Baby noises

It's amazing the noises that come from a baby. Such loud burps and room-clearing farts that impress even Daddy. One of the cutest sounds I've heard from A recently is her new affinity for snoring.

Merry Christmas, Darling.

This is Avery's first Christmas. It's the first of many years to come of seeing Grandma and Grandpa Nunley on Christmas Eve, then having Christmas morning at home and Christmas afternoon at Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Gasner's house, then another Christmas at home with Grandma and Grandpa Mitchell.

I could write a novel about all that we've done in the last couple of days, but instead I will chronicle it in a series of photos.

  

20 Weeks!

MONTH: 5

WEEK: 20

WEIGHT: Likely close to 15lbs by now.

LENGTH: 27+ inches

HEAD: Spotted. We don't measure he head regularly but it is still covered in scabbed pocks. Hopefully they will clear up soon.

MILESTONES: She is rolling from back to belly now! Well, sometimes. Really only when there is something she can see better if she rolls. It took a few days after she first did it for Justin and Courtney for me to see it. We are on our way to full mobility!

OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: She has started this new thing where she tightens all the muscles in her legs and squeezes her little thighs together. She is especially fond of doing this while you are trying to change her diaper.

EATING: She is losing interest in the bottle. In fact, she likes to play a game where she just moves the nipple around in her mouth until you play with her. I think she will be a food-thrower when we start table food. Good thing we have hardwoods. Carpet would be a pain to keep clean!

SLEEPING: A had a couple of nights where she woke up to eat this last weekend, but then went back to STTN (sleeping through the night) Sunday night. Perfect timing since we both had to work Monday. So much for sleeping in. 

VISITS/OUTINGS: Avery hung out with Grandma Denise and Grandpa Jim on Saturday while Justin and went Christmas shopping. It was fun to hang out just us two knowing she was having fun with grandma and grandpa. When we got home she was out like a light. They tired her out!

FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: She is still happy just to play with her feet. She even tries to sit up out of her swing to reach them. Good thing she is buckled in or she would be on the floor!

MOMMY FEELS: Great. I am so happy with where we are right now. I am loving our little family and just enjoying the days as they come. Every day is an adventure and one I wouldn't change for the world.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Exciting new opportunities to come in the new year. With Justin's job, and some exciting prospects we have a few changes in the works. Be on the lookout!

Christmas crafting.

I want to start a tradition of baking and crafting with A during Christmas time. I figure there is no better time to start than from the beginning.

I found this recipe and had to try it. It was so easy and something I could do while A sat on the counter and watched. When she gets older it will be a great one to do together.

Here's the short version of instructions with my personal photos.

Chocolate Candy Cane Hearts

Prep: Melt 1 bag of chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet because that's what I like.) in a double boiler. 

Step 1: While chocolate melts, lay out mini candy canes on a piece of wax paper facing each other so they form hearts. (I put the wax paper on a large cutting board so they were easy to move.)

Step 2: Let the chocolate cool a little then pour into a piping bag (or thick ziplock bag -- like the quart size freezer bag.) Cut a small hole in the corner of the bag.

Step 3: Pipe the chocolate into the center of the hearts making sure that the tops and bottoms are closed so it doesn't leak out.

 

Step 4: Decorate with sprinkles.

 

Step 5: Let cool to harden.

Step 6: Enjoy!

Deck the halls.

In my family we had a tradition of getting an ornament each year. I wanted to start the same tradition with A. I wanted to find the perfect "first Christmas" ornament. I was having a hard time finding one, until this last weekend.

On Saturday we were at Kohls and found the one. It is her (big!) footprint on the ornament.

We are officially done decorating. Check it out:

Merry Christmas from the Nunleys

19 Weeks!

MONTH: 5

WEEK: 19

WEIGHT: 14lbs 9oz at last weigh on Dec. 12th.

LENGTH: 27 inches

HEAD: We don't measure it regularly but it's 90th percentile for her age and length.

MILESTONES: Nothing new this week. We are trucking along with making it through the chicken pox. We're 1 week in. 

OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: "See my foot, Mommy?"

EATING: Avery is officially eating 3 bottles of 5oz and 4 bottles of 4oz. 

SLEEPING: We're officially sleeping unswaddled. It actually happened by accident. She did not want to be swaddled with the first set of pox and now she is happy as a clam sleeping with her hands above her head. The only downside is it takes a little while longer to get her to stop playing with her feet and actually go to sleep.

VISITS/OUTINGS: A stayed with Grandma for an hour on Wednesday while I went to my company Christmas party. Otherwise we are staying home while she is still contagious.

FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: A loves playing with her feet. They're her new favorite toys. Luckily they're always an arm's (or leg's!) reach away.

MOMMY FEELS: Better this week. I feel like I have a handle on the whole chicken pox thing. We have a routine going so she can be as comfortable as possible.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Since almost all of A's pox have scabs she is not contagious anymore so we are going to the mall and Babies 'R Us to finish up Christmas shopping. We have 3 gifts under the tree. All of which are for A. We need to get on it.

It's love.

