Things we like to do...

Lately, Josh, Avery and I have been having lots of fun exploring and discovering new activities. Avery is at such a fun age where everything is new and exciting, and she is old enough to actually take part in a wider variety of things. Below are some things we have enjoyed lately.

Coloring

Eating our veggies

Learning how to use tools (not really but she was good at handing them to Daddy)

Running at the park

Feeding the ducks


Riding the train

Going to church (this isn't a new activity, but we took some cute pictures last week since I was sick at Easter)

Please notice she wore a bow and kept it in all morning! We are making progress. Now I just have to learn what to do with all those curls...

That has been our life lately. I love it and can't believe that it is going to change in just over 7 weeks. Oh, and if I haven't posted it on here yet, baby is coming 7/7/11. We scheduled the C-Section last week. Excitement is building around our house!!!

18 Months Already!?!?

I can’t believe Avery is 18 months old today. Where did the last year and a half go?!?! For some reason, when you say “18 months” it sounds really old to me – like my baby is not really a baby anymore. As fun as she is these days, I hate to see her “babyness” disappearing as quickly as it is. She really is becoming this little person with her own thoughts, (strong) opinions, and ideas. She is so fun and crazy.

Since I am a horrible picture taker these days, I don’t have any new pictures to share; however I have many updates about Avery that I want to share and be able to look back on and remember exactly how she is now since I know she will keep changing faster than I want her to!

- Her vocabulary is EXPLODING. Her word count is up to 51 (I made a list), and she has even started putting two words together, which just started Saturday and amazed Josh and I. This morning when I gave her a banana for breakfast, she said, “Thank you, mama.” It was so sweet. Some of her most recent words are: cheese, snack, go, down, and chair. She also says a lot of things that we can’t understand, but she sure knows what she is saying! I think we may have a little chatterbox on our hands.

- She can almost count to 3. By almost, I mean, she does not say “1” but will say “2, 3” if you get her going. She can name and identify all the parts of her face (eyes, nose, etc.) and is starting to get hands, knees, feet, etc.

- She can entertain herself for a few minutes at a time these days. This is quite an accomplishment because I really thought it would never happen. Don’t get me wrong, it is our fault that she couldn’t because Josh and I are always in her face playing with her and have been since she was born, but it has been nice that we can leave her for a few minutes to play and get something done (usually something fun like washing dishes or vacuuming).

- She is quite a climber and can get up on top of something as soon as we turn our heads. She does know there are things she can’t climb on (i.e., the coffee table) and she really does a pretty good job of staying off those things.

- The girl knows what she wants. She has a pair of pink Crocs we got from one of my cousins, and she wants to wear them everyday. I tried to put her tennis shoes on last week for school, and she threw a fit. She kept pointing at her Crocs saying, “shoes, shoes.” This is not a battle I am going to fight, so I let her wear her Crocs even though they didn’t match. Some things aren’t that important.

- She is beginning to throw little tantrums here and there, but they really aren’t that bad. Usually if we let her get it out, she will calm down pretty quickly. She is pretty easy going, so we don’t have too many battles yet. We haven’t really started punishing yet and don’t really feel like we need to. We definitely tell her no and don’t let her do whatever she wants, but she hasn’t reached the point of intentional defiance yet; however, I am sure those days are quickly approaching and we will have to find an approach to discipline that works for us.

- She goes to bed about 7:30 every night and sleeps until 6. On the weekends, we sure wish that 6 would turn into a 7, but it doesn’t ever seem to. Don’t kids know what Saturdays are for?!? It is funny how irritated Josh and I can be when we are getting up and how quickly it goes away when we walk into her room and she is smiling, ready to play. I wish I felt like that at 6 every morning! We do take turns (usually, although Josh sometimes takes both days!) getting up with her, so we can each sleep until 7 or so once a week.

- She is becoming a better eater all the time. She will try new things now and is actually eating. There were a few weeks where we were getting worried because she was eating so little. She was never hungry. Thankfully, I guess that was just a phase or she wasn’t feeling good or something because now she eats pretty well most days. She does NOT want anyone to feed her, so things get pretty messy. If you try to feed her, she will say “Mine” and insist that she hold the spoon or fork and do it herself. This usually means she gets as much on her face, clothes and chair as she does in her mouth, but I know it is important for her to do things on her own. She has been doing this for about a month now, so she is getting more accurate.

