Whoozit is wonderful!

 

Avi Grace loves to play on her Whoozit play mat (in picture collage). Emily and Brian Lesley gave this play mat to Austin before he was born. He loved to play on it too! I think by the time Avi Grace gets finished with it, it will be on its last leg! We sure have enjoyed it, though!

Some of the pictures to the right aren't the best, but they still show how cute she is! We started giving her rattles this week, and she loves them, but she goes nuts trying to put them in her mouth! She gets frustrated when she can't get them in her mouth because they are too big! It is quite funny, actually!

Missing Austin

I couldn't post a slideshow of Avi Grace without also posting one of my sweet Austin. I've been missing him so much lately. I wish he was here to be a big brother to Avi Grace and experience all of the things that siblings do together. He taught us so much, especially to cherish our precious Avi Grace. She has been such a blessing to us, and we are thankful that God gave us the faithfulness to have another child. We love Avi Grace and Austin more than we can describe!

Some of my favorite pictures of Avi Grace in 2007

You need flash 8 or higher to view the slideshow.

I love the mornings

 

So, this picture is of Avi Grace from this morning! This is not at all how she started out in her bed last night! When I put her down about 7 p.m., I put her long ways at the top of her bed. Drew peeked in on her around 6:50 this morning, and she had scooted way down in her bed, almost to the opposite end, and she was lying on her side sucking her thumb! Then, when we went in to wake her up about 7:30, she had turned sideways! She is becoming quite the scooter in her bed!

Going in to see Avi Grace each morning is one of my favorite things in the world! She is so sweet in the mornings. When I hear her talking or moving around and I think she is awake, I go in and turn the light on. She hates it! She squints and moves around until she gets used to the light! Then when she finally finds me and focuses, she gives me the biggest smile in the world. It is just the best feeling in the world. I love her so much!

3 Months Old

Well, Avi Grace is now officially 3 months old! It is wild to think that we have been enjoying our sweet little girl for 3 months! She has been such a blessing to our family.

Avi Grace got to see Santa for the first time this past Saturday. We went to the MSU men's basketball game that afternoon, and then we went to Barnes and Noble to see Santa. She did very well. I got a pretty good picture of them together. Thankfully she is still too young to understand Santa Claus...I think he is planning to skip our house this year! I'm sure her grandparents will more than make up for the lack of Santa Claus gifts!

I am thankful to now be back home with Avi Grace for almost a month. Exams ended yesterday, and all of the students have gone home for the holidays. I look forward to spending lots of time playing with Avi Grace while I am at home! January will come too quickly!

Avi Grace's Dedication

 

Avi Grace was dedicated at our church on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. She looked so beautiful in her white dress! She did very well. All of the babies were very well behaved. Nobody had a breakdown or even cried during the dedication! We had lots of family there, which made the occasion even more special to us.

This is my second full week back at work. It has gone OK so far. My mom has been primarily keeping her, and they have done well together. It is so hard for me to be away from Avi Grace during the day. I constantly think about what she is doing and wish I was at home with her! Thankfully I get almost a month off for Christmas to be at home with her...looking forward to it.

Go State...Go State!

So, the Bulldogs pulled out a huge win last Friday! What an exciting finish. It was very nice to round out the Thanksgiving holiday with a big win over Ole Miss!

Avi Grace is growing lots and doing new things every day. Yesterday she really started discovering her right hand, and she actually started batting at a toy. She has done more of that today, which is exciting to see! It is amazing how quickly she is developing. She also loves looking at her mobile. It is almost always fascinating to her and will usually keep her attention for at least a few minutes!

This is my first full week back at work. She has been staying with my mom, and they have been having fun. Mom says she has been good both days, so that makes it a little easier for me. I look forward to next Thursday afternoon...my last day of work for the semester! I get to be at home almost a whole month with Avi Grace for Christmas break before I really have to go back to work in January. What a wonderful blessing!

Family

 

Jonathan and Emilie (Drew's brother and his wife) also got to visit with Avi Grace over the Thanksgiving holiday. The first time they visited with her (a few weeks after she was born) she slept pretty much the whole time! So, they were able to hold her and play with her during this visit. I had to post these cute pictures of them holding her!

Also, thanks to my friend Sue Willis who told me about Picasa, a program that helped me make this cute collage of the pictures! I call myself computer savvy, but it took me a little while to get the hang of the program! However, I am loving it now. It is really neat...it will scan your computer and find all of the pictures you have on your computer and import them into the program so you can manipulate them and store them all in one place. You should try it out if you get a chance...www.picasa.com.

So Much To Be Thankful For

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We are thankful for so many things, but most importantly for sweet little Avi Grace. She has blessed our lives in ways that we cannot describe. Thank you God for an amazing gift!

Avi Grace enjoyed getting to see many cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and great grandparents for Thanksgiving! She was very sweet and did very well being around so many people!

So, we are cheering for the Bulldogs today. It is too cold to go to the game, but we are hoping for a big win today! Go Dawgs!!

Having So Much Fun

Avi Grace is just doing wonderful! She turned 2 months old on Monday. We went to the doctor yesterday for her 2 month checkup. She weighed 11 pounds 5.6 ounces. She had grown right at 2 inches in length, and her head is now in the 50th percentile! She got 3 yucky shots, but cried just a little bit! I fed her right after they gave her the shots, so that helped to ease the pain. The doctor said everything looks great!

I am happy to report that Avi Grace is now enjoying her swing on a regular basis. She will even doze in it some. She has also started enjoying one of her play mats a little too. She is still a little young for the play mat, but she will look around at the bright colors and talk a little!

