'tis the season!

Here are some pics we've taken over the last couple of weeks. Avery is so much fun this year!! She loves her "jingle bell", she says "ho-ho-ho", likes her Santa hat, points at the Christmas tree and says "ooooh" and loves playing with her Little People Nativity set. We ask her where baby Jesus is and she picks him out every time. :) We are really looking forward to our annual Christmas Eve brunch with the Corsos, our Christmas Eve candlelight service at the Village, spending time with family and seeing Avery's face on Christmas morning as she opens her presents. She'll probably like the paper better than the gifts, but we're okay with that. :)

Hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas season!!
Joy & Blessings,
Andi

walking!!!

Our girl is walking!!! Yay! :)

I'll post more pics and commentary very soon.

Merry Christmas!
Andi

day 2, no bottle!

Avery is 14 months old!!! I absolutely cannot believe it! She is becoming a big girl in front of my very eyes. Today was our second day with no bottle. I think Avery would have given it up whenever I took it away, but I wasn't ready until now. I've been gradually decreasing her feedings from the bottle since she turned 1, but I was still giving her 1 bottle at night. I didn't even intentionally take it away, but circumstances over the past 2 days just made it easy to give her milk in her cup instead. Since she's done so well and hasn't asked for her "ba", I guess we're bottle free. :( Don't get me wrong, I'm happy about the milestone, I'm just a little sad because that's one more step away from baby and one more toward little girl. She is so fun right now! Changing so much and doing new things everyday. Last month she started blowing kisses in addition to her enthusiastic waving good-bye. It is adorable! She also likes to do "gymnastics" in the window sill. She walks on the window sill, sometimes balances on one foot, lifts up on her toes and does knee bends. It's like she's on the balance beam. Scares the life out of me, but it's fun watching her exercise her daring side. She's always talking... we can't understand most of it, but talking nonetheless. We can understand daddy, mama, bird, ba, Jack, bite (she says this when she wants food), hi, bye-bye, and hey. We also got her a new "big-girl" car seat. She seems to really like it.

In other news, we decorated our tree tonight. It's beautiful. We get a real tree... a noble fir. I love the way a real tree smells. I hate the needles, but the smell makes it worth it. We always had a real tree when I was growing up so I can't bring myself to buy an artificial one. I'll deal with the needles. Avery and Brian hung the first ornament; Brian's Florida State ornament. Apparently, this is a Stubblefield tradition. Well, Brian thinks it is. Really, I let him hang it first and then I hang all the other ornaments and conveniently move his to an inconspicuous spot because it doesn't go with the rest of the tree decor. Such Christmas spirit! :)

Also, I'm finally on facebook. I caved under Brian's (and all you other facebook addicts) peer pressure. It really comes down to this... I couldn't let my husband one-up me on anything socially based. It's just wrong. So, now I too am addicted. It's crazy. I am obsessed with seeing who has added me as a friend and I'm determined to get more friends than my husband. So look me up on facebook. I need to win! Just kidding honey, I'm glad you have lots of friends! :)

Good night!
Blessings,
Andi

hats again?

Could it be that Avery is going to wear hats again?? Little love was definitely a hat wearing baby, but at around 8 months she wised up and decided that she didn't want anything on her head. She subscribed to her daddy's philosophy... bald is beautiful. Much to daddy's delight, she began pulling off her hats and bows. Daddy may have been happy, but mommy was sad. Because of Avery's lack of hair, and without the defense of a bow or fun hat, I would now have to combat all of the "what a cute boy" comments. (It's crazy... even if she's dressed in pink, we still get those comments.) So, since bows are too tempting to pull off, I thought I would give hats another try. It's winter and she needs something to cover her ears. She'll go for that logical reasoning, right? :) We got this cute hat a couple of weeks ago and believe it or not, she actually wore it long enough for me to get these cute pics. She even seems to be posing with it a bit. Maybe hats are our friends again... we'll see how long it lasts. A mommy can hope right?

Happy Monday!
Andi

thankful today

Thankful today for so many things. Some shallow, some deep, but still thankful.

