We have a talker!!

Avery has just started talking/babbling all day long and today I caught her on video. She is now repeating sounds such as ba ba ba ba and the other night at the dinner table she said ma ma. Now I know she has no idea what she is saying as she is just experimenting with sounds but Geoff and I couldn't believe how weird it was to hear that sound come from our sweet little baby girl.. She is getting so big so fast.

Her two teeth are all the way through the gums and she loves to put your finger in there and bite it. It now hurts with those choppers. She is sitting up but not quite all by herself. She can do it for about 20 seconds and then she tips over but it won't be long. She is one strong little girl. I say little but we just officially moved over to using most of her 3-6 month clothes. Finally!!! She loves to eat her toes now and takes off her socks all the time. She is becoming more independent as well and can keep herself busy on her playmat and in her entertainer without the help of mommy or daddy. But her favorite thing is still to have adult interaction. She will now cuddle up next to you and 'explore' your face. She will touch your nose and lips and examine them. She is very curious and finds it funny when you bite down on her finger and will laugh. Both mommy and daddy think that her sweet laugh is the best sound in the world!

She is still eating her solids pretty good but we have found that right now she is a picky eater. There is not much we have found that she loves in the veggie/fruit department. Right now the veggies are sweet potatoes/corn, and carrots... Fruits are bananas, peaches, and prunes(I was surprised with this one). We are all getting ready for our big closing on the house on Friday morning and our move. We are very excited and Avery can't wait to see her new room!!! More updates later!

Here I am talking to my toys:)

I love my doggie!

Recently I have really been excited about my doggie Trixie and she is starting to warm up to me but it has been very slow. I like to touch her fur and her paws and today I decided I wanted to go with daddy to walk her around the block. So daddy put me in his coat and off we went. Notice my foot sticking out, oops it was not too cold but maybe mommy should have put some socks on me or at least a coat instead daddy's coat was acting like a baby bjorn for me.

Here we are spending our last weekend in our apartment.. We can't wait for next Friday so we can move in our new house together!

We have teeth!!

Seems hard to believe and a little sad for mommy and daddy to think about but mommy discovered yesterday that I have my two bottom teeth pushing through the gums. You can feel them and see them for sure. Won't be long and I'll be ready for pizza or at least a brownie!!!!

Tickle me please!!

Many of you have said that you enjoy the videos so mommy is trying to do more during the day when we are home. Here is one that mommy took the other day while I was playing. Mommy kept tickling me and I just kept laughing!!! Hope you enjoy!

Not all veggies are the same...

I have been eating veggies now for a week and mommy has been trying out all different kinds to see what I like and what I don't like. When I like something I like to makes lots of satisfying noises and I open up my mouth really wide and when I don't like something I arch my back and seal my mouth shut until mommy brings me something else. I am figuring this game out with mommy and I usually win out every time!!

So here is the tally so far:

I like sweet potatoes and carrots..
I don't like green beans, sweet peas or squash.....

Mmmmm....carrots are yummy!

Mommy and daddy took some video of me at lunch today eating my carrots. Mommy thinks it is sooooo cute the way that I talk the whole time that I eat. Here I am:)

I'm 5 months old today!

I am so excited to share my 5 month old pictures with you. Mommy and daddy had a photo shoot this morning with me. Mommy commented that it is getting harder to get a good picture because I am so distracted with everything around me. I especially love my doggie, Trixie. I love to watch her wherever she is in the room(she is not so excited about me though). Some other things I like to do is sit up on my own(well I need the bumbo for support), I wanted mommy to post this first picture of me because it shows how strong I am getting. I rarely like to sit back anymore and just snuggle. I have also been enjoying my solid food for the last week. I am eating barley cereal with applesauce mixed in every morning, and I usually eat a veggie for lunch and a veggie for dinner. I have tried sweet potatoes and had carrots last night for the first time. I like both!! I think mommy said that sweet peas are next. Hope I will like those but they are a funny color to me... kinda like a poop green:) Well that is about it!! Happy 5 months to me today! I have to get back to playing with daddy....... always on the move!

Avery's 1st visit to the city!

Today we went down to the city. It was my very first time. Mommy and daddy took me by daddy's old condo and then we went to a coffee shop so mommy could get a hot apple cider. Next up was heading to a bar called 6 Degrees that mommy's friend owns. We met friends there and had a great lunch and fun time catching up!!! I can see why mommy and daddy love this city so much.

Just relaxing in the bath tub!!

We caught this shot while we were in Florida and I just had to share. Life in the sun is just a little more relaxing for all of us I guess....:)

Sweet Potato Baby!

Today for lunch I got to try some sweet potatoes and they were fabulous!!! The first bite I was not so sure about but the second bite was mmmm so good!!

Sweet Potato's are messy but good!! (and mommy had trouble getting that spoon in my mouth)

Notice they are all gone. Mommy couldn't feed me fast enough...

We have a cereal eater!

