Month in Review

This month has been extremely busy for the Anderson household. Joel and I celebrated our 5th Anniversary, our baby turned one, Joel's bank got bought by an investment firm - which caused him to have to work extra hours, visiting family and friends, Christmas, and the list goes on and on. But even though it has been busy, it has been tons of fun too. We wouldn't change any of it.

We love the snow. Lucky us -- it has been snowing quite a bit lately. It is absolutely beautiful and looks magical as it falls from the sky. Today in particular was gorgeous. We got about 10 inches of new snow last night and it was sunny today. There is nothing more pretty than the bright sun shinning on fresh new snow. We only wish we were up on the mountain skiing in it!

We cannot wait to see what 2011 brings to our family. We hope to have many fun adventures and make wonderful memories. We feel so blessed for all that we have been given.

Our Little Lady

Our "Little Lady" turns ONE today. I cannot believe how fast this last year has gone by. Ava has grown up so much and is constantly making us smile and laugh. I never thought anything could bring as much joy into our lives as she has.

Ava had a ladybug birthday party this year (pink and brown instead of red and black). She wore a cute pink dress with a ladybug on it, and definitely stole the show. Her ladybug cake was made by Grandma Tilton and her ladybug cookies were made by Grandma Anderson.

She didn't go crazy over her birthday cake like many kids do. I was hoping to get that really messing cake eating photo, but she went about eating it very lady like.

Her stats at her 12 month check up:

• Height: 30.75 inches
• Weight: 21.8 pounds

She says mama, dada, baba (bye bye), and lets us know what she wants by pointing to it.
She is walking everywhere, and loves to get into every kitchen drawer that she can.

She is growing too fast (I wish it would slow down a little sometimes), but we enjoy watching her learn new things. We cannot believe our baby is one today. She is really becoming such a little lady.

We love you Ava!!

On the Hunt

This last weekend we went up north with some of our good friends, Rhonda, Mark and their little boy Henry, to look for the perfect Christmas tree. And we had success!! After a little hike through the woods, we finally found our cute tree.

I was a little worried about how Ava would do being out in the cold. This was her first time outside for a long period of time, but she seemed to enjoy it.

Our little family on the hunt for our Christmas tree.

Ava and I took a break to play in the snow while Joel cut down the tree. Ava loved touching the snow. She is always so curious about everything (she gets that from her dad - and it is a good thing).

And since she was so curious...Joel thought that she ought to taste it too.

This little adventure made for the perfect weekend, and our house is beginning to look alot like Christmas.

Ava's First Encounter With Santa

Ava met Santa last night at our Church Christmas party for the first time. We did not know what to expect, because she totally has separation anxiety really bad. However, it went much better than we expected. She enjoyed herself the whole night...One, because she could walk around the whole gym with all the other children (which meant we were chasing her the whole time), and Two, because there were Christmas trees everywhere. She thought the trees were great. We are putting ours up tomorrow.

Then she met Santa. She was not too sure about him, but did not scream or cry (which was all we were asking for).

But she was sure excited to show us the candy cane she got from Santa when she was done sitting on his lap.

What's For Dinner

This last weekend I had some of my favorite girlfriend's over for a craft day, but more importantly to celebrate Beth's birthday. We use to get together so much more and hang out, but life just keeps getting busier each year and finding time that we can all get together gets more difficult. It was nice to just sit and talk to each other, and we made a pretty cute craft too.

We made menu boards to go in our kitchens. They all turned out so cute, and each had their own personal touch and style. Here are some of the finished products.

I cannot wait to start using mine. Hopefully it will help me plan my meals and shopping trips better. I can't wait to have our next girl's day either.

I am a...

WALKER!!!

Ava is officially a walker. She started crawling about 3 weeks ago and fought it the whole way. She wanted nothing to do with being on her hands and knees. The other day I was walking with her just holding onto one of my fingers (side-by-side), and I let go and she kept walking for a few steps. I thought that it might have just been lucky, but she will let go of anything that she is holding onto now and try to stand and balance or take a few steps. She has wanted to be on her feet since she was about 6 months old, but I never thought that I would have a walker at 10 months of age. Ava just turned 10 months old 11 days ago. Where did our baby go? She is growing up way too fast, but it is fun to watch her develop and learn new things.

Also, here is a picture of her in her pumpkin outfit for Halloween.