Thankful for....
15. lipgloss
14. my favorite jeans
13. my comfortable bed
12. wine with a good meal
11. dogs
10. coffee
9. ipod & dvr (i guess just technology in general)
8. freedom
7. music
6. organ donors (random I know, but my Aunt Jenny is waiting for a heart)
5. family & friends
4. birthmoms who choose adoption
3. the miracle that is my sweet daughter
2. my amazing husband
1. a savior who loves me despite myself

Speaking of my sweet daughter, here are some fun 13 month pics. Our little love loves to explore and escapes at every chance with her signature "scrawling" (with great speed I might add), so we finally got smart and got a baby gate. Avery hated the gate when we first got it and I was able to get a picture of her crying about it... yes, she actually cries sometimes. :) Still no walking. Lots of cruising and the occasional few steps, but I'm not getting worked up about it. She'll walk when she walks. I'm enjoying watching her "scrawl" and loving that she's still a baby, not a big walking girl quite yet. She's doing so many fun things right now.....blowing kisses, doing her own versions of Pat-A-Cake and Itsy Bitsy Spider (or just Itsy Bitsy as we call it), pulling up her shirt to show us her belly button and giving "lovey-loves" (hugs & kisses)when asked. It's soooo cute that she says "mmmmwaaaa" when she gives kisses because that's what I do to her. Daddy likes to show her off and have her "perform" when we're with family. She was the absolute star of the show today. :)

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song." Psalm 28:7

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!!
Blessings,
Andi

What a difference a year makes...

Above is a picture of Avery from this Halloween and one from last year. She is sooo big now!!! Also, a little late, but the slideshow below is Avery's 2nd Halloween festivities. We call her "monkey" and "monka-monka", so we thought it appropriate that she should be a monkey this year. :) She endured the costume for about an hour (just long enough to show her off a little and get some pics). Both sets of grandparents came over to hang out and Maddie & Connor came over before they went trick or treating. We had chili and cornbread and Grammy brought a pumpkin pie. It was lots of fun. The week before, Avery and her cousins went to a pumpkin patch. There are a few pics of that as well.

I'll have some 13 month pics up soon....
Andi

Halloween '08 Pics

Here are some fun 12 month pics. Is it just me, or has Avery matured so much in just a month?? Man.... so crazy! The first pics are ones I just captured while she was hanging out in the window. I love it when I'm able to get ones like that... no posing, no making her stay still.. she just looks at me and I get the shot. Great! There are also some of her in her fun halloween shirt on our front porch with pumpkins. I had to get this shirt for her because of the owl. The girl loves birds! :) The last few are of her playing in her room. She loves to play in there with all her new toys and all the things that Mommy hasn't put out of her reach yet. It's sad, but her pretty room isn't very toddler friendly. I don't want to constantly be saying "no" to her in her space, so I'll have to start putting away all the pretties very soon. As you can see from the pictures, she's a little climber. I don't let her climb in the chair very often, but I had to capture her daringness on film. It's hilarious that she looked right at the camera with that "am I supposed to be doing this?" face. She's still cruising, but not quite ready to let go... so no walking yet. She stands for a few seconds without holding on and then falls on her bottom. She then proceeds to do her "scrawl" to get where she wants to go. Our little individualist.

On her 12 month check up she weighed 18 lbs, 14 ounces and was 27 & 3/4 inches long. She's eating lots of different table food now and really doesn't want anything to do with baby food. In addition to hi and bye-bye, her favorite word is bird. She loves birds and daddy takes her outside every evening when he gets home to look at them. Maybe we should consider getting her a membership to the Audubon society. :)

Happy Weekend!
Andi

Some 12 month pics!

We had Avery's first birthday party on Saturday, October 4th and it was sooo fun!! We had it outside in our backyard and the theme was a garden party with birds, bees and flowers. The weather was absolutely beautiful!! We had lemonade, popcorn, a sundae bar and bee & flower cupcakes from Tom Thumb... props to Courtney for making them so fun. Avery had her very own cake from Tart. It was precious!! They made my vision happen. I highly recommend them for your next event. :) My mom and sister-in-law Alison put in lots of time helping me make the party happen. Daddy also logged many hours in the yard making it pretty for his little princess. Before the party on Saturday, our whole family was out in the yard hanging tissue balls, and getting the last minute stuff done. I am so thankful for their help... beyond words.

