Let's Brainstorm!

Yesterday, Artie took the day off and we loaded the kids up and headed on a quick trip down to Indy. Back in August, we bought Avery tickets for her very first concert as a birthday present. Yesterday was the big day and we finally got to see Imagination Movers, LIVE and in person!! Very exciting for a two-year-old, and I have to say the adults were enjoying themselves too! If you don't know who the Imagination Movers are, you either don't have small kids or you don't watch morning TV on the Disney Channel. You should check them out, they're pretty cool! I must say that I watch them on TV everyday and it was pretty cool seeing them in person-they are actual people, not characters. It was kind of hard to hold back from singing along (okay, a little embarrassing that I knew ALL the words to EVERY song!).

We were lucky enough to have our in-laws (who live in Indy) to offer to look after Spencer while we got to spend time with just Avery. Thank you Chad, Jamie and Garrett (and Sandy)-it was really nice to spend the time alone with Avery!

Mommy and Avery very enthralled in the pre-show festivities!

Daddy's excited, Avery's glued to the giant TV they have playing Disney shows above the stage:)

We had really good seats-luckily on the aisle-so Avery could check out all of the action.

What public outing would be complete without a tantrum from the princess??!! In her defense, the show was at 3pm, mid-nap time!

Very excited to play with the confetti that shot out at the end of the show.

She loved clapping and jumping in her chair.

Mover Rich playing some guitar right in front of us. I especially loved that they gave a shout out to their wives for the tough job they do back home taking care of all of their kids so they can tour! This guy has 5 kids!

The premise of their show is they always have to brainstorm to solve a problem...the problem on this tour is that Mover Smitty loses his voice!

Mover Scott singing to the crowd!

Mover Scott catching the show from the row right across from us!!

The confetti at the end of the show:)

The Movers...Smitty broke out his Halloween costume that he wears in their Halloween episode.

A few other pics from the week...
Avery and mommy decorated some pumpkins...I didn't feel like carving this year so we decorated with potato head themes!

One is a ninja and the other is a diva:)

Here's my little man sitting up (barely) at the table trying a teething biscuit for the first time:)

Just a quick video of the Movers coming out on stage!

Happy Halloween!!

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

After a few weeks of Avery climbing out of her bed constantly during naps and bedtime to turn on the light, we discovered that she may be hitting the being "afraid of the dark" stage.

So, we invested in one of these-the GloMate-and voila, she stays in her bed with her new glowing buddy:)

Today we had a little ND get-together with my family (Jake leaves for basic in 3 weeks, so we're trying to do lots of family stuff) and, per his request, I made my red velvet cupcakes...and decorated them with a Halloween theme:)

Avery missed her first day of preschool due to being sick:( So, she went to the doctor, got all of her flu vaccinations and had the clear to start school!

She got to start Wednesday, and wanted to take her blanket and Baby Ariel with her...luckly, she went to class without them but they were moral support on the ride there! Sadly, the rest of her class was out sick that day and it was just her, so hopefully Monday will be a better experience!!

Enjoy Your Weekend!

A Birthday and A Wedding Later...

We celebrated Avery's actually birthday yesterday with a few gifts from mom, dad and Spencer and-you know already-a Dunkin Donuts breakfast! Avery was so excited that it was her birthday and later in the day we headed to a family wedding-which she thought was a celebration of her birthday:) I just hope she isn't expecting that grand of a celebration for every birthday!! I wish we could have capped off a great birthday celebration with an Irish victory, but I guess a USC defeat will have to wait until next year (or the next, or the next, etc...it seems we can never win!).

Spencer's gift...a new big sister shirt:)

I know this isn't recommended until the age of 3, but I couldn't wait to introduce her to the board game every child should have!

Trying to figure out just exactly how to get the steps down to do the electric slide...she came up with some of her own moves and had the absolute best time dancing!

Avery met a dancing buddy that was just her size-these two had a great time dancing together, twirling and chasing each other!

A quick pic of me and my little bro, Jake. He leaves for the Army in just under a month and I'm getting nervous to say goodbye...but so proud of him:)

In Spencer news...He is now officially a rolling machine! He first rolled over from his back to his front last Monday and ever since has been perfecting his new talent! He gets so excited at what he can do now and I'm wondering what I'm going to do with 2 kids on the move!

