Dear Avery, 19 Months

Dear Avery,
So your Mama has been slacking a little on your blog post updates! (Ok, ok, 7 months of slacking..but who's counting, right?) I guess that is what happens when you have an active toddler in the house....and you are definitely that. So right now at 19 months, without further ado....

Physically:
You are running everywhere. You love to follow sidewalks, hold hands and walk whenever you can.
You have been taking a parent and tot gymnastics class the last month. The first class we went to, you cried and buried your head in my shoulder. I thought maybe we shouldn't go back.  I am glad we stuck with it because now, when we walk into the gym, you let go of my hand and run right in! You are becoming more confident and independent every day.  At gymnastics you have been walking on balance beams, climbing on mats, doing forward rolls, running down the tumble track and learning to jump with two feet.

Big changes:
So at the beginning of June, we moved into a new house. It s only thirty minutes away, but I was worried how you would take the change. But luckily, you were barely phased. I really think you like the new freedom you have in your new house, and how you have more room to play. You now have a playroom! You also have a fenced in yard. In our old house, I had to chase you all over the yard. In our new house, you can walk out the back into the yard to play with your toys. Its nice that I can see you playing right from the kitchen. I don't feel like I have to be trailing you so much anymore, you have a safe place to explore and learn.

Talking:
You LOVE to say the words you know. These words include Mama, Dada, dog, ball, Nana, Papa, chicky, car and duck. We are still waiting for that huge "word explosion" with you that everyone talks about with toddlers. It is crazy how much you understand though. Whether we ask to to throw something away, give the ball to Bailey, go let the dog inside, put your blocks away, you do it! I feel like once you start talking, you're not going to stop. You are very curious and love exploring, so I am sure this will reflect in all your questions!

Some Favorites:
Kisses. Some of your favorite things now include giving kisses. You kiss EVERYONE! Kids on the playground, your family, Nana and Papa through skype...you're a lover!

Stacking blocks. I am amazed at how well you do this. If you see a block is off balance, you readjust it. Sometimes I think you could stack better block towers then I could.

The playground. We have a little playground on our street a few houses down. You know its there. You try to go there any time we are out front. You love to slide down the slide and are climbing the structure all by yourself! You're getting so big I can't even stand it.

Water. You love baths, pools, beaches. Sinks. If it has water, you love it. You are so fun to watch at the beach. It's like the ocean is a magnet, and you want to be in it the whole time when we go. You're so cute out there splashing around.

Bailey. She is your ultimate BFF. You guys play together. You ride her like a horse. You sneak her people food. You hand feed her dog food. She follows you up for your nap. You say DOG first thing when you wake up. You also even try to imitate us by taking plastic bags out to the yard to pick up doggy poop.That is some serious love right there.

Books. You LOVE sitting on our laps reading. Especially at night before bed.

Animals. Although you call everything dog and duck right now, you LOVE seeing animals. Whether its a caterpillar outside or the dog down the street, you can't get enough.

Being Silly. You love to make funny faces, esp. your famous CHEESE face where you close your eyes and smile really big. You love making people laugh, and you love the attention!! (You get it from Dada...hehe)

Food:
Chocolate...need I say more? You are also loving figs, cheese, whole apples, mandarin oranges, salt and vinegar kettle chips, blueberries, chicken nuggets, wheat crackers, eggs with cheese, and pancakes. ICE!

I can't wait to see what is next. Each stage of your life is cuter than the last.

