Avery 16 months

I thought I would keep the blog up a lot better than I have. We have had many great adventures in the last few months. Avery is getting her molars. She has been pretty good about them. The biggest way we tell is she has her fingers in her mouth all the time. She is also starting to run. And as a result, she has had some great bumps and bruises. Slow down kid!

The three of us have been down to Disney a few times. Avery is now at the age where she can really enjoy it. We spend a good amount of time at Magic Kingdom and she loves the rides. We haven't gone to see characters yet, so that one will be interesting.

Avery is getting much more independent. She wants to put her clothes on and feed herself. She goes on food strike if we try to help. She pretty well understands all the commands we say "bring me your shoes please", "please shut the drawer", "bring me your ball", "please hold my hand", etc. It has been really fun to see the quick change to her being able to understand us. She is starting to use a few more words.

She is a really happy kid, yes she does have her great tantrums at times too. Thankfully they don't last long and are not very regular. Watching her explore all the new things around her is a lot of fun!

At Buzz Light Year (not a great picture)

Bath time, too cute not to share!

Avery loves to sit in the cat beds

Family picture from 4th of July

Loving yogurt!

 

A Year Old

I have been really bad about updating our blog. The biggest news is Avery turned one! We had a great celebration, Mary came from New York and all the grandparents celebrated with us. She really wasn't too sure of the cake to start with, but then decided she loved it. Takes after her mom!

We also had fun at Easter. Avery actually took her basket around and collected eggs. It was fun.

We went to Disney for a few days and she experienced a pool for the first time. She loves the water!

Avery is now a pro at walking, in fact she has started to pick up the pace and tries running, sometimes trips. She is saying about 4 words rather regularly. She babbles up a storm and tells us stories all the time. She is also really good at imitating things we do.

Enjoying birthday cake!

All dressed up for her birthday

11 months

No, really, where is the time going?!? I can't believe Avery is already 11.5 months. She is one awesome kid and loved by many. She now prefers to walk over crawl. She still gets really proud every time she walks. It is funny to watch. This month she gave me my first "welcome home from work" greeting by walking to me instead of crawling. She also is starting to give hugs. Avery walks over with her arms out and if we crouch down, she wraps her arms around us and moves in. Adorable! Makes us smile. Avery is still a great eater, haven't really found anything that she doesn't love. A new found hobby of hers is taking things out of the drawers or bags and tossing them on the floor. We have created a drawer for her in the kitchen that has bibs in it so she can do this till her heart is content. Avery is loving the cats more and more each day. She really enjoys hanging out with them and squeals every time one comes into view.

Tom's dad made the move down to Gainesville from California. He is staying with us while he transitions and finds a place of his own. He seems to be loving it.

I keep up with a group of moms who bonded through the hospital I delivered at. The hospital had luncheons for new moms. Our babies are all within 2-3 months of each other. We had a big 1st birthday party at the beginning of March. 30 babies! It was a ton of fun and so glad we are all still in contact after a year.

Birthday party fun!

                                         

Spending time with Pop Pop

 Enjoying time with Aunt Laura and Uncle Justin, along with Grandma and Grandpa

A great looking little family!

Avery doing one of her favorite activities with Easter candy.

Being cute!

Month 10 and the Disney Half Marathon

This month was extra busy! Justin, Laura, Chris (Laura's brother) and Danielle (Chris' wife) all came down to visit. The girls all ran the princess half marathon. We had a great time and of course ran in tutus. I could actually walk and do Disney afterwards! Avery enjoyed time with her aunt and uncle!

Avery is continuing to amaze us each day. She is taking "steps" now. I say it with quotations because she scoots her feet two or three times and then falls down. I don't count it as walking yet! She also waves hi and bye really well and can point at all sorts of stuff. She says "ba ba" which we think is for bye bye. She is also saying "ma ma" more and "da da" with direction. So fun! Avery is a master at eating. I seriously think she would weigh a lot more if we just kept feeding her until she was done. She eats anything we put in front of her. Her favorites are: blueberries, homemade chicken nuggets, green beans, and peas.

Tom takes Avery to a gym for kids twice a week. It is called Stay and Play. There are a lot of different activities she gets to do. Avery loves going!

Half Marathon Pictures

The line for the out houses!

Fun in Disney

Avery now has enough hair to have fun with!

We now get our workout in going up the stairs several times a day!

Enjoying Stay and Play

9 months

We had a great holiday season this year! I can't believe Avery's first Christmas has come and gone. It was a blast. She enjoyed many great gifts. We started a tradition with her called her "Night before Christmas Box" which we fill with small things she opens on Christmas Eve. Hopefully she will love it until she is 18! She did great with the tree. We created a little gate that she couldn't get over. She was fascinated by the lights. Our visit with Santa was a hit. She stared at him for a long time. No tears! Avery is starting to cruise the furniture, she has been pulling up to stand for about a month now. I am sure those first steps aren't too far off. We are now up to three solid meals a day. She is quite the eater. The only food she doesn't seem to like is eggs. I think it is a texture thing. Avery had her first sleep over at Grandma and Grandpa's. It went great. We definitely missed her more than she missed us!

With Santa

So many great presents!

Opening her "Night before Christmas" Box

With Grandma and Grandpa on Christmas Day!

Staring at the Christmas Tree!

Avery enjoying nose kisses with Grandma!

 Just being cute!