Avery 2.0

Avery's Birthday started out with a
long story from Great Grandma

Now the only thing that could top my 1st birthday party would have to be my sweet super fun-filled 2nd birthday party!!! Here are some snapshots of the long festive day ...

Avery playing with her out-of-town Grandma ...

... and out-of-town Grandpa that came into
town just for my big party!!!

Then all my friends started to arrive and we all went crazy on my new "super-duper thingy thing".

Everyone was playing like mad,
like Nick and Shannon and Lilly and Will and ...

... even all the Mommies and Daddies as well!!!

Mathew zooming down the slide as
Nick and Avery made some tea for all ...

Everyone loved the tea break ... it was a big hit ...

... and then all the dancing on the deck and slide promenade!!!

Grandma and Great Grandma relaxing in the shade

Even my special friend Nikki came over to play!!!

I almost forgot about all the fun on the swings ...

... even Grandpa had fun on the swings as well!!!

And then there was a huge cake ...

... and more and more cake eating ...

... and then lots of neat new stuff to play with ...

And as the day started to close, it seems that there was one last stop of this jam-packed day ...

Horsey rides!!! Horsey rides!!! Horsey rides!!!

Time to end the birthday extravaganza
and put Avery to bed

This was truly the best day ever!!! Thanks Mommy and Daddy and everyone else that enjoyed the day with me!!! Here's even a video of all the cake eating that was going on ...

I love ...

... TRAINS!!!

They are all just sooo much fun and there are sooo many different kinds, such as ...

... trains you can build up and pull all around ...

... trains you can open and read like a book ...

... little wheeled trains that I can
carry with me wherever I go ...

... even huge trains that I can
walk through and play on ...

... trains that carry huge balloons and
ice cream for nice little girls ...

... and best of all, big powerful trains that
ride on tracks and take you to all sort of
amazing and wonderful places!!!

Why does Avery ...

... look just sooo ...

... extraordinarily happy ...

... in all of theses pictures???

Well, it's mostly due to the fact that Avery now has her very own clubhouse/slide/swing-set in her very own backyard!!! Let's call it her "Super-Duper Thingy-Thing"!!!

Avery preparing for a dive down the slide

Now the house-raising for such a "Super-Duper Thingy-Thing" was no small feat indeed ... it required discipline, a calm cool head, and a very stern voice at times to get my workers in gear to achieve my tasks at hand in a timely order.

First, there was the inventory of a million-plus parts ...

... then, the leveling of a smallish mountain ...

... additionally, my workers had some trouble reading instructions ...
thank goodness I was there to reign them in at time ...

... I may be smallish,
but I can get people moving when I need to ...

I even had Scrappy watch the site
overnight until all the keys were made ...

The finished product!!!

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day, Mommy!!!

It's been a really busy day today, so I only had time to quickly call Mommy on my cell phone to wish her Happy Mother's Day. I even called my grandmothers (and great grandma) ... here's a video of me on the phone.





For Mommy, I recited a poem on the phone I wrote. If you can't hear it in the video, here it is:

Avery Love
I love your touch, just oh so so much
I love your kisses, and their softness of such
I love your hair, and your sweet fragrant surround
I love your voice, as you help guide me all around
But most of all, I love you, Mommy!!!
Mommy, you are the best mommy all around!!!

Love Avery

When you get to the bottom you go back to the top ...

Avery and Shannon racing up to go down the slide

I went to the park with my BFF Shannon last week where we ran all around, kicked balls, climbed up stuff, and went really really fast down slides ... the coolest thing to do ever!!!

Avery is fast as Greased Lightning down the slide

Break time in the wagon for juice and cheeses

Here's even some video of me going really fast down the slide. There was about 10 hours of video, but I edited it down to my best runs.

You'll never guess ...

Take a wild guess what Avery is
doing in this picture ...

... wrong ... you'll never guess it
in a million years ...

You'll just have to watch the video to hear about the special trick Avery was attempting ... make sure to turn the volume up really loud.

Pink, Green, Yellow, Blue ...

Avery on the hunt (with Minnie Mouse) ...
for multi-colored eggs!!!

It was that easter-egg/bunny holiday weekend thing again and thus, just like last year, I had to go over to Grandma and Grandpa's house to find all of those funny colored eggs that mysteriously appeared all over their backyard. What would they do without me!??!?!

