Wichita Mountains and Wichita Falls

First of all, for those of you who subscribe via email - I have no idea why it emailed out a post from Christmas! It was not my doing :)

Anyway...last week we went to Wichita Falls for a visit, and I was excited to have something for her to do (and to have help!) while she got over not having her paci.

Well the first day we got there she didn't have a nap, and we thought it was going to be a hard day, but she was having so much fun, she didn't even notice!

She had a blast chasing Uncle Colby and then having him chase her. I got a little of it on video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUEEob7BdkA

Grandpa tried to get some hugs from her a couple of times, but she "tricked" him. She would point at something, then when he'd look she'd run off! She also handed him a booger at one point.

I have been wanting to go to the Wichita Mountains for a while, and I thought now would be a good time to take Avery and show her everything. It's only about an hour from WF - close to Lawton, OK. I have been going up there ever since I was little.

First we had to eat at Meers. There are a ton of stray cats that live around there, so Avery wanted to hang out with one while we waited for our food.

It was delicious as always! We had to get a pic in front to remember her first time there!

Then we went to the Holy City. They have hummingbird feeders up, and there are always a lot of hummingbirds hanging around. It was hard for Avery to see them, so Grandpa held her up to get a look.

I wanted a picture in front of this cross because I had a picture taken there when I was pregnant.

She had a blast running around and exploring. 

We would have stayed longer, but the sky turned black and the wind turned cold. We made it back to the car just in time before it started raining. We went ahead and drove to the top of Mt. Scott hoping the storm would pass, but it rained the whole time we were up there and we couldn't see anything.

We decided to go to the Visitor Center, which is sort of a mini museum (and indoors!). Avery loved looking at all the stuffed animals. She saw buffalo, a fox, a beaver, prairie dogs, a snake, and many more. 

Her favorite though was the turkey and it had a button to press to make the turkey sound.

Pretty sure the workers were irritated with us because she wouldn't stop pressing the button. I got a short video of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGpqHAyhfv8

She followed Uncle Colby everywhere.

Our last night there I couldn't get her to go to bed because Colby was at the house. She kept following him around and hanging out with him. When I would go to see what they were doing she would say "no Mommy" because she wanted to just hang out with him! She wanted him to chase her and would say "Colby chase." And she kept laughing at him continuously.

Uncle Colby was the best entertainment she's ever seen! I didn't get her to bed until almost 9!

We had a blast and I'm glad they live within driving distance!

Bye Bye Paci

So every time I've had to wean Avery off something it has given me anxiety - the swing, swaddling, the bottle, etc. But the paci is the big one. I have been dreading the day I weaned her off that since... well since she started using it.

She has just always loved it so much, and I didn't want to ever take it away! I always told people I was going to be "that mom" with the kid sucking on a paci her first day of kindergarten. 

Well the only paci she's ever wanted is the Wubbanub (the one with the animal on it). She had one with Clifford, but I bought another a while back because I wanted a back up, well she refused to take it. So I got another one, and she refused to take that one too. 

So I figured since she only liked the Clifford one, when something happened it then she would have to be weaned.

Sure enough, she chewed the tip halfway off. Since I didn't want her choking on it, I cut it all the way off and told her it was broke. Well that lasted maybe one morning. She kept crying and telling me it was broke. I felt so sorry for her and since I didn't really plan to wean her until she was 2, I decided to give in and give her the back-up paci.

Since she didn't take it in the past, I sort of thought it would appease her because she would have a "fixed" paci, but then she just wouldn't really want it. Well I was wrong, she loved it. 

So I was just going to go with it until she was 2, but then she chewed halfway through this one too. So again, I had to cut it off and tell her it was broke again.

Since I gave her a new one last time, now she keeps asking for a new one. (Good grief!!!)

Anyway this happened right before Rustin went away on a guy's canoe trip for the weekend. 

Worst.mistake.ever. 

She is constantly fussy, constantly crying. Nothing I do makes her happy. This takes me back to the entire first year. 

It's funny, it seems right when you feel like you have it all down, life throws a curve ball. I'm hoping she learns to cope without paci soon before I get a new one out... 

Uncle Colby's Visit

Colby told me not to blog about him so of course, I have to!

He recently got a new car, so he wanted to bring it down. Avery was very excited he came, and asked for him to read her a book each night.

Then we also went to Cabela's. I used to think that was the most boring store ever created (I mean there is not one thing in there I'm interested in), but when I went this time and saw how excited Avery got about the stuffed wildlife and aquarium, I had a change of heart. That may be a new (free) hangout for us!

