avery blake is 18 months old

Avery Blake you are 18 months old.  I seriously can't believe that 18 short months ago I had you bundled up like a little burrito in the hospital room.  I remember being so exhausted the night after you where born, but I couldn't sleep.  I just wanted to sit and rock you all night.  Now you hardly stay still for a minute to sit with me.  Oh how the times have changed.  You are turning into such a fun, sweet, and thoughtful little girl.  

At 18 months old you are wearing size 24 month clothes in one piece outfits and 2T clothes in everything else.  I think spring and summer are going to be our last seasons of wearing cute little one piece rompers.  You wear a size 5 or 5.5 shoe depending on the brand.  You wear a size 5 diaper for day and night.  You have gotten much better at leaving the big bows that mommy loves in your hair.  Your hair is starting to get longer, but we haven't had a first hair cut yet. 

You eat three meals a day, a couple snacks, and love drinking plenty of whole milk.  You are a very good eater and enjoy mostly everything you try.  Some of your favorite foods are cheese, bananas, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, oranges, apples, macaroni and cheese, french toast sticks with syrup, and of course ice cream.  You don't seem to like pineapples. 

You love going for long walks in your stroller, as long as we are going at a steady pace and not stopping.  You love stopping at the park to play on the swings and slide.  You have fallen in love with the outdoors.  You love being outside and exploring your surroundings.  You are going to be your daddy's little outdoors buddy helping him in the yard and going on hikes.  You are quite the daredevil and climb onto everything without a care in the world.  You are a huge animal lover, especially dogs.  You light up when you see dogs when we are out and about.  You are crazy about Rolo Brown. 

You love electronics.  Phones, computers, TV's... you love it all.  Your favorite show to watch in the morning while sitting on the couch and drinking milk is Sesame Street. 

You love to run, play chase, and hide and seek.  You love giggling and being tickled.  You give hugs.  You like opening and closing doors and cabinets.  You hold hands when going for walks, when we are out shopping, or even just in the house for fun.  I'm pretty sure your two favorite spots to go are Super Target and Chickfila since we are there at least once a week!  You are always good for me when we go out.  You like to people watch, wave to people, and snack on goodies while sitting in a shopping cart. 

You still love your pacifier.  You always get it for naps and bedtime.  You have started to help with getting yourself dressed in the morning.  You love shoes and purses.  You love playing with anything that opens and closes and you can put things inside it.  You like your blocks, books, mini laptop, shopping cart, baby dolls, lullaby seahorse, lovey bear and bunny, stuffed animals, and bright musical Disney movies.  You are good at lining toys up and stacking toys on top of one another.  You like handing toys to me to use.  You pretend eat with your plates and forks. 

You are one loveable little toddler.  You love for mommy and daddy to be on the floor with you so you can crawl all over us and be affectionate.  Words can't express how much we love you.  You are seriously the coolest little person we know.  You make us laugh daily and always put a smile on our faces.  You are one special girl Avery Blake.  Happy 18 months!  We love you!

our yard and some news!

Wow, look at me with two posts today!  Eric worked in the yard today.  He trimmed and mowed and pulled some weeds.  The yard is looking much better than it did.  We're also having a lawn service come monthly to spray to help with the nasty weeds we get.  If you live in Texas, you know what I'm talking about.  Here is the front of the house. 

One of the front tree beds.  We didn't plant any new flowers.  These are coming back from last year.  Eric is calling them zombie flowers. 

The side bed on the left side of the house. 

Our big and pretty oleander! 

The backyard... look no weeds!

We have some bird friends that moved in with us recently.  There is a nest with a mommy bird and a few baby birds!  I hear them in the mornings all the time.  We have seen the mommy feed all the little babies too.  It is pretty cool. 

Eric was able to get a shot of all the baby birds asleep in the nest this afternoon.  They are all wrapped up with one another. 

And just for fun... Avery after her nap... pushing the ottoman around with her cup of milk reading her new catalog from Shrimp and Grits Kids.  I guess she wants some new clothes!

I have some news!  I'm going to face a fear in a couple weeks.  I sucked it up and bought plane tickets for Avery and I to fly home to Washington DC to visit my parents for two weeks.  Flying makes me anxious and scares me.  Avery has flown before, but with both Eric and I.  Avery is getting her own seat on the plane sitting in her car seat.  I think that will be easier than trying to hold and wrestle her in my lap for 3.5 hours.  I'm planning on bringing lots of good snacks and new goodies to play with while in the air.  Besides the flying part, I am SO excited to be going home! 

hitting the trail, central market, playing, randoms

I want to start off by saying that for the last four days in a row, I've been hitting the trail in the mornings!  I'm proud of myself.  Avery and I have been going over to a really nice trail at Arbor Trail and doing a few laps.  it is so much nicer than walking around the neighborhood.  Yesterday I even ran a little!  Yes, I did that three letter word that I always say I hate.  I actually enjoyed it! 

