Spring update

Travel
We were back in Mexico for a week earlier this month. It was our best trip yet.  Megan's friend and her 4yo son, Christie & Henry, joined us for the trip, as well. Avery and Henry got along so very well.  Unfortunately, Avery was sick for much of the trip. It turned out to be a double ear infection. She was such a trooper. Anyway, this resulted in less swimming than in past trips. Some pictures ...

We'll be back in Mexico at the end of May, so she'll get more swimming in on that trip, I'm sure. 

School
Avery is still loving preschool. She goes in the mornings five days a week. We're very happy with the school and plan to enroll her there for her pre-K year. At this point, we expect she'll then go to kindergarten at our local public elementary school (which will be in Sept 2013).

Activities
Avery took a theater class over the past few months. She absolutely loved the class. I could see her bring the story building skills into her play at home. Hopefully she'll take another one from the same organization this summer (it depends on whether the class still has spots available).

We took a break from dance these past few months, but continued with swimming lessons. Avery took lessons with Henry. Both Henry and Avery improved their swimming dramatically. She's not currently enrolled in swimming, but given her love of it in combination with our trips to Mexico, I'll continue to enroll her in swimming whenever possible.

Avery decided to stop with her soccer classes. Her best friend, Elise, opted not to do the class this time around. I failed to ask Avery if she wanted to do soccer and just enrolled her. That's a long way of saying if she'd requested to do soccer, I'd likely make her finish the course, but since I'm the one who made the mistake, I'm let her stop with the classes. Of all her various classes, I was least impressed with soccer and her regular coach for that class.

Avery's also started to request playdates with some of her classmates, so I've been venturing into the world of scheduling playdates with friends she's made all on her own (vs with kids I've introduced her to). 

Four!

Where to start when you have blogged for several months? Avery is doing awesome! Let me categorize the ways.

Avery turns 4!

Avery turned the big 4 in December. It felt like we celebrated her birthday all month long. First there was her dance themed BD party. We kicked off the festivities with a handmade birthday invitation.  

 

Avery helped pick the background paper and the colors, as well as picked out which ballerina she wanted to have cut out for the picture. Each invitation was slightly different with different colored tutus, shoes, and leotards to pick from.  Avery particularly likes cupcakes at the moment, so this background was one of her favorites.  

About 18 kids attended her dance party held at a local community center. We hired Avery's dance teacher to do a dance class for the kids and that was a total hit with the kids and parents. I knew it would be since Miss Erika is one of Avery's favorite teachers.   

Her next BD celebration was a little party at her school. I brought in cupcakes for all the kids. I think Avery was mostly excited that it being her birthday meant she got to pick her plate and her seat and do everything first before the other kids. 

Finally, we did a celebration with just Damian, Avery and me. We woke up a bit early to open presents with Daddy since he had an early meeting to get to. Avery didn't mind getting up early one bit. For her dinner, Avery opted to go out to her favorite Mexican restaurant. 

Her shirt says "Honorary Big Sister" - she LOVES this shirt made for her by Elise's mom when their youngest child, Mimi, was born. 

The day after her BD, Avery told me as we were driving along that because she was 4 now, she was no longer shy of people. This has actually turned out to be more accurate than I thought it would be. She's also fond of talking about things she does now because she's 4 and not 3. 

One of my gifts to Avery was going to see the Oregon Ballet's performance of The Nutcracker. Avery, once again, enjoyed it thoroughly. Perhaps we'll go to another ballet performance during the year. 

Avery & Friends

Avery and Elise still spend a lot of time together. They play extremely well together and we notice how much they miss each other when one family or the other goes on vacation. For Avery's BD, Elise's mom knitted Avery & Elise matching hats. The girls love them. Avery likes to wear hers all day long, instead of just while playing outdoors.

Avery and Henry continue to love to play with each other, probably due in no small part to Henry's willingness to wear any princess dress Avery may bring to his condo-building-house (as he calls his home in a condo building).

Avery also plays a lot with a friend from her old school, and a neighbor of ours, Lily. We took Lily to see the Pinkalicious muscial with us in early December.  They were to dress in their pinkest outfit. For both girls, I think this was a challenge since almost all of their clothes are pink. Lily is Avery fellow princess lover.

