A Year in Pictures - 2012

Looking back at this time last year Jeremy and I could not even imagine what an incredible year we were about to have.  Life in 2012 was nothing short of amazing.  We started January as a family of three and are ending this fabulous year as a family of four with the sweetest addition of Avery Parker!!  Here is a review of our year:

By January it was was safe to say we had one of the most mild winters in history.  But we were still able to enjoy the snow in small doses.  No one was complaining!!!

Riley turned 3 1/2 in February and ironically enough it was on 2/21/12 that we found out we were expecting baby number 2!

We gave Riley's room a color makeover in March - green of course!!!  We also shared the news of our little nugget with family.

In April, we hosted Easter and Riley received her very first stitches!

In May we signed Riley up for a short stint in dance.  She loved it and was signed up for the year in September.  

In June we found out that our little nugget was a girl!!  And so the countdown began to meet Miss Avery.

In July we headed back to the beach in the OBX.  Riley loved the beach and the waves.  It was a pretty awesome family vacation.  

Riley turned 4 in August.  Hard to believe that my little baby was headed for Pre-K!

Riley began Pre-K at Holy Family in September.  She adjusted well and really likes it there.  

October was the month we waited all year for!!!  We welcomed Avery Parker on 10/24/12.  She has been nothing short of the best baby any parent could ask for.  Riley is an awesome big sister and we all adjusted to our new family of 4.  We are just head over heels in love with our girls.

In November, Avery turned one month old and celebrated her first Thanksgiving.  Riley remained enamored by her little sister.

In December Avery turned 2 months and celebrated her first Christmas.  Santa was so generous to both girls.  

We are looking forward to 2013...although it is tough to imagine how much better life can get for Jeremy and I.  We hope that everyones 2013 is filled with lots of love, laughs and quality time with the ones they love.  I know that's how we'll be spending our next year!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!

Avery is 2 months!

On Monday, 12.24.12 Avery was officially 2 months old!!!  Hard to believe that it's been 2 wonderful months since Avery came into this world!  Time is flying and I wish it would slow down already!

I feel like so much has changed in the past month.  Avery smiles so much now and she has found her voice!! She coos and babbles and she makes the sweetest little sounds. Avery is beginning to recognize people and loves her big sister the most (well, that's my opinion anyway).  

I have gone back to work and Avery is being watched by her Babcha.  We are so incredibly lucky to have her grandmother watching her.  She seems to have adjusted just fine to being left with her Babcha and has wonderful days.  She now is both nursing and drinking formula from a bottle.  She does both well now.  Formula was a little bit of a problem at first, but now she is a pro!  Avery can also roll over from her belly to back - quite the feat for such a little baby.  

Avery remains a very good baby.  She sleeps well and is just a happy little girl.  We look forward to seeing what she learns in the next month.  We go to the doctor in 2 weeks for her 2 month check-up.  I can't wait to get her stats.  Stay tuned for those!!! 

The little baker

Christmas is just around the corner and today was a bake fest in our kitchen!  Riley could not wait to help out with the goodies to be made!

First we made Dutch Apple Pie together.  Riley was so good in helping make the crust.  She added the ingredients needed, helped mix them together and even helped roll out the dough!!  She also helped me mix and sprinkle the toppings on the pies!

The end result:

Then we moved on to making peanut butter blossoms.  Riley unwrapped all of the kisses, helped me add the ingredients and was responsible for rolling the cookie dough in sugar.  She did an awesome job!

  

The end result:

Then it was on to making cheesecake.  We made a graham cracker crust bottom and Riley was in charge of crushing the crackers.  She also helped add the ingredients.

The end result:

Lastly, we made some chocolately pretzels.  Riley again helped unwrap all the kisses and then helped me add the M&Ms when they were ready.

The end result:

I am so glad that Riley wanted to help - she really did help me a great deal and I was able to get so much done.  she is turning out to be quite the little baker!!

Avery's 1st snow!!

On December 22, 2012 we had our first real snow storm.  Anytime anything white fell from the sky in the past few weeks they were pretty much flurries that amounted to nothing.  Yesterday we were "lucky" to get a few inches.  I had to get a picture of Avery in the snow.  Unfortunately, it was not just snowy - it was extremely windy and very, very cold.  So Avery and I literally went out in the snow for no more than 5 minutes.  It was enough time to snap this picture:

I sure do hope Avery learns to love the snow as much as Riley does.  Or maybe she just hasn't gotten the memo yet - we live in Syracuse, she better get use to this!!!

I'm sorry, was that a roll over??

