Christmas Eve

For Christmas 2010*, we hosted our friends for a Christmas Eve dinner. My friend's dad took this video of my mom and I singing to Avery.  Please note the strange looks on my face is not because I'm not enjoying things (I look rather disgusted), but because I was trying so darn hard to remember the lyrics. 

*You know you're behind in your blogging when you have to reference the YEAR of a holiday event!

Dance class

I signed Avery up to take a dance class at a community center.  I had to since she had been asking for me to sign her up for months.  She absolutely loves it.  I shot some video of the class last week and assembled the most interesting bits.  Enjoy!

Dance Class from Megan Smith on Vimeo.

The Performer

We've long known we have a little dancer on our hands (or did you forget about this video?)  However, it's now become clear that Avery loves performing all around.  In the evenings when we're sitting in the living room before bed, she'll announce she's going to sing us a song.  Then she'll pull up a chair or find something to use as a platform, grab her eukalele, and say, "This song is about ..." and then make up a song.

Dancing, though, remains her favorite form of performance.  When we go to the grocery store, she finds the spot in the produce section where the floor has a patch in it unlike the rest of the floor, then she'll stand on it and dance.  Let me tell you, when we hit New Seasons on senior discount day, she's got the attention of all those senior lady shoppers!

I assembled some video bits from this summer of Avery's dancing and performing.  Pardon the not-so-great videography.  While she loves to perform, knowing the camera is on her often distracts her from the task at hand, so I have to be somewhat stealth about it sometimes.

The Performer from Megan Smith on Vimeo.

Daddy Daughter Camping Trip

Avery stands in our newly erected tent

This weekend Avery and I went on a daddy daughter camping trip with 10 other dads and 11 other little girls. Big thanks to Matt O. for arranging everything - it was awesome.

It was the first time either I or Avery had been camping in the US. So, armed with a brand new tent, brand new sleeping bags, brand new camping chairs and a bunch of food and drink, we headed down to Silver Falls State Park near Salem, OR.

Our first job was to set up the tent. Avery was very helpful and also very proud of the result. I would like to point out that the Mike's Hard Lemonade outside the tent was mine not Avery's :)

All the girls together

Next we got all the girls lined up for a quick group shot. Notice that Avery already has a plate and is busy tucking into some special camping hard boiled eggs.

Luckily one of the dads had stopped at the dollar store on the way to the camp ground and bought a whole bunch of watercolor paint sets, so we had a group activity to keep the girls busy while the experienced campers got the fire started.

And finally it was time to cook some hot dogs and s'mores over an open fire. I'm sure mommy will do a much better job of editing these later, but here are some unedited videos of Avery cooking hot dogs and enjoying her first ever s'more.

  

Avery Making Dinner

Avery Eating S'mores

After dinner the dads tried to put their respective daughters to bed with varying degrees of success. Avery was good at first, but then unzipped the tent and sat outside until I came back. In the end we both fell asleep in the tent together. Just before falling asleep Avery announced "What a great day!"

The next day Avery put on her hiking shoes and her favorite green polka dot top and we went hiking to see the North Waterfall. Here are a couple of pics from our trek. 

Ready, Set, Go!

Ready, Set, Go! This is Avery's current favorite phrase.  She gets ready, says the phrase, then runs as fast as she can.  It was a great way to get her to and from the pool while we were in Mexico.  It was also what she shouted as our plane was going down the runway for take off during one of our flights.  That definitely got a chuckle from a lot of the other passengers. 

Speaking of Mexico, we're recently back from two weeks there.  Avery had a great time, particularly since Nain (Megan's mom; pronounced "nine"; it's Welsh for grandmother) joined us.  Nain is much more into walks where you stop and examine things.  And Nain loves the beach.  I do not love the beach.  So almost every morning, Avery and Nain would take the short walk down to the beach to play in the sand and see what new things they could discover.

Our friends Christie & Henry joined us in Mexico for the first week of the trip.  Christie is an amazing photographer, so I didn't even attempt to compete with that and took virtually no pictures.  However, fear not!  You can just look at Christie's pictures!



While not in a league of photography skills with Christie's photos, my mom and I did snap a few pictures, so here are some of those.   FYI, Damian didn't join us until the last weekend, so there are few pictures of him.  I've also posted some pictures from a recent zoo outing and some dog walks.

Avery is fearless in the water and can swim with her vest on without assistance.

On the boat heading out to a white sand beach for a few hours.

View of dolphins from the boat

Nain, Avery, and Megan

Christie & Henry and Megan & Avery

Dog walk!

The zoo!

I forgot to bring a baby doll for Avery, so she started to use the camera tripod and pretend it was her baby.  She'd wrap it up in the ducky towel, then take it to each person and ask if we'd like to hold baby.  It was so darn cute!

Date Night Video

I must be in a video editing mood lately.  Here's another video of Elise and Avery on a recent date night (when Elise's parents were out on a date while we babysat Elise and Nolan).


