Avery Needs Your Vote!

So I came across the cutest little online shop that sells bows and such for little girls a few months ago, The SunshineShoppe.  They have a weekly contest called Free Clippie Fridays. I entered their first one and won! We got the cutest little crocheted flower clip for Avery. We put it in her hair when it arrived and surprisingly it stayed! She has really fine hair and most clips just slide out, but this one has a special grippy material that helps it stay in. It is my go-to clip now, since Avery won't keep headbands on any more. :( Anyways, the SunshineShoppe is having a model contest. I entered a picture of Avery and the voting is going on now. We need your votes!

To vote you can:


Go visit the SunshineShoppe's blog and leave a comment with Avery's name and number (#1).  http://mysunshineshoppetoday.com/sunshine-shoppe-march-2011-model-search/  The only requirement to vote is you have to "like" their Facebook page here or subscribe to their blog by entering your email address in the lower right corner of the page where it says "follow us via email."


That's it! Thanks for taking time to help Avery win!

10 Month Milestones

10th Month Milestones - 3/4/11

Height - 27.5 inches plus a little

Weight - 16 lbs??

Sleeping - You usually go to bed around 8:00. You occasionally wake up once a night to eat. You usually take 2 maybe 3 naps a day. 1 long one (2+ hours), 1 medium one (1.5 hours) and somedays a short one (45 mins).

Mommy realized this morning as I got you out of bed that I've never blogged about you and your blankie. Since this is your baby book (of sorts) I had to include it today. Ever since we stopped swaddling you (around 4-5 months), you've been attached to one of your blankets. See Mommy has a soft spot for satin-y blankets (just ask Nonna someday) and Daddy still has a blanket he HAS to sleep with, so I guess there was no getting around it. We would give you your paci and blanket before we would rock you to sleep and it always went with you to the sitters or in the car. Not surprising is you LOVE your blankie. You can be as cranky and tired as ever and we put your blanket in your hands and you rub it all over your face and calm down. I love that it brings comfort to you and that it is something we have in common.

Eating - Still a month of change in your eating. You nurse/take a bottle about 3-4 times a day. We're working on you taking milk from a sippy cup. Somedays you do, others you won't touch it. You still love your baby food. You love Cheerios, puffs, apples, pears, and your cereal. New foods we've tried this month are wheat Ritz crackers, avacadoes, cheese, ground turkey, steamed peas and some chocolate cake that Nonna made. :) No teeth yet, I think you are waiting to turn 1 and get them all at once. Ha!

New discoveries - You can sniff now and blow raspberries whenever you want. You scrunch up your nose and mouth and sniff really loud. Not sure where or how you learned this but it is cute. You also blow raspberries at random times. Funny, until you do it when you have food in your mouth, as Annette, Tiff and Jess were witnesses to. Sorry! You also discovered the kitchen cabinets this month.  Your favorite is the one right next to the fridge. You can open it and love to pull out the cutting boards and cookie sheets. I guess we'll have to leave this one non-baby-proofed so you can have a place to play.

New accomplishments - You can drink out of a straw now and it makes getting you to use a sippy cup so much easier. You are perfecting the art of standing up and will stand without holding on to anything for a few seconds at a time now. You seem to get faster and faster crawling. The other night you followed me into the kitchen, I turned around and didn't see you. You had crawled into our bedroom and shut the door! Stinker! You still are testing out screaming. We are working on "no" but not sure we're getting anywhere.

Places you went - So we made up for not going anywhere last month this month. We met Nonna, Poppa, Uncle Daniel and Aunt April in Lewisville for Daniel's birthday lunch. Then the next weekend, you went on your first overnight sleepover. Mark and Brenda were heading to Marietta and offered to take you to see Nonna and Poppa for the night to give Mommy and Daddy a break and night out. I loaded you up and hugged you tight. Thankfully it was only like 28 hours your were gone cause I was so ready for you to get home. You had fun though with Nonna and Poppa and I think they enjoyed having you all to themselves for the day. Mommy did get lots done on Saturday while you were gone though. I ran errands and worked on shower stuff with Jami and cleaned. I was SO ready to see you when you got home. Then last weekend we met Aunt Tiff, Annette, Jessica and Sam in Ft. Worth to go wedding dress shopping for Tiffany. Note to self, don't ever go to David's bridal on a Saturday in Jan-April! It was C-R-A-Z-Y! We had fun though and got to meet Sam. You and Sam are going to be in Tiff's wedding so it was fun to see you guys play together.

Special Memories - Celebrating Daniel's birthday with him. You love your Uncle Daniel. Celebrating your first Valentine's day. You loved your giraffe and books. Your first overnight trip away from Mommy and Daddy. Meeting Sam for the first time. He may be bigger but you stood your ground. ha!

