Ava goes to dance class

For the past two years, Max has gotten to do sports: basketball, soccer, baseball. And poor Ava has gotten to sit on the sidelines and watch. She's always wanted to participate too, but she was too little. This past fall, we decided to sign her up for a dance class. It's an hour long and they do tap, jazz, ballet, and tumbling. It's funny because she doesn't participate in the tap part at all. That's the first segment of the class and she just stands there, playing with her tutu and looking in the mirror. But, about the time the class moves on to the next thing, she starts moving around and having fun. I keep thinking this will change, but so far, she just doesn't like tap dancing :)

Meet Banana Abby Solar

So, I really think that Banana Abby Solar was meant to be our dog. We've been putting off getting a dog for a long time. First it was because we were never home. Then it was because we didn't have a fence. Then we wanted to wait until Lia was walking. Well, all of those issues resolved themselves and we still did not have a dog. We were dead set on a puggle, until I realized that they are only cute when they're puppies. So, we bounced back and forth, but finally settled on a Bassett Hound. We figured, they're low to the ground so the dog won't be jumping on the kids a lot. And they're little, so the kids might not be scared.

And of course, since Josh volunteers at Wayside Waifs, we knew we'd be adopting our dog from there. So, for months, we've been just waiting for Wayside to get a Basset puppy. Because we really wanted a puppy. Then, on a chance, Josh dropped into Wayside last week to drop off paper. And he saw a sweet 2 year old Bassett hound. When he got home, he mentioned it to me. Later that night, I made the comment that we should think about getting her since she's already potty trained. AND, she came from a home that had two little kids. Josh said he really wanted to get a puppy, so we dropped it. The next morning, he woke me up super early to tell me how he had put a hold on the dog because he couldn't stop thinking that she might be a perfect fit for us.

So, Saturday afternoon, we headed up to Wayside Waifs. There was Abby. She was LOUD! And barked a lot. And the kids were a little iffy at first. We looked at all the other dogs, then went back to see Abby again. This time the kids were less timid and actually seemed to like her. So, we decided to get her. And the kids named her Banana Abby.

Seriously, she is the perfect dog! She's already house trained. She doesn't jump on the kids. Now that she's home, she doesn't bark much. And she sleeps in the bed we bought her. She loves to snuggle. And she LOVES the kids. It makes me really happy, because I know she was meant for us!

Lia learns to walk

Finally! Finally, at 14 months, Lia decided that she could indeed walk. Isn't she cute?

The Bunk Bed

Max and Ava had such a great time on the bunk beds in our cabin on our Colorado trip that we decided to get them bunk beds. They were thrilled!

It's True... Lia CAN walk (with help)

These are from her birthday. She was finally walking with help :)

Lia & Potty Training

So a month or so ago, Lia started showing signs of being ready for potty training. She loves to watch Max and Ava go potty and she started pointing at her little butt when she had a poopy diaper. I told Josh that we would probably start potty training her when it gets warm enough for her to run around naked.

Well, apparently, she had other plans. I was chatting with a friend on the phone this morning and Lia disappeared for awhile. I figured she was playing in her room, but turns out she was in the bathroom. She had taken off all of her clothes and was putting toilet paper into the potty. I kept trying to put her clothes back on and she kept taking them back off.

So I figured, what the heck. I let her run around naked for awhile. Every fifteen minutes or so, I'd say, "Lia, do you want to go potty?" She'd shake her little bitty head yes and start running (and I mean butt wiggling, hands flying running) to the bathroom. She managed to put the potty seat on the toilet, climb up the step stool, and sit down. We did this all morning. At some point, I realized that she was probably going to pee on the floor soon, so I put some underwear on her.

But, she was accident free all morning, and right after lunch, she went back to see daddy in our bedroom and he put her up on the potty. And she went! Yay for Lia!! Boy was she mad when I put her diaper back on for nap :)

Now, I know she's super little, and I'm not really expecting her to potty train. But, I do have friends who have potty trained their little girls at this age. So, I figure if Lia wants to give it a try, I'll support her. I'm tired of buying diapers anyway :)

Lia the climber

So Lia is still pretty much refusing to walk, but she loves to climb on things... anything. In fact, her favorite thing to climb on is the step stool in the bathroom. We try to keep the door closed, but any time you notice it open, you know she's already in there, checking herself out in the mirror :)

Yeah, I'm up here... what are you going to do about it?

I wonder if I can get all the way up on the counter...

Preschool

So, most of the time, it's easy for me to trick myself into believing that my kids aren't getting older, they're not really growing up. But, on the first day of school, it's pretty hard to ignore the facts. This is Max's last year of preschool. Next year he will be in (gasp!) kindergarten. My little man is growing up. Heck, he is reading! And Ava, well, she has 3 more years of preschool, so I guess I can still pretend that she will stay little forever. Lia sure did enjoy having 3 hours alone with mommy and daddy today. I could imagine her thinking, where the heck are those crazy kids, Max & Ava? Why is it so quiet around here today? Here are a few photos to document this momentous occasion :) P.S. Max was grumpy this morning, so there aren't many pictures of him...

My little man is a reader, baby...

Every day marks one step closer to the day when my kids are all grown up. As much as I don't want that to happen, I'm powerless to stop it. That being said, I'm super proud of my little Max and how fast he's picked up on reading. But, not only has he started to figure it all out, he LOVES to read. It just melts my heart when I walk into the kitchen, and I see he's pushed a chair over to the cabinet to get his reading books out. In fact, the other day, I even caught Max snuggled up next to Ava teaching her how to read :)

Here's a few shots of Max reading. I love how serious his face is when he's concentrating :)

Is Max not the best big brother in the world?

Happy Birthday, Lia

My baby turns 1 today. She's not a baby anymore. I'm sad....but she's super cute, and always happy! We had her party Sunday afternoon and let her tear into her very own Sam Combs cake. Yes, we love her that much :)

Did I mention yet that she's finally "walking with assistance"

Lia's Cake (Cakes by Combs)

And one for everyone else, thanks, Sam (chocolate with cookies & cream filling)

Lia wouldn't wear her hat...mommy was sad :(

But you might notice that she has a death grip on her chicken nugget. She wouldn't even put it down to open her presents :)

I just want my nuggie :)

Time for cake! I will say that Lia was the only one of our 3 that made a mess on their birthday. Thanks, Lia!

She was unsure at first.

Ok, I'm ready :)

Ava decided she was going to help Lia a bit.

While not as messy as I would have liked, I'm happy with the result. I remember Max just cried when he touched the icing, and Ava was too shy to do anything so she threw a fit too :)

This is what was left....doesn't it look tasty?