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":

Our May

The Busy Month Begins with a Visit from J.P and Family, Jeff, Doug, and Corey-

Alex, Avery, and Evan sit for a brief photo session: After the photo session, some are resting, some are restless:
J.P. takes a break from ping pong to relax with the girls:
And of course, snack time gets messy:

Next Up, a Visit from Lee Lee-

Followed By a Visit from Papa John-

And Last but not Least, a Visit From Corey and Family and Friends-

Avery and Eva learn to share:

Playing Dress Up in Mommy's Shoes:

The Toddler Slide is Way More Fun than the Infant One:

And the Box It Came in is the Most Fun:

More Reality Show Dance Lessons

And Now the Finale

Why Capturing Avery Videos is Becoming So Difficult

Our April

Every Doctor Should Have a Set of Matching Pearls to Go with Their Stethoscope:

Just Keep that Hand Out, and Eventually, a Bubble Will Come to It:
A Visit with Linda and Avram Gets Messy:
Avery's Obviously Thrilled About a Night on the Town for Bethy's Birthday:

Shoving Leaves in Random Places is the Best Part of Any Walk:

Why Avery Doesn't Get Sugar After 7p.m.

Avery's First Piano Concert

Avery's Allegro

Our March

Avery's Ready to Show Off Her B-Ball Skills

Avery the Artist

Avery has her own way of making sure the eggs are thoroughly boiled ...

It's all fun and games-

Until someone learns how to turn on the ceiling fan

The First Word Avery Can Read

Avery Reads Avery

Avery's First Easter Egg Hunt