undressing...

Avery has figured out how to take her shirt off and she can successfully put it on occasionally. She has yet to figure out the pant situation, which is absolutely fine with me. The longer she keeps her pants and diapers on the longer we avoid the infamous finger painting that I have heard countless stories of.

I just wanted to show you all Avery's newest jacket! We found it at Fred Meyers on sale! It is perfect for an Alaskan summer. She also insisted on getting a pair of pink bunny ears that she then refused to take off. The checker just scanned her head.

sweepy head

After fighting her nap all day Avery finally passed out in her Daddy's lap. She has a big day tomorrow. She has a play date in the morning and then Grandpa is picking her up for the rest of the day and she will stay overnight. Sam and I are headed out for dinner and a movie :)

18 month STATS

Avery is 18 months old. One and a half! Crazy! Our new doctor seems awesome. Finally, one I really like! Avery did alright. She was only due for one shot so we decided to just hold off until 24 months since she has such a terrible attitude about doctors and doctor offices in general. She was still shy of the 20 lb mark weighing in at 19lbs 1oz and she was 30.25 inches long. Still no concerns about her weight, but we are going back in 3 months instead of 6 months to make sure she is staying on track.

Newest Accomplishments:

• She will sit and color for breif periods
• Can say the word "poop" and will tell me if she has gone if I ask. She also pooped in the big potty last week. I took a picture, but will spare you all. We are definitely not potty training...just messing around with it a bit. I think she will be ready in the next couple months.
• She is talking a little more every day. She said "banana" and "snow" the other day. She also hums the word "Wilson". That makes her word count about 18.

• She also DOES NOT stop moving. She is a wiggle machine and cannot sit still.

We also came across Kidz Bop this weekend. It is current hip hop music, but kid friendly and sung by kids. Avery LOVES it. She loves music and dancing and is seriously lacking in the appropriate music. (hint hint...lol)

Happy Birthday Cazzie!
We miss and love you very much :)

Avery and I had a taste or two of this yummy casserole at a Moms Club get together the other day. Just wanted to share.

Hash Brown Casserole:

• 1 bag hash browns
  
• 6 eggs
• 1 large can diced green chilies
  
• 1 can enchilada sauce
• 1 package sausage cooked and chopped
• 1 package bacon cooked and chopped up
• salt and pepper
• 1 bag cheddar cheese (about 4 cups)

Get a big bowl and mix it all up (mix half the cheese inside). Put in casserole dish and put the other half of the cheese on top. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.

reindeer or caribou?

Believe it or not they are the same species. The ones that live in the wild just tend to be bigger because they have to be to survive. Other than that they are the same thing. I already knew that, but was a tidbit of information we learned this weekend.

We headed north to Palmer and visited the Reindeer Farm. Avery had fun and it was neat to get swarmed by 20 or more reindeer at one time because we had the goodies! There was also a moose named Denali and a buffalo named Dolly. Denali was sweet and took a banana and broccoli from me, but Dolly was not as motivated to come say hi.

This was Denali being nosy and wanting some more banana.

This was the pushiest of the reindeer.


Dolly the buffalo.

Silliness

I am convinced that most kids are just weirdos. I am not judging. I am sure I was and still am. It is just an observation. This kid of ours makes me laugh so much. She is just getting to be that little weirdo.

Avery playing with the mixing bowl.



She thought it was hilarious to run around with two carrots in her mouth. In fact she is sitting in my lap at the moment cracking up at herself in this photo.

Yesterday, I took Avery to this church playgroup because I had been in contact with a nice lady who lead me in the direction of the Mom's group in town. It was a handful of grandma's with their grand kids. Avery had fun. There just weren't any kids her age.

Today, Avery and I are heading up to Wasilla to hang out with Lillian, Amanda and Sonny.

I was skimming through some old videos yesterday and came across this one that was taken exactly a year ago today. She is just too stinking cute.

Avery is fine. She is teething again and having a heck of time. She is basically a grump and runs around chewing on her blanket. She has started to say "night, night" and she also said "nana" for banana yesterday.

Sam is currently undergoing a baptism by fire. He was left to run the practice this week and has been working with small animals for only a brief month now. All seems to be going well. He has been very busy this week.

I joined a Mom's group in Eagle River and met up with them on Monday. There are quite a few kids Avery's age. The group meets up quite a bit and I think it will be good for both Avery and I. I am going to make myself go to at least 3 functions a month!

pacifier removal is a SUCCESS!

Hip, Hip, Hooray!

