Summer Time (May-August 2012)

So we left off somewhere in May. Avery was about to have her first dance recital at the Galveston Opera with Jill Rauscher's School of Dance. They dance to a mixed song of "Where is Thumbkin?". We were all a little nervous that she wasn't going to dance or just stand up there and cry. Well...she did GREAT!!! She was a little hesitant at first, she was looking around for us, but then she just started dancing! I cried because I was so proud of my baby! I think she enjoyed being the star of "our" show. She got gifts, flowers, toys and everyone that loves her came to watch!

Avery at dress rehearsal...

Avery before the show...

The BIG performance...

Random dance class pics from May...

So once school and dance wrapped up for the year, we began to settle into our summer routine. This was a much needed break from the everyday schedules. If I worked, it was only for one or two days a week. By-ya (and occassionally Papa Spook) watched the kids. This gave Mommy some extra summer spending money and still allowed for some adult interactions. ;) The kids looked forward to spending time with each of them. Little Austin, even though still very little in size, has become such a big boy. And when I say boy...I mean BOY!!! Jumping, climbing, running, hopping, not listening (although I think that is more of a three year-old trait). He had what he considers his first big boo-boo. He fell in the driveway (when not listening, of course). He scraped his elbow, knee and ankle pretty bad. It left a nice scar on his elbow too. But with many tears, repetitive bleeding (because he kept scraping it over and over again) and lots of bandaids, he finally got over it. We have been spending a lot of time at the community pool, Jumping Jungle (moonwalk place), the beach and Palm Beach at Moody Gardens. The kids are finally to the age where I feel like I can take them places by myself and not have to worry so much about losing one. Here are some random pics from our summer...

My little chef

Played so hard...he passed out in his room!

At Schlitterbahn...

My silly kiddos...this is a typical day at our house!

We had a little mini vaca in Galveston with the Gonzalez family in June for Justin's birthday party at Schlitterbahn. We stayed at the Escapes. The kids had a blast with each other. At Schlitterbahn, Avery wanted to ride every ride and wasn't scared at all. Austin on the other hand, only wanted to ride the big tube ride, that we could all ride in together. Even on that ride...his laugh sounded like he was holding himself back from crying. He hated any ride that we were in an enclosed tube. The kids have a blast every time we go to Palm Beach at Moody Gardens. We got a season pass this year and we have definitely taken advantage of it. THe kids could hang out by the two kiddie slides all day. They go up and down a hundred times. At the beginning of the summer, Austin wouldn't go by himself. Either Justin, PawPaw or myself would have to go with him. He was terrified of the big water drop every time. Avery has proven herself to be very fearless. Which is a good and a bad thing!

In July, I took the kids to the circus for the first time with a bunch of friends! They had a blast. It kept their attention the whole time!

This was the best picture I could get of Austin at the circus...he is definitely in the uncooperative stage! ;)

Avery and Caitlyn...she couldn't wait to get Cotton Candy!!!

Here are some tidbits in the life of Avery...she still loves princess (especially Disney princess, more specifically Rapunzel), dress up, coloring, pretend playing (aka "Mommy Daddy"), dolls. Her favorite TV shows are Calliou, My Little Pony, and Strawberry Shortcake. Some of her favorite foods are: pepperoni pizza, chicken and rice, fruit stripes, sprinkle cookies, Bugles, Chex Mix, and goldfish.

Some of the things that come out of her mouth crack us up...she's says she wants to be Rapunzel when she grows up. She is constantly tattle telling on everything and everyone(Which is not so funny. Actually pretty annoying). She tries to talk like an adult and "mothers" kids that are smaller than her.

Avery is doing chores now...she makes her bed, does her morning routine things (brushes her hair and teeth with help, gets dressed, sets the dinner table. She has a chores chart in her room that we check of at the end of the day. If she does everything on the chart all week, she gets a $1. So far we haven't made it to the reward part...but we are working on it. ;)

This summer we try to incorporate some school stuff into our very busy summer. Avery can read a few words...her's and Austin's name, dog, and cat. She can write the word "cat" too. She can write each letter of the alphabet except "J" and "K". Not sure what her hold up is on those letters. She can recognize the numbers 1-10 too. She knows all her shapes and colors. Even an octagon and hexagon.

