I'm well overdue for Avery's five month post...maybe I can cast some blame on a little thing called sleep deprivation?  Upon Avery's arrival at 4 months, those lovely 5-6 hour sleep at night stretches departed.  It's not a compliant- just an objective statement.  I love being Avery's momma- and if it comes with some sleep deprivation, I'll take that too.  But it does have it's effect on functionality.  And you become a ridiculous analyzer- maybe it was the PJs?  Maybe the temperature, position, bath before bed...the list goes on...And then there's the different sleep philosophies...the cry it out camp (don't mind the folks that live in the apartment next to yours that get to endure this experience with you- I'm sorry neighbor) and the pat and shush camp (often effective...but not a sure thing) and the crawl in the crib with your baby camp...hmmm...I might be the only member of this camp but one late night it seemed like the right thing to do?  My kind mother-in-law reminded me that this is temporary.  Temporary. That helped.  Most 16 year olds sleep through the night right?  Right?  We made it through a rough couple of weeks and thankfully those longer stretches returned for the most part.  On to more fun things....Avery had two holidays first come in this past month- Halloween and Thanksgiving.  We were unexpectedly in San Antonio over Halloween, without her costume, so we had a little Halloween take 2 when we returned home.  She was a cute pumpkin.  Zach's mom and brother came in for Thanksgiving.  We all woke up early and ran (Avery rode comfortably in her stroller) in the Grub Run at the Texas Motor Speedway.  Very fun!  Avery has also gotten to see her friend Luke Hogan a couple of times.  Luke's mom Mary had to work on Thanksgiving so Luke's dad Steven and Luke came to celebrate Thanksgiving with us. It's been so fun to see them both grow- and now become much more aware of each other...reaching out to touch each other, babbling to each other...pretty cute.

Here's the rundown of what Avery's been up to:

-Grabbing those sweet feet

-Prop sitting

-Loves looking in the mirror

-LOVES looking at pictures of herself, especially on the iphone

-Still loves kicking in the bath, practically kicks half the water out of her tub

- Favorite song: Turkey Tom- as initially sung by her Gammy...it has become our secret weapon to combat fusses, I have no idea why she has such an affinity for this song...but it works.  Every time. (almost)

-Favorite book: Tails and Whose nose?

-Favorite toy: still loves dolly, owl and blue bug, but also inch worm and an antique silver rattle my mom gave us (that was hers and mine)

-Gives us lots of laughs and smiles

-Verbalizing more and making more babbling sounds- and getting LOUDER

-Loves her tongue (as you'll see in our Christmas card photo)

-Everything is going to her mouth...hands, blankets, toys...

We're still enjoying Fort Worth with walks and runs (I'm trying) along the Trinity trails, seeing friends in DFW, and being a part of Fort Worth Presbyterian.  Zach continues to travel frequently to work in Midland and Andrews.  Construction has started on the practice in Midland- so it's been nice to see some progress.

Good morning!

Sweet pumpkin

Playing with cute Luke at dinner

Grub run on Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving day with Luke

Hanging out with Uncle Bailey

Loving her tongue

5 months!

Firsts in Fall

Avery Grace - 4 months!

It's been a month of firsts for Avery.  She had her first trip to the zoo when Gammy and Bailey came to town.  She had her first flight to San Antonio to celebrate April and baby Jack at a baby shower.  Avery did so well on the flight.  Avery and I stayed with Danielle and fam the weekend of the shower.  It was during this weekend that Danielle's 2 year old son, Luke, gave Avery her first kiss.  We managed to capture the moment.  I'll let Avery's expression speak for itself.  I emailed the photo to my parents and I have to second my dad's response, " I hope she keeps that look whenever a boy tries to kiss her for a long, long time." :)

Here's her latest stats and activities:

-13.5 lbs, 26.5 inches long (98th percentile for length!!!)

-Loving tummy time- even hands free

-Lots of laughing, smiling...and shrieking

-Blue bug is still the favorite toy...however her Owl (thanks Laura and Jake) and her Dolly (thanks Aunt Sal Pal) are close contenders

-Is tolerating/liking her Bumbo chair

-Reaching out and grasping toys

 - Lots of chewing on her sweet hands...they are so yummy.

Zach's also had a busy month with lots of dental practice preparation.  We did take a little time out to celebrate his 32nd birthday.  Our house in San Antonio is something that has been occupying quite a bit of time as well.  Unfortunately, the sale of the house fell through so we've been getting it ready to put on the market- which thankfully happened last week.  All three of us went down for the weekend 2 weeks ago to work on the house but then Avery and I ended up staying all week to get more things done.  I was really humbled by and thankful for the kindness and love from our family and friends that helped us get through (and get around during) the week.  Many thanks to you all.   Let us know if you know anyone who's looking for a great house in SA!    So lots of busyness this month.  I recently read this quote by George MacDonald, " He thought to gain a thing by doing, when the very thing desired was a being."  Such a great reminder...that God is not impressed by my busyness, my deeds, my appearance but instead focuses on my heart...that in seeking Christ more and more...my heart would become refined, transformed...still.

Bath time at Gammy's

Trying out the Bear suit on a chilly day

Showing off her smiles

Happy Birthday Zach!

More smiles

With Aunt Sal Pal

Lots to say...

Fun with Gammy

Tummy time with owl is so fun

More tummy time

...and more

...the kiss

The zoo! 

