Ice Skating

Avery and I recently tried ice skating!  Avery was quite hesitant to get on the ice once she discovered it was slippery.  However, after 20 minutes or so of discussion, with no tears or arguing, she agreed to try it.  We did one lap around the rink.  Avery was so very proud of herself afterward.  Fortunately, Christie was there to snap a couple of pictures of us.

We're still here!

I cannot believe how long it's been since I've done a post.  Let's get on with the updating.

School

Avery has started with a new school.   She loved her old school and loves her new school.  Thankfully, Avery had no adjustment problems whatsoever.  For the months of July and August, Avery goes to the summer camp version of school.  That is, she goes three mornings a week.  Once school starts in September, she'll go five mornings a week.  Our close family friends, Elise & Nolan, are attending the same school, so we are carpooling and doing after-school play dates with them, much to Avery's delight.

Timbers

Avery was very gung ho to go the Timbers soccer games with Damian back in April.  She did very well through several games, though we had lack of sleep issues to deal with at home.  However, at some point she decided that she no longer wanted to go to the games because the noise hurt her ears.  She still gets very excited when she sees someone in Timbers gear, though, so there is hope that she'll get into it next year or the following year. 

Travel - DC

At the end of April, we went to Washington, DC to meet up with Damian's dad and his partner, known to Avery as Granddag (because his name is Dag, so it's a play on Granddad) and Grandma Rosie.  My mom also flew out to join us for some sightseeing in DC.  Both Damian and I have friends who live in DC, and my aunt and uncle also live there, so we had lots of people to visit.

Avery had a great time with all the attention and sightseeing and excitement.  Aside from the fun of seeing family, we also got to go the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. We tried to get tickets the traditional way - via an online lottery - but we weren't selected.  Well, remember those friends I mentioned just a moment ago?  The brother of my friend was able to score us tickets to the event via his office.  The day of the event was very, very hot.  The lines were very, very long.  The security was very, very tight.  By the time we got into the event, we were pretty tired.  However, we still managed to do a few activities.  The best moment was when Willow Smith started her performance on stage.  Avery heard the music and just started dancing right there in front of the White House. I got some video, but haven't put it together yet.  Unfortunately, at some point the lens of the camera got sunblock on it, so the pictures are less than stellar.  However, here is photographic evidence of our trip to the White House.

  

My uncle, Herb, is a skilled amateur photographer.  He's been doing it for decades and has the most amazing collection of photographs he's taken from all over the world.  He was kind enough to take some portrait shots of Avery in her Easter dress.  I absolutely love all the pictures.  If any family members (birth family or adoptive family) would like a printed picture, please let me know and I'll happily request it from my uncle.  He has graciously offered to send prints at my request.   I absolutely love the first picture.  Everything about it is so very Avery.

Travel - Seattle

Immediately after our return from our DC trip, we went to Seattle for several days.  Avery and I spent some time exploring the city while D was working.  On D's day off, we took a boat ride around the harbor.  All in all, it was a nice little getaway, but I think both Avery and I would have enjoyed it a lot more had it not landed immediately following the DC trip.  We were all traveled out by that point.

Activities

In May, Avery was continuing with her swimming lessons and dance classes, both of which she loves.  We took a break from those activities due to mid-summer travel to Colorado.

In June, Damian and I went away for a long weekend to Vegas without Avery.  She stayed with our good friends the Gs.  We are always so thankful that not only do we have people to give us a break from parenthood, but that Avery also loves spending time at their house and with their family. 

Travel - Colorado

In late June, Avery and I traveled to Colorado to visit with friends, see family, and attend Cousin Dylan's 3rd BD party.  Dylan is my brother's son and is just six months younger than Avery.  Though Dylan and Avery don't get to spend much time together given the distance between Wyoming and Oregon, they truly love being together.  It took about ten minutes for them to warm up to each other, then they immediately began chasing each other around the house and playing games with bugs outside in the cabin.  We met up with Uncle Collin & Aunt Denise & Cousin Dylan outside of Colorado Springs in a cabin they'd rented for the weekend.  One day we went to an amusement park called The North Pole.  It is a Christmas themed park, but has rides going all year long.  While not nearly as fancy as Disneyland, I would rate it as much more enjoyable for the average 2-5 year old.  The kids could go on all the rides, there were almost no lines at all, and it was really easy to get around.  Plus, the cost of The North Pole compared to Disneyland is staggering.  I highly recommend it to anyone with children aged 2-5.

