First Flight

Avery took her first trip on an airplane last weekend when we went to Midland to visit my grandparents. It was just me and Avery, and let me tell you, I was very nervous about it. We left late Friday afternoon and had a direct flight to Midland. It was an hour and a half, and she did great! She was awake the whole flight and fussed a little bit, but she is so cute that no one around us minded. She was smiling and charming everyone early on, so when she got a little tired they still thought she was cute. I sat next to this wonderful lady and her mom who helped me out so much. I was thankful for them.

Once we arrived in Midland, we didn't do much all weekend. We stayed around the house all day Saturday because it was about 40 degrees outside. Grandad went to work for a while in the morning but was home with us for most of the day. Some of my aunts and cousins came by to see us, so the day passed quickly.

Sunday was about the same. Everyone came over for lunch and stayed for the early part of the afternoon. During Avery's nap, my mom, my aunt Judy and I went to Kohl's so my mom could buy Avery some new clothes! It was so fun looking at everything and getting to buy her some stuff. We also received a huge bag of clothes from my cousin whose youngest (of six!) daughter is about a year older than Avery. It is such a blessing to get hand-me-downs from her, and all the clothes are so cute and in great shape! I love it.

Our flight left Monday after lunch, so we didn't do much that day. We had to take a flight to Dallas and switch planes to get back to Houston. My mom was on the flight with us to Dallas, and Avery slept the whole way. I mean, before we took off until after we landed! It was great. She ate on our flight back to Houston and then was in a great mood for the last 15-20 minutes until we landed. She was such a great traveler! Her daddy was very happy to see us when we arrived. I think he missed his girls!

We had such a great weekend, and I am so glad we were able to see Mir and Grandad and all my mom's family. We are so blessed to have so many people that love Avery so much; it was fun getting to see everyone. It is also nice to know that we can fly with Avery without too much trouble. Where will we go next!?!?

Here are some cute pictures from the weekend.



This is Avery with my Mir and Grandad (her great-grandparents)



This is Avery with my mom (CC)



Here she is with my aunt Judy (CC's sister)



Here she is with my aunt Sherry (CC's other sister)



I wish I had gotten pictures of Avery with all of the family she was able to meet. I will do that next time!

Four Months!

Well, Avery hit the four month mark last week. I can't believe she is growing so quickly! This month has definitely shown the most change in her. We took her in for her four month check-up on Tuesday and found out she is 15 pounds 5 ounces (85th percentile) and 25 1/4 inches (90th percentile). I can't remember what her head size was, but it was the 75th percentile. Our little girl is growing!! Everything else was great - she is perfectly healthy. What a blessing! I think she is going to be taller than her mom which is fine by me.

This month she has learned to hold her head up very well which makes carrying her much easier. She learned to roll from her tummy to her back which was amazing. We caught it on video! She likes to sit up now and enjoys being able to see the world. She babbles a lot and keeps us laughing. She loves to laugh at her daddy and all the funny noises he makes.

Our computer has been down, so I don't have any new pictures to post. Just trust me, she is cuter than the last time you saw her. We love our little sweet pea and love watching her grow! I will post pictures soon and try to post more often when we get our home computer fixed. This is a quick post from work, but I wanted to update on her four month stats!!

Pass a Tissue, Please

No one informed me that upon entering motherhood I would need to stock up on the Kleenex. I am not an emotional person most of the time. I don't cry at movies, and I rarely cry in real life. I just don't like to cry.

Until motherhood... I think I have cried more in the past 3 1/2 months than in my previous 27 years. Well, probably not THAT much, but you get the picture. I have cried so many tears - tears of fear when Avery's heartbeat dropped while in labor, tears of joy when I saw her for the first time and got to hold and kiss her, tears of pain as I recovered from a C-section that I was not expecting - and all those tears came in her first few days of life! Since that time, I have cried many more tears - tears of happiness as I have watched her grow and change right before my eyes, tears of heartache as I head off to work in the morning, tears of joy as I watch how she lights up her daddy's life.

I know my tears will not stop as Avery continues to grow. I will cry when she takes her first step and when she says her first word. I will cry the first time I drop her off at school and when a boy breaks her heart. I will cry when she is in pain and when she scores the winning goal (or basket or run - whichever sport she happens to be dominating at that time!).

I am not trying to sound like all I do is cry, but being a mom has changed my emotional state. I love that little girl so much that she has completely changed the way I see the world around me - for the better. I never knew one little person could have such a big effect on you. What a wonderful (and sometimes wet) journey motherhood has been, and it has only been three months!

I will leave you with some pictures of my sweet little angel.

We take so many pictures of her that sometimes she just doesn't want to look at the camera! The truth is, she is probably watching TV. It is her favorite pastime.



She is getting very good at holding her head up, and she likes to sit up on our kitchen table (with mommy or daddy keeping her balanced, of course).



My two favorite people!

Three Months

My sweet Avery,

I can't believe you are already three months old. It seems like yesterday that your daddy and I were bringing you home from the hospital, terrified with what we were going to do with this sweet little baby they let us take with us. Now it's three months later and we are still terrified sometimes but are starting to figure things out. :)



I have learned so many things from you over the past three months. You have truly changed your daddy's and my life; it is hard to put into words how wonderful our life is with you. The past month you have changed so much. You are smiling a lot more now, and your smile lights up the room. You are starting to laugh at me and your daddy which we love. You discovered your hands and are constantly putting them in your mouth or clasping them under your chin. We think it is funny because it looks like you are trying to pray. You still hate being on your tummy but are getting very good at holding your head up despite that fact. You have started talking to us and making the funniest noises. We love to have conversations with you; you will go back and forth with us for a long time. I want to remember exactly how you are right now because I know how fast you are going to grow and change.



