Water Baby

It is officially pool season and we are so excited.  We are so grateful that Avery loves the water, and know we are going to have so much fun with her this summer.  We have already made several trips to the pool and even had some pool time on our back deck.  I was able to find a little pool with a cover.  It provides the perfect amount of shade.  We will need to be on the lookout for a bigger pool very soon.

 I busted out an early birthday present the other day when Avery and mommy enjoyed a lot of water fun on the back deck.  She was infatuated with her new water table and even took time for a drink break.  It was a little gross but too funny not to take a picture!

 Avery is excited to have her buddies over to play with her fun new water toys. 

Avery had a blast with her cousins and aunts at the pool yesterday!

Ready for Memorial Day Weekend!!! 

We hope you all have a fun and safe weekend as well.



Mother's Day , Birthday Parties and Spring Fun

We have neglected our blog here recently, but it is because we are very busy and getting ready for a big birthday party next weekend.  I did not get any pictures from our mother's day celebration.  I cannot explain how rewarding and privileged it is to be Avery's mother. After church on Sunday, we cooked a big breakfast and enjoyed time with Grammy, Pepaw, Robyn and Ian.  Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures, but I will always remember my first true mother's day.  Last year I was 36 weeks pregnant and anxious to hold our little girl. 

We have also celebrated a bunch of birthdays in the month of May.  We started out celebrating Gigi's birthday at the beginning of the month when they came down for Peak Fest.  The next weekend Avery and mommy went to Grants 4th Reptile theme birthday party. 

Last weekend, we went to visit Gigi and Papa in Hickory on Friday night after going to Madison's musical (she was one of the orphans in her school production of Annie).  Avery had a blast with Gigi and Papa.  She also got to go for a ride on Papa's boat.  It was so much fun to see her driving the boat on Papa's lap. 

 Avery and Gigi

 Avery and Papa driving the boat. 

 I am sure this will become a special treat for Avery every summer when we are in Hickory.

Saturday afternoon, mommy and daddy headed to Charlotte to help the Bauer's celebrate Jay's 60th birthday.  The Bauer's are so much fun, and we were so glad that we could be there with them.  We can't wait till Cait and Jared make their big move to Apex.  

 It was a very busy weekend.  We left Hickory Sunday afternoon in time to attend Meredith's 4th birthday party.  Avery had fun at the park and got some practice eating birthday cupcakes.  She should be a pro next weekend with her smash cake.  Avery had fun going on the slides with her daddy! 

Avery loved seeing Spencer.  She is getting closer to walking and will be able to keep up with the older kids more. 

We are so glad that summer is around the corner and are having so much fun outside.  It's so nice to get out of the house and have fun in the sun.  We hope Avery continues to be a happy girl and enjoys being outside.  She is almost old enough to start enjoying the play set in our backyard.  For now, she is loving her swing, pool and some other new outdoor toys.

Park Fun

        We are so lucky to have some fun parks near us. The other week we met Robyn, Josie and Lyla at Kelly Road Park. The girls had fun swinging, sliding and jumping. We even played with bubbles. Not sure if it will be easier once Avery starts walking or if I'll be wishing she wasn't walking as I'm trying to keep up with her. We even took a break to enjoy a snack. The older girls had fun sharing their big girl snacks with Avery. She loved eating her snack and some more from the girls.

Best Friends

Hadley Taylor Bishop

       Hadley Taylor Bishop was born on April 28, and today we went to see Holly and her new baby.  Hadley is absolutely adorable, and I had a blast holding the precious baby girl.  It brought back so many wonderful memories of Avery when she was an itty bitty baby.  It was so great to see Holly and we are so glad that she and Matt are enjoying their sweet girl.  You would never know this was Holly's first baby because she has motherhood down like a pro.  Avery had fun today too.  She loved playing with Holly and was very intrigued with Hadley.  Avery can't wait till Hadley is older and they can play together.  I am sure Lily James and Avery will be teaching Hadley all kinds of stuff one day. 

Hadley, Holly and Avery

Congrats to the Bishop Family!

Climbing

Avery started having fun with the stairs a few weeks ago.  She originally just used them to pull up on, but then she thought it was fun to climb a few and slide down.  She did learn to get down in a good way, but we got nervous when we found her on the 4th and 5th stair.  We finally got around to installing a gate, and Avery did not seem bothered by her new obstacle.  At first she enjoyed pulling up on the gate, but today she found a new part of the stairs to climb.  I hope there are not any stitches or ER visits in our future!

