A Week in the Life of...

...Avery Claire

Last Friday Avery Claire stayed at home with Mema and played all day. That afternoon, Avery Claire, Mema, and Mommy headed to Nashville to Aunt Steph's. We got up Saturday morning and started shopping. We got fitted for Megan's bridesmaid dresses and marked lots off of our Christmas lists. We had such a great time and enjoyed our time with Mema and Steph. I took two pictures of Avery Claire playing with a basket at Aunt Steph's...shame on me, I know. We were very busy, I guess, marking items off those lists!

Avery Claire was a great shopper, as always. She was not, however, a great sleeper. She slept in the pack-n-play, which she hasn't laid eyes on in 5+ months. She was definitely not tricked into thinking it was her bed. And she had a little trouble sleeping last week, anyway. We're really hoping it was just that she was excited about learning lots of new things, like walking in the walker, pulling up, waving, and all of that fun stuff. She would wake up (at, say, 12:30 a.m. or 4:00 a.m.), pull up, and then cry. She couldn't get herself back down. I ended up going into her room on the two nights she did this to get her back to sleep. Then she ended up in the bed with Aunt Steph and Mommy Friday night, and woke up Saturday night and I let her cry for a while ('cause if you're a Mommy you know how quick those habits form and how hard they are to break!). I ended up getting her back to sleep then, anyway. I'm pretty sure Aunt Steph will think long and hard about those two nights before she makes the decision to have kids one day!

Sunday, we got up and headed back home. Dusty had been out of town since Thursday morning and was ready to see his little girl. And she was glad to see her Daddy!

Mema put a tree up for Avery Claire in her room. She loves it! Thanks, Mema!

And she was glad to be able to explore at home.

Daddy sometimes turns the jumper into a swing. Our little daredevil loves it!

Avery Claire took her 2nd nap late Sunday afternoon and slept well that night. So, Monday, we decided it might be time to cut the late afternoon (3rd) nap. It wasn't easy, folks! Sometimes when the poor baby was still for a minute in her walker, her head would fall over and her eyes would close. Then she'd jump up and get busy to stay awake.

She is into absolutely everything. We're trying to let her explore to her little heart's content, but if we move something out of her sight, she is not going to forget it. And we have to sit with her every second because she is not afraid to let go of whatever she's pulled up on. She will try to catch herself, so she knows she can fall down. She's sometimes just a little too brave...and very nosy curious!







Do we have a gymnast or an acrobat on our hands?


Avery Claire loves the little ceramic chocolate lab ornament on the Christmas tree. It's one of the ones we let her take off and look at. She was shaking it a little too close to another ornament, apparently, and hit it...

Don't worry - no babies were harmed!!

This was Avery Claire at 7:30 Monday night. She was soooo tired! And Mommy and Daddy were not so sure about our decision to skip the late nap!



Tuesday night, we skipped the late nap again. Things were a little easier. Avery Claire got a 2nd wind around 6:30 or so, so she made it to her bed awake, where she very promptly fell asleep.

She loves books of any kind!



Her new favorite spot to pull up - the tv stand.

Avery Claire learned to brush her teeth.

Can you tell what she thinks about that?


Wednesday, we saw Dr. Wooten (the chiro) and he said her ears looked pretty good. One of them had a little fluid, but nothing major. Staying up was even easier tonight!


Again, the tv stand...


Thursday, we moved the toy tub out from behind the chair. It was like we'd bought a box of new toys!






Avery Claire knows that the doors lead to the outside world, but she discovered that that very outside world is visible behind the blinds!!


Please excuse our dirty windows. I guess we don't raise the blinds to clean them very often (but they did get cleaned after these pictures, I assure you!).


Mommy, did you know we could raise this blind and see outside?


If you know my husband, you know he will leave the plastic on new items (phones, remotes, games, new Dish receivers, etc) until it just falls off. He likes to preserve the newness of things as long as possible. This has always driven me batty.

We got new Dish receivers a couple of weeks ago, and guess who pulled off some of the plastic?

I guess if he hasn't noticed it yet, he'll know it after he reads this post.


About to let go, but trying to figure out where to go from there

Watching Shrek the Halls


One of the most exciting things about the holiday season for me is getting Christmas cards in the mail. I love when those first ones start arriving...I love to get home each day and see whose cards came that day! Avery Claire got her first Christmas card today (Friday) from Grandmother Joann. She loves cards like she loves books (she really is my child).



(Check out those "socks!" I put tights on under her outfit today because it's cold and the legs always ride up on the outfit. Needless to say, they'd definitely gotten out of whack by late this afternoon.)

The blinds are still raised and it's still just as much fun to look. This afternoon, Avery Claire could see Win in the yard and she got so excited!

Each year, I give Dusty a Christmas ornament. This year, Avery Claire gave her Daddy an ornament to hang on the tree.


Shaking a water bottle with pennies inside. Kids always love the homemade toys best.


I'm pleased to say that Avery Claire has slept all night in her bed every night this week. She is able to get herself back down if she pulls up. I realize how fast this can change, so I'm thankful for every full night of sleep I get from now on...

Tomorrow, we're headed to see Santa at the mall. What would our first Christmas be without the picture with "mall Santa?" We think Avery Claire will be amazed by Santa this year...guess we'll all see tomorrow!

Every day at our house is seriously so much fun! We love every second that we get to spend Avery Claire. I love those sweet fingerprints on my window and all of the bowls and toys strewn all over the house. I love that we have so much baby "stuff" in every corner. I love that our baby trusts us enough to be brave about trying new things. We are so lucky to have a healthy, happy baby girl. I know there are so many people who would love the chance to get up in the middle of the night with their child, so I will be thankful that I do have that chance. If that's all I have to worry about, I realize I am a lucky girl. And sometimes if the blogs gets behind, I know I can catch up later, after my baby is in the bed (and if I can stay awake). I wouldn't trade a minute of my time with my little family!

On a sidenote: I realize how old I'm becoming! Tonight, I heard our 17 year old neighbor rev his truck up and squeal down the road. I looked at Dusty and said "now what in the world do you think he's doing leaving at this hour?" Dusty looked at me and said, "It's 7:30, Brooke."

Just another 'welcome to parenthood' moment!