Jenny's Wedding

We had a blast at Keith's former P.A. school friend Jenny's wedding. Most of Keith's closest P.A. friends were there, so it was a nice reunion and chance to catch up a crew:Avery relaxed for a bit in the stroller... And would take a few breathers in it throughout the night...

But quickly headed off to the dance floor before the music even started and spent most of the five hours we were there dancing and mingling: Again, no problems making friends (she especially loves to join in with the older kids):

And she did amazingly well joining in on the line-dancing. I suppose it's time to start looking in to some possible toddler dance classes:

I joined in the fun with her here and there. (I actually started off wearing a fancy dress, but soon changed into more comfortable attire when I realized that the majority of the guests were dressed in small-town, casual-wear):

Addie, as always, chilled in the stroller, watching the action, for most of the time unless she was hungry for a bottle or needed a little rocking to help her fall asleep:And Avery made it pretty clear when she was worn down and ready to head home:

Celebrating July 4th

We celebrated July 4th over at Don and Michele's. We hung around their house swimming, playing Ping Pong, and eating food off the grill until nightfall. And then we headed off to the nearby park for a firework show: As always, Addie chilled in the stroller:

Aunt Michele was smart enough to bring glow-in-the-dark toys to keep the kids distracted while we waited for the show to start:

We set up camp and waited for the show to start:

Keith got a bit annoyed with my excessive camera shots:

But then grew bored as we waited and decided to take control over the photography:

And at last, the show began. I was worried the noises would be too much for the easily-startled Addie, but she took it all in stride:

And Avery was intrigued with the show from beginning to end:

Around the House Indoor Antics

As usual, Avery never lets the day go drab:
I brought out the Jump N Go for Addie's enjoyment, but Avery decided she needed a turn first. Luckily, Addie was pretty amused just sitting in her Exersaucer and watching her crazy sister go buck wild in it:

But she soon grew weary. "When's my turn, Mom?"Addie soon sees what all the hype is about:Not really... she enjoyed being in it for about two minutes and then got freaked out about how it spins unexpectedly and hasn't enjoyed being in it since. Addie loves kicking, so I thought this toy would be right up her alley. But Addie also has a huge fear for the unexpected, and that fear apparently spades her love for kicking:

As soon as Addie makes a noise when waking up from her naps, Avery is in her bedroom screaming and squealing and laughing. On this day, Avery ran in and decided to join in on the crib fun before I knew what happened. She gave me a look like "What Mom- is this going to be a problem?" Apparently, Addie had no problem joining in on the craziness:

Avery proudly discovers plastic spoon glasses:

Addie will probably be demanding in the future when it comes to footwear. She loves going after other peoples' feet when they're wearing colorful socks or shoes. She gets pretty excited when I put socks or shoes on her as well, but it never occurred to me until I was putting up laundry one day that wearing my colorful socks would be even more thrilling to her:

Avery never gets tired of dressing up with Princess shoes and tiaras (never mind me power napping on Addie's blanket in the background):

And while Avery was busy and distracted pretending to be a princess, Addie was pleased to finally get a hold of one of Avery's precious-not-to-be-touched-by-ANYONE princess dolls:

Around the House Outdoor Antics

When it rains, it pours. Rain is few and far between in Austin, but when it does hit, it gets ugly. We not only had hail this night, but a tornado was reported hitting ground a few miles from our house, and we had a short time of power outage:

We always have a good time at the nearby community pool: Avery was quick to explain to her cousin Anna that her sea animal toys were off limits:
And decided to pull out body guard movements on Anna whenever she got too close to them: She reexplained the conditions in Leaman's terms when Anna didn't seem to be following the guidelines: And then just decided to remove her precious subjects from the situation all together when Anna continued to remain too close to the animals and posed a possible threat for sudden grabbing: All was well once the animals were moved away from the threat of being kidnapped by Anna (who in actuality showed no interest in the animals whatsoever other than simply trying to strike up an innocent conversation about them with Avery):

At least Addie appreciates Anna's efforts to bond:

We continue to make good use of the pirate pool we bought for Avery's b-day party. Avery and Keith enjoyed it the most while Lee Lee and Addie sat back and enjoyed the show: When Avery slides, she goes full force, regardless of the landing possibilities: When will Daddy learn not to teach her bad habits- throwing a ball in her face... will result in multiple throws to his face: And Addie, as always, the quiet take-it-all-in observer: Although she's starting to show moments of "Look at me too!":

And what could possibly go wrong with allowing a girl who is not potty trained to have a jump-in-the-nude trampoline session: