Avery-9 Months Old!

So this post is a few days late...better late then never! I stole this idea from a fellow blogger! It is a great way to keep a baby book (or an e-babybook!)

We started off 9 months with a visit to the doctor for Avery's check-up. When she went to look in her ears, she said, "Looks like someone has a little ear infection!" What!!?!! She doesn't have a fever and at the present moment she was excitedly tearing up the paper on the examine table. After winning "Mother of the Year" award for not even knowing my child was sick, we went straight to the pharmacy and got her started on antibiotics.

Her current "stats":

Weight: 18.9 lbs (51st %)

Height: 28.4 in (50%)

Russ and I are still perplexed with where all this height and weight come from...we both are not big people!

Here are a few things Avery has accomplished this month!

~ says "Hi" and wave
~crawls at the speed of light
~pulls up on furniture
~understands her name and the word "no"
~she "sings" when music is on
~laughs a lot!
~loves fruit, especially "Hawaiian Delight"
~hates green beans and peas
~gets super excited when she sees the puffs can
~very observant and curious
~mastered the game of "bonk" (where she hits her head on your head)
~flaps her arms when she gets super excited
~claps all the time, especially when you say "Yay!"
~loves watching other kids
~loves french fries
~an expert at pulling off her socks and thinks it is really funny!
~favorite stuffed animal is The Grinch
~loves wires and Russ's shoes


These past nine months have gone by in a flurry! Way to fast if you ask me! I have watched this little baby of mine steal the hearts of so many people! What a blessing she has been to our lives! We love her so much!

Cooking shows

Have you ever flipped through the channels and landed on The Food Network? I have! I have stopped to watch the Barefoot Contessa carelessly throw perfectly chopped incredients into a beautifuly shiny Kitchen Aide mixer in a pristine spared-no-expense kitchen. The whole time I find myself being lured into a false sense of security with a dose of "Yes! I too can be a professional chef" and "That looks so easy! I am sure I could do that!" I give it a try and my kitchen resembles a D-Day explosion, the color/texture of the food looks a little off, and the stench could possibly warrant a visit from a Haz Mat team!


If you watch the shows closely, you will see that the "Chefs" actually don't do the grunt work of cooking. There is a nice person who cuts and organizes the ingrediants into neat and orderly bowls. The bowls are strategically placed around the area that the "Chef" is cooking so it just looks like everything is so organized! Also, the appliances and cooking utensils needed are always conveiently laid out. Then there is an empty trash can/bucket/bowl conviently set up to collect shells or what not that occur during the show. The "Chef" always proclaims, "This is so simple! It takes no time at all!" Yeah right! It is that simple when everything has been laid out for you so nicely and all you do is dump ingrediants into a skillet and mush it around with a wooden spoon! The rest of us have to find, buy, chop, prepare, use way to many spoons and bowls, read the recipe, and empty the trash before we add the by-products of cooking into the trash. And in the end we have to CLEAN IT UP! My 30 minute meal is more like a 60-90 minute meal!


This post might seem like a boycott against cooking. Not at all! I actually strive to cook more and become better at it! I envy people who can whip up a delicious meal with only 4 ingrediants in their fridge. I tend to fall in the domestically challenged category. I just feel that cooking shows are unrealistic! Make the "Chef" entertain/feed a baby while they cook a "deliously fast and simple" meal and then I might start to believe them!


I think Bridget Jones (my favorite movie of all time!) says it best,"I have a sneaking suspicion that I am a genious in the kitchen!" Hah!

Decisions, Decisions!

Since Christmas season is upon us...I have been in pursuit of the perfect gifts for Avery. And yes, I know that Avery will be 9 1/2 months old by the time Christmas rolls around. However, I want her to have the BEST first impression I can give her! I am also unbelievably excited about it! So in my quest for the best gifts for her, I have come across a dilemma. I have decided that I want to give her a "ride-on" toy, so I found two that I really like. I can't seem to decide which one to get!

