Busy Saturday

Our Saturday was so busy, I thought that it should have a post of its own. The day seemed so long, and I got so much accomplished as well as had fun with friends.

I started out the morning cleaning the deck, washing the windows and screens. It was so beautiful outside, that I didn't mind at all. Avery took the longest nap ever....which probably helped the productivity factor quite a bit. Once she was up and had some lunch, we were off to our first stop...Crystal's graduation party. Crystal is the daughter of our good friend Diane. She just graduated from the University of Akron. It was great to see Diane and Crystal, and we also got to catch up with our friend Nathan and his beautiful new wife. He came all the way from to Jamaica to celebrate Crystal's graduation. I know, I know....where are the pictures? We both spent the entire time chasing after Avery making sure that she wasn't eating mulch, rocks and finding any other sort of trouble. I make up for the lack of pictures later...read on.

After a few hours catching up, Avery started rubbing her eyes and getting fussy-sign it is time to make our exit. She was unhappy the entire way home, so we thought that there was no way we were going to be able to spend much time at Sophia's 1st birthday. We put her in the stroller and went up there to quickly drop off her present. However, Avery caught a second wind. Here are pictures....

The shirt says it all.

Avery checking out Sophia's new Elmo chair. I think Sophia was making sure Avery knew who the chair belonged too.

Miles taking his turn pushing the baby stroller around. All the kids loved this toy, especially Avery.
Avery did so well with the clown, Gumball. I was afraid that she was going to freak out, but she didn't even for one second. She did love Gumball's hair!!

They were playing "this little piggy". One of Avery's favorite games.

Gumball hooked me up with a little ink.

Avery spent quite some time on this Little Tikes gym. I was amazed at how quickly she could climb up it.

She was content on this toy for quite some time.

Avery being a spectator of the corn hole game.

Miles doing more than spectating... His leg is through the hole.

Avery is always fascinated with baby Mason. Isn't he so handsome?

Makenna and Avery hanging out. Makenna is the sweetest little girl.

This is after eating a little cake. I had to go home and change my pants, because I think more of it was on me. There was red frosting everywhere!!!

Lastly, a picture of Sophia with her birthday cupcake.

We are lucky to have such good friends and neighbors. We had such a great time.

Blog absence = Not much going on

Sorry that it's been awhile since my last post, however there just hasn't been that much going on around here. I'm sure that it won't last too long, so I'm trying to enjoy it!

The weather has been hot, might I say "Summer-like" here in Ohio. I'm embarrassed to say that we already have our air conditioning on. Growing up in Arizona, I remember seeing how long we could go before we had to turn the a/c on. I can assure you that it wasn't when it was 80 degrees outside. Either I've have become a terrible wimp when it comes to heat, or 80 degrees feels different in Ohio than it does in Arizona. I will go with the second option. Side note....when I lived in my apartment in Phoenix I set my air conditioning for 82 when I was home and 85 while I was at work. Hey....I was a starving college student!!

Here are a few pictures that I took at our most recent play group get together. Avery would ride on this toy, and Miles would push her around. It was so cute to watch!!

And here is Miles taking a ride on Avery's beloved pig.

Last Summer I bought this pool on clearance. It is so much cuter than the picture on the box makes it out to be. So cute, that I can't bring myself to put it outside to go swimming in. So it is currently in our front room. Avery and I have had a good time reading and playing in it. I have thought about buying balls to fill it up with and make it like a ball pit. Greg thinks I'm crazy...what do you think? Is Avery too young to enjoy the fun of a ball pit? I did go to Target today, and bought a smaller pool for Avery to play in on the deck. I think the dogs think it is just one huge water bowl for them :)

The pool even has four detachable butterflies. One on each palm tree trunk.

We started our holiday weekend a little early with dinner out at our favorite Mexican food restaurant with our neighbors Alicia, Chuck and Miles on Thursday.

Here is a picture of Avery with beans all over her face.


This would be a better picture if we were both smiling.

Alicia and Miles

I'm so excited for the 3 day holiday weekend!!! It should be full of birthday and graduation parties, and just getting things done around the house. Hopefully I have lots of great pictures to share with you all. Have a great weekend!!

