Six Months Already

It's hard to believe, that Avery has been with us for 6 months. She has really blossomed and I can't imagine what we ever did without her.
We went to the mall a couple weeks ago and there was a display for Sesame Street Live - Avery FREAKED! She started screaming "Ello, Ello!!!!!" Needless to say we are headed to see the show Thursday evening. That's going to be interesting.
The crazy weather has brought on some illness, so we've been homebound much of the last few weeks. Talk about stir crazy! Avery had an ear infection, then got the flu. Poor thing has never been so sick. She is definately back to her wild, crazy self.
She is getting sassy these days. Her new little thing is to put her hands on her hips, when you do something she doesn't like or want and say in an indignant tone "Heeyyyy!" Wonder where she gets that?
We went to the IAC for our 6 month follow-up this week. IT went really well, but Avery's TB test was positive, so she has to do a LONG antibiotic protocol. That should be fun.
Next week starts soccer season. I can't wait - I'm a soccer mom. Can you imagine a bunch of toddlers running around kicking the ball for an hour. I think when soccer is over we'll give gymnastics a shot, since she loved watching her cousins. Talk about glued to their every action.
It's finally been warm enough to hit the park. We had a great day, but she wore me out! My little dare-devil took off down the BIG tunnel slide without her momma. I never went down a slide so fast trying to catch her. she's not a big fan of the swings though - more of a climber for sure. Surprise! Surprise!

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.