First Haircut!

This week I decided Avery needed her first haircut.  Her hair had really been bugging me because it was all different lengths from growing out since she was born.  Plus, Avery has the thinest hair ever-so it was looking unkempt.  I put her in her booster with a coloring book, crayons and some yogos.  All I really wanted to do was even it all up so that it could grow out better...mission accomplished-I think!  I didn't save any hair (much to the chagrin of Artie) because her hair is so fine that I couldn't get a chunk of it.  She did really well for me, other than wanting to turn and see what mommy was up to back there!!  That was our big excitement thus far this week...other than Avery cutting all 4 molars at once!  The beginning of the week was pretty rough for her, two are through and we're waiting on the other ones so that she doesn't have to be in so much pain anymore!!  Happy Hump Day:)

P.S. For those of you asking, I will try to get a belly shot up soon-we're 3 weeks from the big event today!

This happens to be a 'before' picture of Avery's hair-although she had just had a bath so it's wet and you really can't tell. We recently got a bench for our foyer and this is the mirror to it...Avery was in the midst of a very  excited conversation with herself in this pic! Domer (our retriever mix) even stood and growled into the mirror at himself-funny stuff!

Very bad 'before' shot, but Miss Avery was being uncooperative with the hair pictures.

Here's an 'after' shot-all evened up! She had her head tilted back so it looks slightly longer than it is. In some places I took almost 2 inches off! It went from being down to her shoulder blades, to just resting on her shoulders.

This is one Artie snapped after dinner on the day of the haircut...she gobbled up a popsicle for dinner because her teeth were just hurting too bad.

Family

This weekend we got to spend time with both sides of the family.  On Saturday, we attended a birthday party in the Fort for our nephew, Garrett, who is turning 2!  We all had a great time, but Avery especially had a blast.  She got to see Grandpa B., uncle Chad, aunt Jamie, cousin Garrett (of course), and other extended family on Artie's side.  Plus, there were lots of kids around her age that she got to play with and different dogs to give her kisses-boy did she sleep well!  Today, I made lunch and Avery got to visit with her maternal side as Grandpa R., aunt Cim and uncle Jake came by.  What a busy, warm and sunny weekend!

Wow!  Check out that awesome cake:)  It tasted really good too!

Avery taking a quick drink break on daddy's lap. She shot hoops, played in the sandbox and carried chairs around the yard-she was thirsty!

Cheeeeeeeeese!  Garrett LOVES cameras-it's so funny, he will 'cheese' for you to take a picture of him:)

Opening presents...what would a birthday be without those??!!

Avery was in love with this slide.  She definitely needs one in her own backyard!  

Sunday I made red velvet cupcakes...Avery got one with dinner and actually ate it!  She has never been a big cake eater, but these must have been special because she gobbled it up!

Big blue eyes!  She ended up in the tub right after this!

Smurf Sampling?

Today, it feels like summer in the Fort.  Not quite what I was hoping for-I know, I've been begging for nice weather-but being very pregnant and weather in the 80s don't mesh well together.  We were just in the 40s a few days ago-where'd the sunny 60s go??  Anyway, hopefully the nice weather is here to stay (though we're supposed to have 4 or 5 straight days of rain next week when we just had like 3 in a row...I don't know how people are mowing their yards around here, ours is a swamp).  So today, we took Avery to her 18 month check up and are working on getting used to a new doctor.  We left our original practice because 2 of the 3 doctors when we started are leaving/gone (including Avery's) and the practice is dissolving.  So we chose a new practice and a new doctor.  It's really tough finding a good doctor for your child.  We are happy that we did it now so we know that we like her and just in time for Spencer to arrive!  It's really been kind of stressful switching doctors-this is actually Avery's 3rd in her very short 18 months.  Her original doctor, which we just adored, left the practice to go part-time to have another baby.  Then we switched to the other female in the practice for a few check ups before deciding to leave-thank goodness since like I said they are dissolving. 

