The Princess and the Motorcycle

Avery’s hair is thin and wispy and uses all of its strength to grow aggressively forward. As it has grown over the past two years I have trimmed and trimmed her bangs to keep it out of her face, but several months ago I decided that it was not in anyone’s best interest to have bangs that start in the back of her head. Trying to let half of it grow out has led to her looking shaggy much of the time. Combine that with the never-trimmed back of her hair, and the word orphan just might to mind when you see her with her hair down.

Last night I decided enough is enough, this girl needs a haircut. HER FIRST REAL HAIRCUT!



I decided to take her to Monkey Dooz because I have heard that they are all girly and fancy, and Avery eats that stuff up (plus I knew she’d be very uncomfortable with the whole experience and I thought it would help if it looked princessy somehow).

So I took her in and she was given the choice of a truck or a motorcycle to sit in – this is NOT what I expected. She happily climbed in the motorcycle but as soon as the lady started to put the couldn’t-be-less-girly drape on her, Avery’s mouth went into a deep frown and she held her arms out for me to rescue her – this IS what I expected. The lady gave her a lollypop (her second ever, so it was a big deal) and quickly snipped a little here and there.






The whole experience was rather blah and was over in ten minutes total. If I didn’t tell you she had gotten a haircut, you probably wouldn’t even notice. But still, it was another neat milestone and she does look a bit sweeter I must say.

31 Months

Life with Avery at 31 months is good. So good in fact that I kind of wish I could freeze time and live like this forever.

I probably say it every time, but she is just so sweet, funny, and well-behaved, I don’t know how I ever got so lucky to have her. Sometimes I wonder to myself if anyone has ever loved another person as much as I love Avery, and I think the answer might be no.



This month was kind of ordinary but in a wonderful way. Here are some of the memorable moments:

Two different times Avery walked into a room and came immediately back out telling me “someone’s in there!” So I panicked for a second because we were home alone, and then she told me it was a fly (or spider).

Sitting outside on the deck to have "breakfix" every sunny morning. She almost always chooses to have Raisin Bran these days.



I painted Avery’s toenails for the first time. Pink of course! As I finished up the last tiny pinky toe, she quickly grabbed the nail polish bottle and poured some on her white shorts. Yeah, the ones she was wearing for THE FIRST TIME.

Last week I went in to get her up in the morning and found her with her eyes puffed up like she had lost a fight while she slept. Three days and much worry later, we learned that she just has allergies of some sort that may or may not come back. Good to know, right?



Listening to Avery sing about the "Wootzy Wootzy spider".

We had the best Fourth of July with Avery’s cousins! Fireworks! Swimming! Boating! Dress-up! Everything except sleeping in the car for the 4-hour drive (each way).



Some new phrases that made us laugh this month: “I don’t believe it!”, “I’m so excited”, “This is very expensive/important/special”, and the very best (but short-lived), “Makes me so laugh” (when something cracked her up), and “Makes me so hard” (when something frustrated her) Oh the Googles I’ll get for that last one…

And the biggest most exciting moment is Avery finally sleeping in her big girl bed. And doing it like a champ I might add.

Meatballs, Crowns, and Unintentional Swimming: Our Family's Fourth

This year we celebrated our country’s independence with my sister and her family. By the time the weekend was over, were had sore arms from a little too much Wii, sore skin from a little too much boating in the sun, and sore hearts because we had so much fun and they simply live too far away.





Avery adores her cousins, and it was quite evident that the feeling is mutual. All weekend they swam, dressed-up, read books, colored, did puzzles, and hunted for treasure all while giggling and sharing like you always hope kids will. The phrase of the weekend was definitely, “I’m so excited!” since that was what they said everytime they saw each other (Actually the most used phrase was probably “Giant meatball” but we’ll go with the latter).




We had been talking about fireworks for an entire week, so when the 4th finally came, I was anxious to see what Ave would think of them. We had a barbeque and made some traditional Independence Day Crowns that evening to prepare for the big display. And then the fireworks show did not disappoint. Avery sat still on my lap the whole time and said, “Beauuuuutiful” over and over. When it was over I asked her which one was her favorite, and she said, “Ummmmm, the pink one!” Surprise, surprise.



