Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Santa Claus is coming to town, but Avery sure hopes he doesn't stop at our house!

We Are Thankful

I really enjoy the new Thanksgiving tradition that we have started in the past few years.  Instead of getting the whole family together on Thanksgiving day, we have our Thanksgiving meal the weekend after.  Granted, we have to wait for pumpkin pie but it gives everyone a little more time for traveling and visiting.

On Thanksgiving Day, we had a very laid back day.  We put up the Christmas tree (but didn't decorate) while Avery was taking her morning nap.  We watched a little of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and chowed down on turkey, green bean casserole and wild rice that Adam cooked.

All that turkey wore these two out! :)

We headed to Arkadelphia on Friday.  It was a long drive, but Avery did great.  Adam kept her occupied and we only had to pull over once because she opened up a package of tissues and got them all in her mouth :)  We spent the night in Arkadelphia on Friday, ate lunch on Saturday and then headed back up North.  Melissa wasn't feeling great, so we switched up the car situation so she didn't have to drive all the way home.  Melissa & Jayden rode with me, Adam drove Kerry's truck and Kerry drove Kyler and Evan in Melissa's car.  It was a long drive for all on full bellies!  Jayden did a great job of keeping Avery occupied.  They spent quite a bit of time making funny noises at each other.

It's a two-fer: 9 and 10 months in one post!

I'm so behind that I'm putting 9 and 10 months together in one post.  Avery turns 11 months on Friday, so hopefully I can get back on track :)

9 Month Pictures:

10 Month Pictures:

The best way to describe this time period is:  On the Move!   At 9-10 months Avery is...

 ...A great crawler, stands on her own and can even stand up without the help of pulling up on a piece of furniture.  She's also good at cruising around and took her first few steps.

...Has started to throw temper tantrums.  She does it when you take something away from her that she wanted.  She does the stiff, arched back, screaming bit.  It's lots of fun :)  She went through a phase during this time period that she would throw a fit everytime you put her in the car seat or high chair.  Luckily it didn't last long

....Is still nursing about 6 times per day, but has also gotten great at eating solid foods.  She really prefers to eat whatever we are having and feed herself.  This child has not met a food she doesn't like.  She really loves to knaw on a piece of french bread and will scream if she sees us with bread and she doesn't have any.  Maybe she's going to be a foodie!

Her first taste of asparagus

Sharing a bowl of rice with Daddy

Scrambled eggs are yummy!

First time eating spaghetti.  I think she liked it!

She doesn't limit her culinary exploration...she tried out the dishwasher too!

....Loves to clap for herself.  She claps when she takes a good bite of food, stands up  really well, sees herself in the mirror, etc., etc.

....Is sleeping great since she got her tubes.  She sleeps from around 8:00 p.m. to around 6:00 or 7:00 a.m. every night.  She is all over her bed but prefers to sleep on her tummy in the corner.

This is how I found her one day when I came to see her at daycare during lunch 

....When she is nursing and really tired she will put her paci in her mouth, take it out and nurse for a few seconds, repeat.  She does this every night

....Loves to play near the stairs and with any boxes

.....Has learned how to slide.  Special thanks to the Mills crew for the new playset!!

...Has discovered the dog food bowl and crawls directly to it.  Hey, it's only fair since she shares her people food with the dogs while she's sitting in the high chair!

....Is a Skype expert!  We skype Auntie Weez, Cici and Pop, Mim and Daddy (when he's out of town).  

...Wants you to chase her and will squeal and laugh if you grab her bottom when you catch her.

Her first time to try on a crown

Avery is so much fun!  Each day she does something that makes us smile and keeps us on our toes.  We LOVE this little girl!!

Our Little Indian

I'm way behind on blogging and I hope to catch up this weekend.  Just to tide the family over, here is a video of our little indian.  Mim taught her this at Thanksgiving and she's been doing it over and over for the past couple days.  See Mim - she was paying attention!