Baby loves IKEA!

It's been a long time coming, but Avery is finally mobile. This past week she showed a particular fondness to the Ikea catalog. She military crawls toward it and then I promptly move it to another location and she charges for it again. She finally gained the knowledge of what it takes to have forward motion - we have a feeling that there's no turning back now!

We better get used to cleaning the floors more often! :)

St. Patrick's festival in Columbia!

The last couple years we have gone down to Columbia for the annual St. Patrick's Day festival and stayed with some of our besties Chad and Adrienne!

This year our friend Tom came too. Though Chad and Jeff talked a big game about making Tom dress up as a leprechaun, in fact they all dressed alike in funny t-shirts that made them look as though they were wearing rainbow suspenders.

The day was filled with live music, catching up with friends and drinking Guinness. Oh, and we definitely enjoyed people watching - you never know who you will find at these festivals!

Check out Tom's t-shirt he bought:

Avery was a trooper, and liked people watching too:

And, as usual at the end of the long, fun day we ended up back at the Alexander household hanging out, eating pizza, playing cards and goofing off.

Avery even got serenaded by the guys (they we singing Guns N' Roses - she looks less than thrilled in the picture, but was having fun... I think):

And, for good luck, here's one last picture of Avery on her 1st ACTUAL St. Patrick's Day!

Bananarama - Avery is 9 months old!

Can you believe it - Avery is 9 MONTHS old!

Tuesday night Avery took a bite of a banana like a big girl. I handed it to her to see what she would do, and she just chomped right into it! The girl loves to eat, and especially likes taking control. She starting to try more finger foods, yet still really enjoys purees too. She likes to help guide the spoon into her mouth.

Today we went for Avery's 9 month well visit with Dr. Ryan. She is a healthy 17 lbs 11 oz (25%), 26 inches long (15%) and, whoa she's got a big head - it's measuring in the 75th percentile! The nurse actually measured it twice to make sure... haha! She may be a shrimp-o like her mom, but we think she will be a smarty! Avery had to get her finger pricked for a blood test and had her last Hepatitis B shot. Though traumatic, she got over it quickly.

Derek, Melissa and Van came over for dinner tonight. Baby Van is 3 months old, and it was fun to see Avery and he chilling on the floor together. Avery kept wanting to grab at him, and was rolling up to him. He was kicking, kicking, kicking and Avery almost got herself kicked in the head. He is very strong! Ave was enthralled with his pajamas that had basketballs, baseballs and soccer balls on them.

Things I want to remember from month 9 with Avery: Her sweet little scrunched up nose when she smiles, the night Jeff, Avery and I were cracking up laughing in the kitchen while we got dinner together and sang silly songs, Ave and I dancing to Vampire Weekend, praying over Avery in her crib as she falls asleep, belly kisses on the changing table, the sight of Avery cuddled up napping in Jeff's arms during naptime on a Saturday, Peek-a-boo giggles.

Our little "monster" giggling

Avery has been known over the last month or so to make scary "monster" noises when she is really focused on playing with her toys. She will be babbling along, and then this weird little monster voice comes out of her. It's hysterical, but unfortunately every time I try to get the camera out she stops doing it. We do have witnesses that have heard it, though. We are a little worried that she will do her scary and semi-evil sounding voice during church one day and people may be a little concerned. If Ave was a rapper her name would surely be "lil' monster." She would be known for her low, raspy, slightly-evil sounding voice.

Along with the monster voice, Avery is a giggle monster. Here is a vid of her giggling like crazy. All I had to do was toss a toy in the air a couple times for her... the kid is easy to please!

When our friends Greyley (Grey and Haley) came to town a couple weekends ago, we went out to lunch with them and the Utsey's at East Blvd Bar & Grill. We decided that Avery should taste a lemon for the first time... and and her reaction was great - a little lizard baby sticking out her tongue. Just when I didn't think she liked it she would reach out for it and open her mouth to taste the lemon again. Any of my relatives would know that Avery is just getting ready for her first taste of Nana's famous lemon cake. It shouldn't be shocking that Avery likes lemons - it runs in the family!

For those of you that would like to see a funny video of Avery tasting a lemon for the first time, please visit a post of our friends the Utsey's blog: http://dandmutsey.blogspot.com/2010/02/greyley-visits-van.html. Thanks to Melissa, we caught the moment on video!

