Happy 11 Months!

Everly is 11 months old today! Yay! We are one month away from her first birthday party and in full planning mode. Everly still wanted nothing to do with taking her monthly picture in her crib so we are on the changing table again. Everly is not walking yet, but she is using the wall and furniture to move around very quickly. She will often pull her self up on you and then let go for a second and stand on her own. I don't think she will be walking at exactly a year, but I definitely think it won't be long after! She has cut her first two top teeth this past month. It has actually just happened in the last week so it has been rough. Runny nose, super tired, and real fussy! Joy! But hey, she is going to need them to chow down on her cake next month! She has been doing really well with eating table foods. She loves her meat and will often pick up the meat on her highchair tray before anything else. We also discovered her love for raspberries this month. We have begun to ween her off of formula and started splitting her bottles with whole milk. She has always been easy going when it comes to her bottles so that is going well. Everly loves playing with her cousin's cozy coupe and especially getting in and out of it. She will do that for hours! She also has discovered how to "answer the phone." If we give her the phone and tell her to "say hello" she will put it up to her ear. It is really cute. She is becoming even more sweet with her hugs and kisses. Her cousin Cameron gets the most, but Oscar the cat is a close second and Roi the beagle is her third favorite! She also loves hugging and kissing her stuffed animals. Seriously the cutest thing ever. Everly is in anywhere from 12m-2T depending on the outfit. She is still in size 4 diapers! We have a hard time putting any shoes on her because her feet are chubby and she just takes them off. We are so lucky to have a happy, healthy and beautiful little girl! Hope to see you at her birthday party next month! 

Had to share one of her kissing Minnie! 

Labor Day Weekend

We had a great Labor Day Weekend! It was so nice having the extra day off. We took full advantage and filled the weekend. On Saturday morning we went to the Zoo and on Monday we went to the Science Center. The babies loved it and since my sister has a zoo membership and I won free Science Center passes on the radio, it was a cheap weekend too! Here are some pics:

She has learned how to answer the phone and is trying to do that with the ball! 

Below is a video from the MathAlive Exhibit at the Science Center. The babies were kissing! 

Everly's Birthday Planning

I feel like we have been making plans for Everly's first birthday since she was born! Now it is actually getting into crunch time! I have an entire Pinterest board with ideas and appetizer recipes here. This past weekend we took pictures for the invitation we will be sending out. I don't want to ruin any surprise factor, but there was so many cute pictures we didn't end up going with so I just had to share them. If you are local, look out for an invite in the next week or so! Also, if you are not local and you get an invite, don't worry, we don't really expect you to come, we just wanted to share the invite with you!

Kitchen Mini-Makeover

We have wanted to do a few things to our kitchen and in August we finally started. One of the biggest things we wanted to do is add a backsplash. We found a great one at Costco and bought it. It did not go with our current red paint color so we had to change that up. We also bought hardware for our cabinets. So far, we have painted and put in the hardware (and when I say we, I mean Justin). I think it looks great so far, but we are both getting used to the hardware. I keep bumping my hips on them and have bruises all over. The next weekend Justin has off and doesn't go out of town we plan to tackle the backsplash with the help of family, of course! Here are some pics of before and the progress so far.

This is the backsplash we bought. Can't wait until it is all done! 

10 Month Update

Everly is 10 months old today! Wow! This monthly picture is getting really hard. It was one thing when she wanted to sit up in the crib the last coupons of months, but now she wants nothing to do with the crib! She had a complete meltdown when we put her in the crib to take the picture. That is why the picture we ended up getting is of her on the changing table. Hopefully the next 2 go a little smoother but I am not betting on it. Everly is not walking yet, but she is pulling herself up on everything and moving very quickly. If we let her, she could crawl up the stairs, but she has no idea how to get down so we have a gate up. She was a little on the heavier side at her 9 month checkup so we have cut out one of her bottles and it has been going fine. She is doing great with eating solids and we are clearing out any purees we have left in the house. We try to feed her what we are eating, but often we have a lot of spices and heat in our dishes so we have to find something else to feed her. That has become a slight challenge so if you have any ideas on meals for a 10 month old please share! She loves avocado and cheese and yogurt but no matter what the food is, she always makes a disgusted face for the first bite. She is making all kinds of new noises now and they are so funny to hear. She waves hi and goodbye, does "so big" and she claps! She gives kisses, but mostly to her cousin Cameron! Hopefully next month we can share that she is walking! In the meantime we are busy planning her 1st Birthday Party! Also, I just had to include one of her crying photos...so sad :(

Splash Pad Fun!

We have a pool in our community and we love taking the babies their during the summer, but sometimes you need to mix it up a little. Luckily, in AZ there are lots of splash pads around. Basically, they are fountains that kids can play in! Both Everly and her cousin Cameron love the splash pads. They have hit up a few different ones this summer and I know there are plenty more we haven't gone too!

The one at the Phoenix Zoo is by far the best! It has a cave with waterfalls and a little slide. My sister has a membership so we can get in free and it has definitely paid for itself. The splash pad at the Scottsdale Quarter is the next best. It is not too busy and the fountains are a good temperature and don't spray too crazy. Desert Ridge is okay but it can get pretty busy and their fountains are kind of lame and then Anthem is probably the worst. If you have little ones I definitely recommend taking them to a splash pad before summer is over!

Lounging after the Anthem Splash pad

The Scottsdale Quarter

Desert Ridge

Desert Ridge

Desert Ridge

The Zoo

The Zoo

The Zoo

The Zoo

Build a Bear

Last month my mom and sisters took Everly to Build a Bear for her first time ever. She actually ended up making a bunny haha! My mom and sisters sent me pics and it seemed like she really enjoyed it!

My nephew hadn't gotten to go yet so just a few weeks ago we went again so that he could make a bear and Everly made another bear. We had a coupon and their Olympic outfits were really cheap so for the two of us we spent $23! I'd say that is not too bad! When I took Everly the second time she seemed to get excited right when we got in the store. We held up different color bears to the babies so they could pick which one they wanted to make and the both picked white ones. They added hearts in their bears, stuffed them, gave them a bath, and then Cameron threw up on his bear! Haha! It was funny, but gross. He now drinks regular milk so it smelled like true kid throw up! Needless to say we finished up and headed across the aisle to bath and body works to spray Cam's bear!

All in all it was fun to see them make the bear and I can't wait until they get older and can enjoy it even more!