What We've Been Up To...

I promised I would post the photo of Avery in her Bama gear. So here it is! She looks like a little boy in that hat.

Avery learned to clap this morning, and I just happened to remember to video it on my phone. Also, she rode the Ferris Wheel at the Wharf yesterday, so I have that on video as well. The rest are photos to document our weekend at the beach, which Avery had a high fever from her viral pharyngitis, so we are lucky to have any smiley pictures at all! Glad she is feeling much better!

These are a few of my favorite things!

Well, at least my favorite photos of late.

War Eagle, Roll Tide, whatever/ Lion's club BBQ cook off

I am an Auburn fan. TJ is for the tide. Avery, like many children of divided households will have to make her own decision. We go to mostly Auburn games, and luckily, I control her wardrobe, so therefore she wears orange and blue on Saturdays, but Fridays...she wears crimson. I am not a die hard fan by any means, so I could care less that her Mimi and Aunts want to see her in her Bama gear when she is at their house. Regardless, she looks super cute in both. The cute Alabama photo is on Jane Ann's camera, so I will post it when she emails it to me.

TJ recently joined the Lion's club, and entered their Bar-B-Que Cook off almost immediately. Somehow Justin and I got dragged in to help, but we ended up having a good time. TJ and Mitchell sat up late Thursday night "building" their grill (spray paint, plywood, and cinder blocks), as their big plan was to use "free range pork" and cook in a "primitive" way. By the way, free range pork is just a churched up name for the wild hog TJ killed on Monday. Now, don't you know those rednecks down there for the Bassmaster's tournament were impressed by that. (Listen to me, acting all haughty about some rednecks. I was the one in flip flops, a business jacket, and an apron in the rain! Talk about RED.) Anywho, TJ and Mitchell cooked some beef all night, sous vide, and put the pig on their grill at 7am down at the Riverfront. They cooked all day, and I met up with them after work. We cooked until the sky opened up and we tried to wait out the rain, but the judging was at 4pm! The beautiful, hand made, black walnut, cutting board arranged neatly with our pork, sauce, and cole slaw was ready just as the judge came by to pick it up. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture before, but this was the aftermath.
The guys cooking before the rain came.

The hog. And, the man.

And Heidi for good measure.

Even though we didn't win, we had an excellent time preparing and working all day.

But, that's enough chatter about me and TJ. Back to my little smiley Avery.

Baby Charlie's photos, as promised.

This is Charlie and proud Daddy Mitchell.

BABY CHARLIE!

Charlie made his debut on Friday just before midnight! Mama Kelly and Papa Mitchell are doing great, and they came home on Sunday. We went to visit Sunday afternoon, and got to meet this precious boy. Avery, who didnt want to ride in the care 2 hours each way, felt jilted because she has yet to meet her husband to be. Kelly and I have been planning an arranged marriage since Charlie's conception. I will post photos when I get them all downloaded. (Hopefully this afternoon during Aves's nap.)

In other news, Avery has a third tooth, and in an unrelated story, she is getting moved up to the "creeper" class at preschool. She is growing up so fast!!! She and John Harris (the other speedy kid in the group) passed two older kids who were competing for the coveted Creeper spots. Avery will miss Will and Tara but I am sure they will be reunited soon! I will miss Ms. Stacey and Ms. Lynn big time! They have all the answers! I hope Ms. Michelle is as omniscient. Ok...enough posting, I am H-U-N-G-R-Y! Weight watchers (or as some call it, rehab) is kicking my butt this week. I didn't lose any last week because of my gluttony over the weekend, so I am back in gear, and starving for it! I will see my old jeans soon! I am determined!

The Happy Newlyweds, Avery & TJ

and seven month photos, too!

And now, what you've all be patiently waiting for...6 month photos!

She's a BIG Eater.

I know. I know. I am a terrible poster these days. I promise to try to do better. I am swamped with real work every time I sit down at a computer. Avery is rockin' and rollin'! She can pull up on just about anything now. She is quite proud of herself, and loves it when we cheer and clap for her (No clue where her love for the spotlight comes from...insert fake cough here). She has almost mastered the wave hello, but can't figure out the "bye bye" wave yet. Still no sign of "Mama" or "Dada". She is, however, a master of all things edible. Not only is she eating 2 jars of food a day, 5 6-8 oz bottles of formula, and a bushel of cheerios, yogurt bits, puffs, and dried apples, she tries to steal other kids food at school. Now, TJ and I both love to eat (hence why Weight Watchers is so effective for me-Congratulate me on my 9.5 lb loss in 7 weeks!!!! You know I needed it! You've seen the photos-or lack thereof because I am enormous!)so I am not surprised by her interest in food. But stealing?? Come on. She came home wearing a sweet potato covered dress last week because she put her hand in one of the other kids jars, and pulled it down on herself. Ms. Stacey and Ms. Lynn think she is hilarious, because of her obsession with food! I think its an expensive habit. Oh, and move over Jake and Riley, there's a new baby in Avery's life. Little Will is just as hungry, and huge as my little princess and he likes her a lot! She crawls circles around him, and he tries to get her residual apple sauce off her chin. Very cute. I will post 7 month photos later!

Latest Blackberry Photos

Avery laying on the floor, right before church the day of her Baptism.

Playing with Lola, Evan's roommates's bulldog puppy. She was fascinated!
Sorry its so blurry.
Yogurt MOOstache.

Hanging out in Ama and G Daddy's new backyard!

I heart Dr. Ferber and Exciting News

Sleep:

Night 2 on the Ferber plan went great! She cried about 7 minutes and then went to sleep. Then, night 3. She started getting a runny nose early in the morning, and it got progressively worse as the day went on. She stayed with Mimi while I worked, and by the time I picked her up at 5pm, she was miserable, and she had a very hoarse voice since she had screamed so much on Night 1 :(. It was sad, and I knew that night 3 would be different. She cried about 30 minutes, and got so upset, that I knew she wouldn't be able to calm herself. So I cheated. She slept with us the rest of the night. When she began to feel better(Friday evening), I put her back on the Ferber method of sleep. She had a hard time napping all day, but by 8pm, she was ready to crash. Luckily, she did just that! And since, she has been sleeping like a rock, and going down pretty easily. It is a huge difference! She is napping now, and I feel like a human again. Yay, Sleep!

Mobility:

She is scooting all over the place now. She is an excellent crawler, and is trying to pull up on everything! I can not leave her alone for a second!

Verbalization:

Still no Mama or Dada, but she is occasionally saying "Hey" and waving.

I saved the best for last, LACEY AND JUSTIN ARE ENGAGED!!!!!! I am so excited for yall! Below is a photo of Lacey at the hospital when I was in labor.