Dress Up!

One of Avery's favorite things to do is play dress up. She has now divided our dress up accessories and each of us have 'our own'. God forbid I put on something that is hers or share one of 'mine' with her. She has a MUCH better memory than me already and is so particular about some things! And not many days go by that I don't hear "Mama, play dress up!!!"

Wordless Wednesday

Children's Museum

While visiting grandma, we took Avery to the Children's Museum. She had SO much fun and it was much nicer than our local children's museum. There was lots to do and she ran and played until it was time to go!

A Trip to Grandma's

The week before Thanksgiving, we got to take a trip to TN to see grandma (and Uncle Johnny!). Avery did great on the trip and had lots of fun. Nonna took some great pics that you can see at her blog: http://cristi-jesusis.blogspot.com. Here are a few I snapped w/ my iPhone:

At the mall, we waited in line to see Santa. Avery LOVED Santa last year. When it was her turn, she ran the other way! She did not want to sit with him this year and I certainly wasn't going to make her. Maybe we'll try again the next time we visit the mall?

I Want the Beach!

Avery, a.k.a. our little beach lover, just about threw a fit to go to the beach! She wanted her tutu swimsuit on and she wanted it NOW. She was sure once she got that swimsuit on, we'd go to the beach! I had just packed up her summer clothes the day before, so she settled for a tutu. I gave her an empty paper towel roll and told her to look for the beach. And she sure did! Can't wait to go back next summer!

Long Time, No Post!

Hi, y'all! Long time, no see. :) I doubt there is anyone out there, except maybe Niki D. but I'll update anyway. I guess I need something in next year's bloggy book. There is just never any time in the day to update the blog! Even as I type, a certain little girl is pulling on my chair saying, "Play mama, play!" Needless to say, I have been very busy keeping up with work, the precious princess, being a wife and all the things that it takes to run a household. We have taken way too many trips 'home' these last few weeks, for one reason or another. I guess I'm out of excuses now :)

So. here is what we've been up to:

• Days at the park. You can read more about that here. Avery still doesn't enjoy swinging, but the child can slide all day! She loves the monkey bars too. Leaving is never fun!
• Visiting family. We were away every.single.weekend in October, usually taking that 2 hour trip back 'home'.  I wonder if I'll ever call this place home? I lived in the same, small town from birth until 18, when I left for college. Now, I feel a bit 'stuck' in my college town. Maybe I should've picked a different college town! It seems like the longer we live here, the less it feels like 'home'. Avery doesn't think so though. Every day when we take the exit off the interstate, she says "Mama, we home!!!" I guess the only question left is do I want her to grow up knowing this place as her only home. So, I hope there will be some changes in our future and we are certainly praying constantly about that decision!
• Trick or trunk. Or is it Trunk or Treat? Or, as our pastor tweeted, "Trick my Trunk". So, who knows? This was Avery's first Halloween and I was very torn about whether or not to celebrate. I never celebrated growing up and it is my least favorite holiday. In the end, we decided to take her to the very large church we attend. And boy, was that a mistake. They had a live band and jumpy things for the kids and hotdogs and popcorn, and of course trunks full of candy. It was promoted as a community event and there were 853,905 ppl in attendance. Ok, maybe not, but it sure seemed that way. The line was insanely long and 2 year olds just don't understand the concept of waiting in line for 2 hours! We walked around for a while and Avery sang along to the music (which I loved) but left with no candy. The 2 pieces she collected while we were there, were gone by the time we made it to the car. I dropped her and Charlie off at home and headed to Target to fill her basket! She was pretty happy when I got home. Next year, we will certainly come up with a different plan!
• I celebrated my 26th birthday. And although getting older has never bothered me, 26 feels much older than 25. It's like you might as well round to 30. Yikes! To my surprise, my boss in NY planned a party for me at work since she couldn't be there. It was a lot of fun and I was shocked. I figured since my boss and peers were scattered across 3 different states, there would be no birthday celebration! The next day, we drove to Nonna and Poppa's house and Nonna had a cake for me, a delicious supper and, as always, a gift that was too generous! I love my elephant necklace. And believe me, it does NOT stand for Alabama. More like the GOP! Charlie and I headed to Baton Rouge on Saturday. We had fun shopping until we dropped and a nice dinner. I love staying at the Hyatt Place BR, the Starbucks in the lobby is my favorite! It was a great birthday weekend (minus Trunk or Trick) ;) 
• Election day. OH HAPPY DAY! I stayed up way too late watching each race called, most of them for the GOP. It seriously made my heart happy. Avery and I danced and danced that night. I am so proud that our 'party of no' has some control. No more big government. No more wasteful spending. No more raising taxes. No more abortion. I'm proud to say NO, NO, NO you can't!
• Avery is so big that it blows my mind. She just gets more adorable every day. Her favorite game is hide and seek. She always loves playing dress up and 'house'. She is talking all.the.time and her words are much clearer. We are still working on a few speech issues with her. She can count to 12 (and sometimes 15!) like a pro. We are working on ABC's. My favorite 'new' thing is that she says, "Mama, I love you too". (Even if I didn't say I love you first!) How adorable is that?

