Almost 7 months

I know I haven't blogged in forever...so I figured it was time to do so. Avery is at such a fun age now. She is curious as a cat, very happy & giggly, playing with things all the time, and so responsive to the world around her.

Avery has been starting new foods. She is a great eater, I must admit. We have tried: prunes(as seen above), rice cereal, oatmeal cereal, bananas, applesauce, & peaches. I'm not sure which is her favorite, since she eats whatever is given to her without any resistance. Hopefully this remains the same after I begin vegetables!

Lately I have been enjoying having my husband back! While he was taking his class, I felt like I was a single mom--not fun. But now we have been able to go to the beach a lot, hang out with friends, etc. I love my little family so much.

One thing that's new with me is I'm going to be in our stake play. We'll see where I am cast... It is a Broadway medley entitled "Curtain Up." It will be nice to be involved with something new where I can meet new people and perform..lol. I'm not sure how well I can act or dance, but I am sure going to try.

Today at church, I was in awe of how beautiful Avery is. A friend of ours held her for most of sunday school, and I was in mommy heaven just watching our little baby. She was just smiling and playing, loving life. I seriously think she couldn't be any cuter. I could be just a little biased though. :-)

Already 4 months old

Look at this Daddy Daughter shot. Priceless.

Brian and Sharie look so much alike in this picture!

Baby Avery watching the swim meet
About 2 seconds later she got a little bored.

Zander swimming in his race! What a stud.

Jozie dives in! Look at that form. Impressive.
Eden was soooooo fast. She killed the competition.

Kids are so amazing to me. How they can jump in that freezing cold water on a cloudy day and smile about it astounds me. They must be part fish. I was remembering the last swim meet we went to of the kids--it was last summer and I was feeling terrible. I was maybe 6 or 7 weeks pregnant with Avery and I hadn't told Brian's family we were expecting. Where does the time go?

Avery's latest is kicking sprees accompanied by lots of talking. And she loves her infant seat. She is kicking so hard against that thing; Brian and I worry she is going to bruise her heels! She especially loves to look at herself in mirrors. One of these days we'll post a video of her on here--when Brian figures out how to post just a clip of film on the blog instead of all the video camera's memory.

Gaining Speech & Loosing Hair

Sunday night I was in the mood to sing. What can I say, I love to sing! In fact, becoming a professional singer has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. I used to be embarrassed to admit this. I remember when I was about nine, my mom told some people that I wanted to be a rock n' roll star when I grew up. The people she told chuckled a little at my quixotic ambitions, and I about died of humiliation. Anyways, I'm getting side tracked. So, I decided to put on a concert for Avery Sunday night. I sang to her for probably about 30-45 minutes. And she watched and smiled intently. :-D Needless to say, she loved the little concert. Then, about ten minutes after I had finished singing, Avery started talking loud and long. It was so cute. And she hasn't stopped talking since!! She has discovered her beautiful voice and I'd say, she is going to be a talented little singer one day!

And now to the the losing of the hair...Avery and I are both losing our hair! A lot from me and a little from her. Who knew pregnancy caused baldness? Not me. Apparently I was the last to know. Everyone assures me this is normal and that I wont go totally bald. We shall see. As if pregnancy doesn't leave you with enough physical defacement. This just adds insult to injury.

On a Baby High

Our little baby enjoying the spotlight in her bumbo chair
Avery is discovering she likes to eat things
Her favorite thing to eat is her hands...delicious!
So photogenic
We went on our first family hike! We trekked up to Inspiration Point and could see downtown L.A. and the coastline all in one shot--very cool. Brian carried Avery in the Baby Bjorn and got a good work out in! Here is Avery and me in our hoodies staying warm. I love this picture!
Look, mom, I'm WAY up here!


So, I figured it was about time for a new blog about motherhood and all its glory. Today I came home from church and was just having the time of my life holding, kissing, and talking to my darling baby girl. She had been SO good at church and then when we got home, tons of smiles and even a little giggle! She is so content and happy to be alive. I had to stop and just think to myself: "Wow, I am in Heaven!" Motherhood is truly the greatest calling on Earth. I never knew being a mom (with the world's best husband at my side) would be this wonderful. Avery smiles at me and I just melt. All my troubles go away when she brightens my day with her sweet smiling face.

I should mention that life as a mom is not all peaches and cream. There are days that go by where I think about how easy life used to be before I had a baby. When I had time to do whatever, whenever. When I could just hop in the car and go to the mall for hours.(this used to be one of my favorite pastimes) And there are plenty of days I wish I had a nanny to help me out and give me a break. But today I can't imagine life being any better. Brian and I are so incredibly blessed to have all that we do. I keep thinking to myself: What did I do to deserve this sweet, sweet beautiful baby? Perhaps, it's my reward for enduring a rough pregnancy. And at church, people are constantly telling us how good she is and how lucky we are. AND, I am almost afraid to type the words for fear I'll jinx it--but I'll just mention that Avery sleeps through the night--usually 8 hours and has a predictable feed, wake, sleep schedule! I give a lot of credit to Babywise for Avery's cheerful disposition and predictable schedule.

Believe it or not, I was thinking... if this is how incredible babies make you feel, then I want to have at least ten kids. It sounds absurd now that I'm typing it out right now, but I was seriously contemplating ten kids less than an hour ago. Although, since Avery is so good, I'm sure my next kid will be a terror as luck would have it. And then, I would probably be so exhausted that I would say: 2 kids--that's plenty! I guess we shall see how it all plays out! But seriously, babies are so special. There is nothing better than holding your child close and kissing them over and over. :-D

Sprinkles Cupcakes

A bite out of Heaven! Who knew food could be so ethereal. If you haven't tried Sprinkles cupcakes, you have got to drop everything and go get yourself one. They have a store at Fashion Island in Newport, or you could make them yourself by purchasing a Sprinkles cupcake mix from their store or at Williams-Sonoma. My neighbor brought me a couple cupcakes yesterday and they were AMAZING! I never knew a cupcake could be THAT good. I have only tried the dark chocolate with chocolate frosting. Has anyone else tried the other flavors? Which kind is your favorite?

Grandma and Grandpa Norton come to visit

Happy Anniversary!

Happy 2 Year Anniversary! I can't believe how time flies. It seems like it was only yesterday that we were married in the San Diego Temple. I made this little cake for Brian and me on our anniversary--gotta love funfetti. It's been the best 2 years of my life by a long shot, and I look forward to many more amazing years to come in the future. I love you DEER!