Food Faces

Avery had some sweet potatoes for the first time a few weeks ago. I can't get enough of that little sweet potato face. Soon after that event, we had our nephew (and his whole family, of course) over for dinner and some hazelnut ravioli (nutella wontons, basically). Anderson was good enough to remind me that food faces won't be limited to the infant stage.

My Pitiful Dog

A Trip to the Emergency Room

No, not that emergency room. The one for dogs. Ellie and Avery and I headed out this morning for our daily walk. All seemed well until a few minutes into the walk Ellie started sniffing around and somehow detached herself from her leash (I must have not connected the leash and collar correctly). She bolted (like the obedient dog she is) and headed for the road and an oncoming truck. Fortunately, Ellie heard me screaming and moved away, but not before the truck ran over her back leg. Ellie howled and then ran back over to us with her back leg bent up to her body...it looked pretty bloody. The man who hit her got out of his truck and held her while I ran back to the house (pushing the stroller) and grabbed the car. We took her to Greenbrier Emergency Vet (where this guy's girlfriend conveniently works) and found out her leg is broken. She has to stay in the hospital for a while due to infection concerns, so this evening our Judd Family Outing was a trip to the emergency room...to visit our dog. Yes, people, they have visiting hours. If you're a dog lover, you'll sympathize, and if you're one of my other friends who don't quite get it, you'll notice that the two dogs I've owned in my adult life have both been hit by cars. It's not exactly the streak for which you want to be remembered.

So, in other news, Ellie and Avery genuinely played together for the first time the other day. Ellie grabbed her rope and gently placed it in Avery's hand. Avery sort of moved her hand around while Ellie kept grabbing her rope and tried to play tug of war. It was quite adorable and I hope is the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

Rice Cereal for the First Time

While we're documenting momentous occasions, Avery has been having a fantastic time in her exersaucer. I wish you could all hear her squealing with delight as she's playing with her dashboard.

A Judd Family Easter

We just returned from our Easter trip to Charlotte. Heather and I left with the kiddos on Friday, and Mark and Paul followed a few hours later with Ellie. All the cousins had a great time, as you can see.Carter and Bit...four months apart. They'll be playmates for most of their childhood, we hope.

Mary Scott and her "Baby Avery"

I love this picture with Catherine, Avery's oldest girl cousin. Catherine will be training Avery in the finer arts of wearing pink.

Benjamin is the one upside down.

Mark, Katie Beth, Paul, and Brian...the "original" Judds.

Paul with Anderson and Carter.

My two favorite people

This was in Avery's Easter Basket. I made it out of two gloves from the hardware store and tied a ribbon around its neck. You can find the pattern on Martha Stewart's website. Avery enjoyed eating its ears, so I guess it was a hit.

I realized as I was downloading pictures from the weekend we didn't get a great picture of Avery in her Easter outfit. I'll try to put her back in it soon so you can see her adorableness. We missed the rest of our families and friends and hope everyone had a great Easter weekend.

A Few Projects

Sorry for the flash in the picture, but this is Avery's family tree. I've been working on it since I was about 6 months pregnant. I bought the tree in July, spray painted it in August, hung it in Novemember and finally developed the pictures a few weeks ago. Most of her family (uncles, aunts, grandparents, cousins) are on there, and it hangs right above her bookshelf. I love that her whole family is in her room. When she's older, we'll try to look at it together and see if she can name everyone.

My other exciting news is I finished my first sewing project. Technically, I"ve alreaded sewed a patchwork piece and zig-zag stitched around some cloth diaper wipes, but this is my first real bonafide project. Avery loves playing with these soft blocks. Of course, I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of Avery with the blocks. She usually grabs them and eats them.

Avery and Uncle Gene

Paul's college BFF Gene came down to visit us this past weekend. Gene has this habit of evoking tears from babies, but we were hoping Avery would be sweet and welcoming. I wasn't home when Gene and Avery were introduced, but we have plenty of toothy grin pictures to prove that she was thrilled to meet him. This one is just a stare down picture, but again, there were no tears.

Gene held Avery often both days. He even got her to fall asleep after church...now that takes a special touch. (Yes, she's sleeping in the picture).

Our highlight from the weekend was a dinner with Mark, Heather, and the boys. We made an Italian Cheese Fondue that made me wish I pulled out my fondue pot a little more often. I used swiss instead of fontina cheese, but I think I stuck to the recipe strictly after that. Our meal was topped off with a fantastic tiramisu from Trader Joe's. We were all scrambling for seconds on that little piece of delight.