So proud

On Monday I was at my wits end with Avery. She was so cranky, and would not mind me at all. Jamie was at the fire house that evening and she was giving me nothing but trouble. After she went to bed I actually cried, wondering what it was that I was doing wrong and how I could change it so that she wasn't as miserable as she seemed. The rest of the week was a little better, but it still weighed over me. Then today I showed up at daycare (Bobby School) and the teacher called Avery her little Sunshine. I asked if she behaved well and she told me she always did and that she could always count on Avery to be the bright spot in her day. I said "Avery?" Sure, she told me about how good her manners are and how when her friends are upset she brings them something she thinks will make them happy. I was telling her about how naughty she was and is sometimes during the evenings and by that time there was another teacher there echoing everything the first one was saying- what a joy Avery is. I was so proud. I gave her a whole piece of gum on the way home (Monday she got half, like usual and I took that away when she complained and yelled at me because it was only a half). Needless to say we had a very good evening.

Day with Asher

Today Jamie and I decided to each take a kid to do something with them alone. I started thinking the other day that the kids are together all day every day since they go to the same daycare. Since I always take Avery here or there, I decided to take Asher. I am so glad I did! We didn’t do anything all that special. We went to Sam’s to get a few groceries. When we got there I bought us a hot pretzel and a bottle of water. We walked around and Asher tried to grab everything he could off the shelves. There were tons of little freebie booths set up and we got free samples of everything from salad to chicken and cake. He was such a good boy. Then we went to the Dollar Store for funsies. There were balloons everywhere so I got Asher one with a big smiley face on it. We took it out to the car, and it was SO windy I had to hang onto it for dear life. I got Asher in the car and that balloon got sucked right out and flew up into the sky like a shot. Asher looked up at it, then looked at me and got the saddest look on his face that I’d ever seen. And the tears.. oh my they were huge! I kept telling him I was sorry and when I couldn’t take it anymore we went back into the store and the lady gave us another one for free. So, home we drove with smiley face balloon number two in hand and a piece of blue gum in mouth. Avery, in the meantime, went to the mall and rode the merry-go-round TWICE. They each came home, took good long naps, and we had a nice evening all together. Asher was so cuddly with me at the end of the day that I had to think that he felt closer to me somehow. It warmed my heart. There are so many days I don’t feel as connected to him as I’d like to be- but today was so much different.

A day with the animals

This morning we got up early and went to an Open House that the MU Vet school was hosting. Avery and I went last year with Sunny and Reagan, but it was cold and yucky out. We told Avery it was a surprise, because she loves surprises. We told her for two days about this ‘surprise’ and how cool it was going to be. Before we got to the Vet school we pulled into the bank. Avery said “Awww… this is my surprise?” She was so disappointed! We assured her it wasn’t, and she was happy especially since she knows Papi always brings her a sucker from the bank. By 10 we were at the vet school and made our way from the parking lot into one of the buildings. Avery and Asher both walked up about 100 steps just like little troopers. Inside the first building there were a few dogs that had been rescued along with a cat. Avery didn’t like the black dog (she has a thing about black dogs), but pet the white one. Asher liked the small dogs but didn’t like the big one. When it was all said and done they had each pet one or two, as well as a cat. Then we moved onto the snakes. They really had a nice little collection which included a blue-tongued skink and a 12’ albino boa constrictor. It was funny listening to them tell me all about the animals I already knew so much about! The kids thought the snakes were cool, and Jamie laughed at me when I whipped out the hand cleansing gel. Salmonella-free is the way to be, I always say. Then we went outside and watched trick dogs perform. There were several that were jumping really high and catching Frisbees and doing really cool tricks. It was a bit chilly and windy out, so the kids didn’t last for more than a few dogs before we moved on. Perfect. We saw Truman the Tiger, and Avery thought it was funny that he doesn’t talk. Our next stop was the feed animals. The kids saw little piglets, a couple cows (everyone thought it was funny when Asher stuck his head through the bars and kept yelling “Big Big!” They each pet a horse, a cow, a baby chicken, a goat, and got to milk a cow. I’d never milked a cow before so I tried it (it felt weirdly familiar). On our way out we saw Truman again and Avery gave him a dandelion. He said thank you in sign language, which she got a kick out of because she understood it.