Hey everybody, time to take a break from green tips and vegan food to talk about my "not-so-little" Avery. Can you believe she's 16 months? Me neither. I'm telling you, these monthly photo shoots are not getting any easier. I tried a few different set ups this month and after pulling my hair out, I have officially abandoned the idea of getting her to hold the sign. Toddlers and props aren not the best combo! Lesson learned Avery, lesson learned. So I went with just placing it in the shot and letting her do her thing. Although the sign is cropped, the shot is clear...haleluigh! 
Not before we did a little jumping on the bed that is...
Looking a little bit older than she did at 13 months!
Let's learn a little bit more about what's been going on with Avery this past month:
1. Favorite food: Frozen strawberries or "Straw-be" as Avery calls them. Crazy girl eats these things straight out of the freezer! Can you believe that? I think they feel good on her "teething gums".
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| Frozen strawberries, Avery's favorite food. |
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| Munching on her frozen "straw-bes" |
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| She makes the funniest faces when eating the frozen strawberries! Like, "Whoa these things are cold, but I'm going to eat them anyways!" |
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| Yep, teeth are still coming in! Note the "chewing hands". |
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| Gotta love a "teething baby"! |
2. Favorite activity: Lots to share about this, but I'd say her first favorite activity has to be playing with our dogs,Jackson and Jilly. Usually she plays with Jilly more because she'll tolerate her "playing" better, our other dog, Jackson, usually just tries to run from her. Let's see all the things Avery likes to do with Jilly...
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| Climb on her... |
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| Cuddle with her... |
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| And use her as a pillow! |
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| "This is Jilly, she's my buddy." |
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| Dogs definently make her happy! |
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| Time to rock. |
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| She loves her rocking horse. |
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| "Need a little help with the sign for this month Mom?" |
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| "Oh yeah, drawing is pretty fun." |
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| "Maybe I'll lay down while I draw, that's cool too right?" |
3. Favorite word: So many words to choose from this month...her language is just exploding and each day it seems as though there are new words. Here's some of our favorites:
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| "Pink puppy and yellow puppy". She doesn't go anywhere without these two puppies, they are her buddies! Look for them in various pictures throughout this post. |
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| "Baby...wah wah" Avery loves talking about babies and especially singing the "baby verse" from "Wheels on the Bus". Here she is with her 2 month old cousin, Norah. |
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| "La U!" (love you) |
definently Daddy and Mommy, and lately she's even been adding a name to the end of it like, "La U Dad". You know how to melt my heart baby girl! In fact she says this so much I caught myself saying it to Brandon the other day...not "Love you", but "La U!" Lovely...now I'm talking like a toddler.
4. Favorite book: Animal Alphabet by Alex A. Lluch. Avery's been loving alphabet books lately, she calls them "A-B books". Like how she leaves out the "C"? ( : This is one of her favorites because it combines letters with her second love, animals. Even better, there are pieces for each letter to slide to reveal an animal that starts with that letter.
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| Sliding the pictures to reveal the animals. |
Here's some updates on New year's Resolution's that I set back in this post...
Pinterest-craft of the month:
"Oil Drip Pan Magnet Board"
Since I went back to school last month, my brain has been in school-mode and so has my crafting, so it only makes sense that this month's craft is something from my classroom.
Okay, so I actually found out about this from some other teachers, but I'm sure it's on Pinterest. All it is is an "oil drip pan" you know, that you put down when you change your oil. And then you can use any type of magnets on it. In my special ed preschool class, we like to use magnet alphabet letters.
I found the oil drip pan at Wal-Mart for $12.
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| Here is the magnet board in action. |
To get the oil drip pan to stay in place on the back of my toy cabinet in my classroom, I used some "Damage Free Hanging Command Strips" and it seems to hold it pretty well.
My students sure love it and I'm thinking about getting one for Avery for here at the house. I mean $12...you can't beat that!
Date Night: Instead of heading out for the usual dinner and a movie, we stayed in for dinner and a Netflix. So exciting I know, but sometimes a baby-free night at home is just what you need to recover from a busy week. As Avery hung out at my parent's house, we took a nap (I miss these from my pre-Avery days), made some yummy homemade Genghis Khan, and then got caught up on some Netflix...specifically season 4 of Parks & Recreation. Sometimes it's the simple things. ( :
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| Homemade "Genghis Khan" stir-fry...see ingredients here. |
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| Netflix time. |
Favorite clip from episodes we watched..."Treat Yo Self"!
Any other Parks & Rec fans?
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| Puppies how did you get in this picture?! ( : |