I need YOUR advice...

...with sleeping issues. Yes, this weekend I plan on solving all of them! Avery had been a great sleeper, sleeping all night in her crib on most nights, before teething! Since then, to make a very long story short, it has been rough. Currently, I have started a bad habit. Most nights I rock her to sleep, lay her in the crib and sneak away very quietly. Then, any time between 11pm and 4am she cries. I try rocking her to sleep and it works and then I will rock her a while after that to be sure, but the minute I lay her back in the crib and walk away - before i get back to my bed -she's crying again. After doing that 3 times in a row and looking at the clock knowing that my alarm will go off at 4:45 on the dot either way - I give in to letting her come to bed with me, and Charlie is banished to the twin bed in her room. There has been a night or two where we were both so tired he just stayed, but Avery snuggles right up against him b/c he is a human heater and he gets worried he's going to squish her - yikes! So, as easy as it is, and as much as I love her snuggles, I know it's not the best thing for her or for us. I'm starting my plan to get her to sttn in her crib tonight. Please say a prayer for her and leave me some great advice on how to do this!


In other news, Charlie may have a job opportunity to go back to the company he used to work for - which happens to be where I work as well - as a supervisor. There are so many things to think about with this, that I get overwhelmed and want to stop thinking about it altogether. My main concern is having to put Avery in daycare. I do want her to get some social interaction with other people and babies her age after RSV season either way, but I don't know if putting her in daycare 8 hours a day is really what I was looking for. On the other hand, actually getting to spend time together as a family every night would be great! Please pray that God will give us peace with the right decision, which may also mean taking our house off the market for the time being, and mainly that God's will will be done. I know that prayer changes things. And if ya don't believe me...just feast your eyes on little Avery just one year ago...WOW, the power of prayer!

Wednesday full of words...

So am I a rock star or what...after being a total blog slacker...I'm baaaaaack! 2 in a row AND 1 on a Wednesday...and I'm leaving to go BACK to work in 7 minutes. I just got Avery fast asleep and I'm off to bring home the bacon. Actually, just to do the monthly privacy audit - there's really no bacon involved! :) Enough bragging about my blogging efforts...on to the important stuff I forgot to blog about yesterday. Avery's new tricks! I was teaching her to give 'High Five' and she was really getting it! It was so cute. Charlie has taught her how to give kisses and it is the cutest thing ever! It seems like she is a sponge lately, absorbing everything we teach her. It's so much fun...and a little scary! HA! I really have to think about what I say and what I'm teaching her. I don't want her to become a worry wart like me. So it's time to start pretending I don't worry about anything...not easy to do w/ Sean Hannity in the background scaring the mess outta me. Well, Charlie is back to work tomorrow and I'm back to watching absolutely thoughtless television. Worry be gone! Btw, the only the only thing these days I like listening to on the news is Bobby Jindal - he's my new hero. Jindal/Palin '12. If we make it....

Our little tiger...snoozing

All in a day's work...of a princess that is!

Btw, Jami's tutu birthday pics may be posted as early as next week!!!

Shame on me!

So, I'm a bad blogger these days. No Not Me Monday's...two in a row, I think! Annnnd worst of all - I forgot to post AND take pics on Avery's 13 month birthday. Wow. I wonder if it's because she's a year old now, so it feels a little different. Well, if it was, then it was done subconsciously b/c I surely didn't mean to. Whew - what a week at work! Thanks to Obama every homeowner in America feels entitled to lower rates and payments. In other news, we had a pretty good week. On Saturday gran-gran and paps were in town so they came to babysit Avery for an hour or two while we went to Target and out to eat. Paps was complaining of back pain but we figured it was either a kidney infection or he pulled a muscle. But after he got home he noticed bumps in the places where the pain was. They think that it is shingles (like old ppl chicken pox). So I was a little bit freaking out at work Monday morning because Avery hasn't had 12 month immunizations, which would've included Varicella (for chicken pox). Avery is on a delayed vaccination schedule b/c I didn't feel comfortable giving a tiny baby the same amount of immunizations that a normal baby gets. So we're 2 months behind. Anyway, I was really concerned until I was reminded that the vaccination for chicken pox didn't even come out until 1995. We all had it when we were little, and we all lived. Now, that's not to say I won't freak out a little all over again if she gets little red spots in a week and a half!


On Monday nonna and poppa came and played with Avery while we did, yet some more, shopping. I think Charlie is trying to create his own stimulus plan by spending all of OUR money. :) In other news, I am SO excited about MckMama's latest blog entry. She is having a MckCruise!!! It is in January leaving from Texas and my mom and I are going to plan on going! My dad gets reallly seasick and wasn't too pumped about the idea of a cruise. And Charlie and I have already been together, but mom has never been. What a perfect idea - Avery will be 2 by then, old enough to stay with dada, poppa and maybe some help from Gran-gran. So, I will get my cruise after all!

