Avery's First Thanksgiving

I have always loved the holiday season, but this year I am especially excited to share our traditions with Avery and also make new ones that our little family will observe each year.
We started out the weekend with a 5K Turkey Trot in Oceanside on Thursday. It was a lot of fun and money was raised for local schools.
For as long as I can remember, we have been going to my Oma's for Thanksgiving dinner. There is always more delicious food than we know what to do with and the usual arguing over who gets the last of the famous Oma Salad. Aunt Kathy made a super yummy pumpkin cheesecake in addition to her usual apple and pumpkin pies. All were a hit!
After dinner, Alex, Avery, my mom and I head up to Pat and Al's cabin in Lake Arrowhead to have dessert and spend the weekend with the Klingensmith's. Driving up the mountain this year was bittersweet. Alex and I hadn't been up to the cabin since last New Years Eve when our puggle, Bailey, died tragically on New Years Day. I was not looking forward to revisiting the terrible events of that day, but I was equally excited to introduce Avery to the mountain getaway that we previously enjoyed so much. It ended up being really nice to visit and think of Bailey again, and I have found that finally, nearly a year later, my memories of him are almost always of the happy and fun times we spent with him in his 2 1/2 years of life. I love you, Glers, and I always will. The slower pace of mountain life is a great way to relax before the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season begins!
Enjoy the pictures of Avery's first Thanksgiving!

Avery and I at the Turkey Trot

Winners!

Avery LOVED playing peek-a-boo

with her second cousin, Hailey...

And getting hugs from Oma!

Family picture attempt, not so good

Uncle Corey, Grandpa John and the Klingensmiths

Tough to get everyone looking and smiling at the same time!

Sunset pictures

Alex and Avery and I went on a date recently to the Cannery in Newport where Alex and I had one of our first memorable dates 5 1/2 years ago. We took the boat over to the restaurant for a little sunset cruise and Avery fell asleep just as we got there, allowing Alex and I to have a much-needed romantic evening together. It was a gorgeous night and we got a few great pictures. We also headed down to our local beach in Carlsbad another night to watch the sunset and got some great shots of Avery.  Enjoy!



Enjoying the sunset

Getting pretty with mommy

Posing with Captain Daddy

Helping Daddy drive...with her feet

Alex and his girl at Ponto

Laughing ladies!

Kisses

Avery is 4 months old!

On November 2, 2010, after performing my civic duty and voting in the mid-term election, Avery and I had our 4 month photo shoot! This month I decided that she has so many cute clothes and she is growing SO FAST (16 lbs, 8 oz 96th percentile; 25.6 inches long 92nd percentile!!), that I better dress her up in a few especially cute outfits and start snapping away! Avery is getting very good at grabbing things and placing them into her mouth, including her hands, my hair, her toys and Roo's ears if he is silly enough to get close, as well as the "I Am 4 Months" sign that I made. Scrapbook paper and stickers, YUM!  Enjoy the pictures!

Avery loves watching sports, especially the Chargers (they beat the Titans at home this day, woohoo!!)

Looking especially precious in her pink overalls and striped tights

Cute sweater dress from Grammy Solange

Before she made the sign her lunch...

Looking super cute in a sweater vest and a denim skirt!

Sweet face

She is always SO smiley when she wakes up from her nap, love it

Mommy had a funny idea...

Where's Avery??

Such a cutie

Tummy time!

Posing for momma

Avery's 1st Halloween

The cuteness on October 31st this year was almost too much for us to handle! Our sweet little teddy bear was beyond adorable and did a great job tolerating the hat part of her costume that would regularly cover up her face.  We attended a neighborhood party where of all the little kids in attendance, our little one was one of 3 Avery's! One was about a year and a half old and looked a lot like our Avery, and was running all around.  It was a glimpse of our future, and I for one cannot wait! We also went to our friends the Annaloro's neighborhood to trick or treat, and Avery went up to a few houses (in mom or dad's arms, of course) and got a pretty sizeable candy stash before falling asleep. All in all, it was a good time and we can't wait until next Halloween!  Enjoy the pictures!

Avery the Adorable Teddy Bear!

Giggling with Grammy

Franken-Roo!

Two Tiggers

Dave with little Gavin the Whale

Isabella the Lion pushing Wyatt the Whale

Sophia, Stella, Arielle and Avery are ready to trick or treat!

10-10-10=Pat turned 80!

On Sunday, October 10th Pat Klingensmith turned 80 years young! We knew we wanted to make the day special for her and decided a family surprise party would please the woman who has everything.  Everyone contributed something to pull it off and it was an absolute success! Happy 80th to Grandma and thanks to everyone who helped to make it happen! Enjoy the pictures

Everyone! (except JP, Solange and Avery)

The birthday girl and her kids

Italian-themed dinner provided by everyone

Happy birthday to you!

Just in case anyone was wondering...

Avery got some Crocs from J, J and O!!

She was surprised!

Thanks to Grandpa for helping us fool her!

Avery is 3 months old!!

I know I am a little late on the 3 month photo shoot, but just go with it :)
Our little girl continues to grow and change before our eyes, and literally every day brings new and fun things she can do.

• We don't know exactly how much she weighs now, but we know she is getting up there because our arms ache after just a few minutes! 
• She is "talking" a ton and smiling at everything and everyone (my favorite thing to do is poke my face over her crib when she wakes up in the morning and watch the biggest grin spread across her face!) 
• She can reach for toys and almost always successfully place them into her mouth 
• She is wearing size 2 diapers and fits into all of her 3-6 month clothes 
• She has moved on from the Soothie newborn pacifier to a regular Nuk one
• She is getting strong enough to sit up in her Bumbo seat and enjoy her jumperoo
• Her hair is getting lighter but is still pretty fluffy
• She is still exclusively breast-feeding and eats about 5 oz 5-7 times a day
• She is sleeping 7-9 hour stretches consistently (woohoo!)

We recently took Avery and Roo to a big park near our house for our little photo shoot. One thing remains the same about our little girl as the months progress: She is beyond adorable and so fun to photograph! Enjoy :)

Jumperoo

Bumbo seat

Tummy time

Pretty baby

Happy girl

Loves kisses from Daddy

Me and smiling Avery

Roo kisses!

First pair of Crocs! Can't wait until she fits into them