We were blessed to have lots of family and friends celebrate the day with us. Avery had about 12 little friends in attendance. She's quite the social butterfly you know. :) Not only did the guests shower Avery with gifts, but they also generously donated to our diaper drive for Nueva Esperanza orphanage in Honduras. Our sweet friend Stephany Stimson, who is also a fabulous photographer, was at the party and took pics the entire time! (Can't wait to see them... we'll have them up soon.) We truly have amazing people in our lives!

As most of you know, I typically don't do anything "ordinary", so lots of planning went into the party and there were lots of little details that I felt were important. Brian thought I was crazy and over the top. He, being his usual positive self, assured me that Avery wouldn't remember any of it. I assured him that I was fully aware of that and when she was older that she would have pictures to look at and would know that her mommy planned an extra special party for her 1st birthday. To me, all the planning (and stress) was well worth it. I have been waiting a very, very long time to plan my little girl's 1st birthday party.

It was a beautiful day and the best part of all was after the guests were gone and the decorations were taken down, Brian and I were able to watch our sweet, exhausted baby girl play with her new toys. We were able to get her ready for bed and then watch her drift off to sleep. We were reminded once again, as we always are when we look at Avery, of the goodness and faithfulness of our God. What a precious gift He has given us in Avery Grace. In the words of our nephew Connor.... "Avery Grace, you're my best present."

"Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." James 1:17

Our Avery Grace is a good and perfect gift from our Jesus who is the ultimate gift.

Blessings,
Andi

Avery's Birthday Party!

Sorry for the hiatus, but "birthday week" was super busy and the Stubblefields have been fighting a viral cold.... so fun!! Avery's actual b-day was on Thursday, October 2nd. We had a relatively "normal" day and celebrated in the evening with daddy and a special cupcake from Sprinkles! I'm posting some pics of the actual b-day festivities and will follow with a few pics from her birthday party. Note: The birds and owls are ones that I made for the party to be hung in the trees. The huge pink tissue flowers are from a Martha Stewart kit. My mom and dad helped me put them together and then we hung them from the trees. They looked great! It was so girly and maybe just a little over the top. :)

Blessings,
Andi

Avery's 1st Birthday

7 days and counting....

The countdown has begun....our "Little Love" will be one in 7 days!!! Can't believe it!

Avery will be flying for the third time tomorrow. The Stubblefields are headed to Ohio to visit my family. We're looking forward to the trip and hope Avery is as good on the plane this time as the last two times. She's lots more active now, so it should be interesting.

I'll have some fun pics and an update for you when we get back.

Have a great weekend!
Andi

11 month pics

Here are some fun 11 month pics!! Avery is really so big! It's crazy!! She has 6 teeth, is still cruising and standing on her own for a few seconds, and is really talking up a storm. Her favorite word is still "hi". She is a source of entertainment for many when we're shopping. She also says "baby", something that sounds very much like "Jack" when she sees him, and ocassionally "dog". She also says several words in a foreign tongue that I can't quite decypher... the girl loves to talk! :) It's amazing to hear her little voice and actual words coming out of her mouth. Such a miracle! I look forward to long conversations with her in the years to come.

Operation "1st Birthday" is in full swing. I'm planning and preparing in my "spare time". :) We're having a back yard bash on October 4th with cupcakes, lemonade and ice cream sundaes. We're trying to keep it simple... as simple as an Andi event can be. Please pray that it doesn't rain on our special day. We absolutely don't have room for this kind of party inside, so we're taking a big chance on the outside venue. I checked with the Farmer's Almanac (not something I regularly utilize, but desperate times... ) and they say it won't rain that week. Let's hope they're right.

Hope everyone's having a happy week!
Blessings,
Andi

Restoration Song

11 months tomorrow

These are the last of the 10 month pics. My little love will be 11 months old tomorrow. Although I'm in denial about her 1st birthday approaching, I have started to plan her party.

