Mother's Day Visit

We were able to spend a good chunk of Mother's Day visiting with Nikki, Grandma J, Grandpa Paul, Shauna (Nikki's stepsister) and Garrett!  It was the perfect way to celebrate the day.

Below are a few of my favorite Avery and Garrett pictures.  

Birthfamily visit

On Sunday, we went over to Avery's birthfamily's new house!  This visit was spent with much chatting, so little picture taking ensued on my part, but I got a few shots that I find adorable.

Garrett looking unusually serious

Garrett and Nikki look at the menu together

Avery, for the first time, knows all of their names.  On the way there, she kept saying, "Nikki!  Mike!"  And, as I'm typing, she keeps saying, "Mike!" wanting to see pictures of him. Then she says, "Nikki!" once she sees her picture of Mike.  It's adorable and heartwarming to see her starting to grasp the beginnings of her relationships with Nikki, Mike, and Garrett.

Long Time

Ahhhh!  I didn't realize it had been so long since I'd done a post.  Time is flying by and we're so much busier in the summer months.  The good news is that Avery is having a great time with our busy schedule.  We're going on frequent walks and meeting friends at the park.  Last week consisted of the park, blueberry picking, a long walk, another park outing, a hike, and finally another long walk - all with various toddler friends.

For the hike, Avery and I met up with her friend Henry (his mom came along, too, because she doesn't let him drive just yet).  Avery walked the entire 1.5 mile / 2-hour walk!  I kept asking her if she wanted me to put her in the backpack, but she simply said no each time.  She has the cutest little no in the world.  I guess because she's still not at the stage where she screams, "Nooooooooo!" at me.

Almost a month ago, we had a visit with Nikki, Mike, Garrett, Grandma J, and Grandpa Paul.  It was an awesome visit!  We hung out in the backyard and chatted while Avery and Garrett played.  Grandpa Paul grilled some burgers.  I want to put together a video of Avery and Garrett, but I just haven't had the time.  In the meantime, here are a few pictures.  It's really hard to get a good picture of two toddlers at the same time!

Birth parents Mike & Nikki with Avery and her brother Garrett

Garrett pops his head into the shot at the last minute ... so cute!

Nikki watches as Avery enjoys her first popcicle

Avery and Garrett playing together - the both LOVE cars - just like Mike!

Avery and Garrett hug

I've lost the battery charger to my camera, so I haven't taken many pictures lately.  I'll be replacing it soon, but that explains the lack of pictures for a while. Here are two taken fairly recently.

Avery loves balls, the garage, and umbrellas, so she's a happy camper here

Our friend Christie took this awesome shot of Avery at Little Gym

First Visit with BF

We had our first visit with Avery's birth family post-placement (hi guys!) In attendance:

• Birth parents: Nikki & Mike
• Brother: Garrett, who is 14 months
• Maternal Grandmother & Grandfather: Janet (Grandma J from here on out) & Paul
• Nikki's best friend: Ashley
  

The visit went very well and we were so happy to finally get our schedules coordinated to make this visit happen. It was also so great that Avery got to meet Grandma J and Grandpa Paul. We discovered that the little sweep that Avery's hairline does comes from Mike, whose hair does the same thing. It was fascinating to watch Avery watch Garrett. She definitely watched him way more than she does other babies/kids. We compared notes on differences and similarities between Avery and Garrett. It'll be both fascinating and wonderful to see the two of them interact on future visits. I didn't take a lot of pictures, but we did get this really cute one of Avery with Nikki & Mike.


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Today, we are celebrating Easter with the G's and a mini version of their fabulous Easter brunch. While RG was busy slaving away in the kitchen, JG captured a family portrait of the three of us. Avery is wearing one of the adorable sweaters knitted by Grandma Rosie.


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On the developmental front, Avery has discovered her inner squeaker. She can now squeak and squeal with the best of them! She uses the squeak when she is annoyed with being dressed too slowly (bad mommy!) and to express delight and sometimes for no reason whatsoever - at least that I can tell.

She has also discovered her feet in the past week or so. She can successfully grab both of them and seems quite content to lay on the floor rolling from side to side with feet firmly in hand.

No more giggles since those first few. I keep trying, but apparently I'm not funny enough.

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Later this week, we are off to Colorado to visit Nain, Uncle Collin, and Aunt Denise. Another post will come after that visit.