It is spring!

The weather is warming up! The trees are even starting to show signs of life. Avery and I have started to head over to the park a couple miles away and lately our trips have been lasting well over an hour. The slide is definitely her favorite and she will go down it over and over and over. We take the dogs with us. That way Wilson and Tasha get a chance to run their brains out for the day. We met a little boy just 10 days older than Avery today. His name is Dean and he was with his Grandmother. I got some much needed information about the area we live in! I have located the local dog park (somewhat of a local secret). I also have been told I must go to the Rural Discount store, apparently there are some great deals. She also gave me the time and location of a great playgroup only a mile from our house. Avery will give that a try next Wednesday morning!

Sam has been really busy with work and will be getting even busier. The practice is going to be resuming emergency call starting in May. Sam loathes emergency call. His bosses are heading out of town for about 3 weeks of May and Sam will be running the show.

I have been keeping busy with the MOMS group I have joined and just registered for a 1/2 marathon. It will be June 18th. It is the Mayor's Marathon. I have challenged my Dad to run it with me so it should be fun. 13.1 miles! I have to start running now! I need to get out of my 3 mile loop rut. My jogging stroller will arrive this weekend along with my in-laws, Paige and Rick. They are awesome enough to have gone and dug it out of our storage unit in Fort Collins and are flying it up with them. YAY!!!

Avery will get to hang out with her Gigi and Grandpa Rick for about 4 days this weekend! She has been in a great mood these last couple of days so I am praying that it will continue on through the weekend and their visit. Happy Avery is just so much more fun than cranky Avery and I want them to get to enjoy her silliness!

Anyhoo. I cannot believe it is already May next week! Avery is getting so big. I can't wait until I head a silly little sentence come out of her mouth. Or maybe even get to pull her hair into a pony tail. Soon enough :)

sweet tooth...

Avery digging into Kooka's birthday Moose Pie

I was a total believer that this trait was environmental. I no longer believe that. I will admit that I love dessert and sweets and have for as long as I can remember, but I don't buy candy and rarely buy ice cream these days. Somehow, Avery figured out what candy and desserts were! Seriously, the kid hears you crunch a mint from across the house and she is on top of it. She will race across the house and throw down like no other because she is convinced you have candy. It is ridiculous!

Avery had a busy/fussier week. Her top canines are coming in at a painfully slow rate, but 1 is just barely through and the other shouldn't be too far behind. I hope we have a break before the final four decide to make their appearance. Hair should be coming any day now. I know that it will happen fast and she has A LOT more hair than she did last fall, but still not quite enough to pull up into a pony tail or pig tails...soon I hope :)

I taught my kid to fart on command...whoops

She is attempting to toot.

So I happen to laugh when she toots and she decided it was funny too. Sam wants me to stop laughing, but it is so hard not to. She farts on purpose and then laughs at herself. Seriously cute. I will try to get a better video with more toots, but this is all I have for the moment. She needs to let the gas build back up ;) Turn up your volume.

another virus :(

Avery picked up what appears to be Roseola. The poor kid has had a fever of 103.5ish all weekend (before drugs), but it was still hovering around 100 with the fever reducers on board. She was tired and uncomfortable and whinier than I have ever seen her. I was patient and the fever was down to 101.6 this morning without drugs. I took her to the doctor because I wanted her ears looked at in case (knock on wood, but she has yet to have an ear infection) and she was still sporting a mild fever on day 4. I was in the middle of telling the doctor that she has no rash and no other symptoms when she pulled up Avery's shirt to show a brand new beautiful rash all over Avery's torso. Avery's fever was down to 99 something at this point and apparently this virus is known for exactly this. The rash shows up AFTER the fever breaks. She was brighter today, but totally milking it. We had a fight going to bed tonight because all weekend she was in bed with us and she was determined to move into our room for the night again.

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.