Two Peas in a Pod

After a long week, this is all this momma needs to look at to feel blessed and happy.  I LOVE my two girls. 

This week started out with me getting called in not once, but twice on Saturday night for work.  I got there the first time at 7PM, got home around 11.  Was just starting to roll over to go to sleep when my phone rang again... UGH.  Turns out the case was for a very little girl, so once I was there, did not care one bit,but just wanted her to feel better.  Got home around 2AM, got a random phone call around 3AM (thought it was work again), finally fell asleep only to have Avery wake me up to eat at about 5.

Then Sunday afternoon, unbeknownst to me, I left my wallet on top of my car while I was pumping gas on my way to a shower at church.  Didn't figure this out until Monday afternoon when I felt like my purse felt lighter than usual.  Awesome.  Credit card, insurance, license, etc.... all gone.  I blame it on how tired I was from the night before, but if I'm being honest, I probably might have done it either way. 

Tuesday morning, I left my breast pump at home and M had to drive an hour in traffic to come bring it to me before he went into work.  At this point, I'm thinking, "seriously, what is wrong with me?!"  He did say it gave him a better appreciation for the traffic I have to deal with going to and from work. :)

Had to get my license replaced Tuesday afternoon... You would normally think this would be an annoyance, but it actually ended up being a fairly ok experience.  Last summer when we got our licenses, we waited for FOUR hours.  This time it only took me an hour!

Now this brings me to yesterday afternoon... I was on the phone with mom while slicing potatoes on our mandolin slicer for some yummy scalloped potatoes... when it happened.  Yes, I sliced my finger, not the potato, like the whole tip of my finger.  I knew at that moment that it was way too deep to stop bleeding on its own, so I call M, knowing full well he's in an afternoon conference.  I tell him that's he's gotta come home, I need to go to the ER.  He's at least 45 minutes away, so I call Kelly and she's a bit closer.  Thankfully, Avery has been down for a LONG nap during this entire debacle.  Kelly arrives, we put Avery in her car, she drives me to the Urgent Care place and waits with me until M arrives, then takes Avery home with her.  Could she be a better friend?!

Unfortunately, I had no skin left to stitch.  So the doc had to burn my wound with silver nitrate to stop the bleeding.  He said, "You have two options, I can numb up your hand with 4 little injections at the base of your finger and then do it, or you can just go for it..it will take about 20-30 sec."  I just went for it... and it hurt....a lot.  After it was all said and done, M looked over at me and said, "Well baby, this has just not been your week."  No, no it's hasn't. 

Thankfully the week is almost over.  If I can just make it to tomorrow night unscathed, we will be golden.  Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Recent Notes on Life

1.  I am officially obsessed with Pinterest.  I know, I'm like a year late.  I'm never on time with these things.... I still don't really understand Twitter.  I have been using it like crazy lately to stock up on healthy recipes (rest of this baby weight has GOT to go), get ideas for Avery's first birthday party (it's going to be awesome!), and figure out fun/cute/educational ways to keep Avery preoccupied as she gets older. 

This is what I am making tonight.  Quinoa Mac n' Cheese.  I'll let you know how it goes :)

2.  Avery took her first plane ride recently.  She was a trooper on the way there.  I fed her as the plane was taking off, and she was asleep within the first 10 minutes.  She slept for about half the time, and was in a fantastic mood the rest of the flight.  When we got to the baggage claim, everyone kept commenting on how great she did, how cute she was, etc...  Way to go Aves.  The way home however, completely different story.  She did great until the last 30 minutes when she expressed her disdain quite vociferously.  Screaming...bloody murder.  Who could blame her?  It was her bedtime, pretty sure her little ears were hurting, and it became evident when we got home that her tummy was UPSET... We apologized profusely to everyone around us saying "I know people say this all the time about their kids, but she is really NEVER like this."  Thankfully, everyone was so understanding.

Avery in her beautiful French hand sewn gown that Honey got made for her for Andrew and Keela's wedding.  So beautiful.

Love my fam.  Gigantic fail for me.  I didn't take a single pic of the bride and groom.  But Keela looked gorgeous!

3.  Our Sam's Club just opened up right around the corner from the house.  I cannot contain my excitement.  Although, while it is not Costco, it is so close.  We went to the Grand Opening last night and were pretty much enthralled.  Apparently, so was the rest of Pearland; the place was packed.  Not gonna lie, I went back today with Avery just to get a Polish dog for lunch.  Unfortunately, I forgot that they do not take Visa Credit Card...that's all I had on me, that and a check.  It was $1.84.  I said to the lady, "It would be stupid to pay for a hot dog with a check, right?"  She just sort of stared at me...  So, I scavenged my purse for change...$1.71.  Really?!  I sat down stressed and contemplated my options... leave without my hot dog (really didn't like this option), go back out to the car and look for change (but I had Avery, and I had parked far away), or call Matthew simply to express my disgust.  Option 3 it was.  Apparently a good Samaritan overheard my phone conversation, and as I was getting off the phone handed me $1.  That hot dog was so worth it. 