Avery and Elise from Megan Smith on Vimeo.

Avery's Adventures Episode 4

Another video compilation of recent activities.


Avery's Adventures - Episode 4 from Megan Smith on Vimeo.

States

OK, I finally got a rendition of Avery singing the 50 States song.  It's not the best picture quality since I got it at the end of some video of us playing another game together, but you get the gist.  Please excuse the untied pants and dirty shirt. :)

In this version, she remembers 33 states and skips 17.  She has, at one point or another, sang all of the states, but never gotten (that I've noticed) all 50 in one rendition.  What seems to happen is that she commits a block of them to memory and sings those over and over for a while, then she'll work on another block and sometimes leave the previously learned block out.  Then she'll eventually add the dropped block.  This cycle is continuing, so maybe she'll do all 50 in a few months?  Who knows.  No matter the number she misses, I am so proud!


50 States (well, 33) from Megan Smith on Vimeo.

Swimming in Mexico

I finally put together a video of Avery swimming in Mexico.

Swimming in Mexico from Megan Smith on Vimeo.

Dinosaurs

With the beautiful weather in Portland lately, Avery and I have been doing many outdoor activities, including hikes with friends.  Today we went on a hike in the morning through the Hoyt Arboretum, then on our daily dog hike on the trail by our house and through the cemetery, and finally on a tricycling trip around the neighborhood.  It's going to be tough when the usual rainy weather returns.

During this morning's hike, someone suggested to the kids that there were probably dinosaurs in the forest (anything to get the kids moving!)  All three of them grabbed onto this idea and went in search of dinosaurs.  When we stumbled upon an observation deck along the trail, the kids wasted no time in calling for the hiding dinosaurs to make an appearance. 

Dinosaurs! from Megan Smith on Vimeo.

So You Think You Can Dance

Avery likes music.  Actually, that is an understatement.  She absolutely loves music. She has signed for music from a young age.  Now she can say the word music and even ask for specific artists (e.g. "more Kylie" and "Michael Jackson").  She loves to listen to it, but she also loves to dance to it.  So, with much prompting from Amber*, I present Avery's latest video montage: So You Think You Can Dance!

So You Think You Can Dance from Megan Smith on Vimeo.

*Amber: you have not one, but two video clips to prove her raise the roof abilities, tyvm

She Walks!

Long time, no blog! Sorry about that. It's 11:40 PM, so this is going to be a brief one. I still need to do a post about our wonderful visit with Avery's birth family, but that needs to be when I have more time. For now I'm just posting a video of Avery's first steps.  She walked solo for the first time today.  She did not take one step, but six.  And it was more like running.  And she didn't fall, but rather stopped on her own.  I got a partial video of our next attempt.  Again, she took 6-8 steps, but this time she fell.  Following these two sets of 6 steps, she had no interest in attempting solo walking again.  We'll, of course, be trying first thing tomorrow morning!


Avery Walks! from Megan Smith on Vimeo.

Avery's Adventures Episode 3

Avery's Adventures Episode 3 from Megan Smith on Vimeo.

Avery's Adventures Episode 2

I think the opening shot looks so much like she's an actor in a sitcom.  I kept hearing the theme to Full House in my head when I watched it.  Enjoy!

Avery's Adventures - Episode 2 from Megan Smith on Vimeo.

Avery's Adventures Episode 1

We went to the park today where Avery was able to try out the swings for the first time.  It was a bit chilly, but Avery didn't seem to mind that in the least.  The video below contains some footage of that trip, as well as some other short clips.

I thought it wasn't possible for quite some time, but both D and I agree that Avery seems to understand all the meanings of the word "change."  She's been doing the change sign for quite some time now (it looks like she's disco dancing).  It has also seemed for quite some time the she knows it means things other than just change her diaper, which was the intent of the sign. She does the change sign when she wants to change clothes or change the situation she's in or change her diaper.  When she wants her diaper changed, she does the change sign and points at her diaper;  when she wants to change clothes or take off her coat, she does the change sign and then grabs the clothes to put on or tugs at what she wants to come off;  when she wants to change a situation (e.g. get out of the high chair, stroller or car seat) she also does the change sign.  It's amazing to me that babies can pick up on this stuff!
In terms of new signs, she's got the sign for "ball" down, as well as "bath."  She's also come up with her own sign for brushing her teeth.  This is a definite welcome change since she used to fight us when we'd attempt to brush her teeth.  Now she asks to do it.

Finally, her eating is getting much better.  She absolutely loves pasta with sauce - and she insists on eating it with a fork.  If the pasta falls off the fork, she picks it up and puts it back in the bowl to try again. She's also eating bananas and apple slices.  I still haven't gotten her to eat more colorful fruit, but we'll get there I'm sure.  In the mornings, she no longer wants us to feed her the yogurt, so we put her in the highchair and give her a spoon and she does it herself.  It's by no means a clean effort, but she does get a surprising amount into her mouth.