Also on the Colorado trip, we visited my college roommate.  She and her husband have two children (2yo and 1mo) and live on a farm/ranch outside of Denver/Castle Rock.  They have a bunch of alpacas and seven horses.  Kelly took Avery and I on a tour of the barn, let Avery brush one of the horses, and then braided the horse's mane and Avery's hair tying each with matching ribbon.  Avery was a bit scared of the horse at first.  I didn't push her to pet the horse and at first she said she didn't want to.  After she thought about it for another couple of minutes, she decided she wanted to try.  I was so proud with her bravery and persistence given her obvious nervousness. 

Dogs

During all this travel, we lost both of our dogs.  Eddie, our 12yo German Shepherd, finally reached a point where he was in too much pain.  We told Avery Eddie was going to die, let her say goodbye to him in her own way (which meant she yelled "Bye!" as she happily ran out the door to go play at Elise's house), then we put Eddie to sleep while Avery was out of the house with Elise.

At the time we thought Turtle, our 9yo yellow Lab, would be around for another 3-4 years as she showed no signs of pain or sickness.  It was not to be.  Within days after Eddie's death, she started making weird sneezing/wheezing noises.  When we got back from Vegas her eye had become grotesquely swollen overnight.  Several vet visits and medications later, we discovered it was cancer and had to put her to sleep, as well.  Avery handled that death much the way she handled Eddie's.

Avery mentions death more frequently now.  She sometimes says she doesn't want us to die, or she doesn't want to die.  We assure her that we won't die for a very, very, very long time and that she won't die for even longer after that.  For now, that seems to satisfy her.  I don't think she truly grasps what death is yet, but I can see her mind processing bits of it with time.  For now, I'm grateful the dogs died before she was old enough to truly feel the pain involved in the loss of a pet.

Pictures

I don't want to end this post on such a downer!  So let's enjoy a few recent pictures.  I'm going to let go of the idea that I'll do a post about her 3rd BD party.  Here are just a few pictures that I'd started to gather for the post.

Just before blowing out the candles

Avery requested a cake with flowers and ornaments - weird, but delicious!

We held her party at The Little Gym.

Avery loves to run and she loves scarves.

Avery in June 2011.

Avery in July 2011.

Go Timbers!

Damian bought himself and Avery season tickets to the Timbers games. For months now, he's been telling Avery about the games and getting her excited.  For Valentine's Day, I bought D and Avery matching Timbers jerseys. 

On the day of the Timbers first home game, I took Avery to D's office building beforehand, which was an 8 pm game!  Avery was so excited to go the game with Daddy, and she got more than a few "awwwwww"s when she walked out of the bathroom in her Timbers gear.

Avery came home knowing a few of the chants, with the "P  T    F  C!" being the one that stuck the most (Portland Timbers Football Club).  And when I asked what her favorite part of the game was, she quickly said, "Daddy waving the flag!"  The season ticket holders in D's section all emailed before the first game and then distributed large flags to everyone. 

A view from their seats

It was a wet game, but Avery had a great time!

After the second game, they both came home with matching Timbers scarves.  I can't wait to get a picture of them in those!

Talent Show

I had my first parent-teacher conference this morning.  Several times, the teacher used the term "easy going" to describe Avery.  The teacher also noted that she is learning to stand up for her rights, which the teacher noted as a good thing given her easy going nature.  When I'm around, I have never noticed Avery not standing up for herself, so maybe she has been more timid when surrounded by adults other than D and me.

Other feedback:

• Despite only going to school 2 days/week, she slots in well with the other kids and plays nicely a vast majority of the time. When playing outside, she gravitates towards the tricycles and often lets kids ride on the back of the rickshaw-like tricycles. 
• She can count to 29, skipping just 17 and 21.  I was surprised to hear she can count to 29.  Numbers, unlike letters, are not Avery's current strong suit.  She is very good at counting, correctly, things under 10.  Any higher than 10 and it's a crap shoot as to whether she chooses to continue to count, and whether that count is correct.
• Each day she's at school, she sits in the book corner and requests various books to be read by a teacher.  
• She has a longer attention span than many kids her age.  
• She excels in following the established routine without prompting (e.g. before nap time, the kids gather books for their cots, then take off their shoes, etc).
• Her verbal skills are very good.
• She's learning to trust (non-primary) teachers and other adults who come into the classroom.  I got the impression that Avery doesn't have any issue trusting the teachers she comes into contact with on a frequent basis. I liked that the teacher described her as having her own parameters for judging whether she can trust an adult.  I don't know whether Avery's teacher wants to her to be more trusting, but I am very pleased that she makes her own judgments of adults. 

All of this feedback is great, but the overwhelming impression I got from the teacher is the one I also feel of Avery: she's a happy, social little girl with an enthusiasm for life. 

