Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Saturday was Justin's birthday. We went to an indoor go-kart racing track called RPM with his dad, mom, and brother. Here are some pictures from the day. (They're not very good because they're from my cell phone, but nevertheless.)

Before the race.

Avery wearing Uncle Trevor's head sock.
(worn under the helmet)

16 Weeks!

MONTH: 4

WEEK: 16

WEIGHT: Roughly 12 1/2 -13 lbs -- we'll find out on Wednesday!

LENGTH: 23inches-ish

HEAD: partly bald.

MILESTONES: She continues to roll over -- but only at her discretion. So if you want to see it you better hope she's in an amiable mood!

OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: This picture was actually taken at 16 weeks 2 days, but with Thanksgiving we're lucky we got one at all!

EATING: Avery has been eating up a storm! Today she was even gnawing on my (clean) finger!

SLEEPING: We've been letting A sleeping in her swing the last couple of nights because she has a stuffy nose. If she lays flat she gets all congested and it wakes her up. The swing is at the perfect angle to help her sleep.

VISITS/OUTINGS: We had a fantastic week this week. Only 3 days of daycare and then a busy day with the entire family yesterday for Thanksgiving. (See the post below.) Tomorrow is Justin's birthday so we will be having another family day!

FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Sleeping, playing on her play mat, and most of all: sucking on her own hands!

MOMMY FEELS: Excited for the holidays!

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO: All the holiday fun coming up! We're going to be getting our tree next weekend and I can't wait!

Happy First Thanksgiving!

Yesterday was Avery's first Thanksgiving. To me it was her first big holiday. (I don't really count Halloween since there is really no deeper meaning than seeing how much candy you can get from complete strangers -- but I digress.)

A didn't seem to think sleeping in was a great idea, so our day started at 6:45. We stayed in our pj's until about noon when Justin and I got ready to go to his Aunt Chris & Uncle Glenn's house. We were told to be there between 2:00 and 2:30 and being perpetually late now that we have a baby in tow, we made a concerted effort to be on time. Success! We were one of the first ones there!

It had been a long time since anyone in Justin's extended family had seen A and since she is the only baby on his side she was the center of attention. She was loving all the attention for a while until inevitably it got loud. And when I say loud, I mean loud!

So we found a quiet(er) place in the house to hang out. Some people came and visited with us one on one and we got some great photos.

One particular one I really like is one of A, Aunt Stacy, and Great Grandpa Delbert (who's 88!). We also got a great shot of Justin and I with A.

For your viewing pleasure.

Happy Birthday, Great Grandpa Raymond!

This Saturday was Justin's grandpa Raymond's 84th birthday. We went to their house for a late lunch and everyone got quite the kick out of Avery. She even showed off how she can now roll over!

Here's another collage of some photos I snapped there and at Justin's parent's house later that night.

A month in photos - October

A friend of mine, Christina, takes fantastic photos of her baby girl Lailah and posts them on her blog in these great collages. I asked her how she did them and she told me about this amazing photo editing program called Picasa that does it for her! I tried it out with a few pictures I took throughout the month of October. I will do them for August and September too and every month from now on! 

15 Weeks!

MONTH: 4

WEEK: 15

WEIGHT: probably around 13lbs

LENGTH: about 24 inches

HEAD: cute and round

MILESTONES: We have a roller! On Tuesday I set Avery on her tummy on the floor to help Justin with dinner. When I turned back around I saw she was on her back and I yelled at Justin for turning her over. He said he didn't. So I put her back on her tummy and before I could grab my camera from the table next to her she did it again! She's such a big girl!

OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: She's really starting to fill up daddy's chair!

EATING: She is  still eating 7- 4oz bottles per day. 

SLEEPING: Avery is a  super sleeper. She sleeps from 9pm to about 6:30 or 7am .

VISITS/OUTINGS: Last Saturday finally met her friend Capri! (See the post below.)

FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Avery has been spending lots of time on her play mat. She loves it!

MOMMY FEELS: Sad that I am missing so much with Avery being at daycare, but hopeful about some new possibilities that will allow me to spend more time with her starting very soon!

WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Avery's first Thanksgiving is next week!

Avery, meet Capri. Capri, meet Avery.

For months and months I have been chatting with a girl, Aly, I went to middle school with. We hadn't seen each other in years, but we found each other on Facebook (of course!) and reconnected since she was also pregnant at the time! It turns out she was only 4 weeks behind me.

Her daughter, Capri, was born 9 days after Avery (3 weeks early!) and we have been trying to get together for a while since our girls were born. Yesterday we were finally able to schedule a time that worked for both of us. While the girls are still too young to really know any different, I think that had fun "playing".

First meeting!

Instant friends.

She was exhausted.
(And Lola was only a little jealous -- NOT.)

Update!

I have been a bad blogger. We have been so busy I have so much to post about. Stay tuned for a few new blogs today!

On Tuesday we went to Babies R Us and got another carseat base for Justin's car and I convinced him Avery had to have a Bumbo seat. She is forever trying to sit up out of her bouncy seat, swing, carseat, and even from laying down.

As soon as we brought her home I put her in it before her bath.

First Attempt (I promise, she is wearing a diaper!)

Second attempt (with clothes!) She lasted almost 15 minutes!

14 weeks!

MONTH: 4

WEEK: 14

WEIGHT: 12lbs is my best guess.

LENGTH: I would say close to 24 inches. 

HEAD: Round like her mama!

MILESTONES: She is thisclose to rolling over! I really hope I get to see it and she doesn't do it for the first time at daycare. I would just kick myself if I miss it! She is also sitting assisted in her Bumbo seat! (See next post.)

OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: Week 14 photo in daddy's chair. She is really starting to fill it up compared to the first one we did at two weeks!

EATING: Still eating 6-7 times per day and 4 oz at a time; however the first one we have upped to 5oz. Since she sleeps through the night she wakes up very hungry!

SLEEPING: Avery has slept through the night since about 6 weeks. And we are very appreciative. She also takes 2 long naps and usually one short one during the day. 

VISITS/OUTINGS: Avery will finally be able to meet her friend Capri on Saturday!

FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Sleeping. (Still!) She's also discovered she has hands recently so she likes to see what they can do. So far she has mastered putting them in her mouth as far as they will go until she chokes herself, and staring at them for several minutes without losing focus.

MOMMY FEELS: Sad. I hate being at work because I feel like I miss almost the whole day. I drop her off at 7:30am and pick her up at 5:15. By the time we get home, cook and eat dinner, take a bath, and get her jammies on it's time for bed! 

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Hopefully I will be moving to part time very soon!

The picture perfect Sunday.

Now that I am back to work I try and appreciate all the time I have with Avery all the more. This Sunday it was rainy all morning and we had an appointment the photographer Christophe Genty. We were gifted 3 sessions, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months, by Justin's aunts, Nan & Chris. We got there at 9:00am and we're done at 9:45. It was super fast but from what I saw on his camera we got some A-MA-ZING photos.

After that we got home and all put our pj's back on. We snuggled up on the couch and watched football. Later that afternoon the sun came out and the light was beautiful in Avery's room. I decided it was a perfect time to take some pictures of Avery in her 3 month Picky Sticky.

Here are some of the pictures I took.

Back to work.

I hate it. I hate working. Not because of the job itself, but because I miss my baby girl.

I miss the days where we could snuggle on the couch in our pj's until 11am and take naps together. Days when we could go on walks whenever we felt. I miss trips to the fabric store and me attempting to be a crafty mama while my good little baby took her afternoon nap. I miss everything -- literally. I miss almost the entire day with her. She is only awake for 2 hours when I get home and maybe only 30 minutes before I leave.

I do not like it.

Not. One. Bit.