she does this a lot

And it always makes me smile. She's super strong, you wouldn't want to meet up with her in a dark alley.

a monday confession...on tuesday

Sometimes when she looks so totally adorable in her pajamas, I don't get her properly dressed for the day until afternoon. Like 2:00 in the afternoon.



Yesterday we didn't have anywhere to be and she seriously looked so cute, I just couldn't change her clothes. And of course shortly after I did change her outfit she spit up the two bites of green beans she ate at lunch. Ah well, they're just clothes.



And can you even believe that I have to compete with those two?! I try to balance random toys on my head, make crazy sounds, play peek-a-boo, and all I get are straight-faced (but totally adorable) stares for the camera. Seriously, Oscar was just looking at her like that and it was hilarious. Well, I mean, he is kind of funny looking so I guess I understand.

so that's how they got the horse's head

In the year 2000, I watched The Godfather for the first time and promptly fell in love with organized crime. The first movie remains my favorite, though I must admit I like the love story in part three (cousins, but still!). Deran hates that I like that one at all, his favorite is part two and he feels it should've stopped there.

This is a rare instance where I believe the movie is better than the book. Thank you Mario Puzo, but oh my gosh! Francis Ford Coppola, you are amazing. At least after reading the book I better understood who Vincent is, but meh, it was just okay for me. I had the movies on tape and then we got them on DVD after we were married.

So back to my love of organized crime...One Christmas I received an encyclopedia of organized crime families. Kind of like a who's who in the gangster world. It was interesting for sure. However, I abruptly quit my criminal research after reading this book. For whatever reason, that one made me realize that the stories I was reading and the men I found fascinating were real, emotionless, and basically kind of evil. They had people killed without batting an eye. And while I'm riveted to the screen to see Michael Corleone renouncing Satan and agreeing with the priest during his godchild's baptism, while at the same time having multiple people brutally murdered - I know it's just a movie, but the real life stuff...it kind of got to me.

Of course, sometimes TV/movies get to me too. That would be why I can't finish watching The Sopranos and stopped at season two of Dexter. When I find myself rooting for the bad guy (and yes, I do believe Dexter is a bad guy too!), I have to step back and re-evaluate what I'm letting in.

So all of that to say, I still love The Godfather. And I did put that onesie on my baby. She wasn't too happy about me taking the horse away.



I'm pretty sure Don Corleone didn't cry over that horse. And just a fun fact, but did you know it was a real horse's head in the movie?!



Though Deran and I both love The Godfather, Avery won't be allowed to watch it for quite some time. It's a little too mature for her. One day she'll understand all the crazy quotes we randomly spout off. And then she'll be like, "Omg, you guys are like so lame!" and I'll be all, "See these pictures? Who's lame now?!" and then she'll be like, "YOU because you put me in that onesie!" and I'll be like, "Whatevs, it's like the greatest movie ever made." But right now? Right now she's probably just wishing I would stop having pretend future conversations with her and give her that wooden horse back.

mommy brain

So last night I was trying to explain to my mom about this TV character going to college on a scholarship and this is what transpired...

Me: "What's it called?"
Deran: "A scholarship."
Me: "Right, but what kind? Like you got a band scholarship, and I got a different one, you know, like for people who are good at school."
Deran: Looking at me like he can't believe I was allowed to graduate, "ACADEMIC."
Me: "Riiiiiight!"

Yeah, it's hard to believe I was one of them there people who was good at school. I was a real real good student.

It was definitely one of my finer moments. I'm blaming mommy brain according to Urban Dictionary, because after last night I just don't know if I believe Katherine Ellison. I find myself half-listening to conversations because I'm always thinking of what else needs to be done, and Deran swears my reflexes have slowed (at least where a game of slaps is concerned), and pretty much everything revolves around Avery. I purposely avoid the news, limit TV, and I've always preferred staying home to partying.

And you know what? It's okay. She's only little for a minute, she deserves my days. And besides, she goes to bed early these days so I can get my learnin' on at night!

mmmmm, felt food

In my search for crafty kid projects, I came across felt food. After a search on flickr that produced one cute food item after another, I decided I must make some!

