Christmas Pics

Here are the Christmas Photos of the kids.

Visiting Santa

So we went to see Santa today. The whole time in line, Ava was saying "Santa, HO HO HO" and seemed excited, but as we got to the front of the line she seemed much more unsure, and hugged Dad tight. By the time she sat on his lap she was shaking, poor baby. However, once she got off his lap and he gave her the candy cane, she turned around and said "more? pleeeeease?" We should of had him give her the candy cane first :)

Playtown

Today we went to Charlotte's 2nd Birthday Party at Playtown. Ava had sooooo much fun, other than car jacking a little boy our of his cozy coupe car! She really enjoyed the homemade cupcakes too!

Our little fish!

Ava LOVES swimming and is always asking to go to the "POOOOOL" -- everyday she asks if it is pool night. She is having such a great time, and taking to the water like a fish. She is swimming by herself now (no Mom or Dad in the pool) - and has been swimming most of the short length of the pool by herself! Her instructor, Mr Mike, is awesome, and Ava really has taken to him, and gives him high fives when she comes up out of the water!

Happy Jack!

Jackson has become just the happy little guy smiling and cooing all the time. He is changing so much everyday, and we can't wait to see what he does next.

The kids...

Friday Nights at UTC

Most Friday evenings we try to get together with friends for dinner and some playtime for the kids. We have been venturing to UTC mall the past few months to meet with good friends for dinner in the food court then the kids love to play on the little "rides" -- Looks like we're going to have to start saving up quarters!

Breakfast with Elmo

We ventured to Sea World this morning to have Breakfast with Elmo and friends. Ava had so much fun getting to meet some of her favorite friends in person. We saw all of the Sesame Street crew as they mingled with everyone during breakfast then we were able to take some photos with the characters. We will definetly have to do this again!

Halloween - Trick or Treating!

It was awesome! Ava would walk up to the door, knock and yell "hello, hello, helllloooo" until someone would answer - then she would say "cheese" and smile until she got candy.. then run back down the walk. So cute!! It was a great first trick or treating experience with the kids .. or should I say "bunny and carrot"!

A Great Birthday Present...

So today is my 32nd Birthday, and reflecting on this day I feel very blessed. I have a wonderful family, a great husband and two beautiful healthy babies. I use to dread the idea of "growing up". I am now older, broker and weigh more than I ever have - all things I use to define myself by, however I can honestly say I am happier now than I have have ever been.

Today Michael wrote me a very sweet pledge to me to promise to quit "chewing" for my birthday. He knows how important it is for me to have him with me for the long haul, and how I have been worried about his health. This is the best present I could have asked for. I could not imagine waking each morning without him next to me, or missing seeing how he looks at the babies and how they look at and admire him. I am especially happy that he is doing this on his own terms, and not because either me or some doctor is pressuring him. I am very proud of him pledging this goal to me, I know it will not be easy. And yes, I reminded him that you can't "take back presents once you give them" so I hope this is for the long haul. I especially warmed at the mention that one reason he is doing it is because he can't kiss me without a bottom lip, which is someting he wouldnt ever want to give up. It made my day :)

I also am very excited about my Ergo carrier I have been pining for from my parents, my beautiful necklace and my ipod itrip from Erica. Moreover, it has been touching to hear from the many, many people who have taken time out to get in touch today for send me happy wishes. I feel very loved and blessed to have so many people who care so much.

I am one lucky gal :)

Ava our little Gymnast!

Today we attended Gabby's 2nd Birthday Party at Victory Gymnastics. Ava had a BLAST ... and so did Dad :) Ava played bounced her little heart out in her pink leotard. Dad was right beside her as they leaped into the sponge blocks, and walked across the obstacle course. She had so much fun that we are going to look into starting to attend a playgroup at the gym.

Jackson smiles.. and it's more than just gas :)

We got to see Jack's first true smile today. He was snuggled up in Mommy's arms and had a full belly. He was awake and just gazing around at his surroundings, when Ava came over and gave him a kiss on the head.. and Jack reacted with a big gummy grin :)

Mom and Dad's First night away from Jackson.

Last night we attended the wedding of very good friends. Dave and Maura O'Neill were married at Paradise Gardens - which is about an hour north of San Diego. Jackson is only 5 weeks old - and if it wasn't for such an important event I don't think we would have been brave enough to leave the little guy overnight. However, we couldn't miss celebrating with Dave and Maura, so we flew Aunt Erica in so he would have a very special first babysitter (that we would not be worried about being with the babes). We had a great time at the wedding... and while we texted to check in with Erica about half a dozen times, we made it through the night. It turned out to be a great opportunity for some couple time where we could be Husband and Wife, and not just Mom and Dad. Strengthening that bond can only be good for our family as a whole. While we missed our little ones very, very much, we decided that this is something we should try and do at least once a year.

