This year for Halloween, we did all sorts of fun stuff! We went to the pumpkin patch with the Falks, we went to the pumpkin patch in OKC for Zoey's first birthday, we went to the pumpkin patch for Avery's very first field trip (which was so much fun!), we went to the Magic House's Not-So-Haunted House (super cute), and we went to the East Alton, Wood River and Hartford parades (of which Avery got to ride in the Hartford parade with Tiffany and Aubrey). We also handed out candy to trick-or-treaters on Sunday night and Monday night, while also doing a little bit of trick-or-treating ourselves!
This year, we had a little ladybug and a princess Belle. Two of the cutest trick-or-treaters I've ever seen. :) This is probably the first Halloween that Avery may really remember, so I'm glad we got to do a lot of fun stuff together this year.
Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year, when we get a good fall, which I think we have gotten so far! I love crisp, cool fall days and doing stuff outside (I love summer, but I hate being outside for long periods of time). BUT I am so excited to put up Christmas decorations this year! It was always tradition in our house growing up to put up Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving, and so that's what I've always done, but I think we'll be putting them up a lot earlier this year in our house - it's just so exciting! Christmas shopping starts soon too, so why not?
Back to Halloween, this year we started a new tradition: we gave Avery the option of picking out a few special pieces of candy from her Halloween loot and giving the rest to the "candy fairy" - a fairy that takes the candy far far away from our house and leaves a toy instead. Avery really wanted a pillow pet, so I let her know the candy fairy deal and she decided to give it all away and get a unicorn pillow pet (which we got tonight!). She was sooo so happy and it was so cute to see her that way. She's sleeping with it right now. I think I like this tradition - there's still Halloween candy from last year that was floating around and thrown out when I found it.
Once the Christmas decorations are up, we'll determine when Horton, our Elf on the Shelf, will show up. We may be doing an Elf breakfast this year (thanks Pinterest) to ring in the "elf festivities." Once he's here, I'm going to start posting more frequently about all of Horton's escapades in our house (thanks again Pinterest!).
Monday, October 31, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
21 Questions - Daddy Edition
I really wanted to try this out with Daddy after doing yesterday's questions.... she's a little more partial to me, so I'm interested to see if Mommy says mean things what exactly Daddy says to her. (And I knew this would end up being her answer!)
1. What is something Daddy always says to you?
Avery: I love you.
2. What makes Daddy happy?
Avery: Like I listen.
3. What makes Daddy sad?
Avery: That I don't listen.
4. How does Daddy make you laugh?
Avery: Like he says um silly things.
5. What was Daddy like as a child?
Avery: As a child he loves to read.
6. How old is Daddy?
Avery: 22
7. How tall is Daddy?
Avery: He's this big. {With her hands about 2 inches apart}
8. What is Daddy's favorite thing to do?
Avery: He loves to put his clothes on. He decorates the Christmases.
9. What does Daddy do when you're not around?
Avery: He's sad.
10. If Daddy becomes famous, what will it be for?
Avery: For Cat in the Hat.
11. What is Daddy really good at?
Avery: He's good at putting up pictures.
12. What is Daddy not very good at?
Avery: He's not good at putting the lights up. (True, if she's talking about Christmas lights...)
13. What does Daddy do for his job?
Avery: He's favorite thing is to go to work and work.
14. What is Daddy's favorite food?
Avery: Um his his string cheese.
15. What makes you proud of Daddy?
Avery: Nothing.
16. If Daddy were a cartoon character, who would he be?
Avery: He would be the Cat in the Hat. Who's going to be Nick?
17. What do you and Daddy do together?
Avery: Daddy doesn't play with me. He's working.
18. How are you and Daddy the same?
Avery: I do the same stuff as Dad.
19. How are you and Daddy different?
Avery: Like our clothes?
20. How do you know Daddy loves you?
Avery: Like he shakes hands.
21. Where is Daddy's favorite place to go?
Avery: Work.
1. What is something Daddy always says to you?
Avery: I love you.
2. What makes Daddy happy?
Avery: Like I listen.
3. What makes Daddy sad?
Avery: That I don't listen.
4. How does Daddy make you laugh?
Avery: Like he says um silly things.
5. What was Daddy like as a child?
Avery: As a child he loves to read.
6. How old is Daddy?
Avery: 22
7. How tall is Daddy?
Avery: He's this big. {With her hands about 2 inches apart}
8. What is Daddy's favorite thing to do?
Avery: He loves to put his clothes on. He decorates the Christmases.
9. What does Daddy do when you're not around?
Avery: He's sad.
10. If Daddy becomes famous, what will it be for?
Avery: For Cat in the Hat.
11. What is Daddy really good at?
Avery: He's good at putting up pictures.
12. What is Daddy not very good at?
Avery: He's not good at putting the lights up. (True, if she's talking about Christmas lights...)
13. What does Daddy do for his job?
Avery: He's favorite thing is to go to work and work.
14. What is Daddy's favorite food?
Avery: Um his his string cheese.
15. What makes you proud of Daddy?
Avery: Nothing.
16. If Daddy were a cartoon character, who would he be?
Avery: He would be the Cat in the Hat. Who's going to be Nick?
17. What do you and Daddy do together?
Avery: Daddy doesn't play with me. He's working.
18. How are you and Daddy the same?
Avery: I do the same stuff as Dad.
19. How are you and Daddy different?
Avery: Like our clothes?
20. How do you know Daddy loves you?
Avery: Like he shakes hands.
21. Where is Daddy's favorite place to go?
Avery: Work.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Avery - 21 Questions
I keep seeing these things on Pinterest. 21 Questions to ask your kids, and other stuff, every year. So I chose one and asked Avery. The first question/answer is the best.
1. What is something Mommy always says to you?
Avery: Mean things
2. What makes Mommy happy?
Avery: When I listen to you.
3. What makes Mommy sad?
Avery: When I don't listen.
4. How does Mommy make you laugh?
Avery: Like making funny faces.
5. What was Mommy like as a child?
Avery: She likes to play with toys like me.
6. How old is Mommy?
Avery: 1
7. How tall is Mommy?
Avery: This big. {With her hands about 6 inches apart}
8. What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?
Avery: Put her clothes on and go somewhere, she likes that.
9. What does Mommy do when you're not around?
Avery: She sat. And cries.
10. If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?
Avery: Writing papers.
11. What is Mommy really good at?
Avery: She's good at putting her clothes on and going to bed and putting the blankets on.
12. What is Mommy not very good at?
Avery: She's not good at putting the pictures up. (So true!)
13. What does Mommy do for her job?
Avery: Her clothes.
14. What is Mommy's favorite food?
Avery: Lots of food she eats.
15. What makes you proud of Mommy?
Avery: Watching movies with me.
16. If Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Avery: Uhhh.... I dunno. I wanna be Belle.
17. What do you and Mommy do together?
Avery: Putting my stuff up.
18. How are you and Mommy the same?
Avery: I have bluish-green eyes and Mommy has bluish-green eyes.
19. How are you and Mommy different?
Avery: I have red hair.
20. How do you know Mommy loves you?
Avery: Nothin. Hugs.
21. Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?
Avery: Home!
1. What is something Mommy always says to you?
Avery: Mean things
2. What makes Mommy happy?
Avery: When I listen to you.
3. What makes Mommy sad?
Avery: When I don't listen.
4. How does Mommy make you laugh?
Avery: Like making funny faces.
5. What was Mommy like as a child?
Avery: She likes to play with toys like me.
6. How old is Mommy?
Avery: 1
7. How tall is Mommy?
Avery: This big. {With her hands about 6 inches apart}
8. What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?
Avery: Put her clothes on and go somewhere, she likes that.
9. What does Mommy do when you're not around?
Avery: She sat. And cries.
10. If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?
Avery: Writing papers.
11. What is Mommy really good at?
Avery: She's good at putting her clothes on and going to bed and putting the blankets on.
12. What is Mommy not very good at?
Avery: She's not good at putting the pictures up. (So true!)
13. What does Mommy do for her job?
Avery: Her clothes.
14. What is Mommy's favorite food?
Avery: Lots of food she eats.
15. What makes you proud of Mommy?
Avery: Watching movies with me.
16. If Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Avery: Uhhh.... I dunno. I wanna be Belle.
17. What do you and Mommy do together?
Avery: Putting my stuff up.
18. How are you and Mommy the same?
Avery: I have bluish-green eyes and Mommy has bluish-green eyes.
19. How are you and Mommy different?
Avery: I have red hair.
20. How do you know Mommy loves you?
Avery: Nothin. Hugs.
21. Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?
Avery: Home!
