6 Months Old

Happy Belated 6 Month Birthday Avery! You turned 6 months old on Sunday, November 22. Here's what's going on in your life right now...

*You weighed in at 16 lbs and 15 oz at your doctor's visit last Friday and you are 26 inches long.

*You are wearing 6-9 months outfits and a size 3 diaper.

*Your hair is getting longer, or taller I should say, and sticks straight up. We think it's funny and like it.

*You are going to bed at 9:00 p.m., but have been waking up every night at exactly 1:30 a.m. I've finally broken you of crying until you join us in the bed, and now you will go back to sleep after I put your pacifier back in your mouth.

*You will wake up anywhere from 5:30-6:30 a.m. and eat again. I will put you back in your crib and let you sleep another 3 hours before it's really time to get up.

*You've mastered sitting up, although you do tend to fall backwards at times.

*Now, you can stand up while holding onto something, but I have to place you there.

*You can roll from your tummy to your back, but can't quite make it all the way from your back to your tummy. You hate being on your belly and I don't know if you will ever crawl. Maybe you'll just start walking instead.

*You are so loud and love to scream at people. You "flirt" with Daddy and Rob, and if they look at you, you smile and hide your face in the shoulder of whoever is holding you.

*You grab everything now! You love squeezing my face, nose, and mouth while you are trying to take a nap.

*You are still nursing, which I know is incredibly healthy for you and I'm so glad to be still doing it. You eat oatmeal twice a day and now have started green beans. We all remember how that went.

*You are getting so big and learning so much every day. We love you!

Turkey makes people crazy

I am so thankful for my friends, especially the ones from college. After all, that is where I met my handsome hubby. In Milledgeville, Georgia, there are a lot of historical homes right around the campus of Georgia College and State University. One house in particular is very special to a wide group of people and the mail box to that house reads 331 W. Montgomery Street.

A group of guys lived there and developed a friendship that quickly spread to anyone who stepped foot on their front porch, including cute college girls. That is how I met Michael, at "331". For four or five years, any guys who lived in this house were immediately a part of this 'fraternity' and so were their prettier other halves. They've been in each other's weddings and now we welcome little "331-ers" into the family. This is the second year we've hosted the crew over for a Thanksgiving dinner at the house. It's a good excuse for a much needed reunion!

Everyone was waiting on Sleeping Beauty to wake up for the party.

Cliff is checking out Avery's Fuzz Head. I wouldn't even know Michael if it weren't for Cliff :)
Last year, I was the only one pregnant. This year, we have THREE little babies on the way! Two are due in April and the other in June.
This is my sister, Jessie, showing off her pregnant (turkey) belly. She asked to wear my ring for the picture so the baby wouldn't be illegitimate. (If you haven't picked up on the joke by now, she's not pregnant!)

This is where things started to get a little weird. Trust me, only sweet tea was served at dinner.

Shocked by all the paparazzi following me.

Our friend Drew, doing only the good Lord knows what.

We kept trying to convince everyone we were in Milledgeville for college, but there was that insane asylum there.

This was absolutely the funniest moment of the night. The doorbell rings, and a single woman shows up with a gift for "Marissa". There's no Marissa at our house, but we tried to accept the gift. She was at the wrong house, and we sent her on her way, laughing as the door closed.

Then, a few minutes later, the doorbell rings again. Before I could grab Cotton and open the door myself, the door slings open and in walks all these ladies, barging into my house! I couldn't stop laughing fast enough to tell them they were at the wrong house. At this point, all my friends are dying laughing and yelling, "Come on in...the gifts are over there!" The lady in the front kept walking in and took off her shoes!! Hahhahaha. It was hilarious. I felt so bad for them because 20 people were all laughing and yelling at them. Best moment of the night.
After everyone left, even the ladies bearing gifts, Avery settled in with Aunt Jessie to watch Daughtry on the AMA's. Don't worry, she DID NOT see Lady Gaga or Adam Lambert's performance, ugh!
"Lord, thank you for all the GREAT FRIENDS in my life".

"Not Me Monday"

This one's short and sweet, well...just because.

I DID NOT walk into my garage the day before hosting a 20 person dinner...only to find our garbage scattered all over the floor. There WERE NOT egg cartons, tea bags, styrofoam, and the like, blanketing the ground. My sweet, innocent, angel of a dog DID NOT do this.

