Merry Christmas, Mommy

My Little Hand...

Come with me mommy,
I just want to show you one thing.
From balls to books to dolls,
to the doorbell I can't yet ring.

Will you lift me up,
to show me the photos of our family?
I love to give them all kisses,
from aunties to cousins and even Stanley.



Now let's go see my bedroom,
with the animals and flowers and all.
I will show you each bird and butterfly,
and even the little mouse I spy on the wall.

To the bathroom I think would be fun,
to see what is in each and every drawer.
I like to go through each one,
as I did the day before.



To the bedroom of Mommy and Daddy,
to pick out a necklace I think.
Would you please help me choose one,
to go with my pajamas of pink?

I think we are now ready,
to see what outside has in store.
May we please go for a walk,
so I can learn even more?



Out the front door,
and down our only step.
Will we play in the swing when we return?
You know the answer is... umm, yep.

I can open the gate all by myself,
just you watch and see.
I am growing very quickly,
I am becoming a bigger me.



With a few stops to make,
down the sidewalk we will go.
There will be a few dandelions,
that I must pick and blow.

We will walk and walk and walk,
forwards and even backwards is neat.
My little legs get so tired,
sometimes I need to take a seat.



I will look up in the sky,
to find my friend the moon.
Some evenings it is there,
other times it is just too soon.

On some special days there is a treat,
of which I am a big fan.
Along comes a great big ol' trash truck,
with a green arm that grabs our trashcan.



Maybe I will see a motorcycle,
and wait to hear you say vroom, vroom.
Or maybe it is a car playing loud music,
the kind that goes boom, boom.

It is always fun to spy a kopka,
I really like them- mmmuh, mmmuh.
Or perhaps we will see some crows.
Mommy, they are singing to us- cah, cah.



I could go on and on,
about all the neat stuff we see.
But, what I really want to tell you,
is I'm happiest when you are with me.

So, it may seem insignificant,
that finger of yours I once needed to even stand.
But, since I very first met Daddy and you, I've shown you my love...
By holding onto it tightly with my little hand.



Merry Christmas, Mommy. I sure do love you.

Love, Avery

Oh, the weather outside was frightful!

As my Southern California peeps know, earlier this week we had some serious rain. It was fun and cozy but too much all at once for a lot of people/areas. Not for us.

For us, it meant cozy days playing by the crackling fire and lighted Christmas tree with my visiting BFF, aunties and cousins.



Piling in Auntie Kelly's minivan and looking at the Christmas lights.


Taking short walks in the {light} rain.



But in true Southern California fashion, by week's end the forecast is clear and sunny skies.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

We've been keeping very busy getting into the spirit of the season. A couple of the season's highlights have been...

...visiting Santa. Avery was very brave this year. She sat on Santa's lap for about 20 seconds before crying. I lifted her off his lap, moved her to the doorway and knelt down to explain in 16 month old terms that Santa is a nice man who gives kids gifts. Avery's response? She promptly pushed my back and grabbed my hand to lead me out the door. She was over it.



...going to the Sawdust Winter Fantasy


Caught in the act at the Zoomar's petting zoo area... mmmmuh!



... admiring all the lights and decorations has definitely been at the top of the list this year.


Merry Christmas from Stanley, too.

We have our own little Christmas elf that...

... helped us deck the halls. She helped us pick out our Christmas tree...



...and decorate it with lights...


...and ornaments....


She even helped Daddy put up the Christmas lights on our house.


Fa-la-la-la-la

Mmmmmmuh!

Our baby girl LOVES to kiss. She kisses mommy, daddy, Stanley (dog), Willy (cat), Miguel (cat), cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, dolls, stuffed animals, animals painted on her wall, her reflection on the mirror or window. Don't feel left out if you live far away, she also kisses pictures of people and animals. During lunch today, she kissed the Mickey Mouse on her fork. A few times I was in the other room and heard, "Mmmuh...mmmuh...mmmuh." When I walked in to see what she was kissing I saw her ....

... kissing Honey Bear



... kissing a photo magnet of one of our cats



... kissing a ghost pot holder



Sending kisses... mmmuh!

A List of Things To Do on a Cold, Rainy Day

1. Watch the rain and hail under the patio cover in our cozy jammies



2. Get really cozy and fall fast asleep on a walk



3. Bundle up and play with my toys



Check. Check. Check.

We'll let the pictures do the talking....

Thank you, Kari!

October Fun.

We had a fun and busy month of October in the our home. First and foremost, Avery is a walker now. October 2nd to be exact. So that, in and of itself makes for a busier month. We love watching her proud smile as she walks from place to place. She is such a great sport about being knocked over by Stanley.

We visited the pumpkin patch a few times. Avery loved walking the rows of pumpkins, touching each one. She loved seeing the ducks, goats and pigs. She could have ridden on the 25 cent rides forever!






We went to a few Halloween parties where we got to dress up our little fairy.







Avery got her first haircut, which is a whole different post.



And thanks to Sean, it was a very happy Stach-tober!

Someone had her first bubble bath last night.

Do you think she liked it?

Labs.

If you can get past the lack of spatial awareness, the tail that whips around and either knocks over your coffee mug or swipes your toddler in the face, and chewing up of bath toys...

Then, they really are the most patient, loving and gentle doggies for kids.



This photo would probably make a better video. What really happened was Avery climbed on Stanley's back and bounced on him while patting his face.

We really do love you, Stanley.

Fall...

... is my favorite season and Halloween is my favorite holiday. As you could imagine, I am in heaven right about now! Our house was decorated with colored leaves and apples on the first day of fall; Halloween decorations and pumpkins went up October 1st. We have already been through two batches of pumpkin pancakes with real maple syrup, a loaf of pumpkin bread and a couple pumpkin spice lattes. I've imposed my love for Fall and Halloween on poor Avery. Hopefully, she won't mind too much.









We are off to the pumpkin patch next week. Happy Halloween!

Silence doesn't always mean mischief....

After playing in the family room for awhile, Avery crawled to her bedroom to play. She was making noise- babbling, opening and closing cabinets and drawers and playing with her musical toys, then the noise stopped. After a minute or so of no "noise," I went back to check on her. I peeked my head in her room and this is what I saw....