My Adorable Stinker

Yes, she is the cutest baby ever. I love her eyes. I love her smile.

Yes, she is the worst sleeper in the world. (But, she gives me one smile in the morning and I forgive her).

Yes, she can Poop with the best of them. A blow-out several times a day.

And I love her!!!!!

She is the sweetest baby.

Grandma's Make Everything All Better

The last few weeks have been wonderful because we have had grandma's in town. My mom came down the second week of March to meet her new grand-baby. All I have to say, is grandma's are the best. My mom played with the boys all of the time. They followed her around like puppy dogs, "Grandma, will you play with me?" And Grandma's, of course, always say yes!

I can't tell you how many times she played cars with them, Go Fish, and took them to the park.

After my mom left, I had one full day on my own. Then we were lucky enough to have another Grandma come into town, Mike's mom. She spent hours holding the baby (of course). But her other spare time was spent playing with the boys. She played countless games of "Go Fish" with the boys.....but I guess that is what grandma's are for! Both my mom and Mike's have no idea how helpful it was just to have someone giving Daven and Logan attention. It was just what I needed. I had to inspect her suitcase before she left to make sure she didn't take Avery with her.
And, here is Avery with Papa. He had to fly into Albaquerque for some meetings, but drove 8 hours just to spend 2 days with his new Grandbaby. Now that is Love!!

A Dose of Perspective

I was sitting around the house yesterday feeling a little (okay maybe medium to a lot) sorry for myself. It is hard having three kids. It is busy. Having a newborn is so wonderful, yet it changes everything. You suddenly have no control over your life, like when you will be able to eat, sleep, run errands, etc. etc. etc. Or check blogs. Heaven knows why I am spending my time doing this right now instead of cleaning or reading my scriptures....etc. etc.

But, then.....I just read my friend's blog, The Kunz Family. I think a dose of reality is good for all of us once in a while. I ended up in tears. She lost her little baby, Daxton last June. She wrote about some of her feelings today. And how, all of those things that we think are challenging, like walking the halls in church or waking up at night to feed our babies, are really our greatest blessings. And, where would we be if they were suddenly not here? It broke my heart. I realized how precious our children are....and all of those moments we're blessed to have because of them.  I am so grateful. It left me aching for the void she must endure. It truly could be any one of us. I wanted to kiss my babies and just have them nearby.

I check her blog regularly because I feel like it keeps me in check, even though I end up in tears every time. It is just so easy to take things for granted.

Family Photo Shoot With Avery

We went yesterday to get some family pictures w/ our sweet little Avery. I couldn't believe how well she did. She was awake for almost 2 hours straight. She was pretty patient while we were posing her, too. I just had to share these...there is still a little finishing needed on some of these, but I wanted to get them posted. Our family has been begging for more pictures.

What I Love & What I'm Nervous About

I have to say that I think I have fallen in love with my baby girl. Before she was born, I had all those feelings of inadequacy that I think you have with each new baby. All the questions kept going through my mind, like will I love her as much as the boys? Will I be a good mommy to a little girl? Will I remember to put bows in her hair and dress her cute? I was so worried. But, once again, I am amazed at how much your love just grows and grows for your baby every day.

The first night in the hospital, Avery was having a hard time sleeping. I wanted to go to sleep so bad, at least for a few hours. But, she was just so alert. Finally at 1:30 in the morning, I put her in bed next to me. I moved all the pillows and just layed next to her. The nurses were really mad when they came in at 4:30 a.m., but both of us just slept next to each other for 3 hours. It was wonderful. I woke up and felt that bonding feeling, like, oh I just love you so much. I think she just wanted to be next to me & I was surprised at how much I just wanted to be next to her.

I love every morning getting her dressed. I love glueing bows in her hair. I am surprising even myself. I thought for sure she would always look like a tom-boy. (I guess there will be time for that later). But, I guess I am writing this because I am amazed at how much fun it is to be a mom again.

My friend asked me what I thought about the first time I did her laundry. It was funny because I had thought about it that very morning. I looked at her pile of laundry in our room....it was all pink.... I thought that was so cute. 

Logan finally decided he wanted to hold Avery yesterday. He has been very sweet to her. He kisses her and talks to her. He was just nervous to hold her. So, this was a very special moment. She has two of the best big brothers ever. Logan still loves to wear his big brother shirt. It is cracking me up.

What I'm Nervous About: What am I going to do this week when Mike goes back to work? On Friday, I had a major dose of reality & I didn't handle it well. Mike was gone for a few hours. Then, everyone needed me at the same time. Avery was screaming, she was hungry. Logan had a little owie on his hand. Daven was hungry. Logan wanted milk. I didn't know what to do. I just froze. I felt like I had to choose between my kids. I decided to let Avery cry for a minute and help Logan w/ his owie. Then, I decided to feed her. Everyone else could wait a few minutes for lunch. I cried for like 2 hours that afternoon thinking how am I going to do this. (I think part of it is the hormones that are going crazy right now. I actually feel a little better today). But all I have to say, is I know so many people with 3 and 4 kids. I have a new respect for you! I decided I'm just going to take it one day at a time (and sometimes one hour at a time) for a while.

Avery had a 4-hour stretch last night, so I"m thinking a little more clearly today...hopefully that will help as the week starts tomorrow.

Coming Home from the Hospital

Avery got to come home from the hospital on February 25th, 2009. Big brothers Daven and Logan came to pick her up, along with Daddy. They were all so excited. Mike kept saying, I hope she is excited to go home with us. As we were being wheeled out of the hospital, she was wide awake and so calm. I could tell she was excited to come home with us. Avery is very calm, every time I hold her, she calms me down.

Getting all dressed to come home. I was so excited because she actually got to wear the going home outfit I brought for her. 

Ready to go home! So, I was so excited as you can tell. This was my first baby that I was actually able to bring home from the hospital with me. Daven had to stay for 24 hours in the nursery due to Jaundice. That was rough. But, nothing compared to Logan's 10 day stay in the NICU. I kept praying and praying during the pregnancy that all would be well so we could bring her home. I was so nervous this morning when they checked her bili levels, but so relieved and excited when they were normal & she got the okay to come home! YAY!

When we got home, Avery was still asleep in the car seat. I wanted to let this sleeping baby lye. But, Daven and Logan were so excited, they got pillows and blankets out. They hung out next to her for a while.

Here is Avery with big brother, Daven. He loves to hold her so much. She grabs his face sometimes. The first time she did this, Daven giggled, and said, "I like that!" It is so sweet to see how much he loves her (and babies!)..He keeps talking about how he wants to grow up so he can be a daddy.

That night, I had Mike take Avery, and I soaked up being able to read the boys bedtime stories. It is so nice to have everyone home together. What a wonderful feeling. No pumping, running back and forth to the hospital, etc. Now if I can just get some sleep:) Avery likes to eat every few hours. I don't know why I would think she would be any different. The boys were the same way.