Avery's Dedication

On Sunday November 15, 2009, Levi and I officially dedicated our precious baby girl to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Yes, it was a reason to get dressed up, to spend time with family and friends, and to eat great food, but more so than any of those reasons it was a time to celebrate the life God created and gave to us. It was a great day for celebrating!

Brother Steve, our incredible pastor, said it all when he prayed that God would continually draw her heart to Him, so that one day she will be tender to his calling and give Hm her life, just as Jesus laid down His for her and us so many years ago. Our wish for her is to crave closeness with God and to be in His word much more than either of us were in our early days (and now for that matter). Yes, she will make mistakes and we will too as parents...but we serve a merciful God full of grace for His children.

Lord, please be with Levi and I as we raise Avery toward your purpose. Help us to never deter her from the calling you place on her life, even if it makes us anxious. We know that all things work for the good of those who love You. I pray that above all else, Avery will always see our love for You. Protect our marriage and keep our eyes open to the evil that is lurking and wants only to tear our sweet family apart. To say thank you for her is not nearly enough to convey how rich our life is now that she is here. Amen!

Throughout the day of her dedication and this past week, the old hymn Draw Me Nearer has been running through my mind and I believe that it describes our prayer for her perfectly...

I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith
And be closer drawn to Thee.

Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,
By the pow’r of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine.

Oh, the pure delight of a single hour
That before Thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God
I commune as friend with friend!

There are depths of love that I cannot know
Till I cross the narrow sea;
There are heights of joy that I may not reach
Till I rest in peace with Thee.

Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.

2 Months Old!

I am a little behind on Avery's 2 month post...I have been spending most of my time with her, soaking up her incredible cuteness and trying not to think about the time I will be spending away from her once back at work. Tomorrow is the big day. I am going to work half days through Monday and then will be back full time on Tuesday. Levi will be with her this week, and then his Mother is coming next week... If you think to, please remember me in your prayers. How did the time pass so quickly?

Look at that picture of Avery, couldn't you just eat her up. She has become quite the smiler lately. It melts my heart! Levi says I am the luckiest because she will give me smiles without being provoked. As in she just sees me and smiles, where as other people have to talk to her or prod her to smile. Anyway that you get one though, it is absolutely precious. I snapped these pictures the other day when she was laying in Levi's lap. You can tell she loves for her Daddy to play with her. Right now, she loves for you to sit her up and talk to her. She still loves her swing and it is probably by far my favorite thing we have. Well, maybe behind the paci :) She is so happy in the morning when she wakes up. Both at 5:45 and then again at 9:00. I love singing and talking to her when I change her diaper. When I stand her up after a diaper change, I have started singing and helping her dance to "Stand up, Stand up for Jesus." She really likes it!

She had her first Drs. Appt. on November 2nd. She weighed 11. 10 and was 22.5 in. long. This placed her in the 75th percentile for weight and the 50th percentile for length. So she started out in life, long and skinny and now she is moving more toward the short and plump! She is adorable. Because it has been awhile since I have posted... at 9 weeks she weighed 12 lbs, at 8 weeks 11.10, at 7 weeks, 11.5, and at 6 weeks 10.12. I look back at her pictures when she was first born and I remember how gorgeous I thought she was then, but we both think she gets prettier everyday!

At 9 weeks, she spent her first night away from us. This past Saturday, Levi and I had the day to ourselves and used it to go over to Columbus to shop. My sweet Mom kept Avery from 1:00 on Saturday until 11:00 on Sunday morning. When we got back I went and nursed about 9:15 just so she would sleep really well, and then we came home. The house felt empty without her here. We are definitely a family now and feel like we are missing a piece when we don't have her. However, it was nice to get some much needed rest, relaxation, and time together. Some people say that the first year of their marriage is the hardest. I would say though that the 2nd month of having your first child is the hardest. It isn't that we argue or fight more, it is just finding the right balance of time for everything that needs to be done and then remembering to save some time for each other. It is a learned process, one that we are taking one day at a time. Thank God I have a husband though who is selfless and helps me tremendously with Avery and our home. How did those moms back in the day do it without any help? It explains why so many middle aged women are on nerve pills now!

