The Kingma Family

Dinner conversations

2010-12-01T18:00:00.000-08:00

We were eating supper tonight and Ava was eating her sandwich fine but not her tomato soup. Rosie was slurping her soup down and Jeff and I had both finished ours. I asked Ava if she was going to eat her soup and she said no. I said I'd eat it then if she wasn't going to. Then we all started talking about how delicious the soup was and how Ava should eat her soup. She joined in and told me that it was "really good soup". I said then that she should eat it herself. She shrugged and said, "Guess not."

Needless to say, she didn't eat her soup.

It's Lizarding!

2010-11-29T17:47:00.001-08:00

Jeff went out to the acreage to get an hour of hunting in before dark. When he got back the weather had gone from snowing to blizzarding. Well, Ava wanted to know why he didn't take her along hunting and the real answer is two parts a: she's too little b: its blizzarding outside. But all she heard was the blizzarding part. But she didn't hear that right. She came running back into the house after talking to her dad and she ran right up to me with the most serious expression and told me that her dad "saw a lizard. "Really, a lizard! Its lizarding outside, dad said! Uh-huh, a LIZARD!''

The Other Jeff

2010-10-14T11:03:00.000-07:00

When Michaela turned one it seemed as though she turned a corner and suddenly she and Ava "clicked". They started playing really well with each other and Ava FINALLY had someone to entertain her 24/7 like she wants. Michaela is generally pretty laid back and will play so, so well all by herself. But Ava won't let her play alone when she's around. So Michaela is led from room to room, dressed up, dressed down, put in baskets, put on beds, put under beds, put in wagons, put in cars, put in tents, put under blankets, put under pillows, put on chairs, put on tables. Ava as director of all things "play" in this house has issued Michaela with the roles of "Pepper" and "Jeff". When they are playing their game based on the movie "Annie" then Michaela is on the orphans named "Pepper", Ava is "Annie" (Surprise!), Mommy is "Miss. Hattigan", and daddy is "Daddy Warbucks". When they play house then Michaela is "Jeff", Ava is "mommy", mommy is "Theresa" and I'm not sure who Jeff is in that one. And this is what I'm listening to now. "Mommy" just put "Jeff" to bed on the floor in their room. "Now stay there, Jeff. Night night." I hear her giving "Jeff" kisses and a little bedtime song and then she shuts off the light and closes the door. If I went in there to check I could tell you what I'd find, Michaela lying patiently on the floor sucking her thumb and waiting for Ava to come and "wake" her up. They play this game on the deck out back, on the front steps, on the big rock, in the house, anywhere. Always Ava is in charge and she's putting Michaela to bed. But sometimes she goes to bed and lies down next to Michaela, too. The picture is of Ava who fell asleep on floor and Michaela who is waiting for Ava to wake up and play. Michaela might be a little confused because she's the one who's usually supposed to be sleeping...

The Bath towel

2010-10-13T10:53:00.000-07:00

Michaela is a very interesting kid. Not very patient and pretty quick to show her temper. She likes things the way she likes things, and that's it. For instance, she likes to wear her bathtowel on her head for a while after she gets out of the bath. And even after she's gotten dressed after getting out of the bath. And if you take it off of her and hang it up before she's ready for you to do just that you will get to experience a full-on toddler temper tantrum. Rosie will stomp her feet and yell and chew you out while tugging on the towel hoping to pull it off the hook and get it back on her head. But if you let her just wear it for 20 minutes or so she'll usually get bored and take it off herself. We've not yet had to go out in public wearing it so I think we're doing okay.

If you're wondering what she's chewing on in these pictures it's part of a playdough machine. It has playdough dried up and stuck inside it and she's licking it. It's her Playdough Popsicle. (Don't worry, I made the playdough so its definitely non-toxic.) Can you imagine the tantrum when I took that away? Ugh. She understands quite a bit and she understands me more often than I realize. But she doesn't always like my explanations for why I take things away... And she's very good at communicating her displeasure!

Labor Day Weekend

2010-10-11T11:41:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic Labor Day weekend camping with family. Gorgeous weather with warm days and cool nights. Great food and lots of things to do! The kids loved the beach and snacked on sandy cereal and drank sandy juice boxes.
Danika fell asleep after a walk and took her siesta in the shade of Grandpa's truck, with the help of his cooler, of course.
Poptarts for breakfast for these rascals!
It took a long bike ride but I got Ava and Zander to both fall asleep in the bike trailer. How on earth do kids sleep like this? I don't know but I'm so glad that they can!!

Garage Sales

2010-10-08T11:23:00.000-07:00

I should probably have one of those silly bumper stickers on my mini-van that says "I Break for Garage Sales". I love them! You never know what goodies you might find! "New" clothes for the girls, a good book, a funky chair, or some other treasure. Ava and Michaela usually have to wait at the curb while I run up quick to "see if there's anything good" but sometimes they get to come and help me hunt. So Ava always has her eyes peeled for a good sale. Well, on Sunday on our way into Rock Valley Ava spotted a BIG garage sale. "Mom, look a garage sale!!" Umm, Ava, that's Bomgaars. But with all of the stuff spread out on display in the parking lot and on the sidewalk, I can see why you thought it was a sale! Nice catch! :)

First Day of Pre-School

2010-10-07T11:30:00.000-07:00

Ava Reese started Pre-School this year! And she loves it! (No surprise there :) Its just two mornings a week but I think she'd like to go more often. She likes her teacher and the kids and the crafts and the library and the playground and everything. The bus rides, though, might be her favorite. Up at 6:30 so that she can catch her 7:10 bus she doesn't complain or anything. Jumps on the bus and sits with a smile. She's the first on in the morning. On the way home though she is one of perhaps 6 pre-schoolers who ride the bus. The first day I picked her up off of the bus I noticed that there was a little girl (Jenna) in the front seat and three kids in the second seat. Oh, wait, that's Ava in the second seat. Sitting between two boys... "Why didn't you sit with Jenna, Ava? She was all alone." She didn't know, just shrugged. But the next time I met the bus she was again sitting between two boys and Jenna was again, alone. "Ava, why don't you sit with Jenna?" Shrugging, Ava replies, "Well, I like the boys!" Her father got a little red in the face when she told him this and he told her she needs to sit with Jenna next time. (Of course, she didn't.)

The girl has a point

2010-10-06T11:17:00.000-07:00

Ava caught me doing the unthinkable last week. I know, its terrible, but what could I do? I had run out of kleenex and (GASP!) reached for some toilet paper to blow my nose. I folded a bit into a hankie and as I was bringing it to my nose my motion was halted by a little (but loud) voice, "Mom, that's not for noses! That's for butts!!" What can I say? When she's right, she's right.

Just like Dad

2010-06-21T08:04:00.000-07:00

So.... (This is how Ava starts many sentences) Yesterday we cleaned out the garage! Yay! That was my Father's Day gift to Jeff, apparently. I guess the boxes that filled it up didn't bother me too much because they weren't in the house but they were bugging him. So we cleared it out yesterday and can even park a car in there!! Ava helped the whole time but occasionally took breaks to play Pacman on the tv Jeff set up out there or read one of the books she found in the boxes. In the afternoon it started getting pretty hot and daddy decided he needed to take his shirt off to work and cool down. Ava saw this and said she wanted to take her shirt off, too. Her father told her no, that his shirt came off because he had gotten it "dirty". Jeff turned away and while his back was turned I watched Ava flop down on her belly on the dirty floor and proceed to dirty her own shirt. She jumped up and ran to dad and asked to take off her shirt now, too, because it was dirty! I turned away and laughed and laughed while daddy had to try and keep a straight face and come up with a new explanation as to why his little girl had to keep her (now) dirty shirt on.

Playdough fun

2010-06-08T19:39:00.000-07:00

Auntie Ellen gave me a great recipe for playdough and it has been f-u-n! Ava's really good at it and can make snakes and smash them. With help she can use the tools and make a turtle or flower. And that's about it so far. :) But everyday our playdough skills grow so watch out sculptors everywhere! (Michaela thinks playdough is pretty tasty so we try and play with it when she's napping. )

Up to my ears in frosting

2010-02-25T19:28:00.000-08:00

I decided that I wanted to make birthday cakes (and lots of them) for the girls' and Zander's birthdays in February. It was alot of work but it was really fun. Zander had a Buzz Lightyear theme, Ava wanted Tinkerbell, and for Michaela I did a Suzy's Zoo baby duck.

Happy Birthday(s), Girls!!