Nana's Visit

My Mom came to California last week to meet her new grandson and visit with Ava and the rest of the family. It was GREAT to have her here and see her with the kids. She really made me feel like I can do this.. heck she handled my sister and I being 10 1/2 months apart... :)

She was a HUGE help with helping me get into a routine. She changed countless poopy diapers... helped with the first bath, and kept Ava busy and happy when I was working on getting the whole nursing thing down with baby Jack.

Grandma even got a name change while she was here. After many conversations on what the kids would "refer to" Grandma and Grandpa as, My dad had settled on GrandDad (much better than GrandBob, his original idea!) and mom was going to keep it simple with sticking with Grandma. Ava, however, had another idea. After a few days of trying to get her to call Grandma by name she began to call her Nana instead! So, that settled that.. Grandma P. is now Nana!

I survived my first full day without her here, but we miss her tons already. We are all looking forward to seeing her over the Holidays if not sooner!

Eek... a Mouse, and I'm not talking about Mickey!

So yesterday morning after Michael went to work, I was nursing Jack and my Mom was reading to Ava in the living room. All was good with the world... until... EEK, my Mom spots a mouse out of the corner of her eye!

Needless to say I am not a happy camper when she tries to tell me without alarming me too much. I am far from a mouse lover.. or even a mouse liker. So I hand Jack off to my mom and climb onto the recliner, feet up of course, thank goodness my Mom is much more calm than I am about the whole situation. After my shrieking stops I decide to IM Michael to see what to do. Of course he is at work and can't do much, but he tries to calm my nerves..

Well we end up calling our neighbor Tony, who is police officer but is home on leave for a few months after injuring his knee, so we thought he should be home. We are very lucky to have such sweet neighbors, as he came right over, and did a mouse inspection for me to try and find the little disease ridden critter! Unfortunately, after lifting couches and marble furniture, looking in closets, etc, there is no site of him! Ack! Tony tries to reassure me that that they are more afraid of us.. yadda, yadda, yadda... but gives me a hug and lets me know if I see it again to call him back, and tells me what kind of traps we should get.

So, the day goes on with no sign of Mickey.. and Michael comes home from work with traps.. and sets them. However bedtime rolled around and he was still loose, and I was not happy about the idea of laying motionless in the dark with the littler guy running a muck. Michael went back to bed before us since he had to work so early, but my mom and decided to stay up a bit longer. We were standing in the kitchen talking and sure enough, out of the corner of my eye, I see the little black dot charge across the living room, and into the closet! I of course start to panic again, run and wake Michael, he comes and sets more traps in the closet.. I place towels under the bedroom doors, and plan to reluctantly settle in with a light on and one eye open.

When Michael's alarm goes off at 5:00am he checked the traps, and sure enough, I could finally exhale .. he caught 'em!!! Whew.... The mouse is gone, but I am sure to continue to hear the jokes from my family and friends about how I "called the cops" for a mouse.

Ava moves to a Big Girl Bed!

Well I knew the day was coming soon when my baby girl would be moving to a big girl bed. We had been thinking we would give her another month or two to get used to her new little brother being here before making the next big change to a big girl bed so that her brother could have her crib when he was ready to move into his own room in 3-4 months. In anticipation of this day we had bought a toddler bed and had put it in her room for her to get used to.

Today our plan changed! Ava was in her bed for her nap, and I happen to glance down at the monitor and see that my baby had one leg swung over the top of the crib and the other leg was about to follow! I sprinted back to her room and was able to get her back in her crib just in time. She attempted this one more time before finally settling down for her nap. However, this was enough of a scare that we decided we better re-evaluate the big girl bed timeline!

After talking with Michael and my Mom we decided that we might as well bite the bullet and move her asap -- tonight will be the first night in her big girl bed... I will update soon on how this transition is going!

Our Family Grows... Welcome Jack!

Well, since this blog began because of the addition of Baby Jack to our family, I thought it was only appropriate to add some of the first photos of Jack here.

The birth of The Childers Chronicles...

Well the arrival of Jack prompted me to start this blog. As many of you know Ava had her own website highlighting all her milestones and journeys. However now with two kids under two years old I decided it would make more sense to do a family blog instead of trying to keep up two kid's websites. So here it is....