Little Toughy

As we were heading out for our walk today, Barlow ran back up the steps on our side porch, pulling Avery down onto the 'carpeted' surface. Her elbow was scraped up. Tears ensued, but we perservered.

Further down the road, were minding our business. Braden was in the stroller (I was pushing of course), and Avery had her arm through the loop in Barlow's leash.

In a flash, Barlow took off after a squirrel, taking Avery with him. She was parallel to the ground, and landed hard once the leash came off of her arm. There were tears and a few scrapes.

Then I heard her a small voice, "I just want Barlow to stop making me fall."

We headed home at that point.

On the way home, still teary she said, "I don't want Barlow to run away; I want a puppy dog! I want him to say he's sorry when we get home!"

Big demands from such a little person.

Expressions

Everyone has seen Avery's crazy expressions, but have you seen Braden's latest?! He has always been entertaining, and I finally have proof.

"cheese!"

He discovered this one on the way home from church tonight!

You will also see how smug he is with his favorite past time of sitting on Barlow. This was before Barlow tumped him off!

Birthday Money

This year Avery received a little bit of birthday money from Grammy and Pop and our good friends from church. It has been burning a hole in her pocket for a few days now, but she has been patient with me. She helped me do the grocery shopping tonight, so I told her she could look through the toy aisles and use her money if she found something she really wanted.

I was so proud of her during the choosing process. She saw something right away that she said she wanted. I asked her if she was sure, and we continued through the aisles so she could look at her other options. She stuck to her guns and was very decisive that she wanted the My Little Pony Amusement Park. (It helped that it was in the clearance section; when we got to the checkout, it was marked down even more!) Now when we go back, she has a few more dollars to buy another little pony to add to it.

She was patient while we finished our grocery shopping and during the trip home. Once home, she had to wait through supper, but was a trooper and hung in there. Daddy helped her untie and cut out all the pieces. She was very protective of her new treasure, yelling at Barlow and Braden each time either got within five feet of her. We had to have a few chats about tone of voice, etc, but the evening ended with her enjoying her birthday present that she bought with her very own money!

Cakes By Brooke

Check her out! www.cakesbybrooke.blogspot.com She is currently hosting a giveaway!

Avery at 4

On May 20th, Avery turned four years old. I knew it was coming, we have been talking about it for a while now, but when it got here it hit me really hard about how much she has grown up over the past short years.

There is a different, loving bond with each child, but Avery is extra special because she was my first. During the first pregnancy you check week to week to see what is happening, how the baby is growing, changing, etc. I remember aching with impatience, wondering what she was going to look like. Then the moment came. I will remember it always. The first time I saw her, held her, loved her. She put her messy little hand on my chest, and we cried together.

In that moment there was an instant connection; one that will never be broken.

She has always been a Momma's girl. Sometimes that wears me out, but mostly makes me proud and honored. We have a lot in common, which I know will haunt us during the teenage years of disagreeing, but for now it's fun.

Avery is a pistol in every way. She's fiesty, spunky, hilarious, beautiful and brilliant. I told her yesterday that if she continued to love Jesus the way she does now, and paired that with all of her other qualities, she will go far in life. I know she didn't understand what I meant, but she listened and filed it away to ponder.

Even though she's still young, she is so mature. When you have a conversation with her, it feels like you're talking to a mini adult. I have to backtrack sometimes and remind myself that she is still a child. She continues to amaze me and remind me of that through her innocence. I truly wish that we could all still hold the innocence that children do. They are so clean and pure. The world is a better place through the eyes of a child.

Princesses continue to be at the top of Avery's choice list of toys to play with, now accompanied by Barlow. He has taken to Avery almost more than to any of us. She enjoys taking him on walks with his leash.

Avery is a fantastic big sister. I find her tending to Braden (sometimes sweetly, sometimes not so sweetly), but it's normally when she is afraid he is going to hurt himself. When I tell her something might be dangerous, she immediately shares the information with Braden. They do play well together for the most part, but there are times when Avery wants to be alone and makes it well known.

