Snapshots of Summer

As I mentioned earlier, this summer has been a whirlwind for us. In the months of June and July we sold our house, bought a new house, packed up and moved across town. I'll cover all of that in another post, but thought I'd share a few random pictures of what Avery has been up to in the midst of all the boxes and chaos. As usual, she has provided us with countless fun memories as we've enjoyed the small things together this summer...

Enjoying popsicles with Grace on a hot day

Those baby tears are the result of mean mommy confiscating the pen that did this damage:

Avery is getting taller by the minute and we don't always remember to accommodate for her ever increasing reach. Note to self, she can now reach the pen on the computer desk if she gets up on her tip toes.

walking in momma's shoes

Avery is learning how to eat with a spoon. She refuses to let us help her and wants to do it all by herself which results in three messy meals each day. She sure is proud of herself!

Our adventurous girl driving a "big kid" toy at a family cookout (with Daddy's help, thank goodness!)

Helping Daddy tend to the garden. She loves picking the "apples" (tomatoes)

Cook Forest

Over the 4th of July weekend we travelled to Cook Forest State Park in PA for a mini vacation with Nana, Papa, and Aunt Nikki. Summer trips to Cook Forest were a family tradition for the Piland family growing up, so this was a very nostalgic visit for Erich. He enjoyed reminiscing and sharing memories from his childhood visits. It's also a special place for Erich's parents, as Erich's dad grew up spending lots of time there as a boy and it's where they spent their honeymoon. I had a great time being a part of this fun family tradition! And Avery was in heaven with endless attention from family and so many fun things to keep her busy. It was a short visit, but we managed to squeeze in horse back riding, inter-tubing down the Clarion River (my favorite!), going out for a nice dinner, swimming in the hotel pool, hiking, and climbing the fire tower (a very tall, very old, very rickety tower used to keep a look out for forest fires back in the day). I can't wait to go back someday soon to experience more of Cook Forest. What a great trip!

This thing called life

I logged on to the blog tonight with the overwhelming task of trying to get caught up on the happenings of the Piland household. Is it really possible that the last posting in our little corner of the internet is dated July 13th?? I can't believe it's been over a month since I've shared pictures and updates, and even more than that... I can't believe how much has happened in such a short time. Avery is 17 months old now and has more personality than ever. She is a true daredevil and has yet to show an ounce of fear. She will literally try anything and is happiest if she is jumping off furniture, spinning around on the office chair as fast as possible, or riding down the steep slope of the driveway in her toy car shouting "weeeee" with her hands up in the air. We just know this girl is going to love Cedar Point someday! Along with a sense of adventure, she is also showing a sweet sensitivity. She takes great care of her dolls and stuffed animals, chases Nellie down to love her with hugs and lots of petting, and best of all she is constantly handing out hugs and kisses to her momma and daddy... and we gladly give them back. She is talking more and more, eating almost anything we put in front of her (broccoli and strawberries are the current favorites), and loves playing outside. She is really big into music right now and frequently will stop what she is doing, climb up on my lap, rest her head on my shoulder and say "sing?". That melts my heart into a big puddle on the floor. She is my favorite audience and I'll sing for her anytime she wants! While I get most of the cuddles, right now Daddy is her favorite toy. She loves getting horse back rides, piggy back rides, shoulder rides, and tackling him to the ground. Erich makes her laugh harder than anything I've seen and watching the two of them together is priceless. Although we've been busy, this is a blessed and happy season at the Pilands. Prepare to get blasted with several photo updates as I get us caught up to present time here on Piland Pages!

But first, a little sweetness for your day...