Countdown to Two!

As time ticks down to Avery's 2nd birthday, I thought I'd take a minute to reflect on her HUGE personality as a 1 year old.  This kid never fails to amaze me and constantly keeps me on my toes.  She is loving, caring, sweet, mischievous, dramatic, funny and energetic all rolled into a small 28 pound package.  We're still waiting for her big growth spurt, her genes just don't allow for the skinny kid with size 5 shoes that she is!  But what she lacks in size, she makes up for in hair and personality!  Avery has been very lucky in her first 2 years of life, she's been at home with Mommy, Daddy or Nana (& Grandma), and as such, has become a bit... well, spoiled.  She doesn't feel the need to speak the English language, for her subjects must learn to speak Avery and demands are requested with a simple point and "uh" followed by "pease."  I'm thinking the Avery language has a Dutch/German influence, because she is fond of the Dutch flemmy "ckkk" sound.  My favorite of these is snack, "nackkk."  Just this week she started calling us Daddy and Mommy instead of Dada and Mama, which we LOVE!  Our favorite activity at home is our dance parties, as Avery leads us to the dance floor (the space in front of the iPod doc) and shows us how to really get down!  She loves to entertain and keeps me laughing with her antics and endless silly faces.  She loves to give back rubs and  gives the biggest hugs and sweetest kisses.

My little Avery Albertine is truly one of a kind and I couldn't be more proud to call her mine. :)

At the park with Daddy

Being the "Cutest Girl in all the Land"

At the M's season opener.

Avery got to take home the foul ball that came right for our heads!

Hugs for buddy Alena.

Playing in the sand.

"Chucky face" has come back in full force.

Not always a happy baby.

Crazy Girl!

Maybe she's trying to stay a "baby" for Mommy.  She thinks her old bassinet is fun to pretend to nap in.

Helping Mommy with her birthday banner.

"Nackkk" (snack) time!

Appropriate for her upcoming 2nd birthday, Avery's favorite number is 2.  Whenever she has 2 of anything she throws them up and says "two!"  She calls her "bitty blankies" "Two" (because she has 2 of them), and is working hard at conforming her hands into the 2 sign.  In just 7 days our lives will be all about 2, as Avery rolls in the beginning of age 2 and hopefully not too much more terrible 2's...

Happy Easter

We started Easter off with a visit to the Easter Bunny. Avery has seen the bunny many times at the mall and always blows kisses and waves hi to him. Same thing when we went to take

pictures... until I set her on his lap...Amazingly, she was back to kisses, waving and saying "Love You" immediately after this shot too. We had a photo shoot at home too.

Easter weekend we went down to Olympia to celebrate Aunt Jess' birthday and hang out with the family for Easter. Avery got lots of cousin time in and thinks Braden & Nolan's house is really cool because they have tons of cool toys, including the very fun box fort. :)

After hanging with the Hunt clan Saturday night, Sunday morning we all went to church. Avery loved the singing and when the choir was done she belted "ta-da." We then went to Sarah & Charlie's house for a delicious Easter Brunch and fun in the sun.

After brunch we put a very tired girl in the truck and headed up to Kent for the Hermans Easter celebration. Avery got to swing in the sun and play in the yard.

And got to search for eggs in the same yard with all the same great hiding places that Mommy did as a kid. She did great, in fact, we had to re-hide them since she wanted to keep going.

After dinner we stripped Avery of her pretty dress and let her run wild in the yard. I think this outfit was a bigger hit than her dress!

So cute, her game with Daddy, running arms open back and forth for a big hug.

This is why I didn't get Avery an Easter basket - she got 5 others!

Thank you to all of our family who gave us a very great Easter, we feel truly blessed. And Mother Nature helped out too with a gorgeous Spring weekend!

Happy Birthday Oma!

Today we are wishing my Oma a very Happy 85th Birthday! We got to celebrate with her on Sunday.

Here's Avery helping Oma open her gifts.My Oma is a very special person. She's the person I admire most in life, for her unfailing kindness, strength to overcome adversity, determination, compassion, wisdom, humility, humor, spunk and love for her family. Born March 28, 1927, as Albertine Louise Dom, now known as "Bertie" Hermans, she is Avery's middle namesake and I believe the inspiration of Avery's spirited personality. My Oma has lived a life worth writing a book about, and through all the hardships she has faced, she has always remained the most loving, caring person I've ever met. I am so fortunate to have grown up with my Oma and Opa as a big part of my life and now Avery gets to have them in her life too.

Today Oma, as with almost every day, we celebrate the amazing woman you are and the inspirational life you have led over the past 85 years. Happy Birthday!

Mini Me

I cannot even begin to describe in words how much I love the little girl that Avery has turned into recently. She is still my little stinker, and boy can she voice her opinion when she's not happy, but she has become such a caring, compassionate, loving, attentive, fun little girl!

I've noticed her Mommy-isms have increased, and I have to laugh at the Mini-Jenn running around the condo. This past week I've been sick with a horrible cold. Not only was Avery there to wipe my nose for me with her Boogie Wipes, she followed me to the bathroom and blew her nose with me, went to the bathroom for medicine when Mommy touched her sore head, made Mommy a bed on the couch and insisted I lay in it. She's shed light into some of my habits and it makes me laugh: when the phone rings she says "ugh," she tucks baby into her crib and closes the door behind her saying "bye-bye, luv ou" & blows kisses, she pats me on the back when I give her hugs, she's very tidy and loves to help Mommy dust - complete with holding the Pledge can between her legs... I could go on all day.

We had a mini-photo shoot in our parking lot on a rainy day last week in preparation for her upcoming 2nd birthday party. Wow, where did my baby go?
It makes me sad to look at Avery and know she's no longer a baby - time went way too fast. But I find myself loving and admiring this kid more and more every day. Mijn Tinje (my little Albertine) you are truly the love of my life. You keep me laughing with your clown-like humor, you dry my tears with your caring heart, and amaze me with the amount of knowledge you already possess in your 2 years of life.

Outback Kangaroo Farm

We visited Grandma & Papa for Papa's birthday and got to play with cousins Braden and Nolan and Aunt Jess. We wanted to reward Avery for a very successful week with no bottles, so we decided to visit the Outback Kangaroo Farm in Arlington.

We got to feed and pet Wallabies.

The kids had fun with Papa & Grandma.

These are all the animals we saw.

Daddy got up close and personal with a Llama.

And we got to hold a 6 month old baby Kangaroo!

Avery had lots of fun playing with her cousins. They even had a dance party with strobe lights & all in Grandma & Papa's room.

Thanks for another fun weekend with the Hunt family!

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.