Look, Ma! No hands!

On Monday at Grandma and Grandpa Nunley's house Avery took her very first steps solo. She stood up and took four whole steps right to her mama! We were all in total shock as we watched.

Later that night she proved it wasn't just a coincidence and did it again with another four steps. All day today we have been trying to get it on video and right as we were about to give up she gave us another peek.


Check it out!

This baby is made for walking!

The other day J and I bought Avery this toy. It is meant to provide enough support to help her learn to walk. Then it converts to a sit & ride on toy.

As soon as it was together she was off and -- err -- walking. Check her out!

42 Weeks!

MONTH: 10
WEEK:  42
WEIGHT: 20+ lbs
LENGTH: 29+ inches
HEAD: 17+ inches
MILESTONES: Avery is so close to walking it is incredible. I have a feeling she will take her first steps in the next couple of weeks, so keep an eye out for that announcement! She also has a third tooth -- a top one! -- coming in. 
OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: We have missed a few weeks in out check in because after the move my camera went kaput. I had tried to take the photos with my phone, but they did not come out well.
EATING: Avery is my little foodie. She will eat pretty much anything you put in front of her with the exception of the last few days because of the teething.
SLEEPING: Now that I am home with Avery we have been trying to establish a solid sleep routine including naps. We are making progress! Now if we could do something about the 6am wakeups.
VISITS/OUTINGS: We had a playdate with Aly and Capri yesterday. I have a feeling Avery needs some more socialization because she is quite a bully. First thing she did when CC sat down was rip off her bow. We're working on it... 
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: A loves to push all her toys around the house. She is especially fond of chasing Lola anywhere she can. Lola, on the other hand, is not so fond of it.
MOMMY FEELS: Absolutely blessed. I cannot believe that I am so lucky that we are in a position that allows me to be a stay at home mom to my little love bug. 
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO: I am looking forward to planning A's 1st birthday. I can't believe that time has come already, but it has been a blast to watch her grow and learn. In 2 1/2 short months we will have a toddler! Wow.

So close!

A was trying to help me organize my sewing box today and she was so close to reaching the last spool of tulle... and then got stuck. Of course being the most excellent mother I am, I grabbed the camera and snapped this shot before helping her out of her little predicament.

Day 2

Yesterday was Day 1 of my new Stay At Hone Mom (SAHM) gig.

It.Was.A.Disaster.

J works from home some days more than others and yesterday was one of the 'more' days. Avery and I got up early and went to the Stroller Strides workout -- which was awesone! Then J came home from work around 10:30 and we decided to go to Babies R Us to get something right then since A was already well into her morning nap.

And it was all downhill from there. She was fussy, tired but wouldn't nap,  pooped every 5 minutes, and decided spitup makes good finger paint.

Today, on the other hand, was excellent. We slept in (until almost 7am!) then had some pancakes, folded some laundry, showered and dressed. Then we met the Nance girls at the duck pond, walked to Kennedy park, rode the 'wee' (which is 'slide' in 2yr old speak), had lunch at the Kennedy Golf Course restaurant. The girls were a hit with the old men just finishing their morning game.

After our playdate we stopped by Bumrite Diapers and picked up A's new swim diaper -- the Swimmi by Bummis. We chatted with the girls there for a bit before meeting J on his way out of town for an appointment.
All in all I'd say we had a pretty good day. In comparison to yesterday almost anything out have been better.

We love parks.

Now that the weather is nice we have been going for walks and to the park a lot. The last couple of days have been especially nice and we've gotten some cute pictures of Avery. 

May 21, 2011

(clockwise from top left) 

1. playing at Grandma & Grandpa Nunley's before our walk.
2. wearing Grandma 'Nise's snazzy new glasses.

3. Swinging like a fiend. 

4. Avery wondering when we were going to leave for the park adventure.

 

May 22, 2011

(clockwise from top left)  

1. checking to make sure the stroller is locked and not going anywhere

2.picking the grass

3. putting the picked grass on the footrest of the stroller

4. A meticulously picking every crumb off the food rest of her stroller

5. Daddy pretending to take a nap in the sun.

6. A "waking" Daddy to play

7. Ready to go.

Make me an offer!

I don't mean on my baby! A couple of weekends ago we had a garage sale and Avery was very helpful. Check out the fun we had!

  

She started the day with a quick nap in her Pack N' Play right on the front lawn.

 

Once she woke up, she held on to our keys so we wouldn't find lose them.

