Halloween 2008

Nana and Avery ready to go!

Already tired, Avery and Jameson, the cowboy...

Still tired, Avery and  Nathan, the hobo...

Feeling up to more Trick-or-Treating!

On Halloween, we had my family and a few friends over for appetizers and then we took the kids out trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. It was amazing how quickly Avery caught on to the concept. She had so much fun but couldn't quite understand why we don't get to do that everyday. When she woke up the next morning, she said, "Outside, tick-treat!" 

Who's Having More Fun?

So on Friday afternoon, Ben started to clean up the mounds of leaves in our front yard. He had Avery out there "helping him", but as it normally goes, Ben and Avery ended up playing and throwing leaves rather than cleaning them up! I couldn't figure out if Ben or Avery was having more fun? :)

Carving Pumpkins

Last Thursday night we decided to finally carve our pumpkins. That was interesting. We let Ave clean out her own pumpkin, which I don't know if she liked so much. Too dirty! But she was cute, and after the pumpkins were carved and the seeds all over the house, Avery was painted orange from head to toe!

"I a 'Dee'"

Yesterday, our playgroup had a halloween party for the kids. They all got dressed up and got to play, color and trick-or-treat. They all had so much fun. Avery was so cute, when you would ask her was she was, she would proudly say "I a 'Dee'". 

Ketchup...Please?

I don't know what the deal is with kids and ketchup, but my Avery caught the bug. We went out to lunch on Sunday after church and she was eating ketchup with her potato wedges. But the next thing we knew she had a spoon scooping up the ketchup! The funniest part was that she was so proud of herself for using the spoon. 

'Fall'ing for You

Today was the first day in so long Avery was able to play outside. Her and I were both thrilled! It was the perfect day at about 60 degrees, the wind was down and the sun was out! She was having so much fun throwing the leaves in the air and crunching them with her feet. Everyday I am reminded how truly blessed we are to have her and to share in all of her joy! Her laughter is contagious. 

Bounce!

I know it has been a while since I have posted new updates. Last week I had all four of my wisdom teeth extracted. I have to admit, it was quite a bit more painful and recovery was much harder than I expected. But now, a week and a half later, I am much better and almost 100%! 

It seems as though everyday Ave has new words and much more to say! Some of her new favorite words are 'tractor', 'elmo', 'daddy' rather than 'dada', 'kitty' and 'baby'. Yesterday I took her to Bounce with a few our of friends from playgroup and she had a blast! The first time we took her, she had a hard time keeping her balance but now she is an old pro and I can hardly keep up!

More Pictures from the Corn Maize

GO, GO, GO little duck!

Racing duckies, so much fun!

Avery coming out of the tunnel.

Ben  and Ave on the cow train.

The Corn Maize

Ben & Avery, Peyton & Jameson, Mario & Ben

Dads' Turn!

Me and Ave getting ready to go!

Ben & Ave in the corn box...so serious!

Avery, Jameson & Ben

Ave is so outnumbered!

On Saturday, we went to the Corn Maize and had a blast! Ave absolutely loved it, but I think Ben had the most fun of all! Must be a country thing, he felt right at home with all that hay. We rode on the cow train, which was Ave's favorite, everytime she would see it she would say, "choo-choo, moo". We played in the corn box and the hay jump and left extremely dirty!

1st Trip to the Dentist

 

Examining her new toothbrush

Showing her pretty teeth

Today I took Avery to her very first dentist appointment. She did okay...well, besides screaming hysterically when the doctor tried to look in her mouth. I figure she'll eventually get used to that. But she really liked his assistant and loved getting to pick out a new toothbrush and a toy! And now the rest of the day, she has shown EVERYONE her teeth and she will say "teeths, pretty" like they are some big, new discovery! 

Ave...18 Months!

This is a picture in Avery's favorite boots! She can barely walk in them but always wants to wear them anyway! 

Yesterday, we took Ave to her 18 month checkup and she was great! She is extremely healthy and at the top of the charts in language and social development! It is so exciting to see how she is developing so quickly. She weighed 26 lbs and was 32 inches tall. 

She has so many new words we have lost track. She is repeating everything, good and bad! :) Some of her new words are 'keys', 'monkey', 'snack', 'cookie', 'Harley', 'Papa', 'bowl', 'spoon', 'fork', and 'truck'. There are too many to list but each new word is so exciting!

Air Force Ball 2008

            If your wondering why Mario's leaning to the left...look at all those medals!!!

On Saturday night Ben and I went to the AF Ball. Military events are always interesting and highly entertaining. But it is great for us to get dressed up and have a nice dinner, which rarely happens with out Ketchup in your hair and sticky fingers marking up the back of your shirt! :) We went with Mario and Jen and had a great time!

These Days...

Avery has so many new words these days and so many funny new things. She loves animals and knows what they all say and do. She's definitely our little monkey and you can see she is quite the climber. I snapped this picture before she got in trouble for standing on her toy chest! Ave is getting so big and getting an even bigger personality. She thinks everything she does is so cute and SO funny! 

She's Quite the Chef!

A couple of weeks ago we got Ave a kitchen set. I have never seen her use her imagination quite like she does when she is "cooking". It has been so amazing to watch her because you don't always realize that she is watching everything. She will salt things or blow on the food and say 'hot'. It is so hilarious to just sit and watch how she interprets the things we do everyday. 

The Carousel

Enjoying Daddy's ice cream...

Ben & Avery and Mario & Ben

Getting ready to go!

   Everytime we went around, she would wave at everyone.

On our way back from Fairmont we stopped in Helena and took Avery to the Carousel. She was so cute, absolutely couldn't believe we got to ride on the animals! When the ride was over, she waved to the horse and gave it a big kiss. She is so precious! 

And Ben's dad (Dada) would be thrilled to know that her favorite part was the ice cream!

Fairmont Hot Springs

     Ben & Avery coming down the waterslide

Priceless smiles! 

Sure is Sunny!

              Ben and Avery having a serious conversation...I always wonder what they have to say that is so important?

Over Labor Day weekend we went to Fairmont Hot Springs with the Kuhns to enjoy the last of our summer. We had so much fun swimming, more swimming and really, we did a lot of swimming! It was so much fun to see how much Ave enjoyed it. Her very first vacation was there when she was three months old, so it was incredible to see the differences in her over the past year.