Where Do I Begin?

Now, I will attempt BRIEF updates so as not to bore anyone or belabor the details of our lives!

Ready for Hurricane Swim Team Practice

First, Abby, of course. This summer, she joined the neighborhood swim team, which meant daily practices and EARLY meets on Saturdays (swimmers had to check in at 6 a.m.). The meets required some juggling because parents had to volunteer for so many shifts throughout the season and, oh yeah, we had 2 other small children to manage. It seemed to be fun and rewarding for Abby and she knocked more than 20 seconds off her original freestyle time by the end. Now, she's quite the fish.

She turned 7 (!) in July. We we went to the Cockrell Butterfly Center at the Houston Museum of Natural Science to celebrate. And then, she got her first REAL manicure and pedicure. Her birthday was rounded out with a roller skating party and a hand-me-down iPhone from her uncle (which dwarfed the MP3 player from mom and dad!).

Ooh La La!

She asked us all summer if we could go to The Alamo. We had no idea why, but that was a pretty easy request to indulge. So, in August, we loaded up and went. We also managed to fit in Sea World while we were in San Antonio. Just between us, I think she liked that one better! :)

First Trip to Sea World

Abby & Daddy at the Alamo

And now that I've come within 6 months of the present day, alas, Ava is awake and I must sign off! Tune in next time for details about back-to-school, Girl Scout camping and the holidays!

Kids Say The Darndest Things

This morning I was taking Will to school and he said from the back seat, "Hey, there's Chloe!" I looked up and saw a short, old, gray Asian woman walking across the street. Chloe, our 12 year-old neighbor, is tall, brunette and very white.

I said, "Really, you think that looks like Chloe?"
He looked again. "Yeah, yeah, it's her!"
"Are you sure? I think Chloe is taller than that." (It took everything in me not to give a full list of discrepancies here.)
After a closer look: "Well, maybe not, but it looks a lot like her."

If I didn't know he could see infinitesimal legos and lego instructions, I'd say he needed his eyes checked. I guess I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. He WAS in the back seat.

Long Time Gone

So, how do I sum up our lives between Mother's Day and New Year's? One word. Ava. She's a busy little gal and she has dominated our (read: my) world for about 11 months now! She's gone through the typical Buchanan stages: crawling at 5 1/2 months, stairs and pulling up at 6 months, walking at 10 1/2, and teeth at 11 months. That's right--walking before teeth. She just barely has 2 little buds breaking through the gums, but she can walk laps around the house!

She has one word. Dog. Or daw daw (pant pant pant) as she says it. Brad thinks she says Dada too, but it's pretty hard to distinguish the two. So, since we basically have one word, that's all we say. We see a dog, we say it; we hear a dog, we say it; we see an animal on TV that might be a dog, we say it; we see mommy coming in after nap time, we say it; we see the big kids out riding bikes, we say it. You get the idea. Here's a sample conversation that happens about 476 times a day:

Ava: Daw daw (pant pant pant) Daw.

Emily: Yes, there's a dog. Cocoa is a dog.

Ava: Daw daw (pant pant pant)

Emily: Do you want to say hi to the doggie?

Ava: Daw daw (pant pant pant)

Emily: Good job! Cocoa is a sweet doggie. Are you hungry for some lunch? (Trying to change the subject)

Ava: Daw daw (pant pant pant) . . .

REPEAT

She gets so excited when she talks, you can just tell she's brimming over with possibilities for conversation. Now, she just has to learn more than one word! 

She's very much like Will at this age--constantly moving and destroying anything in her path. She especially loves paper--eating it. She gets it in her mouth as fast as she can and closes up like a clam so no one can fish it out. She knows she's not supposed to do it. You can tell by the impish look on her face. Lucky for her, it's pretty darn cute! She's starting to play more with the big kids too--it's so fun to watch them all interact. It won't be long before she's doing everything they do. Maybe even riding a plasma car . . . watch out world!