How Avery loves to play with this Little People Nativity! My mom ordered it for her last year and since she was only four months old it stayed in the boxes. This Christmas is a different story. I've found a camel in a windowsill, a dog in a basket in the laundry room, and of course she likes to carry the baby around. We have the full set which includes the inn and three wise men. I like the Little People playsets because they're durable and I think we'll be playing with this one for years to come!!
It really doesn't have any significance, it's just that I started this post on the 19th...or opened blogger anyway. We've been doing lots of Christmastime things around here - cheesy family movies, eating too much, shopping, etc. I think we're mostly ready for the main event on Saturday. We've got a busy, but fun, couple of weeks ahead of us.I hope everyone is enjoying this time of year! Avery really loves playing with the Baby Jesus from the nutcracker nativity on the mantel. She'll grab one of us and point to the mantel and repeat "baby" until she gets it. She got a little impatient with me earlier today and told me to MOVE, which sounds kind of like a staccato moo, so I could get her that baby! The picture is out of focus but it makes me smile. 
Tomorrow I turn 29. TWENTY-NINE! I know it doesn't exactly qualify me for any discounts, but 29 just really sounds old to me. I've never had a problem with birthdays or getting older, and really I still don't. It's just that 24 sounds young to me now and that makes me a little sad. Today Avery & I met up with a couple of cousins at the zoo. One more trip and that membership will have paid for itself! It was more crowded than our super awesome outing last week, but still a perfect day and fun for Avery and that's all that really matters. We saw a few exhibits we hadn't seen before and spent more time with the goats. We enjoyed a picnic lunch, during which we got up close and personal with some pigeons. Birds are gross. Kind of pretty, but just so so gross.
Avery was a little territorial with the goats. She was brushing one and another mom and toddler Avery's size walked up. The mom was trying to get her daughter (who was scared!) to pet the goat and Avery started shaking her finger telling the little girl no-no. In general Avery's a polite girl. I mean, she always says thank you when she takes something away from you. But we're still working on sharing.She couldn't hang and fell asleep before we saw the reptiles. Probably best since she wasn't a fan on our first trip. And now for a fun elephant fact. I happened to notice today that an elephant's teats are located between the front two legs...kind of like a human. Really I don't think it's a fun fact so much as it's just interesting...or weird. I'd never given elephant teats a thought until I noticed them today and then I thought it was really strange. I guess I just thought an elephant's anatomy was like a cow or something. Last week I learned key differences between the California sea lion and a seal, this week it was elephant anatomy. And now I sound crazy.Sooooo 29! Tomorrow! No plans, D says we can do whatever I want. I'm thinking of a few minutes of uninterrupted reading, or sleeping until 8:00, or something wild like that. I do have a couple of things I'm thinking of to get the year started off the right way, but nothing involving elephant teats.
On Sunday afternoons Oscar can most often be found chillaxin' with Deran, watching football. He looks kind of weird with his tail down. He's still cute though. :)
I finally got around to ordering our Christmas cards. And unlike our Valentine's cards that just got mailed out after Thanksgiving, these will be sent out by Thursday! I had a pretty specific idea of what photos I wanted to try and get of Avery and the wording I wanted to use. When I told Deran what images were in my head he said I was cute. Not in a sweet way, but more like, "Awww you're so special!" kinda way. 
There were a few tears along the way, but I'm pretty darn happy with how they turned out! However, since all three of my blog readers are on my Christmas mailing list, I'm going to wait to share them here until after they've been sent out...hopefully before December 25th!
Emphasis on the pokey part. Avery loves to do the Hokey Pokey. She's quite good at sticking a foot out as long as she has something to hold on to. It's really cute to watch her while we sing the same verse over and over because she really only likes to stick her feet in and out and then clap along.
This morning we had some family photos and Avery had to fend off a few pokes from a couple of silly cousins. But in the end, I think it was worth it for a sweet hug.
Our street is home to so many kids of all ages. Avery is definitely the youngest, but there are a couple close to her age. This story isn't about them. L1 is a six year old who Avery & I visit with a few times a month. He has a just-turned-three year old sister and sometimes she comes over too. If we're playing outside L1 stops by to chat and if his baby sister K is with him, she desperately wants Avery to play. Once when I was pushing Avery in her car down the street I could hear L1 & K running and whispering (loudly!) trying to catch up to us so K could see Avery. It was really cute.So today Avery & I were walking out to check the mail and lots of kids were out playing all up and down the street, so L1 & his five year old neighbor L2 come walking across the street where they'd been hiding (not in their yards) and our conversation goes something like this...L1: Guess what? Me: What?L1: His (L2) brother has a knife and is going to kill him!Me: A real knife?L1: Yeah, a real knife! His brother is inside and he's outside.L2: Literally, he's going to kill me. I think he can jump off the roof and stab him.Him who, I have no idea. But you guys, L2 said "literally" and had on reindeer ears that he made himself. I'm sad to admit that it took me longer than it should have to realize he was Rudolph. I looked at his face for the longest time as they kept talking to me because he had some red splotches on his nose, scratchy looking lines on his right cheek near his nose and a little red on the left. After a few minutes and some kind of "Be careful out there!" remark from me, they walked off to play. Avery & I played outside for a while and the boys came back. Our conversation turned to Santa and when I asked what they were asking Santa for, L1 told me he was asking for a puppy so his dog would have someone to play with. Isn't that sweet?! Then L2 told me 1) a knife so he could kill his brother & 2) a Peter Pan suit. Seriously. I'm not even sure what the point of all this is anymore, but murderous Christmas wishes aside - he wants a Peter Pan costume. How cute is that?! I'm pretty sure he won't really kill his brother but just in case, Santa - if you're reading this - do NOT get L2 a knife for Christmas. But Peter Pan suits are perfectly welcome.
