Sunday, January 31, 2010

Spending Time with Ian!

This morning Kathleen, Avery, and I were priveleged to make a last minute arrangement (as it always seems to be) to have brunch with our friend Ian at the Shaft in Hartford after church. I was telling Ian how wiggly and crazy our daughter has seemed in recent weeks as she insists to reach for everything and is getting braver and braver with throwing herself at things while we cling on to her for dear life and our own sanity. So, we gave him a shot at it...
 

He did pretty good! I gotta say that she didn't throw everything she's got at cha though, Ian!


 

It did get a little wild and I have many "Avery 'n motion" pictures like the one above.

Ian has never had a problem being accepted by any family members almost immediately. Even the "extended family" shown below!


Recently Ian and his new lovely wife and friend of ours, Jennifer, added a family member themselves! Welcome to the family Bernie!

(and get a haircut, Ian... I know someone if you need a connection, she's good.)

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Feeding Time!

Today I was looking as some pictures that were taken in the last couple months and I found myself wondering why we had so many pictures of Avery being fed by different relatives... Here are uncles Jeff and Nathan giving it a shot...


I just don't get it... Why did we feel so inclined to snap pictures of Avery being fed when we do that very thing with baby food about twice a day?

Who would mind feeding this little pumpkin?



Ooooohhhhhh... yeah... that's right!



Now I seem to be able to remember why it was a point of interest! It wasn't our brothers abilities with feeding a baby... it was our Avery's ability to be fed!

She's much better at it now. Hence the reason I had lapse in memory. I might have a similiar picture of myself eating BBQ ribs somewhere. Just kidding, I'm not foolish enough to allow evidence of that.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

LOL... Walmart Funny

 happened to catch this one on my phone yesterday and laughed pretty good.  I haven't seen it on TV yet. It is somewhat similiar to the delivery company video that my mom posted on her blog earlier this month. Same clown thought process. See what you think!

Monday, January 25, 2010

Choke! It Seems so Familiar...

Why are the Minnesota Vikings jersey's purple?



Because that's the color you turn when you
CHOKE!

Ahhh... It feels so good to see the Brett Favre story come full circle! His last play was an interception thrown across field. Hah! The Vikings got what they signed up for last summer. Will he be back? I don't know. I don't care. I am going to enjoy his waffling this year. I hope its a question that Minnesota has to ponder for the next 7 months! That's all. I'm done. Enjoy your offseason Brent.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Remember the Good Times... Remember the Good Times... Remember...

Herman and Leonard have been testing my patience tonight...
I let Leonard out to go do his doggy thing in the yard and two minutes later he piddles on the floor again in the kitchen. Aaarrrghh... (frustration, not pirate. There is one more 'a', 'r', and 'g' in the pirate version.) That was the afternoon, tonight I spot another spot. It just so happens that he was only two arms lengths away from me when his spot was spotted. I lunged for him because I was in no mood for a chase around the house. As I lunged... he, in ancipation of the hurtin' I was going to put on him, cried out and rolled on his back in a last attempt to beg for my mercy. As he did so, he let go of another warm piddle of "sunshine smiles" that I caught with my hands and then he proceeded to roll into as he tried to avoid my grasp. So, I end up with a floor covered in piddle, hands covered in piddle, & a puppy covered in piddle... Aaarrrghh!
To be fair, Leonard has actually made much progress with listening and behaving and is on his longest running streak (2 days) without leaving any accidental "love loafs" on the floor for me to step in. So, tonight I am trying to remind myself of the good times and focus on his progress. Here is one of the good times several have enjoyed...



Above is brother Nathan relaxing during a Christmas visit. Leonard and Herman are never shy of making themselves comfortable with someone elses body heat. Below is another happy moment caught on camera with Avery enjoying her doggies also. It looks like she is in one of her wild moments and Herman & Leonard (especially Herman) are far from amused.