4.  Pretty sure Avery is teething.  She has been fussy this week, which is not really normal for her, chomping on her paci like crazy, and drooling all over the place.  On top of that, she has recently started to think that 4AM is an appropriate wake up time.  Not so much. 

5.  Starting solids with Aves is going well.  We switched her from rice cereal to oatmeal, we think the rice was giving her tummy aches.  This girl LOVES to eat.  I will have to post a video at some point.

6.  I turned 26 this week.  Yuck... That's all I have to say about that.

7.  Avery is still the prettiest baby girl on the planet!

I mean.. am I wrong?

Happy Friday!  Apollo 13 is on.. Preceded by You've Got Mail...Enough reason for it to be a good day for me :)

4 months

This past Saturday Avery turned 4 months old!  As in 1/3 of the way to a year.  Your Daddy and I cannot believe it! Better start planning your 1st birthday party now!! :)

I know I'm a tad late in posting, but I wanted to wait until we went to the doctor today so we could get accurate stats on Avery's length and weight... and a little bit of the fact that Mon-Wed I'm barely surviving between getting up early, work, and coming home to take care of Aves.  Who has time to blog?! 

Avery, here are your stats at 4 months:

Length: 26 inches! (95th percentile)

Weight:  13 pounds 11.5 ounces (50th percentile)

Sleep:  About a week after you turned 3 months old, you started sleeping through the night consistently!  Oh happy day!  Currently, you are going down anywhere between 7:45 and 8:30 and sleeping until around 5:30.... Recently however, you have gotten into the habit of waking up in the middle of the night once, sometimes twice, and even a couple of times three times because you wanted your paci... Silly girl.  The pediatrician said today that starting you on solids might help you break out of this habit.  Soon and very soon, Mommy and Daddy might start letting you cry this out :(  Right now, it's so much easier to just go give you your paci and you're back out within 30 seconds.  But what's even more of an accomplishment is that you have finally started to learn to nap in your crib!  You used to only nap in it for about 20 maybe 30 minutes at a time.  You still do that sometimes, but you've had days where you have gone for longer than an hour multiples times.

Likes: You now LOVE bath time, you can't get enough of splashing your legs in the water, you think it's hilarious.  Also new this month... you love to go on walks with Mommy, Daddy and Lexi in your Baby Bjorn... facing outwards, you have to be able to see what's going on around you! Unfortunately this has been put on hold for now considering that the West Nile Virus has hit Houston.  Bummer.  You also love playing with toys, your pacifier, your exersaucer (thanks Mimi and Papa), hearing yourself talk/laugh, and having Mommy and Daddy read/sing to you. 

Dislikes:  You are a little co-dependent on Mommy and Daddy.  Sometimes it's so bad that you get upset when we turn our back on you!  But other times you are happy as a clam lying on your playmat by yourself.   Other than that you are pretty easy-going. 

Diaper Size:  2

Clothes Size:  This is interesting to me.  You have some onesies that are 0-3 months that you can still wear, others you are WAY too long to wear.  Mostly you are still in 3 months or 3-6 months.  We finally bought you some 6 months jammies... they fit you length-wise but swallow you whole width wise.

Feeding:  You are still exclusively getting breast milk.  And today we got the green light to start you on rice cereal!!  Very exciting stuff.  Which means Daddy needs to get down your high chair from the attic.  We will see how it goes.  No worries, we will get it on video for those who actually care to see it. When I talked to my sister today about how she was ready to start solids her reaction was, "I think you just need to put that off!"  I feel ya Ash, not ready for this baby girl to grow up!

Hair Color:  I had been planning all month to write, "I think her hair has officially turned to a dirty blonde"...until yesterday when M sent me a pic at work and her hair looked totally red again!  Who knows. 

Eye Color:  Dark blue.  Almost the exact same color as mine.

Nicknames:  We mostly call you Nug or Nugget, sometimes Aves.  We have been trying really hard to say your real name more frequently so that you can get used to hearing it!

Milestones:  This month you have really gotten the hang of rolling over from your stomach to your back.  Now we are working on back to tummy.  You are also starting to pull your paci out of your month and then put it back in yourself.  You grab onto anything and everything that you can get your sweet little hands on... And this month you really started to develop your laugh.  Before it was just a squeal, but now it's starting to sound legit.  Sweetest sound ever.