 Anyway, here are the results: 

weight-22lbs. 2 oz. (20th percentile)

height-30 and 1/2 inches (15th percentile)

head-18 and 3/4 (75th percentile) 

So clearly, she has a huge head compared to the rest of her!  And apparently, we are lucky to be dealing with what Dr. Amy calls a "strong-willed" child.  And...if your first is a strong-willed girl, apparently you're even luckier because getting through their developmental stages is way more challenging-oh thank goodness (major tone of sarcasm).  She recommended a certain book for us so that we don't feel alone in raising our strong-willed daughter.  And there was some good news-she said that chances are baby number two will not have this same personality trait that sometimes makes me dread the days I'm with her by myself.  We got some good advice-including ignore the old man that tells you-very sternly- to give your daughter some love and cuddles when she's throwing a fit at the grocery store because chances are he didn't deal with the temper tantrums, the mom did.  So, while Avery is sort of tough to deal with now, her being strong-willed can be something good when she's an adult.  

On to the smurf sampling...so I was cleaning some stuff in the kitchen the other day and to distract Avery from getting into everything I put her at the table with paper and crayons/markers.  It was going so great for about 20 minutes when I hear her calling for a 'T' (her way of asking for a tissue).  I look over and it looks like Avery has very much enjoyed munching on a smurf.  I don't know if it was appropriate but I started to laugh and asked her where she got the smurf-no reply of course.  The 'smurf' was a very wounded blue marker.  She had nibbled on that after apparently getting bored from coloring.  I ran to grab my camera and when I came back she thought it was hilarious and wanted to giggle for the camera:)  

So happy with the art that she had created!  Good thing it was a washable marker. She had it all over her tongue and teeth too!

Zoo-hoo

It's getting a little hard to recall what goes on in a week with my mushy brain these days.  I tell ya, I don't know if it's having to watch after a toddler this time being pregnant, but I can't remember anything.  Seriously, ask my husband, who I'm sure is getting irritated.  He will say something or ask me something and literally, the next second I have forgotten it.  Anyhow, the days are filled lately with routine-which can be nice, also monotonous.  Avery helps throw diapers away, make her bed, washes her hands, loves to brush her teeth (I think it's because she gets to stand at the sink now instead of being held!)-basically, she's becoming more independent and helping with everything!!  The free time-oh, there is no free time right now because every second we have not doing everyday things we are trying to get the house clean and baby things ready-Spencer will be here in 30 days (or less!!).  Here are some pics from the week...

I went to check on Avery one day this week after hearing some commotion-she climbed in her stuffed animal bin and was happily reading-must be comfy with all of that stuffing!

While daddy got ready to mow the yard, Avery was introduced to side walk chalk-she also loved chasing her shadow:)

Wow, what's this-grass!!!  Hopefully, no more snow this year-unfortunately, we have a million dandelions...Artie put down some weed killer (after Avery played in the grass of course) and hopefully it works!

Hello Miss Avery, is that a vegetable in your mouth??  OMG, I couldn't believe it, I had to take a picture.  I put a cucumber in front of her just to see what she would do and she ate it!!

Avery discovered great grandpa's Jeff Gordon car while on a recent visit and really loved it!!

Peek-a-boo...playing under great grandma's walker.

So, we made it to the zoo opening weekend like I had hoped-and it was a success! One of the first things we did was take her on a pony ride.  I love horses and hoped that Avery would too-she was the happiest girl on her pony, Sadie. For an 18 month old, she looked like a pro.  She had never been on one, but once she was put in the saddle, she grabbed on, petted (and tried to kiss her horse) and kept herself steady.  It was amazing watching her love the ride while other kids much, much older than her were having meltdowns about getting on a horse!!

Taking Sadie for a spin. The people that worked the pony ride were even impressed that such a little girl could hold her own with the horse (I'm a very proud mama)!