Sporting her zebra pants at the zoo

First trip to the stock yards

Three months!

Our Avery turned three months last week!  Just today I was looking at some photos and videos we took  the week she was born- it's crazy to see how much she's grown and changed.

Here are a few things she's been up to this month:

- vocalizing more and more, adding different noises and sounds to her "vocabulary"

- laughing, intentionally, especially when her daddy makes funny faces

- holding her head up and looking around during tummy time

- the occasional roll from her tummy to back

- kicking lots during bath time

- batting toys on her activity mat

- lots of hands to her mouth activity

- holding her hands together

- sleeping average 6 hrs at night (although she recently took a week and a half hiatus...silly girl...must have thought she was a newborn again)

A few weeks ago we made a little day trip to Waco so Avery could meet her Great Grandma Anderson.  Zach's grandma lives in San Diego so it was a treat to get to see her in Texas and have her meet Avery.  I think you'll be able to tell by the photo below that Grandma Anderson had a good time too. :)

We also had a fun week with a visit from my mom, Avery's Grandmama- all the way from Iowa!   We ran around Fort Worth a little- went to a few art museums and got started on some crafty projects for Avery's room.  My mom taught me how to sew in something else besides a straight line...the doors this will open...

On the Fort Worth front, we've now found two favorite places.  One is the Fort Worth botanical gardens. Such a lovely pocket of open grassy spaces, symmetric gardens, tall trees.  A perfect spot for a great walk followed by a picnic.  The other place is St. Stephan's Presbyterian church.  It's just up the street from our apartment on a hill top.  There's a perfect perch with tree cover and a bench at the top of the hill with a view of downtown Fort Worth and more.  The church is really a beautiful building, an Old English style of sorts.  Zach captured it well by saying it's the kind of place you could imagine C.S. Lewis walking around the corner at any moment.  As far as the foodie in me, we ate a local cafe and bakery called McKinley's right before we took my mom to the airport, and it was yummy.  Great sandwiches, creative salads, and any kind of delicious baked goodness you could want...pies, cakes, cookies, brownies of all kind.  My kind of place.

Zach continues to work out West every other week or so.  The practice there continues to progress, slowly but surely.  He continues to be excited about the opportunity and potential out there.  When he heads out west for work, Avery and I continue to ride along with him- at least until the halfway point and spend a few good days with Avery's gammy, Uncle Bailey and Bear and Luna.

So that's the latest.  With the recent change to some cooler temperatures we're looking forward to some fall adventures ahead...

Avery watching the Aggies play (for a few seconds).  She's amazed they're winning!

Avery modeling the bib my mom helped me make.

Out to dinner with Grandmama

Funny face

Meeting Great Grandma Anderson

Reading with Grandmama

Hanging out in Abilene

Ruffle girl

Happy

Tummy time!

Three months!

Fort Worth...Where the West begins

When we were driving around town the other day I noticed this slogan on Fort Worth police cars: Fort Worth: Where the West begins.  I feel like this is a perfect slogan for Fort Worth for our family.  We continue to enjoy Fort Worth.  Friendly people.  Fun restaurants.  Simple apartment life.  Rain. (Being a San Antonio girl I'm definitely not used to seeing rain during the summer.)  But the West is still on the horizon.  The Midland opportunity continues to progress with construction on Zach's new practice building set to start very soon.  We've also been traveling out West on average of every other week. Avery and I stop off half way in Abilene with Zach's mom, "Gammy," and Zach continues on to Midland and Andrews (a small community outside of Midland).  Zach has really enjoyed working out West.  Avery and I have really enjoyed time at Gammy's house.  Gammy sings Avery songs (some her own originals) all day and has an unbelievable gift of lulling Avery to sleep.  Uncle Bailey cooks us yummy, healthy food.  Luna is Avery's shadow and Bear occasionally gives her a sniff, but mostly is a spectator from the big red chair.  We take big adventures like going to see Gammy at work and to our beloved and dearly missed HEB.  So all in all we like our like biweekly trips out West.  It's been a great way to "begin" into the West.

Our Avery girl is now two months!  Here's what she's been up to lately:

- Smiles! She's now having responsive smiles.  Her daddy can make her smile the most- especially when he makes funny faces at her.

-Sleep! At about 7 weeks she started to sleep 5-7 hrs consecutively a night.  While this doesn't happen every single night, it has been such a great development!

-Play time on her activity mat.  She loves looking at the mirror (I think mostly to see the light reflection) and has even grabbed the rings that hang down (completely intentional I'm sure :)

-Tummy time!  She's lifting her head high now.

-Rolling- a few times from her tummy to her back when she has gotten fed up with tummy time.

-Flips!  She's recently started this.  We'll lay her down with her head pointing one direction and when I go to get her for her early morning feeding, her head is now pointing the opposite direction.

-Talking!  She's making all sorts of noises-much more frequently.

Here's a few photos of Avery action:

Off to church...in her cute dress from the Brazils

Fun times with daddy

Cleaning in the moby wrap

Uncle Bailey!

Lulled to sleep by Gammy

A visit from Grandma Dot and Aunt Janey

All dressed up in the smocked bonnet her Grandmama made her and a sweet baby dress that was mine

Smiles!

More smiles!

2 months!  Growing up- crazy to see how she's changed in one month (below).

1 month