The Hulsey Family: What We're Up To....

I don't know if I've ever said this before, but I LOVE my kids!!! It seems like they do something everyday that just makes me smile. I am always so proud of them, and ALWAYS want to show them off and brag about the great things they do. So that is what this post is about!!!! They have been a little sick for a little over a week now. I think (knock on wood) that they are on the mend. Hopefully!!!!

I'll start with Lily. She is learning so much in school. It seems like everyday she has learned to read and spell a new word. She is writing like a champ. She has mastered just about every letter. When she pretend plays now, she plays school. She will sit and write out notes that most of the time are just a bunch of letter that don't make a lot of sense, but she ALWAYS has a story to go behind it. She will read it, like she has actually written a story, and is so proud of herself. There is always the words that she knows how to spell in there and she always puts them in sequence with the story. I am amazed everyday with just how much she can learn. Since she is in preschool, they don't have homework, so I have been giving her homework at home. I bought this awesome writing tablet at Wal-Mart that helps her learn to write her big letters, little letters, and numbers the correct way. I, apparently, have written some letters and numbers wrong my entire life. I have no intention of changing the way I write, but I want to make sure that I teach her the correct way. She is making so many friends. She has always been a little social butterfly, sometimes too much so, if you know what I mean. When I walk her into her class, all the kids are always like "Hi, Lily" and they run up to talk to her and stuff. I LOVE that for her. She has gotten her feelings hurt before, if someone doesn't want to be her friend. I can remember feeling that way myself, so I want to protect her against hurt feelings. I know I can't pick her friends, and shield her from all things bad, but I SOOOO want to. She is very much a leader, and hopefully she will keep that mentality, and be a leader and example to all the kids around her. I guess we probably all want that for out kids, though, don't we??? Lily is such a girly girl. She wants more than anything to be a cheerleader. She talks about if at least once a day. At Ms Christy's (her dance teacher studio) they have an all-star cheerleader squad. Their youngest is 8. So, Lily still has a few year, before she can do it. I have plans to take her one night to watch them. They practice after my exercise class, which is also at Ms Christy's. I just have to be prepared for her to skip school the next day since it would be after 9:00 before we would get home. She is doing awesome in her dance class. Ms Christy was bragging on her a few weeks ago to me. She said that Lily was the only in class that actually tries. She is always trying to get every move perfect. I am so proud of her tenacity. We are going to put her in soccer in the spring. She is excited about this, also. I love soccer. I love to watch it, and I can only imagine what great exercise it is. Christmas is coming up shortly, and I couldn't be more thrilled. We got Lily an American Girl-Just Like You doll. You order it to look just like the girl you're getting for. So we decided on brown hair with highlights, since Lily's hair is getting darker by the month. It also had blue eyes, and freckles across the nose, just like Lily. I can't wait to see her face light up when she gets it. I think this is probably the most exciting thing (at least it is for me) we have given her for Christmas, yet. I LOVE her so much!!! She is SOOO beautiful, smart, kind, and loving. I am SUCH a proud Mommy!!!!

Now for Avery!!! He absolutely cracks me up every day. It seems like he is doing something new every day. He is absolutely in love with anything that has wheels. Every day he gets in his toy box, and drags out ALL of his cars, trains, and planes. He will either play with them in Lily's Barbie house, or he will line them up in the window seal, or on a table. He hardly ever plays with the on the floor, not real sure why. When he goes to bed he picks out 1 of the 50 he is playing with the sleep with. Right now he is hooked on the trains (choo-choo's as he calls them). He also LOVES hats. It is so cute. He finds a different hat the wear every day. He has 2 baseball caps, 1 with Lightening McQueen, and one with Batman that he loves. He will also wear one of Lily's old Easter hats. It fits his head so well, I think that is why he likes it so much. Right now, though, he is into this plastic fire hat. He'll put it on and go around saying he's PaPa. My dad is a firefighter in Harrison. He gave Avery this hat, and now, all of a sudden (after like 2 or 3 months) he wants to wear it constantly. I think my favorite part of it, though, is when he says that he is PaPa. It is so cute. Lately, instead of telling me no when I ask him a question, he says "No Way". I don't know where he picked it up, unless it was from me. Sometimes if one of them is telling me a story, I will say "No, Way" in a "that's unbelieveable" sort of way. It is so cute to hear him say it. He has told me "No Way" before in a "I'm not going to do what you just told me to" sort of way, and it is not so cute then. But I have always found it so cute (and sometimes a bit scary) the stuff that kids will pick up from you. Stuff that you don't really even realize you do, until you hear your kid say it. Avery is doing such a superb job of the whole potty training bit. He will go ALL day without a pee pee accident. Sometimes, he will get in this weird mood and decide not to pee on the potty at all, but for the most part, he will pee on the potty every time. Now, he will NOT poop on the potty. He has never even tried. I put him on the potty one day, like every 10-15 minutes, and keep encouraging him to poop, and he just wouldn't. Then, when I layed him down for his nap, he decided to poop. I decided that I just wasn't going to push it right now. Especially since he is doing so great at the pee thing. Maybe it will just click one day. That is my hope. The good thing, though, is that he doesn't usually poop unless he is at home. So I am going to start taking him out in underwear, soon. I hope that goes good. We'll just have to wait and see. I am probably going to wait a couple more weeks, just for good measure (and because I'm a big chicken!!!!) He is such a big boy, and it makes me sad just how fast he is, well, how fast both of them are growing up. I want to capture them in a bottle. I don't want to ever forget just how wonderful and loving and just plain perfect they are. I know that rough years are to come, and I want to remember these times forever. Oh yeah, one more thing about Avery...He gives the BEST hugs and kisses. He will just wrap his little arms around my neck so tight, and give me the best little kisses. I just love it!!! He is so cuddly, and sweet, and even though he does have a tendency to try my patience from time to time, I wouldn't change anything about him. I LOVE him so much!!!!!

Well, I know that I have rambled on for a while. I just wanted to get all this stuff down, so I could remember it later. I love you all, and hope you are all well!!!!