Loves to Read

Avery Claire has always liked books. When she was tiny, she loved to look at them as we read and turned the pages. Then she learned to turn the pages herself. Then she went through a phase where it was more fun to just pull books off of the shelves than to sit and read them.

Over the last few weeks, she's interested in what's inside them again. She will get a book and bring it over to one of us, hand it to us, and turn around and sit in our lap. Oh. my. goodness. It doesn't get more precious than that. I love to read and hope to instill that love in my girl. Reading opens up a whole new world! Right now, I'd say her favorites is The Poky Little Puppy and As Cute As Can Bee.

Sometimes she just takes a few books {or a newspaper} and "reads" by herself.








We've tried to establish a better bedtime routine this week. You know, other than wide open, wide open, go to bed. So, we're taking advantage of this love for reading. We take a few books in her room and read for awhile, drink milk, and rock before we lay her down. She might cry for a few seconds, but she goes to sleep, which is an improvement on the end of last week.

Don't think we're cruel for making her lay down by herself. I know she doesn't want to miss the fun {like cleaning up, washing clothes} that goes on after she goes to bed. But I have a fear of her screaming at her door when she is able to get out of her bed one day. And what will we do then?! So it's important to us to make going to bed in her bed an "okay" thing to do NOW! We're hoping we just had a bad phase and it's passing us by!!

Summer+Packing+Blogging=Not Enough Time in the Day

I have been a horrible blogger lately. Between packing and our busy girl and trying to enjoy summer, I just don't get to sit down at the computer until late. And then I just want to go to bed. We found out today that we probably won't close on our house next week, so I figured I could take a packing break and sit down to blog.

I don't think I really updated about our situation...really because there's not much to tell right now. So far,
1) We did sell our house. That kind of fell in our laps and we couldn't pass up the opportunity.
2) Our school system had to make cuts, and I was one of them. So, as of now, I do not have a job. That's a major reason we sold our house. We could make it, but that's a financial burden we can live without since we had the opportunity to sell it.
3) We have no idea where we will live when we move out. There are a couple of decent rental options that may open up. Until then, I guess we'll bum off of the parents for a couple of weeks. We were supposed to close on the 8th, but the buyers' loan hasn't gone through, so we will hope to close by the 15th. But it could be as late at the 22nd.
4) After lots of praying that things will work out for us, I'm honestly not as stressed as I thought I'd be in this situation. I'd be lying if I said the "unknown" was easy to handle, but I'm so thankful for our health and for our happiness, it's hard to let that be a burden. And I know God will work it out.
5) We'd still appreciate your prayers, just that things will work out for the best for our family.

And here are some pictures of lately. That's what you came for anyway, right?

Nana Gaga came for a visit last week. We got some packing and some shopping done. Thanks, Nana, for all of your help!


We have played lots of chase and hide-n-seek.



Avery Claire has decided she likes her bow and will wear whatever I put on her!


We found a pair of shoes of Emma's that just fit. Avery Claire LOVES them and wants to wear them whenever she sees them! I've heard that from more than one Mama - what is up with these Crocs and babes?



We're still packing. Avery Claire carried around Hudson's picture one day and gave him kisses while we packed!

She's seen me make my lists in this little book, so she needed to write something down, too.


Yesterday, we went to Decatur to get my car serviced. Kate and Chambless picked us up. We went to lunch and to play at their house. I've tried to steal pics from Kate's post, but cannot! So you can go there and look. And Kate, Avery Claire fell asleep 5 minutes before we got home!! So she finished out her nap in the car.


My girl just got up from her nap, so I'm adding these pictures from earlier today and we're headed to WalMart. If we're going to be here for another week or two, we're going to have buy a few more groceries!

15 months

Avery Claire, at 15 months, you:

- have the best little personality I could ever have dreamed for you. You are such a people person and never meet a stranger. I feel bad that you haven't been to daycare all summer. You love to interact with other kids. Too bad we don't have a Mother's Day Out around! You wave at everyone you see. You will go to anyone. I thought that might change as you got older, but not yet it hasn't!

- just got that 13th tooth to break through. It's an eye tooth and it has not been fun! I guess the others will soon follow...

- watch every.single.thing.we.do! You are a smart girl and you miss nothing. I'm always surprised when I say something and think you'll have no idea what I mean...and then you do. I asked you the other day if you wanted me to turn the t.v. on for you, and you walked over and pointed to it. We can ask you to brush your hair and you do. You know how to throw something away in the trash can - and you like to look over to make sure it's in there!

- love to hide so we can look for you. We play chase all of the time, and you run and hide on the other side of Mommy and Daddy's bed. You run into the living room and around the ottoman and your pink chair. You giggle and squeal the whole time.

- can say Daddy, Mama, Papa, Gaga, uh-oh, hi, hey, bye, here {he-uh}, dog, hot!, bite, cheeese, and you've just learned to say Mmmmmm when you think something is good. You can sign 'more' to let us know you want more of something you're eating.

- are really into dancing and jumping. You bend your knees and pop up really fast. Your feet don't leave the ground, but you think you are jumping so high! So precious!

