Pigtails

Avery is really into playing Star Wars right now. Her Daddy got her hooked on it by watching little snipits of it whenever it comes on (which is a lot!). And of course now that we switched to AT&T Uverse, we have all 6 of them recorded on our DVR. According to Avery, her favorite princess right now is Princess Lea (sp?). She's has been asking me to do her hair like Lea's, but I have told her numerous times that it would have to be really long for it to work right. When she kept asking me today when her hair was going to grow long enough, I decided to give in and told her we would try a similar hairdo. So here's what we came up with--pigtails w/ the ends tucked in the rubber band to make a loop.

Then Kendall decided she wanted in on the pigtails. Avery was flicking hers w/ her hands and then Kendall said, "I want pigtails," and started running toward Avery's room to the drawer with all the hair accessories. She actually started crying when I was putting them up, but Avery and I were able to distract her and eventually get her to smile for some pictures. Then she actually left them in almost until naptime when one fell out because she was doing her upside down, standing on her head routine. I thought she looked like such a big girl w/ them. I can't wait until her hair gets thicker and longer so I can fix it more!

Avery decided to share her headband for the second pic

18 months

Kendall turned 18 months old last week! She is really growing up, but I sometimes forget to treat her like the big girl she is becoming because she is just such a little thing, and I guess also because she's the youngest. At her checkup she weighed 22 lbs 8 oz (just under the 25%), and was 32 in (50-75%). Other than the fact that she still takes Zantac for reflux, she is a healthy, growing little girl. She can feed herself with a spoon, is beginning to run and climb, and can follow directions really well. She knows the colors purple and pink, lots of body parts, can count to 5, and knows a circle and triangle. In the past month or so her vocabulary has really exploded. She says new words every day and is using some 2 word phrases and short sentences like "I see Doda (Dora)!", "Hold you", or "It's Avey (Avery)." I never want to sound like I'm bragging about my kids, but the speech pathologist in me just really likes to keep track of their speech and language development. I always feel like they should be doing well in that area too since they have a bit of an advantage. One of Kendall's favorite things to do is to read books. She really enjoys being read to and also likes to read to herself. It's quite funny actually because we will often find her in her room or Avery's room with about 10 books on the floor around her and she is just jabbering away nonstop as she looks at the pages. Most of it is nonsense, but she will usually stick in a real word or two describing something she sees on the page like "pincess" (princess) or "puppy". Although I would like her articulation to improve so people can understand her better, I will miss some of the funny ways she says things like "Missy Me" for Minnie Mouse and "ooks" for ears. Lately she and Avery have been doing this thing where they go lay down by each other somewhere and "talk". Sometimes Avery sings to Kendall and sometimes they really do talk, although the conversation is kind of one-sided since a lot of Kendall's is jibberish. It's really cute. Some of the other things she enjoys doing right now are swinging, playing in the sand, getting horsie rides from Daddy, playing hide and seek, playing with all kinds of dolls, having pretend picnics, painting and coloring, and listening to music. She will start "school" in about 3 weeks with Avery at Richland Hills C of C. Hopefully the transition will be a smooth one since it is already a familiar place to her. She does fine when we leave her with relatives and at church, so we are hoping that she will get used to it quickly and really enjoy all the activities. This time around ( asw opposed to w/ Avery), I already know I will tear up when they hand me her "Me Book" at the end of the year and I see how much she has grown and see all the precious pictures of what she did in her time away from me. Although sometimes I think the terrible twos are already setting in and wishing we could skip over some of that, I'm looking forward to seeing what the future holds in store for Miss Ken!

Top Dentist reception and Friday fun

Last night Scott and I attended a reception for his "Top Dentist of 2009" award given by Ft Worth magazine. Since we didn't get any pictures of ourselves on our 10th anniversary a couple of weeks ago, we had my Mom snap a couple of us all dressed up before we left. The reception wasn't a huge deal really, just a little gathering with all the award winners and some schmoozers (sp?) from Ft Worth magazine. But we did get to go to a nice country club, eat some delicious food, and enjoy adult company for a few hours. Can't ask for much more when you spend most of your nights playing pretend, giving horsey rides, and wrangling two little girls into pajamas!

