avery told me all this secret stuff about his momma while she was gone the other day

it's true! avery boy gave me all the details, just like a good little nephew would. i LOVE that i now have the inside scoop! he thought you all should know too. here are ten things he doesn't think you already know about his momma, that you should know:

1. there is always a pizza box in abbe's fridge, ALWAYS! if you have a bad day and need a piece of cold pizza, she is your girl!

2. her closet is color coded. to the "t"! even by shades. like the browns fade from new fresh brown to old fading brown. sometimes it is even by color and length of sleeve or buttons and no buttons.

3. home girl READS. everyone know this, but she reads fast. avery says she can read faster than most of you can type.

4. she used to have invisible eye brows. weird that avery told me this, because it has been a while, but it is true. even now, she barely has to pluck and they are pretty light. aunt linde has caterpillars that demand some TLC!

5. she always has the t.v. on. she loves friends over, so if no one can come, she invites her friends on t.v. she doesn't really watch all that much, just listens to them chat.

6. she was described by almost uncle jeff as a "flawless mother" to jason and leeanne the other night. it's true. she can hold baby boy, take care of him, know what he thinks and wants, when is crying vs. when he is just talking. kind of amazing. she asked me the other day if moms take pulses (as she is taking avery's pulse), then decided no and stopped. i mean really, amazing!

7. abbe has some back scratching finder nails. you know those hard press on nails from the grocery store, abbe grows her own. they are so thick and luscious that she can barely stand to cut or file them because it hurts. which is weird, because you can't feel the end of your finger nail. a birdie, not avery, told me that she uses them to scratch michael's back every night. UNBELIEVABLE! i slept next to abbe for years and got nothing more than a line drawn the middle of the bed by mom ( or dad if i was being really loud ) telling me not to cross. i would have loved those scratches!

8. whenever she gets nervous, she gets these little red spots on her neck, even if she gets the good kind of nervous (like on her wedding day)

9. avery says she is his favorite and that is why he came early. he just couldn't stand to be apart from her any more.

10. ok, avery is withholding #10 until he gets some secrets from you! what do you know about ab that everyone else needs to know??

avery boy LOVES LOVES LOVES his momma!

My Baby Got Skills

In our house we have decided to at least attempt to be passy people. For us, we think it will be easier than taking away the thumb. I do realize Avery may have his own agenda and tell us to kiss it at any moment. But, for now he LOVES his passy. We were at dinner this week and laughed so hard when Avery showed off his latest skill for Lou Lou and Papa, how he can keep just the tiniest tip of his passy in his mouth in case he wants it back while he's resting. At night we know he has officially hit deep sleep when you hear it hit the mattress, if he's not sure he holds it just like this. Pretty impressive, don't ya think.

He also got these baby shades which are about the cutest things I have ever seen. Happy Memorial Day!

Saturday Fun...

Michael, Avery and I had a really fabulous Saturday together. We all slept in, lounged around and then headed to Sears to pick out our new oven. I was not looking forward to this trip, but if I had known the show we would see I totally would have been. Talk about a cast of characters. Sears is the place to be on a Saturday afternoon. We were helped by a lovely salesman, Dan, who had a wicked sunburn and winced when he moved just so...

While we were waiting our turn we got to watch the tella novella of an over40's couple occasionally making out while they were waiting for some help. When we had made our choice we just had to wait for Dan to finishing ringing up the customer in front of us, no big deal right. Wrong, it took him forever to make his decision, me I took about 5 minutes to choose a new oven. While he was waiting to see if his credit was approved, you save 10% this way, he was alternately talking on his cell phone and digging out and then inspecting his belly button lint. We also got to know Linda and Bob a precious older couple who really appreciated their salesman's time (the whole 1 1/2 hours we were there) because he had given them so much to think about.

Then there was a girl about our age choosing her oven based on how cute it was with her Mom, now that's my kind of shopping.

So, if you are bored go hang out at Sears, who knew there is never a dull moment there!