 She is up

 I know it will not be long before we find her climbing the rails and jumping...oy vey!

Strawberry Patch

        Strawberries have always been a favorite food of Avery.  She eats them faster than we can cut them up.  We are lucky to live near a great berry patch and produce stand.  Although we have a garden full of goodies this year, we visit DJs Berry Patch weekly.  Avery eats over a pint of strawberries a week, and we are so glad that she enjoys fresh fruits and veggies.  She had a blast eating the strawberries out of the bucket and from the stems.  Next time, I'll get some pictures of her covered in strawberries. 

Marshall Vason Hamrick

      My great friend, Grace, had her little boy while we were at the beach for Aunt Taylor's wedding.  We all missed Grace at the wedding, but were so excited for her and Vason.  Marshall Vason Hamrick was born on April 18th.  We had some free time last week, so Avery and I headed to Rocky Mount on Thursday for a visit with the sweet baby boy and momma.  Marshall is adorable and he is going to be a very tall boy one day.  Avery loved seeing the baby and did not get jealous of mommy holding him.  It was so great to catch up with Grace and we enjoyed a great lunch as well while we were in town.  Looking forward to future visits and maybe some pool dates this summer. Congrats Hamrick family!

 Avery was intrigued with Marshall

Just missing Wyatt Waller in this picture!

Thanks to Grace and Marshall for letting us come play with them.  We can't wait to do it again!

Peak Fest 2012

       This past Saturday was Peak Fest.  Peak Fest is a street festival help the first Saturday in may in downtown Apex.  We were so glad that we were in town and able to attend this year.  The streets we lined with yummy food, neat crafts and other things for purchase and lots of fun entertainment.  Gigi and Papa came to town for the weekend.  On Friday night we celebrated Gigi's birthday with some yummy cake.  After getting a lot of yard work  done Saturday morning, we got ready to head downtown.  We parked at Pepaw and Grammy's house and from there we walked downtown.  Avery had fun being pulled in her wagon and enjoyed having both sets of grandparents along for the fun.

 Putting on her lipstick.

Enjoying a yummy lemonade. 

 Looking adorable in her new hat.

 Listening to some beach music (CWB).

Heading home after a fun day at Peak Fest.



11 MONTHS

      How can it be that the sweet little girl we brought home from the hospital is already 11 months old.  We cannot believe it. Her first year has gone by so fast, but has been full of many memories and milestones that we will never forget.  It is incredibly fun to see Avery developing into a little girl with an adorable personality. She changes everyday and always keeps us on our toes.  Everyday we look at Avery in awe and comment, "Can you believe how blessed we are to have her as our daughter?"  We are constantly amazed at her and the love we share.  Avery has a contagious smile and is so happy.  It is crazy to think back a year, and how we were anxiously awaiting her arrival. 

  Avery at 11 months:

- Are crawling and are very fast. 

- You pull up on everything and have started to walk along the furniture and will your push toys.

- "Dada" is your favorite word, but you have started to say "Mama" and make the funniest noises.

- Have a fun personality and keep everyone entertained.

-Wearing size 3 diapers.

- Wearing 12-18 month clothes and size 3 shoes.

- Smiles at everyone and anyone who looks her way. 

- Loves books, puzzles and push toys.

- Loves to be outside and really enjoys swinging.

- Bedtime is usually 7:30pm and you sleep 11-12 hours at night.

- Taking 2 naps a day, and they are usually 2 hours each.

- Eating 3 times per day and taking bottles before naps and bedtime. 

- Starting to substitute a sippy cup for bottle once a day and doing great.

- Loves table food. Favorites are: green beans, grill cheese, strawberries, mandarin oranges, blueberries, bananas, chicken, pancakes, waffles, goldfish, broccoli and cauliflower.

- Have 4 teeth and looks likes 2 more are coming through on the top.

- Hair is growing, getting lighter and has some curl.  Mommy loves to see it flip out when we go outside.

- Does not like to sit still and is into everything. Occasionally we can get some snuggle time.

- Still loves her rides in the stroller and has recently started to enjoy rides in the wagon.

- Gives the sweetest kisses (still open mouth).

- LOVES the water...ocean, pool and bath tub.
- Still adores her sweet doggy, Sadie.  She thinks Sadie is hilarious and they play well together.

 Birthday plans are in the works.  We are looking forward to a fun and memorable first birthday party.

This sweet girl loves to smile, but is not interested in sitting still for a few snapshots!

Happy 11 months

xoxo,

mommy and daddy