Avery's Baptism

On Sunday, December 5th, Avery Patricia was baptised at St Edwards Catholic Church where Alex and I were married. We were touched by how many of our family and friends (we had the largest group at the church, took up 5 pews!!) drove from near and far to attend the ceremony and to help us celebrate.
The ceremony was lovely and fairly quick, as Avery was baptised with 8 other children. We were last to go to the font, and she was such a patient and sweet girl (not surprisingly) while she was passed around. Mom and Dad were a little less patient, taking pictures and uploading them to Facebook during the ceremony, haha! She looked absolutely delicious in her gown that we bought in San Juan a few days before (had to make sure she fit into it!) and she was silent when the water was being poured on her head, she even smiled at the priest the third and final pour! The aromatic oil they poured on her head made her hair stick up, and invited everyone to give her noggin a sniff.
The group went back to Ken and Solange's house for snacks and drinks, and to shower Avery with kisses and generous gifts. All in all it was a very memorable day, and Alex and I could not be more grateful for the people in our lives that love Avery as much as we do. She is fortunate to be raised amongst so much love and support.
Thank you ALL!!! As always, enjoy the pictures :)

Getting dressed (at the very last minute to keep the dress white!)

This was a 2 person job

Our Holy Cupcake, haha

Passed out under her name

Grammy Candy and Godfather Corey

Grammy Solange

Godmother Jessalyn and Godfather Corey

Getting (warm) water poured on her head

Oil

Made her hair stick up like a mohawk!

Godparents Corey and Jessalyn, Alex, Avery and I and the priest

Outfit change at home

Jess and Avery

Lauren, Avery and Corey

Tuckered out, what a day!

Avery is 5 months!

Avery is growing and developing new skills every day.  It is getting hard to remember what it was like before she first joined our family 5 months ago. She is wearing size 3 diapers, 6 month clothing and must weigh at least 18 pounds! She is out-growing clothes and toys faster than we can replace them, but I enjoy shopping with her so it is more a pleasure than a problem.
She has been eating rice cereal at dinner time for a few weeks now, and we recently started replacing a late morning meal with the stuff as well. Avery seems to be teething (everything goes into her mouth, drooling uncontrollably) but nothing has broken through yet (thank goodness! I hope those pearly whites wait a few more months until we wean from nursing!)
She is rolling over from her tummy to her back easily now, and can roll the other way when she is motivated. She can sit up on her own with a little support and reaches for toys in front of her. She sits in the "big girl" side of her bath tub (not reclined) and plays with bath toys. She really enjoys checking things out and LOVES other kids and dogs.
Avery continues to be an absolute joy in our lives and we are especially excited for sharing this holiday season with our little girl.
Enjoy the pictures!
(for a kick, look back to my post on August 2 when she was 1 month old!)

Denim diapers!

The infamous sign...

Happy, drooly girl

Sitting up on her own (kind of)

Then my sign becomes lunch

Super cute outfit from Tio Chuca and Tia Fly

Avery shares her toys with Roo

Tuckered out after the shoot

(check out the bite marks in my sign! It's like a shark got to it, haha!

Imagine when there are teeth in that mouth, yikes!)

Avery's First Thanksgiving

I have always loved the holiday season, but this year I am especially excited to share our traditions with Avery and also make new ones that our little family will observe each year.
We started out the weekend with a 5K Turkey Trot in Oceanside on Thursday. It was a lot of fun and money was raised for local schools.
For as long as I can remember, we have been going to my Oma's for Thanksgiving dinner. There is always more delicious food than we know what to do with and the usual arguing over who gets the last of the famous Oma Salad. Aunt Kathy made a super yummy pumpkin cheesecake in addition to her usual apple and pumpkin pies. All were a hit!
After dinner, Alex, Avery, my mom and I head up to Pat and Al's cabin in Lake Arrowhead to have dessert and spend the weekend with the Klingensmith's. Driving up the mountain this year was bittersweet. Alex and I hadn't been up to the cabin since last New Years Eve when our puggle, Bailey, died tragically on New Years Day. I was not looking forward to revisiting the terrible events of that day, but I was equally excited to introduce Avery to the mountain getaway that we previously enjoyed so much. It ended up being really nice to visit and think of Bailey again, and I have found that finally, nearly a year later, my memories of him are almost always of the happy and fun times we spent with him in his 2 1/2 years of life. I love you, Glers, and I always will. The slower pace of mountain life is a great way to relax before the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season begins!
Enjoy the pictures of Avery's first Thanksgiving!

Avery and I at the Turkey Trot

Winners!

Avery LOVED playing peek-a-boo

with her second cousin, Hailey...

And getting hugs from Oma!

Family picture attempt, not so good

Uncle Corey, Grandpa John and the Klingensmiths

Tough to get everyone looking and smiling at the same time!

Sunset pictures

Alex and Avery and I went on a date recently to the Cannery in Newport where Alex and I had one of our first memorable dates 5 1/2 years ago. We took the boat over to the restaurant for a little sunset cruise and Avery fell asleep just as we got there, allowing Alex and I to have a much-needed romantic evening together. It was a gorgeous night and we got a few great pictures. We also headed down to our local beach in Carlsbad another night to watch the sunset and got some great shots of Avery.  Enjoy!



Enjoying the sunset

Getting pretty with mommy

Posing with Captain Daddy

Helping Daddy drive...with her feet

Alex and his girl at Ponto

Laughing ladies!

Kisses

Avery is 4 months old!

On November 2, 2010, after performing my civic duty and voting in the mid-term election, Avery and I had our 4 month photo shoot! This month I decided that she has so many cute clothes and she is growing SO FAST (16 lbs, 8 oz 96th percentile; 25.6 inches long 92nd percentile!!), that I better dress her up in a few especially cute outfits and start snapping away! Avery is getting very good at grabbing things and placing them into her mouth, including her hands, my hair, her toys and Roo's ears if he is silly enough to get close, as well as the "I Am 4 Months" sign that I made. Scrapbook paper and stickers, YUM!  Enjoy the pictures!

Avery loves watching sports, especially the Chargers (they beat the Titans at home this day, woohoo!!)

Looking especially precious in her pink overalls and striped tights

Cute sweater dress from Grammy Solange

Before she made the sign her lunch...

Looking super cute in a sweater vest and a denim skirt!

Sweet face

She is always SO smiley when she wakes up from her nap, love it

Mommy had a funny idea...

Where's Avery??

Such a cutie

Tummy time!

Posing for momma

Avery's 1st Halloween

The cuteness on October 31st this year was almost too much for us to handle! Our sweet little teddy bear was beyond adorable and did a great job tolerating the hat part of her costume that would regularly cover up her face.  We attended a neighborhood party where of all the little kids in attendance, our little one was one of 3 Avery's! One was about a year and a half old and looked a lot like our Avery, and was running all around.  It was a glimpse of our future, and I for one cannot wait! We also went to our friends the Annaloro's neighborhood to trick or treat, and Avery went up to a few houses (in mom or dad's arms, of course) and got a pretty sizeable candy stash before falling asleep. All in all, it was a good time and we can't wait until next Halloween!  Enjoy the pictures!

Avery the Adorable Teddy Bear!

Giggling with Grammy

Franken-Roo!

Two Tiggers

Dave with little Gavin the Whale

Isabella the Lion pushing Wyatt the Whale

Sophia, Stella, Arielle and Avery are ready to trick or treat!