The Swingset!

Here it is..well not exactly, but pretty close.  I couldn't find a picture of the exact one online.  Some fun times are sure to be had on this.  Can't wait!!

Mega Update

So I know that I've been completely neglecting my blog lately, and if you check out my photo blog, you hopefully understand why.  I've been so busy, which is so great.  I'm LOVE LOVE LOVING it!!  But with teaching full-time, and doing quite a few session a month yet (I thought this would be a slow time..and it is slower than spring/summer/holiday, but keeping busy enough) being a mom and wife...my blogging on here has taken a back seat.  But after talking to my brother last week on the phone (thanks for calling..we miss you:)  He reminded me that I'm not posting nearly often enough, and he depends on these to keep up with lou-who, so I'm going to try try try to be better.  With that said, I'm downstairs working, and my point and shoot camera is up stairs and I haven't uploaded the pics and that has all of my funny pictures on it of what she has been up to, so we're left with these from our little Valentine's day session.  My hope was just to get one for valentine's day cards for her daycare friends, which I did get and loved, but she was a riot that day, so I got some more funny ones as well.  The bad news is this pink is a horrible background to shoot on, very uneven with the natural light, so not good really for pics, and I didn't take the time to really edit them all, other than this first one, so don't judge!  But she is, of course, Adorable in them..or at least we think so!!

She is just hilarious lately!   The things she says and does just amaze us every single day.  She continues to grow, and is getting quite tall, but is continuing to grow up instead of out, and her pants are all getting too short.  It's definitely time for capri season to come back!  The things she says each day are hilarious.  Just a brief rundown for you Uncle Jeff..and anyone else who cares:

*She is obsessed with smoke alarms, which Cullen nicknamed Jim.  She has one in her room, we have to say good night to it every-night, and tell him to keep her safe, and give him thumbs up.

*She has had a rough month of being sick..pink eye, hives, croup, and a fever all in a matter of about 4 week.  The croup was SO scary.  Ended up with a run to the ER one Saturday night.  It was the scariest night ever.  I wish they warned you about those things.  She seems to be on the mend now though.

*She thinks every doctor is now the Eye Doctor.  When she wants to eat too much candy or cookies, we tell her she might get a tummy ache if she eats too much, and then she replies with "Go to the eye doctor"  not sure, but we'll roll with it.

*She is still obsessed with baby dolls and now we're into putting diapers on them and taking them off because they're "stinky" all the time.  We went out to eat for my dad's and my birthday last week.  She had to bring her bear with, in his diaper, in her play carseat into the restaurant and put him in a high chair next to hers.  Cullen took a pic on his phone, and I have to put it up here.  SHe also covered up the carseat with a blankie because her bear was sleeping.

*LOVES Taylor Swift.  Not sure how this came about.  We have to watch Taylor Songs all the time on tv.  It is about the only tv she likes to watch.  Thankfully, or not thankfully I guess, depending on how you look at it, Taylor Swift has her own channel on demand..all Taylor videos all the time.  She loves to listen the song, You Belong With Me, in the car all the time, and even sings along at the part where she says I Do.  In the video, she points out the mean girl and the nice girl.  It is pretty darn funny.  She has some pretty sweet dance moves to go with it too.

*Loves her friends at daycare, Abby and Maddy, three little 2-3 year old girls, and of course the babies Kendra and Catherine, who she names her babies each night.  She either has baby Kenna or Caphin.  She loves them.  There are little boys out there too, but she loves those baby girls and her little girly friends.  I'd LOVE to be a fly on that wall one day. 

*She is in a phase where she HATES baths and washing her hair.  It is a battle and stinks.  We can get her in the tub by letting her pick out her bubble bath, Dora or Spongebob..tough choice!  But the hair washing..wow is it rough.  I'd LOVE any tips! 

**Loves to go outside in all of her snow gear and help daddy shovel!  She even has her own little shovel..such a big girl. Hopefully we aren't breaking any child labor laws!

**Talking ALL the time.  Spoke her first complete sentence which was.. "Daddy, shave it whiskers RIGHT NOW!"  It was so great!  She doesn't like him to have whiskers on his face, and made it clear she would like him to shave right now!

Anyway, I guess that is a good update for now.  It is just amazing how fast she is growing up.  Too fast.  She doesn't look like a baby anymore :(  Where or where did that time go.  Man.  The things she is learning and remembering too is just amazing.  Cullen and I are about the same, busy as ever with school and our other businesses.  I'll save you the details..not too exciting!  Check out all of the adorable little newborns I've gotten to photograph lately on my photo blog.  ADORABLE.  So much fun!!  So there..Jeff..hopefully that will tide you over for a bit!  I'll try to post some of those other pics this week sometime..from going "pretend shopping" with no pants on, her tennis shoes, and her purse..HILARIOUS..to taking pictures of her baby doll like mama with her play camera, SO CUTE!    I will try to be better!!!

