Happy Birthday Ava!!!

So my little girl turned 2 on Friday. I can't believe how much she has grown this last year, particularly her vocabulary and her confidence! She wanted to have a Dora party so yesterday we had the family over and celebrated her birthday. It was so much fun to see her excitement as she opened her presents. This is the first time that she actually got "girly" presents - baby dolls and dress up clothes. Now, she can take a break from playing dinosaurs, trucks, and pirates!! My friend Sue Bock sent Ava and Mya matching dresses. They looked absolutely adorable in them - thanks bunches to Sue!!
Well, now that the excitement of the party is over, it is off to another year in the life Ava - I can only imagine what is to come!

An interesting editorial...

I came across this editorial in yesterday's newspaper. As you know,Terry works for Merck and at one time promoted the drug Vioxx, so you can see why I found this editorial particularly interesting.

Let me see if I have this right: Tobacco is predicted to kill one billion people this century. As I recall, the drug ephedra was banned after being blamed for 12 deaths. Vioxx was pulled from the market after a few hundred had problems with it. Lead paints was eliminated from nonindustrial use after it was found to be toxic. What do you suppose would happen if a new car came out, and in the first year 10 of them caught fire? The whole lot would be recalled for safety reasons. Why is a product that is expected to kill one billion people, and is addictive to boot, not illegal?

I know some of my friends and family smoke, so I am not slamming smokers. I guess more than anything the reference to Vioxx hit home. Why is a company like Merck having to engage in numerous lawsuits over a drug that possibly was harmful, yet tobacco companies are continuing to manufacture and sell a drug that is also harmful? No, I don't think tobacco should necessarily be illegal, but I do think people should layoff other companies.

Summer Fun...picnics, popsicles, pools, and hot weather!

What fun summer brings....picnics, popsicles, pools, and hot weather!! It has been sweltering hot the last couple days and it looks like there is no relief in the near future. It has been near the 100s with the heat index hitting near 110! I just looked in the paper and the forecast for this week is triple digits all week! Yikes. Despite the incredibly hot weather, we have had some good sumer fun.

Chase has become quite the little fish. He has taken several sessions of swimming lessons at the YMCA, but quite honestly I think he has learned more about swimming this summer in the pool. We have a great children's pool across the street from us in our neighborhood - it has a lazy river, tire swing, fountains, and a slide. There is also a deep end with the water going from 3 foot to 5 foot deep. Chase has improved his swimming skills so much just by having to fend for himself in the water. I am really thinking that I will save the money on swim lessons and just let him learn at his own pace in the pool. A couple times with water in his nose and he will learn about holding his breath, right???

While sitting outside last night, once the temps had dropped to a mere 90 or so around 8:30, the ice cream man visited our neighborhood. Of course, the kids have such a keen sense of hearing, and they heard the bells three streets over. Terry and I heard the truck approaching, so we quickly tried to herd the kids inside....but no luck. As soon as I started to open the front door, the truck was in front of the house with his loud speaker blaring. Since we had promised them that they could get a popsicle if he came to our house, we were stuck! Terry ran in and got Chase and Ava a dollar and they quickly ran to the truck and picked out their treasure. We moved to the backyard as to avoid a mess inside and let them enjoy their summer treats before heading to bed. Ava enjoyed hers immensely! She is still stained from the strawberry juice this morning.

What more can I say.....she loved the corn!! We couldn't have a picnic outside because it isn't even enjoyable to be out in the heat, so we had one inside. Grandma and PaPa Christian were over and Terry braved the heat to be one with his grill (this is really his 4th baby - he loves to grill!). We had BBQ'd porksteaks and corn on the cob, and lucky Mya got the leftover cob. I am sure her gums enjoyed it with those two top teeth just dying to bust through.

What more can we ask for in the summer?? Maybe a little bit cooler weather!

Mom, What Can I be???

C: Mom, what can I be??
M: You can be anything you want!
C: Can I be a worker truck driver?
M: Sure.
C: Can I be a fireman?
M: Sure.
C: Can I be a farmer?
M: Sure. Sweetie....you can be anything you want when you get older.
C: Really? What else could I be when I get bigger?
M: You could be a daddy.
C: What are you?
M: I am a mommy. Am I good at being a mommy?
C: You are the best mommy!!

What better compliment can a mom get than that?? It makes all the hard parts of motherhood worth it when your child says you are the best!

On the way to the Veteran's Home today, Chase and I started talking. Boy, this is why I love a car without a DVD player. When we got our truck, I specifically said that I didn't want a built-in DVD player. The salesman couldn't believe his ears - this is an option that most people would die for he says. Not me....I don't want to give up this precious time with my children. Having 3 kids 3 and under, I don't often get the chance to just talk with them. Carrides give us that. They are confined in their carseats and we have nothing else to do but talk. I wouldn't give this up for the world, or for a DVD player!!!