Just a few more great pics, courtesy of Elissa & Jon.
I absolutely love this one of Jacqui and Avery. Hopefully they will be lifelong friends like their moms.
Jon, Elissa, Jacqui & Ryan (who is now walking!)
A nice pic of Grandma, Grandpop, & Ryan.
Just wanted to add a few thoughts to Cheryl's great post below. While it was definitely tough dealing with AJ's first stomach bug, she really was a trooper throughout, and while she was fussy and quick to tire, she really took it all in stride. Here she is conked out on the bed.
And here she is a few days later on down the road to recovery.
As Cheryl wrote, the Hanukkah party was a ton of fun. Kenny and Peggy threw a great party. Here's Doctor Latka hard at work before lunch.
Avery was so excited upon arrival at the Hanukkah party, we never got her to go down for a nap, so it was a fun but slightly groggy day for her. She was thoroughly spoiled by her grandparents, aunts and uncles, and even got to take her pick of some great hand-me-down toys from her cousins Abby, Matthew & Aidan. The funny thing, though, was that despite all the exciting new toys, AJ was equally as excited by the boxes, cards, and wrappers all the new stuff came in.
What a cool card!
I was knocked out with a stomach flu last Saturday night and Avery started vomiting Sunday morning also with the stomach flu. Scott was a trooper taking care of us the rest of the weekend. It took Avery all week to recover and when we thought she was finally in the clear, she got a rash all over her body to signify the end of the virus. Luckily for Avery the end of virus also coincided with the beginning of Hanukkah and a party at Uncle Ken and Aunt Peggy's house. Avery got lots and lots of presents for her first Hanukkah and now our apartment is overrun with baby stuff (there's no hiding the toys anymore, there's just too many). In other news, Avery is cruising around on furniture and standing up as long as there's something to hold onto. She also has a 5th tooth coming in and can take a big bite out of whatever food I offer her.
Avery has turned into such a mobile, curious little girl. She loves exploring every inch of the apartment either by crawling around, or by pulling herself up into a standing position (although she's not as good about sitting back down).
Avery's getting so big, that for the last 2 weeks I have been bathing her in an inflatable tub in the real bathtub, instead of in a bath chair in the kitchen sink. She was skeptical at first, but has really begun enjoying having so much room to splash around.
She's also got two top teeth coming in, making a total of four cute little teeth. For a couple days this week, she had tons of fun sticking her tongue out at us while we did the same back to her. It was fun for us also to see how she is getting better at mimicking our actions.
Here's a pic of the little sweetie getting into some markers.
Usually when she's crawling around, Avery is talking loudly and making all kinds of silly sounds.
Her new habit is to spend a good amount of every meal taking one piece of food at a time and dropping it on the floor. It drives us crazy, but Monty loves it, and has enjoyed a good amount of turkey meatballs, avocado, and baked chicken lately.
AJ has also been using a much more precise grip to turn pages in her books. She loves pulling her books off of the shelves. She is particularly fond of turning & tearing the pages of paperback books.
The other terrific thing this week has been Avery's reaction to the intro to Jack's Big Music Show. She really dances along to it, feet kicking out, arms flapping up and down like a bird. It's so funny. We'll try to get a video up soon.
Finally, a couple great pics of Cheryl & Avery.
Boy did Avery have fun at Grandma and Grandpop's house. We slept over Thursday night after a big turkey feast (see below Grandma cooking her bird). Avery had tons of fun playing in the basement with all new toys and she went to a playground on Friday for some fun with Grandpop and Dada.
Here's a pic of Avery's new furry hat for winter.
As usual, she looks thrilled with the hat fashion show.
A happy girl reading in the tub!
Avery voted on election day at a 'kids' voting booth. She threw McCain on the floor and grabbed Obama, crumpled him in a ball and tried to shove him in her mouth! Obviously the signs of picking a winner! Yay Avery! It was a great bday and one that none of us will ever forget!
Avery voting with her crumpled ballot.
This is what happens when Avery finds her stash of diapers.