When I was pregnant I got all kinds of advice from other moms about what was a "must have" because their baby couldn't live without it. Now that I am a mother I have made a concerted effort not to push products, my opinions, etc on other mothers because all babies are different.

Case and point:
I was told we must have a swing. Being that we only have 750sqft we decided to get a travel swing for the sake of space. BIG mistake. She hated it. I couldn't figure it out. I mean a swing is a swing, right? Wrong. We were at a friend's house one day who has a son a month older than A. She fell asleep in my arms (A, that is. Not the friend.) and said friend suggested I put her in her son's cradle swing. She loved it and was out like a light! The next day we got one.

That was our first lesson learned.

The second lesson is documented here. We were given a play mat by my SIL, Carrie. A would lay on it for a bit and then get bored and fuss. Then we were visiting with my friend, Christina, and I saw she had this fantastic play mat with tons of toys that made all kinds of sounds. I decided I would give it a try and went and bought one the next day. Ever since then it's been a whirlwind romance between A and her beloved play mat.

Laughing like a fool.

"Why are you interrupting me, Mom?"

Check me out

Since A is coming up on the age where she will start eating people food we are learning to hold utensils. Despite the fact that we will be doing Baby Led Weaning which skips the whole eating-purees-with-a-spoon step, but nevertheless we like the play with them.

Today while I was cooking dinner I showed A how to have fun with the purple spoon (we're practicing colors, too).
 Then later we were playing with the green spoon. Check out this video: (Don't mind the fact that I sound like a little kid. I swear in my head I sound like a real an adult.)

Chicken Pox

We have hit an unsavory milestone. Her first big illness. She has the chicken pox. I notices a couple bumps on Friday night then on Saturday morning a couple more. So I called the advice nurse and she said it was likely a viral rash and that we should call the doctor on Monday.

By Saturday evening she had them everywhere. At least one on each limb several on her head and face -- even in her "diaper area". I called the advice nurse again and she said she would put in a call to the on-call pediatrician and he would call me in the morning. At 9:30 Sunday morning the appointment setter for the after hours clinic called and said they wanted to see us.

She gave us instructions on where to go since we had to go in a special door they called the "rash door" where all highly contagious patients go. This makes sense to me that they want to keep the other kids away, but seems silly to put all the contagious kids together. I mean their immune systems are already compromised by whatever illness they already have that it would be much easier to pick up another one. Luckily we were the only ones in that area.

Basically the doctor said he thinks it's chicken pox but just to be sure he popped one of the blisters and took a swab to have it tested. Basically he said just to make her as comfortable as possible and keep her home from daycare until every blister has a hard scab. It should take about a week and a half to two weeks.



My poor baby. These pictures look terrible but it looks even worse in person.

18 Weeks!

MONTH: 5

WEEK: 18

WEIGHT: 14lbs 9oz

LENGTH: 27inches

HEAD: perfect!

MILESTONES: Avery had her first major illness: chicken pox. We aren't sure where she picked them up but we went to the doctors this morning and confirmed them. She doesn't seem to uncomfortable except the ones in the diaper area, but she is a little whiny. 

OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: This picture was actually taken today at 18 weeks 4 days because we had been so busy this week and she was pretty cranky.

EATING: Avery is moving up! She gets three 4oz bottles and three 5oz bottles a day now! It's probably why she gained 11oz in 12 days!

SLEEPING: The last few days have not been great sleep with the pox, but better than I thought they would be. A won't sleep swaddled and she won't sleep unswaddled laying flat so she will be sleeping in her swing until the chicken pox go away.

VISITS/OUTINGS: We visited Grandma and Grandpa Nunley and Uncle Trevor on Saturday for Uncle Trevor's birthday. Of course we also visited the doctor's office in Vallejo this morning to get checked out. 

FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Snuggling with her mama -- which I totally don't mind, but I wish it was under better circumstances.

MOMMY FEELS: Helpless. There's little I can do to help her and she can't itch because she doesn't have that skill yet so she gets so upset sometimes and all I can do is rub her. We are going to try an oatmeal bath tomorrow.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Obviously this chicken pox going away. But more excitingly we are looking forward to Christmas with the family.

4 Months!

Where have the last four months gone? It seems like in the last trimester of pregnancy time moved at a sloths pace. And now that my beautiful miracle is here time is whizzing by a warp speed. So, Avery, I so enjoy watching you grow and get bigger, but I wish time would just slow down a bit. You have plenty of time to be a big kid. I want you to stay little for a while.

