Not 10 Months Yet!

Since we haven't hit the 10 month mark yet, I can still report on Avery's ninth month. I realize I haven't posted in about a month and a half, but we have been busy! Avery has changed so much of the past month; it is crazy. A few things she is doing now:

Crawling: it took her quite a while to master this skill; she didn't start until about two weeks ago. And she does it with her belly on the ground. It is pretty funny. She knows how to do it correctly, yet she chooses to do it the otehr way. I think it is too much trouble to lift herself up. Either way, she is on the move and we are spending most of our time trying to keep up with her. She is discovering a whole new world now!

Pulling up: She has actually been pulling up for quite a while now. She mastered that skill back in July, but she can do it anywhere she wants now since she can crawl there. Everyday when she wakes up we go in her room to find her standing up patiently (sometimes) waiting on us to get her out. She has just started to take a few steps around furniture and tries to stand without holding on to anything.

Feeding Herself: Again, she has been doing this for a while now, but she is getting where she prefers to feed herself rather than be fed baby food. She is still not a great eater; she never really has been. Her favorites are toast, Cheerios, cheese, Gerber Puffs and Gerber yogurt bites. We have been trying to expand her finger food horizons, so hopefully she will come around. She is almost 10 months and should probably be eating more finger foods, but she would rather throw most food on the ground rather than eat it. As you can tell from the pictures she is not malnourished, so I try not to worry too much.

Talking: She is starting to say more and more syllables which is so fun. She still hasnt' officially said her first word because most of what comes out is incoherent. She does know her name and will respond when you call her. She also knows that Daddy refers to Josh, and she gets so excited when I say his name which is really cute.

Waving: My personal favorite. She is so cute and LOVES to wave at everyone and everything. She loves the response it gets from everyone. She has been known to wave at a blank wall and herself in the mirror. She might be Miss America one day, so maybe she is just practicing.

Clapping: She also loves to clap. She knows that you clap when something good happens, so when she gets excited she claps. It is also really cute.

One major milestone this past month was her first Astros game. If you know our family, you know Josh is a huge Astros fan and has loved them all his life. It was really fun to get to take her to the game. Of course it helped that we were in the Chevron suite, got free food, had a carpeted floor for Avery to play on and didn't have to sit in the stands. I hope Avery doesn't think that is how all her Astros games will be spent. It was fun and a great way to be able to let Avery experience a game.



We went for her 9 month check-up last week and she is starting to let the other babies catch up to her. She is now in the 60th percentile in height (28"), weight (20 lbs), and head circumference (17"). We also found out that she had an ear infection in both ears! I felt like a horrible mother, but she had not let on that anything was bothering her. Thankfully my parents had been in town that weekend and seen her, or my mom would have been quite upset with me thinking that I was neglecting her sweet girl. The doctor prescribed some antibiotic which we will take through Friday and that has hopefully cleared it up. We are going back in a week to make sure since she apparently wasn't bothered by it. She is a tough girl!

As you can see we experienced a lot of new things and had a great ninth (and part of the tenth) month. Avery is such a sweet girl and I love getting to watch her grow. She truly is such a blessing to our family; I can't remember life without her!

I will leave you with some cute pictures of my girl that are a culmination of all the fun we've been having!


Bath time fun in the duck



Fun at the park



Swimming in the backyard



Playing in her room



Daddy's 28th birthday



We also went to the Children's Museum which was so much fun. Here are some pictures from our visit. If you are in Houston, this is a GREAT place to take your kiddos - even young ones. Avery LOVED it, as you can see.













What she looked like when we got home from a long day!

8 Months

Well, we hit the 8 month mark last week. I know I should be excited about how much she is growing and changing, but it is going too fast! She is not a sweet little cuddly baby anymore – she is becoming a big girl. This past month definitely brought about more changes than any others.



She is starting to try to talk even more. She can say “mama” and “baba” – she has no idea what either of these mean, not that I even know what “baba” means, but it is definitely another step towards her first word. I realize I should count “mama” as her first word, but she has no idea that I am mama, so I am hesitant to count it. I want to know she is actually talking to me, not just saying random syllables. We are working on “dada” and, as of last week when my parents were here, “CC”. I don’t think anything would make my mom happier than if “CC” was Avery’s first word, but I really don’t think that is going to happen. I guess we will wait and see.