2010-02-24T19:16:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to our girls!! Born just one week and two years apart we had a busy February celebrating their birthdays. It was a great month and lots of fun but it was nice to see March come along where we could relax a bit. We threw a big party with the girls' cousin, Zander Ramone, at Levi & Erica's apartment building. It was a 1-2-3 party (Michaela turned one, Zander turned two, Ava turned three.) Cake, presents, swimming and prizes for everyone made it a crazy fun day. Thank you to everyone who celebrated our birthdays!!

Boogers, boogers, and more boogers!

2010-02-16T07:35:00.001-08:00

The girls are sick. All three of us girls started feeling under the weather last week but while I have gotten better the two little ones have gotten worse. Ava sounded as though a seal had taken over her vocal cords so I took her into the doctor on Friday. He didn't say it was croup but said it was a possibility. Gave her antibiotics and prescribed nebulizer treatments. At that time her fever was 101 but her spirits were as high as her temp so she was generally still fun to be around. She even talked with the doctor and told him that she is "potty trained". :) Michaela at that time just had a runny nose and a tiny cough. Now today, Monday, Michaela sounds much worse and her fever is up above 100. So I called the doctor and kept my fingers crossed that this was something he could just call a script in for us so we didn't have to make another trip to town. (More about my latest trip to town below.) He did. So Jeff's bringing home meds for Michaela on his lunch break and we're holed up in the house hoping for healthy girls on their birthdays!! In two days Ava Reese turns 3!! And one week after that Michaela is 1!!

So the reason I do not really feel like going to town today is because I went yesterday. And ended up doing a 180 on the highway and landed myself in the ditch facing the opposite direction from which I had been travelling. I haven't been in the ditch since high school and wasn't excited about it yesterday, either. But I was well, the van was fine, and there was no traffic coming towards me. And I am still very thankful that the girls were not in the van with me. Thank you, God! And thank you to Marv and Jeff for pulling me out, fixing my flat tire, and looking over my van at the shop to make sure it was okay for me to drive. I love you both!

We will just sit tight at home for a couple of days and hope for better weather and better girls. :)

Twirling

2010-02-09T13:49:00.000-08:00

A dress must have proper "twirl" in order for it to be approved by Ava. This princess dress is perfect and Ava loves it! Thank you, Annie and Lucy! Here's our Ava Reese twirling and twirling and twirling.

Surprise for Grandma Sacey

2009-11-15T14:06:00.000-08:00

We threw a surprise party for Grandma Sacey a month ago. All of my siblings were there and Mom was VERY surprised! It was so much fun! We threw the surprise at noon after church on a Sunday so she wasn't really expecting it at all. She walked into Tod and Jen's house and could not believe the number of people there for her party! I caught her surprise on video and I'll try to upload that as well because its pretty fun. Here are a few pictures of my siblings and I all together for the party. We love you, Grandma Sacey!

Ava is "joking"

2009-11-14T14:36:00.000-08:00

If you know Ava, you know she has PeRsOnAlItY. Last night she grabbed my bottle of water and had the cap off quicker than I could get there to take it away (we're trying not to share our H1N1 germs) and had it at her mouth for a sip. I told her no and went towards her to take it away, explaining that I was sick and she couldn't share my water. She looked at me and said, "But I choking. I choking." Okay, no worries, she was NOT actually choking. She just knows that if she was choking, she could have the water. Jeff, Grandpa, and I all busted out laughing. With the utmost seriousness she told us again that she was choking (which actually sounds like "joking" in AvaSpeak) and tried to really impress us with her acting abilities by making herself sound hoarse. HILARIOUS! Wish I had it on video...

Let's Dance

2009-10-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

Grandma Theresa got to go see "Wicked" the Musical when she was in San Francisco with Amy, Paul, and Taylor. (I will admit being as green as Elphaba because I wasn't able to join them.) I decided we needed to listen to the music of "Wicked" so put in the disc and Ava LOVED it! She thinks it is the best music to dance to! It also seems that she knows the perfect outfits to dance in as well because everytime she puts on a nice swirly skirt she requests to "dance". The problem this morning was that "dance" from her toddler lispy lips sounds more like "teeth" (brushing her teeth being probably her favorite activity of the moment) so I was confused. She got a little frustrated with her brainless mom but I figured out what she wanted in the end and we danced. Here's a video from last week when she was dancing to the music from "Wicked".

Giggles

2009-10-25T20:18:00.000-07:00

Ava making Michaela laugh. So sweet.

Not a Football Fan

2009-10-25T12:53:00.000-07:00

We were watching the Vikings play Pittsburgh today but I guess Ava didn't want to watch. "No! Not kickety kick ball!! No kicky ball!" See, her favorite show is "Wow Wow Wubzy" and that's what they call "kickball" and to Ava, everything with a ball is "kickety kick ball". Jeff is trying to teach her to say "football" but I keep sabotaging it because "kickety kick ball" is so darn cute!!

Brush My Teeth!!

2009-10-09T19:24:00.000-07:00

Ava has the cleanest teeth this side of the Big Sioux River. :) "Brush my teeth? Brush teeth. Brush teeth!!!" She actually does a pretty good job but I guess she should seeing as how she practices brushing about 5 times a day.

She grabs her tiny step stool and climbs up in front of one of the sinks, wets her toothbrush, brushes, spits, brushes, spits, and then shows us how "pretty" her teeth look when she's done. Next it is time for chapstick (because that's what mom does everytime she's done brushing HER teeth) and then we can leave the bathroom. Sometimes we get as far as the kitchen and she stops, thinking her teeth have gotten dirty enough in yhose 5 steps that she reckons they should be brushed again.

Ava singing her ABC's

2009-09-24T15:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a little of Ava singing her ABC's. She's gonna miss her stage when we move out...

Ava-isms

2009-09-24T13:56:00.000-07:00

I'm sewing a bag. It is almost done but not quite. I can't figure out what it needs to finish it off. Deciding I needed a second opinion, I asked Ava. "What do you think?" And I held the bag up for her perusal. She had been heading in the opposite direction so she stopped, turned to look at it, gave it a moment and then said, "A purse." Guess I'm doing something right, she could at least recognize what it was meant to be even if it wasn't the most helpful advice. :)

Last night Grandpa asked Ava for a kiss goodnight. "NO." with her arms crossed firmly across her chest and hands tucked under her armpits. "NO." I looked at Grandpa and couldn't do anything but smile. Looking back at Ava I told her that she really is our princess. "No, I'm Ava" was her only response. (She did bend enough to smile and run a loop past Grandpa, he could get a kiss if he could catch her!)

I'm not a baby but...

2009-09-17T12:56:00.000-07:00

I sure do love my baby sister's toys! Why would I let her play alone when she can have double the fun with me around? Am I right, people, or what?!? I don't usually curl up around Michaela's feet. Usually I grab the edge of her tray and shake the exersaucer like crazy (with the baby in it, of course). Sometimes I like to grab the toys on it and push them into her face--just making sure she sees them!! And if she's not in the exersaucer, it is fair game. I can be in that thing before you say, "Ave Reese Kingma, you are too big for that toy!!"

Dressing herself. And moving furniture, too.

2009-08-18T19:17:00.000-07:00

This girl of ours... I shake my head and laugh at her a zillion times a day. (The other zillion times a day that I'm shaking my head it isn't followed with a laugh...) She is so full of energy and soooo full of opinions. In these two pictures you get a glimpse of two incidents in a morning full of Ava expressing her opinion. First, she had to let me know that she was adamently opposed to wearing shorts. Or a skirt. Or pants. Just "melmo swimsuit" over her diaper. "Melmo swimsuit" is actually her Elmo underwear. Does she realize that they are underwear? No. Because she's 2 1/2 and not yet potty trained. She just loves Elmo and sees no reason why he needs to be covered up by shorts. And she has no problem wearing him right over her diaper, defeating the purpose of underwear.

The second thing was she had to haul four of her chairs up from the basement. I could hear her grunt her way up the stairs carrying them one at a time through the house and into the living room. After chair number 4 was in place, she came to me and tugged on my hand until I'd go with her downstairs. She needed some help moving the table. :) I obliged her, how could I resist? She grabbed a bathtowel and spread it over the table herself to finish the job.

Double stroller?

