Thatta Girl!!!!

After many tears and frustration (from Mom and Averie) we have beat our

fears of falling and just putting on a helmet without pinching her chin (oops). Now she is on her way to a great summer!! I am so SO glad we live in a subdivsion where there is so much room to ride without so much (if any) traffic. I am so pround of you Peanut!!!!

Averie's Summer Look!

I Just LOVE IT!!! And so does she.

Look Out Shirley Temple!!!!

Mom and Dad were so proud of her. She did a great job. How fun to see her doing something she truly enjoys! Her class did the song "3 Little Fishes" Perfect for her age

Dance has become a big part of Averie's personality. She dances to everything as well as sings. I really have no idea where she gets this from. We have never pushed anything on her, she asked to take classes and plays recital and talent show all the time. In some ways I was quite hesitant to have her in this recital because I was so worried about the "pageant" aspect of it all. (The costumes, make up etc...) Luckily that is not the part she is interested in. It is purely the dance and performing that interests her.

April Discoveries

1. April showers are no joke!!! I am so sick of rain!

2. It is possible to have a successful easter egg hunt on the absolute worst saturday of the entire month. We planned our first big Easter egg hunt strategically between spring break and Easter weekend to make sure we could get a good turn out. Little did we know dhow bad the weather would be! We are so grateful that everyone still came out and we had a great time reguardless.

3. Corn meal is the EXACT same color as my kitchen floor. Odd discovery, I know, and I am certain I do not have to tell you how we found this out. I will share that it is incredibly hard to clean up. It has a very fine consistency and the vaccuum misses a lot of it. A little like sand perhaps.

4. my kids LOVE peas and carrots but hate raisins

5. Phil has an obsession with cutting down trees...we may not live in the woods in a few years.

6. Tornados do come through this area

7. Christopher Churchmouse is Averie's favorite story book character lately. We have signed the same book out of the library 4 times.

8. I make chicken way too much during the week.

9. My house is much cleaner when gas is high.

10. There is a show on PBS on tuesday afternoons called "Signing Time" that teaches kids sign language. Not only does it replace Caillou but it is a fun show Averie and I can watch together and really learn something.

"Dollhouse Logic"

There is no comparison to the imagination a girl can have with her doll house. I love to listen to Averie (and sometimes Meg) play and use her imagination to create a world where chocolate chip cookies with pink and purple frosting and sprinkles on top can be lunch...."but just this one time!" Today I had some time to sit down and play with her. Apparantly I have no clue on how the dollhouse world works....Here is how it played out.

Let me set the scene...Averie is playing the Mom and the baby brother, while I play the Dad and the little sister.

The Mommy decided to bake some cookies (for lunch) so she asked everyone what kind of cookies they would like, which of course were all different. Of course this is no problem in the dollhouse world. (Why wouldn't the Mom make three different kinds of cookies for lunch?) So down to the kitchen she went. While making cookies the baby brother got sick and couldn't play with the sister so he went to bed in the oven where he couldn't get anyone else sick. (of course) So me, asking the obvious question "where will we bake the cookies then?" she replied quickly with a little bit of disgust that I didn't already know "Moommm...this is pretend!!! we will use the other oven because there are two!" The daddy was playing with the little sister when he was so tired and needed a nap. He slept on the dog bed because he liked it there better. (???) Sleeping Beauty stopped by to borrow some sugar, blueberry muffin stopped by to play but that was not allowed because everyone was sick. Cinderella was cleaning the floors(HA, she got that part right!) The dog needed to be fed so he got grilled cheese that baby sister made. When they all sat down for a well rounded meal of cookies no one could eat them because they were all sick and had to go to bed again so Mommy ate them all and then cleaned up the kitchen

I could go on... but you get the idea. Where she gets this all from I am not sure, but I can assure you that we do not have cookies for meals AND my kids are not taking time outs in my oven. I would love to have a cinderella but I don't. Maybe the dog bead for the Dad was the "doghouse!" ????? Just kidding.

I love little kids imagination!

Do you Want One???

Easter fun today!!!

Lots of finger licking on this batch (ewe!)

