Ladies and gentlemen...

...we have a walker :)

At 13 1/2 months Avery Rae Ellington entered the world of walking.  

I bet next week she will enter the world of running.  

Such perfect timing with Christmas decorations... NOT!!

Niece and Nephew update

They are 6 months old!!!!  

AND oh so ADORABLE :) 

Laila Shey (6 months on Nov. 5th)

Grayson Alexander (6 months on Nov. 9th)

...and don't forget I have another nephew due Jan. 29th  and a surprise baby due Feb. 16th .  

Zoo Babies

We took Avery for her 1st visit to the zoo this weekend.  We've been debating when would be a good time to take her and we kinda decided to wait until the spring, but with a three day weekend and the perfect weather forecast we just couldn't resist.   We had a great time.  The theme for the animals was babies, babies, babies, which was quite appropriate for us.  We saw a baby giraffe, baby chimp, and a baby gorilla.  Avery was still a bit too young to really understand where we were or what we were looking at.  She enjoyed people watching (especially all the kids) just as much as the animals.  The flamingos were really close, so she was able to see them very well.  We stayed there for a good bit while she stared and stared.  I only wish I knew what she was thinking.

We arrived at the zoo around 11:00 and didn't leave until closing time of 4:00.  Avery was a complete angel and didn't have a single melt down.  I attribute that to her fabulous temperament,  but also to a well prepared mama with plenty of snacks, sippy cups, and toys.

After being such a good girl she of course got a special treat in the gift shop.  I don't plan on being "that mom" who buys her kids something EVERYwhere they go, but I saw this at a special memento of her 1st trip to a new place.  We will see how well I will stick to those guns :) Here are a few pictures of our amazing day.

Oh by the way, did I mention it was the beginning of November and it was 75 degrees?!?!  Amazing!

Pom poms and a Lollypop

My oh my, how things have changed in one year... 

Even from birth she's been her Daddy's little Pirate Girl!!!

   The A+ mom award doesn't go to me for choosing a Halloween costume that doesn't involved multiple layers, stuffing or warmth.  With the temperature being in the high 40's for Trick or Treating a cheerleading costume is not ideal, but we made the best of it. Luckily Avery is still too young to understand the concept, so she didn't mind heading to only a few houses on our road.

 She actually had the most fun playing with bags of candy that we in our bucket to hand out to children.  She has a new fascination of taking things out of a box/bag/drawer (anything really) and putting it back in.  In, out, in, out, in, out... you get the picture.  The bucket of candy was pretty amazing to her.   I don't think she knew it was candy, but to her it was brightly colored and probably looked like her toys.  It will hilarious to watch her take the candy from the bucket and try to hide it in her toy.  She's saving it for a rainy day or when she doesn't like what's for dinner :)

 Avery got to try her 1st lollypop last night.