Avery's 12 month pictures and Family pictures

Something to think about...

I have been getting more and more frustrated with the amount of snide and sneaky comments that I see towards other people on facebook. I realize that this is a public forum and you are entitled to say whatever you want to say. I personally have been guilty of posting comments without naming names of people, but knowing fully that they would realize that my comment was meant toward them. I have also been on the receiving side of these comments. I must say, I don't enjoy it.

I have had to learn to bite my "figurative" tongue on facebook when I have things I'd like to say for myself or in response to others' comments. I guess my question is this: What is the motivation for doing this? If the intent is to hurt someone's feelings or wound someone's pride or reputation...I think that is succeeding.

I am saddened by the amount of Christians on this site who, instead of dealing with their problems face to face as the Bible commands us to do, are petitioning their friends in the facebook community to rally to their side and back-up their feelings. Do we really need that much of a confidence boost that we can't talk to the person/people we are irritated with and must enlist our closest 500 facebook friends to get our backs and assure us that our point of view is the right one?

Or why do people make vague comments that imply something terrible is going on, but then decline to discuss it? What are we seeking? Attention? Confrontation? Aggravation?

I think a lot more of our problems would be solved if we dealt with people, not with facebook. Facebook in some ways, has been the bain of my existence...getting me in trouble for things I have said, haven't said, haven't done, started rumors...you name it! If this wasn't pretty much the sole way that I keep up with so many friends from high school and college, I think I'd be off of here!

If you have something to say...say it! But I suggest saying it in the right way...in a spirit of gentleness, kindness, and love...and if you aren't capable of doing that...maybe some things are just better left unsaid...at least to the facebook world.

I am not targeting anyone in specific with this post, because then I would be ignoring my own advice. This is also NOT in response to anything that has personally been said or done to me...I am just noting a growing trend amoung many of my facebook friends. It is just a suggestion to anyone who cares to read the ramblings and thoughts of a 28 year old, sleep deprived woman...just thought it was something to think about.

Avery's 1st birthday, Chicago trip and Fall!

For anyone who follows my blog on a regular basis, you'll have to excuse my tardiness! I have so many pictures of all the fun things that have been happening around here since my last post!

First of all, my little munchkin, Avery Elizabeth, turned one on October 5th! She is such a big girl!
As you can see, she loved eating her birthday cupcake and ice cream. At first, she didn't quite know what to do with it and then she went to town! It was hilarious!
Avery got lots of fun new toys and clothes for her birthday! We had lots of family at her party...about 40 people! We had such a great time and Avery really loved showing off for everyone.
I am so proud of myself.... I made the cupcakes for her party...24 each of yellow and devil's food. I also made the icing and decorated them myself. It was something I really wanted to try and I am so happy that I did. The devil's food ones were amazing!
I carved a pumpkin for my "punkin" as a centerpiece at her party. We kept the seeds to snack on!
Unfortunately, this picture is out of order, but we went to the Shedd's Aquarium in Chicago. Avery was really tired and slept through a lot of it, but she did get to see the most exciting parts...the whales and the dolphins! (this picture is a beluga whale)
What a great picture of Nathan! His parents came up to visit for Avery's birthday. His mom, Pam, had her birthday the day before Avery on the 4th. So, on the 4th, we took a train from Dune Park in northern Indiana into downtown Chicago. It was cheap, fun and convenient!
We had fun riding on the train! We unfortunately made a mistake on the return trip and got on a train that terminated in Gary (not the best place in the world to be stuck) so we got off at a nicer station in Illinois, had to buy new tickets and caught another train. Still fun!
We got all bundled up for a beautiful day in Chicago. It was a chilly 60 degrees, but very pleasant in the sun. Little Avery hung in there and did very well! I think one of the hardest things about traveling with kids like this is it totally throws off their naps. We managed to work around it somehow. :)
We had a wonderful lunch at Bubba Gump's on Navy Pier. We did quite a bit of walking after getting off the train. I believe it was about a mile or so from the train station to Navy Pier, but it was some beautiful scenery! The staff at the restaurant sang a cute birthday song to Pam and we had some delicious dessert!
A gorgeous day in Chi-town!
My beautiful birthday girl in her party dress! She is walking, running and talking like you wouldn't believe! She now says "Hi dada/Bye bye dada" and "Hi baby/Bye bye baby." She also says "birthday", "church", "bible", "ouch", "puppy", "doggie", "up", "down" and many other things! She can point to just about anything she wants!
She loves to swing! She has learned to say "whee!"
Still my Colts girl! It was so hard to find a Colts outfit for little girls this year! Fortunately we did, although those Colts need to step it up! We want another Super Bowl!
Avery has been getting sneaky. The other day it got totally quiet and it scared me to death. I went in the front room and we had a booster seat that we bought when a store in town was closing. It was sitting on the floor and she was quietly sitting and playing in the seat. It was hilarious! She will drag her baby doll in to the seat, put it in the seat, take it out, climb into the seat and then bring the baby up with her. So funny!
We have been remodeling our downstairs bathroom. It wasn't really something we had planned to do, but our upstairs shower and sink was leaking into the ceiling of the downstairs bathroom. We had to have a contractor come out, fix the leak, and put in a new ceiling. In the process, it kind of "threw off" the paint color in the bathroom so he said he would paint it for us and Nathan gave me permission to redecorate! I am loving it! The picture doesn't totally do it justice, but I am so proud!
Finally, Saturday we did a 1/2 day rummage sale. It was 40 degrees when we started and it was hard to keep little missy warm. So we got her all snuggled up and she played all morning! Hats, mittens, boots, coat...the works! She tolerated all the extra clothes well, so that is a good sign for this winter! We are going to go camping soon too (in a tent), so I think she'll do fine!