I was really ready for a fight, but she totally surprised us. She has gone down for naps and bed without a problem and has even woken in the middle of the night a couple of times and went back to sleep without us even checking on her. I think it is easier for her because she isn't fumbling around her crib at night looking for the darn thing. She was getting pretty obsessed with the thing in the recent past. We are very glad she is done with it. Good Job Avery!

Iditarod 39

Today we ventured to Anchorage to see the Iditarod start. It was cold. We ducked out after seeing a hand full of teams start and then headed to lunch at the Mooses Tooth. It was delish as usual. We also drove up to the Glen Alps parking lot for the heck of it and then we headed home.

Video of a team running by.

They always start in Anchorage and then restart from Wasilla the next day. The start from today is ceremonial and does not actually figure into the the overall time to Nome.

Avery=Horder

For the past couple of months I have noticed Avery collecting things and stashing them. Sometimes she will put her collection under a table or in a chair, but recently the dog crate has become her favorite nook. Seriously, I have to empty out the dog crate at least once a day. She collects things from all over the house. Keys, shoes, clothes, food, toys, you name it and it will end up in her stash. Now I have been known to be a "pile-er" as Sam says. I do not know how the heck something like this behavior is heritable, but maybe it is simply not my fault. It must be in my DNA.

Avery proud of her collection.

she has no idea :(

Poor cute Avery has no idea that starting tomorrow morning all of her precious pacifiers are being collected and hidden away for good. Cold turkey is the only way I think that I am capable of doing this. I know I will give in if I try and wean her slowly and I have tried cutting the tip off. That simply made for one seriously pissed off 12 month old. I chose a Friday in case she decides to scream all night. Hopefully, she will simply forget. Out of sight, out of mind...right? Why am I doing this? The pacifier has no longer become a soothing tool. If she wants to scream she simply screams with it in her mouth and as of late she has become obsessed with the thing when we had had it just for naps, sleep and car rides. Wish us luck.

I love my Skhoop skirt!

It was not even 10 minutes after my arrival to Alaska when I saw a woman wearing one of these insulated skirts and I knew I MUST have one. It is basically a jacket for your legs. Wonderful! I searched all the name brands trying to find these insulated skirts, but failed. North Face and Patagonia are missing out big on this. The Anchorage stores are sold out and I was totally bummed, but I was able to find out the name brand: Skhoop. It is Scandinavian and made in Sweden, but it just so turns out that the distributor lives in downtown Anchorage and we were able to order one offline. I freaking love the thing! They are on the pricey side (thanks Mom for understanding my NEED for fashionable outer wear and funding this), but if you live somewhere cold it is totally a must have. I just put it on over some long underwear and wham I am dressed for the day :)

I have the long original one, but will be in the market for a mid length one next year. Maybe a cute print or color and I definatly need to get some cute long johns to wear underneath. It is so functional! I will be wearing this thing regularly for the rest of my life.

Did someone say slumber party?

This past weekend Lillian was staying at my parents. Amanda had a big event in Anchorage for the charity she is involved with and Sonny is at work. My mom was on call Sunday morning and my dad was taking a test for his volunteer firefighting. So Avery and I went and stayed the night to be backup sitters in case Kooka got called into work Sunday morning. Avery had lots of fun playing with Lillian. They played, ate and even did a bit of coloring.

Avery attempting to give Lillian a kiss. Lillian wanted nothing to do with it.

March already?

We found this AWESOME little park less than two miles from us. There are some serious sledding hills and a couple great sets of playground equipment (one for tots and another for older kids). There are also courts and baseball fields! Avery might not look like she is enjoying herself, but the following day when we went back to this park she threw a fit until I figured out she wanted to bounce on the teeter bouncy thing-a-mi-jig.

Tasha and Wilson are also enjoying the snow. The both love bounding through the deep snow. Tasha just looks funny doing it because she is much shorter than Wilson.

All is well, Sam's AK license to practice has finally been issued. The state is even going to issue a refund for the temporary license since it never was issued. Avery and I have been keeping ourselves busy. The story time at the library seems to be popular. There are also a few other things I am going to check out. There is a Kindermusik program, some tot class at a dance/karate studio and maybe some swimming (I have yet to call the pool).

This weekend we are going to make an effort to get to Anchorage and attend a few Fur Rendezvous events. The question is: Will we brave the crowds? The Iditarod starts this weekend.

We are excited for next month. The temperature should start to rise in the next couple of weeks! Olivia and Jan are visiting AK for 10 days and then towards the end of the month Gigi and Grandpa Rick are coming!