Avery at 4 months

It seems like every time I pick up my cute Avery, I just look at her and think about how greatful I am to have her in my life. I am so happy that The Lord trusts Chris and I to raise his precious little angel. She has been a pretty happy baby for the most part and is now all smiles. I feel like a little kid in that I just want to squeeze her because she is so cute. She still doesn't take good naps during the day but will sleep 10 hours through the night. I am still nursing and am so proud of myself; I honestly didn't think I would be able to last this long after going back to work. Nursing is actually getting much easier. As you can see from the pictures, Avery is an extremely good eater. Avery rolled over from her tummy to her back in November but we think it was by complete accident. She rolled over purposely yesterday and has been moving around like crazy. She is such a curious little girl. When I am nursing her and working on my computer she always has to look to see wha I am doing. She started a new game where she will be nursing then will look up at me until I look at her then she will go back to eating again. I tried to ignore her to see if that would stop her but she will continue to look at me until I look down. She is grabbing and reaching for things even Maggie's fur and suprisingly Maggie doesn't mind. We think she just started teething because she is so slobbery, chews on everything and I can feel a little tooth starting. I think it might be a little early for her teeth to come in though.

Here is a picture of her first trip to see Santa and her December monthly pictures

Avery at Three Months

We had family picuters done the other day. Avery did pretty well but go tired towards the end. I am so greatful for the Bjorklunds for doing this for us.

Things Avery loves at 3 months:

*loves to be held and cuddle

*loves to go for a walk with Maggie in the Bjorn carrier so she can look around

* loves the bath. she stares at herself in the mirror the whole time. (I put the bath tub on the bathroom counter in front of the mirror)

*loves watching TV especially football.

*loves to put her entire fist in her mouth.

*loves to watch the lights and butterflies dance while in her swing.

*loves her play mat and grabs at all the toys and holds them and looks at herself in the little portable mirror

* loves to listen to her mommy and grandma sing to her.

*loves dance time with mommy

*loves to be tickled under her arm pits. she just giggles & wiggles, it is so cute.

*loves belly time for about 2 minutes, then she hates it but getting better.

*loves binky & booby

*loves to talk especially in the morning. she wakes me up talking to here mobile above her bed.

*loves daddy daughter time while I'm at work.

*loves to blow out of her diaper. (thank goodness I discovered oxyclean, thanks Sunny)

* I wish I could say she loves her picture taken but that's not the case.

milestones:

*Avery is getting so big and fat I can't believe it. I went to visit my friend who has a one week old baby and I was a little jealous of his neck. I have to search deep to find Avery's neck. She gets crud in her folds and it gets so red and raw I feel so bad.

She got her first cold two weeks ago, it was so sad listening to her try to breath with a stuffy nose. I hated suctioning the boogies and so did she but we had to do it.

She is doing so much better with tummy time. she was on her tummy for 20 min the other day! and is starting to like it.

She totally recognizes us and gets so excited to see her daddy when he comes home from a trip. Right now she is talking to Chris while he tells her about his trip it is the cutest dang thing. He says that they have little discussiongs when they have daddy daughter time while I'm at work. She is such a little chatter box maybe she will be like her mommy and grandpa and talk your ear off.

I can now set her down and she will entertain herself instead of wanting to be held 24/7 (yeah for me!). She was sleeping through the night for a while but is now waking up at 2am then 6am every night. I have gotten in the habit of feeding her in bed with my boppy pillow and falling asleep. I wake up two hours later and she is still in my arms and I am totally exposed to the world. I will set her back in her bed and she will wake up an hour later to eat again and the cycle continues. I don't think I have had a full 8 hours of straight sleep since she was born. It makes me really tired when I have to work a night shift.

She coos and giggles and smiles all the time and is starting to be ticklish under her arms.

I was holding her today and she was looking at me and then she put her hands all over my face as if she is inspecting me, it is so cute.

Her hair is totally rubbing off in the back making her look like a cancer patient. I sure hope her hair grows in soon, she looks funny. good thing she is a girl and can wear cute bows.

Who Invented the Sizes for Infant Clothing?

Seriously, who's in charge of sizing infant clothing?Is there some mass conspiracy to make parents feel as though their babies are much bigger than they actually are? I can argue about the same thing with womens clothing, but that is a whole other discussion.

I remember trying to figure out how old Avery will be at Christmas so I could buy infant clothing on sale when I was pregnant. It was only after she was born and nothing fit did I realize that the tags listed weight limits on the sizes. So I quickly learned that a “newborn” size was for under eight pounds, whereas a 0-3 month size was for children eight to fourteen pounds. We left the hospital thinking we had a lot of clothes for her to wear. But because she was so small (in comparison to her cousins), she didn't fit into the 0-3 month clothing that we got a ton of. We had to make a run to wall-mart to get newborn sizes (kind of hard to find sometimes btw).

