7 months

7 months.... a week late!

I say it every month, and I'll say it yet again.... our little girl is growing way too fast! These past 7 months have been so incredible and every day we are amazed at how much Avery changes. Have there been difficult times in the past 7 months? Absolutely. Especially in the nursing department.... but my frustrations are so easily forgotten when our little girl looks up at me with those big blue eyes and sweet toothless grin. Chris and I are both loving this stage and every day we fall more and more in love with Avery. We have been so incredibly blessed and our cup overflows!

Avery at 7 months:
-you had your first ear infection
-you are rolling all over the place
-you have the most infectious laugh
-you can't crawl yet, so you roll yourself back and forth and gradually inch your way to the place or object you want to be near.
-you love to sleep on your tummy
-you are still the most content, laid back baby ever
-you love Bailey and try to interact with her more every day
-you have mastered sitting by yourself and are learning how to lunge yourself forward onto your hands- though you still face plant quite a bit. We have no doubt you will be crawling soon.

trying to crawl- notice the bottom in the air and her face on the ground... 

trying to push off with her leg- again, bottom in the air and chest and head still on the ground...

trying......



-you are currently still taking two long naps and one catnap during the day, but I think you are about ready to drop that catnap....
-you actually jump in your jumperoo now and love it!
-you hold your arms up when we go to pick you up
-you now eat an entire gerber pack (about 2.5 oz) twice a day- yummy!
-when you get bored you lay your head down and suck your thumb, only for 30 seconds or so, before you continue whatever it is that you were doing... but that is your way of letting us know you are bored and ready to move on.

-you no longer need to bathe in your bath sling... you can sit up like a big girl!!

-you are wearing size 3 diapers
-you wear 6-9 month clothing (and the occassional 3-6 month dress)


 Avery, we love you!!!!! Happy 7 months, baby girl!

I guess it was time...

Sweet little Avery will be 7 months next week and has never been sick.... until now. She woke up really congested on Sunday morning and it has grown progressively worse. Tuesday she developed a cough and by Wednesday she was fussy, coughing, sneezing and had snot all over the place. So, I took her to the Dr. this afternoon and sure enough, she has her first ear infection.  We have to give her an antibiotic for 10 days, but on the bright side, she isn't contagious! I just feel so bad for her...The poor girl is absolutely miserable and not herself at all. I do have exciting news about her doctor appointment... she now weighs 15 lbs 6 oz!! She has gained 1 lb in the last month thanks to all of those solids and a continuation of nursing!! :)

It's obvious she doesn't feel well since this is how I found her during play time this morning. 

6.5 months

Yes, I blogged two weeks ago about all of the things Avery was doing at 6 months, but she is growing and changing every day and I don't want to forget the new things she is learning at 6.5 months!

--May 7th- rolled from her back to her tummy! She has been working on this for months now and she finally figured out how to do it! This is how I found her when I went to wake her up Saturday morning....

Two days went by before she rolled herself over again and it happened during one of her nap times. She would roll onto her belly and try to roll herself back onto her back but would only roll towards the bumper, causing her to get really frustrated. She would cry, I would roll her back onto her back and five minutes later she was back on her tummy crying. This went on for 20 minutes.... I was so worried that this week would be miserable trying to let her CIO (cry it out) and get used to sleeping on her belly. Thankfully, our 20 minute "game" only lasted for those 20 minutes! She hasn't given us any troubles at all!

Apparently she LOVES to sleep on her tummy now!

--Now that she can roll over to her tummy she can find her paci while in her crib and put it in her mouth
--She is really doing great with sitting up on her own and rarely topples over anymore
--She can reach and play with the mobile on her swing
--She is making new sounds and I know she is working on forming a word... maybe "mama"??? hehe.
--Most of her solids end up in her mouth rather than all over her mouth. She is getting the hang of eating!
--May 8th- her first time sitting in a high chair at a restaurant! (Picture to come!)
--Avery is still nursing!!! I seriously cannot believe that I've made it 6.5 months! Way to go us! :)

A visit from the Howell's

Jordan and Kim came back to Florida for a visit last week! Well, Jordan was here for work and they turned it into a family vacation, which made us SO excited!! Chris and I were in a small group with Jordan and Kim last year and they quickly became some of our best friends. Not only were we in small group together, but Kim and I were also pregnant with just one month separating our due dates. Adalynn was born on September 23 and Avery was born on October 25th. It was so much fun going through our pregnancies together and having someone else to talk to through those 9 months.... and the months to follow.... :) Sadly, the army stationed Jordan in Washington just one month before Kim's due date and we had to say good-bye to our friends.