2009-08-16T09:54:00.000-07:00

We do have a double stroller. This is not it. But Michaela likes being in the front so she can see and apparently Ava likes the basket underneath. You don't think I'd get any odd looks pushing them around this way, do you? It sure is smaller and easier to get around than our double stroller... Might have to try it. ;)

My early morning scare

2009-08-14T09:59:00.000-07:00

No, it was not seeing my daughter covered in black eye makeup that gave me a fright. I couldn't find her! I thought that she was asleep in her bed upstairs. First thing in the morning she usually comes and climbs in bed with me. Somedays she does go downstairs first but I hear the door slam at the bottom of the stairs if that happens. I guess I didn't hear it today. It was 8:15 and I thought it was odd that she was still sleeping so I went to check on her. Not in her bed. Not in the guest bed. Not in my room. Panicking a little, I ran downstairs. Not in the living room. Or Kitchen. Not in Grandma's room. Bathroom? With my heart in my throat now I ran and opened the bathroom door. "Hi Mom!" There is my girl. Safe. And sound? Uh, sort of. She had all of grandma's makeup out and on the floor. Foundation lid off and foundation on her forehead cheeks. Mascara on her eyelashes and cheeks. What a mess!!

Our First Family Vacation

2009-08-07T12:56:00.000-07:00

In June we took our first family vacation. We went out to the Black Hills for my cousin Lindsay's wedding and camped at Sylvan Lake Campground near Custer, SD. Sorry that I'm so late in posting these but better late than never, right? :) Here's Michaela and her daddy by Sylvan Lake.

We passed a buffalo while driving through Custer State Park. It was so close we could have reached out and touched the gigantic beast! We settled for just smelling it. Phewee!!

We had a party on Friday night out at the cabin, sort of a pre-wedding bash for all
the guests. Malory, Ethan, & Ava hiked up to check out the waterfall on Uncle Danny's land. The last picture here is us on the side of the road. A picture taken to commemorate our first family vacation. We pulled our little camper out with our Subaru and had a great trip!

Naptime Fun A.K.A. Ava Destroys the Nursery

2009-08-07T12:47:00.000-07:00

Time for a nap so up to the nursery we go. Sit down on the bed with mommy, baby, and Ava and read a few stories. The stories are done and its time to settle down. Night night, Ava Reese! 10 minutes later, what's that thumping noise? Up the stairs to check on Ava and find her bouncing on her bed. Settle down, Ava. It's time for your nap. 20 minutes later, what's that noise? She's still not sleeping?? Up the stairs to find our toddler dismantling picture frames in her room. Out go the picture frames (apparently she's opposed to home decor, we're still missing a very large section of wallpaper from a previous nap in that room...). Go to sleep, Ava. 10 minutes later and she's still thumping around in there. I decide it's time to give up on the nap and get her out before she destroys the room entirely. Up the stairs I go and open the door. I'm too late. The room is demolished. Everything that was on the dresser and bookcases is now on the floor. Everything, that is, except for the toddler. She's sitting naked on top of the bookcase. I don't have a picture to prove it but you all know this girl, I'm sure you can envision the scene yourself.

"Uh-oh, Mommy."

2009-07-22T08:02:00.000-07:00

Michaela was hanging out in her exersaucer this morning, something she really loves! She thinks the toys are fantastic and there are enough toys on the tray to keep her busy for a while. Some of them she can even pull into her mouth and chew on so that's super fantastic! I was in the laundry room sorting through the mountain of laundry I need to wash today when Ava came and took my hand. She pulled me into the living room where baby was playing, walked around behind Michaela and pointed at baby's shirt. "Uh-oh, mommy," says Ava Reese. I walked over to see what she was pointing at, already sure that I knew what I'd find and sure enough there was a decidedly nasty looking brown spot on the back of Michaela's shirt, just above her diaper line. Uh-oh is right, Ava!! Time to bathe baby! We took Michaela into the bathroom to get her cleaned up and while I was focusing on Michaela, Ava was stripping down to her t-shirt and getting ready to climb in the tub as well. Apparently it was bathtime for BOTH little Kingma girls. :)

Missing the Anemas already

2009-07-20T09:45:00.000-07:00

I was wondering how Ava would react when she realized that her cousins had left and gone back home. For 10 days we had lots of fun with Auntie Amy, Uncle Paul, Taylor, Samantha, and Jackson but they couldn't stay forever. They flew home on Saturday and Ava didn't really seem to notice that they weren't around yesterday. But this morning I brought her downstairs and set her in the living room. I went into the bathroom to start getting ready for the day and a moment later she opened the door. Looking at me with a confused face she asked, "Where Mamie? Where Jack?" ("Mamie" is Amy in Ava speak.) I told her that they went home. "Okay" was her response. Just okay? On past occasions when they left she had some VERY ornery days to follow here at home so I guess we wait and see what the next few days bring. I know that we're all missing you guys out there in California and look forward to the next visit!!

Swimming at Austin's House

2009-07-10T09:22:00.000-07:00

There is something very special about having my kids so close in age to my cousin Emily's two children. Em and I have grown up together and have been friends always. Now we get to watch our kids make friends with one another and play and grow together. We have Ava and Austin and now Gavin and Michaela. We spent the day with Emily and her boys a few weeks ago and here are some pictures. The swimming was awesome! The toddlers played and played and played in that little plastic pool in the backyard. The stopped for a supper break and then were back at it again within minutes. They also took some timeouts from the swimming in order to water the plants, talk to the babies, play in the sandbox, and swing. At one point the Double A's were running back and forth from fence to fence in the yard chanting something. Neither Em nor I knew what they were saying but they definitely knew and were chanting the exact same phrase as they ran. :) After the pool both had to take a bath and clean up. While in the tub I overheard Austin as he was trying to stop Ava from wrecking his bath art on the tub wall, "Oh, honey, no. No, honey, don't do that." So darn cute. I guess that's what his mommy calls him so its become his term of endearment to use on others.

In Disguise

2009-07-06T08:20:00.000-07:00

Ava got some sunglasses but why not let the baby try them on?

Ava couldn't just wear the glasses, she had to add a scarf to make this a true "ensemble". Now, where does she get the idea for all these accessories?

Michaela's turn to talk

2009-06-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

I was able to post a video of Ava talking to Michaela and now it's Michaela's turn to talk. She's getting very vocal and likes to have "conversations" with us. We get lots of cooing out of her and I was even able to make her laugh outloud one day! She loves it when Ava comes over and talks to her but at times like that Ava usually does all the talking. Here I was able to catch Michaela talking (probably because Ava was napping or occupied elsewhere).

Happy Birthday, Samantha!!

2009-06-03T09:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday wishes to our niece, Samantha!

You are a very special girl and we love you so much!!

We wish we could be there to celebrate with you!

love,

Auntie Kari, Uncle Jeff, Ava, & Michaela

Junk in the Trunk

2009-06-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

Everyday Ava Reese gets a pack of "bite". (That is toddlerspeak for "vitamins".) She eats the vitamins and what she used to do when done with them is throw the packaging in the garbage. But for some reason she changed her mind about just discarding them. Now what she does is she stores the empty packages in the trunk of the Barbie car. I saw her do this with one pack and didn't think much of it. Then I realized a few days later that there were three empty packages in the trunk of the Corvette. Once again, I am baffled and intrigued by this little girl we have. I guess that Grandma tried to clean up the Corvette but Ava had very strong words about anyone moving her empty vitamin packages!! Where does she come up with this stuff? :)

Ava talking to her sister

2009-05-28T11:41:00.000-07:00

If I remember correctly, what we have in this video is a little conversation between Ava and her sister. I think it goes "Hi Michaela" (twice) and then you can hear me talking and Ava repeating what I say. Michaela thinks Ava is so funny and always gives her big smiles.

cereal with a spoon

2009-04-19T07:28:00.000-07:00

Want to see a big girl eat her cereal?

Big girls use spoons and hardly spill a bit!

Big girls also have to drink the milk out of the
bowl when they are all done with the cereal. I
learned this from mommy and daddy, I think.

Who me?

2009-04-16T07:23:00.000-07:00

Hey! Ooops, ummm, hi. Who me?? Did I wake the baby? Oh, no, that wasn't me. Somebody else came in here and poked her. I just came in to make sure she was okay. I'm sure it was Grandpa. Yep, definitely Grandpa. Oh, you're not falling for that one? Well, how about Grandma? Would you believe Grandma woke the baby and made her cry? Still not believing me... Okay. Fine. You caught me. Drat. Can't a two year old get away with anything these days??

Pete's 6th Birthday Party

2009-04-14T13:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Peter! We had a fun time this weekend celebrating Pete's 6th birthday out in Hartford. Almost my whole family was there plus our extended Nester family. Jesse created a Treasure Hunt for the kids, there were bubbles galore, chocolate cupcakes, party hats for everyone (including Michaela), games on the Wii and presents for Peter, Sherry & Sunny (happy birthday, you two!!).

