She stands!

For the past few days,  Avery has been standing independently.  She'll stand up from sitting or a squat with her arms up above her head.  It's so cute!  She loves to do it and does it quite often (especially in the bath tub!).  We were finally able to catch a picture of her in action.

Please disregard the fact that she is standing in the middle of the table.  This one is a climber!

Another one, but I was too close to get the full effect. 

Speaking of climber...she is obsessed with the stairs lately.  I put a makeshift "gate" together to block her.  See those little legs under the chair...

Yep, it didn't work.  You can see her little grin and how proud she was.  Little stinker!

This is the reason the gate was necessary.  She can climb up all of the stairs by herself.  She loves to do this multiple times a day.

  I'm not sure what happened to my little baby! 

School Days...

The school year is officially over for Kens as today was her last day.  She spent the day much differently than I had imagined.  After waking with a fever last night, she spent the remainder of the night on the couch cushions on the floor of our room (she loves it, don't worry).  Let's just say it was a rough night.  Her fever never broke so we opted not to send her to school.

She was pretty miserable and spent the day laying around watching TV and sleeping.  By late morning, I decided to go ahead and call the doctor since she wasn't improving.  After a visit to the doctor, we discovered that it's just a virus so no meds.  Apparently this is going around and the doctor said she might have a high fever for about 4 - 5 days.  So now we just wait it out.

I think I was more sad for Kens knowing that she wouldn't get to say goodbye to her teachers and little friends in her "Little Friends Yellow" class.  She's already signed up for "school" again next year and will still go on Tuesdays.

First day of school...August 30, 2011.

Last day of school...May 22, 2012 



It's crazy how much she has grown up in the past 9 months!



Patio...

At the end of March/beginning of April, we had a patio put on the back of our house.  We finished up landscaping it several weeks ago and Jeremy is now working on growing grass.  Our backyard was basically a blank slate so this whole process has taken some time and planning. 

Here are some pictures of our new patio.  We've already enjoyed several meals outside and can't wait to spend more time on it throughout the summer.

The dirt looking area in the middle will soon be grass.

Sorry about the glare, the sun was setting.  I had to include though since Kens posed for me.

See the little garden in the bottom right corner that Jeremy built??  We are growing tomatoes and peppers.  So far so good!

Hopefully more grass to come soon in this area as well.

  A shout out to Stephen for helping to plan out and work on our landscaping.  And Ashley as well for helping to entertain the kiddos and hang out with me while the guys worked!

A little of this, a little of that...

Just a random post with updates and happenings as of late.

On Wednesday afternoon of last week, Avery came down with a fever.  We initially thought it was teething.  After about 24 hours of a fever that just wouldn't break along with being super lethargic and clingy, we opted for a trip to the doctor's office.  On Thursday afternoon, we headed to the doctor for a walk-in appointment and we were seriously in and out in less than 15 minutes.  We discovered Aves had an ear infection in her right ear, puss on her  throat (possible strep, but the doc didn't test because she was being put on antibiotic anyway) and new teeth coming in.  Poor girl was miserable.  We knew she didn't feel good as she didn't have much of an appetite (and for those that know her...this girl can eat!).  We're happy to report she is back to her happy self and almost through her antibiotic.

Wednesday after dinner, she fell asleep on me while we were waiting for daddy to get home.

We discovered that Avery is still living up to her nickname of "peanut".  Just a few weeks shy of her first birthday and she is still a little thing.  At the doctor last Thursday, she weighed in at 17.5 pounds.  She's gained exactly 1 pound in the past 2 months.  At 11 months old, she is about the size that Kensley was at 7 months old.  That is so crazy to me!

Attempting to play, but still not feeling great.

Jeremy decided kind of last minute to play softball this summer on one of our church's teams.  Let's just say, this kind of "playing" is something I'm sure he never envisioned.  The league is pretty laid back, which is good considering all the little kiddos running around wanting to hang out with their daddies.  When Jeremy wasn't in the field, he was usually hanging near us holding one of the girls (they tend to want daddy in the evenings since they haven't seen him all day).  I'm sure he is glad to see us leave after the first game so he can actually concentrate and play during the second game!

