Three Months Old (young)

Weight: 12 pounds 7.5 ounces
Height: ??  Not quite sure... hopefully she will be taller than me, but not as tall as Joe
Moods: Soooo happy in the morning when I get her out of bed. Pretty happy throughout the day.  Starting to get a little fussy with sore gums.  Teething is coming!!!
Favorite foods: formula- 6oz at each feeding (doesn't have much choice there)
Favorite toys: toy piano, Violet, anything hanging from my bouncy seat or play mat, basically anything that lights up or plays music is a big hit
Noises: cooos, "agh-goo" (which we think means "I'm good"), little laughs, and of course her girly scream to get everyone's attention
Favorite hobbies: bouncy seat, playing on my playmat, and being held by anyone
Playtime: tummy time (not the biggest fan, but it getting so much stronger)  She still loves taking a bath.

On the first day of December Avery had a playdate with adorable lil Jackson.  Jackson was born October 18, so he's a few weeks younger than Miss Avery.  Jackson's mom, Jayme, was a sorority sister of mine at Appalachian.  We have Facebook to thank for discovering we both live in Clemmons and have babies around the same age. 

Exciting news this month.  Dre' and Alex found out they are having a boy--Grayson Alexander and Courtney and Matt are having a girl-- Laila Shey. Avery is super excited to have one of each.  She can share clothes with Laila and teach Grayson how to kick a soccer ball.  Grayson is already worried about cooties from these girls, but we be sure to give him a buy supply of cootie spray.  I think Gigi and Pop Pop are overwhelmed with joy about this upcoming year with the other two babies. 

  Avery went to her first baby shower for my good friend Anna.  She is due December 24th, but as of today (Dec 30th) lil Miss is still content inside her mommy.  Avery and I are so excited to have a new baby girl to play with.  During the shower we made a cast of Anna's pregnant belly that will later be painted to match her nursery including all of baby girl's birth information.  Big brother Carter is soooo sweet with Avery.  He will be such a good big brother.

Avery loved meeting her new friend Ollie this month. Ollie is the daughter of my good friend Traci that I've worked with for the past 7 years (wow).  I'm not sure what Ollie liked more--meeting Avery, playing with Avery's toys, helping Joe turn on the Christmas lights, or throwing the ball with Zoe.  I look forward for the day with these two girls can play together, but I'm not wishing her to grow up too fast.

I can curl my tongue like Daddy!!!  Mommy is jealous!!!

Joe and I took Avery to see Santa on Tuesday, December 21st.  We said we will never wait until 4 days before Christmas again, but this adorable picture was well worth the wait.  She was not afraid one bit, but I think she was too young to know any better.  Next year may be a different story.  It will be so much fun to compare Santa's pictures year after year to see how much she's grown. She was complimented several times on her adorable outfit and festive bow. 

We went to my parents on Christmas Eve.  Avery slept through most of the festivities, but also managed to have a crying spell during the middle of the day.  This is very rare for her, so it always catches me off guard and I hate not knowing what to do for her.  We eventually got her calmed down and all was well for the rest of the day.  I think she gets overwhelmed when there are a lot of people around her, but I told her she needed to get used to that.  We had an amazing dinner of Alaskan King Crab Legs and Beef Tenderloin.  Once again Gigi cooked a delicious meal.  During the day we snacked on appetizers and some of our family friends came by for a visit.  My sisters and I plus our significant others swapped names this year and we all ended up with some pretty great stuff. We got mom and dad a gift card to Ryan's and Lowes.  I think they were pretty happy with that. Joe and I did not exchange gifts this year.  We decided to buy a new camera.  We got a Nikon D3100 and so far we've been very pleased with it.  It is a good investment to have nice, quality pictures of our kids. Avery woke up to open a few gifts before going back to sleep.  I think next year will be quite a different story.  

 Our new home decorated for the Holidays.

Christmas Day we woke up and drove to Swansboro where Joe's parents live.  We walked across the street to Grandma Ellington's house for Christmas dinner/lunch.  Grandma lives right on the water with a beautiful view of the Sound and Emerald Isle. Fun fact about Grandma is her name is also Sarah (spelled Sara) and she and her late husband (Joseph Ellington) share our wedding anniversary of July 25th.  After stuffing ourselves with a wonderful traditional feast we opened gifts from Aunt Mary, Uncle Dewy, Uncle Joe, and Grandma.  Avery's cousin Maddox is still unsure how he feels about Avery being in the picture, but he is warming up to her more and more with each visit.  I know they will be great pals soon enough. 

