So let me just brag about these girls for a minute

Audrey and Avery are amazing little girls. Every day, they crack us up and amaze us with how smart they are. Audrey's new favorite phrase is "that's much better." So today, I turned on the TV and she said "Watch Dora," so I told her okay and she said "Dora, much better than Elmo." Then at dinner, she wanted to move the new chair to her spot at the table and said "white chair much better than booster chair." And tonight, she was putting on her Hello Kitty pj's and she said "EL-o Kitty much better than fairies" (fairies are her other favorite jammies). Hysterical. And Audrey is so sweet ... tonight, I tried a new tactic of putting Avery to bed first. As soon as I left the room, Avery started crying. Audrey came out of the bathroom and I asked her to finish brushing her teeth and she said "Get Aves first. Avery is crying. Get Aves first." So cute.

And Avery, meanwhile, is a crazy woman. She climbs EVERYTHING, and yesterday at Iain's grandma's house, we found her on the top step of a step stool, one foot on, one foot swaying in the breeze, reaching about 1.5 feet to a table close by, trying to get a toy. She is taking more and more steps, and is trying to keep up with everything Audrey does. She also LOVES to dance, and no matter what music is on (from the radio to Audrey singing a capella), that girl is going to be moving her arms and laughing. It's awesome.

Every day, I am reminded how blessed we are to have these children. I hope you remember today to thank God for the blessings you have in your life.

Pat a Cake

Pop Goes the Weasel

Audrey singing, Avery dancing!

Ava and Fun Today

Avery and I just got home from a few days with our very cute niece, Ava (and her parents too). There's a little video of her, and also a quick video of Audrey & Avery having a good time this afternoon.

Happy Birthday Brantley

I have to say that you're much cooler at 34 (that's right, everyone, he's 34) than you were at 9, but then and now, you are the best brother ever and I love you! Maybe when I visit next, we can celebrate your birthday and reincarnate the T-bone and baked potato meal in honor of old times (and, plus, just because it tastes good). =)

Vacation Part 1

A few highlights from our vacation:

1. Avery took FIVE steps on Sunday morning in Patterson, CA (in, of all places, a Carl's Jr., which might be the second time I've ever been in a CJ in my life, so I don't think we're going to be go often to re-live the moment).

2. On Friday night, in a Mexican restaurant in Los Banos, CA (yes, transalated to The Bathrooms, CA), our waitress was telling us that one of her customers spoke seven languages, and then she proceeded to tell us what they all were: Italian, English, Spanish, Australian, ... (um, wait a minute, did she just say Australian?) ... And then she said "I guess Australian is sort of similar to English." Um, yes, it is SORT OF similar to English. You might even call them the same language. I could not even look at Iain or the waitress because I would have cracked up. So Iain and I got a great laugh about it after we got in the car. This restaurant also had a great grassy patch in the front where the girls took off their shoes and ran around laughing and playing.

3. We had lunch at a restaurant in St. Helena, CA (Napa Valley) with some of the best burgers and shakes we've ever had (thanks, Kelley & Joe, for the awesome recommendation).

4. We have been having fun listening to Audrey's constant talking in the car. She has opinions on everything, and her new favorite thing is to say "No Mommy" or "No Daddy" in a very matter-of-fact, authoritative voice with the look of someone who has been commanding people for years. I have to say that I much prefer this to the whiny voice she used to use, but I also prefer her other favorite phrase "here you go, Mommy" to this one.

We forgot to clear our camera's memory before we left, so we haven't taken many pix. But I'm about to clear it, so hopefully there will be some more postings later in the week. In any event, here's a pretty funny one ... our car was so loaded, there was no room for diaper changing on the inside. =)