She wanted to sit on the rocks in front of the aquarium and have snack.

Then we went swimming at Rustin's parents' house. Avery kept saying "No Colby" and we finally figured out it was because she wanted to be in the raft with him.

So Colby always makes fun of my cooking (even though he's never eaten anything I've made). Last time he added ho cakes and people to my menu, but this time he added other things.

Then we went to Gloria's with Cantu - Colby's long lost twin. They are two peas in a pod.

They went to Top Golf afterwards, but Rustin and I came home. I mean it was 9pm!! ;)

The last day Colby was here, we went to get yogurt, or as Avery calls it, "aloo."

Avery misses Uncle Colby very much and still asks for him to read her a book at night. Luckily we are going to Wichita Falls next week!

Wylie Bluegrass Festival

There were a lot of festivities around our area for July 4th, so I wanted to check some of them out. I guess something I didn't think about with July 4th and a baby is that you don't get to watch the fireworks. (There is no.way. she could stay up until 9:30pm.) So I looked for some things that were during the day (and close).

So anyway I found the Wylie Bluegrass Festival and it looked fun! They had arts & crafts, pony rides, a classic car show and live music. Since it's not too far from us, we decided to check it out. 

There was a little park and Avery, of course, wanted to slide. 

We found a longhorn chair while browsing the arts & crafts, so we of course had to take a picture. It would be the perfect chair for my dad! 

Since it was so hot, Avery had to have a snowball. She can say the word and asks for them all the time.

Then, the best part... she rode a horse!! 

I told Rustin it's kind of like if we ever have a son and the first time he throws a football. I was so excited!! She needs to work on her form (heels down!) but we'll get there :) Rustin likes palominos, but he calls them "blonde" horses. 

She was fine sitting on the horse, but when she started walking, Avery started crying. I got her off, but let her pet the horse for a while. I don't want her to be scared of them. Since then, whenever we drive by horses,  she says she wants to pet them. Maybe she'll be a horse lover like her mom!

Then Rustin's dad was our paparazzi and stole a few shots I didn't know he was taking (the first one we did), but we're glad he captured more of the day for us! 

I think I was lost in this one...

And I loved this one. It looks like I'm getting on to her, but I think I was just asking her if she wanted to ride the horse. Her little face is so cute!

Overall it was a lot of fun, and you can't beat the close drive!

Day at the Arboretum

Now that Avery is older, there are a few things in Dallas I have been dying to take her to. One of them is the Arboretum. Well I happened to find a deal on Groupon for tickets, so I decided it would be fun to go! 

They have a flower garden set up that is Alice in Wonderland themed, and Fridays are for kids, so I thought it would be the perfect time and she would have a blast! 

First we stopped by the Alice in Wonderland garden - 

So she has started smiling (although not always looking at the camera) when you say "cheese." Well now, apparently, she has started posing - 

Since she loves the water, she was all about the waterfall - 

She loved seeing the fish in the koi pond -

And perhaps the best part - there was a petting zoo!! This girl LOVES animals! She cried when we had to go. 

She liked looking at the lily pads and dragonflies at the pond. I guess it would be a cool pic - looks like we're in the middle of nowhere - except for the random car in the background. 

So she wanted to sit on the ledge, and I thought she looked cute so I started taking her picture.

Then she found something and I kept taking her picture because it reminded me of the exact shot of her in our family photos for Christmas, and still thought it was super cute.

Then Rustin took it from her and we realized it was bird poop.

Then no one was happy. 

I really wanted a picture of us in front of the flowers, but of course she started crying! 

Later she was a little happier so I decided to be brave and ask strangers to take our picture. Normally I would be too scared, but I just had to have a family pic of her first time at the Arboretum!

After the pictures, she was done and ran off into the flowers by herself. 

When we got back around to the entrance, it was time to go. We were all super hot and tired. We decided to stop by Sonic to get a drink, and she thoroughly enjoyed her water.

Oh funny story - while we were at Sonic this elderly lady next to us was waving and smiling at us. I was wondering if I was on that show "Off Their Rockers." Then she even came up to our car! I rolled down the window and she started waving at Avery and looked at me strangely. (I just smiled...what do you do?) Then when she got a good look at Rustin, she said, "Oh I thought you were my son!" I felt bad for her because she seemed embarrassed, but it was pretty funny!