Long weekend - lots of firsts and lasts

We had a great week out here! A lot of 'lasts' and 'firsts'...

First we had Avery's last ballet class of the season. At the last class they have a recital for the parents. It's her 3rd season in the class, and they are finally doing some actual dance steps (skipping and pirouettes mostly). This is the best I could get of a posed picture of her in her tutu....



Obviously she was very excited when they got to wear the rainbow tutus and magic wands...


OK, so they are not really following the teacher yet...but getting better!

The other "last" this week was Avery's swimming class. It was her last class with Jon in the pool. In July she starts her first swim class with just the teacher. Big girl!

On to 'firsts'... Avery rode her big girl bike all the way to the park and back! Ok, she got a few pushes, but she is really starting to pedal!!!

Avery had such a good couple of days that she got to celebrate with her favorite show (this week it's Franklin). Collin decided to watch with her. So cute!!

Another big first around here...Collin started solid foods! Look at how excited he was to get into his highchair....

But look at his face as he tasted his first bite of rice cereal! He hates it!! Hasn't swallowed a single bite in the 5 times that we've tried now over the past few days! We really thought he was going to love it. Avery devoured her whole first bowl of the same stuff. I am not prepared for a picky eater!

The last of our 'firsts' this week - Collin got his first tooth!!! You can't see it in this picture, but I thought I'd post it because it just shows what an awesome little guy we have. He is all smiles even when he has a tooth poking through his gums!

Collin - 5 months old

Collin has started to love to love tummy time. As soon as we lay him down on his back, he flips over! And once he gets on his belly, he can spin all around in a circle playing with toys around him! Not too long until he's mobile! He has been babbling a lot the last few days. And he's really eyeing our food when we eat - I think he will be starting solid foods soon. Here are his 5 month pictures....

Mothers Day

I had a great Mother's Day! I was spoiled rotten by my wonderful husband and I don't think I changed a single diaper all day!! Avery was extra sweet to me all day too - and she got up and wanted to put a pretty dress on right away. And we all went out for an awesome brunch at a vegan restaurant downtown. Here are a couple pictures of me with the kiddos from that morning...





Avery update: Avery is getting really good with her 'spelling'. She can figure out what most words start with when we say them, she can spell a couple words on her own (Avery, stop), and can recognize a lot of words in books. She is also getting really good at writing a few letters (A, M, O, V, X, Y, and sometimes N). Here is her attempt at writing her name...I think it's pretty good for not quite 3 years old!

Collin update: his new trick this week is reaching for his toes. I remember Avery was doing this by around 3 months old, but I think what slowed Collin down was that he is about twice her size! It's hard to lift up those big legs! And of course since I'm twice as busy with 2 kids, I have not been able to get a picture of him holding his toes yet. I swear he was doing it right before I got out the camera to take this picture though...

Fun weekend..

We had a great weekend with a visit from Jon's dad. Avery and Collin both loved spending time with him....



Avery asked to bring her umbrella to Multnomah Falls even though it wasn't raining..."to protect her from the falls"

We also got to go to Sesame Street this weekend. Avery had a blast dancing in the aisle along with the songs. And Collin was mesmerized by the show too!

It had been a year since we went to the last Sesame Street Live, but when I told Avery Saturday morning where we were going, she said "Mom, they have popcorn at Sesame Street Live!" She was right!!! I can't believe the stuff she remembers from a year ago!

Collin update: He is getting SOOO big! Over 19 lbs already! This week he started saying 'B' sounds. We also found out that he will be getting into the Nike daycare in 2 weeks! He has been doing great at the Kindercare center the 3 weeks I've been back at work, but it will just be nice to have them both at the same center, and I will probably be able to pop in to see him during the day once he is at Nike! At least until he gets old enough to get upset when I have to leave again...