Big girl

Avery is a year old! We're not sure how this happened, but somehow a whole year has passed, and we find ourselves with a sweet little toddler. It's been an amazing year with Avery, and Cheryl and I are both very excited to see the changes ahead in her second year.

AJ opening the last of her BD presents. She is crazy about this pink dog, a gift from my paralegal.




We celebrated her BD in Brooklyn with some cupcakes from our regular dessert place in the neighborhood. Did Avery like the cupcakes? You be the judge...

By the end of the cupcake and the attendant sugar rush, AJ looked like she'd been out partying in NYC for 48 hours straight. It wasn't bath night when we started the cupcake, but it was afterwards!

Grandma and grandpop also came to celebrate on AJ's birthday weekend, and brought us a great lunch from a deli in NJ.

There have been some other exciting changes in Avery's life lately. The biggest one is that she went to the allergist who told us that AJ's dairy allergy is now officially downgraded to a milk protein intolerance. We have started her on whole milk and she's been tolerating it beautifully, and chugging enthusiastically.

Also, Avery can now stand without holding on to anything for five or ten seconds at a time!

The other exciting news is that Avery has officially started signing some words back at us. With Aunt Lisa's guidance, we have been signing words to her for some time. She's been recognizing a lot of our signs for awhile now. But in the last few weeks, she has also been doing a couple of signs herself. The sign she does the most consistently and correctly is "eat." Big surprise! But hopefully she will continue to learn and use new signs in the months ahead.

So happy birthday, Avery, and thanks to your mom for making you into such a sweet, healthy, and happy little girl!