I know I have said this before in my blog...but Austin is a boy through and through. He definitely keeps us on our toes. We aren't constantly finding that kid jumping off something. It isn't a day if Austin doesn't come crying to me because he's hurt something. But he's such a sweet boy and wants to be Mommy's baby. We are in the process of turning his toddler/baby room into a big boy room. We bought the full mattress, bedding and curtains and the walls are painted.

These are some last few pics of Austin in his baby room...

This was the day that we brought the mattress home...

I'm sad that this is the last little bit of babyhood that I have to let go. It actually makes me very sad. One thing at is still in Austin's room, at was actually in Avery's room too, is the glider. I've rocked both my babies in that chair since the day we brought them home from the hospital. Not quite ready to let it go yet and neither is Austin. When u told him that we would have to take the glider out,Mathis was his response to me..." Mommy, my baby bed is still comfy. I don't need a big boy bed.". It melted my heart. So we made sure that he still had his glider...

Here are some pics from his big boy room from stage one. We are doing the room in a surf theme. So there isn't anything on the walls yet. But you get the idea. I'll post more pics when the room is complete.

He was sooooo proud!

He gives it 2 thumbs up!

Anytime anyone comes to the house who hasn't seen his bed...he tells them to close their eyes and he walks them in and shows them his room! He gets so excited everything! It's so cute! The other day we were getting ready for church and we were done a little early (which by the way NEVER happens). So we were sitting on the bottom of the stairs and Avery yells, "BUBBA!". Austin looks at Avery, dead serious, and says, "Don't call me Bubba!". Which he has never said. So I replied back to him, "What should we call you?". He replied back, dead serious once again, "Call me snake!". I obviously cracked up laughing. I had no idea where he had gotten that from. Soooo funny!

Some of Austin's favorites are: snacks, snacks and more snacks. This kid wants to eat all the time. Avery isnt any better, but Austin is the worst! He would literally get up for the dinner table and walk into the kitchen, open the pantry and ask for a snack. Same thing for in the mornings when he wakes up. The other morning, I was still sleeping in bed and Justin was getting ready. Apparently Austin had helped himself to animal cookies at 7:30am. Justin asked him what he was doing and he answered, "I'm having a snack!" Justin thought that I was too tired to get up and get him something that I just let him get cookies. So he didn't take them away and let him eat cookies! Like I would let my kid eat cookies in the morning? LOL!

So I got on a tangent, back to Austin's favorites...the color blue, playing on his train and with his cars, playing Mommy Daddy, doing the opposite of whatever we ask him to. (sad, but true!), ride his tricycle. Some of his favorite TV shows are: Calliou, Cars movie, and Dora the Explorer. Some of his foods are: chicken and rice, broccoli (which is crazy because he hated broccoli. Now he gets excited when I give it t him), circus animal cookies (aka sprinkle cookies), fruit strips, pretzels, pirates booty, fruit (strawberries and bananas).

We have spent a lot of time in Galveston. Either at the State Park atbthe beach with By-ya and Paw Paw or at Palm Beach. We got a season pass to Palm Beach this year and the kids have loved it! It was well worth it! A definite for next year too.

We got to spend some fun time cooking Italian food with MeMe last month. Heather made homemade tomato sauce and MeMe, the kids, and Im made meatballs and brachiole. Of course, the kids had to help somewhere, So they got to sprinkle in the cheese on the brachiole. They had to wear their aprons too. :)

So we haven't had a big vacation this summer like we usually do because we are going on the Disney Cruise out of Galveston in October. We have had this trip planned since May 2011. So it has been much anticipated, to say the least! Avery calls it the Princess ship. We have 36 days till we leave and I am in full force of planning. I think I'm just as excited as the kids! We received our tickets and luggage tags last week...that got the kids real excited too. We made a Mickey Mouse countdown chain that we will start on Thursday to count down the days till we leave.

The kids start school next week and are sooo ready to go back. Avery will be in Pre-K4 in Ms. Sandie's class and Austin will be in Pre-K3 in Ms. Pat's class. They will go three days a week this year instead on two. So that't the Syfert life in a nutshell through the summer. Can't wait to post on our cruise and back to school!

