Rylie's 1st birthday

Rylie is officially 1!!! We don't know where the time went, seemed to go by so much faster with her! She is a curious little girl and into everything! She loves music, eating all foods, playing with the toilet, opening & shutting doors and of course her big sister. It melts our hearts to see how Rylie's face lights up into a huge smile as soon as Averie walks into the room. She is working on walking, cruising at the moment and Averie cheers her on with the walker. Rylie is still a peanut weighing 17lbs 10oz (17%) and 28.5 inches tall (25%) and 5 teeth, but completely healthy and happy!

We made a cake for her to have on her birthday and she couldn't get enough of it, shoving fistfuls into her mouth. She burst into tears when we took it away and tried to crawl after it for more. We are having a small party to celebrate her birthday with friends on Christmas Eve morning, luckily everyone is Jewish ;)

Rylie 9 months

Rylie weighed 16lbs 1oz and 25 inches long at the doctor this month. While still our peanut, she is continuing to grow! She loves loves loves to eat and got the go-ahead to try all table food. Rylie really enjoys feeding herself. Don't let her size fool you, she can eat an entire pear, banana, baby bell cheese and other "big girl" foods. She can wave hello and gets so excited when Averie comes into a room, the two of them "talk" to each other at the dinner table and have splashing fights in the tub. Rylie loves the parachute and music at her mommy & me class.

Averie's 1st day Kitah Bet

Averie had her 1st real day of school yesterday in the Kitah Bet class. We were lucky that she has the same lead teacher as last year, in the same room as camp, and same kids from last year. All of these aspects made for a smooth transition. This year they are focusing on independence from putting their own lunch boxes away, washing their hands before playing, opening their own lunches, etc. We are looking forward to another great year and seeing how much she grows and learns.

Rylie - 8 months

Happy 8 month birthday to Rylie! This month was full of travel to Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Atlanta to see a lot of relatives. It was Rylie's first time on a an airplane and she was a champ. It became clear she is definitely a social child. She loves for people to hold her and talk/play with her and will be sad if you leave. Her two bottom teeth broke through as well and she continues to enjoy new foods and even puffs.

Rylie's 7 months

Rylie turned 7 months old on July 19th and we finally took a picture on the actual day! She has been working hard to sit up like a big girl! Rylie is also starting to enjoy solids. So far, she has enjoyed butternut squash, sweet potato, banana, oatmeal and peaches, but was not a fan of peas or avocado.

 Rylie loves to listen to the music and watch the toy light up! She also loves Averie and it's so wonderful to see how Rylie lights up and gets the biggest smile whenever Averie comes into the room and plays with her. We can only hope they will stay that close!

Anna Maria Island

We all headed to Anna Maria island for a week to celebrate Kathee & Steve's 70th birthdays and 40th wedding anniversary. They rented a house on the beach for the entire family to be together and Amy flew in from Arizona and Melissa & Brendan came from Hong Kong to celebrate. It is really rare for us all to be together and was a treat. Averie kept very busy with the pool at the house and ventured to the beach a few mornings. The girls loved spending time with their aunties and being spoiled by them and Grandma & Popsie.

As a gift, Melissa organized a professional photographer to come capture the family trip. Always nice to have a rare family photo as a memento.

Averie's 2nd birthday

This year Averie's asked for an Elmo party. Since her birthday was the day before Thanksgiving we had a lot of family in town to celebrate, including her Aunt Melissa all the way from Hong Kong, Silks from Atlanta and Rapkins from NY/CT. It's been nice to have her birthday by a holiday surrounded by family to spend together. Averie was definitely spoiled and received a play kitchen that she loves to cook in, a little red wagon for rides around the neighborhood and an art easel to paint and draw on. 

Averie also had a small celebration at school with her friends.