Imagine That

Just a few pics from a weekend w/ Nonna and Poppa. Imagine that?

And...guess who is actually holding down the pedal WHILE steering (AND smiling!) Yes, she IS a genious! ;)

Fun at the Zoo

Last weekend, we went to the zoo. Avery has never been and it was on my list of things to do in the Spring. This weather is too great to not get out and enjoy it! It was a perfect 73 degress, with a slight breeze and sunny skies!

Avery enjoyed the zoo and was so well behaved the whole time - no meltdowns! It was such a fun afternoon and I think there will be many trips in our future! Here are some of the way too many pictures I took.

A Day at the Park!

One nice, Spring Saturday, we headed out to a local park. Avery loves the park but, of course, HATES to leave! It seems like if I take her alone, she is not afraid to have a full meltdown during the leaving process, but if daddy is there, she tends to suck it up and only lets a few tears fall during the walk to the car. It is amazing the different way she handles things, depending on who is there! We are loving this Spring weather and trying to soak it all in before its too hot to breathe outside. Believe me, it will be here before ya know it!

"No time for pictures mom, let's go over there!"

Avery w/ her best friend - Daddy!

Swinging always starts out calm, and I was hoping she would enjoy it if daddy was doing the pushing, but...

It ALWAYS ends badly! Somewhere between sitting and pushing and swinging, something scares her every time!

We had such a fun time at the park and here she is sucking it up and making that terrible trip back to the car!

Bunnies and such...

As I admitted in an earlier post, I kept adding to Avery's Easter list. I definitely stopped BEFORE the LelliKelly's though! ;) Here is her little assortment of goodies from us. I decided Easter would be the holiday when she gets a Disney DVD, so we can build a collection. This Easter we started with Lion King, Little Mermaid, Cinderella & Beauty and the Beast. We haven't watched Cinderella yet, but she LOVES the other ones!

She loved the Easter bunny!

She found her bunny early, so I just let her have it!

Real bunnies at Jami's....we opted NOT to buy one! ;)

She got a ton of cute stuff from Nonna and Poppa and Charlie's family too. I never got a final picture, but add to this a kite, another dress, a swimsuit and bucket loads of candy and eggs - you get the idea!

Easter Egg Hunt!

Okay - I know what you’re thinking. Yes, I disappeared again! I think around holidays I have so many pictures to sort through, upload, edit, etc. that I get overwhelmed and tend to procrastinate. Yuck. What an ugly word. Or I could blame it on work being crazy these last few weeks and there is NO time in the evenings for blogging. But have no fear, fellow blog buddies, I am taking some ‘me-time’ (a.k.a. Avery’s naptime) to catch  y’all up on what’s been going on! I am scheduling 12, yes TWELVE, posts as we speak so I can mark the blogging chore (did I just admit that?) off my list until May! Does blogging ever feel like a chore to you? I used to really enjoy it but lately its just another thing on my long ‘list’. But its something I definitely don’t want to give up since this is basically the scrapbook of Avery’s precious little life. Lord knows, I hope she appreciates all of this one day! But if not, when I’m old and gray, I’m sure I will! It’s also time for another bloggy book - I really need to add that to the top of my list! Okay, enough rambling, on w/ the real post!

After going to church on Easter Sunday, we changed into the backup Easter dress for egg hunting at Granny’s. Charlie’s family has always had a huge egg hunt because they’ve always had tons of little ones around. Avery really enjoyed it and I didn’t even have to ‘teach’ her. She knew she wanted some of those bright eggs in her basket!

Happy Easter...

Photo credit to Jami Ainsworth

Saturday Morning Muffins

Last Saturday morning we had a big day ahead...a trip to Nonna and Poppa's house, of course! But, there's always time for muffin making with my favorite two year old, right? I decided it would be quicker and safer on the floor than the counter! So the fun began...

...Avery carefully studied each ingredient 

(oh this was pre-bathtime, please excuse the bed-head!)

She even got to pour in the oil (with a little help from mama)

She didn't really understand the whole 'cracking' the egg part. Instead she just threw them in and I would scoop them out and crack them :)

Stirring was her favorite thing to do. Just after I snapped this picture that spoon moved towards her mouth and I let out a "NOOO!!!" All I could think of was raw egg! 

After that little incident, she had to pout, of course. Because she's two me saying "NO!" equals, well, this:

After the momentary meltdown passed, she decided to come back to help. She carefully placed each blueberry in one at a time...

Until I realized that could take 20 minutes and showed her the art of dumping!

More stirring, a few minutes in the oven and voila -

!

 Saturday morning muffins!