Happy Fourth of July!

We celebrated the holiday over two days. On the 3rd we had a BBQ at Grandma & Grandpa Nunley's with Uncle Trevor. Avery got to play and chase around her bubble bug. After dinner and a rousing game of Spades we came home and Avery, Justin and I watched the fireworks from Silverado Country Club on the balcony. We could barely see them through the trees over the shopping center, but it was 10x better than trying to brave that traffic and risk having a crankypants baby.

On the 4th we just hung out at home, ran some errands and had BBQ for dinner. Avery went to bed early and I caught up on my blogging while Justin watched a movie or tv or something -- I'm not really sure since I wasn't exactly paying attention!

Both days Avery wore her super cute 4th of July dress which I had to wash between days because she, of course, couldn't go a whole day without spilling, spitting up, or falling in water and then subsequently rolling in dirt.

11 Months!

Avery, my Avery.
Only four more weeks until you are a whole year old. It is unbelievable. Where has the time gone? In the last four weeks so much has changed. You have some awesome new tricks. 

- You love to babble to inanimate objects. It's so fun to hear you use the ebb and flow of conversation with just random sounds. It' pretty hilarious.
- You've learned to point and smile at things you want like a specific toy or the dog. It's much easier having some form of communication to help decipher what you want/need.
- You are a little dancing queen. You have this frog that sings the song Shake It by Metro Station. It's so cute to see your little diapered booty shake.
- You are now a copy cat. Any time we sneeze or cough you like to make the coughing sounds back to us. It's pretty funny. I just hope you grow out of it by kindergarden or your classmates will think you are makeing fun of them!
- One not so fun trick is biting. With each new tooth the bites get harder and more frequent. It's getting more and more difficult not to react, but according to "the books" this is the best way to help this phase pass quickly. Tell that to teeth marks on my shoulder.
- My absolute favorite new trick is the hugs and kisses. You have become so affectionate. My favorite part of the day is when I am sitting on the floor and you come running up just to lay your head on my shoulder, wrap your arms around me, pat my back and make the "ahhh" sound. It seriously melts my heart every.single.time.

THIS MONTH YOUR BABY MAY BE ABLE TO:

• cry when scolded, as she matures emotionally: You are definitely a sensitive girl. It's so sad (and funny at the same time) to see that little quiver lip whenever I take something away that you shouldn't have -- like the dog food you so love to play in.
  
• begin to stand without assistance You have been standing since around 9 months!
• repeat actions to get attention You definitely try to make a scene to get a reaction and if we can't seem to keep a reaction under wraps you love to repeat it until we move to a different location. We are trying very hard not to react.
• manipulate an object to get it out of a tight space I love watching you try to get the wood blocks from out of the wood box with a lid. It seems much easier to get them in than it does to get them out.
• place objects into a container, as her understanding of spatial relationships continues to develop You are especially proficient at taking laundry out of the basket, but have also learned to put it back. I just wish you would do it when I ask instead of when the mood strikes.

Copy Cat

Recently Avery has picked up a new favorite trick. Whenever we cough or sneeze she has started to mimic us. It's pretty hilarious.

(Please ignore the yellow tint, the lighting in Avery's bathroom is not so good.)

My little gymnast.

Last week we tried gymnastics. It starts with free play for the kids to get used the equipment. Then there is circle time. It includes stretching and singing then follow the leader around all the equipment. After that there is parachute time where they all sit in the middle and we twirl them around singing ring around the rosey.

I was not a fan of the group on Wednesday so we decided to try Thursday. Avery seemed to liked to this group better and the mothers were much friendlier. I think we will try a couple other days, but probably stick with Thursdays.

47 weeks!

MONTH: 11
WEEK: 47
WEIGHT: roughly 23lbs fully clothed with shoes.
LENGTH: 30" by my estimate
HEAD: 17"+
MILESTONES: Avery has added a new word to her vocabulary. She now says Hi while waving. It's adorable. We also have a fourth tooth!
OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: It's getting harder and harder to get a good one of her sitting still, smiling, facing the camera, etc.
EATING: What can I say? She's a foodie. 
SLEEPING: Some days I long for the days when she would sleep for 3+ hours soundly in her My Little Lamb swing and I could actually get a little sleep too. Lately it seems that 3 hours is only achieved if we are awake. Withing the first hour of us going to bed she stirs and must be soothed. We are I am regularly getting up to replace the paci, rock, soothe, etc at least 3 times per night. I hope now that this last tooth has broken through we might have a few nights of decent sleep. please.
VISITS/OUTINGS: Avery spent today at Ma'am's while Justin and I shopped for her birthday party. We got tons of stuff and even had a grown up lunch! Tomorrow we will be going to our second installment of gymnastics. Last week we went on a Wednesday. The mamas and babies were nice but not too friendly, so we'll be trying Thursdays to see if we like that group better. 
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Avery has taken a liking to babbling incessantly to random objects. It's quite hilarious, actually. 
MOMMY FEELS: tired. Hopefully we get some better sleep this week. 
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Planning Avery's birthday party has been quite the event, but we are so looking forward to celebrating this first year with our family and friends.