I love being your mommy and couldn't have imagined it would be this wonderful. Your daddy and I have many things we pray for you nightly, but mostly we pray that you will one day give your life to Christ and follow Him everyday. Every other prayer flows from that one.



We love you so much & are blessed to have you. You will always be our sweet angel baby no matter how old you get. Your daddy and I look forward to watching you grow and loving you the best way we know how.

Sweet Story

I have to brag on my husband for a moment. He is a wonderful father & loves his little girl. He helps me with EVERYTHING, from washing bottles every night to changing diapers to middle of the night feedings. He lights up every time she looks his direction and he truly loves her. All that said, here is my story.

Avery was sick yesterday. She did not have a fever but was all congested and had a little trouble sleeping Sunday night. I stayed home from work yesterday, and we took her to the doctor. He cleaned her little nose out and showed us how to keep her clear. When we got home, we knew she was exhausted because she slept so fitfully the night before and hadn't really had a good nap yet. We swaddled her up, and I rocked her for a few minutes. It didn't take her long to fall asleep, so I put her in her bed. I waited for a minute to make sure she was really asleep because Josh was trying to get some school stuff done, and I didn't want to disturb him. When I thought she must really be asleep, I went out for a quick jog. When I got home from my jog, Josh was on the couch holding Avery. He was sitting there with the biggest smile on his face. When I asked him what happened, he said that after I left Avery started fussing. It was just a little bit at first but then turned into a cry. He said he let her cry for a minute to see if she would just calm down and go back to sleep. (Side note: We aren't really "cry it out" parents but do want her to learn how to calm herself down. We really aren't doing a very good job because we only let her cry for about two minutes before we rush in there and pick her up, but we're working on it.) He said he went into her room and the second she saw him she stopped crying and gave him the biggest smile he had ever seen. He told me it was one of the best moments of his life.

Is that not the sweetest story you have ever heard? I love watching Josh with Avery and love how much he loves her. I know that love will only grow as she does. I am sure he would have been just as good of a first time father if we had had a boy first, but man does he love his little girl. She already has him wrapped around her finger, and I know I will have to be the one to discipline her because he may never tell her no. I am so thankful Avery has a daddy that loves her more than anything and will be an example of the kind of man I pray she finds one day.

Here is a picture of Avery from a few weeks ago. It has nothing to do with the story, but she is so cute and needs to be admired!

CC & Pop Pop's Visit

This past weekend my parents came down to see Avery. My mom (CC to Avery) flew down on Thursday afternoon, and my dad (Pop Pop to Avery) came on Friday. My mom came on Thursday so she could stay with Avery while Josh and I went to work on Friday. Avery & CC had a wonderful time together and got in some important bonding time.

On Friday night, we went to Amigo's, a Mexican restaurant near our house. We frequent this restaurant because it is never crowded, so it is easy to get Avery in and out and have a place for her car seat. Helen (Josh's mom, Grandma to Avery) came out to Amigo's and met us. It was a fun time for everyone (minus Grandpa who was traveling for work) to get together.

On Saturday my mom and I got up and did a little shopping. It was fun to get out and try on clothes again - it has been a while. I wish I could say everything I put on looked great & I look better than I did before I got pregnant, but that would be a lie. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, however, I do have some work to do. Avery stayed home and took a nap on the couch with Pop Pop.

When we got home, we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and go to the zoo. It was a lot of fun to be out, but Avery slept most of the time. It will be fun when she can really experience what is going on, but for her, it was just a nice day to be napping outside.

Here is Avery when we arrived at the zoo.



Here she is a few minutes later & how she remained the rest of the trip.



We went to dinner that evening at an Italian restaurant down the street and called it a day. CC & Pop Pop got up and left the next morning when we were leaving for church. It was such a fun weekend. Josh and I got three nights of uninterrupted sleep (thanks to CC for getting up with Avery) and were even able to get our closet cleaned out while taking advantage of someone else entertaining Avery. We can't wait to see CC & Pop Pop again! I failed to get any pictures of Avery with CC & Pop Pop, so here are a couple more random ones.

This is how I like to spend my evenings when I get home!



I love this picture! As you can see, she is well nourished & healthy!

2 Months

I cannot believe it, but our little girl is already 2 months old. She has grown and changed so much already. We took her to the doctor on Tuesday for her check-up and first round of vaccines. She was such a champ. She let the doctor toss her around and poke & prod her and did not make a peep. She weighs 11 pounds 10 ounces which is in the 75th percentile, so she is a bit of a chunk. Her head circumference and height were both 50th percentile, so she is normal in that respect. When it was time for the shots, I was so scared. I made Josh come with us which I am so glad I did because I did not handle it very well. Josh was holding Avery's hands while the nurse gave her the shots. I was in the corner across the room. When she got the first shot, Avery screamed and her face turned bright red. It was horrible. I almost lost it in the corner, and the nurse told me I could leave if I wanted. I figured at that point I had already heard the worst so I could tough it out. I made it through the next two shots, and Avery did as well. Before the nurse even left the room she was back to smiling, so I don't think she was that traumatized. I sure was. It took me a little longer to get it together. She was a little fussy the rest of the day, but all in all, she did great. We are so thankful to be blessed with a healthy little girl who seems to be growing and developing wonderfully. We love her so much!!!

Here are a few pictures we have taken in the last few days. I love the one of her in the hoody - she looks like such a gangster.

Such a sweetie!

Caught the end of a smile.

Josh got a picture of a good smile!

Don't mess with Avery! She will beat you up.