Love you!
Mama

Dear Avery, Months 11 and 12

Dear Avery,
This has been an exciting time in your life! You starting walking two weeks after I wrote your October blog post, so that puts you a walker at about 10.5 months. We were sitting in the family room and I was talking on the phone with one of your great grandparents. All of a sudden, you just starting taking steps! Over the next few weeks, you really got more and more confident in your skills. Over time, you were taking bigger and bigger steps and even beginning to even run! I remember seeing you for the first time in the neighbor's yard across the street. You were playing in the grass with them, running around and I just couldn't believe you were growing up so fast. I remember thinking, is this my BABY "playing" with these kids? I remember you even tumbled down the little ditch, got right back up and kept on running!
In month 11 you had your first Thanksgiving. Our friends across the street came over and we had a big meal and you got to have a fun day of playing. It is great to have people around in the same boat as you that you spend holidays away from home with. It makes the holiday far less lonely.
As you neared your first birthday, you became a very confident walker/runner! You began walking backwards and you were so sly about it. You also loved running up and down our little hallway in our ranch house and chasing Bailey around.
During your first Christmas season, we went to a real tree farm to pick out your first real Christmas tree. Day after day, we had to move the ornaments from the bottom of the tree because they were bright and shiny toys to you! Our tree looked silly but it was still special. We also visited many Santa Clauses, and you cried at each one. You even got to meet Gunny Claus, the military Santa at your Daddy's work Christmas party.
We traveled home to NY for your very first Christmas and for your first birthday party. I always tease that you are one of the oldest babies to have a first birthday since you were born only a few days after Christmas last year. You had your first plane ride on this trip, and overall did much better then I anticipated you would.
You didn't quite understand the concept of staying still on Mama's lap, but you were now a mobile one year old! Trying to run down the airplane aisle seemed way more thrilling then being held down on our laps. Your Daddy and I were laughing a lot because you kept pointing at the people around us on the plane. After you pointed they would try to high five you or say hi, and you would bury your head in our shirt. Then you would do it all over again!
In New York we got to celebrate Christmas Day with all our extended family. They loved seeing you dressed up in your black and white sparkly Christmas dress. You had so, so, so many presents. You are one lucky, loved and blessed little girl to have so many people that love you like they do. When we were opening presents you loved the paper and boxes. You also loved a tiny little light up spinning penguin Grandma put in your stocking. Then we lost your attention on all the other presents! It was fun watching you amidst all of the chaos.
Your new year's was pretty quiet. Last year we spent it in the hospital, and this year you were fast asleep long before the ball descended. We spent the evening with your Uncle Kevy eating appetizers and watching movies.
Your very first birthday party was also on this trip. This is just one of many huge milestones in your life, and made me realize how far you have come. We celebrated at Romeo's Restaurant. Your Grandma was a great help decorating everything in a red and turquoise penguin theme. It ended up being so cute, and perfect for you. Every single person that showed up to that party means a lot to our family. Again, you are so lucky to have each and every person care about you! Also, we had friends from afar send you beautiful cards and gifts that couldn't make it that day. I save all of those cards for you, and when you are old enough you will have them all bound together as a testament to all the love and support of those closest to you. I never want you to question the amount of people that care about you in this world!

You are a very special little girl and we feel so lucky to be your parents. We love you to the stars and back, and can't wait to see what next year has in store for us.
Love,
Mama

11 Month Picture

 

Christmas Dress in NY

Tree in NC

Snow in NY

 First Birthday Party

I'm ONE!

Dear Avery, 10 Months

Dear Avery,
You have hit double digit months! You have been settling well back into life in North Carolina. We have met some really nice new people and you are loving all the playdates you are getting!

This past month you got two teeth, almost at the same time! I thought at this rate you would never get them, but finally they showed up. You look so cute with your new teeth, but waking up three times a night again is not so cute. Daddy says you look like a reverse bunny rabbit.

You are getting more and more confident with your standing every day. You stand for many seconds at a time and have even taken a few tiny stutter steps if Daddy or I coerce you. I hold my breath every time I see you take one of these little steps just waiting for you to take off. In my head I say you aren't walking until you do two steps in a row without falling, so as of now I have only seen one! (This may just help me feel better. My little baby is getting so big!)

You are doing a lot of screaming and babbling.You like to mimic Daddy & if he makes a lot of loud babbling noise; you do it right back. You also play your little piano together. Father/daughter band coming in the future? ;-)

This month we went to Mike's Farm to your first pumpkin patch. You had fun swinging all the pumpkins around and eating them. Also around your ten month birthday (well a day after) was your first Halloween! We went to a fun Halloween playgroup in the morning and you got to wear your costume. Then we had lunch with a friend, and lastly went to a little pre-party across the street which ended with Trick or Treating around the neighborhood.  More like Daddy bringing you up to the door and saying Trick or Treat, while Mommy stayed at the end of the driveway a tad bit embarassed at his enthusiasm, haha. It was a fun and busy day!

We also left you with your first babysitter's here in NC so Mommy and Daddy could go to a Chinese Auction at Daddy's work. Vicky and Aaron did awesome and we love them so much for taking such good care of you!

