Christmas

Our home is starting to feel empty these days. So far we've sold Avery's bumbo and swing, our lazy boy, bluray (Korean plug), rug, Steven's phone, my old phone and the Kinect. We've made almost $500 though which will come in handy since we have to pay for 6 days in the (very expensive) base hotel out of pocket.
On Wednesday we took a much needed break. Avery went to daycare for a few hours while I had a coffee date with my friend Addie and her daughter Chrissy - Steven got to enjoy an empty house. I felt rejuvenated afterwards and have the motivation to get some more cleaning done.

11 month old Avery next to 7 month old Niko, and Avery is in the 95% for height lol

Last year Steven and I celebrated Christmas on Christmas eve, this year we celebrated on the 20th. We wanted Avery to be able to enjoy her new toys before the movers came and packed them all up. 'Christmas' morning we put Avery in her Christmas outfit that Nana sent. I made breakfast while Steven lit a fire scented candle and put a virtual fire on TV :)

Spoiled princess on her first Christmas

Everyone warned us that once Avery was born we wouldn't even exist during Christmas - so true! The only people that sent gifts for Steven and I was Nana and Papa, they got us sweaters, everything else was for Avery. Steven and I were smart and only got Avery one toy, everyone else spoiled her rotten with gifts.
We Skyped my parents so they could spend Avery's first Christmas with us. They patiently sat and watched as Avery opened all of her gifts VERY slowly. My parents, Steven's parents and Steven's grandparents all have presents at their house for Avery so they all get a late Christmas with her.

Grandma's voice recorded book

Avery made out like a bandit. Nana and Papa got her an Elmo loofah, two new Clifford books with a stuffed Clifford and the outfit she was wearing. Steven's mom got her socks, two new outfits, jammies, a beanie and gloves (all desperately needed), toys and a beautiful voice recorded book. Avery loved opening her book and hearing Grandma read it to her :) Steven and I kept it simple - we got her a baby laptop and a pair of converse.

Baby laptop in the hopes she'll stop playing with ours

Yay we match 

For Christmas Steven got a long sleeve shirt from Nana and Papa, bluray Dark Knight Rises, butter cookies, an awesome Old Spice bundle pack and a blanket with a deer on it (he then proceeded to tell me the difference between the deer on his blanket and a white tailed deer....). I got a sweater from Nana and Papa, a cake ball baking sheet, an amazingly soft blanket, and perfume :) It was a great day.

Skyping with Pappy and Mimi

As if our week wasn't eventful enough we also celebrated our 2 year anniversary. We had agreed not to do anything special until we got back to the states but of course that didn't stop my romantic husband. He came home with a colorful bouquet of flowers, my favorite drink from Starbucks, a heart-warming card and a $50 Starbucks gift card <3. I reciprocated by cooking a delicious anniversary dinner. I grilled steaks with a mouth-watering galbi sauce, whipped up some mashed potatoes and gravy, corn and rolls. Since we don't drink alcohol we enjoyed apple-cranberry sparkling cider. Avery had some steak and mashed potatoes but spit the corn out lol.

Interrupting Steven's nap for a 2 year anniversary picture :D

The evening was going great until Avery's second upper tooth decided to make an appearance. Our poor baby girl was in so much pain :( I walked laps around our living room until mid-night trying to soothe her. I had plenty of time to think about how much our lives have changed in a year. Last year for our anniversary we stayed in a hotel for 3 days in Seoul. We had dinner at a VERY romantic (and very expensive) restaurant at the top of N. Seoul Tower. Steven bought me a diamond ring and we were 2 weeks away from becoming parents. It was like a fairytale. This year we had a quiet dinner and I was so tired from taking care of a teething baby that I ended up falling asleep on the couch lol. I wouldn't change a thing <3

<3

Steven went 2 hours up north with a friend to play air soft. He hasn't gotten to play in over a month so it was much needed. He was excited to finally use his GoPro :) Steven had someone take over his phone contract a few days prior so we've been sharing my phone. He took the phone on Sunday so that we could communicate via Facebook. I frantically searched for my phone at least 4 times that day forgetting he had it.
P.S. Avery says "duck" now when playing with her bath ducks and points at things :)

Avery Quinn - 11 1/2 months