Merry and Bright

Christmas vacation has been great.  Both kiddo and I have taken advantage of our time off.  She asked for three things from Santa and was happy to receive all three -- none of which were big price tag items, so I can't complain.  She has her new games for the Switch, a holder for those game cards, and reader books to enjoy.  She also noted her favorite gift was one she didn't even ask for - her first few Pokemon cards.

Today we took a perhaps premature run to a local store to assess what is out there for first communion dresses.  To my surprise not only did she like several dresses ("I love it") but we ended up leaving with one!  I'm thrilled with the price point and she was comfortable in the dress - win, win.

As we move into January the next session of developmental swim will spin up.  Their focus will be on breaststroke and butterfly.  I'm looking forward to seeing her progress further.

Christmas Highlights

Christmas was a success.  Avery was quite pleased with the transformers (along with other gifts) that Santa delivered on. Her big gift from us was an electric scooter, which she has taken to quite well.  She seemed happiest with a last minute gift request that we met - a Nerf gun.  There were several board games added to the collection, a bit of clothes, a few treats, all the good stuff.

From day 1 off Avery has been missing her friends, so I know she will be ready to head back to school.

Yesterday I caved and took her into the Pediatrician.  She's been coughing longer than I did - and I went down right after Thanksgiving.  Dr. D wasn't concerned, so at least I know we're good to go.

4 years!

She's 4 years old!  The celebration is being spread out a bit.  I left work a little early on Monday and we went to the town pool.  Tuesday I delivered Spiderman themed cupcakes to school for her to share with her friends, she had her beloved chicken nuggies (actually strips) at the farmer's market, we had cake and presents to open at home.

From family she received books and learning resources, a tall doll, a superman die cast car, cash money, and that big girl bed that her grandparents brought a few weeks back.  Her Daddy gave her a solid silver dino head and we had a remote control Batman car, Frozen light up blue sneakers for the new school year, and a tall car track with multiple cars.

Today she went to the doctor so I can report the official height as 3'5 2/16" and weight as 38.5 lbs.  She was not ready for her birthday to be over yesterday!

I love you (not so) little girl.  Happy birthday!

Year of the Spider

2020 was the year of the dinosaur - as in Avery's birthday cake theme and Halloween costume.  This year is  the year of the Spider(man).  I kept joking that since the cat is kind of an early birthday present we should go with that theme and have a litter box cake and cat poop cookies for her friends at school.  I mostly kept saying it because of her exuberant reaction against it with "noooo, that's gross!"

We went yesterday to order the themed cake for at home and cupcakes for school.  Now to find the right costume.

I also need to order her bedding.  Her Nonna and Nonno are moving and gifted her the bed from their spare room - her first big girl bed!  They delivered it to us yesterday, so I spent some time taking apart her crib, removing it from her room, and vacuuming up in there.  We also snagged pool noodles as runners down the sides in the morning before swimming lessons.  Also on our procurement list was goggles and a swim cap, which helped her tremendously putting her face in.

Keeping Track

This week, while Avery spends a little bit of time entertaining herself (unfortunately, so I can get some more work done) she started coming to me with different items rolled up in pieces of construction paper telling me she had a present for me.  Is that not the sweetest thing ever?  This kid is wrapping up her toys and gifting them to me!

I also wanted to note a few more little things that I'm terming "LifeWithAvery":
- Another shirt, this one my Jason from Friday the 13th tee.  He is standing there with a big ol' knife in his hand.  She joyfully points to it and says "that is for cutting cake".  That's my girl.

- During prayers I commented about her successful efforts during potty-training that day.  She turned to me with her eyes wide and said "did you say potty train?"  from the look on her face I can only image what she was picturing.

- More commentary on my derriere at bed time.  This time it was with little rhyme or reason:  This time she said "your butt's not big, it's little".  Flattery will get you almost everywhere dear child, but you are going to bed.

On a streak...

Avery has been managing to pee on the potty once a day since her breakthrough.  We've also had a big poop on the potty right at bedtime the past few nights.  I'm pleased with her efforts!

