Introducing the Van Cluck Sisters

We have some new fluffy babies around here- 

Chickens!  : ) 

We may have been slightly influenced by a certain royal wedding last week when we named our girls. 

We each picked out a chick of our own and decided they needed very aristocratic names.  Prince Charming had a little help naming his chickie.  "Bird" just didn't seem fancy enough.  : )    


Meet the Van Cluck Sisters:

"Goldie"
Lady Goldia Rosemary Van Cluck

Goldie is a Golden Sex Link chicken and belongs to Youngest Princess

"Angeline"

Lady Angeline Ann Van Cluck

Angeline is an Ameracauna chicken.  She will lay pastel Easter colored eggs.  She belongs to Oldest Princess.  

"Lady Di"

Lady Diana Van Cluck

Diana is a Rhode Island White chicken and belongs to King Charming. 

"Ramona"

Lady Ramona Augusta Caroline Van Cluck

Ramona is a Golden Sex Link chicken and she belongs to Prince Charming.

"Bea"

Lady Beatrice Anastasia Adelaide Van Cluck

Beatrice is also a Golden Sex Link chicken and she's mine!!  : )

We are so excited to have fresh eggs.  They should be laying for us before school starts again in the Fall.  Right now they are still in their brooder, but King Charming is hard at work designing and building "Cluckingham Palace" (a.k.a. The Coop).   

As soon as they establish their pecking order, and we can see who is the boss, we will know which of the ladies will receive the title of "Her Majesty the Queen".  After that we'll decide who will become our princess, duchess, countess, etc.   We're not having fun at all.   : )

I originally titled this post "Meet Our Newest Family Members" but King Charming put the kabosh on that.  He has told us over and over again they are not family members, to not get too attached, and to remember these chickens are food providers, might die, and might end up in soup.  We're prepared for the worst, but still having so much fun.  I can't believe how fast they are growing and changing.  On Saturday they were puffballs.  Now they are already getting their feathers.  

I like being a chicken farmer!  : )   

Want to vote on which one you think will end up Queen? 

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The Hunger Games Trilogy Ruined Me

Someday soon...when it's not a Friday night and I'm not too fried to be coherent...I'll write a review on my latest reads, The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. 

But for those of you who have already read these books, you'll understand when I say they ruined me.  Now everything I try to read seems too dull to hold my interest.

I'm craving a good read to ween me off the adrenaline rush that was the Hunger Games.  Any suggestions out there in cyber land?  Lately I've been a YA Fiction junkie, but I'll take any suggestions at this point.

Yawn...



P.S.  Please pray for Prince Charming.  He's had a bad case of croup this week and I had to take him into the doctor's office this afternoon for his second dose of steroid treatments to ease his breathing.  I can't wait to see him back to himself again and to stop worrying about my sweet little guy.  Thanks! 

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Prince Charming Hijacked my Blog Today

I hijacked Mommy's blog today, because I wanted to say hi to my cousins.  


Even if you are not one of my cousins, you can still watch my videos and see how hard I have been working on my speech. 

Mommy says I've come so far from when she was just hoping to hear me say, "Mama". 

She is proud of me.

Happy Friday!

Love,

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This One's For You, Grandpa!

If you are looking for the winner of the Read and Share Bible giveaway, my two princesses announced the winner via video in an earlier post this morning.  Click here to see if you are a winner.  : ) 

Wow!  Two blog posts in one day!  This morning's post and this post are evidence that I am enjoying the new Flip video camera I bought King Charming for Christmas.  I'm having so much fun in fact, I have to remind myself that I got it for HIM, not for me.  : )   

This post is dedicated to Grandpa.  Grandma gets a lot of air time here on this blog, and Prince Charming and I decided that Grandpa needed some blog love.

Here you go Grandpa, some love from your grandson and a little showin' off of his hoop skills. 

(And the video's also for everyone else who wants to see the cutest 2-year-old on the planet.  No, I'm  not at all biased, hee hee) 

Make sure you stop by on Monday for a new series and a giveaway.  Happy Friday Everyone!

Love,

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The Read and Share Bible Giveaway

This giveaway is now closed.  I'll be back later today to announce the winner.  : ) 

Happy New Year!!  It's 2011 and I can't think of a better way to kick off the New Year here on Everyday Becky than with a giveaway, can you?. : )

Tommy Nelson's Read and Share Bible

Recently, I was looking at my girls and thanking the Lord that they are growing up to be His, with a good understanding of the Bible and faith that is their own.  Then I looked at Prince Charming and remembered that we need to be intentional about building that same foundation in him. 

About that same time, Tommy Nelson Publishers contacted me to see if I would be interested in reviewing their children's Bible, The Read and Share Bible.  I jumped at the chance to add another resource to our library for introducing Prince Charming to the Bible. 

He loves his new Bible and calls it "Mine".  : )  We just spent some time this morning snuggling on the couch and reading one of the stories. 

These are the features I enjoy the most: 

• The Simplicity of the Stories-  Each two page spread is its own story which is a length consistent with my two-year-old's attention span.  He won't sit still for longer stories in other children's Bible's yet.
   
• The Discussion Starters-  At the end of each story is a discussion starter or question to involve the child in the story.  I love this because I'm trying to learn myself to "not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says" (James 1:22) and want to teach my kids to not just read but apply what they see in the Bible.
   