On the other end of the spectrum, William, Avery's cousin, was born at a whopping 9 lb 9oz. The not-so-little man has never been able to fit newborn-sized clothing. I wanted to buy him cute outfits but couldn't figure out what size to get so I bought him socks that were folded like cupcakes. Scott was bumbed that they weren't real cupcakes, sorry buddy.

The problem with sizing does not just stop with newborn sizes. I don’t understand the sizing behind the 0-3 month infant clothing either. Who are these tiny three month olds? My princess just turned three months old this week, and she has been wearing three-month size clothing for almost a month now. In fact, I bought her a new 3 month size outfit a few weeks ago and it is already too small. She’s just too tall for these. I'm going to buy those extenters so she can wear her clothes longer. Who ever invented the extenders is a genious! I thought my baby was a small child; she measured in the 50th percentile at her two month well-baby checkup. So unless my she shot up to the 75th percentile in the last month or so, it seems that any clothing sized for “average” babies should fit her. They really make it hard for us women trying to buy clothes for ourselves and now our children. The men have it right; their clothes are sized according to their actualy measurements. All of this leads me to wonder, who sets these sizes for infant clothing and what criteria are they using??

Happy Halloween

Avery's first Halloween she dressed up as a Candy Carn. In fact we were all Candy Carn's. You can't really see Chris' costume but he has candy taped all over him. We were a big hit at the Mardesich neighborhood party. They had all the dads compete eating doughnuts off a string with no hands. Chris didn't do very well but it was fun to watch. Avery had a great time looking around at everyone. I wonder what was going on in her little brain as she saw all the costumes. I am so excited to have a baby during the holidays. It is so much more fun with kids. She doesn't understand yet but we can still have fun.

Dr. Appointment

Avery had her two month dr. appointment today for her two month check up. She weighed 11 lbs 12 oz. and 22 in long. She was in the 50%. She loved the noise the paper on the doctors bed made and was wriggling like crazy, it was so funny. She only cried for a minute when she got her shots then fell asleep. I took her to the store later today and had to stop in the parking lot of Smiths Market place to change her diaper twice and feed her once. She is making it a habit of getting hungry and making me feed her in parking lots. Her are the pictures of her playing and then daddy consoling her. I think it was harder on us then it was her.

about Avery at 2.5 months: She loves to smile, in fact, all you have to do is look at her. She is talking and is on the verg of laughing, I just love her little baby sounds. She is doing better with her tummy time and loves to look at herself in the mirror and stares at her mobile in her bed as well as the lights. She is holding her head up pretty well and can now sit in her bumbo chair. She loves loves loves to listen to singing. Im not very good at it but she still loves it anyway.

BACK TO WORK

Going back to work is bittersweet. It is so exciting to start a new job, expecially since I have the best job ever. I thought I was just going to work on the cardiac, renal and intermediate ICU but they want me to work the Med/Surg ICU and the Cardiac ICU as well as ER. I am super excited! I am going to get great experience. My job is super flexible and I only work 2 nights a week, which isn't that bad. My first day back was actually easier than I thought it would be. I cried when I got home but have been fine since. I think it was hard because Chris was supplimenting with formula and she SLEPT THROUGH THE ENTIRE NIGHT! How dare she do that when I am not around! I felt so inadequate like I was starving my baby, I missed her and I was also extremely exhausted after working a 12.5 hr night shift. At least she was sleeping because she wont miss me when she is asleep Hee Hee. I am glad she was good for Chris though. It is so hard getting back into the swing of things, I wish I could stay home forever. We do need to figure out the baby sitting thing. Lynne is our baby sitter but she went into the hospital last week so we didn't have anyone to watch her. Chris took time off work so I could get some sleep but I really didn't sleep. Who needs sleep anyway right?

Avery blessing 10-11-09

Avery's blessing was such a special day! Chris did a great job and Avery was so good. Chris said she fussed a little during the blessing but I didn't hear a peep. I can't believe that we even have this sweet angel. I am so thankful to have her in our lives. Avery had so many people that love her come to see her that Sunday and we are so greatful to everyone who came. Thanks to all those who brought food and thanks Diane for all your help. We are so grateful for everyones love and support. Avery is so blessed to have such great people around her.

The Adventures of Avery Jo

Since Avery is just a baby, her adventures aren't that interesting, but to her however, they are extremely exciting. For instance she takes a bath on the bathroom counter and stares at herself in the mirror while she enjoys me pooring warm water on her belly like she is at the spa.

We have been to the pool twice so far and there are many days to come. right now she just sits in her car seat. I can't wait to get her in the water and play. Look how cute her little swimsuit is.

08-21-09 This is my friend Kristi's wedding. We didn't have any dresses that fit so we bought one on the way up to the reception in Midway. she totally matches the wedding party. She is secretly Kristi's maide of honor, sorry Sunny and Ang, you've been bumped

08-28-09 My step mom's mother died and we took a baby to the funeral. now I know why people leave their babies at home. Avery pooped all over and there was no place to change her. then shr got hungry right when the funeral started. we tried to give her formula but she spit it all up then cried like crazy until we could thaw the breastmilk. once the funeral was over, she was an angel (figures). After the funeral we stopped to see Brooke and the kids.