Yeah for Garage Sale Finds!!

We such a busy weekend. This was Greg's golf weekend when he and his brother and friends play a lot of golf over two days. It is something that they look forward to for weeks. It was also the weekend of our neighborhood garage sale. We had a few things to try to get rid of, and our neighbors brought some of their treasures down as well (so that we had enough for a descent garage sale).

I think the best part of the weekend started Thursday night with the neighborhood "preview" night. Which means you get a head start on the garage sale fun. So I left Greg home to man our sale and Avery and I went shopping!! Here is Avery with her favorite garage sale find...



I thought about saving this for her birthday, but she loves him so much I couldn't keep him hidden away.

She loves to be pushed around the living room.

In addition to Piglet, I also bought two baby gates and a bike trailer. If I didn't find gates at the garage sale, I was going to have to go buy them at the store. Avery has quickly become an expert at climbing the stairs! And the bike trailer is something we have always talked about, and for $30 I couldn't pass it up. There is a similar one on the front of Target ad this week for $149!! I love knowing that I got a good deal!!

Besides garage sale fun, Avery and I went to a birthday party, out for a few walks and even tried out the park. Here are some pictures from the birthday party.

The party was at Pump It Up. A little old for Avery, but she and I did a little jumping together. She also enjoyed watching the big kids....and of course the cake part too.

Avery trying out the obstacle course.

Avery waving to the camera.

It was nice to get some family time in on Sunday after the boys headed back to Michigan. We grilled some brats and then ended with a bike ride (in the new bike trailer)!! It was my first time back on my bike since I was pregnant. It was a great feeling...but my butt doesn't this so today :)

Avery helping Dad!

Out on the Metroparks trail.

Looks like she had a good time!

Show Us Your Life: Favorite Books

These days I'm either reading my text books for class, or reading to Avery. So I am going to share with you my favorite books to read to Miss Avery.

Honestly, we read this book almost every single day. And if she is upset in the car-I just recite from memory to calm her down.

This book has special meaning in our house. For some reason everyone has the nickname...Stink or Smell or Stinky Pants. But even if you don't have such crazy nicknames, this is a good book to read! I don't own this book now, but growing up this was one of my most favorite books to read. Grover is such a lovable blue monster.

I love to read but I'm not very good at picking good books, so I am lazy and read Nicholas Sparks books. They are a quick read and although they are all rather similar, I get caught up in the stories. However, probably one of my most favorite books that I have read as an adult is the Memoirs of a Geisha. I loved the story. The book is SO much better than the movie!!

11 Month Update

11 Months Old!!

Oh my, I can not believe you are 11 months old! I think back to last May. We were so busy getting ready for your arrival.....in July. It was so much fun to decorate your nursery, and shop for all your baby needs. We couldn't wait to meet you. Little did we know that it would be much sooner than we thought!

What are you doing at 11 months?

• You wear Pampers Cruisers - size 3.



• You wear size 12-18 month clothes. When I go shopping for you, I usually buy size 18 months.



• Shoe size-still a 3.



• Eating: You love your blueberry waffles for breakfast. I usually give you half a banana or some applesauce as well. Lunch lately has been a turkey sandwich, grilled cheese or a grilled turkey and cheese sandwich :) With some strawberries, pineapple or grapes on the side. Dinner is a sample of whatever we are eating and some sort of baby meal. You love pizza like your mommy. People are amazed at the amount of it you can put away....including me!



• Your nap schedule is random. You really need two, but some days you just get one long one.



• You sleep through the night unless you are working on another tooth. We have spent a couple of nights in the guest room together. When you wake up and cry, I rub your back until you go back to sleep.



• Teeth update: you have 4 on top and 3 on the bottom. I have to think the other bottom one is coming based on your mood and the amount that you're drooling. :)



• You love to play chase mommy and daddy. You hit turbo speed when you see the cat. It is so funny, you look like a little bull dog. You have stood all by yourself a few times. You aren't sure what to think about that. Oh, and you've learned to maneuver the stairs. I caught you half way up them. Time for the gates!



• And most importantly, this month you started to wave. You like to wave at everything, but not on command!!

