Mama

On January 27th, Avery said "mama." That was such a special moment for me!! To hear the voice of your precious little girl call you is just an awesome experience. It makes me sad that she is getting so big and growing up, but it also very inspiring to visualize her brain comprehending the sounds around her and formulating words.

Avery at 7 months!

Our precious "little" girl turned seven months old on January 18, 2013.  She is growing up so fast and developing into a smarty pants. She barely stays in one place long enough for us to take pictures anymore.  She has now moved on to the level two solids.  She has really enjoyed sweet potatoes and corn as well as the apricots and mixed fruit. Next on our list is macaroni and cheese-one of her mother's favorites.  She is officially crawling (as of January 26th), and she said "mama" on January 27th.  She also loves to pull up on stuff and chase after her big brother, Bailey.  She is changing so much daily. I feel like she is a sponge just soaking up every ounce of the world in her laid back and calm fashion. We love her so much!

One of her many funny faces

She is so attentive to details. 

Such a happy baby girl! 

This is her diva pose also known as the "daddy, picture time is over." 

Mommy Daughter Day

I had Monday off work, so Avery and I spent the day hanging out and having fun.  She is so much fun at this age.  She loves to play on the floor with her blocks, books, and toys.  She army crawls and loves to roll across the room.  We have noticed that she is trying to stand up in her bed too.  She also really enjoys playing with Bailey.  I cannot wait to see them together as she gets bigger. Just a few pictures from our mommy daughter day.

Smiling for the camera

Our mobile little one....watch out! 

Another First....Her First Tooth

So all day Sunday (January 20th), Avery was not in a good mood, just generally fussy and unhappy, which is not our "normal" girl.  She was also drooling everywhere. John and I assumed that she was teething, but we did not see any teeth peeking through her gums.  Then, it appeared on Monday morning.  I apologize for the picture, but it is quite difficult to get a 7 month old to hold her mouth open and her tongue out of the way for any duration of time.

The past six months....

Our precious little girl turns seven months old today!! It seems like just yesterday we were leaving the hospital to bring her home. Time flies by too fast!

Each month, we take pictures of Avery to capture how much she grows. Take a look at the last six months.

Jacob and Penny's Wedding

My brother, Jacob, and his fiance, Penny, got married on January 4, 2013 at our home.  It was such a sweet and simple ceremony. We are super excited to have Penny join our family.

Grandpa and Avery before the wedding.

Jacob and Penny's marriage license.

The happy couple!!

Our Little Jumper

Avery absolutely loves to jump up and down in her Johnny Jumper or in her Baby Einstein jumper as evidenced by the below video.

Avery at 6 months!

At her six month check-up, Avery weighed 16 pounds 10.5 ounces and measured 25 inches long.  Our little girl is getting so big!

Big brother, Bailey, is always checking up on Avery.

Avery at 5 months!

We are a little behind when it comes to posting new pictures of Avery.  So I am about to flood our blog and our shutterfly account with new pictures.  Hope you enjoy!

  

Photography

For Christmas, John and I purchased a new camera.  It is a Canon Rebel T3.  For us, it is super fancy and has a world of settings compared to the last camera we purchased in 2006 before we went on our honeymoon.  With Avery's arrival, we decided that we needed a new camera to document all of her firsts and her other average moments. John is a natural when it comes to learning photography.  I thought I would feature some of his "first" pictures.

I love this picture of Avery with the Christmas decor in the background.

Bottles, bottles, and more bottles----oh my!! This task is definitely not my favorite.  We wash all of Avery's bottles and bottle pieces as well as my pump pieces by hand each night!! John and I are both pretty methodical when it comes to organizing the "drying rack." By the way, Dr. Brown bottles have tons of pieces!

Another First-Solids

Around five months, we noticed that Avery started to demonstrate interest in food, mainly our food.  She would watch us eat intently and get fussy if we did not let her have any, which we did not so do not worry. We started her on rice cereal shortly thereafter. We fed her some rice cereal mixed with breast milk and then put the remainder in her last bottle at night.  She loved it!

Shortly after Avery turned six months old, we started real solids--veggies first. We initially tried sweet potatoes, then carrots, and squash.  Avery enjoyed all of them.  Then, we tried green beans and sweet peas.  Avery was not a fan of the green beans at all.  In fact, she had a melt down in her high chair until we just took her out.  We recently started her on fruits. She has enjoyed apples, pears, and bananas so far.

Lots of Firsts

Avery's first holiday season was marked with lots of firsts and fun!! Her "firsts" included her first bottle of formula, her first "acting" role, her first Christmas, her first word, her first snow, and her first New Years.

Avery's first experience with formula went relatively smoothly.  Actually, it went a whole lot smoother than expected. It was more difficult on momma than anyone else in the family.  But Avery is happily enjoying Gerber Goodstart formula in addition to momma's milk. 

Avery's first "acting" role was playing baby Jesus at John's church for the Christmas program.  Though she is a girl and bigger than a newborn, she did a great job! No crying or meltdowns. And yes, John and I played Mary and Joseph.  Minus the blonde hair and french manicure, we were a very convincing biblical family.

Avery's First Christmas was full of fun and toys!! She LOVES her horsey and red wagon as evident by the huge smile on her face!

Avery's first word occurred on December 26, 2012, a belated Christmas present for "dada."  John was beaming from ear to ear after hearing Avery call him.  Her little voice absolutely melted our hearts!!

Another first was Avery's first experience with snow.  I had secretly prayed for a white Christmas, but I never imagined that we would get a foot in some places. It was absolutely amazing!!! The snow started on Christmas Day and continued for another day.  We took Avery outside to enjoy her first snow on December 26th.  Like her mother, Avery does not enjoy cold weather; hence, she did not like the snow very much.

Avery also celebrated her first New Years-although, she did not stay up until midnight to officially ring in the new year-THANKFULLY!!!!

Avery at Christmas

While my parents were on Christmas vacation, they took Avery to get some Christmas pictures.  They turned out great!!

We also took Avery to meet Santa Claus.  She thought he was the most interesting figure.  I apologize--I could not get the pictures to rotate