May God bless you this Christmas and the joy of the Lord fill your heart with gladness and cheer!
We took two 3 month pictures on different nights...I couldn't choose so I posted both. On one of the signs, you can see where she drooled on it. Our little chunk weighed 13 lbs 10 oz. at her 3 month appointment. She is so stinking cute!
Avery is getting to be so much fun. She smiles at everything and everyone...but especially her momma. I love that when me or Levi walk in a room she hears our voice and turns her head. It is such a great feeling. My favorite time is when she first wakes up in the morning. As you can see from the pictures, she is all smiles, even before she opens her eyes.
She is constantly "talking" now too. She particularly likes the O sound. We say O and then she says it back to us, sometimes a resounding OOOOOOOOO. I think she really likes to hear herself and according to Levi, is going to be quite a talker like her mom! She loves her hands and has them in her mouth all the time now. She sucks her pointer finger and every now and then her thumb, but still enjoys her paci the most. She can see it coming toward her and lunges for it. I love how when she wants to go to sleep, you just stick it in her mouth, turn her on her side toward you and bam, she is out! It works no matter who is holding her :)
Don't worry, I will help you...What is a five letter word for beautiful? Avery of course!
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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
Her Grandmommy (Levi's Mom)
