Avery: One Month

Our little girl is growing fast!  I can't believe that she has already surpassed the one month milestone. On May 4, she weighed in at 11.5 lbs and measured 23.8 inches.

 

We are loving adding little details, like her bows, to her outfits.   I knew that dressing a girl was going to be fun, but I didn't know it would be this much fun.  I put a lot more thought and effort into her outfits than I ever did with Aden.  Sorry Aden!

During our 1 month photo shoot, Aden decided that he wanted to get in on the action.  Unfortunately, this was the best picture I have of the two of them.  Avery was not happy with Aden taking her spotlight.

Avery is doing a great job sleeping and eating.  We are working on her staying awake for a bit after eating.  She's doing well if she can stay awake for 45 minutes to an hour which includes her eating. 

She loves lying on her play mat and just kicking her feet. The girl has a lot of energy at times!  She is learning to enjoy bath time more, but would much rather prefer to have a shower with either Jamie or myself.  She'll just snuggle up to my shoulder while the warm water runs down her back.

One thing that surprised us was her hair.  Not only was she born with a ton of it, but it is dark and curly.  After being bathed, it becomes a curly halo around her head.  I love it!

Aden has continued to enjoy having Avery around.  We've caught him being very sweet to her.  If she is ever crying, he knows and is very concerned.  He even tried to push Jamie out of a chair once because he wasn't going to help her fast enough.  He has also make the connection that putting her pacifier in her mouth can make her stop crying.  Especially when we are in the car, he will stick it back in her mouth and even hold it there for her to help her calm down.  We are so proud of what a wonderful big brother he is turning into.

 Unfortunately, Avery and I did come down with a cold when she was about 5 weeks old.  It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't fun either.  Stuffy noses, coughs, and just plain being tired meant a lot of sleeping and cuddle time.  During this time, I let her sleep where ever and whenever she wanted to.  Thank goodness we are completely healthy again and she is back to her normal self.

Jamie and I feel very blessed to have Avery as our daughter.  She has been an "easy" baby so far and we look forward to discovering more of her personality as she continues to grow.

Spring break with mom

The timing of Avery's birth couldn't have been planned better.  She was due on April 4th which was the first day of spring break.  She did come two days early, but our school gives two days of paternity leave.  This meant that Jamie and Aden would be home with Avery and I for the first two weeks of her life.  Perfect timing!  Another bonus was that my mom came during that time as well.

We spent a lot of spring break just hanging out at home, but did get out of the house a bit.  Most of our outdoor time was spent at the beach.  Aden loves the beach!  He loves the water, the sand, the shells, everything.  Avery wasn't too sure of the water.  Sometimes she thinks its okay, but other times she really doesn't like it.

 Nana and Aden playing in the sand

Our little beach babe!

 

Aden loves swimming in the ocean

One weekend, we went to Hofuf which is one of the world's largest oasis.  Pretty much, it is an old Saudi town that has a lot more foliage.  There are some really neat caves on the edge of town that Aden loved.  We also visited a camel market and watched the camels get loaded onto a truck.  Jamie, Aden and I had visited Hofuf before, but it was a neat experience for my mom plus Aden was too young to remember his first visit.  Thankfully we didn't go on our own.  Mark (school principal) and Gerd-Inger were our guides.  They are like grandparents to our kids.

picnic lunch

Playing in the caves!

Our whole group outside the caves

We really enjoyed having my mom around as we worked on acclimating to having two kids.  She did a lot of dishes during her time here and things just miraculously got cleaned during the day.  It was so nice to not have to worry about those little things.  Of course there was a lot of walks with Aden and snuggling with Avery.  Thanks mom for all your help, it was priceless!

 Posing at the camel market

 Aden getting friendly with some local boys

We miss you Nana!