this little piggy went wah wah wah

All.The.Way.Home.



She does not like dressing up as a piglet. It's a shame too because she looks so darn cute. Attempted costume photos today were a bust. But tears and all, she's still the cutest pig I've ever seen.

And while I was trying to curl her tail that Deran thought was hilarious to straighten, Avery was desperately trying to get me to pick her up. As Deran was taking pictures of the two of us he laughed and said it looked like I was a momma pig nursing her baby. Um...thanks? I didn't think it was very funny when he said it, but the picture did make me laugh a little knowing his commentary. Mostly just the nursing baby part, not the whole Amy's-a-sow thing.



You're welcome for that little side story. Happy Halloween Internet!

jack o'lantern

Somehow in our almost 14 year history, Deran & I have never carved a pumpkin together. Actually, I'm pretty sure we didn't carve any pumpkins over the last 14 years - together or separately. I think it looks pretty good!



We were most excited to see how Avery would react and play with all the pumpkin guts. She wasn't very interested at first and instead just carried around the pumpkin top for about 20 minutes, leaving it in random places to play and then retrieve it when she was ready to move on.



When you ask her what a happy baby looks like she makes this face. Apparently she cracks herself up too. It is really funny.



After it was all done, she sat in Deran's lap and made a mess. Oscar & Harper both enjoyed a little pumpkin too.



And because she looked really cute, munching on a bit of pumpkin pulp...



I couldn't resist asking, just one more time, what exactly does a happy baby look like?



I agree, I think that's what a happy baby looks like. It makes me pretty happy!



Happy Halloween Eve!

second patch, third trip

On our third trip to the pumpkin patch we met up with my mom, sister, and niece. And basically it was impossible to get a picture of either girl actually looking at the camera. It's okay though, some of my favorite pictures don't have eye contact.



At least my mom was looking. :) This patch had a few more spots available for nice photo opportunities. Too bad my girl wasn't interested. I let her play on the little bouncy horse for a few minutes but when I took her off so we could leave, well, she wasn't very happy.



And so it was the way to be at the second patch. Unhappy. I do realize that sometimes large orange faces can be scary, but it was smiling!



I love how cute she is running away from the hay pumpkin. Then Nana scooped her up and everything was okay. She's started doing the most adorable thing when she's "scared" of something. Mostly pictures of lions and tigers in books, but sometimes a monkey or a frog too. The longer we play the more she's frightened of. Anyway, we flip to the page and she scrunches up her nose while crossing her arms, almost like she's hugging herself, and she looks at me. So I say, "Oh no! You're so scared?! It's okay Avery! Mommy will protect you!" and hug her. It's a fun game and really cute.

Happy Friday!

fall festival

On a whim I whipped up a tutu during naptime today so Avery could dress as a cat for the church's fall festival tonight. Now I'm thinking I could've saved $58 and she could be a cat for Halloween. Because tonight Avery was the cutest one year old cat EVER! I have to throw in the age thing because there was a two year old and five year old cat cousin in attendance. As we sat down to eat our hotdogs, standard festival fare, I couldn't help but notice the most adorable litter of black cats in town. Seriously.



The festival was crazy crowded and I only grabbed two pictures of the evening on my iPhone shortly after we arrived. Avery walked through a maze she was supposed to crawl through, which meant she kept bumping her head. And she tried to bust through a side wall when cousin KM was cheering her on. Cardboard mazes are a little bit delicate, I was afraid we'd take it down! She scared a goat in the petting zoo and got a little cozy with a pony. She wanted to pet a chicken but I think birds are gross. Especially chickens.

We stood in a long line with the cousins D & K for a balloon animal. It was popped approximately three minutes and one bite after getting in the car. Much crying ensued. Before heading home we said a quick goodbye to cousin A. Lots of family in attendance tonight!

the most sincere patch

For the last couple of years we've gone to a local pumpkin patch at the corner of a busy intersection where pumpkins are grown on pallets and I couldn't love it more! It's really the best little faux patch around. We've been to two pumpkin patches this year for a total of three trips, all with various cousins. I didn't dislike the second patch, but well, I may be a little partial to the first one because it's on Schilling Avenue!



This year the patch had more designer pumpkins, or not just orange anyway. They always have a nice selection of funky gourds.



Deran was sad Avery didn't pick one of them instead of her little orange pumpkin.



I also love this patch because it has a barrel train and silly signs like, "Happy Fall Y'all" and "Punkin" and "Please do not pick up by stems." You'd be surprised how many people ignore that last one...ahem, Deran!

On this trip, we met up with cousins D & K. K was excited when we first got there! Picking pumpkins can do that to a girl.



Avery has several teeth about to come in and I think her mouth was bothering her. She was chewing on fingers for a while. Either way, she still looks cute! And it was sweet of D to go in for the hug. Such a cooperative boy! I think Avery looks so little next to him, or maybe he looks really tall?



Another thing I really love about this patch is the amazing light. Of course you have to be there at the right time, but man, I do love a little sun. The picture on the right cracks me up. She's carrying a pumpkin that is really too heavy for one hand. The next in the series was her open-mouthed like, "uh oh!" and then she dropped it.



By this point K was over sitting on the ground for a picture. She just wanted her momma to help her up. :)



I think I have the most concerned pumpkin patch goer ever. She did smile some, I'm pretty sure she had a good time. She's just...serious about pumpkins.



