Little Miss Fashonista

So I happened upon a blog that the mom posts all of the cute outfits her daughter wears and then lists the sources for the clothing. That would be so fun! I don't know about all of you but I would be entertained. Ryan gets bugged sometimes that I will make sure Avella's wardrobe is perfectly coordinated and I sometimes put on hold what I need. It's much easier shopping for an adorable baby girl though. If it's in her size it will fit. Everything fits on her chubby thighs. ;) And all of you who have girls know how much fun it is to accessorize - especially when you get to make the accessories. So without further ado here are some fashion shots of the miss.

headband - my creation, onsie - Baby Gap

Trevan was making her smile for this one. She is so entertained by him.

hat, onsie, skirt, and tights - Baby Gap

hat & outfit - Gymboree, blanket - Dwell Studio from Target

This time it's her dad making her smile. I love that she scrunches her nose!

headband - my creation, jacket, dress, tights, and shoes - Baby Gap

Milk...

* Warning - Some of the images and subject matter contained in this post may be disturbing to some viewers. (Andrew and Taylor that's you guys, even though you probably aren't reading my blog anymore...) Consider yourselves warned. ;)

I promised my sisters that I would post a picture of the ridiculous amount of breast milk I have in my deep freezer. So here it is.

When we brought Avella home from the hospital we had 257 bottles of milk. That ended up being over 5 gallons! I feel like I should start mooing just writing about this. Seriously! It has been nice to be able to give her a bottle if we are out, and I have been mixing it with her cereal instead of using water. We still have barely put a dent in it. I wish I could donate it. It's kind of like giving blood though, there is a screening process and then you are able to donate. Who knows, maybe we will use more than we think.

Catching up with Avella

Just a warning, the next few posts will be mostly pictures.

I finally got what I needed out of the garage to be able to upload

pictures and update this blog. I am trying to catch up!

Avella's first swimming adventure. She loves to swim.

One more picture of the boys just adoring their sister.

Usually Oreo sleeps on my head.

I guess this is his way of welcoming Avella into the family.

I love this picture of Ryan and Avella playing.

My mom used to tell me that when I was a baby people would always say how big my eyes were. I never understood it, my eyes aren't really big. I get it now seeing Avella. I don't think she has big eyes, she just opens them so big that she looks bug-eyed.

Ethan and Trevan tucked her into Trevan's bed.

I was surprised she fell asleep quickly.

Pictures are always easier to get when she is sleeping.

I still can't believe how blue her eyes are.

I'm glad someone has Ryan's blue eyes.

Such a pretty smile!

Avella gets so mad when we sit down to eat and she can't.

I finally gave in and have started feeding her rice cereal. Needless to say, she loves it.

It's so rare that I am in any pictures. I am happy to have one with the Miss.

We call her Miss a lot. So much for no nicknames. :)

A little info...

At her six month appointment she weighed 11 lbs 13 oz.

She is going up in the percentiles, slowly. We are happy for any progress.

She rolls all over the place. (It's time to get the baby gate back up!)

She loves to be tossed in the air. She thinks it's the funniest thing.

Sometimes she can stand up while holding onto the edge of something (not for very long though).

As I mentioned before, she loves to go swimming or play in the water. We have been to a few splash parks and she loves them!

She is still wearing 0-3 month clothing. I think it will be a few more weeks before she can wear 3-6 month. It has been fun to have a baby stay little for so long.

Look at her pictures of when we first brought her home and compare them to now. She has filled out so much! Ryan and I were comparing them yesterday, and we could hardly believe how skinny she was. I was trying to find a picture that shows off her chubby little legs, but I couldn't find one. I will try to post one so you can compare. It's crazy. She has grown so much!

4 1/2 Months Later

Ethan and his cousin at my sister's wedding.

The fabrics for Avella's room.

Ethan and Trevan insisted on sleeping in boxes. They don't look very comfy to me, but they loved it. I think boxes are my boys favorite toys. Ethan already asked me if he could have all of the boxes from our hardwood to make a fort.

Trevan just adores his sister. And yes, I know this picture is old.

We are finishing our basement right now and doing renovations to the main floor. I went to upload new pictures tonight and I realized I couldn't because my desk is partially buried in the garage. I had promised my mom (for like the third time) that I would do a new post. So here you go mom. :)

Avella is now 4 1/2 months old.

She weighs 10 pounds 4 ounces. She has officially tripled her birth weight! It's crazy to picture her one third of her size. She no longer has to have a bottle with the Neosure added to it anymore. She is still on iron, vitamin drops, and Prevacid. It does seem like she has been less spitty lately. Here's to hoping it lasts.

She rolled over today for the first time from her tummy to her back. I was so excited I was clapping and cheering. She looked at me like I was crazy.

Her eyelashes are starting to grow in long and dark.

I think her cheeks are chubbier than ever. Seriously. I promise I will post new pictures!

She is the happiest baby I've ever met. My boys were both mellow calm babies, but she is just so happy all of the time. I think she had such a hard start in life that now she is just so happy to be with her family all of the time. And so are we.

