Helloooooo, Family!

Time for a recap of our amazing family trip to New England.  Get excited, this is going to be fun!

First off, Avery Elizabeth did an outstanding job on the plane flights.  As you may know, to fly from San Diego to Providence, Rhode Island isn't all that quick...total air time is roughly 5.5 hours.  That's a lot of time to be stuck on a plane, let alone stuck on a plane with a baby.  I was really anxious the week before our flight and had unlimited daymares about various catastrophes, but Avery, the flight itself (I don't love flying in general), and I exceeded every expectation!  (We had one 5 minute crying --screaming-- spell on the flight back to San Diego and I was handling it as best I could until I got a dirty look from an old maid one row up.  I was about to throw her through a window, but Jeff held me back.  Needless to say, she got an earful and the last hour of the flight was a little awkward, but no one messes with me or my family, especially after a long day of just trying to make it home.)

Our expert flyer!

The first full day out there was the 4th of July...and the day we celebrated my Grandma's 80th birthday!

So patriotic, Miss Elizabeth!

You make 80 look so good!

Chatting away with Great-Great Aunt Marie!

The next two days included walks around my Grandma's neighborhood, a dip in the Atlantic and lots of visiting with family that we don't see nearly enough.

Thanks, Cousin Joey, for letting us borrow your stroller!

Beautiful sunset in Narragansett...

BBQ with the Caparcos!

Pacific Ocean, now Atlantic Ocean...what's next?!

I had to include this one, because Avery's expression is priceless!

Outdoor shower?  Awesome!

One of the bigger events of the week was my Aunt's wedding on Friday.  In order to do things right, we had a little bachelorette party the night before...and it was so much fun to celebrate my beautiful aunt and spend time with all the girls! 

Bride = hottie in the glasses

Jeff and I had a parents-night-out for the wedding while Avery played with cousins!

On Saturday we drove to Western Massachusetts to spend time with my mom's family.  It was a short but very sweet trip!

Great food, great family and... yup, great photo! 

As you can tell, it was such a great visit and I look forward to seeing everyone again really soon!

This is the house where Bren and I grew up!

Wait, is that Grandpa or an M&M with arms?!

Goodbye photo-op with Great-Grandma

Lots of kisses from Auntie!

Funny picture time...

I'm not sure what's going on here, but it sure is cute.

 Bonus picture...because Avery has lots of priceless expressions...

Can we say "family Christmas card?!"

All Things Baby

There have been a lot of baby happenings recently, including the birth of two very special little ones.  It's one thing to have two friends having babies in the same month, but it's a whole different ballgame to have friends having babies on the same day!  Needless to say, Tuesday, June 14th was a very exciting day for all of us on the sidelines as we waited by our phones for the big news of both arrivals. 

Stone Gordon Tait was born at 1:30 p.m. to proud mama, Janae, loving dad, Steve and awesome big brother, Cody!

Quinn Emery Goad was born at 5:30 p.m. to Amanda and Garrett who couldn't be more in love with their first baby!

 Avery is beyond excited to have two new friends to play with and I can foresee a lifetime of great memories for both children and parents alike.

So... is there another big baby happening, you ask.  Why, yes!  Avery Elizabeth Simpson was baptized on Father's Day.  With our close family in attendance, we held Avery close as she was welcomed into the Church of God.  A passage in one of Avery's baptism cards reads "May your baptism be the very precious start of knowing now and always that God's love is in your heart."  That pretty much encompasses what we hope Avery will understand and appreciate as she grows older.

On a side note, there are many reasons why people choose to baptize a child when they're a teeny tiny baby (aka - younger than Avery who is almost 9 months).  I have to assume one of those reasons is that the older a baby gets the more "interactive" they become, which can make things a little tricky/messy/funny/awkward... like when they're up on stage in front of the congregation and in the middle of the baptism the baby grabs the handle of the water pitcher used to fill the baptismal bowl and almost pulls it off the table (yes, Avery did that) or when a baby splashes the water in baptismal bowl as she is being held over it (guilty again) or maybe when a baby grabs the baptismal napkin that was used to dry her off and drops it in the baptismal bowl (yup, us again).  Thankfully, we all managed to hold it together, but we had many laughs about that after the service!  In the same breath, Avery was a doll throughout the entire service and sat quietly (well, semi-quietly...this girl likes to chat!) next to me playing with her toys and looking over the pew behind us to make silly faces with Uncle Brennan and Auntie Moosh.

