12 Months Old

Today our sweet little baby turns one! They aren't kidding when people tell you how quickly the first year will go. We love looking back at how Avery has grown and changed in this past year. I can't say that I remember all the little moments throughout the year, but I have tried to consciously enjoy them at the time. She truly is such a joy to us, and we love seeing more of her fun and silly (and often quite strong-willed) personality.

In the past month, she has really mastered the art of walking. This skill was perfected at my parents' house for the two weeks we were there. Within a couple days of being home, she was done with crawling. She loves playing outside and wants to walk everywhere we go. This presents a few challenges in places like the grocery store, or when we're running late for an appointment. She has also moved on to running (usually when she hears her Daddy in another part of the apartment).

Avery is eating a lot more finger foods, including chopped-up versions of our meals. There is not much she has tried that she doesn't like. She loves drinking milk at her meals and sipping on water throughout the day. She knows the signs for "more" and "all done" and uses them quite effectively.

She can point to her own hair, tummy, and toes, and ears and nose on someone else. In addition to saying "mama," "dada," and "amen," she can also say "doggie." She says the "sh" sound for shoes, and is quick to point out shoes anytime she sees them. She also tries to say the "s" sound, but it comes out sounding more like "sh" again. We'll often see her play with her hair if she hears us mention that word in passing. When we were at home, my dad made some comment about milking a cow, and from across the room we hear Avery start "mooing." Last night when I prayed with her before bed, she tried to repeat the word "sins" when she heard me thank Jesus for dying on the cross. It still surprises us when she understands what is being said, even when it is not being said directly to her.

We love watching her entertain herself either by reading books (usually out loud) or carrying items around the house from room to room. I often hear her in her room making herself laugh.

We love you so much, Avery, and we thank God for every day that we get to spend with you. Happy first birthday!

Summer Food Obsessions

I have recently started buying and eating more avocados than I have ever eaten in the previous 27 years of my life combined. It started out as an easy baby food for Avery a few months ago, and then became our first homemade guacamole. After that, we chopped avocado onto a spinach salad with strawberries and balsamic vinaigrette. But then I was kind of stuck. So we ate a lot of guacamole.

Then I saw a recipe online for an avocado key lime pie. I usually have a bag of limes sitting on my counter because I love squeezing a slice into a glass of water or adding fresh lime juice to chicken. And key lime pie is one of Ryan's favorite desserts (and it has been an embarrassingly-long time since I have made him one). So last week, Ryan had to work the evening shift in the pediatric ER, and I got to work on the pie after putting Avery to bed.

The avocado pureed with yogurt makes for a thick, creamy base, and gives the pie a beautiful green color without adding food coloring. The addition of the chopped almonds to the graham cracker crust was amazing. In the end, you taste a creamy, tangy lime pie that is secretly a little richer and healthier thanks to the avocado. This is a must-try recipe!

Thanks to that recipe, I have tried a variation on the avocado-yogurt combination for a couple other dishes. First, by adding a little chopped cilantro, garlic, and lime juice, we made a cool and tangy topping for sweet potato and black bean enchiladas. And we improved our guacamole recipe by adding Greek yogurt to the avocado.

But back to the enchiladas...I can't remember where I heard about this idea, but we added baked sweet potato (mashed) to refried beans, black beans, and salsa to make a delicious filling. Ryan and I both loved it, and Avery even enjoyed a few bites.

Sweet potatoes are definitely our other newest obsession. They are pretty inexpensive up here in NJ. It has literally been months since I've bought or eaten a white potato. We have made sweet potato hash browns (saute the potatoes with onions then add a little crumbled bacon and a dash of maple syrup just before serving). And a couple nights ago, I added caramelized onions, crumbled goat cheese, lime zest, and garlic powder to mashed sweet potatoes and stuffed jumbo pasta shells with the mixture.

So here's to a summer of new twists on old classic recipes and trying something different for dinner tonight!

Avery's First Birthday Party

While we were back in Greenville a couple weeks ago for my sister's wedding (post coming soon!), we decided to squeeze in a birthday party for Avery. Ryan was only in town for a couple days, and my family from MA was in town, so it seemed like a good time to do it. It made for a busy weekend, but it was so much fun to spend extra time with family and close friends.

I decided to go with a nautical themed party in navy blue and hot pink. My sister, Rachel, designed these gorgeous invitations for us.

