Well, our little boy is now 5 years old.....that is hard to believe. He is growing up so fast and I couldn't be more proud of my little man! Patty and I have been talking about opening a Savings account for Reilly for a while now, so now that he is 5 we thought it was a good time. Reilly was very excited about this.


This was his intro to the joys of filling out forms.


All his savings... totalling $300 !!! (He's saving for a Camaro, you know.)


Reilly with his personal banker.


Waiting patiently for the next available teller.


All of the tellers were gushing about him and thought he was the cutest thing EVER. We agree.


Getting a boost from me.


Keep that receipt!


And that concludes our business for today. Sucker?? Check.

At 9 months old, Avery has completely skipped over crawling and took her first steps this week... and yesterday took 8 in a row!!! (Thanks Aunt Honey for being so excited about her special new skill, and coming over to witness it! And thanks also for filming & taking pictures for us!!)






It is so amazing to be able to witness all the firsts of a person's life. (Especially one who is a part of you.) I just love seeing flashes of everyone I love in this precious baby girl- and at the same time being astounded because I've never seen anything else quite like her.


We're so proud of her, and kind of sad too. I was hoping she would be content to be a "baby" a little while longer, but there is just no stopping this girl!

Check out these videos!!

Okay, this one was a little tough for me. 9 Months just seems WAYYYYY too close to 12 months!!! I am just enjoying this time with her so very much, I can't even put it into words. So to avoid tearing up, I will continue with her stats for the month.


21 Precious Pounds and 29 1/8 inches long. She can stand up alone for a few seconds at a time, and wants to walk so badly. And you should see the way she stares at us and our food while we're eating... it's like she's seeing sunlight for the first time. Wow.


Avery carries happiness with her, and shares it with everyone she meets.


What a blessing and a joy to be the mother of such a precious baby girl.




**** I LOVE this next one... this is the face she made after I said, "No Baby, you can't have that piece of paper there."

Mikey & Honey took my parents' out for their 38th Anniversary, and were so sweet to invite Joey and I to come along! (Unfortunately, Joey was out of town working so he seriously missed out!) We went to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, and it was the best food EVER. (The butter alone... WOW.) Seriously, there is no better restaurant on the planet in my opinion.

Here are some of the pics...












Mikey & Honey








CAUGHT!!!




Mmmmm.... "sizzling butter steak".




I HEART wine.




Chocolate perfection...




Incredible Banana Something...



Happy Late Anniversary Mom & Dad, and thanks so much Mikey and Honey for an amazing evening!!!

We hit Reilly's favorite mall last weekend. (He couldn't care less about stores, it is only his favorite because it has the largest play area.)







It was Avery's first time there, and she had fun too!!



Well, except during this picture. :)





She LOVED "walking" around and staring at all of those crazy, loud children.





She tries so hard to let go of our hands and walk on her own, but she's not quite there yet.



Next, we were on our way to check out the carousel when we saw these:



When something caught my attention...



Surely I read that wrong, so I looked closer to be sure.



Yes folks, you read that right. Here is the thing: I don't know which is more scary... the fact that the company who manufactured these strollers determined that the public should be given such a warning... or the fact that some people might actually be lacking the common sense to require it. Okay, enough social commentary and onto the carousel we go.









Avery loved watching it... we thought it best not to let her try the carousel on a full stomach. ;)





Good Times!!