So, let me tell you about this sweet girl... she has such a personality!! Over the last few weeks she's started saying "hi" and waving...and the funny thing is, is that she knows exactly what she's doing. She does it at home to us and the dogs, but also at the grocery store, Wal-Mart, Target, the mall, restaurants... wherever she sees people. She says hi and if she doesn't get a hi back, she says it louder until whoever she's talking to responds! People can't get over it. They think it's the cutest thing they've ever seen... this tiny thing saying hi and waving to them like she's a big girl. She absolutely loves people. I can't imagine what it will be like when she can actually carry on conversations. (and her daddy thinks I'm a talker... he's in for it!) :)

Andi

Call me.... crafty?

Okay, so apparently I've inherited the "crafty" gene. I come from a long line of "crafters" (is that a word? I prefer to call them artists.) My paternal great grandmother, Grandma Allen was a master seamstress and quilter and my maternal grandmother, Mamaw Sherman was essentially the craftiest woman I have ever known. Crochet, quilting, painting, sewing, pottery, macaroni jewelry boxes... you name it, she did it. She even used golf balls to make the cutest dog craft you've ever seen. I spent many hours as a child under her tutelage, so it should come as no surprise that some of her craftiness would rub off on me. My mom is also extremely crafty... floral arrangements, doll making, crochet. So why am I so amazed that JoAnn Fabric has become my favorite store and that I've done so many crafty things this summer? I think I've supressed this crafty gene over the years for fear of becoming one of those women who crochets her own matching beret and poncho in that alternating color zig-zag pattern. It seems having Avery has brought some of my "skills" to the surface. In addition to the crafts I did with the kids over the summer, here are a few of the other things I've done.

1. Covered a body pillow with fabric for my grandmother's bench. I only mention this because I probably wouldn't (and didn't) do this pre-Avery. Our small group is meeting at our house again and I was in dire need of more seating. Instead of buying a pice of furniture, I took the bench out of the dining area to use. Unfortunately it is very uncomfortable, so I needed to find a seat cushion to fit. I looked at several places and couldn't find the exact size, so I decided to improvise. I covered a body pillow that was the same exact size as the bench in a great mocha colored fabric and then added some cool accent pillows from Pier 1. I didn't include a picture because it was really no big deal. In fact, my "crafty card" would definitely be revoked if the powers that be found out how I "covered" the pillow. I've only shared this with a select few people and plan to take this secret to the grave. :)

2. Made a name sign for Avery's room. It took me 10 months to actually decide what I wanted to do and literally 20 minutes to make once I had the materials. I didn't want to just hang letters on the wall... I wanted something with more flair. My friend Stephany had covered canvases with fabric to display as artwork in her apartment. I thought this was a great idea, so I tweaked it for Avery's name sign. I found this awesome mod polka dot fabric and the canvas at JoAnn (of course) I purchased the letters, whch I've been eyeing for 10 months, at Lone Star Baby. I covered the canvas with the fabric and then hotglued the letters on. Super easy... and so cute!! I really wanted lowercase letters, but I think these turned out fine. It looks great above her bed. :)

3. When I started envisioning a baby's room, I definitely saw a chandelier. After we got Avery, I had to have one for my sweet girl's room! I had been looking at one at Pottery Barn Kids since before she came home, but didn't want to pay the big price. I wanted to find one at a flea market or thrift store and paint it myself. It took about 9 months, but finally my sister-in-law, Alison found one!! She got it at Goodwill and payed $10 for this treasure!!! We painted it an antique white and then I bought and covered shades with fun fabric and trim. I am so pleased with how this turned out! It looks beautiful in her room. It was exactly what I wanted and all in all it cost about $45 to make. :)

I hope I've inspired you to let your crafty gene emerge! Really, it's not scary. I haven't started wearing my own creations.... yet!

Andi

So long summer....

Alas... summer has come to an end. The kids started back to school today and the lazy, care free days of summer are over. (Well, my days were never lazy or care-free, but it sounds better.) :) I thought I would update you on how we spent our last fun filled month and throw in some great pics.

Here's how August shaped up...

