The things she says...

Earlier this week, when Jed was leaving for work, Avery said to him "Adios Amigo." I was half asleep still, but man did I laugh hard at that one.

Just now, as she kept coming in and out of the screen door, she said to me "Bye, have a good day!"

The stringing of words together to make sentences is fascinating to watch. I only wish I was bilingual so I could really teach her to speak another language. Now would be the time to do it.

Trying to stay cool this weekend

It's actually not nearly as bad as last weekend. Today is nice and breezy. We swam over at Grammy Gigi's on Friday and had some fun and laughs with Grammy, Auntie Merzy, and Auntie Paula.


Grammy Gigi played "Shamu" with Avery, which she just loves, and later Avery had fun pouring water over Grammy's and Merz's head.




Later we bundled up because it was kind of chilly outside, and Avery and I sat and laughed while Grammy Gigi fixed us some lunch. Avery ended her swimming fun by lounging on the pool chair in the shade.



Let's just hope it stays cooler for a little while longer!

"Lunching" with the girls...

Yes, I just used "lunching" as a verb.

We got to see our friends Windy and Marylin this week... we have missed them so. Avery and Marylin had a nice time being almost two together. Windy got smacked on the face and I got smacked on the chest, both within a minute or two of each other. I believe the final score was toddlers-27, moms-0.

Nevertheless, we were glad to hang out with our pals and wish we could see them more often.


Marylin even got to show us how deeply committed she is to buying countless handbags to match her stylish diva sunglasses. More power to you M!

Today's fun

Avery got to try a new food (eggrolls!) and vacuum her hair. Her tummy is a full and her hair is offically dirt-free!

Adventures with Gingey

We are currently caring for our friend "Gingey" who belongs to a boy named Jacob. It's our responsibility to show him around and give him new and interesting experiences. We started on Saturday by taking him to the deli for lunch. He certainly enjoyed his sandwich and even had a bite of Jed's cookie. Avery thought it was pretty funny that he was there with us.



Today, Avery and I had every intention of showing Gingey the hot spots in our town, but we didn't last long. It was too hot. Poor little Gingey's frosting came close to melting a few times. We did make it in and out of the library, however, and Gingey even got to check out his own book with his very own library card.


Gingey was, of course, drawn to a book about a subject he knows well.


When we were done at the library, we took a moment to check out the Lincoln Shrine and smell the roses. Carpe diem, little Gingey.


On the way home from the library, we drove by some sites in town that we thought Gingey would enjoy. The first is Morey Mansion, the second is the Asistencia Mission. If you went to 4th grade in California, you probably learned all about the missions here. If not, you might think 'who cares.' Or maybe you think 'who cares' AND you went to 4th grade in California.



We'll try harder for you when it's under 100 degrees, Gingey, we promise.

Visit from Auntie Anna

Anna came to visit yesterday, and Avery loved playing with her... you should have seen the goofs they were being back and forth to each other when Anna had to leave. After Anna left, Avery said "Where Anna go?" for a couple of hours before she realized that when I replied "Anna went home," that she really wasn't coming back.

Swimming Video

Avery went swimming at GramZ and PapaZ's the other day while we were taking refuge from the smoke. She is getting so good! Watch her swim here.

Move over Vera Wang

We've got a new look that's chic, classy, and completely practical. Avery put it together all by herself. I think it says "stylish, yet sophisticated."

Update for Grammy Gigi

Since you're in DC for like two weeks, I thought I'd link these pictures for you to check out. Our street was on fire yesterday! Well, not literally the street, but behind Cynthia's house across the street. There are a few that were taken from inside her backyard and a few that I took from the other side of the freeway. Crazy! Here are pictures.

Singing

Avery tries pretty hard to sing a few different songs. She leaves out a few words, but she still tries. What's funniest is that when I ask her if she wants to sing a particular song, she always says "Yes," and then proceeds to sing the alphabet. Here is a video to demonstrate her promising future as a chanteuse.

Ahhh!

Apparently, mashed up avocado with a spoon is NOT better than plain old avocado that's only been cut into slices. Duly noted.

There goes the neighborhood!

The Little People family members don't quite know what's hit them. Dad is stuck in the bathroom, Shaq, for some reason, is in the bedroom with the Little People Mommy, Derek Fisher is chatting on the computer, and Kobe looks like he's literally robbed the cradle right away from the Little People Baby.

I think this must amount to some serious Little People Soap Opera material in Little People Land.

Natural Phenomena

I can imagine it's only going to get tougher to explain. Last night, a glass was sitting on the kitchen counter as the sun was going down, and a rainbow ended up being reflected onto the floor. Avery kept saying "What is it?" even though she knew it was a rainbow, as she recognized it and said "Rainbow!" immediately. I took the "What is it?" to be more of a "Why?" or "Where does it come from?" kind of a question, so I tried to explain it to her, and she just looked at me dumbfounded. Here are some pictures:

Welcome home to Auntie Jodi and Uncle Leo

Auntie Jodi and Uncle Leo are finally home from their year-long trip to Kazahkstan. They returned home yesterday and came to visit us today. Avery immediately sensed that Jodi would be willing to read her book after book, so she totally took advantage of it and found a spot on Jodi's lap for quite a while. They hit it off immediately and Avery spent the rest of the day making sure they didn't get too far away from her.


