Fun in the Sun

It has felt like we've had a long, cold winter this year. Although we have not yet reached Spring, there were a few days that our family was able to take advantage of the much-awaited sunshine.
Last year at this time, Avery pretty much just wandered about the yard picking up things as we coaxed him not to put the objects in his mouth. This year, he has been able to run, jump, kick and throw a ball, draw with sidewalk chalk, ride his trike, etc... He still wanders about the yard exploring things, but we've noticed his little imagination at work. He has the rocks and sticks involved in role playing, he gives names to the plants and berries in which he read in storybooks and even tries to carry on conversations with the neighbor's dog. We look forward to watching him as he enjoys experiencing many more new things outside as the weather warms up.

Blueberry Pancakes

It's fun to see a little kid's imagination at work. Avery recently rented a Curious George book at the library in which George, the monkey, helps make blueberry pancakes. At lunch, he tried making his own pancakes by poking blueberries in his bread and telling me about his George pancakes. However, when I let him help me make actual blueberry pancakes, he decided he didn't like the taste and picked out the blueberries.

Alvin and Dale Chipmunks

Grandpa Alvin gave Avery a stuffed Alvin the Chipmunk doll at his last visit. It has become his best friend and travels everywhere with Avery. Noticing his interest in chipmunks, we rented a Chip and Dale video from the library. Avery LOVES this video and will ask to watch it over and over. However, he refuses to acknowledge Chip. It must be "Alvin and Dale".

Toddler Hygiene

We're trying to teach Avery about taking care of himself in the mornings by having a daily routine of brushing his teeth, washing his face and brushing his hair. While he may be more interested in chewing on his toothbrush and sucking the Thomas the Tank Engine toothpaste, or trying to toss the hairbrush in the toilet, at least it's a start.

Quite the Talker

In the past few weeks, we picked up on the fact that Avery sometimes strings together three words to verbalize what he is thinking. Ex.) "Mama brush teeth." and "Mickey Mouse cup." He is also trying to sound out the letter "x". We've caught him prounouncing "mail" "bock" "sss" (mailbox). Likewise, he is starting to use adjectives to describe nouns. Ex.) "fish diaper" (his Finding Nemo pull-ups) and "blue blankie".

Avery's First Time Playing in the Snow!

Potty Time

Avery has begun showing interest in the "potty" after recieving a potty book for Christmas. The book's main character is a boy learning the process. Avery insists that I refer to the little boy as "baby Avery" when I read the book to him in the bathroom. Since he is only two, and the fact that I'm in the middle of reading a few books on potty training to figure out what the heck I'm doing, we decided to take this potty training business slow and at his own pace. He is learning the names for things, reading other potty books from the library and we occasionally spend time in the bathroom rereading the book and practicing what to do. He will tell us that he wants to go potty, but it's often after he has messed his diaper. It seems like he knows what to do, but just hasn't mastered the bodily control to "hold it" until he can make it to the bathroom in time. Clint and I weren't really going to try to potty train him until this summer, but since Avery shows the initiative to learn, we thought we would go along with Avery's lead and then perhaps really focus on training this summer if Avery seems ready. In the meantime, I hope Avery has patience with his mommy as we try to figure out this potty training business together.