O Christmas Tree

Sleep Training

Avery has been such a terrible sleeper lately that I was getting worried that she was becoming chronically fatigued.  So when she started showing the signs of waking up every hour or less again last night, we put her in her crib to let her cry it out.

I went in to pat her briefly once but it made her cry even more for longer so I won't be doing that again I don't think even the books say that it is a more gentle approach than "cold turkey".  I had to leave the house to be able to let her keep crying. She fell asleep on her own after half an hour. Even though it turned out well (i.e. she didn't cry for hours, and she got good sleep last night, seemed like her happy self this morning and is now taking a good nap) I still pretty much cried myself to sleep last night.  I just felt guilty and sad. It is important that Avery get enough sleep, and this is the only way to make that happen, but it was kind of an awful experience. Being a mom can be extremely difficult emotionally. Loving another person this much is wonderful, but can be so painful sometimes.

Solids

Avery loves eating solids! She has had mashed sweet potatoes and peas, and we have also let her suck on apples, oranges, cucumbers, carrots, and bananas in her little net thing.  She loves eating so much that she attacks the spoon and helps us put it in her mouth.  She started finishing what we gave her the third time or so that we tried.  It has been so fun feeding her!

NYC Print

I keep meaning to post about this.  I finally convinced Brad to let me buy this print that I love!  It is my favorite decoration that we have in the house.  And it makes me approximately 50 times more likely to make our bed in the morning.  In my opinion, that makes it worth what we spent on it.

Callings

Brad and I both got new callings in church about a month ago. Drumroll please....

Brad is in nursery again.

And I am the 1st counselor in the Primary Presidency.

Needless to say, I was shocked when they told me, and feel way out of my league.  But I am forging ahead.  I felt inspired the other day when I was listening to the kids shouting the song "Nephi's Courage" while we were practicing for the Primary Program which is in two weeks (I am in charge of it. Can you say overwhelming?). I will go, I will do, the things the Lord commands, etc.  I feel like I am already making lots of mistakes, but oh well I suppose, I am trying really hard and I will just keep soldiering on until I get the hang of it.  

The kids are great though and very fun to observe even if I don't know any of them really yet!

 

Budding Pianist

Avery and I play the piano together pretty much every day.  We both love it! (Sorry it is the wrong direction.)

Happy 5 Months Avery!

It has been such a happy 5 months.  I love being a stay-at-home mom!  It is a blast.  And I can't believe that 5 months has passed already.

Avery is the best.  She is rolling over very consistently (back to front, to the right mostly) and loves tummy time, she loves to stand up (with assistance obviously), she LOVES to roughhouse with her dad (the scarier the better in her opinion - I freak out), she has enjoyed licking new foods, she enjoys playing with her feet but hasn't started sucking them yet and she will hold her legs up to her chest when we are changing her diaper, she is sitting for long periods of time in her bumbo (and can sit for a little bit on the floor by herself), she squeals with delight, she loves to put her blankets in her mouth and suck on them, and lately she has been wanting to hold my hand while she nurses.  And she sucks her various fingers, but not all the time.  She is adorable.  My other favorite thing that she does lately is when she is sitting on my lap, she will throw her head back and kind of to the side so she can see my face.  And she smiles at me when she does.  Its one of the most precious things I have ever seen!

Recently we have gotten her sleeping issues more under control.  I have to keep her on a strict schedule because she is totally incapable of regulating things herself.  When I stick to her schedule, her sleeping goes a lot better.  It is hard to wake her up from her naps before she wakes up on her own, but it helps so much.  She is a happier baby and I am a better mom when she is not waking up every hour during the night.  And she is getting more skilled at falling asleep.  Last night she fell asleep while simply laying in her daddy's arms for the first time since she was a newborn.  And we are able to rock her back to sleep when she wakes up before mid-night.  Major progress!  The difficulties of getting Avery to sleep definitely keep me on my toes.

But Avery is a peach, and is growing up so great.  Happy 5 months baby!

Daddy

Okay, please excuse the absolute excessive number of pictures in this post, but I love them all, and so decided not to choose between them.  Also, ignore the messy house.  Sometimes you just leave the mess so you can watch your husband and your baby play.

And omg I love watching these two interact!  Children need their daddies - they teach them so much. And Brad is such a wonderful dad. He just interacts with her so differently than I do, and it is so good for her. He is so much more fun, more calm in distress, more willing to patiently teach her things, and better at putting her to sleep. And he is so proud of her! He has already made sure that everyone he works with has met her, and he talks about her all the time. And as you can tell from the pictures, Avery already loves him so so much. 

Also I am so excited that I am able to get her to look at the camera more and more lately!

Road trip to the grandmas

I have so many amazing pictures to post!  So here goes.

I know it is blurry, but it shows off her baby blues!

We call this her fat face.  She just looks like she is so fat that she doesn't have room in her body for her tongue, so it kind of lolls out.

Daddy let her "drive" when we were taking a break on the way to St. George.

There is nothing better in the whole world than watching the man you love making your baby this happy!

We took her on the boat for a few minutes. I was pretty nervous about it. She was like a stuffed sausage in that life jacket!  She did not like it.

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Oh how I love these pictures of Avery and my Mom! A little blurry, but they look so happy!  Love it love it love it.

This alone is worth the drive to St. George.

Avery and great-grandma Rice got along so well! Avery was really content and calm the whole time she was holding her.  

Home sweet home. Avery loves tummy time!

Oh my sassy face!  This girl has personality.

Her lips are frequently pursed like this... :) I love my baby!

Little Cuzs

This is Avery's cousin Oliver (Andrea's baby) and he is only 4 days younger than Avery.  Andrea and I are hoping that means that they are going to be best friends! We love sitting them next to each other and trying to get them to interact.  They have smiled at each other a couple times, but most of their interaction is from their flailing arms whacking each other.  It is so fun to have them at the same developmental stages at the same time! We can play with them the same way. But that is not to say that they don't have their own special skills however. As you can see in these pictures, Oliver is way better at sitting up than Avery is.  How sweet of Oli to help Avery stay upright though!  I love these pictures.

Lene in America

Lene and Audrey came over for dinner to celebrate Lene's visit to the states! I love both those girls. And am so glad that Lene came to visit! Wish you could stay forever Lene!