Pictures that just HAD to be shared

2009-04-10T06:23:00.000-07:00

I still had some pictures on my camera from when Amy and her family came to visit at Christmas and I thought they needed to be shared. Grandma had taken Taylor and Sam to the thrift store for dress up clothes so the bigger girls spent much of their time here wearing dresses and shoes that were much too big for them. But they looked fabulous, darling! (In the first pic the girls were in their "fort" hiding out and eating crackers and Jackson would just stare at them all under there as if to say "crazy women".) Us big kids also played dress up for an 80's themed prom on New Years Eve at Tod and Jen's house, don't we look fantastic? (Unlike the little girls, I had a VERY difficult time finding a dress that was too big and thus would go over my very pregnant belly.)

Taking out the Trash

2009-04-09T12:05:00.000-07:00

Ava thinks its great to take out the dirty diapers and hey, if she wants to help out, super! This morning she put Grandma's snowboots on and was ready to go out. She had a little trouble walking in the boots but got the job done. :) (Apparently she didn't want her picture taken, how embarassing to be caught taking out the trash!)

Big Sister

2009-04-08T09:28:00.000-07:00

Ava loves to help with the baby and the pacifier is pretty much an obsession with Ava. The baby ALWAYS needs her pacifier, according to Ava. Here she was holding Michaela and had to make sure that baby had the pacifier in her mouth. If Michaela is crying Ava will find the pacifier and try to pop it in her mouth. She's usually pretty gentle but we still have to watch her closely.

Our girls are loved

2009-04-07T09:14:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I feel so blessed in our girls. Both are lovely, healthy little miracles and we couldn't ask for more. But we are also blessed in the family that we have that love our girls, too! Here are some pictures of Grandpa Kingma with his girls, Auntie Ellen with Ayden and Michaela, Auntie Jeni with Michaela, and Grandparents Lacey with Michaela.

What is wrong with this picture?

2009-04-06T09:02:00.000-07:00

Ava got to go play outside in the snow yesterday. Here are some pictures. Now, you tell me, what's wrong with these pictures? Notice anything? Nothing? Hmm... Perhaps I could give you a little hint: It is April 5th. Does that help? No? I'll just give it to you straight then, folks.

THE SNOW IS WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE PICTURE!!! SNOW, AND LOTS OF IT, IN APRIL!!!! IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE SPRING AND WINTER IS TRYING TO REAR ITS UGLY HEAD AGAIN!! OUTRAGEOUS!!!

Ayden and Michaela

2009-04-06T08:29:00.000-07:00

Wendy and I had a fun time being pregnant together and I thought you might like to see our prego pics and then the results of our 9 months of waiting. :) I'm not sure that it was "fun" to be pregnant this time around but it was really nice having someone to commiserate with during those long months!
Here they are the day after Ayden was born (03/06/09). We went to the hospital to meet him and had to take some pictures. Michaela is 10 days old here but when she was born she was 6 lbs 8 oz. Ayden is 8 lbs 11 oz. Our Aunt Bev has said "its Bobby and Kari all over again" because we were born about the same days apart and he always looked so much bigger than me. We'll see what happens as these two grow, won't we?

Where's baby?

2009-03-12T09:14:00.000-07:00

I wanted to write and say that life is finally getting "back to normal" but that's all wrong, isn't it? We're never going back to the same normal that we had before because before we were a family of three and now we're a family of four. We now have a toddler and a baby and life couldn't be MORE different than it was just two weeks and one day ago. We have had a couple of crazy weeks with the birth of Michaela and then treating Ava's RSV (and croup and ear infections). But it seems that everyone is well now and maybe life will settle into our new "normal" now with both girls at home. Everyone is adjusting to Ava and baby being together in the same house but mostly it seems it is Ava who needs to do the most adjusting. I'm trying to give her lots of hugs and affection but she's like a little tornado (my parents' very appropriate description of Ava) whipping through the house (and every room and every closet and every drawer)... Hopefully she'll settle down the tiniest bit before too long but after 10 days away at the other Grandparents' house I am sure she's just in adjustment mode. Or making me pay for her being away so long... :)

Anyway, I wanted to let everyone know that Ava is LOVING having a baby and wants to shower her in hugs and kisses CONSTANTLY. On Monday, our first day home with just me and Ava and Michaela, I effectively hid the baby from Ava for a whole five minutes. She was sleeping in her carseat on the kitchen table but Ava couldn't see or hear her. So Ava started running through the house yelling, "Baby, baby! Baby!" trying to seek her out. Through the laundry room, by the bathroom, into the kitchen and then looping through the living room where she turned back and started back through the house again. I think she did three or four circuits before she realized where baby was hiding and then it took her less than five seconds to climb onto the table with Michaela. Oh, well, at least I had five minutes...

Welcome to the World, Michaela Rose Kingma!

2009-03-10T09:04:00.000-07:00

Here she is at last, Michaela Rose Kingma!
Born on February 25th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
She weighed 6 pounds 8 ounces and is 19 inches long

Her big sister Ava gave her a big hug and kiss right away.
And then she wanted to cuddle with her mommy. :)

Our very happy family. The delivery went very well and was much faster than when I had Ava two years ago. (Their birthdays are one week apart.) The speed that she came probably had a little to do with the fact that she was the second child AND a full pound and a half lighter than Ava Reese. (Thank you, Lord!) We made it to the hospital around 4:00 pm and she was born at 7:03 pm with my mom and my sister Ellen in attendance as part of my labor support team. Of course, Jeff was there and was an awesome support during it all. Michaela came out looking healthy and perfect with a head full of hair. She actually looks just like Ava did when she was born but her hair is a little lighter in color with a reddish tint. And she looks tinier. :)

At the Races

2009-02-25T06:39:00.000-08:00

Ava Reese is blessed with hand-me-downs from her cousins and friends. The latest super fantastic toy to come her way from Peter and William is a Shake-n-Go Racetrack complete with 6 racecars! Now, I'm not really sure who has enjoyed this toy more, Ava or her Dad but it's definitely a hit. Here's Ava "fixing" a racecar before sending it out on the track. And then some randoms of her and her Dad as they run the cars. Maybe you noticed that the track is in the living room? I'm not sure how long Grandma is going to allow the racetrack to stay where it is, it's not exactly in line with her decor and its rather noisy. :) It'll be moved to the basement eventually but in the meantime Grandma's being really swell about this taking up so much room. (This and all the other toys!!!)

A couple pics from the party

2009-02-24T06:28:00.000-08:00

Here are just a few pictures from Ava's birthday supper. We kept it very low key, for which I will accept all the blame. (I had hoped her brother or sister was going to be at the party but baby is still hanging out waiting for just the right day to make an appearance. As a result, I'm rather tired and slow these days.) Ava & I decorated her cupcakes before her party, something she really liked. (She had green fingers from the cake confetti because she insisted on licking most of it off her fingers before actually putting it on the cake!) We had spaghetti for supper with Daddy, Grandma, & Grandpa Kingma all in attendance & then ate the lovely cupcakes Ava made. Jeff & I gave her a wagon for outside & G & G gave her a Cozy Coupe Car. I have to say the car is the bigger hit. She spent the night pulling someone over to the car to push her around and saying "car, car, car". First thing the next morning she was back in the car, drinking her milk and watching cartoons. (The car comes complete with a cupholder.)

Happy 2nd Birthday, Ava!

2009-02-18T11:00:00.000-08:00

Happy 2nd Birthday, Ava Reese! Look at how much you have grown! We love you! Thank you for making everyday wonderful and fun!

Pickles for Breakfast

2009-01-29T09:55:00.000-08:00

Ava has decided that she likes pickles. And she likes pickles immediately upon waking in the morning! Yesterday she saw the pickle jar sitting next to her sippy cup in the fridge and was very insistent that she wanted one for her breakfast. I didn't think she really would so gave her cereal instead. Well, today she again insisted on getting the pickle jar out of the fridge so I shrugged and gave her what she wanted. And she ate her pickle right up! Good morning, pickles!!! I did take a picture for you but can't get any images to upload so sorry about the lack of proof. :)

One Very Bouncy Belly

2009-01-23T07:36:00.000-08:00

I was sitting on the couch on Wednesday morning and the baby in my belly was being EXTREMELY active and I thought to myself, "I wonder if I could capture this on camera?" I gave it a shot and if you watch closely you will definitely see baby moving around. We had an OB appointment on Monday and my midwife explained that the reason we can see so much movement is that the baby is facing out and thus her/his arms and legs are on the outside of the belly verses being on the inside closer to my back. We are very much hoping that the baby flips and faces the back before he/she decides to make an appearance (this makes labor much easier) but its kind of fun to catch the movement while we can.

