Thanks to all of you who took the time to vote for Avery in the Metroplex Baby & Kids Photo Contest I wrote about last week, she won! I know it’s not a major contest, and you don’t actually win a prize, she just gets recognition on the website and is entered to win Cutest Kid of 2015!
Again, Going Mom and I truly appreciate all of our friends and family who voted and shared the contest with others.
Since I am convinced Avery’s eyes only add brilliance to her already beautiful face, I am going to share several close-up shots we’ve taken over the course of this month.
No more words of “wisdom” or rants about baby formula ads from me……at least not today, just some pretty pictures of our baby. Enjoy!
Mesmerizing. That’s all I can say.
Do you have any close-up shots of your kids’ eyes?For the several I posted here, we probably took close to 1000 pictures that were blurry or something else wrong about them. Ahhh, the life as a parent.
Are you getting out in after Christmas madness mess this weekend? If so, best of luck to you, I’m planting myself at home and that’s that!
Going Mom took off for the week and we’ve been enjoying time together with our beautiful daughter who is walking all over the place now!
So, how was your Christmas if you celebrated? If you don’t celebrate, how was your other holiday or day/week in general? Anything noteworthy you’d like to share? I’m always up for a good story if you care to comment! 🙂
Our Christmas was great and one of the best we’ve had in a while! With Avery so active, it was fun getting her involved in unwrapping the gifts and letting her experience the wonders of the day. Of course, that also means she experienced how long and tiring it can be too!
We woke up early at our house to spend Christmas morning with my mom (G-Ma) and little brother (Uncle Preston) who spent the night. My mom shared the bed with Kelley, and I stayed on the couch and fell asleep watching Die Hard 2 with my brother. Love that movie, and hey, it’s Christmas-y!
I didn’t sleep well and woke up before everyone else so I went for a cold 3 mile walk and listened to a recent podcast from The Shawn Stevenson Model Health Show. Anyone into health and fitness would love the show and I highly recommend a listen. That and the Ben Greenfield Fitness podcast are my favorite.
After the walk, I made cinnamon rolls from the Immaculate Baking company for my wife, mom, and brother, but I didn’t care to have them. Â They sure looked and smelled delicious though!
The icing comes in a bag that you can put on yourself, but the rolls are sweet enough as is, you hardly need it. Instead of rolls, I opted for copious amounts of black French Press coffee which suited me just fine.
Upon finishing our morning fuel (I continued the coffee drinking), we woke Avery to begin Christmas. Time to unwrap presents!!
Our big gift to her was a personalized mini armchair that she has been enjoying since she first sat in it.
I never use real wrapping paper for my gifts, and it’s always easy to spot the ones from me. Old plastic bags, packaging tape, and random placement of used bows are my go-to wrapping essentials.
Yep, that’s a gift to my wife.
I received some great gifts this year, and it might sound weird, but one of my favorite gifts is the Squatty Potty my wife got for me. Holy crap (pun intended), that thing is awesome.
I feel so much better after each trip to the bathroom and can “eliminate” even better than I thought I already could! Seriously, it’s such a simple thing but makes a world of difference!
I have several carriers that I use, but not specifically for her, so now she has her own. Be on the lookout for a future post with a review from both Kelley and myself on the Boba. I can’t wait to give Going Mom’s carrier and try with Avery and to see how she likes her new gift!
After Christmas at our house, it was time to leave to go to Nana and Papa’s, Kelley’s parent’s, house for round 2 of our exciting day. G-Ma and Uncle Preston had to say goodbye first, and Avery is still not sure what to think of her uncle….
The big gift to Avery at Nana and Papa’s was a very soft and fluffy rocking…..polar bear, not horse, and it is awesome!
Avery helped Going Mom unwrap her gifts too. Guess it didn’t take long for her to catch on to how Christmas works!
It was great seeing all of Kelley’s close relatives since it had been awhile, and Avery got to hang out with her cousin Taylor and aunt Stef most of the time. They love playing with her and Going Mom and I love a nice break!
As expected, with any change in the daily routine, sleep is scarce, and Avery hardly napped with so much going on. She did, however, have a quick power nap with Nana that seemed to recharge her for the day.
It was almost dark by the time we arrived back home and Avery was letting us know she hardly had a nap. But, regardless, we still went for a family walk in the gusty wind and even attempted a family Christmas photo in front of our fireplace. Kelley messed with the camera settings and I stood to help as a focal point.
Oops, too close, but check out that totally bodacious Ninja Turtle shirt my mom got me for Christmas! Even cooler is that my mom/G-Ma got me one too, so now I’m set to show my TMNT fan status even more than I already do. Back to the picture, Avery was losing patience as I included her in the focal point testing.
Kelley finally settled on a good setting, but Avery didn’t feel like smiling, so these are the best two photos we captured…
Not happy…Still not happy…
Despite the grumpiness, we’re positive Avery had a great, albeit long and tiresome, day, and we look forward to next Christmas being even better!
Oh, before I go, Avery is starting to understand how to wave and say “hi”, even while riding her new rocking bear!
Hope you have a wonderful weekend and stay safe if you are out there returning gifts or shopping for more!
Have you ever seen other rocking animals besides a horse?
Phew, we survived her first birthday! Better yet, so did she! There were more people around than Avery was used to and way too much going on, but she eventually warmed up to the crowd.
The cake, being the first time she’s had sugar, might’ve helped a little. Her cake was actually a pumpkin brownie recipe I used as a base but cut out some of the sugar called for  and used stevia in place. This is what we served as dessert to our guests and no one said they didn’t like it, so that’s good, right?
We are still in recovery mode after the long weekend, so I’m cutting it short and just making this a photo dump of the big day. Enjoy!
You spend hours creating my cake, I’ll reduce it to rubble in under a minute!Ummm, dad, your nose is in my eye and both of you are in the way of my cake!While demolishing her cake, it suddenly hit her……”I’m one!!!”It only makes sense to be in your birthday suit, opening birthday gifts, on your birthday, right?Chocolate Pumpkin Brownies for the guests. We had a lot left over!!Seriously, anything that lights up is an instant win!Going Mom opens gifts, I write who they were from, Avery plays with wand and paper. Sums up most of the party!I hope she always feels this way about sugary food!We made cake from the chocolate pumpkin brownie batches I baked and Kelley used Greek yogurt for icing and blueberries for the “1”
Fun times indeed! Hoping to post a follow up with a quick summary of events and more photos of the fun Avery has been having with her new toys. Maybe she’ll even be walking by then. Hmmm, how long have I been saying that now???
An at-home dad on a mission to keep it real when it comes to food, fun, and raising a healthy, happy family.
