Our June

Trampolines can be just as much fun for roughhousing as they are for jumping:
Avery explores artistic expression through body art:
Playing dress up in Mommy's underwear drawer:
The everyday wear for a white-trash walk:
As usual, Avery has more fun playing with her older cousins rather than the ones her age: Sporting her Father's Day gift- She's got the bike seat and the head gear; now we just need to purchase the actual bike:

Avery gives a heartbreaking goodbye hug to her best friend, Maya, on her last day at her daycare for newborns - two year olds:

Video 1: Water Hose Lessons

Once again, Avery learns things the hard way:

Our Utah Vacation

Our first priority stop- the local Target to purchase an identical version of Avery's precious pink blanket that we somehow managed to forget at home:

My youngest sister, Karin, and her soon to be husband, David:Avery has a blast staying with my brother and his family in Salt Lake:
No one explained to Avery how the reception is supposed to be the most exciting part of the wedding:
And her cousin Jack seems to share her sentiment:
The happy couple:Can You Find Keith?:As usual, Avery doesn't take to sitting still long enough for a pose:The Dynes Girls (minus our oldest sister who missed her flight):And then the whole Dynes Crew:Once Avery gets sight of the playground, the rest of her time at the reception was set:
Avery and her oldest cousin, Shelby:
A family outing to Liberty Park ended our time in Salt Lake City. Luckily Avery didn't give the ducks the same chase and attack treatment she gives to our cats:
Peek-a-boo with Lee Lee never gets old:
Avery's green thumb certainly didn't come from her parents: More playground fun:
Bedtime with Lee Lee:
Chit-chatting with the grandmothers:

A final family pose before we head off to the airport:

Video 2: The High Slide

Avery discovers a new thrill with the big kid slide- a moment of sheer terror followed by pure elation:

Video 3: Synchronized Sliding

Cousin Shelby is determined to slide down the same time as Avery, despite Avery's insistence on counting to a different number before each dissent:

Avery's Birthday Party with Nana and Papa

My parents, Nana and Papa, came over for a small family get together on Avery's official birthday night:

Avery appears to be confused about what to do with Nana's cake:

Forget eating the cake, blowing out the candles becomes Avery's only interest:

Video 4: Singing Happy Birthday to Avery

While she's not sure what it's all about, Avery shows her usual love for being the center of attention:

Avery's Birthday Party

Getting Ready for the Elmo/Cookie Monster Party:

Guests Begin to Arrive:

First Keith's high school crew- Brett, Lynn, The Stevensons, The Blairs, Doug, Jeff, and Alex

And then my crew- Keith and Natalie, John, Sam, and Beth and Mark

And then on to the outdoor activities: Avery and Sean hit the pool immediately:


And later Sam and Eli joined the water fun:
The trampoline did its fair share of entertaining as well:

We couldn't get Avery out of the pool long enough to sing Happy Birthday before cutting the cake for the other patiently waiting kids, but she finally came out long enough for a few bites:

And then it was right back to the pool before she even got the last bite into her mouth:

Enticing her with presents ended up being the only way to get her to agree to leaving the pool for good:Sean helped the easily distracted Avery speed up the process:
Beth had the right idea getting Avery a doll to help her practice being the big sister. Unfortunately, the first thing she did was use her as a weapon for attacking the cats:



There appears to be hope for Avery as a sister yet; she did know to feed this baby doll her bottle:

And Avery's favorite gift of all turned out to be the sunglasses that poor Isabel left behind:Avery joins in on the adult chit chat:

And Avery makes a new best friend out of Natalie:

Avery makes it clear when she's ready for the party to come to an end by sprawling out on the floor of her playroom muttering repeatedly, "I sleepy":