Atlantic City here we come!

{Click play - the video still plays even though the screen is blank!}

As promised, a little video of my gal pal Avery. She's so smart! While being cooped up inside this house over a very long winter for a 20mos old (and a 33yr old) she learned to play matching lotto. Perhaps she'll help us win at the slots the next time?

The chef is in!

Check out the nifty sign I made for Avery's Kitchen. We let her pose standing on a chair (creating new habits?) in her chef apron. Holding ofcourse her favorite items: the ladel and silver cup. I find paper and fabric particularily relaxing these days!

Close up of the sign: made using paper, stamps & ribbon.

Winter Jolly

It was a bit chilly today . . . I snapped one picture with her cute sweater on before we bundled Avery up! PS she really wanted to wear my scarf!

Forgive me . . .

Forgive me Marc Weissbluth of Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child, for I will sin this month of December in that Avery will probably not nap or sleep well these upcoming holiday weekends. I'm going to need to recite the Serenity Prayer each night for my own sanity {thanks Alicia for doing this with me}.

Pic: Holiday Cookies Take 1.

Nostalgic

Just because I am feeling nostalgic and because I found this unedited picture of Avery taken @ 6mos . . . I thought I'd share a fantastic friday picture with you!

First Hair cut!

In the beginning there was unhappiness. I don't think she liked the cape.

There were many tears shed.

Then she realized that it was just hair and it would grow back, eventually.

Not what I'd call a "sassy diva" but we managed okay. She got a lollipop, certificate, some of her locks of curls (!!!), and a picture (or 2 by me). She loved all the goodies in the store, so I think we'll be back. Thanks Sweet n Sassy (Exton, Pa)!!

Happy Pumpkining!!!

Favorite part of the trip: moving pumpkins from point A to point B.

And rearranging the gourds.

Turning a new leaf

I've been a very good blogger lately. I've rewarded myself at Homegoods. More on that on another post. I am also on a new antibiotic so that with Avery's nebulizer treatments coming to an end should mean back to a healthy household here. Let's hope! The leaves weren't at their peak this past weekend but it looked like fun nevertheless! Avery thought putting the leaf on her head was funny. She was not, however, keen on laying in the leaves like last year. The last one is my favorite. I have not nearly done as many black and whites I had hoped this year but the leaves gave the contrasting colors a nice depth. Notice her new white Nike's that she loves. Pop pop picked them out!

13 months flashback

I snapped the photo of Avery on the right and it looked similar to a photo taken of me circa July 1977 @ the Jersey Shore. Wait til you see the uncanny picture I will have at 18mos (Christmas). You can click on the picture to see it bigger.

ps Avery's favorite word of the moment is "baby." She points to all the pictures of her around the house, labels herself in the mirror in the car and shouted it out in PBK the other day. I love it!

Renaissance Faire Part 2

The only item Avery would eat all day . . .

She was enchanted by the street faire players. Spent alot of the time dancing!

A kiss from daddy.

But truth be told, we spent alot of our day doing this . . . chasing her. So we have a lot of snapshots of her backside.

There she goes again. At the end of the day, Scott asked if we had seen anything at the faire at all?

Renaissance Faire Part 1

I am behind again on blog posts. Add in 14 days of under the weather, including 1 round of antibiotics and I just haven't had the energy to blog! Expect a backlog of pics, recipes etc en route! In the meantime ~ here are some pics from the PA Renaissance Faire 2009. We took Avery for her 15mos celebration and despite the chill(ier) weather and my cold we all, especially Avery, had a fabulous time. She was the talk of the towne! Her favorite by far was the children's garden. She played the instrument for a really long time. We had to eventually hide the sticks. She was the orchestra all by herself! Next it was on to the Maypole. Frustration took over in the end when she could not figure out why she had no ribbon left. But we ran around the pole enough to fill my lungs with good ole Lancaster air. Credit to my husband for the wonderful photos. Love the 85mm 1.8 lens.

Project Runway beware . . .

On a dreary, rainy, chilly day a week back we decided to stay inside all day. Avery really wanted to wear her shoes all around the house. Kept bringing me the shoes til I put them on. She has her own fashion sense already. A close up in the second picture. A close up of her busted lip in the third picture. The first of 2 that week.

Fall preview

Thanks to our friend, Sarah, who had the great suggestion for some fall pics @ Eastern University. We scoped it out for some practice shots over Labor Day weekend. It will provide some great background and fall foilage for sure! Avery enjoyed the bridge so much she went back and forth several times. Standing at the tree was definitely a hard shot; she was not keen on standing still. And finally, my favorite: looking down at me from the bridge. Avery collected a lot of acorns along the way. We still have them somewhere! Stay tuned for a cute etsy find and another delicious meal!

End of summer!

Some end of summer images. We said goodbye to the pool this year (sniff sniff). By the end of the summer, Avery was taking off on her own at the froggy pool. Much to our panic. She did not want us to hold onto her. Though she took a couple 2sec trips under the water (gasp). She also got good with back floating and front kicks. The fall season seems officially here. We have a nice weekend coming up but with cooler, sunny temps. I think it's here to stay! Thanks to Elise, Charlotte & baby Owen who made our trips to the pool so enjoyable this summer! Looking forward to it next year!
*pics taken on canon point & shoot

The Laundromat

Today, Scott & Avery took her sleeping bag from school {naptime} to be washed. You need an industrial strength front loader so they went to the Laundromat in Frazer. I have a special affection for laundromats. Lori & I used to take our camp wash to the one on Dixie Highway on Sunday nights; we'd treat ourselves to Arby's and vege before the campers came back. If it's an empty one, it's rather peaceful and always smells like fresh laundry.

Back to the story - The wash cycle was 35 min and Avery was in heaven the whole time. Just enough time to get her kicks. First there were buttons, and loads of them. Second there was the cart, who could resist pushing THAT around {reminds me of after Jen's wedding, Justin getting in a cart and Scott pushing him - or something to that effect}. And finally, there was the ever-popular snack time. Avery is a carboholic so anything in the snacktrap pretty much fits the bill. Not sure she wanted to leave. With all the rain the past 2 days, it's been rather boring around the house. These were snapped on Scott's camera phone. Next time we are bringing the DSLR . . . the next time someone at Malvern is ill and we want to make sure we disinfect everything!

So eager.

She was so eager this morning to leave the house, which is no different than any other morning. She took the lunch bag all by herself and kept on trucking. It was so cool this morning so the first day of Malvern School outfit did not go as planned. But aren't the Mary Janes so cute? I shed a tear but according to Jenny, her teacher, the day has gone smooth with only a few fusses on Avery's part. I wonder if she'll be this eager tomorrow? Please do not tell me they grow up so fast.