Well, I think that's my October recap. I would promise to do better on blogging, but let's face it. We have have less than 30 days until Thanksgiving and less than 50 until Christmas, so it's not time for making any promises to do more work! Maybe it'll be my New Year's Resolution? Here's what I'm looking forward to, in case you don't hear from me again until 2011!

• Today: LSU vs Bama. Avery will be decked out in her "I hate veggies and the Crimson Tide" shirt and I'll be sporting my "I love 2 teams...LSU and whoever beats Alabama" shirt. We know it will take a miracle, but anything can happen in Death Valley, just ask TN! GEAUX TIGERS!!!
• This month: A trip to grandma's in 3 weeks (YAY!) and then Thanksgiving at Nonna's house. Nothing better than being close to those you love (and some good food sure can't hurt)!
• Next month: Need I say? CHRISTMAS! I'm finding it hard to decide what Avery really wants this year, since she 'wants' every.single.toy w/ a commercial on Nick Jr.! If I had a dollar for every time she said, "Mama, I want that. I want that, mama!" Seriously though, I can't wait to celebrate our Savior's birth. December is always such a fun month!

And here are just a few pictures (shame on me, I know!)

Days at the Park:

My big girl!

Before the trunk or treat disaster!

The Saga of the Paci

Hi y'all! Guess who found her USB cord for the camera a few minutes ago?!? Woohoo, I'm back in business. And boy do I have a story for you. Where shall we begin in the saga of the paci...

I guess I could start 2 1/2 years ago in the NICU. When our beautiful 2 lb princess would take a paci that was as big as her head! I remember talking about taking it away right before her first birthday. hahaha. Life doesn't always go as planned, does it? Sooo...many moons later I was quite frustrated that it hadn't 'happened' yet. We would always plan it and then a good excuse reason would come up and we would put it off. Again and again. One weekend we actually did it. Within 24 hours Avery was seriously very sick. As I held my baby, burning up with fever, I asked what mama could do to make it better. She let out a long, sad "My paaaa paaaa, mama!" plea and that was the end of that. Obviously, I had saved a backup! But, enough was enough already and I had quite a plan. Avery loves balloons, so on the way home from work a few Fridays ago we stopped by Flowerama and picked up a bouquet of balloons. I tied the 2 remaining pacis we had to 2 different balloons and explained that Avery was a big girl and no longer needed a paci. I told her pacis were for babies and she was not a baby anymore. I told her we would put the pacis on the balloons and send them to the babies in heaven. She seemed excited but I got a backup cupcake just in case.

Once we got home, I made a big deal out of the whole thing. I told her to hold them tight and not let them go. With the camera ready, I say "Ok, let them go!" PLUNK! The pacis were too heavy for the balloons. After a few adjustments, we were ready to go again. We walked to the neighbors treeless yard and once again we let them go. The wind was blowing hard and the balloons flew right over to our yard and right into the tree. I held my breath and hoped the wind would catch them, but it just drove them further into the tree. Avery, realizing her beloved pa-pas were gone, had a meltdown right there in the driveway, balloons and pacis dangling right above our heads. (Did I mention the neighbors were outside watching the whole thing? #fail!) Thank God those pacis were out of reach! And thank God for the clown cupcake. We made it with just a few meltdowns the next week and now when Avery mentions the papas she mentions the babies we gave them too. And the pink balloons they dangled from. Oh, and the tree in our front yard where that paci still dangles, at this very moment. (I really need to put that on a honey-do list!)

I am so glad that it is over and done with. I hope to post a blog about her sleeping in her big girl bed soon. 1 goal down, 1,858 to go!

One last moment w/ her paci

Can you tell she was excited?

She was being so careful not to let it go!

And that was that!

 

This is not her normal reaction to a big, pretty cupcake. But it was a rough day!

So, that is about the best true story I have from my blog hiatus. Hope to be back in full swing this week!

Are You Ready for Some FOOTBALL?

It's the weekend, a 3 day weekend and the first weekend of college football. We are out of town w/ the family - relaxing and enjoying and counting down the hours till LSU kickoff! Folks, it doesn't get much better than that. I can't believe fall is on it's way! Seems like last weekend we were visiting Nonna and Poppa and playing football outside, except it wasn't last weekend...it was last year! These were taken the same weekend, in 2009. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

GEAUX TIGERS!!!

 

Giveaway Winner

Good morning bloggy friends!

The giveaway for the $50 gift card has ended. The winner is: Nicole @ onelittlemister.com. If you love giveaways, you will love her blog.

Thanks to all who participated!

Btw, you can still help this precious couple adopt a little girl from Peru. Go check out this blog to find out how you can get great tupperware, win a gift card AND help this sweet family grow!

Hope you all have a great day. AND a great weekend. But don't let it pass before you take a look at THIS!

Wordless Wednesday - "Uh oh, Mama"