Don't Blink

She's on the go and getting into everything.  The other day I was packing our things for a weekend out of town, when I walked into her room she was not playing with her toys where I left her. I spotted her little red leg and plaid shirt from beneath her bedskirt.  She was under the crib playing with the extra stock of diapers and wipes.

We got home Sunday afternoon from a weekend out of town and enjoyed lunch together.  We put Avery down for a nap, and a few minutes later Trey spotted her doing this...

She was standing up in her crib and giggling.  It was cute, but made us quickly realize that we are in trouble!

Big Girl Food

Avery loves eating her big girl food.  She has started to enjoy the things mommy and daddy eat at meal time.  Today she had her first waffle and LOVED it.  She really enjoyed the bluebrries that she had too.  This girl loves her fruit.

We are so glad that she is phasing out of the baby food.  She does exceptionally well at feeding herself.  Sadie is also enjoying Avery's new meal as she tends to take care of cleaning up the leftovers and what falls on the floor and into her seat.  Hope she stays a good eater and does not get picky like her daddy as a baby!

Sweet Valentine

       Valentine's day in the King house was not optimal, but we are happy for our sweet Valentine.  Avery got her Valentine goodies on the 13th because mommy worked all day and night on the 14th.  She got a new swing from mommy and daddy.  For now we hung it on the back deck.  It fits perfectly now that we have expanded the deck.  Avery can enjoy her swing while we are cooking on the grill or just hanging out on the deck.  She loves to swing and it's a great activity for the warm winter days that we have been having.

       Trey and I both woke up early to cook each other breakfast.   I beat him to the oven so he enjoyed some heart shaped sweet rolls.  Before I could leave for work Tuesday morning, we spent a good 30-45 minutes looking for Sadie.  I think she decided to go and find herself a Valentine in the neighborhood.   After driving through the neighborhood and hollering "Sadie" a million times at 6:30am our sweet dog came home.  I bet our neighbors hate us.  Avery had a fun day with Grammy and Pepaw.  She showed off her new crawling skills and had a blast with Buster.  After a long and somewhat busy 24-hour shift, Trey and Avery surprised me with heart shaped pancakes when I got home from work Wednesday morning. 

Avery got some new attire for the warm spring weather that will be quickly approaching.  Her cousins got her an adorable monkey and book that she thinks are hilarious.  She loves to tickle the money (he laughs when you tickle him).

Avery got her first pair of Haviana flip flops.  She is ready for some warm and sunny weather.

 She enjoys fun accessories like her momma!

Basketball Season

Avery's cousins are all basketball players.  We have enjoyed going to many of their games over the past 4 months.  Madison is on the Varsity team at their school, which is in our neighborhood.  We love how close we are to STMM and enjoy going for stroller rides to all the sporting events.  Last week Madison's team won their Conference.  This weekend they are headed to Charlotte to play in a tournament to compete with other teams in and out of North Carolina.  Good luck Madison!

Avery learned to clap and loves cheering for her cousins. 

 Last week was a really close game and it was very loud in the gym.  Avery enjoyed cheering as well as taking sometime to play on the floor.  This was clearly before she got really good at crawling. 

So glad our sweet girl is flexible and we can take her places.  I have a feeling she's going to be going to a lot more basketball games in the years to come.  One day her cousins will be coming to see her play sports!

Bad Hair

Avery's hair is growing.  Not enough for pony tails, yet! 

However, she does have enough for a bad hair day! 

Sometimes it starts to curl up in the back. 

Will she have her momma's straight hair or the curly locks her daddy had as a baby?

It's also starting to get lighter.  Trey and I both had blonde hair at a young age, so she might get that too!  He crazy hair in these pictures is starting to match her fun and crazy personality.

Don't judge

        Our parents never had all the things we have for our babies, and we all turned out well!  The other day I was out running a few errands and had to make a run into Target.  I stopped to get a glimpse at their new summer swimwear and ....

.....we all did it, and turned out just fine!

Sometimes we will do just about anything to make it through the grocery store, but next time... "I will remember the cart cover."

YEAH!!!!!

       This week Avery was 8 months old, started clapping, began crawling and..... got into a Mother's Morning Out program for next year.  This comes as a huge relief because we were not guaranteed that she would get into the Monday and Wednesday class.  She will be in the same class that her nieces attended when they were little girls.  It will be great for her, as well as mommy.  Ava, Avery's buddy from down the street, is also in her class.  Mommy and Kelly, Ava's mommy, are very excited that the girls got into the same class!!!

Yeah!!!

