Is this thing on....?

Ahem.  Hello, there!  Is anybody still out there?  I haven't written or posted anything since November 9, 2010.  That was last year.  63 days ago.

Shame on me.  Because the reason I blog is to document our lives.  For me. For Stephen. For Avery.  And for those of you who are interested enough!  Since November 9th, Avery has done at least 63 new things that I have missed documenting.  Boo on me.

I am really going to try to blog more regularly.  I'm not going to set a goal, if you will, because once I don't meet my goal of posting at least three times per week, or whatever it may be, I'll just stop posting again.  Basically, I just need to be more diligent about getting on here and writing every once in awhile and hopefully it will become more a part of my life again.

It's hard finding the time to do this!  Especially since Avery became mobile.  I feel like when she is awake, I am playing with her and trying to intercept her sneaking in the bathroom to peer over the side of the tub and say, "Ooooooh!"  Or heading her off at the pass while she tries to quickly crawl into a bedroom and close the door behind her and sit in front of the door so that I have to very carefully open the door and slide her backwards with the door.  Thank goodness for slippery hardwood floors!

I'm not going to try to play catch up with the past 63 days because, seriously - that's slightly overwhelming and ridiculous.  Instead, I'll just pick up at the present time and pretend I've been blogging all along!  Sound good?  Fantastic.

I'll sum it up, though.  Avery had a great 1st birthday.  Monkey cake, grandparents, and some little friends made it very fun.  Christmas was also a blast because all of our family was home for Christmas, from both sides.  Lots of cousins, aunts and uncles, and fun was had!

Now here we are in January - the start to a new year.  Although it's already the 11th, so we're almost halfway through the month already!  I had my second week of the new Bible study I'm in, which is on Revelation this time.  It's a Beth Moore study, and I am loving it.  I did the Daniel study in the fall and really loved it, too.  Daniel was much more homework-intensive, but I got so much out of the homework that I didn't mind.  I am loving this opportunity to study the Word with other women.



I am also loving being able to spend my days with my little Avery muffin.  She makes me laugh every day - her personality just lights up our house!  She loves to play games - all of a sudden she'll be peeking at me through the coffee table, or around the door frame and laughing and squealing.  She has always been a child who does things in her own time.  I've always known this, but it took me about the first eight months of her life to really learn that.  My most recent reminder of this is with her walking.  She is 13 1/2 months old and not walking yet, which I am actually fine with!  She is healthy and happy and she is working on the whole walking thing.  I think she just wants to wait until she feels safer "letting go" and going for it!  And you know what?  I think there's a lot to be said about that.  She is patient with herself, so why shouldn't I be?  I have learned that just because Stephen or I did such-and-such at a certain age doesn't mean that she will, too.  She just amazes me each day with her beauty and zest for life.  I just can't imagine loving her more.

She does not disappoint!  The other night, I got her pajamas on and we went back to the living room to play for a little while longer before heading to bedtime routine.  I was sitting on the floor, cross-legged, and she came over and used me as a ledge and just stood up, right in front of me.  She let go and just stood there.  And she continued to stand there, like a little meerkat!  I was astounded.  She just decided, I think I'm ready to stand on my own now.  And she was so proud of herself.  She just grinned from ear to ear.  And she kept doing it.  Sit down, stand up.  Sit down, stand up.  Practice makes perfect! 

The next day, we went to a birthday party at a play gym for little ones.  I put her down, standing, and she just took off!  She took about 4 steps all by herself, without anyone holding out their hands to her.  She just surprises me all the time, and I get so proud of her.

Do you think God sees us like I see Avery?  Do you think He's waiting for me to let go?  Is He waiting for you to let go?

 Yes, she is sitting in her baby doll cradle.  It's her favorite place to have a sit.