A few steps

Weekend Trip to Atlanta

June 18- We're here! After a 4 hour drive Avery is anxious to explore the hotel room.

Day 47-The day I carried the Olympic torch in Buffalo, NY.

Avery chills in her stroller.

The Georgia Aquarium - truly an awesome experience...pictures don't do it justice!

A whale shark- largest fish in the sea

Shawn touching a sting ray

A beluga whale

Playing in the fountains in Centenial Park

Happy Father's Day

We stopped in Greenville, SC on the way home to explore the Falls Park.

Daddy and his girl

Where are you guys posing me now?

Avery and I on the bridge

11 Months 6/16/10

Standing Tall
"Kee Ka!" Avery is very into this kitty cat from Uncle Kyle. Her face lights up when she sees it and she says something that somewhat resembles kitty cat.

Soo Big!

At eleven months Avery seems to be growing and advancing so quickly. It seemed like it took her forever to crawl forward but now that she's mastered that she's going great guns. She's pulling herself up on everything and cruising around the living room. She has not mastered getting down though so it's either fall and then cry or cry until someone comes to get you down. Avery loves to babble and she literally loves talking to her hands. :-) Now that she is mobile she is not as interested in her toys...she'd rather crawl to wherever we are and get right under our feet. Avery has taken a few steps toward me but I'd in no way say she's walking yet. She loves clapping her hands and uses that as a way of communicating, "I like that!" "I want more!" "Keep doing that!" In the last month she's also gotten more cuddley and we are loving every minute of it. We've been to our neighborhood pool several times and Avery loves the water! We're hoping to head to the beach this summer too so we'll see how she likes sand and salt water.

Wheeling down the drive

Warm weather is here!

"Mowing the yard with Daddy is exhausting! I need a drink!"
"I'm so excited to be going to see Janna, Mariah, and Addie!"

On this particular day, Avery had taken a late afternoon nap so in an attempt to expend some energy we brought her walker outside. She loved it and we had fun watching her.

Avery is getting sooo big! I love these hand-me-downs from cousin Madeline. :-) I'm sure Madeline enjoyed them at 3 years old but Avery is sporting them at 10 months. :-)

Chilling on Mommy's big purple hippo from college.

Scooting around.

Checking out a new playground.

Shawn seems doubtful that his daughter will ever be a ballerina.

And the next morning we can see why. :-)

Getting into everything!

So pretty!

We are all glad the end of the school year is finally here. I ended up with great test scores and for the first time ever all of my kids passed their state exam. Yes, they were honors students but that still isn't a given. Shawn has had a few stressful weeks at his job as well. He was in charge of testing...a huge job. He is turning in all of his tests booklets today and will finally be finished! It's been an exhausting and sometimes frustrating task so he is truly glad to be finished! I'm looking forward to staying at home everyday with Avery and I'm sure we will quickly fall into a daily routine. I will also be babysitting occassionally and tutoring once or twice a week in the evenings.

Today marks our 8th anniversary! We're celebrating our anniversary/end of school/father's day this weekend by a little trip to Atlanta.

End of May

Sweet Girl!
Using the turtle pool for the first time.

Loving the new neighborhood playground. Avery squeels on the swing.

Silly girl!

A trip to the Shiele Museum in Gastonia...Avery loved all the animals...even if none of them moved.

Avery and Zoe...ignoring each other and going in opposite directions as usual.

Sun. May 30th...brunch with Eric, Shelly, Hatcher, Carson, Zoe, Matt, Christina, Pheonix, Gillis, Zach and Karra. It was a hot afternoon so we filled up the turtle and Eric and Shelly supplied the Slip 'n Slide.

Follow the leader...Hatcher, Michael, and Carson.

Now that Avery is on the move we've gotten the Pack n Play back out...here enjoying a mid-afternoon snack.

Ten Months 5/16/10

As the months go on, still pictures are harder and harder to come by. The 16th happened to be on a Sunday so these were our attempts at a quick photo shoot before meeting. They really show off Avery's personality: GOOFY!
At ten months Avery is finally crawling forward! She's done the backward crawl for over 2 months and has finally figured out how to get it out of reverse. Now she's all over the place and into everything. Avery is done with babyfood...she wants what we're eating whether it's Chinese food, spicy taco dip, or steak. She babbles a lot and says dada, naynay, mama, and gaga. I'm not sure that any of these hold any meaning to her yet but we like to hear her talk. She also loves being outside and our new evening routine is to sit outside for the half-hour before bathtime and watch the squirrels, birds, kids, and airplanes.

Beautiful Girl!

My First Mother's Day

I'm thankful everyday for the young lady who loved her baby so much but knew she wouldn't be able to provide the life she wanted her to have. I'm thankful for the beautiful baby girl who lights up my life and allows me the privilege of being called a Mother.

We went to Freedom Park to walk around and have a lovely picnic. It was a perfect first Mother's Day!