bumps & bruises, among other things...

...there has been an over-abundance of those over the last month. avery is generally known as the "clutz" around these parts, but even with that title, she's wow-ed us lately. we went blueberry picking this morning with poppa, katie & nonnie, and about 20 seconds after getting out of the car, avery had scraped a knee. about two weeks ago, she pitched head-first into our tv table, acquiring a nice gash on her forehead that had us wondering if we were going to be spending out saturday at the local ER. (thankfully, that didn't happen, and she's healing beautifully.) not to be outdone, our normally well-balanced em has taken !3! nosedives onto the concrete in the last 2 weeks. eesh. hopefully, this is growth-spurt induced, and will be over soon!

while they still make each other scream occasionally (you know, the whole she-looked-at-me-she-touched-me-she's-breathing-on-me kind of way) the girls are finally starting to play together. actually playing! chloe came over last week, and the three girls donned dress-up clothes and put on a *show* for the mommies. this basically involved hiding behind a blanket hung over a door, and then coming out to screech and run around the living room for about 4 1/2 minutes. the conclusion of their performance was to bend over and touch the floor - a 3 yr old version of a bow, i guess.

emery is responding to us when we speak in english or russian, and avery is even picking up more russian than she had before. em has also used "baby" russian, which is really exciting, espcially to daddy. i think it's hilarious that her first few words were - daddy, mommy, hi, bye, ball and be quiet (!directed at avery, of course!). what does that tell you about our oldest, when the not-quite-one-and-a-half-year-old knows mostly one syllable words, and then a "be quiet" gets tossed in the mix :) she's saying alot more now too, and is very good at letting it be known what she wants, pointing, nodding and shaking her head.

this is avery's last week of swim lessons down at the local pool - she has done a great job of jumping in and going under, blowing bubbles and doing back floats. she can't quite swim on her own yet, but is so close. if there were one more month of summer, i bet she could do it.

we have also been going to pick up our farm share every week, which the girls have really enjoyed. i'm thrilled to be getting fresh, organic produce for such a low price, and getting a chance to "play" in the dirt each week, without the burden of taking care of a garden.

in addition, we had a very busy month of july. uncle george came to visit from russia, and while he was here, peter's father had a heart attack and triple bypass surgery. that resulted in a roadtrip to TN, where the girls met their other three uncles - david, daniel & todd. we spent time with them and with grandma and grandpa in the hospital. it was no fun to see grandpa not feeling well (avery kept asking when they were going to be able to go feed the ducks, which is one of her favorite things to do with grandpa) but we got to steal grandma away from the hospital for one afternoon, and had fun with her at a local park. we were glad we got to see them, even though we wish it was for a different reason.


we were out pricing stoves the other day, and avery came across a mall jewelers catalogue. she perused for awhile before informing peter she wanted *this* ring. peter told her that's why you get a boyfriend, and he will buy you a ring, so when auntie lanie's boyfriend chris told her she would have to "work hard and save alot of money" so she could buy herself the ring, she just gave him an are-you-crazy look and said, "no, that's why i will get a boyfriend". she also recently told peter she was going to "grow a pair - a big pair!". not sure where she gets this stuff (peter.)

summer is winding down here, but we had a great long stretch of 90+ degree days. this was a very hot, dry summer - i wonder what that predicts for this winter? i'd still like to get in a couple more trips to the beach, but i'm also already looking forward to fall - apple-picking, the big e, leaves, halloween - and the crisp, autumn air.

i wish i spent more time keeping track of everything the girls say/do; so many times during any given day, i'll think "so cute - i have to remember to write that down", but with only two arms, and often one precious baby in each, i just don't have the room for a pen, too. :)