Eric joined us yesterday morning and we did 4.6 miles.  Afterwards, we headed over to Central Market to have lunch at the cafe and pick up some grocery items.  Avery enjoyed checking everyone out at the cafe while we waited for our food. 

The food was great.  Eric got a Greek chicken salad and I got a turkey sandwich with fruit.  We just gave Avery food off our plates.  She tends to eat less when we are out, so I can't see spending the money on a meal just for her.  It is a waste. 

While at Central Market i picked up some strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries.  I love having berry mixes in the spring and summer all washed and ready to snack on during the day.  I also got some cucumbers, tomatoes, and a red onion to make a cucumber and tomato salad.  I'm also planning on making a big bowl of a cool summer macaroni salad soon. 

Avery and Rolo hanging out before it was time for Avery to go down for her afternoon nap.  We have officially transitioned to one nap a day.  She stays up all morning which works out great.  We get our exercise in and any errands we need to run.  We have lunch and play.  Then it is nap time starting anytime between 12:30pm and 1:30pm.  It's nice!

I have all of Avery's toys in the playroom, but some toys are ignored most of the time.  I pulled out her learning tables without the legs on them.  She hadn't played with this in about a month so it was like a brand new toy!  So exciting!

Lately before bed, we've had fun playing in our big king sized bed.  Avery likes to flop all over the place and toss the throw pillows around.  She still doesn't understand that it is a pretty decent drop over the side of the bed so we have to watch her like a hawk.  I'm looking forward to the day that she just likes to hang out and snuggle in the bed and read books together.

OK, now for a few random pictures.  While at the grocery store the other day I came across this:

Salon Selective shampoo and conditioner!  I haven't seen this in years and always loved it in high school.  It smells so pretty and is pretty cheap for a large bottle.  As soon as I run out of what I currently have, I'm buying some.

I also made my favorite oatmeal raisin bars the other night.  These are a hit in our house with everyone.  They are great for a quick breakfast or a snack.  I didn't have any raisins so I used Craisins instead.  Still delicious.  Here is the recipe.

Today the plan is to hit the trail and possibly stop at Costco afterwards.  I'm making salmon with rice and vegetables for dinner tonight.  Have a great Wednesday!

sunday phone photo drop

I wanted to share some random photos that I've taken over the past week using my iPhone.  Sometimes its just easier to use that instead of busting out the big Canon. 

Here is little miss sass.  And let me tell you, she has been very sassy lately.  She is really getting a little attitude and doesn't like the word NO.  She thinks it is funny which is really frustrating.  But she is just so darn cute!

Taking a walk to get the mail.  She just had to carry her water with her. 

This morning Avery and Rolo hung out playing and watching cartoons together. 

On our walk at the trail today.  We've started going over to the Arbor Walk trail in the late mornings.  I really enjoy being on the trail with other people.  It is 1.4 miles around and we do two laps.  Avery likes hanging out in her stroller.  I always make sure to bring water and plenty of snacks for her. 

Avery on the trail. 

This one isn't super clear but I like it anyways.  Little smiley pants. 

Avery is napping and Eric is at the coffee shop studying.  I'm enjoying my quiet afternoon.  Happy Sunday!

rough morning, better afternoon

 This is how my morning started.  Ginger ale and saltine crackers.  Eric and I both didn't feel well going to bed last night, over night, and this morning.  We are both feeling better now thankfully! 

 

 Thought I would share what came in the mail yesterday afternoon.  I ordered two new smocks for Avery.  Yes, the one dress is a Christmas dress.  I got a great deal on it and it is a size 3T so it will last for a few Christmases!  The purple floral is adorable for spring and summer. 

 

 The weather has been so beautiful here lately.  Avery has been wearing all of her new spring and summer clothes. 

 She loves playing with her babies.  She was lining them all up together on her glider this morning. 

I just finished picking up around the house and washing dishes.  Avery is taking a nap and Eric is at school.  I'm thinking once she wakes up we might venture out for a treat.  Happy Friday!

last few days with grandma charlene

Sunday was a day around the house.  Eric and his friend Rusty spent a good portion of the day out in the garage brewing beer.  Grandma Charlene and I stayed inside working in the master bathroom and watching Avery. 

