Happy 4th Birthday Avery

Happy Birthday to my Avery who turned 4 last week! We celebrated with a trip to Disneyland for her birthday and a party over the weekend. She had a wonderful week filled with family, friends, and lots of fun presents. Happy Birthday Avery girl!!!

Trip to the Dentist

Avery had made her first trip to the dentist this past week. Luckily she's never had any problems with her teeth, but I figured she's a big girl now and was more than ready for a cleaning and routine check up. I was so glad I was able to take her in to see my dentist and not have to worry about taking her to see a pediatric dentist. All of the girls in the office are great and I've had nothing but positive experiences, so I didn't even think twice about it.

The dental assistant was great with her and talked her through the whole thing. Avery got to play with a little stuffed animal alligator with teeth, tried on a dental mask and gloves, and got to watch Sponge Bob square pants in her dental chair. Oh, they even took a couple pictures of her in the dental chair for me (see picture below). So sweet! I must say, they really made it a calm and pleasant experience for her. I don't ever remember getting this kind of treatment at the dentist as a kid. I was lucky to get a balloon or a new toothbrush and be on my way.

Once the dentist came in, she looked in Avery's mouth and spotted what I had feared. Yep, she has one nice little cavity in the back. Just one though, so it's not that bad. I've always practiced good dental hygiene with the kids, but I hear it's pretty normal for kids to have cavities at this age. It's inevitable!

Avery didn't leave without a goodie bag complete with a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, and mouth wash. Oh, and a certificate for doing a good job at brushing her teeth everyday. Every kid needs that, right? What can I say, it was a great first visit to the dentist. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the next visit will be surprisingly pleasant as well.

This is the picture they took of Avery in the dental chair. It came out really small, but it's sweet!

Pretty pink toes

Today I decided to do pedicures for Avery and I. We went with pink, of course! Very pretty and summery!

                                   Oooohhhhhh......so pretty!

So long crib

Callum didn't mind posing at all to show off his big boy bed!

Callum is transitioning nicely into his "big boy" bed. We decided he was ready when he started to climb out of crib during naptime and quietly tip toe around the house. He thought it was the funniest thing ever and seemed very proud of himself that he had mastered it. Honestly, I'm thankful, and very surprised that he wasn't climbing out of his crib at a younger age. He's always proved to be such a little dare devil.

We are thinking that he will be ready to be potty trained soon.....possibly next month if I get myself focused and ready to go! Philip and I have already walked into the room several times to see him trying to change his own diaper. He had even gotten the diaper pad, diaper, and wipies all set up on the floor. Luckily, we had walked in at just the right time. Pretty darn hilarious!

Conversation with Avery in the Car

"Avery, you need to worry about yourself."

"Okay mommy, I will worry about myself. What should I do with myself?"

=)

Avery graduates Preschool

This is Avery's last week of preschool and she is out for the summer. She's officially a preschool graduate! Way to go Avery!!!

Boo Boos and Ouchies

These two little rascals have gotten nothing but dings, scrapes, cuts, and bruises the last month. Otherwise known as "boo boos" and "ouchies". They seem to be "more than usually" accident prone these days and I've really had to stock up our medicine cabinet. Lots of polysporin, bactine, and lotsa band aids. (hello kitty and sesame street, to be precise) Avery was accidentally hit in the head with a toy about a month ago. Paranoid mommy that I am, took her to see a dermatologist to get an opinion.  I was rest assured that it was not as big of a deal as I had thought it was and it wouldn't leave a scar.....phew! Luckily it is healing nicely and is almost completely gone. Callum is still recovering from taking a fall a couple days ago. How in the world he got so many scrapes on his face in so many different areas with just one fall, I'll never be able to figure out. But he is a tough little boy and is making a quick recovery. I keep hearing that this is just the start of it, and to basically suck it up and get over it, kids are going to be kids. They sure are little troopers though! Here are some of the "very few" boo boos they've gotten over the week.

     Nothing like a hello kitty band aid to comfort Avery's ouchie

                          How did my little guy do this with just one fall???