Wow - I cannot believe that Avery will be 7 weeks old (tomorrow) and has already mastered the roll over!!  Riley didn't roll from her belly to her back until she was almost 4 months.  What the heck is next for this little overachiever???

Moves like Jagger, knows songs like Grandpa!

Riley loves to sing songs - but it doesn't mean she knows the words.  That's ok - she can just make up her own...like Grandpa does!!!!

Sisterly Love

I can only hope that 10 years from now they will still feel the same way.  But I will certainly take this, even if for now!!

Avery Parker Smiles

One of the best parts of being a parent is when your child starts to smile at you, for real, not because of gas!!  So here are some pics of Miss Avery smiling because mommy was acting like a crazy person to get her to smile...but it worked!  And what a beautiful smile she has.  Can't wait to see even more of those smiles!!!

Happy one month Avery Parker!!

Avery turned one month old yesterday!!!  Aunt Jenny bought these cool month stickers way before Avery was born and we couldn't wait to use them.  Of course, I didn't think we would have to use them this quickly!!  This past month has FLOWN by!  

So let me tell you a little about Avery.  She is the best baby.  She is a pretty good sleeper, she is definitely a good eater and she is one calm little gal!  Avery only really cries for 2 reasons - she is hungry or she is fighting sleep at the end of the day.  What a difference from Riley!!  

Avery loves to look out the window, she can hold her head up pretty well for a 4 week old and she loves her some bath time!!  She is beginning to smile real smiles, not just gas smiles.  We are trying to figure out who she looks like.  Some people think she is all Riley, others think she looks more like me.  I don't think she looks like Riley.  I think she has features of Riley, but is not completely Riley.  But honestly, it doesn't really matter, because overall, she is just a great kid - and we can't get enough of her!!

And just for fun - here was Riley when she was a month old!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We celebrate Avery's 1st Thanksgiving in Syracuse this year at Kevin and Tammy's house.  It was a great day with good company, food and great weather!!  It's too bad Avery couldn't eat the delicious turkey, but she sure did enjoy being passed around and snoozing on different family members.

Jeremy and I have a ton to be grateful for this year - but I think it is safe to say that we are most grateful for our two little babies, Riley Paige & Avery Parker.  We are MORE than blessed!!!

We hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!

The Help

And no I am not talking about the book that became a movie!!  I am talking about all of the wonderful help that I received once Avery was brought home from the hospital.  Bringing home Riley 4 years ago was much different from bringing home Avery.  One kid, no big deal!  I mean at that time life was an adjustment, but you only had one kid to worry about.  This time around, we had a newborn and a 4-year-old who is in school.  So the adjustment was a little different.  Thankfully, I had some great helpers for the first 3 weeks I was home!

Of course, week 1 Jeremy stayed home from work.  He was the person who dropped Riley off and picked her up from school.  He made me lunch and the family dinner all week.  He allowed me to nap and took care of the baby when I did.  He also entertained Riley when I was busy nursing Avery.  I was grateful that he was able to take that week off from work to adjust to our new family.

Then my mom came for a week.  She too helped with bringing Riley to and from school, she cooked our family some delicious dinners, snuggled with both girls daily and even got me out of the house and to the mall!!  We had a lot of quality time together - which was so nice!!!  I was more than thankful to have her here for the week.

And finally Laurie came for a week.  She too helped in cooking some meals for our family and helping get the girls ready when it was time to leave the house.  She stayed home snuggling with Avery while I dropped off and picked Riley up from school.  She also took Riley out for an entire day while I stayed home with the baby and got some house work done.  It was great having some bonding time with my baby sister.  I sure hope my girls will do this for each other someday!

Of course I can't go without thanking my dad too!  He drove my mother and Laurie up 2 weekends in a row.  Then he bought us breakfast and made sure coffee was ready in the morning.  He also got in some quality time with both girls.

I think that Jeremy and I can't say thank you enough for all the help that my family gave during our transition to a family of 4.  While they may all live hours away, we are so lucky and blessed to have such a loving and supportive family.  I couldn't have asked for more!!!

Sisters

A sister is a forever friend.  (Author Unknown)

Jeremy and I are so in love with our two girls.  While we had no clue how Riley would really react once we brought Avery home from the hospital, we are happy to say that almost 4 weeks in and Riley is head over heels for her baby sister.  So far the jealousy has not kicked in and the little helper in Riley has not faded.  It does help that Avery overall is a calm, peaceful, easy going baby!!  We're feeling blessed and lucky to be the parents to these wonderful little ladies!!