Coasters and Sippy Cups

2009-01-20T07:59:00.000-08:00

Ava doesn't get her tendency towards tidy from her parents and I'll tell you that straight up. But maybe that gene did make it into her little body from her Grandma Theresa (we can only hope). The latest thing is using coasters. Yesterday I was sitting on the couch watching my new favorite show, "The Big Bang Theory", drinking a glass of water that I had sitting on a coaster on the end table to my right. Along climbs Ava up between me and the arm of the couch and sets her little sippy cup on the unused coaster on the table. She sat and watched the show with me, periodically taking a drink of milk and setting it right back down on the coaster. Jeff came into the room and told me that she was doing that the day before at the computer desk. He said that he had been sitting at the computer with a drink and as soon as he left the room she climbed up to use the empty coaster and get some computer work done.

Ava teasing Daddy

2008-12-18T15:05:00.000-08:00

I wasn't really sure what to title this post. This is a video of Ava doing her "thing" and it's a sort of combination of tickling or teasing and a "goochy-goochy-goo" thing. It's so funny and here she's teasing her Daddy with it. What she'll usually do is crouch down and curl her fingers in front of her face and start making this goofy little noise. Then she comes at you and gets you. (Really, how does one explain the make believe silliness of a 21 month old???) We hope you enjoy the video.

Cookie or Clapping?

2008-12-08T19:25:00.000-08:00

Today Ava & I were eating at Qdoba with Ellen, Will, & Jeni when Ava heard a good song come on the restaraunt speakers and she needed to do something in reaction to the groovy music. Problem was, Ava had a cookie in her hand at the time so she did the only thing she could: she tucked that cookie under her arm and held it tight there while she clapped her hands to the music. Ellen could only laugh and say that Ava was a born multi-tasker. =) I remembered to tell you all the story tonight because I was treating her shirt for stains and found chocolate marks in the underarms. =)

Ava's First Haircut

2008-12-05T14:06:00.000-08:00

Ava had her first haircut and did so well. Note the sucker in her hand in the bottom picture? Magic! She sat and let our friend Janna cut her hair and didn't even hardly move. Next time will probably be a nightmare but... =) Jeff & I love her new look and it seems from the compliments that she garners everywhere we go that others like it, too. We were just ready for it not to be a crazy mess whenever it wasn't pulled back from her face. I think that Janna cut a little over 3 inches off, I couldn't believe it had gotten so long. With the new 'do I think she looks alot like Jeff's little cousin Lucy Farley.

Ava on the Piano (Then and Now)

2008-12-04T17:29:00.000-08:00

I have some old videos of Ava that I'm pretty sure I haven't shared. Even if I have, I'm sure you'll love seeing them again. :) Here's a video of Ava playing the piano at about 8 months. I apologize for my videography skills, you'll have to turn your head to watch this first one because I don't know how to switch the orientation. The second video is of Ava playing the piano yesterday at 21 months old. Can you believe how much she's changed and grown?!?

A quick update

2008-11-19T12:05:00.000-08:00

This is just a quick update to let everyone know that we are "this" close to being moved out of our house in Brandon! We have some cleaning left to do and there are a few items left in the garage but we're in good shape and will be closing on Monday. Yay!!

Ava's settling into life on the farm well. She and I went for a ride with Grandpa in the combine on Monday and then today I caught her in Grandpa's recliner reading the "Successful Farming" magazine. Apparently, she's going to like farm life.

I am unpacking and arranging all of our items that we brought to Marv & Theresa's. The mounds of stuff are a bit daunting but one box at a time, we're getting it done. Wish us luck!!

More pictures from California

2008-11-12T18:03:00.000-08:00

Trick-or-treating in California with the cousins! We had a Ballerina, Golden Princess, Bumblebee, and a Purrty Kitty. We weren't sure what Ava was going to wear for her costume when we arrived in California so Taylor created ballots and we all voted. (The other two options were Zebra and Bumblee.)

Ava's Peapod Travel bed was a hit with all the kids and even though Ava never actually slept in it, the tent got a lot of use during playtime.

California with our Anema cousins

2008-11-11T05:19:00.000-08:00

The second half of our California trip was spent with Jeff's sister Amy, her husband Paul, and their three kids: Taylor, Samantha, & Jackson. Ava had a blast with her California cousins and didn't know what to do with herself when she came home and they weren't here to entertain her. We got home late Sunday night and all day Monday she seemed lost and out of sorts. After six days with those three to play with, I can understand how quiet and boring our house seemed!

Mud puddles! Fun for everyone!!

Ava, Jack, and the Cozy Coupe. Ava LOVED this car and if anyone came near when she was in it she said, "No, no, no, no!" Lucky for her, Jack didn't mind sharing as bad as she did and we caught the two of them going for a ride in the coupe.

Taylor is full of ideas and plans and activities. While we were there she created a slide show and then voting ballots for Ava's Halloween costume and gave dance lessons. Here are the three girls taking Taylor's dance lessons, something right up Ava's alley as you saw in the video from a few days ago. :) Bring on the tutus, Taylor! Ava's looking forward to more lessons in December!!

We have so many pictures of Ava and her cousins that I think I'll have to post more another day. Thank you, Anemas, for all the fun we had at your home in California! We look forward to more fun this Christmas when you come to Iowa!

Just making a quick call, Mom.

2008-11-10T17:30:00.000-08:00

Chatty Cathy was on her phone again today and this time I was successful in catching her in video. I think she might be singing to whoever is on the other end of the line (not a surprise, she sings all the time). She's very willing to share the phone and let others talk as you will can see at the end of the video when she tries to pass the phone to me. (I didn't think you would enjoy my chatting on the phone as much as Ava's so I didn't bore you with that.)

California with Uncle Roy and Auntie Erica

2008-11-10T14:29:00.000-08:00

As promised, here are some pictures of our recent trip to California. The first part of our trip was spent with Uncle Roy (my brother) and his wife, Erica. They live in Fresno and though Levi was able to get the time off to show us around, Erica is on the cusp of opening what we call "her museum", the Fresno Met, and so she was very busy. She managed to get Sunday off while we were there and we were thrilled to have that time to spend with her touring the zoo and the Met.

Ava "packing" before we left home. Uncle Roy & Ava on a walk.

Feeding the giraffes at the Fresno Zoo! This was so much fun! Ava loved it!!

Playing at a park near Levi's house.

Feeding the birds after our Zoo trip. Ava loved chucking pieces of bread at the birds but after being nipped at by one goose and hissed at by another, Auntie Erica was sure there was something better to do. :) Thank you, Levi and Erica, for showing us all around and letting us stay! It was great to see you and we look forward to seeing you at Chrimastime!

Belly Pics

2008-11-07T11:46:00.000-08:00

I've had a request from my best friend, Meghan, out in Colorado for belly pictures so I thought I'd just share them with everyone here on the blog. These were taken when I was 21 weeks pregnant, we're almost 24 weeks along now. Ava thinks the belly is funny and if you ask her where the baby is she'll tap my tummy. Or she'll tap her own belly when we ask so (shrug) maybe she doesn't quite understand. :) She's also very willing to "give the baby a kiss" on my tummy which is totally adorable. Hopefully when the baby actually arrives she'll still be this sweet to her or him. :)

Ava trying to get Jack to dance

2008-11-06T14:56:00.000-08:00

Ava and I just got back on Sunday from 10 days in California. Whew! We had a great time and got to see my brother Levi and his wife Erica and Jeff's sister Amy and her family. They only live about an hour and a half from each other so it works out very well when we go to visit both families. I'll post more pictures of our trip but I had to get this video up because it is so cute! Ava spent most of her time either beating Jack up or trying to get him to dance with her. There wasn't really a happy medium there. They are still a little young to really play together and more just played side-by-side. One day Jack was standing in front of the tv watching a cartoon and Ava thought it had good music so she tried to get him to dance with her. She stood right next to him, both facing the tv, and grabbed his hand. He dropped her hand immediately, totally uninterested. She grabs his hand again and starts swinging her hips to the music but again, he drops her hand without even looking at her. Apparently she was determined that the music would move him as it was moving her because she gave up trying to hold his hand and grabbed his shoulder and started swaying side-to-side with her hand on his shoulder.

SOLD!!!