1. Awesome get-together with Amy & Annabelle and Kim & Landen! Amy's dad has this great inflatable slide/pool. The kids absolutely loved it! Amy made lunch and the mommies got to catch up. Such a fun day! :)

2. Lunch at Mooyah! I took the gang to lunch at Mooyah, a fun burger joint. It's no Purple Cow, but it's fun in it's own right. The kids look so great in this picture. Maybe Mooyah will contact me about using it for an ad... great product placement. :)

3. "Read To Rocky" Our library (where we spent many hours this summer), did something so cool!! They brought therapeutic dogs in for the kids to read to. At first I thought it sounded a little strange, but the librarian explained that it was a great way for kids to practice their reading because they don't feel self concious reading to a dog the way they might reading to a peer or an adult. The dogs were amazing!! They just sat or layed there and let the kids read or pet them. It was such a fun outing!!

4. Maddie's 8th Birthday celebration. Since Maddie and Connor were with me during the week and Maddie's b-day happened to fall on a weekday, I had the great privilege of throwing a little "actual birthday" celebration for her. Maddie, Alex & I went to see the American Girl movie, Kit Kittredge while my sweet sister in law, Alison, kept Connor & Avery.(side note... this was the first movie I've been to since Avery came home) After pigging out on some yummy theater popcorn, we enjoyed some very girly pink cupcakes at home (yes I made them). I think this may have been the first time I've gotten to celebrate with Maddie on her actual birthday. It was sweet.

So that wraps up the summer and what do you know, I survived! Now we're in serious, back to business mode and I'm trying to switch gears. :(

I'll have the last of the 10 month pics up tomorrow.

Happy Monday!
Andi

More Summer Pics

10 months already??!!!

Avery was 10 months old on Saturday! Unbelievable... I know I say that in every post, but I can't get my mind around how fast time is going. To celebrate, we went to Madison's 8th birthday party. The theme was a fun luau and Avery had a blast! She was literally the center of attention... running a close 2nd to the birthday girl. :)

It seems like Avery has started doing all kinds of fun things at once. At the end of her ninth month she began pulling up on anything she could and cruising (for those of you who don't keep up with baby lingo.. that just means she's taking little steps while holding onto something). The best surprise was when I walked(stumbled) in to get her one early morning and she was standing up peeking over the side of her crib looking at me like, "I'm ready to get up, where have you been?". It was a bit of a shock at 4:30 AM, but I couldn't help but smile. She also started clapping her hands and saying "Yay" when she does something she's proud of or when she hears music, clapping or cheering. I love it!! She knows where "nose" is now and takes great joy in squeezing the nose of whatever poor victim has been suckered into the "Where's the nose" game. She started saying ma-ma. Pretty sure she doesn't know what it means yet, but I love hearing it. I'm also about 99% convinced that she's saying dog. I could be jumping the gun a bit, but something very close to that comes out several times a day.

She's a joy to be with and I still can't believe that God gave her to us.

I'll have more pictures up soon and I also have a few things on my mind that I hope I find time to blog about.

Happy Thursday... almost Friday!! :)
Andi

10 Month Pics

Hot Weather... Cool Stuff

Here are some pics of our summer activities! The time has really flown by... I can't believe I've been a SAHM for 2 months already! The kids are awesome and we have so much fun together! This new role is hard, but really rewarding. I feel challenged in a way that I've never experienced. I'm definitely more tired than I've ever been, but God has been so good to give me energy and new mercies every day. I feel so blessed to be able to stay at home with Avery and having Maddie & Connor here is really icing on the cake.

So back to the pics.... Mostly just shots of things we do on a weekly basis.

Chilln' in the "Sweeter" Stubblefield pool- for those of you who have followed my blog, the "Sweet" Stubblefield pool just wasn't red-neck enough, so Brian had to up the ante and get us a bonafide above the ground blow up one!! Judge if you must.... the kids absolutely love it and it keeps us cool.

Storytime with Mr. Mike at Barnes & Noble- We do this every Monday morning. So fun!

Hanging out at some sort of indoor play area... Chick-fil-A, McDonald's, etc...

