Bye-Bye Bottles

At our Pediatrician's recommendation, we decided to take Avery off bottles, cold turkey. This has been a tough subject for us since Avery is on the skinny side and has always been very attached to her bottles, drinking them throughout the day. We did some prep work this weekend before pulling the plug. We took her to Barnes & Noble to pick out a Bye-Bye Bottle book and Daddy took her to the store to pick out new sippy cups.Then we said bye-bye bottles and had Avery throw them in the trash. She very willingly tossed them all out and said "bye-bye" to them. When she asks for "ba-ba" now, we remind her that she threw them out because big girls don't use bottles.

So far so good, she's eating great and enjoying her big girl sippies and cups. The first night at 2AM we endured an hour of bottle breakdown, but Mommy's water cup seemed to satisfy her thirst. I'm elated to announce that after almost a week of no bottles, we have a very happy little girl! She now eats more than she's eaten in her whole life and enjoys it and is now happy all the time! Avery is sweet, affectionate, silly and energetic. I'm absolutely infatuated with the new little girl she has become.

How did my little baby grow up so fast already? Can this pretty little girl be my tiny baby?Don't grow up too fast my sweet baby girl, Mommy has a hard time letting go.

Mommy's Birthday Week

Last week I celebrated my 31st birthday. We started the weekend off with the Husky basketball game with Grandma & Grandpa. Avery was in full Husky cheer mode.We had a great time at the game.

Avery loves Harry the Husky, but doesn't like him to get too close.Monday was my actual birthday and I got to spend the day working from home (like all Mondays) with a sweet, and sleepy girl. When Daddy got home from work we went down to Kent for dinner. Avery got all dressed up for the occasion, even wearing her fancy jewels.And thought the flowers Daddy got Mommy were very cool.This last Saturday Avery spent the night at Nana & Opa's and Andy and I got to check out a new club in Bellevue, Blue Martini. We had a great night with friends and enjoyed some quiet time without the Princess, but we couldn't wait to see her on Sunday!

Thank you to everyone who helped me celebrate my birthday!

Happy Heart Day

Here are our favorite pictures from our Cupid photo shoot. I have too much fun with this little cutie. :)

Watch out for Avery's Cupid arrows, she'll consume your heart. We love you with with all our hearts sweet girl!

Weekend in Whistler

We had a fun-filled 4-day weekend in Whistler as a family the 2nd week of February. Fearing the 4 1/2 hour drive with a high maintenance toddler, we decided to give in 3 months early and turn Avery's car seat around. We are all loving it! Avery's "oooh's" kept us smiling and she finally gets to watch movies! We had 2 very successful drives!

Dinner in the village the first night, it was delicious!
Saturday Andy and I went skiing on Blackcomb and Avery endured her very first day in daycare! The 2 ladies watching the kids were very sweet and took good care of our little princess. We were totally amazed we didn't get a page to come pick her up. Skiing conditions left a bit to be desired, Whistler is low on snow and visibility was very poor. I thank my lucky stars to have such a patient, understanding and encouraging ski coach for a husband, he is truly amazing on the mountain!

Avery was so happy to see us at the end of the day she was dancing and running around like a mad woman.To warm up, we all hit the hot tub at the condos.
Mommy forgot to pack Avery's swim diapers and we ended up with a diaper explosion!Our friends Ambreen, Raceen and their sweet baby Sienna came into town that night in time for a late dinner. The boys hit the mountain Sunday and had a great time. I was glad Andy had someone at his advanced level to ski with.And us girls hit the village for some shopping and playing!Ambreen and Raceen cooked us a delicious dinner Sunday night and the girls played. Avery was sweet with Sienna; very concerned with her runny nose, but still has some only child tenancies to work on. ;)
We enjoyed the village a little longer before we headed back home on Monday and lucked out with a beautiful day!Whistler is an amazing place. Only 4 1/2 hours away, but with all the Australian employees, and European visitors makes you feel half a world away. Thanks for more great memories Whistler, we can't wait to come back!

Little Miss Avery

Avery has turned into such a little girl, and does all the things that a little Mommy does.

Santa finally delivered her kitchen, 5 weeks late. And his elves were on holiday so Mommy spent a good 3 hours putting it together. The finished product:

Avery loves her kitchen!

And got a new stroller for her babies that she loves to roll around the house.

Feeding baby "num, nums."

And sometimes she's the baby in the stroller too. Silly girl.

My sweet Avery, stop growing so fast!

It Aint Easy Being This Cute!

There's no better way to share Avery's daily antics than going through the pictures on my phone. This kid is just so darn cute!!! Here is the life of Avery as told through my phone in the last month or so. Oh, and Avery also knows how to work my phone completely, in fact, she's taught me a few things!

This is what happens when we fight a nap all day.

During the Alamo Bowl, Avery got to play with her friend Vail. Avery taught Vail some naughty tricks and they ended up having quite the water fight.Avery loves brushing her teeth.Playing at Carillon Park. It was cold that day, but she thought she was tough.Then she chased the ducks with her dirty knees and butt.Hot tub night at home. To keep warm on our way to the hot tub, we put Avery in one of her snow suits from last year.Bathing beauty! She loves the water.Avery is still a little peanut, but there are 2 categories this kid is very advanced in: hair and teeth. At Daddy's request, I did french braid pigtails. I can't believe the hair on this kid!Swinging at Nana & Opa's. She loves to swing and thinks it's cool to be a daredevil with no hands.Cruising in Nana's car in the driveway after Opa got it all clean.Avery's still got some baby in her. Aside from diapers and crying, she still clings to bottles throughout the day. Since milk makes up majority of the food intake she will tolerate, we're having a hard time weaning her off of them.Avery got a fancy laptop for Christmas from Auntie Di.And likes it so much she won't share it with Mommy or Daddy.Last weekend Avery hung out with Nana and Opa while Mommy and Daddy got some skiing in at Crystal Mt.And got a visit with Auntie Nan and Grote Oma.And nights when Daddy works late we make him a video on Mommy's phone to say Goodnight. They are so cute, she really works the camera.

How could this sweet, silly, adorable girl not keep a smile on your face?!