too.  I bet she was a sight in just her swimmie, but she has talked all about the pool and her buddies.  We're going to try the pool at the country club this weekend if I can find the strength to put on a bathing suit.

Finally, by 6:00 tonight, I was dreaming of putting Avery to bed and feasting on this.


I tried a few bites after dinner and it did not disappoint....vanilla ice cream with salty caramel swirls and fudge covered potato chip pieces.  I'm not sure if I can honestly blame this on the heat.  I may be causing further swimsuit issues, but it's 8:18 and time for my Late Night Snack.