The proud family - we love you, Avery!

Love my little Avie Cakes!

Play time with godparents, Uncle Brennan and Auntie Lindsay!

Everyone loves a little girl time!

Our adorable Avery

This day was also special for another reason... Jeff's first official Father's Day.  He loves Avery so much and the way he tenderly holds her and kisses her makes me smile from ear to ear.  Avery loves her dad so much that she wanted to make a book expressing how awesome he is... que funny picture time...

Yes, this is going to be our new coffee table book.  And yes, Jeff's gorgeous face is on every one of the 20 pages!

Summer Lovin'

Avery's first summer is off to a great start!  (Well, yes, technically summer doesn't start until June 21st, but I consider the first nice weather streak to be the "real" kickoff, especially in San Diego!)

Avery had a fun playdate with Mr. Nicholas Wilkie and there were a ton of precious moments caught on camera...

What is Avery more excited about?  The cute boy in front of her or the fact that she can almost fit the entire block in her mouth?!

It may be a little too early for a first kiss, but...how will you know if you don't try?

Mirror me!

Fun playdate!  We LOVE the Wilkies!

Avery is very social and loves being around people, so this playdate was especially fun to see how excited she got to have a friend to play with.  Watching the two little ones play together definitely reinforced the idea that babies know when they see other babies...the way they look at each other and interact is very unique and intimate on a whole different level.

When Avery gets excited, whether it's playing with a new friend or going on walks and seeing new people/things, she flaps her arms like a little bird.  Too cute for words, so a video will have to do!

We spent the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend at the Goad's with some friends and secretly, I was hoping that Amanda would go into labor, because we cannot wait to meet Quinn!  She'll be here any day now and the anticipation is intense.  As much as Avery loves all of her boyfriends (at this point, all of our friends have boys!), there's something to be said about a girlfriend!

What a beautiful group of friends!

Memory lane...Simpsons and Goads pre-Avery and Quinn!

We spent the morning of Memorial Day with my parents at the Mount Soledad Memorial in La Jolla.  It was more moving than I expected to read through all of the plaques and see pictures of the men and women who fought for our freedom.  And, there were quite a few "family" plaques that paid tribute to entire families and generations of soldiers.  One of the more heart-tugging plaques was one dedicated to four brothers who all died in WWII.

It's important to Jeff and I to continue the tradition with Avery that my parents started years ago...taking time to reflect upon the importance of the day, as well as pay tribute to all those brave men and women who put their heart and sole on the line for their country and our freedom.

I like that all the "famous" soldiers were not given any special placement or exhibit...you had to look hard to find any celebrities.

A beautiful day at the top of La Jolla!

Hanging out with Dad and reflecting on the day...

We spent Memorial Day evening hanging out with our neighbors and enjoying some delicious food.  We are lucky to live in a neighborhood with so many young children and fun parents!  Avery loves watching the older kids ride their bikes up and down the street and kick the soccer ball around...she'll be out there with them in no time.   

We have been taking Avery in the pool for about a month now, but this past Saturday was her first official swim lesson at the Y (as official as a swim lesson can be at 8.5 months).  She LOVED it!  She is very comfortable in the water and loves to splash! 

Avery and Jeff chatting about how much fun they're having! 

She'll be surfing in no time...

Practicing the butterfly.  :-)

On the milestone front, Avery can roll around and scoot backwards with the best of them, but still hasn't managed to get onto all fours to start the crawling phase.  All in due time!  She is a fantastic eater and can't get enough of peaches and sweet potatoes (who can?!).  She loves books and gets a kick out of the narrator when they make animal noises ("moooooo" is at the top of her list!!).  She also loves banging on things...I think our new toy will have to be a tambourine! 

Funny picture time...

I'm a model.  This is my "fierce" face.

Celebrate Good Times, Come on!

Between my dad's birthday (March 28th) and Mother's Day (today!) there were a lot of celebrations to be had including my 30th birthday, Easter and my mom's birthday.  That's a lot of jolly cheer (and busy weekends) to fit into a month in a half!

As I mentioned in my previous posts, my dad's birthday at Balboa Park was a blast and my 30th birthday celebrations were fabulous (or as Jeff sometimes says when he's channeling his high school self, "off the chain"). 