- seem like you have grown a foot this month. I really don't know how much you've grown or how tall you are. We have to go for your 15 month check up soon, so we'll see.

- love clothes and shoes, which Mommy loves! You bring things for us to put on you, and you love to walk around with clothes on a hanger.

- are sleeping on your pillow more in your bed, and tend to sleep more on one end than you have in the past. I wondered if that would ever happen! You still wiggle and move, but you turn around less and less.

- took your first trip to the beach and loved it! You waved at every boat and bird and plane and parachuter around. You thought the waves were fun even though we didn't go out very far. And you loved the kiddie pool and the fountain in the big pool.

- like to stack things and line things up.

- like to put things in bags and take them out. You try to put all bags over your shoulder like a purse.

- are soooo ticklish on your legs and your belly and ribs!

- have a little temper. You will stomp your feet when we move you away from something we've told you not to touch or do...like the stools in the kitchen that you try to push around, even after they've fallen and you got hurt. And you're as stubborn as your Daddy a mule. You will try something over and over again, which sometimes gets you into trouble if it's something you know you're not supposed to do!

- get hurt more than once a day because you are such a daredevil! Fearless. Where you get it, I'll never know!

- think it's hilarious if we pretend to cry. If you're crying about something and I pretend to cry, too, 9 out of 10 times, you start laughing.

- have started to get your feelings hurt easily if you think we're getting on to you - especially Daddy!

- are a great packer. You can sling throw things into a box faster than Mommy or Daddy could think about!

- have developed a light brown birthmark on the left side of your face. It starts at your ear and kind of goes to your cheek. It's not extremely noticeable, so we aren't sure if it's always been there and it's showing up more since you've gotten some sun...

- like the kiddie pool at the city pool area and are not scared to walk into the deepest part.

- are still a great sleeper {except at the beach!}. Up until the past couple of nights, you lay right down and go to sleep at night and at naptime. For the past couple of nights/naps, you've cried when we lay you down. We aren't sure why, but we are going to be consistent, even if we have to sleep train again? We hope not, but you've always been so good at going to sleep by yourself. If there's one thing we've learned about children, it's that nothing stays the same and there are countless stages you go through! It's certainly not that you want to be rocked or that you want to sleep with us. You still don't like that stuff! You want to be up playing. I really think you're afraid to miss out on something, even if it is just packing! We do love that you enjoy life so much!

- you are becoming so independent. You don't need help walking down the street or standing in the bathtub! You sling your little arms if someone tries to hold your hand.
- you will grab Mommy or Daddy's hand to walk with us to another room. It absolutely melts our hearts!

- sat in the sanctuary of church for the first time in probably a year {during a wedding}. Mommy and Daddy were so proud of how well behaved you were.

- have started coming to us and turning around to sit in our laps. Sometimes you bring a book for us to read, sometimes you bring your cup, and sometimes you just want to sit with us. Again, melts our hearts!

- are such a joy! You are the most loved little girl in the world. You are so full of life and bring so much liveliness to our house, all of the time. We truly can't remember life without you. Even though it's bittersweet to leave "babyhood" behind, we are so proud of the little girl you're becoming. We couldn't imagine a more perfect, sweet, precious, smart, fun, mischievious, fearless, tender-hearted little girl and we thank God every day that He gave you to us.

I took pictures right before we left for the wedding tonight, so I didn't have time to be persistent. And this girl was too busy to sit still. So, we didn't get much. We did get a couple with Mommy and Daddy after the wedding, so we'll add those to this post.



And she's off...

For Her Entertainment

I can tell more and more each day that my girl is becoming less of a baby and more of a big girl. She has started playing more independently sometimes, but still needs us a lot. Perfect combination, if you ask me.

I'm always in the same room or I can see her from the next room...'cause you never know what you'll find her doing.

In the midst of all this packing, why not make better use of all of these boxes?

Only the giggles and squeals could make these pictures better.

We got our boxes from a local convenience store...before you judge!

Photo Session

We had a little impromptu photo session yesterday. These are some of my very favorite pictures of my sweet girl.

Doesn't she look like such a big girl?

What to Wear {or Not to Wear}

Avery Claire has taken a big interest in clothes and shoes. She has always liked to carry around a clothes hanger. Now she likes to carry a hanger only if it has something hanging on it. She loves to pull clothes out of the washer/dryer/laundry basket. As I type this, she is unloading clean clothes from a basket in the hallway onto the futon-with purpose. The girl knows what she wants and how she wants it done.
She's recently started trying to put her shoes on. She wants us to put them on her {and they don't have to match}. Now she even wants us to put clothes on her.

She's very strong-willed. We don't argue. We just put whatever she wishes on her. Sometimes she wants us to wear it. We, of course, wear whatever she hands us.

I can see many battles of will in our future. I'm sure most of them will be of the "parents give in" "you pick your battles" nature.

Last night, she was going through a pile of clothes I brought home from someone whose girls have outgrown them. She brought me all of this and wanted to wear it. We had to get creative.

That's not a hat. It's bloomers.

Yes. That's my swimsuit.


Whatever makes our girl happy...


By the way, she's pulled the laundry basket beside the futon and is unloading and loading it.