Never gets old...

It never gets old seeing Avery with my NY friends and family!

Since we see our VA friends all the time, it makes me appreciate even more the time our long-distance family and friends get to spend with Avery. I love watching people with her; trying to figure out who she looks like, enjoying her smiles and giggles, and seeing her 'firsts' (such as eating solids, rolling over, and being playful). I've been taking my camera everywhere, making sure to take pictures of her with different family members, and old friends! Here are a few pictures from the week I've been in NY.

Avery with her Uncle Jonathan and Auntie Nikki, and cousins Sam and Stella

Avery with her Papa and Great Grandma Dorr Avery with her Auntie Rebecca

Avery and I with my best friend from 1st grade- Wendy

Avery with Jen and her birthday buddy (1 yr apart), Evan

Dedication, Thankfulness, and Celebration

Dedication...Thankfulness...and Celebration was what we wanted Sunday to be all about!

One of the big reasons we made the trip to NY was because we wanted to have Avery dedicated with family surrounding us. Since family does not live near us, there are a lot of things they will miss out on: birthdays, recitals, school awards assemblies, and other things. But Avery being dedicated is something they didn't have to miss, because we purposely waited to do it until a time both families could be there. And it was so special!

The man who dedicated Avery is my families long time friend, and basically my second dad growing up. My parents have been best friends with Al and Lorraine for about 25 years, and we grew up with their three children. When I asked Al to do the dedication, he was honored, and I was so glad it was him who'd be doing it! I asked him to base it around the scripture verse that is on the wall above her crib...'I prayed for this child, and the Lord has answered by prayer.' ~ 1 Samuel 1:27. He also read a few other verses, and asked the witnesses at the dedication to hold John and I accountable for raising Avery in a Christian household, teaching her the gospel, and being an example of God's love to her as she grown up. John and I also asked both our fathers to read a verse that they thought would be applicable to raising a child, or being thankful for a child. It was so touching- and I couldn't hold it together...I cried!

We had both families there, and close friends...about 20-25 people came and it was just right! We did miss having our VA friends there, but I am so glad we did it with both families present!

Avery was a trooper, and and did great! I was a little worried that the dedication would interfere with nap time, but she handled it really well without much fussing!

5 months old

Avery turned 5 months old on Monday, and boy is she a fun little girl! I took these two different pictures on Monday, and although they were taken only a few hours apart, I feel like she looks way younger in the bottom picture! Weird, huh?


Here are a few things she's been doing...

* rolling over from belly to back (she hasn't mastered back to belly yet)
* almost sitting up by herself
* started one feeding a day of rice cereal
* making all sorts of sounds and playing with the different pitches of her voice
* starting the teething process
* bringing her feet to her mouth
* weighs 18.5 oz

Someone was ready

At Avery's 4 month appointment (one month ago), the doctor and Lactation Consultant talked to me about starting Avery on rice cereal, and then 'solid foods' such as mashed up fruits and vegetables. Babies typically start between 4-6 months, and Avery just turned 5 months old on Monday. There are a few things to look for when thinking about starting a baby on solid foods. Here are a few...

* Hand-eye coordination...check
* Lots of drool (which has the enzyme to break down solid foods)...check
* Interested in what we're eating...check
* Somewhat sitting up without help...check

The last few days I could tell that even after a regular feeding (of breast milk) she was not totally satisfied, so I decided to start rice cereal on Monday...and that little girl was so ready! Of course in the beginning it's a little awkward, and she didn't know exactly what to do with the spoon, and pasty new texture, but she quickly learned to like it!

It's a small step towards Avery growing up, and growing out of the infant stage! The last few days I've been giving her one rice cereal feeding a day, which seems to fill in the gap of her hunger. Soon we'll start doing two feedings a day, and then eventually work it up to four cereal feedings a day. After that comes fruits and vegetables...oh my!

New and improved

Here is are two recent pictures (taken with my cell phone so not the best quality) of the deck and patio. The steps are complete, and the left hand side hand railing is done, but the right still needs the in between posts to be installed). Soon we're going to put down grass seed, and hopefully have more grass than dirt surrounding the new deck and patio. The deck is 20x30, and fits lots of people and chairs well! The patio is a great space for the fire pit and a few chairs.

Spring and summer hang outs....here we come!

Then and Now

The forms show where the concrete patio will be. The section of the deck with no railings and posts is where the steps will be going down to the patio and grass.

The old deck- goodbye!

A lot has been going on home improvement wise the last few months. We took a pretty big break from working on the house around the time Avery was born, and then John started back up again around Christmas time.

We had the deck torn down (it was in pretty rough shape from the time we bought the house), and he and a guy named Ronnie built a new deck. It's been a bit of an on and off again project because of weather, and the holidays, but it's pretty much done and looks amazing! It's a much smaller deck than what had been there before, but that's fine. The deck that was there was an awkward shape, poorly built, and dangerous to be on. Like I said- it had been in rough shape when we bought the house, but then it got pretty beat up when the contractor installed the new windows, and siding on the house last Spring. John decided that he wanted a concrete patio off the deck, as a place for our fire pit to be and sort of an extension off the deck. Now there's lots of room for patio furniture, the fire pit, and friends...I'm even thinking of getting Avery a little kiddie pool for this summer to put on the deck!! I tried to find a before picture of the deck, but I couldn't. The only ones I could find were from when the back of the house was getting new siding last spring.

John has also been working a lot on the garage. He tore out some of the old sheet rock, and put up new sheet rock and closed in one of the beams to the garage. He also installed six can lights, which really brightens the garage, and gives it a much more 'finished' look. I don't have pictures, but trust me- it's looking much better than it was before! It's a much more functional space now, instead of a dumping ground for tools and whatnot.

Of course there's always a laundry list of things that need to get worked on and fixed when you own a home, but I'd say we're making great progress for two people who work and have a 4 month old baby! I'll post more pictures in a week when the rest of the patio is completed.

4 months

Avery turned 4 months old today- and seriously...I cannot imagine her getting any cuter, or more fun than this! But here's what's cool...I know this is only the beginning! She's sure to become more alert, more chatty, more giggly, and her personality is just beginning to blossom! She is so in love with both me and John- and she's a joy to come home to, whether it's after a few hours at work, or just getting her from a nap.

At her 4 month appointment, Avery weighed in at a whopping 16 lbs 9 oz, and is 26 inches long! She is in the 95% for both her height, and weight! She was a champ when she had her shots today, and only cried for a few seconds- you go girl!

You are dearly loved and adored little girl! Thanks for being the source of endless smiles and laughter the last few months!!