I DID NOT drop Avery's oatmeal, again, on the floor and watch it splatter 5 feet away on the wall. That stuff's got projection.

Michael DID NOT ask me, "Have you seen that booger on the bathroom wall? I've been staring at it for weeks now. Where did it come from?" I DID NOT rush into the bathroom not only to find one, but two boogers dried and flattened to our wall. I WAS NOT grossed out and yelled back at him, "I didn't do it! I'm not cleaning them up!"

We DID NOT argue for 10 minutes about who should clean them up and justify the reasons why.

Those boogers ARE NOT still on our bathroom wall.

Eat your vegetables

Growing up, every child hears this expression, "Eat your vegetables". I can remember sitting in the bathtub and my mom forcing her green bean casserole down my mouth because I didn't finish it at the table. Odd scenerio, I know. Today, Avery joined the club of "Kids whose parents make them eat vegetables". I don't think that's a real club, but I'm sure there's one on Facebook about it:)

We went to the doctor for her 6 month check up yesterday, which included her vaccines and two flu shots, one being the Swine Flu. The doctor told me Avery was ready to start eating table food, like mashed potatoes and green beans off my plate. Mind you...she has only been eating oatmeal cereal up to this point. So you could imagine my surprise when the doctor told me to feed her off my plate! Was she kidding?? She thought I was already feeding Avery baby food...but that's what happens when you ASSUME! Idiot.

Enough of my venting..... I did document her reactions to the green beans I fed her today, in BABY FOOD FORM, not off my plate. Tell me if you think she liked it.

Me - "Avery, are you ready to eat green beans? Yaaaaay!"

Avery - "Hmm, this tastes different."
"Eewwwww, this isn't oatmeal!"

"Gimme that spoon. What the heck is on it?"

"I can feed myself, can't you see that?"
"Uughh, uuugh, uuugh. I think I'm gonna puke!"
"Mommy, please please don't feed me any more green beans. I promise I'll be good and sleep through the night if you don't make me eat them."
"LISTEN CRAZY LADY, I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU NO MORE GREEN BEANS! GET OUTTA MY FACE!"

Advice welcome here...

I have a little dilemma on my hands, that could turn into a BIG problem. Here's the scoop:

Avery started sleeping through the night at 3 months old and that lasted until she was 4 months, when she started waking up again to feed. The doctor suggested rice cereal, so we added that to her diet. It helped a little bit, but she still wasn't sleeping 9p.m. - 7:30 a.m. anymore. She would wake up around 3 or 4 a.m., I would try to get her to go back to sleep using various methods, but if she didn't go back to sleep, I would just feed her and that always worked!

Now, she is waking up at sometimes 12:00 a.m. or 1:00 a.m., but she's not hungry. I can tell by her actions and her cry. After I put her pacifier back in her mouth and walk away, she starts this "I want attention" cry like she's mad at me for leaving her. I've tried to just let her 'cry it out' but I won't go more than 15 minutes before I go back in her room. I don't want to feed her just to get her to go back to sleep because I don't want her to think she has to eat at night. She's almost 6 months already (this Sunday). Soooooo.....

What I've been doing now, which I never thought I would, is bringing her back into the bed with Michael and me (GASP!! How could you???) I know, I know....I've always been against co-sleeping. But at this point, it's either co-sleep...or NO-sleep. As soon as I lay her down beside me in the bed, she rolls over and grabs my face, and falls right back to sleep. It works every single time. It's like she just needs to know I'm there, and will sleep the rest of night (and so will I).

I don't want to keep doing this because I want her to sleep in her own bed, and I don't want her to form a habit that continues until she's 4! Any advice you have from your own personal experience, I will welcome. We go for her 6 month check up tomorrow and I'm going to ask the doctor about this, but sometimes their advice is weird. I'd rather here it from some moms who've been there, done that...or been there, CONQUERED that.

Anyway...here's some pictures of Avery standing up with the help of a prop. She's not pulling up yet, but will balance once I place her there.

This was our first attempt. Can you tell she's on her way down!

Check out that fuzz!
You would have thought she was grabbing onto a static electricity ball with that hair:)
"Are we done now?"

