Where have we been?

Sorry we have not been updating too much but we have been very lazy lately.......


Actually we have joined a few playgroups and my mom came to visit so we have been a little bit busy. Avery is at such a fun fun FUN age. She constantly makes me laugh because she is so silly and actually becoming a little bit bossy. Like I said before, she is talking all the time. I mean ALL THE TIME! She knows a lot of words so she is almost always able to tell us whatever she wants, which is so nice. She is running everywhere and is still in her "mommy" phase but I think we are slowly getting better. Matt has been super busy since it's football season so we try to soak up all the "daddy-time" we can whenever he is here. Work for me is super-busy but I continue to have Fridays off so it evens out a little bit since i get a 3-day weekend every week!

I am so excited for the Fall and really looking forward to all the fun fall activities that are coming up- pumpkin patches, halloween, fall fest, etc- I guess there are some good things about living in such a large, diverse city...LOTS of fun diverse activities!!

18 month MD visit

Avery had her 18 month well-check appointment on Friday and everything went really well. She weighs 24 lb 7 oz (75th percentile) and is 33.5 inches tall (90th percentile). The doctor said she was "a very healthy little girl" and was super impressed at how verbal she is. She is constantly putting together 2 and 3 words now and switches easily between English and Spanish, which we think is so great. We had an amazing weekend with Nana (my mom) and promise to put up more pictures soon! We miss you Nana!

Honestly

This is the sight that I saw in my rearview mirror the other day. I honestly did not stage this picture. Honestly hilarious :-)

In My Own Backyard

Exactly one year ago today I stumbled upon this sweet little flower child in my own backyard.

And today I cam across this swing-happy little girl who is extra happy today because ...........

It's her 18 month birthday today!!

I can't believe she is already a year and a half old. I know I sound like a broken record but it is so amazing how fast she is growing. What is even more amazing is what a funny, sweet little personality she has. She is so sweet and often runs up and gives you hugs and kisses for no reason. She LOVES baby dolls and although she only has two- she carries them everywhere, and really loves to push them in their stroller. She loves to dress up in her cowboy boots, sunglasses and purse and stroll around the house waving- truly hilarious. She has a huge vocabulary- in both English and Spanish- and is now using 2 to 3 word phrases. And boy is she a talker! She talks all day long (no idea where she gets that....). She constantly has me laughing and without her I would be lost. With the events of the past 2 months, I truly owe her my sanity and don't know where I would be without her! Happy year and a half sweet baby! We love you!!!!!

Another day...........

............another cheerleading outfit

HOUSTON TEXANS AT TENNESSEE TITANS

SUNDAY SEPT 20, 2009

KICKOFF 12:00 CST

Go Uncle Eric!!! GO TEXANS!!!!

Swing Swing Swing

I love this girl :-)

Happy Friday!

Just a sweet picture from my sweet girl wishing you all a wonderful weekend!!!

I added a recipe for a delicious Plum Pudding/Cobbler that I made the other day. It was SOOOOO easy and SOOOOOO good! Enjoy! :-)

Plum Pudding/Cobbler

INGREDIENTS

• 12 plums, pitted and halved
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons tapioca pudding
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 1/4 cups bisquick
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 2/3 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons margarine, melted

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a 2 quart baking dish, stir together plums, 1 cup sugar, water, tapioca and cinnamon. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes uncovered. (Or 15 minutes in microwave.)
3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
4. In a medium bowl, stir together baking mix, 3 tablespoons sugar, milk and melted margarine to form a shortcake dough. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto baked plum mixture. Bake in preheated oven uncovered for 10 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool slightly before serving.

Duh

Why didn't I do this sooner?

I moved Avery's play kitchen into my actual kitchen and it has been a HUGE lifesaver. It keeps her busy while I try to cook, clean or do dishes AND she doesn't pull all my tupperware and pots out of the cabinets- double win!

Love You Daddy

Young At Art

On Sunday we were looking for a good family-outing place that was indoors (it was raining) and was fairly inexpensive so we decided to try out the pottery painting place, Young At Art. I have to tell you I was a little nervous because Avery's attention span is very unpredictable, and I wasn't sure how she would do in a place with lots and lots of breakable things. But she did great! We were there for almost 2 hours! She painted and painted- but I think she liked dipping her brush in the water and paints the most.

Painting her plate with Mommy

We only have 1 small disaster where Avery spilled the water cup- but only 1 disaster in 2 hours spent at a place with LOTS of breakable things is a success in my book!

Future Van Gogh

The beautiful finished product. We put a handprint on the back with her name and the date. I am anxious to see how it turns out after it is heat-blasted and glazed but I know that no matter what I will LOVE this plate forever! Such a fun activity and I know we will be doing it again!

What????????

Are you trying to tell me that both our teams lost yesterday? What????????

We will get 'em next week guys! GO TEXANS! GO FINS!

A House Divided

Go Texans AND Go Dolphins!!!!!!

It's going to be a busy Sunday for our house! :-)

A Hit and a Miss

Avery has been struggling with the church nursery for the past 2 months or so. Last week she made it in the nursery the entire time and i was SO elated! It was the first time she had done this and I was stoked. Today.......not so much. I was called to come get her after about 5 minutes. This has been going on for about 2 months. Everyone keeps telling me "oh, its the age." I know it's common at this age for them to have terrible separation anxiety but its so heartbreaking and sad to see (and hear!) your little one crying their eyes out for you. We started a MOPS group too that meets twice a month for two hours and our first meeting was last Friday. She was pretty miserable for the entire 2 hours, but she made it. And so did I.

I know it will get better but in the mean time its breaking my heart. I really want her to have the chance to socialize with the other kids, but she is so busy crying she barely even notices they are there. Everyone keeps telling me to "keep on bringing her and one day she will just get over it." I hope and pray that is true because i would LOVE to sit through an entire church sermon and really be able to soak up The Word, without constantly worrying about my poor baby girl!

The Face

This is what we call "The Face." Its the face Avery makes when she is acting silly or if we say something she doesn't understand. I have no idea where she learned it or exactly why she does it but i think its frickin hilarious.............:-)

Genius

I saw these "Splash Mats" on etsy.com at

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30017619

and I think they are genius. Just wanted to pass along the website in case anyone may be interested. They have lots of fabric colors to choose from.

Happy Birthday to Mommy!

Cold Stone Cupcakes +

ISimple IPOD adapter (to play the IPOD in my car) +

Fabulous Cocktails +

My Amazing Family

=

A completely wonderful 28th birthday!

Thank you so much to everyone, especially Matt and Avery, who made my birthday so fabulous! I appreciate all the the calls, texts, emails, and gifts from everyone! XOXO!