Continually Amazed!

The Stevens' house is in full blown toddler mode. Avery's vocabulary has exploded. She is leanring new words everyday. She is getting interested in games and loves to play Simon Says. Over the past few days she has been letting me know right after she's gone potty and removes her diaper. I am going to have to jump on the potty train a lot sooner than I wanted.
Avery is still into Sesame Street and Elmo. In fact she copies everything they do, so all day you'll hear her say "ten toes, casa (or caca in Avery speak), la la la la, Zoe, Elmo, cookie - c c - cookie yum yum yum, and laughing Ah! Ah! Ah! like the count. I'm telling you - she is a riot!
The climbing has gotten much better and I am so relieved. We are getting outside to play more since the weather has been nice, so Avery is in heaven. She gets her purse and goes to the door saying "Bye Momma!"
Yesterday was the first morning where Avery called for me in the morning without tears. Normally it is sobbing, "Mommmaaaa", but yesterday she was chipper and I heard "Momma, Momma" in the monitor. It was a beautiful sound.

Having Fun!

We've been having loads of fun this month. Avery is full of surprises everyday, but just watching her embrace all the new things around her makes life worthwhile.
We have been to the Aquarium where Avery learned about "phish". The sea turtles were her favorite. She has taclked the toddler zone at the Children's Museum with her buddy Claire. Her vocabulary is growing faster than I can say boo. In fact this morning she decided to copy mommy's example and say "Ta Da!", when I pulled her arm through her shirt. She also kisses the bath water bye bye. What a silly girl she is!
This past weekend we went out of town. Avery had her first swimming experience and was in hog heaven. Let me tell you, I may be biased, but she is a natural. She got right in and started kicking away. Someday we'll get the arm thing down. She even went under without protest.
Saturday we ventured out to COSI and had a blast more water adventures there, but her favorite thing was washing her hands at the sink - granted there was no running water. She kept saying "I wass hands", so we did for probably 30 minutes.
She is cutting all 4 two year molars. Not fun for mommy or baby. She can be quite a crank pot when teething. I guess she wouldn't be a toddler without some drama. Boy can she create some drama!
She has started nodding if you ask her if she loves mommy or daddy. We are also getting lots of spontaneous kisses and hugs, so things are really coming along. Avery is an amazing girl.

Christmas and More

Our first Christmas, what fun that was. Avery was just in heaven. She really loves family get togethers, not to mention all the attention she gets showered with. As for presents... the word for the day was "Wow!". She loves her Care Bear ride on and wouldn't even get off of it to open her other gifts. We just piled them on top. I was in awe. It totally lived up to all my expectations. Oh, grandma and grandpa got Avery a sled, big fun! She had her cousins playing sled dog with the rope around their waists towing her around the house for hours. She really IS a princess.
Now that the holidays are over things are settling back into a normal routine. We even experienced our forst illness. Avery got pink eye and an ear infection. I guess it's par for the course following all the holiday festivities. We made it through with only minor upsets - aka chasing her into the corner and holding her down to get drops in her eyes. She decided pink eye was so nice she'd share with mom - Thanks baby girl!
So we are healthy now and on the go! Today we went to the Children's Museum with Jackie and Claire. It was so much fun and Avery was totally loving it. She was all over the place and with as small as she is I had to stay on my toes. I think her favorite area had to be the Water Works. She had to wear this plastic apron to keep her clothes dry it was way to big and looked like a dress all the way to the ground. She poured water (mostly over her head), splashed, pushed boats, and had a WET blast. She was so soaked that I had to take off her shirt and let her wear her sweater home. Anything for some fun.
Popsicles are a new treat, but she likes them cut up. Mmmmm. She is also cutting her 2 year molars. I thought we were going to get a break from the teething thing, guess not. Oh well. At least she is sleeping TONS better. In her own room these days and all night long at that. I am one happy mommy. So nice to be rested. Avery and her daddy are the best of friends now. I left tonight for cheerleading and she didn't even bat an eye. Ouch! I'm glad she is better adjusted though.
We are still just loving our girl and all her new discoveries. She especially loves "round, round - DOWN!" or for those who don't know Avery speak - "Ring Around the Roses".