Avery's First Christmas

     Oh my it has been so much fun celebrating Christmas and the birth of Jesus.  Avery is the best gift that we have ever received, and it was so special to celebrate the holiday with her and our families.  I look forward for the years to come when Avery can experience the excitement of Christmas and understand its true meaning.

We enjoyed many special Christmas celebrations leading up to the special weekend.

  Avery is making some serious progress towards crawling.  We know that it will not be long before she is on the move and getting into everything.  She is so much fun and makes our lives so much better.  Her smile makes everyday more enjoyable and precious!

      The weekend before Christmas we spent a long weekend in Hickory, spending time with Trey's family.  Avery was able to meet her cousin, Cam, for the first time.  They are 9 months apart and I know one day they will be great friends.  It will be so nice when they can start playing together.  We exchanged gifts with the McCall side of the family, and we had a lot of yummy meals as well as enjoyed some time with family. 

Avery and her Gigi

Us before a morning walk.

Daddy and Avery opening a fun present from Aunt Tay Tay and Uncle Andrew

Mawmaw with her 2 great grandchildren

Cam and Avery with Bree and baby boy Stillings in her belly.

Cousins hanging out

Andrew and Simmons

Leslie and Rush

Avery with her Great Uncle Gray and Aunt Beth. 

They traveled all the way from Kentucky and we look forward to visiting them in the future.

Mawmaw opening the calendar we made her.

McCall Family Group Christmas Photo 2012

     On Christmas Eve we attended the children's service and then went to Grammy and Pepaw's for a delicious dinner.  We exchanged gifts with the Hergenroeder side of the family, and Avery was spoiled by her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.  Despite only getting a short morning nap, she was a good baby throughout all the holiday activities.

Avery had so much fun hanging out with her awesome cousins.

     Grammy and Pepaw got all the girls matching pajamas. 

The girls always look forward to their holiday jammies, and Avery was included in the yearly tradition.

 Our family from Illinois gave Avery this adorable hat that matched her PJs.

      Gigi and Papa came into town on Christmas Eve night to spend time with us at our home.  Avery slept in Christmas morning after is very busy day prior.  We open presents while our French Toast Casserole bakes in the oven (It was so easy as we prepared it the night before and then just placed in the over Christmas morning).  After our yummy breakfast we ventured out of a Christmas walk.  That afternoon we enjoyed a delicious lunch in which I obtained all my recipes from pinterest.  Gigi and Papa then ventured east to Aunt Taylor's.

Avery had funny playing with her grandparents and new toys.

      After a short afternoon nap we headed to the Bonello's for Christmas dinner.  Avery was so excited to see her cousins and all the fun things Santa brought them.  We had fun sitting by the fire, spending time with family and eating more yummy food.  We are going to need to get on a serious diet and exercise routine after all the Holiday meals.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours, and we can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us! 

Santa

       Sunday we had brunch with the Hergenroeder side of the family.  Samantha, Avery's cousin, spent the night with us on Saturday night.  Thus, we had a busy morning getting 2 little girls ready for brunch.  We fed Avery and squeezed in a morning nap, then we got both dressed and gave Samantha some beautiful curly hair.  Last year I was pregnant and missed the brunch because I had to work.  I was so glad to be off this year, so that I could go with everyone and see Avery with Santa.  Brunch was yummy and company was great.  After our desserts, we ventured to the tent where Santa was hanging out.  Avery liked Santa so much that she started to tug on his beard.  It was so funny and Santa hammed it up a little, but said that she really had a good grip.  It's a good thing she is such a sweet baby because we don't want her on his naughty list! 

Aunt Robyn bought Avery her dress last year when we found out we were having a girl. 

Aunt Roni and Avery's cousins got her the fun bloomers that said "I <3 Santa."

 Avery and her cousins (Madi, Alexis and Samantha) with Santa 

  Avery and Santa

Mommy had a dead battery in her camera so we're stuck with cell phone pics until Pepaw sends us his pictures.

Here are some better pictures from our family brunch with Santa.  Thanks Pepaw and Grammy.

 Cousins in front of the Christmas tree at Macgregor.

 Avery and Uncle Mike

 Showing off her cute bloomers.

 Alexis and Aunt Roni

 Mike and Samantha

 Bonello girls with Santa

 Cousins with Santa

 Avery and Santa.  Take not of her right hand...about to go in for the grab!

