I thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane.



1 month
2 months
3 months

Birthday I:
I had so many pictures to share, I had to do a 2 part series of postings. My only complaint to this blog page is the number of pictures I am limited to attach to each post. The birthday party was a success! Fall is my favorite time of year so we decided to have a fall theme; pumkins and halloween! These first couple of pictures are the day after the party when Chris, Sidney, Avery and myself walked to the park. As much as they love the park this year, I think it will be an even bigger success next year with the girls.
Sidney is in the brown sweater and Avery is in the white & brown sweater.

They love to swing. They like sharing a swing right now because it fits more snug.


Hopefully you can see in the picture that they are laughing and having a good time.

















The park has a jungle gym that the girls are finally big enough to climb on (with our help). Today was the first time they were on it and I think they thought it was pretty cool.














Avery is sitting on top of Sid trying to get a piece of brocoli out of her mouth. Sidney must have stored some away during lunch.










Sidney sporting one of her many birthday outfits - too darn cute!













The start of the birthday party. We decided to let the girls dress up in their Halloween outfits 1. because they are too cute and 2. because it's a shame they only get to wear them once a year. Running around the house showing off their wagging tails worked up a good sweat, so mid way thru the party we went from full cow to half cow. Here is Avery with her proud Dad!









It was such a beautiful day the girls spent some time in the pasture.












Here Chris, Avery, Matt & Sidney are saying hello to the neighbor dogs, Jazzy & Lillie. These dogs bark up a storm, but the girls just love'em!









Sidney taking a break in the grass.

Birthday II:


Here is one of the birthday cows with Ellen. I believe it is Avery if my memory serves me correct, but only Ellen can verify!





Here is Sidney and Jodie waiting for the cake to be served!




Clint and Avery. I love this picture..."Honey, I shrunk the kids".











Cake is served!!!!! Here is Avery biting the cake. It only took about three or four bites before she realized her hands would work too!

Sidney dug right in...no hesitation, no biting.















Here is Avery right before we took the cake away. As you can see, she was very polite and took her time eating. I broke the cake open in hopes that she may eat some of the carrot cake, but she chose to stick to the frosting.








And then we get to Sid! This picture pretty much sums up the whole experience for her. I think I can confidently say, she likes cake!















Opening presents...so many great gifts. Books, puzzles, stuffed animals and clothes!!!! Thanks to everyone!!













Rafael...the girls long time friend. He helped them celebrate and break in a few toys!









Me and my girls! We had to give the girls baths after the cake so that is why Avery's hair looks a bit wild. Sid is sitting stylish with her new hat on!

Happy Birthday!!!!! What an awesome year!

Each day is an adventure with these two. They are developing their own little personalities and attitudes. They still love hanging out together which you will see in these pictures! Here they are on their first birthday gift. As you can see in the picture, they LOVE this teeter-totter. It is still a little hard to get them off without some fussing, but soon enough they will both learn to climb on together (I have already walked into the room to find Sid standing on it). Here they are waving a big Thank-you to Aunt Jen, Uncle Don, Taylor and DJ! We also wanted to wish Taylor Happy Birthday too! She turned 8 today!!!!



Took the girls to Elm Creek Reserve. So beautiful with all the colors. Yeah, we finally aren't putting leaves in our mouths. Ok, I found a few wet ones around their mouths as I put them into their carseats - big deal!












Sidney, hamming it up for the camera!











Avery with a mouth full of grilled cheese!








Rolling around on the floor again having fun! The girls are already communicating with eachother better than they do with Chris and I. I found them playing a game today in their highchairs. I'm not sure what the name of the game was, but they were definitely playing.


Here Avery and I were outside swinging. I couldn't get any good photos of her actually swinging (blurring) so I stopped her for just a minute to take a few pictures. This was the best shot I got because she threw a fit that the swing had stopped.









Avery...Look three spoons!!!












Once again, laying on the floor having a good time. Avery is kicking her feet up and Sid is pretending to zap you with her super powers!













Sidney playing in her sun dress!









WHAT!!!!! We have to go to bed?

It is hard to believe a month has almost passed since my last update. Avery and Sid are getting so big as they approach their 1st birthday. We seem to be entering the world of testing boundaries and throwing fits. Avery is a champ at throwing her body on the floor in protest. This can be from frustration or objection. The hardest part of this whole act is keeping her from seeing me laugh. I feel fortunate as these behaviors are a minority as of right now.
Here you can see the girls playing with Chris. Chris will say "Hi" to the girls through the cat door. It is funny to watch them try to get to him through the hole. Thank God they don't fit!









Here they are trying to fit their faces through the cat door to get to Chris.











We got to spend a day with the Duck family at the cottage. It was great to see everyone. Sid and Avery got to take their first boat ride in the pontoon and swim in the lake.











Sidney sitting in her high chair eating crackers.





Avery hamming it up in her high chair.









Look at this gorgeous couple. My friend Erin got married to Kable. I think this is a great picture of the couple and it does no justice to how beautiful Erin looked. The wedding was a blast and it was a treat to visit with so many people whom I haven't seen in many years!!









Sidney is sitting on her Great Grandma Bailey's lap.




























Grandma holding Avery and Grandpa holding Sid.














The girls got to visit with Chris's cousins, Cari and Dawn. Here are the girls with their youngest girls.




Grandma reading to Sid and Avery. It looks like Sid is being soothed to sleep by the story.

I think these pictures are so funny! Both girls need a haircut but I can't seem to cut it. I don't know, maybe some of you other mothers understand my emotional dilema, or not. So anyway, my mom told me to put a barrett in their hair. I did that, but then I found one of the barretts in Sidney's mouth, or maybe it was Avery. Who knows. So, it basically boils down to putting the girls hair up in these cut little ponytails. I love it which is funny because I used to ask myself (under my breathe) why women do that to their little girls...now I know. Chris still agrees to my pre-motherhood thought process and removes the ponytails whenever I'm not looking. I thought I'd better take a few pictures before I start to agree with him again.


A close-up of Sidney. She's such a funny little girl. She can be very intense at times and so gentle at others. She melts my heart with her smile. I think she is definately a daddy's girl. It's neat to watch both of their faces light up when he walks into the room. They really think he is something special and they are right.








I'm not really sure what these faces are about. Maybe they are practicing being serious.









Avery is in front and Sid is behind her. Sidney is actually eyeing her sister's ponytail. I had just pushed her hand away from Avery's head before snapping the picture.









Here they are again just having a blast. They love to laugh and once they start they don't stop. They think it's funny to make the same noises as eachother.







Sidney chewing on her feet. Thank goodness she has more flexibility than her father.











I love this picture. Avery is on the left and Sidney on the right. You can tell by their hairline. Avery's come to peak and Sidney's is straight. They will stand here at the front door and watch the outside world. They love to watch people and their pets walk by or the neighborhood kids riding their bikes. They will stand there for long periods of time looking, laughing and talking to eachother.