Visitors Galore!

Week 23 has proved to be a busy week for us!! It started off with a visit from Uncle Matt and his dad and new girlfriend, Carly on the 14th. They came in kinda late - 8pm, and we tried to keep Avalyn up so they could see her. Well, that lasted for about 10 mins, as she was very tired and couldn't stay up any longer. We ate some dinner and then played Wii till 11:30 at night!! It was very good to see them!

Dennis and Avalyn

"Uncle" Matt and Avalyn

Bran and Matt playing Wii while Carly and Dennis watch

Saturday (16th) night Bran and I went on a date - we dropped Avalyn off at Nona's house and we went to The Loop in Kissimmee to see Avatar in 3D and then dinner after. Boy, was that AWESOME! We were pleasantly surprised at the whole thing, and how the 3D didn't give us headaches after. I stuffed myself silly at BJ's Brewery (Pizookie... yumm) and then we picked up Avalyn around 9pm and headed back home!

Sunday, the 17th, Amber and her half-sister Ariana came over for a visit, since Ariana was in town from West Palm. We got some great pics of them!

Avalyn and "Auntie" Amber

Amber, Avalyn, and Ariana

Then that night, my cousin Amy and Miranda flew in from Detroit for a quick visit for a couple of days and my parents came over to see them as well. Bran left to go hunting out in Bushnell that night, so my parents ended up staying the night. The next morning they headed out to Disney while I went over to my mommy and me group at Gillian's house! I was so excited to go since it had been 2 months since we had all seen each other!

Avalyn - 5.5 months, Camden -5.5 months, Holli -6 months, Corrine -6 months, Lydia -6.5 months, Krista - 8 months!

That night, Jan 18, we started Avalyn on her first veggie - Acorn Squash! I got a book that gives recipes on making your own babyfood, so I did it that day and froze it in little ice cube trays for the week - so easy! So, her first veggie introduction went well! She ate it after her rice cereal and didn't mind it too much, for her first try! (Sorry, I didn't take a pic).

Miranda and Avalyn 1-18-10

On Wednesday I dropped Amy and Miranda off at the airport that morning, and then just kinda cleaned up and relaxed that day after the busy weekend.

Miranda, Amy, and Avalyn before they left 1-20-10

Friday, the 22nd, Brandon and I both had teacher work days, but he was able to get off earlier that day and go home with her for a bit. I got the H1N1 shot that day at our county's health fair... just to be safe since she's still so young. I would absolutely hate for me to bring anything home to her, and then not be able to help her out since she's under 6 months. Brandon got it a couple months ago.. so I don't know why I waited. That night, the psych girls came over for our monthly gathering.. I only got one pic though...

Avalyn with Kristen 1-22-10

As you can see, she's doing this new 'biting/sucking' her bottom lip thing.. I think she's really beginning to teethe now, as she's constantly eating her bibs, burp cloths, teething rings, bottom lip, and even me! So, we'll see if it gets any worse or we see a little tooth pop in!

Saturday, the 23rd, was Stacey, my co-worker's, baby shower!! I had been working all week on her diaper cake, which turned out fantastic (thanks Mom for the nursing cover and burp cloths!) and favors.

 The favors - bags with popcorn in them and a saying "Stacey's ready to POP! Timer set to 03.17.10"

Stacey and I next to the diaper cake!

That night, pretty much after I got home from the shower, we went to a party for Brandon's work. Nona came over to babysit and we were out till about 10:30 that night. Busy day!

Milestones have pretty much been the same, besides eating more solids now. Her poop (sorry to talk about poop again) is definitely different and WAY stinky!! Man... it's bad! It's the consistency of molding clay sometimes.. really pastey.. but our next food is Butternut Squash, and then Peas, and then Pears, and THEN apples! She still nurses about 4 times a day (which will probably stay that way for a long time now) and is drinking 6.5oz, plus solids at 3 of the feeds. We weighed her on the Wii Fit the other day and it said 16.6lbs (with her diaper on).. so we're assuming she's just over 16 lbs! Her 6 month appointment is Feb. 8th, so we'll see how big she is then! She's grabbing really well, doing tummy time great, starting to roll more onto her side while she sleeps (but not yet onto her tummy from her back) and experimenting with the "Buh" sound as she blows her lips together (if she's not sucking on them). She's napping and sleeping really well still and still a very happy baby - we're so blessed!!

Hope everyone is doing well - if you want to visit anytime, just let us know!!