Easter was amazing and all that I hoped it would be.  Avery woke up completely giddy, because somewhere inside her 7 month old brain I think she knew it was going to be a wonderful day!

Good Morning and Happy Easter!

On our way to Lindsay and Pat's we paid a visit to our friends, the Cotugno family.  They welcomed their second baby boy about two months ago and it was great to meet him, even if he didn't know we were there....ahhh, the joys of newborn baby naps!  Their two year old son, Vince, was there to entertain us and both Jeff and I loved playing with him.  He is such a cutie pie and has a sweet and fun demeanor.  And, I don't want to jump the gun here, but I think Miss Avery has a little crush...

Avery & Vince sitting in a tree...

Next, we headed to Lindsay and Pat's new house in Hermosa Beach for our Easter festivities.  I have to mention that their house is awesome.  Great location (Hermosa Beach - two thumbs up; being able to walk to the beautiful "what movies are made of" beach - 8,000 thumbs up) and their house is so cool!  They have been doing quite a few upgrades/renovations since they bought it about eight months ago and the place looks great.  Light, bright and airy with plenty of space and great neighbors - they definitely picked a winner!  And, to top off a great pad, they made a delicious meal for 10 people!  That's impressive on every level, if you ask me.

Did someone say "Easter Bunny?!"

Beautiful family in front; beautiful beach in back.  :-)

Next up on the busy agenda...my mom's birthday at the Wild Animal Park!

Apparently, these things hiss when they're uncomfortable...

Two peas in a pod

And, last up on the list of festivities was Mother's Day!  We had breakfast with my parents and took a very special "3 generations" photo...

I look back at last Mother's Day and feel like that was my first official time celebrating the holiday, even though Miss Avery was an "inside baby" at that time.  We had our entire family over to our house and enjoyed a tasty meal by the house chef (Jeffrey Wendall) and the big kicker was telling our families the sex about of our baby!  Jeff and I found out the night before and recorded the video that changed our lives forever.  (Click on the link to view said video.)  I wish I would have recorded the excitement and cheers from the room when they were watching the video...it was so moving and emotional and will be ingrained in my memory forever.

Between all the weekend parties, it's surprising we had any time to do much else...but, where there is a will, there is a way...

I get really excited for walks...

Pool time with the Taits!

Pool day at the Goads.  Come on, Quinn, hurry up and get here!  We wanna play in the pool with you!

Funny picture time!

What?  Do I have something on my face?

Lovin' April

Easter is one of my favorite holidays...truth be told, it's second behind Christmas.  I LOVE spring, Easter egg hunts, pastel colors, coloring Easter eggs, sunrise services, Easter baskets, dressing up, peeps, jelly beans and of course, celebrating of the real meaning of the day. 

I remember when I was little my grandmother used to buy my girl cousins and I the most beautiful Easter dresses and bonnets.  I also remember white patent leather shoes being a big part of the ensemble...priceless!

This Easter we have plans to go up to Lindsay and Pat's new house in Hermosa Beach and I can barely contain my excitement!  I bought Avery an adorable Easter outfit last week and can't wait to put her little tush in it. I am also looking forward to seeing the new Wade digs and spending some quality time with our family.  When Avery gets a little older it is going to be so much fun to make our Easter celebration more kid-centered...and I hope Avery will love Easter as much as I do.

Easter Bunny - mini size

This month had another special aspect to it...my 30th birthday!!  I had an outstanding birthday and everything about it exceeded my expectations.  As you probably know, I am not a big "birthday person" and wasn't sure how I would feel about turning the big 3-0, but it all went off without a hitch and I'm still enjoying the celebrations (I think I could get used to this...).  From lunch with my brokers to a mini surprise celebration with my family to the wonderful weekend getaway with the husband (great job, babe, for planning such an amazing stay-cation!!) I felt like a million bucks.  I even got a whole batch of the most amazing homemade cookies from my co-worker - chocolate chip with an Oreo baked inside (yes, they were as amazing as they sound).  Needless to say, I had a stomach ache all day on Monday...partly due to excess cookie eating and partly due to excessive jelly bean eating.  Ahhh - I can't help myself!

Love my co-workers!

View from our hotel room last weekend - beautiful!

Funny picture time!

No caption needed for this one...  :-)