I LOVE YOU!
Mama

 Standing for longer periods of time.

Happy First Halloween to the cutest little elephant around..

Dear Avery, Months 8 and 9

Dear Avery,
You are getting so big!! Since your Daddy came home a week before you turned 8 months old, things have been a whirlwind. I didn't get a chance to write your 8 month post so I figured I would just combine the two. Well month 8 was a big one for you! You started to crawl very early in the month, almost right after I wrote your 7 month post. The first time I saw you crawl, you and I were out on the deck with the dog. Bailey's toy was a few feet away from you and the next thing I knew you were scrambling for it! You were clunky and awkward at first, but isn't every baby? I was so excited and immediately took a video.

Since you started crawling, you really haven't stopped. You are already into everything! You would pull all the dirt out of Grandma's plants and head straight for underneath the coffee table. You figured out quickly how to crawl through them and the house became a jungle gym. You began to pull up on ANYTHING you could get your hands on...people, couches, TV stands...decorative vases....It was all just a means for you to stand up. You do the same thing still. You love to be upright!

As you progressed on to almost 9 months, you have started clapping. A few days after we arrived in NC, you began to do the clapping motion and you made your Daddy and I get a little teary eyed. We were so proud to see you do that! You clapped for an hour in your crib that night instead of sleeping because you loved your new skill so much.

You also began eating actual "food"! We started with those baby mum mum crackers and you moved on to the little cheerio like pieces you can buy in the store. I was so scared you were going to choke so I would still break them up into tiny pieces. One day when I wasn't looking you grabbed a whole piece and ate it on your own, (without dying like I thought may happen) and I knew from that moment on you were way ready for bigger pieces of your own food!

Since Daddy came home we made lots of visits to family and got to see some of our favorite couples get married. We made a big journey to Michigan for some of our very close friends Katie and Josh, and this was your first long car trip. You watched Elmo on repeat for 9 hours there and home. You loved it! It was the reason we got through the trip. Mommy and Daddy listened to Elmo for 10 hours there and home. Not so much love to Elmo at that point from us.

Finally, in the middle of September it was time to leave our wonderful family in NY and head back to our home in North Carolina.  Our family was so wonderful to us while your Daddy was deployed and we all miss them terribly. We did another 12 hour drive back to NC with a U-HAUL. And more Elmo...

It has been so nice having our family together again and your Daddy has loved spending this last month with you. You say da da da to him a lot and it is the cutest thing ever. We are glad to be your parents and you make every day a wonderful adventure.

We love you!
Mama AND Dada (finally) :)

 Standing in your room in NC!

 Reading with Daddy when he came home

 Happy 8 months!

Car trip back to NC with your bff Bailey

9 month pictures to come!

Dear Avery, 7 Months

Dear Avery,
      On July 30th you turned 7 months old. It is crazy to think that you are now closer to your first birthday then you are to when you were born. This post is going to be short and sweet since I was a little late on getting it done.

     As you finished up your sixth month,  you weigh 16.8 lbs according to Grandma's bathroom scale. You have really been showing your strength this month, too. You are sitting up really well, and we even tried a restaurant high chair for the first time. You can also pull yourself up to your feet if you are leaning on something strong. You also have started scooting around on your bottom. You even crawl backwards a little before you tumble over. I think by next month you will be crawling all over the place. You are already almost there! You also enjoy eating anything out of a pouch. Your favorite flavor is Plum Organic's blueberries, pears and purple carrots. YUM!

  Oh and big news coming up.... right after I wrote your six month post, you started sleeping in your actual crib! Before this you would only sleep on an incline.Yay for you :)

     Your Daddy will be here by the time I write your month 8 letter. I am so excited for us all to do fun things together like go to the zoo and to the park. But I am more excited for the normal day to day things like bedtime stories together and eating dinner as a family. He is going to be blown away when he sees how big you are. I can't wait to watch him see all the things I have seen these past 7 months. You are a strong and beautiful little girl and I love you more than anything!

Love,
Mama

Dear Avery, 6 Months

Dear Avery,
On June 30, you turned a half of a year old!  If time goes by this fast, you are going to be so big in no time. At your six month check up you weighed in at 15 lbs 4 oz and measured 25 inches long. You were in low percentiles in weight and height, but the doctor says you are SO healthy and just petite.

