Growing up...

Mom? Mom?

Why are you calling me Mom?

What Mommy? I mean What Mom?

Mommy?

What?

No answer

What Jack?

I'm just saying hi. Am I 'stractin' you? I thought you were 'stracted. (distracted) Yet another random word, but used correctly!

Words that make their way into Jack's conversation randomly and with no rhyme or reason -

redikulus, frustrated, confused, cited (excited), silly, idiot -WHAT!

Yes, he did say idiot today while watching Mickey Mouse. Again there is no rhyme or reason. Something silly happened and instead of laughing, he just said, "that's idiot". So I said, that's not a nice word, and he said, I won't say that anymore. WOW! Wonder where he heard that one? No suggestions please! Probably from those church workers - HA!

While fixing Jack's hair with gel for church, Matt let Jack see himself with it standing straight up. He said, "Maybe you could wipe it down." Guess he's not into wild hairdos!

Ava has switched to formula. She is growing like crazy, and I couldn't keep up. So when nothing else satisfies, I'm all for giving her more to eat. Just have to do it with formula now, I guess. So last night she slept 12 hours - wow!

So this week we have beautiful weather, so we may head to the park more often. Jack needs to get out of the house, I know that. He basically jumps on the furniture all day, and after a while, it is wearing! Hoping to head to the Mall of America soon. I haven't been there in a while.

This weekend we are heading up to Penngilly, MN to stay at our pastor's other house up there. We are looking forward to getting away. With Matt's schedule, we both need a break. So we are thankful for this opportunity!

Ava's little personality

My favorite new thing about Ava is that she tries to hold her pacifier in with her fist. It's so cute!

I like that she "talks" to me, and I like that I can understand her. I really can!

I love her reddish brown hair and beautiful deep blue eyes. I hope she keeps both of those features.

She is pretty laidback overall. She still loves her pacifier. Jack didn't like to be held if you were just sitting. He wanted you to be going somewhere, and he could tell very young! Ava doesn't mind what you do, but she likes variety. She will be comfortable in one position and then after a few minutes like a change. And if she gets uncomfortable, she lets you know until you help her!

She does have a demanding cry sometimes, but for the most part when you pick her up, she turns it into a distressed cry. She's already figured out how to be a damsel in distress!

She doesn't take full naps regularly, just catnaps here and there. But she is sleeping through the night mostly now. So anything else is fine with me. She is a very light sleeper though like me, so sometimes the slightest touch - also very ticklish like me! - or sound wakes her up although we were at McDonalds the other day and the fire alarm went off and she slept right through it, so who knows?

She had a very sad, painful cry after her shots. Very hard to hear! I felt like such a traitor. And Jack didn't like it either. When I picked her up, she started telling me all about it. Very sad "talking". I remember Jack immediately took a bottle and quit crying after the first yelp.

She always keeps her hands tightly closed and gets "jam" in them. Maybe that's normal, but I just didn't remember that from Jack.

Ava also is very responsive to us. She quiets down with music and talking for the most part. Jack was a fussy baby for whatever reason, so it's nice that he grew out of that.

Ava is a better eater, but also has some trouble with digestion. Watch what you're wearing because it might come up! And she still hiccups after nearly every meal. Jack would hardly burp.

I guess all of this is "normal" according to Dr. Trudie Sprenkle or as I like to call her Truly Scrumptious. She is such a cute and nice tiny little lady. With a name like that, she probably didn't have a choice but to do something with kids!

Ava's 2 month appointment went well. "She couldn't be more perfect", according to Doctor Sprenkle - love that name! And of course according to us, too! She couldn't believe Ava has been sleeping through the night pretty regularly already. Jack also was checked out at our WIC appointment yesterday, and the lady there said, "He couldn't be any better" or something like that. So praise the Lord for good health! Ava is a whopping 11 pounds 12.5 ounces. She is 22" long. Jack is 39" tall and weighs 35.4 pounds. We are proud of our little people!

Our blog is basically our baby book for our kids. I am not a crafty person or a scrapbooker or a journaler if that's a word. So this is what we do for them and also to remind us of things when they happen. So I try to be thorough on the blog for that reason. Just in case anybody is ever wondering why we have such random information sometimes.

Last night was a clear night. Matt has a telescope, so he got it out and was looking at the moon. Pretty cool! He thought Jack would like to see it, too. So Jack got up on the stool to look through it and says, "That's nice. I have to go make a call now." There's a very cool attached remote, so Jack got down and got on the "phone" and said, "This is a one man show." Half the time I don't know what he is talking about, but it's funny when he takes phrases from everything he hears. I guess Lightning McQueen says that.