Here was A on Monday. She was not very excited to be taking pictures, but I like this one.
And thanks to my friend SSM, here is a monthly recap:

THIS MONTH YOUR BABY MAY:

• squeal and laugh with delight. She does this all the time! It is the best part of the day when I get her out of bed in the morning and she looks at me like I could save the world and just squeals and laughs even during a diaper change.
• make "raspberry" sounds with her lip. She is trying. It's pretty hilarious. She has making the sound with her lips down, now she's trying to figure out how to get the tongue in it so it makes the sound while she's sticking her tongue out. It's so funny when she does it and gets so excited!
• experiment by making new sounds. She is definitely experimenting with her voice. Sometimes funny, sometimes not so much. Like after 20 minutes of the same sound over and over and over and over and over and over and... well, you get the point.
• make sounds in response to you. A tries so hard to copy sounds. Sometimes it works, but most times not. I keep waiting for her to just blurt out a word like an adult, but alas, she is not quite there yet.
• track moving objects as her head and neck development work together. She has been doing this for a while now. It's like teasing a cat with a laser pointer -- hours of entertainment.
• roll over—usually from front to back—as muscles continue to develop. She will roll over belly to back if she feels like it. She usually doesn't when we have the camera out. Or when we are trying to show someone how talented she is. Le sigh.
• raise herself up on straightened arms while lying on her tummy, looking all around as neck muscles strengthen. She does this for a few seconds and then goes back to her elbows. She is not a fan of tummy time.
• grasp a rattle with stronger hand muscles. A is so strong! She will get a grip of my finger and turn the end of it purple from lack of blood circulation!
• bear weight on both legs. A loves to lap-stand. She will even bounce a little if she's really energized.
• start to sleep through the night. We are so lucky. Avery has slept through the night since about 6 weeks. I am told that sleep patterns will change as she grows and gets older, but they haven't so far and I honestly hope they don't because I love these great sleeps!
• begin to show interest in solid foods by reaching for mom and dad's food at the table or other food in her line of sight. She doesn't really seem interest in our food, so we are waiting to start solids until she seems more ready. I am so excited for her to try new foods, but sticking to the bottle seems best for us right now.

A tradition is born.

Being December, it is time to start decorating for Christmas. It's my favorite time of year and usually Justin is a huge Grinch. This year, however, is different. It's Avery's first Christmas. Whenever I ask him to do something holiday related instead of getting complaints he is totally on board.

Today we decided to go get our Christmas tree. Instead of just going to Target or even to a lot we wanted to have a full on Christmas experience. So we got in the Jeep and drove 35 minutes to the mountains just past Calistoga to Pochini Family Farm.

When we got there we got a saw and a cart and trekked up the mountain in the mud (with Avery in the Ergo!) to find the perfect tree. We got to a spot that had a great selection and as soon as we stopped Avery started wailing. So I walked back to the trail so as not to drop her when I took her out of the Ergo. From the trail I helped Justin pick out a tree that looked perfect. He cut it down and I calmed Avery down. Once he got the tree back to the trail we put it on the cart and headed back down the mountain.

He stood it up to look at it in all its glory and we realized that only half the tree was perfect. The other half looks like Charlie Brown's tree's long lost brother. It's so sad looking. I can't help but love the tree even more. It was so fun to go out, pick a tree and cut it down. It is for sure a new family tradition that I cannot wait to continue.

A month in photos - November

Mrs. Avery Claus...

At Thanksgiving Justin's Aunt gave us a gift for Avery. It was this adorable Santa towel. As soon as we got home I washed it so we could use it right away. Once it was clean I folded it, put it in the closet and promptly forgot all about it.

Until the other night. I got it out for bathtime. A loved her new towel! And I love how absorbent it is. I think we will use this well after Christmas.

Ho Ho Ho!

1 year ago today...

One year ago today we found out I was pregnant. Notice I did not say 'we found out we were going to have a baby.' I make this differentiation because we know all too well that just because you are pregnant does not guarantee you will have a healthy baby 9 months later.

This time around we were lucky to be blessed 9 months and 2 days later with a wonderful, amazing, fantastic, beautiful, healthy baby girl. She has been the shining star in my world and I would travel to the ends of the universe for her.

In the process of trying to have a baby Justin and I have had some bumps in the road. But along the way I have met some amazing friends who have been through similar situations and from their support have found strength and the appreciation for all that I am blessed with. Unfortunately there are still some of my new-found friends who struggle to come out on the winning side of trying to conceive. For you ladies I send all my love and good mojo for healthy baby-making.

I can't think of a group of more deserving women to be mothers to earthly children.

17 Weeks!

MONTH: 5

WEEK: 17

WEIGHT: 13lbs 14.5oz

LENGTH: 26 2/3 inches

HEAD: 16 inches

MILESTONES: No significant milestones this week, but she is growing so fast!

OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: 17 weeks in daddy's chair. She's really starting to fill it in!

EATING: A got the okay to start solids whenever we feel she is ready!

SLEEPING: She is sleeping great. Last week she slept 4 nights in her swing because she was very stuffy and it helped her breathe to be semi-upright. Now we are back to sleeping in the bassinet and everyone is more comfortable. 

VISITS/OUTINGS: Avery had her 4 month appointment today. She is growing so fast. She is on track to be tall and skinny just like her daddy. (And cousins, Kayla and Maddie.)

FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Sleeping, playing with her toys and listening to mommy read her books!

MOMMY FEELS: like there aren't enough hours in the day. I work all day and come home and I just want to play with Avery, but there are things to be done. Le sigh. 

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Even though the doctor gave us the go-ahead I am still not sure Avery is ready to start solids -- BUT I am looking forward to when she is ready and we can experiment. Until then, I am looking forward to getting our first Christmas tree together and making our stockings!