Kens had her first (and second!) experience with peeing outside in the grass.  Where was it you ask, at the church softball game!  They played on a field that was ridiculously far away from the church building (that I wasn't even sure was unlocked).  The thought of trucking all the way up to find out carrying at least 1 maybe 2 kiddos, was exhausting.  So we did what any good parents would do...took Kens out of sight (somewhat) and had her pee in the grass.  Her second time around, Jeremy was in the field so I had to tackle it on my own.  Avery was sitting in the grass crying (she's not a fan of how it feels) as I was trying to hold Kens up and attempt to keep us both free of pee and poison ivy.  Yikes...the situations I could have never imagined!

We're gearing up for Avery's first birthday.  I still can't believe she is going to be 1 in a few short weeks.  We're planning a small family party, but still trying to make it extra special for her.  I've been working on lots of random projects to get ready for it.  We talk about her birthday a lot and Kensley tends to think everyday is Avery's birthday.

We had our first boat ride of the season last Saturday afternoon with Grammy, Grampy and Aunt Kym.  The weather was nice and the girls did great.  After a kind of shaky afternoon (both girls were really fussy and out of sorts), we weren't sure how long we'd all last.  Avery fell asleep about 15 minutes in and was out for the majority of the boat ride.  It was a nap she definitely needed with not feeling so great that day.  We can't wait for more boat rides this season!

I had a nice Mother's Day spent with our little family.  Our plans were kind of up in the air with Avery not feeling so well.  We ran a few errands in the morning, did a quick lunch out and then walked to the park after naps.  Aves went to bed early (she was out by 6:20!) and then Jeremy and I enjoyed our dinner on the patio while Kens played in the yard.

Coming soon...pictures of our "new" patio!

Avery: 11 Months Old

The peanut is 11 months old!  This past month it really dawned on me how quickly she is growing!  I can't believe next month she will be 1 year old!

Avery is at such a fun age. It's so fun to see her learn new things and understand more each day. She waves, claps, gives kisses, "talks" on the phone and puts her arms up when we ask her how big she is (soooo big). She loves to put her toys into buckets/baskets and then take them back out.

She is crawling so fast!  She is into everything!  Lately I've been thankful for our hard floors downstairs as we can usually hear where she is headed.  She is pulling herself up on everything and starting to cruise along furniture.  She is getting brave and she'll often let go of things while she's standing and slowly lower herself to sit down.  She likes to hold onto our hands and walk a few steps and she also is really loving walking behind her push toy. 

She is still our happy little girl and so smiley.  She usually greets us in the mornings or after her naps with a huge smile as she stands in her crib and waits for us.  She always has a big smile for her sissy and especially her daddy as soon as he walks in the door.  She also smiles to pretty much anyone that talks to her or looks her direction.

I feel like Avery has really gotten bigger this past month as she seems heavier and much longer.  She doesn't fit as well in my arms and she doesn't enjoy snuggling as much as she used to.  She is still in size 3 diapers and wears 6 - 12 and 12 month clothes.  She doesn't really ever wear shoes, but I think she'd be a size 2 (according to the pair she wore at Easter).

She is still a great eater.  She will eat almost anything we put on her plate.  She seems to eat so much more than Kensley did at this age and she tends to out eat her at most meals.  She is such a quick eater and tries to shove as much as she can in her mouth.  She is still nursing 3 - 4 times a day.

Avery's first tooth finally popped through last weekend (bottom left).  I think the bottom right one isn't far behind.  She is drooling like crazy and still chewing on everything.  She is jabbering lots these days, still saying "dada" lots and starting saying "mmm - ma" this past month.  I don't know that she's exactly linked "mama" to me, but she tends to say it more when she's tired, crying or hungry.  She knows how to sign "more", but isn't always consistent with doing it.

