I am still here!

It's been a horribly long time since I've updated and since there was so much to update, I kept putting it off until I had "more time." HA! So, I'll just jump in where we are and attempt to keep things brief (otherwise I'll not finish and continue putting off an update).


Ava is now 5 and a half and starts kindergarten this fall! On one hand, it's hard to believe, but on the other, it seems about time... feels like I've been home with kids forever, even though we're only a little over 5 years in. She seems so grown up to me and while we still have some struggles (you know, since neither one of us is perfect!), I love to see how her personality and interests are developing. She loves crafts, coloring, painting, anything artsy and is already showing herself to be quite an artist. Of course, I'm comparing her artwork to mine, so take that for what it's worth!


Carter is still rough and tumble with a huge side of sensitive. And, he'll be 4 next week. FOUR! For some reason, this seems to mark the end of my little boy in my mind - he's so busy with play and becoming more and more independent. I'm so glad that he is my snuggly, lovey, affectionate child and he's agreed never to grow out of it! He and Ava are great playmates and he's starting to warm up to Audrey and playing with her more and more (as opposed to getting mad when she'd want to join in and him being afraid she'd ruin the fun).


Audrey's personality is really coming through these days. For the most part, she's easy-going and happy. Teething brings out a cranky, whiny girl - I finally understand what some other parents go through. Ava and Carter never seemed to be bothered by teeth coming in, but anytime poor Audrey gets a new tooth, her entire hand is shoved in her mouth which brings on copious amounts of drool and we all get to enjoy a major case of the grumps. Seeing as how she is usually so easy, I'll cut her some slack (and maybe give her some tylenol). Oh, yeah, she's working on some teeth right now.

Audrey also loves music and dancing. If we're out shopping and she hears a song that strikes her fancy, she's bopping along and sometimes singing, too. At home, she tries to climb on chairs or anything else she can make a stage and performs. She loves to make Ava & Carter laugh and she's pretty good at it.

Our biggest adventure since last posting would probably be our trip to Disney World in March. We had such fun and Carter still thanks God almost every night in his prayers for Disney World. At least they have stopped asking when we're going back. You can see more pictures here.

And here's another album with pictures from our various adventures this spring. You'll see these pictures there, but I just loved these series of pictures from bedtime one night:

This is the doll cradle my dad made for me when I was little. After she gets her pj's on, she likes to get in it and pretend to sleep.


Pretend sleeping complete with fake snores.


So pleased with herself!


This night, she decided to share the cradle with a doll. Here she is tucking him in.


Kisses goodnight...


"Oh, maybe I'll just climb in with you."


"This really isn't big enough for two."


"Night night!"

December

I knew it had been a while since I posted, but I was looking at pictures on our computer and realized I haven’t even downloaded anything from my camera for a month! Yikes. Here are some from Ava’s 5^th birthday – FIVE! Sometimes I look at her and she seems so grown up. She loves to help and tries to anticipate when I’m going to ask her to do something, doing it before I have a chance to ask. She loves to color and create. A new coloring book keeps her occupied for days on end. She loves dresses and ribbons and glitter. She loves to sing and dance. We have been so blessed with this girl!

traditional birthday pancakes

much anticipated (and oft-asked for) Sleeping Beauty doll

The same weekend we had her party, the kindergarten choir sang in church. I had a hard time getting a picture since Ava was in the second row and every time she tried to poke her head through so I could get a take a photo, the 2 little girls in front of her would block her! Too funny.

December has not been the best of months at the Button house. From me trying to fit too many tasks into too few hours to multiple bouts of sickness, this holiday season has been more stressful than we would have liked.

I have been busy finishing up a variety of projects that I’d started for a craft fair that was this past week. As is typical for me (surely I’m not alone), I misjudged just how much time it would take to finish up what seemed to be only a few things, so the first 2 weeks of December found me trying to eek out work-time on every possible occasion. As luck would have it, Ava & Carter decided this would be a grand time to stop going to bed nicely each night and come out of their rooms every 10 minutes during afternoon rest-time asking if they could get up. (We’re still struggling on that front and I’m wondering if they make pajamas with built-in straightjackets… maybe that will keep them in bed!). Oh, and Carter came down with strep throat on the first day of December. Then there were extra rehearsals for our church’s Christmas program in which I was involved. Last Saturday, the weekend of both the Christmas program and the craft fair, it became clear that Mark was getting sick. He had taken vacation time from GE Sunday through Wednesday, and it was a good thing since he spent that entire time in bed. He had been scheduled to work at his second job (Smashburger), but had to call off. Thankfully, he ended up with Thursday off as well (he was supposed to have some training that day and the trainer was sick so they just gave everyone the day off!). Monday morning Carter complained that his throat hurt and as he talked I realized he sounded exactly as he did when he’d gotten strep 2 weeks earlier, so we visited the doctor again to find out he somehow managed to get it AGAIN … only days after finishing his first round of antibiotics (or, maybe the first round of medicine didn’t completely get it?). Thankfully (so far) the only other ailments at our house are a runny nose for Audrey and a sore back muscle for me (let’s just say I was not so excited about getting to shovel all the snow we got this week!).

