Avery is 4 Months!

Avery turned 4 months old on August 10th. The following Tuesday we went to the doctor for her 4 month appointment. Well, I guess I should have known that Avery was growing "well" since at 4 months old, little Miss Avery is already wearing 9 month clothes. My goodness. She remains in the 97th percentile at 16 pounds 6 ounces and 26 inches tall.

The doctor examined her and all is well. She is rolling over, so that's really the only "skill" she needs to have at this point. Otherwise she just asked about her habits and her attitude. Of course I said she was a sweetie, because she totally is.

She is getting up once in the night around 3AM and then goes back to sleep until about 6:45 or 7am. During the morning she usually takes a few cat naps and eats about every 3 hours. I have sort of worked it out that I can get her to take a long afternoon nap from about 3:30 to 6. It's especially nice if Connor is napping too. Yay for some Mommy time.

For naps and bedtime, we've weaned her off the white noise, which is nice and we've officially moved her into her own room with the crib. She seems to be adjusting well and hasn't had to do very much "crying it out" as she was already a pretty good little napper and could sooth herself to sleep alright as it was. We still swaddle her, but seeing as though she's so big and strong, it's hard to keep her from wiggling herself free. I'm thinking the swaddle won't last much longer. We shall see. 

She is still only drinking breast milk, but I guess in a month or so we'll start her on rice cereal. I can't believe it is happening already. Apparently my milk is pretty fattening though, because she seems to be growing just fine. She is already getting cheeks like Connor. Of course Connor is the king of cheeks, but she's trying to earn the title of Miss Queen Cheeks.

She seems to really be moving more and more and getting stronger every day. Often, when I put her under her play gym she'll roll to her side or roll over, right away. She also has become a skilled "grabber" and will grab at anything in sight. She can't quite figure out how to put things she's grabbed, directly in her mouth, but she's working on it. Sometimes she'll pull her pacifier out and actually manage to put it back in. It's surprises her every time she does it. It's cute. She still kicks up a storm too.

She is still very drooly, but not nearly as spitty as Connor. She'll spit up after a meal, but doesn't continue to spit up all day. Thank goodness. She is drooling a lot though and her pediatrician thought her gums looked swollen, so we may have another early teether on our hands. Speaking of hands, her hands are always in her mouth if her pacifier isn't. She constantly wants to chew. I see teeth in our future, don't you?

She is also getting stronger as far as holding her head up and holding her chest up when she's on tummy time. I don't see her crawling in the near future, but she's working on the proper position. She also is starting to sit unsupported for a few moments before falling over. That is a 6 month skill, so she has plenty of time to work on that, but she's getting there. Since she can keep her head up, we tried her in the excersaucer and she did pretty well. She liked looking around at all the neat toys attached to it. I hope she continues to like that thing.

She is still very drooly, but not nearly as spitty as Connor. She'll spit up after a meal, but doesn't continue to spit up all day. Thank goodness. She is drooling a lot though and her pediatrician thought her gums looked swollen, so we may have another early teether on our hands. Speaking of hands, her hands are always in her mouth if her pacifier isn't. She constantly wants to chew. I see teeth in our future, don't you?

She is also becoming more and more social. Unlike her brother, "Mr. Serious", Avery seems to be a lot more outgoing. She will smile at strangers very often, something Connor never did and still doesn't do. We can also get her to giggle if she's in the right mood. 

Of course Avery does have her fussy moments, but it's usually just because she wants to be held or is over tired. Typically if she is getting held, she is happy as a clam. What a sweet girl. I can't wait to see what's in store for us next month.

Avery trying out her excersaucer for the first time. "Wow Mom, this thing has a lot going on. Cool."

Nice form Avery. She looks like she's standing on her own here.

Avery showing off her sitting skills.  Look Mom, no hands.

Another angle of the sitting.

Big girl Avery at 4 months.

My Big Brother is so silly.

Happy Girl

This time without the pacifier. I feel like she looks huge here. 

Just snuggling with Daddy.

Avery finding her thumb.

Avery "standing" strong. What a big girl.

Avery lifting up during tummy time.
http://youtu.be/jhILn1dc3sE

Circus, Bow, and Big Boy Bed Oh My!

The Ringling Bros. Circus was in town so we decided that Connor would probably enjoy it this year, especially since he is still fond of elephants, including his stuffed elephant "Trunky."

It was a two hour show, so Avery was a little tired by the end, but Connor seemed to really like it. He liked the clowns the best, which doesn't really surprise me, because he still laughs the hardest when people do silly things like trip, fall, get water splashed on them or other slapstick type comedy. What can I say, he's got a three year old sense of humor.

He also loved the treats like popcorn, cotton candy and lemonade. I think he'll want to go back to the circus just for that.

Also, we finally moved Connor into the guest room so that Avery can sleep in the crib instead of being in our room. I'll be glad when the pack n play and all her clothes and diapers, etc. aren't taking up half our room. Ugh. It is also nice that Connor gets to move into a twin bed. He was previously in a toddler bed (his crib converted) and now he's in a real twin bed.

It worked out great, because a friend of mine was selling her teenage sons old stuff that was in great shape from a really nice company so we got a great deal. It has a few dings, but overall, I am really happy with it. We probably would have taken a lot more time choosing a new set and spent a lot more money, plus this way it gave us a deadline, because we had to get a storage unit, move the queen bed and the armoir out so we'd have room for my friends stuff. We needed a kick in the butt on this, otherwise Avery might be in our room until she was one years old. Ha!

We haven't moved Avery yet, but Connor has already slept in his new bed for the last two nights and so far so good. He seems to really like it. He looks so small in it and the first night Jeff and I walked out of his new room we both looked at each other and reminisced about how it feels like we just moved him into a crib himself and now he's in a real bed. They grow so fast.

Oh and unfortunately this means that until we move to a new house (we're aiming to do that within a year), we no longer have a guest bed. Sorry guests, I guess we'll just have to make due for a year. I think we can do it.

Connor and Daddy posing before the circus started.

In our seats at Reliant Center. We had great seats and had no trouble seeing all the action.

So much to see.

Connor with his cool circus hat and treats. The circus is awesome.

Avery has a lot of hair, but it is so fine that bows just slide out. I tried one day to put one in and took a mini photo shoot. Enjoy!

Mommy, I look silly.

I'm such a happy girl.

I love to kick my feet.

Avery's hair is always sticking up, so Jeff smoothed it down during bath time. She hardly looks like the same girl.

Connor snuggled up in his big boy bed.

Having fun during story time.

Rainy Day Fun and Visiting Daddy

A few weekends ago it was very rainy. We decided not to let the rain stop us from having a fun day. See the photos for proof.

Also, recently, Avery, Connor and I drove into Houston to meet Daddy at his office and go to lunch. Of course Jeff's coworkers were very impressed with Avery's hair. See below.

Daddy, Connor, and Avery watching the rain.

They were all fascinated by the storm.

Rainy day arts and crafts.

Avery and Maizey watching and listening to the rain.

Alright, enough of this indoors stuff, let's go jump in some puddles. Why not? He's in my arms in this picture, but most of the time we were jumping and kicking the water. It was silly and fun.

Having fun and getting very wet.

What's better than a rainy day nap?

Our visit to Comerica Bank.

Hanging out in Daddy's office. It was a treat to see him during the day. We miss you when you're not home Daddy.