HAPPY #2!

Today, Avery is celebrating her 2nd birthday. I really can't believe she is already 2 years old. She starts preschool on Monday and it seems that time is just flying by. Besides the tantrums, I have enjoyed every minute of having her here and to see her grow from a newborn to the amazingly smart 2-year-old she is today. She puts full sentences together (example: she woke up to a birthday breakfast of donuts from Dunkin' and took a bite and exclaimed, "mmmm, munckins are good!"), runs and jumps and helps take care of her brother-yet, won't potty train ???!! Avery, you have been an amazing gift and we can't wait to see what your next year will bring!

Avery, just moments after being born on Wednesday, October 17th, 2007 at 12:15 pm. You weighed 6 lbs. and 9 oz. and were 19 inches long...

Your year between 1 and 2 saw many new things...
Transition to a big girl bed.

Your first black eye.

A reunion with Elizabeth O.-she liked you much more this time since you could walk!

Being able to play at the park all by yourself.

You discovered your love of ponies:)

And became a big sister, welcoming your brother into our family and never hesitating at how much you love him!

Your 1st year, you traveled many places and thank goodness we got a trip in this year! You got to see Niagara Falls, Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DARLING DAUGHTER!

And let's not forget to root ND on today in a huge one-Go Irish, Beat Trojans!!

Birthday Party

Saturday we took advantage of ND having their off weekend and had Avery's 2nd birthday party a week early. Her actual birthday is next Saturday and we have a family wedding, so this weekend worked out. The day started off a little hectic when there was a slight issue with getting the bounce house we rented to our house. And Friday night my grandma was put in ICU and was (obviously) not able to make the party-she was really missed! We are praying you come home soon, gram!

A family picture with the birthday girl:)

The birthday girl stopped to snap a pic with Uncle Jake and his friend Matt

Avery was so excited about blowing out her candles that she actually stood at her cake and practiced blowing them out before we lit the candles!! Here she is really blowing them out-she did it all by herself:) She was so excited when everyone sang happy birthday to her that she was smiling so big and clapped for herself! So much different than her 1st birthday!

Giving grandma directions on how to properly cut the cake:)

This was a top contender for her favorite gift-Handy Manny's tool set! Here she is showing off Phillipe.

Once cousin Garrett got word that Handy Manny's tools were there, he had to come check them out!

Word spread about these awesome tools and soon all the kids were gathering, Gage and Leah had to get in to see what the excitement was about too:)

Grandpa B and Spencer watching some football.

Ooh, Avery got a very pretty collectors edition Christmas Cinderella...this was promptly put on a high shelf in her room!

Aw, showing Lucky from 101 dalmatians the cool princess bag that he came in from Aunt Cimmy.

This gift was so cool, daddy was even excited! Aunt Jamie, Uncle Chad and Cousin Garrett got her the fridge magnets from VTech that teaches about food-her favorite fridge toy, this went up right away!

A princess castle courtesy of grammy and pop pop...Avery is my kinda girl, she was so happy getting tools and a princess tent-very well-rounded:)

So excited to get this awesome four wheeler-this girl loves to drive! Thanks Michele, Lynn and Gage:)

Down the slide on the bounce house we rented!

Spencer posing with grammy and Aunt Cimmy in the pumpkin hat Aunt Cimmy got him!

Putting those tools to use...checking out what's in the vent with pop pop using Flicker (the flashlight) from her Handy Manny set!

This girl knows what to do with a screwdriver! Thanks again for the long-sleeved shirt, Aunt Cindy, it went perfectly with her birthday shirt (and thank goodness, it was freezing cold Saturday!).

After everyone left, Artie and I put Spencer down for a nap and went out to spend some time with just Avery in the bounce house. I'll tell you, those 45 minutes we spent outside with her bouncing and sliding and laughing was worth all of the pain and expense of renting the darn thing. I will never ever forget those moments of the 3 of us just having the best time. Avery and I took a turn together down the slide:)

Daddy's turn down the slide with Avery. I think the smile on her face says it all! Can I also just say, I have not been on one of these things in like 20+ years and what a workout it is to jump in these and keep your balance. My knees were hurting the next day!

Domer even took a turn down the slide! The silly dog had enough of watching us have fun. He jumped right in the bouncer and up the slide and down!