mothers day

wow ... have i been slacking with my blog posts or what?! i wish i had an awesome excuse... but i just have been too lazy to take all of the pictures of my camera until now! i had another wonderful mother's day this year! lots of qt time with daddy & avery and a yummy brunch at daddy's hotel with my mom and dad and nick's mom and step-dad.

DIY

Totally un-Avery related (in fact, I think this is the first non-Avery related post on this entire blog!), but I just finished my first "true" DIY project and wanted to share! After seeing a great tutorial on staining cabinets on where else, PINTEREST, (TUTORIAL HERE) I decided to bite the bullet and just try it out! Needless to say all 3 of our bathroom vanities are still torn apart, but I am almost done! Since I still had plenty of gel stain to go around, I decided to tackle our golden-oak covered fireplace and will also do our kitchen island. Because we love this dark stained wood so much, I think we may/may not do our entire kitchen too! I just say that I am pretty proud of myself - these staining projects have been done 100% ME - no help from the hubby! Helps me feel like I am pulling some weight in this house ;) Enjoy! Will post bathroom pictures as soon as they are put back together (hopefully early next week!)

New pictures

Wow, can you say slacker?! just realized it's been a few weeks since we have posted! Nothing new at Camp Johnson - we've just started wedding season 2k12 so this weekend marks the 2nd Saturday this month (and for the next 2 months) of lots of sleepovers with Grandma & Grandpa Lucas so mommy & daddy can go to all of the shindigs! Avery has been walking a lot more ... we're still not 100% walking vs. crawling, but we are definitely making big strides. Her 'trick of the week' is shaking her head NO NO NO or YES YES YES!

What a difference...

.... a year makes!!

Hoppy Easter!

Had a wonderful Easter today! Avery is getting so fun - I think by next year she is really going to get this whole 'holiday' thing! :)

Houston, we have a walker!

So Avery has been working on her footwork lately ... not super interested in walking, but loving to stand up on her own and cruise around furniture with 1 hand. She started taking 2 tiny steps right before her 1st birthday, so for about a month now, but will immediately fall on her butt and has no interest of walking any further. Well today (with the assistance of the wood floor in buddy Max's play room) - Avery took 8 steps in a row - twice!! So we are thinking/hoping/praying that it will only be a matter of days or weeks until this little lady finally gets it! :)

Dearest Bupa

Yesterday our family said goodbye to an amazing man and role model, Bupa. He was 90 years young. He always had a smile on his face and never complained about anything. He was so proud of his Air Force career, the Chicago Cubs & most importantly his family. He lived a long and happy life and is already terribly missed. He was SO in love with Avery and although he couldn't see her, he just loved visits with her, singing to her and telling her how beautiful she was. I am so glad that I was able to give him the gift of his first and only grandchild - means the world to me to give him that experience, something my Nonnie dreamed of. It seems only fitting that his first day in Heaven was on my Nonnie's favorite holiday, St. Patrick's Day. Makes me smile to know they were reunited together and could enjoy Heaven's best corned beef & cabbage together :) I can only hope that they are rejoicing together and I will do my very best to make them proud each and every day.