Avery's baptism

On Sunday July 17th, Avery was baptized. It was a beautiful service led by Pastor Brad Robins. Avery did so well! She stayed asleep through the whole ceremony but woke up just in time for Paster Brad to take her for the "sprinkling" and introduction to the church family. She stayed quiet throughout, but kept us wondering whether she was going to cry out. We were blessed to have the support and love from Nonnie, Pop, Gram and Pappy at the ceremony as well as for brunch at our house after the service. The beautiful dress that Avery is wearing was made with love from Nonnie. What a keepsake!

Choo Choo! Owen is TWO!

Owen had a busy day on July 16th. He had soccer in the morning and his birthday party in the afternoon. We decided to host Owen's party at our church playground. We just had some light snacks (Owen's favs...grapes, goldfish and pretzels) and cupcakes. The theme was Chuggington (Owen's favorite train show on TV). Since it was hard to get Chuggington party gear, we just used the primary colors throughout the party. Here are a bunch of pictures from July 16th!

Playing in the moon bounce with Nonnie before soccer

Having a rest at soccer

Sitting with Daddy for introductions

Fun with the parachute!


Reading his handmade card from Caris and Ty

Playing with his friends in the "construction zone"


Happy Birthday to you!

Chin-dive into the cupcakes!

Two years old!

Owen turned two yesterday. :)
Here are some pictures of his little cake and new bicycle.

The cake!


Blowing out the candles


Daddy had to put his helmet on so Owen would




We have a busy weekend ahead. Owen's birthday party is tomorrow and Avery's baptism is Sunday. Gram, Pappy, Nonnie and Pop are all on their way to Richmond for the celebrations. We are so very excited to see everyone.

The birthday conversation

Owen will be TWO this week! Oh my! Time is flying (just like everyone said it would).
For several weeks, Owen has been able to answer the question "Owen, when is your birthday?" by saying "July fourteenth". Of course, if you ask him when anyone's birthday is the answer is "July fourteenth". This morning we had this conversation:

Mommy - Owen when is your birthday?
Owen - July fourteenth (with a big smile!)
Mommy - Is your birthday this Thursday?
Owen - No, it's July fourteenth, Mommy (with a concerned look on his face)
Mommy - Oh...ok...how old are you?
Owen - Um....two years old!

It is SO fun that Owen is starting to converse and put big-boy sentences together. There will be plenty more conversations to come, I'm certain!

Our big eater

Owen has been a big eater lately! He always asks for his plate and then makes sure that we have our plates. He takes inventory of what is on everyone's plates and then chows down. He has not be a huge fan of vegetables lately, but has been eating his meats like they are going out of style. Everything from chicken to pork chop, hot dog to fish. When we cook chicken for us, we'd cook chicken nuggets for Owen. But then he would want to try our chicken and would end up eating more of our baked or grilled chicken than his nuggets. Same with fish. We'd cook him some fish sticks, but in the end, he would eat more of the fish from our plate than his. Last week, we boiled some corn on the cob. Owen asked for some, so I cut off some kernels. That was not what he wanted...he made it clear that he wanted the cob. I let him bite some off and he seemed to really enjoy it. So...this weekend, we got him his own cob. He loved it.

Happy 4th of July!

Wow - what a great weekend! And it is not quite over.
Daddy only has one class this semester, so we have been enjoying a lot of family time (or split duty...Daddy with Owen and Mommy with Avery). :)

But this weekend...all four of us got to do some fun things together. AND...we explored more of Richmond and took advantage of some of the great things it has to offer. Our adventures started on Saturday morning. We were one of the first families to arrive at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.

"Founded in 1984, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is located on 80 acres in Richmond. A public place for the display and scientific study of plants, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is one of only two independent public botanical gardens in Virginia and has the designation of a state botanical garden." (reference: LGBG website)

We arrived just after 9am on Saturday morning and made our way through the garden to the Children's Garden. There, Owen and Daddy played in the Water Gardens (both being in their swim suits and shirts for water play!). While Mommy and Avery watched from a bench in the shade. Daddy and Owen also did some climbing and after a snack for Owen...more water play. Although by that time there were more kids playing in the water garden which resulted in Owen standing still in the middle of it all just watching all the other kids play. All but one little girl were older than Owen, so they were moving quickly and loudly...probably a little much to take in and play at the same time!

After a quick lunch at Chick-Fil-A on the way home, Owen took a three hour nap! Then Daddy took him to get his haircut as it was getting long and out of control.
Ready to go!!

Water Gardens



Climbing


After going to church and having a nap on Sunday, we headed to Short Pump Town Center for a little shopping (to find a bike helmet for Owen) and to ride the train.
Owen had to decide between the blue, green and red train cars. He picked blue. At the end of the train ride, he said "Now GREEN!!!". Next time, buddy!


Then, this morning (Monday July 4th), we headed to Maymont.

"Maymont is a 100-acre American estate, an extraordinary gift given to us by James and Sallie Dooley who lived here from 1893 to 1925. Whether strolling in the gardens, touring the mansion or watching river otters play, there is something for everyone to enjoy." (reference the Maymont website).

Although I didn't get any pictures of us all at Maymont, I did get a few before going. Avery was not too pleased about the photo shoot with Owen (it was delaying nap time). She quieted down when Owen held her hand for a split second, but not long enough for me to get a good photo. Oh well...it is a photo we will still smile at for years to come...good times! :)

Avery is TWO months old!!

Another month has gone by! Oddly enough...Avery turned TWO months old yesterday and in exactly TWO weeks Owen will be TWO. Crazy! Avery and I went to the doctor yesterday. She weighs 13lbs 7oz (95th percentile) and is 24 inches tall (TWO feet! 100th percentile). Her brains measured 39.5cm in circumference :)
Avery got three shots and one oral vaccine. She was so tough though! Yesterday was a bit rough though. More fussiness than normal but lots of sleep. She slept well during the day and then slept from 11p until 530a! Awesome. She can keep that up!!

Here is Avery's monthly picture.