Dear Baby Girl,

I am in awe of you. You are the single most amazing person I have ever met. Even tonight when I was just about at my wits end trying to put you to sleep all I had to do was look at your sweet face and all was well again.
Once you were asleep it was all I could do to hold back the tears at your complete awesomeness. I see in you all the best of your daddy and me. You have my lips and his ears. You are interested in EVERYTHING. You are caring and insightful. I love everything about you.

Please always know that you are special and wonderful and beautiful and perfect in every way.

I love you more than words can say. More than the stars in the sky. More than the sand on the beach. And more than all the drops of water in all the oceans in the world.

Love always and for eternity,
Mommy

Happy Easter!

This weekend among many other things it was Easter. On Saturday we went to a town Easter Egg hunt on Yountville, where -- with the help of Aunt Stacy -- Avery found the golden egg! I tried to take a picture of the basket, but Avery wanted to rip into it before I got one. 


Then Sunday we were supposed to have Easter at the park, but we woke up the pouring rain. Luckily Grandma and Grandpa Nunley welcomed everyone into their home for the celebration. We were running a bit behind, so Avery was still in her pj's when we first arrived but after opening her two other Easter baskets we got her dressed. 

Check out how much fun we had!

Girlfriends

This past Sunday a friend of mine, Aly, was in town visiting with her daughter, Capri, who is only 2 weeks younger than Avery. On Sunday, Aly & Capri, Christina & Lailah and Avery & I went to Fuller Park for a playdate.

The girls had so much fun playing with stealing each others toys. I am sad to say, however, that my kid is a bully. Any toy one of the other girls had Avery wanted; and since she is the most mobile of the three so far she had no problem crawling all over them to get what she wanted. I suppose we should start teaching sharing. :::sigh:::

As always, Christina had her camera and got some fantastic photos. (Thanks, Christina!)

36 Weeks!

MONTH: 9
WEEK: 36
WEIGHT: best guess is around 20lbs
LENGTH: 28ish inches
HEAD: 18ish inches
MILESTONES: A couple, actually! Avery is up and crawling on all fours. She is so much faster now that she doesn't have to pull her body weight with just her arms. She is saying dada. Justin says she has been saying it for a couple weeks, but I wasn't believing him because I'd only heard her say dadadadadad, which is just babble -- until one day he was gone to the store and Someone pulled up outside and slammed the car door. Avery looked out the window and said, "Dada?" in the most inquisitive tone. It was unmistakable and so so cute.
OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: She has this new big smile where she scrunches up her nose and smiles really big.

EATING: We are re-introducing foods slowly after some serious gas and poop issues. So far, so good. 
SLEEPING: I can't tell if it's getting better, or we're just getting used to this new chaos. 
VISITS/OUTINGS: We have been sort of home-bodies this week, but the next few weekends we have lots of play=dates scheduled -- plus Easter!
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Avery likes to crawl as fast as she can to the fireplace and see if she can beat us there. We are always diligent, though, and she never wins. I can't wait until next week when we move and don't have to worry about her burning her hands on the hot fireplace.
MOMMY FEELS: ready to move. Our new apartment isn't ideal, but it has much of what we need and most of all more space. I think it will be a good move. 
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Easter and getting the new apartment all set up and having carpet for Avery to learn to walk without worrying about her cracking her head open on the hardwood floors.

Blogging about blogging?

I love to follow other mommy-bloggers and I have a few that I like especially. One of them is Labor Looks. They are always posting great commentary on all things mommy & baby and the parenting style is very similar to ours.

One of my favorite posts recently was a list of commonly made errors in car seat safety -- including pictures. I think it's incredibly important to be diligent when it comes to the safety of our kids, so I wanted to share.

New tricks

 Avery has all sorts of new tricks these days. Her latest one is pulling up and trying her best to cruise around the furniture. Luckily we are moving in a couple of weeks, so we will be replacing this hard coffee table with something a little softer and more learning-to-walk friendly.


