Christmas Cards

Ace and I had a little photo sesh last weekend at the mill. It is my goal to get our Christmas cards out early this year! I am positively thrilled with them, but I thought I would show off some of the shots that didn't make the card!

Is she cute or what??? (It helped that I borrowed Dad's camera, else we would not have had any photos for cards at all!)

Kiss my cheeks!
Look at her little toes all pointed! Allison, she may be a ballerina after all!
Searcy snapped this gem as we were about to leave.
We are shopping for a camera currently, so more shots of this caliber should be headed your way! Yay for Christmas!

Serenbe and Leaves

Mom and Avery and I took Grandma on our annual trip to see the leaves change. If you know my Grandmother, you know this was an interesting trip. I will leave it at that for now. I am sure you can draw your own conclusions. We went to Serenbe, Georgia. It is a cute little farmhouse and a community in the middle of nowhere! It is truly beautiful, but not the most exciting of places. We did feed the animals on the farm including chickens, lamas, goats, sheep, horses (Ace's fave!), cows, and the largest domesticated pigs I have ever seen! One weighed 1200 pounds!

They also had these super cool in-ground trampolines that Avery and I fell in love with! I am thinking 5th birthday present! We have GOT to get one! It is great exercise with much less risk of bodily harm!
We had afternoon tea. Avery and I found a secret fort while RoRo and Ma sat around and drank tea.
But first, she took down a plate of grapes. Is it me, or does she look just a tiny bit scared of who or whatever is right across from her?
Our swanky modern loft we stayed in. You can imagine how many times Grandma said the words, "strange. weird. odd." I don't even want to discuss the Buddha statue on the sofa table (not pictured). Let's just say Grandma left feeling like all of the inhabitants of Serenbe were practicing Buddhists.
Avery entertaining herself in the stark modern kitchen.

It really was a fun trip. Grandma even enjoyed most of it. Girls weekends are nice, but I am glad to be back home with Teej. Avery and I went to the park this morning. The leaves were everywhere. I couldn't get Ace interested in the leaves, because she was waaaay to excited about the dina...sore [dinosaur] slide.Have a great week!

Zoo and first photograph

Avery, Ma, and I went to the Zoo yesterday and rode the train! Ace is obsessed with trains, cars, trucks, and anything else that moves! She loves the animals too, but the train really stole the show!

Last Friday morning, Avery and I were laying around watching early morning cartoons, like we always do until it is actually light enough outside to get up (time change fixed that!). She was playing with my phone and somehow took her first photograph. See below.
Technically she did a good job. There is visual interest, diagonal lines, proper lighting, et. al. Proud Mama over here. They say to photograph what you like and know, and Ace definitely knows about her "juice". BTW, all drinkable liquid is known in her world as juice. Milk, water, she knows their proper names, but when it gets put in a sippy cup, its all juice to her.

Did anyone happen to see me in RSVP magazine this month? If so, you would know that I am a "closet photographer" whatever that means. Anywho, I digress. Ace is a marvel. I love her!

Here are some things she can do these days:

1. Use a spoon or fork with great precision.

2. Ride her trike.

3. Say "rrrrRRRROOOLLLLL Tide, Hey!" and "eagle, HEY!" which she does in her crib at night.

4. list cars, trucks, trains, and their colors.

5. count to 3.

6. say tank you mama when appropriate.

7. sing! Not words yet, but she does croon out some vowel sounds!

8. tell us when she has gone number 2 in her diaper. I guess we are on the right track to potty training? Experienced moms-Any help with this feat??

That's our life in a nutshell. TJ is hunting in South Dakota this weekend, say a prayer for his safety!

Exciting News!! (No, I'm not pregnant!)