Our Valentine's Day Photos

My fave..So pretty here

Can't get over how old she looks here

Her goofy cheese face

This is pretty much her these days...just a nut!  Her personality is just the best.  Nana got her this sweet hat, and she found her shades.  She also went through a phase for about a week where she only wanted to wear these silky jammy pants, and her popsicle jammy shirt..no, they do not match, but she rocked it!  Yup, this is also what she had on the night we ended up in the ER..we looked like loser parents..silk jammy pants in January, and a too small popsicle shirt.  Nice. :)

So tough

Happy Valentine's Day!! Love, Avery

Well it's a little early for Valentine's Day, but I had a photo session get rescheduled today, so I took advantage of a free morning, and did some Valentine's Day pics with Avery!  I'm going to make these cards for her friends little Valentine's goody bags at daycare, and I thought it was cute so I'd share with you all too!!  She was so good for pics this morning..looked at me and smiled at me.  I know, I can't believe it either.  Apparently she has hit the age where she actually understands bribery!  Or else I just got lucky..either way, I'll take it!!  Happy Valentine's Day, just a tad early, from our little love!

**And I couldn't decide if I liked all the pink, or the coordinating colors..I haven't decided for sure yet, so you get to see both!!**

Snow Baby!

Yesterday Avery helped Daddy shovel the driveway and played outside in the snow.  I haven't taken pics of her in too long, just playing around, so I got lots of fun playing in the snow snapshots.  Here is one for now.  I just love this one..so pretty!!!  More to come tonight hopefully.  I know I have been a bad blogger lately.  It's on my list for today!

Y

Christmas Tree Pics 2009!

So I did a pic like this last year at my mom's house because I just love her tree and I loved how the picture turned out.  So we went over tonight to try it for year #2.  We got Avery decked out in her new Christmas jammies, complete with slippers this year!  I just love these pictures!!!!!  My mom's tree is so pretty, and I love the windows behind it and the reflection of the lights.  I really think I will try to make this a holiday tradition! Here are a few from tonight!

Blog Book!!!!!!!!

So to all of my blogger friends...you MUST do one of these!!!!  There is a website called blurb.com and it takes your blog and turns it into a book.  It is pretty easy.  You can change layouts, colors, do tons of cool stuff, or just keep it simple and follow their layouts.  You can do hardcovers, dust jackets, square books.  Mine is just the 81/2 x 11 hardcover.  It really didn't take much time.  I changed a few things but kept it pretty simple.  I meant to do it last year after her first birthday but am a little behind, so I made it of Avery's first two years and it is beyond what I expected.  It is just so awesome.  They aren't really super expensive either.  Mine was very long, like 250 pages and it was still under $100.  It is great quality.  She loves to look at it, so I actually think I'm going to order another one to put up for her and let her keep this one out to look at.  I tried to take some pics, but I suck at product photography.  Guess I need to work on that.  Really though, if you have been keeping up with a blog, I can't recommend this enough!!!!!!!!!!!

Some Funny Pics!

These are from Cullen's phone, so sucky pics, but so funny!!  The first one is Avery getting ready to help Daddy go shovel out of our big snowstorm this morning.  We had a snow day, and it was so great.  All of 3 of us snowed in..we stayed in our jammies most of the day, had a fire, baked cookies, took naps and had lots of snuggles.  We tried Avery's snowpants on to see if they still fit, and she walked around in them saying "Snow Day, Snow Day"!  Do you think she heard us mention it once or twice??!!

This one is hilarious!  She stayed overnight at Nana's and Grandpa's on Saturday night when Cullen and I were at a party with some friends, and they apparently stayed up way too late.  She went pretty hard in the morning on Sunday, and then after lunch, she all of a sudden got really quiet as we were cleaning up, and we looked over at her and she had just fallen right asleep...quick.  She was out. It was too funny.  She has never fallen asleep in her high-chair.  She is usually a crib girl. She just doesn't fall asleep anywhere, so she must've been TIRED!!!  Just thought I'd share these funny pics of our sweetie!!

Our Little Helper :)

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays!  This little lady of course is what we are so thankful for this year.  Family Family Family.  That is what it is all about right?  I am so blessed and so lucky to have such an amazing family.  Husband, daughter and my whole family.  Cullen and I hosted Thanksgiving this year for both our our families (just siblings...we aren't that ambitious just yet!) It was so great to have everyone all together.  We had a great time.  Thanks to our moms who did SO much.  We pretty much just provided the home.  :)

On Friday, my mom and I got up early and did the shopping thing.  I hadn't done that in awhile, and remember why now, but it was fun and we had a great time and found some great deals on presents!  It felt nice to get a dent in the Christmas shopping.  Then we decorated the tree yesterday.  

