Swim lessons

Averie just completed her first round of swim lessons. We were a bit nervous that she would be scared, and did not expect much. Come to find out, Averie is a fish, she wants to go first EVERY time, and had a blast the whole time. And she does pretty well with going underwater for a few seconds, and asks to be dunked over and over. Here are a few clips of her at her last lesson.

Fun at Southlands

Okay, so I am surprised I was even able to log into my blog, it has been so long since I posted (Easter apparantly) but I thought I would share these two cute video clips of the kiddos enjoying the fountains at Southlands. I think I have the cutest kids in the world.

Here are some Easter pictures. We had a good holiday, as we expected we would. Festivities started out a few days before when Averie dyed some Easter eggs with daddy.



On the Saturday before Easter, we went to a community Easter egg hunt and Averie and Tyler got to meet the Easter bunny, and made out like bandits!





On Saturday night, we read the Easter story to Averie, and then she promptly took her little kids' Bible and regurgitated the story back to us, Averie style. It was amazing how she simplified the story of Easter but left the essentials, that Jesus hurt, died, and then came back and was not dead anymore, and everyone was happy.

On Sunday morning we had our own Easter egg hunt. It seems the Easter bunny got our colored eggs and left them all over the yard, and then left some other goodies as well.




After church, our neighbors hid eggs for all the little kids in the neighborhood in the front yards of all our houses, and the kids did yet another hunt. (Took some work to explain that egg hunts really are not the focus of Easter) We then had a pot-luck dinner in the front yard with many of the neighbors, complete with ham, mashed potatoes, asparagus, sweet potatoes, butter braid, and some cocktails. :) We all got sunburned cheeks and had a good time.

Tyler's First Haircut

Ready to see a mini-Doug? Here are some pictures of Tyler's first haircut! Too cute! I think it makes him look like a one year old finally!

Averie's birthday

Averie had a great 3rd birthday! On the night of her birthday, we took her out for ice cream at Chick Fil-A, and then she opened up her presents from family. Then, on the following Saturday, she had a party with some friends over at our house. They made little cute door hangers, acted out the Going On A Bear Hunt Book, did a go fish game with prizes (Doug was behind the curtain pinning the prizes on the hook) and then cake and presents of course. Here are some pictures of the festivities!

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Tyler's 1st Birthday

The night before his birthday, we had a small party for Tyler with a few of our friends that have small boys, and as you can see, Tyler had a blast. It was a bit alarming to see how quickly Tyler sucked down his large chunk of cake. And the two additional pieces that followed. Ha ha. He got a lovely book, a Noah's ark with some animals, and a firetruck to ride on from mom and dad. More presents are on there way from the Durango bunch, and then of course Christmas, so he will quickly get the hang of present opening I am sure.

I cannot believe my little man is already one! He is a peanut, so he looks so much littler than a one year old, but his little brain is already ahead of himself, if you ask me. I cannot wait to see him start to stand up on his own and start running. Crazy, I know, but I just cannot wait. :)

Halloween

Here are some pics of Halloween! Tyler could have cared less, but Averie did not want the trick or treating to end!! We went to Southlands and did there trick or treat during the day (what a zoo!!) and then did 8 or so houses on our street. She wanted to do a lot more, but I think that was enough for a 2 year old. She totally got into the dress up thing this year which was fun.

A Fall Hike

In order to take advantage of the fall colors, we decided it was time to do a family hike. We decided on the White Ranch Open Space area outside of Golden in the Golden Gate State Park. Although there are not a lot of aspens there, it is closer to town, and offers a lot of smaller, easier hikes that are good for kids. Our plan was to go only a mile or so down one path and then have lunch and come back, but the mile out was all downhill, and to avoid a difficult uphill journey for the way back, we did the full loop, putting us at about 3 miles total.

Averie was a trooper for most of the way, and was way excited starting out. Her temperament waned as we drew halfway there, so we needed to stop for lunch, ASAP. Unfortunately, the only nice shady spot was on a road, so there we camped. It was a bit unromantic, but served its purpose. I was not so comfortable, but the kids did not care a bit, as you can see. Tyler enjoyed his first faceplant from an unattended backpack being accidentally swivelled, and then partook of his first taste of "Rocky Road" by placing a fistful of rocks in his mouth for dessert.




It was a fun time, and to our amazement, Averie walked most of the way (albeit with a little bit of whining, but hey, it was past her nap time as well) and only had to be carried for less than 1/4 mile. The kids slept like rocks on the way home, and we all came home happy from a day outside.

And this has nothing to do with hiking, but I thought it was a cute picture. One of Averie's favorite things to do is to cuddle in blankets. Ha ha.

What's New At the Zoo?

The zoo being the Potter household, of course!

Well, let's see. I recently attend my 2nd birth as a doula, and had a fabulous time, even though it was smack dab in the middle of the night. It was an amazing experience as always, and I was once again honored to be a part of someone else's birth! I have one more birth to go before I will have the complete 3 I need for certification, along with a test and some other stuff I have to do. I also finished a training workshop at Mountain Midwifery, and am now one of their doulas that moms can choose from, and I am way excited about that!!

Doug continues to enjoy his work at Jeppesen, and has interviewed for a supervisor spot within his group. He would be a great fit, and we are really pulling and praying that he gets it. He enjoys his work and his team, so either way, he sees it as a win-win. Being a supervisor would definetely have its challenges, which he knows, but we think it would be a great fit for him. He also continues to stay busy around the house doing all sorts of manly projects, which I totally approve of. :)

Due to the hailstorm this last spring, we recently got our house re-roofed and re-painted, all for free! It was a bit of a headache working with all the contractors and getting it all done, but saved a bundle of money since we were needing to do at least the painting within the next year.

As for Averie, she just had her first day of preschool!! We started her out early at 2 1/2, to give me some more time to focus on Tyler a bit, and get her some time with other kids, which she has been craving. We packed up her back-pack (which I did NOT make her wear, but she wanted to, so no lectures on how I am hurting her back) and we were off. After punching in on the fancy pin pad check-in and taking her to her room, she was quickly whisked in and having fun in no time. I made a hasty departure so as to get out of the way. And no, I DID NOT CRY! A little dust did get in my eye on the way out, causing my eye to get a little moist, but that was all. I picked her up 4 hours later (a time-frame I had thought would go by way to fast but ended up being equal to a biblical 40 years). She was blissfully watching a short movie after lunch with the other kiddos (normally she will only be there 3 hours) and as soon as she saw me, burst into tears and ran to me. Ha ha. She had a wonderful day, and only cried when these other two water-work gals in the class cried, out of sympathy. The teachers said she was so compassionate! Of course I did not need to know this, as she begins sobbing half-way through the book "Are You My Mother?" no matter how many times we read it. She brought home several projects, and was able to remember the letter A and the number 1 at the end of the day. So, I would say she is a genius. Oh, and here are some pics for the grandmas. :)

As for Tyler, he is a happy 8 monther now. He is still a little touchy when it comes to sleeping, but is improving. His preferred method of transportation is rolling, at which he is highly efficient and FAST! He has recently discovered the joys of teething biscuits and of rice puffs, which is fun and very messy.