Crafts in cool craft aprons-
1. The terrarium craft was something I saw on a Mommy blog and stole the idea. I've been planning this craft since before I left Power FM and we finally got around to it last week. Hopefully the plants survive. :)
2. Picture frame craft- We did these today. So fun!! I let the kids pick their colors and let them paint them. We used foamies as decorations. I'm learning so much about myself with these crafts... I want things to be pretty, so I made alot of "suggestions" on where the foamies should go and I definitely "helped" with the painting. So what does that say about me??? And is anyone else as confused as I am? Me... doing crafts?!!!!

I'll have pictures of our Austin trip up soon... promise! I'm sure you're counting the seconds. :)

Love,
Andi

More Summer Fun

9 Month Re-Cap

Hey guys!
Sorry it's taken me so long to update you on Avery's 9th month. Here's a re-cap of this month's happenings...

Avery weighs 18 lbs & 1 oz. She's 27 & 3/4 inches long. She has 4 teeth coming in on top (you can see two of them in the pictures). She's not crawling, but she gets wherever she wants to go by scooting on her bottom. Her hands are into everything!! She started pulling up. She doesn't do it consistently, but she does it when the mood strikes her. She loves to "walk" with Daddy. She loves to be in the water. She's always "talking" and just started growling this week. :) She looks at Daddy, Mommy, Grandmommy, Papa and Maddie when you ask her where they are. She's happy most of the time, except when she's cutting 4 teeth. :) She likes to give kisses and dances when she hears music. Her Great-Aunt Elaine gave her the doll that she's attacking in the pics. It's actually a collectible Middleton doll, so this was the first time she got to touch it.

We had an eventful month...Avery went to her first Wimbledon brunch (no we didn't go to London) and looked fab in her Adidas tennis dress (thanks Aunt Jenny), she celebrated her first 4th of July with a dip in the "sweeter" Stubblefield pool with Daddy and a family BBQ, we went to Austin with the Corsos and Sullivans, we celebrated Mommy's b-day with a game night at Aunt Ali & Uncle Alan's house, we celebrated Grandmommy's b-day at Purple Cow and we have spent lots of time playing with Maddie & Connor!!

Avery will be 10 months old on August 2nd. Yikes!! We'll be planning her first birthday party very soon. :)

Love,
Andi

9 Month Pics

14!

I know it's been a while since I've posted... sorry!! Since we took our mini-vaca, I haven't been able to get caught up. I have several sets of pics that I want to post, so I'm starting with Trevor's 14th birthday first. Trev was at camp on his actual b-day, so we celebrated on July 5th. We went to Purple Cow (our tradition- 3 years running). Then we came home for cake and presents. Brian & I and Trevor's mom went in together and got him an electric guitar. We got a Fender Squire Strat starter pack. It's a good one to get started on. He was really excited and we hope that he'll actually pursue playing. The pics are hilarious.... Trevor and Keeyon are such typical teenagers. Oh, the joys! :)

I'll be blasting you with pictures soon from our Austin trip, random summer shots (including a fun terrarium project with the kids) and Avery's 9 month pics and update. Keep checking back!

Hope everyone is enjoying the 100 degree + weather! :)
Love,
Andi

Trevor is 14!

The Stubblefields are in Austin for a fun weekend get-away! We'll have lots of pics to post after the trip. Stay tuned!

Happy Weekend!
Andi

Studio pics

Check out Christie Yonce's blog for some fun pictures she took of Avery last month!

Hope everyone had a great long weekend!!
Love,
Andi

Avery is 9 months old!

"The days are long... the years short"

Avery was 9 months old on Wednesday! So crazy that she'll be a year old in 3 short months. On Saturday, we visited Brian's former boss Liz and her husband "Mr Lundy" in Fort Worth. They have a little boy and we were talking about how quickly the time goes when they're little. Liz said, "the days are very long, but the years are very short." I thought that was brilliant and very acurately described this time in life. The days (and sometimes nights) are long and I'm exhausted at the end of them, but it is such a precious, beautiful time. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I have a tendency to worry about the future or lament about the past and I truly hope that this is one time that I savor the fleeting moments and live in the present.