Another awesome milestone she is working on is hugs and kisses. Right now she will just grab my head and shove her face into my collarbone.  If I ask for a kiss and pucker up my lips she will lean her face into mine. She doesn't quite "get" the whole using her lips thing so she just presses her open mouth wherever it lands on my face. This makes for a nice wet cheek, nose, chin, etc. Either way, it is the most amazing feeling. I can't believe the amount of love I have for this girl.

You may be seated

Since Avery is getting bigger she was getting too heavy for the infant carrier, so we got her new seats. In Justin's car we have the Britax Boulevard CS 70 and in my car we will have the Britax Marathon (in Cow-moo-flage!)

 Here she is sitting in the seat before I installed it.

On the way to Ikea. 

 Cute "Cow-moo-flage" print!

The new seats are more vertical than the infant seat, so that will take some getting used to, but she seemed to be able to fall asleep and sleep pretty well in it. My little girl is growing up!

Baby BBQ

Yesterday we barbequed outside and Avery got to play in our yard. She is such a doll. I loved watching her enjoy the fresh, albeit pretty cool, air and watching Lola run around.

 

She was not a fan of the cold grass on her hands.

She did, however, enjoy the breeze blowing her hair all over the place.

8 Months!

Excuse me while I take this moment to bawl my eyes out at the fact that my baby is 3/4 of a year old. 

:::::::::::::::::moment of hysterics:::::::::::::::::

We now resume your regularly scheduled blogging. 

 

THIS MONTH YOUR BABY MAY:

• "rake" small objects toward her and pick them up as her coordination skills and dexterity continue to develop Avery has been doing this for a while, but she is getting really good at it.
• clap and bang objects together as her muscle coordination improves She has discovered this within the last week or so. She thinks it's just hysterical to make as much noise as possible.
• use her arms to invite someone to pick her up If anyone gets within 5 feet she will reach up. She's not picky either. If you have arms she wants up.
• reach for the spoon when you feed her at mealtimes We have always let her attempt to use the spoon and she is getting a little better. She is best at things that are pretty "sticky" like cereal not runny like yogurt.
• turn away when no longer hungry This was one of the important cues we looked for to determine when she was ready to start solids, so she has been doing this since about 6 months.
• babble random consonants: "di, ba, ma" She definitely babbles and is getting very close to saying 'dada' -- although if you ask Justin she already says it multiple times a day.
• understand "no" (although your baby may understand the meanings of other words by now, the word "no" is key because she’ll also understand the actions she must take when hearing it) If she understands no she sure doesn't follow directions well. We redirect her attention each time we say no so that she learns what is expected when she hears the word, but so far she doesn't do it herself.
• understand a rough idea of "in" and "out" (the first instance of recognizing a spatial relationship) I have no idea how I am supposed to know if this is true.

• add tongue movement to change the sound of a word She is definitely exploring her tongue. She likes to see what it does and spends many minutes with it just hanging out of her mouth. Like this:

35 Weeks!

MONTH: 9
WEEK: 35
WEIGHT: 19+ lbs
LENGTH: 27.5+ inches
HEAD: covered in tons of hair which may or may not be turning strawberry blonde -- thanks, Dad. 
MILESTONES: She is getting so great at pulling up. She will be cruising pretty soon. I am so not ready.
OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: Avery is ready for baseball season as you can see in this photo with her giving the signal for a fastball.
EATING: We have had to regress with A's eating repertoire because of some digestion issues, but after a meal of prunes with gigi she is back to being regular and we will be reintroducing all the fun foods she is used to very slowly to make sure there isn't another reaction.
SLEEPING: We have not been having great sleep lately. She has become a very light sleeper and as of last night has started sleeping the first half of the night in her crib. This seems to have worked pretty well for her because she is not woken up by our tossing, but it is very sad for me to go to sleep with her in another room. I've even resorted to sleeping with one of her blankets as a place-holder. 
VISITS/OUTINGS: Sunday we had our great bike ride and dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Nunley, Aunt Stacy and Uncle Trevor. This Saturday we are going to try and visit a friend of mine. 
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Avery loves to try and see if she can get to the carbon monoxide monitor faster than we can. It's become sort of a game. It's like she knows she is not supposed to play with it, but tries anyways.

