August 28th - Monday Avery turned 11 weeks old. To celebrate she gave David and I a gift. For the past 4 nights she has slept 8 -10 hours each night. Did you hear that....no late night feedings. I hope I am not jinxing us. So you say...you have gotten to catch up on your sleep. WRONG. I still wake up every 3 - 4 hours listening for her. Anyway, below are some more recent pictures of Avery.
Sleeping beauty.
Avery and her Daddy.
Look at that cute face.
Look at her hold her head up. What a big girl.

HOW FUNNY

August 27th - I was just thinking the other night how life sure is funny. Before I became a Mom I could care less about changing diapers and cleaning up after a baby. In fact I would have made a disgusted face at the thought. Now I find joy in such strange things. I never thought I would laugh at spit-up running down my arm, not lose my cool when Avery cries for a reason I can't figure out, high five David because Avery finally had a dirty diaper or miss someone so much when I am away from her for even 10 minutes. Becoming a Mom sure does change a person for the better.

GRANDMA COMES FOR A VISIT

August 21st – 24th My Mom also came for a visit. Avery and I were missing my Mom terribly so we asked her to come visit us. We spent the whole weekend shopping and fixing up the house. We put up curtains, worked on Avery’s room, redecorated a bathroom and put up pictures and more pictures. The house looks great; I feel like I live in a different house. Thanks Mom for all your hard work. I think we really taught Avery something about shopping!! Rest up because we have more work to do when you come back in two weeks for Avery’s baptism.

Avery and Grandma. Avery is getting good at holding her head up.

GRANDDAD AND GRANDMA COME TO VISIT

August 15th - 20th My Dad and Ann came to visit Avery for a couple of days. This was the first time Ann got to meet Avery. We had such a good time. They stayed at our house and Dad got up with Avery every night. What a treat!! Dad and Ann were also gracious enough to babysit on Saturday night so David and I could go on a date. Dinner and a movie never meant so much!! I think Avery really got to bond with them during their visit. On the last night we all went out to celebrate Dad and Granddad's birthday. See they were born on the same day (August 22nd) so every year they celebrate together. We all went out to dinner and then back to our house for dessert. I will let their ages remain a secret though I will say one of them has a pretty big one coming up next year, DAD!!

Avery and her Great Granddad. This is the first time he got to feed her. He loved it.
Avery and her Granddad bonding!!
3 Generations.....
4 Generations!!

MORE PHOTOS

August 15th - Here are some more fun pictures of Avery. Enjoy!!

Avery during one of her fussy moments. I guess she wasn't too happy with Mommy!!

Got Milk? This was taken tonight when David was burping her. We thought it was cute and reminded us of the got milk ads.

Avery all bundled up after her bath. She really likes bath time now.

2 MONTHS OLD

August 12th - Saturday Avery turned 2 months old and with that comes another visit to the doctor for a checkup and her first dose of shots. Here is what we found out: *Height: 22 1/2 inches (53 percentile) *Weight: 11 pounds 14 ounces (75 percentile) Today Avery got 3 shots and one oral vaccine. She sucked down the oral vaccine and handled the shots better than I thought. As soon as the nurse stuck Avery she turned so red and screamed at the top of her lungs. I was one of those screams where she can't even breathe. I immediately started crying; of course I started crying before we even got to the doctor. As soon as the shots were done I took her in my arms and held her and within minutes she stopped crying and has not cried since. She seems to be handling the shots really well. We gave her some kiddy Tylenol and I hope that keeps her from hurting. I am so proud of my little angel for being a big girl.


Avery after her shots.


Close up of her cute band-aids.

LET'S GO TITANS!!!

August 9th: Today is the beginning of football season for the Tennessee Titans. I am so excited that football season is upon us. I always get excited at the beginning of the season because that means the weather is going to start turning cooler, which means building fires in the fireplace, making and eating smores, wearing warm clothes, and getting ready for the holidays.

Anyway, this year we introduced Avery to her first football game on TV. She didn't seem very interested (she slept the whole time) but I'm sure as the season progresses she will become a huge fan. We were happy because the Titans won, the final score: Ten 34 St. Louis 13



Avery and I in our Titan's gear. Uncle Stuart, Aunt Danielle and cousin Logan gave Avery her Titans bib, isn't it cool.

THE FARM

August 2nd - 9th: Avery and I just returned from spending a week on the farm with my Grandma and Vandaddy in Lobelville, TN. We had such a good time. Grandma spoiled us both as usual. She and I took turns getting up with Avery so I was able to catch up on some sleep. It was so nice to get away but we sure are glad to be home because we missed Daddy!! Below are some pictures of our trip.


One day Grandma and I peeled 200 apples. Fortunately, I got to use the apple peeler, which is a great invention. I suggest using one if you have never used one, it is really neat.
Avery and I all dressed up to go to the big city of Waverly to do some shopping at Wal-Mart.

Avery and Vandaddy.
The first thing David and I did when we got to Grandma's was introduce her to the cows. I don't think she was really impressed but one day she will love running around the farm chasing after the cows.
This is such a special picture. This is Avery and her Great Great Great Aunt Dee who is 94.

I just taught myself how to use the video function on my camera. I am now hooked on taking videos. Below are two I took on our trip.

1. This was taken after Grandma and I gave Avery a bath. She now loves bath time!!

2. Avery is such a happy baby when she wakes up. When I hear her wake up I go to her and she just smiles. This video shows her waking up one morning at my Grandma's. This video brings me such joy!!

IRONIC

August 1st: All parents will love and appreciate this story because I am sure they have been there at some point early in parenthood. Wednesday night I put Avery in her crib at 10:00. I must diverse because I am so proud of her. We are slowly starting a nighttime routine of bath, massage, feeding and bed. So far Avery has been sleeping in her crib for a week. I can't help beaming as I type. Anyway, I finished feeding her and put her in her crib at 10:00 and immediately went to bed since I am constantly exhausted. I woke up around 2:30 and was shocked to see the time. Avery usually doesn't sleep this long; she usually eats every 3 hours during the night. I laid there worried something was wrong. I finally went to her room to check on her. First, I felt her arm so see if she was cold, she was a little cold since her Daddy insists on the house being colder. Second, I put my finger under her nose to see if she was breathing and I couldn't really tell. Finally, I put my hand on her chest to feel if her heart was beating and I thought I felt it. I went back to bed and woke David up. I couldn't be worried by myself. I told him what I did and asked: "If she was dead would she be colder than usual"? Needless to say he then went and checked on her and said she was indeed breathing. He immediately went back to sleep but I was wide awake. Around 3:00 we heard her cries for food on the baby monitor. All I could do was laugh. Our baby finally sleeps 5 hours straight, which is my chance to catch up on sleep and I don't. How ironic.