Until next time!

Avery's First Halloween!

So even though Avery was only in her costume for about 5 minutes, we still managed to catch some sweet pictures. A lady who works with Levi let us borrow her ladybug outfit. I think Avery makes a very cute bug...what do you think? A very pretty witch (Aunt B) also stopped by to see our little bug. I can only imagine when Avery is in college dressing up for a Halloween party! I am glad I have many years to prepare! Next year should be more interesting. She will be a little over a year old and hopefully walking.

Avery at 5 and 6 Weeks

Time has flown. I find myself saying this over and over again and I am sure it will continue to be a frequent thought that I have. Although it is bittersweet to see Avery get bigger, it is so much fun to watch her grow and become more interactive. In the past couple of weeks I have definitely felt more like myself and have actually been able to accomplish several things per day around the house. I have also gone out without her several times too, which has been nice. However, I am always super excited to get back home to see her! I am very nervous though about transitioning back to work. My first day back will be November 11th and I already starting to be anxious about its arrival. Please add this to your prayer list!

Avery sleeping through the night was no fluke. Since she turned 5 weeks old, she has been consistently sleeping from 11:00 until 5:30 (sometimes later) each night. Even the trip home did not deter her from doing this. A stuffy nose led to one exception in the routine, but that has been it. I am looking forward to 7 or 8 straight hours, but what a blessing to get 6.5!

Since she was born, she has done really well with holding her head up, but at 5 weeks she started keeping it up for extended periods and really began to want to watch everything and everyone. So at 6 weeks, we decided to try out the Bumbo seat. She loves it! Now she spends about 20 minutes of her wake time in it, just taking in the scenery. Since I can take it an sit her anywhere that I am, it has really helped me out too. She has watched me blog, dry my hair, fold clothes, you name it, from the Bumbo seat :)

Avery loves to be talked to. She gives the sweetest smiles and coos during our conversations. She doesn't save all of her sweetness for me either. Pretty much anyone who gives her attention is privy to her cuteness. She also loves her swing. Anytime she will not complete a nap or we just need to get some things done, the swing is out go to. She will sit and talk to herself in it, which for us is a lot of fun to watch.

Right now, she is good with everyone and doesn't fuss at all when being held. In fact she is so comfortable with other people, she will usually fall asleep if they hold her long enough. I hope this trend continues and she doesn't go through too much separation anxiety. Don't get me wrong though, this girl has thrown a fit or two...She isn't completely perfect :)

I can distinguish between her cries and loves her tired one the most. It is so very half hearted and melts my heart! Her eyes are still blue and oh, last but not least, at 5 weeks Avery weighed 9.11 and at 6 weeks 10.5. She is definitely a growing girl! She developed Baby Acne at the end of 4 weeks, but now at the end of 6 weeks it is clearing up. Avery is our little doll and we can't wait to see what the coming weeks have in store!

Grands, Greats, and Everyone In Between!

This past weekend we made our first overnight trip with Avery to our hometown. We worried about how she would do during the 3.5 hr car ride home, but she ended up sleeping almost the whole way there and back. Since we have been back though, it has been hard to get her back on schedule due to her and us being sooo tired and then her having a very stuffy nose :(

She got to meet lots of very special people, as well as visit with a few she already loves. Levi and I are blessed to have all four of our grandmothers and one grandfather still with us. Little Miss was a hit with all of them this weekend! We both love showing her off to everyone. This is such a special time in our lives and we are trying to savor each moment. Avery also attended her first church service and was a little doll the whole time. It was fun to introduce her to people at church who have known Levi since he was born and some who even knew his dad when he was little. It was a whirlwind of a trip but a blast nonetheless.

Her MaMaw Brown (My Mom's Mom)

Four Generations of Extraordinary Women!

