Headlines

My hometown newspaper wrote a feature article about our March of Dimes superstars, "Avery's Aviators."  It is wonderfully written!  You cannot see the picture that ran in the actual paper online but you can see it below. 

Read the article here:  http://www.theclaytontribune.com/articles/2010/05/13/news/news03.txt

I love that I grew up in a small town called Clayton, Georgia.  I love that I have "roots."  I love where I came from and wish I could give my daughter the same steady, happy, small town upbringing.  I cannot give her that because of our military way of life, however, I can give her stabillity within our family, love and expose her to opportunities that were limited in a small town.  Enjoy the read!       

Mother's Day

Everyday is Mother's Day at my house but May 9th was super special.  Luckily my mom was able to be with Avery and I and we could share our special day together.  I kept thinking, "I wish Ryan was here."  However, I know there is nothing better than TLC from my mom!  She knows how to spoil...take a look at me and then my daughter too!  Ryan was very thoughtful and ordered a charm for a necklace that I have wanted for quite some time!  It has a charm with our anniversary date, a cross, Avery Beth's name, my dog's initials and my initial.  I had a "vision" of what I wanted my necklace to look like and here it is! 

I received breakfast in bed and Avery delivered (threw at me) roses from the yard.  We spent the day getting ready for our long drive to Georgia followed by a trip to the mall to buy Miss Avery Beth some new shoes.  Strangely enough buying new shoes for Avery is all I wanted to do on Mother's Day!  Her new shoes are in the first picture.

"Picnic N Playhouse"

Avery has a new outdoor playset from her grandparents and nothing else could have brought her so much joy!  I moved it onto our porch for now; we have had TERRIBLE weather the last couple of days!  When it clears up and our yard dries out it will go back in the grass for her enjoyment! You will notice she has two hairbows instead of one. Now when I put one in she immediately asks for "one more!" Funny girl!

Daddy on a Stick

Ryan and I looked long and hard for homes when we decided to move out of the Little Rock Air Force Base Housing. We really disliked our living situation on base and resented the Air Force taking our entire housing allowance ($1000) for a tiny, 800 sq ft duplex. We did not know how good we had it; if we found a bug we called the housing office and they came and sprayed, when the AC was out someone came and worked on it for free, we had a tiny yard to mow, a fenced in yard for the dogs (in fact our new puppy at the time, Hondo, ate a hole in the side of the house and no one said a word) and we had lots of family time while there because Ryan was able to come home during the day. We are so thankful for our home in Sherwood, AR. We really like the neighborhood, we love the location (a Wal-Mart is literally across the street and the base is 10 minutes away), the size is just right and there is amazing storage space. However, there are some really negative sides to our first house. Our bath room layout is poor and the bathtub/shower were not installed properly, our bedroom is way too small for our furniture, the insulation is average - you get the point. The worst part of our home is the yard. We bought on a hill which didn't seem like a big deal at the time but now that we have a child it has become very clear how yucky it is! If you want to see the problems with the yard check out my submission to DIY's "America's Most Desperate Landscape." I hope they pick us! We could really use some help! 
http://my.diynetwork.com/amdl-2010/South/Erosion-Explosion/detail.esi?oid=16115344

Half Birthday

Avery turned 18 months old on April 15th and to celebrate we went to one of the Sanders' favorite places, "Shakeys" for some homeade custard!  Our friends Chris and Sarah met us and because Miss Avery Beth does not get many sweet treats she was over the moon excited! 

The first 16 or 17 months or her life were spent "catching up" developmentally.  It is so cool to look at an 18 month developmental milestone checklist and realize that your child is on target or more advanced.  It was a first for me and I was so excited.  So what does this 18 month old do?

• Avery loves to color and play outside.  If she is not doing one she is doing the other!  She has a new playset from her grandparents that she ADORES! 
• Avery is saying all kinds of funny words and is so spunky!  Her favorite word is "uh oh" followed by "help me!"  She also says, eat, hungry, Georgia, Hondo, outside, cracker, juice, ball, hot, cook, clock, boo boo, please and thank you, night night, binky, baby, car, truck, Avery's slide, bubbles, nana, cheese, poop, mess, MORE, one more, dance, music, Bebe, doggy, deer, HI!  Wow!  I've got a little chatter box on my hands.
• She loves to mimic.  She sees things done one time and then imitates them exactly.  It is crazy!  She saw a screw driver being used once and now she walks around the house trying to screw things in!  She saw me shave my leg once and the next week came at me with the razor and tried to shave my legs.  She found the fingernail clippers and tried to clip my nails!  
• She explores everything.  She loves to clean out my purse and the cabinets in my bathroom.  
• She loves her baby and she loves her binky!  I just do not have the heart to take her pacifier away!  
• She sleeps through the night and when she wakes up in the morning she entertains herself for at least 15-20 minutes.  I am not a morning person so this agreement between us works out nicely.  It takes me about that long to clear the fog.
• She is charming.  Everywhere we go she makes a friend and says, "HI!" to anyone we pass...even when they aren't looking.  She often smiles and tilts her head and waits on the, awwwww she is so cute.  She knows exactly what she is doing!

As you can see I am totally smitten with her.  I told Ryan tonight over the phone some of the funny, quirky stories about his daughter and he says she is who she is because of me.  I say she is who she is because she has TWO parents that adore her, grandparents that could not love her more, family that supports us, friends that keep her giggling and so much love in her world!