5 Months

Avaree is 5 months old. I thought it would be fun to compare all of her monthly pictures with George. I can't believe I've forgotten how little she was!

Stats:
Height 26 in
Weight 16 lbs
Head 44 cm

Stuck this pic in to show you how tall she is.
The last month has been so much fun! I hear it keeps getting better, I'm not sure if I can believe it because we are having such a blast! Avaree keeps doing such fun things every day.
New things this month: she is talking much more and making her consanents (no idea how to spell that!), she can pull her shoulders and head up, she rolls over occasionally. And a favorite is squealing. I attempted to add a video of Avaree squealing, but I can't figure out to add it. Any suggestions?

I never know if the things she is doing are typical or she is just amazing (which, of course, I think she is). I simply adore her. One of my favorite things that she does is when she is tired she loves to reach up and touch my face. I love it!

So, earlier in the month we gave her a haircut. Most everyone has heard this story. But, let's just say the haircut did not go well. And it is highly unlikely that I will be giving her a haircut in the near future or ever. Luckily darling hats are in season. So we stocked up and she has looked darling. Below is one a photo of one of her hats. I love this picture because I envision her saying "What you lookin' at?"

4 Months

"You lookin' at me?"

I see now what they mean when they say time goes so much faster when you have children. Avaree is already 4 months old.
Her Stats
Height: 24 1/2 in
Weight: 14.7 lbs
Head: 17 in



She is so fun, she laughs and talks all the time. Two of the funnest and cutest things that she has started doing is: making "ah" sounds when we sing to her and she growls at us (we growl at her all the time because she thinks it's funny).

She still hates tummy time, but she is getting stronger. She holds her head up really well all the rest of the time. We haven't mastered rolling over yet, but I figure she's an independent little soul so she will do it in her own time.

She loves standing up.


I never realized how much I would enjoy being a mother. There is nothing in the world like it. The feelings I have for her are indescribable.

Pumpkin Patch

We took Avaree to her first pumpkin patch. She fit right in. We found her a cute ghost onesie.

She loves hanging out with her Aunt Lindsey. We are trying to convince Lindsey to stay in CA and watch Avaree forever... See Lins how much fun you are having???

3 Months

Avaree is 3 months last Friday, so of course we took the monthly picture with George.

Stats at 3 months:
Weight: 13 lbs
Height: 24 in
She is smiling if you can't tell.

She has really developed this month. She is reaching for things, and most of the time she reaches her target. She smiles and talks all the time. Her favorite thing is when Dad or Mom stick out our tongue. She has started imitating what we do- like sticking out her tongue or raising eyebrows.
She is a tease, and sometimes it is hard to give her the bottle because she is smiling and wants to play.
She finally lifted her head higher when she is on her tummy. She hates tummy time still, but she is getting better.
The other day we were hiking and I looked over and caught her staring up at Mike. I thought it was the cutest thing ever!
Here is my little slobber monkey. She has darling chunky cheeks, and I call her chunkalicious.

She is currently working through an ugly bladder infection that earned her a trip to the ER at 1am. She is feeling better.

First Trip to the Ocean

Last weekend we took Avaree to Newport Beach for her first dip in the Ocean. I covered her from head-to-toe in sunblock and we were off. We didn't go swimming, we just dipped our toes in. Our trip didn't last long, because it was too bright for Avaree. None-the-less it was still fun.

Too bright for baby!
Gotta love the double chin!

2 Months!

Two Months Old

One Month Old

I got the great idea from some friends (thanks Jasmine and Janica) to take a picture every month with Avaree with a stuffed animal to show her progression. We always meant to get a better stuffed animal but didn't, so it's Curious George.

Avaree is two months old today. She weighs over 11 lbs and is about 22 1/2 inches (I think). We are so happy to have her weight right where it is supposed to be. I didn't realize how small she was at one month, but looking at these pictures she was as thin as George!

I am thankful that she has survived and been so patient with Mike and me figuring what exactly it means to be a parent. She is such a great baby, she smiles all the time and really doesn't cry very often. I now understand why babies are called 'Bundles of Joy" because joy is the only word to describe what I feel.

Here a few Avaree pics.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Two Blog Entries in One

Because I haven't written for awhile I'm compiling 2 entries into one big one. Hopefully I've included enough photos to keep this blog from being boring.

We just finished up another McBride Family Reunion in Utah. We love family reunions because they are chaotic, energetic and fun. However, we are always glad to get home to our own beds.
We did a lot of fun touristy things we don't usually do in Utah, such as visit the state capitol, children's museum, Clark Planetarium, and more. Below is Mike and some of the nephews at the capitol.
I didn't get as many pictures of the family as I thought I did. But we got a few fun ones of the babies.
Avaree and her cousin Isaac were born on the same day. Isaac was born early in the morning in Colorado and Avaree at the end of the day in Cali. Isaac was born a week or so late and Avaree was born 2 weeks early.
We took these pictures to compare the size difference. Isaac is so cute, he already smiles and talks to everyone. Yes, he is hitting my baby's face in this photo. We wanted to include their cousin Allyson, who was born the week of Avaree's real due date, but they had to head home to Wyoming so we missed the third comparison. Avaree is closer in size and development to Allyson.
Here are Avaree and Allyson napping on Grandma's bed. Note how well Avaree takes her naps.

While in Utah we had the baby blessings for Avaree and Isaac. It turned out so great, we had all of my family and a lot of Mike's family. Mike gave Avaree an amazing blessing. She looked so darling!


Ah, I do have a picture of the 3 baby cousins together. This is me, Avaree, Robyn, Isaac, Summer and Allyson.

We had a lot of fun and were glad to see Mike's family. We got a family picture and it wasn't until today that I realized that there are 4 generations of Peterson's in this photo.

*******

We went up to Logan for a day to see Mike's mom and Mike's dad and his wife.
Personally think it's a good look for Hans. Jason was the hairstylist.
Heidi was the recipient of her own lovely hairstyle, courtesy of her girls.

Grandpa Patch and Lauren loved having their red-headed grandbaby.

Thanks for another fun trip!

Happy Birthday, to the One I love

Today is Mike's birthday, another year older and wiser. Mike is truly my favorite person in the whole world (Avaree is a very close second). I am so grateful to have such an amazing person for my husband, he is so thoughtful and kind. He makes me laugh all the time, and sometimes I don't think he knows how funny he is. I am so lucky to have him!

He is always thinking of me, and I know I don't deserve him. Watching him with Avaree only further cements in my mind how truly wonderful he is. He gets up at night to rock her to sleep, so that I can go back to bed after she has eaten. He now has to get up and feed her supplements, since I am not supposed to, and he does it without complaining.

I love you, Mike! Thank you for everthing!

One Month Old

I can scarcely believe it, but Avaree has survived to her one month mark. We have had quite the month because we have struggled getting her weight up and just discovered that it is because I had a low food supply for her. This has been a rollercoaster for me, because it is really tough to feel like I can't supply. We are now supplementing and getting some weight on those darling little bones.

Aside from the weight drama, Avaree is such a great baby, she sleeps most of the night only waking twice. She loves to lay and just stare and look at everything. We still can't get over her red hair.

We had her pictures taken at Sears. The photographer managed to capture some great shots of her. Which is impressive since most of the time she looked like the photo below.
One of my favorite photos.