Avery on the trail, with Mommy close behind
to safely contain all the captured eggs

Avery taking a break in the shade with her
master egg sniffing companion, Scout-No

Watch as I carefully and quickly descend upon all these silly little colored eggs ... their primitive hiding skills are no match for me!!! Listen as I even call out each of the eggs by their color!!!

Happy Belated Birthday, Mommy!!!

Avery wishing Mommy a "Happy Birthday"
(from a few days ago)

Since Mommy was busy on her actual birthday, Daddy and I let her sleep in late all weekend.

Avery and Daddy letting Mommy
sleep-in over the weekend

Practice, practice, practice ...

Even on the days where I can't make it out to the barn, I'm still able to get some riding time at home as well on my backup horse, Mr. Stick ...

Three little birds ...

Avery's latest new neighbors

It's been such a treat lately to wake up each morning hearing my new little friends singing me such lovely little songs. I don't know when their Mommy built up the nest or even when they all hatched, but I just love those little birdies oh so much and want to keep them forever. It reminds me of these lyrics from one of my favorite songs ....

"Rise up this mornin',
Smiled with the risin' sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,Sayin', "This is my message to you-ou-ou:"

Singin': "Don't worry 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."
Singin': "Don't worry (don't worry) 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!""

But as much fun as the last few weeks have been, I can tell they are all ready to "fly the coop", so to speak. Bye bye little birds ... come back to visit me anytime!!!

Avery's little birdies all grown up
and preparing to fly away

Most annoying toy ever ...

... NOT!!!

This is my new favorite of all my favorite toys that I just love love love ... but Daddy likes to call it my "most annoying toy ever". You be the judge ... and make sure to turn the volume all the way up so you can enjoy it just like I do!!!

It's not really that scary ...

Avery suddenly realizing she is
"out on a limb", literally

... really it isn't. I've seen Shannon do this a million times now and nothing horrible ever happens to her, right? I mean since she's older than me by a few months and everything, following her lead can't be that wrong, right???

Shannon giving Avery a bit of encouragement,
in the form of a push

A bit of bravery on my end and a good friend's help made this the best "first time swinging" experience possible (it really was and I even smiled a few times, except no one caught a picture of it). Maybe I'll be lucky enough the have a neat swing in my backyard when I'm 2 years old as well!!!

Things I get to do ...

... when Mommy is away for days on end and Daddy is left "in charge".

I get to stand on chairs with sharp coloring utensils

I get to eat Macaroni n' Cheese for
breakfast, lunch, and dinner

I get to run around the house
in Mommy's flip flops

I even get to play my music as loud as I want and climb up as high as I can while dancing around the house ...



And most important of all, I get to run and play with the dogs, as wildly as I can. Watch how much fun we all have ...



And then when the day is finally over, I get to do what all big grown-up kids get to do ...

I get to take a shower all by myself!!!

B is for ...

... brownies!!!

Avery making a batch of brownies ...

... and testing the goodness as she goes!!!

Sooooo bored lately ...

I've been really really bored around the house these last few weeks and I think it's mostly due to not seeing my good friend Nikki in a while. Normally all throughout the week my good friend Nikki comes over to play with me all day long (when Mommy and Daddy are busy doing stupid stuff like working or whatever). Well, I guess I can be overwhelming at times since Nikki needed a long vacation from me and thus, life just hasn't been the same. I've even been trying to pass the time by playing with the same stuff that Nikki and I play with, but it's just not the same ...

Avery playing dress-up (or rather dress-down)
in her special crown that Nikki made with her ...

... Avery busy shopping around the house in
her stylish handbags that Nikki made with her...

... Avery trying to play arts n' crafts with Scout-No
(but Scout-No is NO replacement for Nikki) ...

... Avery telling stories on her Magic Story Board
(but Nikki does it much much better) ...

... Avery waiting for a letter from Nikki on her vacation
at her mailbox (that Nikki helped her make) ...

... some other pretty things that
Nikki helped Avery make ...

... Nikki is the best friend a little girl
like me would every want ...

Nikki, I can't wait until you get back!!!

C is for ...

... cookies!!!!

Avery making cookies ...

... Avery eating cookies!!!