Avery's Best Bud!

Sometimes in life, things just work out.

And sometimes...they work out...really well.

We could not be more blessed with our Nanny situation!

Talk about the stars aligning.

If it wasn't enough to have a fabulous neighbor with an adorable baby girl just 2 months older than Avery, we managed to find Mary Poppins herself to watch these two pumpkins.

Am I dreaming? The answer is no. Sometimes, thinks just work out.

Aves and Piper have become the best of friends in two short months and there is so much more to look forward to!

They have so much fun together each day which is so comforting while I am at work. Not to mention, I love knowing that she gets to play with another little "girlfriend" four days a week!

The 4 Month Dr. Appointment.

For those of you who have seen Avery recently, it's probably no surprise that she is in the 95th percentile for both WEIGHT and HEIGHT!

Weighing in at 16.1 lbs and measuring at 25.5 inches, little Aves is not so little anymore!

I love that my baby is a BIG girl because at this age, I equate that to mean healthy and satisfied! And since she's SUCH a "spitter-upper", I can only imagine how much she would weigh if she kept it all down! ;)

Avery passed her 4-month physical exam with flying colors but her shots didn't reveal the same zest! I tried to warn Chris not to look but he couldn't resist and as a result, his heart broke too. The poor little princess has had such a tough day of unexpected pain. I realized how lucky we have it since she only ever cries when she's hungry but today, it took a lot more to console her. Finally, after a warm bath and some Taylor Swift tunes, she FINALLY calmed down.

These vaccinations...not sure if they hurt the parents more or the baby?? :(

Settlin' in to Summer!

Jungle Jumper - Love at First Sight?

Do you want to try it Daisy??





We have found a winner!

For Avery, this Jungle Jumper is the next step towards big-girlhood and an outlet to spin, bounce and even sleep at her leisure.

With the countless baby toys that fill the shelves these days, it's hard to know what will REALLY and TRULY make your baby happy and entertain them longer than 30 seconds. But as I am learning quickly, parenting is something you learn on a day to day basis so sometimes, you just take a chance and click PURCHASE!

In this case, I soon realized this time it was not just a purchase but instead, an Investment!

Avery musters all the energy she can to spin and bounce that she even fell asleep in it last weekend! Talk about cute!

She's a rollin' folks!

It happened!

Avery rolled over from back to front and I got to see the magical moment! And to be truthful, there have been many of these magical-rolling-over moments since she first did it over 3 weeks ago. An embarrassing realization at how behind I am at blogging.

I am so proud of her and amazed by her strength in just four short months!

I thought to myself - how amazing that Chris and I sit there encouraging our baby girl to roll over - just the start of so many times that she will know, without a doubt, we are her biggest fans. This role of motherhood...this role I love.

Where is the other sock????

Seriously. Where is it?

I know I'm not the only one who falls victim of the missing socks but am I the only one bothered by it?

Why is it that every time I do laundry, I discover that at least two socks have gone missing, leaving their lonely companion, sockmate and literally, their "other half" behind. Sometimes I swear there is a little tunnel connected to our dryer that serves as their ultimate escape route....waiting behind just long enough to watch me stare in confusion and frustration at the realization that they won. Once again.

And the result? A sock drawer filled with 30% of socks matched up and the other 70% hidden under those pairs so I don't have to revisit this frustration every time I need socks.

This has to be a metaphor relating to some aspect of life...

Wow. Being Type A can be exhausting sometimes.

Brady's Visit!

So it's not every week that you have something to look forward to on a Monday but this week, I really did!

My incredible cousin, Shannon (check out her amazing line: GodFeet at www.GodFeet.com - Talk about inspiring. Chat with Shannon for about five minutes and you will be overwhelmed by the amazing things she does in her life.) Shannon brought her adorable son, Brady for a visit along with her mom, Jill, Aunt Linda and her Grandma! How lucky were we!?

And after months of watching Brady grow in pictures, we finally got to see this little prince again! And believe you me, he is even CUTER in person than pictures (if that's even possible?). I so wish we lived closer to them for not only Shannon and David's company but Brady's entertainment alone! He was so much fun that I found myself quite bummed out when they left! He wanted to play with Avery so badly but since mom's know best, Shannon did an excellent job at keeping Brady at the necessary boundaries. But whether he grabbed Avery's feet or her hand real tight, she was loving it!

