Oreo Video

Avery was so happy to be riding Oreo, and here's a little video of her first ride.

"I did it all by myself!"

"I did it all by myself" seemed to be the phrase of the weekend.  It's always so rewarding to watch Avery do something by herself, especially when she has as much excitement about doing it as I do.  This weekend she did just that...all weekend long.  It started with breakfast.  There isn't a meal in our house that doesn't have the stamp of two-year old hands in some fashion, and that extended to Nana's house.  Avery and Nana made pancakes, and they were delicious, possibly even more so because I wasn't the one to clean up the mess that a two-year old makes when cooking.

 After breakfast, we made a visit to Avery's newest cousin, Jillian.  Avery really hasn't been around very many newborns, so we were curious to see how she handled the situation.  She is very maternal to all of her dolls, especially Paci Baby, but we still weren't sure what she would think of a real baby.  The answer: she adored Jillian...so much so that I didn't even get a chance to absorb some of that new baby wonderfulness!

 Avery sat and held that baby for almost an hour.  It was so sweet to see her "taking care" of that baby.  Every time Jillian would make a noise or move, Avery would check to make sure she was ok.  She was so proud of herself too...that big smile didn't leave her face until we told her that it was time to go.  On the way back to Nana and Papa's house, all she talked about was how she was holding that baby all by herself!

After a busy morning and a refreshing nap, Avery got to experience another first that has been at the top of her list of things to accomplish...a ride on Oreo.  We are so lucky to have the opportunity to let Avery experience all of these fantastic activities that are every little girl's dream.

Nana is giving Avery a little safety lesson on how to approach a horse and to talk softly, which is quite a feat for Avery, as she is her father's daughter.

Showing her how to get on Oreo...

Avery's not quite tall enough to get her foot in there. 

Up and running...

She loved it!  She's a lucky girl!

And once again, she was so excited when she got done that she ran over to tell Jeremy and me that she "did it all by herself!"  So cute!

A Visit with Mimi and Annie

 This weekend we made a trip to KC to visit Mimi and Annie before they headed back to Florida.  I'm pretty sure that I've said this before, but I'm always surprised at how much Avery loves her Mimi.  We spent the day just hanging out with Mimi and Annie...

 ...looking at pictures...

...heading to lunch...

 ...napping...

 ...playing with Annie...

Annie was a little rough, but we made a quick recovery!

Thanks to Mimi for putting up with us all day.  We had a great time.

Busy Weekend

 We started our weekend of travel at Nana and Papa's house where Avery insisted upon feeding Oreo, as usual.  That little pony is the first thing that Avery talks about when she finds out we're headed to Clinton...she is obsessed.  Luckily for Avery, Nana always has some carrots on hand to feed to Oreo, as well as the other two horses.

We then headed to Republic to celebrate Mason's first birthday party.  This was our first trip to Republic, and  we had a great time.  Avery has really started to interact with other kids separate from adults (which is a new thing for her), and it's so cute to watch her have a little conversation with other kids.  Skyler has a very outgoing personality, so he was eager to show Avery around the house and play with her outside.  They were so cute together.  Thank you to Cody, Tasha, Skyler and Mason for sharing the day with us.

 Heading down the hippo water slide...in her clothes!

After the party in Republic, we took a different route back home and stopped at the Lake for a quick visit with Great Grandpa and GG.  We are always so happy to see them.  While we were there, GG gave Avery a present...a tea set, and Oral gave Avery a table and chair set.  So, Avery and GG had a little tea party.

Another Trip to the Zoo

Our trip to the zoo for Mother's Day was such a success that we knew we would have to make a couple more trips to the zoo this year.  Jeremy and I hadn't really decided on a time to do this when out of the blue Avery just asked if we could go to the zoo to see some animals.  Jeremy had taken a couple of days off work to spend time with us, so we decided to use that time to do something that Avery wanted to do, especially since she is getting to the age where she can really express those desires.

The first thing that Avery wanted to see was the elephants.  I'm not sure why, but she is absolutely obsessed with them.  Luckily for us, the elephants were right inside the entrance to the zoo, so that was our first stop.

We saw so many animals, and Avery just loved to run ahead to see what was next.

We had a great time watching her recognize the animals and seeing the excitement she had at each new animal.

We planned our visit to the penguin habitat to coincide with a feeding.  It was so much fun to watch the penguins, and Avery loved the fact that they were so close to us.  It was cold in the penguin exhibit, but luckily we remembered a jacket for Avery, and it was a welcomed relief from the heat for Jeremy.

 Avery was so cute climbing on all of the fences so she could see the animals...zebras, camels, deer and several that I couldn't even identify.