Avery turns 1!

 My littlest baby is officially 1!

Fastest year of my life ever! I literally blinked and we went from baby to one year old. I am so, so thankful for this life and to be Avery's mom. 

The kids helped me set up the night before, right after Avery went to bed. The nice thing about a baby is that you can really do this stuff whenever and they don't care. The kids wanted to make sure she was asleep though and she is currently going to bed first in the house so we could roll with that naturally. 

Payton made Avery a special sign and was so excited to put it up for her! We also all participated in making a smash cake. 

We all had a fantastic day celebrating our sweet little girl. And she loved being doted on!

She was definitely a mess after eating her cake, but she cleaned up easily enough with a quick bath.

She opened presents. This mostly meant her siblings opened her presents as she was easily distracted by the packaging, bows, and previous gift she opened. 

Payton really wanted to be sure to get a picture of her with her sign she made. I think Avery loved it.

Avery, 

We are so thankful for you. You were one of the greatest surprises we have ever received and our family cannot get enough of you. You are so close to walking, in fact on your birthday you started using a walking toy and went back and forth across the room. You say mama and dada and hi. There are so many foods you love and not many that you don't (depends on the day really). You make us smile so much. Outside is your happy place. If you are inside, looking out the windows and seeing animals (horses, chickens, birds) are your favorite. You get so excited by animals! 

We can't wait to see where the next year takes you and will be there to guide you every step along the way.  

Love,

Mom

February 2024

 February came and went in blur. As I type this, we are entering April! I don't even know how we got here. Also, the baby will turn one in a week! And my biggest baby turns 11 in April. Fastest year of my life. So, let's speed through this month. 

Father daughter dance. My daughter looks forward to this each and every year. It's the best time for her! The other kids and I get out, too and do something special. This year we grabbed dinner out and came back home to eat it and then turned on a movie and cuddled up. The weather wasn't nice enough to get outside unfortunately. In the end, a date at home works easiest with the baby anyways. 

We did a cute little bun. It gave a chance for her beautiful bow detail on her back of her dress to really shine. 

Payton even helped to decorate for this dance, making signs as a volunteer:

A sweet neighbor dropped off sourdough bread for our family and we felt so blessed:

This bread was delicious and by the end of the month, I began dabbling in sourdough bread making myself. 

The 2 big kids took archery this year. Their dad challenged them to get so many arrows in the bullseye and he would buy them their own bow. Both kids completed the challenge successfully! 

Just some random pictures of me with our sweet baby this month:

At home!

At the park! We love getting out to the park for a walk and a chance to see the ducks. Sometimes we don't see the ducks as she falls fast asleep, so I just walk until her nap is over.

Avery also doesn't sleep well for nap time in her crib any more. So many times this month she napped in the vehicle:

A random picture I found on my phone from one of my kids during a said drive for Avery to nap:

We had a wedding anniversary! 15 years of marriage. The kids made the day extra fun. Payton made this sign:

Of course, we ate some good food:

I pulled out the packnplay to try and get things done occasionally. It doesn't work the greatest as Avery doesn't love being contained but it does buy me a few minutes here and there. And sometimes I catch this face:

But mostly, I spend my days with Avery while the kids are at school. 1 on 1 time has been the best. I am so lucky to have her:

And our sweet girl turned 10 months in February!

Another random photo I found on my phone. This one a sweet selfie of my oldest:

She has also been working hard on learning how to propagate plants. And she was successful with one so far! She is so proud of herself and plans to give this to her teacher as an end of the year gift:

We ended basketball for Riley this month. I didn't get hardly any pictures of him actually playing but I did get this picture of us going out for ice cream to celebrate. It was a great time!

And this was our month! Not as many pictures as in the past but that's on purpose! I mentioned last month I am trying to be more present. This has meant keeping the phone down and staying in the moment. It goes fast regardless. I just want to soak up and love on my babies as hard as I can. Before I know it, I will blink and they will be grown and gone. 

It was a great February!

Our January 2024

 January was a quick month. One of my personal goals for me is to put my phone down more as I want to role model that to my children. And I want to be more focused and intentional with my time with my kids. I only get this season for a small window of time and I really want to enjoy it this year. 