Her pediatrician visit last week went well. Her Dr. was so impressed with how she was interacting with him. She was making eye contact and smiling and cooing. He said that was impressive for a 4 month old, and especially for a preemie 4 month old. Her fine motor skills are great too. She loves to grab her toys, clothes, and blankets - pretty much anything she can get her hands on. And of course she loves to chew on them.

Her eyes are still blue... for now. We'll see. I was sure Trevan's would stay blue. Now they're brown.

Well Mom, I hope this random post is enough to make you want to come visit. ;) I love you. :)

3 Months Later

Ethan and Trevan snuck out of bed one night to make us this special dinner. The note said "To Mom and Dad - Open paper". Inside it said "We love you Mom and Dad!" The note in front of the ice cream said "To Mom - Eat after food - From Ethan and Trevan". I teased them the next morning that I ate my ice cream before the food and I got in trouble with Trevan.

I can't believe I have two little men. They look so grown up in their suits. Can't you see them as future missionaries? They just need little name tags.

They wanted to do their Yoda pose. They crack me up.

Ethan was able to buy a jumprope at school for super cheap. I should have known it wouldn't be used the way it was intended to be most of the time. They also tried to use it as an Indiana Jones whip. And yes, I did put a stop to that.

She was still sick in this picture. :(

Avella is three months old today. I think it has felt like the longest three months of our lives. :)

She was sick this weekend, and yes I was so nervous. I didn't go to sleep Saturday night until three in the morning because I was so worried. She had a horrible barky cough, congestion, a fever, and she was achy. Her breathing sounded awful. I was reassured when Ryan gave her a blessing on Sunday and when we went to the doctor on Monday. They checked her oxygen levels and they were 100%. I was happy to hear it since that had been my biggest concern. She started doing better yesterday, and today she has been her normal smiley self.

She now weighs... (Are you ready for it?) 7 pounds 14 ounces! It is amazing to see how much she has grown. She has being cooing and smiling at us for the last month. She is such a happy baby. She loves to talk to Trevan, probably because he is always right in her face. Ethan told me he can't wait until she can crawl and walk. I think he might change his mind once she is getting into his Legos and Bakugans. :)

Home At Last

... and a post at last. Hopefully lots of pictures will make up for my lack of posts. :)

We "roomed in" with Avella right before we took her home. We had to stay for 12 hours with her still hooked up to all of the monitors. We couldn't see the screen, the nurses watched it in the nursery. It was so weird not hearing constant beeping. And if you are thinking the room looks familiar... You are right! They put us in the same room that I was in for the two weeks before I had her. I just about had an anxiety attack when I walked back in that room. It brought back all of the feelings I had there, mainly the day I had her, it was a scary moment. I would be fine if I never walked in there again. :)

She weighed 5 pounds 3 ounces when we left.

Her first picture with no wires or tubes!

She is finally starting to look and act like a newborn. We have entered a whole new phase and it is so fun!

Avella came home on March 13th! We are so excited to finally be home together as a family. Ethan and Trevan LOVE their baby sister. I thought the excitement would wear off after a while, but she is still the most exciting thing in the house.

The night we brought her home the boys slept by her bassinet up in our room. Ethan woke me up in the middle of the night in between her feedings and said, "Mom Avella has a dirty diaper she needs it changed." He also woke up and helped me with each of her feedings. It was so sweet. Monday he told me, "Mom, if a rock was going to fall and crush Avella, I would save her and I would die." I could have cried. It was sweet to see him express how much he loved her. Trevan heard Ethan say that, and the next day he told me the same thing. Cute boys.

Trevan kept bringing blankets to whoever was holding her Sunday night saying, "She's cold, she needs another blanket." And if he noticed it wasn't on her a while later he would insist she was cold and needed another one. The first thing Trevan does when he wakes up is say hello to Avella. He loves to touch her cheeks and he says they are "so cute". If only he realized he has those same adorable cheeks.

It is so fun to see how much they love and adore her. I'm happy she has two brothers who will always be looking out for her.

She came home needing oxygen when she ate. She is now totally off of oxygen and doing well. At her doctors appointment on March 23rd she weighed 5 pounds 10 ounces. She gained 7 ounces in one week which is pretty impressive.

When we brought her home it felt like a normal birth would have felt. It is like starting over and it's as if we just had her. My body was finally to the point that it felt about what it would have felt like had I just had a baby. And we had to get used to the schedule Avella wanted to be on which meant we were up a lot at night just like any normal birth when you first bring baby home. And we are loving every second of it. It is so nice to feel like things are finally back to normal. I love being home and not going to the hospital every day. I had been there every day from January 21st until we brought her home on the March 13th. People have asked if I'm going crazy being stuck at home. No, I love that I can't go anywhere and I get to be with my family all day. :)

It is crazy to think that today was my due date and in four days she will be two months old. The weirdest thing is holding her and trying to imagine her still in my tummy. I guess I should be grateful my face and ankles never got chubby. I suppose there were good things that came out of this. :)