Over the past couple months, I had been finding little things online and sending them to my parents' house where they were waiting or me when I arrived. We ended up having the party in the fellowship hall of our church because we needed a large air-conditioned space for 45 people! After the wedding reception, Rebekah and I dropped Avery off at home with Mom & Dad and headed down to the church to begin decorating. My sweet cousins, Jason, Olivia, and Meghan came and helped us as well.

I found an inexpensive pink and white banner with stickers to let you personalize the words. The navy blue and white chevron fabric was a steal off eBay.

The silverware was rolled up in navy and white striped napkins tied with string and a white lifesaver candy.

The photo collage was an idea I found on Pinterest a few months ago. And it is hard to see in the picture below, but we had the cutest navy/white and pink/white straws on the drink table.

Avery and the other little kids loved playing with the balloons before dinner. Grandpa is never far away!

We were so happy to finally meet Rebekah's boyfriend, Brett. Ryan and Brett were able to go golfing together after the reception and before the party. Avery loved Brett and actually put out her arms for him to hold her (a rare occurrence for her).

A sweet friend from church offered to come cook hamburgers and kielbasa for us. Everyone brought delicious side dishes, and the meal was absolutely delicious!

We had a small cake for Avery, and she actually blew out her candle after we sang to her ... and then clapped for herself! We decided to forego letting her smash the cake and eat it, mostly because it was the end of the evening and I didn't want to clean up bits of cake and frosting from the carpet for the next several hours. Plus, she hadn't slept much during the day, and I didn't need all that sugar interrupting her nighttime sleep. :)

I tried a new technique called the Frozen Buttercream Transfer method to decorate her cake. It obviously needs some more work, but it made for an inexpensive, personalized cake.

For everyone else, we served frozen raspberry lemonade pies (with cute wooden spoons) garnished with raspberries and fresh mint, and mini fruit pizzas (sugar cookies with cream cheese frosting topped with blueberries, strawberries, and kiwi).

This was the first time that all the great-grand kids on my side of the family were able to be together. Tanner, Halle, and Avery are only 6 months apart, and I know they will continue to enjoy playing together and become great friends!

We are so thankful to everyone who came to celebrate with Avery and for the impact that they have on her life already. I had little cards for everyone to write a note to Avery since she won't remember this birthday. She has the sweetest collection of memories and prayers for her to cherish as she gets older.

11 Months Old

We've almost made it to a year! It's hard to believe how many changes have taken place in our lives over this past year. And even more amazing are the changes that Avery has experienced this last month. I feel like I say this every month, but she really seems to have grown up so much in the last few weeks.

First, she finally learned how to eat small finger foods. I'm not sure what finally worked, but I think I just started giving her a couple Cheerios each day, and she eventually picked it up on her own. Once she learned that skill, there was no stopping her! She loves eating peas, pieces of whole wheat bread or pasta, scrambled eggs, cheese, bananas, and of course, Cheerios. She's really good about eating one piece at a time, but she usually doesn't eat enough finger foods for a whole meal. So I still give her mashed sweet potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, beets, plums, etc. I found that turkey meatloaf was a healthy finger food option for her which she loved.

Avery also started walking this past month! She has been pulling up and cruising around on the furniture for about 3 months now. We continued to encourage her to let go and walk on her own, and eventually she realized she could do it. She usually gets going so fast that she trips herself up, but she is getting much braver about letting go of the furniture on her own and takes many steps each day. She has even started standing up on her own or bending down to pick up a toy and standing back up again without holding on to anything. I have a feeling that once she gets more proficient at walking, she'll be running all over the apartment!

Avery also had four top teeth pop through this month. I'm so thankful to have such an easy teether. For each tooth so far (or group of teeth), we notice one or two days of clinginess and being a little more sensitive than usual at random times. For example, a couple weeks ago she burst into tears when the ball rolled away from her. But other than that, it doesn't seem to affect her eating or sleeping.

She is still sleeping 12 hours at night. I thought she was about to give up her morning nap, but this past week, she's back to sleeping for about an hour in the morning. She sleeps from 2-3 hours each afternoon, depending on whether she's had a morning nap or not. Thankfully, she is very flexible and can easily skip her morning nap without any fussiness if we are out somewhere (shopping, at church, etc.).

