Ava for Sale

Let me start off with a couple disclosures.

#1: I am NOT pregnant.

#2: If we weren't a little leery of saying it in our house, I'd also add, we have no intentions of having another baby in the near future.

Our old house had very little storage space. Actually, we thought it was huge until Ava was born and either the extra stuff or her personality shrunk the house. So, once we got through with all of the baby gear (swing, bouncy seat, exersaucer, high chair--you get the picture) we stored most of it at Sue Ellen's house. Now that we have lots of extra storage, we're slowing moving it back in with us. Cate has apparently forgotten about most of it. She was playing in a baby chair and asked "Is this mine or Ava's?" ( To her everything is hers or Ava's and actually she thinks most of it is just hers.)

I replied, "We're going to put it up for now. It will be the next baby's" (a statement that makes Joe twitchy). That seemed to satisfy Cate and nothing more was said about it.

Until tonight. Mama was bathing both of the girls and I was unpacking boxes (STILL!) and catching snippets of their conversation. Well, Cate had it all figured out.

We are going to get rid of Ava when the new baby comes. Out with the old, in with a new, better sister.

And as Ava sat there obliviously playing in the bathtub, I had a lot of explaining to do to Cate and Mama.

No Comment.

This afternoon in the car-

Cate: "Mama, when I grow up, I'm going to be a Booty Shaker."

Catherine Came Home for a Visit

Catherine and Cate


Catherine and Ava


Ava was sweet and posed for a few pictures. Cate was hungry for lunch and declined.







Ava, Cate and Ashton playing on some shelving we were moving.


Ava messed Cate's blanket tent up. Cate was upset. This is Cate's mean face.


Cate was proud of her french braids by Ta-Ta.



Two little wrastlin' kitty cats.


Apparently Cate was a cat all day, which she thought was great fun. When I got home from work, I also got a cat nose and whiskers. Needless to say, we let Joe pick-up dinner that night.
Catherine was home for the week and kept Cate and Ava for a couple of days. We all had a ball. She brought a goodie bag, the "Bag of Fun", and entertained the girls for hours on end. She is the artistic one in the family and had several good decorating ideas for our new, overwhelming house that I can't wait to get started on. We will miss her until she gets to come back over the holidays. Love you, Ta-Ta!

Spanish

We were riding in the car on the way to Ripley this past Saturday morning. We made a turn and the sun began to shine in on Cate. Cate said, "Mama, it's very hot in here." It was actually pretty cool in the car, so I said, "Cate, do you mean it's bright in here?" Cate replied, "Does bright mean hot in Spanish?"
Try explaining bright to a 3 year old.

A Few Recent Snapshots

Excited about going to the Tippah County Fair. I don't think I had been in 10 years. We were spending a few nights in Ripley due to new flooring going in at our house and decided to try the fair. Cate did not catch a rabbit in the rabbit catching contest, but she did chase them and that shocked me. Ava was too young to enter. It was probably a good thing too, she would have walked out of there with a handful of bunnies by their ears.







Ava wearing her new Dora pajamas and playing on the bed. (I know the pjs are buddy, but she LOVES anything Dora and wants to wear these jammies every time she see them.)


I love this sweet face.


"Ava, where are your eyes?"


I took dancing for one year at the age of 5. I was not a dancer. I think they kicked me out. But, Catherine and I did have these fabulous costumes to play in for many years. I found them the last time we stayed in Ripley. Cate and Ava had a ball playing in them. It was hard to get pictures because they were dancing all over the living room to CMT -sorry Joe, it was the only music I could find at the time.




On the stove at our new house you have to press "Start" after you set the timer. NOW we know. Tonight I told Cate we were having pizza. She usually gets very excited about pizza. She replied, "Mama we don't have to eat that black pizza, do we?" She doesn't forget anything.



This is Cate's night-night cap. It is actually a little fleece hat a nurse friend of mine, Laura Luther, gave me at a baby shower when I was pregnant with Cate. It always makes me laugh when I go to check on her before I go to bed and find her wearing the thing.


Clean Ava wallowing like a pig in Dirty laundry.

Cate's Teeth

A recent conversation I had with Cate:

Me: "Cate, let's go brush your teeth."

Cate: (grumpily) "NO! I don't want to." (bottom lip juts out)

I then pause and think. Do I, (A) Pull out the I'm your Mama and you better get in here now because I said so, OR (B) Cajole her into brushing her teeth, OR (C) Say something off the wall and see if it works.

Me: "Cate, if we don't brush your teeth they will all fall out."

Cate: (still through gritted teeth) "No they won't Mama, I'll keep my mouth shut."

Several seconds of us staring at each other and then we both burst into giggles. Her teeth were brushed without so much as a whimper. Tell me it will always end this well.