Today the girls and I were playing in the backyard after lunch and as I was pushing Avery I had one of those moments where I just wanted to freeze time and remember her at that exact moment. It sounds a little hokey, but she just seemed so carefree and full of life-- singing and laughing with her hair blowing as she swung back and forth. Only a professional photographer (or at least one a lot better than me) could have captured the monent the way I wanted to, but at least I made an effort to come inside to get the camera and snap a few pictures. After Avery finished swinging, she decided to join Kendall in the sand box and they had so much fun that we pushed back nap time a little bit and just enjoyed the moment-- sweltering heat and all!

Cousin sleepover

cute cousins- Brooklyn 6yrs, Avery 3 yrs

This week my 6 yr old niece Brooklyn came spend the afternoon with us and then stayed the night and half the next day. Avery was excited to have her first sleepover guest, and Brooklyn was excited to have her first sleepover with someone other than her grandparents. Brooklyn called it her "practice sleepover" to help her prepare for sleepovers at her friends' houses. For the most part, the girls all played great together and had a lot of fun. It was actually pretty nice to have an older child around to keep the boredom away and teach my girls some new games to play. Brooklyn even helped out some when we went to Braums for ice cream and to the park the following morning. It was greatness! I think she was getting a little tired of Avery following her around and wanting to do everything she did by the time she left, but I think they did pretty well considering the age difference. The girls stayed busy playing hide and seek, tickle tag, doctor, giving "makeovers", making a secret hideout, and doing some crafts Avery and I had picked out at Michael's. It was a nice little break in our usual routine and a good first sleepover experience for everyone I think!

decorating princess crowns

Brooklyn and Kendall

Avery getting stick-on earrings from Brooklyn's "Glamour girl" suitcase

applying lip gloss-- Avery also got eyeshadow, roll-on body glitter, and toenail polish

Brooklyn read Avery a bedtime story--"We're Going on a Bear Hunt"

they all wanted to sit by each other at breakfast the next morning

playing with the wooden dolls they colored

showing off their creations-- the snack cups were the dolls' crowns

10th Anniversary weekend

Last Friday was mine and Scott's 10th anniversary! It's hard to believe that it has actually been 10 yrs! We were supposed to go to Austin for a perio conference/anniversary getaway at the Four Seasons, but the girls and I were sick with a stomach virus all week, so we had to change our plans at the last minute. Kendall was sick Tues thru Wed. morning, then I got sick Wed night, Avery was sick Thurs morning, and then after almost 36 hours after her last "episode", Kendall started throwing up again Thurs. night. I did not set foot out of the house all week! We were so bummed to miss out on our trip, but everyone was mostly over it by Friday night, so we made some last minute plans to stay Sat. night at the Gaylord Texan to try to salvage our anniversary celebration. Avery actually the spent the whole day Saturday with my parents, and then we dropped Kendall off after her nap and headed over to the hotel to check in. Scott and I went to dinner, did some shopping, and then walked around inside and outside the hotel (it's huge!). We both slept so hard and really enjoyed sleeping in for a change. We went to a late breakfast at La Madeline, did a little more shopping for a lamp to go with our new bedroom furniutre (which, by the way, was delivered the morning after I had been sick and about 5 minutes after Avery threw up for the first time--what timing!), and then met up with my parents and the girls after they got out of church. It was such a relaxing little getaway that was desperately needed! After a little taste of relaxation and freedom, we are really looking forward to a trip to Hawaii for the ADA meeting in 2010! Although Scott and I did not take any pictures of ourselves since I forgot the camera, my parents provided us with plenty of pictures of what the girls did while we were gone. Thank you so much Mom and Dad for taking such good care of them and letting us enjoy a night away! You're the greatest!

playing with play-doughwatching cartoons Sunday morning

Josie got to have a "Mimi and Poppi sleepover" too, complete with a new bone

Kendall playing with the little Bible- Mim and Poppi said she did great on her first time to stay away from Mommy for the night

the glamour girl playing dress-up in my old dance costumes

all dolled up for churchsweet sisters- they love to hold hands and run around together now

Top Dog

Scott found out yesterday that he was elected by his peers as a Top Dentist (specifically Periodontist) of 2009 in the Ft. Worth area! The honor will be published in the November issue of Ft. Worth magazine. We get to attend a special reception for all the award winners next month at one of the area country clubs. I am so proud of you Scott! What an honor only 2 yrs after starting your own practice from scratch! You never cease to amaze me with your business savvy, clinical expertise, and outstanding people skills.

