On one of the first warm weekends we had, we decided to enjoy the day at Biltmore. Their new "Antler Village" had just opened, so we took advantage of the warm weather to check it out. This was actually one of the last projects that Shayne did while working for Fairview, so we wanted to see the end result. We were a little disappointed in the final product, being that there really wasn't much to do, but it was still a great day to be outside. Avery had just recently started walking, so this was a great opportunity for her to practice her newfound skill too.
We went to the nearby petting-zoo area so Avery could get up close and personal with the animals. I thought it was hysterical because there are random animals just running all over the place. Avery tried to greet a goat but when it decided to nibble on her arm, she became unsure...when it tried to take her paci, however, she decided that was enough goat for her. It started to get a little chaotic with a large amount of little people, adults chasing behind them, and the random animals taking over the space, so we decided to get out...quickly. Buuut not until Avery could see a baby chick. Right before trying to flee the circus scene, I noticed the area of baby chicks...I'm talking only a couple of days old baby chicks. I HAD to let my child touch a chick...or maybe stick one in my pocket, whichever I could get away with. Shayne didn't let me down and maneuvered his way into the small area swarmed with other baby chick adorers. Avery wasn't quite as enthusiastic about the chicks as I was and she was only really interested in poking out their eyes. But even so, my wish was granted and I got the pictures to capture the moment.
After finally escaping the petting zoo, we happend to catch the horses and the nice horse lady was kind enough to stop and let Avery pet one. This seemed to be more exciting to her than the chick. I think I can live with that!
I definitely believe this post would be more appropriate if titled "24 Months," because Avery acts more like a 2 year old than a 15 month old child...I don't lie...
Yes, our little Avery Jean has changed so much. It's as if the 12 month mark hit and she literally went full speed ahead from that point on. Of course she is walking and my sincere apologies for not posting a video when the major milestone hit. She is basically running now and is all over the place. Most people say "it's on now!" whenever they start walking, but I honestly love it. She looks so darn cute toddling around the house, not to mention it's ever so helpful when I can just say "Avery, let's go change your diaper" and she walks straight to her room.
Speaking of which, I occasionally get a "no" response to this, which is point numero uno in my "She acts like a 2 year old" case. Avery has developed an opinion now, which often involves a "no" response when she doesn't want to do something. This word became very popular during the time we tried to take away the bottles, replacing them with sippy cups. For example, I would say "Let's get some milk" and her response? "No...bottle!" Or she would simply spot the cup 10 feet away and say "no, no, no!" From time to time, we do get a "yeah" response, like when we play our "silly game." We'll ask her if Avery's silly and she'll say no, then she'll immediately say "Daddy silly." I then ask if daddy is indeed silly and she responds with her stiff head nod and a "yeah." She also tells us that Dixie is in fact silly too. It's quite funny.
Avery is definitely a verbal child. She now has over 80 words that she is able to say, but also understands what they mean and uses them in reference correctly. I won't list them all, but some of them include: ball, baby, flower, shirt, shoe, water, milk, kite, juice, more, rocks, trees, car, please, heart, cool,read, bath, book, cup, spoon, hot,swing, remote, play, walk, sing, and the list goes on. One of my favorite words she says is "whoa." If she ever loses her balance or almost falls, she will say "whoa!" It's stinkin' cute. She will say "oh boy" when she gets excited about something. She also attempts to flash a peace sign every now and then (which is more of a crooked index finger, really) and say "peace!" She can label many different animals and also tell you the sounds they make. She is able to point to her ears, eyes, nose, teeth, fingers, hair, toes, back, belly, and will show you her tongue. She can also tell you who people are, specifically those she sees the most (grandparents, aunts, cousins, etc)...and of course the many dogs that she adores.
She's also turning her words into two syllables rather than just saying the beginning sound. Some of her two syllable words are: airplane, Elmo, cookie, paper (prounounced "paypay," one of my favorites), biscuit (or "bitsit", another fave), bracelet, lipstick, cracker (pronounced "crackerrr"), apple, okay, and outside. She can also say short phrases like "I don't know", "bye bye..see ya..okay!", "all done" and "Where baby go?" She loves to hide things and say "Where go?" and then she will find it and say "there!"
Avery has also learned to count to 10. She skips 5 for some reason, but she loves to count and when she doesn't have anything to count, she will start to count on her hand. She also sings most the letters of the alphabet song and usually throws in some dance moves along with it. She also enjoys singing the "Avery song" her Pawpaw made up for her and "Where is Thumbkin." She loves to sing in general and will pretend to sing to songs while we ride in the car.
She loves to pretend to talk on our cell phones and will even turn them around the other way and say "cheeese!" while pretending to take her picture. She jibber jabbers in the phone, says "yeah" a few times and then "bye bye." She also adores her Elmo and "Cookie" (Cookie Monster) comes in a close second. Her stuffed Elmo goes everywhere with her and occasionally, Cookie gets lucky enough to tag along too. She likes to make them clap their hands together while saying "clap clap" and also makes them dance. From time to time, she even makes her two little buddies play the drums. She is very loving towards her stuffed animals and baby dolls. She loves to hug them and give them kisses. She is also very loving towards animals and babies in general. If she sees real ones or even pictures of them, she will say "aww" and blow them a kiss, or kiss their picture. She's a very affectionate little girl. She does have her non-affectionate moments, however. Over the past week or so, she has developed "the look." If I do something that doesn't make her happy, for example giving her an empty cup that she expected to have something in it, I get "the look." It's a very dramatic look that mostly involves the eyebrows...it's hard not to laugh at!
Avery still loves books, which makes me oh so happy. She loves to look at them on her own and will even turn the pages and say familiar words from the books. She can point to pictures in the books when you ask her to or will tell you what certain pictures are when you point to them. I attribute much of her learning to books.
She loves to be outside, however she will NOT walk in the grass. You put her there and she immediately freezes, arms out ready for you to rescue her. She often requests to go outside and would honestly stay out there all day if we let her. This of course makes her daddy very happy. One of her favorite things to do is swing. She also loves to look at flowers and smell them. She is actually very fixated on flowers right now and says they're "pretty." She's also developed a recent infatuation with caterpillars as well and is always asking to go look at the "cats."
Avery has acquired some new skills just recently. She loves to color and actually does fairly well holding crayons and making marks in her coloring books. She likes to pretend to write her name by saying "A" as she makes lines on the paper. She can also identify the letter "A" if I write it or show it to her. She enjoys carrying her crayons around the house and I am beginning to discover her artwork in various places, such as on our drink coasters. She is also learning how to climb. She climbs on the step to our bathtub and on the stairs at Mawmaw's house. Once she does it, she of course cheers for herself by clapping and saying "yay!"
It is so amazing to watch this little person grow and learn. She seems to do something new every day. I am fascinated by how quickly she learns and soaks everything in. She has such a cute little personality and I look forward to watching her discover all the new things she can do!