...Kim and me two days before she and Jordan moved across the country...

(This picture was taken at my shower just one month before miss Adalynn was born and two months before Avery was born.)

The four of us have kept in touch and this past week we were finally able to get our baby girls together for the first time! Of course, we took about 1000 pictures of our sweet little girls. They love each other and are definitely BFF's!! :)

....Avery and Adalynn's first meeting....

....I just love me some baby feet....

....they interacted with each other right away....

....Adalynn trying to figure out Bailey....

....Tuesday night we went to dinner at the Back Porch in Destin....

...Adalynn sitting up like a big girl in her high chair...

....Jordan gave Adalynn a mohawk....

...Auntie Kim and Avery...

.... sweet little Adalynn....

...Best Friends Forever....

....the dads and their little girls....

Wednesday morning Avery and I went to the hotel where Jordan and Kim were staying. We were hoping to hang out at the beach, but it was cold and windy so we settled for the indoor pool. This was Adalynn's first time in a pool and she did great! Both girls were kicking and splashing and having a grand ole time! I'll have to steal Kim's picture of the girls "swimming" since I didn't get one with my camera.

On Thursday we had Jordan, Kim and Adalynn over for dinner just like the good ole days. It was so much fun watching the girls play together!

....after Avery was born Jordan sent her this onesie- we are so glad he got to see her wear it!...

.... Uncle J and Avery wearing her Uncle J onesie....

...the girls always went for each other's eyes- here is a great action shot of Avery getting Adalynn... (click on the picture to enlarge it for a better view!! haha!)

{Sorry Adalynn!!!!}

...Adalynn learning to crawl (or hop) her way to Avery... (video to come later)

...sweet friends....

....the mama's and their babies...

....saying good-bye... :(

Jordan and Kim, we are always talking about how sad we are that you don't live here anymore. We miss you both and are so thankful to have you in our lives. We loved getting to meet little miss Adalynn last week - she is absolutely adorable!! It was so much fun seeing our little girls play together.... next time they will be crawling/running all over the place and we'll spend most of our time chasing them around! haha! We are planning our trip out West to see you all hopefully sometime sooner rather than later. We love you both and had a blast last week! Thanks for being such wonderful friends- we are so thankful for you!

Sarasota Beach wedding

I have to brag for just a minute.... the drive from our house to Sarasota is 8 hours and I have to tell you that Avery did absolutely FABULOUS being strapped in her carseat for such a long period of time. She hardly fussed at all and is such a great little traveler. We have learned to be flexible with her schedule and she adapts very well. I love her laid back, content and happy personality.

she slept holding her foot like this for quite a while... so funny!

{hanging out at the hotel pool in Sarasota!}

...exhausted...

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Jake Toomer who just got married on Sunday, May 1st! The wedding was on the beach in Longboat Key, FL and though it was HOT and we were surrounded by love bugs, it was absolutely beautiful. I love barefoot beach weddings! After the ceremony, we went to the reception and enjoyed the coctail hour while the wedding party stayed at the beach to take pictures. Everything was so perfect! The bride, Libby, lookedgorgeous and we could not be happier for she and Jake. (Libby and Chris were in grad school together at MCG and Libby is one that we have kept in touch with since they graduated two years ago.) We have enjoyed watching her and Jake get to know each other and grow in their relationship.

We made a little road trip out of the wedding weekend and brought my parents along as babysitters since we were not taking Avery to the wedding. I've never been to Sarasota and I must say that I fell in love with the area. It's so beautiful down there! Sarasota is not far from Anna Maria Island, where Chris grew up vacationing. His Granddad built a house on the island back in the 80's (I think) and every year the Ireland's would spend a week or two of their summer vacation with their Granddad. Sadly, his Granddad sold the place just a few months after Chris and I started dating, so I was never able to visit. This weekend we drove by the house and Chris was able to show us a little bit of his past. Unfortunately, the new owners were not home, but Chris was able to show us the outside of the house. It was so great seeing his face light up and to see how excited he was to be back at that house. He has so many wonderful memories at that place and he loved being able to share some of those with us.