She is eating so well now. I am still making all her food and trying to keep up with her. She is eating three times a day – usually fruit with cereal for breakfast, a veggie for lunch, and a little fruit and a little veggie for dinner. We started eating Cheerios last week, and she can pick them up all by herself! She has some challenges getting them into her mouth, but she is getting better and better. We have also tried a little cheese and some avocados. The best part about eating is that now she can sit at the table while Josh and I eat. Hallelujah! We don’t have to wait until 8 or 8:30 to eat after she goes to bed anymore! What a wonderful step for our family! I am anxious to continue giving her finger foods because I love watching her pick them up and try to put them in her mouth. She is so cute!



Our girl is also on the move! Well, sort of. She can crawl backwards. I don’t even know if you can call it crawling. She is up on her hands and knees but only pushes with her arms which causes her to go backwards. She gets very frustrated, but Josh and I think it is hilarious. She wants to go forward so bad but just doesn’t know how to do it. I think it is only a matter of time before she is completely mobile. Until then, I guess she will just keep rolling wherever she wants to go. She is getting pretty good at that!



Since she hasn’t mastered the art of crawling, she has decided that standing is much more fun anyway. She pulled up all by herself on Saturday! Don’t worry, we got it on video. We knew she was getting close but didn’t know she was actually strong enough to do it. Who knows, maybe crawling is for babies and my big girl will go straight to walking. Haha, I know I am definitely not ready for that!

I told you we were experiencing many changes around here, and I wasn’t lying. We even had a family change – we moved into a house. We have been there two weeks now and are really loving the extra room. The apartment was feeling smaller by the day. We didn’t buy it, just renting, but it is still so nice to have some room to spread out. We even hosted my parents and Josh’s mom and sister for the 4th! It was so fun to be able to have people over without feeling on top of each other the whole time.



The past 8 months have been WONDERFUL! We are truly blessed in so many ways. I hope to never take for granted all the things God has given us, but most of all to never forget to thank Him for a happy, healthy child who continues to amaze me everyday.

My Baby's Daddy

This post - long overdue - is a tribute to my baby's daddy in honor of Father's Day. I think I knew the moment we found out we were pregnant that Josh was going to be a good dad. I freaked out; he stayed calm. I was scared that we wouldn't know what to do; he was confident we would figure it out. Well, he was right. We are figuring it out and doing the best we can. What I don't think I knew at the time was how great of a father he would actually be. He LOVES Avery so much. I capitalize that because he really does love her. He lights up when he sees her. He makes her smile and laugh more than anyone. They have such a special relationship that I am so thankful for. I can already tell that she is going to be a daddy's girl BIG TIME.

I could tell many stories of their sweet relationship, but I think the best illustration happened last night. Josh and I are playing in an ultimate frisbee league at church. We keep Avery outside with us until it is time for us to play and we take her inside to the nursery. When we went to pick her up after we were finished, there were a few other kids in there, one little girl in particular who is about 4 and super cute. Avery was sitting on the floor playing while I was getting her bag and Josh started chasing the other little girl around the room. Avery did not like that - she lost it. It was so funny. Josh stopped playing with the other little girl, came over and picked Avery up, and she immediately started smiling. It was hilarious. Even the nursery workers couldn't believe it. She was not going to have her daddy playing with another girl!! When we decide to have another child we might have some problems, but until then, Avery can have her daddy all to herself!

I am so thankful that Avery has a daddy who prays for her, loves her, protects her, and will always be there for her. Josh - you are a rare gift to Avery and me, and we love you SO much!

Seven!

I can't say that number without thinking about a very funny, yet highly inappropriate episode of Friends. If you are a true fan, you know which one I am talking about. In this case, however, I am talking about the number of months my sweet baby is. I can't believe how fast she is growing. I know every mother says that, but it really is true. The last month has brought about many new things in our life.

She is eating (and enjoying) food. We had a little hitch for a while because of teething (by the way - we have 2 teeth now!!), but we are now eating 2-3 times a day which is where our doctor said we should be at this point. I am still making all of her food, so I am trying to keep up! When she eats, she likes to really experience her food. I cannot say with certainty that this particular time she actually got any in her mouth, but how cute is she!?!?



She can now sit up by herself. It is like a whole new world for her. She can see tho whole room instead of the ceiling and loves it! She has started lunging forward and tries to pull herself up. She is not strong enough to crawl or pull herself up, but that does not stop her from trying!



She took her first swim. I was so excited about this very cute swimsuit I bought her, but the top was cutting off her circulation, so she went in just the bottoms over a swimmie diaper. Also, please note that her daddy is right next to her in the pool. We did not just throw her in there to go at it alone. She enjoyed being pulled around by daddy for about 5 minutes, then decided that was enough. Perhaps next time we will be able to stay a bit longer.



I put her in a basket. This has no real meaning, but I thought it was a cute picture.



We attempted a family picture while we were playing one afternoon.