Aunt Corrie loving to hold Avery.

9-05-09 I went to swiss days in Midway two days in a row. 1st I went with Sunny and Ty on Friday then on Saturday I took the picture of Avery in the peach orchard with the awesome buggy. After I got completely muddy, we had pictures at Kiddie Kandids and then drove up to Midway with my mom, Corrie, Corrisa and Taz. After that we went to the Outback Steakhouse for dinner. I didn't get home until almost midnight. It was a long tiring day. I think I fed Avery in the truck about 5 times.

Tummy time with Maggie 09-07-09. Avery doesn't like tummy time all that much but when she is on the floor, Maggie likes to lay down with her. notice how they are the same size. Can't wait to see what Maggie does when Avery starts to grab at her.

09-12-09 Wallace Sept birthday party. Grandma Carlla has a way of calmimg Avery. I think Avery looks like her.

9-13-09 Watching the 1st bears game of the season against the Packers with Daddy and Maggie. Chris has his girls well trained.

Hagging out on the boppy with Maggie

1st time boating. We went with Sunny and her Parents and Kristi and her new hubby Justin and of course Avery's boyfriend Ty.

9-23-09 Home with mommy while Chris is in Chicago. THis is my self portrait using the baby Bjorn so I can take Maggie out to pee. The week was horrible, Very cried the whole time. I wish I would have remembered I had the carrier when I went to my sewing class.

9-28-09 Avery's first trip to the canyon. Chris and I drove the Alpine Loop and had a pic nic

9-29-09 Dutch Oven dinner up AF canyon with the Burrup family. Avery loved being out in the fresh air.

Retirement

It is a sad day! Avery is growing out of her newborn clothes and diapers. I have officially put some of her newborn onsies into retirement. It is fun to dress her up in cute little outfits now instead of onsies all the time. Don't get me wrong, she is still teensy but definately getting bigger.

Ok since I haven't blogged in a while here is an update of Avery and our life together. Chris went out of town a few weeks ago leaving me home with Avery and Maggie. It was quite the treat trying to take Maggie out to go to the bathroom and take care of a screaming baby. For some reason Avery cried at the top of her lungs the entire day. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. I finally had to leave her in her swing and go take a shower. Then last Wed, I had a staff meeting to go to and then a sewing class. She did great at my meeting but at the sewing class she cried the entire time. I was so embarrassed. I was so excited to bring my cute little baby and show her off to everyone but instead I was mortified. Chris finally came home and I had to leave him alone with Avery for about 2 hours on Saturday while I took pictures for some highschool kids for their homecoming dance. and you guessed it Avery cried the entire time. We were so puzzled, why was she crying? Is she becomming a Colicky baby? Someone told me that if the baby crunches her tummy she has gas pains and if she arches and kicks she has acid reflux. Avery arches, kicks and then spits up a ton as well as fart so I am thinking she has gas bubbles and has acid reflux. Since our week from you know where, we have made an effort to burp her really well and sit her up after she eats and that has worked wonders.

On to better and brighter things. Avery is now holding up her head and smiling when we play and talk. She loves it when we touch her nose and mouth with her binkie and say "boop". Avery doesn't really like tummy time but we are working on it. If she has acid problems, tummy time might be a little hard. She loves to look at herself in the mirror and is grasping toys when we place it in her hand. She is now sleeping very well in the night. she wakes up about 3 in the morning like clockwork just like I did when I was pregnant. She is also starting to roll over. I'm not sure what age they really do that but she sure is moving around a lot. She had a hard time taking naps during the day previously but has been great this week. Every morning when we get dressed for the day we have dance time. I turn on the radio in her room and we dance. I am actually enjoying it and hope to make that our little thing we do in the morning. Here are some pics of her developments.

I promise to blog more often.

The sling/swing miracle

I discovered two of the best things in the world; the sling and the swing. I wish I would have thought to use these sooner. As soon as I put Avery in the swing she quieted right down. She sat there for about 2 hours just looking around until she fell asleep. Then I placed the extra tiny person in the sling and she slept and cooed for about another hour. It is harder to get her out of the sling than it was giving birth but at least she likes it.

Avery's Pool Debut

Avery made her first appearance at the Saratoga Springs Pool today. She just loved it I can tell. Okay so she just sat in her car seat the whole time and didn't even get her pinkie toe in the water. Maybe next time. She did look cute in her newborn swimsuit though.

A Girls Best Friend

We weren't quite sure how Maggie would react to the baby but it looks like she has made a new friend. When we first brought Avery home Maggie wasn't sure what to do. she followed us everywhere and was very curious especially when Avery cried. Now Maggie has to be where ever the baby is. As you can see from the picture, she is becoming more and more comfortable with the idea of Avery.