The girls and I decided to surprise him today at the office with a cookie cake after Avery finished her gymnastics class. We had to wait a little while for him to finish up with a surgery, which was pure torture for Avery and Kendall. They could not wait to taste Daddy's surprise! Kendall kept saying "cookie cake" over and over and I could barely keep their hands out of it while I was trying to take some pictures. But after a few minutes of spinning in Daddy's chair and watching some princess videos on YouTube, they finally got to see Daddy and eat a little piece of his success!

Avery with the cake

Kendall with the cake-- she insisted on sitting in her own chair
Scott, Avery, Kendall, and the staff of "Alliance Implants and Periodontics"

Put our cookies down to take a picture after waiting 30 minutes? Yea right!

A few of my favorite things

Today at lunch Avery and I had a conversation about her favorite things. I was amazed at how quickly she responded to most of my questions and how confident she seemed of her answers. I guess 3 yrs is plenty of time for an opinionated little girl to decide what she does and doesn't like! So here's a little list of Avery's favorites at age 3:

Main dish: Macaroni & cheese,pizza, soft cheese taco, cheese ravioli, chicken nuggets
Restaurant: Chick-Fil-A
Fruit: strawberries
Dessert: ice cream
Snack: string cheese
Toy: princess jewelry box & dress-up clothes
Church song: Our God is an Awesome God
Drink: Chocolate Milk ("it's really good!")
Princess: Sleeping Beauty
Book: big princess book w/ stories of all 6 Disney princessses
TV shows: Arthur, Dora

Yesterday I happened to take some pics of her playing her favorite thing--dress-up. The costume she is wearing is one of my old dance costumes. After checking herself out in the mirror she asked me to spray sparkles in her hair and she decided she needed to put on her "make-up". Too bad I didn't take any pictures today of her riding her tricycle down the sidewalk wearing her sleeping beauty dress, jewelry, and princess house slippers!

applying sparkle stick. . .

and lipgloss. . .

and here's the finished product!

Kendall has some definite favorites as well. Here's a little list I compiled for her:

Main Dish: pizza, hot dogs, chicken nuggets (really that's about all she eats!)
Restaurant: Bosses pizza, Chick-Fil-A
Fruit: strawberries
Dessert: ice cream (but she loves anything sweet)
Snack: Gerber fruit snacks
Toys: any kind of doll(baby dolls,Dora, Ariel and Belle dolls) , play food and dishes, Little People
Drink: juice (although she only gets one cup a day)
Book: anything with photos of babies or animals, Avery's princess books
TV show: Barney-- if Avery would stop hogging the TV and let her watch it

She's getting much better at expressing her favorites too in the past few weeks. She is learning new words all the time now--she can probably say somewhere between 50 and 75 words-- and she is starting to put 2 words together a little bit too. A couple of the ladies at church that help out in the nursery are teaching her some Spanish as well. She can say "Si", "gato"(cat), and some of the numbers in Spanish. It's pretty cute if I say so myself. Her articulation isn't the best, but we can understand most of her words and it sure is fun to finally get a window into what she is thinking and what she knows. She is surprising us and making us laugh every day!

July 4th

It was a busy July 4th for the Bedicheks this year! We decided to tackle a church class fellowship, bedroom furniture shopping, and a family get-together all in one day. A couple from our class at church invited everyone to come over Saturday morning for their neighborhood parade and then stick around for swimming and a cookout. The girls really enjoyed waving their little flags during the parade and collecting lots of candy, balls, pencils, and beads. After swimming, eating hot dogs, and jumping on the trampoline, we headed over to my parents house in Coppell. Unfortunately I had forgotten my camera, so the only pics we got of the first half of the day were using Scott's phone. My parents watched the girls for a little bit while Scott and I went to look at bedroom furniture-- which we went back and bought tonight. Yay! After 10 yrs of marriage we finally have a new bed. So after the furniture shopping we went back to my parents house for dinner with my sister, brother-in-law, and my aunt, uncle and 2 cousins. My brother-in-law smoked a brisket and made these delicious meat things called "burnt ends" that Avery thought were brownies. Avery was glued to my cousins, or "the big girls" as she called them. One is in grad school and the other is in college. They were so nice to play with her all night. We were party-poopers and left before the fireworks since Avery did not take a nap that day and Kendall was kinda fussy from cutting some new teeth. We figured they had a fun day anyway and there will be plenty of opportunities to watch fireworks in the future.

