Avah's 1st Camping Trip!

Ok so it's my fault we haven't gone camping sooner, if it had been up to Chris we would have gone the same week Avah was born. :-)

The first weekend in August we joined my Mom, Kate, and the girls (Leah and Jaydin) for a weekend of fun at Boyd Lake up north, just outside of Loveland. My Mom brought her camper so Kate and the girls slept in the camper with her but Chris, Avah, and I pitched a tent. The camper was great though for nap time since it has a TV and DVD player in it. It kept the girls calm and Avah even took a small nap. It was nice to have running water and a stove top if needed (it made breakfast easier). The fire Chris provided each night did however make dinner and dessert (smores one night and banana boats the next). Avah did really well sleeping in the tent, better than I thought she would. The first night she wouldn't go to sleep without one of us in there with her (understandable), but the second night it only took her a few minutes and she let us both leave her in the tent by herself and she was asleep pretty quickly (we had a long day at the lake though so I think that helped). She did take up the whole bed of course, Chris made a joke that we needed three twin air mattresses to make an 'H' since she slept side ways in between us most of the night. ;-)

It was a great weekend, we went fishing, swimming, trail walking and exploring. Avah was sad to leave so that was our indicator that camping is in our future, yea!! Here are some pictures from our weekend. :-)

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Maddison's 1st Birthday Cake/Cupcakes

On July 16th, Anne and Ryan's little girl Maddison turned One! They had two different birthday parties for her, one with the family the day of her birthday and another for friends that was a joint party with Alexis (Sara Greg's little girl) who was also turning One. I was 'hired' to make both the cake for Maddison's family party and the cupcakes for the joint (friend) birthday party. Here are some pictures of the finished products.

What??

Ok, it has been a seriously long time since I've posted anything or written anything on the blog. Are you suprised? I'm not since I've never been really good at journaling. I can't even keep up with Facebook most of the time. ;-)

Well anyway, Avah is 2 now! (Where did the time go?)

We're 13 weeks pregnant (Due early February).

And I have finally made the decision to create cakes and cupcakes as a side 'business'. I don't have my 'name' out there yet, just mainly offering business to friends and family, but you have to start somewhere right. So the blog will also become home to share pictures of cakes, cupcakes, or whatever else I get to create. :-)

Here are two cakes I did one weekend in May and I have more pictures to share that I will post later.

She has Hair

When Avah was born she had a full head of dark hair, until it decided to fall out in patches. It was pretty funny; her poor head looked like a fuzzy patchwork quilt. It also went from dark brown to the sandy blonde it is today. But within the last month or so it has been growing in pretty good and we can finally put little barrettes and bows in her hair and they actually stay (for the most part). She has a few really long strands of hair from the patches that hadn't fallen out that we were going to trim but decided to wait and have her first hair cut done at Walt Disney World in a few weeks (and those strands will actually give them something to trim). I'm pretty excited for her to get her first hair cut at Disney since they go all out of course. She will get her first pair of Mickey or Minnie ears along with a certificate showing her first hair cut was at Disney so I'm sure it will be fun. I'll make sure I get lots of pictures to share and maybe even bust out the video camera. :-)

BIG smile for Daddy! :-)

8 Months Old!

Chris and I are convinced that Avah is going to skip crawling, but what do we know really? She just loves to pull herself up to stand and walk around while holding our hands. When we try to get her to crawl to us she just tries to go straight to a standing position. This is Avah standing up and we were trying to get her to pick up her legs and take a step on her own. She kind of scooted a little, it was very cool! :-)

Than we had some play time on the floor to let her little legs relax from the work out. :-)

Where Does the Time Go?

It is hard to believe that Avah is already 7 months old, before I know it she'll be a year old. She amazes Chris and I everyday with everything she is learning. She loves to play on the floor with us and her hand/eye coordination is great. She loves a good conversation and likes to be a part of the group, very social little girl. Here are a few pics we had taken in the month of January.

"I think I've had enough cereal Mom"

This is one of my favorites, so cute!

Passed out - too much formula

Playing with Mommy and Daddy

Mmmm, yummy fabric...

SANTA!! (In January??)

Ok so I now I am SUPER late on getting these posted, but I had to post them no matter what because they are just too cute not to share. Kate, Chris, the girls, and myself went to go see Santa Claus at Bass Pro Shop in late November and here are the pictures from that day. :-)

*BTW - I took video of the whole thing too - yep that's right - I was one of "those parents". ;-P

Avah with Mrs. Claus and Santa

Avah with Santa

Leah with Santa.

Jaydin with Mrs. Claus and Santa (she was too scared to sit on Santa's lap).

Jaydin, Leah, and Avah on the ATV they picked out to take home with us.

SNOW!

A couple weeks ago we got our first snow storm and Avah was very interested in all the white fluffy falling stuff. So Chris and I opened our back patio door and let her watch and feel the snow for a few minutes. It was really cute watching her examine it and her reaction to the feel of it. :-)

She Did It!!!

Last night was the first night our little munchkin slept in her own room ALL night! :-)

She has slept throught the night in the past but it was in her swing. We have also gone several hours before bringing her into our room and finishing up the night in her swing, so this is huge for her and for us. I'm not expecting it to happen tonight or on a regular basis yet but just knowing that she will do it is a sigh of relief. Now Chris and I didn't sleep very well last night since we were only half asleep waiting for her to start crying, but that is ok because half asleep is better than no sleep. ;-P

Baby and Mommy Playdates!

Here are some photos of Avah with a few of her friends. :-)

This playdate took place at Jamie's house when Avah was 6 weeks old.

Vincent and Avah - Vincent is 3 weeks older than Avah.

Vincent (9 weeks), Avah (6 weeks), Finley (6 months), and Graysen (7 months)

Finley and Graysen

This playdate was at Nikki's house just a week before I headed back to work.

Finley (7 months)

Vincent (12 weeks) and Avah (9 weeks) - Look at her legs go! ;-)

Vincent and Avah - Don't worry Amery, Avah only has eyes for you. ;-)

Avah (9 weeks)


This playdate was at our neighbors house. They had a little girl on July 25th.

Addison (2 weeks) and Avah (5 weeks)

Avah!

I'm so lame, I try and try but always forget to update our blog. I think Shannon was the only one who checked it anyway. ;-) Not much happening except that we are trying to get Avah to sleep in her own room. It's not going as well as Mom and Dad would like but we will get there. ;-P

Here are some cute pics of Avah (who actually turned 3 months yesterday!). :-)

Put that skirt down and act like a lady. ;-)