Its hard to believe in 2 months you'll be 1 year old. One year?! How is that already possible? I remember holding you at a few months old thinking how small you were and how much you couldn't do yet. You let me hold you, cuddle you, take lots of pictures of you and you didn't care. Now, life seems to start when you wake up and doesn't slow down until you go to bed at night. I do get a few cuddles and snuggles when you wake up and while you eat, but mostly you are too busy to want to be held. Its not a bad thing, just something I miss. When we take your weekly pictures, I have to take pictures quickly. I love how much you love to be on the move. It keeps Daddy and me on our toes. You love for us to chase you around the couch and into the kitchen. I love hearing your belly laugh when we catch you. You love it when Daddy picks you up and runs around silly with you.  You laugh with your tongue hanging out. It is the cutest picture and I love you and your Daddy more each time I see it. Please always know Daddy and I love you more than you know. We are praying for you daily, and know that God has some amazing plans for you. Can't wait to see you grow up, just not too fast!

Love you baby girl!

~Mommy & Daddy

1st Valentine's Day

Helping Daddy open his Valentine



Reading with Daddy

Enjoying the nice weather

Love this little scrunched up face

Sam and Avery's first meeting

With Aunt Tiffers

Learning to share with Sam

Can't get enough of this little smile!

Mommy & Avery

Eating like a big girl

Her new face

Using her sippy

We love supper time!

Can't look at this without smiling!

9th Month Milestones - 2/4/11

9th Month Milestones - 2/4/11



Height - 27.5 inches

Weight - 15 lbs. 13 oz.

Sleeping - You usually go to bed around 8:00. You occasionally wake up once a night to eat. You usually take 2 maybe 3 naps a day. 1 long one (2+ hours), 1 medium one (1.5 hours) and somedays a short one (45 mins).

Eating - This month has been a month of change in your eating. You went from nursing/taking a bottle 6 times a day to usually 4.  You still love your baby food though - pretty much everything except peas.  You love Cheerios, puffs, apples, pears, and your cereal. The doctor said you could start eating pretty much anything off our plates so this upcoming month should be fun. Still no teeth. You pretty much gum most things to death.

New discoveries - You can pull up now and "walk" around stuff that you can hold on to. You also rediscovered your tongue and love to roll it or curl it up in your mouth. It looks hilarious! You've also started screaming. Sometimes it is when you are happy, other times when you want something, and a few times when you are mad. We've been working on "no" and what it means. Not sure it is doing any good though! lol! You've also started to be more interested in books and actually let Mommy read them to you (most of the time). You still prefer to use them as a chew toy, but we occasionally get in a full story. I love it and hope you grow to love books and reading.

New accomplishments - You can wave bye-bye and clap now. You have said "bye" a few times, along with "da-da" and an occasional "ma-ma" but nothing regular. That's ok though, I'm sure you'll be talking our ears off soon enough. You like playing patty-cake and love it when we say "yay!" you wave your hands in the air or clap them. It is too cute. You also learned to "touch the sky" or raise your hands above your head.

Places you went - I think this section might be better labeled "places you didn't go to." See we got snow/ice for 4 days this month. That meant for 4 days, Mommy, Daddy, and you were stuck at home. Mommy had to work from home, so for most of the time - you got to play with Daddy. You weren't too fond of the snow, but it was fun to bundle you up and take you out in it. What you really loved to do was to crawl up to the patio door, stand up and lick it. I'm really not sure why you loved it, it was literally freezing cold!

Special Memories - The Super Bowl was in town this month. You saw your first REAL snow and got iced in for 4 days. You learned to pull up and love to crawl up to us and pull up on our legs. Nonna and Poppa came to visit you. Bella, Aunt Kristi and Uncle Andrew came too. And just for memories, it was the coldest it has been in 15 years this month. I think the record was 14 degrees with wind chills in the negatives!

You have been on the move this month. We turn around for a second and you are somewhere else. It is fun, but is definitely keeping us on our toes. It was neat to see you experience snow for the first time. You weren't crazy about being out in it, but loved looking at it through the patio door. You love to scream now when you are excited and "touch the sky" when you are happy. I love seeing you grow and change, but sometimes I get sad that it is going by so fast. I know its supposed to be this way, but somedays I wish you could stay little. Little enough for me to cuddle you close while we rock before bedtime. Little enough to fly around like an airplane and mommy's arms don't hurt afterwards. I love you more than you know, baby girl! You even became a Daddy's girl the week we all were snowed in at home. Daddy joked that he loved you more than Mommy because Mommy wouldn't play with you. Ha! Mommy had the blessing/curse of having to work from home! All the same, I did love getting to be with you all day, even if Daddy was on duty.  Looking forward to the month ahead!
Love you baby girl!

~Mommy & Daddy

Eating puffs/cheerios

Playing

More fun

Nonna & Poppa came to visit

It ICED/SNOWED!!!

You preferred enjoying it from the inside. :)

Trying something new

So I'm testing out having ads on my blog. If you run across an ad that is inappropriate please let me know. Not sure if they will stay or not.

Blessings!

