Boys will be Boys

Avery enjoyed spending time with his uncles (and Oscar the pup too) over the holidays. 

Daddy's Boy

Avery giving Daddy some loving. 

Good Day

We had the best day with Avery yesterday! He has really started to 'talk' a lot. He has started to repeat various sound combinations that he makes up. This new 'language' of his seems to have replaced the endless whining phase he went through over the past few weeks.

He usually fights to be dressed or changed - crying, twisiting and fighting as hard as he can - but not yesterday. The entire time I changed him he would just 'talk' to me.

He practiced standing alone yesterday. He started out trying on the cat tree. He would move from the lower shelf to the higher shelf while letting go of it in between. He practiced this over and over and didn't realize that we were both watching him. Later in the evening, Jason was sitting on the couch and I was sitting on the floor beside him and Avery was between us. All of a sudden, Avery raised both hands over his head (as if to say "look no hands") and turned to take one step to me. He did this over and over.... laughing and laughing. He seems to have crossed this barrier of not being able to communicate to at least grasping the concept of it yesterday. It was just this really amazing day of discoveries with him. He is the greatest joy I have ever known.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

New outfit $10.00. New stuffed monkey $6.00. New wooden tool bench $7.00. Sitting in an empty cardboard box with tissue and wrapping paper.... PRICELESS!! By far, this was the thing Avery enjoyed most this morning. It does sum up what the holiday is about though... it isn't what is inside the pretty packages that matters - spending time with family and friends is what truly matters and makes the holiday special. 

Avery and Pepe

Avery was very excited to receive lots of new clothes from Meme and Pepe. He loves the color red, so I think this shirt may be his favorite. I like the blue and red flannel shirt. Avery's afternoon was filled with hugs from Meme & Pepe, Great Grammie & Gramps, Aunt Em & Mike and Aunt Dani. 

A close up of the holiday sweater vest! 

First Christmas Tree

Avery's first experience with a Christmas tree was Saturday at a holiday party. He was actually more interested in the train that circled the bottom of the tree than in the tree itself. He was the cause of a few derailments. Check out his holiday sweater vest! We'll post another image of it soon.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree (cont.)

Grammy and Papa Richard came by today to have lunch, and they helped us string the lights and garland on our Christmas tree. Here it is decorated and lit. Hope everyone is having a good start to the holday season.  

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

The Richard family went to cut down their Christmas tree this afternoon. It was a beautiful day for it, with the fresh snow. We picked out a nice little tree and we'll be putting it up tonight. Happy Christmas tree day. 

Avery and Santa

Jason, Avery and I attended Avery's holiday party this afternoon. It was a lot of fun to see him interact with his friends. Here he is with Santa - he was very brave! 

A Question about Shoes

These are Avery's shoes. I'm questioning the necessity of these shoes. His feet only touch the ground when he's indoors. Does he need to wear them? jgr