Welcome to my blog! Not a day goes by that I don't thank heaven for our little girl! This is a place to keep track of all the little things that make us who we are. Some of them are big and some of them are small but either way we don't want to forget them.
We were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to take Arielle to Disney World again this year...
Arielle got to meet most of her favorite princesses again this year...
Momma and Averi did not go but Zak, Arielle and Gaby had a great time! Zak took Arielle & Gaby on Space Mountain {she was barely tall enough}. Had I been there I would have convinced Arielle otherwise seeing how she was so afraid on the little kids roller coaster at the pumpkin patch. Needless to say, Arielle was very scared but she was proud of herself for trying it out! Gaby didn't enjoy it much either.
The teacups and Winnie the Pooh rides were much more enjoyable!
The day ended as they watched the parade go by...
Hello from Florida! We are on our 7th day of
vacation visiting the Beach Family. The weather has been cold and rainy for most of the time but we managed to get some warm weather yesterday. Averi stayed home while Zak and I took Arielle to the beach. She was
ECSTATIC! She loves the
ocean, sand and salt! Earlier yesterday morning we were at the park right next door to Gaby & Tee's house and while Arielle was picking flowers she stepped into a pile of fire ants and got stung. You wouldn't believe the crying and screaming that followed
{who can blame her?}. A little mixture of bleach and water applied to the bites seemed to sooth her but according to her this was "the worst day ever".
Averi seems to change every day while we are here. She is becoming more alert and playful. Her head control has improved significantly too. The best thing she has done so far is put herself to sleep occassionally for naps and bedtime. She just goes to town sucking on her fist and sleeves until she tires herself out. This morning Averi woke up with a little cold and has been sneezing and coughing. This cold has been going around the house so I'm not surprised; I'm just hoping it doesn't turn into anything worse
{fingers crossed}. Averi has also pleasantly surprised us a couple of nights by sleeping without eating for over 7 hours!
I'm looking forward to Christmas decorating when we get home!
~Momma to Bug~
Averi is really starting to become social {when she isn't so sleepy}. I love hearing the little
baby sounds that she makes and seeing every
smile on her face.
They are priceless! She has been sleeping well during the night, waking up to eat at 3-5 hour incriments and falling back asleep on her own
in her crib! She is still trying to figure out how to get herself to sleep during the daytime which has been our biggest struggle but she loves to sleep in her car seat which is the opposite of Arielle. We leave for vaction to Florida in 2 weeks. I don't know whether to cheer or to cry about it. So much planning has gone into it, I just hope that we all are able to enjoy ourselves.
Enjoy the video {even if it is sideways} & the lastest pictures!
Averi turned one month old today! She is doing really well and seems to have less and less tummyaches as the days go by. She is still eating every 3 hours, sometines 4 during the day. I have gotten a few big smiles in the past couple of days which truly melt my heart! Now if only we could get her to enjoy sleeping in her crib as opposed to the vibrating bassinet that she is going to outgrow any day now. Everytime we put her in the crib for a nap, she wakes up 15 minutes later. And if I set her down in it as she is going to sleep she wakes right up with no chance of going back to sleep as opposed to the bassinet that I can gently rock her back to sleep.
One thing at a time I guess.
Zak pointed out that I actually took the one month picture when she turned four weeks but it's close enough!
~Momma to Bug~
Arielle dressed up as Barbie Mariposa this year {a butterfly fairy}. She looked beautiful as always! Zak and I both got to go trick or treating with Arielle while Grandmom stayed home with Averi. We organized a neighborhood trick or treating group so Arielle got to go with three other 4 and 5 year old girls. She kept saying, "Come on girls!" to them the whole night. She is such the motherly type.
Thanks to the Cook family for Averi's Halloween outfit!
~Momma to Bug~
I just can't resist the urge to post some pictures of Miss Averi. We haven't taken any in the past few days and I can assure you she has grown a bit since the last picture we took. She is mostly expanding in her big ol' belly and her double chin but I can tell she is filling out nicely! Her eyes are blue and will definitely stay that way and her hair could go either lighter or darker, most likely lighter. She is still wearing newborn clothes but the newborn diapers will be too small by the end of the week for sure.
Time is precious these days and most of it is spent nursing Averi (at least every three hours) and trying to get her to sleep. I think she has smiled at me a time or two but for the most part she is battling tummy aches and/or gas pains and cries a lot. Right now she is sleeping in her crib for the first time! We have been using the bassinet and swear by the vibrator feature that it has. We'll have to break us of that before it is too late. For now, enjoy the pictures and I'll be back to post more after I get a little more sleep.
~Momma to Bug~
Averi Jaye was born on Friday, October 2, 2009 at 8:11 am. She weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces and measured 20 inches long (although Zak took a picture of them measuring her in the operating room and she is easily half an inch or more longer). Everyone keeps telling me how beautiful she is and how much she looks like me. She really looks just like she did in the ultrasound pictures but now we can see that she has bright blue eyes and silky, light brown hair. Her facial features are so well defined from her ears to her forehead to her chin. She is so perfect and sweet that I just can't stop looking at her and wanting to hold her!
Within 24 hours Averi dropped down to 6 pounds, 15 ounces then she lost another 2 ounces the next day. By the time we left the hospital three days later she was down to 6 pounds, 11 ounces. We have since taken her to the doctor and she is back up to 6 pounds, 15 ounces. She is nursing well but I am having to work with her on opening her mouth wider. Hopefully when she gets a little bigger it will be easier for both of us. She eats every two to three hours and last night she went for a near four hour stretch!
Averi has been sleeping so much as newborn babies usually do. The hardest part of the day has been between 10-12 pm because this is when she is wide awake and all I can do is think about going to bed. Averi is such a content and relaxed baby. Just last night we let Arielle hold her while we read bedtime stories and Averi fell asleep in her big sister's arms almost instantly. That was so sweet! Arielle is really enjoying being a big sister but I can tell she feels a little sad. I think it is mostly because she is going to school while mommy and daddy stay home with Averi. We felt it was important to keep her in her normal routine as much as possible although it is hard not to feel guilty about not having her home with us.
I am enjoying every minute of this new life that we created and looking forward to every minute left to come.
~Momma to Bug~
