Jumper

Avery needs one of these. Not necessarily this one, but the same idea. We went to the Nickel's house this weekend and Avery had her first chance to enjoy such a toy. She LOVED it. First, she just stared at the frog toy and laughed like it was the coolest thing that she had ever seen. Once she realized that she could touch the toys, she went to town! So, it is settled. Avery needs a jumper.

out of it

I realize that I have not posted in a while. Avery got sick for the first time this last week. It was nothing too harsh, just a cold that left her snotty and coughing. She has now learned to be afraid of Kleenex, burp cloths, blankets, or anything else that may be used to wipe her nose. She is better for the most part at this point, but now I feel like I am getting sick. Oh, the joys of being a mom!

St. Patrick's Day

I'm not huge into this holiday, but green is my favorite color. Avery had a number of adorable clothes to choose from this year and so she has dressed for the holiday just about every day this week. Our actual holiday festivities took place on the 18th when we went to the Moore's house for some traditional corned beef and cabbage. It was delicious! To top it off, I made some Irish apple cake, the only Irish dessert that did not involve whiskey, stout, Guinness, or some other form of alcohol. I love holidays that have food traditions!

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Aloha Festival!

This last weekend was the Aloha Festival in Tempe. We went last year when it was downtown, but this year was better. I dressed Avery up in the CUTEST Hawaiian print bubble outfit ever made and we headed out for some fun. At the park there were three different stages with performances going on all day. There were dancers and singers and fighting warriors. Are these little girls not the most darling thing you've ever seen?

As usual there we a lot of booths selling art, crafts and jewelery, clothing, and FOOD! I always like to see all of the things that people have to sell, but Joe is here for the BBQ plate lunches. He actually only peruses the booths to keep me happy. He would be fine just going for lunch. I'm not opposed to the food myself. I am not a macaroni salad fan in general, but those Hawaiians know how it is done! So yummy. And the chicken! Mmmm.

I was worried that Avery would sleep through the whole thing since it was right at her nap time. If you have read any of my previous posts you would know that this is a habit of hers. Instead,

I began to worry that she would never sleep. There was so much going on that she did not close her eyes for a second. When we got in the car to go home, she was passed out in her seat before we could leave the parking lot. Silly baby.


All in all, it was a great afternoon for the Jackson family and I can't wait to go again next year. Maybe then I will try the donuts we missed out on this time.

The things I'll miss

I spend so much time posting about all of the new things that Avery does and no time mentioning the little things that she has stopped doing that I loved so much. I think that I also fail to mention little things that don't really have to do with real development, but are adorable anyway.

First, the good things:

She has little prayer hands. When she is relaxing or intent on watching people she sits with her little hands clasped together like she is praying. Even better is when they aren't clasped and she taps her finger tips together like an evil genius. I wonder what it is that she is plotting in that tiny little mind of hers. She used to to this in her sleep. Imagine if you will going in to check on your sleeping angel and finding her with eyes closed and fingers tips tapping while she plots in her dreams. Sadly, this cute habit has stopped.

Her new thing is trying to use the Force. She will suddenly put up her hand right in front of her with fingers splayed, and then she just concentrates. She may be checking out her nails, but sometimes she bounces her hand ever so slightly like she is trying to move something that is out of reach. I think it is her attempts at the Force.

She is giddy when it is time to lay down for bed. I wish you all could see the happiness that is Avery at nap time. She is at that point where she can reach out and grab her blankets and she does so with gusto. When you lay her down she grabs her blanket with both hands and buries her face in it with a big smile. Then she just talks herself to sleep; another thing that makes me smile. I love her little cooing noises as she begins to doze. It is actually one of the ways we know she is tired; she gets chatty.

She holds on to my face when I hold her. Whenever she is alert and just being held she will reach back and grab on to my chin or my lips and just let her hand rest there while she looks around. I think it's a comfort thing. She also reaches out to touch my face when we take naps together. It is funny that she likes to snuggle when you lay down, but she has stopped falling asleep when you just hold her. I guess this is a good thing that she would rather sleep laying down, but I miss holding her while she naps.

Sadly:

She doesn't make kissy-face anymore. When she would stretch herself she would pucker her lips really tightly like she was asking for a kiss. It was the cutest! And now it is gone.

She's lost the newborn stretch. You know what I mean. She still stretches but it is not the arms-full-back-spine-all-arched-bottom-sticking-out-as-far-as-it-can stretch. Sad.

As mentioned above, she doesn't really fall asleep in your arms anymore. This has made church a bit rough and I really miss the snuggle time.

Her sneezes are different. She used to let her hands fly up to her face when she would sneeze. It was so cute to see this tiny little angel looking like she was trying to keep her mouth covered with mini little hands. Now she just sneezes with out the cute hand gestures.

This is all I can think of right now, but I'm sure that other things will occur to me as the day and the week wear on. She still makes me silly with happiness and I love her to pieces!

Do I Have to Post?

Do I? In order for my blog list to update, do I have to publish a new post?

The answer appears to be yes. Lame.

It's that time again

Time for Avery's monthly post. She turned 5 months old yesterday and I can't believe how fast it is all going! It's funny that she seems so big to me and that she changes every single day, but as I'm sitting to tell you about her development this month I can't think of a whole lot. But couldn't you just eat her with her adorable one dimple?

She does talk A LOT more. She has grown so vocal that sometimes I just listen outside her door while she lays in her crib and sings because she talks more to herself than she does to me. I love babies talking so I'm ecstatic she is at this stage.

She will turn when you call her name. Okay, not every time, but a lot of the time. Sometimes the ceiling fan is just too interesting for her to look away! But I get a little thrill when I call her and she turns to me and smiles.

If learning how to blow raspberries is a developmental stage then she hit that one too! It's really great when she has been drooling for a while before she starts to spit at you. It gives you a nice complete drenching that way.

She has progressed to grabbing small objects as opposed to just her large toys. The other day she spent ten minutes trying to rip the tiny tiger patch off of Joe's polo shirt. At first she was just punching it, then she suddenly decided that she must destroy it or eat it because she attacked it with a vigor I've never seen in an infant!

Other than that she is much the same baby. She still sleeps well, eats well, and wakes up the happiest baby I've ever seen. Joe and I count our blessings each day that we have Avery.

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