Exciting News:

I sold my camera, ya know, the one I have been complaining about since this time last year, on ebay yesterday! And I totally got more than I anticipated! I cannot tell you what this accomplishment feels like! I am even more thrilled that I can get a new one, a more researched one, now. I am debating between a new concept camera (Nikon does not have one on the market currently) that is a mirror-less SLR, and is very small and sleek OR the Nikon D3100. If anyone has any [knowledgeable] comments as to which one I should purchase, I would love the insight. Now that so many of my friends have gotten into photography, I feel like I might actually have a shot of getting a response on this! YaY!

No I'm not pregnant!:

Does anyone else find it odd that complete strangers think they know the appropriate time for me to have another baby? Ask any mom of one, and she will probably tell you that it is MUCH harder to decide when or if to have another baby than it was the first one. I love Avery, and I want her to have siblings, but is it anyone else's business when that happens? It seems everyone has an opinion, from the guy at the flower shop on Monday ("She's how old?" me-"she'll be 2 in February" flower man-"Yep, 'bout time for another one, huh?" me- incredulous blank stare), to the lady at the March of Dimes benefit dinner last night ("Take it from an old pro, wait until she is 30 months to have another baby!"), and of course all the sweet ladies in the nursery at church are ready for us to do it again. There is just so much more to it than they make it out to be!

My Concerns:

1. Can we get pregnant again anyway?

2. What if we have another miscarriage?

3. Isn't Avery enough?

4. We really want a houseful.

5. How many is too many?

6. Avery will be a spoiled brat if we don't go ahead and get her a sibling!

7. I sure would like to have Avery completely potty trained before we do it again.

8. IS there a best time of year to have a baby?

9. Is there a best time of year to be pregnant?

10. (THE BIG ONE) Can I actually love another baby as much as Avery?

11. Will Avery adjust?

12. Can TJ and I handle 2?

The answers are probably obvious to anyone with multiple children. And I probably will get on the bandwagon soon regardless of my apprehension. Thanks for letting me vent.

On a less frustrating note, here are Ace and I counting fish at El Rey last week.

Allen Law Center, Hunting, etc.

Avery was as excited as her Dada that hunting season opened! She hasn't been yet, but is anticipating her debut in the woods, as any young debutante would. Check out her "I'm watching you!" face and crouch.

In other news, the Allen Law Center broke ground on Friday, named after my dear old Dad. Mom even made the photo!
Here is GiGi giving his speech to the surprisingly large crowd.
The FAM. Aunt Allison made it down from Atlanta, Roro, Eeee, Ma, GiGi, and this girl.
MiMi got Avery a lady bug costume for Halloween. She now can go to two parties, with her two outfits!

We are looking forward to Halloween, and my favorite holiday, THANKSGIVING! And yes, I just shouted that! I cannot wait for the food!

Top Ten Favorite (some new) recipes for Turkey Day this year:

1. Mushroom Bread Pudding (puh-lease send me the recipe Allison)

2. Pumpkin Cheesecake!

3. Squash Casserole

4. Fried Turkey

5. Stuffing

6. Allison's Pumpkin Tourene (sp?)

7. Sweet Potato Casserole

8. Garlic Green Beans

9. Aunt Patty's Chocolate Cake

10. Asparagus Casserole

So excited! Only 37 days to go!

The past few weeks...

Have been a bit crazy around here. We went to Auburn for Avery's first game on the 2nd. She loved it!! We were tickled that she had such a good time! I think she is going to be a lover of all sports regardless of team colors! She played, sat still when she needed to, ate a stadium dog (of course!), cheered at the appropriate times, watched the eagle do his thing, and we left at halftime to accommodate nap-time. It was great! She always surprises me with the things she can handle!

This past weekend, we took the drive up 65 for Suelin and Phillip's wedding weekend. The festivities began with a Thursday night BBQ with all the wedding party. It was great food, and even better to visit with all my girls! Friday, we had the lovely bridesmaid luncheon at Chez Lulu! I am positive that the elderly lady sitting next to me thinks that Laura, J-bo, and Reba, and I are at the very least on drugs. We could not stop laughing. Between Laura's half swollen and very red eye from her allergies and the 36 ounces of coffee she consumed, she had us rolling for 2 hours.