March Highlights

This post is a little late due to the fact that our computer decided to go out... Now I am typing March's highlights on a new computer. (possibly an April list! ) Anyway... 1. Hudson turned ONE!! this is by far the most important. 2. Hudson is rarely eating meals simply because he has learned how to get to the cereal cupboard and open the boxes. We find him in the middle of the kitchen floor eating cereal a couple times a day. 3.Averie has defeated her fears of sleeping in the basement again 4. One cannot forget the meeting of the former muskrat in the basement window. 5. I signed up to help out the Cystic Fibrosis fund in honor of a very sweet little boy, Elliot Leegwater and am excited to due a small part in raising some money in that. the website to sponsor me is below if you would care to helpe raise my goal. www.cff.org/great_strides/kimBrower 6. I uploaded AND ordered prints from back when Hudson was born until now in one order...I am now updated, FINALLY. (Maybe April will bring the start of a baby book!) 7. Hudson was declared a very healthy very big boy at the doctor. He is 26 pounds! 8. Hudson is now walking everywhere. He has learned how to get up from the middle of the floor and just go! 9. Just to be fair to Averie (since she is not mentioned at all yet) She is now riding her training wheel bike with no fear thanks to the practice we got this month 10. Last of all, I turned another year older. I am now 33 years old. Not sure why this is a big year for me but I am taking it seriously and going to do everything I can to make this year my year to better myself. Bring on the year!

City girl vs. Country....AGAIN!

Ok, so Phil and I have this on going joke of me growing up in the country. A little extreme since I did come from Hudsonville and vacationed in a "SHACK" all summer, but hey, a joke is a joke. Let me start out this story by telling you I love my house. I really do. We have great neighbors and a private lot in the woods with an excellent view of God's creations on all sides. It is peaceful and serene here...until Friday!

Friday night I took Averie down to bed. She was so tired she was head bobbing on the couch from playing outside all day. For those of you who have not been to our house, Averie's room is in the basement. She has a big E-grass window in there. We have yet to put window treatments up yet since we just re did her room and the blinds that were in there were hideous. ( I am sure you "country folk" already know where this is going. ) As I was tucking her in and saying our prayer I heard a rustling.... I turned around ( I was standing with my back to the window, which is probably eye level for me.) to see two beaty eyes and teeth looking at me!!!! What the heck!!!! (Did God seriously make this creature...) Without screaming I quick picked Averie up and reminded her we needed to go potty and brush our teeth since she was awake. I raced upstairs and calmly told Phil to take care of the problem quickly. Phil, already in pajama pants and sweatshirt, proceeds outside with a flashlight, my garden hoe, and a flashlight with the dog not far behind. Averie and I head to the bathroom to take care of our business. Meanwhile I am hearing more and more ruckus outside the house so I am trying to talk louder and louder to cover up the horrific sounds. At this point the sounds are making me very nervous for my husband, the dog, and honestly my garden hoe. I just got that thing. Without going into a lot of detail on the ending of this muskrats life I will tell you that I will never look at that Hoe the same but my husband came in laughing and the dog survived a "cartoon like" rumble in the tiny e -grass window. I thank GOD that window did not break. OOh the thought.

Now many of you may ask what I expect living in the middle of nature...This was not it my friends. This was definatly not even a thought on my part.

Can it Be True?

Hudson, my baby, you are one today!!!! My how time has flown!






As of today...
Your favorite foods, although very few to choose from, (you are a very picky eater) are Nutrigrain bars, pineapple, marshmallows and chicken nuggets.

You are down to two bottles a day but these two you are VERY adamant about.

You have developed a great knack for temper tantrums and practice once a day.

You are a smart little boy who has already learned how to open the cupboards just right to work the childproof locks and figured out how to open the safety gate at the top of the stairs.

Your favorite toys are a singing piggy bank, Elmo phone, and your riding truck that you repeatedly push into the walls! (and Averie's dollhouse which Daddy hopes we don't mention) OH yeah, and Mommy's pots and pans!

You are walking more and more each day although you prefer to crawl when you are in a hurry. (this is ninety percent of the time)

You have no actual words yet, although you mimic many different sounds.

You love to play on the floor with your Daddy and are starting to interact with your sister in playing games. Whether she wants to play or not!

You are 24 pounds of love and are hitting the 75th percentile on all charts!!! What a big boy

You are wearing 12- 18 month pants and 18-24 month shirts.

Although I am not sure how it started your nick name in the house is "Bubby"


You are so very precious and we love you so very much! You are full of mischief and smiles. You have a contagious little giggle that brightens even my most challenging days.

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!!! May God bless you with so many more.

Princesses & A Handsome Little Fella!!!

Last Friday I took Averie to see the Princess on Ice show. We made it a girls night with my mom, sister, sister in law, and two nieces. It was so much fun to see their faces and watch the princesses come to life! Averie's eyes were as big as saucers the whole night. What a great Night!!!!!

