play

i love to watch this little girl play.

 watching her concentrate and discover...and completely tune out me and everything else...she is in her own little world.  (getting pictures of her looking at the camera is difficult!) she is kind of determined and a little aggressive. 

 she babbles to herself and plays pretty independently-- as long as she's well fed and rested :)

 i know play is really important for babies and kids.  i can't wait til she is old enough to play pretend and the two of us are making up scenarios and building castles and towers and drawing and painting together...

 but for now watching this is pretty fun too :)  she has her own little drawer in this dresser full of toys that she spreads strategically to every corner of the house.

we had to take the cart out of the living room due to the safety hazard but someday it'll be back. 

this fun little friend is only a month older than avie. his mom and i were pregnant together and it has been so fun to watch them grow up together this past year. 

even though avery is kind of a bully and takes his sippy & binky. he retaliates by taking her headbands and goldfish so they are equal :) 

keep the playdates coming caden :) 

party planner

i keep telling people "oh i'm sure we'll do something small" when they ask if we're doing a party for avie's birthday.  well, i started thinking about it and making some plans...

and i can't do something small. ha ha. why go small when i can go big? (besides having a tiny apartment) andrew is in busy season so i have plenty of time after avery goes to bed, i love this kind of thing, and i am a typical obsessed mom of one little spoiled child! a big party it is!

we picked another theme, but here are my runners-up:

all photos from here

the "oh the places she'll go" party.  this is popular right now because it is so cute!  i love maps and it is a sweet sentiment to think about all the things your little one year old will go and do.

sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

 a circus theme: stripes, cardboard animals, balloons...could be fun. 

sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

 or my favorite of these 3.. an outer space party... maybe for her 2nd birthday? rocket ships, constellations, planets, etc. for whatever reason, i'm into it.

more party talk to come. 

toys these days...

when it comes to baby toys... the bright colored plastic, ugly animals, loud noises, the space they take up..well.  let's just say i wouldn't buy them if i didn't have a child :) --although it does make me like them/tolerate them when i see avery laugh and play and love them--

anyway.  i found all of these cute toys the other day online and now i want to buy them all. we didn't get her anything for christmas, so it would be justified right??

lacing blocks -- good to play with now, and good for older kids learning fine motor skills

cute little play circus. 

since i have subconsciously become one of 'those moms' who match their child, avery needs this -- i have the same color kitchen aid. 

someone else in this house should help with the cooking

um... a wooden vespa? avie doesn't ever need to learn how to walk, she can just scoot.

favorite avery things // 11 months

my favorite things avery does:

-points to things, makes a circle with her lips, and says "oh", "ohhhh"

-i say 'rock-a-bye baby' she does a 'rock' that looks more like jazzercise

-yanks my head/arm/nearest appendage over to her to get my attention

-i say 'night-night', she cocks her head to one side 

-open mouth kisses-- she is stingy but they are the cutest

-when she plays peekaboo as i change her diaper

-she holds her bottle with one hand, throws her head back, and downs it

-learning to stand, walking with her walker

-she has learned to make the funniest scowl

-starts the music on her toy car, and bounces up and down in a dance

-carries things in her mouth as she crawls

-mimics everything we do, when she's in the right mood 

-playing chase with her

-she feeds her doll pretzels

my not favorite things she does: 

-screams when she hears me start the bathtub, screams all during the bath, screams after the bath

-waking up in the night with hour long night terrors (so sad)

-kicking off her shoes in public, going on scavenger hunts for those shoes

-pooping and rolling around in it in another kid's bed. ha ha

2012

2012 brought childbirth classes, andrew's first busy season, a 3rd member of our family, an oklahoma camping trip, a few welcome visitors, a 22nd birthday, new friends, new callings, a few trips to utah (4! yikes) a 27th birthday, a trip to lake powell, a third anniversary, 2 trips to the ER, 14 trips to the dentist, a few miles run, 75+ baby items sewn, a baby bird + bird watchers at halloween, trips to california and houston for females only, 2 new pickup cousins, 12 golf games played, a pickup thanksgiving, a bonham christmas, and a 5th new year's celebrated together at a pizza place.  

