More Avery Pics

I made an album of some Avery pictures on Kodak gallery and I am posting them here on the blog. We've had a nice few days at home, because we've had lots of hands to hold Avery and lots of playmates for Connor. Grandma and Grandpa are here and Jeff has been around all weekend. It has been so nice to divide the Connor care duties since I am feeding Avery so often.

Avery continues to be a delight. We are loving every minute.

Enjoy the photos and the video.

http://pix.kg/p/973802445409%3A1597854795/scl

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnvRdwdHXNE&feature=youtu.be

Welcome Avery Susan Treadway

It's official, we have a new addition to our family. Avery Susan Treadway was born on April 10, 2012 at 7:51 am. She weighed 8 pounds 1 oz. and was 20.5 inches long. Her head circumference was 13 3/4 inches.

The day we arrived at the hospital couldn't have gone smoother. I was a little upset about having a repeat/scheduled c-section, but I will admit rolling into the hospital at 5:30am and meeting your baby at 7:51 am is not half bad. It sure beats laboring for 15 hours, pushing for 2 1/5 hours and THEN having a c-section like I did with Connor. That was a doozy of a recovery. Of course I still had to have a pretty major surgery, but I seem be recovering well so far and Avery came out with ease thanks to my OB-Gyn.

We told the anesthesiologist our boy and girl names and as Avery was delivered just as Jeff looked over the partition, he said, "It looks like it's and Avery" and shortly after Jeff said, "It's a girl!" I think I needed both of them saying it to believe it myself. I kept calling her "it" like I had been doing while pregnant and then after that I'd say "he." She took some getting used to, but believe me, I'm loving it now. I have found my self saying, "She", "our daughter", "us girls", "princess", etc. It's all flowing now and I'm loving it.

I am so thrilled to have a little girl and she is a knockout so far. She's got that perfectly formed c-section head and face (that hasn't been squished or swollen due to labor) and her eyes are lovely. She had soft brown hair that actually has hints of blond highlights. I think she went to the salon before she was born. She definitely resembles Connor, but in a way that makes them look like siblings, not clones. She has a much smaller head and forehead, smaller cheeks (although they are still present which I love), and slightly different lips. Their noses, chins and eyes look very similar though.

She is pretty different from Connor in temperament too. I will say I'm cautiously optimistic that this baby will not be nearly as fussy/colicky as Connor was. So far she eats and sleeps and when she does fuss it's mostly because we are messing with her. Also, she has had plenty of moments where she was awake and alert, but not crying. That practically never happened with Connor. If he was awake, he was crying. She also sleeps just fine in the bassinet, whereas Connor much preferred being held close and rocked to sleep. Avery is also breastfeeding beautifully. We had a little trouble with one side especially at first, but sure enough, she has begun to practically master that too. What a blessing she is.

Connor seems to be doing alright. He has met Avery a couple of times and has been very sweet with her. He seems quite proud to be a big brother and shows off his I think he is struggling with Mommy and Daddy not being home but then seeing them close to home. He doesn't understand why they can't come with him. He is especially having some Daddy separation anxiety, which is normal, but still sad to see. I'm hoping once we're home (possibly tomorrow evening) we can try to help him adjust. It will certainly be a transition for everyone, but I'm hoping he will adjust well.

Jeff and I have certainly had a chance to bond with Avery but some other people have had the chance to meet her too. Gigi and Pagger Don came in Monday and Tuesday to meet their first granddaughter and Grandma and Grandpa were here to meet their second granddaughter. My Mom didn't know we were giving Avery her first name as a middle name, so I know she was pleasantly surprised. It is my middle name too, so now it's a family tradition. My friends Jessica and Kendall came by the hospital as well and even though they told me they couldn't believe I waited to find out the gender, they admitted that it was pretty exciting. See, I told you. Hee hee.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures from her first few days of life. I know we love her already and I'm sure when you meet her, you'll be a member of her fan club too. She's simply perfect.

All set to go to the hospital to meet our new little baby. Will it be a girl or a boy? We can't wait to find out.

Avery Susan Treadway, fresh out of the oven. She had great coloring from the start and was very alert. Good girl.