Oh Hadley
I have nonstop told people how awesome of a baby Hadley is... how great she is, easy she is, etc.
Today has been a different story. I'm not sure what is going on. I realize some people deal with this all of the time, every day, with their babies. But I don't. I never did with Avery either. Although I think she was a little more difficult of a baby, it was just trying to find that "trick" to make her happy.
Well. Today Hadley decided that absolutely NOTHING was going to make her happy. This morning started out fine, and while I was making lunch and trying to get Avery ready for school at 11:30, I laid Hadley down in her bassinet in our room. She was a little fussy, but she fell almost immediately to sleep. Unfortunately, I had to wake her up to take Avery to school, and then we had to go by the unemployment office to sign a few papers. She was fine during this time, although mad she was woken from her nap.
Once we got home though, she was livid. She was shrieking and arching her back and soooo mad. I changed her, I fed her, I burped her, I played with her, I rocked her.... nothing worked. So I put her in her bassinet for a few minutes and left her there. After a few bouts of shrieking, and me trying everything again, she fell asleep. But woke up just a few minutes later, screaming again. So I took her out and tried everything again. NOTHING. She is screaming. Well, not technically right now because I finally put her on her play mat again, but for some reason it worked like a charm this time. She's calmed down quite a bit and she's just checking out her little buddies on the mat now. But seriously girl. This was 45 minutes straight - she's never cried like this! And typically when she does, it's because she's very tired. She rarely cries for any other reason.
Maybe she's going through a growth spurt - just eat and sleep all day. I'm thinking that might be it, because we were on a good routine until today. She's slept a lot also.
Anyway, I had to post about little miss perfect. ;) Love her to death, but sheesh today has been interesting. As hard as it is, believe me, this stay at home mom stuff is absolutely awesome. Even with the yelling I'll take it!
Today has been a different story. I'm not sure what is going on. I realize some people deal with this all of the time, every day, with their babies. But I don't. I never did with Avery either. Although I think she was a little more difficult of a baby, it was just trying to find that "trick" to make her happy.
Well. Today Hadley decided that absolutely NOTHING was going to make her happy. This morning started out fine, and while I was making lunch and trying to get Avery ready for school at 11:30, I laid Hadley down in her bassinet in our room. She was a little fussy, but she fell almost immediately to sleep. Unfortunately, I had to wake her up to take Avery to school, and then we had to go by the unemployment office to sign a few papers. She was fine during this time, although mad she was woken from her nap.
Once we got home though, she was livid. She was shrieking and arching her back and soooo mad. I changed her, I fed her, I burped her, I played with her, I rocked her.... nothing worked. So I put her in her bassinet for a few minutes and left her there. After a few bouts of shrieking, and me trying everything again, she fell asleep. But woke up just a few minutes later, screaming again. So I took her out and tried everything again. NOTHING. She is screaming. Well, not technically right now because I finally put her on her play mat again, but for some reason it worked like a charm this time. She's calmed down quite a bit and she's just checking out her little buddies on the mat now. But seriously girl. This was 45 minutes straight - she's never cried like this! And typically when she does, it's because she's very tired. She rarely cries for any other reason.
Maybe she's going through a growth spurt - just eat and sleep all day. I'm thinking that might be it, because we were on a good routine until today. She's slept a lot also.
Anyway, I had to post about little miss perfect. ;) Love her to death, but sheesh today has been interesting. As hard as it is, believe me, this stay at home mom stuff is absolutely awesome. Even with the yelling I'll take it!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Parenting Fails
I was playing with Avery today and I picked her up and held her upside down over my shoulder. Laughing, she says, "Put me down you idiot!" I put her down as I was busting up laughing. I said, "Where did you hear that?" She just shrugged, so I said, "It's not a very nice word to call people." All while laughing of course.
Avery and I were in her room, putting up clothes and she said something and then said "shut up." I said, "What?" She said, "What does shut up mean?" So I told her it means to close your mouth and not to talk, but it wasn't a very nice way to say that. She thought about it and then said, "Oh. I better tell Dad it's a bad word because he told you that yesterday." (By the way, he did not, at least not in that way.)
After our dryer fire (after I broke down crying because I had been so scared), Avery and I were playing with her dolls. She told me Jessie was scared of the fire. So I said, "Oh, Jessie, there's nothing to be scared of it, it's okay." Thinking perhaps Avery herself was actually scared, I said, "Avery, there's nothing to be scared of you know." She said, "Yeah, I know, I was pretending Jessie was you. The firemen took care of the fire."
