Four Months Old...

Look who turned four months old yesterday!

 Today we went to see Dr. P for her four month well check.  I was a little nervous about her getting her shots again, but it went better than last time and Avery was smiling away within 10 minutes after getting them.

Here are her stats:
Weight:  12 pounds, 11 ounces     29th %
Length:  25.37 inches     87th %
Head Circumference:  15.87 inches     31st %

Dr. P was very happy with her weight gain, even though it seems like she is so little.  She is a little peanut, although she is a long peanut!  She is gaining a steady pound per month, which is right where she should be at, he said.

And....Baby Girl has started sleeping through the night this past week!  I'm talking all the way through the night.  Like, 8:00 pm until 6 or 7:00 am.  And then, she likes to go back to sleep for another hour or two!  The child likes to sleep, thank goodness!  However, she's taking cat naps throughout the day and only once in awhile sleeping for a good couple of hours at a time.  But Dr. P also said that babies don't typically take a couple of long naps during the day until around 6 months, so I'm okay with that.

Watching the Gonzaga vs. Florida State basketball game with Daddy

Baby Girl has discovered that she can be really loud.  I mean extremely noisy!

 

 So, she pretty much yells her head off all the time now.  Not because she's upset.  But just because she can.

It's lovely.

Making her Daddy and Uncle Erik PROUD.

You don't have to tell me how beautiful I look in this picture.

We also tried out a new way to use the wrap: facing out!  She's a big fan and now supervises when I cook, clean, and anything else she can see from her bird's eye view.

Avery likes to sit with Daddy and watch what he does on the computer.  And yell.

I'm not yelling.  I'm expressing my opinion.  Loudly.

  Grammy and Paw Paw stopped by to visit before heading to visit Uncle Erik and Aunt Julie.

This little girl has pretty much become an extra part of myself.  She gets mad when I leave her in a room by herself and I mean mad.  Her temper is much like her Daddy's.  haha!  Do you think our next child will be quiet and patient?

Probably not.

Just playing with my sweater

 And Little Miss is drooling like crazy.  I think it just adds to her cuteness.  And wetness.

Oh, Mom...stop telling stories!

And here's a video of Avery playing with her monkey.  I moved her hanging toys around and she was very interested in the changes.

Monkey Love from Beth Bruce on Vimeo.

A Lot Happens in a Year...

One year ago today, we were living in Kazakhstan.  And we went to the hospital to greet our friends' new baby into the world.

Happy 1st Birthday, Billie!  Little did we know, in a few short hours, we'd be looking at this:

And we would be making faces like this:

And this:

And that today, we'd have this beautiful face looking back at us:

Laughing...

AH-Boo from Beth Bruce on Vimeo.

Almost Rolling...

On the Way to Rolling Over from Beth Bruce on Vimeo.

We've been out of town for the past week, visiting my grandparents in Tucson.  We had a great time, but are very glad to be back home again.

If I ever get caught up on cleaning up the amount of dog hair that is all over the house from Riley ruling the roost for a week, I'll post some pictures from our fun week and tell you what we did!

Meanwhile, I can't believe how much Avery is changing each day.  Just yesterday, she was showing us that she will be rolling over soon!

Raspberries...

I love her face!

Girls' Day...

It has been 100 days since Avery joined our family!  Can you believe it???  Yeah, me neither.

And, it just so happens that on this same day, March 3, it is Japanese Girls' Day, "Hinamatsuri".  We celebrate this because Avery is part (1/4) Japanese.  Girls' Day is an occasion to pray for a young girl's growth and happiness.

Avery is growing like a weed and is very happy, so God is answering our prayers.

The kimono that Avery is wearing was given to her by her Grammy and Paw Paw!

AND, today is Avery's cousin's birthday!  She is the big TWO!  Happy Birthday, Hannah!  We love you!

Time flies when you're having fun, folks!

Oh, Man...

I decided I needed to blog tonight because it's been forever and a day since I last posted.  I'm sorry.  I just have a few things that keep me occupied during the day.

But when I sat down to do it, I didn't know what to write about.

So, as I was uploading a bunch of photos to show off to you, I had this overwhelming sense of how in love with my baby I am. 

So, I'm going to talk about that.

Holy Moly.  Those two, right there...  They are my world.

Striped baby legs!  Look at her thighs...yummy.  So cute.

The feet.  They kill me.

They are just so plump and soft and adorable and if my feet looked like that, it wouldn't be cute.  I should know because they did when I was ten months pregnant.  It was not cute.  But these little baby feet are. so. cute.

Sometimes, I look at her and she looks so big!  Look at her sitting on her daddy's lap ~ all grown-up-like.  With the feet.

For heaven's sake, she's grabbing and holding onto things now.

But it's only been three months!  Time, please stop.

What, Bear???  What are you singing at?  You freak me out, with the way you start singing when I wave my arms at you.

Look at all the different shades of pink in this picture!  You may think it's ugly.  I think it's part of the beauty of having a little girl.  PINK.  When I got her dressed, I basically pulled all the pink out of her drawers that I could find.  Mission accomplished.

See, this is what makes my heart stop.

She takes my breath away.

All day.  Every day.

Mmmm, Bumbo Seat.  Yum.

Grunt.  Grunt.  ...Trying to sit back up...

 The tray helps me sit up!  I love my Sophie le girafe.

But what the heck is this?  A caterpillar, you say?  Hmmmm....

Oh, hi Mom!

Be still my heart.

Whatchu lookin' at, Caterpillar?

You know you're a Mommy when drool doesn't gross you out.  Even when you wipe it away with your bare hand.  Even when you kiss your baby on the lips that are covered in drool.

Yes, I do that.  What?

Must. Touch. Gramma's. Face.

Spider-Baby!  

If you are a parent, you know exactly where I'm coming from. It's just that every part of me loves her just the way she is.  We'll see how I feel in about 21 months.  Ha!

3 Months...

It's the 24th, so somebody is three months old today!

We decided to commemorate this day by trying out the Bumbo Seat for the first time.  Think she likes it?


Bumbo Seat from Beth Bruce on Vimeo.

Avery, I was thinking last night about how quickly you are growing and it makes me a little sad!  You're probably about twice the size you were when you were born, and I can't believe how fast it's gone by.

However, I am so excited for all of the things that you are doing and for all the happiness you bring to me every day that I get to spend with you!

You are grabbing onto things now!  You will grab onto your rattle and yesterday, you were shaking it and laughing while you did it!  I have to get it on video because it is just so cute.  And I am so proud of you!  You are changing every day and I just can't believe it!

You are happy pretty much all the time.  You are full of smiles and laughter is becoming a regular occurrence, too!  You love to play on your activity mat and just kick your legs, wave your arms, and grab onto your hanging toys.

We love you so much and we are so thankful for you!