Into the double digits...

Avery is 10 months old today and while I'm not trying to speed things along, I am guilty of already planning her first birthday party! More on that at a later date-
Avery is super curious and into EVERYTHING! She's such a smart kiddo and we love her to pieces. She waves bye-bye, can do "so big!", says "uh-oh" A LOT, and is learning that the dogs will eat anything that she throws overboard. She is eating some of our food now and her new favorite is potatoes! Quite a few pictures below to highlight some other areas... (PS- I promise that we dress her in other clothes besides sleepers. It seems like so many of the pictures I post, she's in a sleeper. But it's winter and when we're at home, that's what she wears because she refuses to keep socks on and her feet freeze.)

This was my makeshift baby gate- her saucer and an ottoman pushed together to keep her in the living room. As you can see, she figured out that all she has to do is crawl under the saucer and she's free! Hey, it worked for awhile.


She likes to crawl under things- the table, her saucer, the dogs, our legs, her highchair.



She really enjoys her puzzles- especially the one she got at Christmas that makes animal sounds. Though she doesn't really get the concept of a puzzle, she sure does like all the pieces.


Yes, this is my bra. And yes, you can only imagine the thought going through her head. "What do I do with this??" Have a good laugh when you see how she decides to use it.



Her t-shirt says, "I woke up on the CUTE side of the bed." Regardless, it's a big-girl t-shirt, not a onsie, and she's wearing jeans and tennis shoes. She looked like a little toddler, not my little baby.


"What?"


Over the past few days, she has tried to stand by herself a little.


She finally got the hang of this toy. It's one of those spinners where you push the button on top and the stuff inside spins faster and faster.


She loves her sock monkey!



She still loves to read. In fact now, she'll sit with a book and act like she's reading it out loud in all of her jibberish talk. It's so cute!



Just recently she has started to put toys away. Not all the time, and not with all toys, but she does a good job when she actually does it. In this picture, she is putting her shaped blocks back into their box. It's a very serious job...


Hello, camera!


Man, this girl can crawl! She's so fast when she wants to be. Look out!


Did I mention that she's into everything??


Waiting for me to come back in from getting the mail-



She became very intent on taking all of her blocks, one-by-one, and dropping them through the top of her saucer's seat so that they fell in a pile below.

Blessed and humbled

Since having Avery, I've gained a new perspective on many things. Things that I once found important are no longer. Things that I thought I needed to own, I could now care less. She has put a whole new spin on the meaning of "blessed". Before Avery, I knew that I was blessed by God in many aspects of my life. I was thankful for the house He provided, the jobs He gave us, the company of one another, etc. But now, I see all of those blessings with new eyes. This is especially true on nights like tonight when the wind is howling and the temps are in the single digits. My baby girl is tucked quietly away in her daddy's loving arms, being fed her bottle before being placed in her crib for the night. She has on warm pj's and a blanket in which to snuggle. The furnace is heating the house and the shades keep her room dark. She's had a bath and has been placed in a clean, dry diaper. She's been showered with kisses and wishes of a good night's sleep. She's been prayed for and loved on. Our house groans and creeks under the strength of the wind, but it continues to stand, protect, and shelter us.

Before Avery, I was "grateful" for the "blessings" that we had. I used these words so freely and without much thought. Now, I am still grateful, but in a way that's difficult to describe. I'm sure that many of you can relate and hopefully that will make up for the words I can not find. I think of parents who can not give their child a quiet, warm, and safe place to sleep and it breaks my heart. There are babies who don't know what it is like to be loved. At times I take for granted that we have a roof over our head, but because of Avery, I will never think of it the same way again. It humbles me and that's a good thing. I need to be humbled. We are blessed and I give thanks to God. God is so good.

"Humble yourselves before the Lord..." -James 4:10

Be Mine, Valentine!

Cheeser

What a cheeser for the camera?! You'd never know that this child is actually pretty sick right now as much as she was hamming it up for the camera last night at dinner. Everytime I said "Cheese!" she'd put on her best smile. If you look close enough, you can see her bottom tooth plus a little of the whites of her top middle ones that are about ready to push through.

Mommy's helper

Starting her out early...maybe in another year I can pass this duty onto her. Ah, don't I wish? Actually, I don't mind doing laundry. Maybe I'll teach her how to dust. That's one thing I wouldn't mind to give up!

Night out

This past Friday night Aaron and I went to dinner for sushi with some friends. Sushi is a relatively new favorite for Aaron and I pick at a few of the things. We got a sitter for Avery and went and had adult conversations with other adults. Good times.

Sold out!

Avery's attended the last two ISU home games which have been SOLD OUT! And they won both times too! She does pretty well throughout until about the last 10 minutes or so and then she's ready to get out of there. It's absolute sensory overload for her but she gets into it when she can. She looks around when everyone's clapping and decides that she'll join in too. Pretty cute stuff.