MOMMY FEELS: Pretty tired. I was getting used to the sleeping through the night snuggled up with my babe all night. I guess it was too good to last though. 
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Moving into a new, bigger place with air conditioning and carpet. C'mon April 21st!!!

Thanksgiving in April

Grandma Nunley invited us for Thanksgiving in April because she had a turkey in the freezer and needed space. Avery can't have turkey yet, but we gave her some mashed potatoes and green beans. She loved them.

Sunny Sunday

This weekend we finally got a bike trailer so we could take A with us on bike rides. After putting it together on Saturday night I put her in it to see if she would like it. She was so excited.

After a difficult experience trying to attach the trailer to the bike, we finally got it all set up and we were off. It was pretty cold, so A was all bundled up. Here we are all set to go.

We rode from our house (near Imola) to J's parent's house (near Salvador) and back. It was just over 6 miles each way and took us about an hour and a half to one direction. Once we were there we ate the sandwiches we had picked up at the deli across the highway and Avery took a quick nap. Then we were off again. By the time we got going again it was about noon and getting warmer. This made us realize we really should have brought her a sun hat and that we need to get a sun shade for the trailer.

Because we didn't want her to be in the sun too long we took quite a few stops and played in the grass. Here she is playing in the shade about half way home. She was not sure of the way the grass felt on her legs, but it was pretty cute watching her try to figure out what it it was.

Once we got home and rested for a while we got ready to go back to J's parent's house for Spring Thanksgiving. Grandma Nunley decided to BBQ the turkey she had in the freezer so we had a spring version of Thanksgiving. It was awesome. Even A thought so. She devoured the mashed potatoes, and green beans. Photos and video to come soon!

Teeth!

I was finally able to get a picture of Avery's first two teeth. They popped last weekend and she is wasting no time making god use of them!

(You may need to click the photo to make it bigger to see the teeth)

Silly Girl

After dinner last night Avery was having a blast just chatting it up.

34 weeks!

MONTH: 8
WEEK: 34
WEIGHT: My best guess is 19lbs+
LENGTH: 27.5 in+
HEAD: 17in+
MILESTONES: Avery has started pulling herself up in her crib. It's officially time to lower it. We don't want her flinging herself out of it!
OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: Taken today, at 34 weeks 3 days because my camera has been on the fritz. I think it's time for an upgrade. As you can tell she is not a fan of sitting still for a photo. She saw something behind me and wanted it now.
EATING: This week Avery tried Broccoli, YoBaby Yogurt, & cucumber. She is a big fan of broccoli and even though it does give her gas she is a champ at getting those toots out and they don't seem to bother her too much.
SLEEPING: Avery has never been a champion napper for everyone else because all I ever hear from those who watch her while we're at work is how she is so good for never sleeping, but when I am home, she takes at least two one hour naps. Maybe I'm just boring. :-(
VISITS/OUTINGS: Since the weather has been nice out we having been taking lots of walks. Also, since it's Spring Break for the elementary schools Courtney's brother and sister have been playing with Avery on the days Courtney has her. Courtney's brother, Jojo, loves playing with Avery and even gave her one of his toys. 
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Avery loves playing with other kids, so she has really enjoyed having Jojo and Gracie to play with.
MOMMY FEELS: anxious to finally figure out where we are going to move. We are just at our limit as far as space. 
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Still finding a new bigger place. We have something that may be in the works, so we are just crossing our fingers that it works out!

Chompers!

One thing that has made trying new foods a little easier is her two brand spanking new teeth! it started Thursday with a runny nose (a teething symptom) and by Friday she was full-blown teething. She was clearly uncomfortable, but it wasn't something a little Tylenol and a frozen teething toy couldn't handle.