Avery, this stage you are in is just really fun.  Looking back to the first couple of weeks, I never imagined that at 4 months we would be here.  You are simply just an easy/happy baby.  You bring so much joy into our lives.  Your little personality is really starting to come out, you're a little bit of a ham, and a lot bit dramatic.. Gee, wonder where you got that from? :) 

We love you so much little Nug, I mean Avery. :)  

Let's just say that Mommy needs to buy you some Alabama gear for the rest of this year's football season... I don't think we can wear this until b-ball season arrives.  It's just too depressing.

I love walks!

Takes a lot of concentration

Can't get enough of that smile.

Not sure what she thinks about Buster

4 Years

4 Years of Marriage.  1461 Days.  35063 hours.  The best 2,102,400 minutes of my life.  This morning I woke up and thought of what I was doing on this particular morning 4 years ago... went to the gym, ate my dad's homemade waffles, relaxed a bit before heading to the church... But as good as that morning was, crawling into bed early this morning with Avery and Matthew is pretty hard to beat.

Matthew, I know our life used to consist of upscale food, sleeping late, impromptu trips and late nights out with friends.  It definitely looks a little different now that it's filled with diapers, burp cloths, and let's be honest, more baby clothes than Avery will ever wear.  As I watched you talking to our daughter this morning before you left for work, I was reminded of why I married you.  Besides being ambitious, handsome, intelligent, God-fearing, and outrageously funny, you have the biggest heart.  I love you Matthew.  Happy Anniversary!

September 6, 2008

Year 1- Headed to Flemings to celebrate! House sitting at Ed and Shawn's.  Our wedding cake topper tasted just as good as it did the day of the wedding!

Year 2- Cooked a fabulous dinner at "home".  House sitting again at Ed and Shawn's! Had just gotten back from our anniversary cruise.

Year 3- Spent a fabulous weekend with friends in Chicago.  Went to dinner just the two of us our last night there.  But the best anniversary gift ever that year... finding out we were expecting a few days before!

And today... A brief lunch out.  With an infant.. gotta improvise!

1 Year Ago Today....

 

We found out that we were expecting.  One of the top 5 most exciting days of my life for sure.  But you know what's more exciting than a stick with two lines on it?  A beautiful, precious baby girl.  A baby girl that I can cradle and rock to sleep, simply say "I love you" in a singsong voice to and see her break out into the gummiest, most perfect smile; a daughter that when I watch her sleep all I can do is thank God over and over for blessing us with this most incredible gift.  So, while two lines is great, being a mommy to Avery is a thousand times better.  

A Day in the Life of Avery

 A typical day for our baby girl looks like this:

5:15 AM- I start to stir in my crib, but on days when Mommy goes to work, Daddy comes in to give me a paci, and I go back to sleep.  On days when Mommy is home (those are my favorite!) I get to get in bed with Mommy and Daddy and fall back asleep for another hour or 2.

6:00-7:00AM-  This is usually when I get up to start my day!  If Mommy is gone, Daddy will play with me for about an hour until I start to get hungry.  He likes to sing me Acapella songs, read me books, and talk to me while he eats his breakfast.  Without fail, he ALWAYS takes a picture of me to send to Mommy at work so she doesn't miss me quite so much.  If mommy is home and I go back to sleep with her, I usually sleep until 8 or so, so she immediately feeds me. 

8:00AM-  Breakfast time!  Whether Mommy is able to feed me or Daddy is giving me a bottle... I LOVE to eat!

8:30AM-  If it's a school day, this is usually about the time Daddy takes me in.  If I'm at home with Mommy, we are probably playing some, or I'm hanging out in my baby swing while Mommy tries to take a quick shower.

9:15(30)- 11:00-  I take a nap.  Most of the time with Mommy :)  But if she needs to do things around the house, I sleep in my swing (not for nearly as long as if I was napping with Mom, can you blame me?!)  When I'm at school, I don't seem to nap nearly as long.  Most likely a combination of the noise and being used to snuggling up with Mommy :)

11:00-  Lunch time.  Since I have started day school, I have been thankfully eating and taking a bottle like a champ.  I usually drink all of the bottles that Daddy sends to school with me!

My favorite thing is going to meet Daddy for lunch at our favorite place, Ruggles Bakery!

11:45-12:30- I usually take an abbreviated post-lunch nap. 

12:30-2:00-  This is usually the time where Mommy tries to cook/clean/play with me all at the same time!  I usually switch back and forth between my playmat, bouncy chair, swing, and exersaucer.  I like to sit in my bouncy chair and watch Mommy cook in the kitchen :)

2:00- Afternoon snack. 

2:30-4:30PM-  I LOVE to take a long afternoon nap.  And when I'm at home, I know that when I get up from my afternoon nap, Daddy is close to being home!  When I'm at school, Daddy usually comes to pick me up between 5:00-5:30.  And let's be honest, a lot of days, it's earlier :)

5:00PM-  Early dinner.  Usually I eat, and then Mommy and Daddy chow down while I play in my bouncy chair

5:15-6:30PM-  This is when I get to hang out with Mommy and Daddy at the same time!  On work nights, they are usually running around like crazy trying to get everything ready for the next day.  But the other days, we get to hang out on the couch together.  Mommy and Daddy usually talk about how pretty I am, or try and get me to smile (which happens very easily :) 

Or... I play X-Box with Daddy!

