Springtime Fun

I feel as though I have neglected our blog for the past month, but the truth is, there really hasn't been much to update on.  Since the weather has gotten so nice, we have been outside a lot!  There is a little dairy farm here in Bloomington, Ropp Jersery Cheese Farm, where they have all of their animals on display for you to visit with.  Avery loves this farm and loves being able to pet the new calves!  Luckily for us, the last two times we have visited, the owners have let Avery feed the calves!  She thinks this is pretty cool!

Avery and her dad have also been doing lots of work outside.  Avery has loved being able to "use" the tools and "help" daddy.  

A couple weeks ago, we had dinner with some friends and lucky for Avery (and Daddy) there was a four wheeler for them to ride.  At first Avery didn't know what to think of it, but quickly began to enjoy it.  Along the ride, they found a hidden away playhouse for her to play around in.

At the end of April, my mom had knee replacement surgery.  Avery and I spent 4 days in Chicago helping to take care of her.  Poor Avery spent 10 hours in the hospital on the first day.  Lucky for us, the nurses and doctors found her entertaining, even when taking my moms walker into the hall saying hi to all the other patients.  Each time my mom had physical therapy, Avery would walk out in front of her saying, "Come on Gaga, come on!"  She was grandma's personal cheerleader!!  

Edwards Hospital even had a little outdoor courtyard that we spent a lot of time in!

Avery even found a duck to chase!

In addition to helping out my mom, she got to spend some time with Papa and her aunts and cousin Lucas!

Finally, a couple videos to share.  The first one is more like a video response to a video my cousin Amy posted of her 3 year old son dancing.  Avery watched this video over and over again and then needed to dance with him!

The second video is one Dave found a little while ago that I never posted.  I have a container of 100 cookie cutters that Avery loves to empty, sort, put back and sometimes she uses the container as a hat.  Enjoy!

And now, especially with all the warm weather, Avery has been treated to some ice cream.  Her first treat of the season came in the form of the good old Dilly Bar!  On the stick was a bit challenging so we ended up with it in a bowl!  Hope you are all enjoying the warm weather too!  Love from Bloomington!

Easter "Hop"penings

We hope everyone had an enjoyable time with their families over the Easter holiday.  Ours was really nice and especially fun with Avery being able to run around looking for eggs and take part in some of the other traditional activities. 

Of course, what is an Easter without some egg coloring?  Last year, she was not old enough to help with this, but this year we thought we would try it out.  Avery is in a stage now where she wants to do everything on her own!  Including dying eggs.  Surprisingly, this activity worked out neater than we had thought (hence the towels on the table!)

Helping drop in the color tablet

We, I mean she, was very excited about the eggs turning colors.

Avery wanted to get the eggs out on her own....

Then, the following morning, of course there was the Easter egg hunt.  We had been practicing for over a week, so she was an old pro by this time!  And yes, she is dressed in a fleece sleeper, a windbreaker and winter boots. 



Finding her Easter basket!

 Later that afternoon, we were heading to my Grandma's house, Gigi as she is known to Avery, for Easter dinner.  Since there is a new baby in our family, the cradle had to be returned.  But, not before one last ride in it.  Below is a picture of Avery at 1 month old and then her on Easter morning this year!

We decided to do a potluck dinner for Easter and I brought a sunflower cake....

and some deviled eggs...

and since I am not that creative on my own, I guess I should thank Pinterest.  :)

Easter did not get by us without a few gifts for Avery from her great aunts and aunts and ga and papa and gigi.  It seriously was like a mini Christmas.  We were so appreciative of everything Avery got and all of the chocolate that came home with us.  ;)

But, most of all, it was just fun to spend some time with our favorite people!

Avery's personal jungle gym!

Since the weather has been so nice, we have been spending a lot of time outside.  For Christmas, Auntie Ashley gave Avery a sand and water table.  It hasn't been that nice for the water yet and before we could put the sand in, Avery had begun filling it up with the rocks in our backyard.

Last night we attended a surprise party for a family friend.  Dave's parents were in New Jersey visiting their daughter so Avery had been missing them.  She sure was excited to get Papa back playing with her.... her way.  :)

Then, we couldn't help but stop at the park to play a little!

And I think Avery found her new best friend at Ga and Papa's house!  A giant monkey!

I will leave you with this face!  :)  Love from Bloomington!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail!

'Twas the night before Easter and all through our house was the smell of vinegar and eggs and the sound of a peaceful baby asleep in her bed.  Today and this evening we were busy getting ready for the Easter bunny's visit tomorrow, but that post will come later.  Tonight, I want to share with you all of the pre-Easter activities we have done! 

Last weekend, the weather was perfect for everything outdoors.  We began our weekend introducing bubbles to Avery.  She loved them and found it fun to run after them.  However, we have just started seeing Avery's independence come out, full strength.  Everything is "Avery help" which in the end just means she wants to do it alone!  No one can help her with anything.  So, after about 30 minutes of bubbles, we were out of bubbles and full of tears.  Ah...toddlers. 

Later that day, our friends Clint and Georgia had all of our friends and their families out to their lake for an Easter egg hunt.  Avery was excited to hang out with her friends and run around all afternoon.  One of our friends' little guys, Cole, had a big crush on Avery and kept trying to hug or kiss her.  Avery didn't want anything to do with it, but it was still funny to watch!



Dale, Cole and Clint



Getting a little help from Nellie


 

Once she had a taste of hunting eggs, it was all she wanted to do.  So, we took her plastic eggs home and repeatedly hid her eggs in our backyard. 

Then, she wanted to "hide" them for daddy.  Yes, she is putting them all under a bush.  I didn't say she completely understood the idea behind the Easter egg hunt.  :) 

And of course, a little flying time!

This week, Avery has started really playing with her animals and toys.  She makes them "talk" to each other, run or hop down the halls and completely interact.  Her favorite thing to do is have her toys look at everything she can see.  Including the deck...

Also, this week, Avery got her first "injury" that required a band-aid.  So she went to the store with daddy to pick out which kind.  She also really liked to kiss her owie as much as she could!

Happy Easter to all of our friends and families!  I will post again this week!