Hogle Zoo, Ikea, and 11 months!

Yesterday morning we went all out and made a trip to Hogle Zoo, and Ikea! Avery handled it all VERY well.
After driving around near the zoo for 25 minutes trying to figure out where the directions from Mapquest.com were taking us we arrived at the zoo around 9:45. The weather was perfect, it was a little overcast and about 75 degrees. It took us about an hour and 15 minutes to walk around the whole zoo, it was so fun. The size is great for kids, I think if it took any longer I might have gotten bored. We saw Monkeys/Apes, Elephants, Giraffes, Kangaroos, Turtles, Wolves, Bears, and tons of little animals like birds, variations of cats, and one REALLY long snake! Avery loved all the animals...well...maybe! Mostly I think he didn't care! But it was fun and we got some great pics. He liked the indoor area that had the animals behind glass, he walked along the glass wall and tried to get the little animals, it was so sweet.
Here are some pictures, slide shows are easiest for me to get all the pictures on here!



Then...we went to Ikea! It's HUGE!!! And I will admit, a little overwhelming! It was great though, we got a new Kitchen table and chairs, Frying pans and pots to match our kitchen, some kid dishes, storage containers, laundry hampers, a cutting board and red oven mit (to match all the new kitchen stuff!) and some other little things all for under $200! Wow!!! It was so exciting. And the table and chairs were so easy to put together, I did it all by myself!! Some time I want to go back when we're not on so much of a time constraint. and I want to eat at their restaurant! Eventually I'd like to buy a dresser from them, I saw a couple that I really liked, but then again I saw a lot of other things that I really liked too!! Maybe when it calms down a little we'll go back. Parking was crazy, I felt like I was parking at a fair, they had a huge dirt area for cars and people with the little orange wands and fancy arm movements directing traffic all over. It was really crazy!

All in all it was a fun morning. Avery only slept for about 30 minutes in the car so he was pretty much awake from 7:30-3:00!! He did take a pretty long nap in the afternoon to make up for his lack of morning nap!

Avery turned 11 months old yesterday! I can't believe he will be one in a month!! My baby is getting so big! I was reading in my journal from this time last year. It's funny reading about pregnancy woes. A year ago this week we bought our first pack of newborn diapers, I finished working and we ate Chinese food! :) I was so excited and nervous about having a baby, wondering what it would be like and freaking out about all the changes that we would be making, and now it seems like Avery has been around forever. I barely remember what it was like before he was here.
He's getting close to walking, he can stand on his own and walk holding on to one of our fingers, but he doesn't quite have the confidence to try on his own. He also says Mama and Dada and actually is talking about me and Andy. He's been saying Dada for a while, but just started saying Mama last week. Yesterday morning he was in bed with us and I walked out of the room, as soon as I got out of his line of vision he started crying and saying "Mama mama mama". It seriously made my year! I love it!! He's the sweetest boy in the world!

We have a fairly busy month ahead of us, We're going camping the 8-10th, Andy is finishing up his last semester of school, we're having Avery's birthday party on the 23rd and I'm participating in a craft show(The Polka Dot Boutique) on the 30th. AND, Seven Peaks opened this weekend, so we'll be going there at least a couple times a week! I'm excited for June!! :)

Avery's Dip in the pool

We bought a little inflatable kiddie pool at Wal-Mart last week, Avery loves it. I'd say it was well worth the $3 we spent on it!! It's even a hit inside, he spends lots of time climbing in and out of it with toys!!
Here are some pictures of us enjoying the pool. Mostly Avery...but it kept our feet cool as well! :)

He's the cutest...

I love this picture of Avery. He's so pretty!This was taken this morning
(don't pay attention to the breakfast residue on his face!!)

It never goes away!

House work, that is. It seems like as soon as I wash the laundry and put it away (which sometimes takes me a couple days...) there are 2 more loads ready to wash! And the dishes...can't they just wash them selves, I mean really! I'm thinking of converting to all disposable! But since that's not really a great idea I think maybe I'll go back to how they did it 50 years ago where there was a wash day, ironing day, bake day, etc.
Those are really the only ones I can think of right now. And bake day would be really easy...so maybe I'll hold on to that idea!
Mostly I want to sit outside all day, but since we don't have a yard that could get old fast!
We just did spring cleaning last week, it was so nice. Everything was put away not just stashed in a drawer or in a closet! all the laundry was clean and folded, we even cleaned the stove and fridge. It was SO clean and nice.
And not even a week later my scrap booking stuff is piled on the table, there's a load of laundry to be washed and Avery's breakfast is still on his high chair tray! Really it would only take me about 15 minutes to get it cleaned up, but I thought writing about it all was more important!
But that's what nap time is for, right? Baby sleeps and Mom cleans. It's much easier that way!

I'm glad it's the weekend, I love the weekend!

How does your garden grow?

...in yogurt containers and butter bowls all lined up in a row.

Our vegetable garden is doing quite well, but I think the plants are beginning to out growing the little containers they're in! Here in Utah I can't put them in the ground until the first of June, I'm afraid I'm stunting their growth!

We went out and picked a bunch of flowering plants for our front garden. It looks MUCH better with little flowers out there. I just hope they'll fill out a little as they grow, so it doesn't look so awkward!

I love gardening, I'm really looking forward to having home grown veggies and fruit and sitting outside admiring my flowers on a warm summer night.

Then and Now

I was looking at pictures of Avery when he was first born and realizing how HUGE he's gotten!! So here are some comparison pictures....he was so tiny when he was born!

When he was born he weighed 6.15

At 6 months he was 16.8



At 9 months he was 18.15


And now, at 10 1/2 months, I don't know what he weighs...but he's getting so big!

Summer's Comin'!

The weather is turning out perfect this week, it's been sunny and warm. Perfect for spending time outside...or inside with the air conditioning on!! (thank goodness it works now!) We bought our season passes to Seven Peaks this week, and along with the access to the water park we also get to use the pass to go miniature golfing, I'm excited! I think we'll go tomorrow. The water park doesn't open until the 26th though, it's definitely hot enough right now to jump in a pool though!

Avery has discovered a couple things he enjoys these days. First, rummaging around in the coat closet and tossing all the shoes out. He likes to slide the doors shut while he's in there and trap himself in. Once that's accomplished he finds out he doesn't like it very much!

The other discovery he's made is how good (apparently) wipes taste. He'll pull the travel case out from the diaper bag and with his fat little fingers manage to pull a wipe out then proceed to carry it around in his mouth like a puppy who found a favorite chew toy! And of course...I let him. It keeps him happy, quiet, and he's not really doing anything destructive! It's a good thing he's so cute!

I've been really into making cards lately, really. I've scrap booked pretty much all of Avery's pictures for now, so I've been needing to do something crafty, and cards are easy and fun! I've been doing a card exchange for the last couple months with some other moms in the area. It's a lot of fun getting other people's cards and borrowing their ideas! Now I just need to use the cards!

Sasha was in town for a few days, it was fun visiting with her. We went shopping and ate ice cream (that's the last sugar for you for a while Sasha!), we got to have Michelle and her family over for dinner and visiting and Sasha was able to catch up on sleep!
It was a fun visit, next time she comes we'll have to try and do some more touristy activities!!