Avery: 22 Months

Since this has basically become Avery's baby book, I am going to finish up the monthly posts about Avery's growth and development until the age of two. Only a few more months to go!

Here is our little helper. She got to help her dad with a little home improvement project this month. We have really been working a little bit on teaching Avery to help clean up her toys and messes. If I give her a wipe, she will clean the table after she eats. She has also started signing the "clean up song" as she picks up her toys. (When she feels like it, of course.)

Some days she looks/acts SO grown up. She is wearing mostly 18-24 month clothing and size 5 shoes. She is so determined these days to zip up her PJ's and pull up her own pants. She quickly gets frustrated when I try to do it for her. She is a very independent little girl.

Avery loves to laugh. She has really been doing some funny things lately. One thing that makes me laugh most is when she helps me read the book, "Moo, Baa, La La La." The first line of the book says: "A cow says MOO." She reads (has memorized) the MOO part and says it so loud that our neighbors downstairs can probably hear her. (We live in a condo. I am sure our neighbors LOVE that a toddler lives above them.) Anyway, we read the whole book that way. Maybe I will catch it on video soon, because it is seriously the cutest thing EVER!

Here is our sneaky little girl. When she gets quite, you have to see what she is up to. Otherwise, Avery is quite the little talker. Lately she has been putting several words together. Matt and I are really good at toddler language, although she speaks pretty clearly.

We went to the apple orchard a little too late in the season. So here is Avery with her apple that we bought from the orchard (even though we didn't get to pick it).

Avery really enjoys painting. Here she is painting a pumpkin. Gotta keep the little one busy ya know! I thank the Lord every day for Pinterest. Really ya'll, some days it is a lifesaver! I have kept her busy with little craft project ideas I have pinned.

Happy 22 months sweet Avery! I can't wait to see how you grow and change this next month.

Sand, Seashells, and Sleep

A little over a month ago we went on a much needed vacation to Destin, FL. It was Avery's first vacation, unless you include our trips to the state of Arkansas.

We stayed at Destin West on Okaloosa Island on the bay side and LOVED it. It was perfect for our family. Right off our balcony was a lazy river, which Avery didn't love. I guess a lazy river isn't very appealing to a busy toddler. However, there was also a zero entry pool which Avery really enjoyed. One of her favorite things to do was push the big tubes back and forth through the pool. 

Just like her mom, Avery doesn't like to get her feet dirty. I do like sand though. We learned very quickly that Avery didn't like the sand AT ALL. She preferred to sit in her chair with her feet up.

Once we did get her to stand in the sand, she would curl her little toes under. PRECIOUS. Actually, I think this was the only time she stood on the beach. She did learn a new word though and practiced the word sand by saying it over and over again. 

Each time we walked by this lovely dolphin statue, Avery would stop and say "hi." 

At the end of the week, my parents joined us for a few days. 

Matt and I decided to take advantage of having the grandparents around, so we woke up early one morning to hunt for seashells. We ended up walking a LOOOONG way down the beach. I am pretty sure doing that every day would have me in shape in no time!

The last night we went out to the fishing pier on Okaloosa Island. 

 We all enjoyed relaxing and getting some extra sleep throughout the week. I am pretty sure it was one of the most relaxing weeks in years, even with a toddler to keep up with. 

 This is the ONLY family picture I found on the camera. I hope to make this more of a priority in the future. 

Beautiful. The End.