Avery and her church friend before the parade

Avery with my two youngest cousins, Katie and Bethany

Scott imitating Kendall's cry-baby face

Avery swinging with her aunt Amy

Avery update

Well, we went to the Dr. today to try to find out what is wrong w/ Avery's foot or feet, but unfortunately we did not really get a definitive answer. The Dr. did not see anything that led him to believe she still had glass in her feet, so he suggested that maybe she had jammed one of her joints and had fluid on it and then the pain was radiating down into her ankles and feet. He said that is a common injury in kids this age. He did a thorough exam of both feet and legs and there was no particular spot that she screamed or jumped about, although she did cry when he first started touching her feet. But I think that was more just because she didn't want him to examine her b/c she thought it might hurt. She could not tell him which foot hurt or point to a particular spot. The one thing he did say was that at this age, children like to run and play too much for this just to be a behavioral thing. He said just to be sympathetic and roll with it for a week, then to bring her back if it was still hurting and he would possibly order an MRI. So, I guess we just have to let her take it easy and encourage her to at least try walking again. This afternoon she actually stood up on her bed and started doing seat drops like she learned at gymnastics last week-- I was shocked! I normally don't allow her to jump on the bed, but I was all for it today! After a few minutes of this, she was standing up and she let out a little yell and dropped down to her knees again. She was favoring left foot, just like when she hurt it last Wednesday. Unfortunately she did not try walking again the rest of the night. So maybe there is something wrong w/ it that we just cannot detect. Hopefully it will heal with a few days of rest, or if it's a piece of glass down in there, it will eventually work its way to the surface-- sooner rather than later!

Father's Day

Downtown Ft Worth- outside Riscky's BBQ

Daddy's girls

To celebrate Father's Day yesterday, my parents came to church with us. Then we all met up with my sister and her husband at Riscky's BBQ in downtown Fort Worth so the guys could take advantage of their all-you-can-eat ribs. Everyone came over to our house afterward to open cards and presents and to share some of the banana pudding that Scott requested I make. Avery really enjoyed helping Scott and my Dad open their cards. Unfortuntely, I don't think it was an ideal Father's Day for Scott. As you can see in the pic above, Avery is sitting rather than standing. Well, there is a reason. As you may have read in a previous post, when Scott was in Guatemala, she pushed on the glass door of our entertainment center and it shattered, leaving her with a minor cut on her foot and one little sliver of glass that I removed. Well, she was fine for about a week, and then this past Wednesday she was playing in the living room over by the entertainment center and all of a sudden I hear this scream. So I go over there are she's holding her foot up saying she thought she stepped on glass. Despite the fact that we have checked her feet several times with a flashlight and cannot find anything wrong, she has complained on and off since then about them hurting, although the pain seems to switch feet and she can't tell you a particaulr spot that hurts. Worst of all, she also randomly decides she doesn't want to walk. She had one of these "moments" on Saturday afternoon and has refused to walk ever since (minus a little walking in her classroom at church-hmmm. ..). As you can imagine, it is quite upsetting and even infuriating to see your 16 month old walking around everywhere and your 3 yr. old crawling when there doesn't appear to be anything physically wrong! No cuts, scrapes, visible glass slivers, swelling, redness, bruising, nada! She has been crawling everywhere becasue of this and has even gone so far as to sit in the stroller the whole time tonight at the park while Scott and I played with Kendall. It seemed a little cruel, but we thought it might encourage her to at least TRY to get out and walk. No luck! She just whined for us to come keep her company and to carry her over to the swings. After dealing w/ this for almost 3 days straight and trying to convince her with natural consequences that she should at least try to walk, we are heading to the doctor tomorrow to find out once and for all if there is something physically wrong that is causing this madness. She promised tonight that if the Dr. said nothing was wrong, then she would try to walk again, so hopefully we will have an end to this one way or another. Now that everyone probably thinks my child is completely nuts, prayers would be greatly appreciated! It makes me sad to see her doing this and missing out on the life of the healthy, active 3 yr old that she is!

giving Poppi his cards and present

helping Poppi open his cards

Avery was more than willing to help Scott open his presents