Avery laughing while chasing Bailey Video

Avery LOVES Bailey and laughs anytime Bailey is near. I recorded this video for Christopher, but Avery's laughter just had to be shared with the rest of you. It truly is the best sound in the entire world!

A Charleston Wedding

My best friend, Courtney, got married this past weekend!!! The wedding was in Charleston, SC and was absolutely beautiful! Courtney was one of the most stunning brides I have ever seen and I am so incredibly happy for her and Alston. I am so thankful to have been by her side on the most special day in her life. She is an amazing friend and will be an amazing wife to Alston. The entire weekend was spectacular and I enjoyed every minute.

The drive from FL to Charleston is about 11-12 hours so we decided to split the trip and drive it in two days. Unfortunately, Chris couldn't take that much time off of work so on Wednesday Bailey, Avery and myself piled into my sister's car with my parents and sister, Amanda and began our roadtrip. We were packed in like sardines, but we made it work! Our plan was to spend Wednesday night in Douglasville with my in-laws. It was really the perfect stopping point as it is half way between home and Charleston. They were keeping Bailey for us for the weekend and we were going to drop her off so we decided we would stay the night. Unfortunately, my Great-Aunt passed away on Tuesday night so we made a pit-stop in Newnan so that my sister and I could pay our condolences since we were not going to make it to the funeral due to my bridesmaid's duties. It was great seeing family, but I wish the circumstances had been different. After visiting with my Great-Uncle and the family, we got in the car and drove the last hour to Douglasville. It was so wonderful seeing Ed and Cheryl and I'm glad they got to spend time with Avery. Cheryl had dinner ready for us and we were even able to celebrate Ed's birthday!!

Thursday morning we ate breakfast with Cheryl and then hit the road again. We had to stop at the ATL airport so that my parents could rent a car since they were having to stay in Newnan an extra night for the funeral before driving to Charleston. Amanda, Avery and I finally made our way to Charleston and enjoyed a "girl night" and some fun time with Courtney, her family, and the bridesmaids.

Friday morning was the bridesmaids luncheon and it was such a wonderful time for Courtney and her girls. Courtney is so blessed to have so many women who love her. The ladies that hosted the luncheon honored Courtney in such a beautiful way. I am so thankful to have her as a friend!

The rehearsal dinner was held at Lowndes Grove- a magnificent plantation on the water in Charleston. After the rehearsal, the parent's of the groom hosted a party for all of the wedding guests. There was an awesome band and an open bar. What a wonderful way to welcome all of your guests to a destination wedding!

Chris flew in just in time for the rehearsal dinner to start!!! We really enjoyed spending time together at the party on Friday night while my parents kept Avery at the hotel. They arrived in Charleston about an hour before the party. Amanda kept Avery for me all day on Friday while I was at the luncheon and rehearsal. She was a fantastic babysitter!

It was a fabulous weekend and I'm so excited for Courtney and Alston.

A very special thanks to Amanda, Mom and Dad for all of their help with Avery while I was busy with my bridesmaid duties. Also, thanks to my wonderful in-laws, Ed and Cheryl, for taking care of Bailey for us. Last but not least- thanks to my amazing husband for all that you do for me. I had so much fun this weekend and the wedding was a great reminder of the vows that we made more than 3 years ago. I love you!!!

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures with my Mom and Dad. I had every intention of getting a big family picture, but I guess I got distracted... so sad.

5 months!!

Happy 5 months to our precious baby girl! Every month I take a few pictures of her in her glider to show how much she has grown and I must say that it was quite difficult trying to capture a decent picture because the girl is all over the place! No, she is not crawling or sitting on her own yet, but she reaches for absolutely everything and wants to be on the move so badly. Take a look at the pictures below to see exactly what I am talking about....

{She is laughing, not crying, in this one}

We won't be going back to the Dr. again for another month, so no stats to report.

Things Avery is doing at 5 months:

-laughing

-squealing

-interacting more with Bailey

-traveled on her first airplane

-only using a pacifier in the church nursery, the childcare at the gym, or if we are in a restaurant and she starts to get fussy. No paci at home for this girl!

-she is very content and very happy

-enjoying tummy time more and will turn herself in a circle while on her tummy

-trying to roll from her back to her tummy- she almost has it!

-tasted rice cereal for the first time

-grabs her toes which can make diaper changing interesting, to say the least. It is helpful while cleaning her bottom, but putting on a new diaper can be quite the challenge! ha!

-"talks" very loudly

-still nursing 4 times a day- yep, we made it FIVE months!!!

-just started a new shedule this week and has adapted very well! She is now staying up longer between naps and has dropped from 5 feedings down to 4 feedings every 4 hours.

-went "swimming" in the pool for the first time

-wears six month clothing and size 2 diapers

I hope I didn't forget anything....

We love you, Avery Nicole!! Thank you for bringing so much joy into our lives!

A's first taste of rice cereal

Avery has really shown a lot of interest in whatever Christopher and I are eating/drinking. She is always grabbing for our food and the other day she took a chip out of Chris' hand and put it in her mouth! No, we didn't let her eat it- no worries! So, we thought we would try giving her rice cereal on Sunday, March 20 (just 5 days before she will be 5 months!). Truthfully, we think she was more interested in the spoon than the food. Half of the cereal ended up in her mouth and the other half - well, let's just say bath time came immediately after the rice cereal experience!

{here comes the first taste...}

{not too sure about this stuff....}

{the spoon is much more interesting that the food}

{definitely not sure about this....}

Video of Avery's first time in a pool

About half way through you will notice that I thought she pooped- let's just say I felt some gas- and we were worried it would leak out into the pool. She had little swimmers (diapers) on but I was afraid we might have some floaters. Thankfully, it was just gas! haha!

Avery's first "real" beach day

Avery has been down to the beach and has put her toes in the sand a few times before, but this past Saturday was her first REAL beach day- swimsuit, lotion and all! She was so stinkin' cute in her swimsuit, sunglasses and hat that we of course had to take a million pictures.... but when it's your first baby the papparazi is always ready to document every move she makes! By the time we made it to the beach it was her naptime, but we went ahead and took her down anyway. We took a few dozen pictures and then she was out. She slept with her Mimi for a while and then it was time to take her up to the condo for her feeding- we didn't bother to pack things up because we assumed we would take her back down after she ate. Well, Avery had other plans and decided she didn't take a long enough nap and she fell back asleep. Chris, Amanda and I went back down to relax on the beach while Grandaddy and Mimi stayed in the condo while the munchkin slept. All of that to say- she didn't even get to sit in the sand this time.... so sad! She did however get to go swimming for the first time (pictures and video below). She did so great and would kick those little chunky legs, but eventually decided the water was not quite warm enough (eventhough it is heated... just not a lot) and started to cry. We quickly dried her off and took her back upstairs for a bath, another feeding time and another nap. I would say that her first real beach day was quite a success.

{Touching the water for the first time!!!}

{she has had enough!!}

To see her previous beach visits click HERE and HERE

Can't wait for our next beach trip! Maybe this weekend if it's nice!?!?!