Avery has her 9 month check up next week, so I'll keep you updated on height, weight, etc... She finally has a third tooth coming in. It's the one on the top left next to her front teeth. Should be an interesting look when that one comes in. :) She's not crawling yet, but she scoots around everywhere and has her hands in everything. She's very close to pulling up and it looks like she might be a walker before she's a crawler. The pics above are some that we took in the final days of her 8th month. They are so fun, I had to post them. I'll have some 9 month ones up soon.

Happy Thursday!
Andi

Summertime TV

A few months ago, my friend Jade blogged about her "guilty music pleasures". I thought that was really fun, so I decided to keep the multi- media confessions going by first confessing my summertime guilty viewing pleasures and then asking what you're watching this summer.

Before you judge me... (you probably will anyway, but I'm okay with that)...I don't spend endless hours in front of the tv. I utilize the amazing invention, the DVR and then of course fast forward through the commercials. I'm also reading this summer, so I'm not destroying all of my brain cells. :)

Here's my list....

1. So You Think You Can Dance- Fox- Wednesdays (performance show) Thursdays (results show)- The dance version of American Idol and sooooo much better than Dancing With The Stars- Absolutely love this show! :)

2. The Bachelorette- ABC- Mondays- Not really a fan of The Bachelor, but I like this show. It's a different ballgame when the shoe (or the stiletto in this case) is on the other foot. :)

3. Shear Genius Season 2- Bravo- Wendesdays- Stylist duke it out to see who is "shear genius"- Hosted by Jaclyn Smith- What's not to love?

4. Project Runway Season 5- Bravo- Premieres Wednesday July 16th! I've watched every season of this show and LOVE it! I'm excited about the new season and seeing how the designers "make it work"!

5. Mad Men Season 2- AMC- Premieres Sunday July 27th!- This was my favorite show last year, hands down. It is a smart, well written and acted drama about advertising executives in Manhattan in the early 60's. If you didn't catch it last season, you can get caught up with a marathon on July 20th.

So.... what are you watching?? You can share... I won't tell! :)

The Boys Are Off to Camp!

The pics above are Trevor and Keeyon (our next door neighbor)at their end of year choir concert. These pictures crack me up because they totally peg these guys... "too cool" one minute and total goof balls the next. I'm posting the pics because the boys are headed to middle school church camp tonight. The camp is in South Padre and they are totally stoked about going! I didn't have to sell them at all on going this year. They were in after the first announcement. I can only imagine the late nights, the pranks and the lack of hygeine these guys will experience, but my prayer is that they will experience Jesus above everything else. Please join me in praying for them while they're gone (Wed-Mon). Pray that God would stir their affection for Him. Pray that their ears and hearts would be open to the Word. Pray that they would have a blast hanging out on the beach and swimming in the ocean all the while knowing that the very Creator of these things loves them and desires a relationship with them.

Also, pray for the leaders who are accompanying them... they are so very brave! :)

Blessings,
Andi

Dress Up!

Avery is 8 months old for one more week. I can't believe she will be 9 months so soon.
The time is certainly flying....

On Sunday, we had some special "mommy & Avery" time. We played dress up and had so much fun! The girl has some beautiful clothes! We are so blessed that many of the beautiful things she has have been gifts from sweet friends. The two gorgeous dresses she is modeling in these pics are from Dr. Hyziak, my Aunt Jenny's pediatric partner. She gave them to us on our visit to Ohio in March. So sweet!! We haven't had a place or occasion to wear them yet, so I thought I would grab a couple of shots before Avery outgrows them. She really looks so grown up!