It was sooo great to see Jill, Linda and her Grandma who I haven't seen since Shannon's baby shower! Linda has showered Avery with gifts since I was pregnant - her thoughtfulness is one for the books. And every time I am around Jill, I realize where Shannon gets her graciousness. Again, if only I could see them more often!

What a fun visit! You ladies are welcome ANYTIME!!

How have I not been celebrating Mother's Day until this year?!!?

Oh wait.

But still...if I realized how much fun celebrating Mother's Day was, I would have started making babies years ago. It's like another birthday, another Christmas or any other symbolic celebration that simply says: "job well done". I get that it's just another "Hallmark Holiday" but with this one, Hallmark is on to something.

Obviously I am just hamming it up and don't believe the celebration of Mother's Day is reason enough to have a baby (...just one of the many reasons) :) And on another note, I have enjoyed celebrating this day to thank the moms in my life but boy is it fun to reap the rewards! (teehee).

***WARNING*** Good guy alert and another event where Chris went above and beyond himself. Never did I think I would end up with a guy who's thoughtfulness, creativity and surprises ALWAYS out do mine. He is good.

So why should my very 1st Mommy's Day be any different? Because it wasn't a day, it was a WEEKEND!

Friday morning, we had 3 wonderful visitors, Dad, Ann and Leona!! They came bearing gifts as they always do now (for that precious lil' Aves - boy is she lucky!). Ann bought her a beautiful Fairy to place in her nursery and Leona gave me a Baby Scrapbook which is just my thing!! Our Friday evening was spent browsing around the Anthem Outlets shopping at some of my favorite stores leaving just in time to pick up the infamous Carambas for dinner!



A Saturday morning 5K with my adorable cousin, Allyson, was a great way to start the day! She is the most mature 11 year old I have ever met (well, Tahlia would give anyone a run for their money when it comes to maturity!!)...I SO enjoyed spending quality time with her while jogging through Kiwanis park. She is such a sweet, inquisitive, smart young lady; I adore her. My mom showered me with an Amazing 1st Mother's Day necklace and Keepsake Box that I will keep forever! It is gorgeous and personally engraved with me and Aves' names!! Chris worked his magic by whipping together a video of the event before the last girl even crossed the finish line.



And after Aves and I managed to take a 2 hour nap, Chris' amazing aunts (Jeri & Donna) came to watch Avery so Chris and I could spend an afternoon at the spa!!!!! And what spa do you ask???? Where else people? The Joya Spa of course!...and with the most amazing masseuse ever, Angela Gibbs!!




Oh no, it doesn't stop there. A unexpected gift came with Avery sleeping from 8pm to 3am. Yes, folks...I will take it!

Want to hear the craziest part of all???? It's not even actually Mother's Day yet! But the actual day was just as great. I kicked into my Kleaning Kelley mode and tackled the house cleaning chores. Yes, sadly I enjoyed this as if it was a gift! Chris took Avery to LeAnn's in the afternoon while I took a nice long, 2.5 hour nap. Awwe. We finished the weekend off with dinner at our house with Glenda.

Wow oh wow. THAT was an Incredible weekend!

I am one lucky mommy.

THREE MONTHS!

WOW! Three months! You know what that means! Time to get out the stickers from Aunt Shannon and take some pictures next to the little bear that gets smaller and smaller. Or is Avery getting bigger and bigger?? ;)

Avery's 1st Easter!

A tad late on this post but I can't let it pass by!

Avery's first Easter was filled with LOTS of stimulation and fun everywhere she turned! It sure seemed like she was having a great day...

It began with her very first Easter basket and then a visit to Aunt Jeri's! After a brief midday nap for mom and Aves, we headed off to Chris' dad's for an afternoon of Easter celebration. She had fun hanging out with her cousin, Lexi and was exhausted by the time we got home around 8pm.

I can tell you for sure that I will NOT be one of those mom's obsessed with entering their little girl in pageants, modeling contests, etc.! However, I do LOVE capturing the moment when I dress her in oh so cute outfits! I can't help myself :)