Avery's Birthday Party

We had a low-key birthday party at home with cake, presents, and balloons today. Avery's family (Mommy, Daddy, Aidan, Grammy, Papi, Great-Pa, Gamma, Grandpa, Nanna, Cookie, Gigi, Uncle Cody, Aunt Amy, Aunt Lindsay, Uncle Jacob, and Cousin Sage) was there to help her celebrate! She started out very dainty eating her cake but then she really got into it :)

Happy Birthday Avery!

My little girl turned a year old today! It's hard to believe that one year ago today I was rushing to get to the hospital after going into labor early! She has grown up so much and is becoming such a beautiful little girl. She isn't walking yet but is crawling and climbing everywhere, and is starting to eat lots of table food. She is babbling a little bit and loves to laugh at her big brother Aidan :) Yesterday Grammy came with us to Gymboree class, and today we went with a bunch of family to eat at Babe's, where Avery was treated to a birthday song from the wait staff! Her birthday party is tomorrow so stay tuned for more pictures.

State Fair

This past Wednesday we went to the State Fair of Texas. Daniel and I hadn't been since we got engaged, so it was the kids' first time to go. We enjoyed lots of yummy food, met up with some of our friends from Mom's Club, and Aidan went on his first fair ride. Both kids were sacked out in the stroller by the time we left.

So Sweet

Occasionally I will catch my kids doing something so cute, sweet, or funny that it just makes me stop and appreciate this crazy stay-at-home mom career I have chosen. I started to feed Avery but then went to load something into the dishwasher that had already started running. Avery was unhappy that she had to wait, so Aidan dropped what he was doing (watching "Curious George") to take over. I thought at first it would be a disaster but he fed her like a pro with only minimal mess. It was just such a great moment and made me thankful for a lot: that my kids are healthy and happy, that I am able to stay home with them, that we have the means to take care of them (mainly thanks to the wonderful and hard-working man I married who is also a terrific father), that I have a great support group of family and friends around me, and that we are able to thank and worship God who has blessed us so much!

Hiding Out

What do you do when it's rainy outside and you have nowhere to go that morning? You build a fort with a little help from Mommy!

Mass Hysteria!

Last night our best friends Marcus & Jenna came up from Waco and we baby-sat for their three kids while they went to an engagement party in town. It was a blast and we managed to get all five kids to bed with no major injuries or incidents (and we found out that our shower can hold five kids). Some people may be cut out for large-family life, but not us! Pass the birth control, please! :)

All I Want for Christmas...

Here's a pic of Avery's first tooth (on the bottom)!

First Official Family Photo!

Here is our church directory picture. Avery was teething and not really in the mood to smile for the photographer, so she has kind of a deer in headlights look. Aidan also had his school picture taken last week.

Off She Goes

It's official: Avery has mastered the stairs. I have caught her several times halfway up, and once she made it all the way up and was happily entertaining herself in the playroom by the time I figured out where she was. I didn't think we needed two baby gates (we have one at the top of the stairs) but maybe we do!

Plano Balloon Festival

This weekend we went to the Plano Balloon Festival. The weather was great and it was a lot of fun! We sat with some of our friends from Mom's Club. We sat right near the launching field where we saw all the hot-air balloons got aired up and then took off.

Gymboree!

I took Avery to her first Gymboree class today and she loved it! She crawled everywhere and was very interested in what was going on. It's for 10-16 months so the activities were great for her age. It's a little bit farther away than Little Gym, but I couldn't find an LG class that met on Tuesdays or Thursdays (when Aidan's in MDO).

Children's Museum

Today we went to the Children's Museum with some friends from Mom's Club. They had a really neat area just for curious toddlers like mine. There was a water play area, a miniature farm, nature area, and even a place to dig for dinosaur bones. Aidan loved it, and so did Avery...although I think she'll like it a lot more when she's older. Definitely worth a trip back someday!

Peek a Boo!

Today we had a "Hurricane Party" and had Uncle Cody, Aunt Amy, and Cousin Sage over to hang out and play the Wii Fit. Hurricane Ike turned out to be nothing but rain and a little wind all day. Avery is crawling everywhere now, and this is her funny new trick. I really think she wants to stand up and walk because she does this yoga pose where she's on all fours.

Sic 'Em Bears!

This past weekend we went to Waco to hang out with the Brookses. On Saturday we went to campus and saw the Baylor Bear! He (she?) has a newly-built habitat that was really cool. Marcus and Daniel took the older kids (Katy, Hannah, and Aidan) to the game that evening while Jenna and I took James and Avery to Olive Garden :)

Back to School

Yesterday was Aidan's first day back at Mother's Day Out. I can't believe how much he's grown (the second picture is from his first day last year)! He is still going to our church, but is in a new room with new teachers. He did great and didn't even blink when I left. This picture is kind of staged, because I didn't take it until after he got home. Please pardon the runny nose, he and Avery have both come down with yucky allergies.