Top ten things we love about FALL!

#10 - The nice workers at Trader Joe's give out free balloons! What a treat!

#9 - Going to the park with mom is SOOO much more fun now that I can walk on the equipment. I don't just have to sit in the swing and smile for the camera.

#8 - Taking all the the books off the shelf at a used book store is hours of enjoyment. In the 30 minutes Blair was looking for a book I watched her take at least 35 books off the shelf. She was thrilled and I had of course given up on trying to keep them ON the shelf. They're already used books, what more damage can a 9 month old do?

#7 Quality family fun; dad looking for a book, mom taking pictures and baby destroying a used book store.

#6 Snuggling up with a new/slightly used book that mom bought at the used book store. Like daddy says, you can never have too many books.

#5 - seeing how fast I can walk from one end of the crib to the other and back again and again and again.

#4 - Evening walks with daddy to visit RJ, Anna, and boyfriend Landon

#3 - comfort food.......blueberries. Yum.

#2 - Cozy sweats and sweatshirts. Mommies favorite cloths to wear and now baby's too!

#1 - Singing in the rain! We sat outside on the porch for at least 30 minutes while Avila talked to the rain, walked back and forth and rubbed the leaves of the plant. She LOVES to be outside. She is just like her father!

Oh no!

Everyone had warned me, but I foolishly didn't listen......she's walking and unstopable and I get the new job of following behind her trying to stop her from splitting her head open. She walks like an 99 year old man; shuffleing her feet everywhere she wants to go. Today I got tired of doing circles around the house so I took her outside to walk along the sidewalk. I think she almost took off at a sprint. She can now take about 15-20 steps before she forgets what she's doing and falls. She cries every time you pick her up, not because she's hurt, but becuase she is afraid I might take her away from her favorite new toy. We call it the "walker".

8 months old

This is how I found her this morning. Covered in stuffed animals and blankets strewn every where. Not sure what she was up to in the middle of the night, but from the looks of it this morning she must have had a good time!
Did she really ever have a choice of liking skating/surfing having Blair as a dad, living in Ventura, and being named after a beach. Like she was really ever going to become a chess player. No offense to those that like chess, I bet it's fun

She got her very own cell phone. This one needs to last her until she's 18 years old.
She totally has a little scrunch smile like her mommy. Love it!

Hawaii Pics #2

DAY 1

Where would be the first place you would go if you had 4 days to spend in Hawaii? The hotel pool of course! Well, that where we started Blair disappointment and Avila's excitement. She would have lived in that pool if we would have let her. Blair ...I mean Avila...also got a new hat while we were out there. The baby dropped it into the water, so he was drying it off. What a good dad.
***note to "water diaper" makers*** Some children are smaller than the small and sometimes little surprises can come floating out! Good thing the life guards didn't see Avila's little present float to the top of the pool before I did. I made sure to get out of the pool before I yelled.....grosse! Poop! Just kidding. I quickly hid all evidence and decided swim time was over.

Next stop.....the beach directly outside the hotel. No waves, but a nice family photo opportunity. Grandma Patty is the excellent photographer!

This is Sandys beach. The boys had fun rolling around in the waves, while us girls got a little tan.

DAY 2
Sharks Cove.....Look below to the last post to read more about these shark infested waters. j/k

This is a picture right before she tried to get away with eating the rock. She understands "no", but doesn't understand yet to try to eat rocks when we AREN"T looking at her.

The famous pipeline! No waves, but at least Avila can make Owen and Landon jealous that she was there first. I think this was her favorite beach. There was a little pool of water that she could just sit and play in. Then the tide came up and knocked her over......play time was over after that.

DAY 3

On the boat headed to Pearl Harbor.

My mom is beautiful. I loved this picture of her so I had to add it.
Grandma Patty

Thank you Papa Wolfe for a beautiful vacation. Love you!

Hawaii

So here are a few of the Hawaii pictures. My brother had the best camera so we let him take most of the pictures. Those will be up sooner or later....probably later knowing me!
This is at sharks cove...no we did not see any sharks, but Blair had fun looking at fish. Avila was more interested in eating rocks and sand. This is a before shot of a clean baby not covered in sticky Hawaiian sand.
Avila did not want to get out of the pool. I was thankful that she couldn't walk, because she would have a been a safety nightmare. She has no fear of water. Blair is already getting excited for the day she can go out on his surf board.

Practicing for Hawaii

We leave for Hawaii tomorrow, so last Sunday after church Avila and I decided to hang out on the beach with some friends. Before going to the beach with her meant leaving her in the car seat and chatting with friends. Now, going to the beach means something entirely new.
This is what I now know about my daughter.

1. She rarely sits still and although she still can not crawl, she now enjoys flinging her body face first into the sand.
2. No toy is as much fun as rubbing sand between her fingers.
3. She does enjoy long walks on the beach.
4. Watching waves is thrilling.
5. She DOES NOT LIKE cold ocean water. Even the feeling of water sand sends her into a screaming frenzy -she gets this from me I'm sure!

8 months old!!

She thinks she all grown, chewing on her very own apple! If only she had teeth! She did start holding mushy peach slices and taking bites and eating them. It's so cute to watch her chew with no teeth!

My little monkey girl!
We're still a little unsure about halloween, but we have 2 more months to grow into our costume and realize how much fun "we" (meaning mommy and daddy) are going to have.

We still love our bath time!