I know I have said you were strong since the beginning, but I can't believe your strength sometimes. You are now sitting up without any support. And you LOVE to sit. Gone are the days when you would play nicely on your back and look at your toys. You want to be upright all the time. You also love to be pulled up by your arms and stand on your feet. You even try to pull yourself up from sitting on the couch. The other day when we went out to eat, you were sitting so nicely in the booth next to me. The next thing I knew, you were using the table for support to stand up by yourself! I think you may possibly walk before you crawl.

Over this past month you have started blowing bubbles and grabbing your feet and putting them in your month. You can roll in both directions. One of the biggest accomplishments was that you started sleeping in your crib right around the time you turned six months. Your sleeping is still not perfect, but it is getting better. You wake up a few times in the night to eat still. We are working on it and I know you will stop when you are ready. This makes me so happy that we are making progress with your sleeping. You also take 2-3 naps each day. You love to cat nap!

We brought up your pack and play and you love to play with your toys in there. You also love to sit in your high chair and watch everyone do things around you. You are eating two meals a day. Usually fruit in the morning and veggies for dinner. You still hate rice cereal but we'll see if that changes. You love when Grandma sings "Little Bunny Fufu" to you. You love when anyone sings to you for that matter! You also went in your first big girl swing this past month at Davis Park.

This past month you have become weary of people you don't know. You love to be with Grandma and Grandpa, but if other people try to hold you sometimes you get scared, stick your lip out and cry.  We need to work on this lip thing or I can already hear your Daddy telling me that I taught you that.

My favorite thing about this month is you starting giggling. When I say "mamamama" to you or do an exaggerated laugh I can usually get you to laugh too. It is adorable to hear you laugh and talk. You love to talk to your "sister" Bailey!

I am SO happy to tell you that in about a month your Daddy will be home to be with us. I can't wait until he can experience all of the things I tell him about you doing. He loves hearing what new things you are accomplishing and he always tells me how cute you are. I can tell he is so proud of you! I can't wait until we can all go do family things together. And I think he has lots of Daddy/Daughter time coming...:)
I love you so, so much my sweet girl.
Mama

 Hanging our with your bff!

 Climbing!

Dear Avery, 5 Months

Dear Avery,
   On May 30th you turned 5 months old! It feels like just the other day you were born. Time is going fast.
   This month has not been short of changes. I am starting to see your personality come out more and more every day. When you wake up in the morning and I peak over at you, you have the BIGGEST smile on your face. It is so cute!
   Well our cute little girl used to only take naps in her swing. Until recently. A few weeks ago, you just decided you didn't want that swing anymore. You cried and cried when we put you in like usual, and overnight you decided you hated that swing. Not since that day have I successfully been able to get you in there! You are beginning to nap in your crib finally now. Hopefully we can transition you in there for all your sleeping soon, but for now you won't give up that rock and play without a fight. ;)
   Also this month you continue to show us how strong you are. You are kicking your legs like crazy and just beginning to actually jump in your jumper. You love to stand up on your feet too when we hold your arms. You are very grabby, and anything we are holding you think should be yours. You especially like to grab for plastic water bottles and paper towels.
    Some exciting news to share is that you are beginning to sit up already! I can let you sit up by yourself for a few seconds before you begin wobbling all over the place. You love to be involved in everything going on. In fact, you are the happiest when you are sitting with Grandpa, Grandma or I.
   Another big moment this month was your big debut in your big girl high chair! It attaches right on the counter top island at home. It is nice because you get to be a part of dinnertime. It also rotates so I can turn you every which way. You are still a little small for it, but you love sitting there with us while we eat and talk. You love to bang your toys around and have started the ever so fun game called drop your toys on the ground and watch everyone pick them up.
   You are beginning to eat solid foods more and more. Usually you eat a little bit every day. You have tried and loved sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, pears, apples and bananas. You have tried and disliked peas. But I think you will come around.
   You just starting wearing your six month clothes, so the trend seems to be you wear clothes a month before. You started wearing three month clothes at two months and now six month clothes at five. We will see if this continues or if you have a major growth spurt!
   All I know is that no matter how hard the days can be, I thank God everyday for entrusting us with protecting and caring for your little life. Like I always tell you, you are the smartest and most beautiful little girl in the world.

I love you so, so much.
Mommy

P.S. Your Daddy should be home the month after next!!!!