I took one of these photos last year at my parents house, and will have to do that again, because my mom's tree is so pretty and I love the windows behind it, but this one is of our little helper putting the finishing touches on our own tree..complete in her "new new fuzzy wuzzies"  She calls everything that is new, "new new" and calls her jammies fuzzy wuzzies.  Did I mention how much I love this girl.  I realize I haven't even gotten pictures of her birthday up yet, but I will soon, I promise.  I'm done taking photos for the month of December after next weekend and took the rest of the month off from photos, and I'm very excited for a little break to enjoy some much needed holiday family time!  Avery can't get enough of all of her new toys from her birthday.  Thank you all to those of you who helped us celebrate.  Thank you cards are on the list for tomorrow.  They are coming!!!   We decorated yesterday and it is finally feeling like Christmas and I love it!!!  Happy Holidays to you all and I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving.

 Aww..my heart melts.

Avery's Message for Uncle Jeff

Avery was having a snack today and I was messing around with a flip video

that I am using for school this week. Avery has really taken to singing her abc song. 

It is so darn cute. She lost interest here around v, but come on..she is 2! :) She also has a little message

for uncle Jeff at the end. She misses you Jeffy!!! Please excuse my singing and voice..I am losing my voice.

Please also excuse all the boxes in the back. We are slowly but surely getting unpacked in the new

place!!! More to post with updates soon. It is a busy time at the Bahn house!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Avery - We Love You!

Happy 2 Years Avery!!

Dear Avery,

   Another year has come and gone, and now you are 2!  Wow..where did that last year go?  We thought you were big when you turned one.  In a year, I can't believe all that you have done.  You are a running, jumping, dancing, singing, talking machine!  Again, each day you somehow manage to yet even more joy and happiness into our lives.  Right now some of your favorite things to do are to sing the ABC song..of course this is your own version, but it gets better and better each day.  You are hilarious when you sing the Bitsy Bitsy Spider song..complete with all of the actions.  You tell us you love us multiple times a day, and each time our hearts melt just a little bit more.  You are the light of your grandparents' eyes as well...with those same words of I Love You Bapa - Nana - Damma or Dammy or whoever is lucky enough to be on the receiving end of those words, and with your hugs, kisses and squeezes.  

You love to hide, chase, climb and be tickled.  You grow smarter each day with your growing vocabulary and amaze with each new thing you learn to do.  Right now you happen to love Dora, Abby Cadabby (Adabadabby..as you say) SpongeBob (you squeal and jump each time you hear the song) Puppies, and Baby Doll.  You LOVE your blankie and still love your bottle..though mama and daddy are really trying to work on that one.  You love to be a puppy too!  You are such a good mama to your baby doll.  You always make sure she has her bottle and gets burped.  You take her for many walks in her stroller all around our house.  You always call for her (Baby-Doll) first thing when you wake up and you make sure she is okay. You love to color with your color crayons, or as you call them "tully tans".  You are becoming quite the independent lady, and insist of buckling yourself into your high chair and carseat and you even like to try to put on your own pants!  You still love to snuggle, and daddy and I often fight over who gets to rock with you to sleep each night.  We love to wake up to your kisses and hugs in the morning, and LOVE reading books with you.  You can't get enough books.  We have them stashed all over the house so we are never far away from one.  You especially love books that have the moon in them.  For some reason, you just LOVE the moon.  You also love your cousins!!  You love the time you get to spend with Donner (Conner)...A-E (Ansley) or No-No (Noah).  You love when you get to play with Noah and Ansley's puppy Tucker also, and are very good at telling Tucker No-No!  

Your favorite foods right now are Yo-Gos, Cheese, Goldfish, Mac and Cheese, Toaster Strudels, Yogurt, Apples, Oranges, and......french fries..but we try not to have those too often.   You love to run and play outside. You love to go to Lori's to see your friends Zachy, Baby Catherine, and of course the puppy Molly.  We are so lucky you have such a wonderful place to go while mama and daddy have to go to work.  You get to go to the library each Tuesday and are always learning new things at Lori's house.  You are our favorite little helper and love to help mama and daddy out in any way you can.  You love to hand us things and help us clean up!  You usually sing a song when you do this, which of course we love! Your faces you make crack us up daily!   Your excited face is the best thing ever and you are usually willing to share it with us!!!!

As you can see, you amaze us each day.  Your words you use are countless and I've lost track!  You pretty much hear it, say it and you've got it! (Mama and Daddy need to be careful!!)  We are always surprised with a new word that you use!  You have lots of nicknames..you are our little Lou-Who, Avers, Avery Lou, Lovey.  But most importantly, you are the sweetest, most beautiful little thing in the world.   It is safe to say you are definitely a Daddy's girl, but I know you love your mama too!!  Your hugs and kisses let me know for sure!  Watching your personality develop makes us so proud.  You are becoming such an independent little thing, with a personality the size of Texas!  You are smart, sweet, loving, funny and beautiful!  We love you more than you can ever even imagine, and that love grows deeper each day.  We love you so much Avery Ellen Bahn.  Happy 2nd Birthday to our Avery Lou.  We LOVE you.

Love,

Mama and Daddy