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!
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.....
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.
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!
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 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!!
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 :)
Hung, G and I took Avery to see Sleeping Beauty this morning at Beef and Boards. It was a cute show and Avery was riveted and loved it. When it was over she asked if we could stay there all day. After the show Avery got to meet the cast and get their autographs. Just like Disney she was super obsessed with meeting the characters and then totally shy when she got her turn. Very sweet.
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