Avery Rolling and Stretching

Avery rolling over and stretching after her nap!

ONE MONTH

I cannot believe I have a one month old.... I have and will continue to say that time just goes by so fast! Avery was one month old on Thanksgiving Day. She has changed so much over these past few weeks and I must say it's a little bitter sweet. We love watching her grow, but it makes me sad to think she isn't truly a newborn anymore. Here are a few things Avery is doing at one month:

-her looks are changing every day. For the first week or two I thought she was a "mini-me", but as the weeks go by I see less of myself and more of Chris in her.

-she is getting stronger every day and is able to hold her head up for longer periods of time as each day passes.

-we've heard her make a few "oohs" and "ahhhs"

-eye contact! occasionally she will look at us and we know she isn't staring right through us!

-smiling

-rolling from her stomach to her back

-barely squeezing into our last few newborn diapers (I won't let them go to waste!!!)

-she still sleeps ALL of the time, but we do have a few moments of awake time with her each day. I find that I might be taking all of this sleep for granted, because I know a day will come soon when I will WISH she would go to sleep!!

-She is letting mommy and daddy sleep for 4.5 to 5 hours uniterrupted at night- though this still doesn't happen every night, but we are getting there!

{Here is Avery just a few mintues after she was born}

{Our one month old!}

I told you the girl likes her sleep (just like her mommy). It was impossible to take this picture with her eyes open.

THE BEACH

November 13th-- Avery's first time on the beach!!!

{Toes in the sand}

The sand was pretty cold but I just had to put her toes in the sand for the first time-- poor thing didn't like how cold it was, and who can blame her?!?

We miss the Howell's!!!

This is the surprise we got in the mail today from our friends, the Howell's, who now live out in Washington State:

Thank you for the new onesie, Uncle J!

WE MISS YOU Jordan, Kim and Adalynn!!!

Avery's many visitors

Chris' parents: Ed and Cheryl

{Poppop and Grandmommy}

My Family: David, Valerie and Amanda

{Granddaddy, Mimi, and Aunt Amanda}

{Marilyn (Aunt Mo), Mimi and Avery's Great-Grandmama}

{Avery's Great-Aunt Tara}

{Our sweet friends, Paige and Todd, came to the hospital to meet Avery

just a few hours after she was born!}

{Our MCG buddy, Lauren, came to meet Avery on Tuesday}

{My Nana (Avery's GG) flew in from GA on Tuesday!}

{Me with my daughter and my grandmothers!}

{PawPaw and MawMaw drove down from GA on Thursday to meet Avery. PawPaw loves his great-granddaughter so much he wouldn't even look at the camera for a picture!!}

{Chris' brother, Justin (aka: Uncle J) drove down from Birmingham on Saturday to meet his niece}

{Avery's Great-Aunt Debbie and Great-Uncle Chuck drove up from South Florida for a night with Avery. They definitely traveled the farthest to see Avery- THANK YOU! It was a wonderful surprise for all of us!}

{Our friend, Janie, and her kids, Keller, and twins Kate and Asher came to meet Avery last week. There are actually five kids in this picture as Janie is expecting #4 in June!! Keller, Kate and Asher were Avery's first friends to visit!!}

Chris and I feel so blessed to have such amazing friends and family in our lives. Avery is so loved and all of your calls, texts, cards and visits mean so much to us. Thank you to all of you who have helped us welcome Avery into our lives. I can't wait for Avery to meet everyone!!!

Shutterfly

Just wanted to encourage my readers to check out a website known as Shutterfly. I have used shutterfly for storage and sharing of my pictures for years now. With our family and friends spread all across the country, shutterfly allows us to share all of our photos quickly and easily. You can edit your pictures and then have them shipped to you- it's hassle free! Not only can you upload pictures to their website, but you can do so many other creative things with your pictures. In the past I have created several photo books, magnets and puzzles for either myself or as gifts for loved ones and this year I'm using shutterfly for our Christmas pictures. Today I spent time choosing and creating our Christmas card/birth announcement and am so excited about how it has turned out. Shutterfly has so many options to choose from and you can make the card fit you and your family's personality. The other great thing about shutterfly is that they will actually mail the cards to your family and friends, if you so choose. The website is user friendly and I have never had any problems using shutterfly like I have other companies such as Snapfish. Not only have I never had any problems with shutterfly, but I also like their prices. They are the cheapest photo website that I have found and I must admit that I'm slightly obsessed with Shutterfly! :)

Things I like about Shutterfly:

Photo Books

Christmas Cards

Magnets

By they way, bloggers get 50 free holiday cards if you sign up!

Happy sharing and shopping!! You won't regret using shutterfly, I promise!

Thank you!

I cannot begin to explain just how much you all mean to me. In my last post I told you about my difficulties with breastfeeding and the outpour of encouragement from several of you means so much to me. The comments, facebook messages, emails and phone calls have been a huge help in boosting my confidence. Thanks to all of you who have shared your stories with me- they have been very encouraging to me over the past 24 hours. I'm thankful for the "blogging world" and how it is a great outlet for sharing my thoughts with you all. Thanks for being faithful readers - You each mean so much to me!!