Oh how we love this sweet girl. She is really developing her own little personality. She loves to laugh and entertain us. She has just started reaching for us when she wants to get up. She puts her hands in the air which signals that she wants to be held or just to stand up if you are holding her. I think she is going to have her daddy's determination because if she wants someone or something, there is no changing her mind! She is going to get what she wants, and usually she does.

I could talk about her all day, but I won't. She is a little angel and makes our family so fun. I don't think we could have imagined the joy she would bring to us seven months ago.

Family Reunion 2010

Over Memorial Day weekend, we had our second annual Cook family reunion. It was a blast. We had it in Garland this year, so we didn't have to pay for hotels and everyone was able to be put up at someone's house. We got to stay with my parents, so we were quite comfortable and Avery was in somewhat familiar surroundings. We flew down Saturday morning and back late last night. Avery was a champ again and did great on both flights. It was so great seeing everyone again. There are 5 great grandkids now, so this is about the only time we get to see and meet the kids. I have to admit, they are 5 of the cutest kids you will ever meet!! Tommy has a nice camera, so we were able to get some really great pictures of everyone. It felt like a professional photo shoot at times! Here are a few pictures from the weekend.










I also have some very cute pictures of Avery eating carrots for the first time, and I will post those sometime soon. I have just been lazy and haven't uploaded them off the camera. We have hit a little snag in our eating of solids, so I only have a few pictures of her covered in carrots. She got her first tooth just as we were starting to eat and she hasn't had much interest since. We are pushing through, and she will hopefully be eating before we know it!!

Six Months!

Avery turned six months on Sunday which just happened to be my first Mother's Day. What a great day. Avery sent me flowers at work on Friday for Mother's Day. She is quite advanced for only being 6 months old!!



Two weekends ago CC came for a visit. Although it was a quick trip, we were so glad to get to see her!!



We had our check-up last week with the Pediatrician. Everything went wonderfully. She is still long - 26-5/8" which is still 90th percentile. She gained less then 2 pounds over the past 2 months; she weighs 17 lbs 2 oz which is the 80th percentile. The doc told me she was slender for her height! I am pretty sure that is the first time she has been called "slender"! Her head is pretty normal. I can't remember exactly, but it was 75th percentile which is what it was at 4 months. We had to get 3 more shots which I was not a fan of. Since Josh has started his new job, he couldn't come with us so I had to be the brave one to hold her while they gave her the shots. Not a fan of that, but we survived and found out she doesn't have to get any more until 1 year!

Other than that, we have started some spoon feeding. She is not too fond of it quite yet. It is just rice cereal, but she is not quite sure what to do with it. I am making my first batch of real food - carrots - tonight, so I will post and let you know how that goes. Here are a few funny shots of our girl trying to figure this out.







She is beginning to enjoy walks again. For a while all we could do was put her in our Jeep carrier and let Josh carry her like that. While that is fun, we can't go too far because she is heavy! She can sit in the stroller like a big girl now, so she is enjoying that. We can usually make it for a while in the stroller, then finish with Daddy carrying her. Progress!



She is so alert now and makes us laugh ALL THE TIME. I think she is going to be a funny girl. She makes the weirdest noises and then waits to see what our reaction will be. When we laugh, she does them again. She loves the exersaucer and her Bumbo chair. Those two things can keep her entertained for a while now. It is fun to watch her bang around and see what she is learning. I think next time I blog, she will be sitting up on her own. She can do it for about 5 seconds now before she topples over.



We like to read and can make it through a few pages before we are ready to move on to the next thing.



She is so sweet when she is tired and ready for bed.



Bath time is becoming more fun. If you look closely you can see that her hair may come in curly - if it ever comes in!!



We love our sweet girl. She is changing and growing everyday!

First Easter & Five Months

Avery celebrated Easter and had her five month birthday last week. I can't believe she is five months already! I don't have stats on her since we didn't have to go see the doctor this month, but I will have some after her six month check-up. Just trust me - she is healthy and growing!! We love her so much & enjoy watching her grow. She is such a sweet girl with a smile that will melt your heart and a hint of an attitude! We love it! Here is Avery in her new Exersaucer. She is not real sure what to do when we put her in it, but it entertains her for about 3 minutes. We are working up to 15, so mommy and daddy can eat dinner while she plays. I will let you know how that goes...



For Easter we went to Dallas to see CC, Pop Pop, Aunt Jenn, Uncle Tommy and Uncle Jeff. We had lots of fun. Here are some fun pics from Easter Sunday. I don't think they warrant an explanation. We also got to play with Aunt Kim and Aunt Sandy, but I forgot to get pics. We will do that next time!