Today he tells me, "I know my numbers." Oh? What are they? "J.....and.....J...." J and J? "No, J....and...G....and....E..." The thing is he DOES know numbers AND letters. I guess it all gets confusing sometimes. Getting the right word is kind of tough!

Also today at the park, his friend says, "Hi Jack!" I said, "Say hi." He says, "I'm shy." A little too late to say that. I know the truth! Later I said, "You are not shy. You say hi to your friends." He says, "I'm confused." Confused? "No, I'm happy." Sometimes as a parent, you just say OK! Otherwise, it could go on and on forever!

I am an organized person and like everything in its place. But there is a small secretive part of me that likes the fact that I can have everything completely clean and picked up and I will ALWAYS find another car or truck or random toy that was hiding somewhere. Someday he will be gone, and there will be no toys to find! And then I will be SO SAD!

Being an organized person, I also like lists. It's fun crossing things off my list. The bad thing about being a list person is that sometimes your kids come after the "list". So I have decided to (mentally at least) put them at the top. Hug Jack and Ava. Read to Jack and Ava. Sing to Jack and Ava....

Yesterday -
Us: Jack, what did you learn in junior church today?
Jack: "UMMMMM let me see".....long pause....."ummm.....nuffing."

Today -
Jack: "Are we gonna die on trees?"
WHAT!?!
Jack: Mrs. Maggie says we're gonna die on trees.
Us: I think she was teaching about Jesus dying on the tree.
Jack: Oh yeah! JESUS died on the tree.

WHEW!

Life goes on....

Ava is already two months old today and already her newborn clothes are getting tight! Sigh - I can't believe it goes this fast! Jack is wearing bigger shoes and bigger clothes and he just looks....big. My babies are growing up! While I do like progress, I would like it to slow down just a little for Jack. He will be in school before I know it, and I will miss him. In the meantime though, I guess I still have two years before that happens. I will just enjoy it.

Usually Jack tells me I look pretty and compliments my clothes and one time even told me a shirt was too big for me - good husband material for the future! But today while shopping, he said he liked a sparkly shirt hanging on the wall and felt the need to add that he thought it would be too small for me - oh well! I will have to work on that with him!

Life is good!

Fall is nearly here and certainly feels like it. I love it and hope it lasts three months! Ava is sleeping through the night more often and is almost 2 months old so is starting to "talk" and smile more. I remember when Jack hit 2 months, and it was fun! I love the interacting and the more the better! I am feeling good, more normal, especially now that we're dieting and just enjoying our little family.

We always ask Jack what he learned in Sunday School or junior church and rarely understand what he is trying to say, but lately he will pop out with surprising things like, "one another be kind". And he'll name all his friends while talking to himself and say, "Share with Lexi, share with Tonio, help Madison...." I really want to raise kids that are a blessing to others, and not kids that people avoid. So this warms my heart.

I had one of those mom moments in Walmart the other day in which Jack had to go to the bathroom in the middle of grocery shopping, and Ava started screaming. I left my cart with one of the cashiers, took them both to the bathroom, came back and finished my shopping even though Ava wasn't happy about it. Nothing I did made her happy. I got lots of looks like, "Why aren't you taking care of that baby?" I felt like I should wear a sign saying I had tried everything possible at that time! Anyway, we got out to the car, and she was fine of course. Maybe she was just ready to leave Walmart. I sure was! And once I checked out, the cashier helped me by quickly checking my groceries and packing all my bags in the cart. But in the middle of it while Ava was screaming, I told Jack to please be quiet because I was having a hard time with the shopping and her screaming; and he didn't say another word and just sat there quietly until I finished. He got the best kid award that day. I keep telling him how much he helps me because he really does!

What a blessing to see Chris, Alicia, and the kids on Skype the other day! I needed that since we can't be there in person. Love love love you guys so much! And I miss the kids and seeing them grow up. Plus it was fun to show off Ava and Jack.

So we are going to have a busy fall, I think. Lots of church things coming up with Awana starting and retreats and Ladies Fellowship and all kinds of good things. I am very appreciative of these things since we love church work. But since Matt is busy working 3rd shift and we're both busy with church, we are enjoying our family time when we get it. It's never enough!

Happy Birthday, Heidi!

Ava's nearest cousin, Maddie! Maddie may have been a teency bit jealous of Auntie Heidi holding Ava.

Auntie Heidi is so nice and lets me (Jack) blow out her candles and open her presents.

My men on Labor Day Sunday

Update to the previous post

Jack just surprised me and sang the whole chorus to "Power in the Blood". I can't figure out where he learned that, but he said from church. So I guess he knows a hymn!