On another note my handsome little gut got his first haircut!!!! ( Ok it was almost two weeks ago but I have been pretty busy lately!) He did so good, he went with Daddy and they made it a guys night. I sent Phil with the camera with strict instructions to take a few pictures for a great memory. He did well. He even came home with a little bag of hair (thanks Katie!). So grown up now!


This is a picture that was too cute to be left out. What a great one to end a blog post with!

GOOD friends, EXCELLENT memories, HARD work!!!

Half of my week is spent with these four. Poor Hudson is the only boy but have no fear he holds his own!!! It is a lot of work and my house can be trashed but it is so worth it. Meg and Averie have become so close and play like sisters.



Averie and Meg decided to load the stairway with pillows and jump from the landing. It was all good until I heard a thud!! Then I made them put the pillows back. We are still working on the picking up so that took some time!!!


Hudson and Molly discovered the rocking chair and now are learning to take turns... (Check out the drool on Hudson's shirt! We are teething!!)




..and they are learning to share!!!

Top 20 Conclusions of February...

1. Mommies with a clean house are my heroes! I try so hard to keep the house picked up and feel as if I am constantly picking up the same things all day long. Then when it is finally picked up I am reminded of how it could use a little TLC and Comet in the bathroom UGHHH!!

2. Averie will NOT be going to pre school next year. This was one hard conclusion to come too but we have decided to wait and give her another year of dance. (Her birthday is in August)

3. Hudson IS going to turn 1 this month whether I turn the calendar over or not. I think I am in some sort of denial that it has been a year already. How can that be?

4. Diet Coke and I are meant to be together. Period. Giving it up doesn't do anybody any favors!

5. I am allergic to my body wash. This may sound like a crazy one but this has seriously stumped me. I have continued to break out in hives and went through EVERYTHING to find out what it was. This was the last thing to dawn on me.

6. Unlike myself, Averie will be an over achiever. She is like a sponge lately, absorbing all knowledge (and conversations...yikes!)

7. Charlie Sheen is deeply troubled and needs to find God! (Wow!)

8. Good friends are not the people you talk to everyday but the people you can be yourself with and talk for hours when you get the chance!

9. Valentines day is not a great day in this house.

10. I have no time to learn to sew right now. I borrowed my sister in law's sewing machine in order to try and self teach. I have had it out twice since November. I just have no time. I think about it all the time but it is just going to have to wait. By the time I make progress my children need something, the laundry gets backed up, or dinner doesn't get put in the oven in time!

11. No matter what load of laundry I choose to do that day I am always needing something from the other load.

12. Staying on the laundry theme, I am not good at putting them away. I have 5 baskets and they are ALWAYS FULL!

13. Gain makes a great dish soap

14. No matter what mood I am in Hudson's belly laugh make can make me smile.

16. Chaos is a part of life right now and I am embracing it instead of fighting it now

17. The TV has an off button! I am trying to not let myself get lost in Tv so much. It is amazing what can get done when it is off.

18. I can make a chocolate cake from scratch that even I will eat!!! ( I am not a huge chocolate fan)

19. G0d really does listen to my prayers and answers them in his own way and time! So many of my concerns have been lifted this month and I am forever greatful!

20. The christmas wreath is finally off my front door!

For this weeks blog post I thought I would share a little of each kids interests. At the ages of 3 and (almost) 1 there are many so I narrowed it down to the top 5. At the present time of course.


Miss Averie
1. DANCE!! Last fall we enrolled Averie in Kathy's Dance Academy. We felt that she needed something to look forward too and give her some structure. She loves it!!! She is always dancing and is really good at it too. Little did we know how much she would blossom in this area.

2. COLORING. The crayons and coloring books come out at least once a day. She is just learning to color in the lines and is starting to write letters. Granted the letters are upside down and somewhat unrecognizable but it is a start.

3. PUZZLES. This girl is a whiz at puzzles! She loves to sit at the table and do a puzzle. Some have 100 pieces and she can do them.

4. DOLLHOUSE. We got her the Loving Family Dollhouse for Christmas and she loves to play with that.

5. OUTSIDE. Any chance she gets to go outside and play with the neighbor kids she does.




Hudson

1. DESTROYING!! Hudson loves to take apart anything or empty any container. This could mean sandwich bags to pots and pans being thrown (Literally) out of the cupboards and drawers. Yesterday one of my pans was broken due to his "curiosity"!

2. WALKING! He is not walking on his own yet but is so, so close. He will walk hanging on to just one of my fingers. The look on his face is so proud.