In the midst of all the craziness, there have been some definite highs. My birthday comes at the beginning of the month and about a week before, Ava had cards made and a present wrapped. Closer to the day, she wrapped up one the presents she had received for her birthday on days before to give to me (wrapping paper created by Ava, of course!).

I don't know if you can read it, but the card says, "Iluveoomombecuseoorsespecial" translated, "I love you mom because you are so special." The only word she asked how to spell was "special." I had to take pictures so I never forget her thoughtfulness! (She doesn't believe in spaces between words... no matter how many times I encourage her that they are quite helpful!)

The biggest highlight comes as a result of talking a lot about Christmas and reading the Christmas story from a variety of books. Over the past few days, Ava & Carter have been reenacting the Christmas story using all sorts of different toys from stuffed bears and dolls to dump trucks and school buses… and sometimes even the Little People nativity set. My heart melts when I hear them repeating the word of the angels to the shepherds and then hearing the shepherds excitedly travel to find baby Jesus. Ava has told me several times that her favorite gift at Christmas is that Jesus came. She seems so very close to understanding just what that gift truly means and I’m excited to think that soon she may ask Jesus to be her Savior.

And some random pictures since they're too fun not to include:

Carter (aka, Superman) boxing on the Wii


Pretty sure the chocolate chip pancakes are a hit!

Fun with Leaves

We've been staying busy this fall with a variety of activities.


Our county sponsored a "Try-a-Truck" day. There were all types of construction, emergency and basically any other truck you could think of - even a helicopter flew in and landed for everyone to see. Carter was in heaven.

(You can see a bunch of pictures from the day here)

We took a trip to Young's Dairy and picked pumpkins, fed some goats and played on the tractors.

(More pictures from that trip here)

And we've been playing outside in the leaves a lot!



(more autumn pictures)

I love fall!

The latest

Ava
I cannot believe Ava's going to be five soon. She is growing and maturing and I feel like all the work that seemed fruitless during her 3rd and 4th year is starting to pay off! Lately, she's been much more kind (and will tell me when she's being kind since she wants me to see it, but a great improvement to being UNkind), extremely helpful, can remember so much from Sunday School and Cubbies (before when I'd ask what her story was about, I'd get a big fat, "I don't remember" or the very generic, "God"), and mindful of instruction. We're still working on attitude, but I see such growth... encouragement since Carter has hit the stage where we're dealing with a lot of whining and disobedience - I know we'll get through it!

She loves to color, draw pictures and read books, and she adores all things princess. She's been taking a tumbling class at the local rec center, is in her second year of Cubbies and moved up to the Pre-K class at church where she is in the kindergarten choir and LOVING it. I'm amazed at how quickly she learns and how much she is learning. We've been reading "Little House in the Big Woods" and in case you haven't read it in a while (or ever), much of the book relates what life was like living in the log cabin in the woods - things like slaughtering a pig or cleaning a rifle. I didn't think she'd have any concept of what was going on, much less want to continue reading, but she and Carter both love to snuggle up and have me read a chapter or two at a time. I look at her and can't believe what a sweet little girl she's becoming.

Carter
While Carter is challenging us more these days, he remains our most sensitive and loving child (well, except in any situation regarding Audrey... I know one day he'll come to like her more, but right now he has a hard time tolerating her desire to get at his stuff). Just tonight, I was battling a headache and while we were at the dinner table, I rested my head on my arm. He asked why I put my head down and I told him it hurt. With complete tenderness and sincerity he said, "Aww, Mom... can I come give you a hug?." He has such a sweet heart. He also is great at throwing fits and ignoring me when I call his name, but hopefully, I'll look back and remember the sweet parts.

He still loves trains, cars and trucks (though will play ponies or dress-up with Ava, too). Over the summer, he seemed to lose all his toddler chubbiness and got tall and thin. He's in his first year of Cubbies and is so excited about it. Part of the program includes scripture memorization and I love helping him learn his verses. The best part is knowing he's learning God's Word, but he provides many chuckles along the way as well. He seems to translate the verses into his own way of saying things. For instance, I was trying to teach him a verse that said, "While we were sinners..." It kept coming out, "While us be sinners..." But my absolute favorite so far has been the translation of "... He will be great" to "Him gonna be great." We are only on week 3, so I can't wait to see what other translations he comes up with!

Audrey
Sweet Audrey is ONE! She's rediscovered waving and clapping after quite some time of pretending not to remember how and also learned how to blow kisses this week. Her very favorite is high fives. She took a few steps one day last week and finally today took a few more. Soon, she'll be running after the other 2. She loves to dance and seems to always be smiling and laughing. She loves baby dolls and stuffed animals (and anything of Carter's... seriously, it's no wonder he's a little annoyed by his baby sister!). When I think about how Mark and I had almost decided 2 kids were enough, I am so thrilled God blessed us with this sweet girl.

