Brackenhurst

We had a good time at a beautiful retreat center called Brackenhurst, just about an hour away. I took a break from taking the usual 1000s of pics of Avery so here are some of the few and random pics taken. Avery loved to play with the trash can outside our room and learned to drink, actually getting more water in her mouth than on her clothes!

Daddy's girl

Avery is becoming more and more of a Daddy's girl. It is so cute to she her light up and way her arms up and down and "talk" excitedly whenever Taylor enters the room. Here are some pics of some of their latest playtimes. Oh, and just so you know, Avery prefers Dad reading to her way more than Mom.

Just because she is the cutest thing EVER...

So this isn't the most flattering pic of Avery bug but it made me laugh and I had to share it! I have to admit that we are really enjoying this stage. It is so fun to she her do things to make us laugh.

She is becoming more girl like each day!

The differences between little boys and girls are clearer over hear while surrounded by all little boys. Avery shocked me the other day when she was playing and getting frustrated by trying to put her bib on her head. Once I put it around her neck she smiled and walked off, she had to have the perfect accessory. Lately she has been attached to her blanket bunny for a few minutes after her naps. Other times she just needs a hat or one of her (clean) diaper inserts to carry around. We are loving her emerging personality!

playing dress up on her actual birthday...

We celebrated her birthday a day early and on her actual birthday Mom played dress up with Avery and tried on two of her 12 month dresses and to her surprise they fit! You can see all FOUR of her teeth pretty well in the pic of her in the gray dress.

Birthday loot!

Whew, what a fun but tiring day! Avery even got some presents! A great new board book, a colorful ball, a baby doll and a stuffed zebra. And if you take a good look at the picture of Avery receiving a gift from her friend Thomas you can see that Dad was wearing her hat! :)

Avery's Birthday Party

We had a great time at Avery's first birthday party! Here are a few shots of her party. We celebrated at the SIM Kenya compound that had a bit more green space than ours. We were even able to find cute girly first birthday party cups, plates and a banner!

Happy Birthday Avery!!!

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And she is really off....

Avery Walking! from Taylor Martyn on Vimeo.
side note- check out the rug she walks on, it is a recent purchase to make home feel more like our home!

First New Year's Eve "Party"

Not so much a party as a bath and silly giggle time before bed. The pic of Avery acting silly shows off her top two front teeth. She also started to really walk today! Just in time for a new year! The video is almost done uploading and should be up soon for you to enjoy!