She even helped Uncle Trevor pick out some books.

 Avery all that exhausting work she fell right to sleep. 

With all the money we raised we bought the most awesome, must-have gadget for any parent: A video monitor. It is an absolutely lifesaver. It is so much nicer when I want to check on her and I can just click the button and see her peacefully sleeping. It is so much easier to go back to sleep when I don't have to actually get out of bed!

Food Diaries

I'm pleased to introduce the next Iron Chef: Avery Mae.

I have heard people question our decision to introduce solids by way of Baby-led Weaning. Admittedly I was nervous to start because it was a relatively new idea to me, but logically it just made sense. I'm glad we've stuck to it because -- so far -- it's served us well.

Here are some of A's recent conquests.

 Scarfing down chicken ravioli

 Loving chicken, green beans and broccoli

 Devouring what was turkey on wheat.

 Trying out "purple potatoes" for the first time

 Rice: a little tricky; a lot yummy.

Rigatoni and pesto with parmesan

The conclusion: She loves anything and everything she can put in her mouth herself. Case and point: she is not a fan of applesauce. It's quite difficult to pick up. Don't think so? Check out this video.

All wrapped up.

Every day I spend with Avery I am reminded how lucky I am. I get to be her mama forever and always. She is my girl and I am responsible for making sure she is happy, healthy and safe.

On occasion she is a little difficult. Sometimes she doesn't want to eat, sometimes she doesn't want me to play with her toys, sometimes she doesn't want to sleep and sometimes all she wants is to be held. The latter is my favorite. I understand for others like grandma wanting to be held all.the.time can get old real quick. For me? I don't mind one bit.

On this day Avery did not want to be put down, even to sleep. So what's a busy mama to do? Wrap that baby up!

I snapped this picture just before I sat down and rocked her to sleep. After she was asleep and I got a little rest in the glider I continued on with what I had to do and she got a great nap.

It's days like these I am ever grateful that I am a mama. I am her mama.

Chicka Chicka What?! What?!

A has been such an amazing eater and now that she is a little more experienced of an eater I felt more comfortable giving her chicken. Last night J and I were having grilled chicken and mozzarella ravioli for dinner. We decided to give her one and see how she did.

After being out of the water for a while on her tray the noodle part of the ravioli was sort of tough for her to chew, so I opened it up and took out all the filling. Once she was able to get to it she went to town. She absolutely loved the chicken and cheese and devoured four large raviolis-worth of filling.

Happy Mother's Day!

This Sunday was my very first Mother's Day with a baby on the outside. After all we've been through to get where we are and to have Avery there are so many things I feel about this special day. Throughout the day I was thinking about what the day really meant to me. Here's what I came up with:

I am so blessed. I mean blessed beyond words. When asked if I wanted something for Mother's Day several things came to mind. I would really like some help around the house. I would really like a new camera.

All of the things I thought about were all things I could use to better the time I spend with A. After pondering that for a while I realized that I already had everything I wanted. The best gift I could possibly receive I already had. The number one gift to get for Mother's Day is the gift of motherhood.

Here's a cute picture of A
while we were shopping!

I know it seems sort of like a given, but in my experience I've learned that just because you celebrate Mother's Day doesn't necessarily mean you are able to be a mother to an earthly child.

But me? I do. And that makes me blessed.

On this day that is set aside to celebrate moms everywhere, my wonderful husband made sure to make me feel appreciated. He knows how hard I've been working on losing weight and how dissatisfied I've been with the way my clothes fit, so he took me shopping. We went to Walnut Creek and after browsing in Crate and Barrel, Barnes and Noble and a few other stores we ended up at H&M.

H&M is my absolute favorite store. I love how cute the clothes are and the prices are perfect. I got a couple of cute pieces and got to spend a great day with my amazing husband and adorable baby girl. It was absolutely perfect.

9 Months!

 On Friday we visited the pediatrician for the 9 month well-baby visit. J and I had guesses as to how big she would be and both of us were way wrong... again. 

Weight:  20lb 7.3oz (80th percentile)
Height/Length: 29in (90th percentile)
Head Circumference: 46cm (90th percentile)

We knew she would be at the top of the charts for her age, but she is one chunky monkey. And we love it. I always joke that she has a pumpkin head and apparently it's true, but it's also true that she gets it from her mama!