3. WATER! Hudson loves ANY water. When he hears a faucet start it is certain that Hudson os on his way over. This also includes toilets. GROSS!!

4. ROUGH HOUSING! Hudson loves to play on the floor with Averie and Daddy. HE growls and jumps right on top of them. So very cute!

5. OUTSIDE! Very rarely do I get to take Hudson outside because of the weather. But when we do he is in his glory! He loves to be out and play with Chase (the Dog) It is going to be a great summer.


Between both kids there are so many more I could go on about but these are the top five that come to mind. My children are wonderful gifts that I am very blessed to be able to spend each day with them It is fun to watch them grow and see there personalities develop. It can also be very exhausting!!!
Have a great day!!!!

Ooh, the things we do...

By 8:30 this morning Hudson had all of my sandwich bags pulled out of the newly opened box, all of the wipes pulled out of the container in his bedroom and all of his clothes baskets emptied in his room. What was I doing you ask, well, I was frantically moving from the kitchen, to the bedroom, to the living room trying to keep up. Who needs a work out routine? (Hudson might be available for rent)
In order to clean the bathroom I got smart and put him in the tub to contain him. Our bathroom needs some desperate attention and this is my day too get things done. Now I don't have to clean the floor either. Hudson decided to continue his pattern of the morning and put all of his soapy toys on the floor. Must of sounded like fun because Averie decided to take a bath too. Between scrubbing the toilet and repeatedly saying "Hudson SIT DOWN!!" the sink and toilet, and kids are now clean. Mission accomplished. Bring on the rest of the day!

Here we go again....

Since I felt that I could no longer redeem myself on the old blog address due to the lack of blogs for almost 18 months ( WHOA) I thought I would start again. Not to mention that our blog shall no longer be about Averie but of Hudson as well. I foresaw the fact that the blog address was averie's name may play out in an argument someday. So...here we go, fresh start with a hope that I can continue to find a few spare moments a week to blog some of my favorite memories to cherish in the future.

I guess I should start by saying....We had a BOY!!!!! 10 months ago but just the same all the more glorious reason to praise God!! Hudson Philip has made our family so complete. He is the total image of a perfect, mischievous, and adorable boy. We just had him in for a wellness visit and after many doting nurses and laughs from the Doctor they all informed me I will definitely have my hands full. That has proven to be true so many times already. Hudson is on the move, he has just started walking behind anything that he can get to move across the floor. He loves to empty all of my cupboards. He has proven to us that he is rough and tough by banging everything together, growling while chasing Averie and Phil throughout the house, and of course ramming his head into anyone laying on the floor. Might I add that this hurts. I cannot wait until I can upload some pictures to show you his great personalty an adorable face.

That is a great transition to my next bit of some what old news but yet new for blogging....We MOVED!!! Last January we ran across a house on line while drawing up plans to build. We were in a bind for room in our cozy little farm house on the corner and had a baby due within 2 months. YIKES! We had our house for sale by owner with intentions to build. God saw things different. We fell in love with a house and a location of a short sale listed property. After going through the house numerous times we decided to list our house with the realtor for the price we needed to get out of old one to make it work for our purchasing of this much bigger home. We thought it was a long shot but we eally needed more room and this house was so great as to what we needed. But, oh the dream, living in the woods of a private subdivision at the end of a culdesac with a long driveway where the kids can play safe and the deer say hello in the morning. We were told we had to sell our house before making an offer and then had to wait for the bank to approve. YIKES! Pleas remember we had a baby on the way. I was in complete hormone mode. God is Awesome that is all I can say... we had an offer on our house after the first month. then we had to close....that took some patience. We were scheduled to close 3 days before Hudson was due with no idea of where we would take the baby "Home" We had to be out of our house 30 days after closing and still no word on our offer. While I was in the hospital, the paperwork for our selling of our old house fell through and then the paperwork for our new house came through. Long story short...God took care of our worries of being homeless. It was with in days of not knowing but boy did that test our faith. God is Great. We are now in our house and loving it. Lots of room to play and a great yard with great neighbors. MOre too come on the house in a new blog post.

Averie....Oh my 3 year old Averie makes me laugh everyday. She is so smart and is in the great stage of asking questions. She just started a dance class and absolutely loves it. She is girl, all girl, or at least as much as her daddy will let her.

I have been blessed with 2 great kids and I am so excited to share our great stories with all of you. More to come...I promise. Maybe some pictures if I can find where all my "Tech" stuff went on our move!!!