Grrrrrr.

My little lioness:

Mimi got Aves this outfit, and I love it! The bow cracks me up.

I wanted to post Avery's schedule at 8 1/2 months so that for the next kid (hopefully) I will have something to compare to. So this is really for my own benefit, but feel free to read anyway!

7:00 wake/6 oz formula bottle

8:30 breakfast (oatmeal & fruit or yogurt)

10:30 6 oz formula bottle

1:00 lunch (vegetable)

2:30 6 oz formula bottle

4:00-6:00 nap

6:00 dinner (meat & veggie or pasta)

6:30 bathtime

7:15 night night bottle (4-6 oz formula)

7:30 bedtime

Shew... that seems like a lot of eating. Love that kid. She is so sturdy.

Sleep is Good

So I had a dream the other night that Avery got her top teeth in (we knew she was teething in real life anyway) and they were HUGE! I woke up terrified that my baby was going to be the kid who gets made fun of because of her gigantic buck teeth. So over the weekend, we really began to get a peak at those little teefers peepin' through. They are perfectly proportionate to her head (whew!), and should be fully visible in about 2 weeks. Which is great. She won't be able to sing that annoying song about "all she wants" for Christmas. So that is a total of 5!!! I still don't quite know how she went from a baby to a kid who can almost walk and can totally bite your arm off in like point 2 seconds.

In other news, we went to the Grand Opening Celebration of SaZa's in Alley Station on Monday night. Avery did not get to go (thank goodness, because it was crowded and we stayed out late!). Did anyone happen to see me on the WSFA giving tours of the Ballroom? G Daddy was on there too talking about the scope of the project. I made the camera man promise not to put me on the news, so thanks for honoring that there Buddy. Anywho, SaZa's is now open for Lunch and Dinner, so go check it out. The pizza is delish. Here is the link: SaZa's.

The title of today's blog is all about Avery learning to self soothe at bedtime. Yes, we are re-Ferberizing. I swear we have to redo it once a week, because something happens and destroys everything she has learned. I suppose that is what parenthood is all about; adaptation, growth, and re-adapting when necessary. (Kara, did I use that semi-colon correctly?) I digress, she has once again taught her self to sleep, and now I am going to get overly excited about 2 nights in a row of good sleep, and then tomorrow night, she will get a cold, or another tooth, or whatever, and we will be back to square one. But for tonight, I am loving my sleep. She slept until 8:15 this morning. It is a beautiful thing.

AAAAND, lastly, a little Avery to make myself happy. That is a flower pinned to her head. Love. It.

The Mama Video!

The video, as promised. Pardon my annoying voice and Avery's screeching before and after. My editing skills are nonexistent.

In other news, last night we had a little Brazilian Themed Dinner Party, and had some excellent food, and even better company. I made "Pao de Quiejo", AKA the most delicious cheese biscuits on earth, Allison did a fancy skirt steak with Chimi Churri sauce and Brazilian turnip greens, and Angela made fried plantains with homemade whipped cream with vanilla and rum. Let's just say I don't need to eat again for a while, because I gorged myself on organic sharp cheddar cheese before the meal even started. Biscuit Recipe to follow.

Ma-Ma and ears!

Since my last post, Avery has found a new word to repeat! Mama!! It was a beautiful moment! I am not sure she is actually referring to me, or if she just likes the way it sounds, but she says it over and over! I will get it on video and post later.

With the lovely cool weather that came to Montgomery unannounced, I had little time to prepare what Avery needed to wear to stay warm. She had no jacket, mittens, hats, shoes, or anything that would make winter weather durable. I did manage to find one hat that still fit her (sort of), until I could get her some toboggans and such. Here are the photos from the beginnings of getting dressed and the car ride to buy new stuff:

I just love those ears!Also, with this blustery weather, came the fire that TJ and I so enjoy. Guess who was immediately drawn to it. So my other shopping venture over the weekend involved a baby cage. Well, they call it a "SuperYard", but it is pretty much a baby cage. (If you are wondering who the "they" are, in this case, "they" are the creators of said SuperYard. (This is specifically for TJ, who always makes me site my sources for the "they's" of the world.)) Anywho, the baby cage works beautifully! And keeps Aves out of the fire, and the soon to be Christmas Tree!!!!