Well since this blog is super random I'll add to it - Avery got her last Synagis shot today. I got the EOB from the insurance company for the shot last month - a whopping $7,000.00! I was SHOCKED. Hopefully we will be good to go and as soon as April 1st comes we will even get to go on an outing every once in a while! :) 35 days and counting...

I figure as long as we're trapped in the house, we might as well have Oreo's!

Her pouty face - can'tcha just see her at 13 looking at me like that?!?

Watching Pink Panther with dada...

What a beautiful little girl we have!

Showin' off her Squeakies!

The goal: to grab the cord from the treadmill...


...and EAT IT! Mission Accomplished.

Avery made the news!!!

Thanks to Laura's post, I found out that Avery made the news today!!! They did a special write up about her with 3 pics! OMG I am tickled pink :) GO CHECK IT OUT!

http://natchezdemocrat.com/news/2009/feb/22/early-entry-sonogram-leads-emergency-delivery/

What a wonderful day in the neighborhood...

On Wednesday I came home to an absolutely lovely day. I passed a lady walking her baby in a stroller and decided that looked like a great idea. So I convinced Charlie to go and we took a lovely stroll, even during RSV season - it was about 74 degrees and PERFECT! It was like therapy - walking and hearing the birds chirp and being with two of the people that I love most in the world. I even remembered to take pictures!

In other news, Avery met the qualifications to continue Early Steps by 0.1 points. This is great news, in my opinion b/c it says she is normal but can continue therapy until she's walking. Charlie and I were ready to go ahead and stop all of the therapy but Melanie, one of her therapists, stopped by last night to make sure everything looked normal and noticed Avery was mostly cruising on her tippy-toes. My mom had mentioned this earlier but I thought it was completely normal. She said its a very bad habit that has to be stopped immediately, before she learns how to walk like that. It still relates to the hyper extension and muscle tone problems she has had in the past b/c of being so premature. So we will continue to see PT, only once a month and I will do exercises to help her every day. Melanie also mentioned that although Avery does not have CP (Cerebral Palsy) she definitely has the three factors that would contribute to a diagnosis of CP - which are prematurity, muscle tone issues & developmental delays, but because we started therapy so early she is sure that Avery does not have CP. I count this as another miracle along the way :)

Don'tcha just love cropping? After working a 10 hour day and going on a walk, mama isn't exactly looking her best!

All ready for a nice, relaxing stroller ride!

We love da-da's days off!

A Showcase of Avery's Current Talents!

Happy Valentine's Day!

My beautiful little Valentine...

** Photo credit to Nonna :) **

Avery is my Valentine this year, since da-da is working and we are out of town. The pictures with Jami went as expected - she is just not a happy camper in a different environment, especially when she is tired. I'm sure it was much more of a success than Olan Mills, as Jami is much more talented that the "Git R Done" Olan Mills Photographer :) I am looking forward to seeing them. I found the most beautiful dress to have them done in! Of course, we also did the tutu pictures with the birthday cake. She had a blast eating her birthday cake again!

She is definitely a pro at waving bye-bye now, and she is officially saying 'Mama' BEFORE she said 'Da-da'. Maybe she's not such a daddy's girl after all?

We had a little fender bender on the way here, but we are both fine, thank God. The weather was terrrrrible on the way...Avery was really sweet though and didn't cry the entire trip!

Well, I hope everyone has a fantastic Valentine's Day!

My Weekend Has Begun!

Avery and I are looking forward to her photo shoot w/ Mrs. Jami this weekend! I scheduled off tomorrow because I have a blood test (yuck) to make sure my blood sugar isn't too high. Then Charlie is taking me out for a Valentine's Day lunch! After that me and Avery are leaving daddy to go visit Nonna and Poppa and take pictures w/ Jami. We haven't gone since Christmas, so I am looking forward to it. I was very tempted to take Avery with me to the post office today, the weather has been so nice here lately for a week or so now, I thought, 'Surely the RSV cases are dying down'. I called the pedis office just to check and she said it was the opposite! RSV cases are being diagnosed all day long and they are seeing the flu every day too. YIKES. So we are definitely not going to be going anywhere where many people visit all day long! Just to Mrs. Jami's and Nonna & Poppa's house!



Have I mentioned lately that I love being a mom? I mean loooooovvvvveee it. Well, I think the lady with 14 kids may love it more, but it is the most fun I've ever had! I love the little things that make me smile - Fixing a miniature bowl of spaghetti for her, her little toothbrush beside our big ones, the duck tub taking up half of the shower every morning, the shelf in our kitchen cabinet that is now filled with only Avery's things. I love tiny socks in the dryer and big smiles when I come home from work every day. Life is so amazing with her around! It seems like this week she has done something to amaze me every day. It started out with her cruising! (WOW - btw, she is now attempting to move from couch to couch!) Today she has said 'mama' about 6 times! This week she also started sharing. Charlie said one morning he was sitting in the recliner with her and she looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back at her and she pulled her paci out of her mouth and tried to put it in his - her most prized possession! I figured it was a one time fluke, but during therapy she offered Mrs. Denise one of her much loved puffs! It is so sweet. She also did great with Denise...I think separation anxiety (at least Phase I) has passed for the time being...she stayed with the babysitter and she didn't cry when Charlie left and she was really sweet with Denise this week. She also started waving bye-bye this week, which we have really been working on. It was the cutest thing ever...Charlie and I were so excited!

