14 Months!

Ok, so you are 14 months and 4 days, but who's counting. :)

This is as good as it gets... you are on the MOVE!

I don't know WHAT happened in the last couple of days, but you are suddenly SO big!  Yesterday, you walked to the car on the way to school and didn't want me carry you. :( Daddy commented yesterday that you looked bigger too. Maybe it was just your little outfit!??

Such a big girl!

You had two back to back ear infections just after you turned one, so we had to keep rescheduling your one year check up! And... I somehow lost your sticker that has your stats, so these are based on my memory:

24-ish lbs.
32-ish inches

75th Percentile Across the Board!

- You have been FUSSY lately, but thankfully Daddy spotted one, big, shiny MOLAR yesterday, and alas, my happy baby has returned.  You are up to ten teeth now!


- You love blowing kisses, and you love waving anytime you see me or anytime someone says "hi" or "bye"!


- You can say "hi" and "bye bye", and I *think* you are saying "this" and "that".  (I'm still waiting to hear Mommy, ahem.)  You also just started signing "please".  Nevermind you learned this while eating cheetos and wearing a white shirt (just for the record...they were baked, and you were sick... this is NOT normal!).


- You have become obsessed with drinking your bath water.  You will take ANYTHING and try to use it to funnel water into your mouth... bath cups, Dora's flippers, a wash rag, seriously... anything.


- You hate to brush your teeth!  You fake me out, and I fall for it every morning though...  You'll open your mouth wide and say "aaaaahhhhh" and I think that this is the day... until it's not. 


- Speaking of things you hate... You are not a fan of the car right now!


- You are going through serious separation anxiety with mommy.  :(

On a brighter subject, the weather has been amazing lately, so we've been having lots of fun outside!!  We actually made it to the park twice in one day last weekend!

You love to swing!

And love to wave...

About to climb up the slide, but not before waving to someone new:

You also love to give hugs!  Daddy will squat down and ask for a hug, and you go running to him, bury your little head into his chest and then pat his back.  It is SO sweet, and you will only do it for Daddy.

Here you are in action!

Did I mention that you love waving?

Happy 14 Months Baby Girl!

Renovation Realities, Part III: Granite!

Big day... we have granite!

And wainscoating!

Our sink is waiting to be installed... I'm not sure if it's big enough though. ;)

Conversations...

I'm not sure what it is about weekends and my work from home days, but Avery wakes up at the crack of dawn. I have to drag her sleepy little head out of bed on days when I actually go IN to the office, but days where I actually get to sleep in a little... yea, not so much. I do love it though. I'll hear the door open, shortly followed by her sweet little voice, "Mommy?  Ina (I wanna) watch Dora."  So, she climbs in bed, and we flip on the TV. My very independent, not so cuddly almost 4 year old snuggles for a split second, so I'll take it! This morning, she climbed in, and the conversation went like this:


Avery: "Mommy, Ina watch Dora..."

Me: "Ok, but I need a hug first."

Avery: "Ok!"

Daddy: "Avery, can I get a hug too?"

Avery: "You need to put a shirt on first, and then you can."

Zoo Day!

Avery's school was closed for President's Day, and I had the day off, so thanks to dead Presidents and beautiful weather, Avery and I hit the zoo on Monday!  Anna went to school since she hasn't been the happiest little traveler lately. :)  We met Avery's friend, Lily (who Avery kept referring to as Kate since she looks a lot like her cousin, Kate!), and the girls were beyond excited! 

Not a great picture, but she was READY see some animals:

Avery really wanted to see the tigers, and of course that would be the one animal that we didn't get to see while we were there. The girls did love the monkeys though, and we spent a lot of time here!

Lily actually liked the monkey statue more than the live monkeys, so we stopped for a photo op:

I'm not sure what we were looking at here, but I love the
"no climbing on the rails" sign pictured next
to Avery.  We always follow the rules at the zoo:

After lunch, the girls decided that they wanted to ride the carousel.  I decided to ride with them, and sadly Jena's iPhone could not get a good picture, but TRUST me, it was a highlight.  You could not wipe the smiles off of their faces! We visited a few more animals until Avery's legs started to get "busy"... I have no idea where this came from, but it cracks me up every time she says it.  "Mama, can you please hold me?  My legs are wery (very) busy..."  

Here are the "busy" girls resting up below:

We got the girls off the bench by promising them a train ride before we left. Sadly we didn't get a train picture either, but the girls loved it. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day!

Renovation Realities Part II: We Have Cabinets... Sort of...

It's starting to look like a kitchen again!

Renovation Realities, Part I: No Turning Back

For 2 years we've been talking about renovating our kitchen, and FINALLY we are going through with it! I am completely in denial about what this means for the next 4-6 weeks, but for now, I'm super excited.:)  Demo began on Tuesday, so we had to clean out the cabinets and relocate the contents... to our dining room. Please excuse all the booze at the forefront of this picture.  We really aren't heavy drinkers; however, we may all be hitting the bottle before this is over with!

This bad boy is full now...

Our new little makeshift kitchen.
Seriously, what were we thinking?

This would be the first thing you now see when you walk in
my back door. So, about that booze... 

We walked inside and caught a glimpse of, well... nothing!
Goodbye ugly cabinets, countertops and backsplash!!

Hello holes in my walls...

God bless our contractor for leaving my sink and oven in tact
though. He has little ones too, so thankfully he "gets it"! :)

Pray for us people!  We need it!

Valentine's Day Weekend

Last weekend we headed to Georgetown to celebrate Ryan's grandmother's 75th birthday!  It was nice to have a long weekend to visit with family and celebrate with Grandma! Avery and I made heart-shaped cupcakes for the party, and Mommy & Daddy had time for a little day-date too!

Avery & her Great Grandma!

Anna, her snack (Pa's famous trash!) & Great Grandma

Taking a walk with Great Grandma...

Avery teaching YaYa First Position

The weather was beautiful, so we headed outdoors!

Anna & her cousin Ginger on a wagon ride

Boompa wanted to go for a wagon ride too...

Sometime over the weekend Avery became a daredevil... 

look closely - she's up on two wheels!

Flying up the hill with Daddy!

Poor, poor shoes met their match.  

Gravel + Plasma Car = Very Large Holes

Looks like we'll be headed to Target soon... Avery already misses her "gwey shoes". :(

All Good Things Come to an End...

Last night we went to a Super Bowl party at a friend's house, and Avery had a great time playing with the older kids.  When it was time to leave, she was really sad (typical when she's having fun!).  Daddy was loading up the car while Miss Angela was giving Avery a pep talk:


Angela: "Avery you can come back soon to play! Maybe next time you won't even have to bring your mommy and daddy with you!"


Avery stopped pouting for a second, looked up at Angela and said... 


"...but I can't drive??"

"Snow" Day!

Hope everyone is enjoying their "snow" day as much as we are!