2008-11-06T14:35:00.001-08:00

We put our house on the market, you heard this, right? But did you hear that it sold? Yes!! Yay!! Our home sold on October 22nd, Jeff's 30th birthday! Not a bad present, would you say? :) We are thrilled and getting ready for the next phase of our life. We are going to restore an old farmhouse down south of Sioux Falls, it is halfway between Beresford and Hawarden (but still in South Dakota!). See the picture below and don't worry, the interior looks much more promising than your view from the outside. While working on this enormous project, we'll be living with Jeff's parents on their farm outside Hawarden, IA. Our closing date is November 24th and we are moving out the weekend of the 15th to give ourselves plenty of time to finish some loose ends up here. What does this mean? We move in 9 days!! We wanted the house to sell fast and it did! Now we have to move our butts and get out, fast! :)

Peek!

2008-10-09T11:57:00.000-07:00

Playing Peek-A-Boo at lunchtime.

And truly "peeking" through those chubby little fingers.

Have you heard our drama queen lately? I think that we can officially pass my title on. Notice the above picture? You'll see this image many days of the week at our house but it's a different tone. See, she'll get upset about something, start "crying" and peek through her fingers to make sure that you see how terribly distraught she is. "Boo hoo hoo hoo, can you seeeeee how sad I ammmmmm????"

A Zoo Trip!

2008-10-08T05:26:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to the zoo on Monday for Grandma Lacey's birthday! Happy Birthday, Grandma! (I'm sorry that we didn't get a picture with you, how did we forget that??) Auntie Ellen, Will, Sarah, Seth, and Collin also met us at the Zoo so we had a fun morning. This is the first time that I got to take Ava to the zoo but it isn't her first trip. Auntie Jeni and Uncle Tod took Ava along with the rest of their nieces and nephews a few months ago. She loved racing Will and Seth down the paths of the zoo and especially loved the Children's Zoo where she got up close and personal feeding some goats. :) My enjoyment of the zoo was slightly dimmed when I was stung by a bee in the first ten minutes at the zoo. Ouch! I had no idea that a bee sting could hurt so bad or make my arm swell like it did!! As a result I spent most of my time at the zoo fending off predatory insects, sure they were all out to get me now. While running away from the bees in the African Safari with me, Seth made the interesting comment that he had "Lots of Betty's around me today!" I don't really know what he meant but it was cute and worth mentioning. :)

The Recycling Bin

2008-10-07T09:24:00.000-07:00

Why does she want to play with the recycling? This cabinet is just sooooo exciting to Ava these last couple of weeks but who knows why? First she would just pull out the newspapers and scatter them. Then she started pulling the cans and plastic out of the bin and playing with them. Then she took the whole bin of recycling out of the drawer and started carrying it around. Now today she discovered that she can fit right in that drawer if she takes everything else out. In she went. And giggled and rocked and giggled some more. Of course I told her not to play in there but how do I not take her picture first? I'm digging through my child-proof locks to see if I have something that will work on this cabinet but I am not finding anything yet. I guess the cabinet is hers for now...

Teeth teeth teeth teeth

2008-10-04T06:16:00.000-07:00

Incisors!! Argh!! We hate these teeth! They have been tormenting Ava for two months now and have only just appeared in the last two weeks. But there are four to work on and we're only seeing the top two! And those two are only partially out of her gums! Thank goodness for ice and tylenol! I'm not sure what these teeth bring the number two for a total in her little mouth but it is in the double digits. (It's harder to see the teeth at the back of her mouth and I value my fingers too much to stick a digit in and try to count them all.) What we know for sure is that she's got a lovely smile (and an even better growl that REALLY shows off those teeth)!

I guess Ava's baby doll is hungry this morning because I just caught Ava shoving honeycomb into her doll's mouth. :) It's rather a large mouth because it usually holds a pacifier so why not fill it with some food? "Baby" is one word that Ava says really well and she loves carrying a doll around with her or pushing it in her toy stroller. (But she also likes pushing a book or other toys around in her stroller.) She's usually very sweet with her babies and we're optimistic that she'll be a big fan of her baby brother or sister when they finally arrive. She likes to "help" whenever possible and is just super with the swiffer and broom. :) I'm hoping that she has her Grandma Theresa's "tidy" gene because she didn't inherit any tendency towards tidiness from me or Jeff. She'll also help by wiping up the floor if that's what I'm doing at the moment. Still not a big fan of the vacuum if it gets too close to her but at least she's not crying when it comes on now though she still hates the small handheld dustbuster.

The Princess and the Pea

2008-10-03T06:21:00.000-07:00

Ava got her Peapod Travel bed in the mail on Saturday! Yay! She thinks it is the greatest addition to her daily play, even laying down in it for a nap on Saturday afternoon. We're hoping that she'll like it and sleep in it verses the Pack-n-Play because it is ALOT more portable. If it doesn't work out for her, I guess it should for her little sibling. I figure it will keep him or her safe from bugs (and Ava) when we're camping and doing other things. :) My friend Elizabeth gave me the idea because this is what she used for her son's bed when they came to visit her grandparents this summer. Isaac thought it was the greatest thing and now Ava can see why!

Chasing Ava a.k.a. Watching Malory's Soccer Game

2008-10-02T06:47:00.000-07:00

We went to the soccer fields in Sioux Falls to watch Malory's soccer game last weekend. We got to see most of the game but since Ava didn't want to sit and didn't want to watch the game, we all spent time chasing Ava. It got much warmer than expected so the longsleeve Hawkeye's shirt Ava had on had to come off. We're getting to the end of our nice weather so it was nice to be out in the sun for a little while. Pictured with Ava today are Malory, Daddy, Bailey, Uncle Greg, and Aunt Wendy.

We'd like to introduce you to Ava's Sibling...

2008-09-30T07:11:00.000-07:00

We had our first ultrasound yesterday, we are 18 weeks and two days pregnant in these pictures. Jeff and my mom were able to come along with me to the ultrasound where we got our first glimpse of our baby. We did not find out the sex but judging from watching the ultrasound images we have our suspicions. :) And no, Auntie Jeni, we are not having twins! :) The top picture is of the baby in profile and I think it is pretty self-explanatory. Cute nose, right? :)
In the second picture here you can see the baby's tiny feet. The view is from the bottom of her/his feet so you can see the heels and toes outlined pretty well. It is a side-by-side view of the same shot, pretty much.
Here is a picture of most of our baby. It's a view from their left side but shot kind of from behind them so you're seeing the back of the head, their perfect little spine, left arm and left leg. The baby is facing down in this picture. The technician had a little trouble getting all the pictures that she wanted because the baby was not in the mood to be still. We got to see lots of wiggling arms and kicking legs and could even see the baby's mouth opening and closing. What a miracle!! We are blessed with a healthy little baby and we will just pray that they continue to grow and thrive until we get to officially meet him or her in February!

Arm Wrestling

2008-09-24T06:38:00.000-07:00

Jeff can get Ava laughing like no one else. She thinks her Daddy is the greatest thing since fruit snacks (I agree) and whether they are dancing in the garage to Dad's music, playing "tackle" football in the yard, or arm wrestling, it is all great. Sorry if this video is a little shaky, I was having a really hard time not laughing and shaking the camera.

Helping the boys

2008-09-23T06:18:00.000-07:00

Uncle Grant gave Ava a ride on the forklift on the day that we hung out in Trent with the boys. Three of my brothers, Grant, Luke, & Zac, are all going to USD this year and we spent a day with them at my parents' before they started school this fall. Hopefully we'll get down to Vermillion soon to spend another day hanging out.

Here's Ava helping haul wood from the truck to the pile. She likes "helping" when she can.

Taking a break from splitting wood, Ava and Uncle Zac play catch with Ruthie and Tom. Ava didn't want to touch the ball because it was slimy so she'd just kick it to the dogs. This usually resulted in the ball rolling slowly maybe 18 inches in front of her and it took Tom watching about four of these attempts by Ava to realize that this was as good as it was going to get. Soon he started getting the ball and returning it to Ava, game for whatever he could get, apparently.

Growling... Not just for bears anymore.

2008-09-22T06:13:00.000-07:00

Ava has decided that it is really fun to growl or just generally talk in a deep, mannish voice. On Friday last week she spent the day wandering around singing in this deep voice. It is hilarious! I think she has kept it up because she gets such a great response from her adoring audiences. :) Here's a video of her in the car entertaining Grandpa Kingma, Jeff, and myself.

Bathtime, entertaining as always.

