Hoedown!

Having Fun at the Hoedown!

Last night was the ECFE fall kick off event at the Lincoln Community Center. A free event especially for kids ages 1-5. The kick off event had a Hoedown theme, so it was perfect for our little cow poke.

Dressed for the Hoedown

Jack Pearson kicked things off with a concert. Jack Pearson is great performer, when I was little he performed at my elementary school, I have very fond memories of those performances, and I even had his tape, it was one of my favorites. At first Avery wasn’t sure what was going on there were lots of kids (and not his Golden Heart friends) and a guy with a guitar. As usual after a little time he got more comfortable, he couldn’t take his eyes of Jack while he played all his instruments and sang, and danced.

Enjoying some live music

Once the concert was over we headed outside to check out the petting zoo and games and tractor that was out on the lawn. Of course Avery had a great time exploring the petting zoo, the sheep and mini horse are always his favorites.

Avery's friend the sheep

Avery loves the mini horses

Pretending to be part of the petting zoo 

Mama the scarecrow and Avery the farmer 

Driving tractor with daddy

The ECFE class rooms were open and there were other activities and games set up in the gym but we opted to head to play ground instead, missing out on some fun I am sure but we had our own fun at climbing and sliding and playing outside.

Peek!

New play grounds are so fun to explore!

It was a really great event, Avery got a free book to top it all off, we will have to make sure to go again next year (and explore a little more)!

Little Helper

Every week since before Avery was born I have gotten an email from babycenter.com about things to except for the stage of life Avery is currently at. This week the topic of the email is how toddlers are natural-born helpers. I totally agree, Avery loves to help. For a long time Avery has been an excellent helper with simple jobs, take this to daddy, put this on the table sort of stuff. Recently though Avery has stepped up his helper-ness, and has been an especially good helper for Papa (my dad). 

Papa's little helper

Last week when Papa reinstalled a patio door, Avery helped by handing Papa screws, and this weekend while Papa was working on his jeep and changing his oil, Avery helped by handing him tools and putting the sockets on the impact wrench for him. It is also so cute to see him helping, and he is always so proud of himself when his is done. I love our good helper, wonder how long the good helper phase lasts?

Pony Rides $5

This weekend Jon had another softball tournament. The tournament was a part of Well’s Kernel Days Celebration, besides the softball tournament there was a volleyball, and bean bag tournament, a talent show, petting zoo, street dance, car show, and parade. Watching Daddy play softball was only one of the reasons Avery and I were there, the other was the petting zoo. Avery has been to a few places lately where he has see and touch animals but I knew there was one thing that he could do at this petting zoo that he could do at any of the others he has been too, ride a pony! We explored the petting zoo first, Avery got to see rabbits, pigs, puppies, a raccoon, a lamb, goats, a lama, ponies, and a donkey. 

Feeding a neigh neigh 

come here little piggy

sleepy little raccoon 

Then it was time for Avery to saddle up. He road a nice little pony name Jewel. He had a great time being lead around, I am so glad he got to have that experience. 

Getty Up!

Avery riding Jewel

After our trip to the petting zoo we had lots of time to kill before the next game so Avery played some bean bags and had a great team running around. Avery even had his first taste of cotton candy, at first he wasn’t sure what to do with it, finally he had a taste, I don’t think he was too impressed.  

What's this? Pocket Lint?

Okay I'll try it.

Huh.

A neigh neigh ride and cotton candy, what a great day!

Avery the Farmer

A week or so ago Avery got to play farmer or more like gardener when he was helping GT pick some cucumbers from his garden. 

Cucumber delivery for GG

Avery happily demonstrated his new farming skills for me the other day. First picking some green beans then harvesting the tomatoes.

Harvesting the tomatoes

It was best he would pick a tomato and then act like he was going to throw it at Grandma. Avery also really enjoyed poking and then squishing the tomatoes.

Poke..Poke...Squish!

 Our farmer sure had a good time outside that night!

Helping Grammy pull weeds and pick up
 sticks, he is so helpful!

Mud Pie

Do you know what you get when a little boy sitting a gravel/dirt pile puts a spoonful of dirt and rocks his mouth and his mom gives him a glass a water to wash his mouth out with, and then the little boy dumps the remaining water out on the previously mentioned gravel/dirt pile.... Mud!

Mud Pie face

And do you know what a little boy must do when he sees mud? Yep, make a mud pie or at least take a scoop of it with his toy spoon and stick it directly in his mouth, (and then spit it out, cause it's not so yummy).

Avery with his mud pie tools

No childhood can be complete without eating some dirt or at least one mud pie!

Nicollet County Fair

Avery & Me at the Nicollet County Fair 2012

Today Avery went to the Nicollet County fair, his first county fair!  County Fairs are fun, there are always so many great things to see and eat! One of the main reasons I wanted Avery to go to the fair is to see the animals up close, not like at the zoo, where the animals are so far away or behind glass. Avery got to see the 4H horses (neigh neighs), goats, chickens, ducks, lambs, bunnies, pigs, and cows. 

Neigh Neighs! 

Ducks!

Come closer lambs, i want to pet you!

Avery took full advantage of the fact that he could get so close to so many animals, reaching into the many of the cages and stalls to try to pet the animals (not sure he was suppose to , opps). There was one particularly friendly sheep that nibbled and licked Avery, so to show his appreciation to the sheep Avery tried to give him a kiss on his nose. 

Avery trying to kiss the sheep

Besides all the 4H animals there was also a petting zoo, Avery marched himself right in glancing at the animals as he b-lined it to where the mini horse was. He was in heaven, a neigh neigh just his size! 

