Snow.

On Saturday morning, we woke up to a winter wonderland here in Indiana! It was a beautiful 32 degrees outside, so much of our day was spent outside making snowmen (and making up new verses to "Frosty"), crunching our tracks in the snow and sliding down the driveway.

It was such a beautiful, peaceful day - exactly what our little family needed.

Avery had a blast in the snow, playing until his little cheeks were rosy and he was out of breath from falling and picking his bundled-up self up time and time again. He even worked up the courage to take trips down the driveway in the sled all by himself- practicing up to spend some time on Grandpa Jim's sledding hill in a week!
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here!

Avery @ 18 Months

Avery is quickly becoming quite the little boy. It's hard for me to believe that my baby is already a year and a half old. How he's changed in such a short amount of time!!  He's still the sweetest little guy ever and brightens my day every day, but has started showing many 'toddler' behaviors for which he has now learned what 'time out' means and often knows that's he's done something bad before he even does it... He's learning so many new things every day- it's such an amazing thing to watch. His speech is starting to blossom, his imagination is in full force and he's

How he greets me after his nap ;)

already showing some interest in potty training (crazy!). He naps/sleeps at night like a champ (something I'm so grateful for and am taking full advantage of for the next few months while I can!) and runs us both ragged during his waking hours :) I still don't know if he's ready for his world to be turned upside-down by a little brother in 3 months, but his sweet temperament tells me that even if it does take him by surprise, he'll still be such a good little helper to me and a great teacher for baby boy. Until then, I'm going to snuggle him extra tight, read him anything he crawls into my shrinking lap with, and teach him to be as independent as possible in the process.

 

Avery's favorite things: Music & dancing, using his step stool to be a big helper in the kitchen, playing in the sink, running, reading books, cleaning things, hide and seek, playing with the vacuum, 'talking on the phone' ('phone' being a calculator, remote, piece of tinsel, his hand - whatever he can find), hearing the garage door open knowing 'dada' is home, chasing Bella, hugging Bella, 'helping' Bella eat, (pretty much everything about Bella), snack time, coloring, vehicles of all kinds, Sesame Street ('B-Elmo' is his favorite), getting his way, bouncy balls, hammering things, climbing, flipping through magazines, hearing the doorbell ring, hiding under blankets, flashlights.

 

Taking photos of this rascal has become quite the challenge. I tried four different times to dress him in cute outfits and put him in front of a background to take some photos to document this fleeting age. Fail x4. The day I took these shots, he had just gotten up from his nap and was so happy just playing that I just took advantage of it. Pirate t-shirts are just as cute as striped button-ups, right? ;) Plus, this pretty much sums him up at 18 months!

I often miss the days of sitting him in the perfect light and shooting away while making funny faces and rattling things. These days, it's more of a workout for mom and a funny game of keep-away for Avery ;)

I'll leave you with a couple of cute videos from the last couple of months - excuse the bad lighting, sometimes I just grab the camera and start recording so as not to miss the moment :)
 

Avery's very serious (and apparently, private) phone conversation - one of about 40 a day:

 

And Avery at the pool - being brave and exploring the 'deep'!