Off She Goes

It's official: Avery has mastered the stairs. I have caught her several times halfway up, and once she made it all the way up and was happily entertaining herself in the playroom by the time I figured out where she was. I didn't think we needed two baby gates (we have one at the top of the stairs) but maybe we do!

Plano Balloon Festival

This weekend we went to the Plano Balloon Festival. The weather was great and it was a lot of fun! We sat with some of our friends from Mom's Club. We sat right near the launching field where we saw all the hot-air balloons got aired up and then took off.

Gymboree!

I took Avery to her first Gymboree class today and she loved it! She crawled everywhere and was very interested in what was going on. It's for 10-16 months so the activities were great for her age. It's a little bit farther away than Little Gym, but I couldn't find an LG class that met on Tuesdays or Thursdays (when Aidan's in MDO).

Children's Museum

Today we went to the Children's Museum with some friends from Mom's Club. They had a really neat area just for curious toddlers like mine. There was a water play area, a miniature farm, nature area, and even a place to dig for dinosaur bones. Aidan loved it, and so did Avery...although I think she'll like it a lot more when she's older. Definitely worth a trip back someday!

Peek a Boo!

Today we had a "Hurricane Party" and had Uncle Cody, Aunt Amy, and Cousin Sage over to hang out and play the Wii Fit. Hurricane Ike turned out to be nothing but rain and a little wind all day. Avery is crawling everywhere now, and this is her funny new trick. I really think she wants to stand up and walk because she does this yoga pose where she's on all fours.

Sic 'Em Bears!

This past weekend we went to Waco to hang out with the Brookses. On Saturday we went to campus and saw the Baylor Bear! He (she?) has a newly-built habitat that was really cool. Marcus and Daniel took the older kids (Katy, Hannah, and Aidan) to the game that evening while Jenna and I took James and Avery to Olive Garden :)

Back to School

Yesterday was Aidan's first day back at Mother's Day Out. I can't believe how much he's grown (the second picture is from his first day last year)! He is still going to our church, but is in a new room with new teachers. He did great and didn't even blink when I left. This picture is kind of staged, because I didn't take it until after he got home. Please pardon the runny nose, he and Avery have both come down with yucky allergies.

The Tooth Fairy

This past week at our Mom's Club meeting, we met the Tooth Fairy! She works for a very popular children's dentist in our area, and came to talk to the kids about good oral hygiene. I asked her if she finally could give my 10-month-old her first tooth! Anyway, she had a giant toothbrush and taught the kids to brush in "little bitty circles." So now when I ask Aidan how to brush his teeth, he says "little bitty circles" and rubs his toothbrush on his stomach, just like the Tooth Fairy did to him.

Florida Part 3

Beach pics!! The whole experience was a big hit with both kids. Evenings were really the only time when it wasn't too hot to enjoy it. Grammy bought a sand pail kit for Aidan and a bouncy seat for Avery which were great for the beach. Thanks for everything, Papi and Grammy!

Florida Part 2

My parents rented a beach house in Hollywood, which was right on the beach. It was great! We walked along the boardwalk to have dinner a couple of times and then on Monday we drove to Coral Gables where my parents live. First we rode the trolley to eat lunch, then we saw their apartment. After that we walked over to Papi's office to meet his co-workers. The kids were a big hit, and seemed to need no introduction. I guess Papi has mentioned them once or twice.

Florida Part 1

The kids and I arrived back safely today after a 5-day trip to Florida to see Papi and Grammy! Daniel had to stay home because he had too much going on with work that had piled up while we were busy with house craziness. But I braved it on the plane alone with Aidan and Avery and survived! The kids did great and thankfully both flights were one-way and almost delay-free. I had a bag of tricks plus they both took a nap (see first picture), which was an answered prayer. Here are some pics of us out and about in Florida. On Saturday night we went out to eat, and took some funny pictures outside the restaurant. On Sunday we went to the Miami Seaquarium and saw a Killer Whale and dolphin show, which both kids loved!

Teddy Bear Picnic & Soccer Tots

Monday was Aidan's last day of Soccer Tots. He had a great time and we hope to do it again next summer! Then on Tuesday we went to a Teddy Bear Picnic with our friends from Mom's Club.

Little Gym Fun

After a busy moving day on Wednesday of last week followed by a couple days of unpacking and getting settled, we went to Rhett and Wyatt's birthday party at The Little Gym (can't go wrong with that place!). Avery is crawling now, so she had just as much fun as Aidan did!

So long, old house!

We are moving into our new house tomorrow! I'm actually getting a little sad because we have lived in this house for 5 years and have made a lot of memories here. We watched it being built for us from the ground up, and we brought both of our kids home from the hospital here. I'm sure tons of memories will be made in the new house as well :) In the meantime, packing 5 years' worth of memories SUCKS.