Day After Christmas

So, the day after Christmas, we went to my in-laws for a family dinner. But the most surprising thing from that day was the way Avery played with her cousin's from VA! At this age, I have read where most kids play next to each other, but not really with each other. And if they do, it doesn't usually turn out. Well, Avery definitely played WITH JD, Alyssa, & Aaron and they were absolutely amazing with her. JD taught Avery how to play his new Nintendo DT, Alyssa played with her, and Aaron apparently taught her how to open presents! It was such a nice, but short, visit with Janet's family from Inverness, FL and VA. Here are some pictures. The first is a 4 generation picture with Avery, Daddy, Grandma, and MeMa along with Alyssa. She was so cute I didn't want to ask her to move. Her dad tried, but I told him she was fine. :) The others are of the kids opening presents.

Christmas

This year was Avery's second Christmas. I have to say it was more fun for us since she could actually stay awake and play with her gifts this year! Christmas Eve was at our house again this year with my in-laws. I was afraid dinner wasn't going to turn out since I didn't have my mom helping this year, but, with Sarah's help, we pulled it off! When growing up, my family tradition was to have shrimp, fettuccine alfredo, and fried bread with sugar (yum-yum!), so I really wanted to pass this on with our family. While I was advised to have garlic bread instead of the fried bread by my mom and aunt, but I was determined to do it anyway. Well, it was delicious and I am so happy we tried it.
We decided to open all the wrapped gifts from family on Christmas Eve so Avery could have Christmas morning to play with her presents from Santa. This worked out really well as we learned from her birthday party that we can't do too many gifts at once as she looses interest. While I think this will be the last year we can sleep in until 9am, we definitely took advantage of it. "Sarah Claus," as Brian puts it, put together most of her Christmas morning stuff as Brian feel asleep before we got started. He mentioned that in the future he will put all gifts together at his office beforehand and then just let Santa bring them to the house Christmas Eve. LOL, some of the other guys & the owner already do this with the bigger gifts, so I told him they should designate an area in the shop each year just for Christmas! Anyway, here are a few pictures for you to enjoy.

Avery was such a BIG helper!

Avery helped Sarah put up the Christmas tree. Yes, I was horrified that she was going to trip and poke herself, but Sarah and I wouldn't let her walk around with the tree branches.

Merry Christmas!

Avery's First trip to the Park

During Thanksgiving weekend, my mom and I decided to take Avery down to our community park for the first time. I have been wanting to do this with her, but I also wanted pictures. So, I needed someone to go with me. Finally, I was able to recruit "Nana." Avery did really well on the swing, but her favorite was mastering going from the grass to the sand over the PVC pipe. Once she finds some kind of step she hasn't done before, she loves to keep doing it until she does it successfully by herself. It is the cutest thing! There were a few other kids there that she liked to watch, but wasn't ready to play with them yet.

34 weeks prego and general update

So, of course, with it being the busiest time of year, my computer's hard drive had to fail as well! In the last week, I have been able to get everything back up and running (well, with Brian's help) but it hasn't been fun. Plus, the family has been in some way or another sick the last week. I had a bad sinus thing going on, Brian was getting a fever with his cold last night, and Avery has been coughing with some really mild cold symptoms. Needless to say we have not been bored lately. :)
Anyway, I had my 34 week appt today and everything is going well. Can you believe it - Baby #2 is almost here! Her heart beat was 144bpm (normal) and seems to be doing well. At my next appt (36 weeks AKA Christmas Eve), my Dr will do a physical check on her status. Ie: head down, if I am dilating at all, etc. From that point on, I will be going in every week until she makes her appearance. Craziness! And for those of you that are wondering, no - still no official name yet. While our little poll indicated the majority liked Peyton, Brian still isn't convinced. Each week he changes it - this week it is Ashlee. Our goal this weekend it to make something official, so I will keep you posted.

As for Avery, she is doing well. Other than her Strep over the summer, this is her first time being sick. And to be honest, she doesn't even act like it. She is just coughing with mild tantrums once in a blue moon. I really can't complain. Hopefully she gets rid of this thing on her own and just builds up her immunity system. Other than that, not much else. Here are some pictures from the last few weeks.

Avery in my mom's rocking chair & during a bath with Dad

Avery's first ice cream cone - can you tell she liked it?? LOL

Our visit with the Smith's

This weekend, Avery and I are in Tampa spending some wonderful time with my high school friend, Liz, and her son, Jacob while they are visiting in Tampa from Las Vegas. Jacob is 3 yo and so sweet! Avery seemed to really enjoy her time with them as I know I did. Here are some pictures at Liz's parents backyard and house. Avery went down a slide for the first time today, and she even did it by herself. I am so proud of her. Jacob did so well with her, I was impressed. He helped Avery use the slide and was very patient with her when waiting for his turn. He is going to be a GREAT Big Brother some day. :) We can't wait to see the Smith's again - hopefully sooner than later!

