Sunday in the Park

Last Sunday, the weather was GORGEOUS, and there was no way we were going to waste it staying inside. Michael had planned to play basketball at this local park, so we all jumped in the car and took Avery's stroller. It was completely packed because every other person in Gwinnett County had the same idea we did.

We wanted to push Avery in the swings, since she had never been swinging before. There were children running around everywhere and once we made it over the swings, there was only one left. Just as we raced to reserve the last swing for Avery, low and behold...who was right next to us? Michael's cousin Meredith and her son Jonathan! We had an impromptu play date.

Jonathan will be turning the big 1 Year Old in two weeks.
Such a cutie:)
"Hey, don't I know you from somewhere?"
Jonathan wanted to help push Avery.
Don't you think it's time for Meredith to have a little girl? C'mon Randy!
Michael was channeling "Karate Kid".
He's all over the place and can walk very well.
Just a little too high for Mommy's comfort.
She loved it though! Look at her fuzz head flying in the wind.


Avery is almost as tall as Jonathon...although she is 2.5 months younger.
They look like they could be brother and sister with that blonde hair.
We let them sit on the slide for a picture...
....and then let them slide down for fun. Avery's pumped while Jon's not sure what to think of it.

Here's an old picture of Meredith and Michael when they were younger. Aren't they cute?

Watch Avery go down the slide! I apologize for the fuzziness...it seems all video uploaded on here turns out blurry:(

Where's the light

One day while sitting her high chair, Avery noticed the chandelier hanging in our kitchen. I told her that it was the "light". See what she does when I ask her where the light is.

9 months old

Avery, today you are a whopping 9 months old! We woke up this morning (all in the same bed because that's where you end up every night) and at 8:22 a.m. I said to you, "9 months ago at this time I was sitting in a hospital bed hooked up to machines, waiting on you to come!" Your daddy said, "And little did we know how crazy you were going to be. We should've left you in there." Thank goodness we didn't!

What have you been up to this month? Well, let's see...

*Your 9 month check up is this Friday, so we'll see how much you weigh and measure for sure, but I'm guessing you weigh 20 lbs and 7 oz, and measure 28 inches long.

*Your 9 months clothes still fit, except the pants give you an awful muffin top. I'm quite sure it's time to start buying you 9-12 months clothes.

*You still wear a size 3 diaper.

*We have upgraded you to a big girl car seat now. The old carrier wasn't big enough for your arms to go through the straps without us contorting and weaving them through! You have a Britax car seat that still faces backwards, but will turn to the front when it's time. I like you facing back for as long as you can because it's much safer.

*Motrin and Orajel have become our good friends due to your teething. You only have two bottom teeth and I haven't seen anymore cut through yet, but I don't think they're far behind.

*You don't drool when you teethe, you get a runny nose instead.

*Your favorite things to teethe on are my car keys, Blackberry phone, and my watch. You have expensive taste.

*As far as eating, I am still nursing you...but you have ventured out into new baby food fruits and table food. A month ago, I started putting Gerber Puffs on your tray. It took you an entire week to figure out that you are supposed to eat them and not play with them. I was so proud of you the first day you ate 5 whole Puffs all by yourself:) Haha.

*You LOVE cheese, and will eat about 1/2 slice a day. It's just something different for you to pick up off your tray instead of those Puffs. You've also tried green beans, mashed potatoes, bread, and bananas. You still don't like many of the baby fruits and your favorite food of all is oatmeal.

*You're an awful sleeper. You take a good nap around 11:00 a.m. every day that lasts anywhere from 1-2 hours. Some time in the afternoon, around 3 or 4 p.m., you'll take another shorter nap. You still go to bed around 9:00 p.m., but wake up crying at 11:30 every night ready to get in the bed with us. I just don't have the energy, discipline, or heart to let you cry it out to stay in your crib. I know I'll regret it one day, but for now, we are all sleeping and are all happy!

*New sounds are coming out of your mouth...like "Da-Da", "Ba-Ba", you've even said "Ma-Ma" when you were upset a few times, but I know you weren't talking to me:( When you look at Cotton you make "T" sounds and walk towards him. Maybe it's because I enunciate his name to you and say, "coTTon", instead of "Cot'n"

*You're such a flirt and manipulator. When men, boys, whatever you want to call them....look at you and try to get you to smile, you will hide your face in my shoulder, and then peek back at them with a smile. What's up with that, child? You're a little too young to start all that.

*However, a woman who is a complete stranger will hold her hands out for you and you will reach into her arms and let her hold you. I'm fine with that...but I just hope you aren't 'flirting' with the boys and are really just shy around them! That's a good thing!

