Iain's Hat (I think it's really called a Cover)

Iain gave the invocation and benediction at a Change of Command ceremony today. His cover for the uniform he THOUGHT he was going to wear (that's another whole story) was sitting on the dining room table and Audrey grabbed it.

Avery Walking, Audrey Running

Our friends Forrest, Kim, Ariana and Noah were here last week. We had a great time with them, though I'm sad to say that I wasn't very good about getting my camera out while they were here. Ariana is 2 months older than Audrey and Noah is 4 months older than Avery, so it was quite an activity-filled house! Here's one cute video of Audrey and Ariana running through the house. The other is of Avery walking (obviously).

Learning to use the DVD Player

Why can they never smile at the same time???

So as an update, Avery is walking everywhere now. We think it was about a week and a half ago that she switched from crawling to walking as her primary mode of transportation. She also still puts everything in her mouth, and she is an eating machine. Audrey is talking so much. She uses English mostly, but she's quite good with Spanish as well (though if I try to say something to her in Spanish, she says "no, Mommy speak English." ... apparently Iain is the only approved parent for speaking Spanish). We're making slow progress on the potty training, and her new favorite thing to wear is a pink and white plaid dress that she calls her "Cinderella" dress. They are playing much more together these days, which is so thrilling for me to watch.

A couple of days ago, Audrey was picking out bathing suits for her and Avery to wear to the beach (they each have about 10 bathing suits, thanks to Aunt Bud). Audrey picked out a bikini for Avery (the only one in the drawer) and then said "I wear top and bottom bathing suit like Avery and Mommy." So I told her it was called a "bikini" and she said "I wear a zuchini". I was cracking up inside, and told her it was a bikini. She repeated bikini, but over the course of the afternoon, each time she said what she wanted (including when Iain got home), she called it a zuchini. Hilarious!

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!