Avery's 1st Swim Lesson at Goldfish

We have heard nothing but great things from many friends about Goldfish Swim school and finally got Avery signed up for lessons. She had her first class this past Saturday - She was nervous but did really well. She listened intently and tried very hard the whole time. The instructor said she was doing so good that he let her go a little and she panicked - When she got back to the wall she looked at me, the bottom lip quivered and she cried. I went in and gave her a quick hug and she stuck it out the rest of class. Afterwards she said "I think I'll just stick to ballet." So there are some nerves going on but we are gonna keep it up and I have high hopes she'll continue to get better and more confident in the water.

Avery's Spring Concert

Avery had her school Spring Concert this past weekend. She sang two songs with her class ("I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" and "It's a Small World"). She practiced really hard leading up and knew the lyrics well. She loved getting in her "costume" - kids were asked to wear jeans and a blue or green shirt - she also wanted her nails painted and wanted to wear make-up. And liked posing with her friends before and after the show.

All the kids were so cute on stage! Avery seemed a little nervous at first and had her arms crossed but then she got into it once the songs started. She did a great job and just looked so darn sweet up there!

The lighting was intense in the room so I did not get the best pictures during the show - actually they are awful pictures....

Funny Avery Story about Lai Ma

Hung's parents are coming to visit this week. As I was putting Avery down to bed I asked her if she was excited for YeYe and Lai Ma to come visit. 

Her response: "Yes, I'm excited!! So when YeYe talks to me I can understand him. But when Lai Ma talks to me I can't really understand her. Because, I mean, you and me - we don't speak French."

I tried to explain that Lai Ma speaks Vietnamese but that she is actually speaking English to her but it can be hard to understand sometimes. And then she goes "I thought they were from China?" LOL.

It's all quite complex for a 3 year old and I think I'll let Hung try to explain this one to her :)

Spring Break Chicago Weekend

We headed to Chicago for the end of our Spring Break - We had not been in FOREVER (probably 18 months?) so it was nice to spend some time in the city and see friends. 

We stayed with Uncle Du who took us to the Aquarium on Friday. We thought Avery would love it but she was more interested in just playing pretend. After we saw the dolphin show (which she claimed was "too scary" although it was not AT ALL) she just wanted to reenact saving this dog (which happened in the show). She was the trainer and we were the dogs - she would go to this boat and get us food for our treats and one of us had to be bad dog. Then it got even weirder and she decided to be an Easter Egg and would hide among the exhibits and we had to find her and then fight over who got the egg. The other tourists must have thought we were crazy! I don't think she looked at ONE fish. We did get to the 4D dinosaur show which she did enjoy and pay attention to.

We got to see Jill, Josh and Derek for dinner on Friday at one of our favorite restaurants (las Palmas) and then hung out at their house for a while after dinner. Derek went to bed and Avery stayed up and had us do more "Easter Egg Hunts" with coaster and she was also an egg. 

On Saturday, we played at the park with Uncle Du and then took a nap after staying up late on Friday. We spent the afternoon and evening at John's 4th birthday party. We had a great time and loved seeing Jill and Jeff. There were tons of kids at the party and Avery had a blast making new friends and following the big kids around. They were out front at one point and I told Avery to not go near the street. She said "Mom, I'm fine. I'm with adults." I think they were maybe 9 or 10....

We also had lots of fun playing with Otis. Avery also started saying "For Realsy". Example to Uncle Du: "My mom said I could have it. I am not lying. For Realsy". Not sure where she picked that up but had us all laughing.

It was fun to be back in Chicago and see our old condo, eat at our favorite restaurants (Indy just can't compare to Chi dining!) and seeing friends.

We came home our blooming tree in the backyard which Avery was really excited about and more rain.....

A hidden Easter Egg

 Playing in the boat and getting "dog treats"

 Ready for the 4D show

 Skyline Pics outside the Aquarium

Dinner with Derek

Swinging at the Park

 Hanging with Otis

 Good to be HOME!

Spring Break Week

I was able to take most of the week off and play around Indy with Avery for her Spring Break (Work was a little busy so G took Avery here and there and Avery had lots of fun hanging around University in G's office! Thanks to G for helping us out :))

It rained almost everyday so we had to find things to do indoors. We went to Monkey Joe's, out to lunch and Barnes and Noble on Monday with Lila and Marija, Tuesday I had to work most of the day so Avery was with G, on Wednesday we went downtown and had lunch, saw a 3D movie about Panda's and got to play outside on the canal with Lila and Tobin, on Thursday we went to open swim at Goldfish and also had lunch (again with Lila and Marija :)) before heading to Chicago for the weekend. We made the best of the yucky weather and got to spend lots of time together. I was thankful for the week with my girl!

Lunch at MCL

Goofing around before the movie

Taking a selfie with my camera :)

Easter Weekend in Grand Rapids

Avery, Hung and I headed to GR for the long Easter Weekend. We had so much fun with Grandpa and Grandma T. 

Avery and Grandma T went and played with Juno - She helped brush her and learned how to feed Juno by keeping her hand straight.

Teri and I also took Avery to the Grand Rapids History Museum. Avery loved the "old town" - Her favorite was driving the horse and carriage and dropping us off for errands. And she loved the old Grocery Store. She always charged me $100 for everything while Teri only had to pay $1. The Carousel was also really fun. There was a room with lots of magnifying glasses. Avery decided we were all Scooby Doo characters and had to find the bad guy. I was mama Daphne, she was sweetie Daphne and Teri was Velma.

We also visited the Frederick Meijer Gardens and got to walk through the Butterfly House. Avery liked it but was upset that a butterfly didn't land on her. We then went outside to the Children's Garden and she loved playing outside. We will have to go back there when the weather is a bit warmer. One exciting thing - We found a girl, Julia, who was lost and was sobbing. We had to help her find her parents. Avery kept rubbing her back and holding her hand. It was very sweet and she loved retelling that story. Then we got to go Olga's for lunch with Grandpa - My favorite :)

On Saturday, we headed to Ann Arbor for the Michigan Spring Football Game. It was a bit cold but got some tailgating in with my Aunt's (Jody and Jenny) and my Grandpa. Avery liked all the treats she got at her first tailgate and enjoyed seeing the Band. That was about it - She was cold and ready to go play at Aunt Jody's after about 45 min. We spent the rest of the day at Aunt Jody's house - Avery loved chasing the geese on her lake and sitting in the big round chair watching movies. Jody also had some barbie dolls from the 50's and those were really fun to play with. After pizza for dinner we headed home - It was a long day but fun!

Before going to bed on Saturday I suggested we put Avery's Easter basket on the kitchen counter. She wanted to put it right up against the door. She said that way the bunny would hear it right when he walked in and "not fump away to the next house". 

My Dad put together an amazing scavenger hunt for Avery - She found the first egg on her night stand right when she woke up and was off and running. She made it through most of the clues with little help and finally found her basket in the oven. Her breakfast consisted of real eggs and sugar egg from the bunny. We had a great visit and Avery had so much with Grandpa and Grandma T!

Grand Rapids History Museum

Meijer Gardens

Lunch at Olga's

Brushing Juno

The Spring Game

Warming up and relaxing at Aunt Jody's

Easter Morning - Breakfast and playing with Finn the Cat