The teacher also told me about a day a couple of weeks ago when Avery arranged for a talent show among her peers.  The teacher said they've not talked about talent shows, so she assumed she got it from me.  Avery and I haven't talked about them, so I assume she saw it on TV (maybe Angelina Ballerina?)  Regardless, Avery knows what they are and set it up in the corner of the classroom.  She set up chairs for everyone to sit in, then directed the other kids when it was their turn to go.  I wish I could have been on a fly on the wall when she was arranging this!

The teacher also showed me a picture of Avery and her best school-friend, Lily, building a huge crown out of the magnetic blocks.  Avery and Lily are like two peas in a pod when it comes to their love of dress up, princesses, and castles.  I was impressed at the teamwork it took to build the crown, but not surprised they chose to build such an object.

Avery will switch schools in September.  She'll be attending her new preschool for the next two years.  Instead of two full days, she'll go five half days.  I took her for a trial day at her new school a month or so ago.  She loved it so much she didn't want to leave.  If all goes according to plans, her best friend Elise will also be at the same school.  Though Avery and Elise will be in different classrooms since Elise is a grade older than Avery, they'll get to play together at recess.  Elise's mom and I are not going to tell Avery or Elise about them going to the same school just in case something changes, but I do so look forward to Avery describing how she found Elise during the first recess.  I don't know how long their close friendship will survive once they're both attending kindergarten/1st grade in different schools, but for now, I'm so very grateful that Avery has such a close childhood friend.

California!

We just returned from a week-long trip to California.  For three days, we visited Disneyland.  We kept the trip a secret from Avery.  However, since she had no concept of what Disneyland is, keeping it a secret was not difficult.  Another part of the secret was that Avery's best friend, Elise, as well as Elise's family, joined us in the park on the first day.  It was wonderful to watch Elise and Avery experience the park together for the first time.  Considering it was spring break, the lines weren't too crazy, especially on Friday.  Saturday was a bit busier and Sunday was quite busy.

Avery's favorite part of Disneyland was meeting the princesses and fairies.  We did book a lunch reservation with the princesses for Sunday afternoon, but Avery was just done by then. 

One of the few pictures with a Disney character.  Avery always wanted to approach them for a picture, but if she couldn't see the person's eyes, she would start crying if she was alone.

I think this picture really shows Avery's adventure-filled, happy spirit.

Avery in her Sleeping Beauty dress.  She requested a picture be taken on this post outside the park.

With Tinkerbell.  Avery LOVES Tinkerbell.

Best Friend Elise*, Rollin' Nolan**, and Avery.

Telling Princess Tiana how old she is.

Avery with Ariel (I think that's Ariel, right?  I'm still not great with the princesses)

The roller coaster!  Avery is in the middle in pink next to Damian, who's wearing black.  I'm behind them.

After Disneyland, Damian headed home to pesky work while Avery and I headed a bit further south to Oceanside (outside of San Diego) to visit my dad and his wife, Joy.  Avery's calls them Pop Pop and Pop Pop Joy.  Since we were in the San Diego area for two full days, we hit Legoland one day and Sea World the other.

Inside a Legoland.

Pop Pop (Megan's dad) and Avery at Legoland.

Avery and Pop Pop enjoying some music in Legoland.

Avery really liked the statues made of Legos all around the park.

I didn't take many pictures at Sea World, but I did take a few that morning before we headed out. Most were in a parking lot.

Avery flipped her hat backwards.  I think it suits her!

Avery creating a "collection" while we waited in a parking lot. Rocks and nuts and one screw.

Avery loved to put on Pop Pop's hat!

* Avery still calls Elise "Friend Elise"


** We're trying to replace "Baby Nolan" with "Rollin' Nolan" since Elise & Nolan will have another sibling joining their family come August. I do fear, however, that Nolan will forever be "Baby Nolan."

To the theater!

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Avery is heading to the theater with Friend Elise and Aunt Chele.  It's a children's theater production of some sort.   I told Avery that we should get her dressed for The Theater!  So we picked out her BD dress and took a picture.

Tomorrow we leave for California. She knows we're going to California, but she doesn't know we're going to Disneyland! Truth be told, I'm not sure she knows what Disneyland is, but we haven't told her because D wants it to be a surprise.  We're going to Disneyland for three days, then D will head home while Avery and I head down to San Diego to visit Pop Pop and Pop Pop Joy.  While there, we plan to go to Sea World and Lego Land and maybe the San Diego Zoo.  I'll have to see how much energy we all have after a week of jam-packed activities.

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!