*You are gaining more body control and can balance for a while without holding onto anything. You actually crawled two steps the other day, and then that was it! I think you'll walk before you crawl. You love to run around the house in your walker with your arms flailing in the air, screaming to the top of your lungs. Your daddy says, "There's a crazy person in our house!"

*Every day is better than the last and you are becoming so much fun to be around. We love to hear you laugh and watch you discover new things around you. The past 9 months have been the best 9 months of our lives. We love you and Happy 9 Month Birthday Avery Anna.

Avery balances...and crashes.

Nightmare on Baker St. and more

This past weekend, Michael and I set out on a vacation to Atlanta. I know what you're thinking, "You live 30 minutes from Atlanta. How is that a vacation?" When baby Avery isn't involved, and there are babysitters at home called grandparents, and there's no Boppy, feedings, car seat, diaper bag, bibs, Baby Motrin, baths, and waking up at 11:30p.m. to put a crying baby in your bed,....then yes, IT IS A VACATION!

My mom and dad came up and braved a six hour drive in a blizzard, literally, to watch Avery so we could celebrate Valentine's Day and my birthday, which was the 15th for those of you who forgot to buy me a present:). Here are some pictures of Avery in the snow.

Well, she's not really IN the snow, but in front of it. And yes, there is a creepy glare over her face because I did some bad editing.
Every picture I took of her, the flash wouldn't take....so her face was realllllly dark. I brightened it in Lightroom and even though it doesn't look natural, I say.....WHATEVER!
She was loving the snow falling on her head. My driveway is behind her somewhere. My dad couldn't even get his SUV up the driveway and had to park in the street!

This picture is taken in front of the W Hotel the next morning. It was soooo beautiful.
We look bright and happy here, but that was before the scare of my life!
Michael prides himself on having a 4-Wheel drive pick up truck...that can handle any terrain. Since it had snowed the night before, many of the roads were still very icy and slippery.
However, we had plans to see the famous Georgia Aquarium that morning, and proceeded to downtown Atlanta. The interstate was fine and some of the ramps where still a little icy, but so far...so good.
This picture below represents the exact opposite of my face once we neared BAKER STREET! We had to drive up a slight hill to reach the red light, then turn right onto Baker Street, which was all downhill. A taxi van's tires next to us were spinning on the ice and he couldn't make it UP the hill at the red light. My very arrogant and overly confident husband LAUGHED at him because he didn't have 4WD like we did to make it up the hill.
I told him, "You better stop laughing at him, because that could be us!" It wasn't even one minute later that we turned right onto Baker Street, remember all downhill with another red light at the bottom of the hill, and Michael said to me, "Paige, we're sliding!" He gently pressed the brakes, but that just made us start turning sideways and continue sliding down this icy road, with cars in front of us, and a RED light at the bottom...which means we were supposed to STOP! The only problem was, we couldn't. (Below is a picture of my husband "pre-humbling" experience.)
I was scared to death because being the passenger in this slippery ride, I couldn't do anything but watch us slowly slide sideways towards cars, light poles, and that still RED light at the bottom of the hill. My thought process was that if we go through that light, we're going to get hit. I instructed Michael with fear in my voice, "Just run into the cars in front of us! It'll stop us from going through the light!" By the grace of God, and Michael popping his truck into 4WD, we stopped...wheeewww! The light turned green and I said, "Go! Take the green light! We can make it UP that next hill." Thankfully, we were safe and his precious little truck didn't even get a scratch on it. My "Nightmare on Baker Street" was the highlight of Michael's day as he said, "HAHAHA! That was awesome! I gotta call Sherm!" (a nickname for our friend Rob). That experience was much scarier for me than seeing this shark at the aquarium.

My heart was still racing when we arrived at the aquarium and Michael just couldn't stop laughing. After a $30 trip to the food court for "breakfast", and an argument that I hope to forget soon, we finally saw the fish...and stingrays!
Jellyfish....look much prettier here than they do wrapped around your leg in Florida.
Great Barrier Reef exhibit. Oh how I wish I was snorkeling above that right now in 85 degree weather:)
Horsefish...I just don't remember what kind.
Coolfish (my name for it since I didn't read the plaques)
I know what these are called!
Our next stop was to the World of Coke!
Of course, everybody's favorite part is tasting the different flavors of drinks from around the world. They even give you a bottle of coke fresh off the assembly line to take home with you.
The rest of the day consisted of Sushi for lunch, a couple's massage, and dinner at Dante's Down the Hatch (a fondue restaurant). No pictures were taken that night because we were running late and I wasn't in the mood. (Imagine that!) We couldn't wait to get home on Valentine's Day to share it with our sweetheart at home!


Vacationing without your children is a Catch 22. You are so excited not to have any responsibility and just be on YOUR OWN schedule...but you miss the heck out of them and can't wait to get home!