Avaleen

Oh my...Avaleen is 7 months old!

She continues to grow into such a beautiful and fun little girl:) It's so hard being away from her all day while I am at work...it's clear how fast time goes! She has hit some new milestones as she's entered her 7th month...are you ready?

1. Eating MORE solid foods...such as:

              * sweet potatoes

              * avocado

              * peas

              * green beans

              * bananas

              *and most recently...pears!

2. Can sit up by herself...but with lots of soft stuff around her:)

3. Loves music...especially the drums! duh...

4. Enjoys "pony" songs while being bounced on our knees

5. Grabs EVERYTHING and thinks it's something to eat:)

6. She LOVES baths and screams..loudly...everytime we turn on the water!

7. Still has only two teeth but they are much more visible and cute when she smiles:)

8. Is getting more...wild red hair!

9. Is LESS scared of strangers...yay!

10. Thinks socks belong in he mouth...not on her feet:)

Brad enjoys morning snuggles with her after I nurse and head off to work...we walk in and as he says good morning...her face lights up into the biggest.smile.ever....everyday:)

We recently took her to the park and she had her first swing ride! Wheeeeeeee! She loved it!

She is extremely curious...and seems interested in everything...she does this funny little "puff" thing and then sighs when she's thinking...so cute:) We're looking forward to the coming season of Fall...my favorite...and get many more first with her! I can't WAIT for Halloween! Any guesses on her costume?? We just hope it fits because we bought it last year...:) Here's one hint...I dressed up as the same thing when I was little! 

Aunt Turkey

This past summer brought the loss of my Aunt Christy. It was an extremely tough and emotional summer for our family and I wanted to take the time to blog about how special she was.

Notice the bracelet she is wearing? She loved jewelry and even made her own. Our cousin Chesa (Christy's daughter) pulled a bracelet Christy had made and a pair of earrings from her personal collection to give to each of her nieces. Very special:)

My Aunt "Turkey" was an AMAZING woman (I called her Aunt Turkey when I was young because I couldn't say "Christy"...hee hee). It's very difficult to talk about her in past tense as I still feel her spirit being very much alive. She had been battling cancer for 6 years and as hard as she fought...it came back strong and unfortunately her body couldn't take any more.

To prep for her memorial service...we had a cookie making party and used Christy's special shortbread recipe to share with everyone who attended. It was a lot of cookies...but a lot of fun:)

We held a beautiful service in her honor...gathering right outside her garden studio that my Uncle Cliff built for her. We shared her life story, wonderful memories and countless ways she touched us all.

My sisters and I wanted to write something for the service. We had a long conversation about what we wanted to say...and my sister Colleen composed an amazing piece that was shared. I feel sharing it here on this blog is the best way for others to understand who she was and what she meant to us:

"To our sweet Aunt Christy,

Words cannot and will not be able to ever describe the amount of pure love and joy you brought into our three lives.  You were there for us during the happiest, sweetest, and hardest times of our lives --whether it be to clap at our successes or to dry away our tears.  The comfort we received from you was nothing short of the comfort we receive from our own mother, which is why we have always thought of you as our own as well.  You were the epitome of grace, love, and joy, and you have taught us that family is the most important part of a person's world and to never take that for granted.  The three of us have always strived to follow in your footsteps in every facet of our lives, and we will always continue to do so.  If we spent this afternoon talking about the countless times you were there for the three of us, we would never be able to leave -- Whether it be at our softball or volleyball games, holidays, birthday parties, or just another night out at the D Street house or Star Lake, we always knew we could count on you to put a smile on our faces, and make us feel like we were the three most special girls in the whole world.  We feel so lucky to have been considered your other three daughters, and we love you like our own mother.  Life will never be the same without you, but know that all that you have instilled in us will always live on in your spirit.  For as long as we can remember, you always would send us to bed by showering our faces with kisses, ending with kissing both of our eyes closed and wishing us sweet dreams.  It is now time that we do that for you, and wish the sweetest of dreams to the woman that has provided us with the most wonderful life we could have ever imagined. We love you more than words can describe. We are hugging you right now and always will be, sweet auntie ----- feel the squeeze. 

Love, your Katy Cakes, Meggy Lee, and Wee Colleen"