Hippity Hop Hop

Happy Easter everyone! We had our picture taken with the Easter Bunny today. If a picture is worth a thousand words, I don't need to explain what was happening here! Berlin is still in the middle of her stranger anxiety phase, and I am happy as a lark. Or a bunny rabbit :)

We are excited for Easter! Grandma and Aunt Andi are coming to visit, and we are excited to see them! I love all the attention I get from them, they love on me so much. Grandpa was here last weekend, too. I had so much fun with him, I love my grandpa!! He read to me at bedtime, played ball with me, held my hand, and was all around awesome.

We've been busy little bees this Spring. We've had lots of birthday parties and play dates, and have been going outside a lot! It is so beautiful here, the weather has been pretty awesome. There have been some thunder showers, but I LOVE thunder! It is sooo cool! We have a fun filled summer planned as well, which I will tell ya about soon.

One update: I had my appointment with the ENT. The tube in my right ear has turned sideways and my eardrum has not popped it out like it should. This means I have to have surgery to have the tube removed. This will happen on May 11. It's an easy procedure, but I have to be asleep. Not sure if I will like that, but I do like my doctor alot! He was very nice, and tickled my ear a little bit when he examined me. He told me I am an extraordinary little boy, then gave me a sucker. What's not to like??

That's all for now. Hope you like our Easter pic! Talk to you soon.

Love, Aves

Growing Like Weeds

Hello! How ya'll doing? We are great! And growing like weeds!! For the first and only time last month, we were able to have our wellness checks together. Berlin for her 15 month and Avery for his 3 year checkup. We are BIG! Avery is still 90th percentile for height, 35th for weight, and Berlin is 95th for height, 25th for weight. Our pediatrician thinks we're awesome (which we are!). We did not like the shots, though, and Avery put up a good fight. It took Mommy and a nurse to hold him down while another nurse administered the vaccines. He's STRONG! And Mommy says it's all in the name of our health, so we handled it well. The lollipops helped. Avery may have an issue with his ear tubes, so we are going to see an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor in April. One of his tubes may not have fallen out all the way, so we need to make sure everything is okay with it. I have had strep throat three times in 3 months, so Mommy wants to ask the doctor about that, too. It seems a bit much.

Avery is having an awesome time being 3! He has made a ton of friends at school, and we seem to always be going to birthday parties. SO MUCH FUN! He's also mastering his new bike, and working on "artwork" all the time.

Berlin is talking up a storm. She's now saying Mommy, nigh nigh, hop pop (for her favorite book Hop on Pop), mine (her favorite word), plus a bunch of other new words. She's teething, too. Getting at least 2, maybe 3 on top. This has made her crabbier than normal, which means she now has a normal babies temperment (because she's the happiest baby ever!). She also likes to climb on everything, as you can see above. She's just starting to be able to climb on the couch and ottoman, and she is walking up and down stairs (with a little help from Daddy and Mommy). It's amazing how much she is changing!

We should have more adventures to share soon! Spring has hit Nashville and there's lots of outdoorsy stuff to do! We'll keep you updated.

Lots of love,
Avery and Berlin

My First Bike

Look at me! I got a bike for my birthday, and I love it! This is my first time riding it. I'm doing pretty good, huh? The horn is my favorite!

Hope you enjoy,
Aves

Avery's Big Day

I'm 3!

Let's celebrate with the fam!

Our mini cake. My big cake for my party was SPIDERMAN!

Games with the parachute.

Berlin has a tantrum

Spidey!

I love frosting!

My daycare buddies

All of us! (except me, where am I?)

Hey everyone! I wanted to show you all photos from my big day. My parents had a little mini party for me on the night of my actual birthday, and then we had a party the next day at the Y. All my friends came, and we had a great time! There was a bounce house, a parachute to play games and songs with, pizza, cake, and lots of birthday fun! I was a very good boy! Berlin had a little tantrum, but that's okay. She's new to this toddler thing. I'm sorry you weren't all able to make it, but I wanted to share photos with you. Hope to see ya soon!

Hugs and kisses,
Aves

Happy 3rd Birthday Avery!!

Can you believe I'm 3?!?! Me either! I'm looking forward to celebrating my first 3 years! Mommy put together a video for you to enjoy, set to my favorite song. I hope you love it! Here's the link, or you can click on the link to the right under "Birthdays".....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loqGzA9Z45g

The Birthday Boy,
Aves

Bedtime Stories

Sickness Hits the Manternach House

Hi everyone! Boy, January sure did hit us hard this year! Everyone got sick, at least once! Avery got strep throat, Berlin got RSV for the second year in a row and a double ear infection, Mommy got the stomach flu, sinus infection, and other respiratory crap, and even Daddy was sick for a day. There has been a lot of viruses and other sorts of sick flying around Franklin, so it was not a surprise we all got it. Not much fun! We are hoping February is much kinder to us.

In other news, we have been apparently having a brutal winter. It seems pretty tame compared to Chicago, but we hear it is bad here. Last week we got a storm that made Mommy late to pick us up from daycare! It wasn't her fault. Her normal 10 minute commute turned into 2 hours. Luckily our teachers were nice enough to stay late with us (and a bunch of other kids whose parents were running late), and they fed us dinner, too! We were understandably crabby, but eventually Mommy made it and brought us home. Whew!

Now that we are all well, we have had some birthday parties to attend. All of Avery's friends seem to be turning 3 at around the same time. Camden's party was in January. Last week, we went to Gavin's party, and this weekend was John David's party. In two weeks, Avery turns 3!! We are having a spiderman themed party at the Y to celebrate! The weekend after that is Aydan's party. His birthday is actually the day after Avery's, but the parties were planned a week apart, so everyone could attend. It's all a bunch of crazy fun, and we love it!

Talk to you soon. I hope you are all well and staying warm!
Love,
Aves and Berlin