And guess who still hasn't taken any pictures this week? That's right, me. But last December I did. On the day we decorated our tree.
I have no pictures to share. I've taken a few with my phone, and I've certainly thought about taking pictures but I haven't felt like getting my camera out. I think I had the winter blues for a day but they passed. So instead of sharing any pictures, I'll share a few things that have happened this week.1) I was wearing a t-shirt supporting my hometown football team. It has a ridiculously beefed up football player on it, a la Arnold from Pumping Iron. Anyway, Avery kept pointing at the guy then looking at me and saying, "Daddy?" Meanwhile two weeks ago while Deran pushed her around the grocery store she kept pointing at a lady with sweatpants, hair coming out of her ponytail, and a purple shirt, saying, "Momma?" That just doesn't seem fair.2) I took Avery to the zoo on Tuesday after an appointment and it was AWESOME! No crowds, we had the whole petting zoo to ourselves, and we got to see a chimpanzee face to face...with some thick glass in between. And she waved and told the elephants bye-bye. It was a great trip!3) We watched The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland 842 times.4) Avery knocks on doors now. With her tiny fist. It's adorable!5) Technically this is now more than a "few" things. I should've said "some."6) I've been streaming the Duggars on Netflix and can I just say that I LOVE that family!God is so good to those who trust in Him! It's a good day, enjoy it! I'm thinking we'll play outside after nap time so maybe I'll take some pictures. Or maybe I'll just play.
Time is strange in that it seems like a month is a long time but I turn around and here we are, another one is gone. Today Avery is 16 months old and she's so much fun!At sixteen months Avery really loves Elmo, playing outside, telling people and objects "no no," feeding herself with a fork or spoon, and she's still a fan of the breast milk. As always, she dislikes not getting her way. She's still really sweet and gives us lots of kisses!She's talking a lot more and a few things we hear a lot of are: oops, no, momma, melmo (Elmo), daddy, house, mine, da (yeah), uh-oh, bye-bye, peeease (please), thank you, and bow. She loves to play outside and when I open the door to let the dogs outside she starts saying "house" over and over because her playhouse is back there. We're thankful for early Christmas presents. My parents ordered her playhouse back in October and let her have it to enjoy, and enjoy it she has! She LOVES it! So for a girl who's been largely disinterested in TV for the better part of her 16 months, she's seriously addicted to Elmo. We've seen The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland probably 9 times since Thanksgiving. She'll grab the remote, point at the TV, and say, "Melmo. Melmo. Melmo! Melmo." It's just crazy! She still loves puzzles and books and she really loves to color with markers. We color a lot! She has some bath crayons that she uses to color on her bath baby, the tub, my shirt, whatever she can reach while standing in the tub. I'm just glad she likes taking a bath again. She spent almost a month crying before/during/after a bath and it was really hard on all of us. She's still nursing, but she's also starting to eat more. And by more, I mean like actually taking a couple of bites instead of flat refusing food during a meal. Today she ate some during breakfast and lunch, such a grown up girl! Deran and I are super excited for Christmas this year. I think she'll like the new toys from Santa, but also opening the presents! She's starting to pretend more and it is so cute! She loves to feed various babies with a bottle, or sometimes whatever she's eating. And two nights ago I got a big pot out for her to use while I started dinner and she stirred the contents of her pot (discarded toilet paper rolls) and then took a pretend bite off the spoon and said, "Mmmm." Two things about that story, 1) she's entering into the stage of pretend play and it's adorable & 2) don't eat when Avery cooks!I know I say it a lot, but Avery really is such a good baby...er...toddler. No, baby. She's still a tiny baby! Today we went to story time, the park, and then had lunch. Just my girl and me, and it was nice way to spend this birthday morning. After she wakes up I promised some time outside in her house and then a walk around the neighborhood. It's a really great day and I'm so glad I get to spend it with her!
Happy 16 month birthday baby girl, we love you lots!
Today marks the second anniversary of my blog. I didn't even take a picture today or anything. But two whole years? Well that's something to note! I started this blog under Amy Schilling Photography to showcase sessions and provide clients with a sneek peak at their portraits, but it's turned into something much more personal. I'm thankful the last two years have been documented, particularly the last year. I wish I wrote things down on paper more often, but I don't. So I'm glad I've blogged lots of photos and milestones of Avery because otherwise the little things might be forgotten a little sooner.In honor of my second bloggiversary, I'm going to give away TWO mini-sessions to the first TWO people who leave a comment on this post. And because I'm really awesome, I'm also going to share the links to TWO websites I have up right now. I'm a fan of ABC Family and was talking to D about an ABC Family original movie we'd watched together a looong time ago. Anyway, we were both way off on the actors playing the lead roles, but I totally found it!! So first, this list is awesome. And second, this movie is getting ordered tonight.*Mini-session details: 30 minutes, up to five people, local location (Baytown/Dayton/Crosby), 20 edited images on CD.*