As you may have noticed, our picture location was changed this month. And this is the reason why...

Avery did not want to take her picture in her crib. I think she thought I was going to make her take a nap. I guess being a mom means being flexible.

The first picture is her "official" 11 month picture. However, this is her unofficial. Is was too cute not to share!

I love this baby!!

My 1st Mother's Day!

Our weekend started with great company! Greg's mom and husband came to visit. Ok-probably more like they came to visit Avery :) She loves it when people come to see her. It's like we are old news and she has a new audience. We like it when Steph and Steve visit too...we always eat so good when they are here. This time we were wow'd by a belated Cinco de Mayo celebration-tacos and guacamole. Unfortunately the weather was much to be desired, so instead of long walks outside and dinners on the deck -- we wandered Sam's Club and watched Avery's mad pizza eating skills at our favorite Winking Lizard restaurant.




Sunday morning started by saying good-bye to our guests. Avery honestly looked so bummed that her audience was leaving, and she was stuck with just the two of us again. Greg is the master of surprises-so I did not know what was planned. Around 11:30ish we found ourselves at the Olive Garden. I love their salad and breadsticks. Avery chowed down on breadsticks, some spaghetti and fettuccine. Because of Greg's great planning we did not wait even for a minute. Next we got back in the car for a short trip to the jewelry store. I got to pick out the necklace that I have been eyeing since Avery was born. It is a simple Alexanderite solitaire necklace. Very simple, but means so much to me. I was so excited! We headed home so that Avery could nap and I needed to complete my final exam for my class online. But to end my first Mother's Day we went to Coldstone for some ice cream! I don't think I've been there since I was pregnant. I love their banana ice cream with strawberries and chocolate syrup in a waffle bowl. Yummmm! And they were giving ice cream away to all mom's. Score!! The perfect ending to my perfect day.

Here are a few pictures from our lunch:

I have to get this face on video. She is hilarious.

I didn't have any expectations about what Mother's Day should be, but it was wonderful. I got cards, flowers, and phone calls from so many people that I never expected. I don't expect to be spoiled so much every year, but you will only have one "first" Mother's Day ever.

Baby Names

Today on Kelly's Korner she is talking baby names. I am a loyal reader of her blog, so I thought that this would be a fun post to do.

Growing up there were two names that I just "knew" were going to be the names of my children...for a little girl-Olivia.....and for a little boy-Logan. To this day I still love those names, but when the time came for Greg and I to seriously consider baby names, these were vetoed pretty quickly.

Before we knew what we were having, Greg and I had pretty much come to agreement on the name Chase Gregory for a boy. Greg liked Chase because it sounded liked he could be a baseball player, the quarterback of the football team, or a successful businessman. And Gregory because all the boys on his dad's side of the family take their dad's name. No complaints here. I was only concerned that if we named him Chase.....that I would be chasing Chase everywhere :) Honestly, it was not a name that I ever considered or thought that I would name my son, but for some reason it fit.

When it came to a girls name, we did not agree. I figured not to fight it until we were sure what we were having. So at our 20 week ultrasound when we found out that we were indeed having a little girl...one of my first thoughts was..."will we ever agree on a girl name?" Some names that we considered were Stella, Addison, and Maryn (or Marin). I really wanted Addison, he really liked Stella, and we couldn't agree on the spelling of Maryn so it was out. But ultimately Greg wanted to wait and meet our baby before he named her. He thought that would help him decided. Until one day the name Avery came up. I'm not sure where I heard it, but the more I thought about it, I loved it! We both knew that was the name. So what I thought was going to be a long battle-really was not, and we found the perfect name. Greg left the middle name up to me. I considered naming her Avery Madison, but instead decided on Avery Jadus. Jadus is my maiden name, and my own father died when I was very young-so it is in tribute to him. Although I really like how Avery Madison sounds, I think that Avery Jadus has a greater meaning. I grew up never liking my middle name, so I hope that she likes hers. (this seriously worries me)

Miss Avery J

Although finding the perfect name is somewhat stressful (only because your DH can veto something that you think is the best name ever) I look forward to doing it again one day.