no longer scootin..

Avery has decided (2 days after she turned 10 months old) that she would crawl on her hands and knees! Instead of on her tummy (military crawl)!! Way to go Ave

**kisses**

Yesterday we met up with Ashey and her 2 kiddos (Kaden and Cassidy) and Karisa (and Ella) for a lunch date! Ella has started giving kisses again so we caught a short video of the 2 girls giving each other kisses. Avery was a little less cooperative, she was more interested in chewing on the buckle but she finally does give Ella a kiss. Check out the cuteness....

Swimming lessons

Avery has started a "mommy&me" swim class once a week! So far she seems to really like it. This past week the teacher asked me if she was always this happy. She doesn't fuss, falls into the water to me and even got her face underwater this week! Hopefully chris will get a monday morning off so he can take her in the water!! Here are some pics from her first day;

on the way to her first swim lesson;

still trying to wake up! :)

hi daddy

in her little "boat"

learning to kick;

she does well on her tummy and even on her back with her ears in the water;

i love this pic, she's looking right at me;

She's the youngest in her class but not the smallest! :)

new skills! :)

Avery has started to clap and shake her head this week... I may regret teaching her to shake her head! She used to do it when we first introduced solids but now she can mimick someone else doing it!

10 months old

Avery is now 10 months old!!! double digits! only 2 months away from her first birthday! CRAZY!

Here are some things from this past month;

• At the beginning of the month Avery hated changing clothes, especially putting her arms through sleeves or arm holes! Now she doesn't mind so much and has even started helping me put on her shorts by sticking her foot in the air!
• She doesn't like to be wrapped up in a towel after her bath, she would rather air dry! haha
• Avery is getting more cuddly, she will put her head on my shoulder for a little while when its time to go to sleep. she even lets me hold her like a baby for a short while.
• New foods this month- Yogurt, beef, raisins, dates, plums, apricots, tofu, tortellini, mango,
• Avery has really found her voice and likes to yell! her favorite word is mama!
• She loves to blow raspberries, all the time! :)
• She doesn't sleep as well in her big girl car seat, fortunately i don't see us taking anymore long car rides, especially with my parents in D.C. until the new year!
• Avery wants to walk so badly. She did take a couple steps on Aug 15, but she is not quite stable enough to really take off! she still gets mad if I set her down instead of letting her walk around!
• If we leave the living room area she crawls (scoots) around till she finds us.
• She has discovered fear. After taking a few steps she no longer wants to stand without holding onto someone. She kept crawling away from her big bear, she wouldn't stay still long enough to get some pictures of her let alone of her smiling!
• Avery has learned how to get from her tummy to her knees to sitting up!!! I'm very proud of her although it has disrupted her naps because she wants to pull up on the side of the crib instead of laying down and going to sleep!!! :)
• I often see Avery scratching her right ear, most of the time its when she is tired.
• Avery now has 3 teeth!!! She got another bottom tooth this month!
• Avery still gives lots of kisses,  loves to wave and has started clapping!
• She also started shaking her head this month, mimicking me! :)
• Avery got to visit her first water park for Mason's 2nd birthday party! She loved sitting in the tube with mommy down the lazy river!
• Avery started swimming lessons! We go on monday mornings, she loves it so far. she even has gotten her face underwater!

Click here to see my favorite pics of Avery from this past month!

A&E

Its been awhile since we got some pics of the girls together! We got together for a playdate today and got some pics. The girls are mobile so it makes snapping shots even harder. Ella didn't want to stay still and Avery didn't want to smile! :) They had fun together!

Such Cuties!!

Look how much they've grown! Can't believe they are almost 10 months old!!

Looks like Ella is telling Avery something serious! :) Just after this pic Ella gave Avery a BIG kiss, it was too cute!

Big week for AJ!

This has been a big week for Avery Jo! She has learned to push up onto her knees and get herself to a sitting postion! She also has gotten from sitting up to pulling up in her crib! Before this week she couldn't get from her tummy to sitting up! This has caused disruptions in her naps because she wants to explore her new tricks! :) Here is a video I caught of her sitting up; sorry its hard to see, i took it with my phone from her video baby monitor!!

cruisin

Avery loves to cruise around things now! Especially the coffee table, and recently her crib!

time to lower her crib again! :)

mama mia!