All caught up in Tangled

One of Avery's all time favorite movies these days is Disney's Tangled. She adores all the princesses but seems to like the character Rapunzel the best....oh, and of course Snow White. I can't leave out Snow White. I think it's safe to say that it's a tie between the two princesses. She has watched the Tangled movie a hundred times (not really a hundred times, but feels like it) and has starting quoting scenes from the movie. Not to mention, she knows how to put the DVD in the dvd player herself now. She always tells me, "Mommy, I want to grow my hair like Rapunzel."  She always makes me smile everytime she says that and I tell her we can certainly try. I've been thinking about maybe surprising her with a Rapunzel dress from the Disney store for her birthday. :)

Avery's Beautiful Green Plant

Avery came home from school with a beautiful green plant yesterday. I am not sure, but I think her class had planted these the beginning of the school year. I decided to take a trip over to Walmart this morning and found a nice little pot to transfer it to. I am hoping with a little love and just the right amount of water, Avery will be able to continue to watch her "lovely" plant grow.

Chocolate Face

This is my messy little guy. He loves anything that's chocolate and by the looks of it, thoroughly enjoyed his chocolate pudding cup after lunch. This is what he looked like after the container was licked clean. Amazingly, I think it only took one papertowel to clean him off, he smeared it in pretty good. If there was some kind of reward for the world's messiest toddler, he would definately take the trophy.

Celebrating with Christian

After many fun outings to the mall and picnics at the park, Avery and Callum had to say their goodbyes to their little buddy Christian today. He and his mommy are moving to Arizona the beginning of next week to be closer to family. Although Avery and Callum don't know exactly where Arizona is, they know that it's very far away from here. They love playing with Christian, and since we live just up the street it was easy for them to develop such a great little friendship.

Today was special since it was Christian's 3rd birthday, and we were invited to their house to celebrate with him. There was cake, lots of presents, and big smiles. They were happy to celebrate with him today, and although they will miss him lots (and I will miss his mommy lots), wish him tons of happiness in his new home!

Funny Quotes

Every now and then, Avery and Callum will say the funniest things. Philip talking to Avery about eating her dinner tonight. "Avery, you need to eat your food so you can grow big and tall. " Avery: "No, I don't want to grow because then I won't be able to fit into my snow white outfit anymore."

Mother's Day Tea

I was cordially invited to Mother's Day tea at Avery's school this week, in honor of all the mommies. Of course this silly mommy had forgotten to bring the camera and am starting to realize that having a camera on me at all times is definately a "necessity". Our days seem too unpredictable to not have one.

All of us moms had gathered in the auditorium and were served tea and refreshments while our little ones lined up and greeted us with a Mother's Day song. Avery had actually been practicing the song all week so it wasn't the first time I heard it, but it was so cute watching her up there singing with her class. It was a "true" kodak moment. These are the moments us mommies live for. After tea, all the moms were invited to the school chapel with the kids for a special presentation.

When I had gone to pick her up later that day, I had found a card and present at the bottom of her bucket waiting for me. She had completely made my day and I feel like the luckiest person in the world to be her momma!

A Visit from the Fire Department

Being a mom of two little toddlers, we often have days that are filled with excitement, craziness, and adventure, to say the least. Well, today was one of those days, all wrapped up together!

We were just getting back to the house from playing down at the park and I was standing on the front porch unloading the stroller and getting the kids ready to go inside. I had turned my head for a second, not knowing what was about to happen, and for whatever reason, Avery decided it would be a good idea to pull the fire alarm switch located next to the door. The next thing I heard was a "very" loud fire alarm going off throughout the house. Frantically, I fiddled with the alarm switch trying to shut it off, but had no luck. At this point, not knowing what to do, I called Phil and he told me to call the fire department and have them come shut it off. So I called the fire dept and I got their answering maching. Ummm....hello!!! Shouldn't there be atleast one person there to answer the phone in case of an emergency??? (it had later hit me that they were probably already on their way) Meanwhile, Phil got home (luckily he was just down the street at Costco) and all I could see were all my neighbors standing outside wondering what the heck was going on. Apparently the alarm that Avery had set off was going off in every unit in the complex. Uggghhhhh... It wasn't more than a minute later when we heard the fire truck coming down our street. Philip ran up and explained what happened. Luckily they didn't seem to mind and were pretty cool about the whole thing. I guess it's not uncommon for a 3 year olds curiosity to cause all this commotion....go figure! Philip and I were slightly embarassed about the whole thing at first, but now that it is over, find it a little bit funny (just a little) that Avery could cause such a commotion in the neighborhood. Welcome to living with a toddler!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

                                                From Avery & Callum                                    

Happy 2nd birthday Callum

I can't believe Callum is already two! It seems like just yesterday he was crawling and learning his first words. To think, he will be going to preschool soon too, with his big sister. Now that's going to be a hard one for me, I get teary eyed just thinking about it. I can't believe how time flies. It seems the older I get these days, things just start going in fast forward mode.