Well, I think I'm all caught up for now and Avery is waking up from her nap. Time for lunch! Have a blessed week!

Labor Day in Mississippi

We just returned from our trip to Mississippi. I hate that all my pictures are out of order, but as you can see, we had a jam-packed trip! We did so many fun and awesome things, only made better by spending it with family.
This picture is taken from the top of The Peabody Hotel, a huge tourist attraction and one of the oldest hotels in Memphis. Nice view and a hot, humid breeze!
We got to meet up with my friends Brent and Katie Moody and their children at the Peabody and then had lunch at Huey's in downtown Memphis. I had the best burger that I have had in a long time! It was so great to see "old" friends...we went to college and camp together back in the day...and it's cool to watch our families grow.
This is in front of the famous Peabody fountain after the duck march (see the next picture).
Every day, twice a day, the famous Peabody ducks ride down the elevator from the skydeck to the lobby and march in a line to the fountain. It was quite the affair! Avery loved it!
The first day we were down in Mississippi, we drove down to Starkville and went to the season opener for Mississippi State football. They BLASTED the Memphis Tigers 49-7. It was such a fun experience. We sat on the club level so we got pampered a little bit and had some really good food...unusual to me for a football game!
On Sunday, we went to church where Nathan used to attend in college when he lived in Starkville and got to meet up with our friends Bradley and Amanda Carlock and their children. Bradley was in our wedding and Nathan got some of his first experience with kids while babysitting Andrew several years ago. Awesome to see them!
We had a family photo session now that we have a new addition. We went to a BEAUTIFUL house in the middle of nowhere that sits on 500 acres. They have two lakes, a gorgeous log house and a barn full of fun animals.
This is our little family. Nathan, Avery and I, Nathan's parents (Pam and Calvin), and his sister and brother-in-law (Mary Helen and Stefan) and our niece (Katlyn). We have so many great pictures, it's hard to choose!
Avery got to meet Macchiato the horse in the barn. She loved how he snorted and nibbled on her and she got to feed him a snack.
She also got to meet this little fella, a two week old donkey. His fuzzy fur made her laugh.
Avery turned 11 months while we were there...we are going to be celebrating her 1 year birthday in just a few weeks. I can't believe how the time has flown.

