Avery's Two Favorite Things

Avery LOVES, ADORES, is EMOTIONALLY ATTACHED to two things in life:

Her "Straw Jammies" (strawberry jammies) and her "Sleep bag". These poor jammies are so loved, I often have to wash them without her knowing and have them back in her room for the evening. There have been times in the middle of the day that we reward her for things she's done well by letting her put her jammies back on after lunch. When she's not wearing them all day long, she never has to be asked more than once to go get ready for bed. Often she will run in her room yelling, "Yeah!!!! Straw Jammies!!!" Life is so simple for a two year old.

As for the "sleep bag". We got this for her earlier this past April when we were heading down to Moab for the weekend. Her brother had a sleeping bag, so we thought she needed her own as well. Little did we know that this poor bag would never be tied up again. It is dragged around everywhere, cuddled with each night and movie time, and usually ends up wherever Avery is going. When she's sad, tired or in trouble, the tears start out and then it's "My Sleep Bag... I need my sleep bag!!" It's cute she has a comfort blanket... just wish it wasn't so big! I've finally figured out it is more effective to put "sleep bag" in time out when she does notty things instead of putting HER in time out! It's amazing how much better it works.

Goin Shishin with my Daddy

Avery was so excited to spend a day out with dad last week. She has been asking to go "shishing" (fishing) and was thrilled that today was the day! She was running around the house collecting different things that she and Brian would need. She would have nothing to do with me because she thought I'd make her stay home I guess. They had a great time catching worms, going to the pond and then out to lunch just the two of them. When Avery got home, she said, "the shishies ate all my worms!'. She hasn't stopped talking about shishing with her daddy since.
As I look at this little moment in time, it makes me realize the power of a few moments. The hour and a half Brian took out of his day was the highlight of a two years olds day, week.. even month! So little time out of our busy schedule to make time for a child can be life changing. They sense when we are "too busy"... but do they really understand that? What does too busy mean? Looking at it right now (when I'm not stressing out about all the zillion things I have to do today) I ask myself... WHY are we too busy for a few moments with our kids? NOTHING is more important than giving them our time. They should NEVER have to hear, "I'm too busy to come out and play right now". What in our homes is so important that we can't take 10 minutes to go throw a ball around? The dishes? The vacumming? Laundry? Phone Calls? The computer? All those things can wait. But the way our kids see how we manage our time with them will not. They quickly learn where our priorities lie, and I hope with me...I can show them my priority is with them.
I am lucky to have such a great example of this quality in my husband. Brian is so good about making special time with each kid. Our family is so blessed that he sees the importance in making these "special moments" count. My kids have such a wonderful relationship with their dad because he spends time with them. I hope moments like this will be something that they will continue to do into adulthood.