We made some delicious Reuben sandwiches and coleslaw, along with some red grapes for our lunch.  The guys really loved having a great lunch made for them after working outside for so long.  After lunch, we cleaned the kitchen up, then headed over to Super Target for a few things.  I wanted to get some new hand towels and bath towels for our bathroom.  When we got home, Avery played outside in the front yard for awhile.  She enjoyed playing in the dirt and mulch. 

She also fell and got her first skinned knee.  Poor baby.  Didn't even cry.  She just got right back up and kept trucking. 

So here are the before and working in the bathroom pictures. 

And here is the bathroom all finished!  I love how it turned out!

Fresh paint, new towels, and a very clean bathroom!

We had such a wonderful time with you grandma Charlene!  Avery loved having you around to love on her and play with her.  Thank you for all your help around the house and for treating Eric and I this week.  We'll miss you and can't wait to visit you in May! 

day three and four

Yesterday I dressed Avery in one of her new smocked bubbles for a day of shopping with grandma.  Eric let us girls go to the mall and out to lunch while he stayed home and did some things around the house. 

My pretty little girl before heading out for the day.  It is so hard to get her smiling on camera, so I was so happy to see some smiles!

We headed over to Barton mall.  We got Avery two new pair of shoes at Stride Rite and a couple new outfits.  We had lunch in the food court at Panda Express.  We stopped at the grocery store after the mall for a few groceries we needed for preparing our St. Patrick's Day feast.  Avery was such a good girl and had a lot of fun being out with the girls. 

When we got home, Eric informed us that the AC was not working in the house.  I was surprised since it was just serviced about a month ago.  We wanted to have it checked before it was triple digit weather.  We have someone coming out Monday afternoon to fix our AC.  Thankfully the weather has been really pretty here the past couple days.  We've had our windows open and fans on.  The warmest it got in the house was 80 degrees yesterday but it was because we had the oven on. 

After dinner last night, Charlene and I decided to go back out to some stores.  We picked up more dog food and dog treats for the big brown, another new outfit for Avery and a top for me at Kohl's, and a new cake pan at Bed Bath and Beyond.  On our way home we decided to pick up some frozen custard for dessert. 

Today is St. Patrick's Day!  We all dressed the part, but Avery looked the cutest of course!

Avery and Eric before heading out to lunch. 

We decided to have lunch at Hopdoddy off South Congress.  Downtown was buzzing because of SXSW, but we got there around 11am before the crowds.  They have fresh custom burgers and fries.  It is a modern feel restaurant.  It was absolutely delicious.  I think we found our new favorite burger place in Austin.  Avery liked sitting in a booster seat like a big girl. 

Walking back to the truck after lunch.  Avery would much rather be walking around than in her stroller now. 

When we got home from lunch, Avery went down for a long afternoon nap.  Eric and I went for a nice walk around the neighborhood.  It felt weird not pushing Avery in the stroller!  Once Avery woke up from her nap, I got her dressed in some play clothes and we headed out back to play with her new bubble making lawn mower. 

Checking out the bubbles.  She was still more interested in going up and down the three steps off the back patio than playing with her toys. 

We prepared a traditional St. Patrick's Day dinner.  We had corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots.  I had never had this meal before and really enjoyed it.  We have leftovers, so for lunch tomorrow we are making Reuben sandwiches! 

While we enjoyed dinner, it was SO great to see this on the TV.... BASEBALL spring training games!  We are so excited that baseball season is starting.  We love our Colorado Rockies!

Avery stayed up pretty late with us this evening.  She hasn't been going to bed at her early 6pm the past few days.  She hasn't been falling asleep until around 8pm.  She was happy drinking her milk and playing with her toys.  Check out her first big girl night gown!

On Wednesday we did some major shopping at Costco.  We picked up a bunch of fresh vegetables that we have cut up and divided into vacuum sealed bags for meals.  We made small bags of spinach, red pepper, and mushrooms to use for scrambled eggs.  We just have them all in the freezer and ready to go.  Charlene and Eric worked on these bags after dinner while I kept Avery occupied. 

Once Avery went to bed, we started on another project.  We started prepping our master bathroom for painting tomorrow.  We are going to do two accent walls with the same color blue/gray paint we used on the accent wall in the master bedroom. 

We bought the paint to do this project almost a year ago.  It is about time we did this project!  I'm looking forward to how nice my bathroom is going to look afterwards!  Paint makes such a different in a house. 

We are finishing our night off with angel food cake, cool whip, and strawberries and blueberries for dessert. 

Hope everyone had a great St. Patrick's Day!