Avery's 8th Month

8th Month Milestones - 1/4/11

Height - 26 inches plus a little?? I tried measuring you and it came out around 26 inches, so either you did have your foot stretched out at your 6 month appt or you really didn't grow much in the past month. :)

Weight - 16+ lbs.

Sleeping - You usually go to bed around 8:00. You still wake up once a night, usually, to eat. You usually take 2 maybe 3 naps a day. 1 long one (2+ hours), 1 medium one (1.5 hours) and somedays a short one (45 mins). We had to  lower your crib after we came home from Christmas because you started pulling up on things. One night this month I woke up, heard you talking and went to check on you. You were sitting up in your bed (in the dark) just playing and jabbering away!
Eating - You eat about every 4 hours during the day, about 6 oz., and usually only wake once to eat at night. You love baby food - pears, apples, sweet potatoes, squash, prunes, green beans, peas - so far you love it all. You like your cereal - oatmeal and this month we gave you puffs for the first time. You really like them and do pretty well at getting most of them in your mouth. Still no teeth. You still enjoy your fruit in your mesh feeders too.

New discoveries - You love to move! Mrs. Marilyn calls you the energizer bunny. Put you down in one room and you will be in the next in no time at all. You also don't like to be left in a room by yourself now. Even if it is for just a second. You find any little thing we leave on the floor and it goes straight into your mouth. We've been learning to make sure the floor is clear before sitting you down.
New accomplishments - You can wave bye-bye and clap now. You have said "bye" a few times, along with "da-da" and an occasional "ma-ma" but nothing regular. That's ok though, I'm sure you'll be talking our ears off soon enough. You like playing patty-cake and love it when we say "yay!" you wave your hands in the air or clap them. It is too cute.
Places you went - Let's see, this month was a busy one. We started off by going to see Santa at BassPro with Daddy, Mommy, Nonna and Poppa. Then the next weekend Mommy and you flew to Odessa for Corey and Catherine's wedding. It was our first time to fly/travel that far without Daddy. You ended up getting a cold that weekend but we had fun visiting Mim & Pawpaw and celebrating at the wedding. We went to the Dugger Family Christmas lunch then headed to Oklahoma to spend the week with Nonna and Poppa before Christmas. You got so spoiled! Nonna and Poppa loved having you there to play with. We came home for a few days so Mommy could work and then went back to Oklahoma for New Years.

Special Memories - Celebrating our first Christmas as a family of 3! We did our Christmas early because we would be out of town on Christmas morning. After you woke up we got your presents ready and let you go after them. You weren't so sure at first, but after you got a big piece of paper off you were on a roll. Mommy and Daddy got you a play kitchen, some balls, a train and some books for Christmas. Since we weren't able to be with Mim & Pawpaw and Grandpa & Nana for Christmas this year, they mailed your gifts to us. You opened them on Christmas Eve. You got lots of cute clothes and toys from all your grandparents and aunts and uncles and are so blessed! We celebrated Christmas morning in Oklahoma with Nonna, Poppa, Uncle Daniel and Aunt April. Later we went to Grandmama and Grandad's house for a late lunch and to see all your other family. Peyton was there and the 2 of you had so much fun playing together. We spent New Years at the Dooley's (without Daddy since he had to work) and surprisingly you stayed up until 10, then woke up at 11:45 just in time for the countdown.

One thing I couldn't leave out is you got your first hair cut on the day after Christmas. See you haven't really lost much of the hair you had when you were born. Yes, it has gotten thinner but mostly it has gotten longer. You were beginning to get the mullet look in the back with wings on the sides. I really didn't want to cut it, but it seemed everyone who saw you said we should trim it and your hair would get thicker. So on the day after Christmas, with Nonna's help, I gave you your first trim. You were a champ and sat still with your toy while we worked. We trimmed about an inch and a half off and we were done.  Not too bad. Still can't believe we had to give you a hair cut at 8 months! ha!

Month 8 was a fun, busy month for you. Crawling was your preferred method of mobility this month and it was so much fun to watch you explore. Christmas was extra special this year, sharing it with you and seeing it through your eyes. I can't wait to get to make special Christmas traditions/memories with you each year. One of the things that sticks out this month is your laughter. Whether it was Daddy tickling you, Uncle Daniel acting silly, Poppa talking funny, Mommy making silly noises - I love to hear you laugh. So innocent and fresh. I pray that you will continue to learn to laugh and enjoy life. We are so blessed to be your parents and you are teaching us so much. Thank you for letting us learn how to be parents on you. Someday we'll look back on this and hopefully, we'll all laugh.

Love you baby girl!

~Mommy & Daddy

I somehow forgot to take your weekly lamb pictures this month. I'm going to blame it on being busy and traveling. But I did go back through my pictures and found one from each week of the month so those will have to work for this time. Mommy will try to do better next month! :)

Hair Cut Pics:

 

At day 2

At 1 week



Pre-trim

I'll have to take one from the back to get a good post-trim comparison.

 Our other Christmas Pictures will be on a separate post.