Bye bye PACI!

I think it is safe to post now....Owen has officially stopped using his PACI!!! YAHOO! One more BIG milestone in that little boy's life! Two weeks ago Owen went to the dentist for is second cleaning. He was such a good patient and did not cry at all (unlike his first visit in April). He got a little scared when they started moving the chair back so they could look in his mouth. He looked at me with a horrified face and said "Mommy, I'm falling.". Poor thing. But nothing a little reassuring didn't cure. The dentist suspected he used a paci. I told the dentist (the truth) that he only uses it to fall asleep at night and for naps on the weekends (he has not had his paci at school in over 18 months). The dentist said the damage it was doing to his bite was minimal and would probably be reversed, but that we should think about phasing out the paci completely.
We had been talking to Owen about getting rid of his paci for a few months now. We told him that they are for babies and that he should throw his in the trash. Owen's response to that "No no".
So that night, Owen didn't ask for his paci. He went to sleep and awoke at his normal time. GREAT! The next night, he didn't ask for it again. But...he woke up at midnight asking for it. A little pep talk and a pat on the back and he went right back to sleep. He asked for his paci when he woke up that morning too. The third night...Owen asked for his paci. We reassured him that he didn't need it and he went to sleep. Since then, he has only asked for his paci once. It was one night this past weekend when Avery was in his room sucking on her paci while we were getting Owen ready for bed. A little pep talk, a big hug and a request for him to pick out a story before going 'night-nights' distracted him from needing/wanting his paci.
That said....I think it is safe to throw Owen's pacis away! Now....on to potty training!

Pumpkin Patch!

We went to the little pumpkin patch by our church on Wednesday night before the fall festival. Here is a quick picture of Owen.

Where did October go?

There is less than one week left in October. Where did this month go!??!?! TIme is flying by. Avery's half birthday is this Sunday! We cannot believe she will be six months old! She has mastered rolling over both ways, sitting up and making faces. The baby food factory re-opened two weeks ago and we started feeding Avery solid foods two weekends ago. She has tried butternut squash, acorn squash, pumpkin, green beans, peas, mango, peach, apple, pear and papaya. And of course the baby oatmeal. Lots of new flavors! She does not refuse any of them.
Owen is still surprising us everyday with his little conversations that he carries on. He interacts with Avery a little bit more (sometimes good (showing her toys and books) and sometimes bad (scaring her by being loud). He is starting to grasp the concept of Halloween, but we think trick-or-treating on Monday will be an interesting experience.

Here are some pictures we took over the last couple of weeks.

Avery is already showing her love for books. She grabs for just about anything, but seems to have an interest in looking at books already. We'll encourage that any day!

Avery was sitting happily by Owen's elephant, so we tried to get their picture together. Owen was not cooperating and Avery was pulling faces.


We took Owen to a pumpkin patch a few weekends ago and Owen picked out a big bumpy pumpkin. We found a "Cowboy Mr Potato Head" for it. Owen also got to pick out a small pumpkin at patch that they set up at his school. He painted it during craft time one day. Here he is with his pumpkins.

And here is the whole family (picture courtesy of Nonnie and Pop!)

Five months

Avery turned five months ten days ago...so I am a little late on blogging...but life happens!!! I did take her picture (more or less) on time though!

TMI

Yesterday afternoon, we noticed that Avery had "blown out" yet another diaper. This is a daily event for her. Poor thing. The phrase that was said was: "Oh oh...Avery pooped through". So we whisked her upstairs, got her cleaned up and changed her clothes and diaper. When we were all back together downstairs, this conversation occurred:
Owen: What happened Mommy?
Mommy: Nothing, everything is ok.
Owen: Oh, everything is ok? Did Avery poop?
Mommy: Yes, Avery pooped. But everyone poops.
Owen: Ya...I poop too
BIG PAUSE
Owen: A lot

Result: Mommy and Daddy laughed........a lot!!!! Good times! Gotta love the "poop" conversations. :)

Gig 'em, Aggies!!

Last weekend, everyone got dressed up to cheer on the Aggies in football. Sadly, they lost....but their cheering section here in Mechanicsville Virginia still looked great!

Miss Wendy's visit!

This past weekend, Wendy came from Dallas to visit us! We had a fantastic visit with lots of time to play with the kids, rest, eat great food, drink great wine and just enjoy Wendy! We even went to the pumpkin patch to take a hay ride and pick out a pumpkin. Owen loved reading and playing with Wendy. Here is a great picture of Wendy reading with both Owen and Avery!