Friday night was the rehearsal dinner, and Laryne came into town to keep Aves. She brought her new boyfriend, Courtland, who is presh!! I should point out here that Avery is now referring to herself as Ace. Anywho, they kept Ace while we went to the dinner. Some of the stories we heard about Phillip were hilarious, there are truly some comedians in his group. Of course the stories about Suelin were funny. We all knew they would be. I am currently regretting the decision to not talk. If I had gotten up to make a toast to the happy couple, it would have been this:

Suelin, I love you. You are my favorite person to catch up with, because I can get the scoop on everyone else with one phone call. Whenever anything ridiculous happens to me, I know you will laugh, and vice versa. To Phillip, be mindful that Suelin has "ailments". You will need to be her sounding board for when to seek medical treatment when:

1. her tooth is about to fall out.

2. she is nervous and is sure she needs to take imodium.

3. she is positive she swallowed a fly without using her mouth.

and God help you when she finds out she is pregnant! Best of luck to both of you. Love you much!

Ok, on to the zoo trip! Rebecca, J-Bo, Laura, TJ, and I took Aves and Raughley to the Zoo. They were super cute together!

Here is Avery feeding Raughley her snack! So cute!!! Raughley is adorable Reebs. So glad the kids finally got to meet!
The wedding was beautiful, Suelin was a gorgeous bride! Unfortuately, I did not take any pictures, nor do I have any to pirate from anyone else's blog (yet)...Thanks for the pics of the kids Reba. All in all, it was a great, but tiring weekend. I am glad to be home and back in our routine! Although, its Fair week in Montgomery, and we had to take Aves last night. She LOVED it. I have never seen her smile for so long and so big as she did on the little cars she rode around and around in (ALL BY HERSELF). TJ and I were kind of freaking out! But she did great! TJ has video that I will have to upload as soon as he sends it to me! This photo is of Avery in the pineapple under the sea with spongebob (not pictured).

Here she is riding a pony. FYI GiGi, she's gonna want one pretty soon.
Hunting season starts tomorrow, so I am sure the majority of our travel from here until Christmas will be to the farm to see Dada. Its that time of year where I get to be a single parent again! Kidding honey.

What We've Been Up To:

Today, Avery is 13 days away from 20 months of age. While it somewhat saddens me that she is growing up so fast, I am also encouraged by the future for our family. Obviously, Avery is the shining star of our lives. She has been very busy lately:

1. Cheering for Auburn and Alabama each Saturday, and dressing accordingly.

2. Swimming at the Dwyers, she can go under, and is starting to figure out this whole "kick" thing.

3. Riding around the neighborhood in the stroller with Mama and Ma in the mornings, and in the afternoons she rides the ranger with Dada.

4. Playing until she drops with Bebbie, MiMi, and Ma on their respective days.

5. Learning the names of everyone in the family, now extended family, and friends.

6. Memorizing animal names and their sounds.

7. Taking great pleasure in dumping all of the UBEE eyes on the floor, daily.

8. Pooping on the potty (first time yesterday) :).

9. Reminding everyone to keep up with their shoes.

10. Trying on everyone's shoes when they "lose" them.

11. Repeating words!!!! (Remember to mind your P's and Q's around this little regurgitator!

12. She is finally sleeping through the night! You have never seen a happier Mama!

13. Protesting every time Mama changes her clothes or diaper or shoes or hair bow, or mind!!!! (She absolutely would not put on a swimsuit at the lake on Saturday???)
14. Convincing Dada, GiGi, and Bebbie that a "pop pop" is the only remedy to a bumped head, skinned knee, temper tantrum, et. al.
My little toddler is becoming her own little person. I love who she is, and I can't wait to see who she becomes! Can you tell I am feeling a bit sentimental today?