I also wanted to make some notes on the books that Avery has been adoring.  She definitely gets on kicks with books.  A while back she was obsessed with Pat the Bunny.  As of late her obsession is Dog's Colorful Day.  We often see I'm a Little Teapot too (not my favorite).

As to her Christmas gifts it seems that the art easel is well loved, but I think the biggest success was the ice cream stand.  She plays with it most every night and I can see how her play with it will evolve as she learns and gets older.

That's a wrap

Avery's second Christmas is in the books.  Along with that were a lot of miles on the road and a whole pile of presents.  She may not have liked Santa very much in person, but she was starting to figure out how to unwrap presents.  Some of her favorites so far include an Elmo doll from Aunt Jackie, a new travel shape sorter from Aunt Karla and Uncle Carl, some bath toys and a coloring tablet from Mummy and Daddy, and a beautiful rocking pony from Aunt Bethany.  She isn't enamored with the pony when it's making noises just yet, but she does like rocking on it.  Santa did a pretty good job with Little People toys too.

I'm very proud of her.  She's also doing a decent job signing "thank you"!  It sounds like she's also saying "Please" and a few other things like "uh-uh" (as in no).

There was so much running and activity that Avery slept in an extra hour 3 out of 5 days through this extra long weekend.  My extra time with her was my favorite gift this holiday.  I love her bunches.

Back to Sunshine and Rainbows

Fortunately, we're back to a healthy looking bottom again, so I'm able continue shopping for those rainbows to decorate for Avery's birthday party.  Today we made it up to Build a Bear (perhaps you saw the mayhem that ensued this past week when they had a pay your age promotion) to use the coupon we got.  So for $10 Avery has her first unicorn - it will serve to help decorate for her birthday as well.  Unfortunately, despite the website saying they had both unicorns in stock they neglected to clarify that the ones they had were already stuffed.  So she didn't get to pick out a little heart for him or assist in the stuffing, hence there are no photos of the event.  This makes me a little sad, but it's okay, I know we'll have other trips there in our future, right?

Our First Thank You for Allowing me to be your Mama Day

I never thought there would be a day when someone wished me "Happy Mother's Day"  either out of not realizing I didn't have children or because they knew how much I loved my dogs and addressed them as my babies, but here we are.  This weekend I celebrate my first Mother's Day with my baby in my arms (I guess in my mind I allowed myself to celebrate a little last year too, but this year it's so very real).

I joked that Avery took me for dinner (Chic-Fila) and shopping last night.  I ended up buying myself a couple of pairs of shorts and a beautiful rose gold and diamond ring on which I splurged as a memory of my first Mother's day.  While we were at Chic-Fila I went about as I normally do, eating and talking to her, holding her on my lap when I am not working on eating the sandwich, tickling her, giving her kisses, and allowing her to explore things (like the crumpled up bag).  In general - enjoying her and trying to ensure that she isn't disrupting anyone else around us.

As the table across from us left a woman stopped and said how much she enjoyed watching our interactions (noting all of the kisses) and stating "she is truly a loved baby".  My heart is touched.  I love this little girl so very much and I'm glad that you can see that from a mile away.  I know I won't get everything right, heck I'll be lucky to get half of it right, but last night I felt like a good Mom and I appreciated hearing it.

Cute Personality

This girl.  I wanted to document some of the cuteness before I forget the time frame in which it all happened, so here you go...  I need to get video of these, but it's hard to do without an extra hand and some way to keep her from spotting the phone/camera.

For a while now, Avery gets excited when she notices you have a drink.  She makes a big O with her mouth, clenches her hands, and vibrates.  That's in addition to when she spots her bottle and starts reaching for it excitedly.

Last night while sitting on my knee she also started bouncing trying to get me to bounce her more.  It was only two or three days ago that she realized the Exersaucer allows her to bounce too and she loves it.

Last night when I turned on her show before bed (we've been watching and loving Word Party), she started to turn to look at the TV right at the start of the intro music.

Since my last post, I also need to report that we've tried pears.