THIS MONTH YOUR BABY MAY:

• respond to simple requests (such as "Give Mommy the toy.") I'm pretty sure she understands these simple requests, but she sure doesn't do them!
• use consonants as she begins saying "mama" or "dada" She loves to say dada even when I ask her to say mama.
• learn and say one other word Sometimes I think she is purposely saying hi and bye when she waves, but then she says it over and over without waving, so I'm not really sure.
• pivot in a circle as her coordination continues to develop and her muscles strengthen I didn't realize this was a big milestone but she has been doing this since about 7 months.
• feed herself, although she may be a bit messy She has always fed herself since that is the main concept in Baby-led Weaning. It's has been -- and likely will continue to be -- quite messy.
• manipulate tiny objects, such as veggie dices and cereal, between her thumb and forefinger She has an excellent pincer grasp. She can pick up things as small as rice!
• drop toys on purpose to watch them fall and then look for them—a sign that your baby is curious about how she can affect the objects around her She loves to drop food and watch the dog run to and eat it. It's become quite a game in our house.
• develop the instinct to bounce to music She is a moving, grooving machine. She loves to shake her tiny, fluffy booty!
• point and poke with her index finger as a sign of her growing curiosity She has an affinity for putting her fingers in my mouth and touching my teeth. It's pretty funny. It's almost like she's wondering why I have so many and she only has two.

39 Weeks!

MONTH: 10
WEEK: 39
WEIGHT: 20 lbs
LENGTH: 29 in.
HEAD: 18 in.
MILESTONES: Avery has been standing unassisted for up to 3 seconds at a time since last week! We are going to have a walker very soon!
OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: Taken today at 39 weeks 3 days since we apparently can't seem to get photos during the week.
EATING: Avery is an eating machine! So far we have a long list of foods including bananas, toast, yogurt, mangoes, apples, carrots, mashed potatoes, butternut squash, cucumbers, green beans, cantaloupe, raspberries, blackberries, and tons more!
SLEEPING: Avery has been sleeping the majority of the night in her crib in her room and when she wakes in the early morning we bring her in bed with us. I love the extra snuggles and waking up to her smiling face. 
VISITS/OUTINGS: Avery went with Ma'am and Gigi to take Aunt Stacy to the airport on Thursday. Aunt Stacy went to Idaho to surprise cousin Kayla for her 8th birthday. 
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Avery is still on her scream-like-I'm-being-skinned-alive kick, At this point we are just ignoring it and hoping she loses interest... soon.
MOMMY FEELS: So blessed. We have decided that i will be a stay at home mom. We were presented with a choice when our nanny gave us two week's notice. After a lot of conversations and calculations we figured out a way we can swing it. I am so excited to start this new chapter and can't wait until May 20th. 
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO: May 20th! I already have so many big plans.

A Month in Photos: April 2011

38 Weeks!

MONTH: 9
WEEK: 38
WEIGHT: My best guess is about 21lbs 
LENGTH: 28 inches by my estimate
HEAD: Approx. 18inches
MILESTONES: Avery is a professional waver. She has finally mastered the concept of waving hi and bye. At first she thought it was only for goodbye. It's pretty cute.
OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: We Finally have settled in to our new apartment enough to take a photo this week. I am so sad that we missed last week, but we are back in the swing of things and I don't plan on missing another. 
EATING: Avery has become a super eater. She has had several new foods lately including butternut squash, mango, and raspberry sorbet. She is so adventurous and interested in food. She loves to feed herself and it's so fun to watch.

SLEEPING: Avery has been sleeping in her crib all night for the last two weeks. It happened by accident. She normally starts the night in her crib and then after her first wake-up and bottle she would sleep with us the rest of the night. As the weeks went by she kept pushing back the feeding until one day she just didn't wake to eat until morning. Now she is up by 6:30 at the latest, but there is no middle of the night feedings. On the one hand it's great getting consistent, continuous sleep but boy do I miss my sleep snuggles and the smiling face first thing when I wake up. 
VISITS/OUTINGS: On Saturday we walked in the March for babies. We were able to join some very good friends and we had a great time. 
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Avery has a new favorite activity: Screaming at the top of her lungs. It is a blood-curling, eardrum-piercing, help-me-I'm-being-skinned-alive type scream. She does it all.the.time and just thinks it's utterly hysterical..  
MOMMY FEELS: Exhausted. After two weekends of moving and all the packing, unpacking, cleaning, walking, organizing, etc. I am ready for a vacation.
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO: our vacation coming up Memorial Day weekend. I am so looking forward to authentic ebelskivers without all the dishes and a great 3 day weekend with friends and family.