Lunch with Kelsey and the Aquarium by the Bay

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A couple weeks ago, Kelsey – Avery’s original best buddy and her first nanny – came to San Francisco for a visit. We were able to meet her and her boyfriend Joe in the City for a nice lunch so the two old friends could catch up.

After lunch, we headed over to the aquarium so that Avery could check out all the fish.

Tuesday afternoon fun

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I decided to take some photos of Avery after work yesterday while she was doing one of her favorite things – climbing up on the coffee table.

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After taking some photos, Avery was very talkative, so I made a quick movie of her practicing her words…

While I’m Away

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I hate having to leave Avery every day when I go to work, but I really like getting a surprise hello from her during the day. Jeff and Sara (aka Sa Sa) send me pics from time to time and I really love it. Here areĀ a few from the last week;

Sunday afternoon fun

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Sunday afternoon fun at the house today… (click to view larger versions)

First up - mandatory cleaning. Sweeping the deck in this case...

Next: Some peak-a-boo

Some posing...

Running down the street

Stopping to pick a flower on the way back inside

Going for a drive with Dora

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Avery got a special delivery from Auntie Lauren, Uncle Ryan, and Nolan last week – a Dora the Explorer ATV. Saturday morning, she took her new wheels for a spin around the living room. It was love at first sight and before long she was driving like a pro.

Avery in The City

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After a month of weekends getting settled and unpacking, we finally made it into San Francisco (“The City” as it’s called around here) for a little fun. The Bay Bridge was partially closed, so we decided to take BART into San Francisco, grab some lunch, and visit the San Francisco Bay Aquarium. Lately, Avery’s been very interested in fish (“shish”), so we figured she’d love seeing some real, live “shish”.

Avery enjoyed the ride on the train into San Francisco and was very well-behaved. She made friends and spent most of the ride playing peak-a-boo with a lady seated across the aisle from us. By the time we arrived, they were good friends.

After we got off the train, we headed down to the Ferry Building (a must-visit if you’re in SF) and had lunch. We ate at Boccalone, which was one of the places that Mom and I had been looking forward to trying out. It didn’t disappoint – those Food Network guys know what they’re doing.

After lunch and a little fun time on the pier, it was clear that what Avery wanted more than “shish” was to run around and have fun. We opted against going to the aquarium and headed across the Embarcadero to the park, enjoyed the weather, and let Avery explore.

Great day – the shish will have to wait for another time.

(Clicking on these photos will display a large version.)

Avery and Mom

Marching through the park

Being extra careful not to disturb the nice gentleman sleeping in the park

Chasing one of the park's full-time residents

Sunday at the park

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A couple Sundays ago, we took Avery to the park for some fun. Always fearless, Avery climbed all over the playground and bombed down the slide a handful of times. Avery’s been a regular at the park since then – her new nanny Sara takes her there just about every day the weather cooperates.

Sugar and spice and everything nice…?

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Yesterday, I was taking a quick photo of Avery to send to Mom at work. I got the photo I wanted and was looking at the photo when Avery wandered over the an electrical outlet (one of her favorite sources of mischief) that she’d been warned not to touch. When I noticed this, I gave Avery a stern (and maybe a bit too loud) ‘No!’ and pulled her outstretched hand away from the cords attached to the outlet. Since I had my phone still in hand, I decided to document the crying fit that followed. This all took place over about two minutes.

The calm before the storm – the original photo:

Permission denied!

A brief questioning pause to see if the eruption of tears was effective:

Eruption of tears: failed. Commence stage two… super sadness:

Super sadness: failed. Commence stage three…purple rage:

Rage: failed. Evaluating other options…

Other options are severely limited. Commence teary-eyed acceptance:

Tantrum over. What was all the fuss about again? Some stupid cords? Who cares… wanna play?

Christmas 2011

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(Sorry I’m so late in posting these photos – if you’re reading this, then odds are you know that it’s been a very busy month for Avery, Mom, and I. Thankfully, we’re just about all settled in at the new house in California.)

Well, it’s official. Avery loves Christmas. The presents, the dressing up, the little foil-wrapped holiday chocolates… it’s all good. Due to our pending move, we had a very minimal Christmas this year. We didn’t decorate the house in any way or put up a tree, so I expect next year Avery will like the holiday all that much more.

On Christmas Day, we opened presents that family and friends had sent to the house.

Nana and Papa flew into town late Christmas night, so on the 26th we went down to their house for more presents.

As you can see, Avery was thrilled. Thanks for all the lovely gifts. I’m sure that by the time next Christmas comes, Avery will be able to tell you that herself.

One year checkup

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A couple weeks ago, Avery had her one year checkup at the doctor’s office. She weighed in at 22 lbs., 8 oz. and is 27 inches tall. These put her in the 75th percentile for height and weight when compared to other kids her age. The doctor was impressed with her alertness and activity level and said that her vocabulary was better than most of his 15 month old patients.

Following the exam, there were three immunizations. I didn’t have the heart to take photos of that ordeal. Plus, I had to hold Avery’s legs down. It was difficult for all of us.

(Click any of the photos below to view a larger version.)

Waiting for the doctor

Staring contest (Avery won again...2-0)

Listening in

For the record, here’s the vocabulary:
Momma
Daddy
Nana
Papa
Hi
Bye
Kitty
(Update: Also, ‘Clap’. Forgot about that one.)

Since then, she’s added three more words:
Backpack (her favorite ‘Dora the Explorer’ character)
Boots (Dora’s companion and one of her tub toys)
Cold (Whenever I had a cold drink, Avery pulls it to her mouth or cheek and I say “cold…”. Now she points to the drink and says “cold”.)

Not that were expecting anything but good news, but it’s always good to get the official word from the doctor that we’ve got a happy and healthy little girl on our hands.

Clowning around with Dad

Dinner time