That girl just has so much knowledge, plus she's so funny.
And here is NOT a parenting fail:
AVERY
FGGYFTF RTTYUUFTFDFJJKKVVVVFFUUGGDDYDDTDTYY 1234567890
That was Avery typing her own name and then adding her own little special message to this post. :)
**Disclaimer, I really don't feel like a parenting failure. I just assume there's probably a better way to do things and sometimes I don't exactly get it the first time. But seriously when she calls me an idiot, I have a hard time NOT laughing... she has no clue what that means.
Avery and I were in her room, putting up clothes and she said something and then said "shut up." I said, "What?" She said, "What does shut up mean?" So I told her it means to close your mouth and not to talk, but it wasn't a very nice way to say that. She thought about it and then said, "Oh. I better tell Dad it's a bad word because he told you that yesterday." (By the way, he did not, at least not in that way.)
After our dryer fire (after I broke down crying because I had been so scared), Avery and I were playing with her dolls. She told me Jessie was scared of the fire. So I said, "Oh, Jessie, there's nothing to be scared of it, it's okay." Thinking perhaps Avery herself was actually scared, I said, "Avery, there's nothing to be scared of you know." She said, "Yeah, I know, I was pretending Jessie was you. The firemen took care of the fire."
That girl just has so much knowledge, plus she's so funny.
And here is NOT a parenting fail:
AVERY
FGGYFTF RTTYUUFTFDFJJKKVVVVFFUUGGDDYDDTDTYY 1234567890
That was Avery typing her own name and then adding her own little special message to this post. :)
**Disclaimer, I really don't feel like a parenting failure. I just assume there's probably a better way to do things and sometimes I don't exactly get it the first time. But seriously when she calls me an idiot, I have a hard time NOT laughing... she has no clue what that means.
Attitude Chart
Check out our awesome attitude chart we've been using in our house. When I started it out, I felt like we were in the bad more than the good - which is when I decided to "start fresh" each week, not day... now that she understands it, we are back to starting it each morning. At first, I felt like we were in the "bad zone" every single day. :( It was sort of depressing. But now that she understands what happens (bad attitudes get things taken away, like television, while good attitudes get special treats like a movie/tv show or an ice cream), she is really getting the hang of it. As soon as it dips into the "bad zone" she will do something very good and change her attitude, and we're back up in the "good zone!"
Do you see this?! This is where it is today and where she ended yesterday AND the day before! So proud of her!!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Hadley's Baby Dedication
2 Sundays ago was our baby dedication day at church, so obviously we took the opportunity to have Hadley dedicated along with other babies in our church family. My mom had previously bought the girls fancy matching dresses, and since Hadley is almost out of 0-3 month clothes (everything except pants!) I needed a chance for her to wear it fast! So my darling girls wore matching outfits that day (which Avery loves - she threw a fit the next day when they weren't matching).
I cried during the prayers for the babies and parents. There was a short time in our lives when we thought Avery would be an only child, and we were trying to accept the fact that we wouldn't have any more biological children, so that part was very emotional for me. Hadley is such a miracle, and so very precious to us.
How cute are they?!
Big News for the Naylors!!!
Due to some circumstances at work and the fact that somebody had to stay home to watch our children (daycare was just too much for us!) I am for the short time being a STAY AT HOME MOM!!! I've been a stay at home mom for the past 13 weeks, but now I will be until I find a new job. And I'm going to enjoy every moment of it!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Bad Attitudes
This week, we've been trying to work on Avery's bad attitude and tantrums she's been throwing when she doesn't get her way. It's been extremely difficult - so if any parents have any advice, I'll gladly take it. We're working on correcting it, but I'm not sure if there's a better way we haven't thought of.
Bad attitude/tantrum example #1:
Avery got up in the middle of the night. Neither Andrew or I sleep well with her in the bed, so we have a pallet (still) on the floor next to our bed, which she is always welcome to sleep on. But lately she has been getting in bed with us. Sometimes we don't notice, other times we do. So this particular night I noticed and told her to lay in her pallet or go back to her bed. She shrieked, stamped her feet and cried, and woke the baby. Reasoning with her didn't work, finally she was yelled at and put back into bed. The next morning I asked her if she remembered what happened last night, she did, and so television privileges were taken away for the day.
