The Wizard of Oz

G, Papa and I took Avery and her friend Lila to the Wizard of Oz last night. Both girls had been to kids theater but never an "adult" show like this and they were great! Avery was so excited all day and asking when she could leave for Wizard of Oz. Of course she wore her sparkly dress from Lila since that is pretty much all we wear these days. 

The show was nicely done and both girls were pretty engaged the whole time. Lila had not seen the movie before so she had lots of questions :) Avery was into until the end when she got bored and just folded her program over and over. But she was paying attention because before we climbed in the car she tapped her heels together and said "There's No Place Like Home" :)

Many of the characters were out in the lobby after the show. Avery did her typical be sort of shy but also want to meet everyone. 

It was such a fun night and can't wait to take them back for another show!

Posing before the show - Lila was not willing to smile or look at the camera :)

Goofing around at Intermission

Meeting the Actors

Catching up on Christmas Activities

I realized I had not posted about any of our December events...Here is what we have been up to this Christmas Season:

• Lots of cookie baking. I was able to make my Grandma Hopkins frosted cookies this year - lots of work but totally worth it! Avery was not as into the decorating as I had thought she would be....It ended up being mostly me and my friend Jaime.
• We had the Christmas Party with my mom's group. It was at Candice's church and we brought in a bounce house and "roller coaster" - Avery had a lot of fun! Usually she wants to play with Hung and me the whole time but this year she was off playing with her friends Leah and Elise and Hung and I got to actually visit with the adults.
• We have been going to UHS basketball games and Avery is part of the Band! She plays her tamborine (G played the "trumpet" and I played the "flute"  the last time- plastic instruments from her Ariel Little Mermaid Band). I think we really added to the songs!!
• We went to a Game Night at Marija and Bill's and Avery got to play with Lila and wore the x-mas dress that Lila got her for Christmas
• All 3 of use went to Zoo Lights with Alicia and Lila's families. It was SUPER crowded but the kids all had fun. We ended at the playground where I think they had the best time running around together.
• Avery and I went to cookie decorating pajama party at Candice's house. The kids watched Polar Express and decorated cookies. Avery played with Elise the whole morning and I had to drag her home :)

Last year we were moving in the middle of December so it's been fun to be able to enjoy the Christmas Season with Avery this year. We have a few more events and then lots of family time to celebrate and be together. Avery can't WAIT for Santa this year and talks about him, the elves and Frosty all the time.

Dressed up to go play with Lila

Karate Kid in front of the tree

Playing in the UHS Pep Band - A little blurry but the best I could get!

Cookie Baking and Decorating

Zoo Lights! It was too crowded and crazy to take pics once we were inside....

Mom's Group Christmas Party (As many of us as we could get in one shot)

Pajama Party - Avery would NOT smile normally like Elise :)

Avery needed to check out her play set and we found a frozen towel outside - She was totally fascinated by this

Decorating the Tree

We decorated the house for Christmas today - Hung got the lights put up outside while Avery and I worked on the tree. We played my favorite Christmas Albums from growing up (Amy Grant, Oak Ridge Boys and Mariah Carey) and danced. She really got into it this year and the bottom half of the tree is FILLED with ornaments - usually in clusters. I told her that was how I always wanted my tree to look and she told me "I guess dreams really do come true, Mama." It was super sweet! She loved talking about the ornaments and asking which ones she could put on. 

She kept saying how excited she was for Christmas and can't wait for Santa to come. G brought her an advent calendar with chocolate for each day to count down to x-mas morning and also got her an open-up bulb. I had these on my trees at both my mom's and dad's houses growing up and the elves would come at night up until x-mas morning and leave treats. It was always such a fun part of the mornings in December checking the bulb and I am excited to start that tradition with Avery. We explained the concept today and at bedtime she was asking if the elves were here yet - I told her they only come when you are sleeping :)

Avery also had fun playing with the one nativity that we have - Check out the video below to see how we play with Jesus at our house. At one point she yelled "NO, don't eat me" as a cow puppet in a Santa hat swallowed baby Jesus.

Hung tried to help Avery put the Angel on top as she was begging to do it, but could not quite get it right so Hung had to put on the finishing touch.

Excited that the Christmas Season has officially begun!

Meeting Santa

We went to brunch this morning and discovered that Santa and some of his reindeer were there! Avery was excited to go see him but wasn't sure what she wanted to ask him for this year. She ended up asking for a glow in the dark mermaid (which I now need to find!) and not much else.....

