Ten Months

I can't believe it's already time to start planning Avery's first birthday- it's exciting and sad at the same time. Here's what our cute girl is up to this month:
-size 6-9 month clothes
-size 3 diapers
-claps her hands when you say 'yay'
-likes to explore the cupboards
-stands on her own but it too chicken to take a step, plus she can crawl crazy fast, so why walk?
-she'll fake laugh just so other people will laugh too
-loves bath time
-dances when we turn music on
-hates it when things are stacked up, she stops what she's doing and will come over and knock anything down we've stacked up
-looks for her puppies in the mornings
-could eat her weight in avocados
-puts her face in the bath water
-smiles at everyone
-takes two naps a day and sleeps from about 8pm-8am
-loves pulling all the books off her shelf about a million times a day
-thinks its hilarious when I lift her above my head and spin around

And of course, pictures!

Mommys Helper

Avery has started 'helping' me with laundry- what would I do without her?!

Nine Months

Oh, little bug- you are getting so big! It is so fun to see your personality coming through, you are such a funny girl! Some things that I want to remember about you:
-you are in size 3 diapers
-size 6-9 month clothes, although most of the 9 month clothes are a little big
-you have two teeth! They are the bottom teeth and are so cute (and sharp!)
-you hate it when the dogs bombard you, you've learned to start flapping your arms at them so they'll stay away from your face
-you can crawl so fast! It's cute to hear your little hands slapping down the hallway
-you are pulling yourself on the couch, in your crib, on the kitchen cabinets, in the bath tub...
-whenever I tell you 'no' you let out an indignant 'uh', you even do it if you hear me tell one of the dogs 'no'
-you like to play a game where we take turns yelling
-you are enthralled with our phones- maybe you'll get one for your birthday :)
-you are making the noises that resemble 'dada' and 'mama' but you haven't put two and two together yet- your dad is hoping he's first
-you are BUSY
-and a huge flirt, you love to stare at people
Happy nine months, sugar bean, we love you so much!!

Happy Valentines Day!

Avery LOVED her cupcake!

Boots with the fur

I found these boots at old navy months ago and thought they'd fit Avery just fine since they were size 3-6 months. Yeah, they just now fit her- but how cute are they?!

Day at the park!

We are enjoying this weather! We did a little shopping today and then stopped by the park to get some swinging in- Avery loves it!

Sicko

I won't lie- Avery is an awesome sleeper- we know this. We also know that we are extremely lucky that we have a baby that sleeps. Michael and I are- how do I say this- well, we're big buttfaces when we get woken up in the middle of the night or when we're tired so I always say Avery knows its best if she just stays asleep. :) Well, this Monday night we got a taste of the other side, the 'my kid doesn't sleep side'. It was terrible, I cried (no lie), I don't want to go back there again. :) Avery went down like normal about 7 but woke up crying about 930, she hung out with us for a bit and then threw up all over the fresh-from-the-dryer comforter. Awesome, but no biggie, she was fine once she threw up. Except that she didn't go back to sleep after that. Nope, she was up all. night. long. She would fall asleep if I was holding her but would wake up and cry the second I put her down. It was a long night- I stayed home from work Tuesday. She had a little bit of a fever so she took two baths and we both took two naps. She seemed fine that day but the next night was pretty rough, too. Michael took her to the doctor Wednesday and the poor babe has an ear infection. :( She is on antibiotics now and is sleeping much better! These pics I took during one of her baths- real sick, right?! Isn't that tooth so cute!

Teeth!

So as I said, Avery's first tooth came in on January 17th- the bottom left front tooth- it is so cute! I loved her gummy little smile but the little tooth is too cute. Well a few days later I noticed that the bottom right tooth is coming in too! It came in on the 21st. She is getting so big. However- fat chance of getting a picture while she's awake so after she fell asleep the other night I got these:

32 Years!

Michael had a birthday this past week- he is getting SO old! He finally went back to work two days before his birthday so he worked that day but was home that night to celebrate. He has been wanting some of the Bowflex adjustable dumb bells for awhile now and I found them on sale so I ordered them and had them shipped to the hotel so he wouldn't know. To throw him off I took the manuals that came with the weights and put them in a small box with some cans of soup (to add a little weight) and wrapped it up. I left work a couple hours early and went and got some cupcakes- red velvet and vanilla, no frosting (he's weird) and dinner (steak and a baked potato) and then we waited for him to get home! He opened presents and he got a beanie from Avery and then he opened the weights. He was really confused by the cans of soup but finally figured it out and was pretty excited to get them. After that we lit the candles and sang- the candles were Avery's favorite. Then I put Avery to bed and we had dinner and cupcakes. Happy birthday honey, we love you!

