Avery Quinn Birth Announcement

Since most of these are in the mail by now, I can finally reveal Miss. Avery's Birth Announcement, designed by yours truly ;) Now that these went out I can concentrate on a Christmas Card, which may or may not happen this year *sigh.*

(front)

(back)

Trick or Treat 2011

Better late than never right? Considering this took place two days before I had Avery, I'm cutting myself some slack. Ha. This year we got to go trick-or-treating with the Jake, Cora, Maya and their mommy and daddy! Since they moved into their new house they are nice and close, which made it a great holiday to celebrate together! It was really chilly on the 31st of October this year and we still had some snow on the ground, so the kids were bundled up! The cold didn't bother them though, they had a blast running from house to house for almost an hour and a half!

Cinderella (Madeline), Rapunzel (Cora), Flynn Ryder (Jake), and Pascal the lizard (Maya).

Ready to go!

Daddy did most of the pulling :)

Loading up on the goods!

Even the nice police man made special stops during their night to hand out candy! So nice!

Maya was such a trooper.

Cora and Madeline running to one of the final stops!

Happy One Month Avery!

Our sweet little Avery Quinn turned one-month-old on Friday. Hard to believe it's already been one month, the days turned to weeks and finally to the big "1." Yeah!

Avery is really quite a bit different from Madeline as a baby. Madeline was much more independant, shocking I know, and yes even at this age. She could eat and fall right back to sleep anywhere and play by herself for 30 minutes at a time. Not our Avery, she is very picky on falling asleep places. She also fights sleep pretty well during the day, which makes it very hard for mommy to get work done.

Madeline was already pushing against us trying to stand and doing really well with her head. And while Avery isn't as interested in those things, she is doing a lot of other things Madeline wasn't. For starters, she started smiling at us just before she turned one month! I know it's really early, but she is genuinely reacting to us and what we are saying to her. Her eyes light up and a little smile beams across her face when it's her you are talking to. It's amazing. She loves to be held, quite different from Madeline. We might have finally got our cuddle bug :)

Avery is also turning into a great sleeper, knock on wood, I know as soon as I write this she will be up every hour. However, starting at around 2 weeks, you slept on several occasions for 4-4.5 hour stints, and the other night, you slept from 11:00 p.m.-5:30 a.m. Wow, mommy did a mad dash into your room to make sure you were okay. Sure enough there you slept. I had to wake you up to eat! And last night, you went down at 10:30 p.m., and if it wasn't for me waking you up to eat at 3:00 a.m. I think you might have slept right on through again! WOW!

Avery, you have blessed our lives every day since you became a part of them. We love you more than you will ever know and cannot wait to see how you grow! Happy one-month baby girl!

Here are some photos of you enjoying your changing table...just like your big sister did :)

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

Madeline was incredibly excited to wake up this morning and see that St. Nicholas had visited our house! Not only did he leave something for her under her tree in her bedroom, but he left quite a few other gifts under the tree for her, Avery and momma and daddy! She helped to open every ones gifts and loved every minute of it. It really was a great preview of what December the 25th is going to be like. Thank you to all of our St. Nicholas gift givers out there *wink,wink.*

Here are some photos of Madeline enjoying opening her gifts!

Morning!

Lot's of blogging to catch up on, but in the mean time, here are a few photos I took of Miss. Avery WIDE awake the other day :)

Happy 3 Weeks!

Today you turn 3 weeks old, and to welcome this wonderful week, you let momma sleep! You really let momma sleep! Thank you so much! We are doing this new bottle thing with you and daddy and last night was the first night for it. You had a bottle available for your lovely cluster feeding at 7:30 p.m., ate maybe 1/2 an ounce, then had another 1.5 ounces around 8:30 p.m., and nursed a bit at 9:30 p.m. and then you slept...you slept for 4 hours!!!! You've done this before, but you never went back down after eating for another 4.5 hours after that!!! Momma and you only had a date once last night. WOW! I think it's safe to say we both feel amazing. I'm sure this trend won't continue, but I'll think positively. Happy three weeks baby girl, we love you!

Sleepy girl in the bjorn while momma cleans :)

First bottle

The other night Daddy got to help feed Avery her first bottle. I am happy to report that it went over with flying colors! I think Daddy and Avery will have a nightly date with a bottle before bed, to help signal to Miss. Avery that it's night time...We'll see how that goes. Looks a lot like when Daddy got to feed Madeline for the first time.