In the past few days Avi Grace has found her thumb. Yesterday I sat her in her bouncy seat for a few minutes while I was getting things together for us to go to the doctor, and I came back into the living room, and she was sucking her thumb and had dozed off to sleep. I am not a huge fan of thumb sucking, but if it helps her soothe herself, then I can go for it!

This is my last full week at home with her before I go back to work on Monday. I will work 2 days and then be off for Thanksgiving. Then I will work 2 weeks until the end of the semester. Thankfully I get to be at home with her in December over the Christmas break before I go back to work full time in January. Please pray for a smoothe transition for both of us!

Road Trip

Avi Grace had her first road trip yesterday. We went to Tuscaloosa with my mom and met Mrs. Peggy McDonald (my mom's friend) for lunch at the Cypress Inn. We had lots of fun visiting with her, and then we went to the mall for a little while to shop. She was wonderful all day...thankfully!

On Saturday, Avi Grace and I met our friends Amy and Jack Fountain, Amy and Emily Adkerson, and Laura and Riley Walton on campus to try to take some pictures of the little ones. Needless to say, this was a daunting task, especially since Emily and Jack are mobile and into everything! I have posted a picture of our outing that shows how difficult it was to get a good shot! It was fun trying, though!

Avi Grace is really starting to interact more every day. She is smiling and cooing more. She LOVES to stand up on our legs and bounce, working her muscles. She is just the sweetest thing!

We are still trying to figure out nap time during the day, but most nights she is sleeping very well, so I won't complain too much.

We also had lunch today with our friends Amanda and Miller Shy. Miller is about 2 weeks older than Avi Grace. They were both great at lunch, and we enjoyed getting out of the house!

Avi Grace will be 8 weeks tomorrow! We go back to the doctor next week for her 2 month checkup. Time is going so quickly!

Can't Believe It Is November

Wow. We can't believe it is already November. Thanksgiving will be here before we know it! We have had a good week so far. Avi Grace tagged along with her friends Jack and Emily as they Trick or Treated in Timbercove subdivision tonight. Jack was a tiger and Emily was a lady bug. I'll post some pictures soon. The weather this week has been much better...no rain!

Avi Grace slept very well last night...from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. I was very happy, although, I find it hard not to keep checking the clock to see what time it is every time I wake up! I hope she continues to sleep well at night. It makes us all happier during the day!

Six Weeks Yesterday

Avi Grace was six weeks old yesterday. Time is flying by, and she is growing so much. She weighs around 10 pounds 3 ounces now! It has rained every day this week and turned cold, so we haven't been able to take a stroll since Sunday. We are missing our time outside!

Avi Grace has started smiling and cooing some as of the end of last week. It is still very random, but we are enjoying it! She's having a hard time napping during the day...she wants me to hold her or carry her around while she sleeps! She will go sound to sleep, and I try to put her in her crib and she wakes up immediately! I've tried to let her go to sleep on her own in her crib, and she doesn't want to do that either! Several weeks ago I could get her to sleep in her crib, but not so much anymore! I'm hoping this is just a phase! Although, for the most part, she does pretty well at night. So, I won't complain too much!

That's about all that is going on here. I'll update again in a week or so!

One Month Tomorrow

It is hard to believe that Avi Grace will be one month old tomorrow, October 12. She is growing so quickly. We weighed her last night, and she was 8 pounds 13 ounces! She still looks so little to others, but we can see her growing right before our eyes! We gave her her first bottle last night, and she took it very well. She ate about 3 and a half ounces. She is just a sweetheart, and we are truly enjoying her!

We just got back from a stroll on campus. The weather is so nice today, and we hope it stays this way so we can continue to take walks during the day.

First Doctor's Appointment

Avi Grace had her two-week checkup this morning. She did very well. She had increased her weight from 7 pounds 9 ounces at birth to 7 pounds 14 ounces. She had also grown a half inch. She got an overall great report, which we were very happy to hear!

Yesterday we went for our first stroll on campus, and she slept the whole time, even through all the bumping on the sidewalks! I enjoyed being able to get out of the house for a bit. I was beginning to really get cabin fever! We are probably going to make strolls a common occurrence!

Healthy, Sweet Baby Girl

Hi everyone. I have created this blog so that our family and friends can keep up with our newest addition, Avi Grace Anthony. We had a healthy, sweet baby girl on Wednesday, September 12, 2007, at 8:35 a.m. She weighed in at 7 pounds 9 ounces and was 20 inches long! She is beautiful, and we thank God every moment for a healthy pregnancy, delivery and sweet baby girl.

First things first: We are calling her Avi Grace (double name), and Avi is pronounced like this: "Ahhvee," with a short A sound. I had no idea that the pronunciation of her first name would be such a challenge!

Because so many people have asked, Avi is not a family name, but rather somewhat of a tribute to Avi Grace's big brother, Austin, our angel watching over his little sister from heaven. Dr. Avi Katz was Austin's primary nephrologist at Children's Hospital in Birmingham, AL. We chose Avi not only because we liked the name, but also because we wanted to remember Austin and honor Dr. Katz.

We got home from the hospital Saturday, September 15. The first night home was overwhelming...she wanted to eat every hour and a half! I was already sleep deprived, but we made it! The past several nights have been much better, and we both feel more rested!

So, I will periodically update the blog so you can keep up with Avi Grace if you are interested! We are doing great! Hope all of you are doing well!

Love,
Kelli