Thanksgiving 2011

We've been so busy getting ready for Christmas that we haven't had a chance to share the details of all the fun we had over Thanksgiving. We spent Thanksgiving with Meme and Pa and were joined by our good friends Heather and Luke. The weather was beautiful on Thanksgiving Day which gave the kids an opportunity to play "soccer ball" outside. As you can see, dress shoes don't hold Avery back a bit!
The nice day also gave me an opportunity to capture some photos of two very busy little kids.
This is my favorite. Doesn't this look like a toddler engagement portrait???

Avery and Luke shared snacks while enjoying an episode of Winnie the Pooh.

Wait a second, should I be worried that this was a date?!?!?

On black Friday, we ventured over to Bass Pro Shops to visit Santa. Avery couldn't wait to tell Santa that she wanted a Rapunzel dress and a sled. Her visit with Santa has officially gotten Avery extremely excited about Christmas. December is going to be a fun month with lots of good memories!

First Trip to the Fox

Today, Avery experienced an Atlanta rite of passage: she saw her very first show at the Fox Theatre. The Fox originated as a 1920s movie palace and is now a unique venue for movies, Broadway shows and concerts. It's also where Greg took me on our second date so it really holds a special place in my heart!

Today, we saw the premier of "The Elf on the Shelf: An Elf's Story" the animated version of the Elf on the Shelf book. The movie included the experience of a winter wonderland complete with snow, Santa's workshop, hot cocoa and live elves!

As you can tell from her "concentration face," Avery was really into the crafts in Santa's Workshop.

Ornament decorating was not to be outdone by cookie decorating (and eating).

Despite looking like she's scowling in the photo, the highlight of Avery's day was touching a real live elf! Avery can't wait for an elf to come live at our house in the weeks before Christmas. I can't wait either as our elf will report any bad behavior straight to Santa at the North Pole!

Fabulous Prizes!

Big news in our household: Avery has now graduated from pull-ups to panties. Miss Avery just loves picking out what panties she's going to wear for the day. The problem is she just doesn't love keeping the same pair clean and dry all day long. After two weeks of 1-2 accidents a day, to enourage her to use the potty every time, we implemented a reward system where at the end of the day, if she has no accidents, Avery gets to choose a prize from a bag o' prizes. I mostly hit the $1 aisle at Target to stock the bag, but the goodies do include DVDs and art supplies. Avery was immediately keen to the new reward system and earned a prize the first day we started.
For her first prize, Avery chose a Rudolph watercolor book. She just loves anything art related and got busy immediately painting. This photo perfectly captures her "concentration face" with her tongue sticking out of her mouth.

Hopefully the prizes will be incentive enough to keep Avery on track at school when we are not around to remind her to use the potty. If not, I will just keep the "Charlie Brown Christmas" DVD all to myself. No one has to know!

Trick or Treat

This year, we celebrated Halloween with a trip to the Georgia Aquarium. Luckily, Cinderella's friend Minnie Mouse was available to join us for the day. Can there be anything sweeter than two little girls holding hands?

Avery hadn't been to the aquarium since just after her first birthday, so this was a much different trip for her. She enjoyed learning about tropical fish on the touchscreens and as a special treat, got to see the new dolphin show from seats so close we got splashed!

Unfortunately, Avery got sick in the wee hours of Halloween morning and couldn't go to school. She missed wearing her Cinderella costume to the fall festival, which was a huge disappointment. After she napped most of the afternoon, she decided she felt well enough to get dressed up and do a little trick-or-treating.

After a few treats and another viewing of "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" our little princess called it a night. We hope your Halloween was filled with more treats than tricks!

Fall Visitors

While Greg and the dogs were away on thier 10-day upland bird hunting odessey, Meme and Pa came for a weekend visit. Their timing couldn't have been better! I was sick all week with a cold/sinus infection so really appreciated help entertaining Avery...though sometimes I am not sure who entertained who!

Meme and Pa sure spoiled us both. I got a pot of Dad's Famous Chili while Avery scored a pink Disney princess coat, a new fall outfit, and lots and lots of attention. We are lucky girls!

Disney on Ice: Dare to Dream

I treated Avery to her very first ice show spectacular this weekend: Disney Dare to Dream. The show featured some of Avery's favorite princesses, Tiana, Cinderella, and Rapunzel, and was MC'd by Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy. This show was right up Avery's DVR play list!

Unfortunately, to even get to the show, I had to dose myself heavily on cold medicine and we had to brave some horrible Falcons game day traffic, but that was soon forgotten when the show began and Avery smiled and shrieked with pure delight. She was engrossed in every moment and knew every character by name. When it ended, she announced she wanted to watch it again. Fortunately for my credit card, she settled on going to have some lunch instead.

Here's a photo of Avery in her ensemble. It's only fitting to wear a princesss dress to a show about princesses!

And here's a self-portrait: Avery looks good. I don't. But clearly, this isn't about me.

After the show, we met up with one of Avery's former daycare classmates and her mom and grandma for a late lunch. Avery was thrilled to see her friend, Naomi. We were so disappointed these guys moved over the summer!

Of course, such an exciting day can really wear an aspiring princess out. Miss Avery "dared to dream" before we even hit the downtown connector!

Fall Afternoon at Yahoo Farm

October is my most favorite month, and I love to spend it doing as many fall activities as I can. Of course, that includes a family trip to the pumpkin patch. This year, we checked out Yahoo Farm for the first time. It did not disappoint!

We skipped the corn maze and hay ride in favor of having a seat on the largest pumpkin we've ever seen!

Who needs to shoot corn out of a cannon when you can take advantage of photo ops like these?

The highlight of the afternoon was definitely a ride on Milky Way. As you can see, Avery takes her pony-riding quite seriously.

What a great afternoon at the farm! Next up: decorating those pumpkins we picked out!