Waaaaaaater, Playground, RoRo

Aves went swimming at the Dwyer's again over the weekend. She loves her swimmy floats, but loves the hose even more! Thanks to MiMi for the new sunglasses!

We went to the park on Tuesday, while BeBe was out sick. She adores the slide!!! All I heard the whole day was "side. side. sing!" Which translates to Slide, Slide, Swing!
Grandma (RoRo) is in town again this week for her cataract surgery. So Avery and I took her to get her hair "fixed". RoRo is on the left, and random woman, who thought Aves was hilarious, is on the right. Avery was obsessed with those big old timey hair dryers. Not sure what that's all about, but it made for a super cute photo!
Aves has come up with a new name for some family members:

Ama- "Ma"

G Daddy- "G.G."

Evan- "E"

Cameron- "Woonie"

Grandma- "RoRo"

MiMi, Hope, HaHa, PawPaw, LuLu all kept the same names.

She keeps it simple. Gotta hand it to her for that!

Avery has so many new words under her belt now...It absolutely amazes me. Everyday, she is saying something new! I love it, and I love her more than I ever thought possible!

Tea Party, Fire Truck, Dress Up-What More Can A Girl Ask For?

Avery has had many a tea party with her Ama, who she is now referring to as simply "Ma". But this was her first with Mommy. We enjoyed a hot afternoon on the front porch with our tea, and watched the cars go by until Daddy got home. You can tell from this photo how thrilled she was. No really, it was fun! She had a real tea cup and everything! Sometimes she just won't smile on cue!

Yesterday Mom and I took Avery to Target, one of our favorite things to do on a lazy afternoon. The hard part was getting Avery dressed to go. It was Auburn's Thursday night game versus Mississippi State, so we thought it was appropriate to dress in theme. She had just gotten a super cute Auburn Cheerleader outfit from Ms. Sharon, but it was a smidge too big. So I was going to throw on the one from last year....BIG mistake. She threw the mother of all hissy fits. I am sure you can guess who won. That would be the girl with the arm cleavage (see photo).
Yay little homeless looking baby in the Tar-jey. She found that hat and microphone all by herself. Yup, a regular mic-woman. You would think with all her enthusiasm for the outfit, she would want to watch the game. Wrong. She wanted to play in her hidie-hole at Ama and G Daddys. Any guess who is in there with her??

Its Aunt Cam!!! Uncle E went to the game, so Cam, TJ, Mom, Avery, and I ate Indian (all orange foods-in theme of course)and watched the tigers try to give it away.

These next two are from this morning. Avery met Townes (My parent's next door neighbor's grandson)before our walk. There just happened to be a fire truck down the street. Hence the attention no being on the camera.
After the ambulance and fire truck were gone (say a little prayer for the elderly lady down the street), they were on to bigger and better things. Like sharing a pine cone, and saying "dog" over and over, every time "Sam" (neighbor's dog who coincidentally looks a heck of a lot like Heidi) walked by. You can imagine Avery's confusion when Sam comes by and Avery says "Heidi", and we all say "no, not Heidi, SAM."
End of Photo Montage. Wish I had some awesome music to sync it to. Like something from "Wet Hot American Summer". Do they have a soundtrack??? LOVE that movie. And no, its not a porno. Get your mind out of the gutter. If you haven't seen it, and you love quirky humor, you have got to netflix it now!

Popsicles and Omelets

Avery and TJ are on a HUGE Popsicle kick right now. I have been buying the Edy's fruit popsicles, but when we ran out again, I decided I needed to get a little healthier if we are going to consume a box a week. I bought some new kind that is just frozen pureed fruit. I will give their critique after super tonight. But for now, enjoy Avery enjoying a blackberry popsicle!

I am back on the diet train again. I am so tired of dieting, but I am more tired of feeling fat. It is time to get motivated.

