33 months - October

Where does the time go?  I can't believe we are almost in November which means this baby is coming right around the corner.  Next thing I know it will be Christmas!

The last month has been quite busy.  We have been trying to get settled in the new house and needless to say it has been a little stressful but we can't be happier to be here.  I sure hope by the time this baby decides to make her debut, that we fully settled in this house.  We are getting close but moving is not fun.  I sure hope that we are here for awhile!

Avery has settled in quite nicely in her life here in SD.  She has plenty of friends that she sees on a regular basis and goes to many fun places with Nana and Papa and Aunt Boo. 
This month she want to Disney on Ice with Aunt Boo

And to Sea World a few times since we bought year passes.  She talks about Shamu quite a bit.
We took her to the beach one day as well since it is still beautiful here!

We also went to Orange County to do a Little Mermaid Tea with her friend Gwen

And we went to Disneyland for a few days as well! She sure loves it there.  This time we even ate at Ariel's Grotto and I am sure that we will be back for more!  We all loved it there.  Food was great and the princesses come right to you!

We also had Gwen J. birthday party at the Pumpkin Patch/Petting Zoo

With our busy schedule she has been going down for naps a bit later and going to be around 9 or so.  She will typically wake up right around 730 or so.  Her little outbursts have dwindled quite a bit and I think she is learning from them.  Sometimes she puts herself on a little time out when she just needs to re-group.

Her room and playroom are really coming together.  She sure loves them and it is nice for her to be in her room and be able to play by herself.  She has little conversations with herself and is quite content playing on her own.  This is really a fun age and she is pretty self sufficient these days.  Her favorite word is "maybe" and many times she will say "I have an idea, how about.... that would be a great idea!" 

I know I have a biased opinion but I think she gets funnier by the day.  The things that come out of her mouth are hilarious and I have no idea where she gets them.  She is into ANYTHING princess and if she had it her way, she would wear a dress just about everyday.  She loves to dance and do ballet and twirls.  During a recent trip to Costco which by the way take a good solid hour so she can look at all the new toys, she happily just perused the toys, but the moment that she saw the holiday dresses, she had to have one and had to put it on the moment she got home...

She also wakes up and from the moment she is awake, her mouth moves non-stop and she wants to play dress up right away.  She is such a little girl, I sure was not that way when I was her age!

We are continuing to prepare her for this little one to come any time now and she is dead set on naming her Strawberry Shortcake.  It could be that she is pretty into that show right now.   Next month will be pretty busy with no name nelly coming but I will do my best to keep up!

Lastly, here are some pics from the pumpkin patch we went to..

As well as from Halloween!

We moved!

Well I have been waiting for this day for some time.  After almost 5 years in Las Vegas, we have officially moved back to San Diego!  We have been in the new house for almost two weeks and we are closer to getting settled but still have a lot to do!  We have quite a bit of decorating and making this home a "home" but we get a little closer every day and being back in San Diego is worth all the stress.  I will miss our family in Vegas and the friends that we made but I am sure that we will be back and they will have to come visit us!

Leading up to the move was a bit stressfull to say the least.  We had Avery with us just about every day which was a bit of a challenge but she was a trooper.  Whenever we tried to pack things in the old house, she would freak out and say "oh no, my ...."  She really didn't like things out of place or us putting her things away.  It took her awhile to realize that her things were just being moved.  She still didn't really like the idea of that but she got over it.  She kept saying that was going to come back to this house (Vegas) so we were a little unsure of how she would do long term but now if you ask her, she says that this house is better because it has more "light".  I have no idea what she means by that but in her mind, I am sure that it makes sense. 

We really do love this new house though and Avery has such a big room!  We have some things that we still need to do to her room but she sure loves her new big girl bed!  She knows that she has to stay in her bed until we come get her and she has been a champ in it since day 1! Her latest thing is that she knows not to call us until the sun comes out and then she can be awake which is typically around 7-7:30.  In fact this morning I wanted to sleep in and she came in and said "momma you have to wake up, the sun is up, see" and then went over to the window and opened it to show me.  Not much gets by her.

