Riley and Avery

Yesterday we headed over to Baby Cotton Bottoms to help Dani with inventory. A whole slew of people showed up to help, and what was supposed to take days, only took three hours. It was a lot of fun just associating with other mothers while the girls played with other children. Riley made friends with another girl named Isabella. Her mother just thought that Riley was too cute, with all the strange things that she says and the complicated stories that Riley tells. She also kept gushing over how adorable Avery is, even though this woman's two children were also very beautiful. It's weird about mothers who praise my children to me. I always feel that I have to reciprocate with praise for their children, and I am not really good at that. Although I like children as much as the next person, truth be told, I really don't care that much about children who are neither mine nor in my family. I always feel that I come across as insensere. I wonder if people are insecure and just praise your child so you'll turn around and praise theirs? Hmmm, something to think about.

Today was the grand seasonal opening of the Uncle Wilber fountain in downtown. We really had a lot of fun, although neither of the girls would actually go in the fountain. Avery was downright scared and Riley said that it was too cold. We sat in the grass and ate some really yummy wraps I made with hummus, chicken, cucumber sticks, bean sprouts, and leaf lettuce. Both the girls loved them. Then Riley has ice cream (they didn't have any sherbert, fooey) and we played on the playground until it started thundering and lightning. The place cleared out real quick and the fountain was turned off, and of course Riley was upset because she didn't get to play in the fountain. She does this every year about the Uncle Wilbur fountain, doesn't want to play, but when it's time to go she freaks out about how she didn't get to play in the fountain. Overall, we were there for about three hours. Avery just wandered around, standing in the middle of the sidewalk, gawking at all the people, totally unaware of me calling her repeatedly. The real Uncle Wilber was there, and I can't imagine how old he is, since he played tuba in the 1936 World Fair in Chicago, apparently. Wow, that's old.

I picked up the Colorado Springs Independent with a special on the events happening this spring and summer. I'm all excited about the free concerts and farmers markets. Of course, I picked up "Newspeak," another Springs publication, and as I was looking through it, I just thought that something was amiss. Then I noticed their slogan "reaching around to the community since..." and I realize that I picked up the wrong magazine. It was interesting though...


Riley told me today that Freddie, Gregory, and Christopher at school are mean to her and say that they don't like her and "they think that I'm ugly even though I am beautiful!" It's funny how Riley lets this kind of stuff roll off her back, she just states it matter-of-factly. Then says that Malachy, Trevon, and Aaron are nice boys that like her. It's funny how she can be so self-confident at age three. Well, I'm glad that it doesn't bother her...

So I'm uploading an ambitious four pictures to blogger, and it is taking forever. I might just have to let it go overnight and go to bed. Yawn. The longer I wait, the more I write...

As I'm waiting, I'm browsing around the West Side Moms site and someone posted about baby/toddler signing and I thought that the class sessions were a little out of our price range, and I didn't want to commit to anything like that over the summer, but this woman does these really cool workshops, like sign-at-the-zoo and sign-at-the-farm that are actaully held at those locations. How cool is that?

Speaking of speaking, Avery is saying words more clearly now. She says "more more" and "miiiiiiiiiine!" She used to just say "Ma" for "mine." Now she's very clear. Riley was having a rough time this evening, having skipped a nap, and Avery kept patting her back and hugging and kissing her. It was so nice seeing her be so compassionate on her own. Although Avery is the most jealous person I've ever seen. I can't even cuddle or spend time with Riley without Avery absolutely freaking out. When I'm sitting with Riley, Avery will come over and I'll pull her up onto my lap too, and Avery tries to push Riley away so that she is not touching me at all.