1st Choice: Fisher Price's Stride 'n Ride Dinosaur

2nd Choice: Disney Princess Ride-On

I guess I just need to be honest with myself...she will probably like the box more than the gift. As long as she has a wonderful 1st Christmas, I really don't care!

The Bucket List

Russ and I have recently started watching the show, "The Buried Life" on MTV. It is a documentary about 4 guys essentially crossing items off their bucket list. This got Russ and I talking about what would be on our bucket lists. For the sake of time and space...I have listed a few items from each of our lists.

Russ:

1. Snowboard in another country

2. Be an extra in a movie.

3. Help build a house for Habitat for Humanity

4. Drive a left-handed stick shift

5. Sumo wrestle in a fat suit

6. Run in a marathon

7. Grow a sweet rat tail


Sarah:

1: Write a young adult novel

2. Be in a play

3. RV trip across the United States

4. Use a nail gun

5. Remodel a house from top to bottom

5. Cut off Russ's "sweet rat tail"


These are just a few things on our bucket lists. So, in the true fashion of "The Buried Life", I end this post with just one question...."What do you want to do before you die?" :)

Ballet...just like riding a bike (sort of)!

A few weeks back, Russ and I went to Alive After 5 in downtown Roswell. One of the vendors was giving away a free adult dance class at Atlanta Dance Central. So, I decided that I would get back on the horse and take a ballet class. Last Tuesday, I took my first ballet class in ten years! I signed up for an adult beginner ballet class since I was convinced I had forgotten everything I had ever learned about ballet. I actually lucked out and ended up having a private lesson because no one else showed up. I was a little intimidated at first, but as the instructor and I started working, I really started to feel at home at the bar again. My technique was off, but my love for ballet was still there!

I'm Back......

Okay, so I know I have been M.I.A. for awhile! But the past 8 months have been a little on the hectic side! Here are the "Cliff" Notes from the past few months:

• Had a beautiful baby girl!!!!
• Trying to figure out how to take care of the baby!!!
• Quit my full-time job
• Found a part-time job
• Had to learn some time-management skills with my new job
• Had a leak in my kitchen
• Had to have all of the hardwoods, a dishwasher, and a wall replaced.
• Helped planned my sister's wedding
• Chasing a crawling baby

So that brings us up to the present! I have missed writing and I finally feel that I am back to a place in my life where I can dedicate some time to it. Also, I make no promises that this won't become an e-shrine to Avery! :)

Lunch with 8-year old girls!

In my classroom, I run a mini economy. The students are paid to do their "job" every day. They earn $1 dollar for following directions and $1 dollar for completing their work. They also have opportunities to earn "bonuses" and they can be "fined". Once they reach a predetermined amount of money, they can earn certain rewards. My most expensive reward is to have lunch with me in my room (they can bring a friend as well). You can see why this one costs so much! :)


One of my students has literally been saving since the beginning of the year and finally earned enough money to have lunch with me. On Friday, she invited her friend and they came down to my room to eat. Here are some of the topics we discussed:


1) What are your 3 top favorite colors?


2) When is your birthday?


3) Why one of the girls does not like milk.


4) What is your favorite Girl Scout cookie?


5) What are your two favorite American Girl dolls?


Oh the things eight year olds come up with! I can't wait to see what Avery is interested in!

All we are missing is the baby!

After a long hiatus from the blogging world, I am happy to report that I am 38 weeks pregnant! That means little Miss Avery is allowed to make her appearance! I has been a rollercoaster ride. At 26 weeks, a mixture of frequent Braxton Hicks and a false positive test landed me in the hospital. But after a few weeks of monitoring and repeating the preterm labor test 3 times...it was determined that I was not in preterm labor! If only they would of consulted me...I would have told them that!

With all of that said and done, we got back to working on Avery's room! It came out adorable!Russ and I find ourselves hanging out in her room all of the time! Hurley has decided that she is moving in too! She is particulary fond of the rug and drags her stuffed animals in to play with them there!

So after all of the classes, buying all of the stuff we need, having wonderful friends who gave us wonderful showers, and completing her room...the only thing that is missing is her!