- Her teachers at school love her and continue to tell me what a sweet girl she is. I am so thankful for that. They call her the “little mama” of the class because she is always taking the other kids toys and making sure they are always happy and taken care of. I hope Josh and I can do whatever we can to develop her sense of compassion and helpfulness since it seems to come naturally to her. This gives me assurance that she is ready to be a big sister!

- The last thing I will write about that I never want to forget is how she knows where the baby is and will come point to my stomach and give it kisses when anyone talks about the baby. It is so sweet. I know she has not made the connection that there is an actual baby in there, and she probably won’t until we bring the baby home, but it is still so cute and melts my heart every time.

I could seriously write so much more about her because she is so fun, but I will refrain. I say this every month and know that I will always remember it, but she is such a sweet and happy girl. We really are so blessed to have her in our lives. She has brought more joy than Josh or I ever imagined. When I start to get scared about what we will do with another child, I just remember how wonderful things have been with Avery (not to say there aren’t trying times, but those seem to disappear in the memory quickly) and can only imagine that with two, our joy will be doubled.

Lately

It has been a while since I posted, and I am quite sure a lot has happened, however, I don't have many pictures to document it. Avery moves so quickly now that we find it difficult to get her to stop long enough to take pictures! Here are a few of her playing on the driveway with a bucket of water. Little did we know that would prove to be such a fun time for her!




Avery and I also took a weekend trip to Midland to see my family. We had a wonderful time. I wish we lived closer, so we could see them more often. It was the last time Avery and I will fly without another little passenger joining us (and probably Daddy since there is NO way I could travel by myself with 2 children!). Here are a couple of pictures of my cute grandparents. I am so thankful that Avery has so many people who love her.



Quick baby update - things are looking good and moving along as they should. I can't believe he/she will be here in just 10 weeks. It seems very surreal. It is weird to think about our family of 3 turning into a family of 4, but I guess that is how everyone feels before a new baby. My constant prayer (among others) for Avery is that she will adjust to having a little brother/sister around easily and will know that we still love her just as much. She is our little angel, and I hate to think of her having a hard time with this even for a second.

I will try to do a good 18 month update for Avery in the next couple weeks with some more good pictures. She is so smart and learning so much these days; we are so proud of her. Still can't believe we are lucky enough to be her parents - what a blessing!

Much Needed Update

We are still alive, just busier these days it seems. Keeping up with a very active almost 16 month old can be a challenge. Avery is changing like crazy and is becoming more and more fun by the day. I posted pictures at the bottom, but I will give a quick update on our daily life.

- She is eating better and better these days. She will continue to try new things but definitely still has her favorites - grapes, spaghetti, cheese, Cheerios, goldfish, and yogurt. She would live off the above menu if we let her, but we squeeze new foods in when we can!
- She is still sleeping from 7-6:30 every night. She goes down like a champ and is such a great sleeper. This has been true since she was very tiny, so we hope this gets passed on to the next child!
- Her vocabulary is exploding. It is so fun to watch her learn. The words she can say now are: mama, dada, ball, done, touch down (with her arms up which is super cute), thank you, uh oh, whoa, oh no, no, mo mo (code for Elmo), and Pop Pop. She is starting to be able to repeat everything which is fun (and scary) to see.
- She still loves to do her animal sounds and always makes us laugh with those. She also knows where her ears, nose, mouth, feet, elbows, and belly button are located. When you ask her where something is, she finds it on herself, then goes to everyone in the room to show them theirs as well.
- She almost has all her teeth. I don't know if that is early or not, but we are 4 shy (from what I can tell) of a full set, and those seem to be close to breaking through.
- Her hair is still very curly. I kept thinking as it got longer it was going to straighten out a bit, but it seems to just get curlier. It is so cute but hard to tame. She still won't wear bows or clips, so some days it just gets a little out of control.

I could go on and on about her, but I will just post some pictures from the past two months. She is still such a sweet girl and we love her more and more each day. On a quick side note, baby #2 is growing and doing great as well. We had an ultrasound last week and got to see him/her pretty well, so it was fun. Due date is 4 months away; I know it will be here before we know it!

Note: these are not in chronological order. She may appear to get younger, but don't worry she is growing!!





Had a fun trip to the zoo with mommy & daddy.



She is getting very fast - we sometimes struggle to keep up with her!



She loves to read before bed and loves her little Sesame Street books.



