Just another rainy day

January brought a lot of rainy days to Georgia. Most of them were mild, giving us a perfect opportunity to jump in a few rain puddles.

I just love this photo of Avery suspended in air, pre-splash. That's the look of pure joy on her face!

Avery couldn't believe I let her get so wet and muddy. Her rain boots were literally filled with muddy water and her white socks were brown! It was all well worth the fun she had, and of course the photo op!

Happy Third Birthday

It’s hard to believe that my 6 lb. 3 oz. baby girl turned 3 yesterday. At three years old, Avery talks a mile a minute, knows every Disney Princess by name, can beat both Greg and me at the Memory match game, and can survive on a diet of chicken nuggets and Spaghettio’s alone. I am amazed every day that my tiny baby girl has grown into a little girl with a big personality. When did that happen?!?!

We celebrated Avery’s birthday on Saturday by having friends and family over for a princess-themed birthday party. We even had a surprise guest - Princess Rapunzel! Rapunzel did a fantastic job entertaining the kids with face painting, nail painting, temporary tattoos, balloon animals and a magic show. Avery was so enamored with her special guest that she wouldn’t smile for the camera. What else is new?

In other news, Avery’s big birthday gift from Mommy and Daddy was a bedroom make-over. I was a little sad to see the crib go, but Avery seems to love her new big girl bed. Who wouldn’t like sleeping on pink sheets under a horsey comforter?

The birthday celebration culminated with Averytaking cupcakes to school to share with her friends and a birthday dinner at Johnny’s Pizza. Happy 3rd birthday to my special little girl!

Sketti and Meatballs

I’m the mother of a picky eater and it's all my fault! While I have a fairly broad dietary repertoire now, my own mother is quick to note that I wasn’t always this way. Clearly Avery’s preference for frozen chicken nuggets, Kraft powder-cheese macaroni, and plain Spaghettio’s is just karma thumbing its nose back at me. I have tried everything I can think of to get Avery to try new foods, including but not limited to bribery, guilt, and deception. This weekend, I pulled out my last tactic: involving her in the dinner preparation. I read that kids that help prepare dinner are more likely to try (and like) what they made. So, we pulled Avery’s step stool up to the counter and got to work making spaghetti and meatballs for the crock-pot.

Avery helped me measure and pour salt, pepper, mozzarella cheese, breadcrumbs and garlic into the bowl for the meatballs. She got her hands dirty and “helped” form the meatballs. Next she helped me assemble the tomato sauce, serving as the official stirrer. Finally, we placed our meatballs back in the sauce to cook in the crock-pot today. Avery did a great job listening to instructions and seemed to have fun.

The test came at dinnertime tonight. I fixed us all plates of spaghetti and meatballs which set off a moderate tantrum (Avery, not Greg). My tactic wasn't working. After laying out a compelling bribe, Avery tried her dinner. The result:


She ate a few strands of spaghetti, a pea-sized piece of meatball, and all her beans and strawberries. SIGH. I owe my mother a HUGE apology for my youth.

Happy 2012!

Keeping with an annual tradition, we got together with a group of friends for a cabin trip to ring in the New Year. We switched up the venue this year from the Smokey Mountains to Lake Hartwell which was a big success. This year’s cabin crew included: Allyson, John, Elizabeth (5 ½ ), Tera, Lee, Andrew (3 ½), Will (21 months), Heather, Luke (2 ½) and of course our family. Avery really enjoyed having so many friends to play with!

Playing Headbanz with the big kids.

Making necklaces with Elizabeth and Andrew.

Movie time!

Of course, the adults enjoyed having friends to play with, too, and shared many good laughs. On that note, cabin trip 2011 will be forever remembered by:
· John’s commandeering of the Brew Jeans coozie. Even wet jeans can keep a beer cold.
· The owner’s incessant notes about the cabin dictating the obvious. When we really had a question about how to use the lock or DVD player, we were on our own.
· Wii Just Dance 3. Who knew that a dance-off could be so entertaining, and further, that Lee would claim victory?
· After he was put to bed, we spied Luke peeking around the corner from the stairs. When he realized he’d been discovered, he hightailed it back to bed before Heather could catch him.
· Other honorable mentions include “soccer boy,” the pencil sharpener incident, “speaking of oysters” and Greg tweaking on DayQuil. Maybe you just had to be there.

Needless to say, a fun cabin trip was had by all. Happy 2012!