Laughing and Learning

Lately Ava thinks Nash is so funny! She loves to watch him and she laughs when he does funny things. Of course Nash loves this because it means that his little sister is finally interacting with him. Here is a video of Ava laughing at Nash:

Nash is a smart kid. He always amazes us with how advanced he seems. He is an amazing speaker and has an incredible vocabulary. He is easy to talk to and understand and he remembers words really well and uses new words in appropriate ways well after he has heard them. He absolutely loves books (I probably read at least 10-15 books a day to him; it'd be more if I honored every request). Months ago, my mother-in-law started teaching him to read by learning sight words (words that are already in his vocabulary that he can "read" by looking at the word as opposed to sounding out the letters). We haven't done it in awhile, but picked up the cards the other day and were amazed that he remembered them! I added two new ones and took this video:

Sometimes he says really funny things as he's trying to figure out how to express himself with words. These are some that I've enjoyed recently:

Talking about a strainer: "This is a noodle basket."

Driving past a field: "Oh! Crops!"

When asked if he wanted teddy grahams: "I want teddy bears AND grahams."

As we were building a restaurant out of Duplos: "This is a rest-on-it [that's his word for restaurant]. It has rest food in it."

Eating a bowl of Chex cereal and holding up one of the pieces: "Daddy, look! It's a check."

Pointing to his shirt with a number on it: "This is a t-shirt." I respond, "You're right! It's a t-shirt." He says, "No, not a t-shirt, a team shirt. Go, team, go!

He also just started his first day of "playgroup." He is in this group with 3 other 2-3 year olds. He had a blast and didn't want to leave! It is for an hour and a half once a week. The moms are taking turns hosting it. When it is our turn, we sing an opening song, talk about the weather, provide a snack and a short activity. Then the rest of the time is for play or whatever else we choose to do. I like that it isn't too structured--it is just enough for a 2 year old. Here are some pictures of Nash before his first day of the playgroup:

Ava is an absolute doll. I have to admit that we are having issues with sleeping, but now that she is over a small sickness she had last week, we are fully dedicated to "sleep training." She is doing good, but is stubborn. I hope she learns to put herself to sleep soon and learns to sleep longer stretches, because I am in desperate need of a good night's sleep! She can now roll over both directions, but would rather stay in one place until someone comes to play with her. She has a great smile and a great laugh as evidenced in the first video. She loves to be outside and she loves to be held. She likes to grab her toes and she loves chewing on toys. We just started giving her rice cereal and she loves it. She focuses in on the spoon as it comes toward her mouth and swallows the cereal really well. Here are some pictures of Ava eating cereal:

Pictures of our House!

I've finally finished most of the decorating and now have pictures of our new house for you to see! We couldn't be happier with our house and feel so lucky to be here.


Here are pics of the outside of our home:



This is our living room:

Here is our kitchen:

Our main floor bath (we also have a master bath, not pictured):

Our master bedroom:


Here's Nash's room (thanks, Nancy, for the blanket and pillows you gave me so long ago!):

And Ava's room:

And finally, our basement (notice the cute little house Nash and I made out of a box):

Closing postponed and family in town

Well, our closing was postponed until this upcoming Monday instead of last Monday. It is actually good, though, because it has meant that the sellers are doing some minor repairs before closing so we don't have to!

A couple weeks ago, my sister and her family were in town and we are so glad that they came to visit. I am so grateful to her--she is one of my best friends! It was fun to have our families together. We packed a lot of things into the week: Mall of America, shopping at IKEA, BBQ and swimming at Lake George, swimming at the YMCA "waterpark", Chutes and Ladders Park, Como Zoo, foil dinners in the fire pit out front, games, and more.

Here are some pics of their visit:

New House

I just realized that a lot of people don't know this -- WE'RE BUYING A HOUSE! We are very excited. Our closing is on Monday. I'll put up a pic or two after we move in!

It's in a good neighborhood, it's a split with three bedrooms on the main level and a finished basement. We feel so blessed because the timing of everything has worked out so well and we think this house will be perfect for us.

Smiles, Duluth, and Twins!

Ava is smiling! She's been showing off her adorable grin for a few weeks now and we love it. Here are some cute shots we've taken:

We all are smiling lately, though, because of Steve's new job! As I said before, we are very excited. He beat out over 100 other applicants to be offered the position, so it is definitely a big confidence-booster that we needed. Our next step is to find affordable housing in the Twin Cities area. As much as we have loved and benefited living with Steve's family here, we are very eager to get our own place again. We'll keep you all updated on that point.

Even during the excruciating wait period while we had yet to know if he got the job, we did some fun things. We went to Duluth, where Steve's brother, Michael, ran his first marathon (way to go, Michael!). And we also made it to a Twins game which was a blast. For Steve's birthday present I bought tickets for us to go and Steve's mom and Joseph and Michael got to come along, too. Nash was all decked out in his baseball t-shirt and hat and decided that his favorite player is the pitcher. He also enjoyed getting a hot dog to eat and dancing to the music over the loudspeaker. Ava slept through almost the entire game, believe it or not (and it was loud in there!).

Here are some pics from Duluth:

And here are pics from the Twins game:

(did I fool anyone with my post title into thinking I was announcing that I was having Twins?)

Steve got a job!!!!

Today, Steve was offered a job at Graywolf Press in Minneapolis! Yay! And he accepted!

Congratulations, Steve--you are the best and you totally deserve this!

Happy Birthday, Nash!

I can't believe my little boy is 2 years old! I love so many things about him! To me, he is the most amazing and adorable little boy I have ever known.

He loves playing outside, especially on playgrounds, he loves climbing and figuring out how to do things that other kids or people can do. He loves toy cars and trucks and he always wants to "drive" when we get in the car. He loves sucking on his two middle fingers of his left hand and cuddling his blanket and toy monkey for comfort. He loves to run around and he likes being chased by the tickle monster. Speaking of monsters, he loves cookie monster and Sesame Street. He loves to listen to books and can stay entertained by it for quite awhile. He loves baths and playing in water. He loves to help me with anything and everything I'm doing, especially cooking or washing dishes. He likes to build things with blocks and duplos, especially shuttles and tunnels. He really loves tunnels and gets excited about going under any archway or overpass, because it is a tunnel to him. He loves playing with friends and going to Nursery. He likes kicking soccer balls and going on walks. He loves giving Ava hugs and kisses. He likes to eat pickles, olives, yogurt, cheese, butter (with or without bread), pizza, raisins, noodles, watermelon and more, depending on the day. He loves to dip his food in any kind of sauce. He likes to pretend to mow the lawn and dig in the dirt and help me water the plants. He likes to put the flag up when we put mail in the mailbox. He likes to play the drums and the piano. He loves to dance and has got lots of moves. He is an incredible talker and has amazing vocablulary and annunciation for his age.

Nash, I love you--these past two years have been two of the most fulfilling of my life. I am incredibly blessed to be your mom!

You are such a good, fun, happy boy! Happy 2nd Birthday, Nash!