Saturday evening I fixed tortellini for dinner! Avery was interested so I let her try some. She seemed to like it! In fact, she didn't want her baby food! She's getting better at picking up finger foods. But its still a learning process! :)

look out world...

Last night we celebrated Grandad Ed's 77th birthday!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

The girls were outside and both decided it was time for a drive...

walker

Avery's papa and gramma got her a new toy! a walker! She loves to walk around, following us and banging into walls. She gets mad when she runs into the carpet and gets stuck. She tries to reach the electrical outlets so we have now outfitted our house with the plastic protectors!

the mini fits are out of control right now! lol

baby mozart

Avery loves to bang on the piano keys. We need to work on being a bit more gentle with them but she gets very excited to play!

my mini mozartina! :)

future soccer player?

Avery's new favorite thing is to stomp on her toys and kick her toy balls. you can also see on this video that if you set her down she gets very upset, all she wants to do these days is walk around!! she throws these mini fits!

maybe she'll play soccer? or be a dancer, she kept pointing her toes!

bathtub

Avery took a bath without her baby bathtub for the first time this weekend at my parents house. The cool thing is that its the same bathtub that I took baths in as a baby!!! Crazy huh?

raspberries

Avery has been working hard on a new trick...

she's trying to blow raspberries, she watches us closely and then tries it herself. Usually she ends up sticking out her tongue and making quite a mess but its so cute to watch!

wiggly giggler

This was one of Parker's favorite toys.

This is Avery's try out video for the "shake weight" commercial;

First steps

Avery took her first few steps on her own tonight! We are in Edmond with my mom, sister and brother in law! She has been obsessed with walking around with help lately. She likes to play "baby giant" (as I call her) and stomp and kick her toys. Its too funny to watch! I have some fun videos to upload when we get home. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to grab my camera tonight to catch her walking. I stood Ave up, but I'm always close by to catch her, this time she was stable enough for a few seconds and then took about 3 steps before toppling over! Don't worry, I caught her! :) Once she did that it took her awhile to stand up long enough for me to let go of her, she just kept trying to take off before she could catch her balance. She finally did stand up and take another 2 steps! I still think she is a little ways from really taking off on her own but she's definitely getting closer! BIG GIRL!

munching in the checkout line...

Avery and I did some grocery shopping at Central Market yesterday, mainly to grab some lunch meat. I had gotten a sample of the oven roasted turkey meat to try before buying any and the guy gave me alot. Avery started grabbing for it and i realized that she has had turkey already. So i gave her some to see what she though about it. she kept wanting more. all the way to the checkout line! I took a short video while waiting to check out;

She also flirted with a little boy in the next checkout line. he was a year old and avery kept smiling at him! she would act shy for a minute then look over and give him the biggest smile! he was really cute too, blond hair and really blue eyes. LOL!

Airplane spoon

For some reason Avery did not want to eat any solids yesterday. She only took a bite for breakfast and 2 bites for lunch. She would just shake her head and refuse to open her mouth! By dinnertime I was slightly concerned that she wouldn't eat (she still nurses 4 times a day, so she isn't starving!)! I decided to try the "airplane trick". It worked, she wouldn't eat unless I did the airplane noises first. :) little stinker

peek-a-boo

Avery discovered that she can pull down her crib bumper... She does this when I first put her down for a nap and again when she wakes up. She has even pulled it down and said "MAMA". Its so hard not to drop everything and run in just because she called out to me! But I know she needs her naps, and so do I! :)

peek-a-boo

She usually falls asleep with her lovey blanket over her face!

who could resist that face?

splish splash

Here are some pics of Avery having fun during bathtime! she still loves her baths!!!

Happy girl even before her bath!

gotta love those baby rolls! :)

she likes to be tickled!

this face just cracks me up! but also melts my heart!
she finally has enough hair for me to "style"! haha

no towel

When Avery gets out of her bath she no longer wants to be wrapped up in a towel! She actually fights it. I don't know if maybe she is remembering back to when she was swaddled and now has a bit of anxiety from it?!! haha, but whatever the case she would rather me blow on her!!! Here is a video; it explains better than i can!

I'm convinced she'll be one of those toddlers that would rather run around naked after a bath! :D