Speaking of church, she has recently started letting anyone take her from me or pick her up from the nursery. Several of the teen girls love bringing her down to the nursery or getting her for me, and Avery loves it, as long as she doesn't see me. I'm grateful for such sweet girls at church who take good care of her.

Avery has become much more vocal this month, and talks almost non-stop throughout the day. She laughs often, and enjoys playing and "wrestling" with us on the floor. She still loves looking at books and will pull them out of her bin and look that them by herself for quite a while. I love hearing her giggle as she pulls off all her stuffed animals and pillows from the top of her toy chest. She will say "Amen" at the end of our prayers, and does her best to copy sounds and words that we say. She can usually say the correct animal sound for the cow, sheep, and owl. And she knows the motions to "If You're Happy and you Know it, Clap Your Hands" and "This Little Light of Mine." I am so blessed to get to spend my days playing and laughing with her!

We're looking forward to celebrating her first birthday while we are home in Greenville with family in a couple weeks. But for now, we are truly enjoying each moment and trying to hold onto the memories of this stage of Avery's life.

10 Months Old

Ryan and I both have commented many times over the last couple weeks that it seems like Avery has grown up almost overnight. She is losing a lot of her little baby features and looking and acting more like a toddler. I remember holding her as a newborn and wishing she could stay that size forever. But at each new stage that she entered, we honestly thought, "Okay, we like this stage the best!" Then she would grow and change a little more and we said, "This age is definitely the best!" I loved her tiny newborn stage. I adored her sweet, easy-going personality from 3-6 months. I loved watching her learn new skills almost daily and interact with us more and more from 6-9 months. And now we are enjoying her fun-loving personality and hilarious antics at 9-12 months.

Here are a few updates from this past month:

At her 9 month appointment, Avery weighed 16.5 lbs and was 27.5". She continues to be long and thin. The doctor has no concerns, though, and said she is just as healthy as can be. She still has just her two bottom teeth. But the doctor said her upper gums are swollen and her top teeth should be coming through soon. I have noticed her being a little more clingy than usual this week, but still just as happy as ever. Hopefully the teeth will pop through soon! Avery loves getting to brush her little teeth each night before bed. She happily sits there with her mouth open and hands clapping while I get her toothbrush ready.

Avery continues to walk around the house holding onto the furniture or walls. She can walk while holding on to us with just one hand, and has even taken 1-2 steps on her own (if she doesn't realize I'm not holding onto her). She loves using her walking toy and can navigate it quite well. If she does run into a wall or furniture, she'll back up and turn in the right direction. It is so much fun to watch her little mind at work.

Avery's favorite activities are doing anything out of the house. She loves to be at the park, the mall, or even just the grocery store.

She alertly watches everything going on around her, and is becoming much friendlier with people who say hi to her. She'll wave, smile, and even carried on a conversation with the nice lady behind us at the grocery store check-out this week. She loves going to the nursery at church. The last couple weeks, friends at church have taken her down to the nursery for me while I'm busy with other things, and she is as happy as can be with them.

There are quite a few dogs in our apartment complex, and Avery giggles and waves if we see one of them while we are out walking. If it wasn't for the work a puppy involves, we'd love to get one for her. I'm sure we'll give in one of these days!

Avery will spend 30-45 minutes every day looking at her books. She loves being read to as well, and has recently started turning the pages for us (usually at the right time).

She is still sleeping 12 hours each night, and taking 2 good naps each day (between 1 1/2 and 2 hours). Her favorite foods are still sweet potatoes and peas, but she loves beets, hard-boiled egg yolks, and asparagus as well. She is doing better with feeding herself, and I'm sure it will get easier to eat table food when her top teeth come through. She loves drinking water from her sippy cup throughout the day.

We are so blessed to be able to spend our days with this almost-one-year-old. We pray every day that she will grow up to love God with her whole heart.

Post-Call Brunch

For the past 8 weeks, I have been introduced to a wonderful thing called "taking call." This happens every five or six days when Ryan is at the hospital for about 28 hours in a row, helping with surgeries and following up with patients. The next day (post-call day), he usually gets home between 8 and 9 am, eats breakfast, and sleeps until early afternoon. The upside is that we have the rest of that day together to take Avery to the park, shop, or go out for dinner.