This Neigh Neigh is just my size!

After we got our fill of the animals we headed to the food building for a little lunch. To finish off our fair outing, and space we had left in our stomachs, we headed to the dairy building for a milkshake and some funnel cake.

Learning to use a straw

Two Handed Milkshake eating - Spoon & Straw!

We definitely had a good time at the fair!

Golden Heart Grill Out 2012

From 11-1:30 today on the lawn at Avery’s daycare was the annual Golden Heart Grill Out, a fundraiser for Golden Heart activities and field trips. So of course that is where I, along with both sets of Avery’s grandparents had lunch, $3 for a hotdog/chips/drink or $4 for a hamburger/chips/drink and $.50 for ice cream treats. As a special surprise for Avery I sprung him from daycare and brought him outside to eat/sit with his grandparents.

Hanging out at the Grill Out with the Grandparents

 He was so happy to see all of us at lunch. He sat at the picnic table with us and was so good. He ate pickles and GT chips, and half my ice cream sandwich, and watched a forklift drive around the parking lot delivering more picnic tables to the Grill Out. 

Avery with GG &GT

Avery with Grammy & PaPa

When we were all done eating I took him back into daycare so that he could go down for his nap and continue the rest of his normal day. I think we all had a great time having lunch with Avery, and it looked like the whole event was very successful. Cant wait to do it again next year.

Nineteen Months

Avery at 19 Months Old

Today Avery is 19 months old, and as usual I find myself wondering where has this last month gone? Well I guess I know where it’s gone, to the park, swimming, on bike rides, visits to the doctor, Avery has played away an entire month, growing and learning the entire time. And boy is growing, he is becoming more and more of a  little boy right in front of my eyes. He is still wearing 18 month shorts and 2T tee-shirts and size 4 diapers but I think he will soon be needing a new pair of shoes, as his size 6 shoes are getting a wee bit small. As for learning, Avery is so smart (says every parent of their own child) he know so many things and can communicate those things so well (he has lots of words), he frequently puts 2 and three words together, says please and thank you. He never ceases to amaze me all the things he can do. He is the greatest, and we love his so much!

First Dairy Queen

We’ve had another string of hot days lately so to cool off we headed to Dairy Queen West. Avery had his first Dairy Queen cone, sitting outside watching the cars and trucks go by, just loving life! 

First Dairy Queen Cone!

His cone was melting just as fast as he could eat so as you can imagine he was a bit messy when he was done. Nothing a quick dunk in the tub didn’t fix. 

Giving a spoon a try

You get extra messy when you start eating
the bottom of the cone before all the
ice cream is gone.

Before we headed home Avery took a little walk on top of the retaining wall in front of the store and had a scoop of dirt from the flowers, and making our trip extra special Avery got to see one of this favorite daycare ladies, who was there having a treat with her family. Avery first trip to the DQ couldn’t have been better!

Como Zoo & Conservatory

Today was a big day for Avery, he went to the Como Zoo! The morning started out a little rainy and cold but by the time we got to the zoo, the rain had stopped and it was starting to warm up. Being Avery’s first trip to the zoo we choose to go to Como Zoo & Conservatory (which smaller and free) rather then the larger Minnesota Zoo.  Como was really a great choice, it has so many of the animals Avery knows (or can make the sound for), like monkeys, lions, and giraffes, and a few he wasn’t as so familiar with (or doesn’t  know the sound for) like, seals, zebras, and flamingoes. 

Avery adding his nose print to
the Monkey glass

Nap time for the Lions

Checking out the penguins with Daddy

Mommy and Avery and the "Raffs"

Watching the seals swim

We started our Como adventure in the conservatory, looking at  all the flowers and plants, then we made the way to all the animal habitats, stopping to have our picnic lunch with the giraffes before moving on see the rest of the animals . 

Having lunch with the "Raffs" 

One thing I learn on our trip to the zoo is taking pictures of Avery proved to be semi difficult because he was far more interested in the animals, then looking at the camera so I could get a great picture to capture this memory with, oh well, we were there to see the animals after all :).  It really was a great day to get out, Avery got to see so many new things. I also got to see something I have never seen before, a Diaper Bag Basics vending machine, it was filled with all sorts of the baby supplies for diapers and wipes, to sippy cups and children's silverware, even a pacifier lease and nursing cover, it was a regular little Target. 

Diaper Bag Basics vending machine

Everything you need

By the time we headed home the sun was out and were we were sweating. I am so glad we went, I had so much fun next year we will have to make a trip to the Minnesota Zoo but for this year the Como Zoo was perfect.

Great Gate!

Avery checking out his new gate

We finally have a gate across the top of our stairs! Prior to having our permanent gate installed we closed the door on one side of the stairs and put a cheap wooden expanding gate on the other side of the stairs, not a bad solution but an annoying process. Why didn’t we just put the wooden expanding gate across the stairs you ask. For one, the stairs are too wide for the gate we had and the other issue is that the walls on either side of the stairs are different lengths, making installing most gates imposable. Hoping that something out there  would work, as is or with a little modification, I did purchase two different gates, but of course neither worked. So like many things we had to go the custom route.  The requirements for the gate were simple, prevent Avery from falling down the stairs, easily allow us to got down the stairs, and a way for the cat to get thru to his food. Thankfully my dad is a gate building expert, having built (over engineered) a gate for my parents stairs already, so he was the perfect guy for the job.

Avery testing out my parents gate
 prior to final install

After a lot of thought and work my dad completed and installed Avery great gate last night!

Open 

Closed

Diesel sneaking thru

I am very glad to have the gate in place, thanks so much for all your hard work dad!