Bubbie and Grandpa Visit

Your Bubbie and Grandpa decided to visit for a weekend.  Since it was Martin Luther King weekend they drove down to Chicago on Friday night and stayed through Monday.  They hadn't seen you since Thanksgiving and were just dying to see how much you'd grown since then, which is a lot.  So many changes in two and a half months.

Since they arrived late Friday night we didn't see them till Saturday morning.  We headed over to our favorite breakfast spot Frances diner and enjoyed a yummy brunch together.  After that we came back to the house and they spent some quality time with you.

Playtime with Bubbie

Snuggles with Grandpa

playing with your polar bear

Instead of going out for dinner we decided to order take out and have Del Seoul for dinner and then ofcourse we can't have Bubbie in town and not have cupcakes for dessert so Daddy went to get his favorite - Sweet Mandy B's. 

We also started to bring out some new items that we've been storing till you were a little older.  We started using your ABC mat, which has great traction on it and you showed us that you are almost ready to start crawling.

Reaching on your ABC Mat

We also brought out your jumpy seat and you love it.  As soon as you figured out that you can bounce you were totally entertained.  

Bouncing away

After your Bubbie and Grandpa left Daddy and Mommy got ready for mommy's business trip so we spent the whole day together getting in as much snuggle time as possible. 

giggles with Daddy

so sad to have to leave you

It is so difficult for mommy to have to travel and be gone from you especially when it's four whole days.  The good news is that Rachel and Daddy send lots of pictures while I'm gone and we usually facetime a couple times a day so that you can see my face and hear my voice.  I can't imagine not having the ability to see you every day - thank goodness for technology.  A couple photos from the week. 

Mommy couldn't get home fast enough and you were so happy to see me.  We enjoyed some quality time together.  You love looking at yourself on mommy's phone and took your very first selfie all on your own.  

Avery selfie

Five Months

Avery Nell is five months old!!! What a big girl.  While I'm so excited to watch her grow it's also sad at how quickly it's all going by.  

Five Months Old

Monthly Brisco and Avery pic

At five months Aver's routine has changed quite a bit.  The start of the adjustment really began over Chritsmas and continued while we were in Florida which caused a lot of anxiety for Mommy trying to figure out why you just wouldn't nap - but thanks to Nana and her wisdom we got through it and realized that you just need more awake time.  You're a big girl and are ahead of the game with development, mommy needs to start reading a few months ahead with all her books so she's not so stunned with your routine changes :)

So much has changed in a short 30 days.  Avery can sit up on her own for short periods of time... we make sure there's lots of padding around in case she leans a little to far to the side.  She's laughing all the time which melts our hearts because it is just the sweetest sound, and has found her voice reaching new octaves.  She has started to sleep on her tummy regularly and in fact usually has a better nights sleep when she does.  She is still sleeping through the night 11-12 hours (WE ARE SO LUCKY). 

Peanut's two bottom teeth have started to come in!! Mommy noticed them on January 13th, one day before you turned five months. With those teeth came a nasty diaper rash.  Thanks to mommy's mommy text chain, the girls assured me that it would go away quickly and that teething can cause rashes.  With a  lot of desitin and a few hours of diaper free time (and some accidental pee's) that diaper rash was gone in two days.  Much to our persistence of ointment. Colleen suggested triple paste which we couldn't get at Walgreens so mommy made sure to order it from Diapers.com so it will be here for the next time.  

Naked Baby Time

Another big change that we've made is that we've started to supplement breastmilk with formula.  As my supply starts to wind down, we want to make sure that you continue to have as much breastmilk as possible and for as long as possible.  I still pump 7 times a day (crazy I know, I'm sure i'll remind you when you're much older) but barely get enough for your daily intake.  The formula really takes the pressure off and you had no reaction when we introduced it on January 9th.  

Your typical Day at Five Months Old
7-7:30am wake up (we try to stick as close to 7am as possible but some days we sleep in ourselves)
- mommy nurses you for your first meal of the day (and then pumps to keep that supply up)
- waketime now includes snuggles in bed with Mommy, Daddy and Brisco - you play with your soft book and lean on the boppy still, you also sing to us and giggle a lot
- after snuggles and light playtime we get up change your diaper and wind down for your first nap of the day. Your usually awake for about two hours before you go down
9am - down for a nap
9:45-10am - That's right you only nap for 45 minutes usually
- time to eat again (you're still on a three hour schedule which will begin to change between 5-6 months)
- we usually let you hang out in your crib and entertain yourself for a little while 
- you eat about 6oz from a bottle which we now mix in 2oz of formula 
10:15-12pm we get dressed, play on our mat - have tummy time, sit up, play with a variety of our toys
12pm - down for your next nap we should really call them catnaps
1pm - Awake and ready to eat again, another 6oz
1:15-3pm - lots of playtime, maybe a walk with Brisco if it's warm enough (we'll be starting to learn baby sign language in a about a month)
3pm-4/4:30pm - Nap time, sometimes you take a little bit longer of a snooze, as you get older we are going to try and stretch your awake time so that your naps get a little bit longer.
4:30pm - another 6oz 
- wake time till bedtime.  At this time mommy gets home from work around 5:30pm, give lots of snuggles. 
- then we facetime with Daddy if he's traveling or Nana and Papa
6:15pm we begin our nighttime routine, starting with swing time to mellow you out
6:45pm we get our bath ready, enjoy tub time, lotion up, get in our pj's and by 7pm we are ready to eat our bedtime feeding which is usually 9-11oz ( A LOT) but it keeps you happy through the whole night.
7:30pm - you're sound asleep in your crib. 