This morning was one of those days. And last night while I was home by myself, I decided to try a new recipe and make brunch when Ryan got home. I saw an episode of Giada on Food Network where she made a peach and cherry frittata. Avery and I made a quick trip to the grocery store after dinner to pick up some fruit and eggs. I couldn't find cherries, so we used raspberries instead. It was extremely easy to throw together this morning and and although it sounds a little different to have fruit in a frittata, it was actually quite tasty.

I paired the eggs with my new favorite homemade cinnamon roll recipe from my cousin, Olivia. I added toasted hazelnuts, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the filling this time to try something new.

Our little brunch was a big hit with Ryan, who had seconds, and requested for this to made many more times in the future. It was a fun start to our day!

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

3/4 cup water, plus 2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 1/2 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon bread machine yeast

FILLING

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

GLAZE

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 -2 tablespoon milk

Directions:

1 Place water, 2 Tablespoons butter, bread flour, 1/4 cup white granulated sugar, salt and yeast in the bread machine and start on dough cycle.

2 Once dough is complete, roll out into a 9" square on a lightly floured surface.

3 Mix 1/3 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon together (I mix it in a measuring cup).

4 Spread 2 Tablespoons softened margarine over the dough and sprinkle with the cinnamon mixture.

5 Roll up tightly into a log and pinch the edges to seal.

6 Cut into 1" slices and place in a greased 9"x9"x2" square pan (brownie pan).

7 Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise 1 hour or so until double, OR in refrigerator overnight if making for breakfast.

8 Preheat oven to 375°F and bake 20 minutes or until golden brown.

9 Mix powdered sugar, vanilla and milk to make glaze, drizzle over rolls and serve warm.

Avery's Aunties

A couple weeks ago, my sisters were able to come up and visit with us for a few days. Based on their work schedules and flight availability, they both arrived and left on different days. Rebekah came on Tuesday night, Rachel arrived Thursday night, Rebekah left Saturday morning, and Rachel left Monday night. It was perfect because we got to spend time with each of them separately and had a whole day with all of us together. We hadn't seen them since Christmas, which is definitely too long!

Rebekah's flight was a little delayed, so Avery was already in bed by the time she arrived. The next morning, Avery was so happy to see her aunt. There was lots of giggling and playing after her breakfast. While she napped, Rebekah and I made apple-brie stuffed French toast and enjoyed catching up with each other. After lunch, we went out for a little shopping. I found some cute headbands for Avery and a bathing suit on clearance at Target for her!

The next morning, Rebekah and I worked on a project for her, then went out again that afternoon. Avery just loved all the attention and extra play time with Rebekah. That evening, we made a delicious pizza for dinner - homemade crust topped with a creamy alfredo sauce, roasted sweet potato slices, roasted corn, black beans, red onions, cilantro, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. This is definitely one of our new favorites!

Ryan picked up Rachel from the airport that night. It was so good to see her again! We sampled some homemade orange ice cream and talked for quite a while. The next morning, Rachel got Avery from her crib when she woke up, and Avery could not have been more excited to see her. Rachel was greeted with lots of smiles and laughs and hugs.

We headed up to Ikea for the morning and then stopped at Panera for lunch on the way home. When Ryan got home later in the afternoon, we headed up to the park to take a couple pictures before dinner.

Rebekah treated us to dinner at a Japanese steakhouse that night. Avery was mesmerized by the chef and the fire

I love this picture of Rachel reading to Avery before bed. She sure loves her books!

We were so sad that Rebekah had to leave the next morning, but thankful for the wonderful time we had while she was here. Ryan brought her to the airport then headed to the gym. Rachel and I got ready for the day and packed a bag for NYC. After a quick lunch, we decided to try driving into the city. It was a beautiful day, and I think everyone must have been taking advantage of the nice weather. We hit a lot of traffic, but we didn't have any specific plans, so everything worked out fine. We parked near Central Park and took Avery to FAO Schwarz. She loved looking at all the toys, and I'm sure she'll have even more fun in a few years.

We spent the next couple hours walking through Central Park, 5th Avenue, and Times Square.

After arriving back at home, Rachel offered to babysit Avery so Ryan and I could got out for an early anniversary dinner. She was so sweet to spend her evening with Avery - feeding her dinner, bathing her, and playing with her. Avery had so much fun, and was as happy as could be even though we arrived home quite a bit after her bedtime.