This week she also got to be around her first baby - her friend Addison - and she was pretty good too. She kept wanting to touch her, which was understandable, but it was really neat to watch them interact.

Have a Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

I ran to get breakfast for me and Charlie and when I got back home they had both fallen asleep again!

There are no words...

Not Me Monday

Have I ever mentioned that I love reading & writing Not Me Mondays? And I bet if you gave it a try you would too! Most days, like today for example, I think there isn't possibly anything that I can think of to write about. But just think back over your week and believe me, you will come up with something that will crack someone up! So, come on people, post a Not Me Monday! Besides, if you do it this week you can win a prize from MckMama! So just type the post and go read her Not Me for instructions on how to link up to her and be entered for the contest. Before long, you'll be a Not Me Monday addict and will love every second of it. Besides, its the ONLY fun thing about Monday's!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

1. I am not typing this at work. I would never take a break and type a blog b/c well...just read #2...

2. I am not contemplating running over my laptop (yes, with my car) or throwing it out of the window. I am not convinced this would bring much more satisfaction than actually using it. My newest problem is that while typing the cursor jumps to wherever it would like - up, down, on the stop button, refresh button, back button, you name it...it jumps. And it does it over and over and over again. And if I did attempt to type this at home I would probably lose my mind.

3. I have not decided to give up watching the news altogether. From the octuplet mom to the joke of a stimulus package, I can't watch it without wanting to slap somebody or throw something at them.

4. I did not crack myself up watching this video of MIA performing last night at the Grammy's. WOW. There are no words!

5. I did not contemplate bringing Avery out into the WORLD to go to some small childrens shops to find a dress for her photo session this weekend. (Don't worry, I quickly changed my mind and texted my babysitter :) )

Now its your turn to tell me some things that you did not do this week!

Showin off her new clothes...

Since we're trapped in the house, I figured why not pretend we're going somewhere? So for two days I dressed Avery up in some of her cute new clothes and just snapped away...

I am really starting to think that window behind Avery could be really dangerous...does anyone else agree...any suggestions on how to block it?

Avery doing her favorite thing....begging to get out of her brand new, super cool ball pit!

All smiles in a new outfit...an adorable dress from Bonnie (oh yes, and of course, her Squeakies!)

I love this adorable outfit from Chastity

When I put this on her Charlie said "You're making her wear high-waters today?" Umm no idiot, ever heard of capris??? Silly men!

Does this child love Baby Einstein or what???
Any guesses on how long I have before the crystal on this shelf is her favorite toy?
So far she has no interest in it!

In other news, we are going for some professional pics - by Jami of course - next Saturday and I can't wait!

LOOK WHO'S CRUISING!

Birthday pics...as promised!

Well, as you will see these pics are in no particular order but i'm not about to drag and drop 50 pics to get them organized, although it would make me happy, but who has time for that?

A gift from nonna and poppa...a lion she can push or ride!

A gift from me and Charlie....a soft 'playpen' filled with balls!

One of Avery's faves...a gift from Addy...the RazBerry (or as I would call - the CrackBerry teether!) This helped during those fussy moments at the party for sure!

Laugh and Learn purse from Benji at work..complete w/ lipstick, a mirror and bracelet! So cute!

Another one of her favorites...from Uncle Mark and Josh
Spin n' Learn top

A very special gift from granny (Charlie's mamaw) a silver necklace that she has had for years and passed down to her first great grand daughter - Avery!

Poppa helped out by catching all the action!

Nonna did a 'mini photo shoot' with Avery in her beautiful dress...a gift from Nicki

A princesses work is never done!

Always on the go!

What's a princess without pink sparkling slippers?

This was some trick they were talking about...if you lay down a pocket knife and a dollar, the boys always go for the knife and the girls for the dollar...of course, our princess knew exactly what she wanted!Thanks for all the help nonna & poppa!

She was covered in cake and a bit fussy so I figured - whats better than a bath - and a RazBerry of course!

Getting a little fussy...
...but kisses from daddy make everything better!

Time to make a wish!

Opening presents...

Her favorite lunch...chick fil a nuggets and fries!

Even Paps wore a pink princess party hat...gran gran (or as she now prefers - Gigi ) declined the hat - nothing comes between her and her hair-do!

Charlie and Avery with Mamaw (Charlie's mom)

Birthday kisses...

What a beautiful little 1 year old princess!