I'll be showcasing the highlights from our other two trips this week before Halloween. We have a few more activities planned and I'm super excited to photograph Avery in her costume!! I may have procrastinated a bit, but it'll be here Thursday. Hopefully.

zoo

We took Avery to the zoo for the very first time on Friday. The Zoo Boo was going on and there were lots of cute kids in costumes! I didn't take many pictures because most of the big animals were being kind of lazy. I don't blame them, it was hot.



I didn't get many pictures of Avery because I wanted to be able to take it all in without a camera in front of my face. And also, she's fast.



The petting zoo was definitely the highlight of the trip for Avery. I was worried she would be apprehensive because when we looked at some of the animals she would lay her head on our chest like she was scared. But silly me, when given the opportunity to touch an animal, my girl went crazy. She tried to kiss and hug several goats. It was so cute! And gross. But mostly cute! She kept screaming, "Meeeehhhh!" which is how we make the goat sound at our house. One of them bit her shirt and pulled her around a bit. Made me nervous but she thought it was funny.

We got a membership so we'll go back, and maybe the cheetah will be awake.

the great pumpkin(s)

It's that time of year again. So lovely! And also, I like to reuse titles. Thank you Charles Schulz.

she gets an "a" for effort

Avery loves puzzles. Her great grandpa gave her several for her birthday that make different sounds. Those are especially fun for her. In the afternoon I pulled a couple of our boring old noiseless puzzles off the shelf to play with. At first she removed all the pieces and scattered them on the floor. But then! Then she began picking them up and trying to put them back and I was so proud of her for getting the first two pieces right, I got out my camera.



She got most of them right. Or at least half. For sure three. Then she moved on to my magazine. Which isn't really mine at all. It's the property of our local library. I checked it out last week with our stack of books because it has several great projects and articles. It's from October 2009, but fortunately great projects have no expiration date.



I'm saving for this one.



Avery loves to get things out and put things in, so I think this will be a lot of fun for her. So far I have two paper towel tubes and three toilet paper tubes. I'm thinking I'll be able to complete it in another week. We go through a lot of paper products around here!

oh my me

I hate to say he's going to be a heartbreaker, he's too sweet for that, but I think it's safe to say that this adorable baby boy is going to make a few girls' hearts go pitter-patter. I remember seeing him fresh from the hospital, almost three months to the hour younger than Avery. He was so tiny and impossibly cute. He's nearing his first birthday and the cuteness? Totally still there.



He really has such a great personality! There was much singing, fake sneezing, and peek-a-booing going on behind me during our time together. I really really appreciate all the help D & T, his sweet smiles make all the silliness worth it!

And did I mention he's family? I'm glad Avery gets to grow up with all the cute kids.

she's got a wicked widow's peak

Ha ha! Ho ho! He he! She tricked you!

same park, different cousin

This morning we got up and I didn't feel like cleaning house so instead we met up with a cousin at the park. We really like this park.

Avery had a good time. She has the best excited face! What's really funny is that she was just sitting on the slide, she hadn't even slid down it.



Cousins. Sometimes they're so sweet!

that's some prize range

four dogs and a couple

Saturday evening I met up with a great couple to shoot engagement photos in the wilderness...well, outside of the city limits anyway. Between them they have FOUR dogs. His dogs quite literally chased her down one night, then he started helping her train one of her dogs, and the rest, as they say, is history.



M & B were troopers and despite my fear of snakes and giant rabbits, our session was free of incident. Almost.



Coco was a poser, as well she should be. She has a lovely profile!





Thanks so much for making the drive to the "country" M & B. I'm excited to be a part of this special time and I'm looking forward to the wedding. You guys are so much fun!

on the night she was born

First, let me start off by explaining about a little misunderstanding. Deran's co-workers gave us a wonderful baby shower. Really nice gifts, wishes, and company - it was such a great experience. But while opening presents, I pulled out a book and well, I was a little shocked.


*photo courtesy of D's co-workers...so sorry I can't remember specifics!*

I saw the bears together on the front and for whatever reason I read it as, "On the Night You Were Conceived." It was actually this book. Just a little off. So in that picture I'm a little wide-eyed like, "Oh! How nice!" Awkward. And Deran is just smiling because he had no idea what was going on and smiling is best. I made him wear that pink shirt.

It wasn't until months, yes months, later that I pulled the book off the shelf and realized my mistake. The polar bears are just dancing! Anyway, it's been a favorite ever since. It's such a delightful story about the miracle of arriving in this world and being uniquely you and so loved.

Yesterday Avery & I looked through her photo albums, pointing out family members and trying to copy what the baby (Avery) in each picture was doing. She always gets this one framed photo of her in her room, it has a two week old crying Avery. She has a really hilarious "sad baby" face. It's only a squinched nose away from the "happy baby" face. Anyway, the photos made me think back to those first days so I read "On the Night You Were Born" to her again. And I really can't finish that book without getting teary!

I took this picture of her playing peek-a-boo one early morning last week...before she slammed her face into the back of the couch...and before she climbed/fell out of her crib. So what I'm really trying to say is, I took this photo before all the facial bruising!

"Heaven blew every trumpet
and played every horn
on the wonderful, marvelous
night you were born."

It did, it really did.