Decorating Christmas Cookies

We did this before Christmas, but I never had a chance to post the pictures. Avery had fun decorating the cookies but I think he ate more frosting than he put on the cookie. His favorite was the sprinkles.





The finished product

Merry Christmas!

From our family to yours, we hope you enjoyed celebrating his birthday.

You Know You're From WI When.....

You win a chunk of cheese in your negotiations class! Scott was given this tasty trophy for winning the negotiation, and tasty it was.

Avery's Two Favorite Things

The tub and balls!

Words!

Avery's been learning and saying so many words lately. I thought this was a funny one to remember. I always have a chapstick on me and and he loves chapstick so he's quickly learned the word for it. Here he is on my bed asking me for my chapstick. Listen closely and you can hear it.

Finding the Perfect Tree

We headed out to a "cut your own" Tree farm yesterday to find the perfect Christmas Tree. After looking at a few trees we decided on this Blue Spruce.


Timber!




Laura and Avery decorating the tree. Avery was excited that the tree from the farm ended up in our house.


All decorated. This was the best picture we could get.


We were all looking here, but it ended up blurry. I managed to get Avery to look and to get Venus to stay because I was giving them bites of candy cane.

Christmas Lights

Tonight on the spur of the moment, Scott, Venus, Avery, Laura, and I dashed out the door to see the Christmas Lights. It was a really cold night, with a few flakes falling and Christmas music blaring. Avery enjoyed playing in the front seat with the various knobs and buttons more than he liked the lights. He would give an occasional Ooooooooh.

Cookie Walk

Today we went on a walk that the historical society sponsored to help raise money for the Crosse House restoration. This wasn't just any walk, it was a walk to collect cookies! We paid $3 for a box that we decorated and then we walked around to 17 different businesses downtown to gather our cookies. It was a wonderful family time, the snow was falling and Avery was running around all bundled up. Venus even enjoyed the time as many business owners let her come inside too. She snuck a few treats here and there. At the end of the walk, we were greeted by Santa and Avery didn't even cry. He was excited because Santa had a candy cane for him.

This was the beginning of our craft project. Avery loved swimming in the puff balls.


Our cookie man (the box, not Avery).


Avery wanted to pull the nose off.


Here are all our cookies. Paco is excited to hold them in his belly. (For those of you who've never met Paco, he's our cookie jar in the picture).

Puerto Vallarta Mexico!

This year we traveled to Mexico over Thanksgiving because I was in my friend, Irene's wedding. It was a perfect 85 degrees every day. They have 300 sunny days a year! It was Avery's first plane ride and he did great. We had a bag full of toys that were new to him and they helped keep him somewhat entertained. The wedding was beautiful and I was so happy to be able to be a part of it since Irene and I have been friend's since first grade. It was also fun to be able to be on vacation with my closest high school friends and their families.

He loved watching the planes in the airport.


Here we are enjoying a book together.


This was the place we stayed at. We had an ocean view room, ours was on the second floor- there's a towel hanging from the balcony.


Avery and Layna building sandcastles.


There were seven different pools at our resort. I liked this one because there was a shallow end that was only ankle deep and Avery enjoyed playing there.


We enjoyed a wonderful thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings.


The wedding party.




Dancing with "Grandpa" Risic


This is at the boardwalk downtown.

Interview with Avery

I turned the camera on Avery to see what he had to say. He didn't have much to say but he finally said mama. Bob ba = Mama for those that need an Avery translator. He has also been calling himself baby. Enjoy

A few fun videos

Leaves!

Today was a beautiful day out so I thought Avery would enjoy jumping in his first leaf pile. I raked a huge pile in the middle of the yard and then waited to see what he would do. Here is the series I took showing his reaction to the leaves and pile.

He watched me the whole time I raked the leaves.


Once I was done raking, I tried to get him to jump in, but he just stood there. This is after I put him in the pile. He wasn't too thrilled and wanted out. I was even running in and out of the leaves and jumping in, but he wasn't very interested. He did try to run through once.


Being the hard worker he is, he enjoyed raking the leaves more.


Here he is laughing because Venus and I were having a leaf fight. I would throw them at her and she would charge me.

Meet the Old Guy

Boo at the Zoo

To celebrate my birthday with my family this year we went to the zoo. It was a special day at the zoo because you could trick or treat there. The kids enjoyed the animals more than the candy so we spent most of the time watching them and playing on the new equipment in the children's zoo area. The coolest part was when the lion started to roar. I've never heard one do that before and it's quite intimidating. Avery thought it was cool until the lion got closer and louder.


Pirate Austin, Duckie Jaycent, Dragon Avery, and Jester Gaven




This is the homemade cake Scott made. It was an amazing double chocolate seven layer cake.

Celebrating 30 years!

I can't believe today is my 30th birthday! Time goes faster as you get older. Some have asked if I mind turning 30- the answer is of course not. It's just a number and it means that I've been able to live for 3o years, what a blessing! One friend said birthdays are good for you- the more you have the longer you get to live. So far, I've had an awesome life with so many adventures. I wouldn't trade a single experience in and I look forward to 30 more! For my birthday Scott took me horseback riding on Friday. I had so much fun going on the trails- it was just Scott, the guide and me. I rode a horse named Carlos- he was quite the horse. During the ride I got to hear Scott scream like a girl when his horse started running too fast! I think that was the highlight of the ride. Meet Carlos.....

Fun at Olbrich

Today Tim, Dianne, Laura, Avery and I enjoyed the Fall at the botanical gardens.

4th Annual Friend's Weekend

I love this time of year for many reasons- the pretty fall colors, nice crisp weather (although we haven't seen that yet because it's been in the 80's and muggy), my birthday, and the annual friend's weekend. I love when we all get together and play games, laugh, eat, and celebrate our lives as adults. This year we celebrated my 30th. I can't believe these girls have been celebrating my birthday for 23 years. It's great having friends that have known you for so long. The high light of the trip this year was boom ball. The cabin we were staying in in the dells had a basement with cement floors and chairs on wheels. We used dog kennels as goals, various racquet's we found around the house, and a sponge bob ball. We rolled around the basement on teams trying to make goals. The best part was we didn't have to pay for all that fun- it was free. We had considered doing something in the dells but things are so expensive there. Here is a picture- it's not the best one but no one really wanted to take time out to take a picture and this was the best one we have. Layna's head is cut off and it's blurry, but at least we have the memory!

He's watching you!

So I've been meaning to post this story for awhile. The picture has nothing to do with it- I just think it's a funny picture of his eye. Anyway, for those of you who know me, you know that I have a candy dish that is always full of candy. Well... now Avery knows there is a candy dish full of candy. He can't quite see the candy, but he knows where it is. The other day Scott was in the kitchen and Avery came running in with a candy wrapper he had pulled from the living room garbage. He handed it to Scott and signed "more" because he wanted some candy! He's truly my son.