There are also some pics of Avery and her brother Jackson. She loves dogs! Not just her brothers Sam & Jack, but all dogs. Everytime she sees one her face lights up and she bounces up and down. I'm not sure what it is about them that makes her so happy, but I'm glad they do. :)

Happy Monday!
Andi

8 Months- Week 4

Summer Fun Pics

Summer Fun

Above are some pics of the first two weeks of "Operation SAHM (stay- at- home mom)". We've actually been having a great time and have all survived..... virtually unscathed. Let me explain the virtually...there have been a few mishaps:
1. A bonk on Connor's head on day one by my car door
2. Nearly being mowed over by a Mercedes SUV in the Barnes & Noble parking lot (on our way to storytime with Mister Mike).
3. Avery being catapulted off the couch by the hyped up trio of Trevor, Maddie & Connor. Don't worry Aunt Jenny... Avery is fine! It sounds much more dramatic than it really was. No permanent damage. :)

We've kept busy with outdoor time, craft time, and some field trips: Story Time with Mister Mike every Monday morning, the library, a tour with Engineer Kent at Power FM, and to the movies to see Kung Fu Panda (love Jack Black so it was fun for me too!).

Craft time was especially fun the week of Father's Day. Kim and Landen joined us on that Friday to make "Dad Rocks" Rock families (see pics). These are our take on the ever popular rock paper weight (do people even use paper weights anymore? I'm pretty sure those were retired after the wonderful invention of the Post-It.) Whether or not they're still in use, Brian, Isaac & Matt were all presented with one (Matt got two!) and are now proudly displaying them on their desks.... maybe not proudly, but displaying them nonetheless. :)

I'll have more to report next week. Let's hope mishap free.

Love,
Andi

13

Thirteen years isn't a long time by some standards, but here are just a few of the things that can happen over the course of 13 years:

A change from one decade to the next

A change in presidents (possibly 3 changes without repeat terms)

A child officially becomes a teenager

Someone becomes a doctor (4 years of college, 4 years of med school, 3+ years residency)

Your hairstyle changes at least 3 times (some more, some less depending on how adventurous you are)

Gas price increase from $1.22 to $3.93 a gallon

Why am I hung up on thirteen? Well, Brian and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary last week! Thirteen years.... unbelievable. The time has flown and it really doesn't seem like we've been married that long. It might to Brian, but it doesn't to me. :) We've experienced joy and sorrow during these 13 years, we've grown closer and come to know each other more deeply (ugly stuff and all). We've discovered that we are utterly helpless without Christ in the center of our marriage. We have come to understand more fully what Ephesians 5 looks like in our marriage. We have leaned on each other while clinging to the cross. We've learned to love better. We've discovered friendship. We've learned to be patient, to persevere and to trust. We've learned (and are still learning) to be selfless. We've witnessed the miracles of God and seen beauty come from ashes.

I am truly blessed with an amazing husband. I know I take him for granted most of the time, but today I am thankful. Thankful for him and for the life we have together. Thankful for our hardships and our joy. Thankful for our love and friendship. Thankful for the thirteen years God has given us. Just thankful.

For fun, here are some happenings from 1995 (the year we were married)... yes I'm fully aware that some of you were still in high school or middle school even. :( What can I say, we're old!

http://www.infoplease.com/year/1995.html

On another note, I'm alive and well and enjoying my time with the kids. I'll post tomorrow to let you know what adventures we've had so far.... storytime, crafts and water balloons... oh my!

Happy Monday!

Andi

Some 8 Month Pics

Here are some 8 month pics! Avery is so fun in front of the camera. As you can see in some of the pics, she's also very Zoolander! :) We had some professional pics done this week by CYonce Photography, a photographer I found through Celebrating Adoption. Avery was hilarious during the shoot. She hammed it up the entire time. My mom says she's a natural because there's always a camera in her face. I'm not sure what she's talking about..... :) Christie, the photographer got some really great shots! She asked me if Avery was always so good and easy. We are soooo blessed, because she really is for the most part... with the exception of bedtime. Our little social butterfly doesn't want to miss out on anything. :)

No, we didn't get the balloons for her 8 month b-day. They were for Lily Grace's welcome home celebration and shower. This was Avery's first experience with balloons and she loved them! She had to ride home with them in the backseat and was very frustrated that she couldn't reach them.

Avery loves her brother Jack, so I included a pic of him. She also LOVES kids and is so excited that she will get to spend time with Connor and Maddie this summer. We'll also get to see Landen lots since Kim is a stay at home mommy for the summer!! There is an awesome picture of our "little loves" on the Corso's blog.... check it out!!

Happy weekend!

Andi