2008-09-20T06:18:00.000-07:00

As I type this post, Ava is sitting on top of the kitchen table. This is her "thing". She thinks it's hilarious to climb up on the table and wait for my reaction. So today, I'm not reacting. I'm sitting with my back to her and waiting to see what she does. She's been sitting there for about five minutes and I think she's bored with the game and ready to get down. (There's nothing on the table to get into.) Her problem is, she doesn't know how to get down. She can get up but I always bring her down. Now what? I guess we wait and see. (Don't worry, my bladder won't allow this standoff to go too long. Ava doesn't realize she's got a baby brother or sister on her side, putting pressure on me to get up and move!)

Aren't bathtub pictures so cute? And doesn't she look so big in my arms afterwards? My baby is a year and a half! I can't believe how much she's grown and changed in that short span of time. Jeff says she's not my baby anymore, my baby is now in my belly. :) I know he's right but Ava will always be my baby, my first precious gift from above.

Dancing Fever

2008-09-19T06:18:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at my cousin Cody's wedding to his long-time girlfriend, Kari, the last Saturday in August. Ava tolerated the wedding because she was able to go from uncle to uncle to grandpa to grandma and then do it all again, sometimes stopping for a moment with Mom and Dad at their end of the church pew. In the first picture you see Ava at the start of the reception. They had started setting up the buffet line which was conveniently located next to the dance floor so she was able to sneak over and snag a bun off the table and get back to the dance floor before we realized what she was up to. Dancing makes a girl hungry, who can blame her??

Pete and Alex posing for the camera. (This is one of three pictures I had to take for Pete, he kept changing his position and facial expression and asking for another picture.)

Ava wasn't really in the mood for a family photo but we snapped one anyway. I want to point out that Ava's wearing the dress that our niece Samantha wore to Jeff and my wedding four years ago this month. Did you recognize it, Amy? :)

Uncle Luke was the one Ava wanted for most of the evening but especially when she started getting tired. Here he is taking her out to dance on the dance floor.

And here they are at the end of Ava's night, about five minutes later. :)
A good time was had by all! Congratulations to Cody and Kari!

Daddy is Mommy??

2008-09-18T06:18:00.001-07:00

Ava used to say "Dad" and "Daddy" but for some reason she stopped. Now when Jeff gets home, she's still as excited as always but she's hollering "Momma!" as she runs to give him a hug and kiss. Jeff will be holding her and we'll ask, "Ava, who's this?" she answers, "Mom." But then "mom" seems to be her second favorite word, second of course to "no". Apparently it has a myriad of meanings such as "I'm hungry, get me food." "I'm thirsty." "I'm tired, put me to bed." "I want that toy." "Look at me, I want an audience." And, of course, it also means "Mom". :) It's up to me to be the interpreter and decipher the meaning behind each separate utterance.

No, no, no, no, no, no!

2008-09-18T06:18:00.000-07:00

Our Ava Reese has a learned a new word in the last few weeks. It is her FAVORITE word and she uses it ALL DAY long.
"Can we put your shirt back on, Ava?" "No!"
"Ava, would you like to take a nap?" "No!"
"Ava, can you please pick up your toys?" "No. No. No. No!"
"Would you like to eat lunch?" "No!"
"Let's go change your dirty diaper." "No!"
"Do you have any idea why you say "no" to everything, Ava?" "NO!"
"Would you like some fruit snacks??" "Nooo.... ummm... yeah."
(I guess she doesn't say "no" to everything, not after some consideration.)

California Cousins

2008-08-21T05:58:00.000-07:00

Ava's cousins came from California for a long visit and we are missing them already! Here are some pictures from their visit, I'll probably post more on another day. Jackson and Ava are well matched and were so much fun to watch together. Just about four months separates them so they are doing many of the same things and seemed to find each other really interesting. Samantha and Taylor entertained themselves by playing with the toddlers or creating all kinds of interesting scenarios to play out. (The circus was a common theme for one day.)

Random photos

2008-08-19T07:04:00.000-07:00

Let me help you with that pacifier, Zander.

Pigpile on Justin!

Isabel, Malory, & Ava goofing in the backseat.

Kisses for Zander!

Safety First!!

2008-07-18T11:15:00.000-07:00

You all know that Ava has a sassy little 4-wheeler that she likes to ride, when the mood strikes her. I had to get her a helmet because that little thing is surprisingly quick and well, a helmet is just good sense, right? Here she is, showing off the helmet for Grandma and Grandpa Kingma. She thinks its just another item for dress-up play and I think that's why she tolerates it. :)

One Cool Kid

2008-07-18T11:05:00.000-07:00

Ava's a big fan of glasses but most especially sunglasses. With her tiny little nose its not easy to keep them on her face but here our neighbor Sherry stuck them through her piggies to help Ava out. She wore them for a good ten minutes while hanging out on Sherry's lap. :) We were spending some time in their backyard by their new pool, another something that Ava liked. She didn't play long in the pool because it was cool but she'll be back for seconds. She's a big fan of the public pool in Brandon because it has a real gentle slope where she can stand in hardly any water and it doesn't get too deep for her. There are little jets of water shooting straight up and out of the cement that she likes to splash through and try to "catch" the water droplets. We're hoping for a nice day soon when we can go into Sioux Falls to the Splash Park that we've heard so much about, no pool just sprinklers and shooting water all around.

Is it time for dress-up? Already?

2008-06-30T17:44:00.000-07:00

Is that angelic little person the next Mother Theresa? Possibly. But around this split foyer she's our baby Ava who is swiftly becoming a little girl and seems to be playing dress up. Somedays it is a cloth napkin that she finds on the floor in the dining room, other days it's a hand towel from the kitchen or maybe a piece of scrap fabric from a purse I was sewing. Whatever it is she either drapes it over her head or around shoulders and looks at me as if to say, "Don't I look so lovely?" On Friday evening I zipped her into this super cute blue and white "party dress" and she went right to the mirror and twirled in front of it. She twirled!! Then she went off in search of some shoes to complete the outfit. I'm not kidding. THIS is definitely my child. There are times I wonder but not this time, not when it comes to playing dress-up. Ask my Aunt Louise or my sister Ellen, either can tell you about my billions of wardrobe changes and lack of commitment to any one outfit in a given day.

I should tell you that the towel on top of her head is also good for playing the, "Where's Ava?" game that she loves. So, it isn't always about dress-up. :)

Ava's best bud

2008-06-24T06:12:00.000-07:00

Have you met Maggie? She's our very good friend and neighbor across the street. Mary Lou, Maggie's mom, and Maggie make Ava light up and squeal such happy squeals that only Jeff's homecoming everyday can match. We'll be outside in the lawn playing and Mary's blue jeep will come down the road and we'll hear "We're coming, Ava!" coming through the SUV's open windows and towards us across the street. Into the driveway they go and out the door of the Jeep jumps Maggie and she's running towards Ava, who is running towards her! Ava loves to show off for on her Barbie 4-wheeler for Mary and Maggie or to "confer" with Maggie about some bug or rock on the ground. We love them and can't imagine how we got so lucky with them as neighbors, and friends.

Father's Day with the Farley's

2008-06-23T06:22:00.000-07:00

We spent Father's Day in Beresford with some of our Farley family members. What a gorgeous day! We all hung out on the lawn and the girls were entertained all afternoon by Grandma Lucy's little wagon.

Pictured here are: Aunt Mary and Ava, Landry and the girls, Lucy and me, Annie, Jeff and Grandpa Marv. Poor Jeff, even on Father's Day he couldn't catch a break! He brought down a new storm door for Grandpa Earl and installed it as his Father's Day gift to him. (He didn't seem to mind plus he had lots of help from Lucy and Landry and Grandpa Marv.)

I think that we need to invest in a wagon like Grandma's because it had a cute little door on the side and Ava LOVED climbing in and out of it. The three girls could all squish themselves into the wagon at once and then would want us to pull them down the block and back. But mostly they were happy just playing their own games with the wagon sitting in the shade in front of the house.

Ava loves Malory and Ethan!

2008-06-20T06:04:00.000-07:00

We have been having such a fun summer with Malory and Ethan at our house a couple times a week! Ava LOVES to have them around and they love her. Ethan is always showing her good places to "hide" and he dances with her to her fridge d.j. without fail.

Malory is my helper and likes feeding Ava her breakfast or lunch. She is also a French Chef and makes delicious meals on her kitchen on our back deck. (I am pretty sure Ethan is the Chief Dishwasher.) Ava just follows the two of them wherever they go, imitating every move and every word.

Yesterday we made the mistake of using the new Crayola Sidewalk Paint on our walk in front of the house. Beware! It's fun but it stains! We had a really hard time getting it off the concrete. There are still some spots that are a faded neon pink. So much for "removing with water"!

