happy 1/2 birthday

WOW! Half a year has gone by and Avery is 6 months old!
She is fantastic. Long and lean. She giggles, sits up, goes in circles, wrinkles her nose, explores, loves her brother, daddy and mommy. She eats well, sleeps great and adjusts to new surrounding easily. 
She has won the hearts of her preschool teachers and has them wrapped around her little finger. 
Her brother is her favorite entertainment. He can make her laugh and laugh and laugh some more! She also LOVES a baby minnie mouse we got her on our trip to Disneyland last winter. 
We love her deeply and thank God daily for the blessing of our little butterfly. 

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daddy + daughter

daddy

loves his

daughter.

daughter

loves her 

daddy.

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a messy girl and her brother...

breakfast at the bailey's

a messy girl and her brother

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Sweet Sweetie!

There are days when I feel Miss Avery doesn’t get enough blog time. She has reached a few exciting milestones lately; eating rice cereal, rolling over front to back and back to front and reaching for and playing with her toes. She loves standing in her exer-saucer and you can tell she dreams of the day when she can get rough and rowdy with her brother and his toys.

More importantly than hitting major milestones I wanted to take some time and simply share about Avery, who she is and who she is becoming. 

When Avery first arrived in my arms the first thing that came to my mind is poet. I immediately felt like she was a deep thinker. 

 And while these descriptions of her still resonate with me she has also emerged into the happiest and bubbly little person. The best word that I can use to describe her and the word I hear other people using when they refer to her is sweet. 

And she is. She is simply sweet. 

She is meek, content and joyful. 

I LOVE watching her eyes light up and her mouth create a smile when she sees faces. 

I LOVE the sound of her sweet voice as she talks, coos and even whimpers. 

I LOVE how she watches her brother. And the sweetness I already feel between them. 

And my heart leaps when I see the sparkle in her eyes when she spots her daddy. Their one on one time is special to watch. I LOVE hearing her deep guttural laugh when he tickle her. And know their are many more incredible memories to come.  

I LOVE when her two dimples pop out.

I LOVE staring into her eyes and seeing love in return. 

I LOVE how she nestled into my arms and settles into a peaceful slumber.
I LOVE watching her smile in her sleep and know she is chatting with Jesus.

But, I also LOVE that no matter how sweet she is there is a hint of mischief in her eyes.
Every girl needs a hint of mischief.
I can't wait to discover more about this sweet little sweetie!

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@ 4 months

Miss Avery Elizabeth is 4 months old. Time passes so fast when it comes to baby time. She is doing fabulous at pre-school and I have to admit that I am perfectly fine that teachers oogle and google over because she is so pretty. Her latest and greatest accomplishments are:
Moving and Grooving: She pushes off of anything and everything with her feet. She can scoot across the floor if we let her. The teachers have also seen her roll from her tummy to her back (I have yet to see this) and she works really hard at rolling from back to tummy.
Drooly Drooly: This last week she become a drool monster. I am guessing that means teeth are on their way. Renn's arrived around 6 months so I will be curious if they track together on this.
Laughter: She loves to laugh. Laugh at her brother, laugh at the worms on her play gym, play at mommy making funny faces, but the funniest thing she laughs at is her daddy. Specifically her daddy humming a Lady Gaga song (don't ask). Eric hums and she just busts out in hysterical laughs. I need to try to get it on video because I have seriously never heard a baby laugh like this. Just wishing it was a different song choice.
Playing: She is getting much more independently playful. Loves her play gym, exersaucer and enjoys reading books with her brother.
Sleeping: She continues to be an excellent sleeper. 10-12 hours at night and some days I have to wake her so we can make it to work on time.
Thumb Sucking: She is a thumb sucker. Despite my attempts to switch her thumb for a paci she spits the paci out and in goes her thumb. While I am glad my child can self soothe my fear comes for later. You can't take a thumb away like you can a paci. I realize this is not some great tragedy but just one of those minor worries that circles around in my head.
Bath time: She loves her bath time. Loves sitting in her bath tub, loves the water, hair being shampooed and giggles when I towel try her hair.

The sparkle in her eyes bring us such joy and I can't wait to continue to get to know her through the days, months and years. Thank you for blessing our lives little butterfly!

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Sad face.

I have been worrying and regretting when this day would come. Avery's first sickness. Earlier in the week kids in her preschool room starting going down one by one with a throw-up bug. Yesterday, she was the only child left. I was praying and praying it would stay away. But, it arrived this morning. I am so sad for her and with all my heart just want to make it go away. Nothing stresses me out more than my child being sick.

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12 Weeks

Miss Avery Elizabeth has turned 12 weeks old. First, I can't believe it has been 12 WEEKS! Second, we saw some exciting shifts in her this week. My personal favorite is that this week she actually enjoyed being in her car seat. This was a first and made my drive to and from work much more enjoyable. She has begun reaching and grabbing - specifically grabbing at her clothes and then bringing them to her mouth to chew on. SLEEP SLEEP and more SLEEP. She slept to or past 6am several times this week. Bringing her up to a whopping 10 hours straight. She is also enjoying her awake time much more - looking in the mirror, her mobile, sitting in a bumbo chair and reading. We had a moment that brought me to tears. I was sitting in the playroom, Renn sat in my lap and Avery sat in his lap as we all read Goodnight Moon. In the midst of reading I began to cry - it was simply just too precious of a moment. We have been reading Renn Goodnight Moon daily since he was a baby to the point in which he can now recite it with us - we are hoping to instill the same love for the book with Avery. It was also Avery's first full week of preschool and she is doing much better than her mama. The teachers are loving having an itty bitty baby, she is sleeping, enjoying the new toys and people she is experiencing.
It has been a beautiful 12 weeks and we look forward to plenty more ahead.

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