Scenes from the Week

It's been a slow week, but Avery's energy levels have been anything but that. The excitement of having Nonnie here for almost an entire week sent her into crazy mode, but it's been so entertaining to watch her bounce all over the place. I'm so thankful that she plays well by herself and can find just about anything to entertain her these days, since I can't do much with her unless she decides to slow down for a minute and let me read a book to her.

She did ask to "cuddle few minutes" before bed one night, and she snuggled right up next to me on the couch, with the request for "lots blankets". We said her bedtime prayers and then Nonnie tucked her into her bed for the night.

Speaking of beds - Avery has been in her big girl bed for about 2 weeks now, and we're still going strong! I didn't want to jinx it by talking about it, but she seems to be loving it. I know we may encounter problems when the newness wears off. We started slowly, and if she requested her crib instead, we let her switch. The last thing we wanted was to traumatize her, so we didn't force the issue. But, after a couple nights, she requested the BGB every time. We kept her in her crib for naptime for a week, because we don't mess with naps in this house. They are sacred. But, she's been napping in her BGB for the past few days and has done really well - still getting 2.5 to 3 hours per nap! Nonnie picked up a step-stool for her so I won't have to lift her in and out (this bed is TALL), and she loves to climb up into bed all by herself. We move the stool so she doesn't let herself out in the middle of the night. Although, she did randomly fall out of bed at 5 am two nights ago, completely unhurt and only crying because she wasn't sleeping anymore and wanted back in bed. We still aren't sure how she got out, with the rails up and pillows all around.

Nonnie left last night, Luke is working from home today and will be home all weekend, and then his mom is coming next week, Monday through Thursday, to take care of us. We are so grateful for family who is able to come and entertain us and clean for us and feed us. My mom informed me that feeding me 6 times a day is a full-time job. She was such a huge help all week, and I was really sad to see her go.

Avery fills her time with music, some Dora or Caillou or VeggieTales, going through her flashcards, reading to herself, playing with her baby dolls (they get a lot of naps and swing-time), and last night she took her bear for a walk to the mailbox in the doll stroller. She also has started stacking blocks and plays in her kitchen a lot, naming every food that goes into the shopping cart.

Baby wanted to eat a raisin. She seemed to have trouble swallowing it though.

Luke reported back that she had to go over the "bumpies" multiple times. They are her favorite part of our walks. 

She greets me every morning with "Good morning, Mommy!" and doesn't seem too upset that I can't get up and play with her. She does ask me, "Mommy, come in here please!" but doesn't cry when I can't and finds someone else to come play, or she'll bring the item to me instead. This morning when I moved to the couch, she layed her lovie on me, told me to have sweet dreams, and gave me a kiss. Oh, I love her!

When listing the items in her shopping cart, she would hand them off and name them, "cheese", "pepper", "garlic", "stuff" - ha! I guess she doesn't recognize all of the food items yet.

This morning the step-stool fell on her baby, which she didn't seem to notice until Luke walked into the room, and then she feigned real concern for the baby. "Oh no, baby, what happened? Poor baby." pat pat pat on the back, Thunk! went the head into the crib, the baby doll fell to the ground, and off Avery went to find something else to play with.

She stole my blankets.

She also has a couple favorite games - I Get You and More Tickles. She loves people to chase her saying, "I'm going to get you!" and then she wants to be tickled endlessly when they do get her. This morning she snuck up on her kitty, saying "Get you, get you, get you!" and then tickled that poor stuffed animal while laughing.

It's been a good week so far, with a couple more days of real restrictions, which I'll enjoy to the fullest. I like having people bring me food. :)