Happy Birthday to Bofe of Um

March is birthday time for Ava and me. We really like to celebrate birthdays and we talked about them a lot. Ava was so excited for hers since basically Coen's birthday. 

Here's a video of Coen singing happy birthday to Ava and me, to "bofe of um" [both of them]. He uses the term both of them a lot! 

I decorated Ava's door for her birthday with hearts:

Ava got to celebrate her birthday in both morning and afternoon classes. In the morning I bought little cinnamon rolls for her to share. I took the day off work so I could spend time with her since that's the best present I can give her. She is so aware of when I work and gets so excited when it's not my working day.

After school I picked her up and we went to the museum on Brent's campus:

An older man at the museum told me that I had very well behaved children- maybe the best compliment I've ever gotten? :)
We went to Red Robin for dinner, which is one of Ava's favorites. She really likes it because of the balloon she gets there!

Birthday girls:

Coen loved the french fries:

Happy with her balloon:

After dinner, we stopped by a celebration for Dr. Seuss' birthday that the school district was doing. Coen is crazy about Green Eggs and Ham and listened intently as it was read in Spanish:

Little Cat in the Hats:

The birthday celebrating continued at home with Ava opening presents. We got her a little doll:

She got lots of presents from her grandparents including a purse, clothes, and accessories for her baby. She was so proud of herself figuring out how to put on her baby's diaper:

It was a fun filled day for Ava!

On Friday Brent lost a jump drive that had some important documents on it for the end of his quarter at school. He ejected it at home and when he got to to the library he couldn't find it, so it got lost somewhere along the way. It was so sad and frustrating, but I don't think anything can ruffle Brent's feathers. He just got right back to work re-doing the three documents that were not backed up on the lost jump drive.

On Saturday Brent presented at a law conference at the University of Oregon. We traded babysitting with our friends so I could go hear him in the morning. He presented on Disney's conservation efforts and Wall-E. The audience really enjoyed his presentation and he got lots of compliments after. I was so proud of him! He's starting to seem like a legit scholar :)

He presented in the afternoon on the Disneynature documentaries, but I didn't get to hear that one.
I took the kids to a birthday party at a pizza place by our house. This pit of balls entertained them for two hours straight.

I went shopping with Ava at Target and bought myself a few birthday presents: body wash, a letter board, and a light blue skirt. For my birthday present Brent got me wood chips for our yard and fixed it up!

On my birthday, Brent woke up with a kidney stone. He was in so much pain so he stayed home from stake conference with the kids and I went alone. After church I hung out in my jammies and Brent went to an oscar party. It was kind of a lame birthday, but that happens sometimes! Here I am, now 31:

When the sunshine comes out we have to take advantage! We found the little patch of sunshine in our backyard to have a picnic.

Coen is such a good boy that sometimes I forget he's only two until he does some two year old things, like covering his body in soap:

 One day as I was reading to Coen, he started counting on his own. I didn't know he could do that! He can count to 11! Here's a video of him counting:

We went to our friend's house when the sun was out one day and the kids had fun riding their bikes on the chalk path.

Coen loves the little girl his age and always asks to play with her.

Ava wanted an "owl princess party." I made this for pin the nose on the owl game.

Here's Coen crying over the little girl I was just talking about, because he feels left out when they come to pick up Ava for preschool carpool. He was just sobbing, saying her name over and over again.

Ava, ready for her birthday party!

We invited 10 kids, and all 10 came! It never got out of hand though because I had a lot of activities planned and they never got bored. They colored pictures of owls first. 

We played the cake walk game and each kid got a chance to win and pick a play dough color to put in their goody bag.

We watched a couple Pixar shorts with popcorn and also played a couple other games.

Even though we had Ava's birthday a week after her actual birthday, she did not consider herself 5 until her birthday party.

 Here's a little video from the birthday party:

I had curled Ava's hair and she looked so pretty, so I tried to take a few pictures of her out front. None of them really turned out, but you can sure see her personality in these! I'll write down a few things we want to remember about Ava at age 5.

Ava wants to be the leader always and sometimes has a hard time accepting that she has to follow mom and dad's instructions. She has to really work at it to be obedient, but she usually is. I know it's hard for her, so I'm proud of her when she listens to us and does what we ask.

Ava wears her emotions on her sleeve. You never wonder if she's feeling happy, sad, excited, scared, etc. This girl has so many emotions and they flip flop within minutes. Her facial expressions are so animated and expressive when she talks.

Ava loves to have fun and laugh. She is a social butterfly and as soon as she gets home from her second preschool, she asks if I've set up a playdate for her. She really loves her friends and she also loves play/fighting with Coen. They love building little forts or blanket piles together.

Ava is a pouter. We're still working on teaching her how to communicate instead of pout when she doesn't get her way.

Ava has learned all of her letters now and is so excited about the world that is opening up to her. She asks me all the time to spell words and I'm always finding slips of paper around the house with her handwriting. She leaves love notes for me which is so sweet. Ava also loves to color and is a talented little artist!

Ava really likes to dance but she isn't doing dress-ups quite as much now that coloring is taking up more of her time. Ava can name what Disney movie a song is from within the first 3 notes. She even knows obscure ones and is way better at the game than me.

Ava is sweet and sensitive. She likes to cuddle and sit on my lap still. She is such a good eater and likes most things I cook, and has a big appetite! A couple days ago I made chicken pot pie soup and I was disappointed in how it turned out. I said to Brent, "I'm sorry about the soup" and Ava responded in between mouthfuls, "the soup is yummy mommy!"  

Here she is sleeping with her new owl she got from her party:

Coen has really liked Ava's new doll and I caught him being so sweet with the doll. He was bouncing her, shushing her, and then kissing her.

Coen is so affectionate and I just love his little arms around my neck.

Sunny day, playing with chalk out front:

Coen always wants to go to Ava's preschool. This day he hung up his coat by Ava's and ran in to start coloring at the table.

Coen begged me to go to the park and since it was sunny, I couldn't say no! He was so happy to be outside!

 Here's a video of Coen being loopy before his nap. He's saying "lots of blankies, lots of books!"

Ava eating lunch by me while I work one day, using her new lap table she got for her birthday.

Coen loves reading so much. One day he was just reading on my bed for almost an hour!

Here's an example of Ava's writing, asking me how to spell words.

We went to the church for the Relief Society birthday dinner and our kids were so excited to see Max and Wes there. They love each other!

I taught the kids how to make tin foil dinners and Ava loved being able to make her own. We did this when dad was at school late one day, because he doesn't like them!

 Ava and I went shopping at Old Navy and bought matching shirts! One advantage of having a small mom is that she can buy clothes in the kid section with you.

Sunday best!

Coen is talking in three or four word sentences and I wanted to remember how he talks so I've been writing down little phrases I hear him say. Here's a few:
Mom I read this one
What this says?
Look, I made this!
Mom, watch this.
Where dad at?
This one little wet.
This one no working.
Ava come my Max house.
Mommy use my blankie.
I bonked mine head.