Fun with the Zarates!

Last weekend, Erin, Martin and Parker came to Charlotte.

Here are some pictures from the visit:

Hello Parker! My how you've grown...

The Zarates were driving into Charlotte as the 2nd snow of the winter was coming down. The last hour was slow-moving but they got here safely. The next morning, Martin made a snowman, and we had Parker sit on Frosty (he loved it, surprisingly). Look at that grin...

After running some errands once the snow melted away, Avery and Parker were pooped, so we let them snooze side by side in their car seats. Whew, being a baby is hard work...

Avery was obsessed with poking at Parker with her tiny little index finger. This developed into grabbing at him in general. We had to make sure she didn't poke him in the eye.

She also did "E.T. phone home" fingers with Uncle Martin.

On Sunday, it was Valentines Day. We let Avery explain to Parker what the day meant - he looked like he really was taking it all in.

Avery and Parker are both champion droolers. Here is a pic of Avery with drool upon her lip... showing off those teeth!

Soon enough, Avery will be able to eat Bo-berry biscuits from Bojangles with the rest of us. Yes, Bojangles made heart-shaped biscuits on Valentine's Day! (and we admit we enjoyed them)...

Avery's newest "voice" is her monster voice, and we are really hoping that Parker picks up this funny (albeit a little freaky) little monster voice since Erin and Martin got such a kick out of it.

All in all, the weekend was a ton of fun, and we enjoyed catching up and letting the babies play. Thanks for coming to visit... we love you!

Chugga chugga chew chew

Avery had her first organic rice rusk and went to town on it! Chomp, chomp.

Teeth #3 & #4 are on their way... and she's putting those first two teeth to good use!

(I really hope this video works this time!)

Who's your "Da-Da?"... Avery is 8 months old!

Avery sure knows who her daddy is! Her newest obsession seems to be saying "da-da" on repeat, and we tend to get a "ma-ma" thrown in when she really gets going. (Though it should be noted that she did say "ma-ma" first, back in December, and has said it many more time since. Usually when she is sad or wants something).

Our gal responds very well to music and loves to "dance." She giggles and wiggles when you sing just about anything, so there is a lot of random singing in our house. We can make the most mediocre tasks sound fun and exciting. "We're walking up the stairs" or "change change change the diaper" are pretty good ones... and then "dune-buggy, dune-buggy" for instance is a bouncing song, which is one of Avery's current faves.

Last weekend Grandma and Grandpa Bricker came to visit. They watched Avery during the day on Friday while Jeff and I went to work and successfully got Avery down for two naps (she fights said naps sometimes when we are home). On Saturday we had a long day of running errands and playing, but Avery did wonderfully, even taking her long afternoon nap in the stroller while we trucked around Ikea. She had three different meals while out and about, and was still 100% pleasant. She also got her first teeny taste of ice cream (I couldn't resist!). She had wide-eyes and leaned into it, and kept opening her mouth looking for it even after I polished off the cone. Oops, I'm in the process of creating a sugar monster!

You are considered an instant friend if you read to Avery - she LOVES books, and always reaches to them first over many other favorite toys.

One of our latest additions is the baby gate now at the top of the stairs. Now that Avery can roll and scoot, we have had to install (ok, my dad installed) the gate. It's the not greatest looking gate, but man it is sturdy and best of all safe. Now that Avery has started grabbing out for things while she is in our arms she always tries to leap from my arms to grab the gate. She also does this with the kitties, and apparently does this at Donna's to reach out to the other babies. She is very curious and wants to be a part of it all.

We are currently working on waving bye-bye and blowing kisses. It's a work in progress, and who knows what is going through Avery's head in the morning when Jeff and I repeat "bye-bye" with her at least 10 times in a row. However, she is definitely grasping the concept and kind of opens and closes her hand at her side. Donna helps her blow kisses to me when I drop her off there during the week.

Avery has this goofball side to her, and then also an almost shy side to her. She will be very friendly and then suddenly hide her face and play peekaboo games with people. She peeks out and as soon as she catches someone's eye she'll smile, then bury her head into me again. We are loving her hugs and cuddles - they are so sweet.

Happy 8-month birthday to our sweet little goofball Avery. We love you!

Here's a video of Avery on the move...