8 MONTHS

      Can you believe it?  She's 8 months old!  Avery continues to bring a new level of joy and excitement into our lives each day.  She is growing like a weed, and we cannot get enough of her precious personality.  She is learning something new everyday.  In four short months, she will be reaching her 1 year milestone.  Our love for Avery grows more and more every day.  Just when we think our roles as parents cannot get any better, she brings more sunshine into our lives. 

Avery at 8 months:

-Wearing size 3 diapers
-Eating 3 meals a day and taking 3-4 bottles.  Avery loves to feed herself and prefers it over baby food.  She has been enjoying green beans, peas, carrots, peaches, bananas, blueberries, cheerios, turkey, cheese, grillcheese and of course sweets.
-She has 2 bottom teeth and looks absolutely adorable when she smiles.
-Making tons of noises and does "raspberries"
-Her laugh will melt anyones heart.
-Started clapping her hands.
-Loves Sadie so much, and enjoys seeing Buster every Tuesday at Grammie and Pepaw's house.

-Wearing 6-9 months and some 9-12 months!

-Loves to play on the floor with all her toys.

-Still loves jumping in her Johnny-Jump-Up and exersaucer.

-Sits in a "big girl" care seat while in mommy's car.  Still sitting backwards of course.

-Can roll anywhere and can go in circles very well.  She has not mastered crawling yet!

-Loves playing "peek-a-boo" and looking in the mirror.

-Enjoying going for rides in her stroller and mini wagon.

-Dancing is so much fun, and she enjoys standing.

-Although she is becoming an active little girl, Avery still enjoys snuggle time with mommy and daddy.

-Avery loves to pull up on her crib bumpers and recently sat up in her crib after a nap.

-Takes a morning and afternoon nap (both around 2-3 hours in length).

      Our 8 month photo shoot was so much fun.  No problem getting this cutie to smile for the camera.  However, she was a bit of a wiggle worm.  Avery has turned into the curios monkey and loves to try and get her hands on everything.  She has become an expert at turning and is more of a carpet swimmer than crawler right now.

"Watch out Mom, I'm getting down from this chair!"

Picture break and down on the floor for a little crawling practice.

Sweet, silly girl

She thinks she's hot stuff standing up in her chair.

Avery loves her big sister, Sadie.  She thinks Sadie is hilarious and loves playing with her.

Happy 8 months sweet girl!  You make mommy and daddy's life so rewarding.  We are so blessed to have such a beautiful, healthy and happy little girl. 

Busy life

Taking Papa out for his first sushi experience.

 Loves to eat solid foods...carrots, potatoes, blueberries, bananas and cereal bars.

 Up bright and early.  She's so excited about spending the day with her Aunt Robyn.  Avery loves going to watch her cousin's basketball games.  Maybe one day she will be out there on the court.

       Avery attended her first surprise birthday party.  Daddy's side of the family had a special celebration for our Aunt Kim.  Avery had so much fun hanging out with her new cousin (pictures to come later).  She partied so much that she fell asleep on her Papa.  happy Birthday Aunt Kim.

 Practicing and getting better each day drinking out of her sippy cup.

         Sorry for our absence from the blog, but as you can see a sweet little girl is growing up right in front of our eyes.  We are enjoying the warm winter and staying very busy.  February is going to be another busy month as we are going to the beach, Haley and Kurt are tying the knot and we hope there will be some snow in WV for a small ski trip. 

Baby cousins

      January was a very busy month,  mommy picked up some extra shifts, we had 7 girl friends from college come for a fun/relaxing weekend where we spent a day at the Umstead Spa, and we had some other showers and birthday celebrations.  Avery had some fun times with some of her baby cousins.  She got to meet baby Elliot, who was born in December, at Aunt Kim's surprise birthday party.  Elliot and her parents, Brooke and Gerald, live in the neighborhood beside us.  We see many walks and future play dates with them in our future.

       Last week, Avery met Gia, who is 6 months old.  We were so glad that Gia, her mommy and grandma could come to our house for a visit and some playtime.  They live 20 minutes from us and we can't wait to hang out again.  Mommy and Gia's mommy, Jessica, are both nurses at UNC.  It is so nice to have family so close.  We wish all our family was a hop, skip and a jump away.



  Look forward to more fun times with cousins and plan on making a trip to Greensboro when it warms up to see cousins Sophie and Sean.  Trey and I loved growing up with family around our age, and we are so glad Avery will have the same.  Avery is starting to enjoy parallel play and we look forward to more play dates with family and friends.