Our busy life...February-May 2012

So it has been a while since my last post. With working part-time, kids activities and Justin starting a new job with Chase Home Loans it has been beyond busy around here. The kids are still in preschool at Little Wonders till May 17th. Austin loves his teacher Ms. "Yauren" aka Ms. Lauren. She is really sweet and good to him despite the fact that he is a little bit of a bully. He is constantly getting in trouble for rough housing with his buddy, Carson. Despite all his rough housing...he loves, loves, loves Carson! Avery amazes me with how smart she is on a daily basis. She can fully write her own name and Austin's name, count to at least thirty, recognizes all her shapes and colors (according to her "tests" at school. They have even begun to teach them sounds which she knows quite a few of those too. They have a program at school called "Stretch and Grow". Coach Suzanne teaches them the names of different body parts. She knows where her humerus, phalanges, sternum, cranium, heart, patella, tibia, fibula and ribs are. Pretty impressive for a four year old. Preschool has done wonders for her.

Our Valentine's Day outfits before school! I made Avery's dress. She was really excited to wear it! They had to have their new toys in the picture from their V-day presents.

We went strawberry picking at Froberg's in early March. Papa Spook came along too. We had so much fun picking strawberries and playing around the farm. The strawberries were delicious!

We started swim in March and the kids were a little hesitant the first time. We had a few tears shed but they finally warmed up to it. Avery's teacher is Mr. Scott and Austin's teacher is Ms. Toni. Avery was able to swim on the first day...so I was pretty proud of her that she maintained her skills over the Fall and Winter. Austin wasn't really able to swim at the end of the swim season last year. He was just kicking his legs and swimming with his arms...but he just wasn't going anywhere. Finally, on 5/10, he swam almost across the whole pool for the first time! I was so excited for him and he was so proud of himself!

We have one week of dance left for the year. Avery's recital is at the Galveston Opera House on May 19th. She is dancing to London Bridges. Her costume is adorable! Here is a picture of her on picture day at dance and one of the girls practicing for the Moms. So more on the recital on the next post!

On Avery's actual birthday...she got to pick what she wanted to do that day. She had a mani/pedi and then wanted dinner at Chuck E Cheese. I also took her shopping to pick out any outfit she wanted. We went to Gymboree and then had ice cream at Marble Slab. She picked out vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. I think she took three or four bites and then was done. I started a tradition with Avery last year...she got a charm bracelet with an "A" on it. Every year on her birthday, she gets a new charm. This year we got her a princess crown, since she LOVES princesses.

I can't believe that my babies are growing up so fast! Avery was 4 on March 17th and Austin was 3 on April 22nd. I don't know how time flies by sooooo fast. I really wish I could just slow time down. Just a little bit. Either that or I need another baby to love on! ;) Justin would think I was crazy to even think that thought!!! For their birthday we had a joint birthday party at AcroSports on April 7th. For now the kids don't mind having their parties together and it's easier on us! All the kids had a good time and it was a lot of fun!

Avery knows when her birthday is if asked, along with her phone number and her address. We almost lost her at the Rodeo this year, which prompted us to teach her her address and phone number.

This year for Easter, we went to church and then had lunch and an Easter egg hunt at By-ya and Paw Paw's. Austin collected so many eggs that needed an extra basket! It was a lot of fun! Avery and Austin have learned so much by going to church. They really enjoy it. They both talk about Jesus and "baby Jesus". They sing songs from church too. Every night we say our prayers and we have a set thing we say every night One night, out of the blue, Avery added something to her prayer..."thank you God for your Son dying on the cross for our sins." I was shocked and so proud of what she said. She knows the true meaning of Easter too. She knows that everything that we do on Easter is fun...but that we are celebrating Jesus! Melts my heart!

Some of her favorite things are: puzzles, riding her new Disney princess bike, coloring (She is reeeeeally good at coloring too! She stays in the lines.), school, dance, the beach and the camper house, swimming, and playing with Justin and Emily. She is already planning her wedding to Justin. ;) She talks about what she is going to wear, her bouquet, the "thingy she wears over her face" aka her veil. It's really too cute. She talks about how much she loves Justin. She also loves to pretend play. She plays puppies and kitties and like to play house. Avery is the Mommy and Austin is the Daddy. She still loves to play with her dogs. She likes to feed them, give them treats and tries to walk them on a leash. Occasionally, at night, we let Jake sleep in her bed. She thinks that is really fun!

Some of the cute things she is doing now are: reminds me to brush her teeth and say her prayers, reminds/asks me if I remembered to lock the doors in the house, says the blessing before we eat, calls granola bars "gorilla bars", rolly pollies "holy mollies", and raisinets "chocolate beans".

On April 13th, Avery and I went with a group of girls, and their Mom's, that she dances with to see Disney's Princesses on Ice. She loved it! She tells me that she wants to be Rapunzel when she grows up. Rapunzel is her favorite Disney princess.