Avery loves the purse Aunt Karyn gave her for her birthday. Here she is wearing it as a hat - her new favorite use for it! :) SO cute! She also loves her "Big Girl" chair. Every day she sits in it about 50 times.

The best concert EVER!

15 years ago they walked away - and I am SO happy they decided to come back! Sarah, my sister-in-law, and I went to the NKOTB (New Kids On The Block) concert in Tampa Nov 2nd and had a BLAST! Even Baby Hall was dancing the whole time! :) Out of all the concerts I have been to, this one has been the best. If I wasn't 28-29 weeks prego, I would have danced and sang the ENTIRE concert! Ahhh - I can't stop talking about it! Anyway, since Avery couldn't come with us, Sarah bought her a souvenir. 2nd generation "Block Head" in the making. :)

28 weeks prego

Yesterday I had my 28 week appt. All is well with the baby and I which we are glad to report. I had to take the glucose test and passed just fine. Above is one of the ultrasound pictures taken. One side is her profile in 2D and the other is her in 3/4D. Though she was being pretty cooperative, the umbilical cord was in the way most of the time. This caused us not to get a very good 3/4D picture. Luckily, I was being a guinea pig as my Dr just got this new machine. So, I am sure I will be getting others done in the future. He actually wanted me to come into the office last Saturday when he got it, but I was in Tampa at the Neil Diamond concert with my mom. :) As I made my appt for the Wed before Thanksgiving, I realized how close we are to meeting our little one. I will start going every 2 weeks and then it's every week. Wow, I guess we should be finding that perfect name sooner than later! ;)

Well, as most of you know, it was Halloween yesterday as well. Since I ended up being at the Dr's office for about 5 hours (my appt and then I went back about an hour after so the Dr could play around with the 4D), we weren't going to get back in time to "Trick or Treat." She did wear her pumpkin costume to the Dr office though! To be honest, I really wasn't worried about "Trick or Treating" since Avery, being almost 13 months, doesn't really need the chocolate (though Mommy and Daddy wouldn't have minded it!) and she seemed too interested in her little sister anyway. She loves to watch the screen during the ultrasounds. Anyway, a few weeks ago Avery had her 1 year photo session and we got a few done with her costume on. Once I get them, I will post them so you can see. We hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

Please be sure to take our Name poll while you are here. It will be up until Nov 9th. Thank you!!

Random pictures from this month

First time trying to feed herself rice cereal - I think we will wait to try this again!


We found out Avery loves horses when my friend, Mike, and I went on a pumpkin patch search!


"Look at all those pumpkins!"


Avery sat down for all of 2 seconds to get this picture.


This was one of my favorite pictures Mike took on our little adventure.


"Which one should Uncle Mike get?"


Avery LOVES sports! Here she is watching the Rays beat the Red Sox!


This is her "new" smile - she loves to show off her teeth now!


She kept asking for a lemon at a restaurant, so I gave it to her. This is the face she made, but kept sucking it! Daddy loves to eat lemons, so she must be taking after him. :)

Avery looks SO big in this picture! She has mastered sucking out of a straw. In this picture, she is fully enjoying her favorite thing, Daddy's homemade smoothies with fruit, yogart, and peanut butter! Below is a short video of Avery's new favorite game - kicking a balloon like a soccer ball. I think she wants to grow up to be like her Aunt Karyn - a professional soccer player! Her laugh is too die for as well.

Avery's 1st Birthday!

Wow, I can't believe Avery is 1 already! It's so hard to imagine!! Anyway, her birthday party went well. Friends and family came over and we had a wonderful time. Thank you for those that came! It was really nice as Brian's sister, Karyn, and her son Stephen also came in from Seattle as a surprise on Avery's birthday. It was a great week getting to see them and see how Stephen has grown since we saw him in May. Avery did wonderful with him, which makes me feel much more at ease for when she gets to see her little sister in January. Which, BTW, we have NOT found a name yet. LOL, it is MUCH harder this time around. I swear we have gone through atleast 50 names and just can't find the perfect one. So, we will keep you posted.
Here are some pictures from Avery's birthday. One of these days, I will get some pictures of Avery eating her cupcake from Brian's mom as I was busy dealing with her and Brian was video taping. Enjoy!

Brian and I when we were 1 yr old!

Avery's new "baby leash" - the camera! ;)

Avery helping Daddy put together her new 3-in-1 bike
"Weeee - thanks Daddy for putting this together!"

"Yes, can I help you?"

Avery's new Disney Princess "Big girl chair"

"I love my cousin Stephen" w/ Aunt Karyn and Aunt Sarah

"Stephen, at my party you have to wear a hat."

"I'll help you stand just like me!"