First Bath for Avery

On Sunday night Avery got her first real bath! Though her chord fell off over a week ago, I've still been doing the sponge baths with her, which she hated. I can't say she loved her bath, but she certainly didn't scream near as much as with the sponge baths. Most of the time she focused on trying to find her fingers to suck on. Madeline was a big helper too, she gave you lots of toys to help make her happy. She really loves helping with Avery, several times I've caught her going into Avery's room and covering her up. And not just with anything, but with Madeline's beloved taggies! Gasp! I see a great friendship in the works.

Avery 2 Week Check up

This past Thursday, yes I know I am way behind, you had your 2 week check-up with Dr. McCormick. You came through with flying colors, though you still managed to pee all over the table :/ We'll keep working on that one. You weighed in at a health 7lb 12 oz and measured in at 20.75 inches! A pound gained in just a little over two weeks, way to go!

Dr. McCormick also said to give a special shout out to our Uncle Chet all the way down in Hershey. He also said he's thinking of retiring in 2013 :( I think he might beat you Uncle Chet! We told him it doesn't look like you will ever retire, you are too good at what you do.

We head back to the doctor's for Avery's 2 month appointment when she gets shots. Boo. In the mean time here are some photos of her enjoying her play mat and some tummy time, which she does not hate any where near as much as her sister did!

Sisters

Almost the exact same photo of my two lovely babies at just about the same age. They really do look a lot a like don't they?

That's Miss. Johnson to you!

Hard at work...please do not disturb.

Happy Two-Weeks Avery!

Yesterday was your due-date! And today you are two-weeks old, crazy! The last two weeks with you have been amazing, yes tireless and sleepless, especially with your three-year-old sister, but we could not be more thrilled to have you as part of our lives. So, to celebrate, we had a photoshoot with you today at Heidi Lynn photography. You were amazing during the shoot, Madeline on the other hand could not have been less interested. I think we might have gotten a total of 10 pictures with her in them :/ But what could we really ask for? She's having a tough time adjusting to life with a new sister. Madeline shows us daily how much she loves you, but she's acting out... A LOT. And spending lots of time in her time-out chair. I feel awful or her, but I know that in time you two will be the best of friends and chatting at 4:30 a.m. just like my sisters and I. (Yes, Sarah and I really were up texting at 4:30, I love having a lawyer as a sister-she never sleeps. ha).

Anyway I can't wait to see how your photos turned out. Thank you for gracing our lives and making them much more full of love than we could have ever imagined.

Me and my sleepy newborn Avery.

Bad photo, yes, but me and my girls :)

Madeline and Avery in Momma and Daddy's bed in the morning...just watchin' some Little Bear. 

Sleepy new born pose...and this fisher price rock n' play sleeper is the only thing you will sleep in at night. Thank you grandma Ayres! Did I mention that you don't like pacifiers? What will be do? Ha.

Peanut

Little peanut! I think she's taking after Aunt Sarah's nick-name :)

Gorgeous Weather

We've been blessed with some gorgeous weather these past few days, I figure these will probably be the last of the days we will see like this until spring...soooo we got out yesterday and enjoyed the afternoon at the park! I think we'll be going back today too!

Pirate Madeline!

We were making soup and cookies with this batch of mulch. :)

Checking out the horses near the park.

How Miss. Avery spent most of her trip at the park...completely covered and cozy :)

Check up!

Madeline, Grammy Ayres and myself headed to the doctor's office yesterday to get Avery checked out and make sure all systems were working properly. We got there got her weighed in at a healthy 6 lbs. 12 oz., but not before peeing all over the scale, it must have been cold! Avery is almost back up to her birth weight, which means her all-night nursing sessions, and I'm not kidding, I'm talking 10 p.m.-5 a.m., are working to pack on the pounds. At least she is benefiting from our moon lighting. No check on the length of our little lady, but Dr. Chase assured us that she looks great and we were good to go until our next appointment in two weeks. Whew!

Cozy

Avery is loving the cozy new baby blanket from Grandma Ayres. We love it too!

Loving her sister

Madeline loves Avery, though she likes to call her "baby sister," and couldn't wait to hold her.