Where have the last 6 weeks gone. November and most of December have been very busy, but a lot of fun for our family. Here is a quick and long post to get us caught up in time for Christmas and the end of 2012.
These pics were taken one Sunday morning before church. They show how much Avery is growing up and expresses her adorable and fun personality. She looks like a little girl and not my little baby!
Despite the cold windy weather, we enjoyed the 2012 Raleigh Christmas parade. Next year we will be sure to get seats at the beginning of the parade. Avery loved watching all the bands, Christmas floats and big blow-up decorations.
I could not get this pic to flip...sorry!
We hosted both of our immediate families for Thanksgiving this year. It was our first time hosting Thanksgiving so why not make dinner for 17 people...haha! It was fun and we appreciated all the help from our family. Avery was so excited about all of our family coming over that she boycotted her nap. She did very well and had a blast playing with everyone. She loved being outside and took full advantage of her play set and always had a playmate. We are very blessed and especially thankful for our wonderful family.
Avery opening her Elf of the Shelf, who will make an appearance next year as she was a bit to young to grasp the concept. We look forward to starting this fun tradition next year! I didn't get many pictures because I was busy in the kitchen, but we managed to get all the adults around our new dining room table, except Uncle Ian (who volunteered to sit with all the girl)!
The day after Thanksgiving we went to the Jordan Lake Tree Farm to get our Christmas tree. This has become a tradition for the last 3 years and we enjoying going back year after year. The weather was perfect and Avery enjoyed running through the trees. She also loved the play set, bouncy house and gift shop. Next year she will love going on the hayride through the fields of trees. Gigi and Papa were in town to join us on our adventure.
Avery loves bounce houses!
Oh, we also got a new car right before Thanksgiving and now we have plenty of room for our growing family.
Football season was a lot of fun this year. Trey and I manged to attended all but 1 wolfpack home game this year. Avery enjoyed a lot of tailgate fun, but did not have a perfect attendance like last year. It was a different experience taking a toddler into the the games as it was taking an infant in the previous year.
This gets us caught up to December and a lot of Christmas fun. Daddy planned a fabulous weekend in NYC with Robyn and Ian. We did so many things in less than 3 days and it was a great trip. We really appreciated all the grandparents help with Avery so that we could enjoy our weekend getaway. While we were away, Avery had fun shopping, playing and got to attend the Apex Christmas parade with all her grandparents.
Grammy helped mommy by making Avery her own tree that she can decorate. Our good girl has not messed with our tree or any of the ornaments or gifts yet this season!
Gigi and Papa joined us the following weekend for more Christmas fun and a birthday celebration. We went to the Holiday Express at Pullen Park this year. We met up with our friends and their families for the fun. Avery had an incredible time playing around the park, riding the train, visiting with Santa and looking at all the pretty Christmas lights. She enjoyed Santa more from a distance than from his lap.
Avery and Cami are so cute together. Avery could follow her around all day.
So excited about the train ride.
Avery and Cami
The Stephens Family
The Hunter Family
Checking out the big man.
Okay enough...I want my mommy and daddy!
The next day was Elliot's first birthday party. We all had so much fun celebrating with Elliot and spending time with family. It is so great to have family so close and will be fun to see these two cousins grow-up together.
Sunday morning we said goodbye to Gigi and Papa before heading to Marbles to celebrate with Spencer at his 2nd birthday party. Avery loves Marbles and she was so glad to have daddy join us in the fun for his first time. Avery loved the slides, playing with all the puppies, balls, cars, grocery store, pirate ship and so much more. Daddy also had a lot of fun!
This little girl enjoyed a lot of sweets this weekend.
Love the slides, so matter which direction she is facing when she reaches the bottom.
Fun playing vet. She even drug a few pups around the play areas and down the slide on their leashes.
Daddy and Avery had a blast playing hockey. He even taught her to bang on the glass.
Daddy and Avery in the Pirate ship.
Mommy was Avery's patient in the pretend ambulance.
To cap off this super busy and very fun weekend, we met up with mommy's side of the family at Macgregor after the birthday party for a brunch with Santa Clause. Avery was a trooper and did great all through brunch. She enjoyed running around the golf course with her cousins before we went to see Santa. It's crazy to compare the picture from last year's brunch with Santa. Next year there is going to be another little girl to add to the cousins picture with Santa.
Grammy and Pepaw with their grand daughters.
Cousins with Santa
Preschool is over until after the New Year and mommy is very sad. Avery loves her teachers, has so much fun and is growing so much because of this special time. Mommy also enjoys her 3 hour break on Monday and Wednesday mornings. Grammy joined me at the Christmas party last week. It was so cute to watch all the kids play, enjoy special Christmas treats and celebrate together. We are so grateful for amazing teachers and this wonderful program.
I think that about gets us caught up. We are very excited about continuing to celebrate the holidays with family and friends. We look forward to 2012, but are enjoying the last weeks of 2012. We have picked a name for baby girl King and will be sure to make it official soon. We have got a lot of work to do before our family grows in March.