Connor getting to check out his little sister for the first time. He said, "It's tiny." Precious.

My first real snuggles with Avery, about 2 hours after she was born. Avery gave us a minor health scare in the beginning as she had critically low blood sugar and was a little shaky. Right after delivery, the nurses took her to the nursery, gave her an ounce of formula, checked her glucose levels and observed her. Her blood sugar improved a ton and so she was back in my arms fairly soon. The rest of the family could observe her in the nursery, but I couldn't since at that point I was completely bedridden, so I was dying to see her. This was very satisfying.

Once we got moved to our postpartum room, Pagger Don got to hold his very first granddaughter.

All snuggled up.

Now Gigi gets a turn with Avery. Robbyn was excited to have another Treadway woman born in April. That makes 4 generations of us now, with Great Grandma Margie, Grandma Robbyn (Gigi), Mommy Melissa, and now sweet Avery Treadway.

An exuberant Grandma can't believe she's holding a little girl in her arms. She was thrilled to have another girl in the family. Watch out boys, us girls are making a comeback.

The proud papa is showing us Avery's eyes.

Now he's stealing a kiss. I think we have a Daddy's girl in the making.

The adorable big brother getting to hold his sister for the first time. He was very gentle with her, but I think at one point he was just going to drop her down. I'm pretty sure he thought she was a doll.

It's cute because Connor is very proud of being a big brother. He keeps showing everyone his "Big Brother" bracelet they gave him at the hospital, but when you ask what he is, he'll say, "I'm a baby brother." We correct him, but he keeps saying it. Silly boy.

Here Gigi is showing Connor how to be gentle with his little sister.

Gigi did a little shopping and bought Avery some adorable clothes and accessories. Check out this darling headband. She looks just like a precious flower.

Beautiful Avery Susan.

Good friends Jessica and Kendall came by to see Avery and they fell in love instantly.

Kendall took a picture of the three of us. I had just been allowed to get up an walk around, so I was still a little groggy and in pain, but it felt good to get up.

We can't believe we created this little miracle.

Grandpa came by after his class to meet his granddaughter. I think she's got him under her spell already.

Yesterday Avery got her hearing test done and Jeff thought it looked like she was rocking out to some tunes. Hee hee. She passed with flying colors by the way.

Avery showing off her bedazzled A&M booties. She is going to be one stylish sports fan.

Final Weekend as the Treadway Trio

This past weekend marked the end of an era. It was the last weekend that me, Jeff, and Connor would be a family of three. We took this opportunity to spend some wonderful and quality time together as a family. I loved every minute of it and was a bit sad to say goodbye to this stage of our lives, but I'm sure tomorrow when the baby comes I will be ecstatic to welcome this new addition and start a new chapter in the Treadway family history. The Treadway Family Foursome! I'm sure golfing daddy likes that title. Ha! Enjoy the pics from our memorable Treadway Trio weekend.

Jeff had a doctor's appointment in Sugar Land on Thursday, so he came home a bit early after that and went to our neighborhood golf course. When Connor got up from his nap, me and Connor met up with Jeff on the course for some family golfing. I was just the driver, but Daddy and Connor both golfed.

It was hard to get Connor making a shot with the slow camera on my phone, but here he is chasing down one of his awesome shots.

Daddy and Connor walking up the hill to put into the hole. Connor always likes this part and will often place his golf ball right near the hole so he can put it right in on the first swing. He gets excited every time it goes in.

Even in the evening, it was a bit warm, so Connor took a sparkling water break on the green.

It's always in good form to sweep the bunkers before you leave. Good job Connor.

I put some product in Connor's hair for picture day at school last week and I thought I'd stick it in this album.

On Friday evening, we went to the Opening Day Astros baseball game.It was really crowded, but we tried to stick together.

Jeff got these tickets through his boss' insurance agent so we had this private party area with free food, drinks, games, balloons, and then access to seats to watch the game. Here Connor is trying his best to play Wi baseball. He didn't quite get when to swing, but I'm sure he'll figure that out eventually.

Inside the private party area, they also had this man taking pictures in front of a green screen and then emailing you the images. Here Connor is getting ready to pose for his Rookie Baseball Card.

