Wow, It's Been A While

I know it's been forever since we've posted anything, but it's been a busy few weeks for us. I'll try to give you as brief a synopsis as possible. (BTW: I'm still not sure if the photos will appear, so if they don't, that's why there are references to pics that aren't there.)

After we got back from visiting Avery's Great Grandma Shirley and attending her Nana's wedding, we finally went to Reagin Optometric Group so the office could meet Avery. It was sometime during that trip that we lost my phone. This was very upsetting for me, as it had unposted photos of Avery from when she was born. (We also don't have a home phone line, so it was quite inconvenient.) After driving myself crazy looking for it for an entire week (and making three more trips out to the practice to search there as well), we saw online that someone had found it and began using it as their own.

Here is a photo of the generations from our first trip to the office:














At the end of that week, my mom called to tell me that Grandma Shirley's battle with cancer would soon be over. After a long night of not sleeping, I took Avery into bed with me and prayed at 4:00 am for Grandma's safe passage and for my aunts to find peace, then drifted off to sleep. An hour later, my mom called with the news that Grandma had passed away. She was a strong woman who lived a life that was quite difficult at times; and yet despite her hardships, she managed to raise 8 amazing daughters and 1 son, creating a family full of love that all of us are proud to call our own.

In order to attend the funeral, Avery and I flew out to Florida on that Sunday, and Ed drove to meet us the next day. Here is a photo of us on Avery's first flight:















Even though the reason for the trip was very sad, it was so great to visit with more of the family. I haven't seen some of my cousins in many years, so we had a good time visiting. Many in my generation are having kids now, and there ended up being five of my Grandma's great grandbabies present. Here is a picture of them with their mommies:




















The funeral was lovely. My aunts did a great job planning it and my uncles' words were so heartfelt. It was nice to see how many people's lives my Grandma touched.

Before we all left, we took this family photo at Aunt Nancy's house:














After we got back from Florida, we had a spend-the-night party with Amy and Griff at their lake house, and Avery rolled over from her tummy to her back for the first time. She had also just started being able to be propped up against pillows and sit unsupported (however briefly). Here's a cute photo of her doing that at Amy's:















That weekend, we also drove to Georgetown, GA, for Mimi's dad's 80th birthday party. It seemed like Mimi and Pop had a great time introducing their little granddaughter to everyone.

Since they'd been asking for a photo of Avery, I took a slew of great pictures of her before we went and printed this one off (she looks different with a closed smile and without her double chin, doesn't she? No worries though, it's still there!):















This past weekend was another full one. We went to Dusty and Kelly's on Saturday night for dinner. It was the first time that the six of us had been together since we were in the hospital with Avery and Liam. We ended staying the night and had a great time visiting. Ed and I both agree that we should do that more often.

And then there was Father's Day. I hope I was able to make Ed's first one as good as he made my first Mother's Day. Originally, I had been thinking about making him breakfast, but since we were at Dusty and Kelly's, Ed ran out and brought back a dozen hot Krispy Kreme doughnuts instead. Yum! Once we were home, I gave Ed cards from Avery and I as well as his gift from her (a family figurine with a mom, dad, and baby from the Willow Tree Collection). For my gift to him, he has an open invitation to fund any one of a number of home improvement purchases he's been wanting to do. That night, he taught me how to make steak and assisted me in making him dinner (I don't cook, so this is a big deal). It was tasty.

Before we cooked, I took 'Daddy and Avery' photos to commemorate the day. We got a number of good ones, but this is my favorite:




















Tomorrow we take Avery back to the pediatrician for her second round of shots. As you can imagine, I am truly dreading this. Despite all the obvious reasons why it's a good thing, I have yet to hear one that makes me feel any better about doing something that makes her cry the way it does. Hopefully it won't last until 9:00 pm like it did the last time. That was heartbreaking.

Well, I simply cannot type anymore. I hope this was sufficient as an update. I'm sure there is so much more, but this was already too long for my taste. Hope you all have a good rest of the week.