• The Illustrations-  The illustrations are Prince Charming's favorite feature.  He is still so young for understanding all that we are reading if he will even sit still that long, but he loves the pictures.  He will turn the pages and point out different details he likes.  I enjoy seeing him engaging with the Bible stories in a positive way even when he is so little.

See For Yourself:

The Christmas Story as found in the Read and Share Bible

Here's How to Win One! 

Tommy Nelson has generously donated a copy for me to give away to one of you and I do love to give things away.  Thank you, Tommy Nelson!  : ) 

Just leave me a comment below telling me of a child in your life that you'd like to share this with or if you plan on donating it to your church's children's ministry, tell me that, too.  Each comment will be an entry.

 Contest is open to U.S. residents only and will end Friday, January 7, 2011 @ 6:00 AM (Mountain Standard Time).  I'll post the winner on Friday.

Additional Entry Options- 

If you want extra chances to win, leave a separate comment for each of the things you do below.  Each comment is an entry.  Lot's of extra chances to win!  : ) 

1.  Follow my blog through Google Friend Connect or Networked Blogs (see sidebar) or let me know you already do. 

2.  Follow me on Twitter @BeckyAvella and Tweet about this giveaway. 

3.  Follow @TommyNelson on Twitter

4.  Blog about the giveaway and leave me a link to the post

5.  Visit http://www.tommynelson.com/ and tell me what you like.  (Hint: There are some Free Goodies on there)

6.  Like  Tommy Nelson on Facebook. 

I'll be back on Friday to announce the winner! 

Disclaimer: ** I received a copy of this book for the purpose of review.  All of the opinions expressed are my own or those of my children. 

 

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Did I Really ASK for This???

Remember this post from a little over a month ago? The one where I said I couldn't wait to hear Prince Charming say, "Mama"?

Yeah.

That.

Be careful what you ask for.

That little boy says, "Mama" alright.

He screams it from his crib at 3 A.M. just because he misses me.

His nap time has shrunk to half the time it once was because he used to be content to play until I came for him.

That was before he discovered the magic of his own voice! And the magic of calling for a mama who waited months and months to hear him say her name.

This recording is the mild version of his before nap, "But I don't want to go to bed" version of "Mama." (Ignore the sideways picture of the door, LOL)



I didn't have the where-with-all to videotape the 3 A.M. screaming my head off version. : ) Besides, I'm not sure you'd want to hear that.

Seriously, I am amazed at how quickly he is catching on to speech. It seems like new words are popping up everyday. He's still struggling with certain consonant sounds, but his SLP has a theory about why that I'll be running by his pediatrician next week. But all in all, the progress has been awesome.

I love observing his SLP appointments. When something doesn't come easily, each new word, each step of progress feels like a huge victory. Sometimes I just want to shout, "Did you hear that world??? He just said cow!"

I'm proud of my boy.

Please remind me of that fact when I'm paged around 3 AM tonight. : )

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Please Say "Mama"

Prince Charming helping his sisters bake.

Oh man, this little boy has our hearts wrapped around his finger. He is such a sweetheart, has such a great sense of humor already, and he gives the BEST hugs ever. All four of us are smitten.

There's just one thing we're all so looking forward to- When he can talk! : ) Caveman speech is getting old. He has all of his vowel sounds down, but has never babbled, never said "Mama" or "Dada", and never used a consonant sound.

Thankfully, one of my closest friends is a Speech Language Pathologist, and she has been keeping a close eye on his development. As the gap between his receptive language and his expressive language continued to widen, we decided it was time to get him set up with speech services. My friend Jen helped us find a great clinic that was covered by our insurance. We just came home today from his fourth visit with "Miss Nicky".

I'm very grateful we don't have to worry about any cognitive delays. He is incredibly bright, uses sign language a lot, and has the best nonverbal communication skills I've ever seen.

We're all a little baffled. He is so motivated to communicate with us and is above average in what he understands, so it is odd that the consonant sounds are missing. His SLP recommended having his adenoids and tonsils checked to see if they were getting in the way.

I'll be glad to rule that out, but in the meantime I'm thrilled with the progress he is making. It has been fun for me to have this new thing to teach him. When I was a teacher, the kids always came to my classroom already speaking.

I can teach you how to read, but how to talk? I was clueless. I'm learning so much about language development and am so proud of his new skills. He started saying "go" this week and it felt like such a victory.

I'm so excited for the day I hear, "Mama." It will be music to my ears.

And I won't miss, "Ehhh" at all. : )

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Prince Charming

Hey, how YOU doin'?



No more photos please!



Ciao, Baby!



Have your people call my people.

I'm outta here!

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Prince Charming Lost Some Hair, Too

So, King Charming isn't the only one to lose some hair around here.


Prince Charming lost some, too. I finally put my foot down and declared, "That boy needs a haircut!"


Look at all those curls hanging out underneath his hat~





If you look in the mirror, you can see Grandma got to be here for his first haircut.

(She may have been the one to really put her foot down about the long hair. Something about your Grandma calling you, "Nancy" just isn't right. : )

He really looked shaggy when we took the hat off.



He was a trooper! I think the nice lady, the super fun "car" seat, and the Disney Cars video playing on the TV, distracted him from what was happening.


Ok, maybe it was the candy she bribed him with that REALLY did the trick.


Whatever did the trick, we walked out of that salon with one

SUPER HANDSOME DUDE!!!!!!!

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