How about a delicious stack of pancakes? They wouldn't be complete without a little syrup and pat of butter! And I don't know about you, but I usually take mine with a side of eggs - sunny side up.



Not in the mood for breakfast? What about dinner? A nice dish of bow-tie pasta with marinara and meatballs. And if you don't like meat, just take them off!



This food, along with the memory game I recently made, is going to our niece and nephew for their 2nd birthday. I seriously LOVED fake food as a kid. I even tore up blades of grass to use as green beans and salad for my barbies. Seriously.

I have a feeling they'll always be in the mood for something sweet, so they can bake up some delicious chocolate chip cookies! And not only are they cookies, but they also serve as a teaching tool, like, "Which cookie has three chocolate chips?" Who makes educational food? Aunt Amy does, that's who! But um...remember those cookies are teaching counting skills, not shapes...



Two crafty projects down, two to go!

*My good friend T has become a craft superstar and when she was visiting in February she introduced me to several crafty sites. I can't remember where I originally saw the felt food, but thank you T for the introduction to some awesomely crafty inspiration!*

wednesday snaps of my girl

I was taking pictures of a crafty project and couldn't help but get a couple of my sweet baby. I know there's a chance her eyes may change colors and of course I will love her no matter what and obviously she'll still be gorgeous, but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't miss those pretty blue eyes.

memory

I've been feeling crafty lately and Friday night I decided to go ahead and finish one of the birthday presents for my niece and nephew. It's a memory game!



I was going to use squares but on the last two trips to Hobby Lobby the supply had been replaced with stars and hearts. I'm glad I got the stars, I really like how they turned out. Only four more crafty projects and their birthday gifts will be complete!

out of office

Can I really say I'm "Out of Office" if I'm technically in my office? Either way, things have been really hectic the last couple of weeks and I'm just starting to get back on track. I have lots of photos to go through but for today I'm in my office but still out of office.

the tooth

I can't believe I forgot to mention her first tooth in her monthly update! The tooth has been around for a couple of weeks now and it is sharp. It's also almost invisible. Teething is tough work for a baby and there's lots of drool.

I just want to make sure everyone can see it, it's not completely obvious...unlike my mad Photoshop skillz.

seven months

Yet another month has passed. I feel like the sixth month lasted a long time, which is weird since February is the shortest month.

At seven months Avery really likes the pugs, breastfeeding, sleeping with Mommy & Daddy, standing, sitting, jumping, baths, grabbing everything, putting everything in her mouth, and talking/yelling. She dislikes having anything taken away from her, baby food, and this toy. She really really hates that lion. I think she's just following in our footsteps. Deran and I both dislike clowns and that lion has a distinctly clownish appearance, it's been moved to another room out of sight.

She's starting to make a new noise that's kind of a raspy wheezy slight growl. It's a little weird and a lot hilarious. She's not really interested in baby food of any kind. She does like to take the spoon and put it in her mouth. I guess she ends up eating about three or four bites. Most of it is on her face and hands, meals are fun!

She is still very vocal. More than once when someone has called to chat during the day they'll comment that she must be upset, and I'm like, "Nope, she's just playing." She's animated is all, and well, it's adorable.

Deran said yesterday that he thinks the best part of life so far is being a dad. I had my doubts going into parenthood because, you know, it's FOREVER and that's kind of a big deal. But, I agree with my husband. Being a parent is pretty amazing when you have a kid like Avery. She makes life so much better.

cutest puppy ever

Puppies are notoriously cute, 'tis true. However, I feel positive that we had the cutest puppy ever in our house Sunday afternoon.



Storytime last Friday was all about dogs and during craft time at the end we made puppy ears. And by we, I mean me and the librarian. But still - they belonged to Avery! I put them on her Sunday to get a few pictures because let's face it, I'm not going to keep them lying around the house forever.



But the problem is, these days if it makes it to her hands, then it makes it to her mouth...until Mommy or in this case, Daddy, removes it.



It's a vicious cycle, but she's so doggone (pun absolutely intended) cute!