So as you can see, we had a fun and busy trip...and we enjoyed every second! It's so hard to get back into "real" life, but we hadn't even been back an hour before Nathan had to go into work. Such is life!

New Haircut

I was told that if I tell everyone I got my haircut that I am to furnish a photo for everyone to see. It's not really styled or anything, but quite a bit shorter than what it was!

It's only been 1 day, but so far, I'm lovin' it!

4 Year Anniversary

I am delayed a week in this post, but better late than never, right? Nathan and I celebrated our 4th anniversary on August 19th. It has been a great 4 years, full of highs and lows. Nathan says it feels like 40 years. I'm sure he means that in the best possible way. Someone once told us when we got married that we were so much alike that it would either be the best thing for us or the worst thing. I think despite some of the rocky moments we've encountered, it has been the best thing for us and the best part is, we both seek the Lord first in our marriage.

We've done a lot of things in the last 4 years. Here are the highlights:
-Moved (twice)
-Bought a house (first time for me)
-Bought a new car together
-Traveled internationally to Jamaica and the Bahamas (once on a cruise ship, again a first for me)
-Went to all 4 Disney parks in one day (not one of our smartest moments)
-Got new jobs (each of us has changed once since getting married)
And the best thing we've ever done in the last 4 years has to be...
-Having the most wonderful, precious little girl, Avery, who is about to be 1 year old already!

I have enjoyed immensely the last 4 years and I hope the Lord blesses us with many more and that He continues on with us through this awesome journey. Enjoy these pictures as a trip down memory lane with me.
Family of three
Celebrating my 10 year high school reunion
Nathan's first time to Topsail Island
Our first winter together and also the first snow
Our cruise to the Bahamas
The SEC basketball tournament in Atlanta (where we also survived a tornado!)


Thanks so much for the last 4 years Nate! I love you!

Avery's Day at the Zoo

My cousins Rebecca, her mom Karen, and her son Ethan, my mom, Avery and I went to the Ft. Wayne Children's Zoo last week. We had an awesome day! Despite it being 99 degrees, we managed to survive and spent a whole day seeing all the animals. The kids were awesome and we all enjoyed it.
Avery got to see what it would be like being a little "joey." I think she would LOVE having her own kangaroo pouch to play in!
The seals were probably her favorite animals. They were swimming around in their tank and she loved to watch them pass by.
We got some dry corn and fed the ducks and geese. Avery thought this was hilarious!
We rode a manatee on the carousel. Avery thought it was so fun and cried when we got off. I'll have to remember to bring a few extra dollars next time so we can ride again. :)
The giraffes were really neat! There was a brand new baby giraffe that was only a few weeks old!
There was a big female lion (you can see her in the back right hand corner) but we didn't get to see the male.
This was a carpuchian monkey. It and its buddies enjoyed putting on a show for us (this is the kind of monkey from "Night at the Museum").

It was such a great day and I'm so glad we got to do this! We are planning a trip to the Memphis Zoo in September and they have lots of different animals that Avery and I didn't get to see in Ft. Wayne. We are checking out library books on the zoo and learning about all kinds of animals. Can't wait for the next trip!

Avery is 10 months old!

Avery's favorite things: Playing with her train, music, Baby Einstein sign language video, swinging, cell phones, snacks, strawberries, sharing yogurt with mommy, talking on the phone, playing with other babies.

New milestones: Takes 3-4 steps without holding on, plays standing up without holding on, helps to "dress" herself (pulls her head/legs/arms out of her clothes), sticks out her tongue when you ask "where is your tongue?".

Dislikes: "Real" peaches, bananas, and melon unless mommy eats it first, loud dog barking, the car wash, bathroom hand dryers, laying down to having her diaper changed.

She is starting to look and act so big! The baby stage is almost over and we are moving on quickly to toddler stage. She is going to be walking and talking full force in a few more weeks. It's almost time to plan her first birthday party. This has been the most awesome year and while I'm so sad to see it pass, I am also so happy to see what kind of things this little sweet girl does in the future. I love you Avery!