She's starting to develop a little personality and knows when she's being funny.  She fake coughs a lot like Kens did at this age and then breaks into a huge smile after she does it.  She loves to jump and bounce up and down.  She hears the word "no" quite often these days as she darts towards the coffee table drawers, stereo equipment, Kensley's potty, etc.  She'll often pause to look at us and then take off again towards whatever it is she was going for. 

Our sweet, little girl is getting too big, too fast.  Happy 11 month birthday, Avery Leigh!

Kensley: 2.5 years old...

Since we aren't doing monthly posts for Kens anymore, I thought a half year post might be nice.  Kensley seems to be growing up so quickly and I want to document and remember this stage.

Kensley is funny, dramatic, sweet, caring, energetic and slightly stubborn.  She has us constantly laughing at the things she says and does.  She seems to have boundless energy and she is going nonstop.  Kens is always talking or singing.  She seems to have so much to say!  She is constantly asking "why" to pretty much everything we say.

When Kensley's sweet side comes out, she is very generous with hugs and kisses.  I love seeing her hug and kiss Avery.  She'll often hug her and say "Awww...I love her so much."  She has also picked up on our nicknames for Avery and she'll often call her the peanut, sweet pea, sweetie, etc.  It's so cute to hear Kens call her little sister "sweetie".

She is such a big helper.  She constantly wants to help in whatever we're doing...cooking or doing anything in the kitchen, unloading the dishwasher, doing/folding laundry, cleaning, setting the table, putting her clothes away and she often offers multiple times a day to "help me work."  I hope she is always this eager to help.

We have definitely entered the "emotional" stage as Kensley can flip a switch and go from happy and laughing to whining and crying within seconds.  We are learning we are having to get more consistent with discipline, time outs, etc.  We also notice that the whining stages are much  more common when she is tired or hungry.  As Avery becomes more mobile, Kensley tends to be even more protective of her toys/things.  She often gets upset and tells us to pick up Avery so she'll stay away from her stuff.

All traces of "baby" seem to be gone as Kensley is sleeping in her big girl bed, potty trained and has become really independent.  We officially gave up the paci for good in March (or more so the rubber ring that she has slept with since we cut it off last summer).  We wondered how we'd ever end up getting rid of it and it was by pure accident that it happened.  We accidentally left it at home when we drove to Florida in March.  I honestly had a small moment of panic as we were several hours from home and I started to formulate a plan of finding a nearby drug store to purchase and cut off another paci for her (we value our sleep around these parts).  She did great without it the whole week and really didn't ask for it.  We decided to run with it and quickly hid it when we got home and even went as far to tell her that we left it in Florida with Nana and Papa (even though it never made the trip down with us).  She's done great without it and has started to become more attached to her "white" blanket and Mickey pillow.

Our once champion sleeper, seems to have more issues with consistent sleep.  She is still taking an afternoon nap around 12:30 p.m. until about 2:00 or 2:30 p.m.  She does pretty good with naps, but we often have trouble getting her to stay down at night.  She won't let us close her door all the way so we often hear her near the top of the stairs or wondering around the hallway when she should be in bed.  She is a somewhat restless sleeper and we've found her sleep walking, laying on the floor next to her bed and sometimes sitting outside our room in the middle of the night.  The gate at the top of our stairs is as much for her as Avery!

Kens seems to be in a picky eating stage. She doesn't really like to branch out and try new things. She loves to snack and we often have a hard time getting her to eat much at meals. In fact, these days Avery tends to out eat Kensley at meals.

Some of Kensley's favorite things include: doing puzzles, coloring/crafts, playing outside, going to the park, playing catch, dancing like Angelina (Ballerina), taking pictures (often saying "that was a great picture!" after taking it) and swimming. She loves to be outside and we are so ready for some consistent warm weather.

We can't believe how fast our baby girl is growing up. Happy half birthday, Kensley Elise!  We love you!