Of course we had to hit up the carousel-this one was way faster than the one at our mall so it took Avery a few seconds to relax.  Once off the ride, she cried because it was over-she also did that with the pony ride, so we decided no more rides for the rest of the trip!

Gettin' some love from the goats. They were just her size and she was in heaven running around petting all of them.

For some reason, she loved the behind of this particular goat-maybe because it was eye level from standing on a log...

Checking out the sharks with daddy. She followed the little girl to the left around while looking around the aquarium-the little girl wasn't as thrilled with her follower.

What's that over there?  Oh, the penguins! 

Potato Heads Run Amuck

Some pictures from the last week.  Avery is recovering from her third cold in two months, including her second ear infection.  So we laid pretty low this week.

Getting out for her first Easter Egg Hunt!  It took her a bit to catch on and she had lots of help, but by the end, she had a pretty good basket of eggs:)

Looking cute in her cheery Easter dress (thanks Aunt Cindy!!)

Daddy was working on the DVD player the other night and a certain girl decided that she would climb on top and try to help too!

Silly smile as Avery is trying to put Potato Head's hat on herself.  She loves this particular hat and tries to put it on everyone's head.

Avery got a set of small potato heads, one regular potato, and a corn and carrot shaped one, from Grandpa B. for Christmas and she's discovering how much fun they are!

Spud Bunny has joined the family!

We got Avery a regular size MagnaDoodle for Easter...it's a Little People version that has magnetic stamps with it-she's in love!!

Going through her Easter basket to see what Grandma got for her...she got some sand toys, which she has enjoyed!

There were also new hair things in my basket-yeah!!

Thought I'd throw in this picture of me, 32 1/2 weeks along.  I'll be 33 wks tomorrow and have about 5 weeks to go until my c-section.  We are getting very nervous as it is rapidly approaching.  I'm getting nervous because if I get any bigger I may not be able to hold myself up!!  

New Room

The move to Avery's new room is now complete!  This weekend we finished the transition to the toddler bed, so Avery is now sleeping full-time in her big girl bed.  We're very proud of how well she is doing in it!  We think that she really likes the feel of being a big girl and she likes the freedom of being able to get out of bed in the morning to play with her toys on her own before we come and get her gate down.  While she is not excelling in certain areas these days (i.e. public outings and meal times), she is doing well with her new room.  Now, we have about 6 1/2 weeks to get the nursery together.  It is a total disaster and not even close to where it needs to be, but we'll get it done.  It has been hard to get much done with me in my condition.  I'm basically on modified bed rest.  Only being on my feet when I can stand it or have to take care of Avery.  I'm kind of going nuts and my poor husband is feeling crazy with having to do everything!  A month and a half is going to fly by though.  I am hoping to feel better in a few weeks so that Artie and I can take Avery to the zoo when they open.  We have been talking about it pretty much since we found out I was pregnant.  We really want to do something special with Avery before there is another person she has to share her  parents with.  We are pretty famous here for our zoo and they are opening a newly renovated exhibit this year.  Avery has never been to the Ft. Wayne zoo, just the San Diego one last spring.  We shall see.  

Along with accomplishing a perfect transition to her new room, Avery has learned a few other tricks.  I have been dreading her getting tall enough for this, but this week she has perfected the art of opening doors.  Oh man, we need to get them childproofed because she loves getting into the hall closet where we store bathroom stuff and paper-such as paper towels and tissue-which she loves to make a mess with!  She also has mastered her first phrase "I did it!"  We love hearing her say this, it's just so cute:)  We can't believe that she's already putting words together!

Hope everyone had a great weekend and is having nice weather.  Here, it has pretty much been rainy and chilly...not to mention it could snow this week!  That's right, I said snow.  I'm seriously going to go crazy if this weather doesn't get better!!

Some pictures of the room...

Avery absolutely loves this chair...we find her "reading" in it all the time!

