This weekend our local fire department held an open house to help teach kids about fire safety. Avery spends a good portion of each day dressed in his fire gear putting out imaginary fires throughout our house and rescuing pretend kittens from dire straits. So when I heard about this event, I could hardly wait to take Avery. He got to see the inside of the fire house, sit in a fire truck, and get inside a helicopter which landed in the parking lot. There was even an obstacle course set up for the kids. It was so fun to see him in his element and absorbing everything. Afterwards I asked him what his favorite part was, and he said it was sitting in the fire truck.
“Look! A pumper truck!”

Sitting in the truck with Daddy

In his fireman suit

Starting the obstacle course

Avery crawled through a tunnel…

…to drag this poor dummy from harm’s way

Then he put out the fire and saved the day

“Gimme five!”

Auntie Ashleigh made a special trip out from New York for the weekend to meet her new nephew. Nana and Grandpa drove up from Vancouver too. It turned out to be a great weekend for a visit. Our local summer festival, Maple Valley Days, was going on, and we had beautiful weather to boot. Avery is at an age where he really enjoys the rides and games at the fair. I don’t know if he had more fun going on the rides or if we had more fun watching him on them.

Avery continues to grow into an adorable little boy. When Lindsey and I came home from the hospital with Kieron we both noticed that Avery seemed a little more grown up. And in the past few weeks it’s become even more apparent. He’s grown physically, becoming very sturdy and tall. He is getting good at kicking a soccer ball and hitting a baseball off a plastic tee-ball set. He’s also expanding his vocabulary and conversation skills and is great fun to talk with. There is something very endearing about a three-year-olds’ way with words.




Hiking Tiger Mountain


Posing with “The Alligator” log

Avery turned three today. We celebrated by taking him to the Seattle Science Center, something he’s been asking to do for a while. The last time we went he was about a year-and-a-half old. He wasn’t so keen on the dinosaur exhibit as it was a bit too realistic. He loved the butterflies and the water cannons outside. After the museum we wandered around under the “Space Noodle” and then stopped by Cupcake Royale for a celebratory treat.