Memorial Day

We had a great Memorial Day!  Spending time with the family on the dock and good food...doesn't get much better than that!

18 Weeks Old

At 18 weeks, Avery...

...went to her first t-ball game to watch Evan play

...is loving her blanket (aka gee gee, bink) from her Aunt Sissy

...and is busy, busy!

4 Months Old

Weight: 12lbs 14oz (50th percentile)
Length: 24" (50th percentile)

Clothes: 3-6 months.  I've started dressing you in regular clothes everyday instead of just leaving you in pjs. You have so many cute outfits that I want you to get a chance to wear them

Diapers:  Just moved to size 3 and they fit you perfectly!

Schedule: You eat 7 times per day.  You have 2 feedings in the morning before I go to work, 3 - 4oz bottles while I'm at work and two feedings before you go to sleep.  We are still starting your bedtime ritual at 8:00 p.m.  You've had a few nights that you woke up for a middle of the night feeding this month but it was during your growth spurt.  I actually didn't mind it too bad because we got extra cuddle time.

The rest of your schedule is still a little crazy since you are adjusting to staying with your Cici.  Sometimes you take great naps for her and sometimes you don't.  Hopefully you'll start napping like a champ everyday for Cici soon so she can get some stuff done during the day. :)

Temperament/Personality: You still have such a great personality.  You LOVE attention.  Anytime we are  out in public you smile and laugh for anyone that will pay attention to you.  The couple of times you have been up at the office, you have keep everyone very entertained.

Likes: You are doing great in your exersaucer now and can really play with all the toys.  You still love your activity mat and baths.  We transitioned you from your infant tub to the big bath tub a few weeks ago and you love to kick your legs and splash during bathtime.  We read a book every evening while your daddy is cooking dinner and you like to look at all the pictures and try to help me turn the pages.


You have also started to hold the blanket your Aunt Sissy gave you and rub it on your face when you are sleepy...so cute!

Dislikes:  Being hungry...that's sure to get a scream out of you

Happenings:  You have started rolling over during tummy time. 

You are grabbing at everything!  My hair, necklaces, food on the table, our faces, toys.  I'm so excited that you are finally able to actually grasp things and not just swat at them.  

You are still trying really hard to sit up and your Aunt Sissy has seen you scoot (but we haven't gotten to see it yet).  You also are learning new sounds.  For a while she was doing this sweet high pitched squealing and now she is always making a low groaning sound.  I can never tell if she is fussing or just talking!

We are still adjusting to mommy going back to work, but you have been such a good sport.  We are so lucky to have your Aunt Sissy and Cici & Pop take care of you this summer.  You are getting tons of loving and getting some great quality time with them.  Thanks Aunt Sissy, Cici and Pop!!

You know you are a mom when...

...you are walking to a meeting a work and feel something weird in your shoe.  You suddenly remember that at lunch your sweet little girl had grabbed a sweet potato fry out of your basket and threw it into your shoe.  You didn't notice it until you were walking out of the restaurant, but were in such a rush to get out to the car to feed said little girl and get back to work that you didn't stop to remove it.  It's amazing how much a sweet potato fry can get ground into your shoe in 3 hours. :)

All that sweet potato fry grabbing wore sweet Avery out!

16 Weeks Old

Avery turned 16 weeks old on Sunday.  At 16 weeks she is...

...really starting to enjoy her exersaucer

...so cute when she naps - she always has her hands on her face

...is starting to look so grown up and still has pretty blue eyes (maybe they will stay that way!)

She really enjoys being the center of attention.  She was up at the office on Friday afternoon and was entertaining all of Adam's team with her giggles and smiles.  She also was surrounded by servers when we went to lunch on Saturday and put on quite a show for them!

Happy Mother's Day!

I'm so lucky to be this sweet little girl's mommy!

This little girl got tons of attention while we were out and about today.  She was loving it!  I wonder who she gets that from? ;)

Avery's First Field Trip

Avery has gotten to do all kinds of fun things while Aunt Sissy has been keeping her!  Yesterday she got to join Jayden and his friends for a field trip to the Naturals game.  Don't these two look cool?!

15 Weeks Old

On Sunday, Avery turned 15 weeks old.  Where has the time gone?  At 15 weeks, she is loving bathtime!  She can be really fussy, tired, etc. and as soon as we take her in the bathroom she is the happiest baby.

Click here for a video.  For some reason, I couldn't get it to show up directly in my blog.

It Can Only Get Better From Here

I started back to work on Wednesday.  I have been dreading this day for a while, but I was also a little excited to be able to use my brain for something other than remembering the words to kids songs - ha!

I was as prepared as possible.  I had taken all Avery's gear down to Melissa's on Monday so we would have less to deal with on Wednesday morning.  I had cleaned out my closet, picked out outfits, defrosted milk from my stash, got everything together for my pump, etc.

I couldn't sleep Tuesday night.  I think I finally fell asleep at around midnight only to wake up again at 3:00 a.m.  Since my alarm went off at 4:00 a.m., I only got 3 hours of sleep.  Everything that morning went smoothly...got dressed from 4-5, feed Avery at 5:00 and with lots of help from Adam, was out the door by 5:45.  We made it to Melissa's by 6:45, I fed Avery again and headed to work.  On the way to work, I drove past a pond and there was a momma goose and her gooslings dead in the middle of the road...it was so sad!  I was on edge anyway and cried half of the way to work.  Luckily I made it to work right in time to walk in the door at 8:00.

I had a meeting from 9 - 11, so at 8:30 I headed into the "Mother's Room" to pump.  Our mother's rooms are really nice.  They have a common area with a sink, fridge, microwave and full length mirror and it has 2 separate rooms with glider chairs a table and individual thermostats.  They have several in each building so there is always a good comfortable place to pump.

I noticed that I didn't get much during my pumping session, but just chalked it up to stress.  I quickly headed over to another building for my meeting.  It was time to pump again around lunch.  I decided to pump before eating so I headed back to the mother's room.  I got everything set up started pumping...all of a sudden my pump started making weird noises and quit working!!!  Keep in mind that this pump is only a few months old.  I started freaking out.  At this point it was 12:15.  I had another pump at home (thank goodness!) but it takes about 40 min to drive home and I had a meeting at 1:30.  I had no other choice.  I ran out to my car, flew home, pumped, ate a cold hamburger patty while pumping, grabbed a stale cinnamon roll for dessert and flew back to the office.  I missed my 1:30 and after practically running through the parking lot I barely made my 2:00 meeting.

After all that running around, I had horrible blisters on my feet.  Helpful hint - don't wear heels on your first day back from maternity leave if you haven't worn them in over a year and are going to be walking all over the Walmart Home Office campus!

I was so thankful that Melissa was able to meet me with Avery at the Pleasant Grove Walmart so I didn't have to drive all the way to Fayetteville.  I was so happy to see my sweet little girl!!!!

I don't think I would have made it through the day without knowing that she was in such good hands with her Aunt Sissy.  Melissa did a great job of sending me pictures throughout the day, so I knew Avery was having a blast and getting spoiled by the Pitts crew.

Thankfully yesterday went much smoother.  I took today off and am loving spending time with my little girl.  I guess she must be worn out from all the excitement at the Pitts' because she is taking really good naps this morning.

Here's some pics of Avery's adventures.

It's a good thing she was strapped in!  Look at that little girl sitting up!

Jayden took this pic of her sucking her thumb :)

As you can see, she got plenty of attention!

My Future's So Bright...I've Got to Wear Shades

Since its snowy outside today, we decided to try on our new shades and hat so we could pretend its summer.  Love this cutie!