Avery's Christmas List

All I want for Christmas is...(interpretation provided by Mom and Dad).

1. My first tooth.

2. To Sit up without falling over. I do not enjoy toppling over.

3. That Lady Gaga thing to go away. I'm not sure what it is but it scares me, plus I'm the one whose vocab contains "ga ga."

4. To spend an evening watching action movies with Daddy. (Check)

5. Candy canes. Mom took away the first one I got a hold of. Actually, I'd like any food that's not been blended.

6. For Mom and Dad to get my exersaucer out of the box...they've been talking about it for weeks now!

7. I would like to grab Stormie's tail. She's my cat and she's fluffy.

8. L.A.M.B hoodie by Gwen Stefani. Mom says she's really stylish. Not sure if my size is available.

9. Snow

10. To spend Christmas with all my Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and friends.

Ain't no party like a half-year party... Avery is 6 months old!

Last Thursday Avery celebrated her half-year birthday! This is such a fun time for all of us. For those of you that don't get to see Avery very often, she is a very content, relaxed little girl. She is giggling, babbling up a storm and she LOVES fashion. It's really quite comical actually. She loves shoes, hats and bows. When I put them on her, it's as though she just KNOWS she's the little style-ista. In other news, she loves to put her feet in her mouth...

Here is Avery and her "smise" (this is in reference to a term coined by Tyra Banks - for those that know, "smise" is smiling with your eyes)...

Avery has started fake "coughing." Some of the girls in her little daycare have starting communicated with one another by fake coughing to get each others attention. Donna fake "coughs" back and they crack up. Avery also has learned how to hold her bottle by her self...

Last Friday Avery went to her 6 month well visit with Dr. Ryan. She is developmentally right where she needs to be. Dr. Ryan feels sure she will be sitting up on her own very soon, which is hard to believe! Avery is in the 10th percentile for babies her age, so she is very much on the petite side. I already feel like she is getting very heavy, so I can't imagine being one of those moms that is carrying around a 20-lb 6-month old - ha!

Friday night we celebrated her half-birthday with cupcakes from our favorite local bakery. Avery was in a fabulous mood for her celebration... I informed her that one day in the future she would be sure to enjoy cupcakes as much as I do!

Speaking of sweets, I thought it would be cute to get a picture of Avery with a candy cane. I gave it to her, turned to get the camera and within .2 seconds she had peeled back the wrapper and stuck the end of it in her mouth. Pretty sure I would be put in the "bad mom" category in some guide-to-motherhood book. But Avery's face tasting the sweet peppermint was PRICELESS!

xoxo~

Kate

Get in the spirit!

Aaahhh, it's that time of year. This past Friday night we went to the Christmas Tree Farm to pick out our Christmas Tree. Avery loved looking at all the lights as it slowly got dark around us while we were there. After my annual Christmas Tree negotiating ritual (I'm not satistfied until I get the tree I want at the price I want), a very nice young man loaded it up and were on our way home with a nice tall, slightly thinner version of last year's tree.

Each and every year I look forward to decorating for the holidays. I love to play Christmas music, drink spiced cider and make comfort food while we take out time getting everything out of the attic, unpackaged and put up around the house. There is just something so comforting to me about unwrapping each of our ornaments and finding the perfect spot for them on the tree! There is also nothing better than the fragrance of pine when you bring the fresh tree in the house.

The cats always get the crazies when we bring in the tree... they resort back to their wilder days living on the streetz. Jack Bauer cat has punching matches with the lower branches. When he bats at them they bounce back and he jumps up with all four feet off the ground. Stormie is more enthralled with the tree skirt. It's insta-fun for a kitty that loves to run and slide all over the place. When she gets scared watching "Jack Vs. The Tree" she does this running in place thing where all feet are moving, but she's not going anywhere. They certainly offer another source of entertainment for Jeff and I... Avery also cracks up watching the cats and their antics.

Ever since Avery joined us, we have started to do everything at a quicker pace. We rush through the grocery store or running an errand... I get ready faster, I eat faster. But, the one thing I found that I absolutely cannot speed up is the Christmas decorating. I like to savor each and every moment of it. Jeff and I really took our time getting up the lights, the wreath, the tree... all of our little holiday odds and ends. OK, it actually took the whole darn weekend (If you've seen our place, IT'S NOT THAT BIG!). I like to think we were savoring it all, but it was probably because we just have a lot more time that ends up being spent with Avery playing and laughing between each task.

Another landmark event this weekend was that Avery tried her very first rice cereal at our Saturday brunch. She loved it, and kept diving in for every bite. She also opened her very first ornament from Jeff and I - a glittery gold owl ornament that I bought because it reminded me of her owl-themed nursery (she also has big ol' eyes like an owl).

I feel quite certain next year's Christmas will be 100x more crazy with a toddler getting into everything, so we are enjoying this year's holiday season with that in mind. This is always the time of year when I reflect on family and on God's love, and how blessed we are to have one another. It truly is "the most wonderful time of the year!" but I wish I took the time to reflect like this more often!

Hope you all have taken the time to embrace the holiday season... it's certainly upon us!

Lots of love.

xoxo~

Kate

First Thanksgiving, First sickness, First word?

The White Family had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration. We started the fun last Tuesday evening when MIL and FIL came to Charlotte, (otherwise known as Jeff's parents Doug and Bev... or to Avery as "Grandpa" and "Grandma" - until she makes up names for them herself). They were able to stay through the Thanksgiving weekend, which was a nice long visit!

Grandma White hangs out with Avery on Thanksgiving

Avery got to sit at the table with us for the big meal

Grandpa does "This little piggy" with Avery

Avery attacking Jack, the cat - "petting" is more like "grabbing" at this point

(Jack was surprisingly calm and collected)

Our gal Avery woke up on Thanksgiving NOT giving thanks for her very first cold. She was a sniffly and a bit congested, but still in a pretty great mood overall. She was wonderful on Friday and Saturday too, making it through a big visit on Saturday with Aunt Jeanne, Uncle Ellison and her cousins Brooks, Ford and Mary Ellison followed by big fun with Chad and Adrienne.

This great mood lasted until Sunday morning when she woke up crying and was NOT a happy camper all day. She looked up at me on Sunday evening and said "mamama" in this sad little voice. It very apparent she needed extra cuddles from her mama. After a complete day of her not being herself at all, we made a decision to take her to the Pediatrician Monday morning. Avery's cold had developed into a double ear infection! No wonder she was being so moody!

Here is Avery feeling slightly better after receiving her ear drops...

And being the tough girl she is, she continues to push through. We think she is definitely working on cutting teeth, so it's been a bit of a rough week, but we are making it through just fine.

"Nothing new here... I love the chew on everything"

"Look at me - I may be sick, but I can grab my feet!" - Avery, almost 6 months