Attitude chart:
We also started an attitude chart. It's basically some construction paper glued together. There is a starting point, in the middle (was going to do daily, but decided to do weekly), and 3 colors going down on the not so good side (uh-oh, warning, trouble) and 3 colors going up on the good side (keep it up, good work, awesome work!!). I added some magnetics to the back, so it's hanging on our fridge right now. There is also a clothes pin with Avery's name on it and we slide it up and down depending on how she is. When she's bad, the pin gets moved to uh-oh. It can either go down from there, or up to keep it up. If she's good it automatically goes into the good areas (she doesn't have to "work" it up from the not so good area). This has been helping a lot because she can actually SEE how she's being warned or rewarded. Unfortunately, we have more warnings and troubles than rewards at this point, but I'm hoping this goes UP!
Bad attitude/tantrum example #2:
My parents took Avery shopping for her Top Banana snack for preschool. Apparently, she saw some donuts she also wanted, so my dad handed her the bag. Something happened and she got mad and threw the bag of donuts in the store (Oh my word, if she had done this with me - I would have been seeing red and Mommy would have needed a time out). My dad (thankfully) took the donuts away from her (although after apologizing, she did get them back). I'm not upset with the way they handled it by any means (they are grandparents, I'm glad they did anything!), but I'm upset as to where she is seeing this behavior and thinking this is okay for her behavior. It so is not!
So, we're just going to keep taking TV away (she constantly wants to watch a movie and her movie of the day is a big treat to her). I'm hoping this will help her understand that she cannot keep throwing these types of tantrums. This 3 year old phase is rough! I'm so over it. So, like I said, any advice is welcome here. This is my first time dealing with this. Maybe I'll be an expert by the time Hadley goes through this - or perhaps, my sweet little itty bitty (really not so itty bitty) baby girl will make life easy for Mama and stick with her happy personality - it's so easy to please her! :)
Bad attitude/tantrum example #1:
Avery got up in the middle of the night. Neither Andrew or I sleep well with her in the bed, so we have a pallet (still) on the floor next to our bed, which she is always welcome to sleep on. But lately she has been getting in bed with us. Sometimes we don't notice, other times we do. So this particular night I noticed and told her to lay in her pallet or go back to her bed. She shrieked, stamped her feet and cried, and woke the baby. Reasoning with her didn't work, finally she was yelled at and put back into bed. The next morning I asked her if she remembered what happened last night, she did, and so television privileges were taken away for the day.
Attitude chart:
We also started an attitude chart. It's basically some construction paper glued together. There is a starting point, in the middle (was going to do daily, but decided to do weekly), and 3 colors going down on the not so good side (uh-oh, warning, trouble) and 3 colors going up on the good side (keep it up, good work, awesome work!!). I added some magnetics to the back, so it's hanging on our fridge right now. There is also a clothes pin with Avery's name on it and we slide it up and down depending on how she is. When she's bad, the pin gets moved to uh-oh. It can either go down from there, or up to keep it up. If she's good it automatically goes into the good areas (she doesn't have to "work" it up from the not so good area). This has been helping a lot because she can actually SEE how she's being warned or rewarded. Unfortunately, we have more warnings and troubles than rewards at this point, but I'm hoping this goes UP!
Bad attitude/tantrum example #2:
My parents took Avery shopping for her Top Banana snack for preschool. Apparently, she saw some donuts she also wanted, so my dad handed her the bag. Something happened and she got mad and threw the bag of donuts in the store (Oh my word, if she had done this with me - I would have been seeing red and Mommy would have needed a time out). My dad (thankfully) took the donuts away from her (although after apologizing, she did get them back). I'm not upset with the way they handled it by any means (they are grandparents, I'm glad they did anything!), but I'm upset as to where she is seeing this behavior and thinking this is okay for her behavior. It so is not!
So, we're just going to keep taking TV away (she constantly wants to watch a movie and her movie of the day is a big treat to her). I'm hoping this will help her understand that she cannot keep throwing these types of tantrums. This 3 year old phase is rough! I'm so over it. So, like I said, any advice is welcome here. This is my first time dealing with this. Maybe I'll be an expert by the time Hadley goes through this - or perhaps, my sweet little itty bitty (really not so itty bitty) baby girl will make life easy for Mama and stick with her happy personality - it's so easy to please her! :)
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