Later we headed to the in-laws' house for dinner and more fun. Leo found a friend in Avery because he had a huge arsenal of stickers from their visit to In-N-Out today (any Southern Californian will know that after having been out of the country for a year, In-N-Out is like #1 on your priority list of 'things to do'), and she must have gone through 30 stickers as the day progressed.


As usual, Avery got a lot of playtime in with her GramZ -- they pretended to blow bubbles, jumped on the bed, played with Avery's Little People Pirate Ship, and took a ride on Gerfy the Giraffe. Or is it Gaffy? Jerfy? Jaffy?




Welcome home Jodi and Leo!

Daddy Fun

"Mama, I'm pooped!"

Swimming with her pals

Avery went swimming with Soren and Curren today. Soren was more into playing with Avery than Curren was. Curren was too busy working on his tan, apparently. Avery took a little while to warm up to the pool idea with them because they're big splashers, but she got in eventually and had lots of fun :)



Later Avery and Curren chilled on the couch and Curren showed Avery just how pasty white she is. Get used to it, Avery. Mommy is uber-paranoid when it comes to the sun.

Well, today we practiced

doing some boy stuff to help prepare us if baby #2 is a boy.

First, I dressed Avery in some boy clothes that were hand-me-downs from a friend. As happens in the 100-degree weather, the bottom half of the outfit didn't last long.

Then we played with some 'vehicles.' First an airplane, then some cars. Avery even reminded me about the "vroom" sound.


Later we used the car to run into some stuff and make crash noises. I tried to incorporate more 'boy' stuff, so the things we ran into were a rubber snake, some "Bob the Builder" books, and this whiffle ball. The poor ball never had a chance.


Once we'd crashed and vroomed and kaboomed enough, we read a little about reptiles. This is actually something Avery enjoys, so it worked out well.


Once that was done we make a blanket fort out of some thick flannel sheets under Avery's crib. She wanted NO part of going underneath it. She did stop and think about it for half of a second though.


In the end, she gravitated back toward her true passion -- reading books about precious kittens. If she does have a brother, I fear they aren't going to play together much.

Better Fourth of July pictures

We did end up taking a few more, and we had a little more success. She wasn't quite as irritated with me, but she wasn't exactly hamming it up for the camera either.

Oh well!

Jed thinks this is funny...

But I don't!

Avery has started calling me "Allison." From across the house she'll yell "Awssin, Awssin!" Yes, it's cute, but I want to be "Mama, Mama!"

When she does it, I say "Mama" instead, so we'll see if this is short lived. With Jed egging it on, it's only going to get worse!

Results of today's photo shoot

I'm not quite sure that I'd consider it a success. On the bright side, we have several hours of daylight left, and naptime is just around the corner.

Ready to shop, mom!

Today we went to Ikea because they were having a sale and Avery needed something to help contain all the stuffed animals in her room. I am slowly creating a clothes-horse shopaholic, I tell you. We get within 1/2 a mile of Target and she says "We're here!"

Here she is ready to hit the road. I was hoping she would sleep. She didn't.


At Ikea we had to stop to take a few turns on the slide. Jacob and Vickie were with us, so Avery and Jacob got to do some sliding together.



Then Avery practiced being a pod person for a while.


When we got home, Vickie helped me put the tent together and we had a little indoor camping fun.

Newest cutenesses

Avery's newest silly things are to give 'knuckles' to everyone in sight. Basically it's just hitting her fist into yours and saying "yuckles!" Once you ask her about it, she typically has to do it with everyone in the room. This often includes strangers. Fortunately most strangers usually oblige.


The other is ducking under people's legs. Soon enough Avery's going to be a little taller and this will be a little weirder, so let's hope she grows bored of it quickly.

One lucky little granddaughter

Avery has very generous grandparents. In looking around her room today, as we're trying to complete it so that she'll be able to 'move in' soon, there aren't many things for her in that room that weren't purchased by Grammy Gigi or GramZ and PapaZ. I guess it works out to Avery's benefit to be the only grandchild on both sides of the family. Good thing she's still young enough to forget how much they spoiled her when she was the only one because that's going to change in just a few weeks!

Yesterday, Grammy Gigi took us shopping for some items to help complete Avery's big girl room. Grammy went a little crazy and Avery made out like a bandit. Here are the things we got:

1. A new dresser for Avery's room -- unfortunately it's not put together yet because, brace yourself Grammy Gigi, three pieces of wood were cracked! We have to call the manufacturer tomorrow as the paperwork inside the box says they'll ship you replacement pieces for free. Let's hope it works out like it's supposed to.


2. Fancy drawer knobs for the new dresser:


3. A new lamp to go on top of the new dresser. Avery calls it "heart light."


4. Storage baskets for the shelf units that house all of Avery's MANY MANY stuffed animals. Don't think for a second she doesn't notice when one is missing.


5. A shelf that can't be installed until the dresser is put together because it will go above it to hold, among other things...

6. The best item of all, this gorgeous fairy that is almost 12 inches tall, is hand painted, and I'm sure she's nothing short of totally magical in the eyes of a child.


Thank you SO MUCH Grammy Gigi!