Austin is a boy through and through...from jumping to running to play catch and kicking balls. He loves to be in constant movement. Everyone says that he runs everywhere he goes. Hence why he is a walking disaster area. If any kid is going to get hurt, it's Austin. All that said he is the sweetest little boy. He will tell me that he loves me, without being prompted. He reminds me to say our prayers and the blessing before we eat. When he prays, he thanks God for everyone in his family; from his Mommy, Daddy and sister to his all his grandparents and his dogs. He still has the cutest lisp when he talks. His open bite has finally closed up. When he smiles he has a full on top and bottom teeth smile. When you see it...it makes you smile!

Austin in his "bald headed Mickey Mouse shirt". He loves to wear his baseball hats now. He says he looks like his Daddy.

He likes to pose like Avery does with his hands on his hips. Monkey see, monkey do! Too cute!

Some of his favorite things are: playing baseball, throwing and catching, race cars (especially Lightening McQueen), Lion King, Woody and Buzz, Dora, Calliou, playing outside and in his sandbox, swimming, the beach and the camper house. His favorite snack is fruit strips and goldfish. He will sneak a fruit strip out of the snack basket and hide it behind his back; as if we don't know it's there. We can hear the crinkle of the wrapper. He walks up with his big, huge grin on his face. How can you say no to that face? He probably eats 3-4 a day. At least it's healthy!

Some of the cute things he is doing now are: likes to pretend play with Avery; plays house and puppies and kitties, plays with the dogs (slept with Roxy in his bed on 3/26, for the first time), rides his tricycle by himself, tells everyone he's 6 years old, call his elbows "bubbles".

Developmentally he can lower body dress himself and can put his shirt on with help. He puts his shoes on, but they are usually on the wrong feet. He can verbally spell his name and wants to write it, but needs total help for that! He knows his colors and shapes. He can recognize the letters of his name and the letters O, H and W.

Sometimes we put Austin to bed and he decides that he doesn't want to go to bed yet. So usually we go in a few times and talk him down. We might catch him playing with his Buzz and Woody toys on the video monitor or sometimes he might get out of bed. One night in February, as I always do, I went in to check on the kids and I found Austin asleep completely NAKED! I guess he got bored with playing with his toys he decided to take off ALL his clothes and go to sleep! Crazy kid!!!

Austin is potty trained during the day with occasional accidents; like when he is too busy to stop to go to the bathroom. At night, he still soaks his night time diaper. Couldn't care less about it. At times he completely soaks through his diaper and onto his clothes and sheets. So I resorted to putting plastic training pants on over his night time diaper. He hated it at first...but we gave them a cute name. We call them popcorn pants because they are so noisy and now he loves them. He reminds us to put them on him at night. While on the topic of potty training...Austin was on the potty facing backwards, which he sometimes does, and had made a poopy. He called me to wipe him and when I did, I threw the toilet paper in the toilet, like always. For some strange reason he said to me in an "hey, why did you do that voice", "Hey Mom, you messed up my poop mountain!" He was dead serious and I died laughing! It was the funniest thing he had ever said.

He is a pretty funny and entertaining kid. He likes to be the center of attention. Even if that means he gets in trouble for it. He will probably be the class clown! He makes silly faces, acts like a monkey and says words that don't make any sense sometimes because his sister will laugh at them! My Silly boy!

For Austin's actual birthday we had to stay around the house because both the kids had been sick. Austin was running fever up until the night before his birthday. We were suppose to go to Schlitterbahn for his birthday. So instead we made our backyard an amusement park. I went to Toys R Us and bought Austin some fun pool toys and other things. We blew up their pool, inflated their jumpy house and the kids played in their new sandbox By-ya and Paw Paw gave them. Justin's smoked us dinner on the smoker and the Gonzalez family came over to celebrate!

So far this May we have been getting ready for the end of the year school program at Little Wonders and Avery's dance recital on May 19th. Hopefully Avery will not cry, like she usually does. She gets really anxious when she knows she is being watched. We had our first weekend at the "camper house" in Galveston. The kids LOVE going to spend the night and spending the day at the beach. They both slept in the bunk beds for the first time last weekend and didn't make a peep. Avery took her end of the year test at school. She knew all her ABCs and colors. She missed two shapes: oval and octagon and three numbers: 8, 11, and 15. So proud of my BIG girl!

We are getting ready for summer, vacations, and lots of swimming! We can't wait!