She still helps with laundry, cleaning the kitchen, putting her dishes away, vacuuming, and now feeding Barlow and letting him out. She's going to be a great little momma someday. Sometimes I feel like she's growing up too fast, but then I realize she thinks most of those "chores" are games. The world is a playground for 4 year olds.

Kenny brought home balloons for her yesterday. She carried them around most of the afternoon, then that night after church. It is neat to me that she is creative and can take any item and turn it into something even more exciting than what it is meant to be.

I could write for days about how fantastic Avery is, as well as all of the wonderful things she does, but for now I will close with some words of advice from one of our happy books Bee Smart:

"Never stop learning or thinking things through; and you will be smart in whatever you do!"

Welcome Home, Barlow!

Meet Barlow, the newest addition to our family!

We have been contemplating getting a furry companion for a while now. Today we took the plunge! We found at the humane society a sweet, lab/shepherd mix. He's the perfect size to be an indoor dog, but still be considered a bigger dog.

His name is Barlow; he's 7 months old, house trained, walks well on a leash, LOVES to lay beside Braden's chair when he eats, follows Avery in her room to keep her company, loves to watch tv with Kenny, and helps me clean the kitchen. We've only had him since 5:00 today, and he already fits in perfectly with our family.

We are going to crate train him so he will not tear up the house while we are gone, or be in the backyard to possibly escape. (Avery has decided the crate is also a good place for her to play.) Barlow will also sleep there, but Avery says when he gets older that he will sleep in her bed with her.

I know there will be some adjustments to get used to, but it will be a fun journey!

Pillow FIGHT!!!! ...And A Little Acrobatics...

The latest fad around the Simpson house it to have pillow fights. I can't imagine who started this trend; it wasn't me....really ;), but it's definately a favorite.

There are two videos, one showing more of the actual blows between Avery, Braden and Daddy, but this one was funnier to me. Watch Braden from the beginning. Count how many headstands he does! He starts out even before my annoying video-voice notices.

Let's hope the future doesn't hold the dreaded words, "Daddy, I want to be a gymnast!"

I don't think we'll have to worry about it by the looks of his dismount.

I Can FLY!

This past weekend was the State track meet in Gulf Shores. We took the team down Thursday so they would be rested from traveling for the meet that started Friday. Thursday night, we went out to dinner and then to "The Track" that had putt putt, go carts, an arcade, and the infamous SkyCoaster. The week leading up to the trip, different kids asked me if I would go on the SkyCoaster with them. In passing I would say, "sure, why not?!"

Luckily they did not all hold me to it, or else we would not have had any money for the rest of the weekend, but I did go with two of our girls. Even though I looked like a scaredy cat, I absolutely loved it, and wanted to go more. When we got to the top and Bridgett pulled the chord to drop us, our heads turned completely upside down toward the ground! We didn't "coast" until after it looked like we were going to hit the ground! What a rush!

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Loooong Overdue

So, it's been a while since my last post. Just like everyone else, things have been pretty busy around here. Track season has monopolized my time for long enough. Thankfully, the State meet is this weekend, and I will have a little more time freed up after next week's Heptathalon.

I never posted pictures from Avery's and my date to Disney on Ice. It was a fantastic evening, filled with lots of laughs, smiles, a knot in my throat (because she was so joyous at one point), Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Lightning McQueen, Ariel and her crew, Lion King and his crew, and Tinkerbell and the rest. We had so much fun!!! Avery wanted to get dressed up in her new "Easter Dress". She sat like a little lady, with her hands in her lap while we waited for it all to begin. The look on her face when the lights went down and the first group came out is priceless. (That's when the lump happened...) I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.


Braden is also into everything these days. I guess it's partly because he's a boy, and partly because he's reached the 18 month old mark. Picture to prove his climbing capabilities. He has also discovered how fun it is to eat bananas.


Avery is as silly as ever.
And as clumsy as ever....



We took the kids last night to a mexican food restaraunt who had a special visitor, Dora the Explorer! Avery was thrilled to get her picture taken with (the giant, scary looking) Dora.