Happy 4 Months, Avery Lynn!!

Avery is already 4 months old. It doesn't seem possible! She is now weighing 17 pounds, which is double her birth weight and puts her in the 92nd percentile. She is 26 inches long putting her in the 96th percentile for height. She has met and surpassed all of her milestones and took her shots like a champ. Avery is extremely social, in fact she talked the doctor's ear off during her appointment and was very distracting to us all! She loves to chitchat, coo and laugh. She is very nosey and likes to be in the know. She is starting to scoot around on her belly so Chris and I are beginning to rearrange parts of the house to give her some more space, as well as beginning the baby proofing process. Avery won't be crawling for a little while but it never hurts to start early! She loves to play with her toys and sit in her chair and watch whats going on around her, especially while listening to music. She is always full of smiles and we just love her to pieces. She is always doing something new and it is so fun watching her grow. I know she's my daughter so I am biased, but she's such an awesome kid. :)
As for Chris and I, we are continuing to learn as parents. Of course Avery keeps us on our toes. Right when we think we have her figured out she throws a curve ball at us. Nothing we can't handle as a team. Overall she is a very easy baby but boy is she active! She is always wanting to be playing or chatting or moving. Once she is mobile on her own, look out!! She is going to give us a run for our money, I know it. We are juggling baby, life, work and play as best as we can with the help of family! It's a strange feeling for me because I miss the newborn stage in the sense that I was able to be with her all of the time and she was so little and new and cute (not as little and new anymore but just as cute, if not cuter!) and I hate how fast time has flown by. But at the same time I think "Thank the Lord that stage is over! Are we seriously considering having another one and going through that again??" Then sometimes I long for the future where she is a little more independent and we can do fun things with her like hiking mountains with Memphis and coaching her sports etc. And of course at the same time I yell at myself for wishing this precious time away, because it IS precious!! And then there's that part of me still "grieving" for my past self. You know, the more selfish, free, childless self that could do whatever she wanted whenever she wanted to. Not sure when that feeling goes away, if ever. I do know that it was a feeling I was completely blindsided by as a new mother but have since come to terms with it. I think it is something all new moms go through. Like a right of passage; letting your old self go and embracing your new self. The new wonderful role of being a mom. And now I have this little human who is part me. She is my child and I am so proud of her. I couldn't imagine my life without Avery now and I thank her every day for giving me the gift of motherhood.

The Time I Peed on 8 Pregnancy Sticks

This time last year, life for Chris and I changed forever. We hadn't been trying and in fact right before finding out I was pregnant had agreed we were going to wait a year before trying. Yeah well, when the decision was made, she was already beginning to grow.. unbeknownst to me. I had noticed that my ladies were a little tender for a good few days, but I was almost at my lovely monthly reunion with Aunt Flow, so I really didn't think too much of it. But just to be safe, I took a test. There was no doubt on that stick: two very dark pink lines. *Shit* It must be wrong. There is NO WAY I am pregnant. So I took another one. Double pink lines again. I walked over to our dog Memphis (she was technically the first one other than me to find out and I love that) grabbed her furry little face and said "Shit. Mommy is pregnant." about 100 times. Well, Chris came home late that night and to save him the aneurysm right before bed, I kept this ginormous secret to myself. I spent all day at work pondering over this new possibility of motherhood. Right after work I went to the store and bought more tests. All different brands. Because of course, that box from the night before could have faulty tests. I needed to be sure before I spilled the beans to Chris that I was 100% pregnant. All of the pee sticks revealed that yes, in fact, I was totally knocked up. Well I had no words to say to Chris but he knew something was up. I kept trying to figure out how to bring it up but he just looked at me and asked if I was pregnant. And I pulled out of my hoodie pocket allllllll of the positive pregnancy tests. We were going to be parents! He just laughed. Mostly at the ridiculous amount of pee sticks I had in my hands. But he smiled and gave me a big hug. Phew!! No aneurysm after all.

We kept little Avery our special secret for awhile. Saw her sweet, little heart beat at 6 weeks and 2 days to be exact. It turns out I got knocked up in Alaska. Word to the wise, time zones (especially apparently 5 hours difference) totally matter when it comes to birth control. Lesson learned the hard way. BUT. We received the most precious, amazing gift of all. Life as we know it has changed forever. Some days are harder than others but the good always out weighs the bad by a long shot. Avery Lynn has brought so much joy to our lives. I can't imagine life right now without her in it. She is the best "oops" I've ever created.