Callum is such a big boy now and still has the sweetest, mellow personality ever. Some of his favorite things are his cars, dinosaurs, fudgey bear, his blue blankie, cookies, bubbles, the park, playing soccer with daddy, coloring, his trains, Caillou, Mickey Mouse, learning his numbers and ABC's, and riding his bike. Oh, and anything having to do with being outdoors, he loves being outside. He is speaking really well and is using several words in his sentences. Not to mention imitates everything big sister does.

We recently threw him a small party at Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate with friends and family. He had a great time and has been having lots of fun playing with all the cool cars he got for his birthday.

I have to say, I'm loving watching my little guy grow. I can no longer call him "baby", as of now he is officially a toddler!

Callum singing the ABC song

Here is a clip of Callum singing his ABC's

Dance Class

Here are some recent pictures I took behind the glass at Avery's dance class. Unfortunately the parents aren't allowed inside while they are dancing, but I still managed to get some great photos. It's a combo class so she's learning a little bit of ballet and tap, and she's having sooo much fun!

                               Avery's turn to go underneath the tent

Wordless Wednesday

Disneyland

Ahhhh.... It's so nice to have a few moments to sit down and relax while the kiddos are sleeping. I figure this was a perfect time to blog about their recent trip to Disneyland this past Friday. Since we have our annual passes now, I have a feeling we will be taking many many trips to Disneyland this year. I told Philip we will have to start a collection of all the pictures we take each time we visit and turn it into a giant Disneyland scrapbook for each of them.

They had such a great time last week! They were a little hesistant on some of the rides, but I don't blame them. I'd be scared too if I were that little. Avery enjoyed seeing some of her favorite disney characters up close and personal. She even got to chat with her favorite fairy, Tinkerbell, and her friends. Callum wasn't too sure about getting his picture taken with them just yet. He'll have to warm up a little, maybe next time. We were hoping to take them over to the haunted mansion (one of my favorites), but didn't think that was such a good idea. No sense in tramatizing them right? It's the happiest place on earth.

                                              Hugs with pooh bear

                                             That's a strong grip there Tigger!

                                   We all shrunk to the size of fairies (Avery doesn't look too happy about that)

                                               Avery chatting with the fairies

New Ballet Shoes

I bought Avery a new pair of ballet shoes today before she starts her class next week. She's been wearing them all day, which is good, because she needs to break them in. I hadn't even noticed, until Philip brought it to my attention, but Avery had drawn two A's on the bottom of her shoes. I've been completely clueless all day. To be honest, I think I was more impressed than anything. Not to mention, they are pretty good looking A's!

Avery & Callum's First Wedding

Avery and Callum had so much fun being in their Aunt Chelsea's wedding yesterday. Luckily both the kids walked down the isle together on queue and everything went off without a hitch. They looked so sweet in their wedding attire. It was the first time I've ever seen my little guy in a suit and tie. They seemed to love dancing at the reception and danced the evening away. The wedding was beautiful and they were so happy to be part of such a special day.

This was one of my favorites!

Merry Christmas

It was a Merry Christmas at the Mammen household this year, as Santa was very good to Avery and Callum. They were thrilled to see that Santa had come during the wee hours and had left lots of presents under the tree and had filled their stockings with goodies. He even ate all but one of the eggnog cookies we left out for him. (Daddy couldn't eat anymore cookies)

I must say, it was definately the year for dress up clothes for Avery. All said and done, she ended up with 7 new princess dresses, with accessories of course, which she has literally been parading in all day. Callum did pretty well also. One of his favorite gifts was a lionel train set. He loves holding the remote himself and watching the train go around the track, as he yells "Choo Choo", everytime it goes around.

Our house looked like Toys R Us when the day was over, and everyone was happy, so I know it was another awesome Christmas!

Christmas at Bass Pro shop

Philip and I took a drive down to the Bass Pro shop in Ontario today. We had heard they were having free Santa pictures and kids could make their own holiday ornaments. Score! Well, the kids didn't want to have anything to do with Santa (as we already knew might happen) but they still enjoyed the holiday decor. Not to mention....it was all free! :)