Day One I made an egg white veggie omelet:

3 egg whites

1/4 cup green pepper-chopped

1/8 cup red onion-chopped

1/8 cup fat free shredded mozzarella

1/4 cup organic chicken stock

1. Put chicken stock, peppers, and onions in small pan, cook until tender. Remove from heat.

2. Spray pan down with Pam.

3. Mix egg whites, cheese, veggies, and s & p.

4. Add to pan, and cook 4 minutes.

5. Flip one side over the other to create the half moon shape. Cook an additional 4 minutes, flipping half way through.

EAT!!! It was so good, and very filling!

We shall see how long this lasts!

Missing G Daddy

Avery and were missing our G Daddy on Monday, so we played with his legal stickies and sent him this photo:

This is how I make dinner most nights...Avery finds anything she can to "cook". Today's special? DOG FOOD! Notice how more is on the floor than in her pot. Eh, whatev, at least we got to eat a home cooked meal (We ate cuban food, picadillo and homemade salsa with empanadas---not dog food!)
The Williford house is pretty normal these days. We are blessed to be healthy, happy, and satisfied. I am looking forward to the weekend though...Carolyn and Allison's birthday bash at the lake! Photos to come of that!

Piggy Tales and Lobster Tails

I'm in love....there is something about pig tales that makes me wish I was 3 and carefree again. I don't like them on anyone over the age of 6 though. It always seems odd when girls of high school age braid, ribbon, and poof their hair for softball or volleyball games. Soccer girls do not do this. We wanted our hair out of our face, because we were serious(-ly pretentious) athletes. :)

Sorry Kara and Searcy, that's just how I feel. (I think it is probably a similar feeling that TJ has when comparing soccer to (in his opinion) the more manly sport of football.) But I digress....look how cute my kid is with piggy tales!!!!

Lacey and Justin came over Friday night for a lobster dinner. Thanks to Mom and MACOA (Montgomery Area Council on Aging), we got to partake in "THE MAINE EVENT". Twas a great day for our tummies, not so great for the little guys who got eaten. I am sad that Avery didn't get to stay up and try any lobster (we only eat it this one time a year since TJ had his near fatal lobster accident-a story which needs its own post)but hopefully next year she won't be so worn out from the day.
CLAAAASSSSY. Bibs, White ZIN, and no silverware in sight!

Avery's Half Birthday / Baby Bucket List

Aunt Hannah and Ama pausing for a photo! Check the babe in the background.

Child abuse?
Chillin' out, maxin, relaxin' all cool.
Yup. That's my kid in a bucket. Thanks "E".

Bama Babe

My baby is turning into a 'Bama fan before my eyes. TJ has been teaching her to "roll 'em up", and our sneaky next door neighbor threw in this gem with the other cute hand me downs from Helen.

FROYO!

A little photo montage...

Mimi and I took Aves to the museum yesterday. Avery loved the kids zone "Artworks", she especially loved the computers. She got mad when I tried to help her. So she colored all over my face.

Then we "hopped" into a painting by Edward Hopper (Kate- you have got to come to MMFA! you would love it!)...again, Avery is upset (in 4 seconds after this photo was shot) with me for trying to help her answer the phone! I just need to lay off with the helping apparently!
This is a few weeks back at the mill. This is what happens when TJ puts your sunscreen on for you. (or when he puts it on himself for that matter- as I am sure Ellis P. would testify to.)
7am Lake Martin-Avery has been awake for 1.5 hours at the time of this photo.
Father/Daughter go to work day. And yes...she is singing her heart out. Isn't that what you do when you put on those neat-o phone headset thingys? She is so about to drop a fist pump.
We are boring. I have nothing else to report today. Oh, but MEGHAN got engaged on Friday!!! Congrats Meggie and Fancy Lancey! That makes 4 pledge sistas getting married in the next year! So happy for all of you! Hugs and sloppy wet Avery kisses to all!