on the mend

So glad she's feeling better! We spent a little time outside this evening waiting on Daddy to get home. She was quite curious as to what the neighbors were doing. She's a little nosy, but babies can get away with that.



She was really happy to see him tonight. Sweetest girl ever!

feeling like fall

Finally! For the last week or so my house has been all, "Welcome Fall!" but then we open the door and realize Summer totally decided to extend her visit. But this week the weather has been so amazingly beautiful and cool and perfect. My house is happy and so am I.



And totally unrelated, but last night I was going through old pictures of Avery as I'm wont to do, and I came across her six month session...that I've yet to really edit and print. Shame on me!

The picture below makes me laugh so much! We put her on that doll bed because I'd taken a newborn picture on it and we just wanted to see the difference. I just keep singing "Big baby in a little bed" to the tune of Chris Farley's "Fat guy in a little coat" from Tommy Boy. Classic.

the more things change

The more they stay the same.

starting the week off right

Today is Sunday! It's officially the start of a new week, one I hope will be better than the last. Avery is currently in the throes of a nasty virus complete with messy diapers, vomit, and high fevers. We've spent the weekend trying to keep her fever down and fluids in, which is really not fun at all. But even in the midst of her discomfort, she somehow manages to maintain her CUTEST BABY EVER status. Seriously though, if she's not being held this is what we get. So sad!



So today I'm listing five things around my home that are helping me maintain a positive attitude and look forward to the week ahead!

1. Creating fall masterpieces with my favorite, albeit sickly, girl.


2. My baby with her baby.


3. Buggy surprises. I went out to take pictures of purple flowers blooming on the fence in the backyard and SURPRISE! A bug crawled right out of the bloom for me to take his photograph.


4. Weight Watchers motivational mail. I attend WW on Thursdays and a couple of weeks ago they sent me a postcard that's been on the fridge ever since. After watching a marathon of Man v. Food this weekend, I have spent some time staring at that card!


5. The start of new projects.


Hope everyone else gets off to a great week!

molars

I despise them. Well, just the whole breaking-through-the-gums-and-torturing-my-baby part. I actually find them quite useful most days.

Avery has had a rough week. The last six teeth have come in like no big deal. Her four top teeth came in at once and there was nary a tear nor drop of drool! But these first year molars? They must really hurt.



She's been so upset lately and it's affected her sleep, just not the usual chipper Avery. And she's been especially clingy, not that we mind, just another excuse to cuddle with our favorite baby girl. Today was better though, it really was.

Today we got out the window markers and new fall leaf clings. I really like window clings. These were gel clings so it was a new feeling for her and she had lots of fun pulling them all down, putting them up, trying to give one to Harper, biting off a leaf, putting them on my face, etc. Clings provide lots of fun!

We've been working on parts of the face/head. Avery can correctly identify the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and hair...and the belly button. I know that's not part of the face, but it was her first body part to master and also really cute to watch her locate. So I've been working on getting her to show me those things on the baby doll or Oscar or the baby in the book, etc. so I know that she really understands. And she does. Because she's a genius!



Today when we were done playing with the clings I stuck them on the face I'd drawn earlier. I'm not going to lie, I think it looks kind of scary. Avery didn't think so. Window clings folks, everybody needs some!

when i think of fall...

I think of random chickens. And different colored leaves. And messy babies.

It looks like a fall-ish tree, right? Avery and I finger painted for the first time yesterday. The tree trunk would've been much cuter with her small hand, but that just wasn't really an option. Then she found the farm animal stickers I'd left in the crayon box last week, which explains the chicken. And the cow, rooster, and rabbit I found smashed into the rug. A single cheese dorito (stolen off my plate!) counts as lunch doesn't it? I think so.
But crayon boxes are tasty too.

antique planting tool...maybe

Over the weekend my aunt brought over an old tool of sorts. While cleaning out my grandparents' garage in preparation for selling the home, she found a very unique tool. We have no idea what it could be. She's asked several folks who are older than my grandparents and no one had a clue. So Internet, do you know that this is?





Deran did some searching on Google but couldn't find any exact matches. And as for Avery and I, well we just don't know.



I do know that Avery loves her pink ball from G & D, sometimes it even rides in the car with us.

love wins

Last Sunday when Deran was mowing he called me outside to take some pictures of a weed he noticed while mowing. First of all, I have no idea how he sees these things! He's all bee-boppin' along with the iPod, push mowing, and he sees this. Crazy. But, I digress.

I go outside and as he shows me the weed he says it's like a hostile takeover. But the first thing I notice is the heart-shaped leaf on the weed that's taking over. Later when he finished and came inside, he asked if I'd gotten any good shots of the wraparound. I asked him if he'd even noticed that the leaf was shaped like a heart and he replied that he hadn't. And then he said, "So love wins." And yeah, I think it does.



Yesterday we celebrated six years of wedded bliss. And okay, maybe not every single minute is blissful, but we have a good life. A great life, actually. We spent a lazy day with our girl and at various crazy times we would talk about what was happening at the same time on our wedding day, how we'd envisioned spending our 6th anniversary, life so far, etc. And after Avery was tucked in bed and Deran lay on the couch watching Revolution OS (yes, it's riveting...but only if you're like Deran), it was agreed that though everything might not be perfect, we absolutely would do it all again. Because our life is so good, and our love? It wins.

dishwasher

We may need a new door soon. It's not that I don't appreciate the help, because I totally do! I absolutely don't mind help with dishes (hint hint DERAN), it's just that I'm not sure it's supposed to handle an extra 24 lbs.



