Kentucky Rocks

Avery and Kayla enjoyed cheering on their future alma mater this past week (hours before tip-off, of course!!).

I love this child!

Avery was watching Phil surf the internet on his phone one day and when Phil came across this picture (don't ask me why Phil was googling pics of Jennifer Love Hewitt), Avery said, "That looks like Mommy!".  God bless you, Avery.  And we are going to get your eyes checked very soon.  :)

Random March Photos

Kayla goes crazy for the lizards in our back yard.  This one was using the kids' shopping cart as his personal sauna following a big rain.

Avery and Daddy made pancakes one morning.  They were delicious!

Kayla was a bit skeptical of her first taste of pancakes...

...but in the end, I think she was sold!!

Tackling Daddy.  I really prefer this activity to occur on carpet.

It's funny how things change with your second kid.  I had Avery "practice" diligently using utensils once he hit about 9 months or so (thinking that this was an important skill to have at this young age...like he was going to go out for a business dinner with his boss and would need to prove he is way past the finger food stage).  But with my poor second child, I realized, "Oh yeah, shouldn't you be using a spoon by now?".  Lesson learned: in the end, all kids learn how to use spoons.

Go Tribe!

Avery was upset after being put in TimeOut one day (most likely for not sharing with his little sister...what a hard lesson to learn at the mere age of three!).  Kayla decided to infiltrate the toddler joint and comfort her big brother.

After being ignored by everyone in the family for the past year, Haley has suddenly appeared on Kayla's radar.  Right now, Kayla lives to feed this dog, "pet her", and pull on anything that hangs off of her body.  I love this picture, because not only has Kayla persuaded Avery to give some TLC to our poor neglected puppy, but Haley is going for Kayla's huge tongue that always seems to be sticking out of her mouth.  Sometimes these photos do not catch my parenting at it's best.

Beach Time!

It's that time of year again...beach time!!  The Jean family's unofficial beach season is March through June, before it gets too stifling hot to play (and breathe) outside for long periods of time!  Kayla made two beach trips last year, when she was about one and three months old (compare that to Avery's two beach trips before he was a week old...not sure what I was thinking there!!).  Now that she is old enough to enjoy herself, Kayla LOVED playing in the sand with her big brother.  Avery (reluctantly) shared some of his bulldozers and buckets with her.  I was surprised that we didn't have to chase either kid around the beach but I have a feeling that part will come when we reintroduce them to the joys of the ocean when the water warms up a bit!

I like to think of our BOB stroller as a clown car....the amount of crap we can pack on this thing for a couple of hours on the beach is just unbelieveable.

 Avery with the infamous pink bucket that we bought when he was a couple of months old (Target was out of the manly colors at the time)...I guess we don't need to be too embarassed playing with it now that there is a little girl in the family!

 Kayla soaking up some sun rays and showing off the first bathing suit she received as a new baby...thanks Aunt Martina!

 The wind was a bit nippy, so I layered her back up.

Confusing a rake with a fork...

 Family fun!

 I think Avery needs a bigger bulldozer...

 Sharing his beloved dumptruck with his little sister.

Avery's 3rd Birthday Video

Happy 3rd birthday to the most special little boy I know.  Avery, we love you so much and are already so proud of everything you do.

Here is a quick slideshow of Avery over the last three years.  He liked Kayla's birthday video so much, he asked to have an "Avery movie" too!  Click on the link below to get to YouTube (I can not believe I am a registered user on YouTube....grrrr....):

http://youtu.be/9EoqgRLCcIg

Happy Third Birthday, Avery!!

Giddyap

Apparently, a red cowboy hat can accessorize any outfit.

I don't know why this picture makes me think of Vegas-style casino-betting at a blackjack table.

Cutie Patootie.

Repost

Here is a re-post from when Avery turned one.  I am posting it again because it is all so true this second time around.  And because I think it is hilarious how hard I thought I had it....if only I knew.  :)

The Difference Between a Newborn and a One Year Old

1)      A Newborn can give you sore nipples, sleep deprivation, and the constant feeling that you are obviously a novice at the baby thing.  A one year old gives you tennis elbow, thumb tendonitis, and the constant feeling that you are obviously a novice at the whole toddler thing.

2)      A newborn eats, sleeps, and poops pretty much all day.  A one year old runs around terrorizing the dogs, plays with his toys, reads his books, figures out how to start climbing on the furniture, dumps over the dogs’ water dish, rearranges the furniture, climbs in the refrigerator when it is open, terrorizes the dogs, picks up pieces of grass from the carpet and hands them to Mommy, pulls out every single toy in his baskets, snuggles with the doggy bed, kisses and hugs Mommy, terrorizes the dogs, pushes his car around the entire house, bangs on his piano, “helps” with the laundry, makes random phone calls on Mommy’s cell phone, eats five times a day, terrorizes the dogs……….

3)      A newborn catches people’s attention when he makes that cute little “I’m a brand new baby” cry when you are out in public.  A one year old catches people’s attention when he is hollering at the top of his lungs because you won’t let him chew on the box of Colgate toothpaste that you just threw in your shopping cart.

4)      A newborn may require several clothing changes throughout the day due to spitup, the occasional diaper blowout, and because it is just so darn fun to play dress-up with all of his cute, brand-new baby outfits.  A one year old may require several clothing changes throughout the day because…well, because he is a one year old.

5)      A newborn snuggles at any time of the day.  A one year old snuggles on HIS time and at HIS discretion (but that just makes the snuggles all the more precious).

6)      A newborn is super easy to photograph at any time of the day.  A one year old requires practically strapping him down to a stationary object before you can get a decent picture of him that doesn’t come out blurry.

7)      A newborn can be carted around to just about anywhere during your day full of errands.  You can TRY to take a one year old just about anywhere but sometimes it is way more of a hassle than it is worth.

8)      A newborn has no idea what a cell phone is.  A one year old can somehow sign you up for a $3.99 monthly subscription to a gaming service via the internet feature on your phone (internet that you have yet to figure out how to use yourself).

9)      A newborn does not have the eye-hand coordination or mobility skills to grab the dog’s tail and pull as hard as he can.  A one year old does.

10)   A newborn does not possess the gift of speech yet.  A one year old can carry on a conversation with you, complete with hand gestures and facial expressions.  It may sound Klingon, but it sure is fun. J

My Baby Girl

Thomas the Train Pop Up Tent

Here are some videos and pics of Avery playing in one of Avery's birthday presents from Ninny & Grandaddy.