Avery: March and April 2010

So I decided to share a bunch of pictures from the past month that I've loved. But first let me tell you a few things about Avery lately:

1. She got a contact rash that sent us back to the ped. this week for a looksie, and while we were there, we had a chance to see where we're at in the whole weight gain thing. Not so good. Three weeks in and lost an ounce. We've got a lot of work to do before next Friday's follow up appointment...

2. Avery can sign "more" now! She is so smart!

3. We've had 4 nights in a row of Avery being semi-conscious when I put her into her crib after nursing to sleep... and 4 nights in a row of Avery relaxing into her crib and going into a deep sleep from there with no complaints. Hallelujah.

4. Avery got to experience lots of new foods this week: watermelon rinds (they still had a bit of melon on them), mandarin oranges (video coming soon), and dippin dots ice cream, hot dog bites, and dorito bits from the Sweetwater 420 Festival yesterday (photos to come later).

5. Avery walks so well now. We are continually pleased by how good she is at her new skill and constantly in awe of our baby. Isn't everyone?

6. It's possible that (though we just started taking decent naps) we're already shifting to one long nap a day. She's recently had a number of 2+ hour naps in the past couple of weeks.

7. Avery, Finn the dog, and I have begun taking more regular walks. We all want to get out more.

Enough for now... let's get on to the pics! Have a great Sunday, Everyone!

Avery loves her Daddy.

Avery's new favorite way to sit on things:

Avery loves her Corduroy bear, baby dolly from Grandma and Grandpa, and her toddler rocking chair.

We love time outside on our blanket with our toys.

Fun with Daddy

Our Sweet Little Dolly Playing With Bubbles

Jim, Mom, Avery, Ed, and I at McKendrick's (Yum!) It was Avery's first time in a booster seat, too.

The one time I managed to get her to leave her sunglasses on long enough for me to take a picture:

What a sweet girl.

One of her current favorite things to do: climbing in and out of her basket.

One Tired Baby

Another favorite thing right now - the big bag full of cosmetics Grandpa gave Mommy for Christmas. (Mommy decided to put Ave's inside it for a change!)

Look at those chubby cheeks! How can anyone say she needs to fatten up!?!

Avery climbing into our clean laundry basket. (Doesn't she look super-imposed!?!)

Another new way to enjoy her Pooh Choo-Choo from Nana and Papa Jim:

I love this picture (and Avery loves her dolly).

See? Avery cuddling with her baby doll:

We just put up her swing on our front porch. She is really enjoying it right now.

This is an outfit that Aunt Cheryl and Ashlyn picked out for Avery. Too cute!

My adorable girl giddily greeting us in the kitchen.

This is Amy, Griff, and baby Bella on their special day in which Bella's adoption was official. Yay!

Pretty Bella

Avery's not so sure about being carried this way...

A few pics from the day we met Dusty, Kelly and Liam for lunch and some play in the park:

Avery's first big bruise from a fall (sadly, the one on her forehead was already there; but the long line on her cheek happened when she got too excited walking to meet Daddy after coming home from work and hit the corner of the wall):

Using the sign for "more" to get more watermelon:

I hope you've all enjoyed these pics from our last month as much as I do. Be on the lookout for more soon. You know I can't help myself (if you could only see how many pictures I have in my Picasa account!).

Taking Advantage of the Situation

Mommy was giving Avery her daily bath before bedtime tonight.

Avery was tired, so Mommy wasn't going to have her stay in the bath long.

But Avery was making it a little more difficult because she really wanted to sit at the opposite end of the bath from Mommy.

She even leaned against the wall of the tub for a few seconds, which was kind of cute, but another sign that Mommy needed to get her out (clearly a sign of how tired she was).

Then Avery moved a little closer to Mommy (almost within reach to rinse the shampoo out of her head), stopped, and got a certain telling look on her face.

Uh-oh.

Trying to think fast, Mommy's arms swooped in and attempted to lean her back to rinse her hair.

Too late.

Mommy wasn't sure what to do because it looked like Avery still had work to do. Then Daddy came in and had a idea.

Daddy sat Avery onto the toilet and let her finish her business there.

Ta-da!

(P.S. You know your life has been profoundly changed when this story is blog-worthy.)


Avery's Re-Wash (and 1st Bath in Our Kitchen Sink, Too):

Avery's 2nd Easter

Okay, so I'm a few days late in posting these, but, as promised, here are our Easter photos from Sunday. We had a lovely day that began leisurely at home. Avery was interested in her basket immediately. I'm honestly not sure which she liked more: the organic puffs, the intriguing slinky, the plastic hollow eggs, or the empty slinky box! 

After Ed cooked us breakfast and we got ready, we drove to Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Winship's horse farm to celebrate the holiday with family. There, she received more baskets, got to enjoy some tasty food, went on her first Easter egg hunt (sort of... she was kind of confused by the whole ordeal), and was able to see horses up-close for the first time. As is always the case with Avery, Ed and I enjoyed every second of it. And we definitely can't wait to take her back to the farm as she grows so she can develop a fond appreciation of horses (and of riding them, hopefully). 

Hope you all had a lovely day as well and that your week is passing by fast. (As for me, I've had a big week already: I can't even remember Monday, but yesterday was Mom 'N Me group, today was a really big day for the Nichols' family as Bella's adoption was finalized and Avery and I were fortunate enough to attend, tomorrow is an UnBirthday Party with Mom 'N Me friends, Friday will consist of a lunch with Shelly, and all three of us are having lunch with the Dorins on Saturday. [Sunday is for rest!] I try really hard not to plan so much for Avery and I during one week because it's important to me to keep her in and on schedule for as much, if not more, than we're out, but this week is special. And if she seems not so into going out tomorrow, we'll certainly skip the playdate.) But I do need to update you all on her latest pediatric opthamologist appointment, and I'd like to post some pics from Bella's Big Day today, so be prepared for another post this week. Until then, have a great rest of the week!