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!

Early May

Avery's new trick is to pull herself up like a monkey as soon as she is set in her carseat.


On Friday May 7th we went to Big Daddy's Burger Bar for supper and then walked around uptown Charlotte. Avery loved all the fountains.

My current favorite outfit for Avery. I lover her in this hat!

Welcoming Baby Gillis

Christina has her hands full!
Gillis Hamilton Pipgras
April 25, 2010

Happy Mommy and healthy baby!

On this particular Sunday, our evening plans were to have pizza with Matt, Christina, Phoenix, and Karra. Our plans were altered a little when baby Gillis decided to make his appearance. We got to meet this precious baby boy when he was about 5 hours old. On our way home Shawn and I realized that 5 hours is the newest we've ever seen a baby...Madeline was born the day we were heading home from Katie's and we stopped at the hospital on our way...Avery didn't wait for us to arrive...we were in Nashville when she was born...and then baby Gillis.