Avery and Marlee in the unplanned matching shirts!




The next day we took the boat out and hit the river. I won’t lie, Avery was terrified. She kept telling me that she didn’t want to go, and that she was scared. I really didn’t know what to do. I hate to force her to do things that scare her, but sometimes her fear is unreasonable! So anyway, we offered to let her drive, and we talked about how Dora and Swiper and all of those guys ride in boats… and she eventually agreed. And LOVED it.



When Uncle Heath stopped the boat and asked who wanted to go on the tube, Avery nearly ran to the back of the boat to be first. Along with Kyle and her cousin Sage, Avery was towed behind the boat smiling and laughing the whole ride. When they hit some big waves that made me a little nervous, Avery laughed and said her famous, “One more time!”



Then she wanted to go again, so they talked me into going with her. Now, I won’t go into details, or point any fingers, ahem, but Avery and I got dumped off the tube and were totally submerged in the faahhhreeezing river. It was honestly one of the scariest moments of my entire life. That being said, Avery has very fond memories of the boat ride, and even of riding the tube, so I’m going to try to remember it how she does. And river dunking aside, we really just had the best time and can’t wait to go back for more.

Big-Girl Style

Avery is the very last one of her friends to still be sleeping in a crib. I feel safer with her in there, she doesn't ever try to get out, and she doesn't wet the bed, so what's not to love about that? Her bed has been set up next to her crib for months now, so she has the choice, but she always picks her crib.

Out of nowhere yesterday evening, she announced decidedly, "A'y sleep in big girl bed!" So we went with it.

She stayed awake for about an hour reading her Dora books, and then continued to sleep soundly through the longest and loudest thunder and lightning storm I've ever heard. The first words out of her mouth in the morning were, "Sleep so good!" I should say so.

So, with the very last bit of 'baby' now likely behind us, I guess she is officially a big girl. Sigh.

Beyond Coping

Despite the 90-something degree temperatures we had this weekend, we didn’t melt! But that’s only because we spent nearly the entire weekend at my MIL’s (who was out of town), where there is air-conditioning and a lake for a back yard. It turned into an unplanned and much needed vacation.

Avery loves her grandma’s house (when we first got there she told me it was “so beautiful”) but what she really loves is the lake. It scares me how fearless she is with the water, and just how badly she wants to get in it. But she safely floated around and swam with us and had so much fun. One of the first things she asked when we woke up this morning was if we could go back.

We had some friends over Saturday which was really fun - Avery and Anna were so cute in their little swim suits running around, splashing and swimming. I took lots of pictures – with NO MEMORY CARD IN MY CAMERA. Nice.

That night, for some reason, we decided that we should come back to our own house to sleep – where the inside temperature was in the mid 80’s. It was a bad, hot choice.

Poor girl, she was just taking in all the air that her fan had to give – but with a heavy fleece blanket on her lower half that she INSISTS on using regardless of temperature.

Last night when our two-miles-from-home vacation was over, a bunch of dark clouds rolled in, and there was a lightning storm like none I had ever seen. We sat on the porch watching the sky light up every few seconds. Avery, totally unaware of just how cool it was, mostly liked to guess what color it would be next. By the end of the night she was running around the house in her underwear yelling “holy cwap!” Guess we should be more careful about our reaction to giant lightning bolts.



This picture was taken late at night, when it was completely dark out. We couldn’t seem to capture an actual bolt, but they were so cool!

The Un-Avery

This weekend at the annual birthday bash for my mom and uncle, Avery spent a little time with the person who balances her out in the toddler world of eating. His name is Ty (he’s my cousin’s son) and he is one of those kids who eats whatever you put in front of him, and then some. And if he makes a mess - and he does make a mess - he doesn't care, HE KEEPS EATING. So very un-Avery.



Knowing that the party had a Chinese theme, I packed Avery a lunch and a dinner. There would certainly be nothing at all that she would eat, except fortune cookies and birthday cake, and that just can’t end well. So I brought her some leftover pizza for lunch, and a typical mish mash of snacky-type foods that we have grown to accept as a meal for dinner.