He really wanted to hold the baseball glove too, so we took this one together.

Watching the game. We were pretty far from the action, so Connor got a little antsy in his seat, but that's understandable. Let's face it, baseball is not that fast paced of a game.

Mommy having fun, but Connor is looking a bit bored. Ha! At least he's got his cool doggy balloon.

Connor was ready to leave but just as we were leaving the Astros scored two homeruns right in a row. Wow! Fireworks go off and the train in the back of the stadium moves. It's pretty cute. Connor was a little scared of the loud noise it made, but he liked the train.

Connor checking out the over-sized baseballs outside of the ball park.

Sunday was Easter and Connor was "lucky" enough to wear a sweater vest to church. Doesn't he look dapper.

To accommodate for all the Easter guests, the church had a shuttle service from satellite lots. Connor liked riding the bus.

Almost ready for the church service to begin.

As you can see, Connor was really engaged in the service. Ha! He actually did really well though and we held him during songs and he didn't put up too much of a fuss. He was anxious to leave though. An hour and ten minutes of being relatively quiet and still is a lot for a 2 year old.

One funny part was when the minister mentioned the Book of Thomas and Connor looked at me and said, "Thomas...and Percy." Those are fictional trains. Oh boy.

Also, there was a liturgical dance number in the beginning and later Connor kept asking "Where did the princesses go?"

Let's just say, I'm not sure the meaning of the resurrection got through to him this year.

After church, we went to a brunch buffet at a local Italian restaurant. They served breakfast and lunch food and it was very tasty. We were all very full after, so we walked around the fountains.

When we got home, the Easter Bunny had arrived and dropped off some eggs for Connor to find. "Look Mommy, I found one."

They were scattered throughout the porch and the yard. Here he is placing one into his basket.

"A green one! Look Mommy!"

All that bending makes this 39 week pregnant woman quiver, but Connor seemed to have a great time.

Connor took a break to open an egg and found a jelly bean inside.

Can you see how full his basket is? What a generous Easter Bunny.

The Easter Bunny also brought Connor this cool new water table complete with a mini train you can fill with water. In the beginning, Connor was very content filling the cups and dumping water. After about 15 minutes though, he got the big idea to splash Mommy and Daddy. A full on water fight ensued complete with the water hose. Good thing it was an 80 degree day.

Post water fight, Connor snuggled up in a towel and watched a show to calm down before nap time. He looks very cozy.

Well that's it for now. We go to the hospital at 5:30 am tomorrow morning and my c-section surgery is scheduled for 7:30 am. I am very excited to meet this little baby and finally hold him or her in my arms. Wish us luck.

Houston Children's Festival

Two weekends ago, we attended the Houston Children's Festival. It is a big carnival downtown whose proceeds support the charity I used to work for, Child Advocates. Since the weather was nice, it was really crowded and this 38 week pregnant lady got a little hot and tired, but overall, I think we had a great time. See our pics below.

We arrive and Connor takes in the scene. That metal contraption is an acrobat. There was lots to see and do.

Connor and I stopped to pose in front of the Child Advocates banner in their rodeo themed area.

Connor showing off the vest he made complete with a Sheriff's badge and stickers.

Being patient while getting his face painted.

The finished product, a baseball.

Throwing horseshoes.

Roping a steer.

Riding the carousel with Daddy. We got him to say "Roarrr" as he came around to me. It was cute.

The ladies at the HEB sponsor booth were helping Connor complete a fun obstacle course.

There were lots of street vendors and this one booth had these bubbles that had almost dry ice inside them so when you popped them, "smoke" came out. Connor was fascinated and called them "fire bubbles." I have to admit I had a fun time popping them myself. It was really cool.

Connor showing off his football tossing skills.

Amazingly, Connor actually waved and hugged this Otter character. Normally he is terrified of full size characters. This was a huge step. Perhaps next year he won't be so afraid of Santa and it gives me hope that we could go to Disney World some day.

There were a few kiddie rides that Connor could do. This one flew him around.

Poor Jeff had to contort his body to fit in this dinosaur with Connor, but it was well worth it. They both had fun.