Avery's Adventures - Episode 1 from Megan Smith on Vimeo.

Clips

It's been awhile since I've posted - sorry about that!  I haven't taken many pictures lately because the battery was dead on the camera and I kept forgetting to recharge it.  I finally recharged it yesterday, so my obsessive picture taking can resume.

In the meantime, I do have a video with three unrelated clips.  First, Avery sings to the dial tone; next, she plays with Daddy's hat while we were in Mexico; and finally, she opens one of her Christmas presents.

Dial tone, hat, and presents from Megan Smith on Vimeo.

Some bullet points on fun things she's started doing:

• Avery uses the "help" sign and the "dog" sign with pointing to tell me when I should let the dogs in.  She can see from her high chair when Turtle and/or Eddie are standing at the glass patio door.  In case I can't see them, she lets me know when they are standing there and ready to come in. 
• The "bath" sign has finally sunk in.  This one took a while to stick.  She'll randomly ask to go upstairs to take a bath during the day.  
• When we go on walks with the dogs lately, she holds Eddie's leash from her perch in the backpack.  I grab the leash lower down in case Eddie tugs.  Avery does a really good at holding the leash for most of the walk.  Today she dropped it maybe three times?  That's pretty darn good.  If it's not too cold, I let her eat a cracker during the walk.  She has never dropped one and just munches while we walk.  When we get back, there's always one last piece clutched in her palm.  Pretty impressive considering it's a 30-45 minute walk.
• She's wanting to walk holding my fingers more often now.  She actually has really good balance, she just doesn't trust herself to let go.  I have yet to see her try to stand without holding onto something.
• She's getting into everything.  If there is a drawer, she will open it. 
• Music is her favorite.  She is constantly asking me to turn on the music by doing her little dance move.  She loves Latin music.
• I called her a little monkey the other day and she repeated "monkey."  Only once, though.  She hasn't said it again.
• This morning, she refused to let me feed her the yogurt.  She wanted to do it herself.  She did a pretty good job considering it was really runny yogurt. She'll also eat mac and cheese with a spoon or fork.  Again, it's not exactly neat, but she does get a surprising amount into her mouth.  The dogs happily clean up the rest.

Headstand

We've had a busy few weeks since getting back from Mexico, but things are calming down a bit.

On Monday, we had a long playdate with Elise while E's mom got some packing done.  Elise and Avery love to play together and I love to watch them.  Sure there's the cuteness factor of babies/toddlers playing with each other; but it's also fascinating.  When they were playing up in Avery's room, they pulled out two of the mesh bins, put them on the floor, emptied their contents, then proceeded to climb into the baskets, then out, then in, then out - all the while giggling.  When Avery's nap time rolled around, I pulled the Pack N Play into Avery's room and put Elise down to nap in that.  I left the room and they started a full on giggle fit.  For about 20 minutes, I listened to chatter interspersed with giggles interspersed with squeals.  Towards the end of the day, I decided to dress Avery in a similar outfit to Elise and to put Elise's hair up like I do Avery's.  The video below has a clip of their twins look while sitting on the metal chair in the living room.

Tonight, as we were playing with Avery before bed, D helped her do a handstand.  She loved it.  Once upright again, she immediately did the help sign and we said, "Help with what?"  She got into downward dog position to indicate she wanted to do the headstand again.  Her doing this a couple of times is also in the video below.


Headstand, bass, playing with friends from Megan Smith on Vimeo.

Happy Birthday, Avery!

Today is Avery's first birthday! Thinking about it, I guess it's technically her second since, you know, she was actually born on this day a year ago - her BIRTH day. Anyway, I digress. It's been a wonderful year. Parenthood has exceeded my wildest expectations and brought me joy I hadn't known before.

Thank you, Avery! Happy Birthday! Daddy and I love you!

FYI - The video is 9 minutes and 43 seconds

Avery Year One from Megan Smith on Vimeo.

Helpful

Today's lesson: laundry *can* be fun!  Avery will push the laundry hamper (with some help from me to keep it on track and keep focus) all the way from the laundry room to our bedroom.  She babbled the whole time and walked most of the way versus crawling on her knees.  Since Daddy is working from home today, she was even able to go into his office and show him her new helpful attitude.

Avery's walking often with her walker toy now.  Here's a little video of that.

Walker Toy from Megan Smith on Vimeo.

I let Avery play with my old laptop today.  This isn't a good idea, as I quickly found out, since within 30 seconds, she'd broken off the letter F.  However, it did give me a good opportunity to capture her saying, "uh oh." 

Uh oh from Megan Smith on Vimeo.

Seattle Children's Museum

When we were in Seattle to get Avery's passport for our upcoming trip to England, we visited the Children's Museum to make the trip a bit more fun for Avery.  She had a great time and was able to put to use her new stair climbing skills.  The stairs in the video were actually a bit tougher for her to climb than regular stairs, but she managed quite well.


Seattle Children's Museum from Megan Smith on Vimeo.