Princess Avaree: eating spaghetti, brushing teeth, falling down, ear infection, poppa/niecey, and Halloween...!

 Avaree loves to be outside. She would stay outside all day if she could. This is the Friday before last...soooo happy to be home! :)

She will hold our hands better now, but last week (while she was still learning to balance) she would just keep her hand close to Brandon's, just in case she needed to grab it, but hold it she would not. :)

 Poor baby still has a fear of grass. She doesn't like to be near it, but she especially doesn't like to touch it. Love this face...

 Love seeing pure joy on her face...

 Daddy teaching Avaree "the claw!" (Go Rangers!)

 Avaree's first spaghetti: It was gluten free and on a plate. The pictures are in sequential order. :)

"Hmm...this doesn't look like my normal food."

 "But it's messy and no one is stopping me..."

 "Mmm...where has this been all my life?"

 "Yummo. My compliments to chef mama. Can I get down now?"

 Avaree sporting her Rangers shirt! We love Josh Hamilton!!!

 We loved our girls date with Uncle Spencer. :)

 This week Avaree had her teeth brushed for the first time!!! She was a little concerned at first, but really likes it now! In fact, she quite enjoys her nightly gum massages. :)

 This weekend Poppa and Niecey came to visit! We had a great time!

 Playing with Poppa!

 This is Avaree's "touchdown" trick. She walks around the house doing it all the time. Her Daddy is so proud. :)

 Saturday morning was eventful. First of all, Avaree woke up with tons of gunk draining out of her ear, so I called to make a dr.'s appointment, then she tripped and hit her lip/gums/nose/upper lip on the bottom of the couch. At first, there was so much blood, I couldn't tell what she hit and it was absolutely terrifying. Alas, I held it together and she healed quickly, but those few moments of trying to get the bleeding to slow down so that I could see what was going on were very scary. Everyone says she'll fall a million times, and that is probably true, but I can't imagine it getting easier! She had a puffy lip the rest of the day and looked like she had gotten in a fight. :(  This is the cleaned-up version that night...

 We did go to the doctor and Avaree DOES have another ear infection. :( In fact, her ear was so infected that they couldn't even see if her tube was still there, so we are going back in 10 days to check it out again. Meanwhile, she is on Suprax, ear drops and got a shot. :(

In spite of all that, Avaree still smiled, played and had a good weekend!

 Ave loves to read!

Watching Poppa read...so sweet!

 

Sporting her Tom Cruise look... :)

 Learning about nature from Niecey!

 Precious Angel...

 Our little Halloween Princess :)

We waited on Daddy so that he wouldn't miss it! He enjoyed sitting outside handing out candy--until the Rangers came on of course! :)

I didn't want Avaree out in the night air, but we let her go trick-or-treating to our sweet neighbor's house for a couple of minutes. She loved it! :)

 

 Thank you for the sweet tutu, Aunt Cari!

One more exciting piece of news: Avaree LOVES milk now! She drinks organic whole milk and loves it. I guess she finally forgot what my milk tasted like and decided she would like moo milk! This is great news!

13 months...

You thought I wouldn't be posting today, right? Me too. But, something happened that I need to share. :)

Today, my precious angel turned thirteen months old. And...she got her first boo boo. Be still my heart! This independence and walking stuff is scary! Just to clarify though, today I cried much longer that Avaree did, but here is what happened...

We were leaving Mrs. Donna's house and Avaree insisted on walking herself to the car. I pur her down on the sidewalk and I was literally just a few inches from her. (Mrs. Donna has a concrete sidewalk that goes straight from her front door to where I park my car!) Avaree took off and I saw her start to teeter, but then I saw her stick her arms out (like usual) to catch herself. Regardless, I reached to grab her, but before I could get her, she scratched her little lip on the sidewalk. She cried for about 15-20 seconds, and I saw the blood and immediately started to cry too. I kept thinking, I was right there with her...how could she get hurt when I was right there?! Well...we knocked on Mrs. Donna's door (again) and she made us both all better again before we drove home. However, I learned something today.