As most of you know if you have been following along on the blog mommy and daddy tried giving me rice cereal right before Christmas and I was not so excited about the idea. So we waited a week and a half and didn't try any while we were on vacation and then when we got back that silly rice cereal popped up in my bowl again so I thought I would try it again and see if it got any better. And this time I liked it! The 2nd time was much better and the 3rd day mommy actually had to make a second bowl of if for me because I wanted more. Next up on the menu is sweet potatoes! Can't wait!!!

We bought a house!!!

Mommy and daddy are finally settling down and we are very excited that we are moving on January 29th because we bought our first house together. We wanted to share some pictures with you as some of you have been asking. We decided to move to Arlington Heights after hearing many good things about the suburb and the location is still close enough to daddy's work and we are only 30 minutes to the city and to Wheaton where my cousins live. It just seemed like a good location for us!! We will be living in the North/East part of Arlington Heights and we love the location because my elementary school is 3 blocks down the street so I will be able to walk to school, there is a water park within walking distance as well as Lake Arlington which we can walk to. As of now, we are set to close on the house on Friday January 29th and we will move that afternoon. Lots of work to be done but it will all be worth it when we are settled.

Can't wait for you all to come visit me in my new house!!!

The front of the house:

Family room:

Kitchen:

Dining room:

Basement:

More pictures to come later when we get moved in and are settled!!!!

My trip to Marco Island Florida!

On December 26, 2009 I went on my first vacation. We went to Marco Island Florida with the whole family. My mommy,daddy, Meme, Papa, Uncle Jay, Aunt Laura and my cousins Justin and Jack were all there for the week and we really had a great time. I had a lot of firsts on this trip. My first airplane ride, my first time at the beach, my first taste of ice cream and the list goes on.... It was beautiful weather and nice and relaxing! I can't wait to go back next year over New Years!!

Here is Papa and I on the plane. Even though we had a 4 hour delay in Chicago due to lots of snow this day I was still very good on the plane. I enjoyed exploring every inch of that airplane and didn't really make much of a peep the whole time.
My new favorite thing is drinking water. Here I am trying out the airplane water... mmmmm that was sure good!

So happy to be going on my first vacation and FINALLY off the ground in Chicago. Sunny skies here we come!!

Just lounging around getting my diapers changed on mommy's lap!

YEAH we made it and here I am with Meme helping with the luggage. I had to carry my own bag because there were so many bags.... WOW no one in the family packs light..

See what I mean.... Count how many bags are here....(Jack posing for me)

Mommy called me her beach baby all week... Here I am enjoying some time at the pool!

Beach Baby 2

Beach Baby 3

Mommy and me before dinner...

Daddy and me at dinner... We all had seafood that night(well some of us did). I got stuck with milk again.

After dinner we went to get ice cream and mommy gave me a taste of her vanilla and chocolate swirl.. It was sooooooooooooooooooooooo good...

And how can you resist these pretty eyes??? Well Meme couldn't so I got ANOTHER lick of ice cream. This time it was double dutch chocolate!!

Next day we all went to the beach.. Here I am with Meme and mommy walking to Tiger Tail beach. Just about a minute later I was snoring zzzzzzz's....

Me and daddy at the beach... He was telling me all about the ocean and the animals that lived underneath. One day I would like to swim in it but this trip it was way too cold for me!

My family photo on the beach...

Daddy and me again! Loving the beach
After our walk on the beach we decided to stop for a snack and drink... Nothing like a little milk at the beach... I think it tasted even better in the sun:)

Meme playing with me while we stopped for a break...

Here are all of us!!!! At the beach and in the sun.. Loving life... I am the littlest one on Meme's lap

After the beach we went back to our house and I got to go swimming with daddy. This was the first time I ever went swimming and I loved it!

A little bit colder than my bath water but still felt pretty good.

Two peas in a pod...

Mommy and daddy bought me a fun toy to sit in while in the pool. Here I am enjoying it!
Mommy's favorite picture of me....
Here I am with my cousin Justin. He was so good to me all week. I really love him and think he could be a really great babysitter!

My mommy and daddy and I in the pool.
My aunt Laura and me!!

Meme and I!
Here was pool time #2 with daddy.. This day it was a little cold for me but I braved it and so did daddy:)

Some pool portraits...

All ready for dinner.... this night was another seafood night..
Meme making funny faces..

Day 2 at the beach... Here I am with mommy enjoying the sand but no sun... I had to stay under the umbrella!

Beach baby beach baby...

Taking it all in... actually I was checking out mommy's pretty toes that are painted and hoping she would put some polish on mine...Here I am with Jack. He was telling me about this strawberry he was eating.. It looked good

That is the end of the trip....... the next day mommy, daddy and I had to go back to Chicago.... It was a perfect 1st trip for me..!! Thank you Meme and Papa for making this trip happen. We love spending the week with everyone and next year when I am walking you better get your rest because I will be running circles around you if you are not careful:)