Playtime

I am loving this stage with Avery! She is so much more talkative and has really started to play on her own. She usually likes to know where I am, but she loves her new little playroom that daddy made her!

{I peeked in on her today and this is what I found}

{dolly}

Tess's Blessing

{picture courtesy of David}

This past weekend we drove up to Boise for Tess's baby blessing. We left on Friday night and got there pretty close to midnight. Beth was gracious enough to travel with the three of us and Avery did great on the drive up. I know I'm horrible at picture taking, but really? I didn't take one picture of Tess or Avery or anyone? We had the entire Nielsen clan together which is saying something when you take into account that we have Boise, Denver, DC, Utah, and even Grandma in CA. It was so great to see everyone and to hear the beautiful blessing David gave Tess.

{celebrating Beth's birthday}

If the Shoe Fits!

Avery has really started to love shoes. We can always find her by our front door playing with, sucking on (yuck), and even trying on our shoes. I love to see her try and put her feet in our shoes. She is learning so much- I can just see those cogs moving!

Amazing!

How else can I describe this wonderful man? While Avery and I were away this past weekend in St. George he did some home improving around our house.

He turned our little Harry-Potter-cupboard-under-the-stairs into a playroom for Aves! You have no idea what a transformation this was considering I never took any pictures of our overly cluttered 'storage unit' that was previously inhabiting this space. He cleaned it all out, found new homes for all our items, and even textured and painted the walls! Yeah, AMAZING!

He also made me this awesome shelf for our bathroom. I saw a similar shelf and immediately thought of tic-tac-toe with toilet paper and X's. Brian took the initiative to make this without mentioning it and did everything from cutting the wood and fitting it to painting and decorating it. Yep- AMAZING!

Brian also hung up the shelves that he gave me for my birthday and decorated them. I'm pretty sure I have the most AMAZING hubby in the whole wide world. Yup- pretty darn sure!

St. George

Avery and I got to spend some fun time with Grandma and the cousins in St. George this past week. We had such a great time playing and shopping with grandma. Thanks so much for letting us tag along, mom, even though we slow you down!

{Abbie & Avery playing with the ball}

{Avery rocking Emma}

{Note: This is what happens when grandma forgets
that your child's food is too close and walks away,
leaving said child with said food.}

Doggie!

Yesterday Avery met Mozzie, her cousin's puppy. She was terrified at first sight, but soon warmed up enough to get closer to him and sneak a little touch. She loves dogs, but has never really been that up-close with one. Usually when we see our neighbor's dog or hear him barking she perks up and yells Doh! DOH! and gets really excited.

{I love this picture}

{I think Mozzie slipped her a big kiss on the
face right before this picture}

Dinner at the Nielsens

Avery is starting to insist on feeding herself. It seems convenient in theory- Brian and I actually get to eat our dinner instead of feeding her and eating ours cold, etc. But when Avery is done 'feeding herself' we just have to either make more dinner or scoop hers off her body and the floor to make sure some of it ends up in her mouth!

{We've learned that bowls are over-rated}

{and plastic cups ROCK}

{and that Avery is the cutest thing in our world}

{even when she's covered in spaghetti sauce}