See the beautiful totes stacked in the hall...those are a make-shift blockade to keep her out of the hall closet.  She's proven she's smarter than us though because she just moves them out of the way!!

Dancing with her keys.  Lately she's obsessed with keys.  She loves to say key and loves to play with them.  Luckily we had a key from a car we no longer have laying around so those are Avery's keys now!

Birthdays and such

This week I turned the big 2-8 and it got me randomly reminiscing about the old days.  As I rapidly approach 30 and am now a mom, it seems strange to celebrate my birthday anymore-I was reminded of this as I tried.  Avery and I met my mom for a birthday lunch.  However, I barely got to eat/enjoy my meal because someone decided that this would be one of those days that she would not want to sit in a restaurant.  So as my mom and I tried to make her happy, the meal ended abruptly as Avery threw herself into a complete screaming meltdown.  The kind where everyone in the place starts staring at you hoping that the glares will get you out faster! We ended up rushing out-to a chilly, rainy day...another one of my favorite things!  I didn't feel like tackling another possible restaurant disaster so when Artie got home from work, he took Avery to the store to pick up stuff to make homemade tacos-yum!!  It's funny how I really appreciated the time by myself as a birthday present and then my wonderful husband making me tacos.  Such simple, but lovely things when you're a mom!  Avery didn't care or even understand that it was my birthday, it was just another day to her.  My birthday was always usually the greatest when I was in school because in Fort Wayne (where I've lived all my life), my birthday always fell on spring break-it still does!  Then, when I was in 3rd grade, my little brother came along and there are just two days between our birthdays!  So, we always had a big week with spring break and my brother's birthday and mine.  I was thinking about this as I drove to my 32 wk check up this week and what comes on Radio Disney-old school New Kids on the Block!  As I sang along to "You Got It (the right stuff)" I told Artie that I even still remembered the dance that went along to the song!  I was only 9 yrs. old when New Kids were first major, but they were such a huge part in my life at that time I still remember their songs and dances-I even wore a New Kids shirt to the hospital to meet my little brother for the first time!  I guess I was remembering random things this week that had to do with my birthday and getting older.  I wonder if Avery and Spencer will have their own special birthday memories?  Now that I'm older and have other priorities, it seems silly to celebrate my birthday, but it's still nice for people to remember you on your day!  And with that, 

                           HAPPY 19TH BIRTHDAY, LITTLE BRO/UNCLE JAKE!

In other randomness, my check up went pretty well.  Spencer is still measuring about a week and a half behind, but my NP said that as long as it's within 2 weeks (either under or over) they try not to get too concerned-whew.  However, I am showing signs of preterm labor so I have been advised to take it easy as much as possible (lol! Like Avery lets that happen much!!) and stop working out or at least cut back drastically.  I know it's my job to do what's best for the baby and I'm totally scared about going into labor early (especially since I've never experienced labor and the back labor and cramping/contractions that I've been having are excruciating), but not being able to work out seems like the hardest thing to do because it really keeps me going! I only have about 7 wks left so I think I can do it!!  Well, on to the few pics I have this week...

My little princess enjoying one of her new loves-Golden Grahams cereal-while watching My Friends Tigger and Pooh:)

Avery sort of got an 'unbirthday' present for mommy's birthday-this Little People doll house.  I have been looking for this everywhere and wanted to get it for her for her birthday.  I think Artie was starting to think I was crazy and that it didn't really exist...until while on a trip to Babies R Us recently, there it was!!!  It had never been there before, but we finally found it and Avery absolutely loves it!!

Here is my birthday present:)  We happened to run into Kohl's last weekend while out to meet Beth and Dave for lunch (we don't frequent Kohl's that much) and happened to look in their kitchen section and low and behold...there was the grill station I had been wanting!!  It was majorly on sale so my hubby got it for me for my birthday!!  I was super happy because it was an awesome deal and I finally got one-Artie felt guilty that he liked my present as much as me!!