6 Month Check-Up

       Today Avery had her 6 month check-up with the pediatrician.  She has been doing so well with eating all her cereal, fruits and veggies.  She gained almost 3 pounds in the last 2 months and grew almost 2 inches.  Avery was entertaining all the ladies in the front office and was such a good girl for her nurse and nurse practitioner.  She sat like a big girl in the lobby as we waited for our turn. 

Avery had a blast playing with the paper on the exam table. 

We might have to put this on her list to Santa. 

6 Month Stats:

Weight: 17 pounds 10 ounces (80%)

Height: 27 inches (90%)

Head: 17 inches (75%)

       We ran to Target after Avery's appointment to grab a few items, and she fell asleep in the car on our way home.  Sweet baby girl continued her nap for 2 hours once we got home.  She woke up smiling and we hope this series of shots doesn't effect our healthy and happy baby.

6 MONTHS

      We have made it a half of a year and could not imagine life without Avery.  She makes life so much better and fun.  We are constantly reminded of how blessed we are to have a healthy, beautiful and happy daughter.  This is such a fun age and we are soaking it all up.  

-Avery is eating 3 meals a day and is taking 4 big bottles a day.  She is trying to hold the bottle, but has not quite master this skill.  It is a very funny site and often a task to feed her bottle. 

-Likes her fruits more than veggies, so we have to make sure she gets the veggie first or mix with her fruit.

-Sleeping around 11 hours at night and taking two long naps (late morning and then in the afternoon).

-Continues to love her exersaucer and Johnny jump up, but thoroughly enjoys jumping now.

-She is a scooter, and we know that soon she will me more mobile. 

-Rolls from tummy to back and back to tummy.

-Puts everything into her mouth and loves to grab things.

-Sitting up for long periods, but still topples over at times. 

-No teeth yet, but the drooling is like a runny faucet.  We hope teeth are in our near future so the drooling and boogie nose will cease. 

-Eating mum mums still, but has begun to enjoy puffs.

-Wearing a size 2 diaper and is wearing mostly 6 month clothing.

-Continues to be a very happy baby.

-Stares at the TV just like her daddy and is an awesome shopper like her mommy.

-Avery is a great snuggler and loves to give kisses. hard to resist kissing those adorable cheeks. 

-We are seeing signs of hair growth.  Maybe soon you can tell and not see "the floating bows."

-Started grabbing the bumpers and pushes herself up very well.  We will be lowering the crib very soon.
-Plays in her crib when she wakes.  Loves her glow worm and luvies.

-Big fan of Sophie the giraffe, cold teethers, and her noisy baby.

-Obsessed with her sister, "Sadie." Already reaches over to feed the dog when she is eating. 

-Has become very noisy and we love to hear her laugh.

Loves to pay with her feet.

Legs crossed like a sweet little lady.

She's got mommy's eyes, but still looks like her daddy. 

We are headed to the pediatrician for Avery's 6 month check-up this afternoon, so check back for an update on her stats. 

Big Girl

       She's growing up right before our eyes.  Our little baby is big enough and strong enough to sit up in shopping carts and highchairs.  Mommy is very excited about this because she does not have to lug that the heavy infant carrier with us when we are out and about.  Avery is enjoying her new view while shopping and dining out.

 Sophie the giraffe is Avery's new favorite toy and we take her everywhere.  Unfortunately our dog, Sadie, has enjoyed Sophie on a few occasions, so poor Sophie has a broken leg these days.

O Christmas Tree

      We were so glad to have daddy off work all day Friday for some Christmas fun.  After an afternoon photo shoot with Michelle Tomlinson Photography and a yummy lunch, we head to Jordan Lake Christmas Tree Farm to get our Christmas tree.  We had fun picking out our tree and getting some new Christmas decor in their gift shop.  We could not have asked for more perfect weather.

The Holidays are so much fun with Avery.

 We picked out a tall tree to go in our family room.  We borrow Pepaw's truck to hull it home from the tree farm.  It was so much easier than strapping it to the roof of the grocery getter.  Trey fixed the bottom of the tree, put it on our base and we brought it inside so we could start trimming the tree.

 Trey hard at work getting the tree ready to decorate.

        Uncle Ian and Robyn came over later that night.  We had a dilemma with our tree leaning and Uncle Ian was able to help.  He also helped us move the tree when mommy and Aunt Robyn decided that it would look better in a different corner of the family room. :-)

The next morning we finished decorating and now we are very please with our beautiful tree.

 Sweet Avery in front of her first Christmas tree.