Fish Lake

I just found this saved post. For some reason I forgot to actually post it...

We went to Fish Lake this summer with Ryan's family.

It was fun and Avella actually did really well.

Proud boy. :)

Can you spot the deer in the background?

Ethan and Trevan with their cousin. He is doing his 'cool guy' face. Hilarious!

We had to wash the boys feet every night before bed. So gross!

Lots of fun places to climb on our hike. Ethan had no fear.

He wanted to go higher each time.

Happenings

Stats:

10/23 - Avella sat herself up. She could sit up before this, but only if we sat her up.

11/2 - I noticed Avella had a tooth. Seriously?! Who knows when it really came in.

About this time she started standing herself up by holding on to furniture.

She also gets in the crawling position, pushes her bum up in the air,

puts her feet flat on the floor, and tries to stand up that way. She is determined

to walk like the rest of us.

11/5 - Avella turned nine months old. I know, I can't believe it either.

11/6 - Avella (finally) got blessed. I will post pictures of that separately.

Her doctor appointment is tomorrow. I am so curious to know how much she weighs... She is in 3-6 month clothing right now. It is so funny to see this itty bitty thing crawling, sitting, and standing up. She looks too tiny to be able too. I'm sure once she starts walking it will look even funnier.

When Ethan was walking and talking in complete sentences people would always be amazed and ask me how old he was. He looked too little. He was small for his age, and the average baby his age was still using only a few words together. It's interesting to see what each child excels at. They are all so different!

I walked in the living room to check on her, and she had sat herself up.

As you can see she is pretty pleased with herself.

Ethan at his Halloween program at school. He was singing the

songs at home for weeks beforehand. I think he was more excited to do this

program than he was to do the Christmas one last year.

In case you can't tell... Ethan is Obi Wan Kenobi (my Mom whipped up his awesome outfit when she came to help after Avella was born), Trevan is a skeleton pirate,

and Avella is a ladybug. It was such nice weather this year they got to trick or treat

without wearing all of their winter gear. I think that is why they got so much

candy this year - they were able to go to so many more houses.

Trevan and Avella love playing together. When I tell her it is time to go

pick up Trevan from school she gets excited and looks around for him.

I thought as she got older she would get bugged sometimes that he is constantly

in her face and giving her loves, but she eats it up.

Today they got to dress up as their favorite hero. Trevan knew right away

he wanted to be an 'army guy'. Ethan wasn't going to dress up until he found out

Trevan got to wear uncle Andrew's real army hat, he quickly changed his mind after that.

Catching up with the boys...

Hopefully this post will make up for most of the other posts being mostly about Avella. :)

I think if we had something like this out back my boys would be in heaven. Being able to build with huge objects... what boy wouldn't love it?

Ethan's first day of school.

He was excited, he just likes to be very early to things and he didn't want my taking pictures to interfere with that.

Trevan could barely stand starting school a week later than Ethan. On Ethan's first day of school he made me take a picture of him with his backpack on too. He was so excited when it was finally his turn.

Trevan helped me make freezer meals. He wants to be a chef when he grows up, so I try to include him when I cook. He loves it.

Ethan is having a Man vs. Wild moment here. He has asked me for months if he can try and make a fire in the backyard. I always tell him yes, but he has to start it using only sticks. (What? That's the way Bear Grylls does it.)

So all summer he has tried. Finally he asked Ryan if he could do it using the Bear Grylls knife we got him for Father's Day. We gave in and let him make a (very small) fire. He is quite the expert teepee maker (you know how you put the wood in a teepee to let the air feed the fire? I am not a Boy Scout and had never learned to make a fire that way.).

Ethan also got a pocket knife this summer at Woodbadge. He is very good with the safety rules, and he has carved quite a few sticks into points. He cannot wait to go into Scouts.

Ethan loves to ride his scooter to school. He had a whole list of reasons of why he needed a scooter to ride to school instead of his bike. One being that it would help him balance better. He was very convincing. :)

Ethan and Trevan got to play (red light green light) one last time with their cousins before they moved far away. Seriously Staci, Oklahoma? Whatever. ;)

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. :)