Ava and Isaac

2008-06-20T05:52:00.000-07:00

We got to meet a new friend last Saturday. Isaac Braaton is the son of my friend Elizabeth. They were home in Sioux Falls visiting from Oregon and we were able to spend a few days playing with them. Elizabeth's mom Wendy has been my mom's friend since they were in grade school so I have known Elizabeth for as long as I can remember. It was neat to see our kids playing together, especially since they were so very happy together!

Isaac is just 6 months older than Ava and the two played so well and were utterly adorable together. Ava kept giving Isaac hugs and kisses. But they were also sort of fighting over this chair and at one point trying to run each other over with Ava's doll stroller. :)

We went up for supper at my mom and dad's on Tuesday and both kids loved playing fetch with the dogs. Isaac was really good at taking the tennis ball from Tom (Dad's dog you see in the pic) and throwing it. Ava liked watching but didn't need to get too close to the dogs. She likes petting them but only their rear or side. If they are facing her she keeps her hands to herself. Scary teeth, I guess.

Never mind the girl behind the curtain...

2008-06-19T09:44:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-06-11T11:10:00.000-07:00

We spent some time at the campground here just outside of Brandon on Memorial Day weekend. Jeff took our camper over on Friday night and stayed but Ava and I just visited because we were both a little under the weather. Speaking of the weather, it wasn't so great. Note the heavy clothes and hats. But we had fun despite the rain. Here are some pics of our family and then some of Ava and Austin Studenski coloring in the camper and Ava,Wendy and Malory cuddling by the fire. Ava thinks camping is great because there are rocks EVERYWHERE! Plus little kids to follow around and so much to see at the campsites. We're hoping for warmer weather for our next camping trip but this year all weather bets are off!

Ava can read!

2008-06-11T08:07:00.000-07:00

I was able to catch Ava reading a book today. She's reading a "Peter Rabbit" colors and shapes book and I swear she says "Peter Rabbit" at the beginning of the video. I'm sure it probably was just jibberish but let's just pretend she says it.

We want to wish Jackson Paul Anema a Happy first Birthday today! And Happy Birthday to my brother, Luke! And belated happy birthday to Samantha Leigh!! We love you!!

Look who came to visit!

2008-06-10T10:53:00.000-07:00

We were so happy to have Uncle Roy and Auntie Erica home for TWO weeks to visit all of us here in South Dakota! Levi and Erica got to go out to the Black Hills where Erica saw Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial for the first time. They went with my parents and had a great little vacation within their vacation. They came for Zac's High School graduation (Congrats, Zachary!!) and stayed till the last weekend in May.

Erica, Ava and myself spent a day together hanging out while Levi was busy doing something else. Poor Erica had to "babysit" both of us as I had woken up on Memorial Day Monday not being able to turn or tilt my neck to the left. Ouch! So she drove us straight to the Chiropractor on Tuesday and then drove us around doing some errands and then lunch after the chiro. Despite a stiff neck it was nice getting to visit with Erica. I wish that we could see more of them! And they couldn't believe how much Ava had grown in the 10 months since they had last seen her! She had gone from a baby to a toddler, hardly rolling over to running all over!

Our Future Dordt Student

2008-06-09T10:46:00.000-07:00

Is Ava going to follow in Auntie Amy and Uncle Paul's footsteps? She's got the right sweatshirt so I guess we'll see where the future takes her. We think that she's college material, she's smart as a whip and a real social butterfly. Our neighbor and friend, Mary Lou, told me one day, "I'm sorry, Kari, but I REALLY believe that Ava is extremely smart! I can't get over the things that she does! When I was watching her one day she was looking at a magazine and would lick her fingers to help her turn the pages! She was really doing it!!" I told Mary Lou she didn't need to apologize, we think Ava's very intelligent, too. :) I mean, she is my child, right? (HaHaHaHa)

Why do you have to play in the cabinet?

2008-06-06T10:26:00.000-07:00

Here's the lazy susan cabinet in the corner of the our kitchen. And here is the little girl who discovered it has no lock to keep her out.

Who, me? You mean you don't want me in here???

Oh, silly! Of course I'm playing in here! It's my newest hideaway! Plus it has snacks!
Okay, I'll humor you and get out. For the moment. But I'll be back in 15 seconds when you have turned away and gone back to your work, Mom.

Such a fierce one!

2008-06-02T15:56:00.000-07:00

Today Ava was standing in the middle of the living room, minding her own business chewing on something and pointing the stereo remote at the television. Of course, I had to go out of my way to get in her face and irritate her with questions like, "What's in your mouth? Is that a choking hazard?! Let me see! Open your mouth." Not happy with her participation, I decided to open her mouth and look in for myself. Out comes her tongue, a piece of paper, and a guttural growl. Did my baby girl just GROWL at me?? I think she did!! So fierce, this girl.

Or maybe not so fierce because 30 seconds later she came crying from the living room because she had succeeded in turning on the stereo and Amy Winehouse at volume 22 had scared the remote right out of her hand.

Lunch at the Playground

2008-05-21T17:38:00.000-07:00

Ava and I met Jeff for lunch in Sioux Falls last week. A beautiful day for a picnic! Ava didn't pay much attention to her lunch because there were far too many kids running around screaming. She loved all the madness! We took her to the "little kids" playset and she got to explore that for a while. The slide was her favorite, she wasn't nervous about it at all. The picture above is of her scooting backwards to the slide. (She knows this is how you approach any descent, be it a stair or getting down from bed or the changing table.) We tried out the swing but she was not a fan. (Jeff said it was made for chubbier babies, she had too much room to flop around in it.) I think what she liked most about the park was seeing all the other kids. She's our social butterfly.

Ava driving her 4-wheeler

2008-05-20T13:10:00.000-07:00

Note that Ava is not actually ON the 4-wheeler? This is something she does frequently. If she climbs onto the mini atv it is usually to ride it backwards, not caring where she's going. If she runs into something, she just keeps her hand on the throttle, spinning her little barbie wheels. We laugh so that's probably why she does it.

Under the Weather

2008-05-20T08:46:00.001-07:00

Well, the trees are blooming! And if we hadn't seen them with our very own eyes, we have sensed them with the rest of our bodies! Ava and I are both chasing our runny noses and trying to deal with allergies. Ava has a cough and yesterday I took her to the doctor who said she also has an ear infection. So we're sitting here at home, taking our meds and chillin' today. I haven't been giving her anything for allergies because the doctor was advising against it but now she said we could start some children's Claritin. We started that and the amoxicillan and hopefully between those two and her Ambrotose she'll be feeling better in no time. For being sick she is still such a darling. More ornery than usual and apparently her attention span has been reduced because she can't focus on one thing for any amount of time. Hopefully she will be feeling better soon\.\\\ (She's currently trying to "help" me by swivelling the armchair I'm in around and around as well as typing, note the slashes above.)

Ava Speak

2008-05-14T16:46:00.000-07:00

I swear that Isabelle is teaching Ava Vietnamese. Or maybe German. But whatever it is, it is definitely a language and I definitely do not understand. She talks, talks, talks all the time. Telling stories, reading us books, asking questions, talking to strangers, calling Grandma and Grandpa... I tried to catch her on video last week but she caught me instead. She was sitting in her rocker and reading a book (another favorite past time only surpassed by rocking and chewing on a book). There she was reading the story out loud and totally unaware that I was watching and listening. Here's what happened when I tried to get it all on video. At the very start of the video you can hear her chattering to herself but you'll have to listen carefully.

Ava's Newest Job

2008-05-14T16:25:00.000-07:00

Did you hear that Ava has a job? Have I already mentioned that? She started at the Brandon Skateboard Park a couple of weeks ago. Until school gets out it is a pretty easy gig, one or two days a week from 4 to 8. She can only handle the first part of the shift so her daddy picks her up when he gets home from work around 5:30 and then I take over the rest for her. The skateboarders are a great source of entertainment, she often tells me that it doesn't even feel like work because she just laughs and watches them go. I don't think that they appreciate her laughing at their major crashes now and then but she finds it all amusing. Sitting in her stroller she's got a great view and I always make sure she's supplied with snacks and a sippy cup full of milk or juice. The weather isn't always in accord with our work plans and a few times haven't been able to open due to rain. Another day we closed early because tornadoes were closing in around us. Other than the rainy days it isn't so bad. And when Ava goes home I can pull out my laptop and pick up a wireless internet signal from somewhere near the park thus keeping myself entertained until the eight o'clock hour.