why fight it?

Instead, we embrace the mess at meals. Breakfast ended in hysterics two days in a row because I took away her spoon. And Internet, HOW DARE I REMOVE AN OBJECT FROM HER HANDS?! I'm pretty sure that's what she was trying to say in between the wrenching sobs.

I told Deran about the heart breaking breakfasts and how I didn't want her to associate meal time with an unpleasant experience, etc. Deran reminded me that I'm the parent. Wait, what? Hmmm, I must've forgotten between all the diaper changes, clothing changes, breastfeeding, book reading, crazy noise making, block building, and oh! that awesome scar on my lower abdomen...silly me. (LOVE YOU HUSBAND!) Anyway, as her parent I guess that's supposed to mean I have the ability to keep the spoon from her grip.

But you know what Internet? I will always, always, always hand her the spoon if our meals end like this:



And guess who hands off the spoon now too...though I will admit he does try to keep things clean with the first few bites before giving in!

iRecents

I think this one is still my iFave, but I think these recent pics are pretty cute. Still loving my iPhone!

cutie

And she has a sister...who happens to be missing her two front teeth...they were both pretty adorable the whole hour. I'll have more to share soon!

i think i can, i think i can

Clean, that is. Our house stays messy. It's not really dirty (could use a good dusting!) but it's not all picked up and put away either. The baby is all tucked into bed, I have a couple of business things to do, and then I'm going to CLEAN!

No pictures, but I'll post some before and afters later...maybe...I'm not quite sure how it gets so messy so fast!

this matches

No? I don't think so either. I love it when Deran dresses her. Then things like daisies and gumball machines are a matching set. He tried to tell me that those pants were the only ones in the drawer that went with the onesie. I guess he forgot that I'm the one who does her laundry and I know there are at least two pair of matching leggings in that drawer!

He was nice enough to let me get an extra hour of sleep this morning after feeding her. At the end of my hour he brought her to me exclaiming over how cute she was in her outfit. And really, does it take away from the cuteness? No, it does not.

people often ask

Is it hard having the cutest baby ever? It's life, you know, you do what you have to. Some days is it hard living in her shadow? Sure, but somehow we manage.



I think it's going to be tough on any future children we may have. Like, "Oh Future Baby, you're the second cutest baby ever and that's...well, that's still cute..."



She wore skinny jeans to storytime today (she's much more fashion forward than I am) and those smiles? They were for me because I'm funny. And okay, maybe they were a little bit for Harper who kept running to the windows to bark like a crazy pug. But mostly they were for me!

thrifty thursday (minus the thriftiness)

It's easy for me to rationalize spending money when it's all on Avery, seriously. Deran can be all, "You spent how much?!" But then I show him how every single thing is so cute and look! Some of those things are educational too!

So I thought I'd come clean and share a few of my recent purchases.

1. Felt. Wood. Scrapbook paper. All from this place. I've got crafty ideas coming out the wazoo.

2. Shoes. My sister loaned me two bags of my niece's shoes from last year. However, Avery has teeny tiny feet (I may have mentioned it once or twenty times) and at this rate those borrowed shoes will fit her when she's two. So I got these...and these, but in silver...in a size 1.

3. Clothes. Too many clothes! All from Target. I can't help that there have been some really adorable selections out lately!

Because posts are better with pictures, I'll leave you with the photo from our Valentine card. You know, the ones that are labeled and in envelopes waiting for someone to take them to the post office. I'm mailing them tomorrow! It's still February friends, let's just love all month long!

sweetheart

success

There were some smiles and eye contact! I'm considering this super fast mini-session a success. My sister was on her way to run errands and I was able to take photos, create a card, and edit a handful of images in an hour!

the backseat

I have another blog. It's nothing fancy, just me and my baby, and we take a photo for it each day. It's part of the reason I neglect this blog. Things will pick back up soon, I have lots coming up!

Nesting blocks are quite delicious.



And I didn't capture it very well, but I can look at the picture and remember. I LOVE her expression while taking in the surrounding toys at her feet. So cute!

she'll have her cake and eat it too

My parents got Avery a tea set for Christmas and over the last couple of weeks we've enjoyed a few tea parties. It's been a party for two and the other female in the house has been a little upset. She made off with the round cake on Saturday and I've yet to find it!

tulle and toes

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and you know what makes a great gift? Pictures.

Since I bought at least 22 Valentine themed outfits for Avery, she'll have lots of sweet pictures to choose from to give to those special someone's in her life. This morning was yet another Valentine session with my sweet baby girl.

six months

It's a milestone birthday, a whole half of a year. That's a big deal! I say it every single month, but I can't believe how time flies.

At six months Avery really loves the pugs, breastfeeding, Mommy & Daddy, chewing on her paci, grabbing her feet, smiling, talking/screaming, grabbing everything else, and distractions. She really dislikes going to sleep.

She can now roll over in all directions and sit unassisted (once in the position!). We love watching her master each new task and of course we think she's pretty darn swell.

The monthly iPhone update:



But because this is SIX WHOLE MONTHS, it deserves more than just a phone photo update...it's photo collage time!

It's been six months of silly faces that make me laugh.



Six months of watching them and my heart melting. I love the way he looks at her all the time, like there's no doubt she's forever got him around her tiny little fingers. Heart=On.His.Sleeve.



Six months of spending my days with the girl I love the most.



Happy 6 month birthday sweet girl, we love you lots!

but not the harper

I love any book by Sandra Boynton. I love the illustrations, the text, I love every single thing about the books. It all started when I bought Moo, Baa, La La La! It's adorable. A couple of weeks ago I picked up another handful of books for Avery that included But Not the Hippopotamus.

Basically, different animals get together to do fun things...but not the hippopotamus. In the end they all invite her to come along and she thinks on it then, "But YES the hippopotamus!" goes along...but not the armadillo. Very cute book.



Whenever I grab this book I like to substitute Harper for hippopotamus. When she's not getting in the way of my picture taking, she's walking around with her tail down like she just lost her best friend and I've forgotten to feed her for the last month. She leads a very tough life.