Holiday Cookies

Growing up my Grammy always made Christmas sugar cookies which all the grand kids would frost and eat. Well this ear we were planning on doing it when Grandma Denise and Grandpa Jim were here, so on the night before we had planned to do it Justin surprised me with my birthday gift... a new KITCHENAID MIXER! We had so much fun. And next year I'll note that a full batch is wayyyy too many cookies for just us. 

3.0 - Week 16

How far along? 16 weeks
Weight gain/loss: +5
Maternity clothes? Who is fighting it this time? I got a pile of maternity leggings, long sweaters and tunics and I am good to go. Although, it's not much different from my usual mom-wardrobe. 
Stretch marks? Not any new ones... yet.
Sleep? As good as ever was with two kids who still get up at night. Lots of pit-stops to pee between the kids' bed and mine though.    
Best moment this week? Avery and Olivia have had a blast talking to the baby. Olivia even tried to crawl under my sweater at Target today to talk to the baby. I had to tell her to wait until we get home. 
Movement: Definitely there. Baby is more active at night. Poor kid gets kicked back by the big ones though. 
Food cravings: Mashed potatoes and Taco Bell. :-/
Gender: Don't know yet. 
Labor signs? None. 
Belly button in or out? Innie.
What I miss? Sleep.   
What I am looking forward to? Finding out the gender so we can actually buy things for this baby. We have nothing left from Avery and Olivia, 
Weekly wisdom: Don't forget you're pregnant and take Motrin every day for a week before you realize.   
Milestones: Solidly in 2nd trimester now. 

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!

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!

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)

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.

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.)

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!

Halloween & Thanksgiving Professional Pictures

Last week Melinda  came with us to Stanley Ranch to take pictures for Thanksgiving and Halloween. I got the pictures back last night! Here are a couple of my favorites. 

12 weeks!

MONTH: 3

WEEK: 12

WEIGHT: Probably closer to 13lbs now.

LENGTH: I would estimate 23 1/4 inches

HEAD: Perfect!

MILESTONES: She is thisclose to rolling over from her back to her belly. She gets up to her side and then moves her arm and falls back to her back.

OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: This picture was actually taken at 12 weeks 2 days.

EATING: 24-26oz per day this week!

SLEEPING: We are so lucky to have a good sleeper. She sleeps from about 9:30pm until 6:30am. Every once in a while we get a morning to sleep in until 8:00am!

VISITS/OUTINGS: Avery has officially been on her first shopping trip! We went to the mall in Concord to find me some new clothes for work and she did so well! She's a natural. 

FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Playing on her mat. She can even make the toys make noise all by herself now!

MOMMY FEELS: Conflicted. I am supposed to go back to work on Monday and I am not looking forward to it, but we have been talking about it and it won't be for long.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Some big changes in the next few weeks! Be on the lookout for some exciting announcements!

Sneak Peek - Halloween Pictures

Today Justin and I took Avery to Stanley Ranch Pumpkin Patch to get her first pumpkin. Melinda came with us to take our Halloween & Thanksgiving pictures.

She is a much better photographer and the pictures we saw on the camera look fantastic. Here is a one I snapped really fast on my cell phone while she was adjusting her camera.

More to come soon!

My Lucky Day

Last week I entered a contest on one of my favorite sites Baby Steals. They were giving away a great new product call the GoCrib by Guava Family. A couple of days later I got an email that I was a winner!

I have been waiting to receive the package so I could test it out. Today it arrived and I opened it up immediately.

I comes in this compact backpack for easy portability and inflates in just 5 minutes. I swear each side only took 5 pumps!

I put Avery in it and she had a blast! I love it because she can play in it by herself while I get things done around the house and I don't have to worry about the dog stepping on her or licking her in the face! 

I am so excited to be able to take this with us on trips this summer! It's going to be so convenient to just toss it in the car and go!

11 Weeks!

MONTH: 3

WEEK: 11

WEIGHT: 10lbs 15oz (at last Dr. appointment)

LENGTH: 22 3/4 inches (at last Dr. appointment)

HEAD: 15 3/4 inches (at last Dr. appointment)

MILESTONES: It hasn't surfaced yet, but it seems like Avery might be starting to get her first tooth. (ALREADY?!) She's been pretty fussy, drooly and gnawing on her bottle nipples and pacifier. From what I hear she could be doing this for months and months before a tooth ever shows up though. 

OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: Avery's weekly picture sitting in Daddy's recliner. She was trying - unsuccessfully - to grab her little toes!

EATING: Still 24-28 oz a day

SLEEPING: Avery has slept through the night for the last two weeks! We are so lucky!

VISITS/OUTINGS: We went to Avery's first football game last Friday. She met all kinds of new people and did great! She will be able to sleep through anything if she could sleep at the stadium!

FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Avery has been loving her swing this week. She's been a little sleepier than usual and has been taking extended naps in her swing.

MOMMY FEELS: Nervous. I have to go back to work on Nov. 1 and I am so not looking forward to leaving my little punky. Luckily Justin will get to be home with her and have his bonding time, so that will be good for them. 

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Tomorrow our friend, Melinda, is going to do pictures for us. We are planning on going to Stanley Ranch Pumpkin Patch - if the weather allows - for Halloween/Thanksgiving pictures and then back to our house for Christmas pictures. If it rains, we will just do the Christmas ones at the house. Crossing our fingers that the rain holds out!

Go Team!

On Friday Justin & I took Avery to the new Memorial Stadium with Justin's mom since his dad has been helping the varsity team during home games. It was the first game for Vintage High in the stadium since it's remodel. Avery was so good!

Before the game Avery decided to take a pregame nap while we went and bought sandwiches. While we ate, grandma gave her a bottle and then she watched for a while.

Avery all bundled up and ready to go.

She got to meet a few people and at the end of the junior varsity game she even took a nap in the Ergo. She was all bundled up and toasty. She was my little space heater.

Napping in the Ergo.

We left during the varsity game and left Justin there because he had gone down onto the field with his dad. Once we got home after all those naps she was wide awake. Luckily she had this snazzy new sleeper I put her in and we hung out into the living room until he got home.

Wide awake after the game.
(Her shirt says "I love the nightlife"... and she does!)

10 weeks!

MONTH: 3

WEEK: 10

WEIGHT: 10lbs 15oz

LENGTH: 22 3/4 inches

HEAD: 15 3/4 inches

MILESTONES: Laughing regularly and officially in 0-3 months clothes and size 1 diapers!

OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: Avery's weekly picture sitting in Daddy's recliner. Look at her with her arm on the chair like such a big girl.

EATING: 24-28 oz a day

SLEEPING: Avery is a super sleeper. She sleeps in great stretches and even slept 9.5 hours last night! It feels amazing to get a good night sleep.

VISITS/OUTINGS: Aunt Stacy visited us yesterday and helped teach Mommy how to sew. It was fun to spend almost the whole day just us girls.

FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Avery's number one favorite activity is sleep! Other than that we like to play a lot on the blanket Mommy made and on her new activity mat.

MOMMY FEELS: Blessed. I can't believe it's been 10 weeks already. I am so sad to think I only have two weeks left until I have to go back to work. I am so grateful that Daddy will get to stay home with Avery and get his own bonding time.

9 weeks!

Wow. Where has the time gone? I can't believe it's been 9 weeks. So much has changed in such a short time.

This week we took Avery to her 2 month check up. She is 10lbs, 15oz (30th percentile) and 22.75 inches long (45th percentile) with a head circumference of 40cm (15.75 inches). She got 3 shots which I couldn't be there for (that's an entirely different story too!), but Justin says she took them like a champ! He said she cried the saddest cry but only for a minute and once he gave her snuggles she was okay.

On Wednesday she started laughing. Like real laughs in reaction to something I've done. I make silly faces and weird sounds at her all day trying to get her to do it again and every time she does it's the best sound!

Here is a picture I took on Wednesday.

9 weeks

Craft Mama!

Friday's craft project - no-sew fleece blanket

Sunday's craft project - Tutu!

ETA: Next project: learn how to actually sew something. If only I could figure out how to thread Denise's 60 year old sewing machine!