6:30-7:00PM-  Splish Splash and I was takin a bath!

7:00-8:00PM-  Usually I start to get pretty tired/fussy around 7, and I am ready to go down for a nap.  So, I sleep for about an hour, Mommy wakes me up to feed me and I go down for the night around 8:30.

8:30- ???  SLEEP!

3 Months!

As of yesterday, our precious baby girl is 3 months old!  As in a 1/4 of the way to being 1 year old!  These last couple weeks have been challenging. With a trip to the ER,  Avery being put on a very strong antibiotic, her reflux coming back in full force, and as of Monday me starting back to work, this mommy was feeling the stress.  I'm not going to sugar coat it... it has been rough.  I knew it would be a big transition, but I definitely didn't think it would be this big of an adjustment.  I'm not going to sit here and pretend that it's been better than I thought, or say things like, "I'm sure I will get used to it".   I have a crazy amount of mom guilt for leaving her.  I don't know what I would have done without my mom being here this week.  There are just some times in your life when you need your mom, and this was definitely one of those times!  I know that I am neither the first nor the last mom who goes back to work, but it doesn't make it any less hard!

Anyway, on to happier things!

Avery, here are your stats at 3 months:

Weight:  11 pounds 14 ounces

Length: 24.5 inches

Sleep:  Your sleep habits are sporadic at best!  For 5 days straight 2 weeks ago, you were sleeping 10 plus hours a night.  That of course stopped a few days before mommy was supposed to go back to work.. I knew it would :)  2 nights ago, you only went 4 hours at a time, but last night you went almost 8!   Most nights now, you go anywhere from 5 1/2 to 7 1/2 hours right after we first put you down.  It's not too bad unless the 5 hour nights happen on the nights before mommy goes to work... Tuesday morning, you woke up at 3:40 and Mommy normally gets up at 5 to go to work... so I didn't get to go back to sleep.  Neither did Daddy for that matter.  Now that we are both working, Daddy now gets the nudge in the middle of the night when Mommy has trouble getting you back to sleep! :)

Likes:  You love being talked and sung to, your paci, baby swing, being swaddled, and since we have gotten back from vacation, you LOVE taking naps with Mommy.  Mommy doesn't mind it so much either :)

Dislikes:  You have a love/hate relationship with bath time.  If we put you in and you're remotely fussy, it sends you into a rage!  If you are in a good mood when you get in, you actually seem to enjoy it!  You also hate being put in your bumbo, and you still despise your tummy time. 

Diaper Size:  You are still wearing a size 1, but really it's only because we have a whole box of them left!  I'm convinced you are really ready for a size 2!

Clothes Size:  You have grown out of most of your 0-3 month clothes and are almost exclusively in 3 month clothing, but some of the 3-6 months stuff is too wide for your skinny frame.  You are just SO long!

Feeding:  You are still only getting breast milk whether it is in a bottle, or I am able to nurse you.  Honey said you did great taking your bottles during the day when Mommy was at work.  Since Mommy is working 3, 10 hour days, you are still able to nurse more than you are bottle-fed, thankfully. 

Hair Color:  Some days it still looks a little strawberry blonde, but I'm pretty sure the new hair growing in is either a very light brown or a dark blonde. 

Eye Color:  Beautiful dark blue!

Nicknames:  Nug, Nugget, Love, Lovie, Aves, Aves McGaves, and AG

Milestones:  You are talking/cooing up a STORM!  You LOVE to hear your little voice.  You have the sweetest little laugh I have ever heard.  You have also rolled over!  You have rolled from your tummy to your back numerous times, despite the fact that you hate your tummy time; it is apparently working!  Daddy said the other morning after mommy had gone to work, you looked close to rolling from your back to your stomach.  You've also discovered your hands and feet.  You love to stick your hands in your mouth. 

Avery Grace, you are the biggest blessing.  I cannot get over how much I love you.   It is so hard to leave you on days that I have to work, because you and I had gotten ourselves into a great little routine.  I will always cherish those 3 months that we got to spend together at home.   I would not trade a single sleep-deprived moment.  Daddy and I love you so much little Nug.  But seriously, if you can make time slow down a bit, we would appreciate it!

My sweet girl.

Mommy and Daddy's friend Katherine Garman, KG, came to visit us, or really you, here in Houston!  You were BIG fans of one another.  She is already spoiling you rotten :)

Thanks Aunt KG for my new outfit!

It says "I love my Aunt" and Daddy put a sticker that says KG!