Little Miss Ava Claire

Well we missed Ava's 9 month pictures, so she got pictures taken at 10 months old instead. She becomes more and more fun each day. I am always saying that I love this stage in her development the best, but right now is honestly my favorite. She is growing up way too fast though. Some fun facts about Ava right now are:

• Crawls anywhere (but loves to crawl up the stairs the most)
• Would rather walk, so she pulls herself up on everything and scales the walls and furniture
• Loves to clap when she does something cute
• Will eat anything she can get her hands on (she tried a baby wipe the other day - GROSS)
• Fascinated with belts
• Loves to read books (this is some of my favorite past-times with her)
• Wears 12 month clothes and 18 month pajamas (where did my baby go?)
• Has the cutest different face expressions

She is definitely our best and biggest blessing.

We love you Ava!

Fall Festival

Yesterday we drove down to the Tri-Cities to visit my brother Eric's Family. We had planned to go to the fall festival outside of town but did not know if the weather would cooperate. We tried it even though it was cold and a little rainy, and I am glad that we did. We had a great time, and Ava enjoyed seeing her cousins. (I forgot Ava's hat and coat so she had to borrow some from Maveric)

Ava and Maveric hanging out while waiting to go into the festival.

We have a book that talks about scratchy straw. Ava thought it was great to actually play with real straw.

Here is Ava showing off how tall she is.

Daddy and Ava riding a tractor. Of course Ava wanted to take the wheel.

And a few family shots.

Spending time together is our favorite past time.

Ava cannot wait to play with her cousins again over Thanksgiving.
We love spending time with Family.

Kissin Youth Goodbye

Today Joel and his siblings threw their mom a surprise Birthday Party. Her birthday is actually not until tomorrow. Joel has seven brothers and sisters who live all over the country from Alaska to Georgia, and they were all able to come home for this big event. It has been several years since they have all been together. Georgianna was extremely surprised!! It was fun to see her reaction.


The Anderson clan at the dinner table.

Ava finally got to meet her Uncle John that lives in Georgia.

One of Georgianna's friends made these to set at every place at the table.

Super cute...and funny too.

All of the Anderson children.

It is always fun to spend time with family.

Happy 60th Birthday Georgianna!!

9 Cents

I finally had one of those amazing coupon shopping days. I hear of people buying stuff for pennies but have never actually done it…until yesterday night. I went to the grocery store after Ava went to bed to pick up a few things and decided to stop buy Rite-Aid and grab a few things because I have wellness dollars that are going to expire soon. $14 wellness dollars to be exact. I went in and got the items pictured and only paid 9 cents, and I did not even use any of my wellness dollars and got back two more dollars (now I have $16 to spend soon --- probably will go to a few free packs of diapers).
I am not a huge couponer because I do not have time to research all the deals and plan out my trips being a mom, working part-time, and teaching a few piano lessons a week. Also, because I do not buy things that I am not going to ever use or eat. I do not have the space and I hate when people buy everything that they can get for free-just because it is free- and then there is nothing left for those that actually want the product. Also, I am a snob about certain things and will only buy named brand products (like Tide, Huggies Pure and Natural Diapers, Adams Peanut Butter, and things like that), so I will never get products like that for free. So even though I might be able to get a different laundry detergent for free or really cheap, I am not going to waste my time finding the coupons to make the deal. However, I do look at a certain local site that maps out deals for the Spokane area, and if it seems like something that I might need and will not take too much time to try to find all the coupons needed, then I will do it. Last night was one of those trips.
If you do not have a wellness card at Rite-Aid, you should get one. They have practically been paying me to shop there the last few weeks. And it was fun only handing the cashier 9 cents!

Cannot Believe It

I just cannot believe that Ava turned 9 months old yesterday. She has brought more joy into Joel and my lives than we ever could have expected. Her enthusiasm for life and being able to do new things is precious to watch. We are so blessed to be her parents and cannot wait to watch her continue to grow and develop. Some things that Ava enjoys right now are:

• Feeding herself Cheerios
• Talking (babbling...whatever you call it)
• Making funny faces with her lips
• Reading books with her parents
• Standing up holding onto furniture (still to stubborn to crawl)

She is just too much fun. Everyday with her is a blessing.

We met some friends up at Greenbluff today to pick apples. The weather was beautiful and the company was great. I wish we could spend everyday like this. It was perfect!!

Attempt

A few girls from church get together every other week and sew. I have been a bit intimidated by them because they make the cutest things, and I have no idea what I am doing when it comes to sewing. But, I decided that I wanted to try to make Ava a skirt. She is small, so I knew it would not take much fabric to make…so it had to be easy right? NO…not easy for a non-sewer. I am glad that I did it, so that I can say that I made Ava something, but I do not know if I will attempt clothes again in the near future.

Here are a few pictures of the finished product. Ava sure looks enthused to be wearing it. Oh well, I do not know if I would love wearing it either.

In the last picture…I left a section of the ribbon unconnected from the skirt so I could add flowers to it.

At least I attempted it, and maybe next time the finished product will look a little better.