Lots of changes

Avery has been going through lots of changes here recently.  She is completely on finger foods now, and LOVES it!  We are working on getting her transitioned over to whole milk in a sippy cup, but it is a slow and sometimes a not so fun process.  We have only been working on it for a few days, so she is not so crazy about it yet.  Still doesn't want to give up Momma's milk yet, and definitely doesn't want to drink from a cup.  So, we'll keep trying!  Hopefully in the next few weeks, she will make the switch.  This past weekend, we switched out carseats, so now she is in a nice, comfy forward-facing carseat instead of her infant seat that she was quickly out-growing.  So far, she LOVES it!  She is also getting so close to walking.  She will stand briefly on her own, and has taken about 3-4 steps on her own before falling or sitting down.  She still loves cruising around the furniture and really likes pushing toys or chairs all over the house.  She is saying lots of words and tries to have a little conversation with you in her baby babbles.  She is also getting her 5th tooth in.  Here are a few pictures of what she's been up to over the past week.  We are heading to Port Aransas this weekend, so I will have lots of beach pictures to share next week.  Until then...

Get this silly bow off of me, Momma.

Our Cool Girl in her shades!

Eating like such a big girl now!

Working on milk from a sippy cup, and making a big old mess!

Playing in her pool in the back yard.

Avery's 1 year pictures

My sister-in-law did an AmaZing job on Avery's 1 year pictures this past weekend at UMHB!  I can't believe how fast our baby girl is growing up!  Here are some of our favorites....

Our Favorite!

And... an attempt at a quick family photo!

1st Family Vacation

Last week, we enjoyed our first family vacation in Montana!  Avery experienced her first time in an airplane, and did really well.  Ted's sister and brother in-law are stationed in Great Falls, so the entire Smith family met there on July 4th weekend.  Even Dan was able to fly in briefly from Alabama, where he is in training!  Sam and Jennifer flew in from Kansas for a few days, and the rest of us came from Texas, and were able to spend the entire week there with Tisha.  Part of our time was spent in Great Falls, and the rest was at West Glacier.  We really enjoyed our time there, and look forward to going back next summer.  Tisha and Dan will be there for 4 years, so I'm sure we'll be making that trip several times!  Here are some pictures from the trip... Enjoy!

The whole Smith clan... together at last!

Avery with Uncle Dan and Aunt Tisha

Smith Family Photo

Arriving at our cabin in West Glacier National Park

One of our beautiful views of Gacier Park on our red bus tour!

Another beautiful view!

Richard and Susan with Tisha

Avery loved her carrier!

Going white water rafting!

The river was so pretty!

Hiking with Daddy!

The views were amazing!  The weather was nice too.

Poor Avery spent lots of time napping in her carseat, but she did really well!

11 Months Old!

I can't believe Avery is 11 months old!  We'll be celebrating her 1st birthday next month.... seems like it was just a few months ago that we brought our little girl home.  The year has gone by too fast!  Here is a quick update on what she is up to....
She weighs close to 20lbs and mostly wears 9-12 month clothes.
She sleeps through the night from about 8pm to 6am. 
She is still nursing or taking a bottle 5 times a day.  She is also eating mostly finger foods now.  She loves meat sticks, pasta, vegetables, fruits, puffs, rice cakes, and basically anything that she can feed herself!  We are still working on a sippy cup. 
She has 4 teeth now and knows how to bite!  It appears that more will be coming through soon. 
She is still crawling and pulling up on everything, and cruising around all the furniture.  She will walk if you are holding her hands.  She has stood briefly by herself, but no steps on her own yet. 
She says Mama, Dada, Nana, Bye-Bye, and other little babbles.  She waves, claps, plays peek-a-boo, and imitates us when we make funny faces or noises. 
She LOVES playing with other little kids and all their "big" toys.  She also loves her dogs and anyone's dogs or cats.  She gets so excited when she sees them. 
She is so curious and gets into anything and everything around the house.  She doesn't like to sit still or be confined.  She likes to be on the go! 
We are just having so much fun with our little girl.  We just returned from our 1st family vacation in Montana, so I will be posting pictures of our trip later this week.  Here are a few pictures from before we left.  Enjoy!

Making a mess is what she does best!

Taking a ride in the laundry basket!