Avery - 8 Months Old

Avery turned 8 Months Old yesterday!

I know I don't need to go into detail of how fast time is going by and how I just can't believe how much she has grown up and .. blah, blah, blah.  Seriously though .. 8 Months!?  What the what?!

As I was taking her pictures yesterday I thought I hadn't really gotten any good ones.  She was all over the place and did NOT want to look at the camera .. and she didn't really want to smile either.

But as I started editing them, I came across a few gems.  This girl is just wonderful.  I love her so much.

She is crawling EVERYWHERE now and has been for a few weeks.  She pulls herself up to the couch and the ottoman and tries to walk along them and go back and forth between the two.  It kills me that she will probably be walking soon.  She is just growing up ridiculously fast.

This is her serious face that I thought she had been making through ALL the pictures yesterday.  I can't blame her though .. it was over 100 degrees when I took her out for pictures last night at 7:30.

I just love those big blue eyes.

She has 6 teeth now and she waves hi/bye to Wesley.  I think he taught her that .. since he is always leaving and coming home.

We just love you Avery Girl!  Time needs to start slowing down though .. this growing up thing is just getting out of hand!

Mallory's LAST day of Kindergarten

       (First Day of Kindergarten)                                          (Last Day of Kindergarten)

Mallory's last day of Kindergarten was June 6th.  She had such a wonderful year.  She LOVED her teacher so much.  I think that makes all the difference in the world to a little kid. 

Her teacher always had such positive things to say about Mallory every time I went in for a Parent/Teacher Conference.  Mallory really grew up so much this year academically and socially.  She gets along with everyone she meets and is always kind and sweet to everyone.  She makes sure no one is left out or excluded.  Her teacher also said Mallory never got involved in the "girl drama" out on the playground.  I think that is so wonderful .. and I hope she is able to stay out of that drama for as long as possible.

        (First Day of Kindergarten)                                         (Last Day of Kindergarten) 

I made her put her first day of school outfit on today so that I could get some good comparison photos.  She sure has grown up in the last 10 months.  She has definitely gotten taller!  You can see by how much shorter her skirt is on her.

I love all her missing teeth too.  She is my jack-o-lantern.

I just love this girl to pieces.  I love how sweet and wonderful she is.  I have always said that if I could have 10 more like Mallory, I would.  She is so polite and kind and loving.  She is a wonderful big sister - she puts up with Zach and she is always so sweet to Avery.  I am excited to watch her grow up and see all the amazing things she will do and the places she will go.

Father's Day Pictures

It seems like I always try and update the pictures of the kids around this time of year - that way Wesley has some newer pictures to put in his frames at work after Father's Day.

Zachary was in a VERY good mood yesterday .. so we had to take some pictures of him.

He is such a stinker sometimes, but he sure makes up for it with his hugs, kisses, and smiles.  I love this kid.

He is growing up too fast.  I can NOT believe he is going to be 4 in a few months.

Zach decided he wanted to take some pictures of me while we were having our photo shoot.  I don't have any pictures of me .. since I am the one behind the camera all the time.

I kinda wish I had some more make up on .. so I didn't look so washed out, but .. what can you do?

I had to do a lot of cropping on these .. since a 3 year old took them.

He was trigger happy and just keep snapping picture after picture.  He had a lot of fun.

Wesley keeps saying that he wants a picture of me at work .. so maybe one of these will have to do.

Avery - 7 Months Old

Another month has flown by and our Avery Girl is getting bigger and bigger!  Please make her stop!!  This is getting ridiculous!

We love this girl to pieces.  She is wonderful!  She is such a good baby.  She is taking wonderful naps during the day and she sleeps fairly well at night.

She's also decided that she wants to crawl now.  It's terrible.  Now I have to actually keep food and small objects OFF the floor.  She's just started scooting herself backwards everywhere, but she is up on her knees and rocking back and forth a lot.  She'll be crawling VERY soon.

Here's a picture of Mallory around the same age, wearing the same dress.  Love it!

And .. just for kicks .. here's Zach at 7 Months as well.  Can't believe how fast time flies by.

Spring Pictures

Mallory recently had her spring pictures taken at school.  We had completely forgotten that it was picture day .. so she was wearing an ugly awesome outfit (of her school spirit shirt and brown pants with holes in the knees).

As she brought them home and begged me to buy them, I promised her I would take some for her instead.

She has grown up SO much this last year.  Not only in height, but in personality and intelligence.  It hasbeen so much fun watching her learn and grow.

She has lost 6 teeth and I constantly call her my "little jack-o-lantern". 

She is doing great learning how to read.

We just had Open House last night.  Her teacher always raves about what a good girl Mallory is.  (Proud Mamma talkin')  She gets along with everyone in her class.  She obeys the rules and she doesn't get involved with drama.  She is kind and loving to everyone.  She cares about those who are left out and always wants to make sure everyone has a friend to play with. 

She has always been my sweet Mallory.  I just love her so much.  She makes us smile and laugh. 

Can't wait to see the great things she will do with her life.

Avery Girl - 6 Months Old

I promise I will do some other post between now and Avery's 7 months pictures.  I have been meaning to do other posts, but have yet to get around to it.  I haven't really been super busy or anything .. just enjoying every moment with this girl.  I hate how fast these kids grow up and I feel like I don't have enough time to soak up the "baby stage".

Our "Avery Girl" is such a joy to have around.  She is just sweet and happy and we are all so in love with her.

Her mouth is ALWAYS open.  I have 20 other pictures of her making this open mouthed face.  She cracks me up. 

She is sitting up all by herself now.  She falls over every now and again, but is definitely an independent sitter. 

Posing for the camera. 

Her two bottom teeth are in and sharp. If you stick your finger in her mouth, be prepared to get bit.  I am wondering if her top teeth will come in soon.  She still seems to be "teething" - chomping down on everything, drooling, etc.  We'll see.

I shaved her head a few weeks ago.  I was SO tired of her "comb over" she had.  Her hair was only long on top and then the sides were so short.  I just made it all the same length.  After I shaved it, Mallory and Zachary said she looked like a boy.  I have a whole post to do of her hair. 

She's figured out how to pull her headbands off.  I put them on her and put her in her carseat and she usually has it off before we get out of the driveway.  She tends to pull the bow off and then the headband ends up covering her eyes. 

I tried to capture her "kissing" face.  She sucks her bottom lip in and gives "kisses".  It's so cute.

She has definitely discovered her hands.  She stares at them a lot, moving them around, getting the hang of controling them.  It's so neat to watch her learn and grow.

Peek-a-boo!

We love you!