Workout, Anyone?

To me, Averi looks like she is ready to hit the gym with her sweat band in place! However, that is not what we were doing. I have been trying to find anything to help keep Averi's bangs out of her eyes. They have really gotten long. She is not willing to keep much in her hair, including bows, barrettes, and rubber bands, which brings us to the head band! I could not resist the picture. Although she did leave the head band on for a record 15 minutes, I think I'll have to find another alternative. I am not ready for her first hair cut just yet!

Time with Aunt Amy

We recently spent a week at Grandpa and Grandma Monk's house. Aunt Amy was down from Chicago! Averi was great and, of course, spoiled rotten! Some of the highlights were swimming in the neighborhood pool, playing in our Hello Kitty sprinkler, and making Averi's first trip to Shipley's doughnuts! We were so glad we got to see Aunt Amy (missed you Uncle Thurman but hope to see you soon).

Other things going on: I have been teaching Averi some simple sign language to help her communicate what she wants. So far, she is able to ask for more, tell me when she wants to eat, and when she wants her milk. It is soooooo nice to know more of what she is thinking!

Starting summer off with a bang!

We spent one afternoon swimming over at Aunt Joan & Uncle Curtis' place! Averi seemed to find the pool relaxing and spent most of the time floating in this turtle!


Poo-paw took Averi for her 1st boat ride! She liked her hair
blowing in the wind while we sped across the open waters!


We had to get Averi's picture with "Rufus". I think she thought he was a real boy. He is a statue that sits on the pier at Poo-paw's place.




Our intent was to feed the single duck that was swimming by the pier, but instead the seagulls swooped down and stole the bread! They were swarming us!

A New Do

Averi is now in the 1-year old class at daycare. I picked her up the other day to find her with a new hair do! Too adorable not to share!

1st Birthday Party

Our baby girl is one! We celebrated her first birthday at the house with family and close friends. Averi had such a great time and seemed to know it was her special day! Mommy made one mistake....getting a cake with red icing! Lesson learned. As you can tell, she enjoyed the cake.

One year photos

I took Averi to get her picture taken for her first birthday. It took two sessions, but we got some good snapshots! Here are a couple of them. Can you believe how fast she is growing?!

Outdoor Fun

Averi is officially walking now, so we have been spending more time outside. Our cousins were gracious enough to give us this outdoor set they had out grown. Averi climbs in and out and enjoys going down the slide.

We wanted to get a picture with Averi in some bluebonnets this year. We did not have a good opportunity to get it in the "wild", so we settled for one in the backyard with bluebonnets we planted!