Then overnight the two bottom, middle teeth finally popped through and Saturday morning she woke up happy as a clam. Over the weekend I tried multiple times to take a photo, but she was not having any part of it. So, here are my sad attempts and capturing this milestone.

My little foodie

Avery has become quite the foodie. Of all the foods she has tried she really only dislikes one: sweet potatoes. Recently she has tried a few new things including pancakes, broccoli and peach YoBaby yogurt. She has loved all of them, especially the yogurt.

33 weeks!

MONTH: 8
WEEK:  33
WEIGHT: 19+ lbs
LENGTH:  27+ in
HEAD: 17+ in
MILESTONES: Avery officially has teeth coming in. We can see little white bumps and all. Now we just wait for them to pop through -- please hurry!

OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: Taken today at 33 weeks 1 day because Wednesday night she was in no mood to take a photo.
EATING: Avery has tried all kinds of new foods lately. She is digging pancakes and when all else fails with a new food, she will always eat green beans. Hopefully that means she will have better eating habits than J and I. 
SLEEPING: We officially put away the Pack N' Play. We are now bed-sharing 100% and I love it. She always ended up in our bed anyways, so why even bother? She will probably make the transition to her own room when (and if) we move -- maybe.
VISITS/OUTINGS: We haven't gone anywhere special but A got to meet a friend, M, yesterday. M is the daughter of an old friend of Justin's and is 3 months younger than her. A wanted so badly to play with M, but A is not too fond of sharing, so that didn't last long.
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: A loves to see how close she can get to the carbon monoxide monitor that is in the hallway before we turn her away and distract her with something else. We are very careful not to let her get to it because that sucker is loud when it goes off.
MOMMY FEELS: tired. I have been really tired the last couple days, so I can't wait for Saturday. 
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Immediately we are looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday morning but we are also looking forward to nice weather so we can go out and play with A in the sunshine. 

Let's play catch-up!

Here are some photos from our adventures the last few weeks:

Avery definitely has a tooth coming in and 

will chew on anything and everything she 

can get her hands on!

 Avery loves to look at herself in the mirror

we put in her crib, the mirrored closet doors

in her room or really any mirror she passes by.

 We tried toast the other day. She was not

too big a fan. I think it was because the 

toast is too "scratchy". Next time I'll try 

not toasting it so much.

I figure being as white as I am I have to be

at least a little bit Irish, so we got this shirt at

Babies R Us for $1. She is already puckered up!

32 Weeks!

MONTH: 8
WEEK: 32
WEIGHT: 18.5+ lBS 
LENGTH: 27+ in
HEAD: 17+ in
MILESTONES: Avery has learned to sit up from laying down all by herself! She's been sitting unassisted for almost a month, but she had to be put there. Now she can get from laying down to sitting up all by herself!
OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: Taken today - 2 days late. Believe it or not this was the best photo of the batch. She wanted nothing to do with sitting in the chair. This was her just before she almost leapt out of the chair. Luckily it is a fairly deep chair so she did not end up on the floor!
EATING: Avery only tried one new food this week. She had toast on Tuesday and did not seem to like it. I think it might have been too "scratchy". We'll try again in a few weeks.
SLEEPING: Avery has slept in her Pack N Play almost the whole night the last three nights. While on the one hand it's nice to have space to roll over and move around, I miss having her to snuggle up with. Plus I am up every hour peeking over at her to make sure she is okay. One of the nights I checked on her and she was sleeping face down with her cute little tushy up in the air. It was adorable, but I still had to put her back on her back so I could sleep better.
VISITS/OUTINGS: Avery spent the day at Courtney's house today playing with Joe Joe and Gracie. She loves playing with them and from what I can tell they love playing with her too.
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Avery loves trying to get everywhere by herself. She is getting so fast so we have to really keep an eye out. Luckily we baby-proofed last weekend, so it gives me just an extra second of reaction time.
MOMMY FEELS: Cramped. We.need.more.space!
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO: finding a house with more space.