Happy St. Patrick's Day 2013

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!  

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Avery's First Trip to the Zoo

We have been anticipating bringing Avery on her first trip to the zoo!  The last time Riley and I went to the zoo, I was 30 weeks pregnant!  Riley could not wait to show Avery how cool the zoo is.

Riley woke up this morning excited about the zoo and all that Avery would see there.  She talked about it all morning with her.

We did the usual zoo tour - inside first and then the outside.  Avery was able to track the fish, turtles, otter and meerkats.

The as usual we headed outside where Avery enjoyed the birds and penguins.

While Riley was posing on the elephant, Avery decided a snooze was in order.

Both ladies left happy with a new friend.  ANOTHER penguin for Riley and a meerkat for Avery.  They have been named by Riley so meet, Rainbow Sprinkles and Brownie Sprinkles respectively!

It was a successful first trip to the zoo.  We're looking forward to more trips to the zoo!!

Happy 4 months Avery Parker!

Can anybody tell me how in the world it has already been 4 months since Avery arrived??  Avery continues to be the best baby anyone could ask for!  She had spent the last month becoming more vocal.  Lots of cooing, gurgles and giggles.  She LOVES following Riley around any room with her eyes.  She will smile in a second at anything and everything Riley does.  

Avery sleeps really well almost all the time.  On average she gets up once a night.  However, we do believe that Avery is in a growth spurt right now - so sleep is interrupted at least twice, but sometimes three times.  Each time it is not for long, so I haven't been feeling it yet!!  

Avery is dying to sit up on her own.  She spends a lot of time pulling her head up so that she can see what is going on.  We practice sitting up and she does well for about 3 seconds before toppling over.  I think she will be sitting up on her own within the next 4-6 weeks, but we'll see.

Avery also like to chew on everything - but mostly her hands.  It seems like teething, but I'm thinking she is still way too little.  

Her next doctor's appointment isn't until next month, but I think that we may start her on cereal within the next few weeks.  Stay tuned for that fun!

Here she is at 4  months old - 02.24.13

(looking NOTHING like her big sister)

Riley is 4 1/2!!

It's hard to believe that Riley is halfway to 5 - but we can't stop her from growing up, can we?  On Thursday, 2/21/13 we celebrated Riley's half birthday with a cake.  Riley cannot wait until she is 5!

Here is an interview I did with my 4 1/2 year old!  

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Valentine's Day 2013 was a success!  The girls enjoyed their Valentine's presents from everyone and Avery had a great 1st Valentine's Day!!

The Baker is Back!!

I had some leftover sugar cookie dough in the freezer from Christmas and thought it would be a great idea to make heart shaped cookies for Valentine's Day.  It took no convincing at all for Riley to love the idea.  Of course, she was completely in charge of this project.

The end result??  Pure deliciousness.  Riley sure knows how to make a mean cookie!!

It's new to me!!

Avery does so well holding her head up now that we decided last weekend to get the last of the items stored at Babcha and Pop's house.  Those items were the bouncer and high chair.  Both were Riley's when she was a baby, but they're new to Avery.

Everything was brought home, put together and cleaned.  We think Avery is a fan of both!  

Trying out the bouncer.  Her feet can't reach the ground yet, but she enjoyed it.

Avery loves sitting in her high chair while I cook and the family eats dinner!