But it's really hard when she looks so cute and she just wants to help me!



But alas, I had to remove her after taking a few pictures because it's really not safe for her and I really think it's bad for the dishwasher. She didn't mind too much, I let her help me push it closed.

scare in the air

Deran was mowing last night and opened the back door for me & Avery to come take a look at the rings in the sky. We both thought it was pretty cool so I went back in for my camera. Later in the evening as I was giving Avery a bath, Deran saw that the mysterious jet rings were going to be on the 10:00 news with the headline, "Scare in the Air!"



How beautiful was our sunset last night?! What an awesome world we live in, all thanks to Him.



And for the record, we weren't scared.

her profile

I see it a lot these days since she's on the go and can't always be bothered to stop and look at me. This morning we met up with cousins to play at the park. Avery thinks she's one of the big kids and wasn't too happy when I made her slide down the big slide in my lap!




Hi Baby! Don't look so happy to see me, I might think you're having fun.



I'm not holding it against her, I know she really did have fun! One hour, one cousin in a swing to the head (Avery walked right into him!), two mosquito bites, plus several falls and we called it quits. Well, quits at the park. Then we headed over to Hobby Lobby, Old Navy, & The Children's Place. And now Avery won't be able to go to college...but she'll look cute this fall!

avery and the amazing technicolor teddy bear

Happy Teddy Bear Day! It's not a national holiday and there's some debate as to when it actually is...but we're claiming today! To celebrate we (mostly me) colored a teddy bear printout and watched some Teddy Ruxpin. I've gotta say, now that I'm grown up I think that's a really weird cartoon.

My dad stopped by to visit after being out of state on a hunting trip for the last couple of weeks. He entertained us with bear tales from the wild, and to think - he didn't even realize what today was! I mean sure, his bears weren't exactly cuddly, but I say a bear's a bear on Teddy Bear Day!

Have you ever seen someone so upset to be celebrating Teddy Bear Day?!



We color a lot around here, several times a week, and I'm pretty sure Avery's favorite part is removing each crayon from the container and letting it fly where it may. At least she doesn't try to eat them as often as she used to...though she did have a mouthful of blue sidewalk chalk yesterday!



Oh, why hello sweet girl. I see you're smiling, this must mean you've gotten your way and all is right with the world.



Totally adorable and completely rotten! I wouldn't have her any other way.

independent play

Avery enjoys my company. No, it's true! She does! But at some point during the day while I'm trying to unload the dishwasher or stick another load of laundry in the wash, she plays. All by herself.

Yesterday morning when we read Little Hands Love, after she touched it with her hand I would grab a foot to rub across the texture on each page. The next several times we read it throughout the day she would immediately pick up her leg and try to get a foot on the book. So cute!

I love to stumble upon her "reading" a book or snuggling a baby, makes me feel all sentimental for these last days of babyhood. She's growing up and there's nothing I can do about it.

a little bit perfect

There's something so amazing about newborns. They're so fresh, and tiny, and just a little piece of perfect in our crazy world. I remember so many things about those first days with Avery and yet, when I met with Baby K and his family I was reminded of so many things I'd forgotten. Like the little grunts, the itty bitty feet, clenched fists, and the easy startling. Oh, baby startles! Always brings a smile to my face.

I was lucky enough to capture this guy before we even knew he was a guy! His mom & dad opted to be surprised and I don't think they could've been any happier to welcome him into the world.



I wish I could express how deserving I think C & J are to have such sweet boys. They are so so thankful for their blessings and so obviously in love with their family. Big Brother K is very sweet to his little brother and quite possibly the cutest three year old I know. He kept me entertained throughout the session!



Thank you so much K Family for allowing me to photograph such a special time in your lives. I certainly enjoyed it!



And I know it looks like the parents have no heads, but they're up there. Really!

thirteen months

Lucky number 13! We're over the year mark. Crazy. Parenting Avery continues to be such a joy, we love her so much. It's so neat that she's a part of the two of us. A few days ago I woke up about an hour before she did and I just looked over at her and was so excited at the thought of spending my whole day with her! And yes, she's still sleeping in bed with us. We'll make the transition soon...or soonish anyway.

She's pretty much into EVERY.SINGLE.THING. Seriously, if she can get to it she can get it open/unwrapped/turned over. She's a much more confident walker and when she gets to going fast, she swings her right arm. It's really cute!

She's really crazy about babies right now. She has three babies that she loves on and it's nothing for her to carry one around most of the day. She often wakes up from a nap, looks at me and says, "Baby?" And then we find the beloved baby and all is right with the world.

She loves puzzles, sharing her food without actually eating any herself, books, the pugs, exploring, and being outside. She's still the sweetest girl, but since the beginning of that twelfth month a little temper has started to develop. I suppose it's just the age of tantrums. She's a girl who knows what she wants, and it's not pleasant when she doesn't get her way. We know her lungs work well!



Happy 13 month birthday sweet girl, we love you lots!