What's the Latest?

We've been keeping busy since the last post. We are officially moved into the house now. We are slowly getting organized and settled. We took a trip to good ol' Michigan a week after we moved into the house. We had a great time and Avery loved everyone this time, a lot different than last time. She had a great time playing with her cousins, meeting her new cousin, Griffin, and helping Grady celebrate his 1st birthday. Avery continues to be a joy, learning and growing so quickly. Putting together full sentences, though they aren't always easy to understand. Avery and Chris got to spend a lot of time together last week/weekend. They even had a date to a wedding while I did the STP ( Seattle to Portland bike ride) on July 17-18 with Amy, Shauna and Kolleen. We had a great time riding our 204 miles into Portland. I made it and it wasn't nearly as painful as I was expecting. I may even be convinced to do it again someday. Especially if there's yummy food at the end of each day and a beer tent waiting at the end! Here are some photos of our adventures over the last few weeks. Our kitchen is going to be complete after this weekend, so I will post some new house photos after that.

Enjoying one of Aunt Alysa's giant marshmallows!

Playing in the rain with her Uncle Mikey

First dip in the new tub

Our little Diva...

So, we finally made the big move! We are officially in our new house. It feels so great. We still have a bit to do before it's finished, but it's our HOUSE and we are living in it. Avery loves hanging out in her room and playing with her toys and I love that she is just around the corner from me while I get things done around the house. Life is good. Life was especially good for Avery this weekend during the big move. She really taxed herself. Saturday she got to go to the playground and have a picnic with Kolleen and her mom, Diane. Then she went to Bennett's grandma and Grandpa's for a lobster feast with the Knowles and Jones families. Hotdogs were purchased for the children, but Avery would have none of that once she saw what everyone else was eating. On Sunday she lounged in a chair on the front lawn with her Top Pot doughnut and "coffee" while we did all the heavy lifting. She's one smart girl. Oh, speaking of smart girl... she found gum in my purse today and got a piece, so I told her she had to chew and spit it out when she was done. She chewed it for about 15 minutes then spit it out and gave it to me. She must be a genius.

Happy Father's Day!

A little bit of a late post, but I wanted to pay homage to our dads/grandpas. Happy Father's Day to grandpas and dads alike. We appreciate all you do and have done for us and we love you so much. Happy Father's Day to Chris also, I am so blessed to have found such a wonderful man to take this incredible parenting journey with.

Best daddy ever!

Grandpa John

Pappa Ed

Camping Fun

We've been working on the house mostly, not a lot of exciting things happening. We ventured to Leavenworth to the Jones's cabin to celebrate Brent's birthday. The weather was great and a ton of fun was had by all. We even got to do a training ride while there, which was fantastic. It was the first ride I've done in sunshine. Avery just keeps getting more and more fun, she's putting up to 4 words together now, which is so cute. She has (almost) mastered "happy birthday to you" which sounds more like "happy dirtday doo doo". Still super cute!

Backsplash above the kitchen sink.

The appliances patiently waiting to go to their homes.

Bathtub surround.

Coffee for breakfast with mommy!

Faux-hawk courtesy of Amy.

Bennett and Avery like to share most things.

Eating broccoli, had to get it on film

Just a glimpse of our evenings with Avery, never a dull moment. And the end has our current favorite thing she says.

Hiking, Birthdays and Corn on the Cob

So, the potty is very hit or miss now. The other day, we sat on the potty for about 10 minutes, only to have no success on the potty, but on the carpet in her bedroom! It's a work in progress. Maeve turned 1 last week, so we enjoyed a birthday party with friends on Sunday. I got to do a 50 mile bike ride in the wind and rain on Saturday to start the weekend, let's just hope it's nicer in July. Avery and Chris went for a hike a couple weeks ago to test out our new backpack. Avery had a great time, though the weather again, was not the best. We're hoping to do a family backpacking trip once the house stuff starts winding down. Avery and Chris are going to try out the pack again this weekend while I'm at work.

Yes, she put the sunglasses there. She's such a little mimic now.

Eating an apple like mommy does.

Enjoying the birthday festivities with dad.

This is how you chew the block Divia.

Corn on the cob!

Hiking with daddy.

House Update

Not much to show, but here are a couple photos of the new kitchen countertops. We're getting there...... one. day. at. a. time.

Guess Who Has a Big Girl Potty?!

We bought Avery a potty seat yesterday afternoon. We put it in the bathroom and decided to start putting her on it just to get the idea. She promptly told me she was "pooping" and actually went. It took a while and a few times of redirecting her back to the potty, but she did it!

Happy May!

Lots of fun was had by all while our family was here and lots of work got done. There's still a lot to do, but we are so thankful that dad, Aunt Brenda and Ann took time to come visit us and work so hard on our house with us. While they were here, we got tile floors laid in the kitchen and bath, cabinets in the kitchen and bath and new doors hung. We are now in the process of painting. Not our favorite thing to do, but it's getting done. Next on the agenda is countertops and refinishing the floors. I will try to post pics as things progress. When not working on the house we try to keep Avery busy. We went to the zoo and took a ferry ride to the Olympic mountains while papa was here. We got the seat on my bike so Avery and I can do some bike riding together, and she LOVES it! We have taken many rides to the "paygound" to play in the sand. We finally broke down and bought her lots of fun new sand toys to play with. It's funny to watch, because she likes to play in the sand, but doesn't like to get dirty, so if she's sitting she needs help up, because she won't put her hands down in the sand. And, the rock obsession continues. We can't go anywhere without her stopping to pick up as many rocks as she can fit in her tiny little hands. Tiny is Avery's word of the week, btw. She is starting to learn her colors now. She knows mommy's car is black and daddy's truck is silver. She can also almost spell her name. She was writing the other day and we heard her saying A-V-Y (imagine the y drawn out and high pitched). We're trying to get the e-r in there. OK, enjoy the pics!

Kitchen Cabinets

Bathroom Cabinets/floor

Daddy got me a flower at the University Street Fair

Look at those daisy dukes!

Enjoying the beautiful weather at the Seattle Center fountain

Picnic with daddy

Lovin' the sand

Ferry ride to the mountains

Olympic Mountains

The goats are sooo funny!

Ready for a bike ride

Happy 18 months Avery!

A lot has happened since the last post. Chris had his 31st birthday, which we got to celebrate together on a beautiful sunny day in Seattle. We got Avery a bike helmet on daddy's birthday so she can help mommy train for the STP. April 30 was officially Avery's 18 month birthday. We had a fun day because "papa"(grandpa Manchester), Aunt Brenda, and Annie were in town to visit and help us with the new house. We started the day with a doctor's appointment. Her stats for 18 months are 26 lbs 11 oz (80th %) and 31.5 inches (50th%). Sorry baby, you got your mommy's measurements, short and stocky! The day ended with yummy food at "The Crab Pot" restaurant downtown. Avery ate my share of clams and mussels (yuck!), just put a little butter on it and she loved them! She then got to ride the carousel on the pier. She couldn't get enough. Here are a couple photos for now. More later....

Mmmmm, clams are good!

Making my eggs for breakfast.

Got my helmet, let's go dad!

Happy birthday daddy! Let me help you with that.

Celebrating Chris's birthday at Golden Gardens.