Happy Halloween and Firsts Days of School

The kids had a great Halloween this year! Keegan was a Dalmation. He chose this so that "you will know how very truly much I really need a dog." He has also asked for dog toys for Christmas... alas, Mom and Dad say we have to wait until Avy is three.

Avelyn has started school at Community Montessori School, where Keegan attends. She began yesterday, and is doing great so far! Pictures to come. So far, she has washed lots of dishes, done lots of various scrubbing, worked with puzzles, helped to set the table, and eaten lots of food. She has been happy go to both days so far, and equally happy to see me when I pick them up! I am lucky to be able to leave work early every day now to pick them both up and spend the afternoons with them!

New photos by Rachel!

We just got Avelyn's 12 month pictures, which include lots of pictures of Keegan also and some family pictures as well.

Here are just a couple of my favorites, but you can check the rest out at:

www.parkhurststudios.com
At the "Clients" tab, enter the password "avelyn"

Enjoy, and if you love them, Rachel is awesome and we highly recommend her. We have been using her for years, and she is very reasonably priced.

Happy Birthday Anna!

Our fabulous, fun loving, outgoing, adorable and cheerful little goddaughter, Anna Grace turned two today! We love her and wish her many more happy years!

How could you resist this?

Pics from Avelyn's Birthday Party

A couple of weeks ago we had a birthday party to celebrate Avelyn's first birthday with some of our family and friends. We celebrated at a nearby park and had a spring themed birthday. The kids had a great time playing at the playscape, planting flowers to take home, and eating cake!

Here are some pictures:
Getting ready to blow out the candle.Our perfect little birthday girl:)
Mommy was really happy with the way the butterfly birthday cake turned out!
Don Jimmy, Donna Laura, Anna, and Megan joined us for the event. I almost had to throw them out because Donna Laura forgot to read the part of the etiquette book about never dressing your kids cuter than the birthday girl...but Anna charmed me, so I let them stay. Plus, I need Laura around to stay sane at these functions...Anna and Asher playing at the playscape.
Chiara in her (very) favorite spot... wherever Mama is.
Grandma and Grandpa (pictured above), Grambe and Big Daddy, and Uncle Darren and Christian all joined us to celebrate as well.
Namita (mom) and Sarika (adorable little girl) very carefully eat birthday cake.
Emmi and Avelyn play together on the playscape.
Keegan and Emmi help open presents. Avy appreciated it because she was still working on the first one!

A Fun Day at Kiddie Acres

We recently had a great day at "Kiddie Acres", a dated but fun and friendly amusement area with rides for small children in Austin. Here are some of our pics from the outing:
Keegan riding a pony.
Mommy, Keegan and Avy on the Carousel.

Pilot Keegan on his first flight.
Sailor Keegan on his second major voyage. (He has previously captained a large very boat near Destin, Florida for about two minutes.)
Avelyn on her first train ride. As you can tell by the expression on her face, she has everything under (her) control. Including Mom.
Keegan and Dad riding in the car behind us.
Keegan, Avy and Mom rode the Ferris Wheel lots. Once was more than enough for Dad.

Happy First Birthday Avy!

Avelyn turned one year old today, and we celebrated as a family. We'll have a couple of Avy's close friends and family over next week for her birthday party. Needless to say, we cannot believe how fast our year has flown by... just look at how much she has grown!

We are so blessed to have her... and we are having so much fun watching her explore her world.

Her favorite gift was, no question, her new water bottle. We made the mistake of letting her open it first... and she pretty much "drank" through the rest of the party. (Hopefully she will not be repeating this experience until she is at least in her 20s!)

Avy cleaning her face... with the cupcake wrapper. She looks a little uncertain of the effectiveness of this in my opinion.

Keegan and I made ladybug cupcakes (his idea) to for her first "cake" and she opened some gifts.

My favorite gift this year was a placemat that I made for her in which I stitched a spot for her plate, glass, spoon, and fork. I'm sure you are all shocked that I can do this... I guarantee you that I was more surprised!

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter celebration with Will's parents, Audrey's parents and grandparents, and Darren and Christian. This was an especially special Easter because it was Audrey's grandmother's 82nd birthday, and Avelyn's first Easter!
Below are some of our favorite pictures:


Avelyn discovering her first Easter basket.Keegan, much more practiced than his sister, was a much more efficient basket pillager.
Keegan and Avy, all dressed up for church! Could the be more adorable? I think not!

The closest we came to a real family picture.
Mommy and Avy after church.
Avy relaxing in her chair at home.

Avelyn finding her first egg.
Keegan on the hunt with grandpa.

Mommy and Keegan discussing egg hunt strategy. (Mommy hid most of the eggs... so she had the upper hand.)
I'm not sure if this is love or torture...