In The Kitchen - Avery Style

Avery is interested in everything that is going on around her. She wants to be in the middle of the action so she can see what is happening and what she can do to be involved. On Sunday Heath and I were working on cooking dinner while Avery was playing in the living room. She was more interested in what we were doing than the toys that she had surrounding her so we decided to bring her into the kitchen. She was reaching for all the ingredients and tools so we decided to get a few out just for her. I think we may have found a new teething toy. She loved chewing on our silicone basting brush and had a lot of fun swinging it around.

I loved it when we got our brush as a wedding present. If you don't have one already I highly recommend it. You don't have to worry about all of the "hairs" from the old style brushes breaking off when you are basting food, it's great!

Space Princess

My Dad got Avery this adorable Nasa shirt a while back. I have been waiting for her to wear it because originally when she got it in the mail it was pretty big on her. We decided to try it on while my Mom was in town and it fit great. She looks so cute! We are going to visit my parents soon in Colorado and this will be the first thing in Avery's suitcase. I know Pop will be very excited to see Avery, especially in her cute shirt!

8 Months Old!

Avery turned 8 months old on Saturday. She is getting so big and learning something new every day; people are right when they say that infants are sponges at this stage. She really soaks up everything that is going on around her.

Avery is still doing great at solids and has been working on feeding herself. She loves her mesh feeder with all sorts of foods in it. Last night she had pears and they were a hit, even though she ended up smearing most of them on her face and head!

At first I thought these mesh feeder things were so gross, but after I tried it out they really made sense. I highly recommend putting an ice cube in them for teething. Avery is working on puffs and Cheerios as well and is starting to actually get them in her mouth instead of just crushing them up. She loves her sippy cup and has moved from gumming the spout to actually taking a drink or two.

As you can see from her new pictures she is growing like a weed. My arms are getting a great workout from all the baby lifts I do on the weekend with her. We don't have a well child exam this month, but my guess is that she is around 17 pounds.

Avery is still scooting all over the place and occasionally will get up on her hands and knees but no official crawling yet. Some of these outtakes show that she can turn around in her chair and is working on getting down without a big wipe out. Also, if you prop her up near something she will stand and hold on to it. I have a feeling that these pictures will be harder to take in the next few months.

Funny/Exciting story from last weekend

On Saturday around lunch time Avery took a pretty long nap, about 2.5 hours. I went to check on her because she had been sleeping for so long and she was pretty quiet. When I walked around the corner to her room I saw her sitting up playing with the lovie that had been in her bed! I was SO excited to see that she had gotten into the sitting position all by herself that I busted into her room and started talking to her. BIG mistake, she jumped about a foot into the air and immediately started crying. Poor thing, I scared her to death and all because I was excited that she was sitting up. She calmed down quickly and was back to her happy self and we are still waiting for her to show us how she does it.

Go Avery!

Swimming With Mommy & Nonnie

We have been trying to take advantage of the fantastic weather here recently (not 100 degrees and 80% humidity) and go swimming. Avery loves bath time so it is no surprise that she enjoys the pool too.

Mom took her swimming several times while she was in town and she loved it. She likes bobbing around in her float checking out what is going on and who else is at the pool but I think her favorite part is when she can get out and really play. She has so much fun splashing and kicking.

I love the sunglasses that she has on. I got these at Target and she really doesn't seem to notice them at all, no pulling off or clawing at them. Not only do they help protect her eyes from the sun but also from the large amount of water she splashes on her face and she looks like a rock star.

Have a great weekend!

Throw Your Hands In The Air...

...like you just don't care!

This hat is a huge source of entertainment for us adults in the Stone house. We love taking funny pictures of the little one; it keeps us all laughing and is good blackmale for later...just kidding!

It looksl ike we have an AG (instead of OG) on our hands. See Aunt LJ's post from a while back about the same thing. Hope this makes your day better, I laugh just looking at it.

Nonnie Comes To Visit

Avery had a very special visit from my mom last week. She came in for 10 days to swim, snuggle and bond with the little one. I'm sure she wanted to visit with us too but we all know who the real star is now! Dad wanted to be here as well but he was all over California for work for most of the time mom was here. The last time my mom saw Avery in person was when she was 7 weeks old. I was just going back to work off of maternity leave and mom came out to spend time with A and help me with having to go back. She was an absolute lifesaver and it really helped me (and my crazy emotions) leaving my new little one with my Mom first and then the transition to daycare. Don't get me wrong, our daycare is great and I love the ladies that take care of Avery, but I was so worried about my little one. I am sure all new moms are the same way. At that time Avery was just a little eating, sleeping, and pooping blob. This trip was much different for my mom. Avery is now sitting on her own, scooting around, chewing on everything...you know where I am going, she is a mover. Avery is not the same little girl, and she has a wonderful little personality. We have been Skypeing with our families often and this lets them see a piece of the Avery we get to see every day. It is great for everybody to see one another but it is not the same as in person. Mom had a great time getting reacquainted with Avery and bonding. We didn't take enough pictures but I wanted to share a few of this special visit.

Swimming With Nonnie

Having Fun, But Not Too Much!

Snuggle Time

Grandma's Little Doll

We all had a great time and it was hard to see her go but we will be visiting soon. We will get to see my dad (Pop), mom (Nonnie) and my brother Dave. We are so excited and we know it will help pass the time before we get to play again.