Nine Months Old!

While we were gone, Avery turned 9 months old! Usually I take her photos on that day, but since we were gone I waited until we got home.

Yesterday Avery had her 9 month doctors appointment. She didn't get any shots, but boy was she a beast! She screamed for most of the appointment---the good news is that the doctor said she's developmentally ahead-he doesn't expect that behavior until they're one years old! So it'll be interesting to see how she does at that appointment! Yikes! She is currently 28.5" long and weighs 16lbs 13.5oz. so she's tall and thin! Everything with her looks great which is good!

She's still eating 2 meals a day-lunch and dinner. She has started some finger foods-Cheerios, puffs, pieces of waffle and toast, American cheese. She tried squash, cauliflower (which she loves!), kiwi, and some meat (mixed jar food).

She is crawling in full force these days and gets around very well! She has pulled up to her knees and standing a few times, but doesn't do it on a regular basis yet. She babbles away saying "dadada", "nanana", "mamama". She has started waving "bye bye" and giving kisses this month as well. She is also becoming impossible to change-clothes and diapers are a chore now! She is such a wiggle worm and wants nothing to do with lying down. It makes it a challenge that's for sure!

Her sleeping is getting better. She still naps twice a day and has been doing better at night. If she wakes up to nurse, it's only once around 4-5am. She has a good number of nights that she sleeps through without waking or wakes up then puts herself back to sleep. Hopefully that continues!

Here are her 9month shots. Again she didn't want to sit still!



Pulled the ears off of her head:


Then she found the sticker on her:



The rest are my favorites that I took....

The look on her face cracks me up!

Never Wake a Sleeping Baby...

....especially on the plane ride home!



SSSsssssshhhhh!

Last Day in Paradise

So our last full day in paradise and we wake up to really bad thunderstorms which caused some nice flooding:


Nice way to end a vacation huh?!

The rain was touch and go all day-we did manage to fit in a short walk and bought a few last minute things we wanted while in town. Gabe and his Dad went to the casino since the weather forecast wasn't too great for the entire day. The rest of us stayed "home" and played! The one closet there was pretty baby-proof so we discovered it was a great place for Avery to play-nice and carpeted too (unlike the rest of the house)!
Avery had an obsession with the ironing board in the closet:


And here's a nice group shot of all of us crammed into the closet!

Cousins

Joe, Eileen, and Giada were nice enough to make a trip to visit us before we had to leave for home. It was their first big outing with the baby so we appreciate that they came out just to see us again!

Giada slept a good portion of the time:

Avery and Bianca were sharing some hugs:

Attempting to wake Giada for a meal:

Avery checking out things with Joe:


Owen:

Bianca playing:

Proud new Daddy!!

It was great getting the chance to see Joe, Eileen, and Giada again! We usually only see them a few times a year so it's good to catch up whenever we can! Thanks again for coming by!!

How to Celebrate?

Today Avery turned 9 months old!

So how do we celebrate being such a big girl?

Drinking Pepsi (or just chewing the bottle)....

Hanging out with our cousin:

And going in the swimming pool for the first time!! The pool finally got fixed and the water was warm enough for us and Avery to test it out.

First thing is to get in your bathing suit:


Then test out the water with Mommy:


Then try out the baby boat and play with Daddy, Mommy, and Owen:


What better way to celebrate than to go and get ice cream! Yum! Luckily, the place we went to last year, Jaxson's, wasn't too far away from us this year. We knew we had to go back and indulge a bit.

Avery posing with the sign:

Daddy's chocolate cookie sundae:

And Mommy's half and half sundae:

(see why we had to go back?!)
Avery had a little taste as well-and loved it of course!

Then we played with some Tupperware and spoons:


Happy 9 months big girl!!!

Swings, Slides, and a New Cousin!

Thursday we got up and played with Owen and Bianca a bit. Avery started a new talent while we were away-giving hugs and kisses. I tried getting a shot of her giving Owen one:

It was a nice day out so we decided to take a walk with Avery. There was a small park about a block away so we headed there to check it out. On the way we spotted two lizards:

They had two baby swings so we decided to let Avery try them out. I think she liked it, but was still a little too small for them-we had to hold her while she was swinging:


Then Gabe had the idea of me sitting on the "big swing" with her in my lap which worked out pretty well...we both had fun with that:



Since I had fun on the swings with Avery, Gabe got to have fun taking her down the slide. The slide was very hot so she rode on Gabe's lap. Here they are ready to go:

And a video clip of their maiden voyage:

After Avery's afternoon nap, we went to visit cousin Joe, his wife Eileen and their new baby, Giada! They live about a half hour from where we were staying, so it was pretty close. We went over and ordered a very yummy dinner and relaxed and talked about life with babies! We had a very nice visit, although it was short since the little ones had to get to bed.
Cousin Giada:

Gabe, the girls, and I:

Joe, Eileen, Avery and Giada: