Photo Editing

I played around with some photo editing today and this is what I came up with. Fun stuff!

Avery & "T"

I LOVE this picture. This is a picture of Avery with her lovey which she calls "T". Wherever we go, T comes along. Whenever she sleeps, T is there. When she is happy, sad, excited, frustrated, tired, waking up, ANYTIME, T is there. Avery got "T" from G-ma and Papa V when she was born and has been attatched to it ever since. I love this picture so much because this is what she does with T all the time. She chews on his hand. I love it and this picture melts my heart.

And one more...

One more pic from Tulip Time cuz I love her face so much. She is happy like this almost all the time. Love her!

Tulip Time Parade

Clapping for the bands.

Dancing to the music

Waving to everyone (and concentrating very hard. )

(There are more pics of Tulip Time in the post below but they didn't all fit in one post.)

Tulip Time

Last week, Avery and I headed out to Holland to hang out with Uncle Brad and Aunt Jenni and enjoyed the tulip time festivites. We tried to go last year but the rain kept us home- this year the weather was beautiful. I had no idea that Avery would have SO much fun running around Centennial Park looking at tulips and then watching the parade. During the parade, she waved to all the floats yelling "HI!" and clapping and dancing with all the bands. It was such a fun day and she was pooped after all the fun. Thanks Uncle Brad and Aunt Jenni for inviting us!

Happy Birthday G-ma V

We celebrated my mom's birthday today with a dinner at Logan's. We had fun outside waiting for our table. Avery loves to try on everyone's sunglasses.

Avery had so much fun in the restaurant throwing peanuts around too. Happy birthday mom & g-ma, we love you!

Happy Mother's Day to Me!

We had a very busy, fun filled day on Mother's Day spending time with our moms. I feel blessed to say that I am Avery's mommy.

Playing outside is a dirty job

Avery loves to be outside. Everytime we go out though, she comes inside REALLY dirty. She loves to play in the water, the dirt and now her new sandbox. She cannot go outside without play clothes anymore cuz she can't keep them clean. I love it. Check out the dirt on her hands and face in these pictures.

Messy Project

I recently registered on a website that will email you fun activities for your kids based on their age. I decided to try "painting" with cool whip colored with food coloring. It was a hit. Avery enjoyed getting messy.

Before I was a Mom...

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on,
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom THIS much.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special if could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment,
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommy's. May you all feel as blessed as I do.
(Photo is from when Avery was 1 day old.)