So, that means I have way less photos to share as I capture less moments by being more present. And putting my phone away which doubles as my camera. But, the pictures I have are good and still sum up my month. And I thanked myself for not having as many photos to sort. The whole process of finding pictures and sending them over took about 10 minutes, the fastest it has ever been! 

So here are some of our finest pictures from January. One of the most important pictures to me show that we baptized Avery!

It was a blessed day with grandparents sharing the weekend with us. Our children requested to be the godparents (sponsors in this case) and they were approved. It meant so much to all of us. The grandparents stood in to help with a promise to teach and guide the kids as they grow. 

                                                          

Avery also turned 10 months this month and I posted about her turning 9 months earlier, as the pictures were so cute they deserved their own post. See that here! I am blown away by how fast time goes and it won't be long before we are celebrating a one year old!

Even with the cold, we get out as much as we can!

Avery and I love to make sure we get out at least once during the school day, but typically a few times. I bundle her and we go! The fresh air is good for us both. And we both love the park! She is in awe at everything, especially dogs and the the geese!

We got a snow day and it was the best bonus day with my kids!

Each kid got into the kitchen to make something so we had a great quantity of food! Then, we cozied up after feasting for a family movie.

I laugh that this photo is in here. An ordinary moment that most people wouldn't stop to think twice about. But, this was a big deal. Payton sorted and organized the playroom and found things to donate. She is a super saver and typically won't part with anything (which is hard as I try to declutter), but she is starting to make some progress and helping us to lighten our load, even if just a tiny bit. 

Our sweet neighbor brought us fresh banana bread, right out of the oven. It was the best surprise and a reminder that we can serve others and bring joy in the tiniest of gestures. Our family was so thankful for this treat. 

I am collecting photos of Avery sleeping in the vehicle. I am going to be honest with you, nap times seem to yo yo between really good (like 3 hour nap good) and really not good. The not good ends up with me resorting to driving in the vehicle to get her to actually nap because she refused all day. It isn't ideal as I prefer her sleeping in her crib so I can nap or get a chore done that isn't easy with a child on my hip. But, we are surviving. And, gosh, I am just so thankful to be her mom. She's a true blessing. 

Speaking of blessings, my oldest blessing left me this note to find as I read my book at night. I am so thankful for her and her sweet heart. 

The one day we had a clean kitchen. I just had to document. It didn't last but 20 minutes but it was so, so good. With a baby, we are not in a season of regularly cleaned kitchens. I know we will get back to that eventually. For now, I document the rarity that I can see our countertop. 

Riley has really taken to reading, which has been so fun to see. He now has a book on him at almost all times and begins to read as soon as I pick him up from school. In the last few months his reading skills took a huge leap and I just love watching his love for books grow and grow. 

We had another bed weather round but didn't get out of school for. Instead, I documented how hard it was to see. But, we made the trip. And lived to see nicer days!

One of the few pictures I have documenting basketball. Riley went out for basketball and his season ends in February (so those pictures will be in next months). It has been so fun watching him learn about this sport as its his first time playing. He has grown a ton in a short period of time. 

I got to sneak out with these 2 for Chinese. We thought the restaurant was closing as the couple who owns it is retiring. So we went with bittersweet feelings thinking it would be one of our last times there. But, we were excited to hear that the owners had other family members that would come to run the business so it is not closing. We enjoyed our meal and are excited to know this restaurant will continue to be a staple in our town. 

                                                          

A random picture of Avery being silly after her bath. I couldn't help but snap a quick shot of this. Before I know it, this kid towel won't fit her and she will be telling me stories of learning fractions at school. I will wonder how quickly we left this scene and ended up with such advanced forms of talk. 

So it goes, babies don't keep. Time is a thief. I am reminded of that constantly with each of my 4 children. They change and grow so fast leaving me behind and constantly trying to catch up. 

As the month came to an end, the sun came out and warmed up our region of the earth. We headed to the park after school one day for some play time together:

What a good, beautiful month it was. I am so glad to be here for it.