Ryan was on call the next day at the hospital, so Rachel, Avery, and I went to church and relaxed in the afternoon. On Monday morning, Rachel and I took Avery and went to the grocery store and bought lots of good food for Avery's meals and for our dinner that night. Neither of us had ever cooked lamb, so we decided to try it that night. We bought a couple shoulder steaks and marinated them in lemon juice and olive oil for the day.

After Ryan rested, we drove to Hoboken, NJ to visit the Cake Boss' bakery. We could not have picked a more gorgeous day to be outside. But the wait to get into the bakery was over 2 hours long. So we just walked around the little town, admiring all the local shops and restaurants.

We found a cute little frozen yogurt shop, and Rachel treated us all to amazing sundaes. I gave Avery a little taste of a banana frozen yogurt (organic, and no sugar added). She wasn't quite sure what to think of the cold, but loved the taste!

On our way home, we passed a beautiful park with amazing views of the city. I know we'll be coming back to this town again very soon. Back at home, Rachel and I roasted beets for a salad and added goat cheese rounds topped with panko bread crumbs baked in the oven for a couple minutes. We grilled the lamb on our indoor panini grill. We made a lemon-dill yogurt sauce, and the lamb was delicious. Eventually, it was time to bring Rachel to the airport.

I am so thankful for the amazing week we all had together. It was such a blessing and a treat for me to have extra help around the house, playing with Avery and keeping her occupied. And we especially loved the fact that Avery warmed up to her aunts immediately. She certainly is blessed with the sweetest aunts anyone could have!

8 & 9 Months Old

I started Avery's 8 month update early last month but never got around to finishing the post and publishing it. She certainly keeps me busy these days! I feel like she has grown up so much these last couple months. We love watching her learn something new almost every day.

8th Month:
Avery got her first tooth just a couple days after turning 7 months old. And she finally started crawling on Valentine's Day. Once she realized she could do it, there was no stopping her. She loves exploring around the house, but she especially enjoys being able to pull her toys out of the bin in the living room. She can play for 30-45 minutes by herself now that she can reach all her toys.

After just a couple days, she began pulling up on the furniture. She quickly learned how to stand up in her crib, but it took her a couple more days to learn how to sit down. Once we learned that skill, life was much happier for all of us.

About a week later, she began to show an interest in walking while holding onto our hands. We found a good deal on a push toy for her, and she loves walking around the house as fast as she can.

By the end of her 8th month, she was able to wave and was becoming much steadier while standing.

9th Month:
Avery's second tooth appeared just after her 8 month birthday. Apart from a little fussiness, we hardly noticed it was there.

She continues to love eating solid food. Apart from having oatmeal for breakfast, she eats all fruits and vegetables. Her favorite food is peas, with sweet potatoes still a close second. She will only eat squash and cauliflower if I had a few spices to them - cinnamon, nutmeg, or garlic powder. Apparently she is getting tired of bland food. She loves eating little puffs (although she only gets them as a snack when we are out somewhere), but refuses to feed them to herself. We practice often, but she just doesn't seem interested in finger foods. We'll continue trying this month and hopefully she picks it up soon!

Early in February, Avery gave up her evening nap all on her own. She continues to nap for 1 1/2 hours in the morning and afternoon and to sleep 12 hours at night.

She continues to love crawling and "walking" around the house. She learned to clap and blow kisses this month and can do them both on command. She also loves imitating sounds we make and she will cluck her tongue, scrunch her nose, and blow bubbles after us.

She also has started laughing whenever she hears us laughing (whether or not we are laughing at her), but she especially loves doing things to get us to laugh at her. It is so much fun being able to interact with her more and more.

Avery got to ride on a swing for the first time this month. I recently found a park about 3 minutes from our house, so we will be spending a lot of time swinging this spring.

Avery loves animals and adores the puppy that lives in the apartment above us. She giggles and waves anytime she sees a dog walking near her. And she gets quite excited when we review different animals and the sounds they make with her. (The cow is her favorite.)

I am thankful that she continues to be a very easy baby, both at home and out in public. We can take her anywhere from a restaurant to Ikea to church to NYC and never worry about how she will act. It doesn't bother her to miss a nap entirely or for a meal to be a few minutes late. She is learning to be adaptable and pleasant in all kinds of situations.

We are truly blessed with a sweet, funny, and personable little girl!