D'Andreas Visit Avery

Last weekend, my sister and her family came to meet the newest member of the family, Avery. Connor just adores his cousins, especially Martin, the oldest, who he follows around like a puppy, so he loved all the company. I did too, since the kids were having a blast, the adults could hang out and have fun too. Avery was a precious peach as per usual. 

I think Aunt Erin, Uncle Arthur, cousin Martin, cousin Winnie, and cousin Libby are already in love with Avery. I can certainly see why they would be. She's a doll.

The D'Andrea family and Grandpa came to visit last weekend. The weather was gorgeous so we spent the entire time outside playing games and having fun.

Martin acted as the catcher in our baseball game. He's throwing back the ball.

Uncle Arthur gets to meet his new niece.

Libby and Aunt Erin check out the little baby. Cousin Winnie was the most intrigued by the baby, but all of Erin's kids wanted to hold her at different moments.

The active big brother.

Cousin Libby and Cousin Martin get some quality cousin time.

Connor and Libby snuck inside and were playing together wonderfully. No fighting, just Connor showing Libby all his toys. It was adorable.

The cousins smooshed together at the picnic table during dinner. We need a bigger one. Shortly after this picture was taken, they all decided it would be fun to pretend to fall off the picnic table. Many laughs ensued.

As if the kids weren't pooped enough, we decided to run races down our sidewalk. They had a blast. Go Connor go!

Aunt Erin getting snuggles from baby Avery (11 days old).

On Sunday, we hung out at a local park. Here Connor and Libby are trying out the big kid swings.

Chilling with Avery at the park.

We ran some more races. Aunt Erin was ready at the end with a high five.

We all went to lunch at a family friendly restaurant called Live Oak Grill on Sunday. Connor was being jolly, so Jeff took some pictures of me and him together. They turned out great. Check out this series of fun pictures of the two of us snuggling and laughing together.

Being silly with Mommy.

This is half smiling and half laughing.

Mom, you are so funny.

Me and my sweet and silly son.

At the restaurant there was a little sandbox and house the kids could play on.

Can you spot Avery in her little cocoon. She was a perfect angel the entire time we were at lunch and most of the weekend too. 

Daddy and Avery are tired after a long weekend.

I thought she looked really cute with her head laying on her hands.

Exactly two weeks old. What a sweet flower child.

She was looking cute, awake and alert, so I tried to take a picture, but she kept turning her head. Apparently, she's not wanting so many pictures taken of her. Oh come on, you're so cute.

One happy family.

Avery's hair has been sticking straight up recently as I tried to show in this post-bath picture. Nice mohawk Avery.

Newborn Photos and More!

We've made it through another week and Avery continues to amaze me. She has certainly started to "wake up" and doesn't sleep her way through the day, but she still isn't very fussy. She has her moments, but when she cries, it seems like it has a reason. She might be hungry or she might just want to rock instead of be stationary. 

We've had a few setbacks in the sleeping department though. I can get her to fall asleep in my arms, but then when I try to put her back in her crib at night, she wakes up shortly after. We're working on it and I remember Connor having this same trouble, so I'm sure she'll get it eventually. I know it takes babies a while to figure out their days and nights. For now though, I am pretty pooped. It's a lot easier though when you already have one child. You are sort of used to a certain degree of sleeplessness. 

My Mom/Grandma continues to be a lifesaver. She helps with the housework and taking Connor to school or to his activities like swim and gymnastics so I can focus on taking care of Avery or getting some rest. I have come to some things and I enjoy getting out of the house, but when I have some alone time with Avery, it's priceless. I honestly believe she has given me and my body a chance to recuperate in a way that I could never have done without help. 

Speaking of my recovery, it's been two weeks and I feel really good. I was told that recovering from a c-section the second time would be more difficult due to scar tissue, but I haven't noticed that at all. There is still pain where my incision is and getting in and out of bed is a little uncomfortable, but otherwise I feel great. I am still trying to take it easy, but I frequently lift Connor (oops) and don't seem to have any trouble. I won't be approved to resume regular activities like working out until about 6 weeks, but I feel confident I am going to pass my post-op check with flying colors. Yay!

Well enjoy some recent pics of our little family of 4.

Shucking corn for a family meal.

Grandma made a cake in honor of Avery's arrival and here Connor is licking up some extra icing. What a sweet tooth he has!

Welcome to the family Avery. Don't worry, you can sleep through the celebrations.

Connor and Avery bonding.

One evening, we set Avery in Connor's bed during story time. He was really sweet with her and he usually is.

How cute is this? Family story time.

Last week, when Avery was just 6 days old, we took professional newborn photos. The photographer took 502 pictures and Avery slept through the whole thing. She was a perfect baby model. Here is a just a small sampling. Our Aggie baby.

 

 

Lovely with pearls.

Snuggled with our wedding rings.

Sleeping in a suitcase.

Mom, this is so embarrassing. I'm sure I'm going to see this look a lot as she ages.

Our first family picture. Can you believe she got us all to look, even Avery.

Another cute family pic. The photographer had just put on a silly hat, so Connor has a real smile now.

Look how tiny she is.

Resting in Jeff's hands. So sweet.

I'm loving the big boys. Ha!

My Michigan gal.

More sleeping in a the trunk.

A little smile.

We took this one for Pagger Don and Gigi. Pagger Don got her this pony and Gigi bought her that adorable bow.

Sweet feet.

Snuggled up again, but showing her whole body.

Rose petals.

Silly smile. It's amazing that she caught this look.

Awww, so precious and simple.

Snugly soft.

Grandma is still helping out, thank goodness. Here she is getting some quality time with Avery.

Good friend Anthony Zaccari came over to visit with Avery.

One morning, we had a full marching band in the living room.

Enjoying my daughter.

Food coma.

I just thought Avery looked funny with her legs open like this. Hee hee.

I'm not sure she's very happy, but I thought she looked cute snuggled on her side.

Daddy with his two children.

Avery continues to prefer gentle rocking in your arms to anything with too much movement like the bouncer or the swing. This is very different from baby Connor who needed to be constantly shaken up to be happy.

Avery seemed to want to eat all the time, so we thought perhaps she just liked to suck, so we tried a pacifier. She liked it a lot and although she can't hold it in for very long, it does seem to soothe her.

A close up with the pacifier.