Visit from Grandpa and Grandma

My dad and his wife left today after spending five days visiting us and getting to know Avery. Grandpa was just thrilled to meet little Avery. He brought a handmade tube plastered with pictures of D and I and Avery as a gift. Very creative indeed. The visit was terrific! Thanks for coming out, Dad and Joy!

Most of our time was spent lounging around the house. We did have one outing to the doctor. Avery needed to have an ultrasound on her hip since she was a breech baby (it's a standard thing done for all babies born breech, apparently). So the four of us loaded up into the minivan and headed over to the hospital. Avery was so good for the doctor and charmed the pants off her and the nurse. She also pooed in her diaper at an inopportune time, but hey, can't be perfect! All is well with her hips. Following that, we headed out for lunch. Once again, I was able to share my love of Marionberry Poppyseed cake with our visitors. They were both thoroughly impressed with the cake, as well they should be!

Some pictures from their visit ...

Grandpa plays with Avery

Grandma & Grandpa feed Avery

In other news, we received three beautiful, hand-knitted sweaters from Grandma Rosie in England. They are absolutely gorgeous! I admit I'm not overly into buying clothes for Avery - I'm more about function than fashion. But I cannot wait to go buy the perfect clothes to go along with these sweaters! Since Avery is the first girl in the family, this is the first time Grandma Rosie got to knit in pink. Click the photo to enlarge it and see the beautiful work.


The big news for us was that Avery had her first night with only one wake up! It was pure bliss! The past week or so, she wakes an average of 2-3 times per night, which isn't bad because it's typically once during D's shift and once during mine. For the most part, she seems to be a really good sleeper. While I can't say I'm thrilled to be woken from my lovely, much needed slumber, when I go into her room to feed/change/comfort her, my heart just melts. Those gorgeous little eyes peaking out from her burrito swaddle make me immediately smile.

Her personality seems to be developing a bit more. When I sing Silent Night to her (the only song I actually know the lyrics to - must remedy that situation!) she gets very calm and watches me sing and then at the high parts of the song she smiles and coos as if she's singing along. That's another heart melting moment for sure. She's also seems to be close to laughing. She smiles and kind of makes a noise along with the smile. It's not a true laugh, but pretty darn cute nonetheless. She smiled earlier than most babies, so perhaps she'll laugh a bit sooner, too.

Avery and I may be having her first play date out of the house on Friday. It depends on the schedule of a friend. Most of the rest of our time will be spent getting ready for our upcoming trip. I'll hopefully do another post before we leave, but just in case I don't get time, check back in a couple of weeks.