Happy Birthday ~ 2 Years Old

Two years ago our lives were blessed with this sweet active little girl. We waited for three years and are so blessed to have her in our lives. Avery is always moving and going and she doesn't stop until she crashes. Even her nap and bed times she stays up and plays till she just cant keep her eyes open. She has reached the terrible twos and some day's she makes me want to pull my hair out or at least wear ear plugs with the amount of screaming and shrieking she does when she doesn't get her way. :p But she is also a cuddle bug who loves to have you play with her and give her loves.

  At 2 years old Avery's favorite things are: 

Play time with her cousins Parker and Andrew

 Reading

  Playing in her pool

 Daddy 

My little ponies

 Playing outside

Yo gabba gabba

 going for walks

Umi zoomie

Animals

Tayo

Coloring

 Going for rides in her car seat

Thomas the train

shopping

 Exercising with her daddy

And lots more

Some of the things she is scared of.

She is currently afraid of swings and slides, we think she might be gaining a heights phobia but we aren't sure.

Grumpy's "noisy" This is any of his tools that make noise. His saw, lawn mower, weed whacker, etc.

She still doesn't like the vacuum when it's on. She can tolerate it when it's off, just not on. :p

Some of the new things she is doing:

She is now sleeping a big girl bed. A few weeks ago we made the switch but kept her crib in her room in case we needed to switch back. She made the transition like a champ, her crib is now sitting in storage with the rest of our stuff and she loves her big girl bed. 

Next we are going to get her to go to sleep without her bottle and then eventually start thinking about potty training. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AVERY MAE! 

Summer Daze

I hope everyone is enjoying their summers so far. With school officially out for everyone (at least it seems) the fun days of summer start. As I am sitting here writing this all the windows in the house are wide open. I can feel a gentle breeze and hear crickets chirping. I really love summer and all it's sights, sounds, smells. Just wonderful! Well I wanted to share a little with you about what we have been doing.

 We have celebrated birthdays

 Played int he pool (A LOT)

  Gone for walks and Avery learned how to throw rocks in this pond

 Enjoyed delicious snacks

  I got to introduce Avery to an Asian drink that I use to drink quite a bit on my mission in the Philippines. There they called it Zagu.

 Avery found her own little cozy "nook" to nestle down in. Its in the front closet where we keep all the blankets.

 We used edible "paint" to color our hot dog buns for lunch

 and we have done crafts. So far it has been a fun filled summer and we cant see what else we get to do.

Growing up to fast

Last weekend I had the chance to do a little spring cleaning in Avery's room. I went through her clothes and boxed up clothes that were either for winter or to small. Same with her shoes. Then I finally finished her closet doors by painting them and adding doorknobs. Also finished her bookshelf. Went through all her toys and boxed up, threw away and "D.I.'d" quite a few of them. Then we completely rearranged her room to make way for a big girl bed. Saturday Avery and i had gone shopping. I let her pick out some new sheets and a new teddy bear to go with her bed. At first I thought I would just put the bed in her room so she would get use to it and then we would try and have her sleep in it. Well after I got her room put back together with her new big girl bed completely made. Avery was so excited that I thought we could try that night and see if she would sleep in it.

 (Avery and her new teddy bear)
Everything seemed to go really well at first, but around midnight we heard Avery crying at first it was a normal cry but then it turned into a terrified shriek. I went into her room and found her just laying in bed crying her eyes were still closed and she appeared to still be asleep. I pulled her into my arms and tried to talk to her and sooth her but she just kept crying. James came in to see what was going on and when I started to tell him all this she finally opened her eyes, she was still crying and looking at us with a confused expression. After awhile her shrieks and crying died down to just whimpers. I took her into our room and she snuggled in between James and I. We watched our movie thinking she would just settle down and go back to sleep. She was exhausted but she was trying hard to keep herself awake. After our movie ended and it was close to 3AM I decided to try putting her back in her crib. I had to move her whole entourage (seriously this girl sleeps with her own herd of stuffed animals) back into her crib with her and then after more hugs and kisses she cried and whimpered just a little bit before she fell fast asleep finally. Sunday she had nap time in her crib. But I think I found the problem. The night light we had for her just wasn't working. So after getting her a better night light we put her back in her big girl bed Sunday night. We did have to go back in a few times to coax her back into bed and lay down. But she did it, the whole night in her big girl bed as well as nap time on Monday too. This whole week she has had no problems sleeping in her big girl bed at night and for her naps. HOORAY! So we are thinking of taking this weekend to saying farewell to her crib and making more room for her birthday present that she will be getting soon. :) I am so grateful and feel so blessed with this whole experience. I have been praying like crazy this whole week that this transition would go well and that Avery would adjust to this new change and be ok with it. Heavenly Father has really blessed us in that and I am so grateful for these blessings. This whole week though I have seen Avery in a different light. My baby is growing up. Where I use to see a cute baby, I know see a little girl growing so fast and getting so big. She amazes me everyday with how smart she is. I just love her so much.

Summer Bucketlist

So I realized that I never posted our spring and summer bucket list. So here it is a little late but never the less it has been done. :) It's a little long.

Spring/Summer Bucket list

Outside movie

Drive in movie

Fireworks 

S’Mores

Camping

Hiking

Splash Park

Zoo

Dinosaur Park

Library

State Fair

Parade

Sleep Outside

Herb garden

Go to the playground at Perry Park

Take walks

Watch a sunset

Lagoon

Make at least 2 crafts (maybe 3)

Enjoy a rainstorm (be in it)

Kiss in the rain

Loose 10llbs

Go for a bike ride

Date Nights just Mommy and Daddy

Jump in a puddle

Pick Flowers

Fly a Kite

Play with lady bugs

Blow Bubbles

Water Fight

Chalk Art

Go fishing

Run in sprinklers

Feed the Ducks

Picnic

Cloud watching

Water color

BBQ

Berries (eat,pick, whatever just get them in my life)

Farmers Market

Make homemade ice cream

Snow Cones

Swimming

Play date with Deacon

Read 5 books (kris)

Concert in the park

Movie at the park

Go see the trains (twice)

Perform 2 (or more) random acts of kindness

Frozen yogurt or ice cream night

Wash car 

Eat cotton candy, funnel cake and a caramel apple

Puppet show

Build a blanket fort

Paint rocks

Visit a lake

Tie dye shirts

Mini golf

Baseball game (bee’s and raptors)

Visit grandma and grandpa earl

Dance party

Update a room

Make a recipe from pinterest at least 1 a week

Glow stick activities (glowsticks balloons, etc.)

Pudding finger paint

Homemade fruit leather

Service project

Board game night

Video game night

Visit a museum 

Roll down a hillside

Play in a river

Visit a state landmark

Learn to sew

Go bowling

Eat at a local restaurant (not a franchise)

Stargaze

Share a favorite childhood movie 

Paint a craft with Avery

Paint a piece of furniture

Visit a historical site

Leave nice notes on cars

Make flavored ice cubes

Teddy bear picnic/ tea party

Make Popsicle's

Go to a garage sale

Make a craft from pinterest

Family Movie night

Rodeo
Make suckers

Go to Western Heritage Center

Go to Moab/Monticello Visit Arches