it was a big growing year for us and also a blessed year where i felt so watched over and embraced by our heavenly father.  we had a few trials and lots of errors but wouldn't trade any of it.  

in 2013 my goals are mostly habits that i want to develop, which in my opinion are the hardest kind of goals. but i am excited for this year and what it will bring. and so happy i have my babbling bundle-of-personality sidekick to spend my days with. oh and her dad, too.

in pictures: 

JANUARY

 pregnant // birth // meeting our daughter

first few days // welcome to the world

FEBRUARY

larken visited

avery did a lot of sleeping..

MARCH

avery's first ER trip // malinda visits

ave's baby blessing // cameron visits

APRIL

avery's first easter egg hunt // first camping trip

trip to utah: nate's graduation // playing catan with goecks // family pics // meeting up with friends for dinner // meeting uncle "bone" // seeing the webers

MAY

enjoyed having andrew home after busy season ended

JUNE

june 17th // celebrated both andrew's birthday and first father's day

stayed a night in dallas 

JULY

4th of july breakfast // how many people can we pack into 800 sq ft??

fireworks with some little people

AUGUST

went to lake powell // playing with seable cousins at grandpa's pool

chaperoned avie's first date // got an iphone and took millions more pictures

had more playdates with her best friend

made lots of baby food 

SEPTEMBER

took avery to a local carnival

OCTOBER

halloween

playing at the new/rebuilt park in coppell

made avie pants in every color on the spectrum :)

NOVEMBER

brynne, avery and i visited larken in san luis obispo // we got in the ice cold ocean to swim and it was so much fun!

girls trip to houston // tortured avery/got her ears pierced // nothing milk can't fix!

thanksgiving in utah // family photos

avery exhibits more personality

DECEMBER

errand days=best days // grapefruit obsession // christmas crafting

 best new christmas toy from pickup grandparents

day to day

christmas // read about it here and here

t minus 3 weeks until her first birthday.

obligatory christmas morning post, belated

i'm christmas obsessed and would not be able to keep that status without putting up some pics of avie's first christmas. it started out with an early wake up for the babe. but with 4 grinch aunt and uncles who wanted to sleep in, the little one and her parents had to wait.  we played, watched sesame street, and then made all those nasty grinches breakfast burritos :) ha ha.

she got a toothbrush in her stocking compliments of nona. andrew was pleased, as this is an actual quote from my husband: "the hardest thing about parenting will be getting our kids to brush their teeth".  there's a man who obviously reads too many parenting books. ha.

our little shepherd/mary, interpret as you may.

all those grinches actually redeemed themselves. they were all so sweet and everyone got avery a present! that's more than andrew and i can say...we got her nothing. so sad! (i plan to redeem myself at her birthday this month!) it was so cute for them to think of her. brynne got her 'spot' books, which i had just been thinking avery would love. larken made her more amazing handmade clothes, shoes, jewelry...and bought the cutest things to go with it. she is so talented.. my parents stocked her up in the toys/doll/clothes departments. my oldest brother picked her out these cute squeezey blocks. the great-grandparents hooked her up as well. i was blown away by all of these perfect presents. 

avery was a little scared of all of her presents at first and just blinked a million times every time we showed her something. it was so so cute. nate got her this stuffed gorilla we call "baby billy".  nate had a big stuffed gorilla as a kid named "billy gorill-y" so this is his offspring of sorts. 

on the prowl

 wearing some of larken's handmade clothes. andrew and i kept saying how avery looked like a diva, all dressed up and still looking for more things to get into.

 she's a sweet little diva though.

 my aunt, uncle, and grandma were also with us.  don't mind creepy nate.

 it was so fun to watch her, even if she was a little young. she could still sense the excitement and was super happy and excited too.

 if avery wasn't excited enough, we made up for it. ha look at our faces!

 so fun to be parents on christmas.