Ava's newborn clothes are starting to get tight - already! She will be 2 months old next week and with the season change, we are heading into 3 month fall clothes - how fun to dress a little girl in a new season!

Miscellaneous happenings in the Fure household

I have a lot of Jack stories again. I am mostly putting them in here so that I don't forget. Hope it's not too boring, but I don't want to forget a second of his growing up. Well...I might want to forget some parts; but overall, I want to remember as much as possible.

So the first time Ava was crying in the car, Jack said, "I don't like that." I said, "Well, maybe she is sad. Should we sing to her?" And this was so neat when he said we should sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" because it was the first one I would always sing to him when he was upset. I can't believe he remembered that. So now whenever she starts crying, he yells/sings it to be heard above her.

After getting onto Jack the other day and asking why he did something, he said, "God is frustrated with me."

He immediately says I'm sorry after anything. Nice, but I think he figured out that I definitely soften when he does that and is trying to avoid any punishment. They figure us out too quickly!

He watched me mix hot dogs with mac and cheese and said, "What the big idea are you doing?" Kind of combined a couple of sentences there. He doesn't always trust food that is mixed. So like his father!

Ava crying in the car, Jack says, "Ava, you're gonna have to be quiet. I can't help you right now." He was eating nuggets.

When I get frustrated with something and go UGH, he says, "Mommy, are you happy?" Sometimes he says it a little fearfully, because as we all know, "If mommy's not happy....nobody is."

If Ava's crying, he yells, "I'll get her!" But then just runs to put her pacifier in her mouth. I'm glad he doesn't attempt picking her up though!

He begs to hold her, and you get everything all settled and situated and he says, "I'm done."

He really is very helpful and loves looking at her and talking to her and doing things for me. I love that, too!

When we sing hymns in church, he sings his Sunday School songs loudly at the same time. I guess we should teach him some hymns so we can all be on the same page.

While out the other day, he was waiting for me to get done so we could; so he crossed his arms and feet, leaned against the wall, and started pretending to whistle.

I asked Jack if he was ready to take a bath and he said, "Thank you, but no I don't need a bath."

I am usually exuberant in the morning when he wakes up - as long as I'm up before he is - so I was all excited and hugging and asking him questions. He shut my lips together and said, "Just be quiet."

My little boy is growing up literally. I didn't realize his shoes were 2 sizes too small. I put his brown tie up shoes on that he hasn't worn this summer, and he asked if he could take them off until we leave. I bought him some new ones that day, so he was very excited about that. He just looks so big - sigh!

He was outside with some friends drawing pictures with the sidewalk chalk. They were drawing octupuses and very well, I might add. Well, not to be outdone, Jack drew a few x's and said, "Here's my octupus!" I have to say he takes after the Hanks side in that! A chip off the old block.

Sitting outside in his little chair, he said, "Aah this is fun. Playing is fun. Getting big is fun...and he went on and on.

Back to reality...

We both said we would give ourselves until after the fair, and now the diet starts. I'm actually ready for it although it's going to be tough! It was a nice holiday weekend, and the fair has been great; but I'm ready for real life to begin again.

September looks like it will be a busy month with Awana starting and I am back on the nursery schedule and music schedule. We also start our Ladies Fellowship, and Matt has a couple of men's things. Should be fun though. Hope this great weather continues! Looking forward to it.

Ava is growing so much and will have her 2 month appointment in a couple of weeks. Shots - UGH! I don't know if I'm ready for that. Poor thing.

So life goes on and away we go!

Happy Fall!

Well, almost. School's starting, the fair is here, and I had to get a sweatshirt out today because the high is 65! Even though I don't look forward to winter, I LOVE FALL! I wish there were a good 3 months of it.

Ava is doing well and slept through the night two times in a row which made me very happy. So hopefully a trend is starting. Matt's job is going well, and he is adjusting. Jack is doing great and makes me laugh everyday. He is so helpful and good for the most part. If I find myself yelling at him, it's usually because of boy stuff. Jumping, running, yelling, jumping, going around the corner at Walmart instead of staying with the cart, and jumping. I am doing pretty well and feel a little more normal, so I'm happy about that.

We are getting ready to start our diet after the fair. Heading to the fair again today and looking forward to the cool weather! We enjoy the fair so much and maybe we don't need to go as much as we do, but this is our summer "vacation". It's a staycation. We don't go anywhere the rest of the year after our vacation, so this has become it. Tonight is date night with just Matt and me. We need that, too.

So that is about it for our life. I just love sitting here by the window with the cool breeze and hearing Ava make her little noises. And Jack is still sleeping at almost 11 am! I think I wore him out yesterday! So that makes for a nice morning.