As it turns out, Nicholas and Avery are both very drawn to anything musical. They both love to play the recorder. Nicholas loves to "rock out" with his "tar" (translation: guitar, which is really a ukelele that only has one string left, but he doesn't seem to notice or care!) anytime music comes on during or after a tv show. His favorite is the song Rock on LarryBoy at the end of the Veggie Tales DVD. It is truly hilarious! Here they are making more music. Nicolas is singing and Avery is playing the keyboard.
I hope this interest sticks with them as they get older. I have high hopes that Avery and I will someday take violin lessons together! One of my biggest regrets is that I never learned to play an instrument or even read music. I think it is such an important experience to have for so many reasons and I want my children to have that experience. Keith and I long ago made the rule that the kids needed to at least participate in band during middle school. After that, it was their choice whether or not to continue. Amanda played the clarinet for 3 years and decided not to continue because her high school schedule did not allow room for band. Unfortunately, Alaina convinced Keith to let her drop out after this past year. I'm really disappointed about it because I don't believe it is what's best, but oh well. There's nothing I can do about it! I will expect Nicholas and Avery to participate for the duration--it's just too good for their brains and for their college applications!
In other news, Avery has become quite the climber. We had the gate blocking the stairs, so Avery decided to start climbing on the outside of the staircase. Imagine the scare I got when I came around the corner and saw this! Since she couldn't figure out how to get down, I figured I had enough time to grab the camera and snap a quick photo. Avery thought the whole thing was quite funny.
On July 16, Alaina celebrated her 13th birthday. A few days before her actual birthday, I made her a cake--my first attempt at my new hobby (more about that later), and she had a few friends over for the night. I took everyone to see Harry Potter 6 at midnight. We had originally planned to do something more fancy but, in lieu of a big birthday party, Alaina opted for a new ipod (she had a very nice ipod that fell out of her pocket on the 4th of July and got run over by a car). As is tradition in our family, Alaina got a beautiful gold and amythest ring for her 13th birthday.
The morning after her birthday, Alaina left to spend the second half of the summer with Lois. Amanda didn't go this year because she had to stay home and work. We were very sad to see Alaina go--things around here aren't quite right when one of my chickadees is missing!
On Sunday, July 19th, Keith and I celebrated our 6th anniversary. We took the kids to the pool for awhile in the morning and then I spent the afternoon packing to leave for Michigan. I got on the road at about 7 pm with Amanda and the kids, and we drove to Keith's mom's house in Ohio (I knew I couldn't make it all the way in one shot, by myself and leaving so late) where we stayed the night. We got up early the next morning and finished the trip to Michigan. Since my mom was preparing to move (the week after we were there), I wanted to do what I could to help her pack and see my friends one more time. It's not likely that I will be back up there anytime soon. That is the sad part of this move...no more fall trips to the cider mill, annual (at the least) visits with my MI friends or excuses to head to A2 for a Michigan game since we're "in the area." Nicholas and Avery won't have any memories of visiting my mom in the house where I grew up. BUT, having my mom and siblings close by is definitely a good trade-off. Nicholas and Avery will never remember a time when grandma didn't live close by and when they didn't see family on a regular basis. That makes me happy!
Of couse, no trip to MI would be complete without a visit to Ann Arbor. Here we are enjoying campus!
We were able to finish off our day with my good friend Ann and her husband Jason. I FINALLY got to meet their precious and beautiful daughter, Sylvia. Sylvia has the biggest, bluest eyes! It was such a treat to spend some time with them. Ann and I were really close during my last few years as a student and through the years that I worked at the AAUM after graduating. I'm really sad that I'm not ever going to know Sylvia that well. I wish that we didn't live so far apart so that I could be there to know her and to help Ann when she needs time to herself. I wish we could share this time in our lives more. At least Ann is a dedicated blogger (she is one of those people that is excellent at everything she does--don't even get me started on Ann's mad decorating skills!) so I get to stay current on what's happening with her and her family. For that, I am thankful.
After a few quick days of packing, it was time to head back to Charlotte. We had to be back on Friday, July 24th so that Amanda could participate in a driving class at BMW on Saturday (more about that later). It was sad to say goodbye to the house. My parents bought this house when I was 5. I grew up here. My mom lived here for 26 years. Even though it was past time for my mom to move on, it was sad. Goodbye 5150 Shoreline Blvd! Thanks for the memories!!!!
On the evening of July 28, my mom and siblings left Michigan and headed south toward Greenville. They drove on and off throughout the night and arrived at their new home on July 29. The kids and I met them there and helped to get some things unpacked and organized. I'm so excited for my mom that she has this chance for a fresh start. She's had so many obstacles to deal with over the past years, and I'm glad that she has this opportunity for a simplier life. I wholeheartedly believe that she will be much happier, and that's what is really important!