I know that children fall down and that I can't protect her forever. But can I tell you that I want to? I want to protect her from everything. I had an epiphany this evening, while reliving those few seconds as I forlornly explained them to Brandon. I thought..."Gosh, I guess that's how God feels." He is right here with us, all the time, and still...we fall. He wants to guide us, protect us, hold our hands, and yet we want to do it all on our own--and sometimes we even let go.

"For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." --Isaiah 41:13

Thank you, Lord, for using one of your precious gifts to remind me of your love for me today.

Three Aggies, two monkeys, and a baby girl...oh my! :)

 Look at that sweet face! It's hard to believe that she will be thirteen months old tomorrow. My students tell me all the time that it seems like just yesterday that I was pregnant. They are so right! But...sooo much has happened since then! Can you believe that we are walking EVERYWHERE! There is very little (if any) crawling now. Avaree gets up on her own and just walks. It's amazing to watch. Her current method of choice (as Brandon has oh so affectionally named "the linebacker move") is to stick her butt in the air and put her hands on the ground. She waits until she has her balance and then she lifts her arms and walks! :) Her vocabulary has also increased.

Every morning this week, as I have said "bye, bye, Mommy loves you" before leaving Mrs. Donna's house, my child has looked straight into my eyes and (with the sweetest voice you have ever heard) said "bye, bye." Be still my heart! On Monday, I lost it. Even though I am soooo proud of her and happy that I don't have to leave her crying, there is still a little piece of my heart that longs for my baby again. Alas...she's growing and it's amazing. Also, her latest word is "gabba" and, in fact, she usually says "gabba gabba!" :) If you have a toddler in your family, you are likely familiar with the culprit of this word! :) Brandon is not a fan of the show, but it teaches good things, sings silly songs and Avaree loves it, so she and I watch it sometimes when B is gone. hehe.

It is so amazing to have conversations with Avaree now. She actually understands a lot and starting to use some of her signs more too. She copies everything I say and her versions of the words are always so sweet-sounding. She is just such a little person and such a joy to be around.

Also...if you can't tell by the suprisingly beautiful picture above...we got a new camera! THANK YOU POPPA AND NIECEY! I LOVE IT! Of course, I haven't had much time to play with it, but I hope to learn more soon! The difference in the picture quality is astounding...

Enjoy the pictures!

Kisses for Daddy...

 Kiss for Mama...

 Crazy Mama...I'm in the business of making her laugh, so I have no idea what I'm doing here. :)

The Fort Worth Zoo!!!
A couple of weeks ago, Brandon and I took Ave to the Forth Worth Zoo after church! It was soooo much fun! We learned a lot (in terms of what to do next time) and can't wait to go back! :) 

Daddy and Avaree looking at the opening primate exhibit. Avaree was mesmorized by all the people. She's a people watcher like her parents. :) 

I looooooooooooooooove this picture.

 The Silverback Gorilla...he was looking right at us!!!!!!!

 Avaree looking at "the big monkey!"

Here's why...he was also looking right at us! I asked Brandon if maybe Avaree thought it was a hairy person? She just giggled and giggled at him.

 Again...people watching, while B takes in more animals. :)

 But this is what we spent most of our time doing!! :) It took a little longer to get through the zoo than expected: Somebody decided that she would like to walk it. :)

 And then she got tired and rode on Daddy's shoulders!

Last weekend, my Mom and Ken came in to visit and we had lots of fun! They even got to babysit Saturday night while Daddy and I went on our first date sine June! Thanks so much Granmama and Granpapa! :) My mom always makes everything better anyway, so having her here is always wonderful!

Also, we are now on the countdown for Miss Berkeley Alise Tingle's arrival! Laruen's due date is November 9, but Berkeley could arrive at any time now, so please keep Lauren and Berkeley in your prayers!!!