Fun at the park with CC & Pop Pop!



Went to the Houston Rodeo parade and enjoyed the view from Daddy's shoulders.



Apparently we did not feed her what she wanted; she will just get it herself!



Playing in the yard at Grandma & Grandpa's.



Flying high with Daddy!



See above comment regarding crazy hair! I wasn't exaggerating. Luckily it does not look like this all the time, but it can get a little out of control. The funniest part is that she is still so cute, even with her crazy hair!!!



You have to earn your keep at the Tidwell house.





Having fun playing with bubbles with Grandma.



My girl looks good in green and gold - what can I say? Also, note that she let me put a bow in her hair and kept it in for about 30 minutes - progress!!!

14 Months - Pictures

Josh uploaded the new pictures from our camera last night, so here are a few of Avery playing over the last month. And, in case you are wondering, she is still too young to enjoy finger painting. That activity, which I thought was going to be so fun, lasted about as long as it took me to take those pictures. Maybe next year... Also, you will notice, she likes to do things with her mouth open - I think it helps her concentrate!

14 Months

On Sunday Avery turned 14 months old – I can’t believe how fast the time has flown! She has definitely changed more over the past month or so than ever before. It is so fun to see her grow and learn everyday. Some things we have been up to lately:

Talking: She is really developing a little vocabulary. It is so fun! She can say mama, dada (her favorite word), thank you, hi, bye, ball, night night, and no. She doesn’t always say the correct word at the correct time, but she does say them and gets right about half the time. She can understand many more words but hasn’t mastered the art of saying them yet. She will repeat animal sounds which is hilarious. She can moo, baa, quack, ruff and cock-a-doodle-do. Of course, none of them sound anywhere near what Josh and I are saying, but they are so cute!

Walking: She can go ANYWHERE now. She loves to walk around the house and “guide” us to where she wants to go. She will leave a room, then poke her head back around to make sure Josh or I are following her. She sometimes gets going too fast which results in bumping into walls or tables, so that part has not been fun. We have had one bloody lip and a few small bruises. I guess that is to be expected when they get going and build their confidence.

Eating: She is becoming a better eater. She will try new things more often now when she is in the mood. Her favorites still include: black beans, cheese, peas, yogurt, toast, and grapes. We try to eat dinner as a family most nights, so she will usually eat what Josh and I have if she notices us enjoying it. One night she ate more than half of my pork chop! I told Josh he was going to have to start making her her own!

Sleeping: She still sleeps like a champ. Usual bedtime is 7 and she wakes up between 6:30 and 7. Unless she is sick or getting teeth, we don’t hear a peep out of her all night. She is down to one nap a day – usually between 1-2 hours but has been known to sneak in a 3 hour nap here and there when life gets really tiring!

Playing: She LOVES to play outside. She will sit in the yard and pick up leaves and move them around for as long as we will let her. She likes her swing in the front yard and lasts 5-10 minutes on average until she decides she needs to be walking around exploring. She got so many new toys for Christmas and has enjoyed them all. Her favorites are a cooking pot with veggies in it from Aunt Sandy (hoping that will mean she will cook for us one day) and a purse from Josh’s Uncle David and Aunt Maureen. It has a tube of lipstick in it and she loves to pretend like she is putting it on. It is funny because I don’t know if she has ever seen me put lipstick on, but Josh showed her how it worked and she loves it. CC and Pop Pop got her a tent that she can crawl through which offers lots of fun. She has a lot of stuffed animals and dolls but she still is not very interested in them. Maybe she is still too young; I don’t know.

That is our 14 month update. She gets to be more fun with every month that passes. She is such a joy and good-natured little girl. I can’t wait to continue to see her little personality develop. We sure do love our baby girl, and I can’t imagine life without her!

13 Week Check-up

Josh and I went to the doctor yesterday and were able to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. It was just as exciting as the first time we heard Avery's! Everything else checked out good, and little baby #2 is developing exactly on pace. It will be 6-8 weeks before we go in for the BIG ultrasound, which is not very big to us since we aren't finding out the sex, but it will be good to have all the measurements and things they do to ensure the baby is healthy and developing normally. Every night I pray for the health and development of baby #2 (we don't have anything more exciting to call him/her). I never want to take a healthy pregnancy and baby for granted and want to always remember that when things go well it is because God has allowed them to be that way.

I am thankful for a good 13 weeks and praying for another good 27 to follow!