Cupcakes and Tutu's.......1st Birthday Party

We celebrated Avery Reese's 1st birthday party on Saturday; it turned out amazing! We had plenty of food, the cupcakes were perfect, Avery Reese was happy and looked too cute in her birthday outfit, and we had plenty of friends and family to celebrate with.

After a couple of presents, she finally got the idea behind "unwrapping". Her fellow party goers (Kennedi, Katilyn, and Zach) also enjoyed her gifts. Quickly after opening gifts we stripped the birthday girl down to her diaper for the big finale......smashing the cake! (On Tuesday we had a practice run with the smash cake during her one year photo session, so I was not worried about this portion of the party). She dug right in to the cake, icing on both hands, up her arms, in her hair, everywhere, but her mouth. Apparently my child is not a huge fan of icing, she shivered when she received a small taste. Avery Reese preferred to throw her cake and share it with others. She eventually dug deep enough into the icing and discovered cake; she enjoyed that. Overall, I could not have asked for a better party or birthday girl.

I still can't believe my baby girl is already one! Brad and I were reminiscing about our car ride home from the hospital with her.....we were scared to death. I can't say we have changed that much today. Avery Reese is amazing and we thank God for her everyday. Happy Birthday!

Our Pumpkin

Avery Reese had a fabulous 1st Halloween. She was an adorable pumpkin. She dressed up for school on Friday and trick-or-treated around campus. I dressed up for work as well.....notice those photos are not posted. She didn't mind dressing in costume, but was not too sure about me in costume. Then on Saturday she visited her two grandma's who live nearby. But Saturday evening is when the real fun began. We decided to stay at home and pass out candy to the neighborhood kiddos and Avery Reese had so much fun. She spent the entire evening sitting in our entry hall watching through the glass, just waiting for the trick-or-treaters. Don't tell them, but I think she licked every piece of candy in the bucket......oh well.




Halloween class photo.....pumpkin, duck, devil, double-stuffed oreo and dinosaur




Trick-or-treating on the bye-bye buggy around school

A perfect little pumpkin

Stability....then Mobility??

All of the physical therapists I work with insist Avery Reese has to master stability (standing on her own for more than a moment) prior to walking. Well, I guess Avery Reese did not get that memo while in the womb. She will stand independently for a brief moment, but only when she doesn't realize she is doing it. On the other hand, she is quite fond of walking these days. She has been a "cruiser" for a while now......walking around the coffee table, the ottoman, and/or pushing a toy. About a week or so ago (I know I should totally know the exact date, but I don't....does that make me a horrible mother? probably not) she was at the ottoman and let go and took a few steps over towards Brad and I. It was truly amazing! As of late, she is walking longer distances and getting more adventerous, last night we counted at least 10 steps. So I finally decided to bust out the video camera (which is why we purchased it, to capture first time moments....or second) and show you how amazing my daughter is.

A Visit From the Tooth Fairy

The Tooth Fairy finally visited our home; except rather than taking a tooth, she gave Avery Reese her first tooth. YIPPEE! I was starting to worry, I mean she is 10 months old now and she is all gums. Now don't get me wrong.....I melt when she gives me that gummy smile. But teeth are good, you know for chewing carrots. I was just about ready to take her to the dentist to get some x-rays to make sure she even had some teeth, when I just happened to stick my finger in her mouth Tuesday evening and felt those wonderful little ridges. The tooth has broken through the gums and she has done AMAZING through all the pain. Now she will be able to eat that cupcake I promised her on her birthday. Thanks Tooth Fairy!

Pumpkin Patch

I have always heard of friends taking advantage of the fall weather and enjoying the pumpkin patch with their kids......well we did just that today. It was a beautiful fall day, perfect for pumpkin picking. We went to Bo Brook Farms in Roland, it was great! They had giagantic stuffed spiders, (plastic) alligators swimming in the creek, hay rides, face painting, a petting zoo, a hay maze and of course the pumpkin patch. I am already excited about returning next year when Avery Reese can do more.

This is Avery Reese's scary glow-in-the-dark skeleton onesie....I think it is just adorable. It really shows off her figure. Perfect for pumpkin picking.

As usual, Avery Reese loved the animals. I think she thought the donkey was a really big dog. The goats were cute, but the cutest animals were the 3 piglets. We didn't get too close as there was a huge mud puddle and several flies surronding their pen.