Finally got a 4 generation picture with the Ellington family.

Joe and I did not exchange gifts this Christmas.  We bought a new Nikon D3100 Camera.  Here are some great pix Joe took of the sunset on the water.

We drove home from Swansboro on Tuesday, December 27th.  Here is my little angel surrounded by her wonderful gifts given to her.  She is loved by so many.  I hope she grows up knowing how much she is loved.

As always I look forward to my monthly photo shoot with my little love bug.  This month's turned out just as great as the months prior.  It's amazing how much she has changed already.  I love seeing her birght blue eyes paired with that adorable gummy smile.

Look how I've grown already :)

Two Months Old

Weight: 9lbs 15.5 oz (28 %tile)
Height:: 22 1/4 in (47 %tile)
Head: 14 3/4 in (19 %tile)
Moods: Happy and alert most of the day.  Fussy only when she's hungry, tired, wet and occasionally mad.
Favorite foods: Formula. At 8 weeks she decided she no longer wanted to nurse.  Sad day for Mommy.
Favorite new toys: Underwater Adventure Mat.  She lays under it kicking her legs and batting at the toys overhead.  She loves anything that makes noise and lights up.  She is liking her swing and bouncy seat more now.
Noises: She would talk to me if she could.  She's beginning to make sounds and gives the sweetest smiles.
Favorite hobbies: Being held by anyone who'll snuggle with her
Playtime: Laying on her playmat.

This month Avery has seemed to have grown so much.  Physically and mentally.  Of course size wise she's bigger, but she's become so much more alert and observant of her surroundings.  When there are people around she doesn't like to lay down, she cries until someone holds her upright so she can be a part of the conversation.  Spoiled much?

In the beginning of the month Avery had her first playdate with her friend Jenna.  Jenna was due 10 days after Avery, but was born a week before her. Jenna's mommy and daddy were in our childbirth classes at the hospital.  Joe knew Marshall through his friends at Wake Forest before he met me.  We look forward to more playdates with sweet Jenna.

For Halloween Avery was a ladybug, but her costume was a bit big.  Luckily she had several other Halloween outfits to wear. 

So apparently Avery has a following on Facebook that extends beyond by friends and family.  It is hilarious to learn people log on just to see what lil Miss is wearing each day.  I love dressing her up and luckily she doesn't mind it either---Yet!

At 6 weeks she developed some baby Acne.  This picture was about the worst it ever got.

The biggest milestone Avery has had this month was beginning to smile.  She has the cutest little dimple on her left cheek when she smiles.  This is the first smile I was able to capture on camera. I just love her sooo much.

Grammy and I took Avery to the bank to open her first savings account.  We've been putting change into piggy banks for her for the past year and finally rolled it all and deposited it.  I reccommend everyone collect change becasue it is amazing how quickly it adds up. Here is a picture of Avery and Grammy at the bank.

Avery had a great 1st Thanksgiving.  Wednesday night we had a low country boil and mom and dad's which was delicious.  It was nice to be able to eat the sausage without getting heart burn like I always did this summer while pregnant.  We spent Thanksgiving day at my mom and dad's house.  Avery loves spending time at her Gigi and Pop Pop's house especially surrounded by her Aunt Courtney and Uncle Matt, Aunt Dre' and Uncle Alex, Grammy, Aunt Toni, Pappy and Kimmy.  We were also lucky to have my great Aunt Barb and Uncle Brad from Ohio in town for the holiday weekend as well.  The food was fabulous as always, maybe next year Avery will get a taste of everything.

We left for Joe's parent's house in Swansboro Friday evening.  I was worried about traveling 4 hours with a baby, but she did wonderful.  She slept the entire way there and home.  I bet I will never be able to say that again.  We had a Thanksgiving dinner with his family Saturday at Grandma's house.  Avery got to meet her Aunt Mary for the 1st time.  She also enjoyed spending time with her Uncle Jeff, Aunt Mary, Uncle Mark, and of course her Mimi and Pop.  I look forward to our next trip to the beach this summer.



My poor baby went for her two month appointment on November 29th. 

She got her shots which was very sad or Mommy and Avery.

After my shots...

Mommy feeding me after my shots...

Immunizations in my mouth? Yuck!!

Finally home... I never want to go back for shots again!!!