I told her she looked like Alice In Wonderland and I think this is from that!
The patented Avery side head cock!!
And what is dressing up in a fancy dress without being able to spin??
The real Avery comes out!!
Oliver found this can of Dr. Pepper in the garage the other day and carried it around forever! It eventually popped and the fun was over, but we got some good photos before that happened!
So this is in honor of Jayne because she LOVES Dr. Pepper. It is, without question, where my love of Dr. P developed!
-He loves his big sister! When she wakes up in the morning, he walks over to the bottom of the stairs and gets a huge smile on his face! If she lays on the floor, he will tackle her immediately! He "steam rolls" her with a big grin on his face the entire time!
-He is such a little troublemaker!!! He'll put something in his mouth and take off really fast trying to get away before we can get it out! He thinks he's sooo funny when he hands us something and fakes us out. He'll climb up to the 2nd stair and then turn around with a little smirk on his face wondering how far we're going to let him go!
-When he really likes something or wants something he says, "oooohhhoooo" It's so cute, he's got the neighbors saying it too!
-He loves balls and stuffed animals! "Ball" is one of the only things he says and he will spend 15-20 minutes just chasing a ball around by himself! He loves hugging stuffed animals! He really loves tackling big stuffed animals!
Ok... enough talking- on the the pictures!! Apparently, Jeff did most of the picture taking, so you'll be seeing a lot of me!
The festivities began the night before when the assembly of the toys began! We wanted to do it ahead of time so the kids could play with toys at the party... doesn't this look fun??
And so, the morning of his birthday, we couldn't make him wait to play with his present from mom and dad... I think he likes it!!!
Avery spent some time walking the neighbors dog/horse!!! She got a new crown because she was having a hard time with the "presents are for Oliver" concept.
Now its party time! 
Here he is enjoying his first chips with our friend Jen.
Making him wear the dreaded hat.... we had this exact one for Avery when she was one and she hated it too!
Having some fun in his swing... he really liked it that the balloon bonked him in the head every time he would swing. Aaaaahhhh, boys!
Then we got to open some amazing presents! So fun to get so many new toys!!!
Trying out the new Kawasaki!!!!
On to the cake!!! Since Oliver loves balls so much, we decided to do a ball theme for his party! So we made some ball cakes and the kids got playground balls as their party favor. There were playground balls flying all around our cul-de-sac!!! Anyway, here's the cake. He was hesitant at first, then liked it for a bit, then got really mad that he was still in his highchair!
So a fun day was had by all! Cornhole was played, bikes were riden, yummy food was consumed... good times! We love you big-boy Oliver!!!!!
I made her uncock her head. And she said, "ok, but in the next one, can I do my head sideways because its cuter." Turns out I do like this one better!
This was her "first day of school" leap...
With her teacher, Miss Heather.
And with her other teacher, Miss Dierdre.
All ready for some learnin'!
Well, she loved it. She said her favorite part was walking around the whole school and taking a tour. She asked if I was going to get her a surprise for after school. Huh. Do you think I've conditioned her for some high expectations? Well, I couldn't disappoint... and since its Oliver's birthday this week he's going to be getting lots of presents and attention... I figured I'd spoil her a bit. And really, let's be honest... I've been waiting for the excuse to indulge for a while now.... so here's the deal... I'm a sucker for my daughter and I'm a sucker for some serious movie cheeziness.... so she may have received the High School Musical series!!! I'll wrap things up with some Oliver silliness...
She finally passed a level in swim lessons! This is the first time she's actually advanced a level. She took a few rounds of swim lessons last year but we stopped due to lack of progress/a certain someone's extreme stubborn-ness. So, we started this summer and again, she just won't do something unless she knows all of the possible outcomes. It's quite impressive really- her resolve to stay safe. Anyway, after we got back from Arizona (where we swam every day) something clicked and she was a swimming all-star! So she actually got to move up a level!
She had her first sleepover! Her little buddy came over last weekend and they had so much fun giggling until the wee hours! They were up until 11:45!! I can't imagine how late she'll stay up when she's a teenager!
She has been so good at playing independently lately! It's so fun to listen to the worlds she creates! She has not historically been good- AT ALL- at playing by herself. But I think the addition of some hand-me-down Barbies has changed her world! I love it! It's hard to catch her in these worlds because she always wants to ham it up for the camera. But the video below is one where she didn't know I was taping her! I think she's acting out the audition scene from High School Musical with her own, original, "princessy", musical number!
Finally, she started soccer again! This time its outdoor- which means she gets to wear cleats!!! They've got a pink swoosh! Here are some pictures! I love this first one! I think she looks like a total bad a--!!! 
The only explanation I can offer for this one is that the first time she put on her soccer stuff she said, "I feel like a cool girl!!" and then struck this pose! This is the second week and she's still feelin' like a cool girl, apparently!!!
Ok, here are some pictures of Avery being...Avery!!! So she said she was going to look for something in the garage. I heard this banging around and she was gone for a while. I peeked in and this is what she was doing. I think we had been watching softball on tv recently... so she said she was doing her hitting (in her pj's and flip-flops). Note the batting helmet she put on..."because that's what the softball girls do"!
Around the same time (of softball watching) she found this visor from when she was a baby. I think its a 12 month size! But she really wanted to wear it to be like the softball girls- and since my heart was doing leaps and twirls on the inside- I couldn't deny her a visor!!!
Yeah- so here she is washing her playhouse dishes, in the baby pool, while wearing her helmet, a sparkly dress-up top, and a tutu. Enough said.
Making a silly face at dinner...
And still lovin' on her baby brother!!!