In our new house we have a much bigger back yard which is really nice for Avery.  We are about a mile and half from my parents and we have great friends from college that live about 10 houses away.  We are so close to just about everything and we are loving this weather!  I do miss our old house and the memories that we made there.  It was the first house that Ben and I bought together, the house we brought our first child home to, and we spent the first five years of our life together there, but change is good and we are ready! 

Goodbye Vegas, hello San Diego! ( I will add pics to this post later:)

32 months - September

What a month!  Most of the month we spent either packing, moving, or unpacking so I have to say I have lacked in the picture category but I will get better this month.  We started the month by Ben and I going to Cabo for a few days for a little baby moon before this little girl comes.  Avery stayed with Abagee and Papa (Grammy and Grampa but she has since made her own names for them, similiar to what she did for Aunt Boo who is supposed to be Aunt Beckie).  She had a great time and Ben and I had a great time with some friends in Cabo.  A big thanks to the McAullife's for letting us stay in their beautifull condo in Cabo!

Once we got home, it was packing full force.   The Saturday before we left, we had a little get together with our friends which was nice.  Then the movers came on Monday and Aves and I were there for a few hours in the morning but we realized pretty quick that we had to get her out of there.  So I took her to play and then off to Abagee's house for a nap.  We ended up staying at Marv and Jan's house that night and then Aves and I flew to SD the next day while Ben stayed behind one more day and packed up some last minute things and drove the car out.  The movers showed up with our stuff on Thursday and after a few hiccups along the way, we are now in our new house!

The day the movers came Aunt Boo took Avery to Legoland and of course she had a great time.  Aunt Boo sure does spoil her! My mom has started having her a few days a week and they have gone to Sea World now twice and a few other fun places.  I know that the schedule will change quite a bit once this new baby comes but for now we are enjoying being able to get Aves out and about as much as we can and really enjoy San Diego! 

Overall Avery has been really good with the move.  We know there is a lot of transition with her with a new house, new baby, new bed.  She has had her moments that we are trying to avoid but she is pretty strong willed.  She has had to go to time out quite a bit and we have begun to take away her toys when she acts out.  I hope that this will help her realize that her behavior is not going to be tolerated but I am trying to have patience knowing that she is going through quite a bit of change.  95% of the time she is the sweetest, most loviest little girl.  She loves to give hugs and kisses and she is really quite a funny.  Then within a split second she can turn into a little monster but at least it is short lived.  Must be those terrible twos!  Gotta love her though!!

Avery's schedule is pretty much the same as it has been.  She goes to bed a little later here since we have been pretty busy so she is finally down about 9.  Most days we have to wake her up at 5:30 from her nap so going to be a little later is ok.  She has been waking up around 7 or 730.  She loves her new bed and she is quite particular about what "friends" get to sleep lined up next to her.  If you try to put a different one on her bed, she can tell right away and makes you take it out of the room or if she is missing one she knows exactly which one and where it is. 

She has been playing with her friends here in SD quite a bit and really getting a taste of what it will be like to have to share her toys when her sister comes.  Most of the time she was fine but we are working through some of those moments.  She really has gotten into reading on her own and she tells the story in her own way.  She can also play pretty well on her own which is nice!  Her diet consists of about 5 things, chicken and french fries, pizza, quesidilla, soup, blueberries, strawberries, She also really loves to take showers these days.  We try to take them with her but she is such a water hog!  Our water bill has gone up as a result of her! 

She has also not used the pacifier in about a week.  I have not brought it up to her at all and she just one day didn't ask for it and has not asked for it since.  I am praying that we are done with that phase but we shall see.  I have continued to be so worried about every phase but the transistion from crib to bed and no pacifier could not have gone smoother.  Thank you God! 

Other than Avery updates, we are just busy getting settled into our new house and waiting for this new baby to come.  She still does not have a name and it may be a gametime decision unless something comes to us in the middle of the night!