Avery.....7 months!

I am not ready for this.

It seems like now that we have passed 6 months, that 1 YEAR mark is coming up fast!

And since Avery is such a good baby and so happy, it makes me not want to let go of her baby-ness.

I know, we have a ways to go yet, but 7 months just seemed to RUN away!

So here is the little gem:

Like I said, she is sooooo happy!

I love it!

She completely loves the jumper now.  She just finds it so fun to jump all over the place!

And toys....watch out!  Everything goes in her mouth and nothing is too far away!

She wants to crawl desperately too!  She gets up on all fours and starts to rock, but so far, only Army crawls.

Remember I told you that while in Kansas City she learned how to sit up?

It makes her look like such a big girl!

Now that she can do that, she loves playing with this cool toy:

She is calm enough and not so loud and busy like Landon, so Bailey will let her snuggle close for a while too!

Also noteworthy.....Avery got to meet Great Granny Goose while we were in KC.  I know Granny really enjoyed it and it seems Avery had a good time too!

On to the accomplishments......

We already covered sitting up.

We have gone over the almost crawling.

I have not yet mentioned the latest though.....

She has a TOOTH!!!!

It happened a little earlier than I guessed, but all the chewing and drooling has produced her first tooth.

And with the new chomper, I tried giving her Puffs.

Not so sure yet, but she chewed on it instead of gagging like Landon did.  It is progress......

I weighed and measured her at home, so the stats are probably a bit off, but here they are anyway!

Height:  26 inches

Weight:  18 pounds

Growing steady!

With Avery being my second child, I have really slacked on capturing her on video, and have not been so good with pictures.

BUT, I did actually stop and record her playing and having a good time a couple weeks ago.

She looked so cute too!

Too bad I can't show you the video due to technical difficulties.

(i.e. It may be time for a new computer!)

Fun Times at the Airshow!

 Guess where we were this past weekend??!!

The Airshow!  Landon has been looking forward to this for a couple months now!

We were so glad that Adam was actually off work for that weekend AND we had a nice crispy fall day to go on!

The first thing Landon saw as soon as we came in was the "big en-in" or "big engine" to those who speak English. :)

Directly across from that was "Bompa's air-pane", a C-130.

Landon was super excited to see the navigator seat where Bompa sat for his flights.

For such a huge plane, there sure are some tiny staircases and doors!

All throughout the show, there were different planes and demonstrations going on in the sky.  Landon loved that Daddy could offer a view a little above his own! 

Two peas in a pod!

I think Landon spent at least 90% of his day in this position:

Some of the planes were opened up so you could go inside and check it out. 

I believe Landon's words to me were "Look Mom, I am inside the air-pane!" 

Monkey see, Monkey do!  Adam was checking out something on the plane, so Landon gets practically on his head to see as well. 

It was decided, after a thorough inspection, "dat big wheel!"

I thought it was neat that there was an old war plane named "Miss Mitchell" since both the boys' middle name is Mitchell.  Must have been a plane just for them! 

Although Adam really wanted to take this one for a quick spin around the block! 

 There was a giant Fed-Ex plane there too that you could go in...... 

......and no Fed-Ex plane would be complete without "Wilson" there as well! 

All the kids were given one of those wooden planes that you put together and then throw.

They are made out of super thin wood, so Landon broke his after just a couple tosses.

His response was always "Daddy 'fick' it. With 'gee-eeew' and 'scew-wiver'". 

The Snowbirds (Canada's version of the Blue Angels) were lined up to be the grand finale, but we weren't able to stay ALL day to see them.  I was bummed about that, but maybe next year..... 

We still had fun anyway! 

Avery spent the day pretty bundled up and out of the wind.  The buffer from the noisy jet planes wasn't a bad idea either! 

I think a really fun part was the Army's Golden Knights.  They are a parachute team that does these awesome tricks while they free fall and parachute down.  I would never have the guts to do it, but it seemed pretty cool! 

Of course there were the little planes that did all the barrell rolls and flips and dives. 

I am always amazed that they really don't hit each other! 

Adam was really impressed to see the Marine's Harrier plane.  It is the one that takes off straight up, no runway needed.  Here it had just stopped in the middle of the air and hung out for a while.

I am glad we all had such a good time!  I am already looking up when it will be in town again next year!

Genious!!!

I know Landon is smart, but recently he has really been putting things together.

Tonight at dinner, there was a pesky fly buzzing around.

It landed on Landon's bread.

Me:  Don't worry, he will leave in a bit.

Landon:  He can't eat my bread.

Me: Why not?

Landon:  Not have mouth.

Me: That is so smart! He doesn't have a mouth, does he?

Landon:  He not drink my milk.

Me:  Why not?

Landon:  He not have arms.

Me:  He has legs, though.  What does he do with his legs?

Landon:  Go to school.

Makes the teacher part of me so proud!

Back to Reality....

Alright, I know I said last time I got behind that I would be better about keeping up.

I failed.

Our "regular" routine was shifted just a bit for a few weeks so that we could be in Kansas City to help the family with a little speed bump.

So, I dropped the blogging ball again.

But I will TRY reeeeeeeeally hard to keep up better! :)

So, on to the game of "catch up".......

When I fell off the face of the blogging planet, my BFF Amy had just finished with a visit with us here in Duluth.

Remember, I gave you background on Amy.

We are complete goobers!

So, anyway, we had a great visit!

We picked Amy up at the airport and spent the afternoon at the Mall of America.

First stop, Rainforest Cafe!

Then we decided to hit up the amusement park and take Landon on some rides.

Next up was the Bubble Festival.  I know, kid stuff. 

But, Amy and I always make fun times out of all our adventures!

I think Avery likes Amy too.....

So, of course, we hit up the Canal as well.  It is Duluth after all!

And we spent LOTS of time just chatting, catching up, discussing life....

....and poking fun at what brought us together in the first place:

So, after Amy's visit, we headed south to Kansas City.

We stayed with my mom, or Mimi, if you ask Landon. 

The kiddos just settled right in and assumed playtime as normal!

We saw the family just about every day, especially Auntie Lisa. 

It was soooo nice to get to hang out with my favorite sister! :)

And Avery started sitting up while we were there!!! 

(More on this and other milestones coming up later.....)

We also took the opportunity to spend an afternoon in Joplin with my Aunt and Uncle.

Landon LOVED playing with Uncle Brian....he ran him HARD!  It paid off....Landon slept almost all the way home! :)

The kiddos got to play with Cousin Eric too.  He is a goober for babies! :)

Landon enjoyed having a block building partner, and Aunt Sandy soaked up some baby love!

The main highlight of our Joplin day.....

......Avery got to meet Great Granny Goose!

That was a very special moment for both of them!!! 

But, alas, we had to head for home after a few weeks in KC. 

We had to get back to reality and back to life here in Duluth. 

After all, Landon started (gasp!!!) Preschool!!!!

Not sure I am ready for that, but we will have to discuss that another time.....

Back at home, it is already turning into fall. 

Leaves are changing and the air is crisp.

I even got to re-claim my deck!

Remember the Redneck A/C?

Well, I now have this awesome view back, complete with orange-leaved trees.

Makes me remember why I like Duluth!

Well, I think I am all caught up on life's adventures and events. 

Until next time......

........in (hopefully) less than a month!