Brad was trying to find the perfect "sugar" pumpkin for Avery Reese. I am not quite sure what qualifies as a sugar pumpkin; they were just small and cute for Avery Reese's first pumpkin.

Avery Reese in the hay maze. Apparently the sun was shinning in her eyes. You can tell she has been drinking her formula; her bones look great.




Avery Reese standing with our pumpkins. One of the pumpkins we choose weighed as much as she does.....17 lbs!

We found a wheel barrel with several tiny pumpkins and gourds; Avery Reese enjoyed throwing them and watching them "bounce". Until next pumpkin season!

Mystery Weekend Getaway

My FABULOUS husband (yes, that is you Brad) surprised me with an early birthday trip to Chicago. For those of you who don't know this birthday is a big one for me.......dare I say I will be 3-0. He informed me about 3 weeks ago that we would be going to a weekend trip without Avery Reese...eek! But he kept the destination a secret. The suspense was killing me, what should I wear, what will we be doing, who is babysitting my angel, etc.

My mom showed up to our house Friday evening.....reliable babysitter-check. Brad finally told me on the way to the airport. He gave me a card and enclosed were two tickets to the U2 360 concert in Chicago. YIPEE!! Destination-check, fun evening on the town-check. Neither one of us had been to Chicago. After a slight flight delay due to fog, we dropped off the luggage at the hotel and hit the streets of Chicago. The weather was amazing. We took a boat tour of the city along the river and learned about the amazing arcitecture and skyscrapers. Then we did some browsing, I would like to say shopping, but who am I kidding......like I was going to get a trip to Chicago and a Louis Vuitton. Then we went to a wonderful and classic Chicago dinner at the Chophouse. Then we headed to the U2 concert.........Bono is the MAN!! Best concert ever! Sunday morning we were able to sleep in (first time in 9 months) and enjoyed breakfast in bed. We packed our bags and headed to the aquarium, which was surprisingly cool.

We had a wonderful time just the two of us. I only called home to check on Avery Reese a few times, which is good considering this was my first time away from her overnight. (And look we both survived!)

U2 stage and the 80,000+ concert goers

Chicago skyline and the new Trump Tower at center

Cruising along the river

Sears Tower

Brad rowing......should I tell him it is fake

New Toy......Naked Phantom

So as I was spying on Avery Reese at school this past week, I saw her standing up, walking and pushing a toy across the floor.....this got me thinking, maybe it was time for a "learn to walk" toy. I found a cute one that she can use now to walk/push and later to ride, perfect! I brought it home and she helped Brad and I put it together....well she was more interested in the box; I started to get worried about my purchase. But once it was put together and she realized that it was a toy for her, she was elated. She pushed and pushed and crashed into several things, but overall she LOVED it!! I was so excited. Avery Reese actually cried when I took it away at bedtime. So tonight we played with it again until bath time. After her bath was finished she was sitting in her bathtub and looked past me and saw her new toy gleaming at her. She didn't even wait for me to dry her off....she bolted from the bathroom (naked) and began pushing her toy. I was barely able to put her towel on her head before she got down the hall. This is a video of her pushing her new toy, naked......viewer discretion advised.

As she is "driving" her toy, if you listen closely you can hear her make the car sounds (raspberry). Which makes me (mother and speech therapist) very proud! She makes us smile everyday.

Enjoy. Brad and I sure did!

Whoooo Pig Sooie!

This weekend was Avery Reese's first Razorback game. We began the weekend with the pep rally by the river. Avery Reese is NOT a fan of Tusk the acutal Razorback, she screamed when we got up close. The pep rally was fun and had a great turn-out on the north side of the river. The Hogs proved victorious over Missouri State in Little Rock. We watched the game on PPV, we just didn't think Avery Reese would sit through a game quite yet. We did visit the stadium and the fellow tailgaters before the game. She enjoyed watching the people and all the commotion. It was hotter than expected, so we didn't stay out there too long. She wore an adorable pink plaid razorback dress to school Friday to show her support and of course she wore her offical cheerleading uniform on game day! We look forward to many more games with her. GO HOGS!!




People watching rather than looking at the camera

Razorback dress for school

Ready to tailgate

Her bow only lasted a moment.....long enough to snap a photo

First Day of Preschool

Avery Reese began preschool today. I can't say whose day was harder....mine or hers. She shed a few tears when Brad and I left, but other than that she had a good day. She took 2 naps, ate well and even broke in the teachers in with 3 poopy diapers! Throughout the day I was trying to spy on her without her knowledge, just to see what she was doing and to make sure she was happy. If we get kicked out of preschool it will be because of me and not Avery Reese. Her teacher said she was going to have to get a curtain to cover the window on the door, if I didn't stop spying. I am just a concerned mother. There are 8 babies total in her class, 4 boys and 4 girls. She was already making friends with the babies and the staff. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day..........for me.


