Oops...Been Awhile!

Yeah, keeping up with blogging is hard when you're a full-time working mommy! Oh well, most everyone who reads this follows my facebook anyway, that's much more up-to-date.

Avery is talking more and more. "Mine" and "No" are common toddler staples in our house right now. I am also learning many of my idiosyncrasies by watching Avery pick them up. For example, I am now 100% certain that I say "Umm" WAY too much (see video). She's a diva, but she's adorable. Her hair is getting long, yet it remains curly. Who knows where that comes from? Gorgeous kid!





We moved Avery into a new daycare. Serendipity Learning Center in Buttercup Creek. It has been a wonderful change. Avery has been very happy, as have Mommy and Daddy! The teachers are so attentive and tell us every little thing about her day. Wonderful ladies there! They even put her hair up in the mornings sometimes! hehe



In sad news, our cat Oz was attacked in our front yard one night and passed away. He was the coolest cat ever and our hearts are still very heavy with the loss. :-(



Our home renovations are winding down (I think). We have beautiful new cabinets in our living room thanks to my talented brother-in-law, our back patio is now completed and ready for paint. The ENTIRE house will be repainted this week (minus the brick of course), which will really improve the curb appeal. Last on the list will be re-landscaping the front yard with a new walking path from the driveway to the front door. We are hoping to complete that in the next year.



Whew. We are staying busy, enjoying life, and ready for new adventures! Hope everyone is happy and healthy.


Love to all!

December

I can't believe it's been 2 months since my last post. Time is flying. The holidays are right around the corner and I am SO ready for our annual Keystone trip in January. I'm sure the 2 day car trip with a toddler will be an experience, but I'm confident that we will have a great time! Papa bought Avery her first ski jacket, so of course we had to try it on her:



Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!



I'll try to update more often (I think I say that every time!)...

Love to all,
The Pontious Family

My Little Pumpkin

Well... Avery is now 15 months. We are having a great time with her. She is expanding her vocabulary and now clearly says, "HI!", "Uh Oh", "Buu" - which translates to book, and "tihee" - kitty of course.

We had to install baby gates all over the house so that Ms. Independent is contained to the living room, kitchen, and dining room only.

Avery LOVES to be outside. She is always content to just hang out outside and walk around or play in her new castle. Since it is finally becoming fall in Texas, we took her to a local pumpkin patch this past weekend and managed to get a few cute pics.

Beautiful Girl

I just can't help but to share these amazing photos that Hunter took of Avery playing outside. She has been battling a little bit of a cold lately (as have I) but we are pushing through and enjoying the cooler weather that the beginning of fall is bringing. Hope everyone is doing well!

14 months

What a fun time we are having! I am already missing the tiny baby stages, but I love the little girl she is becoming.

She's down to just 2 or 3 bottles a day. She is still learning how to walk, she will walk when coaxed, but we haven't seen her just take off on her own yet. Avery loves to read books and she loves to play outside. I am going to try to buy her one of those little toddler playsets for the backyard soon.

Here's a video of her walking around the house with her Daddy.



Love to all!

Toddler?

Is it possible already? I still think she's a baby.

On August 3rd, Avery moved up to the toddler class at her daycare. I almost cried. She's even trying to walk now, she's taken one little baby step on her own. She hasn't done it again yet, but I have a feeling that walking is in our near future! Anytime someone walks into a room, Avery says, "HI!"

Avery is completely weaned from nursing now, which is a little sad to me actually. She takes about 3 bottles a day (half stage 2 formula, half milk) and we are working on transitioning over to the sippy cup. I'm not in a huge hurry though because she's so small. The pediatrician told me its okay to wait till 13-14 months to wean her off formula since her weight is still in the 5 percentile! At her 1 year check up, she weighed 17 lbs 10 oz. What a tiny peanut. The Dr. is happy with her growth though, she's been on the 5 % line since she was a few weeks old, so she is growing steady! She is tall though, 70th percentile.

Here are the newest pics of her playing and turning into a toddler. . . crazy!

1 Year Old

Hard to believe its been a year already. It's been the best year of my life, no doubt about it.

She's not walking yet, but can scoot around pretty fast. She gets carpet burns on her leg from doing a one leg crawl, one leg scoot thing. .. funny to watch! Avery LOVES swimming, especially with her Daddy. That has become their special Daddy/daughter time in the evenings (Mommy gets lots of cleaning done during this time!). She loves to eat too, although you wouldn't know it from her tiny frame.

She is mostly weaned from breast feeding, I only nurse her before bed at night. We'll hang on to that last nursing session for a while yet. I'm pretty excited that we've made it this far! She had her first bottle of formula at 10 months old. I have starting giving her bottles of formula with regular milk mixed in to try to switch her off formula completely!

Can't believe soon she will be bottle free, walking, talking, and who knows what else!

Hunter and I both feel that Avery is getting cuter every day. She also has the best personality I've ever seen in a one year old. I am just completely and totally in love with this little girl. Just look how far we've come!











My heart melts looking at these pictures! I'm just hoping I don't blink and miss anything.

Oh yeah. . .one year later, I think it's safe to say the blue eyes are staying (click for a closer look):



Love,
Andrea