Also, while we put her down for the night on her back she is on her belly every morning.  The crib was dropped down lower too just in case the first time she decided to pull herself up to standing was in the crib.

Finally, I want to note that her Easter Basket arrived and is absolutely beautiful.  I went with the handwoven oval pink/purple/white one from AmishBaskets.com.  I had them do a purple liner and a brass name plate that reads "1 Corinthians 13:13 God bless Avery Violet".

Once again overwhelmed

My guy's Mom and sister put on quite the over the top to do/tea time/shower for us this weekend.  It was crazy to see how many people were there and how she converted her whole downstairs to put the focus on us.  Every detail was attended to.  The food and drink was amazing, the decorating touches were beyond, her fine china was out for tea, everyone was all there in one room!

It rained pretty hard leading into the weekend and was steady on our drive their way, but things cleared and the sun prevailed - making it an even more lovely day.  We came home with another very full vehicle - making our previous stockpile of diapers look tiny.  There is another mound of goodies to be sorted through upstairs in the baby's room awaiting my attention.

More from the registry completion order has also arrived, so with a quick load of laundry now the pack and play with its new mattress is also ready for action in the living room.  I was able to complete one set of thank you cards for my side of the family this morning, which are now ready to go in the mailbox.  Also off of the list this weekend is getting the car seat bases installed, now I need to stop in and get mine inspected.  I'm hoping these few things being off of the list will give me rest tonight.  I was once again restless last night from all of the excitement and new additions to the list.

Overwhelmed with love and hyper stimulated

Yesterday not just one, but TWO showers were held for our little girl.  We drove back to Johnstown to attend the one thrown by friends as it was on the schedule earlier and another was underway with my aunts another hour away.  They videotaped the second one, so I will at least get to enjoy watching - and I'll have that tape to rewatch even after my memories start to fade thanks to baby brain.  The day would have been beyond perfect if only I could have been at two places at once.

I can't believe how many people came in to share the afternoon with me.  I'm so blessed.  It was good to see everyone, it feels like it has been forever since I've seen some of them.  The food was good, the cake even better!  We left with a full SUV and now the floor in the baby's room is full again.  *smacks forehead*  I thought I had that room mostly in order, what a fool I am... and to think I probably have another full sized load coming from the second gathering too!  If that doesn't inspire you to hustle and nest I don't know what will.

There is one more shower on the horizon with his side of the family.  I'm so incredibly overwhelmed with the outpouring thus far, to think there is more coming our way?!  This little girl is beyond loved.  I pray we are able to convey to her just how much.

Putting me as the center of attention tends to get me all riled up.  As such I was up a little late last night and my eyes popped open too early today.  Fortunately I have tomorrow off so I can sleep in a little (I hope) and we can do some sorting, putting away, and get that pile of thank yous well underway.

I said we drove, and that is true.  From there he was off sweating it up outside while I enjoyed my afternoon in the air conditioning.  He then returned to help load up and drove us home to allow me to keep my feet moving to avoid some swelling.  He's definitely a keeper.

Slow and steady progress

I did get those lightbulbs and the fixture looks perfect, I'm very pleased.  However, the more I think about it I am really thinking I need to buy legit furniture (read dresser and/or changing table).  They sell just changing table tops, but maybe the older dresser I have is too tall for this.  Plus, I bought a crib that would be usable for several years, doesn't it makes sense to have matching furniture (nothing too pricey) that would also last for those several years?  I have not found anything I love, so we'll see.

I also have to say that I'm pretty sure I felt her moving this morning, but I still remain a bit uncertain and not definite.  We officially started her college fund yesterday at the family Easter gathering.  They always hide eggs for the kids with money in them and there was a color set aside for our kiddo too.

From another part of his family we also received a big bag of like new clothes yesterday.  You see, her one cousin is a year almost exactly older than she will be, so we are fortunate enough to receive hand me overs (down would be speaking too poorly about the quality of these items).

Now that I've not only strung the little snippets of video together to make something a little more watchable but I've also blurred the PII at the top I'm going to go ahead and put this here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m77MfPeJG1w&feature=youtu.be