Her locker at school

First day family photo

An Apple a Day

So yesterday afternoon I was trying to have a healthy snack; an apple, when Avery Reese decided that although she is not very fond of applesauce or apple juice, she would like to try the real thing. She just leaned right over and attempted a bite. She seemed to enjoy chewing on it, even though it was non-productive. We are trying the organic thing with her.....I guess this is as organic as she can get!

And We're Mobile.....

This has been a fantastic weekend. We spent some great time with Brad's family, the weather was nice, and Avery Reese began crawling and sitting up on her own. So she has reached a couple new milestones all in one weekend. Avery Reese has been attempting to crawl for a couple of weeks now, she could get on all fours and either rock or push herself backwards, but nothing particularly productive. She was just not happy sitting and knew she was supposed to be able to move, independently.

Well, we took her to a new sitter on Friday and when I picked Avery Reese up, the sitter said "Your husband said she wasn't crawling yet, but I have news for you.....she crawled into my kitchen today!" I was slightly shocked to say the least and then a little upset that being a working mom, I missed her first crawl. I really hate missing those wonderful moments with her. So I took her home, quit my job (okay, just kidding) and we practiced crawling. BIG MISTAKE! So now Avery Reese is not happy playing in the living room with her toys, she wants to chase the cat, the dog, or Brad. We are worn out!! But very excited our baby girl is growing up, she is much happier now that she can crawl.

We also had to lower her mattress as she is sitting up on her own and peering over the edge of her crib and playing with her mobile. What a mess.......adorable mess!


This is how we found Avery Reese after her morning nap Saturday.......busted!

Really nothing to do with being mobile, but I couldn't pass up this cute face

Look at me Mom, I can crawl

And she's off

Still trying to work out some kinks

First Trip to the Zoo

The weather was finally decent, so a friend of mine, Cassie and her daughter Kennedi headed to the zoo this morning. This was the girl's first trip. We packed the car, rubbed them down with sunscreen, and grabbed our camera's. Unfortunately several of the animals decided to stay inside. We did catch a glimpse of a few animals....elephant, giraffe, zebra, anteater, and flamingos. The girls seemed to really enjoy the flamingos, it was the only animal they were able to get really close to. Both Avery Reese and Kennedi did really well despite the lack of animals. We hope the take the girls back for several more trips.



Kennedi and Avery Reese at the zoo

Watch out for the giraffe's!

What a cute cowgirl.....giddy-up

Splish, Splash!

Alas, summer is here and we are tyring to spend as much time as we can splashing in the water. Avery Reese has recently gotten a baby pool and she LOVES it! We "swim" every other evening and the evenings we are not swimming, she is splashing in her new bathtub. I thought the 'quacking' noise was scary myself, but she loves it. In fact we had trouble getting her out of the tub Sunday evening. I won't comment on her bikini, I will let the photos speak for themselves. Enjoy this heat wave!

Avery Reese's new pink inflatable duck bathtub, that she simply adores!!

Avery Reese's conservative one-piece swimsuit

The reason we had to purchase the one-piece swimsuit......crack stinks!!

Splashing in her state of the art pool

Enjoying the water table at The Wonder Place

So Many Firsts........

Avery Reese is amazing Brad and I each day. She is such a wonder to watch. I thank God everyday for giving us our miracle! Avery Reese has recently started sleeping in her crib in her room. The first couple of nights were rough for all of us, but a week later we are adjusting well. As you can see from the photos, Avery Reese is taking advantage of the extra room her pack-n-play did not offer. She never stays still, even while sleeping.

This morning was her first attempts at eating cereal. She made some very funny faces....Brad and I could not help but laugh and snap photos, poor girl! Her face indicated she didn't like the cereal, but like a baby bird she continued to open her mouth for more. It was too cute. We shall try another round of cereal tomorrow morning. I think Brad and I better purchase a highchair soon.

Don't you just love that adorable smile

She is obviously playing and not sleeping in her crib

She is supposed to be sleeping on her incline, not perpendicular to it

Yummy rice cereal.....I think

Do I have to eat this?