Avrey Lost Her First Tooth!

Avrey is getting to be such a big girl!  A few weeks ago she was very excited to discover that she had her first wiggly tooth.  A few more days passed and one night after biting into an apple... she lost her first tooth!  Avrey immediately called Grammy & Pop Pop, Grandma & Grandpa, & Granny to share the big news.  Later that evening we prepared for the Tooth Fairy's arrival by placing Avrey's tooth in her 'Tooth Fairy Pillow' and then sliding the pillow under her own.  The next morning we heard a gasp and the fury of running feet as Avrey ran like a flash into our bedroom to tell us her amazing news.  The Tooth Fairy had visited her in the night while she was sleeping; she had taken Avrey's tooth but left a crisp pink sparkly dollar bill in its' place!

Oldies But Goodies

 

Quynn is really excited to potty train... she doesn't want to wear just one pair of panties - she has to wear three at one time!

 

 Avrey throwing snow at the stop sign.

 The stop sign throwing snow back!

 Quynn playing peek-a-boo in the kitchen cupboards!

 Every Ariel princess needs silver soccer shin guards to go with her cupcake Mary Janes!

 Just plain cute!

 Just plain Quynn!

 Bunny jammies the night before Easter.

Avrey pretending to be a character in Barbie's movie The Princess and The Pauper.

Bambi's World

A few days ago I came across a shelf in my school's workroom that had movies on it that were to be deleted from the school library system.  One movie that caught my eye right away was Walt Disney's Bambi.  I decided to take it home for Avrey to watch as I remembered just how much I enjoyed the story as a child.

When Avrey and I watched the movie she was very concerned when Bambi's mother died but she did not cry.  I could tell she was thinking really hard about the situation and I wondered what was going on inside her little brain.  She asked me why the hunters had to shoot Bambi's mom and I said that they were hunting for food.  She told me "They should eat Doritos instead - I bet they taste way better and Bambi would still have a mom!"

Ever since that night, Avrey has been talking about the movie.  Last night she was working very hard drawing on her magnadoodle.  When she was finished she was very excited to explain to me the world that she created for Bambi.

She explained "Mom, in this world Bambi has a mom and a dad (he is the king).  There is Bambi's friend Thumper the rabbit and Flower the skunk.  There are trees, flowers, and birds.  There is even a sun and clouds.  Plus, there is the wild (instead of wise) old owl and his nest in the tree."

After Avrey explained all of that she looked at me and said "Now... can we walk to Fred Meyer and buy some Doritos for the hunters?"

Q is Two!

Our baby girl turned two years old last weekend!  Wow - how time flies!

We invited family and a few friends over to join in the fun.

Pictured above from left to right (Kira, Avrey, Jossie, Quynn, Haven, & Kelsey)

The theme was 'A Bubble Guppie Birthday' because Bubble Guppies is Quynn's favorite tv show.  Mama might have overdone it on the decorations just a little but forgot to take photos so her elaborate decor can't even be appreciated!

There was pin the tail on Una (one of the Bubble Guppie characters)...


There were chocolate cupcakes with blue 'ocean' frosting since the Bubble Guppies live under the sea...


 AND Since there was blue frosting... there were also blue faces!

Quynn loved all her gifts but she was especially fond of her new bike/stroller and her bitty baby!

Everyone had a great deal of fun!

Easter

Easter was so much fun this year.  The girls loved getting dressed up fancy, ate with the adults at the big table politely, and loved looking for their hidden Easter baskets!  The girls then had a ton of fun discovering what was packed into their baskets and got right to eating the candy and playing with the toys.

 
Of course before the end of the evening, Mama had to take a photo of the girls in Aunt Ann's beautiful chair (which I think has now become somewhat of a tradition).

A Sweet Spring Treat

Mama took Avrey & Quynn to the local Tastee Freez on the first day of spring for a sweet treat.
Now if the snow will just start to melt maybe it will all be gone before school starts up again in August!

Little Lady

I am astounded lately how my first-born baby girl is becoming such a little lady.

Here she is dressed up for dinner at the Lucky Wishbone with family.
Here she is dressed up for St. Patrick's Day.
How did this happen so quickly? Sometimes I wish I could stop the clock!

The best thing about Avrey though... she will always be a kid at heart!

Willie Nelson & The Pirate Prisoner

The girls kicked off spring break with a little dress-up session last week. Quynn resembled a somewhat feminine Willie Nelson and Avrey was a princess who had been captured by pirates (hence the pirate gag around her neck - I made her take it off her mouth for the photo).
Well... I guess I can't complain that MY KIDS HAVE NO IMAGINATION!

Quynn is Learning to Count

2012 Iditarod: The Last Great Race

We had a fun family day with Grammy and Pop Pop last Saturday. We all got bundled up and attended the finish of the ceremonial start of the Last Great Race on Earth... the Iditarod.
It was fun to see the girls get excited about the sled dogs. One of the mushers, Kelly Maixner (seen above in green), who is also a pediatric dentist from Wasilla, let the girls pet his dogs (Quynn asked to hold the dog - hee hee) and he even gave us some dog booties to keep as souvenirs.
The girls also learned how the dogs are fed, watered, and loaded up into the trucks. In the photo below you can get a glimpse of some of the rigs that transport the mushers and their dogs (if you look behind us).
Avrey and Grammy found a team from Norway and took a photo with their furry mascot. We learned that people from all over the world compete in or volunteer to help with the Iditarod every year.
We also got to see Dee Dee Jonrowe and her dog team. Dee Dee has the fastest Iditarod finishing time of any woman in history. She has finished in the top ten teams thirteen times and in 1998 finished in second place. Dee Dee has also competed in the Ironwoman triatholon and is a cancer survivor. She is an inspiring lady and we were sure to wish her good luck for this year's race! Dee Dee is pictured in the photo below standing behind the orange fence in the pink coat and pink hat.

Of course we had to take a couple of photos to show just how much it has snowed in Alaska this winter...
What a fun way to spend a snowy day!