Avonlea at 5 months old

I'm a bit late in posting these 5 month pictures as Avonlea is almost 6 months (!!!), but better late than never. This age is SO MUCH FUN. She is smiling and giggling, and is just a pretty happy little lady. She hit the 4 month sleep regression hard, so that's been a bit of a shock for us…and unfortunatly it's spilled over into her 5 month sleeping habits. But that sweet little face when she wakes up in the morning is more than I can handle. Her grin is as wide as her face:)

I went back to work last week. I had a lot of nerves about it…I've only left Avonlea for a total of 2 hours for her entire life, and she still hasn't quite figured out to take a bottle (she prefers a sippy cup, but even that is iffy). Before last week I had tried to bring her to a childcare at church, but she only last 10 minutes and the lady brought her to me as she had tears streaming down her face. Made my heart ache. So…last week I was nervous to say the least. But, she was tremendously happy with my mom. I only was gone a total of 7 hours over the period of 3 days, but Avonlea ate, napped well, and was so happy. I couldn't have been more thrilled…PRAISE GOD!

This past weekend my family (parents, siblings and their significant others) all piled into a cabin on a lake for a family reunion. It was so life-giving. Each couple took a meal to cook, and then asked 1-2 discussion questions. It was nice to hear people's responses and get to know everyone on a deeper level.

Hope you all are having a great week:) xoxo

That joy! I love it:)

Family Pics

 

It has been weeks since I last wrote (*gasp!*) but August and now September have been a very fun months:) We spent a weekend in Tahoe with friends, had visitors from Indonesia, and flew to Utah for a wedding. Avonlea was the sweetest on the airplane, she seemed fascinated by everything!

We finally took a few family pictures, now that we are a family of three:) This is one of my favorite spots in the park, and I thought it might be fun to take them every season as the leaves and park change significantly with each passing summer, fall, winter and spring!

Avonlea is 5.5 months now, I cannot believe it. Time flies SO fast with a baby, and it's amazing to see how much they grow and change and learn. They are little sponges….it's fascinating! I am in love with this sweet girl:)

How has your summer been? Hope it's been wonderful! xoxo

Southern California

The wind is totally blowing my shirt out in this pic…don't get any ideas, haha!

In early August we flew down to Southern California to visit Kevin's family. Avonlea was a champion traveler, I was honestly so impressed with how she did! She found the airplane fascinating and nursed the whole way down, and basically slept the whole flight back (I mean, it is only an hour flight…but I was still elated! haha). BUT…. traveling with a tiny child is no joke with how much extra stuff you need to bring! How can someone so little require so.much.stuff??? The carseat, stroller, ergo, etc. etc. It was all worth it though!

We were mostly in Orange County, staying with Kevin's parents and seeing friends.  We hit up our old favorites in Newport Beach (Mama D's and True Food Kitchen), took the ferry to Balboa Island and did lots of beach walks. I got to see friends from so many different parts of my life down there…Bible Study, Grad School, my old job…it was a blast!

We also spent 2 days in San Diego seeing friends and staying with my aunt and uncle. We hiked Torrey Pines which are these beautiful cliffs along the coast. San Diego was experiencing a bit of a humid heat wave, so it was blazing hot, haha!

I realized by the end that I hardly took any pics with my camera (mostly my phone)…so here are a few I did take. It was such a refreshing trip to be around beloved people, and introduce them to Avonlea. She was SUCH a sweet baby with everyone, made my mama heart so full of thanksgiving.

One poignant part of the trip happened as we sat around the table with Kevin's parents. I was having a bit of a bad attitude that this short trip was our only vacation as a family this summer. Kevin's job has been crazy busy (unexpectedly busy…), and it's was really hard on me as he was gone most of the day, working 12+ hours a day. I dreamed of going to Portland, or Europe, or just somewhere new. Going to SoCal, where we lived for 8 years didn't seem like much of a vacation, so I was pouting (woe is me! so pathetic, I know). But…the first night there, Kevin's dad Mitch pulled out the devotional called New Morning Mercies and read a devotion on how when we are focused on US, our life if full of grumbling and complaining. But when we are focused on Christ and ready to give thanks for all His gifts, we live a life of gratitude and peace. I was SOOO convicted. And honestly, it changed my whole perspective and outlook on this trip. I was able to completely enjoy it, giving thanks for all the beautiful and small ways I was blessed and saw God moving. Isn't it funny how an attitude and perspective change completely gives you life and freedom? Thanks Mitch for reading that devotional to us!!

How is your summer going? We are helping host a block party this Sunday for our neighbors and i'm super excited. We're having root beer floats and playing lawn games. Praying all my neighbors feel loved and welcomed and that we have a blast!! Enjoy your week! xoxo