Como to the Zoo

So I found out that every Thursday in March and April the Como Zoo does a storytime for the kids. They pick an animal and read the kids a story about it and then let the kids come up and either pet or at least see the animal they were focusing on. This sounded like Avery heaven. So when I found out Thursday was "Fantastic Frog Day" we invited our friends Jack and Lincoln and Tyson and set out.

As soon as you walked in they had a bunch of fun activities for the kids to do. Coloring stations, water splish splash stations, matching games, and good ole fashioned stuffed animals to play with.

Avery found the snake and started walking around saying "ssssss" at random strangers.

Here she is learning about tadpoles and frogs at a matching station.

They had these fun wooden frogs that when struck with a wooden mallet would make different sounds. Avery really enjoyed that.

Then it was time for story time. They read a fun story about frogs eating flies and such and we counted along with the book. Then they brought out the real live frogs....I was a little curious to see how Avery would react. We had recently found out that Avery only loved cartoon frogs and that the real thing were a whole different story. So upon first seeing the real frogs Avery started crying and shaking a little bit, but once she realized they were contained in jars/aquariums she calmed down and even wanted to take a closer look.

Then it was on to the monkeys. Avery, Lincoln, and Jack all loved the monkeys. There were some cute mustached monkeys (sorry no pictures of the actual little guys) that played with the kids, putting their hands up to the glass and interacting with them.

Then it was onto the gorilla. This guy was creepy. For one thing he was HUGE, and for another he would eat something, then throw it up in his hand, and pick out what he really wanted to eat and eat it again. GROSS, but the kids thought it was hilarious.

We played in the kids area for a while and then visited the lions, tigers, and the cougar. The cougar fast became Avery's favorite animal and she talked about it all the way home. "Cougar, again?"  I found it fitting seeing that both Greg and I graduated from BYU.

She Loves To Read

We went in to check on Avery last night around 10:00pm and this is what we found... What can we say, the girl loves to read, even in the dark.

Avery and the DAYDEE!

We've watched a little boy from church a couple times in the last little bit and Avery loves him to death. She wants to constantly hold him, hug him, kiss him, feed him, and cover him with a blanket. It's pretty cute until she gets a little Lenny toward him (Of Mice and Men reference).

Avery Tales

Avery's been cracking us up lately. Seriously the girl has quite the personality.

Diiiiiiiiiiie!!!

Avery's still working on her B's pronunciation and most come out sounding like a "D," hence whenever she says "Goodbye" it comes out sounding like "Die!" And she says it so happily that it might leave the visitor a little confused. The other day Aunt Lauren stopped by to drop off some things (5 dozen eggs for $5 from Sams Club is what I call a GREAT deal). When it was time for her to leave Avery began her usual goodbye ritual and was merrily shouting "Die!" Die!" After the door closed Avery ran to the window and then whispered (quite menacingly I might add) "Diiiiiiieeeee." And thats why Greg and I sleep with our door closed now, so our little child of the corn doesn't get us in our sleep.

Homerism

Avery is obsessed with animals, and has been for quite some time. However, Greg and I have noticed a new item vying for the number one position...that item...cake. This became quite evident when Avery and I were playing with her zoo animals (and going over the alphabet at the same time...learning is FUN!). The conversation went something like this....

Me: Avery where is the iguana?

Avery: Gana?? I don't know.

 2 seconds later

Avery: Here it is!!

Me: Good job! Avery where is the Yak?

Avery: Yak! I don't know.

 2 seconds later

Avery: Here it is!!

Me: Good job!! Avery where is the Vulture??

             silence

Avery: mmmmmmmmmm caaaaakkkkkkeeeee.

Yep, she had a Homer Simpson moment. Now I need to figure out why vultures remind her of cake.

Two by Two

As previously mentioned Avery is obsessed with animals. So for Christmas she got a Little People Zoo thing that has 26 animals (one for each letter of the alphabet). Lately we've noticed a common trend. She'll pair the "like" animals together (basically the ones that look a bit like each other..ie the Quail with the Nightingale, the Alligator with the Iguana, the Camel with the Giraffe etc) and make them dance. Then, because Cinderella/Anastasia/Aladdin/any other Disney movie has her trained, she'll make them kiss. She even does the sound effects. She'll sing while they're dancing (A Dream is a Wish from Cinderella) and then make the little kissing noises. I have a feeling we're going to be in trouble when she gets older.

Snow Memories

So it was the middle of February before we had a good enough snow to go sledding. Luckily Avery had gotten a fun snow tube and sled for her birthday and she was anxious to try them out. We have some perfect hills in our yard so we got all dressed up and let her loose.

As you can see she is still has no fear...we just let her go by herself in the tube. I was pretty impressed 1.that she wasn't scared at all and 2. that she didn't try to get out half way down. Then we went to the steeper hill and tried out the sled. As you will be able to tell pretty obviously...Greg is a much better camera person that I am. Oh and yes...I did almost run into Greg...that would have been an America's Funniest Video for sure.

Greg was a much better sled guide than I was, and he was much more adventurous. He took Avery all the way down the hill and down into the frozen (and not so frozen in spots) pond.

Now it seems like Spring outside...is Winter a distant memory...with 70 degree weather that just might be the case. :)