Work
Mark has accepted a job with GE in their call center. He'd been working at a newer burger place in the area for the last few months, and they tried to convince him to stay and have even left the door wide open to come back should he decide he doesn't like the new job. He starts training on Monday and will be taking some shifts on the weekends at Smashburger. We're thankful for the new position and hopeful that he'll have a chance to move up quickly and no longer need a second job.

Next post will have pictures, I promise!

Vacation

Last month, we traveled to MD for vacation. I never appreciated my childhood home as I do now! My parents have the perfect vacation spot! Huge yard, big driveway, pool out back, great toys, and if that weren't enough, lots of fun places to visit nearby. We started the week off with a family reunion and I always love to see extended family and catch up.

While we were having a great time at Nana & Pap's house (and I think the two older ones would have been swimming by the end of the week!), we spend most of the week at Ocean City, MD.

Ava was my total beach bum and I don't think there was anything she didn't like about the beach.


Carter had fun, too, but kept asking to go swim in the pool. I'm sure he'll grow into an appreciation for the beach.


Audrey hung out in the sand or in the little pool my parents got and was pretty happy attempting to eat sand or lick saltwater off toys.


We had a few days at my parent's before we had to head back home, and tried to fit in as much fun as possible. If you're interested in more vacation pictures, go here.

11 Months

We recently headed to MD for a week of vacation (including a family reunion & a trip to the beach) and I still haven’t had a chance to sort through all the pics and post some, but in the meantime, I need to document Audrey’s achievements of late. Over the past month, she has learned so much and is doing all sorts of new tricks with which to entertain us. Her primary way to make me smile is with any number of faces she makes. She can't seem to smile without scrunching up her face and no matter how many times I catch it on camera, a still photo simply doesn't do her cuteness justice.

After a few pictures, she usually decides she's done and tries to take the camera away.

She’s over the army/commando crawl (dragging the body with the elbows) and is now a full-fledged crawler… and stair-climber. She also pulls up to stand on anything she can find and cruises along furniture (including kitchen appliances… I’ve learned I need to get in and out of the dishwasher quickly or she’ll start grabbing silverware and tossing pieces out onto the floor).

I love to watch her play. She loves to explore and her play often involved copying behavior she sees elsewhere. The other day I wasn’t sure if she really was trying to feed me with a spoon, but I was convinced when I caught her feeding herself the next day!

She also must have been watching Carter play with his cars because she’s gone from trying to eat them to pushing them around and making “vroom” noises just like her brother. I only wish I had the camera when I noticed her pushing a cheerio around her high-chair tray like a car, complete with car noises.

Here's a video (sorry for the quality - I wanted to capture it while I could and all I had was the camera which doesn't take the greatest video... hopefully, you can hear her "vrooms" over Carter's!)

Oh, and she discovered the her finger fits perfectly in her nose. Now a moment we can all treasure.

And finally, so the post isn't ALL about Audrey, this was from a recent trip to Columbus to see our very good friends' daughter get baptized (yay, Sophia!!). I'm sure the kids hate these pictures, but I love catching them all together (although, I really need to remember to get these before we're trying to head out the door because one or more children are melting down).

Vacation pictures coming soon!

3 Years & 10 Months

Carter turned three several weeks ago. Yup, I'm that far behind...

I love this little man so much! He still loves to snuggle, but plays hard. He's all boy, but has a sensitive, sweet spirit. Trucks, trains and cars remain his favorite toys, but he & Ava play together a lot now, so he can also be found playing with her pony castle or dressing up.

Opening presents at his birthday party


Thomas birthday cake (Ava has announced that next year he's having a Little Mermaid cake...)


Eating cake & ice cream on the swingset

He's really starting to lose his toddler chubbiness - he seems taller and thinner. His speech is clearer and he is starting to exert his will more, too. I didn't experience much of the "terrible two's" with him, but about a week before three hit, he started with some major tantrums. I'm hoping this doesn't last long!

Audrey is 10 months old today. Is that possible?? How can this year be going by so fast? She now pulls herself up to stand and spends most of her time attempting to get into every last thing she can't have. Carter and Ava both struggle with her wanting to play with all their toys (she very rarely wants the "safe for kids under 3" toys). She's also gotten LOUD. She screeches for no reason and even makes noises when she eats. She's learned to wave and gets so excited when she sees her brother or sister. Still no real words, but Ava & Carter were both late to talk, and they talk plenty now, so no worries there.

Playing with Ava's pony castle... pretty sure Ava was napping

I love this girl's expressions! I've never seen a baby with such expressive eyebrows...
even a lady at the park commented on them!

Here's a few more pics from a recent trip to Neena & Poppie's house:

no idea what this look from Chloe is about, but I love it!


Audrey drooled on Mark's sleeve for a while before giving in and falling asleep.

And while most of the time this blog is about the kids, there is news for me and Mark as well. Please pray with us as Mark is pursuing other employment opportunities. I'm convinced that God has something better for him and for our family! Also, tomorrow Mark and I will celebrate 12 years of marriage!