When we sat the two kids down at the teeny-tiny table, Kyle remarked to me that our daughter’s plate looked like it was meant for a squirrel. Ty’s plate was loaded with Sweet and Sour Pork, rice, Thai Curry, egg rolls – you name it, he had it. I grabbed my camera as he shoveled fistfuls of the food into his mouth with about half of it falling to the ground. Avery cautiously nibbled at her banana and stared in disbelief at the wonder before us.





Once his plate neared empty he started to reach for Avery’s food. I think she was afraid to say no. He sampled what she had and then kindly offered her some of it so she could share in the joy of eating too. Avery took a few of his offerings, saying thank you after each one, until he offered her a piece off the ground – to which she turned her head away in disgust and said, “No, that’s icky!” So Ty ate it.



And then there was the matter of cupcakes.

Amigos

The other night we were at Home Depot and we stopped to look at those cool, swirly energy-efficient light bulbs. Avery waited patiently as we checked out all of the options and was content to softly recite the “Going to Bed Book” for just the three of us to hear.

Suddenly two men came up behind us and started discussing the light bulbs (I assume) fairly loudly – in Spanish. Avery’s eyes grew wide with excitement and familiarity at the language the men were speaking. She whipped her whole body around and declared to the men confidently, “Hola! I’m Dora and this is my friend boots!”

FD3

30 Months

My Baby Love, my Sweet Pea, my Sug, my Dolly… my little Avery is two-and-a-half already! Amazing.

Much of her little toddler world changed this month for some reason. Last month she was all about the jewelry, the sunglasses, and the shoes – all things accessories! This month those frilly and sparkly lovelies sat nearly untouched as she has rekindled her love affair with books and puzzles and music.



All month long she just couldn't get enough of being read to. How many times can you read “Dora Saves the Mermaid Kingdom” without going insane? Quatro? Cinco? Seis? NOT VERY MANY I tell you. Luckily she is also crazy about Sandra Boynton, because everything else in our lives has been taken over by Dora, and I’m about to tell Dora to pack her bags and have Tico come pick her up because I can’t take too much more.



In addition to reading (which is HUGELY improving her speech, by the way) she has also become a little puzzler – like her mama. When we aren’t reading, she insists that I sit next to her by her little table and help with one of her (Dora, of course) puzzles. As she steadily fits the pieces together, I love to hear her say “This is goes wiiiiight here” and “Avery do this one pretty good” over and over until she’s done.



Now, just a few weeks after these two new obsessions, she can read some of her books almost entirely back to me (“The Going to Bed Book” and “Green Hat, Blue Hat” are especially good), and can pretty much put together her 24-piece puzzles all on her own. This is a giant leap from where she was.




And it’s not just books and puzzles that excite her! Not since the days of “Crank that Soulja Boy” and “Umbrella” has Avery been this interested in music. While all of her friends have been singing little songs for quite a while now, Avery has… not. Now she loves to sing the far more age-appropriate “Twinkle Star” as she calls it, tries for the ABC’s, and also her new favorite, “Catch the Moon.”

At 2.5 years old, when Avery gets her mind set on something, it’s astounding what she can do. This girl is headed for big things, mark my words.

Not Swingin' in the Rain

A week ago Sunday Avery got a new swing set (a gift from her Grandpa Dan, who does not read this blog, but who is the most generous gift giver EVER!). Avery and Kyle worked for a few hours that night to put it together, and a few hours Monday night finishing it up. That night Avery took a few test slides (I was not home to see the actual glee), and then she was off to bed.







Tuesday morning we woke up to rain. It was then rainy, windy, and about 50 degrees for the next FIVE DAYS straight. We looked longingly out the window each day at the swing set, and watched as no one but the raindrops enjoyed a ride down the slippery slide.



Finally, a full week later after receiving the set, the rain stopped and a ray of sun peaked through, so we hustled outside to play while we could.

Avery went down the slide a few times, gave the swings a shove or two, showed me that there is a table under the fort, and then moved on to playing with other things in the yard. Hardly the reaction I was hoping for! And of course, the rain is back today. But no worries, I'm sure that once the weather gets back to normal Avery is going to log some serious hours on that swing set!