Meet and Greet

Nate, Avery, Wesley and Samuel got to hang out together for the first time! It was fun to watch them trying to understand why we kept holding them up in front of each other :) If we could know what they were thinking, it would probably be something like this:

Samuel: "Hey, who's this funny lady kissing me- she's not my mommy."

Wesley: "Hey dude, let's bust outta here and go find some trouble." Proud Mommy's:
Proud Daddy's:
I want those eyelashes! Lucky! (said like Napoleon Dynamite).
Miss Strawberry Shortcake:

Field Trip

After church today, we went to the Gardens of the World with our friends David and Lisa and their two kids Amy and Julia. We packed a picnic lunch and headed out.

It was a beautiful day, not too hot and not too cold. The sun was out and the sky was blue. Here are a few pictures from our afternoon at the gardens. Enjoy!

This is the FIRST picture of the three of us together :) We would have taken Avery out of her carseat, but we knew if we did that, she wouldn't go back in without a fight and we wanted to enjoy the rest of the gardens.

The French Garden:

I thought this was a funny picture of all of us with our strollers in single file. Here we're entering the Mission Courtyard.

These looked so good I had to force myself not to pick one!
In the courtyard, we found him:
Which reminded us of him:
Pizza Pizza! Guess what we're having for dinner tonight?

The Japanese Garden:

And lastly a sweet picture of Avery:

High five for us!

Today we decided we would take Avery to the church nursery for the first time. We've been hesitant up until now because once she's exposed to other kids, there's always that possibility she could catch something- and I have not wanted to deal with a sick kid on top of one who was also colicky. So we felt like we should bite the bullet and just do it- it was either now or never as far as we were concerned.

Just to be on the safe side, we brought along her bouncy seat. We weren't sure what the church nursery had and we know her bouncy seat makes her happy- so we figured it wouldn't hurt to have it just in case.

I had prepared myself for a big dramatic "good-bye" as they took her from us crying, etc. Well, she didn't cry- in fact barely knew we had left. I held tightly to the pager during the whole service, it never buzzed. When we went to pick her up afterwards, the woman told us she never cried and just sat in her bouncy seat and bounced away watching the other kids the whole time.

But the best part about leaving her in the nursery? She pooped!!! And neither of us had to change her diaper!!! We think we've decided we like the nursery :) It worked out quite nicely for us today!

Before and After

I just realized it's been over a week since my last post. Remember my post about needing a project to work on? Since taking care of Avery is my primary focus and requires most of my time, I figured I would keep myself busy when she was napping with small projects that I could accomplish rather quickly. So I thought I'd devote a post to what I've been up to.

First up- the nursery. Now that Avery is a few months old and has settled into a routine, I decided to make some changes to her nursery that were more user-friendly for Franz and I. It needed to feel more spacious- everytime we went in there, it felt closed in by the wall to wall furniture. The only way to make that happen was to remove some things. So, here we go:

Before:

After:
Before:
After:

Some other projects that went into the new nursery:

1. New green child's chair. It was unfinished pine wood which I sanded, primed, painted and lastly put together.
2. The letter "A" for Avery on the shelf. The "A" was plain brown paper mache to start with. I used some leftover fabric to cover both the front and back and some leftover spray paint for the sides. Finished up by Mod Podging over the entire letter to seal the fabric from fraying at the edges.

3. Instant Artwork- I framed a onesie (a shower gift from Nikki!) and a monogrammed bib (a gift from my friend Kim in Iowa!) in inexpensive black frames I was using in another room in the house. (Now I have to find new frames for the artwork I 'stole' them from!)

4. Framed Footprints. When Avery was born, the hospital took her footprints and made an extra 'souvenir' set for us. I've been wondering what to do with them, so I found an empty frame in our closet and cut out the green mat from a piece of leftover scrapbook paper. Instant cheap art! Here's a picture:

5. Mobile. Remember this post? Here's how it turned out in a close-up picture:

So as you can see, I've been up to my eyeballs with this "project". But I'm happy with the way it turned out and actually enjoy spending time in there now. I've even noticed that Avery seems to notice the changes. When we're burping her, she looks at everything all around the room- taking it all in, so very cute!

I've got more projects to show you, but In need to take pictures and we're late for an appointment!

Fun Pictures

These photos reminded me of the type of photos you get from those photo booths. Here's Avery and I kicking back on the floor this afternoon. She got the biggest kick out of me holding the camera above us. Every time it flashed, she squeeled with excitement! This was the first time she's laughed :) Such a joyful sound!

Uh oh

Normally she just lays on her back and kicks her legs and turns her head from side to side. This afternoon she actually rolled onto her side for the first time. It's only a matter of time before she completely rolls over. I can't wait to see the look on her face since she absolutely hates being on her tummy!

Active Avery

Check out how busy Avery is these days. This bouncy seat SAVED us while Avery was going through her colicky stage, it's still her favorite place to hang out :) I am so glad I registered for this- Thanks Lisa!

New pictures

Here is my new favorite picture of Avery!

She loves her hippo :)

Now what?

Friday was my last day of maternity leave. The past 12 weeks have gone by so quickly. Avery has gotten so big and I'm happy to report that we all survived her colic! There were times during the past 12 weeks when she would be really colicky and I would second guess myself- thinking she was just fussy, and that I was overreacting. Then I would get really down on myself because I wasn't a better mom and why couldn't I make her feel better? But seeing how she is now compared to then, I can say that she did indeed have colic- not just fussiness. Today she is happy, she smiles a lot, she spends her awake time just hanging out in her bouncy seat or stretching and kicking her legs on the floor :) And she doesn't cry anymore after she eats, hooray!

Many of you have asked me if my plans include going back to work. As of now, I am officially a stay at home mom! This is what Franz and I have wanted all along for Avery, but we've had a hard time figuring out if it was feasible. Due to the slow economy, it turns out my boss doesn't really need me back. I'm pretty sure if I said I would be returning to work, I would be laid off in the near future. So I guess everything worked out in the end- all that worrying and stressing out for nothing! God is good :)