Her Granny Smith (My Dad's Mom)

Her Grandmother Christeen (Levi's Dad's Mom)
Her Maw Mize (Levi's Mom's Mom)

Maw Mize and Daddy Mize

Her Papa Tim (My Dad)

Her Grandaddy George (Levi's Dad)

Her Grandmommy (Levi's Mom)
(This picture is from when she was a week old)

Her Uncle Sam and Aunt Alyssa
Her Aunt Pam from MA (Levi's Mom's Sister)

Her Cousin Hayden

Her Cousins Brooklyn, Anna Kate, and Emma Sue
(We are missing Briley and Karrigan who were also born this year!)

1 Month Old!

As hard as it is to believe, Avery is 1 Month Old! Just a little over 4 weeks ago, I was still pregnant and waiting on our little miracle to arrive. Now, we are spending our time in awe of just how awesome she is, and how fast time flies. Last Thursday when I weighed her, she was 8 lbs. 11 ozs. This girl knows how to eat!

While we have had a couple of rough nights, the overwhelming majority of them have been pretty easy. Although, I think it might be a fluke, last night at 4 weeks 5 days, she slept from 11:00 p.m. until 5:45 a.m. To say that we were blown away was an understatement. I cannot tell you how rested I felt this morning! We will see if it happens again. I don't think she is ready to skip that middle of the night feeding every night just yet. I will keep you updated...

At four weeks she took her first "real" bath, courtesy of Daddy, and loved it! She has had a couple since then and just looks so content. As you can tell, Levi is not in love at all with her :)

Avery gazes so intently at everyone as if she is taking everything about you in. We both really love just sitting and talking to her. She is also doing really well at holding her head up. She can still wear newborn diapers, but is getting very close to being in size 1. I am so sad, yet so excited and anxious to watch my tiny sweetie grow. To us right now, she seems so much bigger, but everyone else still thinks she is tiny. After all, some babies are born as big as she is (Levi) at 1 month.

Until next time...

Avery is 3 Weeks Old...Mom is 25!

Today is my birthday...25 on the 25th. This year, I must say I have the best gift ever! Avery is 3 weeks old and growing so fast! I weighed her yesterday at the Breast Feeding Support Group and she is now 7.11, which means she gained a little more than a lb in a week! Her umbilical cord stump actually fell off exactly 21 days after she was born, so she is going to get to take her first real bath very soon.

She is a side sleeper, just like her Mommy and even sticks her butt out like me. She has hiccups at least 3 times a day but never gets upset with them. This isn't a surprise though, because she had them all the time in the womb. She also sucks her thumb when she can find it!
She is so alert and has started to really pay attention to the mobile and mirror on her swing. She is finally able to fit into some of her newborn outfits and she is absolutely adorable in them.

So far, she is still napping and eating well. Sometimes she fights sleep a little, but eventually goes down. She will take a bottle, but when we tried to substitute it for nursing at her 2:00 feeding she would not go back to sleep. We concluded that she liked the food, but needed the nursing for the comfort to fall back asleep. So, I decided I would rather spend an 45 min. nursing than 3.5 hrs. trying to get her to fall back asleep and all has been good since. Hopefully she will be sleeping through the night in a few weeks anyways. Sometimes we give her a bottle around 6:00 p.m. instead, just so Levi can enjoy feeding her too.

I had my first scary mom moment yesterday. My blood sugar plummeted and I had to call my mom to come over to help me and to take care of Avery. After I got home from the support group, I started feeling dizzy. I got through feeding Avery and thought that I better lay down. She needed her diaper changed and during that I continued to get more dizzy. I remember thinking that I wouldn't be able to carry her from the changing pad to our bedroom. Somehow I did, but when I laid down in our bed, the entire room was spinning and I felt incredibly nauseous. So, I called mom and she left work immediately. Avery started crying and I managed to get her up on my chest and she fell asleep; Thank God! When mom got there, I had stumbled to the bath room to get the garbage can and was leaning on the wall because I couldn't stand. She helped me back to the bed and got me a cold wash cloth. About 2 minutes later, everything came up. Mom then watched Avery and I slept for almost 2 hrs. After discussing my food intake for the day and activities, we determined it was blood sugar. I have a history of these attacks, but haven't had one since college in 2006. Being sick as a mom with a little one, is so different than being sick alone. I was so worried about her and worried that I was going to pass out. I am going to be a lot more aware from now on about eating.

Until next time...