Quite the Big Girl...

Avery loves to feed herself. Which, we love, too.

Unfortunately, these are often the results.

Goodbye Alvin...

We found Alvin a new home and although it has been a bit, we thought we'd share the photos of her saying goodbye. He now happily resides with my parents and their cat, (Alvin's brother) Max. From what we hear, Alvin has really come into his own, losing weight, picking fights with Max and jumping over fences (I never thought I'd see that day). Lucky for us, we still get to see him regularly.

Lucky for him, he no longer lives with an 18 month old determined to squish and squeeze and otherwise abuse him.

Yes, that's a black eye... Right before Easter, too. At least it's a pretty color.

New Shoes

Avery got some new kicks last week which she absolutely LOVES.

Checking them out in the mirror... Note the sweet details.

Although, I'm not sure if she likes the box and tissue paper or the shoes better...

Like the farmer's tan?

Reading her books in the the box Dad brought home from work for her.

My favorite smile.

Allergies

Well, Avery's introduced us to a scary new world- that of the allergy-sufferer. Eczema, nuts, dog saliva, and now, cats. Namely, our cat, Alvin. We are bummed to discover this considering we've had him for almost five years and Avery absolutely loves him (note above photo). Which basically sums up the problem. We can't keep her away from him. She loves to sit on, cuddle and try to carry him around. And he puts up with it. But, her skin carries the consequences of all that fun- rashy redness and swollen lips- not so fun after all (and very scary for mom). So, we need to give him away. Does anyone know anyone who would like a fat, mellow, good-natured cat who thinks he's a dog? He'll be five this summer and has been neutered. He's essentially an indoor cat and is litter box trained. And although it is hard to tell from this photo, he's beautiful. He is a great cat and we really don't want to send him to the humane society. If you or someone else you know is interested, please let us know asap!

Bed Time

A few pics of Avery through the process of getting her in her PJ's.

Avery's crazy eye

Skateboards, Asphalt and Convicts

I work so close to Torrey Pines State Park, I thought it might be nice to head down there for an early lunch and take a few photos. I also had another brilliant/not so brilliant idea to break out the old skate so I could cruise in style down to the park rather than walking. And this is where things got ugly. I was rolling down the sidewalk, the wind blowing through my hair when I was posed with a dilemma. Do I pick my skate up and walk down the dirt patched and rock strewn road to Torrey Pines or do I man up and try to glide across and maneuver around these troublesome road blocks impeding my safe passage. Unfortunately I chose the latter. No sooner did I start my endeavor to navigate these road blocks did I find myself feeling a sense of weightlessness. This feeling came to an abrupt end facilitated by gravity and the friction between my nimble body and the underlying rock encrusted asphalt. All was quiet. I slowly opened my eyes to rays of light raining down on my humbled form through the nearby trees. As I was slowly scraping myself off the asphalt, I began to hear a low murmur that started to get louder and louder. At further inspection into the source of this commotion, I found myself looking at a fair number of men dressed in orange, button-up jump suits. Apparently I had preformed my little stunt in front of a brigade of convicts and they were not reserved in any way of letting me know it. I received some nice commentary on what had just transpired such as, “Dat white boy got laid out” to “safe,” as though I just slid into second base. I thanked them for their encouraging and kind words by waving to them with my only finger that that wasn’t damaged and went hobbling on my way. After everything was said and done, I was able to clean up at a water fountain and took a few TTV photos on my way back to my work.

A Stroll in the Park

Here are a few TTV photos we took after going to the farmers market in Poway.

The Two Monkeys

Avery eating the local plant life

Through the Viewfinder (TTV)

So Mindy picked me up this sweet vintage 50's camera for Christmas. I quickly fabricated a box thingy out of cardboard and tape to block out light from the viewfinder, and to take photos, I stuck my digital camera down the box tube thingy and took shots through the viewfinder. Below are photos of my camera with box thingy attached and a few of the pics I've taken through it.

Camera with box tube thingy

Looking down the tube at the viewfinder

One of the first photos taken of a flower in our backyard

Mindy and I stopped off the side of the road and got a few pics with the new camera. These photos were taken before I took the camera apart and cleaned off the viewfinder lenses.

One of Avery's Christmas gifts from Pop-Pop and Gaingy Knudsen, a Domo plush toy

And, of course, Avery Pics

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