Just a quick note

I wanted to do a little update on the kiddos and what they are doing these days so I can remember just how they were this Christmas season.

 Blain: Blain is still super cuddly (blue blanket still his favorite thing) yet tough as can be. He loves to role play as knights, vikings, dragons, police officers, "sisters" with Chloe, and Pablo. Blain loves Blue. Blain gets really excited when he finds feathers out in the pasture and is imaginative as always turning those feathers into ships, tickles, magic wands, etc. His potty training is getting back on track after he had a "set back" starting a couple months ago, but we are both working hard and he is dry most days. He is still napping about 2-3 days a week and when he does he sleeps until I wake him up. I have a feeling he is going to be really hard to wake up when he gets older. 

We have been practicing numbers and letters while Chloe is at preschool and I was surprised how many he already knew. He knows most of their sounds and only has trouble with about 4 letters and he now knows all his numbers. Blain is creative with his words and sounds (shaboinkie) and still changes out words in familiar songs.

 Blain weighs 31 lbs, wears a size 9, is our pickiest eater, and is finally wearing 3T clothes. He loves chips, sweets and snacks (any fruit, fruit snacks, pretzels, yogurt, etc.) His favorite cereal is frosted flakes and loves cream of wheat. If he had his way he would eat peanut butter and nutella sandwiches every day for lunch. Love my boy.

 Chloe Rose: Chloe is expressive, sweet, helpful and fun. We could not ask for a better big sister than Chloe. She helps clean up after her brother and sister, carries Avenlea out of places she shouldn't be, shares her snacks and drinks, brings me diapers etc., and holds Blain's hand tight in the parkinglot so he can't run away. Chloe loves to dance and dress up in her leotard and princess dresses. She is still determined to spend as much time as possible in her "legs" so the leotard is at least better than underwear :). She makes up songs all the time about whatever she sees or is thinking about (Christmas lights, going to Em's, preschool...) and even gets Blain doing it sometimes. She loves to get new library books and can even read some of the "sight word books" now.

Chloe absolutely loves preschool and has fun with her little friends. She is really into coloring, crafts, making her own books, playing play dough, and writing in notebooks. She is so sweet drawing mommy pictures and making me "presents". Chloe likes playing with her princesses and ponies, legos and blocks. Chloe's favorite foods are Cream of wheat and noodles (ramen) -- not together. She weighs 51 lbs, size 11 shoes, and is wearing size 6. She loves dresses and skirts and anything purple.

Avenlea: This little sprout is also known as Little, Trouble, Tiny and Mclavenlea ;) She is our little Daddy's girl who loves to give him cuddles, kisses, and will sit for long stretches of time on his lap getting "scratchies". Avenlea has a funny way of showing affection. She opens her mouth wide as she can and makes a "wa" noise as her kiss and then usually follows that with a head bonk. She is very opinionated and will usually yell for what she wants, although we are working on that. Still no words from this little one but she has a "shpees" noise that she uses consistently for please. Avenlea has also developed a fake laugh that makes me laugh every time she uses it. She'll just be sitting there and then force out her "ha ha" and then smile. Avenlea loves to crawl through tunnels and open doors. I can always rely on her to close the bathroom door after someone comes out and the front door behind anyone who leaves. 

Avenlea weighs 18 lbs and is moving out of her 9 month clothes into 12 months and good thing because we need to pass those on to Summer soon! Her eyes are completely healed with no signs of goop now that the tubes have been out for over a month. We haven't found much that Avenlea won't eat but she loves yogurt, cream of wheat, spaghetti, fruit snacks and roasted veggies. Avenlea likes watching the chickens and loves to pet dogs. She has the cutest little dance - she will swing her arms, stomp her foot and run in place to music. 

Avenlea is now finding lots of ways to earn her name Trouble. She climbs on chairs and tables, pulls everything out of the kitchen cupboards, likes to hit and pull hair, and closes doors behind her so she gets stuck in rooms a lot. She is a little Angel when it comes to sleeping though. She walks over to her crib and puts herself to sleep with a bottle for naps (one at 11 and one around 4) and lays down with a binky and you don't hear a peep out of her until about 7 or 8 the next morning for bedtime.