Eight Months

Holy cow- eight months! We are seeing more and more personality from Avery and we love it- she sure has some strong opinions sometimes! Some things I want to remember about her at 8 months:
-size 3 diapers
-wearing all 6 month sized clothes
-has a tooth! It came in on the 17th
-talks a lot- trying to get her to say 'mama' :)
-busy, busy, busy- forget sitting still even for a second (this makes church real fun!) she is crawling, wiggling and moving everywhere, she is trying to stand up but doesn't have the hang of it
-squeals and talks when she sees her puppies, she has also started opening her mouth when they lick her face- totally gross because then they lick her mouth
-loves water, we take her swimming at the hotel and we've taught her how to splash- we'll probably regret that later
-loves to eat! Sweet potatoes and bananas are probably her favorite but she also loves cottage cheese, apples, pears, avocado, and squash
-likes to play in front of the mirror
-huge flirt!
-she gives me 'kisses' by grabbing a chunk of my hair and pulling my face to hers with her mouth wide open
-still an awesome sleeper at 12 hours a night but she has stopped going back to sleep in the mornings- she sleeps from 630-7pm to 630-7am which is great during the week but I really liked sleeping in on the weekends. Oh well.
-weighs 18.5lbs and is about 27.5 inches long

Here are her 8 month pictures- it was really hard to get any good ones!

Finger foods!

Avery has been trying more finger foods lately and she loves them! She has tried Cheerios, apple and veggie puffs and tonight I made her sweet potato fries- they were a hit and she's getting really good at actually getting food in her mouth. But since the food doesn't ALWAYS make it the dogs new favorite hang out is right under the high chair. At least we don't have as much to clean up!

She makes dad proud...

Happy New Year!

Looking forward to 2012 and hoping it's a year of health and happiness for everyone!
We had a very low-key New Years. We splurged on prime rib and had a great dinner, relaxed and went to bed early. I think we're still recovering from Christmas. :)
Here is Avery in her party dress that she wore to church today!

Christmas 2011

We had a very BUSY and very fun Christmas! As I mentioned my little brother and mom were both here and we did a lot of eating, shopping and hanging out. Christmas Eve we had a big dinner. I did a turkey and I had heard about brining it before and wanted to try it. I got a kit from Safeway and holy cow! It was SO good- not dry at all with lots of flavor. I don't think I'll make a turkey again without brining it first. Anyway, my mom brought us a ton of chocolates and candy and Avery had a chocolate spoon- she was in heaven! After dinner we opened new pajamas from Grandma, went home and put Avery to bed and then got stockings and Santa presents organized while Bud, Michael and Chad went to the movies. Christmas morning was an early morning and really busy. We got up about 730 and headed over to Kaytes to do stockings after Avery checked out her Santa presents. She got lots of bath toys and some yummy food and 'quiet' toys for church. That Santa is so smart! After stockings we went home and got ready for church, I was singing in the program so we had to be there on time and Avery wore her new Christmas dress that Grandma made- its very cute! After church we ate some breakfast, opened presents and laid around for a bit before heading back to Kayte's for joint presents and appetizers. We were all ready for bed early that night! Avery got some really cute gifts from everyone. The next few days were spent shopping like crazy with my mom and getting manicures and pedicures to celebrate her birthday. We had so much fun and can't wait to see everyone again- once we catch back up on our sleep! :)

Meeting Uncle Bud

My little brother Bud was able to get leave and come home for Christmas! Bud is in the Navy and while we're so proud of him we also miss him a lot. It had been two years since we saw him last and so he had never met Avery besides on Skype. He and my mom came over and visited for about a week and we had so much fun! He stayed at our house so him and Michael had lots of bonding time over video games. When he first came over the dogs were all barking except for Petree who was SO excited to see Bud- I think Petree remembered him from the last visit, it was really cute. Avery loved meeting her Uncle and I'm so glad he was able to come home. Love you, Bud!