3rd annual mcdiffett sister's reunion

It was back to Houston again this year for our annual get-together. The rule is that you have to be 21 to attend. Luckily for Bethany, she juuuuust made the cut this year.

This pretty much sums up the entire weekend: Going out, eating cupcakes, attending Dana's baby shower, fun dressing up, lounging & talking, and oh yea- eating some more cupcakes.

These weekends have really become a nice way to get some good 'ol laughing-until-your-stomach-hurts IN with the sisters. If I've learned anything, it's that your sisters know you better than anyone else. They are comforting, mean, and a fabulous reminder of home.

For more pics, click here.

eight point five months old

These days, it's almost harder to find a picture of Avery where she is NOT smiling. While she has always been a super-smiler, I feel like it's only been in the last month or two that her personality has been set to super-show! She has an "I'm trying to be slyyyy" grin, the "I'm so happy I can't stand it" smile, the "Did I just hear daddy come through the front door" face, and the oh-so-loved "mama, I just love you" smile.

As my grandma would say, it just really "gets ya where ya live."

For day two of crawling, click here.

east coast trip

The thought of catching up is exhausting. But the thought of catching up a few more months from now is really scary. So, here it goes. Our trip to the east coast was one of the best vacations in a long time. We toured D.C., lounged in Martha's Vineyard, and had fun in Boston.

D.C.
Jonathan showed me all of his old haunts around his alma mater George Washington. I'm really kinda glad I didn't know him as a college student. We hit up all of the fabulous monuments, and my family has nick-named Avery "traveling Avery", like the "traveling Stanley" character. He's the paper cut-out that you send around the world to your friends and family to have his picture taken in front of famous city-specific venues. We will surely drag out these pics when Avery is studying American history around the 5th grade. Maybe she'll appreciate where she's been. We loved spending time with family and getting re-acquainted with old friends.

Martha's Vineyard
Might quite possibly be the prettiest little spot in the world of relaxation. The island had all of the ice cream, clam chowder, beautiful beaches, quaint boutique shops, and pretty houses you could ever want. And the fact that we stayed at an Inn that shared a wall with a mexican cantina, close enough so that Avery's baby monitor reached the front porch filled with the best margheritas in the world didn't hurt! Mama and baby were both happily sleepy!

Boston
Our whole east coast trip started with the fact that we were going to a friend's wedding in Boston. My sister Bethany, a junior at KSU, flew in for a few days to nanny for Avery. Best money ever spent. Avery was so well taken care of, I had complete peace of mind leaving her for half nights at a time, and Jonathan and I really enjoyed some much-needed adult conversation/wedding reception dancing/not worrying about who's driving/having to get home to feed the baby/ remembering what a Saturday night was like before baby time. We rode the duck tour around the city, and put some serious miles on the BOB.

Getting an 8-month old on the bus, onto a ferry, into a rental car, through a 6-hr flight, back into the car, way past her bed time, and finally home was a fun ordeal. Totally worth it...but needless to say, we were SO glad to be home.

THE END

For more pics of the entttttire trip, click here.