PEANUT BUTTER

December 26th - At Avery's 18 month check-up the doctor said we could start giving Avery peanut butter. I was very excited about that because I love peanut butter. Today we gave Avery half a peanut butter sandwich to see how she would like it. Yes, I know without Jelly it just isn't the same but I wanted her to experience the peanut butter in its entirety. Needless to say she loved it and had lots of fun eating it and licking it off her fingers.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE DIAMONDS

December 25th – Merry “Belated” Christmas. I hope everyone had a joyful and safe Christmas. We had such a good time this year. Santa was good to everyone, especially Avery. She got all kinds of neat things, such as a bookshelf, table and chairs, clothes, lots and lots of books and toys. This Christmas was also special because Grandma Diamond was here to spend it with us. This Christmas was much different than last Christmas because Avery is more into it. She was big into saying Santa and finding Santa. She helped open some of her presents but we couldn’t get her to sit still long enough so I think David or I opened most of her presents. I am embarrassed to say that I didn’t take a lot of pictures this year but here are a few I did take from our joyful Christmas.

Avery in her Christmas outfit. Getting ready for family to come over and have a festive lunch.

Avery Christmas morning with the presents Santa brought...a new chair and bookshelf.

Avery and Elmo sit and drink coffee at her new table. She found this cup and ran around the house saying "coffee, coffee". Looks like I'll have another coffee drinker in the house.

Avery and Mama sitting at her table. Thanks to Dada for putting it together.

David and I ended Christmas Day by going to the Titans vs Chargers game. It was so cold. We left at half time.

My old NCSU buddy, Philip Rivers. It has sort of become a tradition that David takes me to see the Chargers when they visit since I absolutely love Philip Rivers. Outside I was pulling for the Titans but really wanted Philip to have a good game. The Chargers ended up giving the Titans a butt kicking.

Here is a video of Avery and Elmo playing at her table. They were so cute. At one point she made me get up so Elmo could sit.

CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY

December 12th - I know my dates are out of order but I am a little behind on my posts. My Mom and Richard came for an early Christmas and we headed to the country to see Grandma and Vandaddy. We all had a great time and of course ate way to much...which is what is fun about this time of year. We have sort of started a tradition of taking our Christmas card photo at Grandma's in front of her tree. This wasn't the plan this year it just happened because Richard takes the best pictures. Below are some I got of Avery.

Merry Christmas from the Diamonds!

CHRISTMAS PARTY AT SCHOOL

December 18th – Today Avery had a Christmas Party at school. I was unable to attend but the teachers took pictures for me (they are so sweet). Santa came for a visit and Avery was a huge fan, as long as he kept his distance.

All I can say is this is my daughter to a T.

This is such a typical Avery look. She loves to show you her tummy and you are expected to giggle and think it is funny.

Avery loves to give hugs and I for one love to receive them.

18 MONTHS OLD

December 9th – Avery in now 18 months old, half way to being 2. So what is Avery up to…EVERYTHING. She loves to talk and says words like: stop, no, mine, Avery’s, hug, and water. She loves to repeat the last word you say to her, so no more grown up language around Avery. She gets really excited when she sees her favorite cartoon which is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She is becoming more independent, such as undressing herself (just her socks and shoes at this point) and feeding herself with a spoon or fork. She just is so amazing and does new things everyday that I just can’t list it all. Below are her stats from her 18 month check-up and some pictures / video to enjoy.

Weight: 28.2 pounds
Height: 32 inches

Of course we celebrated with a cupcake from Gigi's. I didn't get a good picture of it before we split it in fours since they are huge.

Below is a video of Avery eating yogurt. The next night I let her feed herself (because she threw a fit) and she somehow managed to dump the entire thing on her chest and was rubbing it in as if it were lotion. Never a dull moment in the Diamond household.

MORE PICS

November 5th - Here are some more pictures from this weekend.

Avery helping Mommy with laundry.

Avery ready to go out in the cold weather.

Avery and Grandpa with the balloons she got after lunch. She really enjoyed them.

SURGERY

December 4th – Avery had her adenoids removed and a culture taken from her sinus cavity on Friday. Everything went fine until she was moved to recovery. She did not wake up a happy little girl. David and I went to recovery to try and calm her down but there was no calming her. The nurses asked us if we wanted to give her morphine, but we didn’t like the sound of that. Yikes, morphine sounds dangerous (or so we thought) so we elected to give her Tylenol w/ codeine. After about 45 minutes of her still crying and screaming (which the nurses said was not normal) we decided to try the morphine. The morphine (which was explained to us later) helps her go back to sleep and wake up relaxed. They were right. She finally fell asleep and woke up in a much better mood. I’m not sure if she was in pain, mad as hell, uncomfortable with the IV in her arm or all the above. We were finally able to take her home but she couldn’t keep anything down. She did take a great nap that afternoon and had a yummy dinner of applesauce and strawberry ice cream. On Saturday she woke up acting like the Avery we all know and love. She sure is an amazing girl. I want to thank my Dad for being with us during this experience. David, Avery and I were thankful for the support.

The nurse checking Avery's vitals.

Avery watching cartoons. She just loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Avery and I waiting for the doctor to arrive.

The Diamond family still waiting for the doctor to arrive.

Grandpa and Avery watching TV.

Avery at the end of a fit because I wouldn't let her run around the hospital and talk to all the other patients.

Avery after we finally gave her the morphine. We all were worn out at this point.

THANKSGIVING

November 26th - 29th: Our family had a great Thanksgiving. We were able to spend time with lots of family but also missed many family members. Here are some pictures from our holiday. We hope you and your family had a great holiday.

Avery dancing while visiting Great Big Grands.

A family photo with the Broadways.

Another family photo. Notice how Avery is chillin.

The Diamond's.

Avery playing with Addison and Brianna. They all had a great time jumping on Vandaddy's bed.

Little Grandma and Avery enjoying their morning coffee and milk.