My kid, the genius.

Mom and I were discussing when Avery was going to start talking Sunday afternoon. Mom assured me it would be soon. We were at the lake with Grandma and Avery, sitting outside on the porch watching the very few boats go by. Avery and Grandma were passing a ball back and forth, and I was trying (as I had been unsuccessfully for the past 8 months) to get Aves to say Mama or Dada. I asked her to give me the ball. She gave me a funny look, put the ball right in my hand and said "Ball"! Then Ball, ball, ball, ball, ababaababall. I watched her little synapses fire in her brain and make the connection that what I was asking for, what she had in her hand, and the word I was saying were all the same thing. Then brain to mouth, out it came! It was the most incredible music I have ever heard! Her little speaking voice (in a total different octave than the squealing/singing voice we hear everyday) was so perfect, and it just makes me want to cry I love it so much! I never thought that would be the thing she would do that would make my "heart melt", for lack of a better (and way less cheesy) phrase.

Moments after she said "ball", I had TJ on the phone, and I asked her to tell Dada what she had just told me. She looked at the phone, and said, "dadadadadada, babababbababall." Yes that's right, she said Dada, then ball! Once she figured out we would cheer every time she said something in that cute little voice, she used it all day. She even accidentally said Mama. It hasn't happened again, but I know she will say it soon, and mean it. This might be my favorite milestone yet, and I am sure I will regret saying that when she won't shut up a month from now. I love that kid. This is her, modeling her new monogrammed robe at the lake.

And, this is a very blurry photo of her playing in Riley's toy basket on Saturday as we watched football. Allison, make sure you email me those photos and videos so I can post some of those! The babies were so cute playing together!

NOT FIXABLE

Unfortunately, the camera is dead. I am so sad. These photos are from the phone, but I am hopeful that I will get a new and working (but lesser) camera soon. I am not to be trusted with another D70. Here are a few photos from the our anniversary trip in Atlanta, and some of Avery from the weekend.

We took Avery to her first Dove Shoot at Clearview on Saturday. Since it was also gameday, we dressed her up in her miss matched gear and her camo underneath with a pink frilly diaper cover so no one would confuse her for a little boy. She was one confused baby. She had a whole lot of fun regardless.

Avery playing with Mister Sam, Justin's mom, and an empty water bottle!
Just laying around on Sunday after church.
We went to U2 on Tuesday night in Atlanta on our 2nd anniversary. We met up with Jeff, Karen, and a bunch of their friends. Sorry for the poor quality images, we were on the floor, and I couldn't hardly see the stage, so these are of the enormous round screen. It was an amazing show, and I hope to see them again in the future.

We were not far from the stage, but it was so incredibly crowded, we decided not to push forward into them any further. You know me and crowds. Overall it was a very fun trip. We got a massage, ate dinner at Fogo de Chao (a Brazilian Steak house, that has the best freaking Parmesan cheese yucca rolls), played with starfish and anemone at the Georgia Aquarium, went to the concert, and saw the Da Vinci exhibit at the High Museum, all in 48 hours. Glad to be home, where I can relax (which was supposed to be the point of our trip, but TJ and I are no good at that:) ).

Camera Crash

I am devastated. I put my camera in the bag with the beach gear on Saturday, ready to take loads of photos of Ms. Avery in the sand and surf. But, my tanning oil with SPF 10 got jealous and decided to spray down the camera as I was walking down to the water. So, my wonderful and dependable Nikon D70 camera is on its way to Illinois to be cleaned and fixed. What does that mean for the blog? Well, it means that I will either post lots of poor quality photos from my blackberry or none at all in protest. It's a sad day. I hope it is fixable. If not, I may just have to get my Christmas present very early this year.