Thanksgiving 2014

Well I was terrible about taking pictures this Thanksgiving but we did have a wonderful holiday weekend. 

On Tuesday, Hung's parents and Du arrived. Unfortunately, Avery woke up with a bad, croup-y cough on Wednesday morning. She rallied and made the most of the day. Uncle Du took her to see Penguins of Madagascar and then after nap she joined me at my mom's house and we had dinner and went to a UHS b-ball game. The German's arrived as well and they girls were all so sweet to Avery!

On Thursday we had 20 people over to the house for dinner. My mom and Hung's mom cooked for hours and hours and we had an amazing American/Asian Feast. Our friends Bill, Marija and their daughters Lila and Lena were able to join the rest of us and we loved having them - It was fun for Avery to have her pal Lila even though she was not feeling great. 

On Friday, we started the day with a trip to the doctor to have Avery's cough looked at. She got some steroids to help with the croup and it's for sure a lot better - although now it's just turned into a bad cold. After a good nap, Avery had a ton of fun playing in the basement with Ava and Clara - They were so great with her! She asked if the German girls can come back and have a sleepover at our house and we all agreed that was a great idea. 

Despite Avery not feeling her best, we made the most of the Thanksgiving and loved sharing it with friends and family.

Christmas Photo Shoot

My friend Leah offered to take some photos of Avery. She is working on starting her own photography business and we were more than happy to be her models for the day. The set up was so sweet and Avery did pretty well!! When her turn was over and another boy took the cookies and milk, she was fairly distraught but it all worked out. And she got some good ones of me and Avery which are hard to come by. Thanks again to Leah for the great shots!

Thanksgiving Feast at School

Avery had a Thanksgiving Feast at school today. The kids all had input on the menu - Avery randomly asked for Pasta which she doesn't even really like and I think it was because that is what her friend Lila asked for. We signed up to make Cornbread and did that together last night. Avery was proud to give her contribution to Ms. Kalen this morning. When Hung woke her up this morning he said "Today is the feast". She goes "IT IS?" and was up right away. She has been excited for this.

The teachers sent us some pics of the festivities and Avery has an awesome hat on! I also noticed that in the picture of the Turkey each kid added what they are thankful for. Most of them say things like friends, family, my dog, etc. Avery's simply says "Pasta, Apples, Carrots". 

It looks like she had a fun day and I am excited to have her home and start the rest of the Thanksgiving festivities!

Alicia's 6th Birthday Party

Alicia had her 6th birthday at the Children's Museum this weekend. Avery and I met up with Marija and Lila when we arrived - The girls checked out Jolly Days (both were looking for Santa but he has not arrived yet!), they loved the Jolly Slide and did it twice (Avery went with me once and braved it on her own the 2nd time), then we headed to the Dinosphere and ran in to Alicia's family. Avery and Alicia dressed up as "scary dinosaurs" and showed off their tails. We also fit in the merry go round and some time with the Chihuly Glass play area. We ended the party with chocolate milk, cake and candy. It was WAY past nap time so Avery got cranky and passed out in her car seat before we were out of the parking lot. You can see her getting mad sitting in the "Princess chair" in the last picture. Besides the last 15 minutes it was a fun afternoon!!

Work Travel

I have had to travel the last couple weeks for work (Denver and San Diego). Hung and G did a great job holding down the fort while I was gone. Avery got to go to some UHS bball games, play at Lila's house, have dinner at Grammy's, go to ballet class and have lots of play time with Daddy. Hung struggled a bit the the hair - She asked her her normal braid and then laughed and said "Daddy, you can't do braids!".

They did have one "traumatic" night - Hung took her to McDonald's for a treat and they had a play structure. She is SO cautious on these things but bravely climbed to the top and then freaked out. Hung was trying to talk her down and her feet were literally one inch to the next level but she panicked and was screaming for Hung to climb up and get her. She had to move less than an inch to do it on her own but was panicked. Hung went and got her and she now never wants to go back there. 

The last morning I was gone, Avery ran into our room and told Hung that "I miss mommy. I just need to see her face." I was gone the same amount of time for both trips and she asked why I wasn't back yet since I was back the last time on the 3rd day. I was actually hiding out in the guest room trying to get some sleep since I had gotten home at 3 am. But I heard that little voice and had to go say Hi before school.

Am so glad to be home!! 

Hung would send me pictures in the morning before school like this one :)