Travel

Avery is a stellar little traveler and loves to do it. We bought her a matching penguin luggage set. To be honest, I thought I was just indulging myself in buying something adorable for her. However, it's turned out to be very functional. Avery can carry all of her clothes and toys through the airport on her own, without a struggle. And I cannot tell you the number of times she gets told how much people like her luggage.

 

Since September, we've been to Mexico for leisure in October and Colorado/Wyoming for Christmas. For Christmas Eve, we were at my brother's cabin in Wyoming. I should have a better picture of both of Avery's cousins together, but I'm just grateful I have one.  

Olly (7yo) left; Dylan (3.5yo) middle; Avery (4yo) right. 

While in Colorado, Avery tried skiing for the first time. She did a half day ski school.  

 

When we asked if she enjoyed ski school, her answer was unequivocal yes. However, she didn't want to go again, so we didn't push her to do more. We'll try again later this year or next year.  

She also really enjoyed tubing, which surprised me because the speed on the hill was really fast and got my heart racing.  

 

A view of the hill to give perspective

On this same trip, Avery's cousin Olly joined us, along with Olly's parents Justin (Damian's brother) and Caroline. They live in London so, of course, they have accents. When Avery was telling me about skiing she said, "And I fell down on my bum!" She also kept asking if she could "have a sweet" and calling me "mummy." It was interesting because Avery almost immediately took on several British-isms and inflections and Olly almost immediately took on several American ones. She's stopped them since returning home, but it does go to show how quickly kids can acclimate to a different environment. 

Activities

Avery continues to enjoy many activities. She would much rather be doing something that at home doing nothing. Dance is still her favorite, but gymnastics and soccer are also in the top. 

Lessons

Avery has been taking a gymnastics class this summer.  The last class was last week.  The first and last classes were the only two classes parents were allowed to watch (in the room - a parent could watch through the door if s/he so desired).  It was interesting to see the progress in Avery's skills.  Avery's got relatively good balance for her age, and she's fairly coordinated, so she "passed" the class and was cleared to move onto the next class.  Long story short, we're doing the next class at a different facility so she can remain with the same teacher who did her first few classes.

Avery (with BFF Elise in the back) at gymnastics class, August 2011

Avery jumping on the trampoline. 

Avery also took two-week daily private swimming lessons.  I opted for this after a friend said how much her daughter progressed with swimming during semi-private lessons.  Since I couldn't get a match for semi-private, and because we have a trip to Mexico coming up in October, we opted to bite the bullet and go for private.  I'm so glad we did!   Avery made huge progress.  She eagerly and easily dives under the water to retrieve objects from the shallow end of the pool, is learning side breathing for swimming, can float on her back and kick without adult assistance, and generally is looking more like she's swimming.  We're going to continue with semi-private lessons this winter.

Dance continues to be Avery's absolute favorite activity of all time.  She did a pre-ballet class  during the late summer.  In a few weeks she'll start an hour-long class of tap, ballet, and jazz.  And we've decided she'll have a dance party for her BD this year.  Her dance teacher does BD parties on the side, so it was the obvious choice given Avery's love of dance!

Finally, Avery and I did some soccer lessons at a community center this summer.  It required parent participation, so I brushed up on some soccer skills, too.  At first, I wasn't sure it was something Avery would want to continue.  However, as she got better with each class, she enjoyed it more and more. I asked her at some point if she'd like to do more lessons and she said yes.  I didn't think we were going to be able to squeeze in soccer given our already full schedule, but fate stepped in.  Her preschool has an optional soccer clinic once-a-week before school starts, so I'll just need to drop her off at school a bit early for that.  Perfect!

Given the seemingly many activities we have her signed up for, I feel it's worth noting that Avery loves all of her activities.  I don't make her do any of them.  She likes to be active.  We have two days per week* without any activities other than school so we can relax and enjoy impromptu playdates, etc.

* This excludes weekends which are also both free days.  I figure weekend activities can wait until absolutely necessary (games during elementary school or whatever).

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.