It amazes me how quickly babies change in such a short amount of time. Although this process is much slower with mammals such as ourselves compared with other species...it is still astounding what babies acomplish in their first year of life. No wonder we don't have any memories of being babies...our brains are so overwhelmed by learning and adapting to the world around us. Who could possibly remember all the details?









For the longest time she loved sitting on the floor and pulling all of her toys out of the basket...not really eager to interact with any single toy, just wanted to pull them out one at a time. It's so much fun watching her look at each item in that basket as if it's the first time she's ever seen such a thing. Ahhhh...the simple joys of babyhood.














She loves being read to by her daddy


















The day of her baptism, July 12, 2009. We had her baptized at Pacific Crossroads Church in Santa Monica, CA, where we have been regularly attending for the past year.






































Here she is playing with her buddy, Owen, after the service.















Just enjoying a leisurely morning in our robe and slippers










































































Does she look like a Mateko in this picture, or what?














Here are some pics of our precious little one that mommy took just messing around one day while she was looking out the window in our living room.



















She was always so fascinated with the trees and grass outside. I don't know if it was the color or the movement, but she just loved looking out that window...still does.






















































































Avery has been such a blessing to me and Geoff. Needless to say there have definitely been some trying moments these past 8 months (constant crying and sleep depravation can really bring out the ugliest side of a person's nature), but if there's one thing we've learned to appreciate about being parents it's learning to be more selfless people. Raising a child has taught us how (sometimes forced us) to love another person more than ourselves and constantly put their needs before our own. It has taught us patience and kindess both to her and to each other. Having a baby has humbled us more than we could have ever imagined and continues to reveal to us how much we fall short. Thanks be to God that He has given us His Son, Jesus, to redeem us from our sinful nature and show us how to love one another!!!