Wednesday, January 20, 2010

One of Those Moments

Today Kathleen and I had just finished some "lupper" and were watching some TV when we looked over to see what appeared to be Avery bobbing her head to some of her favorite tunes. The only thing was that there were no tunes on and her head bobbing seemed a little inconsistent. I managed to grab a video on my phone quick after we were done laughing at her and the novelity had worn off. She was at this for about 15 to 20 minutes. What a way to nap... My next closest comparason to this would my Dad when we were much younger and he had been up all night harvesting corn or bailing hay or whatever crop he had to beat the clock and weather on that year. He would do a head bobbing dance similiar to this in church the next day. It was quite amusing. The only difference is that we didn't elbow Avery  in the ribs when she started doing it. :)


Monday, January 18, 2010

Put Your Hands in the Air!

Apparently life is a party (I mean, Pa-a-a-r-t-e-e-e!) when you are Avery visiting Grandma L's house...

Put your hands in the air and let me hear ya say...

Aaaaaaaaayyyyyy!!!



Ooooooohhhhhhh!!!



To the Left!!! To the Left!!!



To the Right! To the Right!



Man, that's a good time!



Thanks to Grandma for the good times and thanks to uncle Nathan for my party clothes from Ecquador!

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Senorita Avery!

Today, Uncle Nathan came to visit and he had just returned from his 2nd trip from Mexico. 2nd! I know. What a fortunate guy. His return had prompted the thought that Avery, when she was way too tiny for it, had received a poncho from Uncle Nathan at her baptism. Let's go get it and see if it fits!



It fits! Not only does it fit...

Avery loves it!



Avery reacted as one might expect her to react in a princess outfit or something of that nature. Instead, her rustic poncho summoned the feelings of glee shown above. I guess she's just a more down to earth girl, huh?

Real down to earth...


Friday, January 15, 2010

Avery Test Video

So, sometimes you sit right on top of a piece of technology that you either don't have the time to learn or don't feel the need to use. I have began to eliminate the possibility that I don't have the time to learn it and am now going to find out if I feel that I ever need it. Even if I don't end up needing it... it's pretty cool! I took this video from my phone today and uploaded it with one touch of a button from my phone to youtube. No cables, no wires, no nothing, except my phone. The quality is okay I guess. I haven't figured out if it is also something I have not learned yet or if this is as good as it gets with the camera on my phone. Then again, it dawns on me that I didn't even check to see if the lense was smudged as it often is. Anyway, enjoy this short vid as I test this out for future use (or not).


Thursday, January 14, 2010

The Holidays Are STILL Here?!?

Around here they are. Stockings are still hung. The tree is down, but it isn't carried upstairs yet. Christmas decorations in this house were like guests at a party that were the last ones to arrive and are now the last ones to leave. There always seems to be some conversation (interruption) that stops them from walking out the door. (Even posting updates to a blog.) As you can see from the picture below, there are some remains hanging out at the computer right now. Ribbon, gifts, junk mail, & ornaments still patiently waiting for one of us to carry them back to their summer homes. When will this extended holiday end? Hmm... What a question. A question that I will not answer on this blog. Where does Christmas stand in your house? Answer the poll at the top of the page and let me know if we stand alone in our patheticness. I'm sure it will be gone by Valentines Day.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Essence of Leonard

Today has been dominated once again by our new puppy who is still figuring out the meaning of "go outside?!?". While we still love him very much, our patience with the house smelling of "essence of Leonard" is growing thin some days. He has also turned simple things like walking around the house into an action now requiring the high alertness I remember having to have as a kid wearing our Sunday best to get a pitcher of milk from the barn for breakfast in the morning. (Watch your step.) Since the comfort of our own home is not the place I am used to carefully walking, there have been several "schmeering" occasions. Lovely. Then soon to be followed by entire 1st floor moppings because I could not retrace all of my steps enough to the point of comfort knowing that Leonard residue was not present any longer. Aaaarrrrgghhhh! We know its a phase, so by the definition of a phase, there is an end. Right? Right. (Oh, please let that be right.)


Herman and Leonard (just be happy
I didn't post a picture relating more
directly to the posting today, I thought
about it. Seriously.)

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

First Post!


I thought it only fitting to start my first post with a smiling picture of our little Avery. Our puppy, Leonard, doesn't hurt the pic either...