In the final days of July, Avery really took to walking with the walker wagon. We got this wagon for Nicholas for his first birthday and it was well-loved and much used. The poor wagon required a complete restoration before Avery could used it. Thankfully, Avery has a handy daddy! Here she is enjoying (and climbing in) her refurbished walker wagon.
Our next big event was Avery's first birthday, but a first birthday deserves it's own blog entry, so I'm skipping over that for now. More on August 5 to come... On August 10, Avery started officially walking on her own. She's pretty small for her age (19lbs. 3 ozs. and 27.75 inches at her 12 month visit), so she looks funny walking, but she's become very good at it! Avery can practically take off running now.
The following week, Keith bought Amanda a car. Amanda will be 16 on September 8, which is one week from today. Yikes! She is a very good driver but I'm still terrified. The ability to drive is such a huge step on the road to adult-hood. No more having parents somehow participate in all of her plans. Keith found a great price on a 2006 Jetta that is pretty much loaded--she has leather, sunroof, heated seats, rain sensing automatic wipers, etc. It is a really cute and nice car! Amanda loved it, with the exception of the headlights, which had that cloudy haze on them that cars often get from being out in the sun/heat. So, being her father's daughter, Amanda decided to spend $140 of HER OWN MONEY to buy new headlights. To her credit, the new headlights do look much better. The car pretty much looks brand new now.
And here is Amanda, on duty, making the money to buy her new headlights! Amanda ended up working most of the summer at our neighborhood pool. It was really nice because we got to hang out with her a lot more than we would have otherwise. Doesn't she look so grown-up and important on her lifeguard perch with her whistle in her mouth! :) I'm really proud of how well she's done this summer with her first job. Amanda proved to the pool company how responsible and hard working she is, and, as a result, was named rookie of the year. She'll be getting some bonus at the end of the season in a few weeks. In addition, when the college-age guards went back to school in the beginning of August, Amanda was left as manager of our pool (a responsibility reserved for returning guards that are 18+). She should be able to work as an assistant-manager or manager next summer, which will come with a big pay raise. Yeah Amanda!
Nicholas is learning to swim this summer. He can swim without his floats, but he needs someone with him when he's doing it. He's also been swimming underwater and loves swimming to the bottom of the pool to retrieve things. I swear, the child is afraid of nothing! It's both a good and bad quality at the same time. Avery likes to swim and go underwater too. Yep, she voluntarily puts her face underwater.
Avery has many other tricks in addition to her walking. She can point out her nose, make a monkey face, tell you what the doggy says, say several words (mama, dada, yesssss, cheese, this), give kisses, dance, nod yes and no, play with lots of toys on her own (it's very cute when she "loves" her babies) and play "so big." It's hard to believe how much my baby has changed since last August. Last year at this time she was a sleeping, eating, crying, pooping blob! Here are some pictures of Avery being "so big" and so cute!
Just before Alaina came home from Wilmington, we set up Nicholas' big boy bed. Up until this point, he was still sleeping in his crib and Avery was sleeping in a borrowed crib in Alaina's room. We promised Alaina that Avery would be done renting her room by the time she came home, so we got busy making the necessary moves. I was teriffied to take Nicholas out of his crib, even though it was long overdue based on his age. He's had the ability to climb out of it for a LONG time, but he's never tried. My boy has always loved his bed and his sleep. And I love his sleep too. I was convinced that moving him into a big boy bed would be the end of nap time...a loss I could not bear to deal with. I figured that, if it's not broke, why fix it, so I just let him keep on keepin' on in his crib.
Nicholas far exceeded my expectations and proved that I should have given him more credit. He was so excited about being a big boy that he was totally receptive to my big boy bed rules (he can't get out until I come and get him). The whole thing has gone really well and we have had NO problems (knock on wood). Here is my big boy helping daddy put his new bed together and then laying down for his first night in his new bed.
On Monday, August 24, we celebrated Keith's birthday. Alaina came home the day before and we all enjoyed having our family back together. Keith's mom and step-dad, Ron, came to Charlotte for a visit and were here to celebrate with us. We had a relaxing day topped off with my most delicious cake yet. Here is our annual birthday picture of Keith with Amanda and Alaina.
The next day was the first day of school. It's hard to believe that the summer is over already (I'm going to do a separate post for that as well), but I'm actually looking forward to fall this year. As I've mentioned over and over, this summer was so busy that it was hard to enjoy. I think things are going to settle down a bit for us now...and I welcome that!