Happy Birthday to Me, and some other stuff too

First, Avery wanted to let you know that his special bond with Aunt Linde continues.... She and Avery had a play date Friday and he really enjoyed his Starbursts even though he tried to tell her no when she gave him his bottle. Who knows what else these two were up to that didn't get documented. Thanks Aunt Linde!
We 3 loaded up this time and went to Tyler for Mother's Day and my birthday. Avery got to spend Mother's Day with 4 of his grandmothers, Lou Lou, Meme, Honey and Grandma he was so glad to get to be with so many of the women in his life for this special day and celebrate it at the lake! Being a mother still doesn't feel real to me most of the time, but I am now more aware than ever that my mother is amazing. She raised, or should I say is still raising, 2 great daughters, if I do say so myself, without the help of her Mom. I truly can't imagine. I knew I loved my Mom, but loving Avery shows me how much more she has loved and cared for me. Loving Avery also leads me to rely even more heavily on my own Mom. I am so thankful for my wonderful Mamma. I am also thankful that Michael has a great Mom who has done the same for him, and that Avery has 5 great grandmothers taking care of him, too!
And, most importantly-Happy Birthday to me! I have been told that once you are a Mom you are not supposed to have a good Birthday or even really care. Well, I am choosing to miss the memo. I shamelessly dropped hints about my Birthday, demanded that we go to Tyler to celebrate, called and demanded my special Birthday dinner, and was generally bratty. Well, it worked. I had such a great Birthday. Michael took off Monday and Tuesday and we got to spend a long weekend at the lake, it was so so fun. Yesterday I got to do so many wonderful things...I slept in with my baby boy, got my haircut, ate pizza, had a blizzard, got my hair cut and colored, and most importantly spent quality time with almost all my family. We wrapped it up at home with some quality time with our immediate family. I think all Mom's should demand a great birthday, it worked out great for all of us I am pretty sure.

Avery's First Road Trip

Avery and I loaded up and headed to our home away from home for the very first time last week. He was such a trooper and slept all the way to Tyler, I was so relieved. But, as soon as we hit the driveway he knew we were there and said Papa save me!
Avery's first trip to the lake would not be complete without a ride on the barge. So I wedged him into the smallest life jacket we could find and we went on a very slow ride around the lake. My sister said I was being like Brittney taking my little baby out but I think he was pretty safe and funny in his life jacket. He really didn't seem to mind.
Lou Lou shaded his eyes and kept him very comfy, she even held his passy in for him when it got loud on the way back home.
Papa let him help drive for a few minutes.



We had so much fun with my parents and a very relaxing day at the lake Friday, it was great even though we missed Daddy a lot.

Saturday our Tyler friends got to meet Avery at his "Baby Debut" he was soo good and I was so glad. He sat proudly in his carrier while his Tyler friends said hello. We were overwhelmed with all the love showered upon us. Avery was so overwhelmed he just went to sleep while wedged between all the wonderful gifts he received.
We headed home and had his baby dedication Sunday. While it was a crazy weekend, we really enjoyed that both of Avery's home towns had special things for him this weekend. He is one loved little boy.

What's In a Name

For our little boy a whole lot. This is his great grandad Avery. Michael and his dad also have Avery in their names so he is the 4th generation in our family to proudly wear this name.
This is Uncle Blake. Obviously we love Blake and it has been so fun that Avery LOVES his Uncle Blake. This week Blake came over and held Avery for hours one night. Avery was so happy and Michael and I were able to get so much done.

We are so thankful for great family who mean so much to us and our little guy. We love the Brownings, too. Hopefully they will get a shout out someday! :)

You Know You are a Nerd When...

You celebrate your birthday at the Northpark food court, AND love it.

At least it's the coolest mall in town....
You wrap up your celebration by 9:30 on the couch....
You decide to pool your birthday money with your wife for a new oven because yours just died....
At least there is one cool cat in our family. Avery celebrated his 1 month birthday with his giraffe buddy last Thursday, I can't believe he is now 5 weeks old. I can now say I am so glad he came early and that I am not 1 week into figuring him out.