New Year's Eve in Florida

We decided to take advantage of Nana and Papa's new house this year and got outta dodge and bad weather on December 27th and headed down to Bonita Springs, FL for a week of fun in the Sun.  This is Avery's second time flying and after our experience of going to California we hoped you would be as much of an angel this time, and you were. 

The perfect little traveler - you slept! 

We were so lucky while we were there, it was 80 and sunny pretty much every day.  We started our trip by going to breakfast at the Skillet which is Nana and Papa's favorite breakfast spot. 

Papa, Daddy and Avery

The house from the canal

The pool

The view from the roof deck

 Nana and I were so excited to be in warm weather and have some girl time, our first day there we went out and did a little shopping. 

Nana and Mommy taking a cruise in Papa's new convertible

We couldn't wait to get you in a swimsuit and get you in the pool.  I hoped that you would enjoy it as much as you enjoy taking baths at home.  We suited up and headed into the spa since it was easier to heat up for you so you were in freezing cold water.  No surprise you LOVED the pool.

Avery and Mommy pre swim

Avery swimming with Daddy

Avery and Daddy

Pooltime

The doggies on the dock

Tuesday night Mommy and Daddy were able to get out and about and have a date night.  Nana and Papa babysat for us while we went out to Angelina's  for dinner it was amazing.  We had a great time and tried to enjoy an adult moment.  After dinner we had Lauren, Aaron, Kristen and Adam Schaechterle over to the house for a drink.  We forget that everything closes pretty early down in Florida.  Both of the ladies are expecting and it was so fun to have mommy chit chat. 

Nana and Papa's area has their own private beach which was perfect for us.  There's no more traveling light so we packed up what felt like the entire house and headed out to the beach.  We had towels, an umbrella to protect your beautiful fair skin, lots of sunscreen, hats, camera's, waters, the bjorn, phones - you name it we had it. We were so excited to get your little feet in the sand and feel the water wash up under your toes.  

Enjoying sitting with Mommy

First steps in the sand

Fun family time together

You loved every minute

Getting some shade

A walk along the beach

Wednesday was New Years Eve and Nana and Papa planned a wonderful night out for us.  Even though it was an early night so that we could have you with us we had a wonderful time.  We went to the Bay House and it was fantastic.  Our server was wonderful, we enjoyed a delicious few bottles of Pinot Noir had wonderful appetizers and dinner and the dessert was the most unique I've had in a while.  You were a perfect new years angel and we happy as can be.  When the food arrived you started to get a little sleepy so we let you take a snooze while we finished up and then just as we ordered dessert you perked back up. 

Avery, Daddy, Mommy, Nana and Papa

You partied a little to hard so you took a snooze

Mommies yummy dessert

Mommy and Avery at dinner

Since it was Mommy and Daddy's first time in Bonita Springs we thought it would be fun to get out and experience the town. On Thursday we headed to the Naples Zoo.  It was such a fun day, we got to see so many great animals and also were able to say hello to our great friends Lorin, Aaron, Addison and baby boy Schaechterle.  

Papa, Avery and Mommy at the Giraffe feeding area

Addy, Lorin, Aaron, Daddy, Mommy and Avery 

Addy and Avery holding hands - so cute

Mommy, Avery and Nana wanted to take advantage of the weather and went on great walks every day

Hanging by the pool after a nice walk

Nana and Avery in the pool

Out and about shopping with the whole family

Giggles with Daddy

Playing with Papa pulling off his glasses

Daddy's Girl

Mommy, Nana, Avery, Daddy and Papa at our last dinner

It was hard to leave Nana and Papa and the warm weather behind and head back home.  We had a wonderful time and had a safe journey home with Avery and Brisco.  They were the perfect travel companions although i'm not sure we are in any rush to travel with Brisco and Avery again. 

Happy Girl, Home Sweet Home