"Not Me Monday"

Happy Monday everyone....here we go....

Since I am such an eloquent speaker, it was NOT ME who said to Michael, "Do you need a pillow?" before he walked to his car in the rain. I NEVER confuse words like that, nope, not me!

It was NOT ME who broke a wine glass on the floor after unloading the dishwasher. The glass DID NOT shatter into multiple tiny pieces across the hardwoods.

I DID NOT grab the red hot handle of a pan with my bare hands. I DID NOT immediately drop that pan on the floor after my palm was singed. This WAS NOT that same pan I previously gave Michael an oven mitt for because it was too hot to grab. I have better sense than to do that, so therefore, it was NOT ME.

It was NOT ME who found a slimy slug stuck to our white comforter. I'm sure it DID NOT get there from our crazy dog who runs wild through the woods, wallers in mud, and kills things with his neck, then sleeps in the bed with us. No way.

I DID NOT ask a waitress if I could borrow one of her apron's to hide under so I could nurse Avery at the outside cafe. I'm too modest to do that and would rather have Avery starve than to put myself in an awkward situation like that.

I DID NOT allow my mom to let Avery use a Special K bar to teethe on. We DID NOT use this 'teething toy' to entice Avery to look at the camera.

It was NOT ME who put Avery in a laundry basket while I folded clothes just so I could keep an eye on her.

It also was NOT ME who slept on the backseat while Avery took over the wheel on our trip to Macon. Nope, not me!!

This Cracks Me Up

Avery has finally found her laugh, and I love it! It doesn't come easy and she really makes Michael and me work hard to get it. Please excuse my crazy sounds. You probably already know that parents will do anything to get their children to laugh. Enjoy!

Meet in the Middle

Living 4 hours away from my parents proves the saying correct, "Distance makes the heart grow fonder." Grandma Debbie just couldn't take being away from her blue-eyed grandbaby any longer and met me in Macon for a quick visit. I traveled 2 hours south, and she traveled 2 hours north where we "Meeeet in the middle, 'neeth that old Georgia piiiiine!" (referencing an old country song).

We didn't have an agenda other than to just hang out. The only thing I knew to do in Macon (for free) was to walk along the River Walk by the river. It's beautiful, scenic, peaceful....and FLOODED! Yes, as I drove over the bridge, the entire sidewalk and benches are covered in water. There goes my plan :( What's plan B? Photo shoot time!!!!

Avery is introduced to her new teething toy and looks bewildered.

"MMmmmm, Blueberry Special K bar. Don't mind if I do!"
What a cutie:)
Glamour Shots 2009
This is her "Thinking pose"
After our Friday night photo shoot in the hotel room, haha... we decided to tour Downtown Macon the next day.

We found a wonderful restaurant called Market City Cafe. The weather was perfect so we ate outside and enjoyed the awesome day.
Guess who showed up! Santa Claus!!! His shirt says "Be nice, I know Santa!"
He actually is the Santa Claus for a Chick-Fil-A in Macon. He was very nice to stop his lunch and pose with Avery. This was her first time meeting Santa. What you don't see are his camoflauge pants.
Keeping with the Christmas spirit...Avery found a reindeer and decided to take a ride.
She also propped herself up on a moose. She's a silly goose.
Meeting in the middle is going to be a common activity in the future. The 4 hour total drive sure beats the 8 hour total trip for either of us to go all the way. Thanks Mom for a great weekend. Let's do it again, soon!

Fall Photoshoot

If you haven't already figured out, I LOVE taking pictures. Pictures of Avery, my family, Avery, weddings, Avery, my dog...if it's important to me...I'm taking a picture of it. Every Fall, I drive down the road admiring the beautiful scenery of the multicolored leaves and only wish I could have a family picture taken in front of such beauty.

Well, instead of a family picture...I decided to take Avery's picture. She juuuuusssttt learned how to sit up on her own, and it was perfect timing for a FALL PHOTO SHOOT! She is five and a half months old and already sitting up like a big girl:) Enjoy!

Isn't she beautiful? On another note...I'm very interested in beginning a small photography career on the side (of being a mom). If you, or someone you know, would like to have baby, engagement, wedding, or family portraits taken at a VERY REASONABLE price, I'm your gal! Spread the word :)