Shinanagins

Avery's PawPaw got him this huge very fun tunnel that he absolutely loves. He enjoys crawling through it, watching his daddy act a fool in it, throwing all his toys in it, and catapulting himself on top of it. Who knew there were so many uses for a tunnel. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking...

One of the gross things in life we do as parents

As parents we do a lot of things that other people might find disgusting...like pulling boogers out of our childs nose. It's one of those things YOU hate, HE hates, EVERYONE watching hates, but it just has to get done....or does it. It seems to be so traumatic for our children. What would happen if we just left them in there...would they fall out on their own. I think we are going to try an experiment for the next week. I know, what a strange topic for a blog post...but hey its a part of life...as least a part of ours :)

Climbing to new heights

Avery has definitely mastered climbing the stairs and he looks like an Alaskan doing it...only an Alaskan could dress like that! Our apartment building is three stories so there are plenty of stairs for him to climb during the day. Alot of the time it occupies a good portion of Zac's day :) We really only let him climb the first set because the second and third are scary. The steps are open in the back and I am petrified that he would fall through. Of course we are always right behind him because on occasion he will turn around and just start to step off and we have to catch him. Maybe he will be a mountain climber one day :) Happy Climbing Avery!!!

Driving...a more pleasant experience

Look at that sweet face! Could you ever imagine him pitching a fit? Well...it happens. It's hard on a little guy, sitting in a small infant car seat, seated backwards where you can't see anything. Sooo we decided it was time to upgrade Avery to a front facing Graco car seat. Man why didn't we do this sooner! He has been such a pleasure in the car now that he can see and he has a little space. He still doesn't love the initial buckling in, but the rest of the ride seems to be a WHOLE lot smoother...thanks Graco!

An apple a day

If only pictures didn't lie. Wouldn't it be nice if Avery really did eat apples and not spit out every single thing that was put in his mouth (except milk). Ohhhh he loves carrying the apple around, and he even loves biting into it...but he certainly does not love actually eating it!

He is into this new thing of putting something in his mouth and then fishing it out with his fingers, after which he promptly marches over to the carpet and starts rubbing it in. Almost like a dog trying to hide his bone. He also has been turning his nose up at most everything we try to give him to eat...and if he doesn't turn his nose up, he does the above. The boy has been living off of milk for weeks now....anybody got any suggestions???

Date Night

I say date night in jest because anyone else would probably have called our "date night" a flop. While Vic and Todd were in town we decided to take the opportunity to get out for awhile...just the two of us. We really wanted to just veg and go see a good movie but in all honesty you can't hardly go to the movies anymore...it's not safe. If October Baby had been playing here in Fairbanks that probably would have been a safe choice, but no such luck. I had even won two free tickets to the movies...we'll just save them for a rainy day :)

Zac and I ended up riding around Fairbanks for a while just talking and enjoying the views. We finally ended up at Barnes and Noble. We both found a big cushy chair right in front of a huge fire place, got some starbucks, and nestled in for a few good hours of reading. To be honest it was WAY better then going to the movies. I dearly love to read. Reading combined starbucks AND a huge fire made it ten times more appealing. I believe the next time we have visitors we will keep this date in mind ;)

Hiking packs-kid carriers

Avery is almost getting too big to cart around in the Ergo carrier or the Moby. Now that is has been getting warmer we have been going on daily walks. There are a few good trails through the woods behind our apartment that are all still snow packed. Most people cross country ski on them, or dog sled, but they are also great for walking. I have found the perfect pack to take him on longer hikes the Deuter Kid Comfort iii...only problem is it costs about $300 YIKES! Seems to have great reviews and the kids love them. Zac and I went to all the outfitters in town to see what they had to offer. No one really had anything close. I bought an Evenflo Crossroads framed carrier, as a temporary arrangement at a consignment shop for about $20 to make due until we can save up enough to get the one I really want :) I think Avery will really like sitting up higher where he can see things much better.